SECOND ROUND MATCHUPS – FRIDAY, NOV. 18
4 pm PT – No. 4 seed Northwestern (15-4-2) vs. Vanderbilt (12-4-4)
7 pm PT – No. 1 seed UCLA (18-2-0) vs. UCF (9-2-6)Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Wallis Annenberg Stadium)
Live Stream: ESPN+
Talent: Nick Koop
Live Stats: ncaa.com
Tickets: uclabruins.com/tickets; Adults $12, Youth $10, Students $8 (in advance); Adults $15, Youth/Group $10, Students $8 (at box office)
Parking: purchase in advance on Park Mobile app
NO. 1 SEED UCLA HOSTS UCF IN NCAA SECOND ROUND
No. 1 seed UCLA (18-2) will host UCF (9-6-2) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, Nov. 18 at Wallis Annenberg Stadium. The match will take place at 7pm PT, following the 4pm game between No. 4 seed Northwestern (15-4-2) and Vanderbilt (12-4-4). Both matches will be live streamed on ESPN+. The winners of the two matches will face off in the third round on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 6pm.
UCLA’S NCAA HISTORY
The Bruins, who are making their 26th overall and seventh consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, have a 70-20-6 all-time NCAA Tournament record and have advanced to the Round of 16 or beyond in eight of the last 10 seasons, winning the 2013 NCAA title and making three College Cup appearances (2013, 2017 and 2019). UCLA is a No. 1 seed for the sixth time in program history and the first since 2014.
UCLA AGAINST THE NCAA FIELD
UCLA posted a 5-2 record against members of the 64-team NCAA Tournament field this season. The Bruins have wins over No. 2 seeds North Carolina (2-1) and Duke (2-1), No. 8 seed Santa Clara (1-0), California (4-2) and Arizona State (4-0). UCLA’s only two losses of the year came against No. 3 seed Stanford (1-0) and No. 4 seed USC (2-0).
THIRD ROUND MATCHUPS
If the Bruins win on Friday, they will face either No. 4 seed Northwestern or Vanderbilt in the third round on Sunday at 6pm. UCLA is 1-1 all-time against Northwestern, beating the Wildcats in overtime in the 2017 NCAA second round, 1-0, and losing on Aug. 29, 2010 in Wisconsin, 1-0. The Bruins have played Vanderbilt just once, beating the Commodores, 2-0, on Sept. 8, 2000 at USC.
NCAA EXPERIENCED
The Bruins have 16 players who have seen NCAA action prior to this season, including four who have played in at least five tournament games – Maricarmen Reyes (12 GP), Kali Trevithick (8 GP), Brianne Riley (6 GP) and Lauren Brzykcy (6 GP). Trevithick and Reilyn Turner are UCLA’s top returning goal scorers in NCAA Tournament play, having each scored two goals with one assist.
FIRST ROUND RECAP
Two early goals by sophomore forward Lexi Wright propelled UCLA to a 4-1 win over Northern Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Wright wasted absolutely no time in giving UCLA the lead, scoring her sixth goal of the season just 39 seconds into the game and her second at 8:14 to double the lead. Sophomore Emma Egizii added her first collegiate goal in the 40th minute, and Sunshine Fontes’ put an exclamation on the win in the 85th minute with her 10th goal of the year.
AOZASA NAMED PAC-12 COACH OF YEAR
In her first year as a head coach after serving as a Stanford assistant for seven years, Margueritte Aozasa was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year, becoming the first rookie head coach ever to win the honor. Aozasa guided the Bruins to a No. 1 ranking for nine consecutive weeks following a pair of upset road wins at No. 2 Duke and No. 1 North Carolina on Sept. 1 and 4. Aozasa’s Bruins compiled a 17-2 regular season record, the third-most wins in the nation this season. UCLA finished the regular season ranked first in the Pac-12 in goals scored (53), assists (50), shutouts (12) and goals against average (0.47) and ranked in the Top 5 nationally in goals against average, goals, assists, points and winning percentage. This is the sixth Pac-12 Coach of the Year honor bestowed upon a UCLA coach.
REALE HONORED AS PAC-12 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF YEAR
Sophomore Lilly Reale became just the second UCLA player ever to win the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year award, joining World Cup champion Abby Dahlkemper (2014). Reale has started and played in 19 games this year, leading the Bruins to a conference-best 12 shutouts and a 0.50 goals against average. A two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week, she has also contributed offensively, scoring one goal with one assist. Reale also earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors for the second consecutive year.
NINE PLAYERS EARN PAC-12 AWARDS
A total of nine Bruin players earned Pac-12 awards in 2022, led by Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Lilly Reale, one of three first-team all-conference honorees. Joining Reale on the first team were Reilyn Turner and Quincy McMahon. Lauren Brzykcy and Sunshine Fontes received second-team acclaim, and Ally Cook, Ally Lemos and Maricarmen Reyes were selected to the third team. Lemos and Sofia Cook earned All-Freshman honors.
