UCLA
Northwestern (Second Round)
UCLA Welcomes Northwestern in NCAA Second Round
November 16, 2017 | Women's Soccer
No. 2 Seed UCLA (16-2-2) vs. Northwestern (12-7-3)
Date/Time: Friday, Nov. 17, 2017 โ 8 p.m. (PT)
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Marshall Field at Drake Stadium)
Internet Video: pac-12.com/live/ucla
Internet Radio: uclabruins.com
Radio Talent: Bryan Fenley
Live Stats: uclalivestats.com
Tickets: $10 adults / $8 youth and students
NO. 2 SEED UCLA WELCOMES NORTHWESTERN IN NCAA SECOND ROUND
No. 2-seeded and No. 4-ranked UCLA (16-2-2) will host the Big Ten's Northwestern (12-7-3) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, Nov. 17 at Marshall Field at Drake Stadium. The match will begin at 8 p.m. after the completion of the Virginia-Pepperdine second round match at 5 p.m. and will be live streamed on pac-12.com.
UCLA'S NCAA HISTORY
The Bruins are making their 21st overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament. UCLA has a 58-17-4 all-time NCAA
Tournament record. The Bruins advanced to the Round of 16 in their last tournament appearance in 2016, falling in penalty kicks in icy conditions at West Virginia. UCLA won its only NCAA Championship in 2013.
UCLA AGAINST THE NCAA FIELD
UCLA posted a 6-2-2 regular season record against members of the 64-team NCAA Tournament field. The Bruins
have wins over San Diego State (5-1), Santa Clara (4-2), Virginia (2-1), Colorado (2-0), California (1-0) and USC (3-2,OT). UCLA's only non-victories this year have come against NCAA Tournament teams - ties against Pepperdine (1-1) and Arizona (2-2) and losses to Washington State (1-0) and Stanford (1-0).
DRAKE PAC-ED
UCLA set a new NCAA women's soccer regular season attendance record on Nov. 3 when 11,925 fans packed Drake Stadium to see the Bruins beat USC, 3-2 in overtime. The attendance mark broke the previous record set in 2014 when 10,128 fans came to the Los Angeles Coliseum to see UCLA defeat USC, 2-0, and was the most-attended women's soccer game on a college campus in the sport's history. The top four most-attended regular season women's soccer games have all been UCLA vs. USC games.
NCAA Women's Soccer Regular Season Single-Game Attendance Records
1) 11,925 - Nov. 3, 2017, USC at UCLA (Drake Stadium)
2) 10,128 - Nov. 7, 2014, UCLA at USC (Los Angeles Coliseum)
3) 8,527 - Oct. 22, 2010, UCLA at USC (Los Angeles Coliseum)
4) 8,508 - Nov. 4, 2016, UCLA vs. USC (StubHub Center)
NCAA Women's Soccer Single-Game Attendance Records (All Games)
1) 14,410 - Dec. 5, 1999, UNC vs. Notre Dame, NCAA Final (San Jose, Calif.)
2) 14,013 - Dec. 3, 1999, UNC vs. Penn State, Notre Dame vs. Santa Clara, NCAA Semifinal (San Jose, Calif.)
3) 11,925 - Nov. 3, 2017, USC at UCLA (Drake Stadium)
BRUINS RANK SECOND NATIONALLY IN ATTENDANCE
UCLA ended the regular season ranked second in the nation in average home attendance this season, bringing in an average of 2,984 fans. The average was just 22 off the national leader BYU, who finished the year with an average attendance of 3,006.
UCLA Women's Soccer- Single-Game Home Attendance
1) 11,925 - Nov. 3, 2017 vs. USC
2) 6,254 - Nov. 6, 2015 vs. USC
3) 4,068 - Oct. 28, 2012 vs. Stanford
4) 3,941 - Oct. 1, 2017 vs. Oregon State
FLEMING ON NATIONAL TEAM DUTY
Midfielder Jessie Fleming missed the last two games after being called into Canadian National Team duty for the team's two games against the U.S. National Team. The U.S. and Canada will played each other on Nov. 9 in Vancouver to a 1-1 draw and Nov. 12 in San Jose with the U.S. winning 3-1.
