UCLA
USC
UCLA Hosts USC Friday in Soccer Crosstown Showdown
November 06, 2019 | Women's Soccer
No. 9 USC (14-3-1, 7-3-0) at No. 14 UCLA (13-4-1, 7-3-0)
Date/Time: Friday, Nov. 8, 2019 โ 6:00 p.m.
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Wallis Annenberg Stadium)
Television: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: Anne Marie Anderson (play-by-play), Tammy Blackburn (analyst)
Internet Radio: uclabruins.com
Radio Talent: Nick Koop
Live Stats: uclalivestats.com
Tickets: $25 adults / $10 youth (3-12) (www.uclabruins.com/tickets)
Giveaways: Thundersticks (first 300 in blue)
CROSSTOWN SHOWDOWN
No. 14 UCLA (13-4-1 overall, 7-3-0 in the Pac-12) will host No. 9 USC (14-3-1, 7-3-0) in the regular season finale on Friday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. at Wallis Annenberg Stadium. The two teams are tied for second place in the Pac-12 Conference and playing for a high seed in the NCAA Tournament, which begins next week. Tickets for the Crosstown Showdown are on sale now at uclabruins.com/tickets for $25 for adults and $10 for youth. The game is expected to sell out, so fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance.
NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS
Both UCLA and USC are playing for favorable seeding in the NCAA Tournament. Each team is currently ranked in the Top 8 in the RPI, with UCLA 8 and USC 7. The Top 8 seeds have the right to host the first three rounds of the tournament. The NCAA selection show will air on NCAA.com on Monday, Nov. 11 at 1:30pm PT.
SCOUTING THE TROJANS
USC enters the week ranked No. 9 nationally with a 14-3-1 overall record. The Trojans are coming off a pair of 1-0 road wins over the Oregon schools and are led by two dynamic goal scorers in Tara McKeown (14 goals, 7 assists, 35 points) and Penelope Hocking (11 goals, 4 assists, 26 points). Goalkeeper Kaylie Collins has recorded five shutouts in seven games played.
THE SERIES WITH USC
UCLA holds a 25-6-1 advantage over USC in the all-time series and has won five of the last six matchups, including three straight. The last two games have been won by the Bruins in overtime by a 3-2 margin. Last year's matchup was about as dramatic as it gets, with UCLA twice erasing a one-goal deficit in regulation. With a little under four minutes to play in the second half, Penelope Hocking scored the go-ahead goal for USC at the 86:26 mark. Immediately on the kickoff, UCLA's Ashley Sanchez pushed the ball forward and passed to Hailie Mace, who sent a bomb from about 30 yards out into the upper left corner for the equalizer just six seconds later. Olivia Athens ended the game in the 105th minute with the game-winning goal.
HOT TICKET
The top five most-attended regular season women's soccer games in NCAA history have all been between UCLA and USC. The 2017 contest at UCLA's Drake Stadium drew 11,925 fans, setting a new regular season attendance record. It 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) 8,555 - Nov. 2, 2008, UCLA vs. USC (StubHub Center)
3) 8,527 - Oct. 22, 2010, UCLA at USC (Los Angeles Coliseum)
4) 8,508 - Nov. 4, 2016, UCLA vs. USC (StubHub Center)
ON A ROLL
Since dropping their first two Pac-12 games of the year, the Bruins have been on a roll, winning seven of their last eight games, including four in a row, to sit in a tie for second place in the Pac-12 with USC with one game remaining. UCLA had a similar path a year ago, losing the first two games before reeling off nine straight wins to close the regular season.
LAST WEEK
The Bruins swept through the Oregon schools on the road last week, taking down Oregon State 4-0 and Oregon 1-0. UCLA's offense exploded against the Beavers, scoring a season-high-tying four goals. Chloe Castaneda did most of the damage, totaling two first half goals and assisting on Maricarmen Reyes' goal in the second half. Castaneda's offensive pressure also contributed to the fourth goal, an own goal by the Beavers. Defender Lucy Parker provided the only offense needed at Oregon, scoring off a corner kick in the first half of a 1-0 victory. Goalkeeper Teagan Micah recorded the shutout in both games.
