Riverside, Calif. - Nevada women's soccer kicks off the 2022 season Thursday at UC Riverside at 7:30 p.m.
Collecting four wins and two ties in conference play last season, Nevada accumulated 14 points for their strongest Mountain West performance since joining the league in 2012. The Pack returns eight starters from last season, including their top four leading scorers.
Nevada looks to use this non-conference journey to springboard the momentum into Mountain West play. The Pack, who were predicted to finish ninth by the Mountain West coaches, seek their first conference tournament appearance since 2013.
"For us, it's about working on the little things and working on what happens on certain areas on the pitch offensively and defensively," head coach Erin Otagaki said. "The players have that understanding and now we're going to hone in on that more and go after it."
With a young core last fall, Nevada brings more experience and more confidence to the pitch in 2022. Sophomore forward Emily Rich, who led the Pack in scoring with four goals and four assists for 12 points last season, received All-Mountain West Newcomer Team honors in 2021.
Fifth-year goalkeeper Kendal Stovall, who currently has the second-most career saves with 335 in program history, is back in the net for the Pack. Nevada will also be in rare company at goalkeeper, being one of six programs (Alabama, Georgetown, Penn State, South Carolina and South Dakota) in the country to have five goalkeepers on its roster.
In addition to the plethora of returning players, Nevada has several newcomers who are expected to make an immediate impact. The Pack have eight freshman and two Division I transfers in Jade Beard (Fresno State) and Zona Kinnaman (Utah/Campbell) that have already bought into Nevada's style of play.
"Our biggest thing is first and second balls out of the air," Kinnaman said. "The more we start dominating those, the more we will start keeping possession and that will lead to overall possession. We'll be able to connect better and have more patience on the ball."
UC Riverside went 4-11-2 in 2021, but return two of their top three leading scorers from last year. Alexandra Hargrave led the Highlanders with four goals and eight points with two game-winning goals while Alyssa Carranza scored a pair of goals. The Highlanders will be led by Caela Kaio and Cassia Souza as the goalkeepers, who recorded a combined 78 saves, three shutouts and a 1.76 goals against average.
Thursday's game will not be video streamed, but live stats will be available by clicking here. Live updates will also be available through Twitter by following @NevadaWSOC.
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