Monday night had to feel good for the men’s soccer team.
Three days after a controversial loss to Stanford, UCLA rebounded with a spectacular offensive effort in a 6-0 rout of Cal. The Bruins (7-6-0, 3-2-0 Pac-12) stormed past the Bears (5-5-2, 0-3-2) to post their highest goal output since 2008 and their largest margin of victory since 2002.
“We didn’t get the result we wanted or deserved on Friday,” said coach Jorge Salcedo. “But the test today was sticking together, playing together, and believing in what we’ve been doing. And we did that.”
Forcing Cal back on defense from the outset, UCLA attacked relentlessly with seven players scoring or tallying assists.
On UCLA’s second corner kick, senior defender Javan Torre headed in the first goal of the night off an assist by sophomore midfielder Chase Gasper.
“Getting up early on the board, it really lowered their confidence,” said junior midfielder Felix Vobejda. “It let us continue being aggressive and pushing them back.”
The Bruins continued pressuring the Bears, earning nine corners and launching 10 shots on goal.
On a Cal corner kick in the 24th minute, forward Abu Danladi swiped the ball and sprinted 75 yards down the field, weaving between two defenders. With only the goalkeeper in front of him, the sophomore scored his third goal of the year.
Danladi only waited four minutes to score his second goal of the night, intercepting a stray pass from the Bears and knocking in the Bruins’ third goal of the night.
The UCLA sophomore became entangled with the Cal goalkeeper, injuring him and removing him from the game. But the Bears’ replacement goalkeeper couldn’t quell the Bruin onslaught.
Off an Adekoya pass, freshman midfielder Jackson Yueill opened the second half with a shot in the upper left corner just out of the keeper’s reach.
Seconds later, Vobejda sent the ball through Cal defenders to sophomore Seyi Adekoya. UCLA’s leading scorer tapped in his eighth goal on the year and his team’s fifth of the night.
Already up 5-0, the Bruins continued to wear down the Bears’ defense.
Vobejda tallied the sixth goal of the night off a Cal defender, cementing another Pac-12 victory for the Bruins.
“We knew we had to come out with better, higher intensity,” said Yueill. “We didn’t concede early on and didn’t give them a chance to put pressure on us.”
UCLA heads to the Bay Area this weekend to once again face No. 3 Stanford and Cal, which hasn’t won a game in over a month.
With only six regular season matches left, UCLA will need a late-season surge for an NCAA Tournament berth. After the controversial offside call gave the Cardinal a 2-1 victory, the Bruins look to adjust their game plan in a pivotal conference matchup on Friday night.