Men’s soccer to face Oregon State in stretch of 3 games against ranked opponents

The tests keep coming for the Bruins.

UCLA men’s soccer (1-1-1, 0-0-1 Pac-12) will travel to Paul Lorenz Field to take on No. 13 Oregon State (4-0-0, 1-0-0) on Saturday for its second ranked matchup of the season and the first of three consecutive ranked matches against Pac-12 opponents.

Since coach Terry Boss took over at the helm for the Beavers in 2018, the team has had back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2003 and its 4-0 start to the 2021 season is just the second time the team has managed to win its first four games.

The last time the two teams faced off in October 2019, UCLA outshot Oregon State 15-5 and forced five saves from its keeper. Nonetheless, the Bruins lost the match 3-2, marking the first time on record the team lost twice to the Beavers in a season.

“The Pac-12, I think year in and year out, is rated, as you know, one of the top two conferences in the country from a standards standpoint, and so certainly, we’re talking about having a very, very high level of competition,” said coach Ryan Jorden. “Obviously, we’re playing good teams. I mean, that’s the benefit of being at UCLA, is the benefit of getting a chance to compete against topsides, and so we’re excited about taking the next step on Saturday.”

For UCLA, the matchup against Oregon State will be the first of three potentially tough matchups. Following its game Saturday, the team will travel to No. 4 Stanford before returning home for a matchup against No. 22 Washington.

Historically, the Bruins have been successful against the Beavers with a record of 28-7-3 since Oct. 13, 2000. But in six of the seven games UCLA has lost, it was away in Corvallis. Redshirt sophomore defender AJ Vasquez said the team needs to stay true to its identity and play its style of play on Saturday, away or not.

“We play the same way that we usually play. I think coach has really emphasized the fact that we have an identity, and that identity is … we want to control the game,” Vasquez said. “That is something that coach sticks by and I think that is something that we all kind of stick by, so it’s going to be fun, and I think we’re going to try and just keep the ball and try and control what we can control.”

In their first three games, the Bruins have struggled offensively compared to past seasons, but the team has excelled when it comes to keeping the ball out of its own net. Only twice since 2000 has a UCLA team conceded fewer goals in its first three games.

Ordinarily, the Bruins would have up to 10 nonconference matches to start the season, but not this year. With the COVID-19 pandemic postponing and cutting short the season, UCLA has two non-Pac-12 games scheduled.

Jorden said for a team with 11 new players, an early conference schedule has posed some unique challenges.

“There were no exhibitions granted this year in the scheduling process, which is challenging because the exhibitions allow for a couple things to happen. First of all, you get to play more players because you’re not worried about the result the same way,” Jorden said. “Second of all, you have an opportunity to build the team in the preparation. And you can do that in those nonconference games.”

Sophomore midfielder Luke Bone, who was injured last season and unable to play in the team’s Pac-12 games, said he definitely noticed a difference in the level of its conference games, but the team needs to focus on itself.

“Playing in the San Diego (State) game, you can definitely tell the difference of the competition and the fight,” Bone said “Last year’s last year. And this year’s a new team. And so we’re just worrying about us and not really much about our opponents. If we do our thing right within the team, then we should be good.”

UCLA will face Oregon State at 1 p.m. on Saturday.