UCLA’s women’s soccer team is set to host No. 6 Tennessee on Wednesday, August 20, at Wallis Annenberg Stadium in Los Angeles. The match, which starts at 7:00 p.m. PT, marks UCLA’s home opener for the season and features two teams ranked in the top six nationally.
Tickets for the game are available through uclabruins.com/tickets, with adult tickets priced at $17 and youth tickets at $9. UCLA students can attend for free with a BruinCard. A schedule card will be given to the first 1,000 fans attending the match. The event will be broadcast on B1G+ (www.bigtenplus.com), with live commentary from Nick Koop and Sophie Wimmer.
Tennessee enters the matchup following an upset victory over defending NCAA Champion North Carolina and a win against Eastern Kentucky. Shea O’Rourke scored both goals in Tennessee’s win over North Carolina and was recognized as Top Drawer Soccer’s National Player of the Week and SEC Offensive Player of the Week. Goalkeeper Cayden Norris earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors after recording five saves in that shutout.
UCLA opened its season with a 1-0 win at Georgia, where sophomore Bella Winn scored her second career goal in the 66th minute after an assist from senior Lily Boyden. In the final moments of that match, senior defender Jennie Immethun made a crucial goal line save to preserve the shutout.
Immethun was named Big Ten Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week and selected to Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week for her performance against Georgia. “Immethun also had a strong tackle in the 36th minute to stop a budding breakaway,” according to UCLA Athletics.
Eight players made their debut for UCLA during that opening match, including six freshmen and two transfers—defender Jennie Immethun from TCU and forward Oruha Hayashi from Iowa Western.
Redshirt seniors Emma Egizii and Lexi Wright returned to action after missing most or all of last season due to injury. Egizii had previously scored two goals before her injury last year, while Wright played both in preseason exhibition matches and in this year’s season opener.
Egizii, Immethun, and Wright were all named to the Big Ten Players to Watch List ahead of this season. Both Egizii and Wright missed significant time last year due to injuries but have contributed in past seasons; Wright was third on UCLA’s scoring list in both 2022 and 2023.
Lexi Wright has also been nominated for 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 volunteers with several organizations supporting children with cancer as well as special needs athletes.
This year’s recruiting class includes U.S. Youth National Team players Sofia Atehortua, Meila Brewer, Cassidy Doogan, Daphne Nakfoor, Leena Powell, Grace Shank, as well as Egyptian Youth National Team player Laila Edris.
UCLA holds a historical advantage over Tennessee with two wins and one draw; last year’s meeting ended scoreless in Knoxville. Seven current Bruins participated in that contest.
The Bruins are currently ranked No. 4 nationally by United Soccer Coaches and Top Drawer Soccer polls after moving up four spots this week. They are scheduled to face six teams ranked within United Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 during this season—including matches against USC, Stanford, Michigan State, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
