Men’s soccer looks for victory against UC Irvine in first away game
UCLA men’s soccer will take on UC Irvine on Friday with a chance to climb to above .500. Redshirt senior defender Ben Reveno, who started all 30 games across his first two seasons, started the first two games of this season as a substitute. (David Rimer/Assistant Photo editor)
Men's soccer
UC Irvine
Fri., 7 p.m.
Wallis Annenberg Stadium
Pac-12.com
By Lexi Grimes
Sept. 3, 2021 2:06 p.m.
After recording both their first win and first loss of the season, the Bruins are preparing for their first game away from Wallis Annenberg Stadium.
UCLA men’s soccer (1-1) will be on the road for the first time this season to face off against UC Irvine (0-2) on Friday. The Bruins hold the advantage over the Anteaters as of late with a record of 3-1-1 over their last five meetings. UCLA’s one loss during this time, however, occurred during its most recent game at Anteater Stadium.
Redshirt senior defender Ben Reveno said the Bruins are focusing on the game in front of them and not on their mistakes from the past.
“We just have to keep going forward,” Reveno said. “Just keep pushing forward, and we can get the result.”
Last season, UCLA was unable to win any of its six games away from Wallis Annenberg Stadium. However, the Bruins have 10 new players this year and brought in the country’s No. 4 recruiting class this season.
Coach Ryan Jorden said he is confident the new additions will help boost the team’s performance.
“We have lots of good, young players,” Jorden said. “They are able to go out and have a good performance.”
UCLA played its first game of the season with the new players Aug. 26, losing 2-1 to Lipscomb. However, the Bruins were able to bounce back Sunday by securing a 2-1 overtime win against San Francisco.
This is the team’s third 1-1 start in three years. In the previous two seasons, the Bruins failed to make the NCAA tournament.
However, with 15 games still remaining, UCLA is far from giving up hope, said sophomore defender Tommy Silva.
Silva, who scored Sunday’s game-winning goal, said while the Bruins are enthused by their recent win, they are already looking forward to the rest of the season, with their current focus on the game against the Anteaters.
“It’s a great feeling,” Silva said. “But at the end of the day, it’s just one game in a long season, and so we’re going to focus on the next one now.”
Jorden said one of the main areas of focus is creating more chances to make shots. In the loss to Lipscomb, the Bruins had six shots to the Bisons’ nine. However, in the win Sunday, UCLA recorded 10 shots while San Francisco only recorded three.
“Our step is going to be creating chances,” Jorden said. “That’s going to probably be an approach that a lot of teams have, and so our job is to be patient enough to try to break you down and try to take the first opportunity to try to stick the ball in the back of the net.”
UCLA will kickoff against UC Irvine on Friday at 7 p.m.
