Monday, October 21
College Park, MD
4 p.m. PT
UCLA
at
No. 6 Maryland
Photo by: Mac Brown
No. 19 UCLA Plays at No. 6 Maryland Monday
October 20, 2024 | Men's Soccer
No. 19 UCLA Plays at No. 6 Maryland Monday Night
The UCLA men's soccer team hits the road for the final time in the regular season on Monday night to take on No. 6 Maryland. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. PT on the Big Ten Network. Maryland and UCLA have combined to win eight NCAA Championships and are two of the premier programs in NCAA men's soccer.
Tough Slate to Start
UCLA has opened the season with eight of their first 12 games coming against teams ranked in the top 25 at the time of the game. In those games UCLA is 4-1-3, and have picked up wins over No. 11 LMU, No. 8 Portland, No. 14 Northwestern, and most recently No. 2 Ohio State, and have drawn with No. 18 James Madison, No. 3 Denver, and No. 16 Michigan.
Against top-10 opposition since 1998, the Bruins are 35-45-14. Prior to this season, UCLA's last win against a team ranked two or higher in the United Soccer Coaches poll was on November 8, 2021, when No. 22 UCLA beat No. 1 Oregon State 3-2. Current Bruins Jose Contell and Pietro Grassi started in that game. In their last six games against top-two opposition, UCLA is 3-3-0.
In the last two seasons under sixth-year head coach Ryan Jorden the Bruins against top 25 teams are 6-1-4 (.727 winning percentage).
Back in the Rankings
UCLA returns to the top 25 in the latest edition of the United Soccer Coaches top 25 poll. The Bruins check in at No. 19 after knocking off No. 2 Ohio State last Friday night, 2-1. This is the first time the Bruins have been ranked since the week four poll, and is UCLA's fourth week ranked in 2024.
Closing in on 150 Career Wins
UCLA head coach Ryan Jorden enters the game at No. 6 Maryland one win shy of 150 career wins as a head coach. Jorden has racked up a career record of 149-110-33 (.565 winning percentage). As the head coach at UCLA Jorden is 47-37-16, won the Pac-12 title in 2023, and has qualified for the postseason in three of five seasons.
Bruins in the B1G Rankings
Shutouts: T-1st - 6
Team shutout percentage: 2nd - .462
Jose Contell - Game Winning Goals - T-2nd - 2
Philip Naef - Assists - T-4th - 5
Keeping Things Clean
UCLA sophomore keeper Wyatt Nelson, fresh off of earning Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week honors after helping the Bruins beat Ohio State 2-1, kept a clean sheet in UCLA's 3-0 win at Rutgers on Friday night. The Seattle, Washington native racked up a career-high eight saves in the win at Rutgers, and kept his second shutout of the season in the process.
Off the Mark
Senior midfielder Andre Ochoa tallied his first goal and assist of the 2024 season on Friday at Rutgers. The Anaheim, California, native scored the Bruins first goal on Friday night before earning an assist on UCLA's third goal of the night. For his career between San Diego State and UCLA, Ochoa has played 78 games (52 at UCLA), and scored 15 goals and added an additional 12 assists. Transfer defender Nico Cavallo also scored his first goal as a Bruin, scoring UCLA's third of the night in the win.
B1G Win over the Buckeyes
UCLA earned their second result of the season over a top-three team nationally on Friday night when the Bruins beat No. 2 Ohio State, 2-1. Jose Contell and Edrey Caceres provided the goals for the Bruins in the win. After Ohio State struck first in the 53rd minute, the Bruins answered with two goals in just over a minute at the 69:05 mark by Caceres and at the 70:28 mark by Contell. Wyatt Nelson secured the win for the Bruins with a huge save off a corner kick in the 83rd minute to preserve the 2-1 win.
Making Some History
UCLA earned their first conference win as a member of the Big Ten Conference on Sept. 13, when the Bruins beat No. 14 Northwestern on the road to begin Big Ten play. The matchup was UCLA's fifth against ranked opposition at that point in the season, and pushed UCLA to 3-0-2 at the time against ranked teams in 2024.
Last Time Out Against Maryland
UCLA and Maryland have a rich history in collegiate men's soccer, with each program having won four NCAA Championships. The last time the two sides met was in 2019 in Los Angeles, a game UCLA won 3-2, with Milan Illoski (currently playing with FC Nordsjælland in the first division in Denmark) netting a hat trick to lead the Bruins past the Terrapins.
