Weekly roundup of women’s college soccer news you might have missed. Includes the past week’s crucial games, injury reports, news of note, upcoming games to watch, and general observations about the world of women’s college soccer.
So That Happened
Results from key games. With 14 matches from this past week seeing OGM Top 25 and Honorable Mention teams face each other, it was hard to pick the best of the best.
Ole Miss 4-3 Texas A&M
At the beginning of the season, the Aggies were sitting pretty atop the SEC standings. While Ole Miss was notching some ties against tough opponents, they hadn’t really earned a signature win. The season went on, Texas A&M had a fall from grace, and Ole Miss posted a two-win weekend against South Carolina and Auburn. Suddenly, the Rebels look dangerous just as the SEC tournament rolls around the corner. While Haley Pounds continued her impressive season for the Aggies with a brace and Mikaela Harvey also notched a goal, it just wasn’t enough. The Rebels posted four goals on Texas A&M, something that hasn’t happened in a regular-season game since 2011, with super freshman CeCe Kizer scoring a brace, along with goals from Addie Forbus and Gretchen Harknett.
Virginia 1-0 Florida State
The rematch of last year’s College Cup final by no means disappointed, unless of course you prefer big-time games that decide conference titles and don’t end in controversy. Florida State entered this game with an almost guaranteed regular season title with a victory over Virginia. Things were tight through the first 30 minutes of the match, when the referee awarded a penalty kick to Virginia and sent off Florida State’s junior defender Kirsten Crowley for a handball. Alexis Shaffer finished the penalty for the Cavaliers in what was the only goal of the game. The loss ends the Seminoles’ 19-game unbeaten streak in ACC play, with their last conference loss coming in 2013 at the hands of, you guessed it, Virginia. As for the Cavaliers, they will more than likely be this year’s ACC champs.
UConn 2-1 SMU
While this game ultimately had no real consequences in terms of the AAC regular-season title race, the win meant the Huskies ended their regular season with a victory and an eight-game winning streak. UConn became the AAC regular-season champs thanks to USF’s loss to UCF on Friday, but the Huskies didn’t let that get to their heads as they were able to defend their perfect record at home this season with a win over SMU. UConn scored both of its goals in the first 10 minutes of the game, with Samantha McGuire and Brianna Butler earning their spots on the score sheet. While SMU was able to find a second-half goal from Lauren Harrington, the comeback ultimately fell short.
Princeton 2-1 Harvard
This was the match that would unofficially crown the winner of the Ivy League and it was the Princeton Tigers, backed by a second-half game-winning goal from Tyler Lussi, who now have the advantage going into the final two weeks of the season. With the Ivy League not promoting a conference tournament, it’s the winner of the regular season who gets the conference’s NCAA Tournament berth and the Tigers will lock up that berth with a win in either of the final two matches. Princeton is no pushover when it comes to the postseason; since the NCAA expanded the tournament field to 64 teams, the Tigers have made it to the tournament six times and most recently in 2012 when current Chicago Red Stars forward Jen Hoy netted the winner in a 2-1 win over 21st-ranked West Virginia.
Upcoming Games to Watch
Find a screen to watch these games.
Texas A&M vs. Missouri
Just like everyone expected, Missouri is in the driver’s seat for the SEC regular season title. Wait, what? Both Missouri and Florida sit at 22 points heading into the final games of the regular season, and Ole Miss is lurking with 21 points. If Missouri gets a win against Texas A&M, there’s a good chance the Tigers could be crowned regular-season champs in the SEC for the first time in program history. Meanwhile, three points is just as important for the Aggies, as seeding for the SEC tournament starts to take shape. Three points vaults them into a tie for third with Ole Miss, and would give the Aggies a much better path to the SEC tournament championship game.
Notre Dame vs. Virginia Tech
With this being the final week of ACC play and none of the four spots in the conference tournament locked up, every match is crucial. But this match might be the most brutal of the weekend for the simple fact that Notre Dame is a Top 5 team in the OGM rankings, yet a win doesn’t even guarantee the Fighting Irish a place in the ACC tournament. Currently the Irish sit on 15 points and a win will put them into a tie with North Carolina and Clemson for fourth place. Then, they will have to wait to see the outcomes elsewhere, knowing that a win or a draw for North Carolina (who plays at Miami) or Clemson (who plays at Syracuse) or a win for Boston College (who plays at Florida State), eliminates them. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech has destiny in its own hands as a win in South Bend locks up a tournament spot. If you want drama, tune into this match.
USC vs. Stanford
A battle between second and first on the Pac-12 table, respectively. Stanford has had a vice grip on first place since the beginning of conference play, but things could change if the Cardinal drop this important match on Thursday. A win for the Trojans launches them into a two-way tie for first, as both teams would be sitting on 21 points heading into their final two games of the season. Both USC and Stanford have UCLA and Cal left on the schedule, and it’s not out of the question that both team might post similar results in those games, leaving the Pac-12 title up to the all-important head-to-head tiebreaker. Of course, if the Cardinal wins here the title would almost certainly be theirs for the taking, but that’s why games are played, right?
Top Performers
The players who made a difference this past week.
CeCe Kizer, Ole Miss
We’ve given Kizer a shoutout before, and we’ll do it again this week. The freshman earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors for her performance against Texas A&M, and she’s the only SEC freshman to earn the honor twice this season. Kizer has been a huge reason the Rebels are somehow still alive in the SEC regular season title race, and has been the definition of clutch this season with 7 of her 14 goals this season standing as game-winners.
Nicole Waters, Dayton
Waters already owned the record for single-season assists for the Flyers, but with her three-assist performance on her senior day, Waters etched her name into the record book once again. With a total of 52 assists during her time at Dayton, Waters is now the Flyers’ all-time leader in career assists. She is also second in the nation for total assists this season with 15.
[divider]Contributors[/divider]
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).
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.