The No. 13 UCLA men’s soccer team is on a tear as of late. The Bruins are on a four-game winning streak with their last coming off their first road win at the University of San Diego on Sunday.
After beginning the season with a No. 2 ranking, the Bruins saw themselves fall 15 spots to a No. 17 ranking after losing to Louisville and UC Davis, and tying Santa Clara ““ all on the road. Both UC Davis and Santa Clara were unranked.
However, the recent winning trend has propelled UCLA back up the polls. Winless on the road after three games, the Bruins are home and are starting to live up to expectations. UCLA looks to continue its winning streak this weekend against nonconference opponents Seattle and SMU.
The Seattle Redhawks come into the game tonight with a losing record (1-2-2), but they have had plenty of rest to prepare for the contest. Seattle hasn’t had a game since Sept. 14 and has played against three of the same opponents as UCLA. This is also the inaugural matchup for these two teams.
The Bruins take on the SMU Mustangs on Sunday, but unlike the first encounter for the Redhawks and Bruins tonight, these two teams have a much deeper past. They have played each other 10 times, with UCLA getting the better of SMU, holding a 5-4-1 record between the two. Much like the Bruins, the Mustangs came into the season ranked very highly (No. 5) but dropped in the rankings (and eventually out) because of early losses and a 3-3-0 record.
Weekly Accolades
Junior forward Chandler Hoffman has been a huge reason why the Bruins are doing so well, as his ability to find the back of the net has proven vital to the team’s success.
Hoffman has scored seven goals in the last six games and 13 goals in his last 13 games. He’s the leading scorer in the entire Pac-12, let alone at UCLA, with seven goals thus far this season. Hoffman leads the conference in two other categories as well ““ goals per game (1.00) and points (14).
He’s also made a splash nationally, ranking fifth on the scoring list and ninth in points.
Most recently, Hoffman scored a hat trick against the then-undefeated UC Santa Barbara, leading UCLA to a 3-2 victory. The game also landed him in the Bruin record books as it was the fifth consecutive game that he scored in, tying him for most in school history.
The forward’s scoring prowess has been recognized by the conference as he was named Pac-12 Player of the Week. But the acknowledgement didn’t stop there. Hoffman was also named the College Soccer News National Player of the Week.
Other accolades include being named to Top Drawer Soccer’s Team of the Week and Los Angeles Soccer News Player of the Week.
Compiled by Chris Nguyen, Bruin Sports senior staff.