UCLA
USC
No. 6 UCLA Faces No. 2 USC Friday at StubHub Center
October 31, 2018 | Women's Soccer
No. 6 UCLA (13-3-1, 8-2-0) at No. 2 USC (15-1-2, 8-1-1)
Date/Time: Friday, Nov. 2, 2018 โ 7 p.m.
Location: Carson, Calif. (StubHub Center)
Television: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: Jim Watson (play-by-play), Tracey Bailey (analyst)
Live Stats: usctrojans.com
Tickets: $15 in advance/$20 at gate
CROSSTOWN SHOWDOWN
No. 6 UCLA (13-3-1, 8-2-0 in the Pac-12) will conclude the regular season with a rivalry game against No. 2 USC (15-1-2, 8-1-1) on Friday, Nov. 2 at StubHub Center. The match will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks at 7 pm. The Bruins take an eight-game win streak into the contest, while the Trojans are on a seven-game unbeaten streak.
TIGHT PAC-12 RACE
Just one point separates three teams from first in the Pac-12 standings. Top-ranked Stanford and second-ranked USC are tied atop the standings with 25 points each, while sixth-ranked UCLA is a close second with 24 points. Stanford has the advantage of having two games to earn points, while USC and UCLA play just one against each other. The Cardinal need one victory to clinch at least a share of the conference title. Any Stanford victory this weekend will eliminate the Bruins.
NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS
In addition to the Pac-12 title potentially being on the line, both UCLA and USC are playing for favorable seeding in the NCAA Tournament. Each team is currently ranked in the Top 16 in the RPI, with UCLA No. 13 and USC No. 5. The NCAA selection show will air on NCAA.com on Monday, Nov. 5 at 1:30pm PT.
ON A ROLL
UCLA has won eight consecutive games, outscoring opponents by a 26-4 margin. Key to this streak has been the play of forward Ashley Sanchez, who has recorded a goal or assist in each of those eight games, totaling six goals and six assists during the streak. But it hasn't been just Sanchez who have provided offensive input, as 14 different players have scored a goal, and seven different players have scored the game-winning goal in the eight-game streak. The Bruins regained the services of national team members Hailie Mace and Jessie Fleming for the last three games and have scored 13 goals since their return.
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA ranks No. 6 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and No. 5 in the Top Drawer Soccer poll. USC is No. 2 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and No. 3 in the Top Drawer Soccer poll.
HOT TICKET
The top four most-attended regular season women's soccer games in NCAA history have all been between UCLA and USC. Last year's contest drew 11,925 fans, setting a new NCAA women's soccer regular season attendance record and was the most-attended women's soccer game on a college campus in the sport's history.
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)
ABOUT THE TROJANS
USC enters the week on a seven-game unbeaten streak, a six-game win streak snapped with a scoreless draw against Utah on Sunday. The Trojans, who currently have a 398-minute scoreless streak, have allowed just seven goals this season while scoring 46 goals. Their goal differential of 39 goals tops the Pac-12. Senior forward Leah Pruitt leads the Pac-12 in scoring with 30 points.
THE SERIES WITH USC
UCLA leads the overall series with USC, 24-6-1. The Bruins have won four of the last five matchups, including the last two in a row. Last season, 11,925 fans packed Drake Stadium on the UCLA campus to watch the Bruins defeat USC 3-2 in overtime on an Ashley Sanchez golden goal less than two minutes into the extra time. The Bruins came from behind twice in the game, with Kaiya McCullough scoring her first career goal to make it 1-1 in the first half, and Anika Rodriguez scoring in the 65th minute to tie it at 2-2. The last time the two teams played at StubHub Center, in 2016, UCLA won 1-0 on an Annie Alvarado volley in the 27th minute. Teagan Micah made a then-career-high seven saves to earn the shutout.
U-20 REUNION
Friday night's game will be a reunion of Under-20 National Team teammates, as five members of the U.S. team and two members of Mexico's team at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup are playing for the Bruins and Trojans. The U.S. squad featured UCLA's Ashley Sanchez and Viviana Villacorta and USC players Savannah DeMelo, Tara McKeown and Penelope Hocking. Starting for Mexico were UCLA's Maricarmen Reyes and USC's Ashley Soto.
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. UCLA is 5-0 in games in which the two have played together this year. Fleming was selected to the Best XI of the CONCACAF 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.
RODRIGUEZ SELECTED DEFENSIVE POW
For the second time this year, sophomore Karina Rodriguez was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week. Rodriguez, who was also named to Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week, led the Bruin defense to two important road victories, 5-1 at Utah and 2-1 at No. 20 Colorado. Against Utah, she scored the first goal of the game, her second of the year, and defensively helped hold the Utes to just three shots, only one on goal. The Torrance native also played outstanding defense against a Colorado team that leads the nation in total points, helping to limit the Buffs to just two shots on goal in the contest. UCLA has earned the Defensive Player of the Week honor four times this year, including three times in the last four weeks. Rodriguez is the only player to win the award multiple times this year.
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 0.75 goals against average, and Brzykcy has a 0.77 GAA. The Bruins have allowed just 13 goals in 17 games and have limited opponents to one goal or less in 15 games. Micah continues to climb the UCLA career charts, moving up to fourth for saves (181) and fifth for wins (42) and shutouts (23).
MULTIPLE WEAPONS
Fourteen different Bruin players have scored goals this season, led by Ashley Sanchez, who has eight, 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 Chloe Castaneda, Julia Hernandez, Olivia Athens, Karina Rodriguez, Jessie Fleming and Kennedy Faulknor with two and Sunny Dunphy and Dani Satterwhite with one each.
MAINSTAYS
Thanks to national team assignments, injuries and illness, only two players have started every game this season - defenders Kaiya McCullough and Karina Rodriguez. Delanie Sheehan started the first 16 games of the year but had to sit out the Colorado game due to illness. In addition to McCullough and Rodriguez, six other Bruins have played in all 17 games - Chloe Castaneda, Kennedy Faulknor, Olivia Athens, Julia Hernandez, Sunny Dunphy and Viviana Villacorta. Rodriguez leads the team with 1510 minutes played out of 1540, followed by McCullough with 1406. Viviana Villacorta ranks third with 1327 minutes, Ashley Sanchez has 1246, Sheehan has 1208, and Olivia Athens has 1112.
UCLA has utilized 15 different starting lineups in 17 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 The 11 goals scored in UCLA's games against Oregon State and Utah were the most in a two-game span since scoring 12 in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in 2014 (5-0 vs. San Diego, 7-0 vs. Harvard) โฆ UCLA has scored a goal in the first eight minutes of the game five times this season. The quickest goal scored by the Bruins this season was by Maricarmen Reyes at 1:15 against Arizona State โฆ Sunny Dunphy has played in 59 consecutive games โฆ Kaiya McCullough has made 48 consecutive starts โฆ Marley Canales returned to the pitch at Cal after missing five games due to injury and has started the last five games 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 two wins away from her 100th victory at UCLA.
