Last year, the Washington Huskies endured one of the worst seasons in women's soccer history. That all but four games were decided by one goal was no consolation. UW stood for U-Winless, as in 0-17-3. One year after advancing within one game of the Women's College Cup, the Huskies fell apart in 2005.

This is a new season, however. The Huskies defeated host Hawaii (1-0) and Oklahoma (2-1) to win the Okana Hotels No Ka Oi Tournament. The pair of one-goal victories was a nice switch for the Huskies, who were on the losing end of 13 one-goal margins in 2005.

Another switch: The breaks went UW's way. In the opener, Melissa Beal scored the winning goal in the 69th minute when her shot went through the legs of the Hawaii keeper, Kori Lu.

Then the Huskies accomplished against Oklahoma what they never could last season: They came from behind to win. A pair of newcomers were involved in both second-half goals: freshman Chelsea Bumbaugh set up the first goal scored by senior Shannon Dillon, and San Francisco transfer Shuree Hyatt tallied the game-winner.

''Obviously in Friday night's game, the first one of our season, it was really important just to build confidence,'' UW coach Lesle Gallimore said after the Oklahoma win. ''For us, in particular, it became even more important to get a win based on last season. Then with that monkey off our back, our season kind of started today actually. That's gone and we can now got out and just play soccer.''

WOMEN'S ATTRACTIONS
No. 3 Notre Dame hosts No. 2 Santa Clara Sunday on the second day of the Inn at Saint Mary's Classic (TV: ESPNU, live, 1:30 pm ET). áThe Broncos and Irish will meet for the sixth time in the last five seasons. Notre Dame holds aá3-2 edge over the Broncos in the previous five encounters. SCU defeating defending champion Notre Dame, 2-1, last year at Buck Shaw Stadium. The Irish defeated Santa Clara, 1-0, in the semifinals of the 2004 NCAA Tournament.

No. 4 Texas A&M takes on No. 5 Penn State Sunday in College Station. Last Friday, the Aggies set an NCAA regular-season attendance record when they drew 8,204 fans for their 1-0 victory over then-No. 3 North Carolina. The Nittany Lions carry a 27-game unbeaten streak into the weekend. They fell to Portland on penalty kicks in the semifinals of last year's Women's College Cup in College Station.