Women's Soccer Hosts USC in Crosstown Showdown Sunday

Sunday, October 26

Los Angeles, Calif.

2:00 PM PT

UCLA

USC

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Lexi Wright vs. USC in 2023

Photo by: Mac Brown

Women's Soccer Hosts USC in Crosstown Showdown Sunday

October 24, 2025 | Women's Soccer

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No. 18 UCLA (10-4-2, 6-2-2) vs. USC (7-6-2, 4-5-1)
Date/Time: Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025 – 2:00 p.m. PT
Location: Wallis Annenberg Stadium
Ticket Price: $17 adults/$9 youth; UCLA students free with BruinCard
Advance Tickets: uclabruins.com/tickets
Theme: Blue Out
Giveaway: Blue pom poms for first 500 fans
Broadcast: Big Ten Network
Talent: Christian Miles, Tracey Milburn
Live Stats: ucla.statbroadcast.com

UCLA HOSTS USC IN CROSSTOWN SHOWDOWN
UCLA (10-4-2 overall, 6-2-2 in the Big Ten) will host USC (7-6-2, 4-5-1) in the regular season finale on Sunday, Oct. 26 at 2 p.m. PT. The match will be televised on Big Ten Network.

WHAT THEY'RE PLAYING FOR
UCLA is looking to maintain a Top 3 seed in the Big Ten Women's Soccer Tournament presented by Allstate. The Bruins currently have 20 points, one behind second-place Michigan State, who plays Nebraska four hours prior to UCLA's game. A Michigan State victory would solidify the Spartans as the No. 2 seed. A Michigan State tie coupled with a UCLA win would make UCLA the No. 2 seed. A Michigan State loss and a UCLA win or tie would also give UCLA the No. 2 seed.

USC sits in 10th place in the conference with 13 points and needs a victory to secure its spot in the 10-team tournament. The Trojans have Michigan and Nebraska (12 points) and Indiana (11 points) on their heels. Michigan hosts Illinois at 10am PT Sunday. Nebraska plays at Michigan State at 10am PT, and Indiana hosts Iowa at 11am PT. USC owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over Michigan and Indiana but not Nebraska.

SCOUTING THE TROJANS
USC started the season strong, rising to No. 4 in the nation the beginning of September, but are currently on a four-game winless streak, with its last contest on Oct. 19 resulting in a 2-2 tie against then-No. 5 Iowa. Maribel Flores has been a bright spot for the Trojans. scoring nine goals with 22 points to rank second in the Big Ten in those categories. The Trojans are coached by Jane Alukonis, who was an assistant coach at UCLA from 2018-21 and helped lead the Bruins to the 2019 NCAA College Cup,

UCLA FATHER FIGURES
USC has two players on their roster whose fathers won NCAA Championships at UCLA. Faith George's father Sam played on the 1990 UCLA men's soccer team that won the NCAA Championship. Her uncle Seth also won a NCAA title with the Bruins, scoring two goals in the 1997 NCAA Championship match and winning Offensive MVP honors. Faith's sister Gwyneth ran track & field and cross country for UCLA as well. Cassie Bibby's father Henry is a member of UCLA Athletics' Hall of Fame and was the starting guard on three of UCLA men's basketball's NCAA Championship teams (1970-72).

THE SERIES WITH USC
UCLA is 28-8-3 all-time against USC. The Trojans won the last matchup a year ago at Dignity Health Park, 1-0, to clinch the regular season title. In 2021, a 3-1 UCLA victory over USC clinched the Pac-12 title for the Bruins. The home team has won each of the last four meetings between the two teams. The last away team to win was UCLA in 2018 in a 3-2 double overtime thriller. The Bruins won the last rivalry game played at Wallis Annenberg Stadium in 2023, 4-2. Lexi Wright and Bridgette Marin-Valencia were two of the goal scorers for the Bruins in the contest.

LAST TIME OUT
Redshirt freshman Bella Winn contributed to all three Bruin goals as UCLA beat Nebraska by a 3-0 count. Winn scored two first-half goals and assisted on freshman Payten Cooper's second half goal. UCLA was aggressive from the get-go, battering Nebraska with 20 shots in the first half alone and 28 total in the game. The Bruins earned their first goal at 25:38 off a set piece, with Val Vargas and Emma Egizii setting up Winn for a header in the box. Less than three minutes later, Winn one-timed a blocked Egizii shot past the goalkeeper for her second goal of the day. Winn nearly got a hat trick in the 58th minute but settled instead for an assist after her shot in the box was stopped by the Nebraska goalkeeper. Cooper was at the right post to snare the rebound and tap it in for a 3-0 lead. The Bruin defense limited Nebraska to five shots, just two on goal, and recorded its 11th shutout of the season.

