No. 12 UCLA (5-3-1, 2-1-0) vs. Rutgers (2-3-3, 1-2-0)
Date: Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026 – 5 p.m. PT
Location: Piscataway, N.J. (Yurcak Field)
Broadcast: Big Ten Network
Talent: Zach Mackie, Jackie Manny
Live Stats: statbroadcast.com
No. 12 UCLA (5-3-1, 2-1-0) vs. Maryland (3-5-1, 0-3-0)
Date: Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026 – 6 p.m. PT
Location: College Park, Md. (Ludwig Field)
Broadcast: Big Ten Plus (bigtenplus.com)
Live Stats: umterps.com
BRUINS VISIT EAST COAST
No. 12 UCLA (5-3-1, 2-1-0 in the Big Ten) will venture outside of the state of California for the first time this season, traveling to the East Coast to take on Rutgers (2-3-3, 1-2-0) and Maryland (3-5-1, 0-3-0). The Bruins will first face Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J. on Thursday, Sept. 24 at 8pm ET/5pm PT. It will be UCLA’s 2026 Big Ten Network debut. The Bruins will close the week at Maryland on Sunday, Sept. 27 for a 12pm ET/9am PT match that will stream on Big Ten Plus.
EAST COAST BRUINS COME HOME
UCLA’s trip to the East Coast will give four Bruins an opportunity to play close to home. Abby Gemma (Flemington, N.J.) and Fiona McGeough (New York, N.Y./Beacon HS) have hometowns less than an hour away from Rutgers. Grace Shank (McLean, Va./Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School) returns to the DMV when the Bruins play Maryland, and Olivia Woodson will be just a few hours away from her hometown of Chesterfield, Va.
SCOUTING THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
Rutgers enters Thursday’s game 2-3-3 overall and 1-2-0 in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights are coming off a 2-1 loss to Purdue on Sept. 20. Rutgers had a 1-0 lead in the first half but surrendered two goals in the second half. The Scarlet Knights are led in scoring by Lilia Calvert, who has two goals and one assist. Ashley Baran also has two goals. Goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer leads the Big Ten in saves with 42 and has recorded three shutouts this season.
THE SERIES WITH RUTGERS
UCLA leads the all-time series with Rutgers, 4-0, and has outscored the Scarlet Knights in those games, 9-0. The Bruins won last year’s matchup in Los Angeles, 1-0, holding Rutgers to just three shots. In 2024, the Bruins beat the Scarlet Knights 5-0 in the Big Ten Tournament Championship, setting a tournament record for most goals scored in the title game.
SCOUTING THE TERRAPINS
Maryland begins the week with a 3-5-1 overall record and is 0-3-0 in the Big Ten. The Terrapins will face Wisconsin on Thursday night before playing the Bruins. Forward Jolie Farmer leads Maryland with four goals and nine points. Faith Luckey has started the last six games in goal and has totaled 27 saves on the season.
THE SERIES WITH MARYLAND
UCLA leads the all-time series with Maryland, 4-1. The Bruins won the last two matchups, both in Los Angeles, via shutout - 1-0 in 2025 and 3-0 in 2014. UCLA’s defense held Maryland to just two shots in last year’s contest. The other three matchups have taken place in neutral sites. Maryland’s only win in the series came on Sept. 12, 2004 at Virginia, by a 2-1 score.
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA had the biggest jump of the week in the IWSOC Coaches Poll, moving up nine spots from No. 21 to No. 12 after beating then-No. 5 Ohio State last week. The Buckeyes were UCLA’s fourth Top 5 opponent this season. The Bruins made their Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 debut this week, checking in at No. 20.
LAST TIME OUT
UCLA secured its biggest win of the season so far, shutting out No. 5 Ohio State 1-0 on Sept. 17 and handing the Buckeyes their first loss of the year. The Bruins came away with the victory thanks to a 25th-minute goal by sophomore Leena Powell, whose strike from just outside of the box was set up by Kara Croone. Powell’s goal was her second of the season. Goalkeeper Daphne Nakfoor recorded five saves to earn her second shutout of the season. Her biggest save came late in the contest. While contesting a free kick that was served into the box in the 88th minute, Nakfoor leaped up to tip the header over the goal, helping to preserve the shutout.
