UCLA
Stanford
Bruins Head to Northern California for Two Matches
November 01, 2017 | Men's Soccer
UCLA vs. No. 4 Stanford
Stanford, Calif. (Laird Q. Cagan Stadium)
Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017 – 5:30 p.m. (PT)
TV: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: Troy Clardy and Kelly Gray
Live Stats: GoStanford.com
Follow @UCLAMSoccer
UCLA vs. California
Berkeley, Calif. (Edwards Stadium)
Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017 – 1 p.m. (PT)
TV: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: Joe Castellano
Live Stats: CalBears.com
Follow @UCLAMSoccer
Bruins Head to Northern California for Two Pivotal Matches
UCLA will begin a three-match road swing to end the season this week when it travels to Northern California for a pair of pivotal Pac-12 matches. The Bruins will begin their trip on Thursday at No. 4 Stanford at 5:30 p.m. PT, followed by taking on California on Sunday at 1 p.m. PT. Both matches will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks.
Tough Road
The Bruins have played one of the toughest schedules in the country this season. UCLA currently ranks eighth in the NCAA in opponents winning percentage at .597, the highest in the Pac-12 conference, with the next highest being Oregon State at No. 80. They are also the highest ranked non-ACC school in the nation. The Bruins have played six ranked opponents already this season and have gone 1-4-1 in those contests.
Packing Drake
The Bruins played its final home game of the season on Sunday and had one of its best attended home seasons. Over 16,000 fans saw UCLA play its seven home matches this season at Drake Stadium, averaging just under 2,300 fans per contest. It is the largest average attendance since the team moved to Marshall Field for the 2000 season and the fifth highest total attendance.
Iloski's Dominance
Senior forward Brian Iloski leads the Bruins with five goals this season, including three game-winners and is ranked 36th in the nation in game-winning goals with three. He is also top-10 in the Pac-12 in points (12), points per game (0.92), goals (5), goals per game (0.38), shots (32) and shots per game (2.46). Iloski was named honorable mention to Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week after the first week of the season when he recorded his first career brace with the Bruins at San Francisco in the season opener.
Career Night for Knox
Sophomore transfer Alex Knox had one of the top individual performances of the season on Oct. 26 as he recorded five points with two goals and an assist to help the Bruins defeat Oregon State, 5-0. Knox, a transfer from Wake Forest, came into the match having only one assist on the season before scoring his first goals as a member of UCLA and tallying his second assist. He has played in 13 matches, making eight starts, and is now third on the team in points with six.
Pac-12 Leaders
With the second half of the Pac-12 conference season underway, several UCLA players rank inside the top-10 statistically in conference play. Senior Brian Iloski is third during Pac-12 play in shots per game (2.67) and is 10th in shots (16), while junior Anderson Asiedu is sixth in shots per game (2.14). Goalkeeper Kevin Silva is second during conference play in save percentage (.828), goals-against average (0.71) and shutouts (3). Freshman Milan Iloski is top-10 in game-winning goals (2), points (6), points per game (0.86), assists (2) and assists per game (0.29).
Iloski to Iloski to Iloski
Against San Diego State on Oct. 15, all three Iloski brothers played a part in the game-winning goal in overtime. Brian Iloski started the play by passing to Milan Iloski toward the goal line, who then found Eric Iloski at the top of the box as his strong shot beat the outstretched arms of the keeper to the left post. It is the first time this season all three brothers were involved in a goal.
Silva Reaches Century Mark
Sophomore goalkeeper Kevin Silva surpassed the 100 career save mark as he currently sits at 113 in his two seasons in Westwood. Silva has posted four shutouts this season, including three during Pac-12 play, and posted a season-high seven saves at Georgetown earlier this season.
RPI Rankings
The UCLA Bruins are No. 32 in the NCAA's RPI rankings, the third-highest ranked team in the Pac-12 as the conference has four teams in the top-50 of the RPI. Stanford is tops in the conference at No. 13, Washington comes in second at No. 29 and California is fourth in the conference at No. 39.
Midseason Honors
Last week Top Drawer Soccer announced its Midseason top 100 player list and a pair of Bruins made the list. Junior captain Erik Holt moved up four spots from the preseason to No. 54, while leading scorer Brian Iloski jumped from No. 74 in the preseason to No. 72 on the midseason list. Four Bruins also made the Freshman Top 100 player list - Brandon Terwege (No. 33), Santiago Herrera (No. 41), Milan Iloski (No. 62) and Eric Iloski (No. 68).
New Players Making an Impact
The Bruins have had a number of new faces to the team make an impact already in their first seasons in Westwood. Freshman forward Milan Iloski was named Pac-12 Player of the Week on Oct. 10 after collecting three points over a two-game stretch on the road. Freshman Santiago Herrera is second on the team with seven points and also second on the team with three goals. Sophomore transfer Alex Knox is third on the team with six points after scoring twice and picking up an assist against Oregon State on Oct. 26. Freshman Eric Iloski scored his first goal in overtime on Sunday to defeat San Diego State, while junior transfer Anderson Asiedu also scored his first career goal with the Bruins in the win. Freshman Eirik Baekkelund scored in his collegiate debut against San Francisco, while sophomore transfer Roman Martin netted his first career goal with the Bruins against the Beavers at home. Freshman defender Brandon Terwege and freshman midfielder Andrew Paoli made their first career starts, while Tobi Henneke recorded his first career cap.
