Bay area and desert schools headline women's soccer this weekend

Sep 29, 2015

• Three of the top women's soccer teams in the Pac-12 will meet in the desert this weekend. On Friday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. PT, ARIZONA STATE will host No. 5 STANFORD while No. 17 ARIZONA hosts No. 23 CALIFORNIA. ASU and Stanford have split the last two meetings. The Wildcats and Golden Bears drew in their 2014 matchup while Cal was victorious in 2013. On Sunday, Oct. 4, Stanford heads to Tucson to take on Arizona at 11 a.m. PT (Pac-12 Network) while ASU hosts California at 1 p.m. PT. Stanford and Arizona have gone to overtime in their previous two meetings, with the Cardinal prevailing in both. California has also beaten Arizona State in the last two matchups.

• Four Pac-12 teams are ranked in the NSCAA poll this week. Stanford jumped three spots to No. 5 and Arizona climbed to 17th. WASHINGTON STATE moved into the top 25 and is now 21st. California dropped to the 23rd spot. WASHINGTON, UCLA, USC and ASU also received votes.

• After one round of Conference matches, the Pac-12 has six teams in the top-64 in the national RPI rankings released on Sept. 28. Stanford is eighth, Arizona is 16th, California comes in at No. 17, Washington sits in the No. 24 spot, Washington State is 26th and USC is 32nd. COLORADO is 55th and UCLA sits at the 63rd spot.

• Colorado's Emily Paxton took home Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honor, Arizona's Sheaffer Skadsen was voted Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week and UCLA's Arielle Schechtman was tabbed Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week.

•Through the non-conference schedule and a week into Pac-12 play, the defense has been stout among the league's members. Six Pac-12 teams rank in the top 50 in the country in goals against average (GAA) with Arizona leading the way. The Wildcats have only allowed four goals in nine games for a .438 GAA, good for No. 12 in the country.

• The Pac-12 has two players in the top 25 in the country in points per game. ASU's Cali Farquharson is 10th at 2.17 and California's Arielle Ship is ranked 23rd at 1.8. Ship is 26th in the country in total points, tallying 18 thus far (goals worth two points, assists worth one point).

• Brie Hooks (Colorado), Lucero Lara (Arizona State), Ifeoma Onumonu (California) and Gabi Stoian (Arizona) each have dished out five assists this season. They are tied for No. 36 in the country in total assists with that mark.

• National recognition continues to pour in for athletes from the Conference. Schechtman was named to the TopDrawerSoccer DI Team of the Week and Stanford's forward Kyra Carusa earned honorable mention honors.

• The NSCAA annually recognizes college and high school soccer programs that have excelled in the classroom, in addition to their work on the field. A total of 859 soccer teams (305 men, 554 women) posted a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher, thereby earning the NSCAA College Team Academic Award for the 2014-15 academic year. On Sept. 23, it was announced that 10 of the women's soccer programs in the Conference were recognized for their work in the classroom.

• COMPLETE CAMPAIGN: Pac-12 students are known for their success on the field, but they are also impressive, complete people with outside interests, diverse backgrounds, extracurricular activities, interesting families, busy schedules, and full lives.

• USC - Reilly Parker, a communications major at USC, has completed multiple internships to bolster her resume as she looks to break into sports broadcasting. She completed summer internships with ABC 7 in Los Angeles as a sports intern, where she interviewed professional athletes and coaches, attended sporting events, obtained sound bites, and logged games. She also served as a personal assistant and runner to ABC Executives and Talent in studio, press box, broadcasting booth, and production trucks at professional and college games, as well as the 2015 Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles, CA.

• Twenty-eight players from around the country have been marked as potential contenders for the 2015 Missouri Athletic Club’s (MAC) Hermann Trophy. The MAC Hermann Trophy is the most prestigious individual award in college soccer presented annually to one male and one female athlete. The Pac-12 has three representatives on the list, Stanford senior Jane Campbell, Stanford sophomore Andi Sullivan, the 2014 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and UCLA senior Taylor Smith.

