UW Set To Host Cal, Stanford
October 22, 2015 | Women's Soccer
SEATTLE – UW women's soccer will host a pair of top-25 opponents this weekend, as No. 14 Cal visits Husky Soccer Field on Friday, Oct. 23, and No. 4 Stanford will take on the Huskies on Sunday, Oct. 25. Both games will be shown on the Pac-12 Network.
“We're excited to be back at home for two more challenging Pac-12 matches,” UW head coach Lesle Gallimore said. “Both are very good teams and we will have to put our best effort on the field to beat them. Our focus will be on us and on what we do well. Defensive organization and discipline will be key, and continuing to move the ball well, creating chances and most importantly finishing those chances.”
The Huskies (10-3-2, 3-2-1 Pac-12) are coming off a tough 2-1 loss to Arizona State last weekend at Husky Soccer Field, giving up a penalty kick in the 105th minute to fall in double overtime to the Sun Devils. Sophomore Pascale Dumesnil scored her first career goal just before the first half ended for the Huskies' lone goal in the loss.
“We've been talking about what we are looking to improve upon,” sophomore midfielder Shannon Simon said. “We are focused on the things we need to do better. We're also very excited for this weekend because it's an opportunity to prove a lot against two of the best teams in the conference.”
The loss to ASU was the Huskies first in four games, as UW swept UCLA and USC for the second time in program history, and picked up a tie and a win at Colorado and Utah, respectively. The Sun Devils are also the only team to beat the Huskies at Husky Soccer Field this season, as UW has a 6-1-0 record at home in 2015.
Simon leads the Huskies in scoring with six goals and four assists. Junior midfielder Amanda Perez has five goals and two assists, and forwards Kelcie Hedge and Kimby Keever have four goals apiece. The Huskies boast a balanced attack with 10 goal scorers so far this season.
“We have a great team culture,” Simon said. “Everyone is contributing. We aren't focused on just one player, we just do our best to possess and be dangerous. I really love the style that we play and how involved every piece is in the attack.”
The Bears (11-3-2, 4-2-0 Pac-12) are riding a five-game winning streak, with four of the five wins coming against conference foes. After dropping their first two Pac-12 games to Colorado and Arizona, Cal has home wins over Oregon, OSU, Santa Clara and Utah, and a road win at ASU.
Arielle Ship leads the Bears with 11 goals and four assists and is the Pac-12's leading scorer. Samantha Witteman and Celeste Boureille each have four goals on the season. Goalkeeper Emily Boyd has nine shutouts and has given up just nine goals in 16 games.
UW and Cal will meet for the 25th time. The Huskies hold a slight advantage in the all-time series, with a 12-11-1 record against the Bears. UW beat Cal last year on a late goal to give the Huskies a 2-1 victory, giving the Bears their first loss in the series since 2008.
The Cardinal (12-2-0, 6-0-0 Pac-12) are the lone remaining unbeaten team in conference play and sit atop the Pac-12. Stanford is riding a six-game winning streak, its last loss coming at Santa Clara on Sep. 20.
Stanford boasts a balanced attack led by Andi Sullivan's five goals and two assists. Michelle Xiao and Kyra Carusa each have four goals, as eleven members of the Cardinal have scored this year and 13 have recorded a point.
This will be the 26th meeting between UW and Stanford. The Huskies are 2-22-1 all-time against the Cardinal, with UW's two wins coming in 2000 and 2004. The Cardinal beat the Huskies twice last season – once in the regular season and again in the Sweet Sixteen to eliminate UW from the NCAA tournament. Both games were played in Palo Alto.
Friday's match against Cal will kick off at 4 p.m. PT. Sunday's match is set for 5 p.m. PT. As mentioned, both will be shown on the Pac-12 Networks.
In-game updates will also be provided on Twitter at @UW_WSoccer and through the live stats page on GoHuskies.com.
For more on UW women's soccer, follow the Huskies on Facebook and on Snapchat, Periscope, Twitter and Instagram at @UW_WSoccer.
