Title on the line for Pac-12 women's soccer

• With just two weeks (three matches) left in the regular season, the Pac-12 title is still within reach for three teams. However, STANFORD, 8-0 in the league, can clinch the championship with two wins this weekend. It will be no easy task for the Cardinal, though, as they host No. 16 USC on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Women of Troy are currently in second place in the Conference with a 7-1 league record. Stanford then hosts the reigning Pac-12 Champions, UCLA, on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network. CALIFORNIA, at 5-3 in conference play, hosts UCLA (Thursday, 3:30 p.m. PT) and USC (Sunday, 1 p.m. PT) this weekend.

• Four Pac-12 teams are ranked in the NSCAA poll this week. Stanford remained at the No. 4 spot and USC jumped eight spots to now sit at No. 16. California fell six spots to No. 20 while Arizona is back in the top 25 and sits at No. 21. WASHINGTON and WASHINGTON STATE both received votes.

• With just three Conference matches remaining, the Pac-12 has six teams in the top-26 of the NCAA's latest RPI rankings. Stanford leads the Conference at No. 5, Arizona sits at No. 14, California is 19th, Washington is 23rd, Washington State is 24th and USC is 26th.

• Stanford's Haley Rosen took home Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors while her teammate Jane Campbell was voted Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week and ARIZONA STATE's Sara Tosti was tabbed Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week.

• Defense has been stout among the league's members in the 2015 season. Three Pac-12 teams rank in the top 25 in the country in goals against average (GAA) with USC leading the way. The Trojans have allowed just 10 goals in 17 games for a .581 GAA, good for No. 17 in the country. California (No. 20, .591 GAA) and Stanford (No. 21, .610 GAA) join USC in the top 25.

• Individually, Emily Boyd of California has the best GAA in the Pac-12 at .542, a mark that ranks 17th nationally. Sammy Jo Prudhomme of USC (No. 20, .581 GAA), Campbell (No. 33, .669 GAA) both rank in the top 50 nationally in the category as well. California is also tied for the No. 20 ranked shutout percentage in the country at .556, with Boyd posting 10 shutouts in 18 matches.

• The Pac-12's leading point scorer, Arielle Ship of California, is tied for 45th in the country in points per game at 1.50. She has tallied 11 goals and five assists on the year. With 27 total points, she sits at No. 31 in the country (goals worth two points, assists worth one point).

• Gabi Stoian of Arizona leads the league in assists with eight on the year. Her total is tied for 22nd in the country. 

• National recognition continues to pour in for student-athletes from the Conference. Stanford's Alana Cook and USC's Mandy Freeman were named to the TopDrawerSoccer DI Team of the Week.

CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Expanded standings)

UPCOMING SCHEDULE (Times local to site)

PAC12/PACAZ/PACBA/PACLA/PACMT/PACOR/PACWA - Indicates live broadcast on Pac-12 Networks.

• AROUND THE LEAGUE: Arizona has amassed 11 wins, the second-most regular season wins in school history ... Arizona State goalkeeper Chandler Morris has the most career shutouts in program history with 25 ... California's win at then-No. 25 Washington State was its second win on the road against a top-25 opponent this season ... Colorado junior Brie Hooks is ninth in the Pac-12 in points with 13 on the year, tallying four goals and five assists ... Two freshmen lead the way offensively for the Oregon Ducks in Marissa Everett and Kyra Fawcett, both of which have scored two goals on the year ... Oregon State is second in the league with 77 saves on the year, for an average of 4.81 saves per game ... The underclassmen of Stanford have accounted for 22 of its 31 goals this season (71 percent). Freshmen lead the team with 12 goals, followed by the sophomores (10), seniors (5) and juniors (4) ... UCLA earned its first Pac-12 weekend sweep of the season last week after beating Colorado and Utah ... USC has now won five games in a row and have scored 12 unanswered goals ... The Utes and Sun Devils kick-off at 7 p.m. MT and the annual Blackout game will be streamed live via UtahUtes.com ... Washington's sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Shimer made her first career start against then-No. 14 California and recorded her first career shutout as the Huskies won, 1-0 ... Through nine regular-season home matches at Lower Soccer Field, WSU drew a school-record 10,242 fans…the mark breaks the previous program record of 7,295 (2014) by nearly 3,000 fans…Cougar fans have now bested the cumulative attendance record for three-straight seasons.

