No. 20 UCLA (1-1-1) at No. 1 Stanford (3-0-0)
Date: Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026 – 7:30 p.m. PT
Location: Stanford, Calif. (Laird Q. Cagan Stadium)
Broadcast: ACCNX (espn.com/watch)
Live Stats: statbroadcast.com

No. 20 UCLA (1-1-1) at Santa Clara (1-0-3)
Date: Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026 – 1 p.m. PT
Location: Santa Clara, Calif. (Stevens Stadium - Buck Shaw Field)
Broadcast: ESPN+ (espn.com/watch)
Live Stats: statbroadcast.com

BRUINS HEAD TO BAY AREA FOR FIRST ROAD TRIP  
No. 20 UCLA will compete on the road for the first time this season, traveling to the Bay Area to take on No. 1 Stanford and Santa Clara. The Bruins will first face the Cardinal on Thursday, Aug. 27 at 7:30 p.m., marking the second consecutive year UCLA will face a top-ranked Stanford squad. UCLA won last year’s meeting, 2-0, in Los Angeles. Following the Stanford game, the Bruins will stay in the Bay Area to face Santa Clara on Sunday, Aug. 30 at 1 p.m.      

SCOUTING THE CARDINAL
Stanford has opened its season with a 3-0 record, outscoring its opponents by a 9-0 count. Seven different players have scored for the Cardinal; Charlotte Kohler is the only player with multiple goals, scoring three. Bella Winn, who won the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award last year with UCLA, is tied for second on the team in points scored with three. Stanford will have six players out for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in September - goalkeeper Caroline Birkel, defender Lizzie Boamah and midfielder Y-Lan Nguyen with the U.S., goalkeeper Kaiya Jota and midfielder Eleanor Klinger with England and Alex Tay with Ghana. Last season, Stanford posted a 21-2-2 record and advanced to the College Cup for the third consecutive year. The Cardinal is coached by Paul Ratcliffe, who played on UCLA’s 1990 NCAA men’s soccer championship team.     

THE SERIES WITH STANFORD
Stanford holds the advantage in the all-time series, 19-14-3. UCLA won the last matchup a year ago, upsetting the top-ranked Cardinal 2-0 in Los Angeles on Sept. 7. Bella Winn and Lexi Wright scored the goals for the Bruins. The last matchup held in Stanford was won by the Cardinal, 1-0, in 2022. UCLA’s last victory on the Farm came during the 2020-21 season, a 2-1 overtime win to clinch the Pac-12 title.      

SCOUTING THE BRONCOS
Santa Clara enters the week with a 1-0-3 record and has recorded three consecutive 1-1 draws after starting the season with a 2-0 win against San Jose State. Kennedy Schoennauer leads the team in scoring with eight points, having scored four of the team’s five goals on the year. The Broncos also have a UCLA transfer on its squad - forward Jordan Geis, who played in 43 matches for the Bruins the last two years. Santa Clara, which is coached by Jerry Smith, finished with an 8-6-5 record a year ago.     

THE SERIES WITH SANTA CLARA
UCLA leads the all-time series with Santa Clara, 8-6-2. The Bruins have won three in a row, all by a 1-0 count, and took the last matchup at home on Aug. 25, 2024, as well as the last meeting in Santa Clara on Aug. 28, 2022. The Broncos’ last win over the Bruins came in 2019, a 2-0 home victory.       

BOYOKO EARNS FIRST VICTORY 
The Wolfen Family UCLA Women’s Head Soccer Coach Gof Boyoko earned his first victory as a head coach on Aug. 20, 2026, a 2-0 shutout win over San Diego. The Bruins’ former associate head coach stepped into the head coach position on Dec. 12, 2025. 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 
No. 20 UCLA earned its first victory of the 2026 season on Aug. 20, downing San Diego by a score of 2-0. The Bruins 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. 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. Hayashi also set up her goal, intercepting a pass beyond the box and firing a rocket to the right post to double up UCLA’s advantage. Daphne Nakfoor earned her seventh career clean sheet, making three saves. 

BRUIN DEBUTS 
Eleven players made their official UCLA debuts in the first three games. First-time starters against BYU 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. Against Duke in game two, freshman Molly Hale made her collegiate debut and played 50 minutes with one shot on goal. Freshmen Fiona McGeough and Bela Araújo debuted against San Diego in game three, and Perry earned her first start and played the full 90. Sophomore Laila Edris made her first appearance of the year after missing the preseason while playing for Egypt at the Women’s African Cup of Nations.   

IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA moved up three spots to No. 17 in the IWSOC Coaches poll. The Bruins’ next opponent, Stanford, is No. 1. Their Game 2 opponent, Duke, is ranked No. 2. BYU, who the Bruins faced in the season opener, ranks No. 15. 

BRUINS IN THE UNDER-20 WORLD CUP 
Goalkeeper Mariangela Medina and defender Abby Gemma have been selected to their respective country’s FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup squads. Medina will play for Mexico, while Gemma will be a traveling alternate for the U.S. team. Medina is making her second career FIFA Under-20 World Cup appearance. She played in the 2024 tournament and made one appearance in the Round of 16 match against the U.S., entering the game in overtime and making a save on a penalty kick just two minutes into her time on the pitch. The 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will take place in Poland from Sept. 5-27. The U.S. has won this tournament three times, most recently in 2012.

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, 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, and in the Duke contest, she logged 64 minutes and drew a penalty kick in the 1-1 tie while helping to hold the Blue Devils to just two shots in the game. For her efforts, she was named the UCLA Student-Athlete of the Week presented by Champion of Westwood. 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.