It is hard to define the Bruins’ start to life in the Big Ten.

UCLA men’s soccer (3-2-2, 1-1-0 Big Ten) has overcome three ranked opponents and tied then-No. 3 Denver, all while keeping clean sheets throughout. But both times the Bruins conceded, they fell heavily – something coach Ryan Jorden will be hoping to avoid in Saturday’s game against No. 16 Michigan (5-0-2, 1-0-1) at Wallis Annenberg Stadium.

Jorden said he was unfazed by the manner of his team’s 4-1 loss against then-No. 8 Wisconsin, and he is looking for his team to respond positively and get back to winning ways.

“People’s attention is always heightened when you’ve had a setback,” Jorden said. “It gives us an opportunity.”

Jorden added that his defense needs to prevent crosses more efficiently.

“They (Wisconsin) put us under an immense amount of pressure, and (we) didn’t probably handle it right in a few moments and obviously didn’t get some balls clear or block crosses that we needed to try to deal with,” Jorden said.

While Jorden has largely rotated his squad, the defense has largely remained constant, with senior defender and team captain Pietro Grassi playing every minute of the 2024 campaign and graduate student defender Nicholas Cavallo only missing seven minutes. Junior midfielder Tarun Karumanchi has also started every game this season, clocking the team’s third-most minutes.

Last season, now-sophomore goalkeeper Wyatt Nelson and now-junior goalkeeper Sam Joseph got eight and 10 starts, respectively. This year, however, Joseph appears to have taken the starting berth, playing each of the last three games for the Bruins – including both conference matches.

The Wisconsin game was difficult for Joseph to adjust to, Jorden said, adding that his team also did not do itself any favors by getting trapped playing out from the back.

“He’d had a really great run of four shutouts,” Jorden said. “The numbers were very flattering, and he was in a tough environment tonight.”

Michigan has made the NCAA tournament eight times in its 24-year program history and finished third in the Big Ten tournament last year.

Now, the Wolverines – who have never faced the Bruins – come into Saturday with an unbeaten record, though they have yet to play on the road and have only played once against a ranked opponent. The game also represents the farthest the team has traveled in more than 10 years.

Though the Bruins have already played at Wallis Annenberg this season, this will be their first game in Westwood since undergraduate students moved into housing for fall quarter, potentially making the game atmosphere livelier than any games so far this season.

Contributing reports by Sam Mulick, Daily Bruin senior staff.