On March 9th 2024, the UCLA Men's Club Soccer team defeated the University of San Diego 3-2 to win the WCSA Premier League title. The lights of the IM Fortress shone bright as the 1st place Bruins took on the 3rd place Toreros in a high-stakes thriller; the winner was to be crowned league champion.
The Bruins conceded early, but fought back and leveled the score thanks to a rapid solo run by junior Steven Randall, who was assisted by defender Grant Nagle. The excitement was short-lived, however, as USD would respond quickly with another goal, and the Bruins entered halftime down 2-1.
Head Coach Branden Werner's passionate speech rallied the Bruins at the break, and the gaffer made some key tactical changes entering the second half. In the 50th minute, Sophomore Xavier Chang converted a penalty won by Junior Michael Crisera to bring the Bruins level once again. Chang remains perfect from the spot in his UCLA career.
The teams continued to battle throughout the second half, neither side able to find an attacking breakthrough. The Bruin senior center back partnership of Tosh Martin and Quinn Sprague were called upon to make some major tackles and extinguish dangerous USD attacks. Sophomore goalkeeper Ryan Mccloskey also made some key saves in the second half to keep the Toreros scoreless.
In the match's dying minutes, senior captain Ciaran Hernon produced a signature moment of brilliance, bringing the ball down in the box, spinning though three USD defenders and finding the back of the net with a beautiful curling finish. Players, coaches, and alumni ran to the corner flag to celebrate the moment. Hernon's league-winning goal was the exclamation mark on his poetic Bruin career, and it certainly cemented his legacy as one of the greatest captains and players in the program's history.
The Bruins rallied the very next day, traveling to UC Riverside to play the 10th place Highlanders in the final game of the season. The bruins took care of business, scraping out a gritty 3-1 win thanks to goals from Ciaran Hernon, Tosh Martin, and Michael Karapetyan.
UCLA finished the season as league champions with a record of 8 wins and 1 loss, and a (+15) goal differential through 9 games. The 2024 class of seniors graduated with an undefeated record on the IM Fortress across the past 3 seasons. Class.
