Key Game for Unbeaten Azusa Pacific

Positioning itself as a possible national title contender, Azusa Pacific plays Southern Oregon in a key game between two ranked National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics football teams Saturday night in Ashland, Ore.

Azusa Pacific is 5-0 and ranked 14th after defeating Division II Humboldt State, 35-22, last week. Senior quarterback Luke Winslow has completed 62% of his passes for 1,175 yards and 10 touchdowns with just one interception. Sophomore running back Ben Buys has already scored 12 touchdowns to rank fourth in Cougar history in a single season.

Southern Oregon (4-1) was ranked second in the NAIA poll earlier this season before losing Sept. 21 in double overtime to Linfield. The fifth-ranked Raiders have won all three meetings between the teams, including a 64-21 victory last season that ranks as Azusa’s worst defeat.

Junior running back Dusty McGrorty is averaging more than 157 yards and keys a balanced offense that averages 416 yards a game.

In the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps is off to a 4-0 start overall and shares first place with Cal Lutheran and Redlands after one week of league play.

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The top-ranked USC women’s volleyball team plays host to UCLA in their first Pacific 10 Conference matchup this season tonight at the Lyon Center. The teams meet again Nov. 15 at Pauley Pavilion.

USC (15-0, 8-0 in the Pac-10) is one of only four undefeated teams in the nation and is off to its best start since 1977. UCLA (12-6, 5-3), which leads the all-time series 50-38, has won five of its last six matches.

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Two soccer teams lost for the first time this season as the Loyola Marymount men fell in double overtime to San Diego State, 3-2, on Wednesday and the Pepperdine women lost to Loyola, 1-0, on Sunday. The Lion men are 11-1-2 and ranked seventh by the National Soccer Coaches Assn. of America. Pepperdine is 10-1-2 and ranked 17th.... UCLA (6-1-2, 1-0-0 in the Pac-10) faces top-ranked Stanford in a men’s soccer match tonight at Drake Stadium. The Bruins defeated Stanford at home last year and earned a scoreless tie in Palo Alto.

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Cal State Fullerton’s 2003 baseball recruiting class was ranked second by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball magazines. UCLA was ranked fifth and seventh, respectively, while USC’s class was judged to be ninth and 12th. Georgia Tech has the top recruiting class, according to both publications.

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THIS WEEK

MEN’S SOCCER

Tonight -- No. 1 Stanford at No. 16 UCLA, 7 p.m.

Saturday -- No. 22 UC Santa Barbara at Cal State Northridge, 2:30 p.m.

Tuesday -- UC Irvine at Cal State Fullerton, 7 p.m.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Today -- Loyola Marymount at No. 3 Portland, 3 p.m.; No. 19 USC at Arizona State, 7 p.m.; UC Riverside at UC Irvine, 7 p.m.

Sunday -- No. 25 Cal State Fullerton at UC Irvine, 1 p.m.; Pepperdine at Portland, 2:15 p.m.

MEN’S WATER POLO

Saturday -- No. 4 UCLA at No. 3 California, 11:30 a.m.; No. 2 UC Irvine at No. 6 Pepperdine, noon; No. 9 Long Beach State at No. 1 Stanford, noon.

Sunday -- No. 5 USC at Pepperdine, noon; UCLA at Stanford, noon.

Thursday -- Pepperdine at No. 7 Loyola Marymount, 2 p.m.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

Tonight -- No. 13 UCLA at No. 1 USC, 7 p.m.

Saturday -- No. 12 Pepperdine at No. 14 Santa Clara, 7 p.m.

CROSS-COUNTRY

Saturday -- Long Beach 49er Invitational, women’s 5K, 8:30 a.m.; men’s 8K, 9:30 a.m.; Pepperdine at Santa Clara Invitational, men’s 8K, 9 a.m.; women’s 5K, 9:45 a.m.

WOMEN’S GOLF

Today-Sunday -- UCLA and USC at Stanford Pepsi Intercollegiate, Stanford Golf Course, 8 a.m. today and Saturday, 8:30 a.m. Sunday.

Monday-Tuesday -- Matador Fall Classic, Olivas Park Golf Course, Ventura.

MEN’S GOLF

Monday-Tuesday -- Countrywide Intercollegiate, Wood Ranch Country Club, Simi Valley.

WOMEN’S SWIMMING

Saturday -- UC Santa Barbara and Oregon State at UCLA, Sunset Canyon Recreation Center, noon.