When the seedings for the NCAA men’s soccer tournament were announced Monday afternoon, the reaction in the UCLA locker room was not one of dejected disappointment, nor was it one of unadulterated joy.
Rather, the Bruins, who received the No. 8 seed in the tournament, responded with reserved approval. They had achieved one of their topmost goals that they and coach Jorge Salcedo had set at the beginning of the season in securing a top-eight seed.
“It’s a great seed,” junior midfielder Andy Rose said. “We’ve had a great season, we want to continue it. A top-eight seed is something we deserve.”
The final arrangement of the brackets presents UCLA with potential matchups against some familiar foes.
The Bruins (14-4-1, 8-2-0 Pac-10) received a first-round bye and will face the winner of the match between Sacramento State (10-4-7) and Santa Clara (10-5-5). The Bruins edged the Sacramento State Hornets in a 2-1 match at Drake Stadium in the second round of the tournament in 2009, so Salcedo knows not to pull any punches.
“(Sacramento State is) a top team here in the west,” Salcedo said. “The thing if we do play them is they were here last year and gave us a heck of a game, so they’ll come down here with basically the same team.”
Another team in the Bruins’ side of the bracket is Notre Dame (10-5-4), the No. 9 seed. If both teams win their respective second-round matches, they would face off for the second time this season. The Bruins took the first match 1-0 in Bloomington, Ind., and if all goes according to plan, they would host Notre Dame with aims to replicate the prior outcome.
“It’s always tough to play a team twice and beat them twice in the same year,” junior goalkeeper Brian Rowe said. “But that was the very first game for both of us in the season, so I’m sure as we’ve progressed a lot over the season, I’m sure they have as well.”
If the Bruins can get past the Fighting Irish, the homestand would likely come to a stop, as a trip to Kentucky to play top-seeded Louisville would await, provided the Cardinals get past the second and third rounds. Louisville (16-0-3) finished the season as one of two undefeated teams in Division I, and would surely present a formidable challenge for UCLA.
Reaching the College Cup semifinals in Santa Barbara this year is not merely a pipe dream for this team of young Bruins.
Earlier in the year, there were murmurs of a rebuilding year for the Bruins, who had lost six regular contributors from last season’s team. But UCLA’s strong play over the course of the year has proven the doubters wrong, and Salcedo is proud of what his young team has accomplished and excited about what lies ahead.
“For the most part, you can’t rebuild here at UCLA with our men’s soccer program, you know?” Salcedo said with a laugh. “The fact that we were so young at the beginning of the year, I think we’ve matured a lot … and to earn the eighth-seed in this tournament speaks volumes to what the guys did this year.”