#11 UCLA (4-2-0) at #25 Pepperdine (4-2-1)
at Malibu, Calif.
Friday, Sept. 16 - 3 pm PT
Watch: TheW.tv
Live Stats: pepperdinewaves.com
Twitter: @uclawsoccer
#11 UCLA (4-2-0) vs. Long Beach State (4-2-1)
Marshall Field at Drake Stadium
Sunday, Sept. 18 - 6 pm PT
Listen: uclabruins.com (John Ramey)
Live Stats: uclabruins.com/livestats
Twitter: @uclawsoccer
Tickets: $8 adults/$5 youth
UCLA Faces Fifth Top 25 Team Friday at Pepperdine
No. 11 UCLA (4-2-0) will face its fifth Top 25 opponent of the season on Friday, Sept. 16 when it travels up PCH to face Pepperdine (4-2-1) at 3pm at Tari Frahm Rokus Field. The match will be broadcast online at TheW.tv.
In the Rankings
After losing to then-No. 8 North Carolina but beating San Diego, the Bruins took a slight dip in the nationals rankings, moving down from ninth to 11th in the NSCAA poll. UCLA also dropped in the Soccer America poll to 12th fro seventh. The Bruins went from 11th to 12th in the Top Drawer Soccer poll.
Last Week
UCLA lost to eighth-ranked North Carolina on Friday, 2-1, before rebounding to defeat san Diego on Sunday, 3-1. Freshman midfielder Jessie Fleming had the Bruins' lone goal against UNC to tie the game before the Tar Heels won it in the 69th minute. Fleming's goal-scoring streak continued in the San Diego game, where she scored the first goal and assisted on Darian Jenkins' game-winner. Also scoring in the game was redshirt freshman Anika Rodriguez, who notched her first collegiate goal.
Fleming's Scoring Streak at Four
Freshman midfielder Jessie Fleming has scored a goal in every game she has played this season, notching a total of five goals in four games. Her goal against San Diego on Sunday gave her a string of five consecutive UCLA goals scored. Darian Jenkins broke the streak with her game-winner against San Diego, but Fleming still had a hand in the goal, providing the assist. Fleming now leads the team in goals (5) and points (11). She also leads the Pac-12 in goals per game (1.25) and points per game (2.75).
Multiple Weapons
UCLA has many options on offense, with 11 players scoring 23 goals in the Bruins' eight games played this fall (including the 2-2 exhibition tie vs. BYU and 7-0 exhibition win over Beijing Normal). In regular season play, the Bruins have outscored opponents, 14-7. Jessie Fleming leads the team with five goals and an assist. Darian Jenkins has four goals and two assists, and Anika Rodriguez has one goal and a team-leading three assists. Four other players have one goal each - Annie Alvarado, Amber Munerlyn, Julia Hernandez and Chloe Castaneda have one goal apiece. MacKenzie Cerda and Zoey Goralski each have two assists.
Bruin Strong
Five Bruins have logged over 500 of 553 minutes of playing time in the Bruins' six games this season. Goalkeeper Teagan Micah has played in all 553 minutes, while the starting backline of Kaiya McCullough (525), Hailie Mace (518), Zoey Goralski (513) and MacKenzie Cerda (503) have each played in over 500 minutes.
Fresh Faces
Only four players have started in all six games this season, and three of them are freshmen - goalkeeper Teagan Micah, defender Kaiya McCullough and midfielder Anika Rodriguez. Three other newcomers earned their first starts in the Bruins' last game against San Diego - redshirt freshman Chloe Castaneda and freshmen Jacey Pederson and Sunny Dunphy. Also making her first career start against San Diego was senior Alyssa Alarab.
About the Waves
Pepperdine stands at No. 25 in the NSCAA rankings and is coming off a 0-0 tie at CSUN. The Waves are 1-1 against Top 20 competition, with a 3-1 win over No. 20 Arizona and a 0-2 loss at No. 3 Virginia. Rylee Baisden leads the Waves in scoring with four goals and 10 points, followed closely by Nicole Leggio, who has three goals and seven points. Goalkeeper Hannah Seabert holds a GAA of 0.83 with two solo shutouts. Friday's game is the fourth against Pepperdine in the last three seasons. The Bruins won at home last season, 1-0, on a late Annie Alvarado penalty kick and won twice in 2014, 2-0 in Hawaii and 1-0 in the NCAA Round of 16 at Drake Stadium. The last time the two teams played in Malibu was 2013, and the Bruins won 2-0 on a Darian Jenkins goal and an own goal. UCLA is 17-3-2 all-time against the Waves, with five consecutive victories.
