UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 3 Penn State women's soccer team (2-0-0) welcomes the No. 2 UCLA Bruins (1-0-0) to Happy Valley for a high-profile matchup on Saturday, Aug. 25. The match is set for a 4 p.m. start at Jeffrey Field.
FOLLOW ALONG
Saturday's match will be aired live on ESPNU with Jon Yardley (play-by-play) and Cat Whitehill (analyst) on the call.
ATTENDING JEFFREY FIELD
Admission and parking for women's soccer regular season events are free. Fans are reminded that there is a no bag policy in place on stadium grounds.
LOOKING AT UCLA
No. 2 UCLA enters the weekend with a 1-0-0 record after tallying a dramatic 1-0 win over Long Beach State on Aug. 17. With two seconds remaining in regulation, Hailie Mace found the back of the net to put No. 2 UCLA in front of Long Beach State, 1-0.
Last season, the Bruins finished runner-up at the 2017 Women's College Cup after dropping a 3-2 contest to the Stanford Cardinal.
The 2018 UCLA Bruin roster features four student-athletes named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. Jessie Fleming, Mace, Kaiya McCullough and Ashley Sanchez are the four Bruins named to the watch list. In 2017, Fleming was named a finalist, while Mace was tabbed a semifinalist.
In net, Teagan Micah returns after starting 24 of 25 matches last season. On the year, Micah went 19-3-3, recorded nine shutouts, posted a save percentage of .759, a goals-against average of 0.75, made 60 saves, and allowed 19 goals.
Offensively, the Bruins return four student-athletes that tallied 20-or-more points last season. Mace led the Bruins last year with 33 points and 15 goals.
PSU VS. UCLA
This weekend marks the sixth meeting between the two programs with Penn State leading the series, 3-2-0. The two teams first met on Sept. 8, 2002, with Penn State capturing a 1-0 win in double overtime.
The last meeting between the two teams on Sept. 2, 2016, saw UCLA tally a 1-0 victory in overtime. UCLA is making the trek to Happy Valley for the second time in the series. The previous matchup in Happy Valley on Aug. 25, 2006, saw No. 3 Penn State defeat No. 2 UCLA, 3-1. In net, freshman Alyssa Naeher made one save in her Penn State debut.
25 SEASONS OF VARSITY WOMEN'S SOCCER
2018 marks the 25th season of Penn State women's soccer as a varsity program. Over the first 24 seasons, Penn State has compiled a record of 426-113-37, won 18 Big Ten regular season titles, won seven Big Ten Tournament titles, captured the 2015 NCAA Championship, and has advanced to the NCAA Tournament every season since 1995.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Even with just two matches in the books for the 2018 Nittany Lions, Penn State has already accomplished something for the first time in program history - opening the year with two shutouts.
STRIKE FIRST
Penn State has been very successful when scoring the first goal over the past few seasons. When scoring first, Penn State is 97-3-5 since the start of the 2012 season.
PROTECTING THE NET
Since the start of the 2014 season, Penn State goalkeepers have combined for 48 shutouts.
TOP OFFENSE
The Nittany Lions boast one of the top offensives in the nation over the past few seasons.
Heading into the UCLA match, Penn State has scored 412 goals since the start of the 2011 season, which ranks third in the nation. Virginia leads the nation in goals scored since the start of 2011 with 457 followed by Stanford with 415 goals (Stats courtesy of the Virginia Sports Information Office).
YEAR 12 DONNING THE BLUE & WHITE
Head coach Erica Dambach enters her 12th season at the helm of the Penn State women's soccer program in 2018. Along with Dambach, Ann Cook enters her 12th season on the Nittany Lion coaching staff.
Heading into year 12 at PSU, Dambach has amassed a record of 184-60-18, won nine Big Ten regular season titles, three Big Ten Tournament crowns, advanced to 11 straight NCAA Tournaments, and won the NCAA Championship in 2015.
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Redshirt senior Maddie Nolf will don the captain's armband for the 2018 season. A mainstay on the Nittany Lion backline, Nolf has appeared in 66 matches, which included 52 starts. Nolf used a redshirt during the 2016 season as she was one of five Nittany Lions that joined the United States U-20 Women's National Team for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.
WATCH OUT FOR OGLE
Not only did Emily Ogle garner preseason honors from the Big Ten and TopDrawerSoccer, she was also named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. Ogle was also named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List last season.
NEW FACES
Penn State women's soccer welcomed seven student-athletes to the program for the 2018 season. The incoming class features six Penn Staters from across the United States and one international.
The Penn State women's soccer class of 2022 is comprised of Kat Asman, Kelli Beiler, Kim Dubs, Caitlin Haislip, Maddie Myers, Ally Schlegel and Rachel Wasserman.
The freshman class is ranked No. 8 overall by TopDrawerSoccer, which marks the fourth top-10 class for Penn State in the past five years.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Nittany Lions boast an all-time record of 234-26-13 at Jeffrey Field and in Big Ten conference matches, Penn State is 106-6-6.
Since the start of the 2011 season, Penn State owns a record of 74-6-7 at Jeffrey Field.
Penn State opened the 2018 season with 3,126 fans against then-No. 9 West Virginia, which is the No. 8 crowd in program history at Jeffrey Field.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions hit the road for the first time in 2018 with a pair of matches at James Madison (Aug. 30) and Wake Forest (Sept. 2).