Thursday, August 31
Provo, UT
7:00 PM
UCLA
at
Brigham Young
Quincy McMahon
Photo by: Scott Chandler
Top 10 Matchup Ahead at BYU
August 30, 2023 | Women's Soccer
No. 1 UCLA (3-0) at No. 7 BYU (4-0)
Date: Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023 – 8 p.m. MT / 7 p.m. PT
Location: Provo, Utah (South Field)
Television: ESPN+
Live Stats: statbroadcast.com
TOP 10 MATCHUP
No. 1 UCLA (3-0) plays at No. 7 BYU (4-0) in a Top 10 showdown on Thursday, Aug. 31 in Provo. The game will take place at South Field at 8pm MT/7pm PT and will be televised on ESPN+.
BRUINS HANDLE BIG WEST
The Bruins took care of business against Big West opponents Cal Poly and UC Irvine last week, beating the Mustangs by a 2-1 score on a late penalty kick goal by Sunshine Fontes and downing the Anteaters, 4-0, thanks to goals by Ally Cook, Reilyn Turner, Lexi Wright and Val Vargas.
ALLY IS COOKIN'
Forward Ally Cook has scored a goal in all three games this season and leads the Bruins in scoring with three goals and seven points. The Coto de Caza, Calif. native has totaled eight goals as a Bruin since transferring from the University of Oregon in 2022. She scored 17 goals as a Duck, and her total of 25 career goals ranks second on the Bruin team behind only Reilyn Turner's 32 career goals. Cook was selected to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week after her week one performance and earned Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week and College Soccer News Team of the Week honors after week two.
BRUIN DEBUTS
Four players made their Bruin debuts on opening night vs. Georgia. Junior defender Ayo Oke, who transferred from Cal, started and played 76 impactful minutes. Another transfer, graduate defender Emily Pringle, also made her UCLA debut and had a shot on goal in 14 minutes of action. Freshman forward Val Vargas played 31 minutes in the opener and had an assist in the Cal Poly game and her first collegiate goal at UC Irvine. Freshman forward Taylor Cheatham recorded one shot on goal in 25 minutes of play against Georgia and has played in all three games. Junior midfielder Emma Egizii and sophomore goalkeeper Neeku Purcell made their first career starts against Georgia, and against Cal Poly on Aug. 24, senior defender My Haugland Sørsdahl earned her first career start.
LITTLE TO NO SHOT
UCLA's defense has been a brick wall this season, with the Bruins allowing just five shots on goal and 11 shots total in three games. The Bruins held Georgia to just three shots in the opener and limited Cal Poly and UC Irvine to four each, with UC Irvine not getting off a single shot on goal. UCLA, which has two shutouts, has posted a goals against average of 0.33.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS
BYU has started the year strong, going 4-0 and outscoring opponents by a 13-4 clip. Olivia Wade-Katoa leads the team with four goals and nine points and has scored a goal in each of the team's four games. The Cougars return all 11 starters from the 2022 squad that went 11-3-7 and advanced to the NCAA third round. Among the starters returning are All-Americans Brecken Mozingo, who led the Cougars in scoring last season with 12 goals, 10 assists and 34 points, and Jamie Shepherd, who totaled seven goals and five assists in 2022.
FAMILIAR FACES
BYU has a pair of familiar faces on its roster in UCLA transfers Brecken Mozingo and Ellie Walbruch. Mozingo played six games for UCLA as a freshman in 2019 before returning to her home state of Utah. She has totaled 24 goals and 23 assists over her four years at BYU. Walbruch also played one season for the Bruins, scoring one goal in 13 games played for the 2022 NCAA champions.
THE SERIES WITH BYU
UCLA holds a 3-2-1 all-time record against BYU. The two teams last met in the 2020-21 season in a game the Bruins came from behind to win, 2-1. The Cougars' Jamie Shepherd scored the game's first goal off a deflection in the 48th minute, but UCLA tied it up in the 59th minute on a penalty kick. Sunshine Fontes completed the UCLA comeback in the 74th minute with the game-winner, her first career goal. Fontes is one of four current Bruins who played in that contest, joining Megan Edelman, Reilyn Turner and Michaela Rosenbaum. BYU won the first two matchups of the series in 1997 and 1998. Thursday's game will mark just the second time UCLA has played in Provo. The Bruins' first time playing at South Field in 2017 resulted in a record attendance for BYU (5,735) and a 1-0 UCLA victory.
