The ASU soccer team is coming off a pair of victories at the Oregon schools during its weekend road trip. Despite increasing their win total to 10 on the season, the Sun Devils are still far from receiving a berth to the NCAA tournament for the first time under head coach Ray Leone.
"It would be quite difficult to win the Pac-10, so we have to be one of the invited teams, and the West is very competitive," Leone said. "All four of these teams we're playing next have just as good a chance as us."
The first two teams ASU (10-3-2, 3-2 Pac-10) is scheduled to face are Washington State (8-5-2, 2-1-2) and Washington (8-5-3, 3-1-1), starting tonight at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium. The pair of matches are of great importance to ASU because the Washington schools also are battling for position in the Pac-10.
After celebrating a 1-0 win last weekend over Oregon State and a 2-1 triumph against Oregon, freshman forward Elizabeth Bogus, who scored two goals and marked an assist, received Pac-10 Player of the Week honors for the second time this year.
"We played really well," Leone said. "We were very tired against Oregon State because it's a difficult trip, and it totally tested our team. They played very well in a difficult environment, and Sunday we played even better, still being tired."
UA
Despite equaling last year's win total in the preseason, the Wildcats (5-9-1, 0-5) haven't been able to extend past that mark. They suffered losses in their first five Pac-10 matches. The lone bright spot for UA is freshman forward Kelly Nelson, who tied the school record for the most goals in a season last week against Oregon with her 11th tally.
California
The Golden Bears have struggled their way to a 2-5-1 record on the road, but are an impressive 7-1 at Edwards Stadium in Berkeley, Calif. They will host their final three Pac-10 games, starting Saturday with top-ranked Stanford.
Oregon
After getting off to an 0-4 start, the Ducks finally marked their first Pac-10 win last week at the hands of UA. Oregon needed a three-goal second half to pull it off. The Ducks (2-11-2, 1-3-1) received a spark from sophomore forward Arlene Tuttle, who netted two goals.
Oregon State
When also taking advantage of UA, the Beavers (8-7-2, 1-5) earned their first Pac-10 victory Sunday and their eighth of the season. Senior goalkeeper Jo Fletcher made eight saves in the 5-0 win for her sixth shutout.
Stanford
The Cardinal (15-1-0, 6-0) just keep on winning. Stanford earned its 14th and 15th wins last weekend in the Pacific Northwest. Stanford's 1-0 victory over the Huskies was good for its seventh straight shutout. The Cardinal have allowed only three goals all season.
UCLA
Sophomore forward Crystal James and freshman midfielder Stacy Lindstrom both tallied Sunday when the Bruins (12-3-1, 4-1) celebrated a 2-0 win at cross-town rival USC, which was out-shot 26-6.
USC
The Trojans (8-5-3, 3-2) are tied with the Sun Devils for fourth place in the Pac-10. However, USC holds the tiebreaker with a 2-1 double overtime victory in Tempe on Oct. 18.
Washington
After splitting a pair of matches with the Bay Area schools, the Huskies lost their first Pac-10 game Sunday to Stanford. Washington junior forward Melissa Bennett had two assists last weekend against California to bring her school-record season total to 16.
Washington State
The Cougars also handed California a loss on the strength of goals from junior forward Shelby Brownfield and junior forward Kim Morgan. However, the tandem mustered a mere seven shots in a 1-0 loss to the Cardinal.
Reach the reporter at casey.pritchard@asu.edu.
