Men’s soccer looks for 2nd Pac-12 win going into last half of conference play
Sophomore midfielder Riley Ferch picked up two assists in UCLA men’s soccer’s 3-3 tie with California on Oct. 13. Ferch leads the team in assists with seven, but has only started in four of the Bruins’ 12 regular season games. (Liz Ketcham/Photo editor)
By Jared Tay
Oct. 16, 2019 1:10 a.m.
The Bruins have made their first cycle through Pac-12 competition.
After an upcoming nonconference matchup against the University of San Diego (9-1-1, 1-0-0 West Coast Conference) on Thursday, UCLA men’s soccer (5-5-2, 1-3-1 Pac-12) will enter the second half of conference play Oct. 24. The Bruins earned just four points across their first five Pac-12 games, slotting them in at second to last place in the conference standings.
“We’re really excited to play everyone a second time,” said coach Ryan Jorden. “We know what everybody is, and we can firmly believe that we are capable of winning all five games and we understand how each team is. We can be better about counteracting what they are trying to do and implementing what we want to do.”
The Bruins were outscored 7-0 during their opening weekend of Pac-12 competition, conceding five goals to Washington on Sept. 22. Over the course of the conference schedule, the Huskies have tallied all 15 points in five Pac-12 games played, earning wins over every Pac-12 team.
They also lead the conference in goal differential, having scored 25 goals – tied for first in the Pac-12 – and only allowing six goals in 12 regular season games.
But redshirt senior defender Matthew Powell said the Bruins should be looking to put in a better performance when they face the Huskies at home.
“They had no business putting five (goals) in on us, to be completely honest,” Powell said. “They’re a quality side but they aren’t a five-goal side.”
The Bruins grabbed their lone win of the first half of Pac-12 play against San Diego State on the back of junior forward Milan Iloski’s five-goal surge. But in the following two conference games, the Bruins failed to tally another win.
Against Stanford, UCLA outshot the Cardinal 8-5, but dropped the fixture 1-0 for its third conference loss.
“We can definitely fix some things,” said sophomore midfielder Riley Ferch. “Stanford was unfortunate because we got scored on in the last five minutes, and Oregon State is a team that we can beat. Overall, I think we can beat any team in the conference, but it’s up to us if we want it enough.”
But both Jorden and Powell said the key to success as they face each Pac-12 rival for the second time this season will be the team’s ability to play a quality game for a full 90 minutes.
“It’s about putting in 90-minute performances where in some cases we have not,” Powell said. “We’ve conceded goals early and we’re chasing the game the rest of the match.”
UCLA has allowed the most goals in the Pac-12, which was further ballooned after its 3-3 draw to California on Oct. 13. Jorden said the Bruins had a chance to earn the win against the Golden Bears, but the chances for a victory were negated by untimely goals.
“(Against California), we were in two positions to win, Stanford we were in a position to win,” Jorden said. “I don’t think our guys will be daunted at all to try and lay down great performances the rest of the way.”
UCLA will host both Oregon State and Washington at Wallis Annenberg Stadium, after playing both teams away from home in September. The Bruins will conclude their regular season with a three-game road trip as they face the Bears, the Cardinal and the Aztecs.
Away from home, the Bruins have posted just one win – that result came against Cal State Northridge in nonconference action Sept. 15.
