Wednesday, August 20
Los Angeles, Calif.
7:00 PM PT
UCLA
vs
Tennessee
Leena Powell and Payten Cooper are two of six freshmen who played in the season opener
Photo by: Mac Brown
No. 4 UCLA Hosts No. 6 Tennessee in Home Opener Wednesday
August 19, 2025 | Women's Soccer
No. 6 Tennessee (2-0) vs. No. 4 UCLA (1-0)
Date: Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 โ 7:00 p.m. PT
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Wallis Annenberg Stadium)
Ticket Price: $17 adults/$9 youth; UCLA students free with BruinCard
Advance Tickets: uclabruins.com/tickets
Ticket Promotion: Team Days (use code WSOCTEAM25)
Giveaway: Schedule card to first 1000 fans
Broadcast: B1G+ (www.bigtenplus.com)
Talent: Nick Koop, Sophie Wimmer
Live Stats: ucla.statbroadcast.com
TWO RANKED MATCHUPS AHEADย
UCLA will face a pair of Top 20 opponents in week two, highlighted by a marquee matchup between a pair of Top 6 squads in No. 4 UCLA (1-0) and No. 6 Tennessee (2-0) on Wednesday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. in Wallis Annenberg Stadium. Tennessee is coming off an opening night upset victory over defending NCAA Champion North Carolina, while UCLA shut out Georgia on the road in its opening match, 1-0. The Bruins will also face No. 19 BYU (1-0-1) on the road on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. MT / 6 p.m. PT. ย ย ย ย ย
UCLA IN HOME OPENERS
UCLA is 29-2-1 all-time in home openers and has won eight in a row. Wednesday's match will mark the first time since the 2020-21 season that UCLA will face a Top 10 team in the home opener. The Bruins beat No. 10 BYU in that contest, 2-1. This is the first Top 5 matchup ever in a UCLA home opener. ย
SCOUTING THE VOLUNTEERS
Tennessee had a huge opening weekend, defeating No. 1 North Carolina, 2-0, on opening night and then bashing ย Eastern Kentucky on Sunday, 9-0. The win over UNC was the first-ever by Tennessee against a No. 1-ranked team, and it also marked the first time in 24 years that a defending national champion lost in its opening match of the season. Shea O'Rourke scored both goals in the win over the Tar Heels and added another against Eastern Kentuckyy and was named Top Drawer Soccer's National Player of the Week and the SEC Offensive Player of the Week. Goalkeeper Cayden Norris earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors after notching five saves in the UNC shutout. Sophomore Alivia Scott is Tennessee's leading scorer after she scored five goals in a 20-minute span against Eastern Kentucky.
THE SERIES WITH TENNESSEE
UCLA leads the all-time series with Tennessee, 2-0-1. The two teams met last season in Knoxville and played to a 0-0 tie. Seven current Bruins played in that contest, with Paloma Daubert, Jordan Geis, Lily Boyden and Nicki Fraser earning starts. UCLA won the other two previous contests, beating the Volunteers in Knoxville, 2-1, in the first contest in 2011 and then winning again at home in 2012, 1-0. ย ย
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA moved up four spots to No. 4 in both the United Soccer Coaches and Top Drawer Soccer polls. The Bruins were picked to finish second in the conference in the Big Ten's preseason poll. UCLA will face six teams in 2025 who are ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 in No. 5 USC (Oct. 26 at home), No. 7 Stanford (Sept. 7 at home), No. 12 Michigan State (Sept. 18 on the road), No. 13 Iowa (Oct. 16 at home), No. 23 Wisconsin (Oct. 19 at home) and No. 24 Minnesota (Oct. 12 on the road). ย
LAST TIME OUT
UCLA officially opened the season with a 1-0 road victory at Georgia on Aug. 14. Sophomore Bella Winn provided the game-winner, scoring in the 66th minute for her second career goal. Senior Lily Boyden created the play with a run down the left line. She was challenged by a Georgia defender but continued with a strong diagonal run before hitting Winn with a through ball in the box. Winn took one touch and then hit a left-footed shot past the goalkeeper to break the scoreless tie. ย With 30 seconds left in the contest, Georgia's Cate Hardin had a strong scoring opportunity, with her close-range shot getting past Bruin goalkeeper Daphne Nakfoor, but senior defender Jennie Immethun was there to make a goal line save, and freshman Meila Brewer cleared the ball away from danger to preserve the shutout.