PARKER EARNS SECOND PAC-12 WEEKLY HONOR
For the second time in four weeks, junior defender Lucy Parker was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week. Parker, who was also named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week, led the Bruins to a pair of shutout road victories at Oregon State and at Oregon. She and the UCLA defense limited Oregon State to just three shots on goal in the game and nine shots overall. Against Oregon, Parker not only helped limit the Ducks to just four shots overall and two shots on goal, but she also scored the game's only goal in the first half off a corner kick. The game-winning goal was her second of the season.
SANCHEZ ONE AWAY FROM UCLA ASSISTS RECORD
With a team-high 10 assists this year, forward Ashley Sanchez is just one assist away from tying Iris Mora's school record of 38 career assists from 2002-05. Sanchez, who is just a junior, has 37 assists and already holds UCLA records for single-game assists (four in 2018), consecutive games with a goal or assist (16 from 2018-19), single-season NCAA Tournament assists (seven in 2018), career NCAA Tournament assists (11) and assists by a freshman (12 in 2017).
FISHING FOR GOALS
Freshman forward Mia Fishel has made a quick impact for the Bruins in her first year, leading the team in goals scored with eight and in game-winning goals with four. She ranks second in points with 18. Fishel leads all Pac-12 freshmen in goals scored and in points. The 2018 U.S. U-17 World Cup player has two multiple goal games this season, knocking in two in the 4-0 win at Hawaii and both goals in the 2-0 win over Utah.
HAPPY RETURNS FOR RODRIGUEZ, REYES
After missing the last 11 games of the season last year with a knee injury, fifth-year senior Anika Rodriguez has made it back to the pitch. Rodriguez made her return to competition on Sept. 5 at Santa Clara and earned her first start of the season against Arizona State, recording her first point with an assist. She has started in a total of seven games this year, all UCLA victories. Against Washington State on Oct. 27, she played a season-high 66 minutes and assisted on both of UCLA's goals in a 2-1 victory. Rodriguez also played in 66 minutes and assisted on the game-winner in the win at Oregon.
Sophomore midfielder Maricarmen Reyes, who had knee surgery in the offseason, made her first appearance of the season Oct. 19 at Stanford, playing eight minutes in the second half and recording one shot. In her first home game of the year on Oct. 23 against Washington, she scored the game-winning goal in the 87th minute, and she added an assist on Ashley Sanchez's game-tying goal in the win over Washington State. At Oregon State, she recorded a goal and an assist. In just five games played (and while averaging just 25 minutes per game) Reyes already has two goals and two assists.
MILESTONES FOR MICAH
It's been quite a 2019 for senior goalkeeper Teagan Micah. After spending the summer with the Australian Women's National Team at the World Cup, Micah returned for her final season in Westwood and hit several major milestones during non-conference play. She earned her 200th career save in the season opening shutout win over Iowa State, recorded her 50th career win in the shutout victory over Florida, and earned her 30th career shutout against Wisconsin. She also won a Pac-12 record eighth Goalkeeper of the Week award on Sept. 3 and was named the UCLA/Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week on Sept. 17 after making a season-high five saves in the shutout win over Wisconsin. Micah, who has seven solo and one shared shutout and a 0.66 goals against average, has moved into third on UCLA's all-time saves chart with 230 and is third with 56 career wins. With 33 shutouts, she ranks third on UCLA's career shutout list.
SWEET 16 FOR SANCHEZ
Ashley Sanchez ran her school record point scoring streak to 16 games after scoring in the first three games of the season. Her streak ran from Sept. 30, 2018 to Aug. 29, 2019, and she totaled nine goals and 16 assists (35 points) during that time. With just over two seasons under her belt, Sanchez already ranks second on UCLA's career list with 37 assists and is just one away from tying Iris Mora's school record of 38. Sanchez leads the team in points (22) and assists (10).