SENIORS GET THE START
UCLA honored its six seniors on Senior Day Friday with starts against crosstown rival USC. Defender Chloe Hemingway earned her first career start and cleared a shot off the line in the first half. Goalkeeper Siri Ervik started for the first time in two years. The other four seniors - MacKenzie Cerda, Zoey Goralski, Gabrielle Matulich and Claire Winter - are regular starters.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
UCLA moved up another spot to No. 4 in the final regular season ranking by the United Soccer Coaches. The Bruins spent six weeks at No. 1 from late August to October. UCLA is ranked No. 3 by Top Drawer Soccer and No. 4 by Soccer America.
NOTABLES
UCLA had an 18-game unbeaten streak come to an end on Oct. 19 when it dropped its first game of the year, 1-0 at Washington on Oct. 22 โฆ The Bruins won their first seven games of the season to record the program's longest winning streak to begin a year since the 2001 team won its first 11 games โฆ Julia Hernandez has scored three of her six career goals against San Diego State.
SIX BRUINS EARN PAC-12 POSTSEASON HONORS
A total of six Bruins received Pac-12 women's soccer postseason awards, led by first-team All-Pac-12 honorees Jessie Fleming, Hailie Mace and Ashley Sanchez. Also receiving All-Pac-12 honors were Kaiya McCullough (second team) and MacKenzie Cerda (third team). Sanchez and Delanie Sheehan were selected to the All-Freshman team.
THREE UCLA PLAYERS RECEIVE ACADEMIC HONORS
Three Bruins earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors this week as junior forward Julia Hernandez was named to the first team and is eligible for Academic All-America consideration, while sophomore forward Sunny Dunphy and sophomore defender Kaiya McCullough were selected to the all-district second team.
MACE SETS THE PACE
Junior forward Hailie Mace continues to pace UCLA in the scoring column, second in the Pac-12 in goals (13), and the team in points (29), both career-high totals for the former defender. On Aug. 24, Mace recorded a first half hat trick, the 26th hat trick in UCLA women's soccer history, in the 4-2 win over Santa Clara. She also added a brace against Oregon State, scoring two goals in just over six minutes and against Arizona State. Mace ranks 16th in the NCAA in goals scored and 28th in total points.
SANCHEZ STEALS SHOW
Freshman Ashley Sanchez has established herself as one of the top freshmen in the nation. At Virginia on Sept. 7, she scored the game's first goal and assisted on the game-winner and was subsequently named Top Drawer Soccer National Player of the Week, and at Colorado on Sept. 22, she scored the game-winner and assisted on the second goal. Sanchez ranks second on the team in points (21) and goals scored (6) and third in the Pac-12 and is ranked 18th nationally in assists with nine.
RODRIGUEZ ROLLING IN PAC-12 PLAY
Sophomore Anika Rodriguez saved her best play of the season for conference play, scoring 14 of her 17 points during Pac-12 play. Her 14 points in conference games rank third in the conference, and her six assists in conference games are tied for the best in the Pac-12. Rodriguez is third on the team in points with 19 and second in assists with seven.
MICAH HITS CENTURY MARK
Sophomore goalkeeper Teagan Micah surpassed the century mark for career saves and now has 138 in her career,
which rank sixth all-time at UCLA. She posted a season-best six saves twice this season (in the Bruins' shutout win at BYU and at Washington State). Micah has recorded seven shutouts this season and has 16 in her brief Bruin career, tied for sixth all-time at UCLA.
FAMILIAR FOE
UCLA's volunteer assistant coach Sam Greene will be facing her alma mater on Friday as she was a four-year
letterwinner at Northwestern. Greene was a two-time Academic All-Big Ten soccer player and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar during her senior year. She finished her career ranked fourth on Northwestern's
career (16) and single-season (eight) assists lists and fifth on the career games played list (78). Greene is in her first season as a coach after joining the UCLA staff in 2013 as the Director of Soccer Operations.
