This post was updated Oct. 24 at 10:39 p.m.
The opportunity for postseason fireworks could be solidified Friday night.
With a top-seven conference berth at stake, No. 15 UCLA men’s soccer (6-3-5, 3-2-3 Big Ten) will host No. 25 Indiana (7-3-5, 5-1-2) at Wallis Annenberg Stadium. A win against the Hoosiers will print the Bruins’ ticket to Bridgeview, Illinois, for their first Big Ten Tournament.
UCLA has had one of the nation’s toughest schedules this season, with nine of its 14 opponents thus far being ranked top-25 nationally at the time of the matchups.
“Right now we are growing because we’re playing top teams,” said coach Ryan Jorden. “We’re having an opportunity to be tested in those moments and simultaneously getting an opportunity to be able to work toward a higher standard every single week.”
UCLA’s contest against Maryland on Monday was part of back-to-back fixtures on the East Coast, with the Bruins now returning to Westwood for their final two regular season games against the Hoosiers and Huskies, respectively.
Freshman midfielder Tamir Ratoviz – who scored the game-tying goal against the Terrapins – said he was excited to be playing back in front of a home crowd.
“Scoring goals at home at Wallis Annenberg and getting that feeling of everybody coming together and everybody running into the corner celebrating, that’s something that’s an indescribable feeling,” Ratoviz said. “Being able to relive that and hopefully get two wins is going to be amazing.”
Playing at home also gives advantages on the field, Jorden added.
“The rhythm and routine has a normalcy to it,” Jorden said. “We also know that we get great crowd support and so it’s a combination of those things that make us feel really bullish about coming home and being able to have a really great performance on Friday against Indiana.”
One area of concern for the Bruins may be their proficiency in front of goal, with their 34.1% shots-on-target rate being the lowest in the Big Ten. UCLA also has no players ranked in the top 10 for conference goalscorers.
Indiana, meanwhile, is the second-highest scoring team in the conference, having scored 27 goals in its 15 games this season. Forward Tommy Mihalic, whose eight goals make him the second-best goalscorer in the Big Ten, will likely be a focal point on the Bruins’ scouting reports.
Indiana boasts an all-time 11-8-0 record against UCLA, last beating the Bruins in 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. However, sophomore defender Philip Naef said he is confident going into the Bruins’ game against Indiana and their subsequent matchup with Washington in early November.
“Both teams are not to be underestimated, but we are still UCLA, and I still think that we can grab six points out of those two games,” Naef said. “It’s going to be a tough ride, but we definitely have the team, and we definitely have the capacity to challenge them and to win those two games.”
The Bruins can solidify their postseason hopes against the Hoosiers at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
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