This post was updated Oct. 26 at 11:14 p.m.

Sherlock and Watson, Batman and Robin, Han and Chewbacca.

Heroes always need their sidekicks.

Though redshirt sophomore forward Sergi Solans Ormo’s Friday night hat trick at Wallis Annenberg Stadium will claim the plaudits, junior midfielder Philip Naef was just as instrumental to the Bruins’ five-goal attacking performance. And the duo’s contributions to UCLA men’s soccer’s (4-6-4, 4-3-2 Big Ten) 5-2 win over Rutgers (8-5-2, 3-4-1) brought the squad into contention for postseason play.

“It gives us a lot of hope, and I think that’s very important at this stage of the season,” Naef said.

The Bruins started the game on the attack, getting into a position to score but squandering a chance in the 26th minute with extraneous touches in the box. However, UCLA found clinicality as the Westwood fog descended.

Coach Ryan Jorden brought Naef off the bench at the 31-minute mark of the game. Within minutes of arriving on the field, the Danish midfielder squared the ball to Solans Ormo, and the Spaniard curled it from the top of the 18-yard box into the top-right corner of the Rutgers’ goal.

“For the first 25-30 minutes, however long it took me to get in, I could kind of see the game, and I tried my best to observe where the space was and how my direct opponent looked,” Naef said. “I think that helped me a lot.”

Naef pinged the ball to the awaiting junior forward Oliver Roche just a minute later. Roche turned with his right foot and snapped a shot towards the bottom-left corner of the goal, launching the ball past Scarlet Knight goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton. The senior night crowd roared again.

So far, so good for Jorden’s side.

But the Bruins have tempted fate multiple times this season.

The Scarlet Knights started the second half strong, recording a shot on goal and a goal when midfielder Francesco Di Ponzio rip a shot through traffic into the Bruins’ box to score. Just moments later, 6-foot-4 Rutgers defender Nick Collins headed the ball off a lofted cross set piece into the Bruin net to level the game.

“I haven’t seen a team that’s that dominant in set pieces in a long time, and so, I mean, dude, it’s hard to repel,” Jorden said. “They got a couple guys who are really, really good at winning the first ball.”

To cap off an eventful three minutes, Naef penetrated the Rutgers defense and crossed the ball for Solans Ormo, who side-footed it home from near the penalty spot to reclaim the lead.

“The guys obviously were terrific in the response coming out of it because in those moments, I played in these games where there’s a lot of doubt that comes in,” Jorden said. “But to their credit, the response was one that was tough and not meek.”

Naef, who had the second-most assists in the Big Ten last season with 10 and now has notched seven this season, initiated another attack by charging into the center of the park and playing a ball to Roche.

Roche tapped the ball and squared it to Solans Ormo. The team-leading scorer side-footed the ball, and the back of the Scarlet Knights’ net bulged again.

It was the seventh goal of the season for Solans Ormo, who scored 14 last year at Oregon State.

“He has a good smell for when to arrive in the box and how to, so he’s a pleasure to play with,” Naef said. “You always know that he’s going to be in the box if you put a ball in there, and so he’s always on there, always trying to make it, make the other players better and try to help the whole team.”

As the Lleida, Spain, native wheeled away in celebration, referee Ian Anderson strolled over to the video review screen. Three Rutgers coaches screamed for offside. A gaggle of jerseys surrounded the officials. The crowd hushed. UCLA players returned to their side of the pitch, ready for the restart. Solans Ormo stood alone, looking at the sky.

After a one minute, 15 second pause, the referee gave the Bruins the goal.

“I didn’t know if I was offside or not, but I did my job,” Solans Ormo said. “To represent these four letters and score a hat trick is completely a dream.”

Roche then capped off the offensive clinic with a 67th minute goal assisted by Solans Ormo to give the Bruins their highest-scoring game – and biggest win margin – of the season.

Though the Scarlet Knights continued to batter the Bruins’ box throughout the second half and outshot the home side 19-15, UCLA held onto its three-goal lead.

The marching band serenaded the stadium as Anderson blew the final whistle. Players sprayed each other with water. Alumni walked onto the pitch holding the 1990 NCAA championship trophy.

Despite the team enduring one of its worst starts to the season in decades, UCLA now ranks in the conference’s top four, the position it needs to be in to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament.

[RELATED: UCLA men’s soccer continues winless start to season with away loss to LMU]

“The hard part for us has been we were young and new early, and sometimes you suffer against experienced teams, and we did,” Jorden said. “I’ve known we’ve had that all the way along, but getting there isn’t easy, so you’re just proud of the guys and their attitude to continue to fight every single day to get better.”