#1 UCLA Opens with New Mexico

#1 UCLA vs. New Mexico
Marshall Field at Drake Stadium
Saturday, Aug. 29 - 4:00 pm PT
TV - Pac-12 Networks (Christian Miles, Kelly Gray)
Radio/Live Stats - www.uclabruins.com
Twitter - @UCLAMSoccer | #UNMvsUCLA

Bruins Open With New Mexico
The UCLA Bruins enter the 2015 season as the No. 1 ranked team in the country and will face the New Mexico Lobos in their opening match on August 29 at 4:00pm PT. The game will be played at Drake Stadium and will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks. Christian Miles (play-by-play) and Kelly Gray (color) will have the call. Fans can also listen live by tuning into UCLABruins.com where John Ramey will have the call.

In The Rankings
UCLA begins the season ranked among the nation's elite, ranking No. 1 in the NSCAA Coaches' Poll and No. 2 in the Top Drawer Soccer Poll. New Mexico begins the year unranked in all major polls.

UCLA Voted Pac-12 Preseason Favorite
For the sixth-straight season, the Pac-12 Conference's men's soccer coaches voted UCLA as the preseason favorite to win the 2015 regular season. The Bruins received four first place votes and a total of 24 points. In descending order after UCLA are Stanford (21 points) and Washington (18 points), who each received a first place vote, followed by California (13 points), Oregon State (nine points) and San Diego State (five points). The Bruins, who finished second in the conference last season, have claimed seven Pac-12 titles since men's soccer became a conference sanctioned sport in 2000. The last conference crown for UCLA came in 2011 and Head Coach Jorge Salcedo has led the Bruins to five Pac-12 titles since taking over in 2004.

Adekoya, Amick & Danladi Earn All-Pac-12
UCLA sophomores Seyi Adekoya and Abu Danladi, along with junior Michael Amick, were each named to the inaugural Preseason All-Pac-12 team this season. UCLA's three representatives ties Stanford for a conference-high, followed by Washington and Oregon State with two and California with one. Danladi and Adekoya return to Westwood after finishing second and third respectively in points on the team last season, while Amick comes back to anchor a strong Bruin backline. Amick earned first team All-Pac-12 a season ago, while Adekoya was named second team All-Pac-12.

Amick Named to MAC Hermann Watch List
UCLA junior Michael Amick was recently named to the 2015 MAC Hermann Trophy watch list. Amick is one of 30 men and 28 women from Division I soccer programs to be named to their respective watch lists. Last season, the MAC Hermann Trophy was awarded to UCLA midfielder Leo Stolz, marking the first Bruin to win the award since the MAC Player of the Year and the Hermann Trophy merged in 2002. Amick, a third team NSCAA All-American last season, is one of 13 players on the watch list who received NSCAA All-American nods in 2014.

Scouting the Lobos
The New Mexico Lobos enter the 2015 season unranked after finishing last season with an overall record of 11-6-1 and 4-4-0 in Conference-USA. The Lobos were recently picked to finish second in the conference this season, as voted on by the C-USA men's soccer coaches. New Mexico returns plenty of fire power from last season, including its two top scorers from 2014, Chris Wehan and Niko Hansen. Both Wehan and Hansen were named to the C-USA Preseason All-Conference team, while Wehan also earned a spot on the MAC Hermann Trophy Preseason watch list.

UCLA holds a 10-2-1 all-time record against New Mexico, including an early season 2-1 victory last year on the road in Albuquerque. Goals from Leo Stolz and Christian Chavez propelled the Bruins to the road victory in the team's fourth game of the 2014 season.

Bruin - Lobo Connections
-- UCLA junior midfielder Brian Iloski and New Mexico freshman midfielder Wayde Scibilia both hail from Escondido, Calif. and both attended San Pasqual HS.

-- UCLA freshman midfielder Jose Hernandez and freshman defender Erik Holt both attended the same high school as New Mexico freshman defender Aaron Herrera, Vista Grande HS in Casa Grande, Ariz.

What Returns for UCLA
UCLA brings back seven of its top-10 scorers from a season ago, highlighted by Abu Danladi (16 points), Seyi Adekoya (14 points) and Larry Ndjock (14 points). Ndjock's seven goals ranked second on the team, while Danladi's six assists were tied for first. Additionally, Danladi led the Bruins in postseason scoring, tallying seven points. Joining the offensive returners are a strong core on the defense headed by captains Michael Amick and Edgar Contreras. Amick led the team in minutes played (2,287) and started all 24 games, while Contreras played in all but one game, starting 21. Also on the backend, Chase Gasper returns after being named second-team All-Freshman a season ago.

UCLA Welcomes #1 Recruiting Class
UCLA welcomes the program's third consecutive top-ranked recruiting class this season. The 14 freshmen and one junior transfer will join the returning Bruins to create a formidable roster for the 2015 campaign. Overall, seven players from the incoming class have taken part in the USA National Team program at the U-17 or U-18 level, highlighted by Malcolm Jones and Jackson Yueill who have each been consistent starters on the U-18 team. On the club side, Jose Hernandez was named the U-18 Development League Player of the Year after netting 25 goals last season for the Real Salt Lake Academy. Joining the freshmen is transfer Abullah Adam who set the school record for goals in a season (13) at Lyon College last year.

Tough Schedule Ahead
The Bruins sport one of the nation's most difficult schedules in 2015. UCLA will square off with seven teams ranked within the NSCAA Preseason Top-25, including three teams ranked in the Top-10. The Bruins schedule features non-conference matches against No. 3 Georgetown, No. 13 Maryland, No. 20 UC Irvine and No. 25 Akron. In the Pac-12, UCLA will play a pair of matches against No. 8 Stanford, No. 10 Washington and No. 16 California.

UCLA on the Pac-12 Networks
UCLA will be featured on the Pac-12 Networks often in 2015. In total, 13 of the Bruins' 19 regular season games are set to be televised on the conference's network. Furthermore, the Pac-12 Network, in its' fourth year, will provide live telecasts of all but two of the Bruins' conference matches.

Looking Ahead
After this weekend's opening home match against New Mexico, the Bruins go on the road for two of their three non-conference road games of the season. UCLA will travel across the country to take on two of the best team's in the nation. On September 4, UCLA takes on No. 13 Maryland and on September 7, the Bruins face off with No. 3 Georgetown. UCLA is a combined 3-5-1 all-time versus Maryland and Georgetown.

2014 Season in Review
The UCLA Bruins had one of their most successful seasons in team history last year, making the NCAA Tournament for the 32nd consecutive time, the College Cup for the 14th time and the NCAA Final for the ninth time. Despite falling in PKs to Virginia in the title game, the Bruins had an excellent season, finishing 14-5-5 overall. In the regular season, UCLA had marquee victories over Washington twice, California, North Carolina, Wake Forest and New Mexico among others. The Bruins 6-2-2 conference mark was good for second in the conference, behind only Stanford. Entering the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 overall seed, the Bruins took down San Diego, California, North Carolina and Providence on their way to the championship match. The season was also highlighted by individual success, most notably Leo Stolz being named the 2014 MAC Hermann Trophy winner, given to the nation's best Division I soccer player. Additionally, Stolz and Michael Amick were named NSCAA All-Americans and senior goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. finished his career ranked fifth in all-time career saves at UCLA.