The Washington men’s soccer team will be playing for its playoff chances tomorrow at home against Oregon State (8-6-3, 4-4-1). The Huskies (5-6-6, 2-2-5) are coming off a split last weekend on the road against San Diego State (6-6-5, 3-4-2) and No. 7 UCLA (10-3-3, 5-1-3).

The Huskies come into Saturday’s match one win short of a .500 record, which is the minimum win-loss percentage required for NCAA tournament eligibility. Standing in the way of Washington’s tournament aspirations is sophomore forward Danny Mwanga of Oregon State. Mwanga has scored 12 goals on the season, two of those coming against Washington Oct.17.

“Well, the first minute was one in a million, that was a mistake,” said head coach Dean Wurzberger in reference to the opening goal of the match in Corvallis. “It was a miss-control on a long ball. That’ll never happen again and hasn’t since then.”

Mwanga’s 12 goals rank first in the Pac-10. The Portland, Ore., native is also tied for second in points with 25.

“[Mwanga] has got to be looked after all the time,” Wurzberger said.

“We have two very experienced, very gifted center backs. [Defender] Tyler Klein is just a sophomore. But we have to be organized. We have to make sure he’s picked up. He is a threat.”

Junior defender Taylor Mueller has gone up against the Oregon State forward for two years.

“I marked him sophomore year [in 2008], and I did a lot better than I did last game,” Mueller said. “[The] last game was one of those games where you look back, and it was the one game that we wish we could have had back.”

Mueller also noted the return of fellow defender Klein will help the Huskies, allowing standout senior defender Taylor Hoss to play his natural position in the middle.

“I’ll be man-marking [Mwanga] most of the time,” Mueller said. “So it’s not going to be like last game where we were switching off.”

This year’s squad has come up with a school-record six draws, three of them being scoreless and the other three at 1-1. This unusual number of ties can be attributed to the team’s veterans playing defensive positions, and the offense, although promising, is still young.

Washington has also reaped the benefits of having an experienced goalkeeper, senior Rylan Hawkins, who has come up with key saves to keep the Huskies in contests.

“We need goals,” Mueller said. “[Sophomore forward Brent Richards] and [freshman forward Ryan Moore] got going last weekend at SDSU and UCLA, so it should be a lot better.”

Although a win on Saturday does not guarantee Washington a spot in the tournament, Wurzberger claims there is plenty to look forward to this weekend.

“It’s a big game for us to finish the season undefeated in Pac-10 play at home. Our first Pac-10 home win of the year is at stake,” Wurzberger said.

“The chance for the postseason is there. It’s not a great chance, from what I understand, but it’s a chance. We have to win this game to get to .500. It’s the senior salute, their last regular-season game for us, a lot in my mind to be excited about.”

The focus still remains on Saturday: knocking off a Pac-10 opponent at home for the first time this season.

“I’ve been proud of this team, and I want to finish off with a performance that makes us all proud,” Wurzberger said.

Reach reporter Mark Morgan at sports@dailyuw.com.