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA remains at No. 1 in both the United Soccer Coaches poll and the Top Drawer Soccer poll. The Bruins have been ranked No. 1 in every United Soccer Coaches poll since Sept. 6, 2022. BYU jumped up from No. 11 to No. 7 in this week's United Soccer Coaches rankings and is ranked No. 9 by Top Drawer Soccer.
BRUINS TO WATCH
A total of four Bruins have been tabbed for the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Watch Lists - defender Lilly Reale, midfielders Sunshine Fontes and Ally Lemos, and forward Reilyn Turner. All four earned All-Pacific Region and All-Pac-12 honors a year ago. Reale was a second-team All-American and the winner of the Honda Sport Award. The Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and the College Cup's Most Outstanding Defensive Player led the UCLA defense to a 0.55 goals against average, UCLA lowest in eight years, and to a Pac-12-best 14 shutouts. Fontes led UCLA in scoring a year ago with 11 goals and 30 points. She also ranked second on the team in assists with eight, one behind Pac-12 leader Lemos, who was selected to the Top Drawer Soccer Freshman Best XI first team. Lemos, the only field player on the Bruins to start in all 25 games, was an all-tournament selection at the College Cup. Turner, the College Cup's Most Outstanding Offensive Player, tied for the team lead in goals scored with 11 last year and has posted 10 or more goals every season. She led the NCAA in 2022 with seven game-winning goals and ranks No. 9 all-time at UCLA with 13 career game-winners.
WELCOME BACK
UCLA returns eight starters from the 2022 NCAA Championship game, including leading scorer Sunshine Fontes (30 points), College Cup Most Outstanding Offensive Player Reilyn Turner (25 points) and Defensive Player Lilly Reale (contributed to 13 shutouts), College Cup All-Tournament selections Ally Lemos (11 points) and Lexi Wright (22 points), and first-team All-Pac-12 honoree Quincy McMahon. UCLA's other returning starters are defender Jayden Perry and midfielder Bridgette Marin-Valencia. Sophomore Neeku Purcell returns the most experience at the goalkeeper position. She played in eight games a year ago and posted a 0.51 goals against average with five shared shutouts.
WHAT'S NEW, BRU?
The Bruins welcome eight newcomers to the defending national championship squad. Joining the Bruins in 2023 are transfers Ayo Oke and Emily Pringle, early enrollee freshmen Taylor Cheatham and Milla Shafie and new freshmen Kirsten Crane, Maya Leoni, Sophie Reale and Val Vargas. Oke comes to UCLA from the University of California, where she was an All-Pac-12 and all-region honoree in 2022 and tied for the Pac-12 lead with nine assists. Graduate student Pringle was a two-year team captain at the University of Pennsylvania and an All-Ivy League defender in 2021. Cheatham and Shafie have been with the Bruins since January and saw action during the Bruins' spring schedule. Vargas, a starter on Mexico's Under-20 National Team, leads the new freshmen, along with Gatorade Massachusetts State Player of the Year Sophie Reale, the younger sister of UCLA starting defender Lilly Reale.
FOR LOVE OF COUNTRY
Several Bruins spent the offseason playing for their respective national teams in tournaments around the world. Head coach Margueritte Aozasa coached the U.S. Under-23 team at the Thorns Preseason Tournament in March in Portland, Oregon, and was joined by players Lilly Reale, Quincy McMahon, Sunshine Fontes, Reilyn Turner and Neeku Purcell. In May, Ally Lemos and Sofia Cook played for the U.S., and Val Vargas played for Mexico at the 2023 Concacaf Under-20 Championships in the Dominican Republic. With Vargas in the starting lineup, Mexico beat the U.S. in the final, 2-1, to capture the championship. Vargas is one of three Mexican Under-20 National Team players on the Bruin squad, along with sophomores Bridgett Marin-Valencia and America Frias, who each played with Mexico at the 2022 FIFA Under-20 World Cup. Also playing in that 2022 Under-20 World Cup were Reale and Purcell.
ACADEMIC HONORS
For the 12th consecutive year, the UCLA women's soccer team has won a United Soccer Coaches College Team Academic Award, recognizing exemplary performance in the classroom during the 2022-23 academic year. The Bruins posted a team GPA of 3.27, their fourth consecutive year over 3.25. A program-record 18 players were named to the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll in 2022.
FOLLOW THE BRUINS
Follow UCLA Women's Soccer at @UCLAWSoccer on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok and /UCLAWSoccer on Facebook. The Bruins lead all collegiate soccer teams, men or women, in Instagram followers with 114k.
