Ranked wins highlight strong start to Pac-12 Women's Soccer

The Pac-12 Conference opened the 2017 season with a 13-3-3 overall record highlighted by a 2-0-1 mark against nationally ranked opponents.

ARIZONA scored the biggest upset of the week, blanking No. 16 Oklahoma, 2-0, on the road. CALIFORNIA also knocked off a ranked foe, coming from behind to edge No. 24 Santa Clara, 2-1. WASHINGTON STATE secured an impressive draw by shutting out No. 19 Minnesota, 0-0

The Pac-12 pushed five teams into the top-20 of the national rankings with STANFORD moving into a tie atop the poll along with West Virginia. The 2016 Pac-12 Champion Cardinal posted two flawless performances, blanking Marquette 4-0 on Friday and Wisconsin 5-0 on Sunday.

USC is ranked No. 5 after defeating UC Davis, 2-1, on Friday in its home opener. The defending NCAA champions will hit the road to compete against Missouri and Kansas this weekend.

UCLA climbs to the No. 7 spot after dominating 5-1 victories over San Diego State and Long Beach State. The Bruins are ranked fourth nationally in total points (32) and second in total assists (12) following their opening offensive onslaught.

UTAH jumped to No. 18 with the help of its 4-1 win over South Dakota State on Sunday. California broke into the top 25 at No. 19 after a 2-0-0 start.

California’s Abi Kim is the Conference's first Offensive Player of the Week of the season, while Arizona’s Samantha Falasco took home the first Defensive Player of the Week award. Washington State’s Ella Dederick was tabbed Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week.

TopDrawerSoccer’s first Player of the Week for the 2017 season was awarded to UCLA midfielder Jessie Fleming. Fleming, who tallied a league-high seven points in UCLA's opening two matches, was joined on TopDrawerSoccer’s Team of the Week (Aug. 18-20) by Stanford forward Catarina Macario and California forward Kim. OREGON STATE goalkeeper Bella Geist received honorable mention for her shutout in the Beavers’ 0-0 tie against Kansas State and 2-1 victory over Seattle.  

This week the Pac-12 competes in 18 matches with six featured on Pac-12 Networks. UCLA kicks off the week hosting Santa Clara Thursday on Pac-12 Networks at 7 p.m. Ranked games to look out for include No. 1 Stanford against No. 8 Florida and OREGON versus No. 16 Texas A&M.