After a 5-1 rout – their largest victory of the season – the Bruins will gear up for a second Big Ten clash this week.

On Friday, UCLA men’s soccer (4-2-3, 1-1-1 Big Ten) continues conference play, hosting Michigan State (2-4-2, 1-1 Big Ten) at Wallis Annenberg Stadium.

With a new conference comes unfamiliar foes. The clash marks the first time in program history that the Bruins will meet the Spartans on the field. Amidst the unknown, however, is the familiar sense of home.

“Being on the road … you come home, and you can have a couple games in a row where you can have a little bit of rhythm and have some good performances,” said coach Ryan Jorden. “I thought our performance on Saturday was quite good … good to be able to get this tonight, and looking forward to a big contest on Friday.”

After playing 21 different players against Westmont, various new faces have even etched their names on the scoresheet in their debut season, including junior forward Nikolai Rojel and freshman defender Shakir Nixon.

Friday’s match also brings forth another opportunity to explore what Jorden’s roster has to offer. With fresh rotations anticipated across all positions, the Bruins continue to gear up for what lies ahead.

For sophomore forward Jacob Diaz, finishing the job off is a missing piece of the puzzle.

“Our main issue now is just turning those chances and the goals … It’s been getting better, like 5-1 today, and 3-3 against Michigan the other day,” Diaz said. “Our main focus right now is putting the ball in the back of the net.”

Freshman forward Artem Vovk added that there is no place like home.

“There’s no better feeling when you look at the crowd and it’s all full,” Vovk said. “There’s no feeling like it, especially when you do a move, get a goal – the whole crowd is hyping you up. It’s amazing. I love this crowd, and I love this environment.”

Big Ten action continues as the Bruins and Spartans kickoff on Friday at 7 p.m.