No. 10 UCLA (8-3-1, 5-1-0) vs. Indiana (4-7-1, 1-5-0)
Date: Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026 – 7 p.m. PT
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Wallis Annenberg Stadium)
Tickets: uclabruins.com/tickets; UCLA students free
Theme: Breast Cancer Awareness
Giveaway: Pink bracelets
Broadcast: Big Ten Plus
Talent: Nick Koop, Shane Donovan
Live Stats: statbroadcast.com

No. 10 UCLA (8-3-1, 5-1-0) vs. Illinois (4-3-5, 1-3-2)
Date: Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026 – 1 p.m. PT
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Wallis Annenberg Stadium)
Tickets: uclabruins.com/tickets; UCLA students free
Theme: Alumni Game/Pride
Giveaway: Rainbow lanyards
Broadcast: Big Ten Plus
Talent:  Nick Koop, Graham Meztker
Live Stats: statbroadcast.com

BRUINS TO FACE INDIANA, ILLINOIS THIS WEEK    
No. 10 UCLA (8-3-1, 5-1-0 in the Big Ten) will face Indiana (4-7-1, 1-5-0) on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 7pm in its first match of the week, followed by a Sunday, Oct. 11 match against Illinois (4-3-5, 1-3-2) at 1pm. Both matches will stream on Big Ten Plus. The Bruins are coming off a three-match road sweep, part of a broader four-match win streak.

SCOUTING THE HOOSIERS
Indiana enters Thursday’s game with a 4-7-1 overall record and is 1-5-0 in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers are 2-3 on the road and 1-2 in Big Ten Conference road games. The Hoosiers are coming off a 3-2 loss against Michigan on Oct. 4. Maggie Ledwith leads the team in goals scored with five and is the leading point-scorer with 12 points, followed by Bella Haggerty with three goals and seven points. Goalkeeper Dani Jacobsen has started all 12 of Indiana’s games.      

THE SERIES WITH INDIANA
UCLA leads the all-time series with Indiana, 1-0. The Bruins won their last matchup, the first between the two programs, 1-0, in 2004. Thursday’s game will mark the program’s first-ever on the UCLA campus.

SCOUTING THE ILLINI
Illinois enters the week with a 4-3-5 overall and 1-3-2 conference record. The Illini will play USC on Thursday before facing the Bruins on Sunday. Illinois was four and a half minutes away from a 0-0 tie against No. 2 Michigan State in its last game, but Bella Najera scored the game-winner for the Spartans at 85:30. Cayla Jackson is Illinois’ leading scorer with three goals and seven points. Goalkeeper Izzy Lee ranks fourth in the nation with seven shutouts and is third all-time at Illinois with 22 career shutouts and 277 career saves.      

THE SERIES WITH ILLINOIS
UCLA leads the all-time series with Illinois, 4-0. The Bruins won the last matchup 3-1 in 2024, the first between the two programs as Big Ten conference opponents. Illinois has played at UCLA two other times, most recently in 2011, a 2-0 Bruin victory.   

LAST TIME OUT 
No. 10 UCLA extended its shutout streak to four games, beating Oregon 1-0 on the road Oct. 2. Junior forward Kara Croone earned a penalty kick in the 89th minute and drilled the penalty for the only goal of the match. Croone’s goal was her fourth of the season, three of which have been game-winners. With two minutes remaining in a scoreless game, the Bruins focused on what was likely to have been their last big moment in the game. Oruha Hayashi sent a ball forward to Croone toward the box. Croone dribbled into the box when an Oregon player caught her leg trying to defend. The penalty was called following a video review, and Croone hit her shot for the winning goal at 88:03.

NAKFOOR NAMED BIG TEN GOALKEEPER PLAYER OF WEEK 
Sophomore Daphne Nakfoor has been named the Big Ten Women’s Soccer Goalkeeper of the Week after recording her fourth consecutive shutout in a 1-0 win at Oregon. Nakfoor made three saves on seven Duck shots, none bigger than one with just under five minutes to play in a scoreless game. She dove to her left to send an on-target shot by Maddie Sharrer out of play, and four minutes later, the Bruins scored the game-winner to take the 1-0 victory and stay atop the Big Ten standings with a 5-1 conference record. Nakfoor has not allowed a goal in 443 consecutive minutes and has five shutouts on the year and a 0.78 goals against average. This is Nakfoor’s first Big Ten weekly honor of the season and second of her career. UCLA has won 15 weekly awards in its three seasons in the Big Ten and four this season.

