UCLA
Texas A&M
Women's Soccer to Face Pair of Top 12 Teams
August 24, 2016 | Women's Soccer
#15 UCLA at #11 Texas A&M
@Ellis Field, College Station, Texas
Friday, Aug. 26 - 5:30 pm PT
Watch: SEC Network + (David Ellis, Kristi Leonard)
Live Stats: sidearmstats.com/tamu/wsoc/
#15 UCLA vs. #6 Florida
Marshall Field at Drake Stadium
Sunday, Aug. 28 - 3 pm PT
Watch: Pac-12 Network (Jim Watson, Temryss Lane)
Listen: uclabruins.com (John Ramey)
Live Stats: uclabruins.com/livestats
Tickets: $8 adults/$5 youth
Bruins Travel to Texas A&M Friday, Host Florida Sunday
No. 15 UCLA will participate in one of the most highly-attended collegiate soccer events in the nation when it plays at No. 11 Texas A&M on Fish Camp Night Friday, Aug. 26. The match will be aired live on SEC Network + at 5:30pm PT.
UCLA jumps right back into the fire upon returning home from Texas, hosting No. 6 Florida on Sunday at 3pm in the home opener at Drake Stadium. Pac-12 Networks will televise Sunday's match live.
UCLA Offense Firing on All Cylinders
UCLA has no shortage of firepower this season, with seven players scoring 14 goals in the Bruins' three games played this fall (2-2 exhibition tie vs. BYU, 5-0 win at San Diego State, 7-0 exhibition win over Beijing Normal). In those three games, Darian Jenkins has four goals and an assist, Julia Hernandez has totaled three goals with two assists, Annie Alvarado has recorded two goals and an assist, and Amber Munerlyn has scored two goals.
Jenkins, Micah Earn Pac-12 Honors
Week one of the 2016 season saw two Bruins receive Pac-12 weekly honors. Senior forward Darian Jenkins earned her second career Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week award after recording a hat trick at San Diego State. Freshman Teagan Micah was named the Goalkeeper of the Week after posting a shutout in the season opener. Micah had two saves and became the first true freshman to start for UCLA in goal since Valerie Henderson in 2004.
Fresh Faces
Three freshmen started for the Bruins in the 2016 season opener - goalkeeper Teagan Micah, defender Kaiya McCullough and midfielder Anika Rodriguez. All three played big roles in the victory, as Micah posted the shutout, and McCullough and Rodriguez each earned an assist. Also making their UCLA debuts on Friday at San Diego State were sophomore Julia Hernandez, who started the match; freshmen Jacey Pederson and Sunny Dunphy; redshirt freshman Chloe Castaneda and redshirt sophomore Chloe Hemingway.
A Look at the Bruins
UCLA is looking strong after a rebuilding 2015 season that saw the Bruins go 8-10-1 after losing nine starters to graduation. Eight starters return for UCLA in 2016: goalkeeper Siri Ervik; defenders Zoey Goralski, Hailie Mace and MacKenzie Cerda; midfielders Annie Alvarado, Lauren Kaskie and Claire Winter; and forward Darian Jenkins. Cerda started at forward last season but has moved into a left back role. Alvarado and Jenkins are two of four team captains, along with seniors Gabbi Miranda and Courtney Proctor.
Two key Bruins are back in the mix after redshirting the 2015 season - forward/midfielder Anika Rodriguez and midfielder Chloe Castaneda. Rodriguez spent the summer leading SoCal Blues to the US Youth Soccer National Championship, and Castaneda earned United Women's Soccer West Conference Player of the Year honors while leading the Santa Clarita Blue Heat to the UWS Championship.
Another important member of the SC Blue Heat was sophomore forward Julia Hernandez, who joined the Bruins in the spring quarter after transfering from Eastern Florida State College. Hernandez was the UWS Championship MVP, scoring both goals in the Blue Heat's 2-1 overtime victory.
UCLA also brings in the nation's No. 1-ranked recruiting class, led by Canadian Olympic team starter Jessie Fleming and U.S. Youth National Team members Marley Canales, Jacey Pederson, Sunny Dunphy and Kaiya McCullough.
