Sun Tzu said that knowing your enemy means you do not need to fear facing them.

Although the Bruins know the Lions well, having faced them 17 times since 2000, there is still reason to worry.

UCLA men’s soccer (0-2-2) beat Loyola Marymount (1-2-1) in last season’s opener, outshooting its opponent 14-7 to set an aggressive attacking tone for the campaign. The year before, an unseeded Lions squad knocked the Bruins out of the NCAA tournament in the first round, despite the latter holding the majority of possession and recording 24 shots.

“It’s a rivalry, being another team from LA, so we’re super excited for that,” said freshman defender Blake Bayless.

[Related: UCLA men’s soccer knocked out of NCAA tournament with loss to Loyola Marymount]

Sunday afternoon’s matchup will be an opportunity for both teams to recover after mixed starts.

Both teams are unranked going into the fixture, unlike in previous seasons. UCLA’s early results have also been a far cry from senior midfielder Tarun Karumanchi’s early-season goal for the team to be unbeaten.

“We’re very excited to go there and prove a point to everybody, tell everybody that we’re ready now, that we’re coming for them, that we’re the real deal,” said junior defender Tre Wright.

The Bruins began their season with a busy schedule, playing twice in each of their first two weekend slates.

Wright said some members of the Bruin squad experienced fatigue after the games. Coach Ryan Jorden added that a comparatively lighter week leading up to the LMU game means the team can take more time to train and prepare, especially since the Lions’ Sullivan Field is just 10 miles away from Westwood.

“I just think we, for the first time, get a little bit of a gap in our schedule to be able to get ready for it, and (we are) so excited to have a few days of training,” Jorden said. “(We) also have the opportunity to continue to grow for enhanced performance for next week.”

An inability to find the back of the net has largely defined the Bruins’ season.

One goal in their opening four games marked the team’s worst scoring production since at least 1998, when records became available on the team’s website. By comparison, LMU has scored in each of its four early-season contests, netting six total.

The Bruins have also attempted an average of eight shots per game this season, a number lower than any of their season averages since at least 2016, when available records began.

“A lot of it is just the final ball right now for us,” Jorden said. “We’re getting to the edge of the edge of their box, and our final pass is a little wayward and maybe not the right decision in the moment.”

Significant roster changes may have catalyzed the Bruins’ difficulty to net goals, since the team lost forwards Andre Ochoa, Jose Contell, Sam Scott, Nikolai Rojel, Oshea Foster, Jacob Diaz and Sveinn Hauksson before the start of this season. Ochoa and Contell were Bruin mainstays, having played three and five seasons in Westwood, respectively.

[Related: Roster reset: UCLA men’s soccer shows promising lineup of new transfers, freshmen]

Jorden said his squad staying in Los Angeles could give them time to work on team dynamics after welcoming several new attackers, including redshirt sophomore Sergi Solans Ormo – who entered the season ranked 13th on Top Drawer Soccer’s list of the top-100 players to watch in the country.

And the new attacking talent’s integration into the Bruins’ offensive scheme may be key to the team’s performance against LMU.

“Being at home, you get to be in that normal rhythm, and so my hope is that it lends itself towards us, just feeling really comfortable and confident as we as we play in the next three,” Jorden said.

Contributing reports by Felicia Keller, Daily Bruin senior staff.