Huskies Head to Oregon To Face Beavers, Ducks
October 29, 2015 | Women's Soccer
SEATTLE – UW women's soccer will face their final conference road tests this weekend with a trip to Oregon State and Oregon on Friday, Oct. 30 and Sunday, Nov. 1, respectively, before returning home for the Pac-12 finale against Washington State on Thursday, Nov. 5.
“We look forward to improving in possession and being more dangerous in front of the goal, “ UW head coach Lesle Gallimore said. “We've got this stretch of three games to finish up our conference schedule and we've got to be focused and patient over those three games. There are no easy games in the Pac-12 Conference, and that's what makes it the conference of champions. You really have to fight hard to earn victories, and we will do our best to do that.”
The Huskies (11-4-2, 4-3-1 Pac-12) are coming off a home weekend split, beating No. 20 Cal and falling to No. 4 Stanford. Shannon Simon leads the Huskies in scoring with six goals and four assists, while sophomore forward Kimberly Keever is second on the team with five goals.
Junior midfielder Amanda Perez has four goals and two assists, and freshman forward Kelcie Hedge has contributed three goals and two assists. Rachel Wheeler and Havana McElvaine are tied with Simon with the team lead with four assists apiece. Wheeler also has two goals, and five Huskies, including McElvaine, have one goal. A total of 10 Huskies have scored this season.
Megan Kufeld has started 16 of the Huskies' 17 games this season, recording five shutouts and 62 saves.
Currently, Washington is No. 23 in the RPI and is not in the top-25 of the NSCAA Coaches Poll, but is receiving votes.
The Beavers (6-7-3, 2-5-0) are coming off a tough road weekend, with losses at Arizona State and Arizona. Oregon State has now lost four of its last five. After a winless 2014 season, the Beavers started 2015 unbeaten through their first six games. Oregon State has been tough at home, holding a 4-1-0 record at Lorenz Field. They are tied for ninth in the Pac-12 standings.
Allison Pantuso leads OSU with three goals. Three Beavers have two goals and five more have one apiece. Goalkeeper Bella Geist has started all 16 games in goal, recording five shutouts and 77 saves.
This will be the 25th meeting between the two squads, with the Huskies holding a 15-6-3 all-time advantage in the series. The Huskies beat OSU last season 3-0 at Husky Soccer Field.
The Ducks (4-12-0, 1-7-0 Pac-12) are coming off two losses on the road, also to Arizona and Arizona State. They have lost their last six games, with their last win against Colorado on Oct. 2. Freshman Kyra Fawcett currently leads the team with three goals and fellow freshman Marissa Everett has two goals on the season and leads the team with 28 shots. Sophomore Abby Morrow leads the Ducks with three assists on the season. Five of the Ducks currently have one goal on the season.
This will be the 20th meeting between the two squads, with Washington holding a 15-3-1 record against Oregon over the series. In 2014, the Ducks upset the Dawgs in overtime, Oregon's first win over UW since 2006 and only their third all-time. The Ducks' other two wins came in 2005 and 2006. Washington won the first nine meetings until Oregon won in 2005.
Friday's game is set to kick off at 1:30 p.m. PT and will be shown on the Pac-12 Network. Sunday's game will kick off at 1 p.m. PT and will be broadcast via live stream. In-game updates will also be provided on Twitter at @UW_WSoccer.
For more on UW women's soccer, follow the Huskies on Facebook and on Snapchat, Periscope, Twitter and Instagram at @UW_WSoccer.