• For the fourth straight year, the countdown of Pac-12 Networks’ 850 live event telecasts will begin on the pitch with a 69-game women’s soccer schedule that also features 24 non-conference matchups. Of the 24 non-conference televised games, 12 matchups pit Pac-12 teams against 2014 NCAA Tournament qualifiers. Each Pac-12 team will appear on the Networks at least six times (home or away) in 2015.

CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Expanded standings)

Teams	Points	Pac-12 Record	Overall Record
Washington State	3	1-0	8-1
Arizona	3	1-0	8-1-1
Colorado	3	1-0	7-2-1
Stanford	3	1-0	7-2
USC	3	1-0	6-3-1
UCLA	3	1-0	5-4
Washington	0	0-1	7-2-1
California	0	0-1	6-2-2
Oregon State	0	0-1	4-2-3
Arizona State	0	0-1	4-4
Utah	0	0-1	3-4-3
Oregon	0	0-1	3-6

UPCOMING SCHEDULE (Times local to site)

Thursday, Oct. 1	TV/Live Stream	Time
UCLA at WASHINGTON	PAC12	7 p.m. PT
USC at #21 WASHINGTON STATE	Live Stream	7 p.m. PT
Friday, Oct. 2
UTAH at OREGON STATE	PAC12/PACMT/PACOR	4 p.m. PT
#5 STANFORD at ARIZONA STATE	Live Stream	7 p.m. PT
COLORADO at OREGON	Live Stream	7 p.m. PT
#23 CALIFORNIA at #17 ARIZONA	Live Stream	7 p.m. PT
Sunday, Oct. 4
UCLA at #21 WASHINGTON STATE	PAC12/PACLA/PACWA	11 a.m. PT
#5 STANFORD at #17 ARIZONA	PAC12/PACAZ/PACBA	11 a.m. PT
COLORADO at OREGON STATE		11 a.m. PT
#23 CALIFORNIA at ARIZONA STATE	Live Stream	1 p.m. PT
UTAH at OREGON	PACMT/PACOR	1 p.m. PT
USC at WASHINGTON	PACLA/PACWA	4:30 p.m. PT

PAC12/PACAZ/PACBA/PACLA/PACMT/PACOR/PACWA - Indicates live broadcast on Pac-12 Networks.

PAC-12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

THIS WEEK:
Offensive - Emily Paxton, Colorado
Defensive - Sheaffer Skadsen, Arizona
Goalkeeper - Arielle Schechtman, UCLA

ALSO NOMINATED

Offensive: Jaden DeGracie, ARIZ; Kyra Carusa, STAN; MacKenzie Cerda, UCLA; Nicole Molen, USC; Kourtney Guetlein, WSU.

Defensive: Joss Orejel, COLO; Caitlyn Wong, ORE; Greta Espinoza, OSU; Stephanie Amack, STAN; Hailie Mace, UCLA; Dominique Randle, USC; Allyson Brahs, WASH.

Goalkeeper: Rachel Estopare, ARIZ; Bella Geist, OSU; Jane Campbell, STAN; Megan Kufeld, WASH, Ella Dederick, WSU.

2015 PAC-12 WOMEN'S SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

	Offensive	Defensive	Goalkeeper
Aug. 25	Gabi Stoian, ARIZ	Dominique Randle, USC	Lindsey Luke, UTAH
Sept. 1	Celeste Boureille, CAL	Gabbi Miranda, UCLA	Bella Geist, OSU
Sept. 8	Arielle Ship, CAL	Sandra Ley, CAL	Megan Kufeld, WASH
Sept. 15	Shannon Simon, WASH	Kayla Mills, USC	Emily Boyd, CAL
Sept. 22	Mandy Freeman, USC	Madison Tye, UCLA	Emily Boyd, CAL
Sept. 29	Emily Paxton, COLO	Sheaffer Skadsen, ARIZ	Arielle Schechtman, UCLA