UCLA
Colorado
No. 1 UCLA Begins Pac-12 Play at Colorado
September 20, 2017 | Women's Soccer
No. 1 UCLA (7-0-1) at Colorado (6-1-2)
Friday, Sept. 22, 2017 – 3:30 p.m. (MT) / 2:30 p.m. (PT)
Boulder, Colo. (Prentup Field)
TV: Pac-12 Networks (Christian Miles and Jordan Angeli)
Live Stats: CUBuffs.com
Twitter: @UCLAWSoccer
BRUINS BEGIN PAC-12 PLAY
Top-ranked UCLA (7-0-1) opens Pac-12 Conference play on Friday, Sept. 22 at Colorado (6-1-2) at 3:30 p.m.
MT/2:30 p.m. PT. The match will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Network, with Christian Miles and Jordan Angeli on the call.
BRUINS ATOP NATIONAL RANKINGS
UCLA ranks No. 1 across all polls with a 7-0-1 record. The Bruins are in their fourth week as the top-ranked team in the United Soccer Coaches national rankings and their third atop the Soccer America and Top Drawer Soccer rankings. This is the first time UCLA has been ranked No. 1 since spending the entire regular season in 2014 ranked first.
MACE SETS THE PACE
Junior forward Hailie Mace continues to pace UCLA in the goal-scoring column, tallying her sixth goal of the season in last Friday's 1-1 tie with Pepperdine. Mace leads the team in points (14) and goals (6), 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 ranks 26th nationally with six goals this season.
HIGH FIVE FOR HERNANDEZ
Junior forward Julia Hernandez sits just behind Hailie Mace atop the team leaderboard in both goals (five) and points (10). Hernandez has scored her five goals in just 229 minutes of play, an average of one goal per 45 minutes.
FLEMING AMONG NATION'S ASSIST LEADERS
Sophomore midfielder Jessie Fleming ranks sixth in the nation in assists with six, already one more than her season total a year ago. Four of her six assists were on game-winning goals, including the assists in each of the last three victories. She also scored the game-winning goal in the Bruins' season-opening win against San Diego State. The Canadian National Team star was the Top Drawer Soccer National Player of the Week on opening weekend after recording two goals and three assists in the first two games.
MICAH HITS CENTURY MARK
Sophomore goalkeeper Teagan Micah has surpassed the century mark for career saves and now has 111 in her
career. She posted a season-best six saves in the Bruins' shutout win at BYU and four in the win at Virginia, including a huge stop in the final minute to prevent overtime. Micah has recorded two shutouts this season and has 11 in her brief Bruin career, ranking ninth all-time at UCLA.
SETTING CAREER HIGHS
A number of Bruins have already set career-highs this season through the first eight matches. Junior Hailie Mace did not score a goal coming into this season and already has six and has tied her career-high with two assists. Sophomore Julia Hernandez netted just one goal in her first season in Westwood in 2016 but now has five. Jessie Fleming's six assists this season are already a career-high. Also, senior Gabrielle Matulich has set a career-best in points with five, surpassing her three points from last season, while MacKenzie Cerda has tied a career-high with six points.
FRESH FACES
UCLA's freshman class has already made a big impact, with seven freshmen earning starting positions in at least one game so far this season. Karina Rodriguez and Delanie Sheehan have started in seven games. Ashley Sanchez has six starts, Viviana Villacorta three, Olivia Athens two, and Marley Canales and Kennedy Faulknor one each. Sheehan ranks third on the team in goals scored with three and is fourth in points with eight. Sanchez is second on the team in assists with four, while Athens and Villacorta are tied for third with three each. Rodriguez is second among field players with 646 minutes played. Additionally, Canales has played in seven games, and Faulknor made her UCLA debut in a starting role at Weber State and has played in each of the last three 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 seven starts and Winter four.
SCOUTING THE BUFFS
Colorado enters the match with a 6-1-2 record and are (receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25). The Buffs, who began the year with six-straight shutouts, have won three of their last four, including a 6-1 victory over Denver in their only contest last week. Taylor Kornieck, the 2016 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, leads Colorado in scoring with five goals and 11 points. She is followed close behind by Tatum Barton who has four goals and 10 points. Colorado is outscoring its opponents this season by a 19-4 count, and the Buffs have shut out seven of their nine opponents this year.
HISTORY WITH COLORADO
UCLA leads the all-time series with Colorado, 7-2, and has won five of the last six but lost last season's contest in Boulder, 1-0, on a goal in the 50th minute by Emily Bruder. The Bruins had two shots hit the crossbar, and Colorado goalkeeper Jalen Tompkins made four saves.
LAST WEEK'S ROUNDUP
UCLA took its first non-victory of the season on Sept. 15, tying Pepperdine, 1-1. UCLA dominated play early,
outshooting the Waves, 7-0, in the first half. Just 37 seconds into the second half, Hailie Mace put UCLA ahead, 1-0, but the Waves tied it up in the 78th minute on a goal off a set piece. Pepperdine goalkeeper Brielle Preece made a career-high nine saves on 20 UCLA shots.
MAC HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST
Sophomore midfielder Jessie Fleming has been selected to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List for 2017. The MAC Hermann Trophy is the most prestigious individual award in college soccer and is presented annually to the most outstanding male and female players of the year. Fleming, a member of the full Canadian Women's National Team since 2013, was one of just two freshmen to receive All-America honors last season, being selected to the NSCAA All-America third team after leading UCLA in goals (11) and points (27). In her first game as a Bruin, less than 10 days after winning a bronze medal at the Olympic Games with Team Canada, she scored two goals, and she went on to score a goal in each of her first four games. Fleming was selected the Top Drawer Soccer Freshman of the Year.
NATIONAL TEAMS
UCLA has a plethora of national team players on its 2017 squad, including four who have earned call-ups to the full national team - Fleming (Canada), Teagan Micah (Australia) and freshmen Ashley Sanchez (U.S.) and Kennedy Faulknor (Canada). Three played with the U.S. Under-23 National Team in July - Sanchez, Zoey Goralski and Hailie Mace. Karina Rodriguez and Viviana Villacorta have played with the Under-20s this year, and Kaiya McCullough and Delanie Sheehan have played with the Under-19s in 2017. Eleven more Bruins have played with various U.S. Youth National Teams in their career - Olivia Athens (U-18), Lauren Brzykcy (U-17), Marley Canales (2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup), Chloe Castaneda (U-17), MacKenzie Cerda (U-18), Sunny Dunphy (U-19), Chloe Hemingway (U-18), Gabrielle Matulich (U-20), Jacey Pederson (U-19), Anika Rodriguez (U-17), and Claire Winter (U-15). In addition, Siri Ervik played with the Norwegian U-19 National Team, and Julia Hernandez played with the Spanish U-17 National Team.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bruins host the Oregon schools next week for a pair of doubleheaders with the UCLA men's soccer team. The Bruin women play Oregon on Thursday, Sept. 28 at 5 p.m. before the Bruin men's game against California at 8 p.m.
