By Jon Corwin
Daily Bruin Contributor
In the end, the Bruins were just happy to get in. After an
up-and-down season, the UCLA men’s soccer team was selected
Monday for the 19th consecutive year to the NCAA Tournament.
The Bruins (10-6-4), who received an at-large bid, will be
seeking revenge as they take on Loyola Marymount (9-6-2) in their
first-round matchup to be played Friday at 7 p.m. in San Diego.
The Lions shocked UCLA with a 1-0 victory in the team’s
only previous meeting this year. LMU is led by forward Arturo
Torres, who scored the game-winning goal in the Lions’
victory over the Bruins Sept. 30.
Although the Bruins had early season troubles, their six-game
unbeaten streak to close out the season and the strength of the
Pac-10 conference helped to solidify their bid. Four of the five
teams in the Pac-10 were selected to the new 48-team field, up from
32 teams a year ago. The winner of the UCLA-Loyola Marymount game
will play Sunday at 1 p.m. against the host University of San
Diego, a team the Bruins also lost to earlier in the year.
“This is a great second chance for us,” junior
midfielder Ryan Futagaki. “We were in a down slump when we
faced LMU and USD earlier in the year. We have improved a lot since
those games.”
LMU head coach Paul Krumpe is looking forward to his
team’s first ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for us and our
program,” he said.
The start of the tournament comes at a good time for UCLA,
according to head coach Todd Saldaña.
“Our confidence is real high right now,” he said.
“We are playing the best soccer we have all year.”
One concern for the Bruins heading into the postseason is the
offense’s inexperience, which has struggled at times this
year.
“Although our front line is inexperienced, there are a lot
of guys coming into their own,” Saldaña said.
“We’ll have to have a great defensive performance in
the tournament.”
Top-seeded and undefeated SMU (19-0-0) looms just two games away
if the Bruins can get past the upcoming weekend games.
“We can compete with anyone,” Saldaña said.
“There isn’t a more talented team in the country than
us.”