With Vermont crowned Division I men’s soccer national champions and the 2024 season officially coming to a close, Assistant Sports editor Connor Dullinger gives his five main takeaways from the UCLA men’s soccer 2024 season.

New season, new backline

With veteran status comes experience, and experience creates comfort.

The UCLA defensive unit began its 2024 campaign with 18 years of experience in its five-man backline consisting of graduate students Youri Senden and Nicholas Cavallo, seniors Pablo Greenlee and Pietro Grassi, and freshman Allan Legaspi.

Heading into 2025, however, the Bruins are losing four of their five primary defenders, retaining just Legaspi from 2024’s unit. Due to lack of backline depth, I predict coach Ryan Jorden’s squad will return to a four-back formation with Legaspi and junior defender JC Cortez taking the middle of the defensive line.

The former displayed his reliability and coolness under pressure this past season where he made 13 starts and accumulated 1,121 minutes. The latter sat out the whole season with an injury but started in four of his 14 contests, just two seasons ago.

Freshman defender Shakir Nixon is a shoo-in for the right back spot after a stellar freshman campaign that saw him contribute one goal and three assists while simultaneously playing lockdown defense. Sophomore defender Philip Naef’s dominance at right wing – recording 10 assists this season – also solidified Nixon’s defensive role as he played both positions in 2024.

The last defensive spot – the left back position left vacant by Cavallo – will most likely be assumed by a player from the transfer portal or incoming freshman defender Ethan Pendleton. The former DC United Academy player is ranked No. 57 in Top Drawer Soccer’s top-200 incoming freshmen.

Incoming freshman defenseman Kian Concepcion and Ian Charles may also prove to be day-one contender to play either on the outside or in the middle in place of Cortez.

We need Edrey

Two-thirds of UCLA’s midfield is already complete.

The Bruins “six” or central defensive midfielder is solidified by junior Tarun Karumanchi – a defensive stalwart who proved to be one of the most valuable Bruins these past two seasons. The “10” or central offensive midfielder position will be covered by either junior Cam Wilkerson or freshman Tamir Ratoviz.

While Wilkerson didn’t have the best season – logging just one assist in 14 games played – he has the raw skill, technique and experience to fill the role for the Bruins next year, and I expect him to get his chance to prove it.

If Wilkerson can’t fill the void left by senior Andre Ochoa, I believe that Ratoviz has what it takes to be one the Bruins’ top midfielders. The freshman contributed two goals and five assists last season despite starting only two games in 2024. He also proved his clutch factor, notching a goal and an assist in UCLA’s 2-0 victory over Portland and a goal in a 1-1 draw against Maryland.

What the Bruins are missing, though, is a true “eight” or box-to-box midfielder. When graduate student midfielder Edrey Caceres transferred to UCLA in 2024, most knew he was going to make an immediate impact, but as he now departs Westwood, UCLA will need to find a replacement.

Caceres scored a team-leading six goals in 2024 on top of two assists. Beyond the stat sheet, he ran the show in UCLA’s midfield, connecting all three levels and orchestrating the Bruin transition and attack.

While UCLA doesn’t currently have a replacement for Caceres, I’m confident that Jorden will bring in someone to fill his absence.

Wyatt is here to stay

Heading into the 2024 season, questions loomed around who the Bruins starting goalkeeper was going to be.

And to be frank, I don’t know if Jorden knew the answer either.

After starting six of the first eight affairs of the season, junior goalkeeper Sam Joseph was benched after conceding a combined seven goals against then-No. 8 Wisconsin and then-No. 16 Michigan.

Since the beginning eight-game stretch, sophomore goalkeeper Wyatt Nelson has shown the college world why he deserves to be between the goalposts. The Seattle, Washington local made 39 saves and gave up just 14 goals in 13 appearances – giving him a 1.06 GAA and 73.6 save percentage.

Despite finishing the 2024 campaign with a win-loss-tie record of four, five and four, the sophomore contributed three clean sheets, minimized mistakes and was the Bruins’ main distributor out of the defensive half.

With freshman goalkeeper Lucca Adams failing to record a single minute in 2024, and Joseph seemingly on his way out of Westwood — posting a farewell message to UCLA on Instagram — Nelson should have the goalkeeper position on lock for years to come.

Artem needs to reach the next level

UCLA’s principal problem in 2024 was its failure to score in bunches.

The Bruins scored more than two goals on just four occasions and converted more than three in only two contests.

If the Bruins want to move past the first and second round NCAA tournament exits of the past two seasons, then they need to find a high-level apex scorer. And they need to do it fast.

With the departure of Caceres, Ochoa and Contell, the Bruins are losing a large bulk of their scoring — with the trio notching a combined 14 goals and four assists in 2024 — and will need to find new scoring options.

Their answer is forward Artem Vovk.

The freshman had a productive inaugural campaign in Westwood, logging three goals and one assist in just two starts and 400 total minutes played.

Vovk has not only shown his knack for scoring but also his tendency to shine under the brightest lights. The forward scored a key goal in the Bruins’ 2-2 draw against Penn State and notched a key assist – a chip off the crossbar from over 25 yards out – in their 2-1 victory over then-No. 1 Ohio State, the Buckeyes sole regular season loss of 2024.

With Naef on the right wing, Vovk and the Copenhagen, Denmark, local may prove to be the Bruins’ primary attacking tandem for the near future.

The freshman need to contribute

Jorden – like most college coaches – has never really shown favor to freshmen.

That evidently changed in 2024 as Ratoviz, Vovk and Nixon proved to be the Bruins’ best options off the bench and always seemed be the most impactful players when on the pitch – scoring six combined goals and nine assists in their first year in Westwood.

While this theme is relatively new to Jorden, it must continue into 2025 if the Bruins want to be national title contenders.

Not only are the Bruins losing their top three in scoring threats in Contell, Ochoa and Caceres, but they are also losing their three most tenure defensemen in Grassi, Greenlee and Senden. Fortunately for UCLA, it is bringing in the No. 1 ranked 2025 recruiting class according to Top Drawer Soccer.

The Bruins’ incoming class boasts one goalkeeper, two midfielders, two forwards and four defenders. While the new depth along the defensive line should shore up the holes left by departing veterans, the attacking line lacks depth and proven starting goalscoring talent.

While relying on younger, more inexperienced players is a risk, Jordan has shown, time and again, his ability to adapt and put players in the best position to perform. With a key goal contributor in Naef, promising young talent in Ratoviz, Vovk and Nixon, and a top-ranked incoming class, the Bruins have all the pieces to put together a more consistent and proficient season.