UCLA Hosts Final Non-Conference Game
September 16, 2015 | Women's Soccer
UCLA vs. Pepperdine
Marshall Field at Drake Stadium
Thursday, Sept. 17 - 7:00 pm PT
TV - Pac-12 Networks (JB Long, Kyndra de St. Aubin)
Audio - uclabruins.com (John Ramey)
Live Stats - uclabruins.com/livestats
Twitter - @uclawsoccer
Tickets: $8 adults/$5 youth (ages 3-16)
UCLA Closes Out Non-Conference Play vs. Pepperdine
UCLA (3-4) hits the end of a tough non-conference schedule this week when it hosts No. 19 Pepperdine (5-2-1) on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 7pm. The Waves are the fourth Top 20 team the Bruins have faced already this season. Thursday's match will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks.
UCLA vs. Pepperdine
The Bruins will play the Waves for the third time in the last two seasons. UCLA beat Pepperdine twice in 2014, winning 2-0 in Hawaii and 1-0 in the NCAA Round of 16 at Drake Stadium. The Bruins are 16-3-2 all-time against the Waves, with four consecutive wins.
Pepperdine began the season ranked No. 10 in the NSCAA preseason poll and has remained in the Top 20 thanks to a win over No. 13 Wisconsin, a tie with No. 1 Virginia, and a win over previously-undefeated Arizona. The Waves have a balanced scoring attack, with two players (Bri Visalli and Jamie Van Horn) having scored two goals each, and six others with one each. Goalkeeper Hannah Seabert has four solo shutouts and a 1.03 goals against average.
Last Week ...
UCLA split in North Carolina last week, defeating Wake Forest on Sept. 11, 2-1, and losing to North Carolina on Sept. 13, 1-3. The Bruins overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit to defeat the Demon Deacons, getting second-half goals from Taylor Smith on a penalty kick after Kodi Lavrusky was fouled in the box and Lauren Kaskie on a one-timer off an Amber Munerlyn pass for the game-winner at 79:05.
The Bruins also took a 1-0 deficit into halftime of the North Carolina game, but the Tar Heels did not take their foot off the pedal, scoring again in the 54th minute to double their lead. Lavrusky got the Bruins to within one in the 82nd minute on a far-post goal after a pass from Annie Alvarado, but UNC slammed the door shut three minutes later with its third goal. Things got worse for the Bruins when Smith was red-carded in the 88th minute. She will miss the Bruins' next game against Pepperdine.
In the Rankings
UCLA is unranked in the national polls. Pepperdine is No. 19 in the NSCAA poll and No. 24 in the Top Drawer Soccer poll.
Spread Offense
Six different UCLA players have scored the Bruins' eight goals this season. Taylor Smith and Lauren Kaskie have two goals apiece, while Darian Jenkins, Gabbi Miranda, Amber Munerlyn and Kodi Lavrusky have one each. Annie Alvarado is the team's assist leader with two. Four players each have one assist - Smith, Munerlyn, Hailie Mace, 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. Courtney Proctor got her first starts of the season at Wake Forest and North Carolina, and Claire Winter saw her first action of the year at Wake Forest and North Carolina. Sternbach picked up her first career shutout in the 1-0 win at San Diego, and redshirt freshman goalkeeper Arielle Schechtman made her collegiate debut on Sept. 13, playing the second half against North Carolina.
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. Pepperdine will already be the Bruins' fourth against a Top 20 team. The Bruins have also faced two Top 5 squads.
Looking Ahead
The two-time defending Pac-12 champion Bruins begin conference play on Friday, Sept. 25 vs. Oregon at 8pm. The match will take place at Drake Stadium and will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks.