About the Beach
Long Beach State enters the week 4-2-1 and will host San Diego on Friday night before playing the Bruins in their first road game of the season. The Beach are led by Ashley Gonzales, who has scored four goals, and Mimi Rangel, who has scored three goals with two assists. Goalkeepers Ashton McKeown and Imani McDonald have split time between the pipes, with McKeown posting a 3-0-1 record with three shutouts and a 0.24 GAA. UCLA is 3-1 all-time against Long Beach State, with the Beach winning last year's contest, 1-0, in Long Beach.
Jenkins Gets First UCLA Hat Trick Since Leroux
Senior forward Darian Jenkins scored three goals in an eight-minute span in the first half to propel UCLA to a 5-0 victory over San Diego State in the season opener. Her hat trick was the first by a Bruin since Sydney Leroux scored three vs. Colorado on Oct. 28, 2011, and it earned her Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week acclaim.
True Freshman Gets Opening Day Nod in Goal
Australian goalkeeper Teagan Micah became the first UCLA true freshman to start in goal on opening day since Valerie Henderson in 2004. Micah got the clean sheet in the Bruins' first two games and earned Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week honors Aug. 23. She currently ranks second in the Pac-12 in saves per game with an average of 4.17.
International Bruins
UCLA has five international players on its roster this season, all from different countries. Siri Ervik is the lone upperclassman of the group, having arrived from Norway in 2014. The other four are freshmen - Jessie Fleming from Canada, Julia Hernandez from Spain, Teagan Micah from Australia, and Maki Umehara from Japan. Hernandez and Umehara both went to school in the United States (Hernandez played one year at Eastern Florida State College in 2015, and Umehara was born in New York and played at Scarsdale HS in New York in 2012).
#LaurenStrong
The Bruins debuted new warmup shirts to support UCLA alumna Lauren Holiday, who was recently diagnosed with an operable brain tumor. She will have surgery after she gives birth to her first child with husband and fellow UCLA alum Jrue Holiday. UCLA's shirt has the hashtag #LaurenStrong on the front. On the back is her last name with the number 8, which she wore at UCLA.
Crosstown Showdown Moved to StubHub Center
The highly-anticipated Nov. 4 crosstown showdown between UCLA and USC has been moved from McAlister Field on the USC campus to the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. The match will kick off at 7:00 pm and will be televised live on Pac-12 Network. Both UCLA (No. 11 ) and USC (No. 12) are currently ranked in the Top 12. The series between the two teams has averaged over 8,000 fans in the last two years, with an NCAA record 10,128 on hand at the Coliseum in 2014 to see the Bruins defeat the Trojans, 2-0, to capture the Pac-12 title outright.
UCLA Olympians
UCLA had six Bruins in Rio for the Olympics this summer, including bronze medalist Jessie Fleming (Canada) and semifinalist Aline Reis (Brazil). Fleming, an incoming freshman, started six matches for Team Canada and recorded one assist. Reis, the Bruins' goalkeeper coach, started and played in one game for Team Brazil, posting a shutout against South Africa in group play. Former UCLA head coach Jill Ellis selected two Bruins for Team USA - incoming freshman Mal Pugh, who played in three games with two starts and became the youngest player in U.S. Soccer history to score a goal, and alternate Sam Mewis. Rounding out the Bruin contingent in Rio was two-time New Zealand Olympian Rosie White, who played in two of three games for the Football Ferns.
Canales, Pugh Called into U-20 Camp
Bruins Marley Canales and Mal Pugh have been called into U.S. Under-20 National Team training camp in Carson ahead of the 2016 U-20 Women's NTC Invitational. The training camp will run from Sept. 1-19, and the U.S. will face Brazil, England and the Korea Republic Sept. 14, 16 and 18.
Looking Ahead
Pac-12 play begins next week when the Bruins host Arizona State on Thursday, Sept. 22, which is also the first day of classes at UCLA. The match will be televised live on Pac-12 Network at 7pm. UCLA Soccer will be honoring its Olympians on that night, including freshman bronze medalist Jessie Fleming. It is also International Night. Anyone wearing an international soccer jersey will receive free admission.
Alumni Weekend
UCLA Soccer will host a Fall Alumni Weekend for both men's and women's alumni on Oct. 20-23. The weekend activities include a ticket to the UCLA Football Homecoming game on Oct. 22, halftime recognition at the Oct. 23 games, a men's alumni game, a postgame clinic after the women's game, and a barbeque. Alumni seeking more information can contact assistant coaches Phil Marfuggi or Louise Lieberman.