Complete games have come far and few for the Bruins.

But the tide is turning.

No. 19 UCLA men’s soccer (6-3-4, 3-2-2 Big Ten) defeated Rutgers (4-8-2, 1-5-1) 3-0 Friday night at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, New Jersey. With three goals scored – two of which were players’ first of 2024 – and zero conceded, the Bruins marked their first clean sheet since Sept. 13.

“This is just a glimpse of what we’re capable of, and it’s coming in at the right moments. We just have to continue working hard and putting our head down and just stay the course. And just try to get all the way, all the way to the natty,” said senior forward Andre Ochoa.

After a scoreless first half, the Bruins opened up the scoresheet in the 55th minute with an Ochoa header from the center of the 18-yard box. Ochoa’s goal was his first of the season, inching closer to his 2023 performance where he logged four goals and seven assists.

Though his first goal contribution came 13 games into the season, coach Ryan Jorden said Ochoa’s impact has been immeasurable for the team.

“He’s doing so many different things for us,” Jorden said. “He’s dropping into midfield. He’s helping us combine and play. He’s spraying balls all over the place and springing people loose. He’s doing defending work in wide channels or in the center.”

Sophomore defender Philip Naef continued his offensive prowess Friday night, assisting Ochoa’s goal and drawing a penalty kick in the 69th minute. Redshirt senior forward Jose Contell delivered on Naef’s penalty, placing the ball in the bottom right corner of the net to record his fourth goal of the season – tying him with graduate student midfielder Edrey Caceres for the team lead.

“We know that if we can get him in one-on-one situations, he’s got a chance of asking a lot of questions of defenses. He was doing it the other night against Ohio State. He did it again tonight,” Jorden said. “I mean, that’s two assists. It’s sending a great ball up for Andre just to nod in and certainly the penalties you get counted as an assist, because he draws it, because he’s running at people.”

The Bruins finished scoring fewer than two minutes after the second goal, when Caceres played a through ball to graduate student defender Nicholas Cavallo on the left wing. Cavalllo ran onto the ball and placed it into the bottom right corner of the net to mark his first goal as a Bruin.

The Bruins are yet to crack the nation’s top 10 – but with the team united in a common goal, there seems to be significant potential for the Bruin pack.

“All 27 players are bought into the same plan, and we all have the same goal, and we all want to achieve the same goal,” Naef said. “Everyone in the team is bought in. Everyone in the team is focused. … We’re a strong team with definitely a strong roster.”