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Goalkeeper Eric Reid and the Bruins struggled defensively against Cal and Stanford.

After last weekend’s wild games, the Bruin defense is eager to get back to the consistency that it has shown throughout the season. The Bruins allowed three goals in the second half alone of the Cal game on Sunday, matching the total number of goals scored against them in the entire conference season. “We were extremely shocked,” redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Eric Reed said. “After the first goal I was shocked, so you can only imagine after the second and third goals. It just didn’t look like we were out there to play at the time.” “Sometimes games like that happen, and unfortunately it happened this weekend,” coach Jorge Salcedo added. “I just think it happened to be a few mental mistakes.” Miscommunication between Reed and his defense put UCLA in a hole against both Stanford and Cal. Lining up defensively for what they believed to be a routine indirect kick against the Cardinal on Friday night, the Bruins allowed an easy goal on what turned out to be a direct kick, leaving Reed with his hands in the air in confusion. Two nights later, all three of Cal’s goals were also the result of miscommunication and poor decision-making. “We need to work on what decisions need to be made in certain parts of the field,” Salcedo said. “You have to get yourself in a good position. You have to mentally think, if my teammate doesn’t win the ball, what do I do?” Despite these lapses, the defense is not concerned that last weekend could be a foreshadowing of more difficulties to come. Each member of the team points to the solid record it has amassed up until this point, a record including five shutouts, two of which were against Cal and Stanford earlier this month. “It was a funny game (against Cal) because that was probably the first time that the defense has had a lapse,” senior defender Aaron Lopez said. “We just got cocky from the first half. We had a lot of chances to score in the first half and we just thought we were going to go out there and walk all over them.” On the agenda for the men’s soccer team this weekend will be trying to put two complete halves of soccer together. “It was a lapse of focus for a split second, and it cost us a few times,” said Reed of last weekend’s games. “We need to stay focused into the game for a whole 90 minutes instead of taking breaks and losing the consistency that we’ve had up until now.”

FRESHMAN STANDOUT: Freshman defender Marvell Wynne continued his impressive play for the Bruins, recording his first assist as a Bruin in the Cal game. He has been earning a significant amount of playing time, starting in each of the last seven games. “I thought it would have taken more time for him to incorporate himself into the team and have an understanding of what needed to be done,” Salcedo said. “But he’s proven that he is one of our best defenders on our team, even though he is a freshman.”