After two months of soccer, only three women’s soccer teams remain undefeated since the season kicked off late August.
One of them is No. 1 Notre Dame (18-0). The other two will face off today at Drake Stadium.
Powerhouses No. 4 UCLA (14-0-2, 5-0 Pac-10) and No. 5 Stanford (16-0-1, 6-0 Pac-10) will battle in what could be considered the nation’s most important soccer game this week.
If the game does not end in a tie, the result of the match will spell the end of one school’s unbeaten streak, while granting the winning team sole possession of first place in Pac-10 standings.
The winner will thus have an inside track to the automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament that comes with winning the conference.
While UCLA’s backline allowed only three goals this season, it will have to turn in a stellar performance to stop the Cardinal’s offensive firepower.
Stanford has outscored opponents 56-5, and the scoring load is well-distributed throughout the roster. Stanford also strikes quickly: In nine out of 17 games, the Cardinal offense scored at least one set of back-to-back goals within five minutes of each other.
The Cardinal leads the Pac-10 in almost every statistical offensive category, with 170 points, 56 goals, 58 assists and 3.4 assists per game. Stanford is second in shots with 350 and in goals allowed with five. UCLA leads the conference in goals allowed with three.
Both teams are coming off solid victories last week. The Bruins defeated No. 10 USC in front of 7,804 raucous fans last Friday at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Stanford registered back-to-back wins last week against Arizona and Arizona State.
Stanford has not won in Drake Stadium since 2002.