A plethora of new Bruins stepped onto the pitch for the Bruins’ Big Ten debut.

After bagging two goals within the first 16 minutes to surge to an early lead, UCLA women’s soccer trounced Loyola Marymount 3-0 in an exhibition match Saturday to kick off its 2024 season. The Bruins maintained their lead at Wallis Annenberg Stadium throughout the game, triumphing in their first appearance on the field as a member of the Big Ten.

“New conference, new teams not from the Pac-12,” said junior midfielder Sofia Cook. “It’s really good to start with the dub and just start off strong for the university.”

Cook scored the team’s first two goals with a pair of tap-ins. Senior defender Quincy McMahon assisted Cook’s first goal, while senior midfielder Emma Egizii contributed to the latter.

“Last season, I only had one goal,” Cook said. “Especially if I am going to be playing higher up in the field, I want to keep scoring either goals or assists. I came in with that mindset today and completed my goal.”

Later in the first half, the Bruins made a slew of substitutions, which also featured the debut of freshmen defender Paloma Daubert and forwards Jordan Geis and Bella Winn. Senior midfielder Alice Barbieri and junior forward Lily Boyden donned the blue and gold for the first time after transferring from Oregon and Washington State, respectively.

Winn seemingly pulled off a goal on her debut just moments after stepping onto the field. But a quick offside call brought the score back to down 2-0, where it remained through the first half. The Bruins made strides with six shots in the first half while limiting the Lions to zero.

UCLA got off to a slower second half, adjusting to a mixed field of veterans and newcomers. Senior defender Lilly Reale led the team’s backline, directing new players throughout the field.

“One of our biggest challenges throughout the year is going to be finding the right tempo,” said coach Margueritte Aozasa. “We’re going to see a few teams that sit in a low block like LMU did today, and that’s usually the hardest thing to break down.”

At the 68th minute, freshman defender Nicki Fraser found the back of the net for the first time in her collegiate career, scoring a composed finish across the goal to boost the score to 3-0. The Highlands Ranch, Colorado, local was a member of the United States U-20 Women’s National Team pool and partook in international camps in England and Spain.

Despite playing as a center in the backline, Fraser, assisted by Barbieri, achieved the final goal of the game.

“We’ve been able to come together and implement our coach’s playing style very fluidly,” Fraser said. “I’m really excited to go on this journey with them and hopefully win a third ring.”

Graduate student goalkeeper Ryan Campbell wore the Bruin badge for the first time. The Stanford transfer earned Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year in 2023 but made no saves in her debut with the assistance of the backline. Freshman goalkeeper Layla Armas replaced her in the second half for her first appearance on Westwood turfs.

A newly formed dynamic was introduced as the Bruins began their journey in the Big Ten.

“In terms of players that got their debut, I was really happy because I thought all of them looked very comfortable,” Aozasa said. “It’s not always easy to step into our environment and do that, but all of them showed a lot of confidence.”

Following their exhibition victory, UCLA will play its first official game of the season at Long Beach State on Aug. 15.