IN THE RANKINGS
A week after dropping out of the United Soccer Coaches rankings, the Bruins are back, checking in at No. 18. UCLA moved up one spot in the Top Drawer Soccer poll to No. 13. Six of UCLA's opponents this year are currently ranked in the coaches poll - No. 2 Stanford, No. 8 Washington, No. 13 Michigan State, No. 14 Tennessee, No. 15 Iowa, and No. 20 Wisconsin. UCLA is 2-3-1 against those teams, with wins over Stanford and Iowa.

WINN, SHANK, EGIZII EARN WEEKLY HONORS
Three UCLA women's soccer players earned weekly honors after a successful double 3-0 victory weekend. Freshman defender/midfielder Grace Shank was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, redshirt freshman forward Bella Winn earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week recognition, and redshirt senior midfielder Emma Egizii was selected to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week..

Shank led a UCLA defense to a pair of shutouts, including a one-shot defensive effort against No. 5 Iowa. The Bruins held their two opponents to a total of six shots on the week and lowered their team goals against average to a national-leading 0.313. Winn contributed to all three goals in the Bruins' 3-0 win over Nebraska, scoring the first two goals and assisting on the third. She now leads the team in scoring with six goals and 13 points. Egizii contributed to four of UCLA's six goals last week, scoring one goal and adding three assists, including assists on both game-winners. She had a goal and an assist against Iowa and two assists against Nebraska.She leads the team in assists with five and is second in goals scored (three) and points (11).

TOP-RANKED DEFENSE
In 16 games, UCLA's defense has recorded 11 shutouts and allowed just five goals, for a team goals against average of 0.31, which ranks first in the nation. UCLA also ranks first nationally in save percentage (0.891) and third in shutout percentage (0.688). The Bruins have allowed just four goals in the run of play this season, as one of the five goals allowed was scored on a penalty kick. No opponent has scored more than one goal in a game this season, and the Bruins' four losses have been by 1-0 scores. UCLA has held opponents to single-digit shots in 10 games, including single-shot games against No. 6 Tennessee and No. 5 Iowa, a two-shot game against Maryland, and three-shot games at Portland, against Oregon, at Michigan, against Rutgers and at Wisconsin. Freshman goalkeeper Daphne Nakfoor has allowed just five goals and ranks second in the nation with a 0.388 goals against average. She has five solo shutouts and five shared shutouts. Mariangela Medina has one solo and five shared shutouts and has not allowed a goal in 280 minutes played.

This Bruin defense is almost completely new from 2024, with only Paloma Daubert returning from the squad that led the nation with 16 shutouts and a 0.42 goals against average. The 2024 Bruin defense featured two current NWSL starters in Lilly Reale and Jayden Perry, All-American and NWSL goalkeeper Ryan Campbell, and 2024 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Nicki Fraser, who has been out all season due to an injury. The 2025 Bruin defense has featured senior transfer Jennie Immethun, sophomore Daubert, senior Lily Boyden and freshmen Grace Shank and Laila Edris, along with freshman goalkeeper Nakfoor. Freshman center back Meila Brewer has only played six games this year due to National Team commitments.

BALANCED SCORING
Nine different players have scored for the Bruins this season. Bella Winn leads the team with six goals, Emma Egizii has three, and Kara Croone, Payten Cooper and Val Vargas have scored two each. Four others have one goal each - Grace Shank, Oruha Hayashi, Lexi Wright and Lily Boyden. Two more players are on the stat sheet with one assist each - Leena Powell and Julia Molnar.

GAME WINN-ER
Redshirt freshman Bella Winn continues to hit game-winners for the Bruins. Of her six goals this year, four have been game-winners - at Georgia Aug. 14, vs. Stanford Sept. 7, vs. Maryland Sept. 28 and vs. Nebraska Oct. 19. Her latest heroics came on Sunday against Nebraska, scoring two goals in less than three minutes to give UCLA a 2-0 halftime lead. Winn ranks 17th in the nation and second in the Big Ten in game-winning goals. She also leads the team in goals scored with six and in points with 13. Winn's two-goal game was the first multiple-goal game by a Bruin since Emma Egizii scored two goals in the 2024 season opener on Aug. 15, 2024. The five points scored by Winn were the most by a Bruin since Oct. 8, 2023 when Reilyn Turner recorded six points after a hat trick.

