No. 9 UCLA (0-1) vs. No. 3 Duke (1-0)
Date: Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026 – 6 p.m. PT
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Wallis Annenberg Stadium)
Tickets: uclabruins.com/tickets // UCLA students free with BruinCard
Theme: Women’s Empowerment Night
Postmatch: Photos on the field
Broadcast: B1G+ (www.bigtenplus.com)
Talent: Nick Koop, Cate Frist
Live Stats: ucla.statbroadcast.com

TOP 10 MATCHUP SUNDAY 
The preseason No. 9 UCLA women’s soccer team will host No. 3 Duke on Sunday, Aug. 16 at 6 p.m. PT in another Top 10 matchup against the Blue Devils. The last time the teams met was in 2022 in Durham, with the No. 3 Bruins beating No. 2 Duke, 2-1.

Fans attending Sunday’s game will have an opportunity to take photos on the field postgame and can also take photos with the UCLA women’s basketball national championship trophy before the game. 
        
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
Duke enters the season ranked No. 3 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll. The Blue Devils have advanced to the College Cup in each of the last two seasons and finished the 2025 season with a 17-5-1 overall record. Duke has four All-Americans on its current squad - returners Mia Minestrella and Cameron Roller, and transfers Katie Shea Collins (South Carolina) and Sam Courtwright (Texas Tech). Minestrella, who is from Redondo Beach, Calif. (Redondo Union HS) and is one of 11 California players on the Duke roster, led the team in scoring last year with 18 goals, seven game-winning goals and 41 points and has totaled 30 goals, 14 assists and 74 points in her career. The Blue Devils opened the 2026 season with a 3-1 win at USC. Duke led 3-0 at halftime and received a goal by Minestrella in the second minute of the game. Courtwright earned assists on the first two goals.   

THE SERIES WITH DUKE
UCLA leads the overall series with Duke, 5-1-1, and won the last matchup in Durham on Sept. 1, 2022 against the then-No. 2 Blue Devils by a 2-1 score. This is Duke’s first visit to Westwood since the 2008 NCAA quarterfinals, a 6-1 Bruin victory, and first regular season contest at UCLA. Duke’s lone win in the series was a 2-1 victory in the teams’ first matchup on Sept. 15, 1996 in Chapel Hill, N.C.    

BOYOKO ERA BEGINS 
UCLA begins the Gof Boyoko era in 2026, as the Bruins’ former associate head coach steps into the head coach position. Boyoko was on the UCLA coaching staff the previous four years and helped guide the Bruins to a 67-13-9 (.803) overall record and a 33-5-6 (.818) conference record, with NCAA Tournament appearances in each year. The Bruins won the NCAA Championship in Boyoko’s first season and captured conference titles in 2023 and 2024. Boyoko has coached 27 Bruins who went on to professional playing careers both domestically and internationally, along with multiple national and youth national team players.            

LAST TIME OUT 
In the 2026 season opener Aug. 12, No. 9 UCLA jumped ahead to a 1-0 lead over BYU, but the Cougars rallied to tie four minutes later and scored the go-ahead goal in the second half to secure the 2-1 win. Junior forward Kara Croone scored the first goal of the season in the 38th minute. After taking a one-touch pass from Grace Shank, Croone got ahead of the defenders and beat the BYU goalkeeper with a low shot to the left post for her fourth career goal. Senior transfer Ava Priest was also credited with an assist. The Cougars answered right back in the 42nd minute after Mattyn Summers-Oviatt scored after intercepting a pass just outside of the box. In the second half, the Bruins had a good chance to go up again after Nicki Fraser drew a foul just outside the box in the 57th minute. Shank’s free kick to the top corner just missed high. Three minutes later, BYU also earned a free kick outside the box and took advantage of the set piece. A header by Ellie Walbruch went off the right post and bounced around before Brynlli Tolbert put it in for the go-ahead goal. UCLA goalkeeper Mariangela Medina made five saves in the contest.

BRUIN DEBUTS 
A total of eight players made their official UCLA debuts on Wednesday. First-time starters were transfers Olivia Woodson, Asa Yamazaki and Cate Sarinopoulos. Coming in as reserves were transfers Marli Galdamez, Ava Priest and Abby Gemma and freshmen Anna Wilson and Thea Perry. Woodson logged the most minutes with 85 and had a shot on goal, and Yamazaki totaled 80 minutes. Priest recorded an assist on UCLA’s goal. Additionally, junior Sammy Sanchez earned her first career start.

PRESEASON RANKINGS
UCLA enters the season ranked No. 9 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll. The Bruins were picked to finish second in the conference in the Big Ten’s preseason poll. UCLA will face five teams in 2026 who are ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 in No. 1 Stanford (Aug. 27), No. 3 Duke (Aug. 16), No. 7 Michigan State (Sept. 13), No. 12 Washington (Oct. 16) and No. 17 Ohio State (Sept. 17). All but the Stanford game will be at home.  

