UCLA Men’s Soccer Hosts UC Berkeley This Evening

After this afternoon’s women’s soccer game, the UCLA men’s soccer team will take to the pitch for a Pac-12 game against the UC Berkeley Golden Bears. The Bruins will be looking to get back on track after having their two-game winning streak snapped by Stanford on Thursday.

Last Time Out

The Bruins played a hard-fought game on Thursday against the Cardinal. The game remained scoreless until the 81st minute when Charlie Wehan scored the only goal of the game for the Cardinal.

Both teams only managed two shots on goal each during the game and one of Stanford’s shots got past Bruin goalkeeper Justin Garces.

UC Berkeley Golden Bears

The Golden Bears come into Westwood with a record of 6-3-1 overall and a 2-2 record in conference play. The Bears shutout San Diego State Aztecs 4-0 on Thursday.

Eleven of the Bears’ sixteen goals have been scored by three players. Thomas Williamson leads UC Berkeley with five goals while Jonathan Estrada and Simon Lekressner have each scored three. Five other Bears have each scored a goal.

By comparison, 14 of UCLA’s 19 goals have been scored by Milan Iloski.

But, the difference may prove to be the defense. The Bears have allowed just six goals all season while UCLA has given up 23. So, the key to a win today for UCLA is for Iloski to score early and often. If the Bruins can get on the board with multiple goals early, it may be tough for the Bears to win but, if UCLA is unable to score, the Bruins will likely lose today.

While I hope I’m wrong, I just don’t see UCLA’s offense generating many points today against the UC Berkeley defense. I think the Bears win this one, 1-0.

This is your UCLA vs. UC Berkeley men’s soccer open thread.


Go Bruins!!