The preseason No. 4 UCLA women's soccer team will kick off the 2019 season with a pair of exhibition games this weekend. The Bruins will host Loyola Marymount on Friday, Aug. 16 at Wallis Annenberg Stadium at 7pm before traveling to UC Irvine on Sunday, Aug. 18 for a 6pm match at Anteater Stadium. Admission is free for Friday's game at UCLA. Tickets for the match at Irvine are $8 for adults and $6 for youth.

The Bruins return 10 starters from a 2018 squad that went 17-3-2 and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals. UCLA finished the 2018 campaign on a 13-match unbeaten streak. Among the returners are 2019 World Cup participants Jessie Fleming and Teagan Micah, 2018 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist and 2018 leading scorer Ashley Sanchez (10 goals, 15 assists, 35 points), All-Region honoree Karina Rodriguez, and All-Pac-12 honorees Anika Rodriguez, Delanie Sheehan and Viviana Villacorta. Also returning are 2018 double-digit scorers Olivia Athens (16 points) and Chloe Castaneda (14 points). Additionally, UCLA welcomes a strong freshman class, led by 2018 U-17 World Cup players Mia Fishel and Sunshine Fontes and Australian National Team player Rachel Lowe, plus LSU transfer and 2018 All-American Lucy Parker.

Loyola Marymount, which finished the 2018 season with a 3-13-4 record, returns nine players who started at least seven games a year ago, including top returning scorer Maki Kona (7 points). Among the newcomers for the Lions in 2019 is defender Sierra Dunphy, the younger sister of UCLA senior Sunny Dunphy.

UC Irvine returns six starters from last season's squad that went 8-7-4, led by senior goalkeeper Maddie Newsom. This will be UCLA's first visit to Anteater Stadium since 1995.

The Bruins' season opener is Friday, Aug. 23 vs. Iowa State at Wallis Annenberg Stadium at 7 pm. Tickets for the regular season are on sale now at uclabruins.com/tickets.