The road doesn't get any easier for the ASU women's soccer team.
The Sun Devils (9-7-1, 3-2-1 Pac-10) will be in Los Angeles this weekend to take on No. 1 UCLA tonight and No. 11 USC on Sunday.
The Sun Devils are still looking for a signature win to help their case for an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament.
"We need a win this weekend," coach Kevin Boyd said. "Otherwise we're going to be 9-9-1 going into our last game and we won't get in (the tournament) on that."
Tonight the Sun Devils will have the task of derailing the No. 1 Bruins (12-1-2, 5-0-0 Pac-10) that are undefeated at home, rank first in the Pac-10 in nearly every offensive category and have yet to give up a goal in conference play.
The Sun Devils have faced their fair share of ranked teams this season in No. 12 Texas, No. 16 Santa Clara, No. 20 San Diego, No. 19 California and No. 5 Stanford, but have yet to beat one of them.
"Results show more than game stats or (someone saying) 'Oh you played well,' " senior forward/midfielder Alissa Oldenkamp said. "Winning is what matters, so we definitely still want to beat a ranked team."
While the Sun Devils know they will be in the familiar role of underdog in both games this weekend, Oldenkamp said it is a role they are comfortable with.
"We're going to try to use that to our advantage," she said. "We don't think that we don't have a chance against either (UCLA or USC). We're kind of hoping that they're going to think it's going to be an easy game and we can sneak in there."
UCLA's offense ranks first in the Pac-10 in points (119), goals (39) and assists (41).
Sophomore forward Lauren Cheney leads the conference in goals (17) and is tied with teammate senior forward/midfielder Danesha Adams for the conference lead in assists (7).
Cheney also leads the nation in goals per game (1.13) and points per game (2.73).
However, ASU's defense has been regarded as one of its biggest strengths all season.
"We know what (UCLA's) talent is," Boyd said. "But can you stop players like that? We'll see. All we need to do is stop them for one night."
The Sun Devils rank third in the Pac-10 in goals allowed (12) and sophomore goalkeeper Briana Silvestri is tied for first in the conference with six shutouts.
UCLA is also solid on the defensive side of the ball as senior goalkeeper Valerie Henderson leads the conference in goals against average (0.49), save percentage (0.829) and is tied for the conference lead in shutouts (6).
"The difficulty with UCLA is getting to their goal," Boyd said. "It's not because they're incredible defensively, it's because they're so good offensively that it's very difficult to get a hold of the ball and get forward. You're spending most of the time defending."
The Sun Devils will then face another highly-ranked team in USC (11-2-2, 3-1-1 Pac-10) on Sunday.
Reach the reporter at gina.mizell@asu.edu
