Sweep in Oregon gives UA Pac-10 title
The No. 10 UA soccer team looks to clinch their first Pacific 10 Conference title this weekend against the Oregon schools to close out the regular season.
"I'm anxious. I'm excited. I can't wait until we go to Oregon; I think we're going to play really well," UA senior forward Kamaya Damwijk said this week.
The Wildcats (14-4-0 overall, 5-2-0 Pac-10) face Oregon State (8-9-1, 2-4-1) today at noon PST. The Beavers came away with a tie and a loss last weekend at California and Stanford, respectively.
OSU sits in ninth place in the Pac-10 standings. However, they have the top scorer in the Pac-10, freshman forward Jodie Taylor. She leads the Pac-10 with 14 goals and also tops the conference in overall points with 30.
Overall, the Beavers have a slight edge over the Wildcats in the all-time series with a 5-3-1 record. Last season, the Wildcats out-shot the Beavers 20-6 but still lost 2-1 at home.
The Wildcats will face Oregon (3-12-2, 0-6-1) Sunday at 1 p.m. PST. The Ducks are currently last in the conference standings, their only non-loss coming in the form of a tie against Washington State Oct. 22 at home.
The Wildcats also fell to Oregon last season in a close game, 1-0 at home. Oregon leads the all-time series, 5-1-1.
The Wildcats swept UCLA and USC last weekend for the first time in history, putting Arizona in the Pac-10 driver's seat. With a sweep this weekend, the Wildcats would have the Pac-10 title all to themselves.
"You always want to put yourself in a good position, and we're pleased with the position we're in," head coach Dan Tobias said.
"I think the good thing is the team's mentality has been real consistent," Tobias said, adding that the team has been well prepared this season.
Tobias said the Wildcats have been successful in part because they have only worried about what they can control during games.
UCLA (12-6-0, 5-3-0), Stanford (12-4-2, 4-2-1) and ASU (8-8-1, 4-2-1) could all benefit if the UA splits or gets swept. UCLA has just one game this weekend, playing at USC on Sunday. Stanford faces Washington and Washington State on the road, and ASU faces Oregon and Oregon State on the road.
"We're in a good position, and I think now it's just a matter of going out and playing the games and playing well on the day and playing well together," Tobias said.