Men’s soccer to face critical Pac-10 contenders

For six consecutive games, the UCLA men’s soccer team avoided defeat either by winning or drawing.

That unbeaten streak came to an end in last Sunday’s 2-1 loss against Stanford in Palo Alto. Tonight, UCLA (3-4-5, 1-1-1 Pac-10) looks to rebound against Pac-10 leader Washington (7-3-1, 2-0-1 Pac-10) at Drake Stadium.

But playing at home may not prove to be an advantage for the Bruins. Last season, the road team emerged victorious as the teams split their two-game series. A Bruin victory tonight would pull them into a tie with the Huskies.

UCLA will conclude the weekend with a match against Oregon State (3-6-3, 0-2-1 Pac-10) on Sunday. The Bruins have had recent success against the Beavers, winning the last five meetings.

Coach Jorge Salcedo knows the weekend series holds great implications for the conference standings.

“It’s a huge weekend,” Salcedo said. “Winning two games this weekend will put us in first place in the Pac-10, depending on whether San Diego State wins both of their games as well.”

San Diego State and No. 13 California are currently tied for second place with five points each, and UCLA is right behind them with four points.

Washington has been playing well as of late. The Huskies, ranked No. 23 by Soccer America and the recipients of 36 votes in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, are currently sitting on a six-game unbeaten streak.

To play well this weekend, the team will have to play good defense ““ something they have been working on in practice.

“We worked on getting our fullbacks forward, getting them into the attack and our defending in the box,” Salcedo said.

“I think our defending against Stanford inside the box wasn’t the best, and we’ve been working on that this week.”

Though the Bruins are getting healthier, Salcedo said junior midfielder Kyle Nakazawa and freshman forward Fernando Monge are questionable for the weekend.

“Around this time of the year, we always have a couple of knicks and knacks,” Salcedo said.

“(Nakazawa and Monge) are both important attacking players that really help make a difference in the game,” he said.

Despite these minor injuries, Salcedo remains confident in his squad.

“We’re excited to be back home this weekend,” Salcedo said.

“The last few games at home, I think we’ve played well attacking-wise, and now we’re looking forward to not only scoring goals, but not giving up goals.”

For senior forward Maxwell Griffin, one of the biggest concerns for the team is matching the intensity of opponents in conference play.

“For this week, I think we just need to work on the intensity,” Griffin said. “Everybody working hard and working together is what I think is going to bring success. These are two huge games, and our main goal is to win Pac-10.”

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