UCLA Men’s Soccer Looks to Rebound When the Bruins Host Washington

After splitting the series up North against UC Berkeley and Stanford, the UCLA Bruins men’s soccer team travels back home to face the 5-4 Washington Huskies at the Wallis Annenberg Stadium in the nitecap of a women’s-men’s soccer doubleheader.

Last Time Out

Facing an elite opponent, the Bruins fell short against the Stanford Cardinal by a score of 3-0. After opening conference play against the UC Berkeley Golden Bears, the Bruins were able to hold down the Stanford Cardinal, but not for long.

It was scoreless going into the 2nd half, but that’s when the floodgates opened. Stanford scored all three of their goals in the second half, with Charlie Wehan opening the scoring in the 52nd minute off of a beautiful low cross from Tanner Bearson. The Cardinal doubled their lead after a goal from Amir Bashti in the 67th minute, and lastly Jack O’Brien put the final nail in the Bruins coffin in the 80th minute.

We knew this would be a huge test for UCLA because of how elite Stanford’s defense is. The Bruins managed six shots, but only one of them was on goal. Phenom Mohammed Kamara had the Bruins’ best shot at a goal in the 35th minute, but Stanford goalkeeper stopped it. This was certainly a game to forget for the Bruins.

Washington Huskies

The Huskies come into tonight’s game against the Bruins with a 5-4 record and they are 2-3 when they are on the road. Furthermore, they come into this game as the losers of three straight to #20 Portland, Seattle, and Oregon State. They will certainly be looking to turn the tides against the Bruins in Westwood.

The Washington Huskies have a very talented offensive group this season and they certainly not afraid to go on the counter-attack. This is illustrated by their whopping 13.7 shots and nearly 2 goals per contest. They have no problem scoring goals, but their issue has been keeping their opponents off the score card.

The Huskies give up 1.22 goals per game, which means there will be plenty of opportunities for the Bruins to get quality shots on goal. The Huskies also give up close to 10 shots per game. So, this definitely has the makings of a Pac-12 shoot out.

Outlook

After going 1-1 up North, this is a great chance for the Bruins to get their wheels back on track. UCLA won’t have any problems scoring against the Washington Huskies, I forecast a 4-1 victory with 2 goals from Mohammed Kamara.


Go Bruins!