Bruins Travel to Cal Poly Thursday, Host Santa Clara Sunday – UCLA

No. 6/4 UCLA (2-0) at Cal Poly (0-1-1)
Date: Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024 – 7 p.m. PT
Location: San Luis Obispo, CA. (Mustang Memorial Field at Spanos Stadium)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Live Stats: statbroadcast.com
Tickets: ticketscalpoly.evenue.net/
Price: $8-12

No. 6/4 UCLA (2-0) vs. No. 11/23 Santa Clara (2-0)

Date: Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024 – 2 p.m. PT

Location: Los Angeles, CA. (Wallis Annenberg Stadium)

Broadcast: B1G+

Talent: Nick Koop, Sophie Wimmer

Live Stats: uclalivestats.com

Tickets: uclabruins.com/tickets 

Price: $9-17; UCLA students free with BruinCard

Seating:General Admission

Parking: purchase in advance on Park Mobile app

BRUINS TRAVEL TO CAL POLY THURSDAY, HOST SANTA CLARA SUNDAY

After capturing a pair of 3-0 shutout wins on opening weekend, No. 6/4 UCLA (2-0) will once again play one road and one home contest this week. The Bruins will first travel to San Luis Obispo to face Cal Poly (0-1-1) on Thursday, Aug. 22 at 7pm. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+. UCLA returns home to take on No. 11/23 Santa Clara (2-0) on Sunday, Aug. 25 at 2 p.m. The contest will be broadcast on B1G+.

UCLA ON B1G+

Sunday’s match will air on B1G+, the Big Ten Network’s subscription streaming platform, which offers access to nearly 2,500 events annually. The Bruins will be streamed on B1G+ at least 10 times this season, with three games scheduled to be televised on Big Ten Network. B1G+ subscriptions can be purchased directly at www.bigtenplus.com. Fans can subscribe to B1G+ with an annual pass ($89.99 per year) or a monthly pass ($12.99). B1G+ subscriptions can also be purchased via in-app purchase in B1G+ apps.           

LAST TIME OUT

UCLA recorded its second-straight 3-0 shutout victory on Sunday, downing UC Riverside to open the season 2-0. The Bruins scored two of their three goals in the first half, with Bridgette Marin-Valencia recording her second goal of the year and Bella Winn scoring her first collegiate goal, assisted by Meg Boade. Graduate transfer Ryan Campbell earned her second shutout as a Bruin and the 21st of her career. UCLA outshot UC Riverside b y a 23-1 count and has outshot its opponents 41-4 so far this season. 

EGIZII RECORDS FIRST BRACE 

Senior midfielder Emma Egizii scored two first-half goals in the season opening win at Long Beach State, recording her first collegiate multi-goal game and the first multi-goal game by a Bruin in a season opener since Julia Hernandez scored a pair in 2017.    

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS

Cal Poly posted a 10-8-3 record last season and is coming off a 1-0 loss to Fresno State on Sunday. The Mustangs are led by head coach Alex Crozier and return their top three scorers from a year ago in Jessie Halady (5g, 4a, 14pts), Kate Reedy (5g, 3a, 13pts) and Annika Smith (4g, 3a, 11pts). 

This will be the second-ever meeting between UCLA and Cal Poly. UCLA won the first matchup a year ago on a Sunshine Fontes penalty kick in the 89th minute.  

SCOUTING THE BRONCOS

Santa Clara went 2-0 on opening weekend, defeating San Jose State 4-0 on the road in the season opener and downing California 2-1 at home on Sunday. The Broncos are coached by Jerry Smith, who enters his 36th season at the helm. Kennedy Schoennauer leads the team in scoring with two goals and four points. Goalkeeper Marlee Nicolos has a 0.54 goals against average.   

This will be the eighth meeting between UCLA and Santa Clara. The Bruins lead the overall series, 4-2-1, and have won two straight by 1-0 scores, most recently in 2022 on a Sunshine Fontes goal.   

AOZASA TO FACE ALMA MATER

UCLA head coach Margueritte Aozasa will face off against her collegiate coach Jerry Smith when her Bruins match up against her alma mater Santa Clara. Aozasa was a four-year starter under Smith from 2008-11, playing at midfield and center back and serving as team captain from 2010-11. A WCC All-Academic team member, she graduated from Santa Clara in 2012 with a major in psychology and minors in public health and Spanish. Aozasa is 1-0 all-time against Santa Clara, winning the first matchup in her second game as Bruin head coach.   

PRESEASON RANKINGS

UCLA enters the season ranked No. 11 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll and No. 5 in Top Drawer Soccer’s preseason rankings. The Bruins were picked to finish first in the conference in the Big Ten’s preseason poll. UCLA will face three teams in 2024 who are ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 in No. 3 BYU (Aug. 28 at home), No. 4 Penn State (Oct. 17 at home), No. 19 Wisconsin (Sept. 26 at home), No. 22 Santa Clara (Aug. 25 at home), and No. 23 USC (Oct. 27 on the road at the LA Coliseum).  

