Men’s soccer remains mired in early-season struggles
Junior midfielder Felix Vobejda said that the Bruins are optimistic things will turn around after a rough start to the 2015 season. Unranked UCLA has lost four of its last five games, falling all the way from No. 1 in the country. (Owen Emerson/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Tanner Walters
Sept. 25, 2015 7:05 a.m.
The Bruins have made plenty of history this season, and they desperately want to put an end to it.
The early-season free fall began when then-No. 1 UCLA men’s soccer dropped a pair of road games to Maryland and Georgetown. Returning home, the team was upset by unranked UC Riverside for the first time in program history before – most recently – falling to unranked UC Santa Barbara for the first time in Westwood after a stunning second-half collapse.
With four losses in its first six games, the 2015 squad is on pace to shatter the losing records of every men’s soccer team in recent memory. Since 2008, UCLA has never lost more than four games in a single season.
So, with just six games under their belts, the Bruins sit on the precipice of history.
Coach Jorge Salcedo and his staff, however, are just waiting to see small changes.
“(We need to) find a way to start putting 90 minutes together,” Salcedo said. “We had a great second half against Cal Poly, we had a decent first half against Santa Barbara and a poor second half. We’ve yet to have a complete game.”
Following UCLA’s four-goal second-half outburst over Cal Poly, sophomore forward Seyi Adekoya also stressed the importance of playing both halves, but that very problem reared its head during the UCSB game just three days later.
“I know we’re tired – we just played two games over the weekend – but we gotta work,” Adekoya said. “We gotta work on the little things.”
The sophomore has been one of the few bright spots early in the 2015 season, pacing the team with three goals – all coming in last weekend’s games.
The Bruins as a whole, however, have been plagued by inconsistency this fall. Out of 10 total UCLA goals, eight have come in the second half. That second-half production, however, hasn’t stopped the team from getting shut down some nights, including Monday’s fiasco against Santa Barbara.
Coming out of halftime tied 1-1 with the Gauchos, the Bruin offense fell silent while the defense fell apart, allowing three goals in the span of 10 minutes.
“Most of the goals we’ve given up this season were really weak and shouldn’t happen,” said junior midfielder Felix Vobejda. “We need to work on this, and it can only get better.”
Answers to the Bruins’ early-season struggles are hard to come by, but – with history on their heels – Vobejda said that they are optimistic things will turn around.
UCLA concludes its nonconference schedule this weekend against two unranked opponents: Virginia Commonwealth and UC Irvine. Beginning next week, the schedule only gets tougher as the Bruins begin Pac-12 play.
