#14 UCLA vs. #1 Virginia
Marshall Field at Drake Stadium
Friday, Sept. 4 - 7:00 pm PT
Audio - uclabruins.com (John Ramey)
Live Stats - uclabruins.com
Twitter - @uclawsoccer
Tickets: $8 adults/$5 youth (ages 3-16)
#14 UCLA vs. Texas
Marshall Field at Drake Stadium
Sunday, Sept. 6 - 7:00 pm PT
TV - Pac-12 Networks (Jim Watson, Temryss Lane)
Audio - uclabruins.com (John Ramey)
Live Stats - uclabruins.com
Twitter - @uclawsoccer
Tickets: $8 adults/$5 youth (ages 3-16)
No. 14 UCLA Hosts No. 1 Virginia Friday, Texas Sunday
No. 14 UCLA (2-1) concludes a three-game homestand with matchups against No. 1 Virginia (3-0) on Friday, Sept. 4 at 7pm and Texas (1-1-1) on Sunday, Sept. 6 at 7pm.
The UCLA-Virginia matchup is a much-anticipated rematch of last year's NCAA Quarterfinal, which was won by Virginia, 2-1, to snap UCLA's 44-game unbeaten streak. Two years ago, UCLA eliminated Virginia in the NCAA semifinals on penalty kicks en route to its first national championship.
Football Attendees Get Free Admission Sunday
Fans who attend Saturday's UCLA-Virginia Football game can receive free admission to Sunday's UCLA-Texas soccer match by showing their football game ticket.
Cromwell Faces Alma Mater
UCLA head coach Amanda Cromwell will be facing her alma mater Virginia for the third consecutive year. The former Cavalier team captain led Virginia to its first-ever NCAA College Cup in 1991 and then defeated her alma mater in the semifinals in 2013 en route to her first and UCLA's first NCAA title. Cromwell was a two-time All-American, four-time All-ACC honoree and a finalist for the 1991 Hermann Trophy as a Cavalier.
A Look at the Cavaliers
Virginia enters the week ranked No. 1 across all polls with a 3-0 record. The Cavaliers have scored a whopping 16 goals in just three games this season, defeating UNC-Wilmington 8-0, Cal Poly 2-0 and Delaware 6-1. Ten different players have scored goals this season, led by Meghan Cox, who has three. Friday's game will be Virginia's first road game of the season. The Cavaliers are coached by Steve Swanson, who was an assistant coach for the 2015 World Cup champion U.S. Women's National Team. Virginia was the national runner-up a year ago and finished 2014 with a 23-3-0 record.
UCLA is 4-2-2 all-time against Virginia and 3-1 against the Cavaliers at Drake Stadium. UCLA is 1-1-1 against Virginia in regular season matchups and 3-1-1 in the postseason.
A Look at the Longhorns
Texas will play UC Santa Barbara on Friday before coming to Westwood on Sunday. Entering the week, the Longhorns are 1-1-1, with a 1-0 win over Miami, a 2-0 loss to North Carolina and a 0-0 tie with Ohio State. Goalkeeper Abby Smith is the only Longhorn to have netted a goal this season. Her 90-plus yard punt that bounced over the Miami goalkeeper's head and rolled into the back of the net made it to SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays. Smith also has two shutouts and a 0.62 goals against average. Texas went 11-8-4 in 2014 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
UCLA and Texas have each won a game in the overall series. The Bruins won last year's affair in Austin, 1-0, on an early Sam Mewis goal. Texas won the first matchup in 2007, 2-1.
In the Rankings
Despite a win over No. 13 Wisconsin, the Bruins dropped two spots to No. 14 in the NSCAA poll. UCLA did move up two spots in the Soccer America poll and remained at No. 8 in the Top Drawer Soccer rankings.
Miranda Honored as Defensive Player of the Week
Junior defender Gabbi Miranda was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week after scoring a goal and making a backline save in the Bruins' 2-1 win over No. 13 Wisconsin. Miranda scored the game's first goal in the 28th minute, taking a long-distance shot off a corner kick and rocketing it past the goalkeeper into the upper left corner for her second career goal. Additionally, she cleared a shot off the line in the first half for a team save. The Pac-12 honor is the first of her career and a Pac-12 record 51st all-time for the Bruins.
Munerlyn Named UCLA/Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week
Junior forward/defender Amber Munerlyn earned UCLA/Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week honors for Aug. 24-30 after scoring the game-winning goal in the 2-1 win over Wisconsin. Munerlyn, a transfer from the University of North Carolina, came off the bench to net the game-winner at 73:55, following up on a rebound off her blocked header. The goal was her first as a Bruin.
Last Time Out
UCLA notched a 2-1 win over 13th-ranked Wisconsin on Aug. 30 thanks to goals by Gabbi Miranda and Amber Munerlyn. Miranda scored the game's first goal in the 27th minute on a long-distance screamer after a corner kick. Wisconsin came back to tie three minutes later on a Rose Lavelle rebound shot following a Miranda team save, but Munerlyn returned the favor in the 74th minute, following up her own blocked header with a rebound goal of her own, which proved to be the game-winner.
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. Additionally, senior Madison Tye, redshirt sophomore Zoey Goralski and sophomores Gabrielle Matulich and, most recently, MacKenzie Cerda have each earned their first career starts. 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.
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 25 goals and 70 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
The Bruins will travel to North Carolina next week for the third time in three years. UCLA will first play Wake Forest on Sept. 11 before taking on the fourth-ranked Tar Heels on Sept. 13. The Bruins played both of those teams at home last year, defeating Wake Forest, 2-1, and tying North Carolina, 0-0. Amber Munerlyn played in that UCLA-UNC game for the Tar Heels.