UP NEXT
Following Thursday's game at BYU, the Bruins return to LA to host Long Beach State on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 7pm on Military Appreciation Day. UCLA will also play at neighboring CSUN on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 4pm.
Date: Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023 – 8 p.m. MT / 7 p.m. PT
Location: Provo, Utah (South Field)
Television: ESPN+
Live Stats: statbroadcast.com
TOP 10 MATCHUP
No. 1 UCLA (3-0) plays at No. 7 BYU (4-0) in a Top 10 showdown on Thursday, Aug. 31 in Provo. The game will take place at South Field at 8pm MT/7pm PT and will be televised on ESPN+.
BRUINS HANDLE BIG WEST
The Bruins took care of business against Big West opponents Cal Poly and UC Irvine last week, beating the Mustangs by a 2-1 score on a late penalty kick goal by Sunshine Fontes and downing the Anteaters, 4-0, thanks to goals by Ally Cook, Reilyn Turner, Lexi Wright and Val Vargas.
ALLY IS COOKIN'
Forward Ally Cook has scored a goal in all three games this season and leads the Bruins in scoring with three goals and seven points. The Coto de Caza, Calif. native has totaled eight goals as a Bruin since transferring from the University of Oregon in 2022. She scored 17 goals as a Duck, and her total of 25 career goals ranks second on the Bruin team behind only Reilyn Turner's 32 career goals. Cook was selected to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week after her week one performance and earned Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week and College Soccer News Team of the Week honors after week two.
BRUIN DEBUTS
Four players made their Bruin debuts on opening night vs. Georgia. Junior defender Ayo Oke, who transferred from Cal, started and played 76 impactful minutes. Another transfer, graduate defender Emily Pringle, also made her UCLA debut and had a shot on goal in 14 minutes of action. Freshman forward Val Vargas played 31 minutes in the opener and had an assist in the Cal Poly game and her first collegiate goal at UC Irvine. Freshman forward Taylor Cheatham recorded one shot on goal in 25 minutes of play against Georgia and has played in all three games. Junior midfielder Emma Egizii and sophomore goalkeeper Neeku Purcell made their first career starts against Georgia, and against Cal Poly on Aug. 24, senior defender My Haugland Sørsdahl earned her first career start.
LITTLE TO NO SHOT
UCLA's defense has been a brick wall this season, with the Bruins allowing just five shots on goal and 11 shots total in three games. The Bruins held Georgia to just three shots in the opener and limited Cal Poly and UC Irvine to four each, with UC Irvine not getting off a single shot on goal. UCLA, which has two shutouts, has posted a goals against average of 0.33.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS
BYU has started the year strong, going 4-0 and outscoring opponents by a 13-4 clip. Olivia Wade-Katoa leads the team with four goals and nine points and has scored a goal in each of the team's four games. The Cougars return all 11 starters from the 2022 squad that went 11-3-7 and advanced to the NCAA third round. Among the starters returning are All-Americans Brecken Mozingo, who led the Cougars in scoring last season with 12 goals, 10 assists and 34 points, and Jamie Shepherd, who totaled seven goals and five assists in 2022.
FAMILIAR FACES
BYU has a pair of familiar faces on its roster in UCLA transfers Brecken Mozingo and Ellie Walbruch. Mozingo played six games for UCLA as a freshman in 2019 before returning to her home state of Utah. She has totaled 24 goals and 23 assists over her four years at BYU. Walbruch also played one season for the Bruins, scoring one goal in 13 games played for the 2022 NCAA champions.
THE SERIES WITH BYU
UCLA holds a 3-2-1 all-time record against BYU. The two teams last met in the 2020-21 season in a game the Bruins came from behind to win, 2-1. The Cougars' Jamie Shepherd scored the game's first goal off a deflection in the 48th minute, but UCLA tied it up in the 59th minute on a penalty kick. Sunshine Fontes completed the UCLA comeback in the 74th minute with the game-winner, her first career goal. Fontes is one of four current Bruins who played in that contest, joining Megan Edelman, Reilyn Turner and Michaela Rosenbaum. BYU won the first two matchups of the series in 1997 and 1998. Thursday's game will mark just the second time UCLA has played in Provo. The Bruins' first time playing at South Field in 2017 resulted in a record attendance for BYU (5,735) and a 1-0 UCLA victory.
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA remains at No. 1 in both the United Soccer Coaches poll and the Top Drawer Soccer poll. The Bruins have been ranked No. 1 in every United Soccer Coaches poll since Sept. 6, 2022. BYU jumped up from No. 11 to No. 7 in this week's United Soccer Coaches rankings and is ranked No. 9 by Top Drawer Soccer.
