MERCED, Calif. - Riding a four-match shutout streak, the University of California, Merced women's soccer team will host Westcliff University and Pacific Union College in California Pacific Conference play this weekend.

Friday, September 15
UC Merced vs. Westcliff University
Time: 4:30pm
Location: Bobcat Field  (Merced, Calif.)
Watch | Live Stats | Tickets

Sunday, September 17
UC Merced vs. Pacific Union College
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Bobcat Field (Merced, Calif.)
Watch | Live Stats | Tickets

GAME NOTES

Weekly Game Notes can be accessed here.

FOR STARTERS

• Friday night is UC Merced's 2023 California Pacific Conference home opener
• UC Merced enters the weekend with four straight shutout victories
• The Bobcats currently have the program's longest active shutout streak since 2016
• UC Merced is coming off a 7-0 shutout at Providence Christian College on September 9
• Trinidad Quiroz is tied for second in the NAIA with ten goals
• Trinidad Quiroz has also recorded three assists 
• Trinidad Quiroz is ranked fifth in program history with 28 career goals
• Jadyn Gong is tied for eleventh in the country with three shutouts and is currently on a career-best 340-minute shutout streak
• Fifth-year senior and Merced native Isabella Spiva has played in 66 consecutive games
• Bella Spiva is ranked ninth in program history with 20 career goals and is ninth with 12 career assists
• UC Merced is looking to start 3-0 (& 4-0) in Cal Pac play for the third time in last four years
• Ana Centeno and Yesenia Tijerina have scored two goals each for the Bobcats
• UC Merced was ranked second in the most recent Cal Pac Coaches' Poll
• Quiroz and Baleigh Zamudio have earned Cal Pac Weekly Awards in the early season
• UC Merced is 0-1-0 all-time against Westcliff, falling 3-2 in Irvine last year
• The Bobcats are 4-0-1 all-time vs. Pacific Union College, going 1-0-1 vs. PUC a year ago
• The Bobcats knocked out PUC 4-0 in last year's Cal Pac Tournament Opening Round
• The Bobcats have outscored their opponents 19-5 through six matches this season
• 17 different Bobcats have earned a start in 2023 W/ seven players starting all six games
• The Bobcats have won 25 of their last 30 Cal Pac games and have played to a 63-14-7 record in conference play since 2014
• UC Merced ranked 25th in the nation last year with 64 goals
• Head coach Roman DuChateau is currently in his second season with the Bobcats
• UC Merced will host the 2023 California Pacific Conference Women's Soccer Championships

SERIES HISTORY VS. WESTCLIFF
Friday's matchup will be just the second all-time between UC Merced and Westcliff and the first ever in Merced. These two teams met on September 16, 2022 with Westcliff earning  a 3-2 win in a back-and-forth contest. Jocelyne Garcia and Katy Flores scored for the Bobcats with Quiroz earning an assist. With a win this time around, the Bobcats will have beaten their 28th opponent in program history and will have beaten two different opponents for the first time in 2023.

THE SERIES WITH THE PIONEERS
This will be the sixth matchup in the series between UC Merced and Pacific Union College and the Bobcats lead the series 4-0-1. The Bobcats have outscored the opponent 31-3, including earning a 13-0 win in the first ever meeting between these two teams in the 2020 campaign. Last year, the Bobcats played to a scoreless draw in Angwin, but knocked out the Pioneers with a 4-0 shutout in the California Pacific Conference Championship Opening Round. Jadyn Gong has earned two solo shutouts over PUC. Trinidad Quiroz, Trinity Dunbar, Kaeley Cariglio, and graduate Jocelyne Garcia provided the offense in the Bobcats 4-0 win.

RECAPPING PROVIDENCE CHRISTIAN
The Bobcats exploded for seven goals in a 7-0 shutout over Providence Christian College last Saturday in Pasadena. The Bobcats seven goals scored marked a season-high. Yesenia Tijerina and Ana Centeno highlighted the Bobcats offense with two goals each.Trinidad Quiroz scored a goal in her sixth straight game to bring her total to ten on the year. Merced, Calif., native Alondra Higareda and freshman Elisa Garcia also scored a goal for UC Merced. Jadyn Gong and Melody Martinez split the 90 minutes between the posts. Only Gong was tasked with a save. UC Merced outshot the Sea Beggars 29-3 with 18 of the shots recorded on target. Quiroz put five of her eight shots on frame.

WELCOME TO CAL PAC PLAY
UC Merced is 2-0 in Cal Pac play for the third time in the last four seasons and are unbeaten in six straight Cal Pac games dating back to last season while outscoring their opponents 26-1. Overall, the Bobcats are winners in 25 of their last 30 conference games and are unbeaten in 70 of their last 84 league contests dating back to 2014. Under Roman DuChateau, the Bobcats tied their program record with eight Cal Pac wins a year ago. 