BRUINS EARN NATIONAL RECOGNITION

Five UCLA women’s soccer players have earned national preseason recognition ahead of the 2024 season. Senior defender Lilly Reale and graduate goalkeeper Ryan Campbell were selected to MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Best XI first team and the NCAA Division I Women’s Players to Watch List. They were joined on the NCAA Players to Watch list by senior defender Quincy McMahon and graduate midfielder Meg Boade. Defender Nicki Fraser was selected to the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Freshman Team. On the conference front, Reale, Boade and Emma Egizii were selected to the Big Ten Players to Watch List. 

WELCOME BACK 

UCLA returns seven starters from last season’s conference championship team and seven all-conference players in Defensive Player of the Year Lilly Reale, Quincy McMahon, Sofia Cook, Ayo Oke, Jayden Perry, Sunshine Fontes and Lexi Wright. Additionally, Val Vargas earned all-freshman honors a year ago. 

The Bruins’ senior class has been prolific. Reale, McMahon, Perry, Wright and Emma Egizii entered together in 2021 and won a conference title in 2021, a NCAA title in 2022 and another conference title in 2023. They have combined for seven all-conference honors and have scored 98 points (31 goals and 36 assists) collectively while posting an overall record of 56-5-5. Reale is a two-time All-American and was the Honda Award winner in 2022, as well as the Most Outstanding Defensive Player at the 2022 College Cup. 

Although not in that senior class,  Fontes has also accomplished much in her time at UCLA. After redshirting the 2019 season with a torn ACL, she competed in the 2020 season and helped UCLA win the Pac-12 title, the first of three Fontes has been a part of (2020, 2021, 2023). She was the leading scorer for the 2022 NCAA champion Bruins with 11 goals and 30 points and enters the 2024 campaign with 21 career goals, 14 assists and 56 points.                 

IMPACT TRANSFERS 

UCLA welcomes four experienced transfers to the squad in 2024, including a pair of graduate transfers in goalkeeper Ryan Campbell (Stanford) and midfielder Meg Boade (Northwestern) who were named to the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Players to Watch List. Campbell was the Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year and a first-team All-Region selection after recording 11 solo and two combined shutouts in 2023. She also led the conference with a 0.601 goals against average. Boade broke Northwestern’s single-season assists record a year ago with 14 assists and ranked second in the nation in assists per game with a 0.78 average. She is a two-time All-North Region and All-Big Ten honoree. UCLA also brought in a pair of former conference foes in senior midfielder Alice Barbieri (Oregon) and junior forward Lily Boyden (Washington State). Barbieri played in 55 games with 36 starts over her first three seasons and has totaled nine career points. Boyden was a Pac-12 All-Freshman selection in 2022 after playing in 18 of 19 games for the Cougars. She finished the season with two goals and three assists. Boyden did not play in 2023 after suffering an injury in the spring. 

All four transfers saw significant minutes in the Bruins’ first two games. Campbell made two saves while posting her first shutout as a Bruin on Thursday, and she recorded a second clean sheet on Sunday. Boade also started both games, recording one shot on goal on Thursday and picking up an assist on Sunday. Boyden and Barbieri both came off the bench in the Bruins’ two games, with Boyden recording four total shots and Barbieri adding three shots.  

NO. 2 RECRUITING CLASS 

The Bruins boast Top Drawer Soccer’s No. 2 recruiting class in the nation, led by six rookies ranked in the Top 50 in No. 12 Nicki Fraser, No. 15 Kamryn Winger, No. 19 Bella Winn, No. 39 Avery Robinson, No. 46 Kara Croone and No. 50 Paloma Daubert. Samantha Sanchez is also ranked at No. 64. Also joining the team are freshmen goalkeepers Layla Armas and Mariangela Medina and forward Jordan Geis.

Five of the freshmen made their collegiate debuts on Thursday. Fraser, Will and Geis earned starts, and Daubert and Sanchez logged double-digit minutes off the bench. Robinson made her debut on Sunday a recorded one shot.         

VIVA MEXICO

Three Bruins – junior forward America Frias, sophomore midfielder Val Vargas and freshman goalkeeper Mariangela Medina – will miss the opening of the season while competing for Mexico at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia. Team Mexico will play two prep matches against Ghana and Nigeria on Aug. 22 and 26, respectively, before opening the tournament on Aug. 31 against Cameroon. Mexico will then play Australia on Sept. 3 and Colombia on Sept. 6 to round out group play. The Round of 16 begins on Sept. 11, with the quarterfinals taking place Sept. 15, the semifinals Sept. 18 and final on Sept. 22.             

SISTER ACT

Sophomore forward Sophie Reale made her collegiate debut on Thursday in the season opener after redshirting the 2023 campaign, playing 36 minutes and recording two shots, including one on goal. The game marked the first time Reale and her older sister Lilly have played together in their collegiate careers and the first time that two Bruin sisters have played in the same game since Anika and Karina Rodriguez played together in 2019.               

ACADEMIC HONORS

For the 13th 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 2023-24 academic year. The Bruins posted a team GPA of 3.25, their fifth consecutive year over 3.25. A total of 17 players were named to the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll in 2023. The Bruins had a record 18 honorees in 2022.

FOLLOW THE BRUINS

Follow UCLA Women’s Soccer at @UCLAWSoccer on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok and /UCLAWSoccer on Facebook. The Bruins lead all collegiate soccer teams, men or women, in Instagram followers with 114k.