The UCLA men’s soccer team’s 2011 season started in just about the same way its 2010 season ended; on Saturday, like last year, the Bruins suffered a disappointing but not altogether shocking loss to the Louisville Cardinals in Kentucky.
But unlike the nine-goal thriller of an NCAA Tournament quarterfinal match in which UCLA lost in the final moments, the No. 2 Bruins’ 2-0 defeat in their season opener featured considerably less in the way of dramatics.
“We gave away two very poor goals,” UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo said. “The goals weren’t from their creativity or them breaking us down.”
UCLA junior defender/midfielder Ryan Hollingshead found the back of the net in the sixth minute ““ unfortunately, it was the wrong net. A communication breakdown between Hollingshead and redshirt senior goalkeeper Brian Rowe led to an early own goal, and the Bruins found themselves down early despite dominating possession.
“The own goal was a comedy of errors,” Salcedo said.
Disaster struck again in No. 1 Louisville’s favor shortly after halftime. Louisville All-American senior forward Colin Rolfe capitalized on another mistake by the UCLA defense to net the final goal of the game just two minutes after the restart, and try as they might, the Bruins couldn’t find an answer.
Despite the loss, Salcedo remained upbeat following the game.
“I don’t think the score was indicative of how the game (played out),” he said. “It’s our first game. We’ll get better and learn from this. A lot of guys had some good performances.”
Senior midfielder Andy Rose, the Bruins’ captain, drew special praise from his coach for his neat passing and aerial prowess. Two forwards, sophomore Victor Chavez and redshirt junior Fernando Monge, also played their way into Salcedo’s praises.
Salcedo also got a first look at three of his new players Saturday ““ junior transfer Ryan Lee (Ohio State), sophomore Victor Munoz (Iona College) and freshman Reed McKenna all played considerable minutes in the fixture.
“The new guys put in some good performances,” Salcedo said, before adding, “I think they have some better days ahead of them as well.”
The Bruins may have suffered an early-season setback, but road games against Santa Clara and UC Davis over the upcoming weekend should do wonders to boost their confidence in time for their home opener against Saint Mary’s on Sept. 9.
Compiled by Daniel Khayat, Bruin Sports reporter.