Fernando Monge will play a big conference match on the road against Washington this weekend.
Seattle native Fernando Monge is returning home with a critical Pac-12 conference match against Washington forthcoming.
And with UCLA’s history of success at Washington’s field in Seattle, it will be more than just the redshirt senior midfielder/forward that will be making himself at home Monday.
The Bruins are unbeaten in nine of their last 10 games on the road against the Huskies, including eight wins during that stretch. The last loss the team suffered in Seattle was back in 2006, a 2-0 defeat.
“It’s always a special feeling going home,” Monge said. “With their fans and their environment and stuff like that, obviously UW is doing well this year.”
As for the key to the team’s success in Washington, Monge believes it’s pretty simple.
“We know it’s a tough environment to play and we know they’re going to be ready so we’ve just got to focus, and I feel like in the past we’ve done that well,” he said.
Streaking
No. 7 UCLA will play at Oregon State on Friday, followed by a match against Washington on Monday.
The Bruins (9-2-2, 4-1-0 Pac-12) have a 15-game unbeaten streak on the road dating back to last season. However, UCLA’s nearly two-year long unbeaten streak in conference play was snapped earlier this year in a home loss to Washington.
This week, the team will get its opportunity to return the favor.
“It’s something that I am proud of, because winning on the road in college soccer is not easy and we want to continue to do that,” coach Jorge Salcedo said. “We unfortunately had a streak broken earlier in the year, and we’ve started a new streak in conference and want to continue to take each half, half-by-half, and each game, game-by-game.”
On the flipside
In the home loss against the Huskies on Oct. 8, the Bruins struggled to defend the visitor’s unorthodox long throw-in, sometimes referred to as a “flip throw-in.”
On a ball out of bounds, a Washington player would take the ball with two hands, plant it on the ground, flip forward and release the ball, giving it extra velocity and arch and sending it dangerously into the penalty box.
Both goals conceded by UCLA in the 2-1 loss came following the throw-in. Since their last game was on Oct. 12, the Bruins have had two weeks to prepare for the upcoming road matches, including the particularly troublesome throw-in.
Junior defender Joe Sofia stressed the importance of winning headers and clearances against the Huskies.
“We’ve got a great goalkeeper behind us so if the ball does go over our heads we have him, but every single player needs to fight and win their battle in order to get the ball out so they don’t score on the long throw-in,” Sofia said.
Although Salcedo said it was difficult to simulate the throw-in in practice, the team used a goalkeeper to send in a side-footed volley that the coach said is similar to the throw-in.
“It’s just having the right mentality, being organized, being first to the ball, being prepared to win the second ball and clearing the ball from the box,” Salcedo said. “It’s more of a mentality than it is a tactical or position thing.”