After taking on a slate of new Big Ten opponents, UCLA will face a familiar foe.

UCLA women’s soccer (9-2-2, 4-0-1 Big Ten) will take on Washington (6-3-2, 3-2) – a former Pac-12 mainstay who made the transition to the Big Ten alongside UCLA – on Saturday.

This weekend’s matchup follows a weekend of play against two new conference rivals – Wisconsin and Minnesota.

UCLA bounced back from a 0-0 tie against Wisconsin on Thursday to defeat Minnesota 3-1 on Sunday.

Senior defender Quincy McMahon, who scored one of the three goals against the Gophers, said one of the lessons from last weekend was on mentality.

“I think the biggest one is just showing, having that strong mentality,” McMahon said. “That confident mentality really works for us and that we need to bring it through each and every time because this group is really special and really talented. And I just think, when we don’t play to that standard, we don’t play that way, we let ourselves down.”

The Bruins’ victory against the Gophers ended a streak of low-scoring games for UCLA, marking the squad’s first home victory outscoring its opponent by more than one goal since Aug. 18.

Coach Margueritte Aozasa emphasized Sunday’s game as an opportunity to strengthen the team’s offensive capabilities.

“We’re continuing to find ways to be dangerous. I thought the last goal was a great example,” Aozasa said. “Maya (sophomore midfielder Maya Leoni) hasn’t played as many minutes recently. She’s been a little hurt, and then Quincy (McMahon) is outside back, and we decided to put her up top because we know she can be dangerous. We know she can take players on.”

In the Bruins’ last matchup against the Huskies in 2023, they claimed a 3-2 victory in both teams’ last bout in the Pac-12.

UCLA holds a win streak of eight games against Washington.

Freshman defender Paloma Daubert said the team’s cohesiveness is key to moving forward.

“They can always impact me on the field with the momentum and the mentality that every girl has on the field,” Daubert said. “We all really want to win, and we all just want to do it for each other.”

Saturday’s game marks the team’s sixth conference match of the season with just five more until the postseason.

McMahon said the team’s approach to conference play is to remain present.

“We have a lot of really big games coming up, and I think we’re just taking it game by game, time by time,” McMahon said. “I know we’re in the middle of the conference right now, but from top to bottom, I really don’t think there’s too much of a difference in that way.”

The Bruins will take on the Huskies on Saturday at Wallis Annenberg Stadium at 7 p.m.