DAUBERT NAMED BIG TEN DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF WEEK
For the first time in her career, junior team captain Paloma Daubert has been named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. Daubert led UCLA’s defensive efforts in its 1-0 shutout win over No. 5 Ohio State, holding the Buckeyes to seven shots, well below their season average of 16 shots per game. Daubert played the full 90 minutes in the game and has played every minute of every game this year, leading the team with 810 minutes played. Her play has helped UCLA’s defense earn three shutouts and limit opponents to single-digit shots in six of nine games. Daubert is the second Bruin to receive a Big Ten weekly honor this year, joining Molly Hale, who won Big Ten Freshman of the Week acclaim on Sept. 1.
BALANCED SCORING
Seven different players have scored goals for the Bruins this season, led by three-goal scorer Kara Croone and two-goal scorers Leena Powell, Oruha Hayashi, Grace Shank and Molly Hale. Also getting in the goal column are Cate Sarinopoulos, and Payten Cooper. Croone also leads the team in points with seven and game-winning goals with two, and Shank and Asa Yamazaki are the team’s assist leaders with two apiece.
GOALKEEPER DEPTH
For the first time since the 2015 season, three different goalkeepers have started a game for the Bruins. Daphne Nakfoor has started the most games with six, including the last two against Michigan State and Ohio State, where she averaged six saves while allowing a total of one goal. Nakfoor’s shutout against the Buckeyes in her last start was her second this season. She also blanked San Diego on Aug. 20 and posted a season-high of eight saves at Stanford. Mariangela Medina started in the season opener against BYU and made five saves before departing with the Mexico Under-20 National Team for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. Lynette Bryant got her first UCLA start against Pepperdine on Senior Day, earning a shutout, and she also started in the Bruins’ win over Purdue, making four saves.
IRON WOMEN
Four Bruins have already logged over 700 minutes of play after nine games. Junior defender Paloma Daubert has played every minute of every game, 810 minutes in total. Sophomore midfielder Grace Shank is second in minutes played with 740. Also over 700 are junior defender Asa Yamazaki (736) and senior midfielder Oruha Hayashi (713). This group of players are the only Bruins to start every game this season. Senior forward Olivia Woodson has started in eight games and played 667 minutes, and freshman defender Thea Perry has six starts and 641 minutes played.
UCLA IN THE BIG TEN
UCLA is in its third season in the Big Ten and holds a 16-4-5 all-time conference record. In year one in 2024, the Bruins finished second in the regular season with a 8-1-2 record and swept through the conference tournament, allowing zero goals in three games and setting a championship record with five goals in the title match against Rutgers. The Bruins went 6-2-3 in conference play in 2025 and finished third in the regular season and tournament.
CHALLENGING SCHEDULE
UCLA has endured a tough schedule so far, matching up against four Top 5 teams. Eight of UCLA’s nine opponents entered the game unbeaten going into the matchup, and four of them (San Diego, Santa Clara, Purdue and Ohio State) came away with their first loss of the year. Those eight teams currently have a combined record of 44-14-14 (BYU 4-2-2, Duke 6-1-1, San Diego 3-4-2, Stanford 7-2-1, Santa Clara 4-2-4, Purdue 8-1-1, Michigan State 6-1-2, Ohio State 6-1-1).
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.
MEDINA RETURNS FROM UNDER-20 WORLD CUP
Goalkeeper Mariangela Medina is back after a stint with Mexico’s Under-20 National Team at the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland. Medina missed UCLA’s last six games while on national team duty. Defender Abby Gemma also missed three games while training with the U.S. team at the Under-20 Women’s World Cup as an alternate.
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.
BRUIN DEBUTS
Twelve new players made their official UCLA debuts during non-conference play. 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 against San Diego after missing the preseason while playing for Egypt at the Women’s African Cup of Nations. Senior goalkeeper Lynette Bryant made her UCLA debut on Sept. 4 against Pepperdine, earning the shutout. Junior Avery Robinson made her season debut on Sept. 10 against Purdue.
IMPACT TRANSFERS
UCLA welcomed 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). Also arriving in Westwood this season were 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. All seven transfers have started at least two games this season, and Yamazaki has started every game and ranks third on the team in minutes played with 736.
WELCOME FRESHMEN
The Bruins brought 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. Hale leads her class in scoring with two goals and four points. Perry and Wilson have played in every game, with Perry making six starts and Wilson three.
SANCHEZ NEARS NWSL SCORING RECORD
Ashley Sanchez (2017-19) is just one goal away from tying the NWSL single-season goals scored record of 20 with five games to play. She set a new NWSL record for goals scored by an American player and has also tied league records with five multi-goal games and six game-winning goals. Sanchez set multiple assist records as a Bruin, including the single-game (4), single-season (15) and career (42) assist records in just three years in Westwood.
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.