By Arthur Choung
Daily Bruin Contributor
Home has been very good to the UCLA Bruins, but the road has
not.
The Bruins’ three wins have all come at home and their four
losses all took place either on the road or on a neutral
surface.
But the opponents on the road were much tougher (North Carolina,
Duke, Cal Poly-SLO, CSUN) than the opponents at home, meaning that
the location of the game may not be a determining factor. Aside
from a dubious loss to Cal State Northridge, the Bruins’ season has
played out as most expected.
A tougher schedule, injuries, suspensions and the goal post have
all contributed to UCLA’s slow start, relative to last year, as the
Bruins already have as many losses this year as they did all of
last year.
"I don’t know if it’s going to affect us in a bad way," UCLA
assistant Coach Paul Ratcliffe said of the first part of the
season.
"I think it toughened everyone up and made everyone realize that
every game is important, and we can’t just step on the field and
win because we’re better and we have more talent; we have to go out
every game and try to win the old-fashioned way, by working
harder."
The Bruins will complete their three-game homestand today
against San Diego. The Toreros enter the contest with a two-game
losing streak.
Sunday, the Bruins will travel to Irvine to face the Anteaters,
who have suffered only one loss on the season so far, ironically to
San Diego.