Nothing would be better for the UCLA men’s soccer team
than a second consecutive weekend sweep.
It happened last week against the Bay Area schools, and the
Bruins are more than confident they can mimic that same
performance.
But if there is anything coach Jorge Salcedo and the Bruins can
take into today’s rematch against No. 17 Stanford at Drake
Stadium and into Sunday’s tango with No. 18 Cal, it’s
that they can’t let up.
“In the first half both teams had some good chances where
they could’ve scored,” Salcedo said. “We
don’t want to give them any opportunities. No chance at goal.
That’s our goal.”
Last weekend up north, the No. 7 Bruins (7-2-2, 3-1-0 Pac-10)
recorded a pair of shutouts against those same two teams. After
dismantling the two conference foes, 3-0 over Cal and 2-0 at
Stanford, UCLA jumped up 12 spots from its No.19 ranking a weekend
ago.
A major factor in the Bruins’ success has been senior
forward Mike Enfield, who leads the Pac-10 in scoring with eight
goals.
After blistering the Cardinal ((6-2-5, 1-1-2) and the Bears
(8-2-2, 1-2-1) for three goals and an assist a week ago, the
Bruins’ main offensive weapon gauges success by the overall
outcome rather than meaningless statistics.
“All the team can ask for is two more wins,” Enfield
said. “I don’t care about who scores. What’s most
important is that we win. If I can help, that’s great. I just
want to win games.”
UCLA has been awfully consistent against this weekend’s
opponents. The Bruins lead the all-time series with Cal, 29-7-3,
and Stanford, 31-2-4, and currently hold a six-game winning streak
against the Cardinal.
However, one aspect of UCLA’s game still remains a
question mark. Strangely enough, the Bruins’ scoring woes
still exist, predominantly in the first half where the offense has
been practically nonexistent. UCLA has managed to score only five
of its 18 goals in the first half.
“It’s hard to score goals early,” Enfield
said. “Goals come at strange times. We just have to stay
consistent. Then the goals will come.”
Among those waiting for the goals to come is forward Chad
Barrett. Leading the team with 3.55 shots a game, Barrett, the
Pac-10 co-Freshman of the Year last season, has only managed to
score one goal this season. However, the sophomore is not at all
deterred from the drought.
“I’m happy with my game,” Barrett said.
“Obviously the goals will come for me and when you go
through a slump, sometimes you think too much.”
“I’d rather win an NCAA title than score ten goals.
The team is meshing too good right now without me scoring. I
don’t worry about stats. They don’t mean anything.
It’s childish, I think.”
But if anything, stats will be everything this weekend, and the
Bruins hope that this is the week the offensive stats will fill the
boxscores.