UCLA
Utah
UCLA Travels to Rocky Mountains to Face Utah, Colorado
October 24, 2018 | Women's Soccer
No. 8 UCLA (11-3-1, 6-2-0) at Utah (8-7-1, 5-3-0)
Date/Time: Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018 โ 7 p.m. MT / 6 p.m. PT
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah (Ute Soccer Field)
Live Stream: Pac-12 Plus
Live Stats: utahutes.com
No. 8 UCLA (11-3-1, 6-2-0) at #20 Colorado (13-1-3, 5-1-2)
Date/Time: Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018 โ 2 p.m. MT / 1 p.m. PT
Location: Boulder, Colo. (Prentup Field)
Television: Pac-12 Networks (Los Angeles, Mountain)
TV Talent: Thad Anderson (play-by-play)
Live Stats: cubuffs.com
BRUINS TRAVEL TO ROCKY MOUNTAINS FOR PIVOTAL ROAD SERIES
No. 8 UCLA (10-3-1, 5-2-0 in the Pac-12) will take a six-game win streak to the Rocky Mountains to take on Utah (8-7-1, 5-3-0) on Thursday, Oct. 25 and No. 20 Colorado (13-1-3, 5-1-2) on Sunday, Oct. 28. The Bruins are just three points out of first place in the Pac-12, with Colorado one point behind in fourth place and Utah three points behind UCLA in fifth.
SENIORS SENT OFF IN STYLE
It was a perfect Senior Day for seniors Julia Hernandez and Hailie Mace last Sunday, as they each scored two goals apiece in the Bruins' 6-0 win over Oregon State on Sunday. For Hernandez, the two goals were her first goals of the season. For Mace, who was playing in her first game since returning from the Concacaf Women's Championships, the goals were her third and fourth in only six games this season. Mace, who plays as a defender for the U.S. Women's National Team, switched to left back for this contest from her usual forward spot and helped shut down Oregon State's offense, which managed just one shot.
NATIONAL TEAM BRUINS BACK
After missing nearly a month of the season while helping their respective countries qualify to the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup at the CONCACAF Women's Championship, first-team All-Americans Hailie Mace (U.S.) and Jessie Fleming (Canada) have returned to the Bruins. The duo returned to the pitch on Oct. 21 against Oregon State, playing together for the first time since Sept. 13 and for only the third time all year. Fleming was selected to the Best XI of the tournament, starting in four games for the silver medalists. Against Panama in the semifinals, she scored a goal and was selected the Player of the Match in the 7-0 victory. Mace earned her first career USWNT start in a 5-0 win over Panama in group play, playing all 90 minutes.
SANCHEZ STREAK
Sophomore forward Ashley Sanchez has been on fire, scoring a goal or assist in each of the last six games. During her scoring streak, which, not coincidentally, mirrors UCLA's six-game winning streak, Sanchez has totaled five goals and four assists. She now leads the team in all scoring categories - goals (career-high seven), assists (five) and points (19). After recording three goals and two assists against the Oregon schools, she was selected to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week and named the UCLA/Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week.
DOUBLE WALLS
The Bruins have been keeping opponents at bay no matter who is in goal. Junior Teagan Micah and redshirt freshman Lauren Brzykcy have combined for nine shutouts, with Micah earning five solo shutouts, Brzykcy two, and the two combining for two more. Micah holds a 0.65 goals against average, and Brzykcy has a 0.83 GAA. The Bruins have allowed just 11 goals in 15 games and have limited opponents to one goal or less in 13 games. Micah continues to climb the UCLA career charts, moving up to fourth for saves (180) and fifth for wins (40) and shutouts (23).
VIVA VIV
Sophomore midfielder Viviana Villacorta has been on a tear in Pac-12 play, scoring all nine of her points in the last seven games. She scored her first collegiate goal against Stanford, a goal and an assist at Cal and against Arizona, and an assist against Oregon. Villacorta ranks fourth on the team in goals scored (three) and in points scored (nine).
MULTIPLE WEAPONS
Thirteen different Bruin players have scored goals this season, led by Ashley Sanchez, who has seven, and Hailie Mace and Anika Rodriguez, who have four each. Delanie Sheehan, Viviana Villacorta and Maricarmen Reyes each have three. Other Bruin goal scorers are Julia Hernandez, Olivia Athens and Kennedy Faulknor with two and Chloe Castaneda, Karina Rodriguez, Sunny Dunphy and Jessie Fleming with one each.
MAINSTAYS
With UCLA's lineup in flux due to national team assignments and injuries, only three players have started every game this season - defenders Kaiya McCullough and Karina Rodriguez and midfielder Delanie Sheehan. Six other Bruins have played in all 15 games - Chloe Castaneda, Kennedy Faulknor, Olivia Athens, Julia Hernandez, Sunny Dunphy and Viviana Villacorta. Rodriguez leads the team with 1340 minutes played, followed by McCullough with 1253. Viviana Villacorta ranks third with 1177 minutes, Sheehan has totaled 1132, and Ashley Sanchez has 1092.
