Men’s soccer returns home to face 3rd ranked opponent in as many games

For the first time in 22 days, the Bruins are headed back to Westwood.

UCLA men’s soccer (1-3-1, 0-2-1 Pac-12) will face No. 8 Washington (5-1-0, 2-1-0) on Sunday afternoon at Wallis Annenberg Stadium after playing No. 10 Oregon State (6-0-0, 3-0-0) and No. 3 Stanford (5-0-0, 3-0-0) in two consecutive road matches.

“For the first time, we’re playing a ranked team at home,” said coach Ryan Jorden. “It’s exciting to be at home and not on the road for a contest against a top team. From our perspective, it’s just an opportunity to go out and showcase the growth and development that we’ve made over the course of the last two weeks.”

The Huskies previously defeated the Bruins 1-0 in an October 2019 match. Despite losing its last three games to Washington, UCLA can improve to a 31-18-4 all-time record with a victory.

The Bruins will be facing their third consecutive and fourth overall opponent ranked inside the top 15, as Washington is currently ranked eighth in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. UCLA’s past and future opponents currently average a .705 winning percentage, a figure that ranks second in the NCAA in strength of schedule.

Jorden said this tough schedule can provide opportunities for UCLA’s young core to develop.

“I think for us, as a young team right now, there is growth to be had every time out,” Jorden said. “We got a relatively young roster from an experiential standpoint. We’re starting a number of freshmen right now, and so we’re in a situation where we’re getting opportunities to grow and learn really rapidly.”

Junior midfielder Cody Sundquist also said the Bruins are capable of competing on the biggest stage.

“I personally believe we can beat any team in the nation if we go out and do what our potential is,” Sundquist said. “I don’t think we should look at (the schedule) in my personal opinion as rankings because I think a team that’s high up in the rankings can easily go on a run where they lose a bunch of games and they’re not ranked anymore. As long as we stick to our game plan and know what we can do, we’ll be able to compete and eventually be ranked.”

Even with nine starters returning, UCLA’s newcomers have made major offensive contributions to the team this season.

Entering the matchup with the Huskies, 63% of the Bruins’ points have been scored by players who were not regulars in last year’s lineup. Freshman forward Grayson Doody leads the team in scoring after notching his first career goal at Oregon State.

“Our newcomers have been really great for us this year,” said senior defender Ruben Soria. “A lot of young players have been playing serious minutes and making a serious impact, which is great. I think they’re all eager and buying into the culture we’re trying to build into the team. So, it’s great to see that the younger players are performing well.”

Junior goalkeeper Justin Garces also notched a season-high six saves in the loss at Stanford. Garces is leading the Pac-12 conference in saves per game with 4.0 and total saves with 20.

“(Garces) has an incredible impact on our team,” Sundquist said. “He’s usually there for the team, and he’s a player that we can all count on every single game to come out and play really well.”

UCLA will kick off its home action against Washington at 4 p.m. on Sunday.