On paper, the No. 7 UCLA men’s soccer match against
Stanford looks like a mismatch.
The Cardinal have won just four games all season, the same
number as the Bruins’ losses. In the past seven games,
Stanford has only been able to tally one victory, in Corvallis,
Ore., against Oregon State.
On the other hand, in the past 10 games, the Bruins (10-3-2,
5-1-1 Pac-10) have given up just one goal, which came in their only
loss during that period against the same Beaver team that Stanford
shut out.
In their prior meeting with the Cardinal at Drake Stadium, the
Bruins recorded a 2-0 shutout victory and are looking for a similar
performance Friday night in Palo Alto.
However, the task on hand will not be a stroll in the park, and
coach Jorge Salcedo and his players are well aware of that
fact.
“They’ve had quite a few losses this year,”
Salcedo said of Stanford. “Those teams are always very
dangerous because, really, they can come out with the attitude that
they have nothing to lose.”
There are several factors Salcedo can think of which could
potentially assist Stanford in a stunning upset of the defensively
strong Bruin squad, ruining UCLA’s chances of receiving a
high seeding in the NCAA Tournament.
“Being at home, playing the team that’s in first
place in the Pac-10, they can really get themselves ready and
geared up for this game,” Salcedo said.
If the Bruins can manage to record a win at Stanford on Friday
night, they will put themselves in excellent condition to clinch
the Pac-10 title when they take on California on Sunday.
With a win against Stanford, the Bruins would need either a tie
or a victory at Cal to win the conference title for the fourth
straight year, and the second under the guidance of Salcedo.
In their first meeting this season, the Golden Bears came to
Westwood undefeated and left with their first loss of the
season.
This weekend’s match-up will be a hard-fought contest
involving the Pac-10’s leading scorer, Calen Carr of Cal, and
the nation’s top goalie, junior Eric Reed of the Bruins.
“I think first things first, we need to go up there and
get two wins,” Reed said.
“Above and beyond that, I think we’re looking to
score more goals and open our offense up a bit and definitely keep
them to zero goals in both games.”
Reed seeks to get his 11th and 12th shutouts of the season this
weekend.
The Bears, however, are on a tremendous surge in which they have
won four of their last five games, outscoring opponents 9-1 in that
stretch, and hope to put an end to Reed’s success.
“It’s a huge weekend for us,” Salcedo said,
“If we do the job on Friday night, it gives us a little more
cushion and a little more margin for error against Cal.”
The Bruin coach is looking at this trip not only in terms of
claiming his second Pac-10 title in just as many years, but also in
terms of receiving a high seeding in the NCAA Tournament, in hopes
of getting home field advantage through the first few rounds.
“We’re going out there looking to win two games,
because ultimately the bigger picture is getting a good seed in the
tournament,” Salcedo said.