POWELL, SHANK, WOODSON NAMED TO WATCH LIST
Bruins Leena Powell, Grace Shank and Olivia Woodson were selected to the Big Ten Players to Watch List. Powell, a sophomore forward from Culver City, Calif., started 16 of 19 games played a year ago and totaled one assist. She is a member of the U.S. Under-19 National Team, along with Shank, who played in all 21 games in 2025 and made 14 starts while totaling one goal and one assist. Shank, a sophomore midfielder from McLean, Va., was selected to the Big Ten All-Freshman team. Woodson, a forward from Chesterfield, Va., scored 18 career goals at Auburn University and was an all-region honoree in 2024.

PRESEASON TOP 100 PLAYERS 
Top Drawer Soccer has ranked five Bruins in its Preseason Players to Watch List. Leena Powell leads all Bruins at No. 38, followed closely behind by No. 41 Ava Priest. Abby Gemma ranks No. 59, Grace Shank No. 64, and Daphne Nakfoor No. 91. Additionally, freshman midfielder Mia Corona was named to Top Drawer Soccer’s Preseason Freshman Team.        

IMPACT TRANSFERS 
UCLA welcomes seven transfers to the squad in 2026, including three who have experience playing in the College Cup in Cate Sarinopoulos and Marli Galdamez (TCU 2025) and Lynette Bryant (BYU 2023). Bryant will be facing her former team straight away in the season opener on Aug. 12. Also arriving in Westwood this season are 2024 all-region selections Olivia Woodson from Auburn and Ava Priest from Colorado, U.S. Under-20 National Team player Abby Gemma from Florida, and two-time Junior College All-American Asa Yamazaki (Arizona Western). Top Drawer Soccer ranked UCLA’s transfer class No. 2 overall in 2026.      

WELCOME FRESHMEN 
The Bruins bring in a strong freshman class, highlighted by five youth national team players from four different countries - U.S. Under-17 midfielder Mia Corona, U.S. Under-16 defender Thea Perry, Mexico Under-20 National Team forward Anaiya Miyazato, Canada Under-17 National Team defender Molly Hale, and Brazil Under-17 National Team defender Bela Araújo. Also joining UCLA in 2026 are defender Anna Wilson and midfielder Fiona McGeough.

FRASER RETURNS  
Defender Nicki Fraser, the 2024 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, returns in 2026 after sitting out the 2025 season with injuries. In the season opener against BYU, she started and played 60 minutes. Fraser started in 20 games her freshman season and helped UCLA’s defense record the lowest team goals against average in the nation (0.41) and the most shutouts (16). In addition to being named the conference’s Freshman of the Year, she also received third-team All-Big Ten honors and All-Freshman acclaim. A U.S. Youth National Team member, Fraser played in the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup and the 2023 Pan American Games.      

ACADEMIC HONORS
For the 15th 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 2025-26 academic year. The Bruins posted a team GPA of 3.29, their seventh consecutive year over 3.25. A total of 10 players were named to the Academic All-Big Ten team in the fall. 

LOOKING BACK AT LAST SEASON  
UCLA ended the 2025 season with a 12-5-4 record after falling in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in penalty kicks to BYU. The Bruins’ defense in 2025 was exceptional, as they ranked second in goals against average (0.47) and goals allowed (10). UCLA recorded 12 shutouts on the year, including a 2-0 shutout victory over then-No. 1 Stanford on Sept. 7. Only one team (Michigan State) scored multiple goals against the Bruins in a single game, and none had done so in regulation. Four of UCLA’s five losses were by 1-0 scores. The Bruins produced two All-Americans in seniors Emma Egizii and Jennie Immethun, both of whom are now playing in the NWSL. Forward Bella Winn, the team leader in goals scored with eight, was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Two other freshmen - Daphne Nakfoor and Grace Shank - earned Big Ten All-Freshman honors. A total of six Bruins were named to the All-Big Ten team, including returning starters Kara Croone and Paloma Daubert.  

BRUINS ON TV 
Three of UCLA’s matches will be broadcast on Big Ten Network this season. All remaining home and conference games will air on Big Ten Plus. The Bruins’ first televised match will be on Sept. 24 at Rutgers at 5pm PT. Also airing on Big Ten Network will be UCLA’s home finale against Washington on Oct. 16 at 8pm PT and the regular season finale at USC on Oct. 30 at 7pm PT. 

FOLLOW THE BRUINS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow UCLA Women’s Soccer at @UCLAWSoccer on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok and /UCLAWSoccer on Facebook.