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Pac-12 Men's Soccer Weekly Rundown - Sept. 27, 2022

Sep 27, 2022
Scott Chandler/UCLA Athletics

Schedule | Standings | Pac-12 Statistics | NCAA Statistics | Pac-12 Record Book

Week 6 Fixtures

  • After stepping out of league play last week, Pac-12 Men's Soccer teams return to Conference competition with five matches on the docket this Thursday and Sunday.
  • Thursday features three matches scheduled to kickoff in succession at 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. PT. The night begins with OREGON STATE (3-2-1, 0-0-0) opening its league slate at No. 21 UCLA (5-2-1, 1-0-1) on Pac-12 Network and Pac-12 Oregon and is followed by No. 2 WASHINGTON (7-0-1, 0-0-0) beginning its Pac-12 calendar at SAN DIEGO STATE (3-4-2, 0-1-1). No. 6 STANFORD (5-0-3, 0-0-2) hosts CALIFORNIA (3-2-3, 1-1-0) to wrap up the evening on Pac-12 Network and Pac-12 Bay Area.
  • On Sunday, the Beavers head further south to play at the Aztecs at 3 p.m. PT, while the Bruins host the Huskies at 4 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Network, Pac-12 Los Angeles and Pac-12 Washington to end the weekend.

Week 5 Results

  • Pac-12 teams went a perfect 7-0-0 last week, headlined by Oregon State’s 2-1 comeback win at then-No. 11 Denver. Javier Armas, the Pac-12 Player of the Week, drilled a pair of second-half, long-distance strikes past the Pioneers goalkeeper to boost the Beavers.
  • Washington continued to roll, scoring four goals in back-to-back routs of Seattle U (4-0) and Grand Canyon (4-1). It’s the fourth time in six matches the Huskies have tallied four goals, as they are now top-5 nationally in total goals (25, T-3rd), total assists (28, T-4th), total points (78, T-4th) and scoring offense (3.12, T-3rd). UW (+20) is one of three teams in the country with a positive goal differential of 20 or greater, trailing only Charlotte (+27) and Wake Forest (+22).
  • Stanford surrendered an early goal at UC Santa Barbara, but came from behind to win 2-1 and remain unbeaten. The Gauchos' goal was only the third conceded by the Cardinal this season and just the second allowed during the run of play.
  • UCLA (vs. Cal State Fullerton), San Diego State (vs. UC San Diego) and California (vs. Saint Mary's) all secured 1-0 home victories.

National Players of the Week

  • Javier Armas (College Soccer News) and Washington's Lucas Meek (Top Drawer Soccer) each collected National Player of the Week awards for their performances in key wins last week.
  • Armas' first career brace came by way of 68th and 80th-minute strikes to lead the Beavers to a win at the then-No. 11 Pioneers in OSU's first trip to Denver since 1999. Now with six career goals, the junior midfielder has played every minute for Oregon State this season.
  • Meek had a hand in five of the Huskies' eight goals in their two wins last week with three goals and two assists. He put together his third career two-goal performance at Grand Canyon and had is second career two-assist effort to go along with a goal in the win over Seattle U.
  • Meek is second in the Pac-12 to a pair of UW teammates in both goals (6; T-9th nationally) and assists (5; T-14th nationally), trailing Ilijah Paul (8 goals) and Chris Meyers (7 assists). Meek and Paul are tied for the Conference lead and are second nationally in points per game (2.12).

Not Beaten

  • Washington (7-0-1) and Stanford (5-0-3) are two of 11 unbeaten teams remaining in NCAA Division I - only the Atlantic 10 (three) and ACC (two) have as many unbeaten teams.
  • Stanford is unbeaten through eight matches for just the sixth time in program history (1979, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2019); Washington is unbeaten through eight matches for the second consecutive season and the ninth time in program history (1973, 1976, 1984, 1990, 2003, 2006, 2013, 2021).

National Rankings

  • The Pac-12 boasts at least three nationally ranked teams for the eighth consecutive United Soccer Coaches poll (dating back to 2021 season) in No. 2 Washington, No. 6 Stanford and No. 21 UCLA. The three nationally ranked sides trails only the ACC's six.
  • Washington remained at No. 2 for its 38th consecutive top-10 poll appearance, a streak dating to Sept. 24, 2019.