About the Aggies
Texas A&M split its two games on opening weekend, losing to No. 1 Florida State, 1-0, and downing Rice, 4-1. Junior forward Haley Pounds recorded a hat trick and added an assist in the win over Rice. Last season, Texas A&M went 17-7-2 and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals. The Aggies return nine starters from that team, including Pounds and All-America midfielder Mikaela Harvey. UCLA is 3-0-1 all-time against Texas A&M, with the last meeting resulting in a 2-0 UCLA home win. The teams also met up in an exhibition contest in Los Angeles in 2014, which the Bruins won, 3-1. Siri Ervik started in goal for the Bruins in the contest and allowed zero goals in her 30 minutes of play. Lauren Kaskie and Darian Jenkins each had an assist.
About the Gators
Florida opened its season with wins over Iowa State (5-2) and Florida Atlantic (3-0) and now hit the road for a six-match road stretch. Before the Gators visit the Bruins, they will take on No. 3 Stanford on Friday night. In 2015, Florida went 19-4-1, won the SEC regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Round of 16. Three-time All-American Savannah Jordan returns for her senior season. She led the Gators last year with 24 goals, 7 assists and 55 points. Also back is senior Brooke Sharp, who totaled 11 goals and 4 assists for 26 points. UCLA is 4-2 all-time against Florida, with wins in the last three contests, most recently a 2-0 win in 2011 at Tennessee.
In the Rankings
The Bruins moved into No. 15 in the NSCAA rankings this week after being unranked in the preseason poll. UCLA also moved up from 17th to 14th in the Soccer America poll. The Pac-12 coaches picked the Bruins to finish fourth in the conference. UCLA received two first place votes in the preseason poll.
Jenkins Gets Hat Trick in 5-0 Win at SDSU
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. Prior to Jenkins' goals, the Bruins had been quite unlucky with their touches, with Julia Hernandez hitting the left post in the 14th minute and the crossbar in the 19th, and Anika Rodriguez hitting the right post in the 29th minute. But Jenkins quickly turned things around, scoring her first of three goals at 30:48 on a hard-angled shot after Rodriguez sent her a through ball up the middle. Jenkins struck again at 34:07 after a cross from Zoey Goralski, and she completed the trifecta four minutes later with an 18-yard shot into the right corner. Jenkins' hat trick was the first by a Bruin since Sydney Leroux scored three vs. Colorado on Oct. 28, 2011.
Hernandez and Amber Munerlyn added second half goals, with Munerlyn's being one for the ages, a backheel pass to herself and a clinical finish to the upper left corner that has gone semi-viral.
Four Prior NCAA Champions to Visit Westwood
Four previous NCAA champions will visit UCLA this season, including three consecutive matches against 1998 champion Florida (Aug. 28), defending champion Penn State (Sept. 2) and 21-time NCAA champion North Carolina (Sept. 9). Also visiting UCLA is 2011 champion Stanford (Oct. 9). UCLA is also part of the champions club, having won in 2013.
Rodriguez, Fleming Named to TDS Preseason Freshman XI Team
UCLA freshmen Anika Rodriguez and Jessie Fleming were selected to Top Drawer Soccer's Preseason Freshman XI Team. Rodriguez, who redshirted last year after suffering a knee injury during her high school season, is a veteran of the U.S. Youth National Team program and played in the 2013 CONCACAF U-17 Championships. Fleming was a standout for the bronze medal Canadian team at the Olympics, starting every game and recording an assist in the opening game. A member of the full national team since she was 15 years old, Fleming has played in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup and was the Golden Ball winner at the 2013 CONCACAF U-17 Championships.
Two Seniors Recognized by TDS
Two Bruins are on Top Drawer Soccer's preseason Top 100 list - No. 76 Darian Jenkins and No. 91 Annie Alvarado. Jenkins earned NSCAA third-team All-America honors in 2013 and was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. In her career, she has totaled 25 goals and nine assists for 59 points. Alvarado is a three-year starter and two-year team captain who has started 41 of 42 games in the last two seasons, compiling four goals and four assists.
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).
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.
