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UCLA Visits Clemson For Second Round NCAA Tilt

by uclabruins.com
Nov 19, 2022
Andre Ochoa (photo: Scott Chandler)

UCLA (11-6-1) at No. 12 Clemson (13-6-1)
NCAA Tournament - Second Round
Date/Time: Sunday, Nov. 20 - 3:00 p.m. (PT)
Location: Clemson, S.C. (Historic Riggs Field)
Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats

UCLA VISITS CLEMSON FOR SECOND ROUND NCAA TOURNAMENT BATTLE
After downing California Baptist by a score of 2-1 in the first round on Thursday, UCLA (11-6-1) will travel to ACC-member and reigning National Champion Clemson (13-6-1) for a Second Round showdown on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. PT (6:00 p.m. local time). The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ (subscription required). Fans can also follow along with live stats on uclalivestats.com, and live updates on Twitter from @UCLAMSoccer. 

QUICK HITS

  • UCLA is 11-6-1 overall on the year, and is appearing in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year
  • The Bruins are making their 47th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, going 75-42 and winning four titles
  • UCLA allowed one goal or fewer in 10 consecutive games from Sept. 15 to Oct. 29, has given up ≤ 1 GA in 12 of the last 13 games
  • The 10-game streak with one goal against or fewer was the program's longest since 2005
  • 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
  • The Bruins have kept a clean sheet in four of the last eight games
  • 14 different players have recorded a point so far for UCLA, including 10 separate goalscorers
  • UCLA's eight shutouts on the season are tied for No. 21 in the country
  • UCLA is 9-0 this season when scoring first, and 2-6 when conceding first
  • In all competitions, the Bruins are averaging just 4.05 shots on goal against 
  • 2021: 11-7-1, reached second round of NCAA Tournament, +8 goal differential (all best since 2015)

NEXT UP
The winner of Sunday's UCLA-Clemson game will go on to face the winner of No. 11 SMU vs. Vermont, on either Nov. 25 or 26. SMU (10-5-1) is hosting Vermont (14-3-2) in Dallas starting at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. 

BRUINS IN THE NCAA POSTSEASON

  • UCLA earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament after going 10-6-1 overall and finishing fourth in the Pac-12
  • Last year, the Bruins defeated UC Santa Barbara at home in the first round before dropping a 2-1 heartbreaker at Duke
  • This is UCLA's 47th appearance in the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament all-time
  • UCLA is tied with Indiana for the second-most NCAA Tournament appearances of any school (St. Louis: 50)
  • The Bruins qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 34 consecutive seasons from from 1983-2016
  • UCLA is 25-14 all-time in NCAA Second Round games
  • The Bruins have won four national championships in program history: 1985, 1990, 1997, 2002

UCLA ADVANCES AFTER FIRST ROUND WIN OVER CBU
Behind goals from forwards Jose Contell and Kevin Diaz, UCLA overcame an early deficit to post a 2-1 win over California Baptist on Thursday night at Wallis Annenberg Stadium. 

  • The result was eerily similar to the Bruins' first round game in the 2021 tournament. In both contests, UCLA conceded first but equalized via Contell and received a game-winning goal from Diaz. Last year's game also had the Bruins defeating a Southern California mid major before flying cross country to face an ACC foe in the second round
  • Freshman keeper Sam Joseph made his collegiate debut, making four saves and picking up his first NCAA win
  • Cal Baptist, playing its first-ever NCAA Tournament game, opened the scoring at 6:43 on a five-hole score from Luis Mueller
  • UCLA equalized just 78 seconds later (8:01), as Andre Ochoa made a run through the midfield and laid off a ball down the left side for Tommy Silva, who took a touch and then whipped in a cross. Contell made a perfectly-timed run and met the ball at the edge of the six, re-directing the ball off a short-hop high past the CBU keeper
  • The two teams battled to a stalemate for 60 minutes after those two quick goals, but Diaz knocked in the game-winner in the 69th minute. Diaz coralled a loose ball on the left side of the box after a deflection at the top of the 18, then settled and beat the keeper low to the far post
  • CBU had just one shot on goal after Diaz's go-ahead score

TAKING ON THE REIGNING CHAMPS
Sunday marks the seventh time ever, and first time since 1999, that UCLA has faced a reigning national champion in the NCAA Tournament:

  • Last: Dec. 10, 1999 vs. Indiana (UCLA fell, 3-2, in a four-overtime epic)
  • Others: 1970, 1973, and 1974 vs. Saint Louis, 1976 and 1977 vs. San Francisco
  • The last time UCLA faced a reigning national champ in the regular season was Sept. 6, 2019 against Maryland, as the Bruins took down the then-No. 1-ranked Terrapins by a score of 3-2 in Ryan Jorden's first home game as UCLA's head coach

HOLDING IT DOWN
UCLA allowed one goal or fewer in 10 consecutive games between Sept. 15 and Oct. 29, conceding just four goals total over that span:

  • It was the program's longest streak of games with 1 GA against or fewer since 2005
  • The team went 6-3-1 during the streak
  • UCLA kept six clean sheets over those 10 games
  • Entering Sunday, the Bruins have allowed one goal or fewer in 12 of their last 13 games, and 14 of 18 games overall this season

KEEPING IT CLEAN
Thanks in part to a large advantage in possession numbers, UCLA is committing just 9.11 fouls per game to this point of the season. That figure leads the Pac-12, and ranks No. 8 nationally (1st: Missouri State, 6.94). 

