Monday, September 4
Los Angeles, CA
7:00 PM
UCLA
vs
CSUN
Tarun Karumanchi (photo: Ross Turteltaub)
Photo by: Ross Turteltaub
Bruins Set to Host CSUN in Home Opener
September 02, 2023 | Men's Soccer
UCLA (1-1-0) vs. CSUN (1-0-2)
Date/Time: Monday, Sept. 4 - 7:00 p.m. (PT)
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Wallis Annenberg Stadium)
TV: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: Christian Miles (pbp)
Audio: UCLABruins.com
Audio Talent: Nick Koop
Stream: Pac-12.com / Pac-12 Now app
Live Stats
UCLA Welcomes CSUN on Monday for Home Opener
After splitting a pair of games at the Fairfield by Marriott Invitational tournament last week to open the 2023 regular season, the UCLA men's soccer team returns home to host CSUN in its home opener on Monday night, Sept. 4, at Wallis Annenberg Stadium starting at 7:00 p.m. The Pac-12 Networks will be on hand to televise the game, with Christian Miles on the call. Nick Koop will have the audio call on UCLABruins.com. Fans can also follow along with a live stream through the Pac-12 Network, live stats at uclalivestats.com, and live tweets from @UCLAMSoccer.
Quick Hits
The Bruins split two games at the Fairfield by Marriott Invitational in Harrisonburg, Va. last week:
UCLA senior defender Tommy Silva picked up plenty of preseason publicity ahead of the new campaign. Notably, he was the No. 6 ranked upperclassmen player — and the highest-ranked defender — in TopDrawerSoccer's preseason player rankings. He was also named to the Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference Team (see below) and was also cited on United Soccer Coaches' Preseason List of defenders to watch. Silva has earned All-Pac-12 Second Team honors in each of the past two seasons, leading the team last year with eight assists (1-8=10) after posting career highs in goals (6) and points (6-4=16) in the fall 2021 season.
Silva, Lepley Selected to Pac-12 Preseason Best XI
UCLA senior defender Tommy Silva and redshirt junior midfielder Tucker Lepley were both selected to the Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference Team. UCLA was one of just three schools with multiple players on the 11-man list. Silva has garnered all-league recognition in each of the last two seasons. Lepley was voted Team MVP in the fall 2021 season, and came back from an injury to post a five-game points streak down the stretch a year ago.
In The Polls
UCLA appeared in two major national polls this week, receiving votes in both the United Soccer Coaches and College Soccer News polls. In addition, the Bruins were ranked third in the United Soccer Coaches Far West Region poll, trailing only Stanford and California. Monday's opponent, CSUN, checked in at No. 8 in the regional poll. UCLA was ranked as high as No. 27 (CSN) in national preseason polls, and was the team with the most votes outside the top-25 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll.
Bruins in the TopDrawerSoccer Top-100 Rankings
UCLA had three players named to TopDrawerSoccer's rankings of the top-100 players to watch in the country: Tommy Silva (No. 6), Ryan Becher (41), and Tucker Lepley (54). Silva was the highest-ranked back in the country. The Bruins' three cited players are second-most in the Pac-12 and tied for fourth-most nationally (trailing Washington, Akron, Kentucky).
UCLA Picked Third in Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll
UCLA was tabbed to finish third in a preseason poll of Pac-12 coaches. The Bruins were one of three teams to garner a first place vote.
1. Washington (4) - 23 pts
2. Stanford (1) – 21
3. UCLA (1) – 17
4. Oregon State – 15
5. California – 8
6. San Diego State - 6
Plenty of Continuity
UCLA returns the majority of its offensive production from a season ago, including:
UCLA scored four goals in the first half - including a brace from Tommy Silva - and never looked back in a 4-0 home win over CSUN on Sept. 6, 2021. The four-goal halftime lead was UCLA's largest in over 20 years (last: Sept. 6, 2000), and marked the program's first half with four goals since the 2015 campaign. Silva headlined UCLA's offensive production, figuring in the scoring of the team's first three goals to match a career high with five points. Then-freshman Jose Contell and since-graduated Yoni Sorokin both notched their first goals as Bruins in the shutout win.
New Blood
The Bruins brought in six transfers to augment the roster for the 2023 season:
UCLA posted a 2-1-0 record over three home exhibitions this summer, recovering from a 2-1 loss to UC Riverside to post back-to-back 1-0 results over Cal Poly and CSU Bakersfield. The Bruins' three goalscorers, in order, were redshirt junior forward Jose Contell, senior defender Grayson Doody, and graduate midfielder Ryan Becher. UCLA won the shot battle in each contest, allowing just 11 shot attempts combined over the three games (just five of which went on frame).