FOURS UP FOR NAKFOOR
UCLA freshman goalkeeper Daphne Nakfoor has started 15 of UCLA's 16 games in goal this season and became the first true freshman to start in goal on opening day for UCLA since Teagan Micah in 2016. Nakfoor ranks second nationally with a goals against average of 0.388, allowing just five goals this season. She has five solo and five shared shutouts. On Sept. 9, Nakfoor earned Top Drawer Soccer National Player of the Week and Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week honors after recording a pair of shutouts at Portland and against then-top-ranked Stanford. She recorded nine saves on 21 shots against the Cardinal, the most saves by a Bruin goalkeeper since Lauren Brzykcy also had nine against Duke in 2022, and totaled five at Michigan State. Nakfoor became the first goalkeeper this season to record a shutout against Stanford, which had entered the game as the nation's top scoring offense.

COMEBACK KIDS
Redshirt seniors Emma Egizii and Lexi Wright and redshirt freshman forward Bella Winn all returned to action this year after missing most, if not all, of the 2024 season with injuries, and all three have been major players in UCLA's offense. Winn leads the team with six goals and four game-winning goals. Egizii leads the team with five assists and ranks second in scoring with 11 points and three goals. Wright has one goal and one assist.

Egizii, who scored two goals in three games in 2024 before getting injured during game four of the season, posted her first goal of the year against Portland on Sept. 4 and accounted for four of UCLA's six goals last week in a pair of 3-0 wins against Iowa and Nebraska, scoring one goal and totaling three assists. Winn contributed to all three of UCLA's goals in the win over Nebraska, scoring two and assisting on the third. In 2024, Winn recorded a goal and an assist in the Bruins' first two games of the year but was injured while scoring her goal in game two and did not return the rest of the season. In just 18 career games, she has seven goals and 16 points. Wright sustained a season-ending injury early in preseason in 2024 but has played 13 games this season. Her first goal since 2023 came against No. 1 Stanford, her second career goal in two games against top-ranked teams. She added an assist on the game-winner at Michigan.

VAMOS VARGAS
Junior Val Vargas has either scored or assisted on the game-winning goal in four of the Bruins' last five victories. She accounted for the Bruins' lone goals in their 1-0 wins over Rutgers Sept. 25 and at Michigan Sept. 21 and assisted on the game-winners vs. Maryland on Sept. 28 and vs. Nebraska on Oct. 19. Vargas' last three goals scored for UCLA have been game-winners, two of them coming against Rutgers, in the 2024 Big Ten Championship game and at home on Sept. 25. She ranks second on the team with three assists and is third in scoring with seven points.

IMPACT TRANSFERS
UCLA welcomed two experienced transfers to the squad in 2025 - defender Jennie Immethun and forward Oruha Hayashi. Immethun comes to UCLA from TCU, where she earned second-team All-Big 12 honors in 2024. She started 20 games in 2024 while helping the Big 12 champions record seven shutouts, and in 2023, she started in 10 games. Hayashi joined the Bruins after two years at Iowa Western, where she twice won the United Soccer Coaches Player of the Year for Junior College Division 1. Hayashi, who scored 25 goals in 2024 and 19 in 2023, was selected the 2024-25 Betty Jo Graber NJCAA Female Student-Athlete of the Year. Both have already made big impacts on their new team, as Immethun was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after helping the Bruins record a shutout in the season opener. She leads UCLA in minutes played and has two goal line saves while leading a Bruin defense that has allowed just five goals all year and holds a nation's best 0.313 goals against average. Hayashi has played in 15 games and has 12 starts. She scored a goal in the Bruins' exhibition win over LMU and netted her first official goal as a Bruin in the 2-0 win over Long Beach State and her first assist on UCLA's final goal in the 2-0 win over Stanford. She added another assist on the game-tying goal at Michigan State and assisted on the game-winner against Iowa. She is tied for second on the team in assists with three.