IMMETHUN HONORED
UCLA senior defender Jennie Immethun was named the Big Ten Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week and selected to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week after a strong performance at center back at Georgia in her Bruin debut. Immethun, who transferred to UCLA from TCU this fall, helped the Bruins achieve the 1-0 shutout victory in the season opener at Georgia, making a goal line save with 30 seconds to play. Immethun also had a strong tackle in the 36th minute to stop a budding breakaway. She and the Bruin defense held Georgia to three shots on goal and earned UCLA's first shutout of the year.
BRUIN DEBUTS
Eight players made their Bruin debuts in the season opener, including six freshmen. Making starts were senior transfer Jennie Immethun and freshmen Daphne Nakfoor, Grace Shank, Leena Powell and Meila Brewer. Coming in off the bench were junior transfer Oruha Hayashi and freshmen Leila Edris and Payten Cooper.ย
COMEBACK COMPLETE
Redshirt seniors Emma Egizii and Lexi Wright and sophomore forward Bella Winn have all returned to action after missing most, if not all, of the 2024 season with injuries. Egizii scored two goals in three games before getting injured during game four of the season. Her return to play in UCLA's exhibition win against LMU was highlighted by a left-footed rocket that gave UCLA a 3-0 lead in the second half. Winn recorded a goal and an assist in the Bruins' first two games but was injured while scoring her goal in game two and did not return the rest of the year. She scored the game-winning goal in UCLA's 1-0 road win at Georgia in the season opener and has a goal or assist in all three career games. Wright suffered her injury early in preseason training in 2024 and played in both the exhibition and season opener. ย
EGIZII, IMMETHUN, WRIGHT NAMED TO WATCH LIST
Bruin seniors Emma Egizii, Jennie Immethun and Lexi Wright were selected to the Big Ten Players to Watch List. Both Egizii and Wright are coming off redshirt seasons, as they each suffered season-ending injuries early in 2024. Wright ranked third on the Bruin team in scoring in both 2022 (22 points) and 2023 (15 points) and was an all-conference performer in 2023. Egizii scored two goals in just three games a year ago prior to her injury and has five career goals. Wright and Egizii each played on UCLA's 2022 NCAA Championship team. Immethun enters her first year as a Bruin after transferring from TCU, where she was an All-Big 12 defender and 20-game starter in 2024. ย ย
GOOD WORK, LEXIย
Redshirt senior Lexi Wright has been announced as a nominee for the inaugural Allstate NACDA Good Works Team (Fall). The award recognizes male and female student-athletes across all divisions and sports who go above and beyond in their commitment to community service, academic achievement and athletic performance. Wright supports children with cancer through Zoe's Goal-Scoring Against Childhood Cancer, a non-profit organization that raises awareness about pediatric cancer, advocates for research and funding and supports young cancer patients. Wright does regular hospital visits to UCLA's Mattel Children's Hospital to visit with patients and has worked with the UCLA campus organization Unified, which plays sports with special needs kids weekly and holds an Inclusive Sports Day. She also volunteers with Football For Her, a non-profit organization that provides a safe space and motivates those who identify as female or non-binary to play, regardless of their economic standing.ย
IMPACT TRANSFERSย
UCLA welcomes two experienced transfers to the squad in 2025 - defender Jennie Immethun and forward Oruha Hayashi. Immethun comes to UCLA from TCU, where she earned second-team All-Big 12 honors in 2024. She started 20 games in 2024 while helping the Big 12 champions record seven shutouts, and in 2023, she started in 10 games. Oruha joined the Bruins after two years at Iowa Western, where she twice won the United Soccer Coaches Player of the Year for Junior College Division 1. Oruha, who scored 25 goals in 2024 and 19 in 2023, was selected the 2024-25 Betty Jo Graber NJCAA Female Student-Athlete of the Year. Both have already made big impacts on their new team, as Immethun was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after helping the Bruins record a shutout in the season opener. Hayashi scored a goal in the Bruins' exhibition win over LMU. ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
WELCOME FRESHMENย
The Bruins bring in a dynamic recruiting class, highlighted by U.S. Youth National Team players Sofia Atehortua, Meila Brewer, Cassidy Doogan, Daphne Nakfoor, Leena Powell and Grace Shank, and Egyptian Youth National Team player Laila Edris. Powell played in the 2025 U-20 Concacaf Championships, and Brewer just helped lead the U-17s to the 4 Nations Tournament title. Also joining UCLA in 2025 are freshmen Payten Cooper, Jordyn Dunn, Siena Meyer and Julia Molnar. All 11 freshmen saw action in the Bruins' exhibition against LMU. ย ย ย ย ย
