Good things come to those who wait.

But the Bruins did not want to waste any time.

UCLA men’s soccer (1-0) took down No. 11 Virginia (0-1) 2-1 on Thursday, opening the season with an upset-victory at Klöckner Stadium.

Last year, UCLA scored one goal across its first four games. Thursday night, the squad was ready to rewrite the script for 2026.

The Bruins started the game with continuous offensive pressure, serving two unfinished crosses within the first 11 minutes of the match – a theme that continued through the half. In the first frame alone, coach Ryan Jorden’s squad took eight shots compared to Virginia’s four. Despite consistent attempts, the team could not find the back of the net.

But things began to shift in the 24th minute.

A foul-plagued half – which featured 14 whistles and two yellow cards – allowed a free kick just outside the box for the Bruins. Junior midfielder Jaime Amaro lined up for the set piece, sending it flying into the crossbar and applying more pressure to the Cavalier defense.

Fourteen minutes later, the squad converted.

A shot from sophomore midfielder Ander Marticorena was saved out of bounds by Cavalier keeper Spencer Sanderson, leading to a Bruin corner. A quick pass inbounds followed by a cross from Amaro saw the ball flying toward the head of junior midfielder Zach Neuls.

Neuls netted it, marking his first goal in his first game with the squad after spending his past two seasons with UC Davis, sending the Bruins into halftime up one.

“This season we brought in a lot of new guys, so getting them to mesh was really important, and I feel like we did that really well in such a short period of time,” Neuls said. “We trust each other, the quality of our players and the quality of our play style. The trust that our play style will work, and then our trust in our players themselves really gives us that certainty that our plan will work.”

Coming out of the break, the foul count continued to tick upwards, with the third yellow card of the night being handed out two minutes into the second half. The game concluded with 34 fouls – 22 of which were committed by Bruins – and five yellow cards – three to the Westwood side.

The back-and-forth battle continued with plentiful opportunities on both sides, showcased by the 14 shots taken by the Cavaliers and the Bruins each.

Forward/midfielder Marco Dos Santos was able to capitalize on his opportunity, tying it up for the Cavaliers after a shot from outside the 18 snuck past the fingertips of sophomore goalkeeper Ryan Tiltack.

But the Bruins did not let their guards down.

Despite a few injuries that paused the game clock, UCLA continued to apply pressure in the attacking third.

And a shot from the top-of-the-box by sophomore defender Logan Hall eight minutes into his first appearance donning the blue-and-gold put the Bruins up once more. The second goal of 2026 tied the same mark the Bruins achieved in the fifth game of the 2025 season.

“It was great to see us after fighting the whole game, to come on top,” Hall said. “This is a great feeling. It’s very good for me and my teammates. Taking the shot, I was just hoping it went in. I just took the chance. I think it was around the 80th minute, so might as well just take the shot. And it worked out for us.”

The Cavaliers continued to battle and served in three corners in the last five minutes of the match, bringing Tiltack’s save count to two on the night with assistance from a solid backline. Still, they were unable to capitalize on their chances.

When the final whistle blew, UCLA walked away with a top-15 victory to open the season – one punctuated by offensive opportunities.

“For us to have the performance that we did to go ahead, and then after they equalized to be able to get get a goal to go ahead again, I think said a lot about the togetherness and the grit that our team has – the willingness to work together and work for one another,” Jorden said.