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Pac-12 Men's Soccer Weekly Rundown - Nov. 8, 2023

by Pac-12 Conference
Nov 8, 2023

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

Week 12 Fixtures

  • Three rivalry matches - each with sizable series streaks for one side - across three successive nights will mark the end of the Pac-12 Men's Soccer regular season this week.
  • Oregon State hosts Washington on Thursday with the Beavers looking to extend their five-match series unbeaten streak (3-0-2) versus the Huskies.
  • No. 21 UCLA takes a five-match series win streak and nine-match series unbeaten stretch (7-0-2) to San Diego State on Friday. The Bruins' last loss to the Aztecs came in 2018, and last loss at SDSU came in 2017.
  • No. 22 Stanford puts its seven-match Big Clásico unbeaten streak (4-0-3) on the line against California on Saturday.

Thursday, Nov. 9
Washington at Oregon State - 7:00 p.m. PT - Pac-12 Oregon

Friday, Nov. 10
#21 UCLA at San Diego State - 7:00 p.m. PT

Saturday, Nov. 11
California at #22 Stanford - 5:00 p.m. PT - Pac-12 Washington

Beavers and Bruins Battling for Bragging Rights

  • UCLA (5-0-4, 19 pts.) holds the inside track on the league's outright title and NCAA Tournament automatic berth that comes with it: if the Bruins manage any points from Friday's meeting at San Diego State (or if Oregon State doesn’t take the full three points vs. Washington), they will secure both.
    • With a win or draw versus the Aztecs, the Bruins would become just the fourth team to go unbeaten over a full Pac-12 season (UCLA 2003 - 10-0-0, UCLA 2011 - 10-0-0, STAN 2017 - 9-0-1).
  • Should Oregon State (4-1-4, 16 pts.) defeat Washington on Thursday coupled with a UCLA loss on Friday, the Beavers would claim a share of the Pac-12 title tied at 19 points, at which point tiebreakers would determine the league's NCAA AQ.
    • Should the two teams tie on 19 points, it would equal the fewest for a six-team* league champion (CAL 2007, UCLA 2009; *UCLA won the title with 18 points in 2004 when only five teams competed in the league).
    • If the Beavers manage a share, first-year head coach Greg Dalby will become only the fourth to win the Pac-12 title in his debut season joining Stanford's Bret Simon (2001), and UCLA's Tom Fitzgerald (2002) and Jorge Salcedo (2004).
  • UCLA was picked third in the Pac-12 preseason coaches poll, while OSU was picked fourth.
    • With the Bruins already securing a share of the title, it marks just the fifth time in the league's 24-season history that a team picked third in the preseason poll claimed the crown (2001, 2010, 2014, 2021, 2023).
    • No team picked fourth-or-worse in the preseason poll has won the league title.

Week 11 Results

  • After settling for a 1-1 draw at California on Thursday - a match in which the Bruins played with a man advantage throughout the second half - UCLA responded with a convincing 3-1 victory at Stanford on Sunday to clinch a share of its first Pac-12 title since 2012.
  • Stanford opened the week with a 5-0 dismantling of San Diego State on Thursday, the Cardinal's biggest league win since a similar 5-0 scoreline at SDSU in 2017.
  • Cal completed the season sweep of SDSU with a 1-0 victory on Sunday. It gave the Golden Bears their most wins (7) since a 2019 season in which it earned an NCAA Tournament at-large berth.
  • Two of last week's matches finished as either draws or one-goal margins, bringing the season total to 21-of-27 league contests (11 draws, 10 one-goal margins); combined with the 2022 campaign when the NCAA eliminated overtime in soccer, 43-of-56 league contests to date have finished tied (20) or decided by a single goal (23).

Week 11 Top Performers

  • Jose Contell's career best two-goal, five-point performance (2g/1a) in UCLA's 3-1 win at Stanford earned him a trio of weekly accolades - Pac-12 Player of the Week and National Team of the Week recognition from both College Soccer News and Top Drawer Soccer.
  • Contell and Andre Ochoa, who also scored an 81st-minute equalizer in UCLA's 1-1 draw at Cal, both assisted on the match-turning third minute goal by Jack Sarkos against the Cardinal.
    • Sarkos is second in the Pac-12 with nine goals - the most for a Bruin since Milan Iloski's 17 in 2019 - and third in the league with 20 points (9g/2a).
  • Zach Bohane continued his breakout sophomore campaign, matching his season- and career-high five points (2g/1a) in Stanford's 5-0 rout of San Diego State.
    • Bohane paces the Pac-12 with 10 assists and is second in the league with 24 points (7g/10a). His 24 points are the most for a Cardinal since Foster Langsdorf's 34 in 2017, and his 10 assists are the most for a Stanford player since 2015 (Corey Baird & Eric Verso - 13).
  • Adrian Guzman's goal two seconds before halftime held up as Cal shut out SDSU, 1-0. Evan Davila provided an assist on the goal, giving him a team-high 14 points (5g/4a) on the season.
  • Cal goalkeeper Connor Lambe improved to 4-1-5 with five saves and his second shutout of the season in the victory over SDSU.
  • Stanford goalkeeper Rowan Schnebly earned the win in a combined shutout against the Aztecs to improve to 5-2-4 in his debut season.