MAINSTAYS
Four Bruin players have started in all 18 games this season - Kaiya McCullough, Karina Rodriguez, Viviana Villacorta, and Lucy Parker. All four have logged over 1,400 minutes this year. Four other players have played in all 18 games - Ashley Sanchez, Delanie Sheehan, Mia Fishel and Chloe Castaneda. McCullough has made 70 consecutive starts, the only game she has not started coming on Oct. 23, 2016 due to illness. Rodriguez has started in 46 consecutive games. Parker started every game at LSU in 2017 and 2018 and has a streak of 60 consecutive starts. She leads the team in minutes played with 1,581.
UCLA DEBUTS
Six Bruins made their official UCLA debuts in the season opener - junior transfer Lucy Parker, redshirt freshman Shana Flynn, and freshmen Mia Fishel, Kali Trevithick, Rachel Lowe and Brianne Riley. Four more freshmen earned their first collegiate appearances at Hawaii on Sept. 22 - Kylie Kerr, Jackie Gilday, Brecken Mozingo and Janae DeFazio. Fishel leads the Bruin freshmen in games played and started with 18 and 14, respectively. Brianne Riley is next in games played with 16. She has also made one start.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Bruins moved up two to No. 11 in the Top Drawer Soccer poll and dropped one to No. 14 in the United Soccer Coaches poll. UCLA is up three to No. 8 in the RPI.
FLEMING SELECTED SENIOR CLASS AWARD FINALIST
UCLA team captain and international star Jessie Fleming has been selected as one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award for women's soccer. The award honors student-athletes who excel both on and off the field. Fleming is a two-time World Cup player and Olympic bronze medalist who has already amassed 69 caps for the Canadian Women's National Team. As a sophomore at UCLA in 2017, she was a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy and earned first-team All-America honors. During her freshman year in 2016, she led UCLA in scoring with 11 goals and 27 points. In 2018, she missed half the season while on Canadian National Team duty yet still recorded five goals and five assists in just 11 games. This season, she has totaled eight points on two goals and four assists. Fleming is a three-time first-team All-Pac-12 honoree and was Top Drawer Soccer's Freshman of the Year in 2016. She was also just the fourth UCLA freshman ever to earn NSCAA All-America honors. Top Drawer Soccer currently rates her No. 2 in the Top 100 Player rankings.
The Bruins' team captain the last three years, Fleming is also a leader in the classroom, earning honor roll distinction four times and honorable mention Pac-12 All-Academic honors twice in one of the most challenging majors on campus โ materials engineering (with an environmental science minor). This summer, she earned a 4.0 GPA in her summer courses. Additionally, she is volunteering with a company that collects and redistributes extra produce from farmer's markets.
BRUINS ON MIDSEASON TOP 100
Six Bruins are currently listed on Top Drawer Soccer's midseason Top 100 upperclassman list, including two in the Top 4 - No. 2 Jessie Fleming and No. 4 Ashley Sanchez. Fleming and Sanchez each made the TDS Preseason Best XI first-team. Also rated in the Top 100 are No. 39 Karina Rodriguez, No. 51 Viviana Villacorta, No. 60 Lucy Parker, and No. 72 Delanie Sheehan. Additionally, Mia Fishel ranks No. 15 on the Freshman midseason Top 100.
SUMMER SCHOOL STANDOUTS
A total of five Bruins earned 4.0 GPAs for their 2019 summer courses, which ended in mid-September - senior Chloe Castaneda, junior Jessie Fleming and freshmen Jackie Gilday, Hannah Mitchell and Kali Trevithick.
CROMWELL CLIMBING COACHING CHARTS
UCLA head coach Amanda Cromwell is making a quick rise up the coaching charts in winning percentage and victories. With a 325-121-40 record at the start of the 2019 season, she ranked No. 15 in winning percentage (.710) and No. 18 in victories (325) among all active Division I coaches. All-time, she is at No. 16 in winning percentage and No. 21 in victories.