In the Non-Conference

  • With a perfect 7-0-0 mark last week and having gone unbeaten in its last 11 non-league contests (10-0-1), the Pac-12 has improved its non-conference record to 24-8-7, for a .705 non-conference win percentage that trails only the ACC (.754). The Conference has eight non-league matchups remaining this season.
  • The 24-8-7 mark includes an 8-2-3 record against leagues based in the eastern half of the country, 3-1-3 against teams from the ACC, Big East and Big Ten.

Top Performers

  • Washington's Ilijah Paul added a goal to his tally in his team's 4-0 shutout of Seattle U. Paul enters the week tied for the NCAA Division I lead with eight goals, and ranks tied for second nationally with 17 points.
  • UW's Chris Meyers has provided an assist in 6-of-8 matches this season, leading the Pac-12 and ranking tied for second nationally with seven total assists, while Husky teammate Lucas Meek is riding a six-match point-scored streak.
  • Defender Keegan Hughes had a big week for Stanford, scoring the game winner at UC Santa Barbara to keep the Cardinal's eight-match unbeaten run to begin the season intact and earn spots on both the College Soccer News and Top Drawer Soccer National Teams of the Week.
  • Hughes, along with Cardinal defenders Noah Adnan, Will Cleary and Will Reilly, have allowed only 57 shots with just 20 reaching target, helping goalkeeper Matt Frank and the Cardinal to five clean sheets and the nation's third-lowest goals-against average (0.375 GAA).
  • UCLA goalkeeper Nate Crockford collected his fourth clean sheet in the Bruins' 1-0 win over Cal State Fullerton last Saturday night. Crockford and Stanford's Matt Frank are among a number of keepers tied for 10th in the country with four solo shutouts this season.

National Teams/Players of Week

College Soccer News National Teams of the Week
Aug. 29 - Christian Soto, Washington
Sept. 5 - Riley Ferch, UCLA; Ilijah Paul, Washington
Sept. 12 - Elias Katsaros, San Diego State
Sept. 19 - Tommy Silva, UCLA
Sept. 26 - Javier Armas, Oregon State (POTW), Keegan Hughes, Stanford

Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week
Aug. 30 - Tommy Silva, UCLA
Sept. 6 - Riley Ferch, UCLA; Ilijah Paul, Washington (POTW)
Sept. 13 - Elias Katsaros, San Diego State
Sept. 27 - Keegan Hughes, Stanford; Lucas Meek, Washington (POTW)

United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week
Sept. 7 - Ilijah Paul, Washington
Sept. 14 - Elias Katsaros, San Diego State

Notes and Nuggets

  • The Pac-12 sent three teams - Oregon State, Washington, UCLA - to the 2021 NCAA Tournament, marking the sixth consecutive year and eighth time in the past nine seasons the league advanced at least three teams to the postseason.
  • The nation’s top RPI conference in 2021 also had the nation’s top two teams in the RPI (#1 Washington, #2 Oregon State) and the top two seeds in the NCAA Tournament (#1 Oregon State, #2 Washington). It was the second time in Conference history the Pac-12 had the NCAA Tournament's top two overall national seeds along with 2013 (#1 UCLA, #2 California). The Pac-12 and ACC (nine times since seeding began in 1994) are the only leagues to have the top two overall national seeds.
  • Over the past nine years, Pac-12 men's soccer has earned 31 out of a possible 54 NCAA Tournament bids across its six members, a 57 percent success rate bettered only by the 12-team ACC (65%, 70-108).
  • The six-team Pac-12 has had a College Cup representative in six of the last eight seasons (UCLA 2014; Stanford 2015-17, 2019; Washington 2021). Only the 12-team ACC has had more total appearances (12) than the Pac-12's six over that span.
  • The Pac-12 boasts two of the top seven (Jeremy GunnJamie Clark) winningest active coaches by percentage in NCAA Division I, while a third is a two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year (Terry Boss).
  • The Pac-12 has produced three of the last eight MAC Hermann Trophy winners - Oregon State’s Gloire Amanda (2020), Stanford’s Jordan Morris (2015) and UCLA’s Leo Stolz (2014) - as well as six finalists in the past nine years (2021 Dylan Teves, WASH; 2017 Tomas Hilliard-Arce, STAN; 2013 Leo Stolz, UCLA).
  • The Pac-12 has produced 20 First Team All-Americans in the nine seasons since 2013 after amassing only 15 from 2000-2012.
  • Since expanding beyond two rounds in 2014, 72 Pac-12 student-athletes have been selected in the MLS SuperDraft, including four years of double-digit selections (2014, 2015, 2019, 2022).