Hot times lead to soccer in the cities of California. One glance at the Pacific-10 Conference women’s soccer standings makes that fact as clear as a San Diego sky.
There, at the top, are the four California schools. First is UCLA, with an 11-0 record and a No. 2 ranking. Then it’s No. 8 Stanford at 9-1, 16th-ranked California at 10-2-1, and finally Southern California, at 7-3-1.
All four teams swept their opening weekends of Pac-10 play and dominated their opponents in the process. UCLA and USC took out the Arizona schools by a combined 10-4. Cal and Stanford rolled over the Oregon squads by a total margin of 10-2.
The four California teams are clearly making a statement about which state will dominate Pac-10 women’s soccer this season. They lead the conference in every major statistical category except saves, fouls and yellow cards. Oregon has the dubious honor of leading the latter category, with 13 yellows on the season.
This weekend’s conference slate features some intriguing matchups, with the focus on the four golden-state teams. UCLA will face No. 3 Santa Clara on Thursday, with a possible No. 1 ranking at stake, before facing cross-town rival USC on Sunday. Cal and Stanford head north to face the always-dangerous Washington schools.
Washington, ranked 20th, has lost only to No. 17 Texas A&M and No. 11 Portland. Washington State is 5-4, but counts the Huskies, Portland and No. 7 Saint Mary’s among its losses.
Caught in the middle
Lost in between California and Washington is Oregon. But, despite a sweep at the hands of Stanford and Cal last weekend, the Ducks have a legitimate shot to sweep a weekend of their own Friday and Sunday.
“Stanford’s a really good team and I’m glad we battled like we did,” Oregon senior Chalise Baysa said after falling to the Cardinal Sunday. “Hopefully we can go down to Arizona next weekend and get the sweep.”
The Ducks, who still have a winning record of 6-4-1, will head to the desert to face the Arizona schools this weekend. Arizona is last in the Pac-10 with a 3-7-1 record, while Arizona State is 6-6-0. Both teams fell hard to UCLA and USC last weekend.
Oregon has only once beaten two Pac-10 foes in the same weekend. In 1998, the Ducks swept the Arizona schools in Eugene.
A two-horse conference
When thinking about early front-runners for Pac-10 player of the year award, two players dominate the pack. California’s Laura Schott and UCLA’s Stephanie Rigamat have been invaluable to their teams’ success this season.
Schott leads the conference in goals, goals per game and total points. Rigamat leads in another key category, game-winning goals. Oregon freshman Nicole Garbin is tied with Rigamat, with four game-winners.
Rigamat was named the Pac-10 player of the week for her five-point performance against Arizona and Arizona State.
