Women’s soccer takes on No. 7 USC and No. 10 UCLA

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No. 11 senior forward Kaitlyn Johnson gets possession of the ball in a game against Arizona State University on Oct. 9.

Yet another difficult road trip lies ahead for the WSU soccer team this weekend as they take on the ranked duo of No.7 USC and No.10 UCLA.

The Cougars will face the Trojans in Los Angeles on Thursday, and remain in Los Angeles to take on the Bruins on Sunday.

The Trojans (5-1-0) have dominated thus far in conference play, falling only to California-Berkeley for a 5-1-0 record. The loss to Cal broke a 10-win streak by USC starting with a 3-0 win over Pepperdine in August.

USC has since left several Pac-12 teams in their wake, including former No.1 Stanford, whom the Trojans stripped of their undefeated status with a 3-0 shootout earlier in October.

“We got to get a result that weekend, it’s just that simple,” Head Coach Todd Shulenberger said. “It’s going to take a lot to knock us out and we’ll welcome a challenge against two good teams.”

The Cougars are coming off a fifth conference loss against the University of Utah. The heavily-attended game saw an even distribution of shots and possession throughout the first half, but a second-half rally by the Utes resulted in WSU getting outshot 14-3.

A late goal in the 84th minute by Utah sophomore forward Hailey Skolmoski sealed the 1-0 victory for the Utes, dropping the Cougars record to 1-5-0.

The Cougars faced USC on the Lower Soccer Field in their 2015 meeting, falling to the Trojans 0-1. Now USC senior midfielder Morgan Andrews made the one goal in the game after poking the ball into the goal in the 77th minute.

UCLA also had a strong showing in conference play this year, holding on to a (4-1-1) record. The Bruins fell to Stanford two weeks ago for their third overall loss of the season.

UCLA recently played the Arizona Wildcats and pulled out a 2-1 victory in double overtime. Both goals for the Bruins were made by redshirt freshman forward/midfielder Anika Rodriguez and freshman forward Sunny Dunphy.

The Bruins dominated play from the start, with Rodriguez making her goal in the first six minutes of play.

“It’s easier to get caught looking at the big picture when you’re winning, and, unfortunately, right now we’re not,” Shulenberger said, “It’s one game at a time. We got to get back on the scoring track here.”

The Cougars and the Trojans will kick off at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, followed by a 1:00 Sunday kickoff with the Bruins. Both matches will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.