The Oregon soccer team has tested the Pacific-10 Conference waters, and head coach Bill Steffen thinks his team is growing with each game it plays.
Now, the Ducks must use that experience, and a little dose of history, as they take on No. 13 USC and No. 7 UCLA on the road this weekend.
“We’re going to have to take it up a level for those teams down in Los Angeles,” Steffen said.
The Bruins were the victims of perhaps the biggest upset in Oregon history last year, when the Ducks beat then-No. 20 UCLA 2-1 in Eugene. Oregon senior Melissa Parker scored the game-winning goal in the 59th minute of that game.
The Trojans, on the other hand, have had the Ducks’ number over the team’s four-year existence. In four meetings, USC has outscored Oregon 17-4, including a 3-1 victory at the Ducks’ Papé Field last season.
Oregon will play at USC on Friday, and at UCLA on Sunday.

Ducks on the Fox
The Ducks’ 2-0 victory over Arizona last Sunday will be televised tonight at 8 p.m. on Fox Sports Net. Chalise Baysa broke Erin Anderson’s all-time Oregon scoring mark in that game with two goals.

What injuries?
Oregon’s offense has taken a serious personnel hit in the last few games, but the Ducks have managed to win two of their last four. This weekend, Crystal David, Julie McLellan and T.J. Johnson should all return to the Ducks’ lineup, giving them more than enough weapons up front.
David, the team’s second-leading scorer behind Baysa, had missed two games after re-injuring her knee, while McLellan sat out Sunday’s contest with the flu. Johnson, a senior and one of Steffen’s most versatile options off the bench, missed five games after injuring a rib against Xavier in September.

Getting their minutes
With so many injuries, Steffen was forced to play his entire bench against Arizona on Sunday. The supporting cast, with a little help from Baysa, held off the Wildcats and highlighted what Steffen called the “incredible depth” of his team.
Sophomore Ellen Sims and freshman Lindsey Werdell registered their first shots of the year, while freshman Amy Merrill played in only her second game of the year. With those subs in the game, Oregon was able to control the ball for much of the second half Sunday and preserve the Ducks’ 2-0 victory.

Like a broken record
With Oregon’s career goal-scoring record under her belt, Baysa won’t stop there. Baysa is only four points away from the career point-scoring record, is already tied for the career game-winning goals record and is just six points shy of the single-season points record.
If she scores three more goals this season and one of them is a game-winner, Baysa should hold all of Oregon’s major scoring records heading into her senior season.

Saving the day
Oregon will face the Pac-10’s two top goalkeepers this weekend in Los Angeles. CiCi Peterson of UCLA has a 0.39 goals-against average, sixth-best in the country, while USC’s Lauren Arase is seventh in the country with a 0.46 GAA.
But the Ducks were able to score a goal on Erin Reinke, Arizona State’s keeper, whose 0.66 GAA is fourth in the Pac-10 and 20th in the country.