FIVE RECEIVE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS
Five Bruins have been selected to the 2022 Academic All-District® Women’s Soccer First Team, selected by the College Sports Communicators. Senior Brianne Riley earned her second consecutive honor, while graduate student Lauren Brzykcy, senior Jackie Gilday, and sophomores Quincy McMahon and Lilly Reale have earned their first academic all-district awards.
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
UCF, the American Athletic Conference regular season champions, earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the second round by virtue of penalty kick shootout. The Knights took down No. 8 seed NC State in penalties, 4-2, after finishing in a 1-1 tie after overtime. Senior midfielder Darya Rajaee scored in regulation and also netted the deciding penalty kick in the shootout. AAC Goalkeeper of the Year Caroline DeLisle made two saves in the shootout and finished the game with eight saves. DeLisle has played every minute of every game this season and has posted a 0.69 goals against average with nine shutouts. Kristen Scott, the AAC Offensive Player of the Year, leads the Knights with nine goals, including five game-winners, and 22 points.
ASIAN AMERICAN LEADERS FACE OFF
Two of the four Asian American women currently leading NCAA women’s soccer teams will face off in the NCAA second round, as UCLA head coach Margueritte Aozasa, the 2022 Pac-12 Coach of the Year, will match wits with Central Florida head coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak, a three-time American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and a World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist as a player on the U.S. Women’s National Team. Roberts Sahaydak has led the Knights to five NCAA Tournament bids since her first season in 2013. Aozasa is in her first year as a head coach but was an assistant coach on two of Stanford’s recent NCAA Championship teams (2017, 2019).
NATIONAL LEADERS
UCLA is amongst the nation’s leaders in several categories, ranking second in winning percentage (0.900); third in total goals (57); fourth in total points (166); fifth in points per game (8.30), scoring offense (2.85) and total assists (52); sixth on shots on goal per game (9.10); and seventh in goals against average (0.50) and assists per game (2.60).
ROLLING IN THE DEEP
UCLA has had 18 different players score a total of 57 goals this season, with seven players totaling three or more goals. Sunshine Fontes leads the squad with a career-high 10 goals. Reilyn Turner is close behind with nine, and Lexi Wright has scored a career-best seven goals. A total of 31 players have seen game action, with 20 playing 10 or more games.
STALWART STARTERS
With a deep and talented squad at her disposal, head coach Margueritte Aozasa has been able to seamlessly shuffle her starting lineup from game to game. Two players, however, have earned starts in all 20 games – goalkeeper Lauren Brzykcy and freshman midfielder Ally Lemos. Lilly Reale has 19 starts; Jayden Perry, Madelyn Desiano, Jayden Perry and Quincy McMahon have 18 each; Sunshine Fontes and Reilyn Turner have 16; and Maricarmen Reyes, Ally Cook and Lexi Wright each have 14 starts.
QUICK DRAW MCGRAW
With three goals in the first 90 seconds of play this year, the Bruins are giving fans ample reason to not arrive fashionably late. Lexi Wright put UCLA on the board 39 seconds after kickoff in the NCAA first round win over Northern Arizona, scoring the Bruins’ fastest goal of the year. Reilyn Turner has three goals within the first two minutes this year, scoring at 0:49 at Oregon State, 1:20 at Colorado and 1:51 against Arizona State. Ally Cook also got into the mix early against Arizona State, scoring at 5:12. In each of these four early-scoring games, the Bruins finished with four or more goals.
1-2 PUNCH
UCLA boasts two 20+ point and nine goal scorers in Sunshine Fontes and Reilyn Turner. Within the Pac-12, Fontes ranks second in game-winning goals (4), fourth in points (27), fifth in assists (7) and sixth in goals scored (10). Turner leads the conference and ranks second nationally in game-winning goals (6) and ranks ninth in the conference in goals scored (9) and 10th in points (21). Fontes has recorded a goal or an assist in 10 of UCLA’s last 14 games. Turner has two multiple-goal games this season, all in conference play, and has tallied six in her career to move into fifth all-time at UCLA.
Fontes and Turner became the first pair of Bruins to record hat tricks in the same year since Danesha Adams and Lauren Cheney did it in 2007. Fontes was the first to record a hat trick, the first of her career, on Aug. 25 vs. CSUN. Turner recorded her second career hat trick in the first half of the Bruins’ game at Oregon on Oct. 2. Turner became the fifth player in UCLA history to record multiple hat tricks, joining Traci Arkenberg (5), Sydney Leroux (3), Sarah-Gayle Swanson (2) and Adams (2).
