UCLA men’s soccer to kick off NCAA tournament against UC Santa Barbara

Senior defender and team captain Pietro Grassi stands with the ball in the defensive third at Wallis Annenberg Stadium. (Darlene Sanzon/Assistant Photo editor)
Men's soccer
UC Santa Barbara
Thursday, 7 p.m.
Wallis Annenberg Stadium
ESPN+
By Connor Dullinger
Nov. 20, 2024 10:31 p.m.
Sometimes when all hope looks lost, miracles happen.
And with the Bruins’ chance of qualifying for the NCAA tournament looking slim before Monday’s selection show, a miracle was needed.
But for the Bruins, no magic was necessary.
“I’ve seen a couple Instagram stories already that they’re saying UCLA shouldn’t be in this (NCAA tournament),” said senior defender Pietro Grassi. “We’ve proven that beating the number one team in the country, … it’s definitely a chip on the shoulder because not only are we in the tournament, but now we’re hosting a game as well.”
UCLA men’s soccer (7-5-6, 3-4-3 Big Ten) was given an at-large bid to the national tournament, and is now scheduled to face UC Santa Barbara (11-5-4, 4-2-3 Big West) on Thursday night at Wallis Annenberg Stadium. With both squads falling short of their respective conference tournaments, there will be something to prove on either end of the field Thursday.
Coming into Thursday’s fixture, the Gauchos boast an offensive force, highlighted by Alexis Ledoux. The forward ranks second in the nation in goals and points with 14 and 33, respectively. Ledoux – the Big West Player of the Year and All-Big West First Team selection also touts the national lead in game-winning goals with five.
The Bruins’ defensive unit, however, has pitched seven shutouts this season, including five in the first six matches of the 2024 campaign. It is structured with a five defender backline in graduate student Nicholas Cavallo at left back, graduate student Youri Senden, Grassi and freshman Allan Legaspi in the middle and senior Pablo Greenlee at right back.
While the UCLA defense touts a deep backline, coach Ryan Jorden has reinforcements in his back pocket.
Freshman defender Shakir Nixon’s one goal and three assists this season has promoted him to Jorden’s main substitute – averaging 52.5 minutes per game in 2024.
Junior midfielder Tarun Karumanchi also starts in the midfield and serves as the Bruins’ primary central defensive midfielder as a player who could slide into the middle of the backline if UCLA goes up and want to conserve their lead.

Karumanchi said coordination and organization will be paramount for a favorable outcome Thursday.
“Communication is the biggest thing,” Karumanchi said. “We have great defenders on our team. We have great midfielders that work well defensively, and I think just making sure we’re tight and keeping our lines high and don’t let them get in behind us, I think that’s the biggest thing.”
More technically speaking, converting opportunities into goals will be vital.
However, this may not be an easy task for a UCLA offensive unit that has strung together a three-goal performance in just four of 18 games this season. Moreover, barring the Bruins’ 6-0 victory in the Big Ten semifinals, they have scored just three goals through their last four affairs.

Regardless, with the offensive threat that the Gauchos pose, a lack of Bruin scoring could result in back-to-back early exits.
“We obviously want to be able to be good and solid defensively and not concede, a bad goal and put ourselves in a bad situation and have to chase a game. And then simultaneously, hopefully the attacking side of things can create opportunities for us to be able to get ahead of them,” Jorden said.
Sophomore defender Philip Naef could be the engine behind UCLA’s offensive arsenal. The Copenhagen, Denmark, local has scored one goal this season and ranks second in the Big Ten in assists. In his most recent performance, Naef recorded four assists and a goal against No. 3 seed Maryland in the Big Ten semifinals.
The Bruins will kick off 7 p.m. Thursday at Wallis Annenberg Stadium.