UCLA Imports No. 2-Ranked Recruit Class
UCLA's current freshman class was ranked the No. 2 class in the country on Signing Day by TopDrawerSoccer. The group is highlighted by MLS Academy standouts in F Jacob Diaz (LAFC - club's top U-17 scorer in 2021-22), GK Wyatt Nelson (Seattle Sounders - 2022 Generation adidas Cup champion), and D Mateo Pinilla (Houston Dynamo - U-19 USYNT member). The incoming group also includes an international import in D Philip Naef (BSC Young Boys - the Copenhagen native was a member of the Swiss U-19 National Team) as well as Texan high school/club standouts in F Sam Scott (Solar SC) and D Tre Wright (won championships with Lake Travis HS and Capital City SC).
Date/Time: Monday, Sept. 4 - 7:00 p.m. (PT)
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Wallis Annenberg Stadium)
TV: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: Christian Miles (pbp)
Audio: UCLABruins.com
Audio Talent: Nick Koop
Stream: Pac-12.com / Pac-12 Now app
Live Stats
UCLA Welcomes CSUN on Monday for Home Opener
After splitting a pair of games at the Fairfield by Marriott Invitational tournament last week to open the 2023 regular season, the UCLA men's soccer team returns home to host CSUN in its home opener on Monday night, Sept. 4, at Wallis Annenberg Stadium starting at 7:00 p.m. The Pac-12 Networks will be on hand to televise the game, with Christian Miles on the call. Nick Koop will have the audio call on UCLABruins.com. Fans can also follow along with a live stream through the Pac-12 Network, live stats at uclalivestats.com, and live tweets from @UCLAMSoccer.
Quick Hits
- UCLA is 1-1-0 so far on the season after splitting games against Virginia Tech and James Madison to open the year
- The Bruins scored four goals vs. VT on Aug. 24, their most in a season-opener since 2018
- Jack Sarkos had two goals in that Virginia Tech game, becoming the first player with a brace in his Bruin debut since 2018
- Dating to Sept. 15 of last season, UCLA has allowed one goal or fewer in 15 of its last 17 games
- All three UCLA goal scorers this season had not previously recorded a goal as Bruins
The Bruins split two games at the Fairfield by Marriott Invitational in Harrisonburg, Va. last week:
- The Bruins opened the season with a 4-1 neutral-site victory over Virginia Tech on Thursday, Aug. 24. All four of UCLA's goals came in a span of 11 minutes and two seconds, as Cam Wilkerson opened the scoring at the 43:51 mark before a spree of goals early in the second half - Ryan Becher netted in the 51st minute before Jack Sarkos scored two goals in a 66-second span -made it a 4-0 game. The Hokies were limited to one shot on goal in the first half, and GK Sam Joseph was up to the task in the second half, making six stops in that half alone as part of a career-high seven-save performance.
- UCLA was edged 1-0 by tourney host James Madison on Sunday, Aug. 27. JMU's Balint Kocso was the lone player to find the back of the net, putting in a header from the top of the 18 to break a scoreless deadlock in the 73rd minute. Sean Karani and Tucker Lepley co-led UCLA with three shots apiece, and Joseph made four saves on the day, including a pair of goal-saving efforts in quick succession on point-blank shots in the 70th.
- UCLA went 12-7-1 overall on the year, the program's most single-season wins since 2014
- The Bruins advanced to the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014
- UCLA allowed one goal or fewer in 10 consecutive games from Sept. 15 to Oct. 29
- The 10-game streak with one goal against or fewer was the program's longest since 2005
- The Bruins allowed one goal or fewer in 13 of the last 15 games of the year
- Jose Sosa and Tommy Silva were named to the Pac-12 All-Conference Second Team (four others were honorable mentions)
- UCLA ended the regular season with an RPI of 26
- 15 different players recorded a point for UCLA, including 10 separate goalscorers
- UCLA kept a clean sheet eight times in 20 games
- The Bruins were 9-0 season when scoring first, and 3-7 when conceding first
UCLA senior defender Tommy Silva picked up plenty of preseason publicity ahead of the new campaign. Notably, he was the No. 6 ranked upperclassmen player — and the highest-ranked defender — in TopDrawerSoccer's preseason player rankings. He was also named to the Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference Team (see below) and was also cited on United Soccer Coaches' Preseason List of defenders to watch. Silva has earned All-Pac-12 Second Team honors in each of the past two seasons, leading the team last year with eight assists (1-8=10) after posting career highs in goals (6) and points (6-4=16) in the fall 2021 season.
Silva, Lepley Selected to Pac-12 Preseason Best XI
UCLA senior defender Tommy Silva and redshirt junior midfielder Tucker Lepley were both selected to the Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference Team. UCLA was one of just three schools with multiple players on the 11-man list. Silva has garnered all-league recognition in each of the last two seasons. Lepley was voted Team MVP in the fall 2021 season, and came back from an injury to post a five-game points streak down the stretch a year ago.
