RIVERSIDE, Calif.—The UC Riverside Women's Soccer team is close to reaching uncharted territory.

The team will host Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (1-9-3, 1-1) on Friday and then UC Santa Barbara (8-4, 1-0) on Sunday. With a 10-0-1 record, which is the best in the Big West, a win against Cal Poly will give the Highlanders their best start in program history.

"I am super excited for the weekend," head coach Nat Gonzalez said. "I think the team is ready for the next opportunity to see how we stack up against the conference. Cal Poly and UCSB will be good.  They both have a history of success in the Big West and showed well this past week."

The Highlanders beat Cal State Fullerton, 3-1, on Sunday in their first conference match.

RIVERSIDE CLIMBS RPI

Up from No. 51 last week, UCR comes in at No. 44 in this week's RPI as released by the NCAA. Four Big West teams cracked the top 100 including: UCR, Long Beach State (62), Hawai'i (85) and UC Irvine (89).

CRACKING NCAA TOP 10

With five game-winning-goals, Maddie Feist is tied for second-best in the nation. With a .259 goals-against-average, Annie Bailey boasts the third-best GAA in the NCAA, while her .944 save percentage is also third-best. Her seven shutouts are eighth-best.

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE

The Highlanders have shutout eight opponents to pace the Big West and have allowed just two goals all season. With a .194 goals against average, UCR leads the NCAA in the category and is second in the nation with a .955 win-lost-tied percentage.