UCLA Face Fifth Top 25 Team Friday Night at Pepperdine
UCLA women’s soccer prepares to take on Pepperdine on Friday with kickoff set for 3 pm at Tari Frahm Rokus Field. The Bruins have recorded five consecutive victories over the Waves as they gear up for their final two preseason games with a matchup versus Long Beach State scheduled for Sunday.
College Soccer News: No. 11 UCLA (4-2-0) will travel to take on Pepperdine (4-2-1) in its fifth Top 25 opponent of preseason. Kickoff is set for Friday, Sept. 16 at 3pm at Tari Frahm Rokus Field. The match will be broadcast online at WCC Sports.
The Bruins took dropped rankings following a loss to then-No. 8 North Carolina and a win versus the University of San Diego.
Freshman midfielder Jessie Fleming has scored a total of five goals in four games to kick off the 2016 season. Fleming leads the team in goals (5) and points (11). She also leads the Pac-12 in goals per game (1.25) and points per game (2.75).
Goalkeeper Teagan Micah, defender Kaiya McCullough and midfielder Anika Rodriguez remian the only four players who have started in all six matches this year.
Chloe Castaneda and freshmen Jacey Pederson and Sunny Dunphy earned their first starts in the Bruins’ last game against San Diego.
Pepperdine stands at No. 25 in the NSCAA rankings and is coming off a scoreless versus CSUN. The Waves are 1-1 against Top 20 competition, with a 3-1 win over No. 20 Arizona and a 0-2 loss at No. 3 Virginia.
Friday’s match marks the fourth game versus Pepperdine in the last three seasons. The Bruins won at home last season, and won twice in 2014 in Hawaii and in the NCAA Round of 16 at Drake Stadium. UCLA is 17-3-2 all-time against the Waves, with five consecutive victories.
The Bruins kick off Pac-12 play next week versus Arizona State on Thursday, Sept. 22. The match will be televised live on Pac-12 Network at 7 pm.
Photo Credit: Scott Chandler