• The Pac-12 All-Century Women's Soccer team was announced by the Pac-12 Networks on Oct. 5. Twenty-four players (seven forwards, six midfielders, four goalies) were chosen from a field of 63 players nominated by Pac-12 institutions. Former Stanford Cardinal and three-time Olympic medalist Julie Foudy was named the Pac-12 Women’s Soccer Player of the Century. Current Cardinal head coach Paul Ratcliffe was also chosen as the Pac-12 Women’s Soccer Coach of the Century. To see the full team, click here.

• COMPLETE CAMPAIGN: Pac-12 students are known for their success on the field, but they are also impressive, complete people with outside interests, diverse backgrounds, extracurricular activities, interesting families, busy schedules, and full lives.

Washington State - While leading from behind on the field, Alexis Thode stands front and center off of the field. Thode serves as WSU’s Student Athletic Advisory Council (SAAC) President. Through her work, she acts as a voice for all of Washington State’s student-athletes. In addition to her work with SAAC, Thode participates in Reading Buddies, spending time with local elementary school students reading books. She has also volunteered with WSU’s annual Special Olympics basketball tournament.

• ARIZONA STATE's Cali Farquharson was named of 10 finalists for the 2015 Senior CLASS Award®, announced on Oct. 26. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2015 NCAA Men’s and Women’s College Cup® championships in December.

• Twenty-eight players from around the country have been marked as potential contenders for the 2015 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. The Pac-12 has three representatives on the list, Stanford senior Jane Campbell,  the 2014 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in Stanford sophomore Andi Sullivan and UCLA senior Taylor Smith.

• For the fourth straight year, the countdown of Pac-12 Networks’ 850 live event telecasts will begin on the pitch with a 69-game women’s soccer schedule that also features 24 non-conference matchups. Of the 24 non-conference televised games, 12 matchups pit Pac-12 teams against 2014 NCAA Tournament qualifiers. Each Pac-12 team will appear on the Networks at least six times (home or away) in 2015.

PAC-12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

THIS WEEK:
Offensive - Haley Rosen, Stanford
Defensive - Sara Tosti, Arizona State
Goalkeeper - Jane Campbell, Stanford

ALSO NOMINATED

Offensive: Charlotte Brascia, ARIZ; Jessica Raybe, ASU; Kyra Fawcett, ORE; Kodi Lavrusky, UCLA; Morgan Andrews, USC; Maddy Haro, WSU.

Defensive: Haley Silverberg, ARIZ; Karly Graf, CAL; Alana Cook, STAN; Zoey Goralski, UCLA; Mandy Freeman, USC.

Goalkeeper: Chandler Morris, ASU; Emily Boyd, CAL; Siri Ervik, UCLA; Sammy Jo Prudhomme, USC.

2015 PAC-12 WOMEN'S SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

NATIONAL HONORS

MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List
Jane Campbell, Stanford; Andi Sullivan, Stanford; Taylor Smith, UCLA

NSCAA Division I National Player of the Week
Aug. 31-Sep 6. - F Arielle Ship, California

TopDrawerSoccer.com
Team of the Week
Aug. 21-23 - GK Bella Reist, OSU; F Allison Pantuso, OSU
Aug. 24-30 - D Greta Espinoza, OSU (honorable mention)
Aug. 31-Sept. 6 - F Arielle Ship, CAL; D Greta Espinoza, OSU; Megan Kufeld, WASH (honorable mention)
Sept. 7-13 - M Lucy Lara, ASU; F Arielle Ship, CAL (honorable mention); F Kourtney Guetlein, WSU (honorable mention)
Sept. 14-20 - M Annie Alvarado, UCLA
Sept. 21-27 - GK Arielle Schechtman, UCLA; F Kyra Carusa, STAN (honorable mention)
Sept. 28-Oct. 4 - M Shannon Simon, WASH; M Andi Sullivan, STAN
Oct. 5 -11 - D Kayla Mills, USC; F Arielle Ship, CAL
Oct. 12-18 - M Samantha Witteman, CAL; F Nikki Faris, OSU, Indigo Gibson, CAL (honorable mention)
Oct. 19-26 - D Alana Cook, STAN; M Mandy Freeman

College Goal of the Week
Aug. 24-30 nominee - D Gabbi Miranda

National Player of the Week
Aug. 31-Sept. 6 - F Arielle Ship, California
Sept. 28-Oct. 4 - M Andi Sullivan, Stanford

IN THE PRESEASON

Pac-12 Preseason Poll | NSCAA Preseason Poll | Soccer America Preseason Poll