In The Polls
UCLA appeared in two major national polls this week, receiving votes in both the United Soccer Coaches and College Soccer News polls. In addition, the Bruins were ranked third in the United Soccer Coaches Far West Region poll, trailing only Stanford and California. Monday's opponent, CSUN, checked in at No. 8 in the regional poll. UCLA was ranked as high as No. 27 (CSN) in national preseason polls, and was the team with the most votes outside the top-25 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll.
Bruins in the TopDrawerSoccer Top-100 Rankings
UCLA had three players named to TopDrawerSoccer's rankings of the top-100 players to watch in the country: Tommy Silva (No. 6), Ryan Becher (41), and Tucker Lepley (54). Silva was the highest-ranked back in the country. The Bruins' three cited players are second-most in the Pac-12 and tied for fourth-most nationally (trailing Washington, Akron, Kentucky).
UCLA Picked Third in Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll
UCLA was tabbed to finish third in a preseason poll of Pac-12 coaches. The Bruins were one of three teams to garner a first place vote.
1. Washington (4) - 23 pts
2. Stanford (1) – 21
3. UCLA (1) – 17
4. Oregon State – 15
5. California – 8
6. San Diego State - 6
Plenty of Continuity
UCLA returns the majority of its offensive production from a season ago, including:
- 14 of 26 goals (54%)
- 22 of 33 assists (67%)
- 50 of 85 points (59%)
- Four of the top six scorers (based on points) from a season ago
UCLA scored four goals in the first half - including a brace from Tommy Silva - and never looked back in a 4-0 home win over CSUN on Sept. 6, 2021. The four-goal halftime lead was UCLA's largest in over 20 years (last: Sept. 6, 2000), and marked the program's first half with four goals since the 2015 campaign. Silva headlined UCLA's offensive production, figuring in the scoring of the team's first three goals to match a career high with five points. Then-freshman Jose Contell and since-graduated Yoni Sorokin both notched their first goals as Bruins in the shutout win.
New Blood
The Bruins brought in six transfers to augment the roster for the 2023 season:
- Ryan Becher, M (UMBC) – 70 pts in 62 games over four years (25-20=70) ... Lone NCAA player with double-digit goals and assists in 2022 (13-10=36) ... Named to the NCAA.com "Best Starting XI" in 2022
- Oshea Foster, F (San Diego) – WCC All-Freshman Team in 2022 (3-0=6)
- Sean Karani, M (Temple) – 26 pts in 40 career games at Temple (8-10=26) ... Set career highs in goals (3), pts (11) in '22
- Jack Sarkos, F (Lehigh) – Over his last two seasons, posted 16 goals and was a two-time All-Patriot League choice
- Owen Schwartz, D (Brown) – Veteran of 48 games at Brown ... 2021 All-Ivy League choice after posting career-high 3 G
- Noah Sutherland, GK (Lehigh) – Four-year letterwinner ... Had a career-best 10 saves on 9/14/21 vs. Fairleigh-Dickinson
UCLA posted a 2-1-0 record over three home exhibitions this summer, recovering from a 2-1 loss to UC Riverside to post back-to-back 1-0 results over Cal Poly and CSU Bakersfield. The Bruins' three goalscorers, in order, were redshirt junior forward Jose Contell, senior defender Grayson Doody, and graduate midfielder Ryan Becher. UCLA won the shot battle in each contest, allowing just 11 shot attempts combined over the three games (just five of which went on frame).
UCLA Imports No. 2-Ranked Recruit Class
UCLA's current freshman class was ranked the No. 2 class in the country on Signing Day by TopDrawerSoccer. The group is highlighted by MLS Academy standouts in F Jacob Diaz (LAFC - club's top U-17 scorer in 2021-22), GK Wyatt Nelson (Seattle Sounders - 2022 Generation adidas Cup champion), and D Mateo Pinilla (Houston Dynamo - U-19 USYNT member). The incoming group also includes an international import in D Philip Naef (BSC Young Boys - the Copenhagen native was a member of the Swiss U-19 National Team) as well as Texan high school/club standouts in F Sam Scott (Solar SC) and D Tre Wright (won championships with Lake Travis HS and Capital City SC).
Players Mentioned
MF
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
MF
/ Men's Soccer
MF
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
MF
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's SoccerHighlights - UCLA M. Soccer vs. Michigan - Big Ten Tournament Final (11/16/25)
Monday, November 17
UCLA Men's Soccer vs. Rutgers Recap
Monday, September 11
UCLA Men's Soccer vs. Rutgers Recap
Sunday, September 10
Jose Contell’s goal lifts UCLA past California in Los Angeles
Friday, October 21