Here are six big games this weekend:
Saturday:
No. 2 USC Trojans at No. 4 Arizona St. Sun Devils 4 p.m. ET
Arizona State gets another chance to prove themselves against one of the top teams and try to sneak into earning an at-large NCAA berth. The one thing that USC has that Arizona State has is supreme depth. While Arizona State can go toe-to-toe with their starting lineup they are a step behind on the bench compared to USC. USC can just drop in another set of players of the bench and not take a drop in production.
No. 5 California Golden Bears at No. 8 San Diego St. Aztecs 4 p.m. ET
San Diego State has been a streaky team this year and they are able to play with any team in the country. If San Diego State can play up to their level then they can play with any team in the country, and they can beat Cal if they are on top of their game. San Diego State has the offense as they have three of the top 25 goal scorers in the MPSF with Meaghan Polan leading San Diego State with 46 goals.
No. 20 Wagner Seahawks at Marist Red Foxes 10 a.m. ET
Wagner cracked the top 20 poll this week after upsetting then-No. 12 Cal State Northridge 5-4. In the preseason polls Wagner was projected to finish second in league play. Winning the league is key in the MAAC since this league is a three team race, and finishing at the top of the league nearly paves the way to the conference title game.
Iona Gaels at Marist Red Foxes 2:30 p.m. ET
Iona swept the preseason MAAC awards including being named the preseason champion with Marist projected to finish third. Neither team has a great record as Iona's season total is 11-10 and Marist has gone 8-16. Half of Marist's games have been against ranked teams, and even though they are all loses they have played a tough schedule to prepare them for MAAC play. Iona has better top tier players in preseason players of the year in Cecilia Leonard and Amy Olsen.
Sunday:
No. 6 LMU at No. 2 USC Trojans 4 p.m. ET
While USC is the better team they will be traveling back from a game on the road against Arizona State less than 24 hours before. Once again their depth is an advantage for USC against LMU. As for LMU this type of game will allow them to see where they stand against the best of the MPSF and prepare them for the NCAA tournament, if LMU can advance that far.
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