Seventeen games into the season, the ASU soccer team now holds its own destiny in accomplishing a goal they set at the beginning of the season: making the NCAA tournament.
A team comprised of 17 underclassmen, eight of which start regularly, have moved through the learning process quickly this season, winning big games and now giving them a shot to enter postseason play.
With two games remaining, the No. 25 Sun Devils (11-4-2, 4-3 Pac-10) find themselves in fifth place in conference play. One win this weekend against Bay Area powerhouses Stanford and California should put the Sun Devils in the tournament, as it would ensure a winning conference record and at least 12 regular season victories.
"We've got to come up with something this weekend," ASU head coach Ray Leone said. "If you do you, have a good chance of getting in because the Pac-10 is the best conference in the country."
Currently, six Pac-10 teams have a record of .500 or better in the conference, and even California (9-7-1, 2-5-0) has a legitimate shot of making the tournament based on their pre-season record. If the Golden Bears could put up a couple of victories against the Arizona schools they would be right back in the hunt.
Leone understands that prospect, as last year California tied ASU down the stretch and finished deadlocked with the Sun Devils in conference play. However, the Golden Bears were given the playoff berth, and ASU was left behind watching.
"You got to play desperate," Leone said. "When you are the last team left out like we were last year, you don't want to let anything for chance."
Arizona
Breaking a six-game losing streak last Friday, the Wildcats defeated Washington 2-1 in overtime on the strength of freshman forward Kelly Nelson's 12th goal. She added her Pac-10 leading 13th goal Sunday in a 4-2 loss to Washington State. The two tallies were good enough to earn her Pac-10 player of the week honors, and give Nelson a share of the school record for most points in a season (27).
California
Despite a rough conference showing, the Golden Bears have one distinction no other Pac-10 school has this year: they scored a goal against Stanford. California held a 1-0 lead against the Cardinal on Sunday, but lost a 2-1 decision. The lone California goal, which was scored by senior forward Laura Schott, was just the fourth goal Stanford has given up this season.
Oregon
The Ducks were shutout in both games over the weekend to the Los Angeles schools, despite pushing the Trojans to overtime in a 1-0 loss. Senior goalkeeper Sarah Peters tied her season high for saves with 10 against the Bruins during the 2-0 defeat.
Oregon State
In the same fashion as Oregon, the Beavers dropped a pair in Los Angeles, forcing the Trojans to overtime as well. Oregon State led 1-0 against USC on a goal by freshman forward Tessa Baker, but were unable to hold on to the lead in a 2-1 loss. Against the Bruins, freshman forward Brianna Monka broke up a shutout in the 84th minute of a 4-1 loss.
Stanford
The Cardinal hold their own destiny for winning the Pac-10 title and with one win can garner at least a share of it with UCLA. Stanford is yet to lose a Pac-10 conference game and has only one loss on the entire season. They are the No. 1 ranked team in the country and have held that spot for the past five weeks.
UCLA
Sophomore forward Crystal James had three points in a weekend sweep over the Oregon schools, as the Bruins remained in second place behind Stanford in the conference. James assisted on the game-winner against the Ducks, and took matters into her own hands by scoring the game winner against Oregon State.
USC
With two more overtime wins against the Oregon schools, the Trojans now have four on the season, all coming in conference play. They have competed in a school record seven overtime matches this season, with a 4-0-3 record in those games.
Washington
The once undefeated Pac-10 Huskies have dropped three straight and find their record at 3-3-1 in conference play heading into the final weekend when they host both Los Angeles schools. The losses to both UA and ASU were Washington's first ever defeats in eight and six matches respectively against those schools.
Washington State
The Cougars picked up two road victories over the weekend to move from sixth to fourth in the conference. Junior forward Shelby Brownfield had five points in the two games, including the game winner in a 1-0 win against ASU on Friday.
Reach the reporter at casey.pritchard@asu.edu.
