(Photo: Steve Rodriguez/WCSN)
Pac-12 women’s soccer is as strong as it has ever been. Currently four teams are ranked in the top 25, and two teams are on the cusp of being raked. Eleven of the 12 teams in the conference have above a .500 overall record. Only UCLA remains undefeated in regular season play, and we’re only half way through.
Here’s how the Pac-12 stands through the halfway point of the season:
At the bottom of the pack stands Oregon State. They have had major struggles this season, despite having a solid defense. The Beavers offense has really struggled so far, only scoring two goals the entire season. OSU is 0-5 in conference play and it doesn’t look like that zero will change to a one anytime soon.
Utah is also at the bottom of the standings with a 1-3-1 record in conference play. Unlike the Beavers they have managed to tally some points but it looks like they will remain towards the bottom of the standing for the rest of the year given the tough competition.
Things begin to get interesting in the Pac-12 after those two teams. Tied for 9th place areUSC and California. These two teams have a combined 18 wins this season. Cal is even ranked No. 23 in the country. Expect Cal to have a comeback in their remaining games. The Bears have been in a bit of a slump losing their past three of four games. However. their remaining schedule is not as difficult as some of the other schools.
Arizona State is in eighth place. The Sun Devils have had three ties so far in conference play, and have both a win and loss. ASU has looked solid so far in the regular season despite this past weekend when it lost to Washington, and managed only to tie Washington State. With tough teams like Stanford still remaining in their schedule they will have to step it up if they want to get back into the top 25 and the top of the Pac-12 standings.
Tied for sixth conference are the Oregon Ducks and Washington State Cougars. Both squads are 2-2-1. Washington State has dropped out of its spot in the top 25, and has played mediocre so far in the Pac-12. The one upside for the Cougs is that they have a reasonably easy schedule the remainder of the year despite having to play UCLA. Oregon has remained a steady team the entire season and expect them to keep doing the same, and remains among the middle of the Pac-12 standings.
There is a three-way tie for third place. That includes Washington, Arizona and Colorado with a record of 3-2. Washington has looked very impressive lately with wins against Cal and ASU. They have even jumped into the top 25. Next Arizona has had arguably the easiest schedule thus far in the Pac 12. They have yet to play the first and second best teams in the conference. It’s hard to tell if the Wildcats are the real deal or if they’ve just lucked out. It doesn’t help their cause that they just lost to Washigton who has the same record as them. Rounding up the third place mark is Colorado. The Buffaloes have looked good in the regular season and if next weekend they can have a good showing against the Washington teams they will remain in third place.
In second place is the Stanford Cardinal. This is a very impressive squad has been ranked as high as second in the nation this year. Currently they are ranked No. 4. Stanford has been running all over the Pac-12, but one team has stood in its way: UCLA. That Bruins team is the only thing keeping them from being the best in the country.
UCLA rounds out the top spot in the Pac-12. This southern California squad has continued its unbelievable unbeaten streak alive all year. They have walked over every team in their path including other top ranked opponents. That is why they are at the top of the Pac-12 and the nation and that will most likely remain for the entirety of the season.
This is how the Pac-12 stands now. We’ll see what happens after a competitive weekend of matchups.