FRESH CLASS
The Bruins brought in a dynamic recruiting class, highlighted by U.S. Youth National Team players Sofia Atehortua, Meila Brewer, Cassidy Doogan, Daphne Nakfoor, Leena Powell and Grace Shank, and Egyptian Youth National Team player Laila Edris. Powell played in the 2025 U-20 Concacaf Championships, and Brewer helped lead the U-17s to the 4 Nations Tournament title this summer. Also joining UCLA in 2025 were freshmen Payten Cooper, Jordyn Dunn, Siena Meyer and Julia Molnar. All 11 freshmen saw action in the Bruins' exhibition against LMU, and all but Dunn has seen action during the regular season. Three freshmen have started in 10 or more games - Nakfoor with 15, Powell with 12, Shank with 11. Cooper, the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Sept. 2, ranks fourth on the team with two goals and fifth in scoring with five points. Shank, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 21, has three points and netted her first career goal on Oct. 16 vs. Iowa. Fellow freshman Molnar assisted on Shank's goal for her first collegiate point. Powell is the fourth freshman to score a point, as she assisted Cooper on the game-winner against Long Beach State. Nakfoor, the Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week on Sept. 9, ranks second in the nation with a 0.39 goals against average and has five solo and five shared shutouts.

SANCHEZ RETURNS
Forward Sammy Sanchez made her season debut on Sunday against Nebraska, playing 19 minutes and taking one shot on goal. Sanchez played in the first four games of her freshman campaign before suffering a season-ending knee injury on Aug. 25 against Santa Clara. She had averaged 44 minutes in those four games, with a high of 58 minutes off the bench at Cal Poly.

IMMETHUN NAMED TO MIDSEASON MAC HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST
Senior defender Jennie Immethun has been selected to the 35-member MAC Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List. Immethun transferred to UCLA this season from TCU and has made an immediate impact with the Bruins. She has played in a team-high 1418 minutes this year while leading a Bruin defense that has allowed just five goals all season. UCLA holds a 0.31 goals against average, which ranks first in the nation. She was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after helping the Bruins record a shutout in the season opener at Georgia, making a goal line save with 30 seconds left to play to preserve the 1-0 victory. Immethun made another goal line save a few weeks later, knocking away a header that appeared headed for goal in a 2-0 win at Portland.

FOUR BRUINS SELECTED TO MIDSEASON TOP 100 LISTS
Senior Jennie Immethun and freshmen Daphne Nakfoor, Leena Powell and Grace Shank have been selected to Top Drawer Soccer's Midseason Top 100 lists. Immethun ranks 18th on the Top 100 Player list, while Nakfoor ranks 12th, Powell 60th and Shank 82nd on the Top 100 freshman list. Immethun has started every game for the Bruins. Nakfoor has started 15 of 16 games, Powell has started in 12 of 14 games played, and Shank has made 11 starts while playing in every game.

BREWER SELECTED TO U-17 WORLD CUP SQUAD
Freshman defender Meila Brewer was selected for the U.S. roster for the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. The 24-team tournament takes place in Morocco from Oct. 17-Nov. 8. The USA opened the tournament against Ecuador on Oct. 18 with a 3-0 win in which Brewer scored the game-winning goal in the first half, and they won Group C with a 3-0 record. Brewer, who has five caps with the U.S. team, has started six games for the Bruins in 2025, and UCLA recorded four shutouts in those six games. Brewer missed three games earlier in the season (BYU, Long Beach State and Portland) while at national team camp in Spain and has been out since the Washington game on Oct. 4.

GOOD WORK, LEXI
Redshirt senior Lexi Wright was selected as a member of the inaugural Allstate NACDA Good Works Team (Fall). The award recognizes male and female student-athletes across all divisions and sports who go above and beyond in their commitment to community service, academic achievement and athletic performance. Wright supports children with cancer through Zoe's Goal-Scoring Against Childhood Cancer, a non-profit organization that raises awareness about pediatric cancer, advocates for research and funding and supports young cancer patients. Wright does regular hospital visits to UCLA's Mattel Children's Hospital to visit with patients and has worked with the UCLA campus organization Unified, which plays sports with special needs kids weekly and holds an Inclusive Sports Day. She also volunteers with Football For Her, a non-profit organization that provides a safe space and motivates those who identify as female or non-binary to play, regardless of their economic standing.

BRUIN DEBUTS
Eight players made their Bruin debuts in the season opener, including six freshmen. Making starts were senior transfer Jennie Immethun and freshmen Daphne Nakfoor, Grace Shank, Leena Powell and Meila Brewer. Coming in off the bench were junior transfer Oruha Hayashi and freshmen Leila Edris and Payten Cooper. Sofia Atehortua earned her first career minutes against Tennessee, Julia Molnar made her collegiate debut at BYU, Cassidy Doogan played her first game against Long Beach State, and Siena Meyer debuted at Portland.