FOLLOW THE BRUINS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow UCLA Women's Soccer at @UCLAWSoccer on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok and /UCLAWSoccer on Facebook.ย
ย
Date: Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 โ 7:00 p.m. PT
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Wallis Annenberg Stadium)
Ticket Price: $17 adults/$9 youth; UCLA students free with BruinCard
Advance Tickets: uclabruins.com/tickets
Ticket Promotion: Team Days (use code WSOCTEAM25)
Giveaway: Schedule card to first 1000 fans
Broadcast: B1G+ (www.bigtenplus.com)
Talent: Nick Koop, Sophie Wimmer
Live Stats: ucla.statbroadcast.com
TWO RANKED MATCHUPS AHEADย
UCLA will face a pair of Top 20 opponents in week two, highlighted by a marquee matchup between a pair of Top 6 squads in No. 4 UCLA (1-0) and No. 6 Tennessee (2-0) on Wednesday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. in Wallis Annenberg Stadium. Tennessee is coming off an opening night upset victory over defending NCAA Champion North Carolina, while UCLA shut out Georgia on the road in its opening match, 1-0. The Bruins will also face No. 19 BYU (1-0-1) on the road on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. MT / 6 p.m. PT. ย ย ย ย ย
UCLA IN HOME OPENERS
UCLA is 29-2-1 all-time in home openers and has won eight in a row. Wednesday's match will mark the first time since the 2020-21 season that UCLA will face a Top 10 team in the home opener. The Bruins beat No. 10 BYU in that contest, 2-1. This is the first Top 5 matchup ever in a UCLA home opener. ย
SCOUTING THE VOLUNTEERS
Tennessee had a huge opening weekend, defeating No. 1 North Carolina, 2-0, on opening night and then bashing ย Eastern Kentucky on Sunday, 9-0. The win over UNC was the first-ever by Tennessee against a No. 1-ranked team, and it also marked the first time in 24 years that a defending national champion lost in its opening match of the season. Shea O'Rourke scored both goals in the win over the Tar Heels and added another against Eastern Kentuckyy and was named Top Drawer Soccer's National Player of the Week and the SEC Offensive Player of the Week. Goalkeeper Cayden Norris earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors after notching five saves in the UNC shutout. Sophomore Alivia Scott is Tennessee's leading scorer after she scored five goals in a 20-minute span against Eastern Kentucky.
THE SERIES WITH TENNESSEE
UCLA leads the all-time series with Tennessee, 2-0-1. The two teams met last season in Knoxville and played to a 0-0 tie. Seven current Bruins played in that contest, with Paloma Daubert, Jordan Geis, Lily Boyden and Nicki Fraser earning starts. UCLA won the other two previous contests, beating the Volunteers in Knoxville, 2-1, in the first contest in 2011 and then winning again at home in 2012, 1-0. ย ย
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA moved up four spots to No. 4 in both the United Soccer Coaches and Top Drawer Soccer polls. The Bruins were picked to finish second in the conference in the Big Ten's preseason poll. UCLA will face six teams in 2025 who are ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 in No. 5 USC (Oct. 26 at home), No. 7 Stanford (Sept. 7 at home), No. 12 Michigan State (Sept. 18 on the road), No. 13 Iowa (Oct. 16 at home), No. 23 Wisconsin (Oct. 19 at home) and No. 24 Minnesota (Oct. 12 on the road). ย
LAST TIME OUT
UCLA officially opened the season with a 1-0 road victory at Georgia on Aug. 14. Sophomore Bella Winn provided the game-winner, scoring in the 66th minute for her second career goal. Senior Lily Boyden created the play with a run down the left line. She was challenged by a Georgia defender but continued with a strong diagonal run before hitting Winn with a through ball in the box. Winn took one touch and then hit a left-footed shot past the goalkeeper to break the scoreless tie. ย With 30 seconds left in the contest, Georgia's Cate Hardin had a strong scoring opportunity, with her close-range shot getting past Bruin goalkeeper Daphne Nakfoor, but senior defender Jennie Immethun was there to make a goal line save, and freshman Meila Brewer cleared the ball away from danger to preserve the shutout.
IMMETHUN HONORED
UCLA senior defender Jennie Immethun was named the Big Ten Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week and selected to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week after a strong performance at center back at Georgia in her Bruin debut. Immethun, who transferred to UCLA from TCU this fall, helped the Bruins achieve the 1-0 shutout victory in the season opener at Georgia, making a goal line save with 30 seconds to play. Immethun also had a strong tackle in the 36th minute to stop a budding breakaway. She and the Bruin defense held Georgia to three shots on goal and earned UCLA's first shutout of the year.