Stout Defense
UCLA had not conceded a goal until the fourth game of the season to begin the 2024 season and have limited teams to just 1.15 goals per game this season. Keepers Sam Joseph and Wyatt Nelson have recorded a combined six clean sheets which is tied for first in the Big Ten Conference in shutouts. Five of the six shutouts have come against teams ranked in the top 25 at the time the game was played, including two top-10 clean sheets in a 2-0 win over No. 8 Portland, and a 0-0 draw with No. 3 Denver.
B1G Award Winners
Jose Contell and Wyatt Nelson were named Big Ten Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week and Goalkeeper of the Week, the conference announced on Tuesday.
Contell led the Bruins to a 2-1 win over No. 2 Ohio State on Friday night at Wallis Annenberg Stadium. The redshirt senior from Valencia, Spain tallied the game-winning goal for the Bruins in the 71st minute of the game, putting UCLA up 2-1 with his third goal of the season.
Nelson played the full 90 minutes in goal and helped lead the Bruins to a 2-1 win over No. 2 Ohio State on Friday night at Wallis Annenberg Stadium. The Seattle, Washington native made three crucial stops for the Bruins, including a point-blank save in the 83rd minute off a corner to keep UCLA in front in the game.
Making an Impact
Freshman Artem Vovk came off the bench for the Bruins last Friday at Penn State and tallied his second career goal. The Sacramento, California product put the Bruins up 2-0 in the 53rd minute on Friday, and earned himself Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week honors in the process. The award was the first of his career for Vovk.
Goals Galore
UCLA beat Westmont 5-1, with five different Bruins finding the scoresheet, and a total of 11 different Bruins recorded at least one point. In the win three different Bruins tallied their first career goals as Jacob Diaz, Artem Vovk, and Sam Scott all found the scoresheet for the first time. Seven players tallied an assist with Wilkerson, Grassi, Diaz, Greenlee, Naef, Foster and Senden all dishing out at least one assist. Nikolai Rojel's goal in the 21st minute which put the Bruins 1-0 up, moves him to three on the season, tied with Edrey Caceres for the most on the team this season.
The last time the Bruins scored five or more goals in a game was on September 2, 2022 in a 5-2 win over Liberty.
There's A First For Everything
In UCLA's 2-0 win over No. 8 Portland, three Bruins tallied their first collegiate points. Graduate forward Sveinn Hauksson tallied his first career assist, while freshman Shakir Nixon and Tamir Ratoviz both scored their first collegiate goals, and provided their first collegiate assists.
The same thing happened to Nikolai Rojel on Thursday against Cal State Fullerton. The transfer tallied his first career goal as a Bruin with a well-taken goal from just outside the box, pulling the Bruins within a goal at the time. Additionally, for UCLA, freshman Allan Legaspi, sophomore Jacob Diaz, and sophomore Sam Scott all made their collegiate debuts.
B1G Players of the Week
UCLA junior goalkeeper Sam Joseph and freshman defender Shakir Nixon have been named the Big Ten Men's Soccer Goalkeeper of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week (Aug. 27 - Sept. 3), becoming the first Bruin men's soccer players ever to win a weekly award in the Big Ten Conference.
Sam Joseph (San Diego, Calif.) earns his first career conference accolades for his display in goal for the Bruins in the 2-0 win over No. 8 Portland. The junior earned his second start of the campaign and produced three top-notch saves to secure the clean sheet. Playing all 90 minutes for the second time this season, Joseph recorded his second consecutive shutout, after also not conceding a goal in UCLA's 2-0 win over No. 11 LMU to open the season.
Shakir Nixon (Cerritos, Calif.) tallied his first three collegiate points on Friday night over 52 minutes of action off the bench, helping No. 10 UCLA take down No. 8 Portland 2-0. The freshman scored the second goal for the Bruins in the win over the Pilots in the 76th minute of the match, putting UCLA up 2-0. Nixon also recorded the first assist of his collegiate career on the Bruins' first goal, setting up fellow freshman Tamir Ratoviz in the 54th minute, which put UCLA up at the time 1-0.
Bruin Debuts
Eight Bruins made either their collegiate debut or UCLA debut in the season opener against No. 11 LMU. Freshman Shakir Nixon and Tamir Ratoviz, and international graduate student Sveinn Hauksson all made their NCAA debuts. Additionally, Caceres, Nico Cavallo, Oshea Foster, Nikolai Rojel, and Youri Senden all made their UCLA debuts.
