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How appropriate it was when, at practice this week, men’s soccer coach Jorge Salcedo unveiled to his team a large poster of Muhammad Ali, standing victorious over a flattened opponent.

Like Ali in the boxing ring, the Bruins have been an untouchable force.

A force to be reckoned with in the Pac-10 in recent years.

The team’s reign will be tested when the Bruins travel this weekend to the Bay Area to take on greatly improved No. 10 California today and No. 13 Stanford on Sunday.

But, the No. 19 Bruins hope that history remains on their side.

The Bruins (5-2-2, 1-1 Pac-10) have beaten the Bears (8-1-2, 1-1-1) in their last three meetings, leading the overall series between the two teams 28-7-3. Meanwhile, UCLA has defeated Stanford (6-1-4, 1-0-2) in its last five meetings and currently holds a commanding control of the overall series 30-2-4. This includes a 1-0 victory over the Cardinal in the 2002 NCAA Championship game.

“I know I haven’t lost to Stanford since I’ve been here and I don’t plan on it,” senior forward Mike Enfield said. “I don’t want to.”

In order not to lose, the Bruins are going to have to end their scoring woes, which may be difficult against two quality defenses. Stanford, who has recorded six shutouts already this year, is led by goalkeeper Eric Kronberg, who is currently averaging only 0.62 goals scored against and has posted seven shutouts.

“The last two years, three years, the (Cal game) has been decided by one goal,” senior defender Aaron Lopez said. “We know it’s going to be a close game, a good game, so I think we have to play like we’re going to get a shutout.”

In order to achieve a shutout against Stanford, UCLA is going to have to figure out a way to contain the Pac-10’s leading scorer, Cardinal forward Darren Fernandez. A senior, Fernandez, has scored seven goals this season, including two goals last weekend against Oregon State.

This weekend provides the Bruins with an opportunity to rebound from a disappointing loss two weeks ago. After having gone undefeated in Pac-10 play during the 2003 season, the Bruins suffered an early 1-0 loss to Washington.

The weekend game against Cal will also be a homecoming for freshman Kamani Hill, whose high school is only two blocks away from where he will be competing against the Bears. He is expecting a large fan turnout.

“A lot of the younger kids that I know on my high school team, just like my old coaches and a lot of people I just know around the Bay Area will be there,” Hill said.

Hill’s decision of choosing UCLA over Cal was a simple one for him, his motivating factor being his desire to win a championship.

Beating Cal and Stanford will be a big step in that direction.