A crucial cross-country road trip awaits the men’s soccer team.
No. 25 UCLA (7-7-1, 3-3-1 Pac-12) will visit No. 6 Akron (12-2-2, 3-0-1 Mid-American Conference) in the Bruins’ last nonconference matchup Sunday. The game comes on the heels of a weekend of mixed emotions for UCLA, which ground out a 2-2 draw away at No. 4 Stanford before suffering a 4-3 loss against California two days later.
“We have a great opportunity this weekend against Akron,” said coach Jorge Salcedo after Wednesday’s practice. “They’re a really good possession team. They have dynamic players in the attack like we do.”
The Bruins, who possessed the ball for 60 percent of the Stanford game, will be facing a near-mirror image of their own playing style against the Zips, a squad that also builds its game around possessing the ball.
“It’s gonna be a clash of two similar styles,” Salcedo said.
The dynamic UCLA attackers that Salcedo mentioned include forward Seyi Adekoya. The sophomore has played in every game this season, and is tied for a team-leading nine goals. He, too, expects to see a familiar playing style in Akron.
“They kind of sound like a team very similar to us,” Adekoya said. “They’re gonna step high up the field and they play wide. It’s gonna be a nice, good soccer match.”
Redshirt senior defender Edgar Contreras said that the team understands the difficulty and magnitude of its final nonconference game.
“They like to possess the ball,” Contreras said. “(It’s) a big match against Akron. It can make us or break us.”
The Zips have earned their No. 6 ranking this season, notching two key wins away from home against No. 7 Georgetown and No. 13 Old Dominion early in the season. The Bruins failed to beat the Georgetown Hoyas back in September.
Salcedo remained confident going forward against a stellar opponent, despite coming back from Northern California winless.
“I thought we had the best game that we’ve had all year against Stanford,” Salcedo said. “The game, sometimes, doesn’t always give you what you deserve, and we deserved to win the game.”
UCLA has had to bounce back several times this season, but both Salcedo and the Bruin players say they are beginning to see their best soccer yet.
“Our year has been ups and downs, but we always find a way to get back up,” said Contreras.
UCLA will try to use its valued tactic of high possession to feed its three leading goal scorers: Adekoya, freshman midfielder Jose Hernandez and sophomore forward Abu Danladi.
While the matchup against the Zips isn’t important for the Bruins’ conference ranking, it remains imperative for UCLA to stay in form for the concluding slate of Pac-12 games.
UCLA stands in second place in the league standings with its final three games in the conference looming.