Coming off of a two game sweep of both Arizona and Arizona State, the Washington State soccer team (11-3-3, 4-3-1 Pac-12) will host No. 21 California Friday and No. 6 Stanford Sunday.

The two wins in the desert rekindled the team’s fire that had been lost in previous games, which Head Coach Keidane McAlpine said was ignited due to fan involvement.

“The fan base was absolutely unbelievable. I think their energy jumpstarted everything that we did on the field,” he said. “It was a great weekend for us, with great results.”

Sophomore midfielder Cara Wegner was the catalyst during the two wins with two game winning goals. Working herself back into the lineup after injuries, Wegner has continued to show vast improvement.

“She is starting to find the net, which is very beneficial to us,” McAlpine said. “I think that is going to make us even more dangerous because now you’ve got Kourtney (Guetlein), Mic (Castain), and now Cara who can hurt you too.”

Senior forward and top goal scorer Micaela Castain had to deal with extra pressure from opposing defenses during conference play, but instead of scoring, she turned into a formidable player in terms of getting others involved.

“It just makes her that much more dangerous to deal with,” McAlpine said. “With every assist and every goal that she scores, the team is that much better.”

Redshirt junior goalkeeper Gurveen Clair continued to have strong performances in goal, and her ability to have good games each week contributed to the team’s wins.

“(She) has come in and just been consistent,” McAlpine said. “I thought in the Arizona State game, she dealt with dangerous balls into the box very well that made us able to win that game.”

The two wins over the Arizona schools jumped Washington State to No. 32 in the RPI rankings, but two games against top 25 opponents should provide a challenge this weekend.

“There are no breaks in this league. The wins over the weekend give us a chance to be back in the hunt,” McAlpine said. “We have to stick to our process, bringing energy to the games and continue this push toward postseason play.”

Sunday marks WSU soccer’s annual Senior Day, when the team’s seniors are honored.

“Sunday is a huge day,” McAlpine said. “Hopefully Sunday is a game where we are still pushing, but at the same time able to celebrate five amazing seniors that have been unbelievable for the program.”

The Friday match against Cal will begin at 2 p.m., while the Sunday game against Stanford is slated for 11 a.m. The match Sunday will also be available on the Pac-12 Networks.