No. 1 UW Faces Road Trip To No. 14 UCLA, SDSU

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What To Look For
No. 1. Washington (9-1-1, 2-0-1 Pac-12) continues a swing of road games in the Pac-12 with a trip to Southern California to face No. 14 UCLA (6-3-3, 1-1-1 Pac-12) and San Diego State (6-6-0, 0-3-0). The Dawgs face the Bruins on Thursday night at 6 p.m. and the Aztecs Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The UCLA game will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks, while SDSU is no TV.

Previous Matchups
Washington is just 12-26-3 all-time against UCLA, including a draw and a loss last season. The Dawgs earned a 2-2 draw in Seattle last year, before falling 2-1 in Los Angeles. Their last win in Los Angeles came in 2012, but UW is 0-2-1 against the Bruins since. The Huskies have fared much better against the Aztecs with a 12-4-7 record all-time. The Dawgs swept SDSU last season with a 5-3 win at home, before winning 2-0 in San Diego. In all, the Huskies have won the last three meetings with San Diego State and are unbeaten in their last seven.

Top Ranking
Washington took over the top ranking in the country after sweeping California and Stanford at home and hung onto the ranking after tying at Oregon State last weekend. The Dawgs are No. 1 in the NSCAA Coaches Poll, but also top-ranked by TopDrawerSoccer.com and Soccer America. The Dawgs had not had a top ranking since taking the No. 1 overall seed into the 1996 NCAA Tournament. It will be no easy task for Washington to hang onto their top ranking with five of their last seven games to end the season against teams ranked by the NSCAA.

Last Time Out
Washington earned a 1-1 draw at No. 23 Oregon State over on Sunday to remain unbeaten in Pac-12 play. Tied 0-0 into the second half, the game changed when Cristian Roldan was given a questionable red card. The card actually opened play up for the Huskies and Henry Wingo took advantage with a goal from the top of the box. Oregon State would equalize, however, and the game would remain tied through overtime thanks to six saves from Spencer Richey.

On The Offensive
Washington has been one of the most prolific offensive teams in the country so far this. The Dawgs have scored 27 goals in 11 games, which ranks eighth the nation. Their 2.45 goals per game ranks sixth in the country. Darwin Jones leads the Huskies with eight goals and 14 points, both which rank tied for ninth in the nation. Mason Robertson has chipped in six goals, while Josh Heard has five. James Moberg leads the Dawgs with six assists, which is tied for 12th in the nation. Overall, Washington has had eight different goal scorers with Henry Wingo adding his name to the list against Oregon State.

Defensive Efforts
The Husky backline has allowed 11 goals so far this season. Justin Schmidt and Michael Gallagher have been mainstays at center back, while Andy Thoma occupies the left fullback spot. Right back has been a more competitive position with Charlie Ranahan, Garret Jackson and Henry Wingo all seeing time, but freshman Justin Fiddes has earned the last five starts. Washington has allowed just 115 shots or 10.4 per game thus far. Of those 115 shots, only 45 have been on target. In comparison, the Dawgs have taken 204 shots, including 99 on goal. The Husky defense is also noted for getting into the attack with Thoma and Fiddes each having a pair of assists getting up the flanks, while Schmidt has two goals and two assists as an option on set pieces.

In Net
Washington has one of the top goalkeeping tandems in the nation with Spencer Richey and Ryan Herman. Richey returned from a medical redshirt to earn the shutout in the opener against Gonzaga. Richey has 28 shutouts in his career, while Herman has eight, all last season. Herman took over at goalie last year when Richey was hurt and led the Pac-12 in goals against average, but Richey appears to be taking back his job this season. He has started the last three games and improved his record to 6-1-1, making 28 saves and allowing less than a goal per game.

Scouting UCLA
UCLA came into the season as one of the top-ranked teams in the country by most polls, but has dropped back to No. 14 after a 6-3-3 start. The Bruins have been stingy on defense, allowing just nine goals in 12 games, but the Bruins have scored only 15 goals. 2013 Pac-12 Player of the Year Leo Stolz leads the Bruins with five goals, but no other player has more than three. Earl Edwards has played every minute of the season in goal so far and is allowing just 0.70 goals per game.

Scouting San Diego State
The Aztecs are 6-6-0 on season, but winless in the Pac-12 so far. It's a tough road for SDSU as every Pac-12 game they will play is against a ranked opponent. They did beat Clemson and Denver during non-conference, two schools ranked at the time. The Aztecs are led by David Olsen who has six goals on the season. Overall, San Diego State has 17 goals scored, but has also allowed 17 goals. Adam Allmaras has played every minute in goal, making 35 saves and allowing 1.41 goals per game.

Record Watch
Husky goalkeeper Spencer Richey is climbing the all-time UW records in both saves and shutouts. Richey now has 207 career saves, which ranks fourth at UW and 28 career shutouts, which ranks second. James Moberg is up to 21 assists for his career, which is tied for 10th all-time at Washington.

Weekly Honors
Darwin Jones was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week after leading Washington past California and Stanford in the opening weekend of Pac-12 play. Jones scored twice in a win over Cal and then added a goal to beat Stanford. He also was on nearly every national team of the week list, including TopDrawerSoccer.com and Soccer America. Josh Heard was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week after a goal and an assist after the overtime win over Portland. After the UConn and Penn week, Mason Robertson was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week by College Sports Madness and the National Team of the Week by College Soccer News after his two-goal effort in UW's 3-1 win over UConn. He also added an assist in a 3-1 win over Penn. Back in early September, Jones earned College Soccer News National Team of the Week honors after his two-goal performance in a win at Gonzaga.

MAC Herman Trophy
Washington has two players on the MAC Herman Trophy Watch List, goalkeeper Spencer Richey and midfielder Cristian Roldan. Richey returns from a medical redshirt after being on this list last year as well. Roldan is on the list the for the first time after earning the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and Soccer America Freshman of the Year awards last season.

Conference Champions
Last year, Washington won its second Pac-12 title and first since 2000. The Dawgs clinched the Pac-12 crown by winning its last three games and leapfrogging UCLA and California in the conference standings. The Huskies 7-1-2 record was good for 23 points or two more than UCLA who finished second.