THE WRIGHT STUFF
Sophomore Lexi Wright has been showing her stuff all season, ranking third on the team in scoring with 19 points on seven goals and five assists. Wright was a force in the Bruins’ NCAA first round game, scoring two goals in the first nine minutes in a 4-1 victory over Northern Arizona. It was her first two-goal game of her career. Wright scored her first collegiate goal on Aug. 25 against CSUN and also added an assist. She assisted on the game-winner at No. 2 Duke and scored the second-half equalizer to jump-start UCLA’s comeback win at No. 1 North Carolina. Wright collected two assists in the Bruins’ 4-0 win over Arizona State.
BRICK WALL BRZYKCY
Graduate student Lauren Brzykcy has been a nearly impenetrable brick wall this season, leading the Pac-12 in goals against average (0.51), save percentage (.845) and wins (18) and ranking second in shutouts (7 solo, 5 shared). She tied her career-high in single-game saves with nine at No. 2 Duke and added eight at USC, and she has moved into fourth on UCLA’s career saves list with 210 and counting. She also recently moved into UCLA’s Top 5 for career shutouts with 27 (fifth) and for wins with 54 (fourth). Brzykcy was honored as the Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week three times this season, running her career total to eight, which ties former teammate Teagan Micah for most in school and conference history. Brzykcy also earned all-conference honors for the third time in her career.
TOO FRESH
Ally Lemos and Sofia Cook earned Top 20 recognition by Top Drawer Soccer on its midseason Top 100 Freshman list, ranking No. 3 and No. 18, respectively. Lemos is one of just two players to start every game for the Bruins, and she is one of just three Bruin players to log over 1,500 minutes. She is tied for the team lead in assists with seven, ranking fifth in the Pac-12. Lemos scored her first collegiate goal in the 4-0 win over Arizona State on Oct. 6. Cook, who has played in 19 games and started seven, ranks fourth on the team in goals (six) and points (15). Both rookies were selected to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team.
EASY AS EGIZII
After her 2021 rookie season was cut short 10 minutes into her first game due to a season-ending knee injury, sophomore midfielder Emma Egizii returned midway through 2022 to contribute to the Bruins’ postseason run. Egizii made her season debut at Oregon on Sept. 29 and played in eight regular season games before making her postseason debut in the NCAA first round. Her first tournament game was a memorable one, as she scored her first collegiate goal in the 40th minute of the Bruins’ 4-1 win over Northern Arizona.
JACK ATTACK
Senior midfielder Jackie Gilday has seen great success in her comeback season. Gilday had to sit out the last two seasons due to injury but has come back in 2022 to play in 17 games and make four starts. On Senior Day on Oct. 30, she scored her first career goal with a long-distance strike. Gilday played the full 90 in the Bruins’ 1-0 win at Santa Clara and has 10 games with 45+ minutes played. She is a member of the Nicaraguan National Team and scored two goals in World Cup qualifying this Spring.
KALI COMEBACK
Senior forward Kali Trevithick has spent the better part of her four years on the injured list, having undergone multiple knee surgeries. She began her freshman season on a tear, scoring two goals and two assists in the team’s first two exhibition games and started the first four regular season contests before a knee injury knocked her out until November. She played the final six games of the year and totaled two goals and one assist. Trevithick missed all but the final two games of the 2020-21 campaign and all of the 2021 season but finally got back on the pitch on Sept. 11 for her first game since May 5, 2021. She made the most of her return, scoring less than two minutes after entering the game against CSUN. Two minutes after that, she scored her second goal in the Bruins’ 5-1 victory. She scored her third goal in three games at Oregon and has now played in 20 career games with five goals and three assists. On Oct. 2 at Oregon State, Trevithick played 33 minutes, the most she has played since Dec. 6, 2019 in the College Cup semifinals.
VIVA MEXICO
Three of Mexico’s finest – full national team member Maricarmen Reyes and Under-20 national team members Bridgette Marin-Valencia and America Frias – are with the Bruins in 2022 and all saw action for the first time together on Sept. 11 vs. Cal State Fullerton. In that game, Reyes scored the game-winner, a sharp-angled screamer for her second goal of the season, and Marin-Valencia picked up her first collegiate assist in her first game. Frias also made her season debut in that game. Reyes and Marin-Valencia also teamed up to assist on the Bruins’ second goal at Pepperdine on Sept. 18, and they combined for three goals (two from Reyes) in UCLA’s 4-2 win over Cal on Sept. 23. Reyes is tied for fifth on the team in scoring with 12 points (4g, 4a), and Marin-Valencia has six points (2g, 2a) in 15 games and earned her first collegiate start at Stanford. Frias has played in seven games this season.
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA dropped to third in the Top Drawer Soccer national rankings following the regular season finale. The Bruins sit at No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, which does not update until the end of the season. UCLA had nine straight weeks at No. 1 in the coaches poll following the Duke and North Carolina victories the first weekend of September. The Bruins have been ranked in the Top 10 of the coaches poll in 32 consecutive weeks.
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 96.2k.
