No. 23 UCLA will face Long Beach State on Friday, August 29 at Wallis Annenberg Stadium in Los Angeles. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus. Tickets are available for $17 for adults and $9 for youth, while UCLA students can attend free with a BruinCard.
The event is themed “Women of Westwood Night,” and the first 400 fans will receive a commemorative pin. Nick Koop and Sophie Wimmer will provide commentary during the broadcast, and live statistics will be available online.
Long Beach State enters the match with a 1-3 record after recent losses to Washington and Portland. The team features Cherrie Cox, who was named the 2023 Big West Offensive Player of the Year but missed last season due to injury. Raddison Banks currently leads Long Beach State in scoring.
UCLA holds a 10-1 advantage in its all-time series against Long Beach State, having won seven consecutive meetings. Last season, UCLA secured a 3-0 victory in Long Beach with notable performances from Emma Egizii and Bridgette Marin-Valencia.
In their most recent game, UCLA lost to BYU by a score of 1-0 following a first-half penalty kick. Despite outshooting BYU overall and especially in the second half, UCLA managed only three shots on goal.
Following this loss, UCLA dropped from No. 4 to No. 23 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and now ranks No. 12 in the Top Drawer Soccer poll. All three teams that UCLA has played this year are ranked within the top fifteen nationally.
Defensively, UCLA has limited opponents to an average of just under eight shots per game across three matches this season. Freshman goalkeeper Daphne Nakfoor has allowed two goals so far, recording one shutout and maintaining a goals-against average of 0.67.
Eight players made their debut for UCLA during the season opener, including six freshmen such as Nakfoor, Grace Shank, Leena Powell, Meila Brewer (all starters), along with junior transfer Oruha Hayashi and freshmen Leila Edris and Payten Cooper off the bench.
Redshirt seniors Emma Egizii and Lexi Wright as well as sophomore Bella Winn have returned from injuries that sidelined them for much or all of last season. Egizii scored twice before her injury last year; Winn contributed early before being injured herself; Wright missed preseason training but has participated fully this year.
Egizii, Jennie Immethun (a senior transfer from TCU), and Wright were named to the Big Ten Players to Watch List ahead of this season. Both Egizii and Wright previously suffered season-ending injuries but were key contributors on UCLA’s NCAA Championship team in 2022.
“Redshirt senior Lexi Wright was selected as a member of 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,” according to university officials.
“Wright supports children with cancer through Zoe’s Goal-Scoring Against Childhood Cancer, a non-profit organization that raises awareness about pediatric cancer, advocates for research and funding and supports young cancer patients,” university officials stated further.
“Wright does regular hospital visits to UCLA’s Mattel Children’s Hospital to visit with patients and has worked with the UCLA campus organization Unified, which plays sports with special needs kids weekly and holds an Inclusive Sports Day,” according to university sources.
“She also volunteers with Football For Her, a non-profit organization that provides a safe space and motivates those who identify as female or non-binary to play, regardless of their economic standing,” said university representatives.
Two experienced transfers joined UCLA this year: defender Jennie Immethun from TCU—who started twenty games last year—and forward Oruha Hayashi from Iowa Western Community College—where she was twice named United Soccer Coaches Player of the Year at Junior College Division I level. Immethun earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors after helping secure a shutout win at Georgia; Hayashi scored during an exhibition against LMU.
The Bruins’ freshman class includes several U.S Youth National Team members: Sofia Atehortua; Meila Brewer; Cassidy Doogan; Daphne Nakfoor; Leena Powell; Grace Shank; plus Egyptian Youth National Team player Laila Edris among others—all saw action during preseason exhibitions or early-season games.
Brewer left midseason after being called up by U.S Under-17 National Team for matches overseas later this month.
For academic achievement during 2024–25 school year—the fourteenth straight year—UCLA women’s soccer received United Soccer Coaches College Team Academic Award by posting cumulative GPA above threshold set by association.
Fifteen Bruins earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition last fall.
