UCLA men’s soccer suffers first setback of the season with 3-1 loss to Rutgers

All good things must come to an end.

And for the Bruins, their downfall came at an inopportune time.

No. 11 UCLA men’s soccer (3-1-2) fell 3-1 to Rutgers (2-3-1) on Friday in Piscataway, New Jersey, to open Big Ten play. The loss was the first for the Bruins in 2026 and marked the most goals conceded by them in a match this year.

The game began in favor of the Westwood side.

Three minutes into the match, sophomore midfielder Adrian Aguilar took a corner kick for UCLA. He sent the ball flying into the 18-yard box, where junior midfielder Zach Neuls used his 6-foot-3 frame to get on the end of it.

He redirected the corner with his head, sending the ball into the back of the net for his second goal of the season – another header. Neuls, who transferred to UCLA after two seasons at UC Davis, sits second on the squad in scoring.

This goal also marked the first time since a 3-0 victory over Denver on Aug. 28 that UCLA scored first, as the Bruins have had to come back to tie or win in their two games since.

But the lead did not last long.

A free kick was awarded to the Scarlet Knights and defender Devon Stopek sent the ball soaring toward the goal. The Bruins tried to clear it, but a header out of the box landed at the feet of defender Hector Criado, who lifted the ball back into the air, where it found the head of defender Nick Collins.

Collins connected with the ball right before senior defender Tre Wright could stop him, finding the net behind freshman goalkeeper Tristan Shaw to tie the game.

“We started the game very well and scored early, and then we conceded the goal in the first half that we shouldn’t,” said coach Ryan Jorden.

The matchup against Rutgers was Shaw’s first start of his UCLA career, having made his first appearance against Omaha on Sept. 6. Through the game against the Scarlet Knights, Shaw saw five shots on goal and made two saves.

A back-and-forth battle dictated the first half, with 14 fouls whistled, including one yellow card issued to each side.

The scrappy gameplay carried on through the second half, when seven additional cards were issued – four to UCLA and three to Rutgers – including a second yellow on UCLA defender Victor Ciaurriz. With the fifth-year senior out of the game in the 75th minute, the Bruins had to finish the final piece of the game with just 10 players on the field.

But before Ciaurriz was sent out, UCLA was handed another blow.

Less than four minutes into the second half, Scarlet Knight midfielder Amer Lukovic found defender Erick Ruiz, who one-timed it past Shaw’s diving hands to take their first lead of the game.

Against a 2-1 deficit and playing a man down, UCLA continued to battle.

It seemed the late-game Bruin magic and tenacity came in handy once more when fifth-year forward Cameron Arnold fell down in the box with less than seven minutes remaining, leading to a penalty kick opportunity.

But a VAR review overturned the call, instead calling a foul on UCLA outside of the 18-yard box, awarding Rutgers a free kick.

The Bruins fended off the shot, but the final nail in the coffin came quickly after. Midfielder William Pierce slotted a shot on goal, sneaking the ball past Shaw’s nearside post despite a diving effort to save it.

Less than three minutes later, the final whistle blew, marking Rutgers’ first win over UCLA since 1990 and the latter’s first loss of the year. An evenly matched game, with both sides racking up seven shots, was determined by the shots goal: Rutgers recorded five to UCLA’s two.

UCLA will have a chance to redeem itself against Michigan, a squad it has faced in the last two Big Ten Tournament championships. With a 2-0-1 record at home, the Bruins will look to put up a fight at Wallis Annenberg Stadium on Sept. 18 and record their first Big Ten win of the year.

UCLA Athletics did not provide media availability with the team’s athletes.

“[For] Conference games, every one matters a lot,” Jorden said. “That’s why tonight is so disappointing. The reality is for us, it’s just the next conference game. We know how important it is, and it doesn’t matter who the opponent is. But obviously, we’ve got a little bit more recent history playing Michigan four times in the last two seasons.”