For the first time ever this weekend, the No. 2 UCLA women’s soccer team will take on Colorado and Utah as conference foes.

And because these two new Pac-12 members are, well, new, the Bruins (12-1-3, 5-1-2 Pac-12) won’t have the advantage of familiarity with Utah (8-8-1, 4-4) and Colorado (4-10-2, 1-6-1) that it does with conference members who were part of the former Pac-10.

“To tell you the truth, (what we know is) not much,” sophomore midfielder Chelsea Stewart said. “We know their records and how they’ve been against the other Pac-12 teams, but it’s new. It’s different territory.”

That is not a huge concern for coach B.J. Snow, who highlights UCLA’s tough early season nonconference schedule as evidence of the team’s ability to handle the situation.

“That’s why we had a difficult preseason this year – to go and play teams like Tennessee and Florida on the road, to prepare us for situations just like this,” Snow said. “And hopefully the things we took away from those weekends in August and September, we’ll be able to reap the benefits in games in October and November.”

However, this will not be the first time these teams have ever met. Two years ago, UCLA hosted Utah and pounded them 6-1. As for the Buffaloes, the Bruins actually traveled to Boulder, Colo. last season and lost in a double overtime game, 1-0.

Those two experiences will provide at least a baseline of knowledge for some of the players on this team. Many of the players, though, will have never seen either team because nearly half of this team is composed of freshmen.

“This year, our (freshmen) don’t know any different whether we’re playing Colorado or Utah or whether we’re playing anyone else in the country, because they haven’t played them,” Snow said.

“It’s no different than the nonconference season.”

It’s a rare opportunity that a team gets to play in mostly unfamiliar environments this late in the season before the NCAA Tournament and that’s something Snow views as a benefit.

With the Bruins certain to make the tournament, fine-tuning for those games begins now.

“Sometimes, it’s the best thing to happen, when you go on the road. You get isolated, away from a lot of the distractions, and we can focus on the things that need to get done,” Snow said.

“When you go into the NCAA Tournament, you could be going on the road from day one, and we have to be prepared for that.”

As has been clear all season, the messages Snow is putting down are being picked up by his team and, in particular, by his upperclassmen leaders.

Junior midfielder Zakiya Bywaters, one of the mainstays in the Bruin midfield, echoes Snow’s sentiments.

“Staying at home, being in our environment, … it’s really helpful to have home games, but we need to deal with adversity,” Bywaters said.

“If traveling is what we have to do, then we just have to come and really be prepared.”