Four second-half goals key men’s soccer win over Sacramento State in second round of NCAA Tournament

It was a tale of two halves for the UCLA men’s soccer team on Sunday night, as it hosted Sacramento State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Bruins started off apprehensively and were kept on the defensive side right off the bat, with the Hornets firing off four shots during the first 12 minutes.

After halftime, however, it was as if a brand new squad had taken the field, as the Bruins (15-4-1) scored four goals en route to a 4-1 thrashing of the Hornets (11-5-7).

“At the beginning of the game, I think our guys were a little bit nervous,” coach Jorge Salcedo said.

Men’s soccer defeats San Diego State, 3-1, in regular-season finale, awaits NCAA bracket announcement

Often times when teams aren’t able to control every aspect of their destiny, they tend to fail to compete at the highest level.

When the California Bears clinched the Pac-10 title with a 3-2 victory against Stanford last week, things could have gone south for UCLA with a lackadaisical effort.

“Unfortunately, even though our record is outstanding, we hoped that we could (control our destiny) after Thursday,” coach Jorge Salcedo said.

But for captain junior Andy Rose, UCLA had more to prove and always something to play for.

“Obviously, the fact that we couldn’t win the Pac-10 was in the back of our mind, but to be honest, we’re just playing for that top seed,” he said.

With the NCAA Selection Committee revealing the seedings this afternoon, UCLA could have easily overlooked a San Diego State team that has given the Bruins some trouble in the past.

Men’s soccer aims to finish season on strong note against San Diego State

Fresh off of two vital road victories in Washington and Oregon this past weekend, the UCLA men’s soccer team heads down south to play in its final match of the regular season against San Diego State on Saturday.

UCLA is currently riding a three-game winning streak, with all of the victories coming on the road.