Go Joe Bruin takes a look at 11 things you need to know about the UCLA Women’s Soccer team as they begin their 2018 campaign.
The UCLA Women’s soccer season starts today with a game against Long Beach State. The Bruins made it to the NCAA title game last year before losing to Stanford in the finals. As 2018 kicks off, here’s eleven things to know about the UCLA women’s soccer team.
UCLA Women’s Soccer XI for XI
1. New year, new digs: Friday’s game will not only be the season opener, it’ll be the first in UCLA’s new soccer stadium. The Wallis Annenberg Stadium, an estimated $10 million construction project, will be home to both the men’s and women’s soccer teams.
2. Pre-season Expectations: The women’s soccer program has a standard of high expectations and this season is no different. UCLA opens the season ranked second in both the United Soccer Coaches’ preseason poll and the Pac-12 coaches poll. Conference foe and reigning NCAA champion Stanford is first in both.
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3. Early Tests: The Bruins will be tested early and often – four of their first five games are against top-20 teams. UCLA will play Penn State (the 2015 champions), Florida State (the 2014 champions), and Florida (pre-season #4) all on the road before facing No. 18 Pepperdine in Westwood.
4. Watch Lists: The MAC Hermann Trophy is the Heisman of college soccer – awarded to the most outstanding male and female players of the year. Four UCLA women’s soccer players are on the early season watch list. Junior Jessie Fleming and senior Hailie Mace were a finalist and semifinalist respectively in 2017. Junior Kaiya McCullough and sophomore Ashley Sanchez are on the watch list for the first time.
5. National Team: Three players competed in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup this summer in France. Viviana Villacorta and Ashley Sanchez played for the USA while Maricarmen Reyes Competed for Mexico. Sanchez scored a goal in a 6-0 rout against Paraguay. Both teams failed to advance to the knockout stage finishing third in their respective groups.
6. Injury Watch: Kaiya McCullough is coming back from an injury that kept her out for the last six months. She’ll be key to the Bruins’ defense after starting all 25 games her sophomore year. Hailie Mace is also slowly working herself back after playing with the US National team this summer. Three additional players are also out with ACL injuries.
7. Freshmen Questions: Amanda Cromwell has previously stated that she doesn’t expect the freshman class to play as big a role as in previous years. It’s not for lack of talent though – Maricarmen Reyes played for Mexico in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup this year – but rather the return of so many experienced players.
8. Starting IX: Nine starters from last year’s team will be back. That includes four players on MAC Hermann Trophy watch list: first-team All-Americans Jessie Fleming and Hailie Mace and two All-Region honorees Ashley Sanchez and Kaiya McCullough. Teagan Micah, who led the nation in goalkeeper minutes last year, is also back on the pitch for the Bruins.
9. Who’s Gone: Zoey Goralski and Claire Winter have both graduated, but coach Amanda Cromwell will have players like Jacey Pederson and San Diego State transfer Meghan Scudero ready to step in for the alums.
10. Who’s Gone – Sideline edition: The biggest name gone comes from the sidelines. Associate Head Coach Josh Walters is now the head coach at James Madison University but had been with Coach Cromwell since their Central Florida days.
11. Forecast: Don’t expect a drop off from last season. This UCLA soccer team is arguably more dangerous now that they’ve had a year under their belts and, more importantly, are hungry for redemption after a gutting championship loss.