CORONA MAKES COLLEGIATE DEBUT 
Freshman Mia Corona made her long-awaited collegiate debut on Oct. 2, recording two shots in 22 minutes of play at Oregon. Corona nearly scored in her first game but came inches wide on a shot in the 81st minute. The U.S. Under-17 National Team captain had missed the beginning of the NCAA season with an injury but recovered in time to get one game in before departing for the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup, which runs Oct. 17-Nov. 7.   

BY THE NUMBERS 
UCLA has recorded four consecutive shutouts and has not allowed a goal in 443 straight minutes … The Bruins’ last shutout streak of five or more games came in 2024 when they started the season with five consecutive shutout victories … UCLA has outscored opponents 12-2 in the second half of games this season … Five of those 12 second-half goals have come in the final 10 minutes of the game, and four have come in the final five minutes.      

IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA remained No. 10 in the IWSOC Coaches Poll for the second consecutive week after the victory at Oregon. The Bruins moved up two spots to No. 8 in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25.   

A SEPTEMBER TO REMEMBER 
UCLA went 5-1 in the month of September, posting four shutouts and allowing just two goals, one each to the top-scoring teams in the Big Ten. During the month, the Bruins beat two unbeaten teams, including No. 5 Ohio State and shutout two conference teams on the road.  

BALANCED SCORING 
Seven different players have scored goals for the Bruins this season, led by four-goal scorers Oruha Hayashi and Kara Croone and two-goal scorers Cate Sarinopoulos, Leena Powell, Grace Shank and Molly Hale. Also getting in the goal column is Payten Cooper with one. After recording a goal at Oregon, Croone is now tied with Hayashi for the team lead in goals (4) and points (9). Croone also holds the team lead in game-winning goals with three.  Shank leads the team with four assists.

IRON WOMEN 
Four Bruins have already logged over 900 minutes of play after 12 games. Junior defender Paloma Daubert has played every minute of every game, 1080 minutes in total. Junior defender Asa Yamazaki ranks second in minutes played with 985, followed closely by sophomore midfielder Grace Shank, who has totaled 982, and senior midfielder Oruha Hayashi, who has played 967 minutes. Daubert, Shank and Hayashi are the only Bruins to start every game this season.     

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 nine, including the last five, the last four of which were shutouts. Nakfoor has five 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.

UCLA IN THE BIG TEN  
UCLA is in its third season in the Big Ten and holds an 19-4-5 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. UCLA is currently tied for first in conference play with 15 points, along with Ohio State and Michigan State.        

CHALLENGING SCHEDULE 
UCLA has endured a tough schedule so far, matching up against four Top 5 teams. Eight of UCLA’s 11 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 this week with a combined record of 57-16-16 (BYU 7-2-2, Duke 6-1-1, San Diego 3-6-2, Stanford 7-2-2, Santa Clara 6-2-4, Purdue 10-1-2, Michigan State 9-1-2, Ohio State 9-1-1).       

WORLD CUP BRUINS 
Freshman midfielder Mia Corona is the latest Bruin assigned to Women’s World Cup duty, as has joined the U.S. team at the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco. The U-17 World Cup runs from October 17 to November 7. Corona got into her first match as a Bruin on October 2 just before departing for World Cup play. This will be Corona’s second Under-17 World Cup, as she was a starter for the U.S. in the 2025 tournament. 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.  

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.            

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, and freshman Mia Corona debuted on Oct. 2 at Oregon.    

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 ranks second on the team with two game-winning goals, and Yamazaki ranks second on the team in minutes played with 985.                 

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 five points, and Wilson has played in every game, making six starts with one assist.           

ACADEMIC HONORS
For the 15th consecutive year, the UCLA women’s soccer team has won a United Soccer Coaches College Team Academic Award, recognizing exemplary performance in the classroom during the 2025-26 academic year. The Bruins posted a team GPA of 3.29, their seventh consecutive year over 3.25. 

SANCHEZ TIES NWSL SCORING RECORD
Ashley Sanchez (2017-19) tied the NWSL single-season goals scored record of 20 and has a chance to set a new record with four games left on the North Carolina Courage’s schedule. 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 host Washington on Friday, Oct. 16 in its final home regular season game of the season.