Men’s soccer has much to prove after narrow 2-1 USF exhibition win

A lot of expectations surround UCLA men’s soccer this season. The team’s many deep postseason runs recently, coupled with a No. 1 ranking from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, have singled the Bruins out as a title contender.

UCLA’s two exhibition matches, however, showed that the team still has a lot to prove after drawing with the Mexican U-17 National Team and barely beating the University of San Francisco 2-1.

“(Exhibition matches) are really important in terms of just having a better understanding of what the group is going to look like and what certain individuals are going to look like in certain parts of the field,” said coach Jorge Salcedo.

The Dons owned the first 25 minutes of Saturday’s matchup with aggressive offense and tight defense. It looked as if the Bruins weren’t going to be able to get it going in the opening period until senior forward Larry Ndjock broke through USF’s back line. Goalkeeper Ryan Buckingham came off his line in an attempt to fend off the attack, but Ndjock was able to get a shot off before the two collided.

“I saw that the space in behind their defense was open and I just asked for the ball,” Ndjock said. “It was enough to get it before the keeper and I touched it into the goal.”

Ndjock and the opposing goalkeeper were shaken up on the play, but both returned to the game.

USF took seven shots in the first half to UCLA’s eight, whereas in the second period the Dons shot once while the Bruins dominated with 10 attempts on goal. The Dons’ energy all but disappeared, with the Bruins penetrating their defense much more easily than in the first half.

Despite the lethargic effort following halftime, USF managed to even the score with eight minutes remaining in regulation with a score off of a corner kick. Having lost its focus, a once-dominant UCLA was faced with yet another tie game.

That was until just two minutes later when sophomore midfielder William Cline scored a smooth shot from the left of the box off a Ndjock assist into the back of the net over the Don’s goalkeeper.

“The season starts in a week from now … so we just had to play well and get our team going, get the rhythm going,” Cline said.

With a 35-man roster heading into next week’s season opener, the Bruins’ next challenge lies in finalizing a lineup. UCLA has the nation’s top recruiting class in addition to only losing six members from last year’s NCAA title runner-up squad.

“The depth of the squad is definitely different to most years,” Cline said. “We have (35) players and a lot of talent, so the competition is good. Everyone is fighting hard to get a spot on the team.”