Thursday, September 5
Knoxville, TN
4 p.m. PT
UCLA
at
Tennessee
Maya Evans
Photo by: Scott Chandler
UCLA Heads South for Pair of SEC Showdowns
September 04, 2024 | Women's Soccer
No. 9/6 UCLA (5-1) at Tennessee (3-1)
Date: Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024 โ 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT
Location: Knoxville, Tenn. (Regal Soccer Stadium)
Broadcast: SECN+
Talent: Michael Wottreng, Tori Beeler-Watson
Live Stats: statbroadcast.com
No. 9/6 UCLA (5-1) at Kentucky (5-0)
Date: Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024 โ 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT
Location: Lexington, Ky. (Bell Soccer Complex)
Broadcast: ESPNU
Talent: Mike Watts, Jill Loyden
Live Stats: statbroadcast.com
BRUINS TRAVEL SOUTH TO FACE TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY
No. 9/6 UCLA (5-1) kicks off a weekend Southern road trip with a Thursday, Sept. 5 matchup at Tennessee (3-1). The Bruins will play again on Sunday, Sept. 8 at Kentucky (5-0). Thursday's game will be aired on SEC Network Plus at 7pm ET/4pm PT. Sunday's game will be broadcast on ESPNU at 12pm ET/9am PT.ย
LAST TIME OUT
UCLA allowed its first goal and dropped its first contest of the season on Sept. 1, falling at Pepperdine, 1-0. The Waves scored in the 70th minute to end UCLA's shutout streak at five games and 519 minutes. The Bruins ran into a hot goalkeeper in Pepperdine's Jillian Medvecky, who made six impressive saves to keep UCLA off the board. ย ย
IN THE RANKINGS
The Bruins dropped six spots to No. 9 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and three spots to No. 6 in the Top Drawer Soccer poll. With the Bruin men ranking sixth in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, UCLA joins Stanford as one of just two schools to have both teams ranked in the Top 10 nationally. ย ย ย
SCOUTING THE VOLUNTEERS
Tennessee enters the week with a 3-1 record and three game shutout streak. The Volunteers had their Sunday match against Duke canceled due to inclement weather. Four different players have scored a goal for Tennessee this season, and they have two own goals. The Volunteers advanced to the NCAA second round last season and finished the year 9-7-4. Notable returners are 2021 All-American Jaida Thomas, who ranks second on Tennessee's all-time goals list with 39, and sophomore forward Kate Runyon, who finished fourth on the team in goals (4) and points (9) last year. UCLA is 2-0 all-time against Tennessee but has not faced the Volunteers since 2012. This is UCLA's first trip to Knoxville since 2011.ย
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Kentucky enters the week with a perfect 5-0 record, a year after starting the season with a record 13-match unbeaten streak. The Wildcats are slated to play Murray State on Thursday night. Makala Woods leads Kentucky in scoring this season with three goals and six points. Goalkeeper Marz Josephson has a 0.23 goals against average. UCLA leads the series with Kentucky, 2-0. Both victories came in the NCAA Second Round, in 2012 (5-0) and 2013 (3-0). This is UCLA's first visit to Lexington. ย
SHUTOUT STREAK ENDED
UCLA started the season with five consecutive shutouts, becoming just the second team in school history to accomplish the feat (the 2014 Bruins started out with six shutouts in a row). Goalkeeper Ryan Campbell compiled 519 consecutive shutout minutes, just shy of Katelyn Rowland's single-season school record 638-minute shutout streak in 2014.ย
ROLLING IN THE DEEPย
Twenty-three players on UCLA's roster have seen action this season, all playing in at least two games. Sixteen players have started in two or more games, but only five (Ryan Campbell, Lilly Reale, Meg Boade, Quincy McMahon and Nicki Fraser) have started in all six.ย
BRUINS EARN NATIONAL RECOGNITION
Five UCLA women's soccer players 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.ย
WELCOME BACKย
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. Wright, however, is out for the year with a knee injury.ย
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 102 points (32 goals and 38 assists) collectively while posting an overall record of 59-6-5. 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.ย
Although not in that senior class, ย 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. ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
IMPACT TRANSFERSย
UCLA welcomed 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 in 2023 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 nine career points. Boyden was a Pac-12 All-Freshman selection in 2022 after playing in 18 of 19 games for the Cougars and totaling two goals and three assists. Boyden did not play in 2023 after suffering an injury in the spring.ย
All four transfers have seen significant minutes in the Bruins' first six games. Campbell has recorded shutouts in five games and holds a goals against average of 0.17. Boade started all six games, along with Campbell, and scored the game-winning goal against No. 16 BYU and recorded an assist against UC Riverside. After coming off the bench in the Bruins' first two games, Boyden has started the last four contests, and Barbieri has started in three games. ย
NO. 2 RECRUITING CLASSย
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. Sammy 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 in the season opener. Fraser, Winn and Geis earned starts, and Daubert and Sanchez logged double-digit minutes off the bench. Robinson made her debut against UC Riverside and recorded one shot and had a near-goal hit the crossbar on Thursday at Cal Poly. Fraser is one of just five Bruins and the only underclassman to have started every game this season. Geis has played in all six games and made five starts.ย
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. Mexico played two prep matches against Ghana and Nigeria before opening the tournament on Aug. 31 with a 2-2 tie against Cameroon. Vargas saw action in the second half of the game.ย
Mexico will next 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. ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
SISTER ACT
Sophomore forward Sophie Reale made her collegiate debut 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. Both Reale sisters made the starting lineup for the first time in the Cal Poly match, with Lilly scoring the game-winning goal. ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
NEW WEAPON
Playing as an offensive player for the first time in her collegiate career is graduate student Maya Evans. A defender throughout her previous four years, Evans recently began playing as a forward and has started up top in the last three games. Evans has seven shots and one shot on goal. ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
