LOS ANGELES - No. 20 UCLA earned its first victory of the 2026 season, downing San Diego by a score of 2-0. The win was also the first for The Wolfen Family UCLA Women’s Head Soccer Coach Gof Boyoko.
The Bruins (1-1-1) scored a goal in each half, with junior transfer Cate Sarinopoulos scoring her first goal as a Bruin in the 16th minute and senior Oruha Hayashi scoring her second goal in as many games in the 68th minute.
"It was good to get that first win," said Boyoko. "We were looking for it. We were close against Duke, and that shows good progression. We saw some nice goals, and what we've been working on in practice, we can see it now come alive. We need to keep working on the small details and keep getting better as a team."
The opening goal was set up by and scored by Sarinopoulos. The TCU transfer drew a foul at the edge of the box and then took the free kick herself after a decoy by Grace Shank. Sarinopoulos' left-footed far post strike beat San Diego goalkeeper Chloe Walls for the goal.
🚨 FREE KICK GOAL 🚨@CateSarinopoulo gives UCLA a 1-0 lead over San Diego after 15 minutes!
— UCLA Women's Soccer (@UCLAWSoccer) August 21, 2026
💻: @BigTenPlus #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/0AiLNF0kGe
The Toreros nearly tied it up two minutes later after earning a corner kick, but Emma Elias' shot was saved by UCLA goalkeeper Daphne Nakfoor.
Sarinopoulos nearly scored again in the second half, but this time her shot in the 68th minute was saved by Walls. A minute later, however, Hayashi intercepted a pass beyond the box and fired a rocket to the right post for her second goal this season, doubling up UCLA's advantage.
Oruha Hayashi with the takeaway and the goal to double UCLA's lead!
— UCLA Women's Soccer (@UCLAWSoccer) August 21, 2026
💻: @BigTenPlus #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/pY0MW8ihHo
The Toreros had an opportunity in the 71st minute when Amanda Anders got ahead of the defense with just Nakfoor to beat. Nakfoor charged the box and got a piece of the ball before Anders could shoot, and a rebound shot by Kaylee Smith, in traffic, missed wide.
Marli Galdamez nearly made it 3-0 Bruins in the 81st minute with a rocket that was saved by Walls, who finished with five saves on the day. Nakfoor totaled three saves to earn the shutout.
The Bruins outshot the Toreros by a 19-5 count and had an 11-2 advantage in corner kicks.
UCLA will next face No. 1 Stanford on the road on Thursday, Aug. 27 at 7:30pm.