Duck midfielders Cristan Higa (2) and Carlie Ashcraft (24) face tough tests in Southern California this weekend.
The Oregon women’s soccer team faces a tough weekend in the Conference of Champions as it heads to Los Angeles to meet UCLA and USC.
The Ducks hope to rewrite history against the No. 6 Bruins and the No. 16 Trojans, as Oregon has never beaten either team on the road. Oregon defeated UCLA at home, 2-1 in 1999 and has never beaten USC at Papé Field.
“We are excited to play against good teams,” Oregon head coach Bill Steffen said. “We go into every match thinking we can beat these teams and we need to maintain that attitude.”
Oregon has had to face several good teams this season. UCLA and USC are the 11th and 12th top-25 opponents for the Ducks in 2002. These will be the final two games on the road for Oregon before ending the season with rival Oregon State on Nov. 8 at home.
Oregon (2-11-2, 1-4-1 Pac-10) is coming off a weekend in which it split two games with the desert schools. The Ducks overcame a 2-0 halftime deficit against Arizona to notch their first conference win, 3-2.
The Ducks were not able to find that same magic against Arizona State on Sunday as Oregon got behind 2-0 at halftime but would score only one goal in the loss.
Oregon is due for a good performance against the Bruins, as it hasn’t beaten UCLA in three years and didn’t score on the Bruins in the past two years.
UCLA (12-3-0, 4-1-0 Pac-10) is currently second in the Pac-10 behind Stanford and is 3-3 overall against top-25 foes. UCLA and USC faced off last weekend and the Bruins edged their rival 2-0.
The Bruins are led by freshman forward Iris Mora, who has a team-leading seven goals on only 24 shots, followed by freshmen forwards Katie Rivera and Sarah-Gayle Swanson, who have combined for 10 shots.
Goalkeeper Sarah Lombardo sports a 0.71 goals-against-average and has 26 saves and six shutouts in 15 games.
“They are a really good team but we are, too,” sophomore defender Christine Mintz said. “It’s kind of
at the point of proving it to ourselves in addition to proving it to them.”
USC (8-5-3, 3-2-0) is coming off a loss to the Bruins last weekend and has only taken one other conference loss, to top-ranked Stanford.
Senior defender Ali Fennell paces the Trojans with seven goals, 15 points and 47 shots. In goal, sophomore Julie Peterson has a 0.83 GAA with 73 saves and seven shutouts.
Oregon expects a very fast-paced game against the Trojans and a more technical contest in the matchup with the Bruins. The Ducks want to prove that they can play with anybody, and they have that opportunity with tough tests in Los Angeles this weekend.
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