Contell, Greenlee, Ochoa Selected to Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch List
Jose Contell enters his fifth season in Westwood in 2024. The redshirt senior has been a consistent contributor for the Bruins during his three years in the lineup, netting at least 12 points in all three seasons. The Valencia, Spain, native scored a career-high five goals in 2021 and has tallied six assist seasons twice, in 2021 and 2023. At the conclusion of the 2023 season, Contell was named to the All-Far West Region Second Team and was a 2023 Pac-12 Second Team selection.
Pablo Greenlee also enters his fifth season at UCLA. The Hollywood, California native has played 40 times for the Bruins over four seasons, making 14 starts. During the 2023 season, in which the Bruins earned the Pac-12 title, Greenlee made 11 appearances, with 10 starts.
Andre Ochoa embarks on his third season at UCLA, having transferred from San Diego State after his sophomore season. The senior from Anaheim, California, started all 18 of UCLA's games in 2023, and earned third-team all-Far West region honors and Pac-12 honorable mention accolades after tallying 15 points (4G, 7A) on the season. For his career in Westwood, Ochoa has seven goals and 11 assists over 39 appearances (36 starts).
UCLA Picked Third in Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll
UCLA was tabbed to finish third in a preseason poll of the Big Ten coaches.
1. Indiana (unanimous)
2. Penn State
3. UCLA
4. Washington
5. Michigan State
6. Ohio State
7. Maryland
8. Northwestern
9. Rutgers
10. Michigan
11. Wisconsin
New Blood
The Bruins brought in 10 newcomers to augment the roster for the 2024 season:
The UCLA men's soccer team hits the road for the final time in the regular season on Monday night to take on No. 6 Maryland. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. PT on the Big Ten Network. Maryland and UCLA have combined to win eight NCAA Championships and are two of the premier programs in NCAA men's soccer.
Tough Slate to Start
UCLA has opened the season with eight of their first 12 games coming against teams ranked in the top 25 at the time of the game. In those games UCLA is 4-1-3, and have picked up wins over No. 11 LMU, No. 8 Portland, No. 14 Northwestern, and most recently No. 2 Ohio State, and have drawn with No. 18 James Madison, No. 3 Denver, and No. 16 Michigan.
Against top-10 opposition since 1998, the Bruins are 35-45-14. Prior to this season, UCLA's last win against a team ranked two or higher in the United Soccer Coaches poll was on November 8, 2021, when No. 22 UCLA beat No. 1 Oregon State 3-2. Current Bruins Jose Contell and Pietro Grassi started in that game. In their last six games against top-two opposition, UCLA is 3-3-0.
In the last two seasons under sixth-year head coach Ryan Jorden the Bruins against top 25 teams are 6-1-4 (.727 winning percentage).
Back in the Rankings
UCLA returns to the top 25 in the latest edition of the United Soccer Coaches top 25 poll. The Bruins check in at No. 19 after knocking off No. 2 Ohio State last Friday night, 2-1. This is the first time the Bruins have been ranked since the week four poll, and is UCLA's fourth week ranked in 2024.
Closing in on 150 Career Wins
UCLA head coach Ryan Jorden enters the game at No. 6 Maryland one win shy of 150 career wins as a head coach. Jorden has racked up a career record of 149-110-33 (.565 winning percentage). As the head coach at UCLA Jorden is 47-37-16, won the Pac-12 title in 2023, and has qualified for the postseason in three of five seasons.
Bruins in the B1G Rankings
Shutouts: T-1st - 6
Team shutout percentage: 2nd - .462
Jose Contell - Game Winning Goals - T-2nd - 2
Philip Naef - Assists - T-4th - 5
Keeping Things Clean
UCLA sophomore keeper Wyatt Nelson, fresh off of earning Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week honors after helping the Bruins beat Ohio State 2-1, kept a clean sheet in UCLA's 3-0 win at Rutgers on Friday night. The Seattle, Washington native racked up a career-high eight saves in the win at Rutgers, and kept his second shutout of the season in the process.
Off the Mark
Senior midfielder Andre Ochoa tallied his first goal and assist of the 2024 season on Friday at Rutgers. The Anaheim, California, native scored the Bruins first goal on Friday night before earning an assist on UCLA's third goal of the night. For his career between San Diego State and UCLA, Ochoa has played 78 games (52 at UCLA), and scored 15 goals and added an additional 12 assists. Transfer defender Nico Cavallo also scored his first goal as a Bruin, scoring UCLA's third of the night in the win.