ANOTHER ALL-AMERICAN SEASON
Trinidad Quiroz is currently tied for second in the nation with ten goals and is just one goal behind Science & Arts' Alicia Rey, who has actually played one more game than Quiroz. Quiroz also has three assists this year and is ranked first in the nation with 53 total shots. Quiroz scored four goals in the season opener at Hope, had a brace at Menlo, and scored the Bobcats lone goal at The Master's and against ART U.. She also scored a goal in each Cal Pac game so far against La Sierra & Providence. She enters Friday's match looking to become the second player in program history to score a goal in seven straight games, joining Emily Burnett from the 2018 season. Just 24 games into her career, Quiroz is already ranked fifth in program history with 28 career goals. She is four goals away from being inside the top three. Last year, Quiroz was named a NAIA Honorable Mention All-American and both the Cal Pac Offensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year.

SPIVA'S STREAK & SUCCESS
Isabella Spiva leads all active Bobcats having appeared in 66 consecutive games dating back to September 17, 2019. Overall, Spiva has appeared in 67 of the Bobcats 68 games since she arrived at UC Merced as a freshman in 2019. She has started 48 games. Over her career, Spiva is a 3X All-California Pacific Conference First Team selection, a 2X California Pacific Conference Defensive Player of the Year and earned NAIA Honorable Mention All-American honors in 2021. The Merced, Calif, native currently ranks ninth in program history with 52 career points, 20 goals, and 12 assists. She is also one of just four players in UC Merced history with three hat tricks and is in the elite company with Trinidad Quiroz, Claudia Diaz, and Jenn Salinger. Also of note, Spiva is the only Bobcat in program history to be named both the Cal Pac Offensive Player of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week.

BOBCATS SCORING FIRST GOAL
Transfers Yesenia Tijerina, Ana Centeno, and Alondra Higareda each scored their first goal in a UC Merced uniform last Saturday. Freshman Elisa Garcia scored her first career goal.

CAL PAC POLL
The Bobcats have been ranked second in the Cal Pac Coaches' Poll for the second week in a row. If the rankings hold next week and the top two teams take care of business, the the top two ranked teams in the Cal Pac will meet up on Sunday, September 24 in Prescott, Ariz. It will be the Bobcats and the Embry-Riddle Eagles with the Bobcats looking to be just the second team to beat the Eagles in a Cal Pac game since 2016. Only University of Saint Katherine has beaten Embry-Riddle in a Cal Pac game in that stretch.

BAY NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Outside back Baleigh Zamudio earned California Pacific Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors on August 28 following her performance in the 4-0 shutout at Menlo College. Zamudio shined both offensively and defensively in the win, logging all 90 minutes and scored the game-winning goal in the 43rd minute. The Roseville, Calif., native also assisted the Bobcats second goal of the game. Zamudio and UC Merced limited the Oaks to just two shots on goal and one corner kick in the shutout. Zamudio, a 2022 Cal Pac Honorable Mention, earned a weekly award for the first time in her career. Zamudio is one of two Bobcats to earn Cal Pac Player of the Week honors in 2023 as Trinidad Quiroz was named the Cal Pac Offensive Player of the Week the week prior.

GONG IN GOAL
Junior goalkeeper Jadyn Gong became the first player in program history to post three consecutive shutouts (Aug. 26-Sept. 7) and then she combined with Melody Martinez for a shutout at Providence on September 9.
She enters the week ranked first in the conference and 11th in the nation with her three solo shutouts. Over her career, the Merced, Calif., native has recorded seven shutouts and has combined for eight other shutouts. She sports a career 0.96 goals against average and has 57 saves, which is good for third and sixth in program history, respectively. Three of Gong's six solo shutouts have come on Bobcat Field, most notably against PUC in the 2022 Cal Pac Championship Opening Round game. Following her shutout against PUC, Gong was named the Cal Pac Defensive Player of the Week. Gong has logged 495 minutes between the posts this year.

PREEYA SINGH
Preeya Singh has started all six games to start the 2023 campaign. Over the summer, Singh played for Fiji in the Oceania Football Confederation U-19 Women's Championship and her team played New Zealand in the Grand Final. She scored her first international goal on July 5 in a 3-1 win over Samoa in the semifinals. Singh earned an assist and was named Player of the Match in a win over New Caledonia. 

NOT BY 1, 2, OR 3 
The Bobcats knocked off Menlo College 4-0 on August 28 and Providence Christian College 7-0 last time out. Last year, UC Merced won seven games by four or more goals, outscoring opponents 53-2 in such games. The seven games of such margin marked 
most in program history. The second highest number of games with a 4+ goal victory margin was five games in 2019. 

SCORE FIRST THEN 
UC Merced is unbeaten in 12 straight matches dating back to last season when finding the back of the net first. Quiroz has found the back of the net first in five of those matches, while Bella Spiva and Trinity Dunbar have scored first twice. Kaeley Cariglio, Yesenia Tijerina, and Jocelyne Garcia scored first in the other three wins during the streak. The last Bobcat loss when scoring first dates back to September 24, 2022 against Benedictine University Mesa. Since 2020, the Bobcats are 31-2-1 when scoring before their opponent.  

