UCLA
Stanford (College Cup Championship)
UCLA Faces Stanford For NCAA Championship
December 02, 2017 | Women's Soccer
2017 NCAA College Cup
No. 2 Seed UCLA (19-2-3) vs. No. 1 Seed Stanford (23-1-0)
Final - Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017 – 12:00 p.m. (ET)/9:00 a.m. (PT)
Orlando, Fla. (Orlando City Stadium)
WATCH INFORMATION
TV: ESPNU
TV Talent: Jenn Hildreth, Julie Foudy
Live Stats: ncaa.com
NO. 2 SEED UCLA FACES NO. 1 SEED STANFORD FOR NATIONAL TITLE
No. 2-seed and No. 4-ranked UCLA (19-2-3) will face No. 1-seed and No. 1-ranked Stanford (23-1-0) in the finals of the College Cup on Sunday, Dec. 3 at 12pm ET/9am PT. The match will take place at Orlando City Stadium, home of Orlando City SC of Major League Soccer, and the Orlando Pride of the NWSL. The winner of this All-Pac-12 final will become the second Pac-12 team to win mulitple titles and will be the second consecutive Pac-12 champion (USC won in 2016). The winner will also give their school the national lead in NCAA team championships with 114.
UCLA PLAYING FOR TWO NCAA TITLES IN ONE DAY
Two UCLA teams will be playing in the NCAA Championship game on Sunday. Women's soccer gets first crack at a trophy, with the Bruins facing Stanford at 12pm ET/9am PT. UCLA men's water polo will face USC in the title match in the Trojans' home pool at 6pm ET/3pm PT. The Bruins will be looking to add to their 113 NCAA championships.
CROMWELL AIMING FOR HERSTORY
UCLA head coach Amanda Cromwell is looking to become the first female head coach to win two NCAA women's soccer team championships. Cromwell won her first in 2013 in her first season at UCLA. Only two other female head coaches have won titles - Becky Burleigh from Florida in 1998 and Erica (Walsh) Dambach from Penn State in 2015.
CONFERENCE OF CHAMPIONS
UCLA and Stanford both making the championship match marks the fifth time that two schools from the same conference will play for the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship. It last occured in 2014 when the ACC's Florida State defeated Virginia, 1-0. The ACC has had two championship teams two other times - 1988 with UNC and NC State and 1992 with UNC and Duke (UNC won both). The West Coast Conference also achieved this in 2002, with Portland beating Santa Clara, 2-1 in double overtime.
This is the fourth time that two Pac-12 teams have advanced to the Final Four. Two Pac-12 teams made it in 2007 (UCLA and champion USC), 2008 and 2009 (UCLA and Stanford). The Pac-12 became the first conference to have three different teams win the NCAA women's soccer title (USC in 2007 and 2016, Stanford in 2011 and UCLA in 2013).
UCLA'S NCAA FINAL HISTORY
UCLA is making its fifth appearance in the Championship match. The Bruins are 1-3 in the final round, having won in 2013, 1-0 in overtime over Florida State. This is UCLA's 21st overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and 10th appearance in the College Cup. UCLA has a 61-17-6 all-time NCAA Tournament record.
UCLA's College Cup Results:
2000 - #6 seed (San Jose, Calif.): Dec. 1 - W 1-0 vs. Portland; Dec. 3 - L 1-2 vs. North Carolina
2003 - #4 seed (Cary, N.C.): Dec. 5 - L 0-3 vs. North Carolina
2004 - #14 seed (Cary, N.C.): Dec. 3 - W 2-0 vs. Princeton; Dec. 5 - L 1-1 (PKs) vs. Notre Dame
2005 - #1 seed (College Station, Texas): Dec. 2 - W 4-0 vs. Florida State; Dec. 4 - L 0-4 vs. Portland
2006 - #2 seed (Cary, N.C.): Dec. 1 - L 0-1 vs. North Carolina
2007 - #1 seed (College Station, Texas): Dec. 7 - L 1-2 vs. USC
2008 - #1 seed (Cary, N.C.): Dec. 5 - L 0-1 vs. North Carolina
2009 - #1 seed (College Station, Texas): Dec. 4 - L 1-2 vs. Stanford
2013 - #2 seed (Cary, N.C.): Dec. 6, T 1-1 (4-2 PKs) vs. Virginia; Dec. 8, W 1-0 (OT) vs. Florida State
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).
HOMECOMING FOR CROMWELL
UCLA head coach Amanda Cromwell returns to her old stomping grounds with the Bruins' trip to Orlando. Cromwell coached at host school UCF for 14 years (1999-2012), guiding the Knights to a 203-83-26 record, 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, four Atlantic Sun Tournament championships, four Conference USA regular-season titles and the 2012 C-USA tournament title. Cromwell's Knights made a NCAA Elite Eight run in 2011 that included a defeat of North Carolina in the third round. Associate head coach Joshua S. Walters, Sr. also coached at UCF in 2012. The Bruins have one player with Florida ties, as junior forward Julia Hernandez played at Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne, Fla. in 2015, earning All-America honors and ranking fifth in the nation in both goals (26) and points (65).
SUPER SENIORS RETURN TO COLLEGE CUP
Fifth-year seniors Zoey Goralski and Claire Winter are headed back to the College Cup. The duo were freshmen in 2013 when UCLA won its NCAA title in Cary, N.C. but neither played in the tournament. Goralski redshirted that season with an injury, and Winter played in four games that year and redshirted the following year. Both Goralski and Winter serve as team co-captains, along with Jessie Fleming. Goralski has played in every game, earning 22 starts, and Winter has played in 19, with 11 starts.
YOUTH IS SERVED
UCLA brings to the College Cup a young squad with just eight upperclassmen (two juniors and six seniors). UCLA's starting lineup in the last four NCAA Tournament games have consisted of four freshmen (Olivia Athens, Ashley Sanchez, Viviana Villacorta and Karina Rodriguez), four sophomores (Kaiya McCullough, Anika Rodriguez, Teagan Micah and Jessie Fleming), one junior (Hailie Mace) and two seniors (Zoey Goralski and MacKenzie Cerda).
CHAMPIONS MADE HERE
UCLA has won 113 NCAA championships across all sports, tied for the most in Division I Athletics with Stanford. The Bruins were the first to claim 100 NCAA titles when women's water polo won its third-straight crown in 2007. Women's soccer claimed its first title in 2013, marking the 110th NCAA championship for UCLA. UCLA is playing for two NCAA Championships this weekend, as the Bruins are the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Men's Water Polo Tournament, playing in the finals on Sunday afternoon.
BRUINS ADVANCE IN SEMIFINALS
UCLA advanced to its fifth championship match after winning a penalty kick shootout over Duke, 4-3, following a scoreless draw. In the fifth round of penalties, Teagan Micah made a save on Kat McDonald's shot, and freshman Marley Canales, one of two Bruins taking penalty kicks who did not previously play in the game (Julia Hernandez was the other), scored easily on her penalty kick to push UCLA through to the championship.