B1G Win over the Buckeyes
UCLA earned their second result of the season over a top-three team nationally on Friday night when the Bruins beat No. 2 Ohio State, 2-1. Jose Contell and Edrey Caceres provided the goals for the Bruins in the win. After Ohio State struck first in the 53rd minute, the Bruins answered with two goals in just over a minute at the 69:05 mark by Caceres and at the 70:28 mark by Contell. Wyatt Nelson secured the win for the Bruins with a huge save off a corner kick in the 83rd minute to preserve the 2-1 win.
Making Some History
UCLA earned their first conference win as a member of the Big Ten Conference on Sept. 13, when the Bruins beat No. 14 Northwestern on the road to begin Big Ten play. The matchup was UCLA's fifth against ranked opposition at that point in the season, and pushed UCLA to 3-0-2 at the time against ranked teams in 2024.
Last Time Out Against Maryland
UCLA and Maryland have a rich history in collegiate men's soccer, with each program having won four NCAA Championships. The last time the two sides met was in 2019 in Los Angeles, a game UCLA won 3-2, with Milan Illoski (currently playing with FC Nordsjælland in the first division in Denmark) netting a hat trick to lead the Bruins past the Terrapins.
Stout Defense
UCLA had not conceded a goal until the fourth game of the season to begin the 2024 season and have limited teams to just 1.15 goals per game this season. Keepers Sam Joseph and Wyatt Nelson have recorded a combined six clean sheets which is tied for first in the Big Ten Conference in shutouts. Five of the six shutouts have come against teams ranked in the top 25 at the time the game was played, including two top-10 clean sheets in a 2-0 win over No. 8 Portland, and a 0-0 draw with No. 3 Denver.
B1G Award Winners
Jose Contell and Wyatt Nelson were named Big Ten Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week and Goalkeeper of the Week, the conference announced on Tuesday.
Contell led the Bruins to a 2-1 win over No. 2 Ohio State on Friday night at Wallis Annenberg Stadium. The redshirt senior from Valencia, Spain tallied the game-winning goal for the Bruins in the 71st minute of the game, putting UCLA up 2-1 with his third goal of the season.
Nelson played the full 90 minutes in goal and helped lead the Bruins to a 2-1 win over No. 2 Ohio State on Friday night at Wallis Annenberg Stadium. The Seattle, Washington native made three crucial stops for the Bruins, including a point-blank save in the 83rd minute off a corner to keep UCLA in front in the game.
Making an Impact
Freshman Artem Vovk came off the bench for the Bruins last Friday at Penn State and tallied his second career goal. The Sacramento, California product put the Bruins up 2-0 in the 53rd minute on Friday, and earned himself Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week honors in the process. The award was the first of his career for Vovk.
Goals Galore
UCLA beat Westmont 5-1, with five different Bruins finding the scoresheet, and a total of 11 different Bruins recorded at least one point. In the win three different Bruins tallied their first career goals as Jacob Diaz, Artem Vovk, and Sam Scott all found the scoresheet for the first time. Seven players tallied an assist with Wilkerson, Grassi, Diaz, Greenlee, Naef, Foster and Senden all dishing out at least one assist. Nikolai Rojel's goal in the 21st minute which put the Bruins 1-0 up, moves him to three on the season, tied with Edrey Caceres for the most on the team this season.
The last time the Bruins scored five or more goals in a game was on September 2, 2022 in a 5-2 win over Liberty.
There's A First For Everything
In UCLA's 2-0 win over No. 8 Portland, three Bruins tallied their first collegiate points. Graduate forward Sveinn Hauksson tallied his first career assist, while freshman Shakir Nixon and Tamir Ratoviz both scored their first collegiate goals, and provided their first collegiate assists.
The same thing happened to Nikolai Rojel on Thursday against Cal State Fullerton. The transfer tallied his first career goal as a Bruin with a well-taken goal from just outside the box, pulling the Bruins within a goal at the time. Additionally, for UCLA, freshman Allan Legaspi, sophomore Jacob Diaz, and sophomore Sam Scott all made their collegiate debuts.
B1G Players of the Week
UCLA junior goalkeeper Sam Joseph and freshman defender Shakir Nixon have been named the Big Ten Men's Soccer Goalkeeper of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week (Aug. 27 - Sept. 3), becoming the first Bruin men's soccer players ever to win a weekly award in the Big Ten Conference.