FEELING LIKE A 10
With its regular-season-closing win at San Diego State, UCLA hit the 10-win plateau for the season. It marks the program's 63rd season all-time with 10 wins, and the first back-to-back campaigns with double-digit wins since 2015-16. 

THE SERIES AGAINST CLEMSON
UCLA holds a 5-2 advantage in the all-time series against Clemson, though the two teams have matched up just once in the last 15 years. This marks UCLA's third true road game at Clemson in program history, with the teams splitting two prior games. Clemson emerged victorious in the most-recent matchup, securing a 3-0 result at home during the 2017 season. UCLA head coach Ryan Jorden is facing Clemson for the first time in his career. This is the fifth postseason meeting between UCLA and Clemson, with the Bruins going 3-1-0 in the four previous matchups. 

  • UCLA 2-1 Clemson - 1973 at UCLA (NCAA Tournament Semifinals)
  • UCLA 2-1 Clemson - Sept. 8, 1984 at Indiana
  • UCLA 1-4 Clemson - Dec. 9, 1984 at UCLA (NCAA Tournament Semifinals)
  • UCLA 3-0 Clemson - Oct. 26, 1986 at Clemson
  • UCLA 2-1 Clemson - Dec. 6, 1997 at UCLA (NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals)
  • UCLA 3-0 Clemson - Nov. 18, 2006 at UCLA (NCAA Tournament Third Round)
  • UCLA 0-3 Clemson - Sept. 19, 2017 at Clemson

POSTSEASON HISTORY AGAINST CLEMSON
UCLA and Clemson have met four previous times in the NCAA Tournament, with UCLA winning three of those games. This is the first time the two schools have met in the second round, with a 2006 third-round matchup representing the previous-earliest postseason meeting in the series. The two schools twice met in the tourney semifinals, and UCLA downed the Tigers in the quarterfinals en route to the 1997 NCAA Championship. Sunday marks the first UCLA-Clemson postseason game to be played at Clemson. 

NATE THE GREAT
UCLA keeper Nate Crockford enters Sunday at or near the top of the Pac-12 in practically every goalkeeping statistic:

  • 1st – solo shutouts (8), saves (55), save percentage (.786)
  • 2nd – GAA (0.88), GA (15, tied)
  • 3rd – wins (10)
  • He's allowed one goal or fewer in 11 of his last 12 games, averaging 3.9 saves per game over that span
  • Crockford was named to the Nov. 1 TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week after stopping a PK as part of a six-save shutout at Rutgers
  • His eight shutouts are tied for ninth-most of any keeper in the country

UCLA IN THE PAC-12 ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
The Pac-12 Conference unveiled its 2022 all-conference team on Nov. 15, and the Bruins had six players represented:

  • 2nd Team (2): Tommy Silva (D), Jose Sosa (M)
  • Honorable Mention (4): Jose Contell (F), Nate Crockford (GK), Kevin Diaz (F), Pietro Grassi (D)
  • UCLA's six honorees were tied for second-most in the league, trailing only Washington's nine

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Sunday's game marks UCLA's second trip to the east coast this year, having previously defeated Rutgers 1-0 in Piscataway, N.J. on Oct. 29. Riley Ferch scored off a corner to record the game-winner in that contest. 
The Bruins closed the 2022 regular season with a four-game road trip. It marked the first time the Bruins played four consecutive games away from home since the 2014 season, and the first time playing four true road games in a row since 2012. 

STAYING CLOSE
The Bruins have shown a penchant for close games in recent times. Dating back to last season, UCLA has had 28 of the last 36 games (and 24 of the last 29) decided by one goal or fewer. UCLA's three-goal margin of victory over Liberty on Sept. 2, 2022 was its largest since taking down San Diego State 4-1 on Nov. 12, 2021. 

SILVA IS SIZZLING
Left back Tommy Silva paces the team with eight assists, tied for third in the Pac-12 Conference. He's twice been recognized nationally this season, making the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week on Aug. 29 after helping UCLA to a pair of season-opening 1-0 victories and then making the College Soccer News Team of the Week on Sept. 19 following his two-assist performance against Cal. That game against Cal marked the first multi-assist outing of his career, and the first by a Bruin this season. All-time, UCLA is 16-1-1 when Silva records a point.

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