Four Pac-12 teams remain unbeaten heading into week four

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - Week three bought some tough competition around the league and the Pac-12 came out with a winning record, going 11-9-4 to take their non-conference mark to 40-17-8. Four teams remain unbeaten with Colorado at the top of the standings at 6-0-0. The Conference went 2-3 against ranked opponents, but UCLA and Utah’s losing margins were narrow as they faced nationally ranked opponents in No. 1 North Carolina and No. 5/6 BYU. Pac-12 teams will host a total of nine games at home, inlcuding Oregon and Colorado welcoming No. 5/6 BYU and No. 16/20 Denver, respectively, as the only games against ranked opponents in week four. The Thursday night Oregon/BYU matchup is one of four women’s soccer games that will air live on the Pac12 Networks this weekend, a lineup that also includes UNLV at Washington State, Pepperdine at USC and San Diego State at UCLA, all set for for Friday. Arizona State will head to Tucson to participate in the Wildcat hosted tournament, the Cats Classic, botaking Texas Tech and Southern Utah on opposite days over the weekend. 

• Tough Schedule: No. 5/6 UCLA went through the gauntlet the last two weekends as they participated in tournaments at Notre Dame and Duke that featured a four-game schedule with all ranked teams. After taking down then No. 20 Marquette and No. 7 Notre Dame, the Bruins faced a tough task in No.1-ranked North Carolina followed by No. 12 Duke at the Duke Invitational. The Bruins lost a hard-fought game 1-0 to the defending national champions and then bounced back on Sunday to take down Duke 2-1. Keeper Katelyn Rowland recorded a career-high seven saves against UNC and collected 11 on the weekend to earn defensive player of the week honors.
• Offensive Assasin: ASU scored eight goals and Stanford scored seven, both going 2-0 in week three. The Sun Devil’s senior forward Devin Marshall scored four goals and had one assist to earn MVP honors of their own hosted tournament, the Sun Devil Classic. Stanford got three goals from junior forward Taylor Uhl as the Cardinal took care of business at home, handling Loyola Marymount and No. 16/17 Maryland.
• A Test for the Buffs: Colorado is on a tear at 6-0-0 but will face their first real test this weekend as they host No. 16/20 Denver whose record is indentical to the Buffs’. 
• Home/Road Split: Washington State is one of four teams that remain unbeaten in non-conference play and have a rare home/away split in week four. The Cougars host UNLV on Friday and then travel across the country to Oklahoma State for the Cougar’s first big road game of the season on.
• Arizona hangin’ tied: The Wildcats have yet to lose at 3-0-3 but after winning the first three games Arizona has reached a draw in each of its last three. Goalkeeper Gabby Kaufman has been tough in the net and the Wildcats will look to get more offensive production as Pac-12 play approaches.
• Utah/BYU Rivalry didn’t fail to dissapoint. The hard fought, aggressive game came down to a PK with less than five minutes left and Utah hung tough on the road with a talented BYU squad.
• Looking to Rebound: After an offensive surge to start the season, the Trojans slowed down a bit scoring only one goal in two games to suffer their first lost of the season. Oregon and Oregon State will look to rebound after a weekend where both teams missed on wins.