Men’s soccer practices with the pros during bye week for season finale

A bye week can provide needed time for rest and recuperation in the middle of the season and UCLA men’s soccer received that gift over the past week.

But sometimes a bye can provide a little too much of a break – to the point that it breaks a team’s rhythm.

By the time the No. 6 Bruins (10-4-4, 5-2-2 Pac-12) host the San Diego State Aztecs (7-11-0, 1-8-0) on Sunday afternoon, it will have been nearly a full 14 days since their last game, which was a 1-0 loss to Cal on Nov. 2.

After such a long time away from the game, it begs the question: How does UCLA keep from coming out of the gates flat in the season finale on Sunday, with a Pac-12 championship on the line?

The Bruins have responded to that potential problem not only by scrimmaging more during practice over the past week, but by scrimmaging against professional players, according to junior midfielder/defender Grady Howe.

“I mean (Wednesday) we played two-times 30 scrimmage, brought some pros in from leagues that are done,” Howe said. “It helped raise the level a little bit.”

Some of the professional players who participated in the Bruins’ practice scrimmages over the past week were defender Amobi Okugo of the Philadelphia Union, forward Caleb Calvert of Chivas USA and forward Edson Buddle of the Colorado Rapids, Howe said.

“(The professional players) push you, you can learn from them,” said junior forward Larry Ndjock. “They can teach you different stuff, how to behave in certain situations.”

Though Ndjock will not be able to immediately translate what he learned from the professionals – he will be serving a one-game suspension for a yellow card he received vs. Cal – Howe will be on the pitch.

Howe said that the added competition from the professionals has helped him prepare for what he calls “the most important game of the year” on Sunday against San Diego State.

The Aztecs are far from a professional-level squad, ranking last in the Pac-12 standings, but the Bruins can’t afford to overlook a team that they beat by a narrow 1-0 margin earlier this year. UCLA needs a win over San Diego State if it is to claim sole possession of the Pac-12 crown, and it will also need Stanford to either lose or tie on Sunday in order for that hypothetical to become a reality.

The Bruins enter the final game of the season one point behind the Cardinal in the conference standings, meaning a tie would at best give UCLA only a share of the conference title, and a loss would immediately knock them out of the conference title race.

Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.