Sam Joseph (San Diego, Calif.) earns his first career conference accolades for his display in goal for the Bruins in the 2-0 win over No. 8 Portland. The junior earned his second start of the campaign and produced three top-notch saves to secure the clean sheet. Playing all 90 minutes for the second time this season, Joseph recorded his second consecutive shutout, after also not conceding a goal in UCLA's 2-0 win over No. 11 LMU to open the season.
Shakir Nixon (Cerritos, Calif.) tallied his first three collegiate points on Friday night over 52 minutes of action off the bench, helping No. 10 UCLA take down No. 8 Portland 2-0. The freshman scored the second goal for the Bruins in the win over the Pilots in the 76th minute of the match, putting UCLA up 2-0. Nixon also recorded the first assist of his collegiate career on the Bruins' first goal, setting up fellow freshman Tamir Ratoviz in the 54th minute, which put UCLA up at the time 1-0.
Bruin Debuts
Eight Bruins made either their collegiate debut or UCLA debut in the season opener against No. 11 LMU. Freshman Shakir Nixon and Tamir Ratoviz, and international graduate student Sveinn Hauksson all made their NCAA debuts. Additionally, Caceres, Nico Cavallo, Oshea Foster, Nikolai Rojel, and Youri Senden all made their UCLA debuts.
Contell, Greenlee, Ochoa Selected to Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch List
Jose Contell enters his fifth season in Westwood in 2024. The redshirt senior has been a consistent contributor for the Bruins during his three years in the lineup, netting at least 12 points in all three seasons. The Valencia, Spain, native scored a career-high five goals in 2021 and has tallied six assist seasons twice, in 2021 and 2023. At the conclusion of the 2023 season, Contell was named to the All-Far West Region Second Team and was a 2023 Pac-12 Second Team selection.
Pablo Greenlee also enters his fifth season at UCLA. The Hollywood, California native has played 40 times for the Bruins over four seasons, making 14 starts. During the 2023 season, in which the Bruins earned the Pac-12 title, Greenlee made 11 appearances, with 10 starts.
Andre Ochoa embarks on his third season at UCLA, having transferred from San Diego State after his sophomore season. The senior from Anaheim, California, started all 18 of UCLA's games in 2023, and earned third-team all-Far West region honors and Pac-12 honorable mention accolades after tallying 15 points (4G, 7A) on the season. For his career in Westwood, Ochoa has seven goals and 11 assists over 39 appearances (36 starts).
UCLA Picked Third in Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll
UCLA was tabbed to finish third in a preseason poll of the Big Ten coaches.
1. Indiana (unanimous)
2. Penn State
3. UCLA
4. Washington
5. Michigan State
6. Ohio State
7. Maryland
8. Northwestern
9. Rutgers
10. Michigan
11. Wisconsin
New Blood
The Bruins brought in 10 newcomers to augment the roster for the 2024 season:
- Lucca Adams, GK (LA Galaxy Academy) - Led the U-17 LA Galaxy team to the MLS Next National Championship
- Edrey Caceres, MF (Marquette) – All-Big East Second Team selection in 2021, 2022, 2023
- Nico Cavallo, D (Davidson) – All-Region selection in 2021, 2022, 2023
- Sveinn Hauksson, MF/F (University of Iceland) – Hauksson comes to UCLA having played for club KA Akureyri in the Icelandic Premier League
- Allan Legaspi, D (LA Galaxy Academy) - Captained the U-17 LA Galaxy team that won the MLS Next U-17 championship this past season
- Shakir Nixon, D (LAFC Academy) - Part of the US U-17 National Team pool in preparation for the 2023 U-17 World Cup. Has made multiple appearances for LAFC2 in MLS Next competition
- Tamir Ratoviz, MF (LAFC Academy) - Central midfielder for the LAFC U-17 team who has played regularly for his MLS NextPro team. Has been called into both the US U-17 National Team as well as the Israeli U-17 National Team.
- Nikolai Rojel, F (Wofford) - SoCon Player of the Year (2023), All-Southern Conference First Team (2022, 2023), SoCon Freshman of the Year (2022)
- Youri Senden, D (Drexel) - Spent three seasons at Drexel, earned All-CAA honors, three times, including defender of the year and first-team All-CAA honors as a senior in 2023.
- Artem Vovk, F (Elk Grove Sporting) - Named to the TopDrawerSoccer Best 11 at U-19 at the Elite Academy Level. Scored over 100 goals and added over 30 assists during his time at the club level.
Players Mentioned
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