@Seattle, Wash.
Thursday, Oct. 1 - 7:00 pm PT
TV - Pac-12 Networks (Jim Watson, Aly Wagner)
Live Stats - gohuskies.com
Twitter - @uclawsoccer
UCLA at #21 Washington State
@Pullman, Wash.
Sunday, Oct. 4 - 11:00 am PT
TV - Pac-12 Networks (Troy Clardy, Aly Wagner)
Live Stats - wsucougars.com
Twitter - @uclawsoccer
UCLA Travels to Washington
UCLA (5-4, 1-0 in the Pac-12) takes its first conference road trip of the season this week, playing at Washington (7-2-1, 0-1-0) on Thursday, Oct. 1 and at No. 21 Washington State (8-1-0, 1-0-0) on Sunday, Oct. 4. Both matches will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks.
UCLA vs. Washington
UCLA leads the overall series with Washington, 16-3-2, The Bruins won last year’s matchup in Seattle, 6-0. Gabrielle Matulich scored her first career goal in that contest. The Huskies had a six-game winning streak from Aug. 23-Sept. 17 and have been ranked as high as No. 21 in the NSCAA rankings. Shannon Simon leads the team in goals (5), assists (3) and points (13). Goalkeeper Megan Kufeld has posted three shutouts and holds a goals against average of 0.78.
UCLA vs. Washington State
UCLA leads the overall series with Washington State, 16-2-4, and is unbeaten in the last 10 matches. The Cougars’ last victory came in 2004, 1-0, in Pullman. Taylor Smith scored the game-winner in the 48th minute in last season’s matchup, a 1-0 UCLA victory in Pullman.
Washington State, which is ranked 21st in the NSCAA poll and 19th in the Top Drawer Soccer poll,
started out the season by winning its first seven games before suffering its lone defeat, 2-0, at the hands of Portland. The Cougars began Pac-12 play on Sunday with a 2-1 road win at Arizona State. Kourtney Guetlein leads Washington State in scoring with four goals, three assists and 11 points. Kaitlyn Johnson has three goals, three assists and nine points. Goalkeeper Ella Dederick has posted a 0.87 goals against average with two shutouts.
Conference Win Streak
UCLA enters this week’s play with an 11-game conference winning streak (the longest active streak in the nation) and a 23-game conference unbeaten streak. The Bruins have not lost a conference game since Nov. 2, 2012 at USC. UCLA head coach Amanda Cromwell is 20-0-3 in her career in Pac-12 games.
Last Week ...
UCLA recorded its second-straight shutout, defeating Oregon, 1-0, in the Pac-12 opener. MacKenzie Cerda scored her first goal of the season in the ninth minute to provide the game-winner, and goalkeeper Arielle Schechtman shut the Ducks down with a career-high and Pac-12 season high 10 saves.
Schechtman Saves the Day
Redshirt freshman Arielle Schechtman earned her second consecutive shutout in her second career start and third career game, saving 10 of Oregon’s 13 shots. Schechtman had two sequences late in the game in which she saved saved both the initial shot and the rebound shot. The 10 saves by Schechtman are the most by a Pac-12 goalkeeper so far this season. For her efforts, she was named the Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week and selected to Top Drawer Soccer’s National Team of the Week.
Bruins Earn NSCAA Team Academic Award
For the fourth-straight year, UCLA has earned a NSCAA Team Academic Award. The Bruins earned the first NSCAA Team Academic Award in school history for the 2011-12 campaign and have won it every year since. The 2014-15 Bruins posted a 3.03 team GPA to receive the distinction.
Spread Offense
Eight different UCLA players have scored the Bruins’ 10 goals this season. Taylor Smith and Lauren Kaskie have two goals apiece, while Darian Jenkins, Gabbi Miranda, Amber Munerlyn, Kodi Lavrusky, Annie Alvarado and MacKenzie Cerda have one each. Alvarado and Zoey Goralski are the team’s assist leaders with two each. Three players each have one assist - Smith, Munerlyn and Hailie Mace.
