LOS ANGELES - No. 9 UCLA rallied to tie No. 3 Duke, 1-1, in a Top 10 matchup at Wallis Annenberg Stadium. After allowing a goal off a free kick just two minutes into the contest, the Bruins (0-1-1) came back strong in the second half to tie on a penalty kick and held the Blue Devils (1-0-1) to zero shots in the half and just two in the game.
The Bruins found themselves in a hole quickly. For the second game in a row, Duke scored in the first two minutes of play. After Yuna Marui was fouled just outside of the box, Sam Courtwright took the free kick and bent it around the wall and past Daphne Nakfoor for the goal at 2:06.
Duke nearly scored again in the 23rd minute, earning a pair of corner kicks, but they were unable to capitalize. The Bruins sent the first corner out of bounds, and Cameron Roller's header on the second corner missed high.
UCLA had its lone shot of the half come in the ninth minute following a corner kick, with Leena Powell's shot from the left side being saved by Duke goalkeeper Molly Vapensky.
UCLA made adjustments at halftime and quickly pulled even in the second half after Nicki Fraser drew a foul in the box in the 50th minute. Senior Oruha Hayashi stepped up for the penalty kick and converted for the equalizer, her second goal as a Bruin.
Oruha Hayashi ties it up at 1-1 on a penalty kick in the 50th minute!
— UCLA Women's Soccer (@UCLAWSoccer) August 17, 2026
💻: @bigtenplus#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/MLQJCSbAdQ
The game took a turn in the Bruins' favor in the 73rd minute when Jocelyn Travers was called for a red card for pulling Payten Cooper's hair, forcing Duke to be down a player for the remaining 18 minutes. UCLA had chances in those final 18 minutes but was denied by the Blue Devils. Powell's shot in the 78th minute from just outside the box was saved by Vapensky, and Molly Hale rocketed at shot in the 87th minute that Vapensky made a leaping save on to prevent the go-ahead goal, the last of her three saves in the game.
UCLA outshot Duke, 6-2, in the contest and held a 4-1 shots on goal advantage.
"I think we started a little slow, and we dug ourselves a hole," said The Wolfen Family UCLA Women’s Head Soccer Coach Gof Boyoko. "On the first play, we tried to build and got caught. They got a free kick, and on the first shot of the game we're 1-0 down. We have to find a way to start the game better."
"But after that, to be frank, I think it's a solid performance," Boyoko continued. "Once we had our distancing right after halftime, that's when we started taking over, and after the red card, we had opportunities. Overall, it was a good performance, but it's a small margin when you play those types of games, and we're going to keep working and hopefully get the win on Thursday."
The Bruins will next play San Diego on Thursday, Aug. 20 at Wallis Annenberg Stadium at 7pm. Tickets are available at uclabruins.com/tickets.