UCLA has utilized 13 different starting lineups in 15 games this year, with only one repeating lineup. Lauren Brzykcy, Delanie Sheehan, Karina Rodriguez, Kaiya McCullough, Sunny Dunphy, Viviana Villacorta, Olivia Athens, Maricarmen Reyes, Ashley Sanchez, Chloe Castaneda and Anika Rodriguez started in three-straight games at Stanford, at California and vs. Arizona State.
NOTABLES
UCLA's six goals against Oregon State on Oct. 21 were the most it has scored in a game since dropping seven on Harvard in the 2014 NCAA Second Round โฆ Delanie Sheehan is one of three players who has started in every game, starting the first four games as a midfielder and then moving to outside back in game five as the Bruins' depth at that position has waned due to injuries. She has played at both the left and right back positions โฆ Sunny Dunphy has played in 57 consecutive games โฆ Kaiya McCullough has made 46 consecutive starts โฆ Marley Canales returned to the pitch at Cal after missing five games due to injury and returned to the starting lineup at Washington โฆ Jacey Pederson returned for the second half of the Oregon game; she had previously missed 10 games due to injury โฆ Anika Rodriguez, who has decided to return in 2019 for her fifth year, injured her knee in the Arizona State contest and is out indefinitely โฆ Head coach Amanda Cromwell is just four wins away from her 100th victory at UCLA.
MACE SELECTED AS FINALIST FOR SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Senior forward/defender Hailie Mace is one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award, which is awarded to a senior student-athlete who has notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The winner will be announced the Women's College Cup in December. Mace is the only returning first-team All-American on the nominee list. In 2017, she scored a team-best and career-high 15 goals and 33 points. This season, she ranks third on the team in scoring with 12 points (4g, 4a) despite having missed nine games while on national team duty. Fans can vote for Mace at seniorclassaward.com/vote.
WINNERS IN THE CLASSROOM
For the seventh consecutive year, UCLA was recognized as a winner of the United Soccer Coaches College Team Academic Award, which recognizes exemplary performance in the classroom during the 2017-18 academic year. The Bruins posted a 3.189 composite team GPA.
NEW HOME
After playing home games at Drake Stadium from 2000-17, the UCLA soccer teams have moved into a new home, Wallis Annenberg Stadium. The stadium, which seats 2,145, is located at the previously-named North Athletic Field, where UCLA played selected home games from 1967-99. The new stadium was made possible thanks to a $5 million lead gift from the Annenberg Foundation. The just-completed first phase of the stadium project includes grandstand seating and press box on the west side, a Daktronics LED video board and Musco Sports lighting. Future phases of the stadium project may include expanded stadium seating, a training room, student-athlete locker room, coaches' locker rooms, meeting spaces, ticketing space, and a new press box. UCLA won its first game in the new stadium in dramatic fashion on Aug. 17, with Hailie Mace scoring the game-winning goal with two seconds remaining in a 1-0 win over Long Beach State. A record crowd of 2,496 fans attended the Bruins' game vs. Washington State on Sept. 21 in the Pac-12 opener.
NATIONAL TEAMS
UCLA has a plethora of national team players on its 2018 squad, including five who have earned call-ups to the full national team - Hailie Mace and Ashley Sanchez (U.S.), Jessie Fleming and Kennedy Faulknor (Canada), and Teagan Micah (Australia). Mace has three caps with the senior national team, Fleming has 57, and Faulknor has four. Three Bruins started for their respective countries at the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup this summer - Sanchez, Viviana Villacorta (U.S.) and Maricarmen Reyes (Mexico). Two others - Delanie Sheehan and Karina Rodriguez - were on the U.S. U-20 squad at the 2018 CONCACAF Championships. and nine more have played with various U.S. Youth National Teams in their career - Olivia Athens (U-18), Lauren Brzykcy (U-17), Marley Canales (2018 U-23s, 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup), Chloe Castaneda (U-17), Maddi Desiano (U-19), Sunny Dunphy (U-19), Jacey Pederson (U-19), Kaiya McCullough (U-19), and Anika Rodriguez (U-23). In addition, Julia Hernandez played with the Spanish U-17 National Team, Olivia de Moraes with the Brazilian U-17 team and Shana Flynn with the Canadian U-20s.
LOOKING AHEAD
UCLA will face crosstown rival USC in the regular season finale Friday, Nov. 2 at StubHub Center in Carson. The Bruins are 2-0 in the last two gamesย hosted by USC, winning 2-0 in 2014 at the Coliseum and 1-0 in 2016 at StubHub Center.