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. ย
ย
Date: Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024 โ 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT
Location: Knoxville, Tenn. (Regal Soccer Stadium)
Broadcast: SECN+
Talent: Michael Wottreng, Tori Beeler-Watson
Live Stats: statbroadcast.com
No. 9/6 UCLA (5-1) at Kentucky (5-0)
Date: Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024 โ 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT
Location: Lexington, Ky. (Bell Soccer Complex)
Broadcast: ESPNU
Talent: Mike Watts, Jill Loyden
Live Stats: statbroadcast.com
BRUINS TRAVEL SOUTH TO FACE TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY
No. 9/6 UCLA (5-1) kicks off a weekend Southern road trip with a Thursday, Sept. 5 matchup at Tennessee (3-1). The Bruins will play again on Sunday, Sept. 8 at Kentucky (5-0). Thursday's game will be aired on SEC Network Plus at 7pm ET/4pm PT. Sunday's game will be broadcast on ESPNU at 12pm ET/9am PT.ย
LAST TIME OUT
UCLA allowed its first goal and dropped its first contest of the season on Sept. 1, falling at Pepperdine, 1-0. The Waves scored in the 70th minute to end UCLA's shutout streak at five games and 519 minutes. The Bruins ran into a hot goalkeeper in Pepperdine's Jillian Medvecky, who made six impressive saves to keep UCLA off the board. ย ย
IN THE RANKINGS
The Bruins dropped six spots to No. 9 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and three spots to No. 6 in the Top Drawer Soccer poll. With the Bruin men ranking sixth in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, UCLA joins Stanford as one of just two schools to have both teams ranked in the Top 10 nationally. ย ย ย
SCOUTING THE VOLUNTEERS
Tennessee enters the week with a 3-1 record and three game shutout streak. The Volunteers had their Sunday match against Duke canceled due to inclement weather. Four different players have scored a goal for Tennessee this season, and they have two own goals. The Volunteers advanced to the NCAA second round last season and finished the year 9-7-4. Notable returners are 2021 All-American Jaida Thomas, who ranks second on Tennessee's all-time goals list with 39, and sophomore forward Kate Runyon, who finished fourth on the team in goals (4) and points (9) last year. UCLA is 2-0 all-time against Tennessee but has not faced the Volunteers since 2012. This is UCLA's first trip to Knoxville since 2011.ย
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Kentucky enters the week with a perfect 5-0 record, a year after starting the season with a record 13-match unbeaten streak. The Wildcats are slated to play Murray State on Thursday night. Makala Woods leads Kentucky in scoring this season with three goals and six points. Goalkeeper Marz Josephson has a 0.23 goals against average. UCLA leads the series with Kentucky, 2-0. Both victories came in the NCAA Second Round, in 2012 (5-0) and 2013 (3-0). This is UCLA's first visit to Lexington. ย
SHUTOUT STREAK ENDED
UCLA started the season with five consecutive shutouts, becoming just the second team in school history to accomplish the feat (the 2014 Bruins started out with six shutouts in a row). Goalkeeper Ryan Campbell compiled 519 consecutive shutout minutes, just shy of Katelyn Rowland's single-season school record 638-minute shutout streak in 2014.ย
ROLLING IN THE DEEPย
Twenty-three players on UCLA's roster have seen action this season, all playing in at least two games. Sixteen players have started in two or more games, but only five (Ryan Campbell, Lilly Reale, Meg Boade, Quincy McMahon and Nicki Fraser) have started in all six.ย
BRUINS EARN NATIONAL RECOGNITION
Five UCLA women's soccer players 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.ย
WELCOME BACKย
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. Wright, however, is out for the year with a knee injury.ย
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 102 points (32 goals and 38 assists) collectively while posting an overall record of 59-6-5. 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.ย
Although not in that senior class, ย 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. ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
IMPACT TRANSFERSย
UCLA welcomed 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 in 2023 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 nine career points. Boyden was a Pac-12 All-Freshman selection in 2022 after playing in 18 of 19 games for the Cougars and totaling two goals and three assists. Boyden did not play in 2023 after suffering an injury in the spring.ย
All four transfers have seen significant minutes in the Bruins' first six games. Campbell has recorded shutouts in five games and holds a goals against average of 0.17. Boade started all six games, along with Campbell, and scored the game-winning goal against No. 16 BYU and recorded an assist against UC Riverside. After coming off the bench in the Bruins' first two games, Boyden has started the last four contests, and Barbieri has started in three games. ย
NO. 2 RECRUITING CLASSย
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. Sammy 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 in the season opener. Fraser, Winn and Geis earned starts, and Daubert and Sanchez logged double-digit minutes off the bench. Robinson made her debut against UC Riverside and recorded one shot and had a near-goal hit the crossbar on Thursday at Cal Poly. Fraser is one of just five Bruins and the only underclassman to have started every game this season. Geis has played in all six games and made five starts.ย
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. Mexico played two prep matches against Ghana and Nigeria before opening the tournament on Aug. 31 with a 2-2 tie against Cameroon. Vargas saw action in the second half of the game.ย
Mexico will next 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. ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
SISTER ACT
Sophomore forward Sophie Reale made her collegiate debut 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. Both Reale sisters made the starting lineup for the first time in the Cal Poly match, with Lilly scoring the game-winning goal. ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
NEW WEAPON
Playing as an offensive player for the first time in her collegiate career is graduate student Maya Evans. A defender throughout her previous four years, Evans recently began playing as a forward and has started up top in the last three games. Evans has seven shots and one shot on goal. ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
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. ย
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Players Mentioned
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