USL Feature
Friday, October 7, 2011
By NICHOLAS MURRAY
If you want to measure the level of the women’s soccer rivalry between Stanford and UCLA, this might be the best gauge: Since Pac-12 soccer began officially in 1993, UCLA has won nine conference titles and Stanford seven.
No other school has won more than once.
The No.1 Cardinal and No.3 Bruins renew their rivalry this Sunday at 1 p.m. PDT with both teams undefeated and looking for what would be a key victory in the battle for the conference title.
“Every Pac-12 game is going to be a great game; last weekend Washington gave us a run for our money,” Stanford defender Rachel Quon said by phone this week. “UCLA, they’ve always been recruiting great players and I think the coaching staff has done a great job bringing the players together. They’ve always been a great competitor, especially in the playoffs. We’ve played them quite a lot.”
Quon is one of a number of players in the matchup with USL W-League experience, having spent this past summer with the Pali Blues. She was joined there by Camille Levin, who was at the U.S. U23 Training Camp in Carson, Calif. this week, and Mariah Nogueia as the trio prepared for their fall season in Palo Alto.
“It was a lot of fun,” Quon said. “I wanted to do something a little different for the summer to prepare for preseason and I was able to contact Charlie [Naimo] and we were able to talk and I was able to play down in L.A. with the Pali Blues with Mariah and Cami, which was awesome.
“I know Ali Riley, Kelley O’Hara and Christen Press had all played for the Pali Blues, so I knew it was going to be a good time, but it was awesome to play with such experienced players. I thought it was a great time and it helped me prepare for the preseason.”
Noguera and Press scored the goals last season as the Cardinal took a 2-0 victory in Los Angeles, and despite Press having moved on to have a standout rookie season for magicJack FC in Women’s Professional Soccer, the Cardinal have continued to roll along. Teresa Noyola scored an overtime winner this past Sunday against Washington to maintain their perfect record and top ranking.
If they’re still to have both of those after this weekend, though, Quon and the Cardinal defense will have to pay close attention on Sunday to a player who was also a rival in the W-League this summer, with UCLA and Vancouver Whitecaps Women standout Sydney Leroux currently in outstanding form. Leroux has scored seven goals this season for the Bruins, and is coming off a summer where she was nominated for the W-League Most Valuable Player award.
“Syd Leroux is an awesome player,” Quon said. “I played with her in the U20 World Cup, we were on the same team there, I’ve played against her multiple times including this summer with the Vancouver Whitecaps. She’s just a great player, she takes people one-on-one, she loves to finish. She’s always a dangerous player we have to look out for.”
Whatever the outcome on Sunday, though, there remains a strong possibility they could meet again later in the season during the NCAA Tournament. With the Cardinal looking for their first NCAA championship after finishing as runner-up each of the past two seasons, Quon believes the side is on the right path to go one better in this year’s tournament.
“From the beginning it’s been a journey,” Quon said. “We have such talented players throughout the whole team, people on the bench coming in have helped tremendously, and I think each game we’re learning something new, so we’ve been working on it. So far it’s been progressing, and I think we can do even more. I’m excited for the rest of the season.”