When the BYU women’s soccer team moves to the West Coast Conference in 2011, it probably won’t be the only ranked team in the conference anymore. The WCC has rich, competitive history in women’s soccer and three teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25.
At the top of the conference is No. 4 Portland (7-0-0), who holds an incredible record of 103-13-6 over the past 18 years, with eight undefeated seasons and two NCAA College Cup titles (2002 and 2005).
No. 9 Santa Clara is a close second with a current record of 4-1-1 and promises a good run in the NCAA College Cup. Last year, it lost only to No. 1 Stanford in the third round of NCAA Tournament. Santa Clara is a physical team — in five games, it has already stacked up five yellow cards and 58 fouls.
No. 17 San Diego (4-1-1) has three times the goals but only half as many shots as its opponents, proving it is accurate and deadly in the 20-yard box.
Loyola Marymount (4-1-0) recently played Utah, a leading competitor in MWC soccer. On their home turf, the Utes outshot Loyola Marymount 25-12, but the score ended with LMU on top, 2-0.
Saint Mary’s (6-0-0), another difficult competitor in the WCC, also recently played Utah with the same result. The Gaels beat Utah 2-0 in Salt Lake City.
San Francisco (4-2-0), Pepperdine (3-2-1) and Gonzaga (3-3-1) are also competitive programs in the WCC.
BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood discussed how excited her team is to join the WCC.
“It is one of the top conferences in the country with great programs like Portland, Santa Clara and San Diego, who have had some great years,” she said. “It will be a big challenge for us. We will look forward to focusing on that after this season.”
