UCLA
San Diego State
No. 21 Bruins Wrap Up Regular Season at SDSU on Friday Night
November 09, 2023 | Men's Soccer
The No. 21 UCLA men's soccer team (8-3-5, 5-0-4 Pac-12) heads to San Diego to take on San Diego State on Sunday at 7 p.m. PT at the SDSU Sports Deck. There is no live stream available so fans can follow along by following @UCLAMSoccer on social media.
Quick Hits
- UCLA is 8-3-5 to this point of the season, with wins coming against Virginia Tech, Rutgers, UCI, Cal, Washington twice, SDSU, and Stanford.
- Jose Contell tallied five points in UCLA's Bay Area road trip en route to Pac-12 Player of the Week honors. He scored twice and assisted on the opening goal in UCLA's 3-1 win at No. 19 Stanford.
- Earlier this season, UCLA had its first unbeaten (1-0-1) trip to the Pac-12 Pacific Northwest schools since 2017
- Jack Sarkos (1-2=4) was named Pac-12 Player of the Week after UCLA's trip to OSU and UW
- UCLA is unbeaten (5-0-4) in its first nine league games for the first time since 2011
- The Bruins have scored multiple goals in seven of the last 10 games
- UCLA is the only Pac-12 school with a quartet of four-goal games this season
- Jack Sarkos entered the week among the top in the nation in goals per game (0.69, 16th)
- Dating to Sept. 15 of last season, UCLA has allowed one goal or fewer in 25 of its last 31 games
- 21 of UCLA's 32 goals this year have been scored by players who entered the season with zero career goals as Bruins
- Sept. 4's result represented UCLA's first tie in a home game since Feb. 20, 2021 (a span of 27 home contests)
- UCLA is 7-0-2 this season when scoring first, and 1-3-3 when conceding first
- 2022: 12-7-1, reached NCAA 3rd rd. for first time since 2014, had a 10-game streak of allowing 1 GA or fewer
Top of the Pac
With one game remaining in the conference slate the Bruins have clinched at least a share of the Pac-12 conference title. UCLA needs either a win or draw on Friday evening to clinch the title outright. With the win 3-1 at No. 19 Stanford on Sunday the Bruins clinched a share of the Pac-12 title for the ninth time overall and the first time since 2012. UCLA also won the Pac-10/12 in four straight years from 2002-2005, before reeling off four league titles in five years, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012.
The Week in Review
UCLA went 1-0-1 in its last two contests, drawing with drawing with Cal 1-1 on the road, before beating No. 19 Stanford 3-1 at Stanford:
- Andre Ochoa rescued a point for the Bruins on Thursday. His 81st minute strike got UCLA level in a game that freshman goalkeeper Wyatt Nelson shined in. The Seattle, Washington native made two massive stops for the Bruins in the first 45 minutes of play. The first happened in the 36th minute when Nelson stopped a point-blank shot with his outstretched right foot, and followed that up with another spectacular stop in the 40th minute. The second stop was a one-on-one save from the Nelson, as the Cal attacker was bearing down on goal before Nelson was able to get his fingertips to the ball and push it out for a corner. A Cal red card at the end of the half gave the Bruins a man advantage in the second half, and the Bruins responded with nine second half shots and the goal from Ochoa.
- UCLA opened the game at No. 19 Stanford on the front foot, and were immediately rewarded. In the third minute Sarkos was played through on goal by Jose Contell and Andre Ochoa, and scored with the first shot of the game to put the Bruins up 1-0. The second half started just like the first half did for the Bruins, with an early goal. This time Contell went from provider to finisher as he headed home a perfect ball from Tommy Silva to put UCLA up 2-0 in the 48th minute. The assist was Silva's team-leading eighth of the season. Contell, with already a goal and assist to his name, secured a brace for the first time in his collegiate career in the 53rd minute. The Valencia, Spain native picked up a loose ball just outside the 18-yard box. He dribbled past one defender and then slotted the ball back across goal to the far post and into the net to give UCLA a 3-0 lead, and an eventual 3-1 win to claim a share of the Pac-12 title.
