Saturday, August 26
San Francisco, Calif.
7:00 PM

UCLA

at

San Francisco

Erik Holt
Erik Holt (photo by Don Liebig)
Photo by: Don Liebig, UCLA Photography

No. 21 UCLA Begins 2017 Campaign on Saturday

August 25, 2017 | Men's Soccer

No. 21 UCLA at San Francisco
San Francisco, Calif. (Negoesco Stadium)
Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017 – 7 p.m. PT
Live Stream: TheW.tv
Live Stats: USFDons.com
Tickets - $10 adults / $5 youth 12 and under

About the Bruins
No. 21 UCLA will open its 2017 season this weekend with a road match on Saturday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. against San Francisco. Saturday's season opener will live streamed live on TheW.tv with Charles Wollin on the call. Fans can also follow the game through Live Stats on USFDons.com and also on Twitter @UCLAMSoccer.

UCLA in Season Openers
UCLA is 5-5-3 under head coach Jorge Salcedo in season openers and is 2-1-2 in over the last five seasons. This is the first time since 2014 that the Bruins will be on the road to open the season when UCLA defeated Wake Forest, 3-1. Last season, UCLA earned a 1-1 draw with No. 4 Maryland at the StubHub Center with the Bruins scoring just over one minute into the action after completing 22 consecutive passes.

Scouting the Dons
San Francisco finished last season with a 7-9 record, including going 3-4 in the West Coast Conference for a fifth-place finish in the league. The Dons are led by preseason All-West Coast Conference selections Leon Schwarzer and Aaron Lombardi. Schwarzer earned first team All-WCC honors last season and tied for the team lead with three goals during WCC play, while Lombardi took home second team All-WCC recognition after tying for the conference lead with five assists during WCC play in 2016 and leading the entire conference overall with eight.

Exhibition Round Up
UCLA played a pair of exhibition matches last week in preparation for the upcoming 2017 season and went 1-0-1, with a win over Santa Ana Winds FC and a tie against Top Drawer Soccer's No. 16 Utah Valley.

  • The Bruins defeated Santa Ana Winds FC, 2-1, on Sunday, Aug. 20 as forward Robert Knights scored the game-winning goal in the 89th minute after receiving a pass from Blayne Martinez. Milan Iloski scored the match's opening goal as he finished a give-and-go play inside the box from his brother Brian Iloski in the 20th minute.
  • The Bruins earned a 2-2 draw against Utah Valley, the No. 16 ranked team in Top Drawer Soccer, on Aug. 16 in its exhibition opener. The Bruins jumped out to an early goal advantage in the second minute as Anderson Asiedu received a pass from Brian Iloski in front of the goal and slotted it passed the keeper to the right post. UCLA pushed its lead to 2-0 in the 20th minute when Santiago Herrera was fouled in the box, setting up a penalty shot for Iloski who put his shot in the back of the net.

2016 in Review
The Bruins finished last season with a 10-8-2 overall record and a 4-5-1 Pac-12 record, which was good for fourth in the standings. UCLA advanced to the second round in the NCAA Tournament before falling to No. 4 overall seed Louisville in overtime, 2-1. Eight Bruins earned Pac-12 awards, including All-Pac-12 honorees Brian Iloski (2nd team) and Erik Holt (honorable mention). In addition, five UCLA players earned all-academic honors from the conference including Blayne Martinez (2nd team), Iloski (honorable mention) and Matthew Powell (honorable mention). In January, three UCLA players were drafted in the MLS SuperDraft with Abu Danladi going first overall to Minnesota FC, followed by Jackson Yueill picked sixth overall to San Jose and Michael Amick selected in the second round to Portland. Prior to the draft, three Bruins signed MLS Homegrown contracts with Co-Pac-12 Player of the Year Jose Hernandez, Reggie Cannon and Seyi Adekoya moving to the professional ranks.

Preseason Ranking
UCLA will begin the season ranked No. 21 in the United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) preseason poll, one of three Pac-12 squads ranked in the Top 25, including preseason No. 1 Stanford. The Bruins are set to play three teams in the preseason Top 10 and four in the Top 25. UCLA has home matches against No. 1 Stanford on Oct. 1 and No. 11 Washington on Oct. 29, as well as road matches at No. 1 Stanford on Nov. 2, No. 5 Clemson on Sept. 19, No. 6 Maryland on Sept. 1 and No. 11 Washington on Oct. 8.

Holt Named to Preseason All-Pac-12 Team
Defender Erik Holt earned a spot on the Preseason All-Pac-12 team, as voted on by the league's six head coaches. Holt was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection last season as he split time between defensive midfielder and center back and was one of only two players to appear and start in all 20 matches. Holt contributed to all five shutouts last season.

Preseason Coaches Poll
The Bruins were picked second in the Preseason Pac-12 Coaches Poll, snapping UCLA's streak of seven-straight years as the Pac-12's preseason favorite to win the conference. Two-time defending national champions Stanford was picked as the league favorite with 24 points and four of the six first-place votes.

Terwege Earns TDS Freshman Best XI Team
Freshman defender Brandon Terwege was named to the 2017 Preseason Top Drawer Soccer Freshmen Best XI team. Terwege is ranked No. 45 of Top Drawer Soccer's IMG Academy Top 150 and was ranked was the 13th best defender in the by the organization. Terwege attended the U.S. U-20 Men's National Team camp in London, England and was a member of the U.S. U-19 National Team where he recorded two assists in a 2-1 win against El Salvador as a center back. He was also a U-18 USDDA National champion and started in Finals against Vancouver for Dallas FC.

Fresh Faces
UCLA has assembled another star-studded recruiting class for the 2017 season, as the freshman class is ranked No. 17 in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer. The class is highlighted by three players in Top Drawer Soccer's IMG Academy Top 150 in defender Brandon Terwege (No. 45), midfielder Andrew Paoli (No. 54) and forward Milan Iloski (No. 146). In addition, GK Cameron Douglas from Sacramento Republic FC graduated early to join the 2017 class, while Eric Iloski (Real Salt Lake Academy) joins his brothers Brian and Milan in Westwood. The Bruins have also added a pair of international players in forward Santiago Herrera from Venezuela and Eirik Baekkelund from Norway. Three transfers will join the Bruins in 2017, Alex Knox and Roman Martin from Wake Forest and Anderson Asiedu from Monmouth. Knox was named one of 11 transfers to make the biggest impact on his new club this season by Top Drawer Soccer, while Asiedu was an all-conference performer for Monmouth last season.

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 continue a three-game road swing to begin the season as they head to the Mid-Atlantic to face No. 6 Maryland on Friday, Sept. 1 at 4 p.m. PT, followed by taking on Georgetown on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 4 at 9 a.m. PT. Friday's game against the Terrapins will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.

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