No. 3 Stanford women’s soccer (14-1-1, 7-1-0 Pac-12) heads to Arizona this week to take on the Wildcats (7-8-1, 2-6-0 Pac-12) on Thursday.

The Cardinal seem to be peaking at the right time in the season, winning four consecutive Pac-12 games with two of them ending in shutouts. Thursday’s game will be a test of Stanford’s conference momentum, as the Cardinal have maintained an almost undefeated record in Pac-12 play so far.

The Wildcats, on the other hand, have had a tougher time in the Pac-12 season, recording six losses and two wins. Stanford should be able to take advantage of this to increase its standings within the conference.

Last season, Stanford squeezed by with a victory over Arizona in overtime. The then-fifth-ranked Cardinal scored in the 103rd minute of play to beat the then-No. 17 Wildcats 3-2 on Arizona’s home field.

Although last year’s game saw back-and-forth possession, Stanford had 28 shots on goal, doubling Arizona’s shot attempts. Junior Kyra Carusa, one of the current team’s top performers, scored Stanford’s overtime goal.

Looking forward to Thursday’s game, Stanford welcomes back junior Andi Sullivan, who played for the U.S. Women’s National Team this past weekend in a friendly against Switzerland, in which she saw significant minutes on the field and assisted a goal by Carli Lloyd.

With a new focus on beating the Wildcats, Sullivan hopes to lead her team to an early lead in order to avoid a repeat of last year’s overtime nail-biter.

Contact Sydney Shaw at sshaw17 ‘at’stanford.edu