Men's Soccer- 2008 Pac 10 Champions!

by Ryan Rosenblatt on Nov 3, 2008 5:43 AM PST Comment 16 comments

The 2008 UCLA Bruins men's soccer team are heading to the NCAA tournament as champions of the Pac 10. If you haven't been paying attention the past few weeks, these conference champions are the same team that was 2-3-4 as conference play began. How did the Bruins turn it around? Well, by going 6-1-2 in their first nine conference matches to wrap the title up with 2 weeks of matches left to play.

(Photo Credit: UCLA Athletics Official Site)

In the past few weeks the Bruins have found a dependable scorer in Maxwell Griffin, who notched two more goals on Sunday in the championship clinching win over Stanford. They've also managed to piece together not only an adequate defense, but a superb one. The Bruins have not surrendered a goal in their past six games as the defense has proved stingy in front of goalkeeper Brian Perk.

If the Bruins can close out the season with two more wins this week they could earn themselves a first round bye in the NCAA tournament and the right to host a game or two. Congrats to the Bruins and hopefully they can keep this run of theirs going through the NCAA title game on December 14.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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The team's been scoring all season

And it’s good to see the defense keeping up. Hopefully it’s been more the result of better defending, and less reliant on the luck they seemed to have going for them against Cal. Either way, here’s to more of the same!

by jaffa on Nov 2, 2008 10:39 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

My one concern remains the lack of a counter attack

We’ve been defended pretty well and when we maintain possession or attack is dangerous, but the transition from defending to attack is slow. In the tournament when we play elite teams we are going to need to have a productive counter attack. Our defenders need to do a better job with their distribution out of the back and we need to do a better job running into space up field and playing the ball into space instead of waiting for the square ball. All in all though, this team has made major improvements and have one more weekend to keep improving. I’m really hoping for a first round bye and we may need 2 wins this weekend to get that bye.

by Ryan Rosenblatt on Nov 2, 2008 10:49 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Agree for the most part

The only way we really attack is through a patient buildup, which is probably why we’re a little cautious shooting (too much so for my taste), trying to keep hold and get a good shot. The only problem is that this always seems to make a really good shot necessary, because the other team is already set up and waiting. I suppose it’s a testament to how good our players are that they can make it happen, but they just seem to make it unnecessarily hard on themselves.

It’s probably all connected in some way, that breaking on the counter attack too hard leaves the defense exposed if they lose possession, and so not breaking has played a part in the 6-straight shutouts. It may also be why the backline barely comes forward even on our sustained attacks. It’s just really frustrating to watch, because we’re almost completely lacking in a cutting edge, and yet it seems so easy to fix…

We’ll probably need that extra week, to get a bit healthier, and maybe that’ll help the counter attack. Hopefully the commitee (?) doesn’t look down on a bit of a down year for the Pac-10.

by jaffa on Nov 3, 2008 12:25 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

jaffa

First of all, I love the Spurs profile picture. Second of all, would you like to work with me on a soccer NCAA tournament preview? In the week prior to the tournament beginning I was going to put together a little review of the regular season and breakdown of the team as we head into the postseason. You clearly have a good understanding of the game and of the team and I’d love it if we could put the piece together with both of our insights. If you have any interest in doing it, shoot me an email and we can start putting our thoughts together.

by Ryan Rosenblatt on Nov 3, 2008 12:37 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I love Spurs too

They provide Man Utd with such great players. ;)

Rye, I don’t follow NCAA soccer close enough to lend a hand, but I’m looking forward to your tourney preview. Should be awesome.

by Bellerophon on Nov 3, 2008 6:48 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

It's such a great pic, and such pity that he wanted to move on

That had me in a bad mood for a couple days.

by jaffa on Nov 4, 2008 12:43 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Generally speaking

good teams need to have marking backs who feel comfortable making raids up the sideline and taking some pressure off the midfielders/forwards. Doing so not only creates a more fluid and varied attack (instead of simply stuffing it down the middle) but it also pushes the player up into space and helps narrow the field. As a result, such an offensive ‘action’ typically leads to a better defensive situation once the ball is lost. I recall playing against the UCSB 05 team’s marking back and as an outside midfielder it was more like I was marking him.
Needless to say, I only bring this up because you mentioned that we seemed a bit stiff in our transition game. Being one-dimensional can be a killer at the next level so we’ve got to engage our backs and get some offensive production out of them.

