SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Kicking off the new campaign with a set of home matches, the University of San Francisco women's soccer team begins the 2024 season with a pair of matchups against No. 2 Stanford and UC San Diego this week.
 
MATCH 1 DETAILS:
Opponent: #2 Stanford
Date: Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024
Time: 6:00 pm PST
Location: Negoesco Stadium / San Francisco, Calif.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Tickets: Purchase Here
 
MATCH 2 DETAILS:
Opponent: UC San Diego
Date: Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024
Time: 4:00 pm PST
Location: Negoesco Stadium / San Francisco, Calif.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Tickets: Purchase Here
 
DONS AT A GLANCE:

• This offseason, a change atop the program was made as Jim Millinder, who served as the program's head coach for eleven years, retired on July 18 following an illustrious 24-year career. Subsequently, Pinder Nijjar, who had served as assistant and associate head coach for the Dons since 2015, was promoted to interim head coach on Aug. 1.
• Offensively, San Francisco returns four of their top five goal scorers from a season ago as Alex Carpio (4), Olivia Lukrofka (3), Lindsey Chau (3) and Jackie Koerwitz (3) will all suit up in the green and gold once again. In goal, Kira Ybarra returns for USF as the graduate student is hungry for more success after finishing second in the WCC in saves (74) and saves per game (4.35). Additionally, Ybarra also tied for third in the conference with six shutouts in 2023.
• Welcoming a new class of student-athletes, San Francisco rosters eleven newcomers this fall: Erika Braun (Gr./UC San Diego), Kiana Faucette (Fr.), Sydney Harpster (Fr.), Danica Lunceford (Fr.), Enya Niebergall (Fr.), Tuva Norell (Fr.), Elsie Parigi (Fr.), Hailey Patlan (Fr.), Hayden Rallo (Fr.), Clara Willet (Fr.) and Kate Zimmerman (Fr.). 

SCOUTING THE CARDINAL:

• Heading into the season, Stanford is ranked as one of the nation's top teams to start the new year as the Cardinal enter the match at No. 2 in the United Soccer Coaches and TopDrawer Soccer preseason rankings. Last season, Stanford ended the season at No. 2 in the final polls after reaching the national championship match. With their appearance last year, Stanford made the College Cup for the eleventh time in program history and its sixth time appearing in the national championship game. Prior to their loss to Florida State, Stanford has reeled off a 36-match unbeaten streak (30-0-6).
• Jasmine Aikey, who was the 2023 Pac-12 Midfielder of the Year and United Soccer Coaches All-America and All-Region First Team member, returns as a Preseason All-ACC selection. This offseason, Stanford moved conferences from the Pac-12 to the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference). In addition to Aikey, Mia Bhuta, Erica Grilione, Shea Harvey and Joelle Jung, who all earned Pac-12 All-Freshmen honors in 2023, headline other key returners.
• Stanford currently has a 17-match unbeaten streak in season openers, most recently defeated San Diego, 4-0, last fall. Notably, the Card have recorded three straight shutout wins in season openers: San Diego (4-0/2023), Sacramento State (5-0/2022), Cal Poly (2-0/2021).

SCOUTING THE TRITONS:

• Entering their fourth season at the Division I level, UC San Diego finished the season at 5-8-5 overall, including a 4-3-3 mark in Big West play. Despite finishing fifth in the final conference standings, conference regulations prevented UCSD from taking part in the six-team Big West championship. This year, UC San Diego is now fully eligible for both conference and NCAA postseason action.
• Although she has yet to appear in a match for the Tritons, Skylar Enge was named to the Big West Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Team. Heading south for grad school, Enge completed her undergraduate degree at Pepperdine, where she helped the Waves to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances in her four years. In 2023, Enge started in all 18 matches for Pepperdine as she totaled 1,360 minutes last season. Overall, the midfielder tallied 3 goals, 7 assists and 13 points in her final campaign in Malibu.
• Returning to La Jolla, Raquel Kalpakoff leads the way offensively for UC San Diego as she aims to follow up her five-goal season from 2023, which ranked her fourth in the Big West in goals. Additionally, these five goals tied a program best for a season in Division I (Kennedy Carter - 5 / 2021).

SERIES HISTORY:

• In their last matchup on Aug. 24, 2023, No. 6 Stanford shutout San Francisco, 4-0, in USF's first road game of the season. Since 1985, the Cardinal have had an undefeated record against the Dons at 24-0.
• Last time out, San Francisco toppled UC San Diego, 4-1, on Sept. 14, 2022 on the road in La Jolla. Since 1990, the Dons are 2-1 against the Tritons overall, including a 1-0 shutout on Sept. 5, 2021 - the only matchup between the two programs in San Francisco. 

FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the USF women's soccer program, be sure to follow @USFDonsWSoccer on Twitter, @USFDonsWSoccer on Instagram and @USFDonsWSOC on Facebook.
 
MERCHANDISE:
Want to dress like the Dons? Get your official San Francisco Dons gear from the University of San Francisco bookstore today! Click here to purchase.
 
SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our primary sponsor - Coca-Cola - for their continued support of USF Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.