MEN’S SOCCER STARTERS Dru Hoshimoya (So.) Scot
Thompson (Jr.) Tim Pierce (Jr.) Ryan Futagaki (Jr.) Nelson Akwari
(So.) Alex Yi (So.) Zach Wells (So.) Cliff McKinley (So.) Leonard
Griffin (So.) Jimmy Frazelle (Jr.) Ty Maurin (So.) SOURCE: UCLA
Sports Info JARRETT QUON AND VICTOR CHEN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff
 Daily Bruin File Photo Junior midfielder Jimmy
Frazelle heads the ball last season.
By Brian Thompson
Daily Bruin Reporter
The UCLA men’s soccer program has enjoyed an unparalleled
run of success atop collegiate soccer. The Bruins have been in the
NCAA Tournament for 18 consecutive years, bringing home three
national championships in that time.
Year in and year out, the goal at UCLA is the same ““ a
national championship. The men’s soccer team expects to be in
the College Cup each year. The team expects to win in Pac-10. The
team expects to top the national rankings.
But as is common in sports, dynasties always come to an end.
Just ask any fan of the Boston Celtics or Dallas Cowboys. Some
think that this is the year UCLA men’s soccer will drop
off.
The team lost four senior starters, including high-scorer
McKinley Tennyson Jr. and playmaker extraordinaire Shaun Tsakiris.
Those veterans were the last link to the great championship team of
1997. And this summer, goalie D.J. Countess, who many consider to
be the finest Under-20 goalkeeper in the nation, decided to go
pro.
It might appear that this will be the year UCLA slips. Some may
even think that streak will come to an end. Think again.
“We can make it back there,” junior midfielder Ryan
Futagaki said. “I have so much confidence in our defense, our
forwards and our midfield. We can get the job done when it’s
needed. We’ve got the same goals.”
While he remains a little more cautious, third-year head coach
Todd Saldaña is also optimistic about our team’s chances
this year.
“We’ve got a great pool of talent now,” he
said. “We’re still a very young team. (But)
there’s a basis of a really strong team. It’s just a
matter of how quick we can get.”
Youth is the prevailing word when describing this team. Sixteen
of 23 players are freshmen or sophomores. There are only two
seniors on the squad, and neither are regular starters.
But what the Bruins lack in experience they ought to be able to
make up in talent.
UCLA boasts one of the best defensive corps in the country.
Junior Scot Thompson and sophomores Alex Yi, Nelson Akwari and
Leonard Griffin provide the Bruins with stability and experience on
the back line in front of new goalkeeper Zach Wells.
Both Yi and Akwari are mainstays on the U.S. Under-20 National
Team and played in this past summer’s World Youth
Championships. Akwari is stepping into the role of co-captain,
along with Futagaki. While he may only be in his second year,
Akwari should prove a capable captain since he holds the same role
for the national team.
The defense will be strong but the rest of the squad is a bit of
a question mark.
Co-captain Futagaki returns from injury to quarterback the Bruin
attack from central midfield. He will likely be joined by
sophomores Ty Maurin and Adolfo Gregorio and freshman Mike Enfield.
Up front, the Bruins will be led by sophomores Matt Taylor and
Cliff McKinley. They’ll try to pick up the slack with the
departure of the prolific scorer, Tennyson Jr.
The ability of these six players to find continuity and to play
well together will likely dictate the Bruins’ fortunes this
year.
The Bruins know they have talent. But after last year’s
ups and downs, which saw the Bruins seesaw from having the No. 1
ranking in the country to having a stretch that saw them lose six
of eight games, UCLA knows that talent alone will not lead to
success.
“We’re battling a lot more,” Thompson said.
“Practices are a lot more intense now and that shows on the
field. UCLA has never been known as an intense, battling team. Now,
we are.”
Futagaki agrees and thinks the Bruins have a more team-oriented
attitude.
“Last year, I didn’t get the feeling that we were a
team,” he said. “There were a lot of little pieces we
needed to put together. This year, it’s different.
We’re coming together.
“Not all teams have as much heart as we do,”
Futagaki added. This team has so much heart. If we put that on the
field, along with the battling, our skill, and everybody knows
their role, we’ll be fine. We just need to make that final
pass, make that final goal. It’s coming. We’re a young
team still. Gradually we’ll make it.”
The Bruins have one of their most challenging schedules in
recent memory, with matchups against Maryland, Virginia, Santa
Clara, San Diego, as well as Pac-10 foes Washington and Stanford.
This team may again go through some ups and downs. But if
everything comes together like they hope, we very well may see UCLA
at the College Cup yet again.
MEN’S SOCCER SCHEDULE Date
Opponent Outcome/Time 8/31
Maryland (@Virginia) L, 2-1 9/2 @Virginia T, 2-2 9/7 @San Francisco
W, 4-0 9/9 Santa Clara (@San Francisco) W, 1-0 9/17 UC Irvine 3
p.m. 9/23 Cal Fullerton 3 p.m. 9/28 UC Santa Barbara 8 p.m. 9/30
Loyola Marymount 3 p.m. 10/5 @San Diego 7:30 p.m. 10/7 @San Diego
St. 3 p.m. 10/12 Cal 3 p.m. 10/14 Stanford 3 p.m. 10/19 @Washington
7 p.m. 10/21 @Oregon St. 2 p.m. 10/26 St. Mary’s 3 p.m. 10/28 South
Carolina 2 p.m. 11/2 @Stanford 7:30 p.m. 11/4 @Cal 2 p.m. 11/9
Oregon St. 2 p.m. 11/11 Washington 2 p.m. 11/16 Alumni 2 p.m.
SOURCE: UCLA Sports Info (schedule is tentative) VICTOR CHEN/Daily
Bruin Senior Staff