BRUIN DEBUTS
Eight players made their Bruin debuts in the season opener, including six freshmen. Making starts were senior transfer Jennie Immethun and freshmen Daphne Nakfoor, Grace Shank, Leena Powell and Meila Brewer. Coming in off the bench were junior transfer Oruha Hayashi and freshmen Leila Edris and Payten Cooper.ย
COMEBACK COMPLETE
Redshirt seniors Emma Egizii and Lexi Wright and sophomore forward Bella Winn have all returned to action after missing most, if not all, of the 2024 season with injuries. Egizii scored two goals in three games before getting injured during game four of the season. Her return to play in UCLA's exhibition win against LMU was highlighted by a left-footed rocket that gave UCLA a 3-0 lead in the second half. Winn recorded a goal and an assist in the Bruins' first two games but was injured while scoring her goal in game two and did not return the rest of the year. She scored the game-winning goal in UCLA's 1-0 road win at Georgia in the season opener and has a goal or assist in all three career games. Wright suffered her injury early in preseason training in 2024 and played in both the exhibition and season opener. ย
EGIZII, IMMETHUN, WRIGHT NAMED TO WATCH LIST
Bruin seniors Emma Egizii, Jennie Immethun and Lexi Wright were selected to the Big Ten Players to Watch List. Both Egizii and Wright are coming off redshirt seasons, as they each suffered season-ending injuries early in 2024. Wright ranked third on the Bruin team in scoring in both 2022 (22 points) and 2023 (15 points) and was an all-conference performer in 2023. Egizii scored two goals in just three games a year ago prior to her injury and has five career goals. Wright and Egizii each played on UCLA's 2022 NCAA Championship team. Immethun enters her first year as a Bruin after transferring from TCU, where she was an All-Big 12 defender and 20-game starter in 2024. ย ย
GOOD WORK, LEXIย
Redshirt senior Lexi Wright has been announced as a nominee for the inaugural Allstate NACDA Good Works Team (Fall). The award recognizes male and female student-athletes across all divisions and sports who go above and beyond in their commitment to community service, academic achievement and athletic performance. Wright supports children with cancer through Zoe's Goal-Scoring Against Childhood Cancer, a non-profit organization that raises awareness about pediatric cancer, advocates for research and funding and supports young cancer patients. Wright does regular hospital visits to UCLA's Mattel Children's Hospital to visit with patients and has worked with the UCLA campus organization Unified, which plays sports with special needs kids weekly and holds an Inclusive Sports Day. She also volunteers with Football For Her, a non-profit organization that provides a safe space and motivates those who identify as female or non-binary to play, regardless of their economic standing.ย
IMPACT TRANSFERSย
UCLA welcomes two experienced transfers to the squad in 2025 - defender Jennie Immethun and forward Oruha Hayashi. Immethun comes to UCLA from TCU, where she earned second-team All-Big 12 honors in 2024. She started 20 games in 2024 while helping the Big 12 champions record seven shutouts, and in 2023, she started in 10 games. Oruha joined the Bruins after two years at Iowa Western, where she twice won the United Soccer Coaches Player of the Year for Junior College Division 1. Oruha, who scored 25 goals in 2024 and 19 in 2023, was selected the 2024-25 Betty Jo Graber NJCAA Female Student-Athlete of the Year. Both have already made big impacts on their new team, as Immethun was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after helping the Bruins record a shutout in the season opener. Hayashi scored a goal in the Bruins' exhibition win over LMU. ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
WELCOME FRESHMENย
The Bruins bring in a dynamic recruiting class, highlighted by U.S. Youth National Team players Sofia Atehortua, Meila Brewer, Cassidy Doogan, Daphne Nakfoor, Leena Powell and Grace Shank, and Egyptian Youth National Team player Laila Edris. Powell played in the 2025 U-20 Concacaf Championships, and Brewer just helped lead the U-17s to the 4 Nations Tournament title. Also joining UCLA in 2025 are freshmen Payten Cooper, Jordyn Dunn, Siena Meyer and Julia Molnar. All 11 freshmen saw action in the Bruins' exhibition against LMU. ย ย ย ย ย
FOLLOW THE BRUINS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow UCLA Women's Soccer at @UCLAWSoccer on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok and /UCLAWSoccer on Facebook.ย
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