Marshall Field at Drake Stadium
Friday, Oct. 9 - 7:00 pm PT
Audio - uclabruins.com (John Ramey)
Live Stats - uclabruins.com/livestats
Twitter - @uclawsoccer
Tickets: $8 adults/$5 youth (ages 3-16)
UCLA vs. Arizona State
Marshall Field at Drake Stadium
Sunday, Oct. 11 - 1:00 pm PT
TV - Pac-12 Los Angeles (Jason Knapp, Tracey Bailey)
Audio - uclabruins.com (John Ramey)
Live Stats - uclabruins.com/livestats
Twitter - @uclawsoccer
Tickets: $8 adults/$5 youth (ages 3-16)
Bruins Think Pink vs. Arizona Friday
UCLA (5-6, 1-2 in the Pac-12) will host 15th-ranked Arizona (8-2-1, 2-1-0) on Friday, Oct. 9 at 7pm in its annual Breast Cancer Awareness game. The Bruins will be wearing special pink uniforms, which will be auctioned off online following the game, with proceeds going towards breast cancer awareness and research. Fans wearing pink can receive free admission to the game.
Arizona has played five ranked opponents in its last six games, going 2-2-1 in those contests, with 1-0 victories against No. 21 Washington and No. 23 California. The Wildcats dropped a 3-2 double overtime decision to Stanford in their last game. Gabi Stoian leads the team in scoring with six goals, five assists and 17 points. She is tied for first in the Pac-12 in assists and ranks second in goals and points.
The Bruins are 20-1 all-time against the Wildcats and have won 10 in a row in the series, including last year’s 6-0 win in Westwood. Arizona’s lone win came in 2004, 1-0 in Tucson.
UCLA Hosts Arizona State Sunday
After Friday’s contest with the Wildcats, the Bruins will host the Sun Devils (4-6, 0-3) in a Sunday, Oct. 11 contest at 1pm at Drake Stadium. The match will be televised live on Pac-12 Los Angeles and Pac-12 Arizona.
Arizona State has lost six consecutive games after starting the year 4-0. Carli Farquharson, who earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors a year ago, is the team leader in goals (5) and points (13) but has missed the last four contests due to injury. The Sun Devils also had in-game injuries last weekend to starters Tommi Goodman and Aly Moon.
UCLA is 16-1-1 all-time against Arizona State and unbeaten in the last 14 contests against the Sun Devils. The two teams tied last season, 1-1, in Tempe, UCLA’s lone blemish in the 2014 Pac-12 season. Arizona State’s lone victory in the series came in 2000, 1-0 in overtime in Tempe.
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.
Last Week ...
UCLA dropped a pair of games in Washington last week, losing 2-1 at Washington on Thursday and 4-2 at Washington State on Sunday. The consecutive conference losses were the first for a Bruin team since 2010, and Washington State’s victory was its first against UCLA in 11 years. Against the Huskies, Kristiana Konkol-Mroczkowski answered Washington’s first goal with a quick strike of her own 30 seconds later, but an 85th-minute goal by Husky midfielder Amanda Perez gave Washington the victory. In the Washington State game, Darian Jenkins single-handedly brought UCLA back from a 2-0 halftime deficit with two goals 1:16 apart early in the second half. But the Cougars answered right back with two more goals for the final 4-2 score.
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
Nine different UCLA players have scored the Bruins’ 13 goals this season. Darian Jenkins, who had a brace at Washington State, leads the team in goals scored with three. Taylor Smith and Lauren Kaskie have two goals apiece, while Gabbi Miranda, Amber Munerlyn, Kodi Lavrusky, Annie Alvarado, MacKenzie Cerda and Kristiana Konkol-Mroczkowski have one each. Zoey Goralski leads the team in assists with three, followed closely by Alvarado and Smith, who have two each.
Tight Ballgames
Nine of UCLA’s 11 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 five 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). Rowland, along with Lauren Holiday, won the NWSL Championship on Thursday with FC Kansas City.
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 1,534 fans coming out to see UCLA.
Tough Schedule
UCLA plays one of the toughest schedules in the nation, with 14 matches scheduled against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago, including national runner-up Virginia, College Cup participant Stanford and 22-time NCAA champion North Carolina. UCLA’s game vs. Arizona will be the Bruins’ sixth against a Top 25 team. The Bruins have also faced two Top 5 squads.
Seven Bruins on All-Century Team
Seven UCLA players, led by Starting XI selections Lauren Cheney (2006-09) and Abby Dahlkemper (2011-14), were selected to the Pac-12’s All-Century Women’s Soccer Team. Named to the reserve squad were Sydney Leroux (2008-11), Sam Mewis (2011-14), Christina DiMartino (2005-08), Nandi Pryce (2000-03) and Katelyn Rowland (2011-14).
Looking Ahead
UCLA travels to Corvallis for a Saturday, Oct. 17 contest against Oregon State in the Bruins’ lone game of the week.
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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