The Bruins head into this week's contests with strong marks, in the Pac-12 and nationally, in the following stats:
- Shots on Goal Per Game - 6.67 (1st in Pac-12 / 16th in NCAA)
- Fewest Fouls Per Game - 9.94 (1st in Pac-12 / 24th in NCAA)
- Assists Per Game - 2.20 (2nd in Pac-12 / 14th in NCAA)
- Points Per Game - 6.12 (2nd in Pac-12 / 21st in NCAA)
- Shots Per Game - 13.94 (2nd in Pac-12 / 35th in NCAA)
- Corner Kicks Per Game - 5.69 (2nd in Pac-12 / 40th in NCAA)
- Goal Differential - +11 (2nd in Pac-12 / 33rd in NCAA)
UCLA owns a 49-7-15 record all-time against SDSU, including a 24-4-9 mark since the Aztecs joined the Pac-12 Conference as an affiliate for men's soccer in 2005. UCLA has won or split the series in all but one year (2007) during that time, and carries a nine-game unbeaten streak into Friday's game. The Bruins are 7-0-2 against SDSU under fifth-year head coach Ryan Jorden, with a plus-12 goal differential. Current Bruins to have scored against SDSU in their careers include Tommy Silva (4G, 4A in 7 GP), Tucker Lepley (3 G, 1 A in 4 GP), Jose Contell (1G, 2 A in 4 GP), Andre Ochoa (2 G in 3 GP), and Grayson Doody (1A in 6 GP).
Last Time Out Against San Diego State
Andre Ochoa and Pietro Grassi found the back of the net for the Bruins, who came back from a goal down to earn a 2-1 win over San Diego State at Wallis Annenberg Stadium back on October 20th. UCLA scored twice in the second half to earn the win, and Tommy Silva assisted on both goals.
Vamos Jose!
Jose Contell (Valencia, Spain) led the Bruins to their fifth straight week unbeaten in Pac-12 play, tallied five points on the weekend, and helped the Bruins clinch a share of their ninth Pac-12 title on Sunday. He helped lead the Bruins to a 1-1 draw at California before scoring twice and dishing out an additional assist in UCLA's win over No. 19 Stanford. The Valencia, Spain native earned an assist on the Bruins opening goal before firing home UCLA's second and third goals of the afternoon. For the season Contell has three goals and six assists to his name.
Silva's Service
Tommy Silva has dished out eight assists in 2023, putting him 21st in the country in the category. The senior has 16 assists over his last two seasons as a Bruin, putting him fourth in the country in total assists over that time frame. The Tucson, Arizona native has 23 assists over 67 games, good for 0.34 assists per game for his career. His 23 assists for the Bruins put him eighth amongst current active players in the country.
Back in the Rankings
The Bruins are ranked 21st nationally in both the Top Drawer Soccer Poll and the United Soccer Coaches Poll. It's the first time UCLA has been in the top 25 in the United Soccer Coaches poll this season. The Bruins were previously ranked 25th (Oct. 8) and 24th (Oct. 15) in the Top Drawer Soccer poll.
Filling the Net
UCLA scored multiple goals in five straight games from Sept. 23 to Oct. 8 before seeing that streak come to an end against LMU on Oct. 14. It was the first time the Bruins scored multiple goals in five straight games since Oct. 16-30, 2014. Under fifth-year head coach Ryan Jorden, UCLA is 29-4-5 when scoring multiple goals.
Sark(os) Attack
Graduate forward Jack Sarkos has been on a tear to open the season, scoring a team-high nine goals over his first 13 games of the year. His 0.69 goals per game rate rates second in the Pac-12 (percentage points behind OSU's Logan Farrington) and 16th in the country. Notably, he scored seven goals in his first seven games in Westwood, a total which would have led UCLA for the entire season in each of the past three campaigns. He posted five goals in a four-game span to open the season, becoming the first Bruin to do so Milan Iloski in 2019 (Iloski went on to lead the NCAA that season with 1.06 goals per game).