SETTING CAREER HIGHS
A number of Bruins have already set career-highs this season. Junior Hailie Mace did not score a goal coming
into this season and already has 13 and has also tied her career-high with three assists. Sophomore Julia
Hernandez netted just one goal in her first season in Westwood in 2016 but now has six. Jessie Fleming's
seven assists this season are a career-high. Also, Gabrielle Matulich has set a career-best in points with
eight, surpassing her three points from last year, while MacKenzie Cerda has set a career-high with 10 points.
FRESH FACES
UCLA's freshman class has made a big impact, with seven freshmen earning starting positions in at least
one game so far this season. Karina Rodriguez and Ashley Sanchez have each started in 18 games.
Delanie Sheehan has 10 starts, Viviana Villacorta 10, Olivia Athens seven, and Marley Canales and Kennedy
Faulknor one each. Sanchez ranks second on the team in scoring with 21 points and goals scored with six and
is first in assists with nine. Sheehan ranks fifth on the team in points with 10 (4g, 2a), and Athens has four assists, while Villacorta has three assists. Rodriguez is third among field players with 1575 minutes played. Additionally, Canales has played in 11 games, and Faulknor made her UCLA debut in a starting role at
Weber State and has played in five games.
SUPER SENIORS
With an underclassman-heavy squad and just eight upperclassmen, the Bruins are leaning on the
experience of the senior class, particularly fifth-year seniors Zoey Goralski and Claire Winter. The duo, who are the last remaining players from UCLA's 2013 NCAA Championship team, serve as team co-captains, along
with Jessie Fleming. Both Goralski and Winter have played in every game, with Goralski earning 18 starts
and Winter 11.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Northwestern advanced to the NCAA Tournament this season for a program-record third-straight time. In the
first round, the Wildcats played Butler to a scoreless draw after 110 minutes before advancing 3-2 on
penalty kicks. NU is coming off a runner-up finish in the Big Ten Tournament following the championship game
against Penn State. The Wildcats also finished second in the conference during the regular season with a 7-3-1 record in Big Ten play. The Wildcats boast four All-Big Ten student-athletes with first-team selections Marisa Viggiano (midfielder) and Kayla Sharples (defender), third-teamer Hannah Davison (defender), and All-
Freshman selection Regan Steigleder (midfielder). Viggiano leads Northwestern in points with 12 (2 g, 8
a), while Brenna Lovera holds the team lead with four goals. Senior goalkeeper Lauren Clem is third all-time
in NCAA history with 47 career shutouts, including 10 this season.
LAST WEEK'S ROUNDUP
UCLA defeated San Diego State, 3-1, on Saturday, Nov. 10 in the first round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament at Drake Stadium on the UCLA campus. Senior defender MacKenzie Cerda played a role in all three Bruin goals, scoring one, assisting on the game-winner and drawing the foul that led to Anika Rodriguez's free kick goal in the first half. The Bruins got on the board first with the Rodriguez free kick at 15:28. Cerda was fouled just outside the box, and Rodriguez went top shelf to the upper right corner.
UCLA pulled ahead 2-0 at 53:41 on a header by Julia Hernandez, her third goal of the season against San
Diego State. SDSU got back into the contest in the 63rd minute when Mia Root went far post from distance after a takeaway, but Cerda sealed the win at 84:42 with a beauty of a shot perfectly placed to the upper far post, her fourth goal of the year.
BRUINS EARN TEAM ACADEMIC AWARD
The UCLA women's soccer team is earning high distinctions both on and off the field. The unbeaten Bruins have received the United Soccer Coaches College Women's Team Academic Award for the sixth consecutive year, posting a 3.35 team GPA. Additionally, the team was announced as the winner of the UCLA Athletics Most Improved Team GPA Award for large teams and was also the runner-up for the Highest Team GPA Award. College Team Academic Award recipients are active members of the United Soccer Coaches College Services Program with a composite grade point of average of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale for all players on the roster.
