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Women's Soccer: UCLA - UNC Preview & Game Thread

When: Friday, August 29, 7 PM PDT

Where: Drake Stadium, UCLA

Listen: Bruin Live Audio

Watch: Pac-12 Networks

The #1 ranked Bruins (2-0-0) face the #9 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels (1-1-0) this evening in an important early season encounter that may ultimately have consequences for NCAA tournament seeding. Based on the current rankings, the Bruins play only one other team ranked in the top 10 (Stanford, currently #5) this season, and have only three other matches scheduled against other teams ranked in the top 25 (California, Pepperdine, and Wake Forest). Therefore, if the Bruins hope to avoid a difficult path through the NCAA tournament like they faced last season, beating the Tar Heels tonight is crucial.

The Bruins have kicked off their 2014 campaign in great form. After dropping #7 Texas A&M 3-1 in a preseason scrimmage, UCLA has posted consecutive 3-0 wins over Maryland and UCI. The Bruins were absolutely dominant in these two matches; neither opponent managed a shot on goal or earned a corner kick, while the Bruins totaled 44 shots and 24 corner kicks for the two games. Katelyn Rowland's two clean sheets give her 38 career shutouts, tying the UCLA record held by Val Henderson. Also, Bruin defender Megan Oyster was recognized for her outstanding performance last week with the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week award.

Against UCI, Taylor Smith opened the scoring with a brilliant left-footed strike from just outside the box.

Sam Mewis bagged the second goal late in the second half, and Darian Jenkins hammered home the third after a Mewis shot hit the crossbar.

Once again Coach Cromwell was able to give substantial playing time to a handful of substitutes. Redshirt freshman Zoey Goralski and freshman Gabrielle Matulich each played 28 minutes at the fullback spots. Additionally, junior Kodi Lavrusky and sophomore Lauren Kaskie contributed 44 and 27 minutes respectively, and sophomore midfielder Gabbi Miranda saw her first action of the regular season, contributing 19 minutes as a substitute. Redshirt sophomore Kristiana Konkol-Mroczkowski and freshman forward MacKenzie Cerda both saw limited action off the bench, and senior forward Kylie McCarthy made her first appearance of the campaign.

North Carolina dropped from #4 to #9 in the national rankings after losing in Durham to then #6 Stanford on a golden goal. Junior forward Summer Green returns to lead the UNC attack; she's been selected for the 2014 Women's MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List and the Soccer America Preseason Women's All-American Team. Sophomore forward Amber Munerlyn also returns, giving the Tar Heels a pair of experienced and dangerous goal scorers. Sophomore midfielder Joanna Boyles anchors the North Carolina midfield, and junior Hanna Gardner leads the defensive line. I expect a very cautious approach from the visiting Tar Heels tonight, especially in the early stages of the match, so it wouldn't surprise me at all to see a 1-0 final score. Let's hope that the Bruins can strike early and then hit UNC on the counterattack as the Tar Heels are forced to push forward.

Finally, there's this from Abby Dahlkemper:

Go BRUINS!

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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