Postseason wins can forgive regular-season sins.

Despite only placing sixth after the Big Ten regular season, No. 6 seed UCLA men’s soccer (7-5-5, 3-4-3 Big Ten) pulled off a 6-0 thrashing of No. 3 seed Maryland in the conference quarterfinal and will now play No. 7 seed Michigan (8-3-6, 2-3-5) in Bridgeview, Illinois, for a place in the Big Ten tournament final and potentially the NCAA tournament.

Sophomore defender Philip Naef said the team’s scoring record against Maryland is something they will try to emulate against the Wolverines.

“Being dangerous in multiple ways is good when playing other strong teams,” Naef said.

However, the Bruins are not the only team defying tournament seedings.

Despite the Michigan’s bottom-seeded designation, they will enter Sunday’s matchup in strong form, having beaten No. 2 seed Indiana in the quarterfinal. Michigan also routed then-No. 2 Maryland 2-0 in its last home game of the regular season.

The last time the Bruins met the Wolverines, the regular season affair resulted in a 3-3 draw.

Coach Ryan Jorden said he believed his team should have won the teams’ previous meeting, given that they had led twice and dominated possession.

“We felt like we should have beat Maryland at their place, and so we had something to prove,” Jorden said. “We’ll certainly have it again on Sunday, and hopefully we can go be one step better than we were the last time.”

Going into the Big Ten semifinal, senior forward Andre Ochoa was named to the All-Big Ten First Team earlier this week after scoring his second goal of the season in the Bruins’ quarterfinal win. Graduate student defender Nicholas Cavallo was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team, while freshman defender Allan Legaspi was named to the All-Freshman team.

The Bruins’ roster runs deeper than the accolades suggest.

Graduate student midfielder Edrey Caceres remains the Bruins’ top scorer with six goals, and senior defender and captain Pietro Grasso’s importance can’t be underestimated – having started every possible game this season.

In the Maryland game, Jorden started junior midfielder Cam Wilkerson for only the sixth time this season, despite the Bruins having played 16 regular season games. In that game, Wilkerson was replaced by Naef after 22 minutes.

Ochoa said the team’s plan for the Michigan game is to ensure Naef – whose 10 assists are the second most in the Big Ten – finds open opportunities.

“Give Phil the ball and have him work his magic and cross the ball, and we’ll score,” Ochoa said.

Michigan also boasts an attacking potential, with forward Beto Soto’s nine assists placing him just behind Naef on the Big Ten creation leaderboard. Soto registered two assists the last time his team faced the Bruins.

Wolverines defender/midfielder Bryce Blevins – who assisted his team’s sole goal in their last game – has five goals and seven assists which places him fifth-highest in points scored in the Big Ten. Blevins made the All-Big Ten Second Team alongside Cavallo, making him the only Wolverine player to be recognized in the top two teams.

Naef, who came off the bench to register four assists in the Bruins’ quarterfinal win against the Terps, said he was confident going into the team’s game against Michigan.

“Michigan is obviously a strong team as well, so when we step on that pitch, it’s going to be an equal game,” Naef said. “Both teams have a chance of winning but I think if we keep our focus and we focus on the next challenge, we can win.”

Contributing reports by Sam Mulick, Daily Bruin senior staff.