RIVERSIDE, Calif. — The Saint Mary's women soccer team officially kicks off their season this weekend on the road as the Gaels travel to southern California to take on UC Riverside on Friday and CSU Fullerton on Sunday.

ABOUT UC RIVERSIDE
The Highlanders will also play their first game of the season on Friday as they host Saint Mary's. UCR finished 8-11-2 last year including a 5-3 Big West conference record. The Gaels and Highlanders met in Moraga in 2017 at the Saint Mary's Classic with the Gaels emerging victoriously in 2-0 fashion thanks to a pair of goals from then-senior Hannah Diaz.

UCR returns five seniors this season including Quinley Quezada who was second on the team with nine points (three goals, three assists). Redshirt junior Annie Bailey will likely be a frontrunner to start in goal for the Highlanders after appearing in 10 matches last season with two clean sheets.

ABOUT CSU FULLERTON
The Titans will play SMC on Sunday at 5 p.m. in Fullerton, shortly after hosting another WCC school, BYU, two days prior. Saint Mary's and Fullerton matched up last year in Moraga as well with Fullerton earning a 3-0 win early in the season.

The Titans went 12-6-4 in 2017 including an impressive 8-1-1 record on their home turf. CSUF ended up topping CSUN in shootouts during the Big West Tournament Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament before being knocked out by Pepperdine in the opening round.

Fullerton has already played two exhibition matches this season, posting a 2-0 win at San Diego State and falling 2-1 to CSUN at home on Sunday.

Links to live stats and live streams for both games can be found on the Gaels' schedule page.