COMING UP: This weekend, the Evergreen Geoducks will be in the East Bay - Oakland, to be exact - for a couple of non-conference women's soccer matches. The Geoducks take on UC Santa Cruz in a neutral-site game at 1 p.m. Friday at Hellman Soccer Field on the campus of Mills College in Oakland before facing Mills College at that same field at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

CALL IT THE MASCOT CHALLENGE: It should be quite a mascot challenge on Friday when the Geoducks play the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs. Speedy Q. Geoduck and Sammy the Banana Slug are listed on numerous college mascot lists, among them Speedy ranking third and Sammy fourth on the Campus Explorer "10 Weirdest" list. We prefer "unique" to "weird," but we'll go with it.

ABOUT THE GEODUCKS: Evergreen takes a 0-2 record into the weekend games after a 2-0 season-opening loss to Ottawa (Ariz.) and last Sunday's 1-0 defeat to Puget Sound. The Geoducks have generated an average of 8.0 shots per game and have come close on several occasions, but are still looking for their first goal. The defense has been really solid, and the play of freshman goalkeeper Daphne Hobbs has been outstanding. To that end...

HOBBS NAMED CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Daphne Hobbs came to the Evergreen women's soccer program this year hoping to make an impact as a defender, but the freshman out of Redway, Calif., probably couldn't have dreamed of earning Cascade Collegiate Conference recognition for her play as the Geoducks' goalkeeper. Hobbs was named Cascade Conference Red Lion Women's Soccer Defender of the Week for her performance in two matches last week. In her first collegiate game she recorded 13 saves in Evergreen's 2-0 loss to Ottawa and four more when the Geoducks fought to the end in a 1-0 defeat to Puget Sound. "She's been terrific," Evergreen head coach Dave Morris said of Hobbs. "She got pressed into service because she had some experience as a goalkeeper in high school. She's made the most of it, and she's starting to create confidence in front of her. One of the reasons you get a player of the week is your team puts in a good shift. We're super excited for the back line and the midfield in front of them," he added.

ABOUT UC SANTA CRUZ: The Evergreen match serves as the season opener for the Banana Slugs, who were 5-15-1 a year ago, including a first round loss in the NCAA Division III national tournament. 

ABOUT MILLS COLLEGE: The Cyclones play their season opener at 4 p.m. today against Johnson and Wales (Colo.) on Friday before hosting the Geoducks. Mills College suffered through a 0-13 season in 2017, including being outscored 67-1.