Three nationally-ranked teams lead Pac-12 Men’s Soccer

PREVIEWING THE WEEK: Three non-conference games are on this week’s slate for Pac-12 men’s soccer. UCLA kicks off the week on Wednesday against No. 24 New Mexico. No. 6 STANFORD and No. 21 WASHINGTON meet for the second week in a row after tying, 1-1, on Thursday. UCLA also plays San Diego, who received votes in this week’s poll, on Sunday. No. 17 CALIFORNIA and No. 21 Washington matchup again on Sunday for this week’s Soccer at Sundown on the Pac-12 Network.

IN THE RANKINGS: Stanford is ranked No. 6 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, California is No. 17, and Washington is No. 21. Stanford has been in the top-10 for eight weeks of the season (including preseason), including being ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll and the first two weeks of the season. Washington has been ranked in the poll for seven weeks of the season, including the preseason poll.

Four of six teams are in the top-38 in the RPI: Stanford is 16, California is 27, UCLA is 28, and Washington is 38.

WEEKLY RECAP: Unranked California beat then-No. 19 Washington on Sunday, 2-1, edging the Bears past the Huskies in this week’s United Soccer Coaches Poll. Then-No. 8 Stanford and then-No.19 Washington tied on Thursday, 1-1. No. 6 Stanford is first in the Conference with a 4-0-1 record and No. 17 California closely follows with a 4-1-0 record.

NATIONAL STATS LEADERS: No. 6 Stanford is third in the nation in assists per game (2.77), eighth in points per game (6.77), sixth in shots per game (16.77), fifth in shutout percentage (.615), eighth in team goals against average (.529), third in total assists (36), eighth in total points (88), and ninth in won-lost-tied percentage (.808). No. 21 Washington tenth in total goals (29).

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: This week's Pac-12 Player of the Week is California senior Jose Carerra-Garcia. Carerra-Garcia played a part in three of Cal's four goals through the weekend with wins against Oregon State (2-0) and then-No. 19 Washington (2-1). His 10 assists leads the Conference. Scored the game-winning free kick in the game against Washington to solidify the win. The game-winner marked his third goal of the season and led Cal to an undefeated week.

VS. OTHER CONFERENCES: The Pac-12 is currently has a 9-2 record against the WCC, 4-0 vs. the Mountain West, 3-0 vs. the Colonial Athletic Association, and 2-0 vs. the Ivy League and the Big West.

COMPLETE STUDENT-ATHLETE: California’s Noah Texter is an avid piano player. The junior from Irvine, Calif. has been playing piano for 13 years. Texter is a history major. He also boasted a 4.6 weighted GPA at Beckman High School, placing him on the Principal’s Exemplary Honor Roll every semester.

SENIOR CLASS AWARD: Four Pac-12 student-athletes appear on the Senior CLASS Award candidate list: Stanford’s Tomas Hilliard-Arce, Foster Langsdorf, Drew Skundrich, and Oregon State’s Timmy Mueller. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of NCAA Division I senior student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards a senior season can bring.

MAC HERMANN WATCH LIST: San Diego State’s Pablo Pelaez, and Stanford’s Tomas Hilliard-Arce and Foster Langsdorf represent the Pac-12 on the preseason MAC Hermann trophy watch list. Twenty-eight players from NCAA Division I schools around the country have been marked as potential contenders for the 2017 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.

TOPDRAWERSOCCER.COM PRESEASON BEST XI: Seven Pac-12 student-athletes appear on the TopDrawerSoccer Preseason Best XI. Stanford tied for the most of any school with four players featured on the teams. Stanford’s Tomas Hilliard-Arce was selected for the first team; San Diego State’s Pablo Pelaez and Stanford’s Foster Langsdorf are on the second team; Stanford’s Drew Skundrich is on the third team; and UCLA’s Brandon Terwege, Stanford’s Logan Panchot, and Washington’s Blake Bodily are on the freshman team.

PRESEASON COACHES POLL: Breaking a seven-year streak, the Pac-12 coaches tabbed Stanford as the 2017 favorite over rival UCLA, which is ranked second in the preseason coaches poll. Washington followed in third, San Diego State is fourth, and Oregon State edged out California for fifth and sixth, respectively.

PRESEASON ALL-PAC-12: Stanford’s 2016 co-Pac-12 Player of the Year Foster Langsdorf and Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Tomas Hilliard-Arce highlight the star-studded 2017 Preseason All-Pac-12 team. 2016 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Washington’s Handwalla Bwana, UCLA’s junior Erik Holt, and SDSU’s senior Adam Allmaras also appear on the team.

2016 PAC-12 MEN’S SOCCER IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: Four Pac-12 men’s soccer teams were selected to participate in the 2016 NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship, tied for the second-most conference representatives in the field-Stanford, Washington, San Diego State, and UCLA. Stanford went on to win its second consecutive NCAA title after defeating Wake Forest, becoming the first repeat champion since Indiana in 2003-04.

CONFERENCE STANDINGS

UPCOMING SCHEDULE (all times pacific)

2017 PAC-12 MEN'S SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

THIS WEEK: Jose Carerra-Garcia, SR, M, California (Ontario, Calif.)

ALSO NOMINATED: Tomas Hilliard-Arce, STAN, Eric Iloski, UCLA.

2017 PAC-12 MEN'S SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

 NATIONAL HONORS

MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List
Pablo Pelaez, SDSU; Tomas Hilliard-Arce, STAN; Foster Langsdorf, STAN

Senior CLASS Award Watch List
Tomas Hilliard-Arce, STAN; Foster Langsdorf, STAN; Timmy Mueller, OSU; Drew Skundrick, STAN

IN THE PRESEASON

Pac-12 Preseason Poll | United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll