Men’s soccer looks to strengthen Pac-12 play after 2 straight conference losses
Senior forward Constantinos Michaelides wards off two defenders. Michaelides leads the Bruins in points, with seven total this season. (Anika Chakrabarti/Photo editor)
By Lexi Grimes
Oct. 6, 2022 4:24 p.m.
With the second-highest shot percentage in the conference, the Bruins are capitalizing when it counts. However, their goal total is not reflecting this fact.
UCLA men’s soccer (5-4-1, 1-2-1 Pac-12) is averaging 1.20 goals per game compared to 1.74 last year and has endured four shutouts thus far, doubling last year’s two in the entirety of its 19-game stint.
Coach Ryan Jorden said he is pleased with the effort the team is displaying.
“Look, we just didn’t find the back of the net,” Jorden said. “But I couldn’t be more proud of the intensity and the quality that we showed.”
While the Bruins are able to find the back of the net on the shots they do take, their 89-shot total is less than the 102 that their opponents have recorded.
This figure also marks the lowest shot total among all Pac-12 teams, despite the fact that half the conference has played fewer games than the Bruins. For comparison, No. 1 Washington, who is also at the top of the Pac-12 standings, has already recorded 172 shots this season, while No. 5 Stanford has 159 shots in one fewer game than UCLA. Despite these large discrepancies, Jorden remains unconcerned.
“I don’t worry about the shot total,” Jorden said. “I worry about the chance creation. We put ourselves in situations where I think everybody here would have said we created enough chances.”
Sophomore goalkeeper Nate Crockford said the Bruins, coming off two straight conference losses, are working together to put the last two games behind them and focus on coming back stronger for the remainder of the season.
“I think our team’s working well together right now,” Crockford said. “We all care about each other, and you can see it on the field. We’ve had a tough row of results right now, but I think that we will rebound and keep going, and I think that’s a testament to our team’s culture.”
UCLA will be put to the test Friday, with the opportunity to improve to .500 in Pac-12 play in a matchup against San Diego State at Wallis Annenberg Stadium at 7 p.m.
