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LOS ANGELES - Loyola Marymount women's soccer understands the importance of every conference game on its schedule. With the West Coast Conference winner earning an automatic bid into the NCAA Division I Soccer Championship, every opportunity to earn points against WCC opponents is crucial. The conference season begins on the road for the Lions, with games scheduled Friday night at Gonzaga and Sunday at Portland.

The Zags enter WCC play with a winning nonconference record of 4-3-2 and, just like LMU, are unbeaten at home this season. The two sides met last season in a lopsided 5-0 Lion victory at Sullivan Field. The result was Gonzaga's largest shutout loss since 2010. In LMU's 16 program wins over the Bulldogs, the Lions have scored four or more goals seven times. The match will be played Friday at 6 p.m. in Spokane, with live stats and videos available online.

On Sunday, the Lions will play in the Rose City, on the campus of University of Portland. The Pilots are coming off back-to-back shutout victories, to improve thir record to 6-2-2 on the season and securing WCC Player of the Week accolades for Portland goalkeeper Rachel Lusby. The game will feature the conference's last two honorees, with LMU keeper Charlee Pruitt earning the recognition the week prior. Entering conference play, Portland leads WCC teams with a 0.67 goals against average, but will face LMU's conference-best 16 shots per game. The Pilots, too, have not dropped a game at home this season, going 4-0-0 thus far.

LMU enters the week at 38 in the latest RPI rankings. The WCC has four teams in the top 40 and six teams in the top 60, including Portland at 56. Six of the 10 conference schools enter conference play with a winning record.

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