SCORING THREE IS IT
UC Merced has won 43 straight games when scoring three or more goals, a streak that dates back September 2, 2017. All-time, the Bobcats are 76-2 when scoring at least three goals. The Bobcats have scored 3+ goals nine times in each of the last two years. In 2016, the Bobcats found the back of the net at least three times on ten occassions.

LOGGING ALMOST EVERY MINUTE
Goalkeeper Jadyn Gong played 495 consecutive minutes to start the year, logging the full 90 minutes in the first five games and playing the first half at Providence. Outside back Baleigh Zamudio played the first 398 minutes of the year, subbing out for the first time in the second half at La Sierra. She then played the whole second half and 49 more minutes at Providence. Trinidad Quiroz has logged 510 total minutes, while Katy Flores is the Bobcats next closest to the full 540 minutes having played 469 minutes. 

ROSTER BREAKDOWN
UC Merced has 31 student athletes on the roster for the 2023 season. Bella Spiva enters with the most experience as a fifth-year senior and 67 career games played. Stephanie Medina, Carly Kissinger, and Trinity Dunbar enter their fourth year with the program, while Baleigh Zamudio and Alexandra Mendoza are seniors who transfered in prior to the 2022 season. The Bobcats have four freshman, ten sophomores, eleven juniors, and six seniors. Of the eleven juniors, seven transfered in for 2023.

#WEARETHEVALLEY
UC Mered has 20 players on the roster that hail from the Central Valley, including 13 that come from a city right off the Golden State Highway from Bakersfield to Stockton. Also impressive, the Bobcats have four on the roster who attended high school within ten miles of UC Merced. Bella Spiva, Kassidy Spiva, and Alondra Higareda played their high school soccer at El Capitan, 2.5 miles from Bobcat Field. Jadyn Gong played at Golden Valley High School.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE WARRIORS
Westcliff is 0-3-1 on the year and most recently fell to Park University Gilbert 2-1 in the Grand Canyon State. Alberte Angersbach was the Warriors goal scorer in the loss. She is one of three goal scorers on the year as teammates Isabella Saavedra and Jaida Wilson have also scored a goal each. Angersbach has taken eight shots on the year, double the next Warrior in that statistical category. Ana Martinez Moreno has logged 262 of the 360 minutes in goal and has stopped 13 of her 22 shots faced. Cindy Suarez has allowed one goal in 97 minutes and was the goalkeeper in the Warriors draw against Occidental College. The Warriors won the 2022 California Pacific Conference Tournament Championship a year ago but lost their five leading goal scorers, who combined for 35 of their 47 goals.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Pacific Union College has won four of their five games to start the year, including a 2-1 win against Menlo College in the season opener and a 3-0 win at Providence Christian College in the Cal Pac opener. Last time out, PUC fell 3-1 to University of Saint Katherine. Mia Del Muro scored her sixth goal of the season in the setback. The Pioneers also have another top goal scorer in Bella Cervantes, who is tied for eighth in the nation with seven goals. She recorded back-to-back hat tricks against Lincoln and Jessup, while also scoring in the Cal Pac opener at PCC. Goalkeeper Kaytlin Blair has maintained a 1.40 goals against average through five starts and has logged all 450 minutes. She has two shutouts.

UC MERCED TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets to UC Merced women's soccer matches are $5 and must be purchased prior to arrival on ucmercedbobcats.com. UC Merced faculty/staff can receive $3 admission. UC Merced graduate student and non-UC Merced students with school ID can join the fun for $2, while children 12 and under get in for free. Each fan must have a ticket. Free parking will be available for Sunday's match.

NEXT UP
UC Merced will travel to the Grand Canyon State to face Benedictine University Mesa and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University next week, beginning on Friday, September 22. The Bobcats went 0-3 against the opponents last year, falling twice to Embry-Riddle.

POSTSEASON BOBCATS
On November 5, 2022, the Bobcats knocked off Pacific Union College 4-0 in the California Pacific Conference Opening Round. The Bobcats four goals tied the program's postseason single-game record, while the four-goal final victory margin was the biggest in program history. UC Merced goalkeeper Jadyn Gong stopped all six shots she was tasked with to become the second Bobcat all-time with a postseason shutout. The Bobcats have won a postseason game in five straight years, setting a new record among all active teams in the Cal Pac.

CALIFORNIA PACIFIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
UC Merced has been selected to host the 2023 California Pacific Conference Women's Soccer Championships November 9-11 at Bobcat Field. This will be the first time since 2017 that UC Merced will host the women's soccer conference tournament, and first time ever on Bobcat Field. The semifinals are set for Thursday, November 9 with the championship match scheduled for Saturday, November 11.