MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's soccer team is set to open the 2024 campaign in Fresno on Thursday night against the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds. First touch is slated for 5:00pm at Ramirez Field.
MATCH INFO:
UC Merced vs. Fresno Pacific
When: Thursday, September 5 at 5:00pm
Where: Ramirez Field (Fresno, Calif.)
Links: Watch | Live Stats
FOR STARTERS
- UC Merced women's soccer is the first UC Merced Athletics team to compete in the 2024-25 academic year.
- The Bobcats are coming off a record-breaking 2023 campaign which saw the team win 16 games, including the first ever California Pacific Conference Tournament Championship and NAIA National Championship Opening Round.
- The Bobcats 2-1 win over Embry-Riddle in the Cal Pac Tournament Championship game also marked the Bobcats highest-ranked win in program history. UC Merced shutout Midland 1-0 in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round.
IN THE POLLS
- The Bobcats were the unanimous pick to win the 2024 Cal Pac Championship, receiving all eight votes. It is just the second time the Bobcats were picked atop the Cal Pac Preseason Coaches Poll (2020).
- The Bobcats received votes in the NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Preseason Poll for the first time in program history. The Bobcats received 51 votes, sitting just four spots outside the Top 25.
ROSTER OUTLOOK
- All-Cal Pac First Team selections
Trinidad Quiroz,
Yesenia Tijerina, and
Katy Flores all return for the Bobcats in 2024.
- Quiroz scored a conference record and ranked sixth in the nation with 23 goals a season ago and was named Cal Pac Player of the Year and a NAIA Third-Team All-American. Flores and Tijerina (5 goals) anchored the Bobcats defense to a program-record 14 shutouts.
- Three Cal Pac Honorable Mentions return, including goalkeeper
Jadyn Gong who posted 12 solo shutouts.
- The Bobcats return 72% of their starts overall, including four players who started all 19 matches (Quiroz, Flores, Singh, Gong).
BOBCATS IN THE RECORD BOOKS
-
Trinidad Quiroz enters the year 12 goals away from becoming the program's all-time leading goal scorer, while
Jadyn Gong is five shutouts away from breaking UC Merced's all-time shutouts record.
THE SERIES
- This will be the first time since 2014 and just the second time in program history that the Bobcats and Sunbirds will face off. UC Merced knocked off FPU 1-0 behind a Maggie Morales shutout and an Ashleigh Bennett goal just before halftime.
SCOUTING FPU
- Fresno Pacific finished 2-13-2 a season ago and was picked to finish eleventh in the PacWest Preseason Poll this year. Fresno Pacific, with longtime head coach Jaime Ramirez (35 years) sharing the job with new associate head coach Roberto Hernandez, has 15 returnees and seven with starting experience. FPU's two leading scorers Cadence Cunha and Maria Eir Magnusdottir return. Thursday night will also be the Sunbirds season opener.
- FPU is the second closest NCAA Division II opponent distance wise to Merced. Only 65 miles separate the two institutions.
SEASON AND ROAD OPENERS
- UC Merced has won four straight season openers while outscoring opponents 27-3 in such matches, including a 4-2 win last year at Hope International.
- The Bobcats are 7-4-1 all-time in season openers and 6-2-4 all-time in their first road game of the season.
OWNING CALIFORNIA
- UC Merced has tallied eleven consecutive shutouts against California teams and are 17-1-2 in their last 20 games. The Bobcats have outscored opponents 32-0 during the shutout streak.
HEAD COACH ROMAN DUCHATEAU
- Head coach Roman DuChateau enters his third season at the helm in Merced, leading the Bobcats to unprecedented heights. He holds a 26-9-3 mark at UC Merced and an 81-27-6 overall career record. He is joined on the sidelines by Anthoni Martin and Dominic Figueroa.
SINGH WITH FIJI
- Junior defender
Preeya Singh will start the season with the Fijian U-20 squad at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia. The tournament will take place from Aug. 31-Sept. 22. Singh has played for the Fiji Young Kulas for over a year now. Full feature
here.
NEWCOMERS
- UC Merced brings in eleven newcomers to this years squad, welcoming six freshman and five transfers.
- The squad includes transfers with CCAA experience
Macy Max (Sonoma State) and
Lexi Wright (SF State) and freshmen like the Napa County Player of the Year
Sofia Reiswig and one of the top goal scorers in the San Joaquin Section
Alexia Alva.
- The eleven newcomers join the returners for a 34-player roster.
IN THE HEART OF CALIFORNIA
- UC Merced has 18 players on the roster that hail from the Central Valley, including 14 that come from a city right off the Golden State Highway from Bakersfield to Stockton.
- Also impressive, the Bobcats have eight on the roster who grew up within 30 miles of campus.
SCRIMMAGING BEFORE THE REAL DEAL
- The Bobcats scrimmaged a trio of CCAA opponents prior to the season opener, playing at Sonoma State and hosting Stanislaus State and San Francisco State.
NCAA DIVISION II BOUND
- UC Merced was accepted into NCAA Division II on July 11, 2024 and will begin NCAA Division II competition in the 2025-26 academic year. The Bobcats will become fully eligible for postseason in 2026-27.
- During the transition, the Bobcats will remain in the Cal Pac for 2024-25 and remain eligible for all conference and NAIA national championship events until the end of the 2025 spring season. During its second year of the candidacy period (2025-26), UC Merced will compete in the CCAA, but the Bobcats will not be eligible for CCAA or NCAA championships. UC Merced will gain NCAA Division II active membership status in the fall of 2026.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
- UC Merced sets out on a program-record seven-match road trip beginning with the season opener. The Bobcats will follow with Academy of Art, Eastern Oregon, College of Idaho, Cal State East Bay, Cal State Monterey Bay, and Pacific Union College. College of Idaho swept the CCC Championships a year ago and have been to four straight NAIA national tournaments. Cal State East Bay and CSUMB are future conference foes for the Bobcats.