Scouting the Cardinal
Stanford is looking to clinch the Pac-12 title on Thursday with a win over the Bruins. They are 12-2-1 this season including 6-0-1 in Pac-12 play with the only blemish a 1-1 draw at home to Washington. The Cardinal are No. 6 in the country in points per game (6.93) and 14th in the nation in scoring offense (2.07). Foster Langsdorf is 16th in the NCAA in goals per game (0.67) and 19th in points per game (1.53). Defensively, Nico Corti is ninth in the country with eight shutouts and has posted a 0.53 goals-against average.
Last Time Against Stanford
No. 11 Stanford earned just its third win in nine matches at Drake Stadium, earning a 1-0 victory against UCLA on Oct. 1. Drew Skundrich scored the lone goal with a header in the box off a service from Sam Werner. The Bruins outshot the Cardinal 4-0 in the second half but Nico Corti picked up the shutout with a pair of saves.
Scouting the Golden Bears
California is receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and are 9-5-0 overall this season and also tied with UCLA entering the weekend with a 4-3-0 mark in Pac-12 play. Jose Carerra-Garcia leads the team with 15 points including ranking eighth in the country in assists per game, while Shinya Kadono is the team leader with six goals. Drake Callender has posted five shutouts this season and a 1.21 goals-against average.
Last Time Against California
The Golden Bears earned a 2-0 victory over UCLA on Sept. 28 at Drake Stadium. Drake Callender registered six saves to record the shutout as Samuel Ebstein and Shinya Kadono scored for Cal.
Last Time Out
UCLA suffered a 1-0 setback to No. 23 Washington on Sunday in the final regular season home match for the Bruins. Jaret Townsend's second-half goal was the game-winner in ght 65th minute. Christian Chavez almost scored the equalizer late in regulation as his shot went passed Saif Kerawala, but the UW backline came up with a team save to keep the clean sheet.
National Teams
UCLA has a plethora of national team players on its 2017 squad with various U.S. Youth National Teams experience in their career - Christian Chavez (YNT), Cameron Douglas (U-18), Erik Holt (U-17, U-14), Brian Iloski (U-20, U-18), Milan Iloski (U-19, U-18), Malcolm Jones (U-20, U-18, U-17, U-15, U-14), Robert Knights (U-18), Andrew Paoli (U-18, U-16), Kevin Silva (U-19, U-17) and Brandon Terwege (U-20, U-19). In addition, Tobi Henneke played with the German U-16 National Team.
Happy Anniversary
UCLA is celebrating a pair of anniversaries this season as it is the 15th anniversary of its 2002 national championship and the 20th anniversary of its 1997 national title run.
- On Dec. 15, 2002 in Dallas, Texas, Aaron Lopez would one-time a free kick from Ryan Futagaki in to the back of the net with just 1:02 remaining on the clock for the match's lone goal. Lopez was named the MVP of the College Cup, while teammates Zach Wells, who earned a shutout in the title game, Adolfo Gregorio, Matt Taylor and Scot Thompson received All-Tournament acclaim. First-year head coach Tom Fitzgerald became just the second coach in NCAA soccer history to win a Division I national title in his first season with the program.
- Facing Virginia in their home state, the Bruins picked up their third NCAA national championship on Dec. 14, 1997. Despite several key injuries throughout the season and the postseason run, head coach Sigi Schmid devised a more defensive, counterattacking style that frustrated the Cavaliers the entire game. In the 80th minute UCLA capitalized on an error as Martin Bruno found Offensive MVP Seth George who beat the keeper one-on-one for the go-ahead score. George would then score two minutes later to secure the title for the Bruins.
50 Years of UCLA Men's Soccer
UCLA men's soccer enters its 50th season as an NCAA sport with an all-time record of 758-202-106 (.764). Under head coach Dennis Storer, UCLA went 12-1-1 in its first season associated with the NCAA in 1967, tallying an 5-0 win over Cal Poly Pomona in its first game, along with a 8-1 win over USC during an 11-match winning streak. UCLA earned its first NCAA Tournament appearance just one year later and collected its first postseason victory in 1970. Since then, the Bruins have made a total of 44 appearances in the NCAA tournament, including 34 consecutive trips dating back to 1983. UCLA has advanced to nine NCAA championship games and has been crowned national champion four times (1985, 1990, 1997 and 2002).
Looking Ahead
The Bruins will play its final regular season match of 2017 next week when they travel to San Diego State on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. PT. The regular season finale will be live streamed on GoAztecs.com.