BRUINS TO WATCH
A total of four Bruins have been tabbed for the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Watch Lists - defender Lilly Reale, midfielders Sunshine Fontes and Ally Lemos, and forward Reilyn Turner. All four earned All-Pacific Region and All-Pac-12 honors a year ago. Reale was a second-team All-American and the winner of the Honda Sport Award. The Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and the College Cup's Most Outstanding Defensive Player led the UCLA defense to a 0.55 goals against average, UCLA lowest in eight years, and to a Pac-12-best 14 shutouts. Fontes led UCLA in scoring a year ago with 11 goals and 30 points. She also ranked second on the team in assists with eight, one behind Pac-12 leader Lemos, who was selected to the Top Drawer Soccer Freshman Best XI first team. Lemos, the only field player on the Bruins to start in all 25 games, was an all-tournament selection at the College Cup. Turner, the College Cup's Most Outstanding Offensive Player, tied for the team lead in goals scored with 11 last year and has posted 10 or more goals every season. She led the NCAA in 2022 with seven game-winning goals and ranks No. 9 all-time at UCLA with 13 career game-winners.
WELCOME BACK
UCLA returns eight starters from the 2022 NCAA Championship game, including leading scorer Sunshine Fontes (30 points), College Cup Most Outstanding Offensive Player Reilyn Turner (25 points) and Defensive Player Lilly Reale (contributed to 13 shutouts), College Cup All-Tournament selections Ally Lemos (11 points) and Lexi Wright (22 points), and first-team All-Pac-12 honoree Quincy McMahon. UCLA's other returning starters are defender Jayden Perry and midfielder Bridgette Marin-Valencia. Sophomore Neeku Purcell returns the most experience at the goalkeeper position. She played in eight games a year ago and posted a 0.51 goals against average with five shared shutouts.
WHAT'S NEW, BRU?
The Bruins welcome eight newcomers to the defending national championship squad. Joining the Bruins in 2023 are transfers Ayo Oke and Emily Pringle, early enrollee freshmen Taylor Cheatham and Milla Shafie and new freshmen Kirsten Crane, Maya Leoni, Sophie Reale and Val Vargas. Oke comes to UCLA from the University of California, where she was an All-Pac-12 and all-region honoree in 2022 and tied for the Pac-12 lead with nine assists. Graduate student Pringle was a two-year team captain at the University of Pennsylvania and an All-Ivy League defender in 2021. Cheatham and Shafie have been with the Bruins since January and saw action during the Bruins' spring schedule. Vargas, a starter on Mexico's Under-20 National Team, leads the new freshmen, along with Gatorade Massachusetts State Player of the Year Sophie Reale, the younger sister of UCLA starting defender Lilly Reale.
FOR LOVE OF COUNTRY
Several Bruins spent the offseason playing for their respective national teams in tournaments around the world. Head coach Margueritte Aozasa coached the U.S. Under-23 team at the Thorns Preseason Tournament in March in Portland, Oregon, and was joined by players Lilly Reale, Quincy McMahon, Sunshine Fontes, Reilyn Turner and Neeku Purcell. In May, Ally Lemos and Sofia Cook played for the U.S., and Val Vargas played for Mexico at the 2023 Concacaf Under-20 Championships in the Dominican Republic. With Vargas in the starting lineup, Mexico beat the U.S. in the final, 2-1, to capture the championship. Vargas is one of three Mexican Under-20 National Team players on the Bruin squad, along with sophomores Bridgett Marin-Valencia and America Frias, who each played with Mexico at the 2022 FIFA Under-20 World Cup. Also playing in that 2022 Under-20 World Cup were Reale and Purcell.
ACADEMIC HONORS
For the 12th consecutive year, the UCLA women's soccer team has won a United Soccer Coaches College Team Academic Award, recognizing exemplary performance in the classroom during the 2022-23 academic year. The Bruins posted a team GPA of 3.27, their fourth consecutive year over 3.25. A program-record 18 players were named to the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll in 2022.
FOLLOW THE BRUINS
Follow UCLA Women's Soccer at @UCLAWSoccer on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok and /UCLAWSoccer on Facebook. The Bruins lead all collegiate soccer teams, men or women, in Instagram followers with 114k.
UP NEXT
Following Thursday's game at BYU, the Bruins return to LA to host Long Beach State on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 7pm on Military Appreciation Day. UCLA will also play at neighboring CSUN on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 4pm.
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