RPI Update

  • UCLA placed itself firmly in the NCAA Tournament Top 16 seed conversation with its four-point trip to the Bay Area, climbing 11 spots to No. 13 in the latest NCAA RPI.
    • It would mark the Bruins' first NCAA seeding since 2014 (#2) when they reached the national title match.
  • No. 18 Stanford also remains in top-16 seed contention by virtue of its 25th ranked Strength of Schedule, 6-1-0 non-conference record and 3-0-4 mark away from home.
  • No. 25 Oregon State is on strong grounds to earn its fourth straight NCAA Tournament bid in its first season under head coach Greg Dalby.
  • No. 38 California and No. 40 Washington both currently sit on the bubble for the 48-team NCAA field, with the Golden Bears likely needing a victory to stay on the right side of the bubble and the Huskies facing a must-win to reach the NCAA-mandated .500 win percentage required for at-large selections.
    • Despite needing a win to become postseason eligible, Washington owns the league's most Quadrant 1 victories with three - 1-of-8 teams nationally with 3+ Quadrant 1 victories; six of the eight are RPI 15-or-better.
  • Each of the Pac-12's five RPI Top 40 teams also have Top 30 Strength of Schedules - Washington 6, Oregon State 7, UCLA 19, Stanford 25, California 26.

Poll Positions

  • UCLA made its first appearance of the season in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25, jumping to No. 21 this week and surpassing No. 22 Stanford.
  • It's the Bruins' best ranking since also checking in at No. 21 in the Week 5 poll in 2022.

National Honors

NCAA.com National Team of the Week                    
Aug. 28 - Stanford    
Sept. 19 - Oregon State

United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week                    
Aug. 30 - Zach Bohane, Stanford                
Sept. 20 - Logan Farrington, Oregon State

College Soccer News National Team of the Week                     
Aug. 28 - Zach Bohane, Stanford; Kevin Carmichael, California                   
Sept. 4 - Evan Davila, California; Sam Fowler, Washington                  
Sept. 11 - Austin Brummett, San Diego State                 
Sept. 18 - Logan Farrington, Oregon State (POTW)             
Oct. 2 - Nicklas Lund, Oregon State     
Oct. 23 - Pietro Grassi, UCLA
Nov. 6 - Jose Contell, UCLA

Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week                    
Aug. 28 - Zach Bohane, Stanford (POTW)                   
Sept. 5 - Reid Sproat, San Diego State                 
Sept. 19 - Logan Farrington, Oregon State
Nov. 7 - Jose Contell, UCLA

MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List                    
Aug. 24 - Christian Soto, Washington; Sam Fowler, Washington

Notes & Nuggets

  • The Pac-12 has rated as NCAA Division I's top RPI conference each of the past two seasons (2021, 2022).
  • In 2022, the Pac-12 had three top-10 seeds (#2 Washington, #5 Stanford, #8 Oregon State) among its four teams in the NCAA Tournament, just the second time in league history with a trio of single-digit seeds (2013).
  • In 2021, the Pac-12 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).
    • Was the second time in Conference history with 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.
  • The Pac-12 has advanced at least half its six teams to the postseason for seven consecutive years and nine times in the past decade.
  • Over the past 10 years, Pac-12 men's soccer has earned 35 out of a possible 60 NCAA Tournament bids across its six members, a 58 percent success rate bettered only by the 12-team ACC (65%, 78-120).
  • The six-team Pac-12 has had a College Cup representative in six of the last nine seasons (UCLA 2014; Stanford 2015-17, 2019; Washington 2021). Only the 12-team ACC has had more total College Cup appearances (14) than the Pac-12's six over that span.
  • Pac-12 programs have combined for 23 College Cup appearances (national semifinals) all-time, including 11 since the formal creation of the league in 2000.
  • Pac-12 programs have combined for seven NCAA Men's Soccer national championships, and four since sport sponsorship began in 2000.
  • The Pac-12 boasts two of the top five (#4 Jeremy Gunn, #5 Jamie Clark) winningest active coaches by percentage in NCAA Division I.
  • Pac-12 student-athletes have won three of the last nine MAC Hermann Trophy awards – Oregon State’s Gloire Amanda (2020), Stanford’s Jordan Morris (2015) and UCLA’s Leo Stolz (2014) – and four in total (UCLA’s Brad Friedel, 1992).
  • The Pac-12 has produced 22 First Team All-Americans in the past decade after amassing only 15 from 2000-2012.
  • Since expanding beyond two rounds in 2014, 76 Pac-12 student-athletes have been selected in the MLS SuperDraft, including four years of double-digit selections (2014, 2015, 2019, 2022).

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