UCLA at Wake Forest
@Winston-Salem, N.C.
Friday, Sept. 11 - 7:00 pm ET/4:00 pm PT
TV - ESPN3
Live Stats - wakeforestsports.com
Twitter - @uclawsoccer
UCLA at No. 4 North Carolina
@Chapel Hill, N.C.
Sunday, Sept. 13 - 1:00 pm ET/10:00am PT
Video - goheels.com (HD - $, SD - Free)
Live Stats - uclabruins.com/livestats
Twitter - @uclawsoccer
UCLA Returns to Tar Heel State
UCLA (2-3) pays another visit to the state of North Carolina, going for the third time in three years. The Bruins will take on Wake Forest (2-1-2) on Friday night in Winston-Salem before heading to Chapel Hill for a fourth matchup in three years against the Tar Heels (5-0-1) on Sunday.
UCLA vs. Wake Forest
The Bruins begin their Carolina road trip in Winston-Salem and will face Wake Forest for the second time in as many years. UCLA won last year's matchup in Westwood, 2-1, on goals by Rosie White and Sam Mewis. Wake Forest goalkeeper Lindsay Preston made a career-high nine saves on 14 UCLA shots, and Riley Ridgik's goal snapped a 772-minute Bruin shutout streak. UCLA leads the overall series, 2-0. The only other matchup came at Wake Forest in 1999 and resulted in a 1-0 Bruin win.
Wake Forest has scored seven goals this season, all by different players. Sarah Teegarden and Maddie Huster lead the team in scoring with four points each. Preston has posted one solo and two shared shutouts and holds a goals against average of 0.71.
Walters Comes Home to Winston-Salem
UCLA assistant coach Joshua Walters Sr. will return to his hometown of Winston-Salem this week when the Bruins play Wake Forest. Walters, who is in his third season at UCLA and his 10th overall season as a collegiate coach, is a military veteran, having served as a First Lieutenant with Brigade S2 (Military Intelligence) of the Florida National Guard during Operation Enduring Freedom V in Bagram, Afghanistan.
UCLA vs. UNC
UCLA and North Carolina, who have won two of the last three NCAA titles (UCLA in 2013 and UNC in 2012), will be meeting for the fourth time in the last three seasons and for the third time in the state of North Carolina. The teams met twice in 2013. UNC won the first matchup, 1-0 at the Duke Classic in September. That UCLA loss would end up being their only loss between Sept. 8, 2013 and Nov. 23, 2014, as the Bruins went on a 44-game unbeaten streak. Among the wins in that streak was a 1-0 double overtime win for UCLA in the NCAA Quarterfinals, the Bruins' first-ever victory over the Tar Heels. Taylor Smith scored the golden goal in the 102nd minute. Last season, the two teams played to a 0-0 tie in Los Angeles. UCLA is 1-9-1 all-time against the Tar Heels. The Tar Heels are outscoring their opponents, 20-2, in 2015, and have 10 different goal scorers, led by Alexa Newfield, who has five goals, and Summer Green who has scored four. Bryane Heaberlin and Lindsey Harris are sharing goalkeeping duties , and they have shared four shutouts. The Tar Heels gave up their first goals of the season last weekend to Cal (1-1 tie) and USC (2-1 win).
Munerlyn to Face Former Team
UCLA junior forward/defender Amber Munerlyn will be facing her former team on Sunday when the Bruins play North Carolina. Munerlyn, who is from Corona, Calif., transfered from UNC this season after playing two seasons in Chapel Hill. Munerlyn played against the Bruins in the last three matchups, starting and playing 49 minutes in the UNC win in 2013, starting and playing 46 minutes in the UCLA win in 2013, and starting and playing 72 minutes in the 2014 tie.
Last Week ...
UCLA lost both contests last weekend, falling 2-1 to both No. 1 Virginia and Texas. UCLA took a 1-0 halftime lead on No. 1 Virginia on Friday night, but the Cavaliers rallied in the second half to claim a 2-1 victory. Taylor Smith scored the Bruins' first-half goal on a penalty kick in the 18th minute after Annie Alvarado was fouled in the box, but Virginia got one back on a penalty kick of their own after a handball in the box in the 51st minute and scored the game-winner in the 58th on a header that hit the far post and went in. UCLA goalkeeper Cassie Sternbach made a career-high eight saves on 13 Virginia shots. Texas jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Sunday, scoring in the fourth and 61st minutes. A long-distance gem by Lauren Kaskie in the 76th minute trimmed the Longhorns' lead in half, but the Bruins' rally ran out of time. UCLA dominated the stat sheet, outshooting the Longhorns by a count of 21-8, but Texas goalkeeper Abby Smith made 11 saves.
UCLA's two-straight losses are the first by a Bruin team since 2010, when the team lost three straight from Oct. 17-29. That team finished the season 13-8-2 and advanced to the NCAA Round of 16.
In the Rankings
UCLA has dropped out of the national rankings but is receiving votes in the Top Drawer Soccer and NSCAA polls.
Spread Offense
Five different UCLA players have scored the Bruins' five goals this season - Darian Jenkins, Gabbi Miranda, Amber Munerlyn, Taylor Smith and Lauren Kaskie. Four players each have one assist - Smith, Hailie Mace, Annie Alvarado and Zoey Goralski.
First-Timers
Four players made their first appearances as Bruins on opening weekend - freshmen Hailie Mace and Taome Oliver, junior transfer Amber Munerlyn and redshirt junior Cassie Sternbach. Players making their first career starts this season have been senior Madison Tye, redshirt sophomore Zoey Goralski, sophomores Gabrielle Matulich and MacKenzie Cerda, and most recently in the Texas game, senior Belden Long and Mace. Sternbach picked up her first career shutout in the 1-0 win at San Diego.
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).
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. North Carolina will already be the Bruins' third against a ranked opponent and second against a Top 5 team.
Taylor Smith on Watch List
Senior forward Taylor Smith has been named to the 2015 MAC Hermann Watch List. Smith is a two-time All-Pac-12 honoree and 2014 All-Region selection. She has scored 20 or more points in each of her three seasons at UCLA and has 26 goals and 73 points in her career. In 2014, she started all 24 games and tied for second on the team in goals scored (9) and game-winning goals (4) and ranked third in points (23). In 2013, she ranked second on the team in goals (8), assists (11) and points (26) and earned first-team All-Pac-12 acclaim. Smith scored the memorable golden goal in double overtime in the NCAA quarterfinals to defeat No. 1 seed North Carolina en route to the Bruins' first national championship. As a freshman, she earned selection to the Pac-12 and Top Drawer Soccer All-Freshman teams after ranking second on the team in goals (8), game-winning goals (3) and points (20).
A member of the U.S. Under-23 National Team, Smith helped lead the U-23s to the Four Nations Tournament title in June, scoring the game-winning goal in the team's final match against England.
Looking Ahead
Following the Bruins' North Carolina trip, UCLA will host Pepperdine on Sept. 17 in the final non-conference game of the year. The Waves are currently ranked 14th in the nation and tied Virginia 2-2 last weekend.