Friday, March 29, 2024

AdvertiseDonateSubmit
NewsSportsArtsOpinionThe QuadPhotoVideoIllustrationsCartoonsGraphicsThe StackPRIMEEnterpriseInteractivesPodcastsBruinwalkClassifieds

UCLA men’s soccer to navigate 1st postseason tournament under coach Ryan Jorden

No. 22 UCLA men’s soccer coach Ryan Jorden (left) looks on as freshman forward Aaron Edwards (right) hugs Oregon State goalkeeper Adrian Fernandez (center) during the two teams’ matchup Nov. 7. Thursday will mark the beginning of Jorden’s first tournament run with the Bruins since joining the team in 2019. (Lauren Kim/Daily Bruin)

By Shane Smith

Nov. 16, 2021 6:49 p.m.

The Bruins are back in the bracket.

After a third-place finish in the Pac-12, No. 22 UCLA men’s soccer (10-6-1, 5-4-1 Pac-12) will return to the NCAA men’s soccer tournament for the first time under coach Ryan Jorden, drawing UC Santa Barbara (12-4-4, 6-1-2 Big West) in the first round. The Pac-12 also holds the top two overall seeds in the tournament in Oregon State and Washington.

The Bruins finished the 2021 regular season with three or more goals in back-to-back games for the first time since 2019, featuring a 3-2 win over the top-seeded Beavers.

The Gauchos finished the campaign with their first Big West title since 2010 and recorded one loss over their final 13 games.

Thursday will mark the third time the two University of California schools will face off in the tournament. The first meeting in 2006 saw an unseeded UCSB defeat No. 8 seed UCLA to earn its second Division I national championship in any sport in school history. The Bruins got their revenge a few years later in 2009, defeating the Gauchos 2-1 and eliminating them in the round of 16.

Although it will be his first postseason experience at the helm of UCLA, Jorden is no stranger to the NCAA tournament – or to first-round wins against Big West opponents. University of the Pacific appeared in three straight tournaments under Jorden, defeating a Big West opponent in the first round each year from 2016 to 2018.

Jorden said the Bruins’ quality of opponents throughout the regular season has prepared them for postseason play.

“As a conference, the RPI was number one in the country,” Jorden said. “We’ve played top teams. We’ve beat top teams, and so our job is to make sure they focus on the task at hand.”

Since losing to Portland in its last tournament appearance in 2018, UCLA has changed coaches and endured consecutive sub-.500 seasons. In 2021, however, the Bruins have managed their highest win total in three years and their highest under Jorden.

Redshirt senior midfielder Andrew Paoli – one of the few players remaining from the UCLA squad that reached the NCAA tournament in 2018 – said the team has come a long way within the last calendar year.

“From where we started to the beginning of spring to now, we are a much more complete and well-polished team,” Paoli said. “We’ve done a really good job learning how to play with each other, and we had a couple good additions to the team in the fall.”

Sophomore defender Tommy Silva, who led the Bruins with six goals on the season and earned Pac-12 Player of the Week on Monday following his multi-goal performance against San Diego State, added he is proud that UCLA will get a chance to host a tournament game and of the team’s growth in 2021.

“It was a difficult year for sure,” Silva said. “I’m really happy, really proud of the team, but I know we can do more, which is why I’m looking forward to Thursday.”

Share this story:FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Shane Smith | Sports contributor
Smith is currently a contributor on the beach volleyball beat. He was previously a contributor on the men's soccer beat.
Smith is currently a contributor on the beach volleyball beat. He was previously a contributor on the men's soccer beat.
COMMENTS
Featured Classifieds
More classifieds »
Related Posts