UCLA men’s soccer team looks forward to rebound from NCAA loss

At the end of the second practice of the season on Aug. 13, the UCLA men’s soccer team went through a series of abdominal exercises, including sit-ups and planks, trying to develop strength to protect against the rigors of its upcoming soccer season.

Eight months earlier, the then-top-ranked Bruins had all seen their 2013 season end with a hard hit to their collective core: a double-overtime, penalty-kick loss to an unseeded Connecticut Huskies team in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Such a loss is hard to stomach, especially if it marks the end of a season.

“It’s a bitter taste you have in your mouth when you lose in a shootout. … You know, we’re the number one seed in the tournament, and to lose in the round of 16 in that fashion is disappointing,” said coach Jorge Salcedo.

Yet Salcedo called the season-ending loss an “impetus” for offseason practice, as the team quickly converted the sour taste of that defeat into motivational energy for offseason rebuilding.

“(The loss) definitely fueled my fire,” said junior midfielder Jordan Vale. “If you’ve been coming to training every day and you’ve been seeing all the (players) … from the winter and the spring quarter, how motivated they seemed, it’s a big turnaround.”

Now, after learning how to handle such a devastating loss, the team’s core group of returning players is one of its main strengths, Vale said.

“I’m really confident right now because we have a really core (group) of the starting 11 (returning) from last year,” said Vale, one of the team’s returning starters.

The Bruins have a total of seven players returning who started in at least half of the team’s games last year, including three standout seniors – goalkeeper Earl Edwards, a two-time team captain; defender Aaron Simmons and midfielder Leo Stolz, the 2013 Pac-12 Player of the Year.

“I think we have a little bit more experience (this year),” Salcedo said. “You know, Leo coming back after the very successful season last year is a bit of an anomaly as well, with how many times we’ve lost players to professional teams and to the MLS.”

With only three consistent starters gone from last year’s team, which was ranked in the top 10 for much of the year, UCLA enters the season ranked No. 4 in the country.

But the Bruins began each of the past two seasons ranked in the top 10, only to be eliminated in the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournament each year. So what makes this year’s team different?

“We had a good focus last year, but the concentration right now is amazing,” Vale said. “We’re looking at every aspect of our game right now – our eating … our hydration. (And our) fitness is really high.”

Awaiting fresh legs

As dialed in as the team claims to be, one of UCLA’s top recruits – forward Abu Danladi – had yet to show up to practice as of Aug. 13, wasn’t present at the team’s season-opening exhibition victory against Nebraska-Omaha on Tuesday and did not play in the team’s second exhibition game, which was a victory against the Los Angeles All-Stars on Saturday.

Following Aug. 13’s practice, Stolz speculated that Danladi, the 2013-2014 Gatorade Boys National High School Soccer Player of the Year from Dunn High School in Los Olivos, might decide to forego his collegiate eligibility and turn pro. However, Salcedo said that Danladi’s absence has been injury-related, and added that he expects the incoming freshman to play a big role on the UCLA team this season.

“He’s working through an injury, so he’ll be back soon, it’s just gonna take some time for him to get healthy,” Salcedo said. “(Playing professional is) not gonna be something that he does at this point. He’ll be here for the 2014 season and he’ll be an integral part of our team.”

Even without Danladi on the field for practice Aug. 13, the first thing that the reigning All-American Stolz mentioned in an interview after practice was how the rest of the freshmen in UCLA’s top-ranked recruit class had impressed him on the field.

“They all look pretty technical, and even their personalities seem to fit in pretty well onto the team,” Stolz said. “(The freshmen) will get a good amount of minutes, each of them.”

If UCLA’s first two exhibition-game victories are anything to go by, at least three freshmen will see some playing time, with defender Chase Gasper likely leading the way. Gasper, who ranked No. 33 on College Soccer News’ list of the top 150 recruits for 2014, started against Nebraska-Omaha and led all freshmen with 45 minutes played in each exhibition match.

So, as much as the Bruins have their group of returning players to fall back on, the incoming freshmen may end up playing as big of a role in the team’s standing as any of the veterans. And to Vale, having the freshmen come in to challenge the incumbent starters for playing time only strengthens the team’s foundation.

“Right now, all the freshmen are capable of replacing (any) one of the starters,” Vale said. “And that provides a lot of competition within the group to be at the best of their game. … It provides depth.”

With a blend of talented freshmen and battle-tested veterans constituting the team’s collective core, UCLA heads into its Aug. 29 season opener at No. 11 Wake Forest with the goal of being the last team standing at the end of the season.

“(The national championship), that’s our main goal,” Stolz said.