This post was updated Aug. 20 at 10:45 p.m.
Not dropping a single game this season.
Senior midfielder Tarun Karumanchi said that was the Bruins’ goal. While it may appear ambitious, a lot seems possible for a team with a blank slate and revamped roster following a first round NCAA tournament exit last year.
“This is a very talented group,” Karumanchi said. “I’m excited to see where we go. Everyone’s hard working, very driven.”
UCLA men’s soccer will have the opportunity to take a crack at an undefeated campaign when it opens its season Thursday night against UC Irvine at Anteater Stadium.
And the team won’t be coming in cold. The Bruins had three exhibition matches at Wallis Annenberg Stadium to prepare for their official season opener. And for a squad with 18 newcomers, getting in-game reps before marking up their 2025 record could prove crucial.
[Related: Roster reset: UCLA men’s soccer shows promising lineup of new transfers, freshmen]
UCLA wasn’t able to completely find its footing across exhibition games against CSU Bakersfield, UC Riverside and CSUN on Aug. 8, 11 and 15, respectively. The Bruins dropped 2-1 decisions to both the Roadrunners and the Matadors to bookend their first unofficial outings of the year.
While this probably wasn’t the type of consistency UCLA strives for, coach Ryan Jorden said that the exhibition games were successful in fostering team chemistry that the squad hopes to display Thursday.
“You could just see new players and how they perform against other opponents, how the players in your team can execute at the college level – especially if they’re incoming freshmen – and you can start working on some partnerships and relationships,” Jorden said. “The three exhibitions were exactly what we wanted from a ‘learning about our team and being able to implement things’ standpoint.”
The front three were among the partnerships Jorden cultivated during the Bruins’ exhibition games.
A pair of transfer forwards – redshirt sophomore Sergi Solans Ormo and junior Oliver Roche – will forge the offensive attack alongside freshman Francis Bonsu. The trio of new talent will be responsible for battling past an Irvine defense led by Brady Treinen, who was one of two Anteaters named to the Preseason All-Big West team.
Solans Ormo enters the match Thursday with some accolades of his own, though. The Third Team All-American – whose 14 goals last season ranked seventh nationally – was the only Bruin or Anteater selected to the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Watch List for forwards.
“My main goal for Thursday is only to play better than the last game,” Solans Ormo said. “Scoring goals is my job. That’s why I’m here.”
UCLA isn’t solely focused on the offense heading into its face-off with Irvine. The team has spent the week in practice working on set pieces and defensive pressure.
“The biggest thing for us is defensive shape and how we press,” Karumanchi said. “Every team comes out differently. So I think this past week, we’ve been focusing a lot on how are we going to press the other team, what we’re going to do in terms of a mid block, how are we going to press high.”
Not only fending off an Anteater attack, but forcing unnecessary mistakes from their opponent may be necessary if the Bruins want to force Irvine’s first loss in 11 consecutive home openers.
However, UCLA fares pretty well in a similar time frame – the Bruins have only lost one season opener during Jorden’s seven years at the helm.
And if there is one thing that is on the minds of both coaches and players, it’s winning.
“Starting with a win is very important for the energy, for the motivation, for the spirit of the team,” Solans Ormo said. “This season, we know that it’s short and we have a lot of games, so we need to start winning as soon as possible.”
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