PENSACOLA, Fla. – The 25^th-ranked University of California, Merced women's soccer team plays in its first ever NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship Final Site Round of 16 match today against sixth-ranked and fourth-seeded Campbellsville University. The NAIA Final Site is at the Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex in Pensacola, Fla. With a win, the Bobcats advance to the quarterfinals.

The Round of 16 kickoff is set for 2:00pm PST. All matches during the NAIA Women's Soccer Championship will be broadcast for free on the newly redesigned NAIA Network. Live stats are here.

FIRST TOUCH

UC Merced enters Monday's match with an 11-3-2 record and are at the final site after a 1-0 shutout victory over 13-seed Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Yareli Hernandez scored the game's lone goal in the 20^th minute one-timing a shot from 25 yards out off an assist from Yesenia Tijerina. Alicia Lepe earned the shutout with four saves.

Campbellsville advanced to the final site with a tie-breaking penalty kick in the 86^th minute in a 2-1 win over Northwestern Ohio. Paula Sanabria scored the game-winning goal, while Merel Houweling netted an equalizer earlier in the game in the 28^th minute. The Lady Tigers boast an 18-1-1 record on the year. Campbellsville, who is playing in the Round of 16 for the first time since 2015, started the year unranked before finishing ranked sixth in the NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Final Poll.

Monday will mark the first ever meeting between UC Merced and Campbellsville. It is also the first ever matchup against a Mid-South Conference opponent for the Bobcats.
 

UC MERCED TIDBITS

• UC Merced is at the NAIA Final Site for the first time in program history. Last season, UC Merced qualified for its first national tournament and beat Midland 1-0 in the opening round before falling to Central Methodist in the second round.
• UC Merced is tied for third in the NAIA with just six goals conceded, is fifth with a 0.38 goals against average, and is tied for eleventh with 12 shutouts. The Bobcats have ten shutouts in their last eleven matches.
• The Bobcats made California Pacific Conference history by not giving up a goal in conference play. The Bobcats claimed a share of the Cal Pac regular season championship.
• The Bobcats stellar defense allowed just 2.2 shots per game across the seven Cal Pac matches.
• Head coach Roman DuChateau's team hasn't surrendered double digit shots since September 19.
• The Bobcats have only trailed for two minutes in their last 900 minutes of competition dating back to September 26.
• All-Cal Pac First Team defenders Katy Flores and Preeya Singh anchor the Bobcats defense.
• All-Cal Pac Second Team center back Zitlali Herrera leads the team with 1,127 minutes played. She has played the full 90 minutes in four consecutive games.
• All-Cal Pac Second Team goalkeeper Alicia Lepe has nine solo shutouts and a program-best 0.36 goals against average this season. Lepe is just the second player in program history with nine shutouts. Jadyn Gong, three shutouts in 2024, holds the program-record with 12 shutouts (2023).
• All-Cal Pac First Team forward Yesenia Tijerina leads UC Merced in points (28) and goals (13). She is just the fourth player in program history to score 13 goals in a season. Also, she is the only Bobcat to start all 16 games this season.
• Cal Pac Attacker of the Year Yareli Hernandez has recorded ten goals and is tied for the team-high with three assists. Katy Flores and Lexi Wright also have three assists. Wright suffered a season-ending injury on September 22.
• Elisa Garcia is third on the team with ten points. All ten of her points came in three games, including a hat trick in the regular season finale at Cal Maritime.
• Kaeley Cariglio is the team-leader in shots (47). She has contributed two goals and two assists.
• The Bobcats have outscored their opponents 45-6 while outshooting the competition 285-78, or 17.8 shots per game compared to the opponents 4.9 shots per game.
• Center back Macy Max and defensive midfielder Katy Flores have played the full 90 minutes in three straight matches.
• Tijerina and Flores earned two Cal Pac Player of the Week awards.

 
SCOUTING CAMPBELLSVILLE

• Campbellsville's #6 ranking is its highest in program history.
• The Lady Tigers have outscored its opponents 91-17 and their 91 goals are the fourth most in the NAIA.
• Campbellsville is also ranked 11^th with 67 assists and 17^th with 20.8 shots per game.
• Mid-South Conference First Team member Marta Prieto is 12^th in the NAIA with 22 goals and tied for eighth with six game-winning goals. She has been credited with ten assists.
• Mid-South Conference First Team member Lina Berrah is third in the country with 19 assists. She has also scored 12 goals.
• Mid-South Conference Freshman of the Year Momo Chogyoji has recorded ten goals and seven assists this season.
• Defensively, the Lady Tigers have a 0.85 goals against average and nine shutouts.
• Goalkeeper Milly Shakespeare has allowed 16 goals in 1,484 minutes for a 0.97 goals against average. Shakespeare has 55 saves and six solo shutouts.
• Defenders Alba Vea and Mitie Rocha are over 1,300 minutes in 2024.

UC MERCED AGAINST TOP 25 OPPONENTS

• UC Merced is 1-0-1 against Top 25 teams this season, beating #15 Embry-Riddle 1-0 in the second round and drawing 1-1 with then #13 College of Idaho on September 15.
• The Bobcats are 2-2-1 in its last five meetings against ranked opponents.
• A win over Campbellsville would give the Bobcats their highest ranked win in program history. The Bobcats are currently 0-4 all-time against top ten teams.
• Tijerina has scored or assisted a goal in three straight outings against Top 25 opponents.
• Yareli Hernandez has three points against Top 25 teams, scoring the game-winning goal against #15 ERAU this season and assisting the game-winning goal against #14 ERAU last season.
• UC Merced was ranked #25 in the final NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 poll, the team's first ranking since 2015.

The winner of Monday's match will advance to the quarterfinals and play the winner of fifth-seeded College of Idaho and 12^th-seeded Marian on Thursday, December 5 at 11:00am PST.