Tight Ballgames
Eight of UCLA’s matches have been decided by just one goal. The Bruins have won three games by a 1-0 score and two by a 2-1 count.
First-Timers
Redshirt freshman defender Reema Bzeih became the latest Bruin to make her collegiate debut, playing a strong 33 minutes in the second half against Pepperdine. She went on to start and play 76 minutes against Oregon in the next game. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Arielle Schechtman started for the first time in her career against the Waves and earned a shutout and repeated that performance a week later against Oregon. Courtney Proctor earned her first start of the season on Sept. 11 at Wake Forest and has started the last four games for the Bruins. Claire Winter also saw her first action of the season at Wake Forest and North Carolina and played in a career-best 57 minutes against Pepperdine before earning her first career start against Oregon, playing 80 minutes.
Of the 19 players who have earned at least one start this year, 10 are first-year starters (Hailie Mace, Zoey Goralski, MacKenzie Cerda, Madison Tye, Gabrielle Matulich, Belden Long, Cassie Sternbach, Arielle Schechtman, Reema Bzeih and Claire Winter).
New-Look Bruins
UCLA returns two starters from last season’s historic team - forward Taylor Smith and midfielder Annie Alvarado. Smith started all 24 games last year and ranked third on the team in scoring with 24 points (9g, 6a). Alvarado started in 23 of 24 games (missing only on Senior Day) and recorded a goal (the game-winner against Stanford) and two assists.
The Bruins are not, however, without a large group of experienced players. Nine of this year’s team members played in at least 15 games last year - Smith, Alvarado, Darian Jenkins, Zoey Goralski, Kodi Lavrusky, MacKenzie Cerda, Gabbi Miranda, Lauren Kaskie and Kristiana Konkol-Mroczkowski. Additionally, Courtney Proctor, who played in 24 games in 2013, returns after missing most of 2014 with injuries. Seven of the aforementioned players were important contributors on UCLA’s NCAA Championship squad in 2013, with Jenkins earning All-America honors that season, Smith scoring the game-winning goal in double overtime at North Carolina to send the Bruins to the College Cup, and Lavrusky scoring the championship-winning goal in the final.
Seven of the Bruin starters last year are now playing professionally (Abby Dahlkemper, Caprice Dydasco, Sarah Killion, Sam Mewis, Megan Oyster and Katelyn Rowland in the NWSL and Rosie White in the FA WSL).
Pac-12 Attendance Leaders
UCLA leads all conference teams in home attendance, averaging 1,498 fans per game. The Bruins also lead in overall attendance average, with an average of 1,634 fans coming out to see UCLA each game.
In the Rankings
UCLA is unranked in the national polls but receiving votes in the NSCAA poll.
Looking Ahead
UCLA hosts the Arizona schools next week, welcoming Arizona to Westwood on Friday, Oct. 9 and Arizona State on Sunday, Oct. 11. Friday’s match will be UCLA’s annual Breast Cancer Awareness Game. The Bruins will wear pink jerseys that they will later auction to raise money for breast cancer awareness and prevention.
Postgame Youth Clinic
The Bruins will host a free soccer clinic for youth 8th grade and younger following the UCLA vs. Arizona State game on Oct. 11. The clinic, open to any and all entrants, is hosted in conjunction with Soaring Samaritans Youth Movement, a non-profit charity founded by a young sister team for the purpose of donating new sports equipment to children worldwide. It is encouraged to bring new equipment as a donation to participate in the clinic but not required. To participate, a waiver must be completed and turned in prior to the clinic. Visit UCLABruins.com to download the waiver.
Crosstown Rivalry Comes to Westwood
The annual crosstown matchup between UCLA and USC comes to Westwood this season, on Nov. 6. With over 10,000 fans attending last year’s matchup, this rivalry is not one to be missed! Tickets are on sale now at uclabruins.com/tickets.
UCLA won last year’s game at the Coliseum, 2-0, and clinched the Pac-12 title outright thanks to a pair of late goals by Kylie McCarthy.
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