Men’s soccer’s season still alive

At 2 p.m. Monday, just before the NCAA committee announced its 48 selections to the men’s soccer postseason tournament, the UCLA team was spread out all over campus.

Coach Jorge Salcedo waited for the selection show with assistant Eddie Soto. Some players went down to Westwood to watch. Senior Brandon Owens stayed near a TV in the Morgan Center, ready to send text messages to a few of his teammates who were stuck in class.

After an 8-8-3 season and a disappointing Pac-10 finish, no one on the team was sure that the Bruins would even hear their name called.

Then the announcement came and the Bruins all knew they’d be back together at practice tomorrow, preparing for a first round matchup against New Mexico. Surprisingly, that first-round game will be played at Drake Stadium.

“You go from nerves and anxiety to happiness and excitement,” Salcedo said. “And then you know you’ve got to get back to work.”

UCLA hadn’t missed an NCAA postseason tournament in 24 years, but there was a shred of doubt that Salcedo’s team would make it in this year.

The Bruins did not win any of their last four games. They lost to Washington at home, then were swept in a weekend road trip at Stanford and California. In the final game of the year, a game many felt UCLA needed to win to ensure an NCAA bid, the Bruins played to a 1-1 tie against San Diego State.

That tie left UCLA’s fate in the hands of the NCAA committee.

“It was a lot of sitting and waiting anxiously,” Owens said. “It was one of those up-in-the-air kind of things.

“We hoped that we would get a second chance, because we didn’t have the greatest season.”

Despite all of that anxiety, the Bruins actually received a decent draw. They play at home in the first round Saturday night against New Mexico.

The Lobos finished their season with a 12-4-2 record and won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Because they won their conference, the Lobos received an automatic bid to the tournament. Their biggest win of the season came against No. 13 UC Santa Barbara.

If the Bruins can get past New Mexico, they will only have to travel a relatively short distance to play Santa Clara. The Broncos are the No. 7 seed in the tournament; the top 16 seeds receive a bye in the first round.

Wake Forest is the No. 2 seed in the tournament and the top team in the regional UCLA will have to beat to return to the College Cup, held this year in Cary, N.C.

Boston College received the tournament’s top overall seed.

“We always look at the postseason as a second season,” Salcedo said. “Everybody has to start again with a clean slate. Everybody just has to go out and win.”

Salcedo’s team is carrying over a mentality that last year took them all the way to the national title game. And this year, the Bruins believe that the postseason experience that they acquired in 2006 will give them a big boost in this year’s tournament.

“I think that experience will help us tremendously,” Owens said. “We know what it takes and we’re mentally prepared for the challenge.”