After finishing last year with a losing record, UCLA men’s soccer turned in a shutout victory in the season opener.
UCLA (1-0-0) is now 7-5-3 under coach Jorge Salcedo in openers after Friday night’s 4-0 win against No. 18 Coastal Carolina (0-1-0), with the last loss coming in 2013. The Bruins have opened the season on the road in five of the past 11 years, boasting a 4-1 record in those games.
Friday’s starting lineup for the Bruins featured a handful of fresh faces.
Of UCLA’s No. 1 ranked freshman class, two were inserted right into the starting nine – midfielder Matt Hundley and defender AJ Vasquez. Junior transfer forward Mohammed Kamara also started and senior goalkeeper Cole Martinez got his first career start after appearing off the bench in one game last season.
Despite the inexperienced lineup, the Bruins’ new players controlled the game.
Hundley scored the first two goals of his collegiate career – UCLA’s first two goals of the season. He found the back of the net in the 24th minute and nailed the top-right corner of the net off a free kick in the 72nd minute.
Seven minutes later, Kamara broke away from the defense and chipped one over Coastal Carolina goalkeeper Chris Datallo’s head for his first NCAA DI goal.
The Bruins capped off the night with a goal from redshirt junior midfielder Robert Knights off a cross from junior defender Alex Knox.
UCLA will get back on the pitch Tuesday against the University of San Diego at 7 p.m. in their first regular season home game in Wallis Annenberg Stadium.