Bruins Host San Diego State Wednesday In Must-Win Game
Nov. 12, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format 
This Week -- UCLA (8-8-2, 4-4-1 in the Pac-10) hosts San Diego State (8-7-2, 4-4-0) on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 7:00 pm in a must-win game for the Bruins at Drake Stadium. UCLA needs either a win or tie in order to be considered for post-season play. Selections for the 48-team NCAA Tournament will be announced on Monday, Nov. 19 at 2:30 pm PT on ESPNews. Entering this season, UCLA has participated in 24 consecutive NCAA Tournaments and 34 overall. Also on the line is second-place in the Pac-10. A UCLA win would give the Bruins at least a tie for second place. A San Diego State win, coupled with one Washington loss, would give the Aztecs second place.
Live Coverage -- A free audio broadcast along with Gametracker live stats will be available for Wednesday's game at UCLABruins.com.
Game Promotions -- UCLA men's soccer team cards will be given to fans in attendance.
Scouting The Aztecs -- San Diego State is on a three-game losing streak and has lost five of its last six contests. The Aztecs are just one point behind second-place UCLA in the Pac-10 standings. Kraig Chiles leads San Diego State with seven goals and 17 points. Also in double-figure scoring is Khadim Diouf with 10 points (5 goals).
UCLA's History With San Diego State -- UCLA is 27-4-7 all-time against San Diego State and lost the first matchup in San Diego on Oct. 6, 1-0. The Bruins went 1-0-1 against the Aztecs a year ago, winning the first contest, 2-1, in San Diego and tying, 1-1, in Los Angeles. Bruin forward David Estrada scored two of UCLA's three goals against the Aztecs a year ago.
Last Meeting -- In the first matchup with San Diego State on Oct. 6, the Aztecs came away with a 1-0 victory after a Khadim Diouf goal at 84:47. The Bruins had seven of their eight shots saved by goalkeeper Brad Byrns, while UCLA goalkeeper Brian Perk made six saves.
Time To Regroup -- The Bruins have had over a week to prepare for Wednesday's game, taking advantage of a bye week before their most important contest to date. UCLA has not played since dropping a pair of contests at Stanford and Cal on Nov. 2 and 4.
Griffin Go-To Guy -- Junior forward Maxwell Griffin has become UCLA's go-to-guy for goals this season, scoring a career-best and team-leading nine goals in 18 games. UCLA's last three goals have been scored by Griffin. In his career, he has totaled 18 goals and 39 points, most amongst all current Bruins.
Zaher A Finalist For Senior CLASS Award -- UCLA defender Mike Zaher is one of 10 finalists for the 2007 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for men's soccer. The award is presented annually in eight NCAA Division I sports to a senior student-athlete who excels both on and off the field. The areas of excellence are identified under classroom, community, character and competition. Zaher has been an exemplary student-athlete, twice earning Pac-10 All-Academic honors and being honored with UCLA's Team GPA award in 2006. He has also remained active in the community, participating in several community outreach projects and fund-raisers. The 2007 team co-captains has been a three-year starter for UCLA, and last year, he earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors and third-team NSCAA All-Far West acclaim. He was selected as a pre-season All-American in 2007 by College Soccer News. Zaher currently ranks second on the team in goals (3), assists (3) and points (9). Fan voting at seniorclassaward.com helps determine the winner.
Iron Men -- Two Bruins have played every minute of every game so far this year - senior defender Greg Folk and sophomore goalkeeper Brian Perk have each totaled 1,664 minutes of play. This is nothing new for Folk, who played all 2,260 minutes a year ago. Two other Bruin players have totaled 1,660+ minutes - senior defender Mike Zaher (1,662) and junior midfielder Tony Beltran (1,660).
Bruins A Big Draw -- The Bruins have seen their fair share of big crowds this year, both home and away. UCLA road games this year (10 away, one neutral) have averaged 2,595 fans. School attendance records were set at Indiana (7,423) and at Creighton (5,812), and the Bruins played in front of an over-capacity crowd of 3,143 at San Francisco. In addition, the team played in front of season-best crowds of 2,333 at Santa Clara, 1,095 at Cal State Northridge and 1,112 at Stanford. Overall this season, the Bruins are playing in front of crowds averaging 2,203, and UCLA leads the Pac-10 in home attendance average (1,586). The Oct. 28 men's/women's doubleheader (UCLA men played Oregon State, UCLA women hosted USC), drew the second-largest home crowd in UCLA soccer history - 3,345.