UCLA
UC Santa Barbara
UCLA Plays First Road Game Saturday at UCSB
September 15, 2016 | Men's Soccer
#7 UCLA at #13 UC Santa Barbara
@Santa Barbara, Calif. (Harder Stadium)
Saturday, Sept. 17 - 7:00 pm PT
Live Stream - Big West TV
Live Stats - ucsbgauchos.com
Bruins Play First Road Game at UCSB Saturday
Seventh-ranked UCLA (3-1-1) will take to the road for the first time this season, traveling to No. 13 UC Santa Barbara (4-2-0) on Saturday night during UCSB's move-in weekend. A crowd in excess of 10,000 is expected for this big showdown. UCLA forward Abu Danladi will be playing in front of a hometown crowd of sorts. He spent four years at the Dunn School in nearby Los Olivos.
Last Time Out
Four different players scored for the Bruins in a 4-0 victory over CSUN on Monday night. Senior Willie Raygoza contributed a goal and an assist in his first start of the season. Also scoring for the Bruins were Matthew Powell, Abu Danladi and Blayne Martinez. Powell's goal was the first of his career, and Danladi and Martinez scored for the second consecutive game. Bruin goalkeeper Juan Cervantes earned the shutout, his second of the season.
Offensive Explosion
UCLA scored just two goals in its first three games, but since being shut out by Duke on Sept. 2, the Bruins have gone on a goal-scoring tear, totaling 10 goals in their last two games. UCLA's offensive explosion has coincided with Abu Danladi's return from injury. Danladi scored two goals 11 seconds apart against Akron and one goal in 34 minutes of play against CSUN. Blayne Martinez has scored two goals in the last two games, and Jackson Yueill had a school record-tying four assists in the Akron game. Also scoring goals against Akron were Seyi Adekoya, Brian Iloski and Jose Hernandez. Willie Raygoza and Matthew Powell had the other two goals against CSUN.
UCLA vs. Top 10
With the win over No. 1 Akron last week, the Bruins improved to 1-0-1 on the year against Top 10 teams and 9-3-5 since 2013. UCLA is 14-5-6 against Top 15 teams since 2013 and will be facing another Top 15 program on Saturday at UCSB.
Danladi's Dandy Debut
Junior forward Abu Danladi did not play in the team's first three games of the season due to a hamstring injury, but he made an epic season debut on Sept. 5 against Akron. Just eight minutes into his first game, he scored his first goal of the year, and then 11 seconds after that, he scored his second. Only two other players in NCAA history have scored two consecutive goals in a shorter time span. Danladi came out of the game after scoring his second goal, which gave him a scoring rate of 0.22 goals per minute. He played 34 minutes against CSUN and scored a goal, which dropped his scoring average to a slightly more mortal 0.07 goals per minute (three goals in 43 minutes). To compare, NCAA scoring leader Russell Cicerone from Buffalo has eight goals in 519 minutes played, an average of 0.015 goals per minute.
Yueill Ties School Record for Assists
Sophomore midfielder Jackson Yueill tied the school record for assists in a game with four in the Bruins' 6-1 win over Akron on Sept. 5. Yueill, who was named to Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week after that feat, had all four of his assists in the second half, including assists on the three goals that UCLA scored in a NCAA-record 32-second span. Yueill ranks second in the nation in assists with five and fourth in assists per game with 1.00. In just over one season, Yueill has already totaled 11 career assists.
National Leaders
In addition to Jackson Yueill ranking in the Top 5 in the nation in assists and assists per game, two other Bruins are in the Top 15 in various statistical categories. Midfielder Brian Iloski ranks 12th with two game-winning goals, and goalkeeper Juan Cervantes ranks 14th nationally in save percentage (0.880). As a team, UCLA ranks 11th in save percentage (0.885), 14th in assists per game (2.4), and 15th in points per game (7.20).
Scouting the Gauchos
UCSB started the season with a bang, winning its first four matches and moving up to No. 7 in the national rankings. But the streak ended over the weekend when the Gauchos lost both matches at the Akron Tournament, 4-2 against Butler and 2-0 against Akron. Kevin Feucht leads the team with three goals. Daniel Amo, Nick DePuy and Ahinga Selemani have two goals apiece. Goalkeeper Titouan Le Roux holds a 1.49 GAA with two shutouts.
The Series with UCSB
UCLA is 34-5-3 all-time against UCSB, but the Gauchos took the last contest, 4-2, in Los Angeles a year ago. The Bruins won the last game contested in Santa Barbara, 1-0 in 2014. In 2010, the UCLA-UCSB game at Harder Stadium drew an NCAA record crowd of 15,896.
In the Rankings
The Bruins continue to steadily climb in the rankings, moving up one spot to seventh in the NSCAA rankings. UCLA moved up two spots to No. 8 in the Soccer America poll and vaulted from 22nd to eighth in the Top Drawer Soccer poll.
Record-Setters
In just one half of action against top-ranked Akron on Sept. 5, UCLA set or tied several records. The Bruins set an NCAA record by scoring three goals in 32 seconds (Abu Danladi, 52:28 and 52:39; Blayne Martinez, 53:00). The previous record was 43 seconds, set by Syracuse in 1989. Danladi's two goals 11 seconds apart gave him the distinction of having the third-fastest consecutive goals in NCAA history. Only Robby Christner of Oregon State (:08 in 2008) and Jon Hall of American (:09 in 1987) scored two goals faster. UCLA now has three players in the Top 11 in this category. Julio Umana scored two goals in 15 seconds in 1994 vs. CSUN, and Eddie Lewis scored two in 20 seconds in 1994 vs. Davidson. Additionally, Jackson Yueill tied the UCLA record held by Michael Stephens (2008) and Zak Ibsen (1991) for most assists in a game with four.
Alumni Weekend
UCLA Soccer will host a Fall Alumni Weekend for both men's and women's alumni on Oct. 20-23. The weekend activities include a ticket to the UCLA Football Homecoming game on Oct. 22, halftime recognition at the Oct. 23 games, a men's alumni game, a postgame clinic after the women's game, and a barbeque. Alumni seeking more information can contact assistant coaches Phil Marfuggi or Louise Lieberman.
Looking Ahead
The Bruins will conclude non-conference play on Friday, Sept. 23 at Cal Poly.