Thanks for the update rye – great to see our champs getting some BN love.

by eubruin on Nov 3, 2008 5:00 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Our strength isn't on the wings

Only Leopoldo seems comfortable regularly attacking down the side, and it probably doesn’t help that both fullbacks are freshman. They may have the ability to go forward, but they haven’t really shown much of an inclination.

by jaffa on Nov 4, 2008 12:28 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

We've defended pretty well***

by Ryan Rosenblatt on Nov 2, 2008 10:49 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Excellent news

Let’s hope they keep it rolling. I recall a recent Men’s Volleyball team that had a rough start (and middle) of the season only to turn it on in crunch time and bring home another title. Let’s channel some of the Bruin magic.

by Tydides on Nov 3, 2008 12:16 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Coach

Are people still calling for Salcedo’s head, like they were early in the season?

by islandbruin on Nov 3, 2008 6:10 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Right now most people are taking a wait and see approach

Yes, they won the conference, but that’s expected at UCLA. If they can win a couple tournament games Salcedo should be safe, but if they lose in the first or 2nd round, some people may be calling for his head again.

by Ryan Rosenblatt on Nov 3, 2008 12:50 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Big Congrats

to these tough guys.

Thanks, rye.

Love My Bruins

by Bruingirl83 on Nov 3, 2008 10:00 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Random Musings of a Soccer Madman

First, congratulations to Coach Salcedo and his Bruins team for securing the 2008 Pac 10 Championship.

A few points:

IMHO, I think the team has grown or progressed since the early season and not so coincidentally with the identification of who was going to play on this year’s version of the back line (remember, Rusin is the only starter- returner) but also with the defensive player’s maturation as players (see Suits and ZZ). Getting A Rose’s paperwork in order and plugging him in that defensive mid position keeps a bunch of heat off the the back line. For a freshman he plays with the bite and grit required of that position/role.

Still of concern is the lack of a consistent scorer. Sure Max has stepped up but he is off his form from last season. Youngsters Monge and Arreola….dealing with their injury issues hasn’t helped. I am still skeptical Prince is going to make it long term as his performance all season has been spotty at best. Sure he too has had some injuries but I am unconvenienced he has the mental toughness to perserver. As for the tourney, I am hoping someone gets really hot (Estrada?).

Stevens has stepped up well in Nakazawa’s absence and has set up some nice chances over the course of the season (see lack of a consistent fnisher). Stevens as in my earlier post is a strong candidate for team MVP of the season so far.

UCLA still needs to find a way to improve on their set piece consistency. The other night against Cal I believe the Bruins had 12 corners. None of which were converted. That is way too low of a percentage to go deep into the tournament as the tournament defenses and goalkeepers are typically stingy in the run of play. Being able to convert on set pieces may be the difference between advancing or going home early.

Leopoldo is a workhorse.(Some things never change.) My only complaint is that the team looks that way too often in it’s tendencies so that tendency becomes transparent to our opponents making it easy to defend.

The team still needs a left back. CC has done his best back there but me thinks he is not a natural defender.

All in all, as I said, the team has improved despite taking their lumps early. We all tend to forget the departures of some very good players. I can’t really say the Bruins have overachieved because the program should always attract the best talent nationally. But clearly the team has some nice momentum. But best they not overlook Cal Poly next weekend but instead, look to sustain that momentum going into the tournament.

by OldSage on Nov 3, 2008 1:37 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

I really like Monge

He’s always the one that keeps me from getting too frustrated while I’m watching. Hopefully he’s not out for too long. As for Lapnet…perhaps he’d do a little better if he cut down on his weight a bit, got in better condition – he’s about 20 pounds heavier than most of the rest of the team, passed only by Rusin and two reserve goalies, all 3 inches taller.

by jaffa on Nov 4, 2008 12:40 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

And the beat goes on

Bruins continue to roll with a win over a very good Cal Poly team.
Andy Rose gets his first goal as a Bruin.
A goal conceded late (88 minute) brings the consecutive shutout streak to an end.

Next week, San Diego State.
Not much at stake other than carrying momentum into the Big Dance.

ps. I take back my comments on Max (who scored yet again today!)

by OldSage on Nov 8, 2008 10:19 PM PST reply actions 0 recs