No. 12 UCLA (6-3-1, 3-1-0) vs. Maryland (3-6-1, 0-4-0)
Date: Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026 – 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT
Location: College Park, Md. (Ludwig Field)
Broadcast: Big Ten Plus (bigtenplus.com)
Live Stats: umterps.com
BRUINS WRAP UP EAST COAST TRIP SUNDAY AT MARYLAND
No. 12 UCLA (6-3-1, 3-1-0 in the Big Ten) will wrap up its first out-of-state road trip of the year on Sunday, Sept. 27 when it takes on Maryland at 12pm ET/9am PT. The match will stream on Big Ten Plus. The Bruins are coming off a 1-0 win at Rutgers on Thursday, while the Terrapins lost at home to Wisconsin, 1-0.
EAST COAST BRUINS ENJOYING “HOME” TRIP
UCLA’s trip to the East Coast has given 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, where the Bruins played on Thursday. Grace Shank (McLean, Va./Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School) returns to the DMV when the Bruins play Maryland on Sunday. Additionally, Olivia Woodson will be just a few hours away from her hometown of Chesterfield, Va.
SCOUTING THE TERRAPINS
Maryland enters Sunday’s game with a 3-6-1 overall record and is 0-4-0 in the Big Ten. The Terrapins fell to Wisconsin by a 1-0 score on Thursday. Forward Jolie Farmer leads Maryland with four goals and nine points. Faith Luckey has started the last seven games in goal and has totaled 30 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
A late 85th-minute goal by junior Cate Sarinopoulos gave UCLA a 1-0 shutout victory at Rutgers late Thursday evening. The Bruins had been held to just four shots and two shots on goal in the game prior to Sarinopoulos’ heroics. However, the junior midfielder gave UCLA all it needed after claiming possession just past midfield and spinning a left-footed shot that split two defenders and skimmed past Rutgers goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer to the lower left corner. The goal was Sarinopolous’ second of the season. Rutgers had several dangerous opportunities throughout the match, taking 15 shots but getting just one shot on goal thanks to a disruptive UCLA defense. The Scarlet Knights had a shot by Marian Dunne hit the crossbar in the 12th minute, and UCLA goalkeeper Daphne Nakfoor made a diving save on a header off a corner kick in the 75th minute. Nakfoor earned her second consecutive shutout and third of the season.
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 Cate Sarinopoulos, Leena Powell, Oruha Hayashi, Grace Shank and Molly Hale. Also getting in the goal column is Payten Cooper with one. Croone also leads the team in points with seven and is tied with Sarinopoulos with two game-winning goals. 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 seven, including the last three against Michigan State, Ohio State and Rutgers. In that three-game span, she recorded back-to-back shutouts against Ohio State and Rutgers and allowed just one goal. Nakfoor has three shutouts on the year and posted a season-high total 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, 900 minutes in total. Junior defender Asa Yamazaki ranks second in minutes played with 816, followed closely by sophomore midfielder Grace Shank, who has totaled 806. Senior midfielder Oruha Hayashi is one minute shy of 800 with 799 minutes played, and senior forward Olivia Woodson has logged 730 minutes. Daubert, Shank and Hayashi are the only Bruins to start every game this season.
UCLA IN THE BIG TEN
UCLA is in its third season in the Big Ten and holds a 17-4-5 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 10 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 entered the week with 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.
WORLD CUP BRUINS
Freshman midfielder Mia Corona is the latest Bruin assigned to Women’s World Cup duty, as she will join the U.S. team at the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco in October. Junior goalkeeper Mariangela Medina returned recently after a stint with Mexico at the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland. Medina missed six games while on national team duty. Junior defender Abby Gemma 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. Sarinopoulos is tied for the team lead with two game-winning goals, and Yamazaki ranks second on the team in minutes played with 816.
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 four.
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.
LOOKING AHEAD
UCLA will play at Oregon next Friday, Oct. 2 before embarking on a three-game homestand starting Oct. 8 against Indiana.