UCLA
Clemson
Bruins Travel to No. 10 Clemson on Tuesday
September 18, 2017 | Men's Soccer
UCLA at No. 10 Clemson
Clemson, S.C. (Historic Riggs Field)
Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017 – 7 p.m. (ET) / 4 p.m. (PT)
Live Stream: ACC Network Extra
Talent: William Qualkinbush (play-by-play), Don Munson (analyst)
Live Stats: ClemsonTigers.com
Follow @UCLAMSoccer
Bruins Travel to No. 10 Clemson on Tuesday
UCLA hits the road for the fourth time in five matches to begin the season as they travel to South Carolina to face No. 10 Clemson on Tuesday, Sept. 19 at Historic Riggs Field at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. The match will be live streamed on the ACC Network Extra with William Qualkinbush and Don Munson on the call.
Iloski's Hot Start
Senior forward Brian Iloski has four goals in four matches to begin the season and is ranked top-15 in the NCAA in goals per game (5th), game-winning goals (10th) and points per game (15th). He 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.
Offensive Surge
UCLA's eight goals over its first four games are tied for the most over a season-opening four-game span in the last 10 seasons. The Bruins currently have the No. 27 ranked scoring offense in the country as they average two goals a match. UCLA scored five goals in its season opener against San Francisco, the most goals scored by the Bruins in a season debut since netting five against Penn State in 2003.
Marfuggi Returns Home
Assistant coach Phil Marfuggi will be making a return to his alma mater on Tuesday as he played for the Tigers from 2003-06. The New Jersey native started all four years at Clemson earning All-American, All-South Region, and All-ACC Honors in 2005 and 2006. He was the goalkeeper for the Tigers squad that allowed zero goals en route to the 2005 Final Four in North Carolina and was also a 2006 Hermann Trophy candidate. Marfuggi ranks in the top-10 in Clemson's career records in solo shutouts, saves, saves per game and goals-against average, while also being the program's single-season leader in minutes played.
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. International recruits Eirik Baekkelund and Santiago Herrera each scored in their collegiate debuts against San Francisco, while Wake Forest transfer Alex Knox tallied an assist in the 5-3 victory. Freshman defender Brandon Terwege, freshman midfielder Eric Iloski and junior transfer Anderson Asiedu made their first career starts with UCLA this season, while freshman forward Milan Iloski, freshman midfielder Andrew Paoli and sophomore transfer Roman Martin have made their first career caps for the Bruins.
Scouting the Tigers
The 10th-ranked Clemson Tigers come into Tuesday's match with an overall record of 5-1-0 and are coming off a 1-0 win over Boston College to improve its record to 1-1 in ACC play. Seven different players have scored this season for Clemson and are led by Diego Campos and Jason Wright with two goals each. The Tigers have only allowed four goals this season, ranking 28th in the country in goals-against average at 0.65 as goal keeper Ximo Miralles has registered two shutouts this season. Clemson is also top-15 in the country in corner kicks per game (8.00) and shots per game (15.17).
Last Time Against Clemson
The last time these two programs met was in the third round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament that saw the Bruins earn a 3-0 victory at Drake Stadium en route to making it to the national championship game that season. UCLA would score twice in the first half and David Estrada would add a late goal in the final minute for his second of the match to secure a trip to the quarterfinals. Current UCLA assistant coach Phil Marfuggi was in goal for Clemson and made four saves for the Tigers.
Last Week's Roundup
UCLA opened its home schedule on Monday Sept. 11 with a 1-0 victory over UNLV at Drake Stadium. Brian Iloski finished a penalty kick in the 87th minute, set up by Santiago Herrera earning a foul in the box off a through ball by Andrew Paoli. After only five total shots in the first half by both teams, UCLA took 10 shots and earned nine corners in the second half. UCLA picked up its first shutout of the season as Kevin Silva registered four saves in the match for his fourth career shutout.
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.
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.
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 return to Drake Stadium for a three-game homestand next week starting with CSUN on Sunday, Sept. 24 before beginning Pac-12 play hosting California on Thursday, Sept. 28 followed by Stanford on Oct. 1. The matches against Cal and Stanford will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks.
