The UW women's soccer team has a difficult task this weekend when it faces two nationally ranked opponents on the road. The Huskies will travel to Palo Alto, Calif., Friday to face No. 5 Stanford (11-2-3, 2-1-2 Pac-10) at 5 p.m. at Cagan Stadium. They will square off against No. 19 California (10-5, 2-3 Pac-10) Sunday at 12 p.m. at Edwards Stadium.

Last weekend the Huskies (5-9-1, 2-2-1 Pac-10), who are sixth in the conference, pulled out one tie and one victory against the Oregon schools, and are hoping to keep the momentum going.

"We know that the Pac-10 is always hard and everyone is good, so we are ready for the challenge, and hopefully we can get an upset this weekend," senior Shuree Hyatt said. "I would love to come home on Sunday with a split this weekend. It is good anytime we get a split on the road, so that is a realistic goal that we set as a team."

Hyatt leads the team with six goals and 14 points. She had an assist in the victory against Oregon, but it was Melissa Beal and Jenna Robison who had the goals for the Huskies Sunday. Coach Lesle Gallimore was pleased that other players stepped up and helped contribute.

Washington will need to maintain its aggression on offense and will lean heavily on its defense if it is going to secure any wins.

The Cardinal has outshot and outscored its opponents 216-137 and 30-14, respectively. Sophomore forward Kelley O'Hara leads the team with six goals and 16 points. Redshirt senior Shari Summers is second with five goals.

Cal, which is in seventh place in the Pac-10 behind the Huskies, has 26 goals this season. Freshman forward Alex Morgan is the main offensive threat, with 14 points and seven goals. Cal had its ninth shutout of the season last weekend against Arizona. Washington has a 9-7 series lead over the Bears, but Cal has won the past two meetings between the two schools.

"We are going to defend better as a team, tackle harder and mark tighter, especially with good teams like Stanford," Hyatt said. "They will capitalize on the mistakes we make, so we need to make sure that we make as little, if any, as possible."

If Washington hopes to climb the Pac-10 ranks, it'll need to win, and win soon.

"We clearly have a big challenge these next few weeks," Gallimore said. "We are playing four ranked teams, and we are going to do our darndest to try and win. If we can get a split on the road, then we know we are doing a good job."

[Reach reporter Erica Metzler at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.]