UCLA Begins Postseason Play Friday vs. SDSU
November 09, 2017 | Women's Soccer
No. 2 Seed UCLA (15-2-2) vs. San Diego State (12-7-2)
Date/Time: Friday, Nov. 10, 2017 – 7 p.m. (PT)
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Marshall Field at Drake Stadium)
Internet Video: pac-12.com/live/ucla-3
Internet Radio: uclabruins.com
Radio Talent: Nick Koop
Live Stats: uclalivestats.com
Tickets: $10 adults / $8 youth and students
NO. 2 SEED UCLA HOSTS SAN DIEGO STATE IN NCAA FIRST ROUND
No. 2-seeded and No. 4-ranked UCLA (15-2-2) will host Mountain West champion San Diego State (12-7-2) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, Nov. 10 at Marshall Field at Drake Stadium. The match will begin at 7 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 57-17-4 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 record against members of the 64-team NCAA Tournament field this season. 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 ranks second in the nation in average home attendance this season, bringing in an average of 2,984 fans. The average is just 22 off the national leader BYU, who will finish 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
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.
FLEMING ON NATIONAL TEAM DUTY
Midfielder Jessie Fleming will miss her second-straight game 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 play each other on Nov. 9 in Vancouver and Nov. 12 in San Jose.
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.
FAMILIAR FOE
UCLA will face San Diego State in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last six years. The teams last met in the Tournament in 2013, with UCLA winning 3-0 in a first-round contest at Drake Stadium. In the season opener Aug. 18, the Bruins defeated the Aztecs, 5-1, as Julia Hernandez scored two second-half goals, and Hailie Mace and Jessie Fleming each had a goal and an assist. Mace gave UCLA a 1-0 lead at the half before UCLA scored four second-half goals to run away with the game.
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 … 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 … 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.
RODRIGUEZ NAMED PAC-12 OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore forward Anika Rodriguez has been selected the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week, marking the fourth time in the last six weeks a Bruin has won the award. Rodriguez came off the bench to score the game-tying goal in the second half and assisted on the game winner in overtime as the fifth-ranked Bruins defeated No. 6 USC, 3-2, in overtime. The Torrance, Calif. native now has seven assists on the year, tied for second on the squad and ranks third in scoring with 17 points.
MIDSEASON HONORS
UCLA had a total of nine players honored by Top Drawer Soccer on its Top 100 Midseason list. Sophomore Jessie Fleming earned the number one overall spot after being ranked No. 4 during the preseason. Junior Hailie Mace went from unranked to inside the top-10 earning the No. 8 ranking, while sophomore Kaiya McCullough came in at No. 61 and Anika Rodriguez landed at No. 89. Five freshmen earned Midseason freshman honors with three in the top 10 - Ashley Sanchez (No. 2), Delanie Sheehan (No. 4) and Karina Rodriguez (No. 10). Viviana Villacorta earned the No. 60 ranking, and Olivia Athens came in at No. 77.
MACE SETS THE PACE
Junior forward Hailie Mace continues to pace UCLA in the scoring column, leading the Pac-12 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 15th in the NCAA in goals scored and 26th in points scored.
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 (18) and goals scored (5) and leads the Pac-12 and is ranked 23rd nationally in assists with eight.
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 17 and second in assists with seven.
MICAH HITS CENTURY MARK
Sophomore goalkeeper Teagan Micah surpassed the century mark for career saves and now has 133 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.
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 five. 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 tied a career-high with seven 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 17 games. Delanie Sheehan has 10 starts, Viviana Villacorta nine, Olivia Athens six, and Marley Canales and Kennedy Faulknor one each. Sanchez ranks second on the team in scoring with 20 points and goals scored with six and is first in assists with eight. Sheehan ranks fifth on the team in points with 10 (4g, 2a), and Athens and Villacorta each have three assists. Rodriguez is third among field players with 1485 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 17 starts and Winter 11.
SCOUTING THE AZTECS
San Diego State finds its way into the NCAA Tournament this season after winning its fourth Mountain West Tournament crown in six seasons and earning the conference's automatic bid with a 3-0 win over New Mexico in the title game. The Aztecs started the year slow with a 3-5 record to begin the season, but finished 7-2-2 in conference play and enter the NCAA Tournament with an overall mark of 12-7-2. Aliyah Utush was named the MW Tournament's MVP after scoring all four of SDSU's goals in the tournament. Utush led the team with 25 points and tied Mia Root with a team-best nine goals. Senior defenders Dani DeRosa and Stacie Moran, and sophomore goalkeeper Gabby English were also named to the Mountain West All-Tournament Team.
LAST WEEK'S ROUNDUP
UCLA ended the regular season on Friday, Nov. 3 with a thrilling 3-2 overtime win over crosstown rival USC in front of a record-setting crowd of 11,925. The Trojans jumped out ahead with a goal in the 11th minute but Kaiya McCullough answered in the 26th minute with her first goal of the season. USC netted a goal in the 34th minute to take a one-goal lead at halftime. UCLA found the equalizer in the 65th minute when Anika Rodriguez had a breakaway steal and beat the goalkeeper to the right post. Just 80 seconds into overtime, Sunny Dunphy and Rodriguez would find Ashley Sanchez in the penalty area and her shot deflected off a defender into the back of the net for the golden goal.
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.
