U.C.L.A. Men's Soccer Gets #1 Prospect for 2012

Good news for Coach Jorge Salcedo and the Men's Soccer Team.   

From our friend Will Exline at TopDrawerSoccer.com, Marc Pelosi, a midfielder from Sunnyvale, gave a verbal committment to play for the Bruins in the 2012 season.  Pelosi, who was born in Germany and has competed on the international level, is regarded as the #1 high school soccer prospect in the country.  From the article:

Pelosi is a most dangerous player with the ball at his feet. He's athletic and fluid, and has continually shown off the ability to set up his teammates or a finish a goal.

Pelosi joins a heralded class that includes #26 prospect MF Cole Nagy (Scottsdale AZ),  D/MF Holden Fender (Marietta GA), and MF Grady Howe (Corona del Mar).  It looks like the Bruins are stockpiling some talent in the midfield, and the players themselves are very optimistic about the future.  This quote from Nagy sounds promising:

"The recruiting classes (at UCLA) that have been put together for the next few years are unbelievable," Nagy said. "I expect to achieve big things during my time at UCLA! I looked at some other schools and nothing compared to what they had to offer as an athlete and an academic. UCLA has always been my dream school."

Signing these verbal commits will be an important step for the future.  The Bruins finished the 2010 season 16-5-1 and then squandered a 2 goal lead in the snow before falling 5-4 to Louisville in the NCAA Quarterfinals. 

U.C.L.A. will get a quick chance for revenge when they open the 2011 season with a visit to those same Louisville Cardinals on August 27.  The Bruins will return every starter from 2010 for the the 2011 season, and will be looking to rebound and go deeper into the tournament in the coming years.  The 2011 schedule can be seen here.

And to Marc, Cole, Holden, and Grady, Welcome to Westwood, gentlemen!  Go Bruins!