Men’s soccer heads north with Pac-12 title hopes at stake

After UCLA and California last faced off in mid-October, the consensus among UCLA players and coaches alike was that the better team lost.

The Bruins controlled possession and created clearer scoring opportunities, but they were ultimately undone by fluky deflections and a Cal golden goal in the first minute of overtime. This weekend, the No. 4 UCLA men’s soccer team will hope to set the record straight as it heads north for a rematch against No. 1 California.

“We played very well against Cal at home, I think we were unfortunate to lose that game,” said junior midfielder Leo Stolz. “I’m excited to play against them again and hopefully beat them this time; it would be good to get a little revenge.”

UCLA (8-3-4, 3-1-3 Pac-12) will first have to take care of Stanford (7-4-2, 1-3-1) today before the highly anticipated matchup with Cal (10-1-2, 4-0-1) on Sunday. Both games are must-wins for the Bruins if they hope to have any chance at a third-straight Pac-12 title.

While the stakes will be equally high in both matches, the styles of each opponent could not be more different.

“Stanford is a grind-it-out, fight-for-everything type of team. They have athletic forwards that make it difficult for other teams because they put a lot of pressure on you,” said coach Jorge Salcedo. “Cal is a different team in that they possess the ball a little bit more; they’re not as physical, they’re not as aggressive.”

UCLA escaped from its last meeting against Stanford, winning 1-0 on an 89th-minute goal. Despite beating Stanford and losing to Cal during the first round of games, some players actually believe they match up better with the Golden Bears because of the aforementioned styles of the two teams.

“Stanford’s a pretty physical team, but against Cal it’s more of a soccer game in terms of passing and movement,” said sophomore midfielder Jordan Vale. “I would say it’s slightly more enjoyable playing against Cal than against Stanford.”

If recent history is any indication of how the weekend will go, then the Bruins have reason to be encouraged; UCLA has beaten both Cal and Stanford on the road each of the last two years, with its winning streak at Cal going back all the way to 2008.

While history favors the Bruins, coming away with two wins will be difficult. Cal is still ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation, and Stanford needs to win to improve its postseason hopes.

“Stanford is going to be very desperate to get a win,” Salcedo said. “We’re fourth in RPI and they know that if they can get a win against us that gives them a good chance of getting in the (postseason) tournament.”