So That Happened
August 29, 2014
UCLA 0-0 North Carolina
The Bruins will want this one back, after failing to put away several chances. The final run was there for the defending national champions but the shots or passing was not. After a sluggish start, the Bruins settled down and worked its possession game against the visiting Tar Heels, finding seams against the UNC defense and getting off six shots in the first half, though none but a Sam Mewis shot in the 10th minute troubled Tar Heel keeper Bryane Heaberlin too much. UCLA’s defense continued its shutout streak and didn’t allow a Tar Heel shot or corner kick in the first half. The two teams played a flowing and fast-paced game through the second half and into two overtime periods. North Carolina continued to press and saw more possession in the second half, ultimately tallying four shots against a stingy UCLA defense that has yet to concede a goal. UCLA midfielder Annie Alvarado continued to gain experience with her fourth start of the season. Kodi Lavrusky, who scored the game-winning goal in last year’s College Cup final, continues to come off the bench and provides bite and a spark for the UCLA offense. For North Carolina, Satara Murray shut down the Bruin attack on the flanks and proved to be a force going forward on offense. UCLA’s Sam Mewis continues to impress and the Bruins are a different team when she’s not on the field.
Texas A&M 3-0 UCF
This was arguably the first all-out dominant performance from the College Station side this season. After failing to really impress against Dayton and Stephen F. Austin, the Aggies certainly picked an interesting time to kick their attack into full gear while maintaining the shutout. Taking into consideration this win was without starting keeper Jordan Day, it seems all the more impressive. While UCF no longer has star striker Lena Petermann, who left school to pursue a professional career in Germany, this is still a squad with plenty of merit, and the Knights held an advantage in shots and shots on goal in the match. Senior Kelley Monogue lead the way for A&M, scoring a brace and assisting Shea Groom’s goal. The Aggies also won on Sunday, beating Illinois State by a scoreline of 4-1, while UCF closed out the weekend with a 2-0 win at TCU.
West Virginia 0-2 Duke
Duke seems to have recovered from losing two in a row last weekend in matches against Ohio State and Stanford by posting a 2-0 victory over a West Virginia squad that was highly lauded heading into the season. It was two underclassmen that found the back of the net behind the Mountaineers’ Kadeisha Buchanan-led defense, with freshman Imani Dorsey striking first and sophomore Toni Payne delivering just 38 seconds into the second half. The Blue Devils went on to win 3-1 against UAB in their home opener, and West Virginia would grab a 2-0 win against Elon.
August 30, 2014
Stanford 1-0 Portland
In each team’s sole match of the week, Stanford was able to defeat Portland, 1-0, in close quarters with a crowd of roughly 5,000 at Merlo Field. The Pilots were held to five shots in total, only two on goal. Senior forward Chioma Ubogagu scored the game’s only goal on a breakaway in the 30th minute, her second game-winning goal of the season — the previous being the golden goal in the season’s opening match against North Carolina. The win puts Stanford at 3-0 on the season, all against ranked teams, all on the road, and all three shutouts. The Cardinal play at home for the first time this season on Thursday against UC Santa Barbara, then host a ranked Notre Dame team on Sunday. Portland will travel to Seattle searching to improve its 1-2 record in matches against Dartmouth and Wisconsin.
August 31, 2014
Notre Dame 1-2 USC
It was a rough weekend in South Bend as the Irish let the visitors come from behind to take the win both Saturday and Sunday. After falling to Texas Tech, the home side again struck first with senior Lauren Bohaboy scoring her third goal of the season. Notre Dame again took the 1-0 lead into halftime in what seemed like an encore of Saturday’s result. The Trojans rallied with two second-half goals from sophomore Savannah Levin and junior Reilly Parker to earn their second victory of the weekend, having won a 3-1 decision against Iowa State.
In and Out
Starting the season at the bottom of Our Game Magazine Top 25 rankings, Wake Forest did its standing no favors in its belated opening week of play. A 1-0 win at home against Wright State was nowhere near enough to keep the Demon Deacons holding on, as they gave up the lead in a 1-2 loss to James Madison on Friday and were toppled 1-4 in a road trip to Kansas. Three of their next four contests will be against Top 25 teams, as they will face Georgetown this Sunday, then travel next week to top-ranked UCLA and newly ranked Long Beach State.
Top Performers
USC’s backline may not have gotten shutouts this past weekend, but the Trojans did come away with two wins, in no small part thanks to senior goalkeeper Caroline Stanley. Stanley made two saves in the second half against Iowa State in a 3-1 come-from-behind victory. Considerably more was asked of her on Sunday when USC faced tournament host Notre Dame. Stanley made five total saves in another match that saw the Trojans overcome a first-half deficit. USC rebounded in the second half and came away with the 2-1 win after Stanley blocked an Irish penalty kick.
Big Ten vs. Marquette
Big East contender Marquette has opened the season with a record of 1-3-0, with all three losses coming at the hands of Big Ten teams. On opening weekend, Northwestern’s 1-0 win delivered Marquette’s first regular season loss at home since 2010. This past Friday in Minnesota, the Golden Gophers edged the Golden Eagles, 1-0, and when it looked like Marquette might bounce back at home on Sunday, the team gave up a 2-0 lead to Nebraska, who put away the contest, 3-2. Next weekend, Marquette will be on the road seeking two much needed, decisive wins over New Mexico and Colorado College in the Colorado College Invitational. And although Marquette doesn’t have any more Big Ten foes to face in the regular season, the conference can unofficially note a fourth win over the Eagles, as Wisconsin claimed a 1-0 victory in an August exhibition as well.
Coming Up
- No. 10 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Santa Clara (Friday, 7:30pm PT) (webcast)
- The Duke Nike Classic on ESPN3:
- Friday: No. 6 North Carolina vs. No. 20 Penn State (5pm ET);
No. 22 Duke vs. No. 21 Arkansas (7:30pm ET) - Sunday: North Carolina vs. No. 21 Arkansas (12pm ET);
Duke vs. Penn State (2:30pm ET)
- Friday: No. 6 North Carolina vs. No. 20 Penn State (5pm ET);
- Florida State vs. Florida
- Virginia Tech vs. Georgetown
Rachael Caldwell will be graduating from the University of Arkansas in 2015 with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and minors in Spanish and Business Management. Rachael played soccer from when she was three until her senior year of high school, where she was the captain of her state championship winning team. Rachael looks forward to writing more for Our Game Magazine and also writes about women’s soccer on her blog, rachaelfc.wordpress.com.
JJ Duke graduated from Rider University in New Jersey with a degree in Digital Media Studies. Although his playing days may have ended back in high school, he still prides himself on being a decent shot-stopper and an all-around fanatic of the beautiful game (fervent supporter of Manchester United and the founder of a Rider supporters group, the 206 Ultras). He was the Student General Manager at 107.7 FM The Bronc while at Rider and contributed to various local newspaper and Web sites in the Trenton, NJ, area of high school and collegiate sports including T and Fish4Scores.com.
Ruth Moore serves Our Game Magazine as a College Editor and the magazine’s Design Editor. She holds a degree in Professional Writing from Kutztown University, freelances in communication design and loves coffee.
Brandi Ortega designs, writes, and plays soccer in Southern California. She graduated from UCLA with a degree in English. Find her on twitter at @brandiortega.