Soccer team plays a new part

While watching a soccer game on television in the Morgan Center, the UCLA men’s soccer team was about to learn of an opportunity that would land it on the big screen as well.

The Bruins were told by their coaches that Lindsay Lohan had asked for a soccer team to be in her new music video.

“We didn’t really know what we’d be doing, but it seemed pretty cool,” junior midfielder Greg Folk said.

From there, the Bruins were taken to a studio where they found out more about exactly what they would be doing, and that it wasn’t actually a music video for Lindsay Lohan, but rather for 15-year-old JoJo, who is releasing her sophomore album, “The High Road.”

For junior defender Mike Zaher, that was just the beginning.

The Las Vegas native was asked to visit the studio and say some lines as part of a process that could potentially land him the lead male role in the video.

“They asked me to say some lines and thought that the producer might like me,” Zaher said.

A short while later, he found himself competing against actors for the role, with JoJo’s support.

“She told me she liked my video and that she wanted to get me the part,” Zaher said.

And that’s just what happened.

Soon, the members of the spring team were all on the set at East L.A. College, where they spent almost the entire day shooting for the pop artist’s video “Too Little Too Late.”

“We all had a lot of fun and everyone was really nice to us,” Folk said.

“When they found out that we couldn’t get paid for it, they were even nicer to us,” Zaher added, noting that the Bruins couldn’t accept any money for their time spent that day due to strict NCAA regulations.

However, the players didn’t find it as uptight and intense as they thought it might be at first, instead finding the task to be exciting.

Zaher’s video shoots didn’t end at the soccer field, as he found himself traveling to Universal Studios and a house located just off Highway 10 with JoJo, whom the team found to be mature beyond her years.

He played the role of a boyfriend who mistreated his girlfriend and missed a goal in a soccer game, only to realize that she hadn’t come to watch after he invited her. The shot was saved by none other than former UCLA goalkeeper Eric Conner.

But it is his teammate who has gotten the chance to pursue something that he never would have dreamt to be possible.

“It was the first time I had done anything like that,” Zaher said. “Who knows what could come out of this, but it has definitely sparked my interest.”

But before he got ahead of himself, he came to realize his immediate goals and how he got to where he is.

“If I get a chance, who knows, maybe I’ll give it another shot,” he said. “I could probably try it out after college, but for now I’m just sticking with the whole soccer gig.”