Hurricane Ike is the biggest news for Texans this week.

The ASU soccer team obviously finished a distant second. But that’s not to say the University of Texas and Baylor shouldn’t be worried.

“We’re doing a lot of things right,” redshirt freshman forward Erica Long said. “But in order to be successful we can’t ruin our chances.

“We have to do the little things like win first and second balls and not get offside calls.”

After last week’s 4-0 victory over Weber State, the Sun Devils (2-2-1) should be confident going into their matches this weekend against the Texas schools.

“I think we’re starting to learn more about each other,” sophomore midfielder Alexandra Elston said. “We’re finding out how each player on the team plays, and learning what our strengths and weaknesses are.”

Freshman forward Sierra Cook has been a strength as of late. Cook scored two games in one game last weekend.

“It feels good to finally score some goals,” Elston said. “I think we’re starting to find our rhythm. That should give us some confidence going into Texas.”

But the competition in the lone star State should be tough. Baylor (2-2) easily defeated Prairie View A&M 10-1 Sunday, while the No. 8 Longhorns (5-0) are coming off of a 2-1 double-overtime win over UA.

“Baylor will be solid,” coach Kevin Boyd said. “They are on a bit of a roll. I expect them to be a strong team.

“Texas came out of last weekend with two wins. [It is] certainly a top-10 team. [It’s] pedigree [nationally] is higher than ours.

Texas’ coach, Chris Petrucelli, won a national championship with Notre Dame in 1995.

“He’s no stranger to success and winning,” Boyd said of Petrucelli. “It’s going to be tough to play there. I expect them to be our best opponent to date.”

In the two teams’ last meeting, ASU fell to the Longhorns at home. The Longhorns hope to extend their 19-game home winning streak, which dates back to the 2006 season.

“It’s going to be tough,” Long said. “They will be good in the air. We just have to come out really strong and be mentally focused.”

When the Sun Devils return from their road trip they will begin a seven-game home stretch.

Reach the reporter at emiley.darling@asu.edu.