Shades of 2023.

After losing 4-1 last season, No. 6 UCLA men’s soccer (2-1-1) was defeated 3-1 by Cal State Fullerton (2-3) again Thursday night at Wallis Annenberg Stadium. The game marked UCLA’s first loss and conceded goal this season.

The Bruin defensive line has been the squad’s strongest attribute this season – racking up three clean sheets in the same number of contests.

Thursday night, that narrative was flipped on its head. UCLA allowed the first goal shortly after the 11th minute when a poor clearance combined with a defensive breakdown led to a top-center shot from the six-yard box.

“We have to be more efficient in the backline when we are passing the ball together and we cannot get too casual,” said senior defender Pablo Greenlee.

Friday’s game also marked the fourth consecutive contest where coach Ryan Jorden alternated between junior goalkeeper Sam Joseph and sophomore goalkeeper Wyatt Nelson for the starting spot in net. Joseph – the Big Ten Men’s Soccer Goalkeeper of the Week – has yet to concede a goal and Nelson has logged one clean sheet.

Despite the three goals that Nelson conceded, Jorden said his performance Thursday night is hard to judge due to the circumstances of the goal.

“He (Nelson) has dealt with a penalty, he has dealt with a ball from distance that started from a counter,” Jorden said. “It is hard to judge. We didn’t concede many chances and we got three goals scored on us.”

While the Bruins faltered defensively, the lack of production from their offensive players is glaring. The Bruins starting front three – senior forward Andre Ochoa, graduate student midfielder/forward Sveinn Hauksson and redshirt senior Jose Contell – have yet to score a goal this season, despite the fact that Contell and Ochoa were two of the top-three point leaders in 2023.

The first traditional forward to score a goal came from junior forward Nikolai Rojel – his first goal as a Bruin after transferring from Wofford College. Less than five minutes into the second half, a ball from freshman midfielder Tamir Ratoviz gave Rojel the chance to slot it into the bottom right corner, cutting the deficit to one.

Despite overwhelmingly leading the shot category – 18 for UCLA and five for Fullerton – and taking three more corners, UCLA still ended up short.

“We had a lot of opportunities, I just think we need to get more people into the box,” Rojel said. “We had a lot of crosses today… I don’t know if we’re tired or we don’t believe in the cross, but we just need to get more people into the box.”

Unfortunately for the Bruins, a late sliding tackle from Nelson gave the Titans a penalty kick in the 52nd minute, allowing the Titans to take the 3-1 lead, sealing the Bruins’ fate.

The penalty kick was not the only contested decision made in the affair. Seven yellow cards were given out – three for UCLA and four for Fullerton.

“We are typically one of the least foul-committing teams in the country, typically top-10 in fewest fouls and typically similar when it comes to booking,” Jorden said. “He (the referee) booked us four times inside of 60 minutes and at the time in which he did it we only had fouled five times.”

UCLA will have a chance to bounce back Monday when it takes on No. 3 Denver at Wallis Annenberg Stadium.