The 49er women’s soccer team will host Soccer America No. 7 UCLA at George Allen Field on Sunday at 5 p.m., marking LBSU’s second of six consecutive matches against 2008 NCAA Tournament teams to start the season.
The Beach will try to maintain its momentum after a 2-0 season-opening win over Fresno State last Sunday.
Sophomore midfielder Shawna Gordon’s masterful display on corner kicks in the opener produced a goal and an assist, along with nabbing her Big West Player of the Week recognition.
On the other hand, the Bruins will try to atone for their crushing 7-2 defeat on the road against North Carolina in their season debut. UCLA allowed three goals in the first 13 minutes to the defending national champion Tar Heels.
The stalwart 49er backline that limited Fresno to six shots will attempt to slow down a Bruin attack that features a duo of Soccer America Preseason All-Americans in forwards Lauren Cheney and Sydney Leroux.
Cheney, a senior, was a member of the gold medal-winning United States Women’s National Team last year in the Beijing Olympics. Leroux, a sophomore originally from Vancouver, Canada, helped lead the U.S. Under-20 team to a world championship in 2008 and netted two goals in the loss to the Tar Heels.
The two squads last faced off in 2006 when the Bruins came away with a 1-0 victory.
The Beach kicks off a four-match road trip against Kansas (Sept. 4), Missouri (Sept. 6), Harvard (Sept. 11) and Boston College (Sept. 13) before returning home to host Pepperdine on Sept. 18.