For freshman forward Seyi Adekoya, the game against Washington brings with it some added significance.
“I mean, I’m from Washington and I know a lot of these guys, know a lot of these players,” said the Seattle native.
But UCLA’s game at Washington on Thursday is more than just a homecoming for Adekoya. It’s a chance for the entire UCLA men’s soccer team to reclaim a couple of things that Washington has taken from them over the past year.
Last season, it was the Pac-12 championship, which had belonged to the Bruins in each of the previous two years. This season, it was the No. 1 national ranking, which belonged to UCLA for the first two weeks of September, but was assumed by UW for the first two weeks of this month.
After defeating the then-No. 1 Huskies last week, the Bruins loosened their northern rival’s grip on those titles. Now, Washington (10-2-1, 3-1-1 Pac-12) is no longer leading the Pac-12, but tied with UCLA; no longer atop the national rankings, but No. 4, with UCLA at No. 6.
On Thursday, the Bruins (8-3-3, 3-1-1) have a chance to cleanly snatch those titles away from their northern rival. With both teams tied atop the conference with 10 points – two points higher than the next-highest team – and only four conference games remaining afterwards, the match could be considered a de-facto Pac-12 Championship.
In Adekoya’s mind, there’s no question as to who’s the better team.
“We think … actually, no – we know – we’re better than these guys,” Adekoya said after the Bruins’ 2-1 win last Thursday.
Over the past year, Adekoya’s statement has been almost entirely accurate. Even though the Huskies won the Pac-12 last year, the Bruins have dominated the head-to-head matchup since the beginning of 2013, going 2-0-1 in that span.
UCLA’s success against Washington may be attributed to the fact that the Bruins have come out with a little bit more intensity against their northern foe who is looking to build a Pac-12 dynasty of its own. At least that was the case in last week’s game, as Adekoya and fellow freshman forward Abu Danladi both said that the Bruins came out with a little bit more intensity and motivation than usual.
“I mean, these guys took our No. 1 title from us,” Adekoya said. “We (knew) we needed to come out with big energy because it’s a really big, physical team.”
It could all come full circle for the Bruins this weekend, with Adekoya returning home and the team trying to return to its position as the conference’s top team.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.