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Before the UCLA women’s soccer team can open Pac-10 play against Washington State next week, it must first overcome two Southern Californian obstacles.

The No. 3 Bruins will face Pepperdine (4-5-2) today and No. 19 San Diego (7-2-2) on Sunday at Drake Stadium.

Coach Jillian Ellis said that these matches will be competitive because of the in-state rivalry that exists between the teams.

“It’s going to be a great battle with Pepperdine and USD. There’s a great rivalry because there’s a lot of history. These are two very good programs,” Ellis said.

After stalemating to a scoreless tie last week against Santa Clara, the Bruins are feeling the heat to put the ball in the back of the net.

“Right now we’re focusing on finishing,” senior forward Christina DiMartino said. “We need to find the back of the net more. The goalie and defense has been great getting shutouts. So hopefully throughout the season we’ll just keep getting better and better.”

This weekend’s games will be no walk in the park. Last season’s matches against Pepperdine and San Diego both resulted in ties.

“Both teams are really good,” DiMartino said. “It’s going to be a good weekend for us – a challenging weekend, so hopefully we’ll play well.”

A player that UCLA will be watching out for is Pepperdine’s Amanda Rupp. Last Friday, Rupp scored two goals and provided three assists in a school record-breaking seven-point effort against Idaho State.

“Pepperdine always comes out looking like a really great team,” redshirt junior forward Kara Lang said. “We’re definitely not taking them lightly. We’re going to do our homework on them. We’ve been working really hard lately, and we’re going to continue working really hard throughout the week, so hopefully we’ll be ready by Friday.”

“They (Pepperdine) kick the ball well, and they’re going to play hard against us and give us some trouble,” DiMartino said. “So they’re going to give us a run for the money.”

The weekend won’t get any easier for the Bruins after Pepperdine, who must square off against San Diego in their first game against a ranked opponent since a 3-0 victory over No. 25 Connecticut on Sept. 12. The Toreros, who are riding a nine-match unbeaten streak, have not lost a game since their season-opening defeats against USC and UC Santa Barbara.

“Sometimes it’s a little harder to get up for Sunday games than it is for Friday night games,” Lang said. “So we’re going to have to work really hard to do that, but I don’t think that will be a problem.”

Despite San Diego’s current hot streak, Lang knows anything can happen in soccer.

“We’re just going to recognize that they’ve been doing really well and they’re probably on a bit of a high right now, so we just have to match their intensity,” Lang said.