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.
Texas A&M 2-1 Florida
It was a special night last Thursday in Gainesville for Texas A&M as the defending SEC Champions defeated Florida, 2-1, with goals from Emily Bates and Stephanie Malherbe. Not only did the Aggies beat one of the preseason favorites for the 2015 SEC crown but the victory gave head coach G Guerrieri his 400th career win, making him only the sixth coach to win 400 games at the NCAA Division I level. The Aggies come back home for a week before a challenging SEC weekend at the end of September with a trip to South Carolina and Georgia on the docket.
Penn State 2-0 Stanford
Penn State needed to quickly forget about the loss to West Virginia a week ago as the Nittany Lions flew out to California to take on a tough Stanford Cardinal team. Despite being outshot 16-4, the Nittany Lions took their chances well and walked out of Cagan Stadium with a 2-0 victory. Frannie Crouse gave Penn State a 1-0 lead inside of 10 minutes and Brittany Basinger doubled Penn State’s lead in the second half on the night. That win, along with a 1-0 victory at Santa Clara on Sunday, gives Penn State some good energy heading into its Big Ten opener on Thursday against Wisconsin.
Arizona State 5-0 Pepperdine
Just about everything went right for Arizona State on Friday as the Sun Devils took down Top 15-ranked Pepperdine, 5-0, in the Arizona Cats Classic. A goal in each half from substitute Jazmarie Mader, three assists from midfielder Lucy Lara paced the Sun Devils and goalkeeper Chandler Morris picked up her 23rd clean sheet to tie a program record. It’s not often we see a Top 15 team on the wrong end of a one-sided result but credit to Arizona State for taking it to Pepperdine and not giving the Waves too much to work with on the day.
North Carolina 3-1 UCLA
The nonconference struggles continue for the Bruins, as a Sunday trip to visit the Tar Heels ended in a 3-1 defeat. Summer Green started the scoring with her fifth goal of the season, while Jessie Scarpa netted two goals for North Carolina to bring her season total to six. UCLA’s comeback attempt was unsuccessful, even after Kodi Lavrusky brought the visitors within one late in the game. North Carolina was all over UCLA in this match, with a total of 20 shots, nine on goal.
Upcoming Games to Watch
Find a screen to watch these games.
Wisconsin vs. Penn State
It’s the defending Big Ten Champions versus the annual favorites in a tasty early conference matchup. Penn State is coming back home from a successful weekend in California while Wisconsin is coming off of a scoreless draw at Kentucky. But the midfield will be a key battleground to watch as Wisconsin’s Rose Lavelle duels with Penn State’s Raquel Rodriguez. Whichever team comes out on top in the midfield third will most likely win this match.
Notre Dame vs. Clemson
In one of the premier opening weekend matchups in ACC conference play, a pair of unbeaten teams square off as Notre Dame makes the trip to South Carolina to face Clemson. The Fighting Irish are coming off of a pair of 2-0 wins over Big Ten opponents Indiana and Michigan, while Clemson narrowly defeated Penn, 2-1, and had a goalless draw against South Florida. In the ACC, where the standings are always so close from start to finish, it’s imperative to get off to a good start. That being said, you have to favor an in-form Fighting Irish even though they’ll undertake a long flight down south.
Duke vs. Florida State
Duke’s tie on the road at Penn State was no doubt impressive, and its win against William & Mary may end up holding more weight than expected, but the Blue Devils have yet to notch a big time win. This week, they have a massive opportunity and challenge, as they pay a visit to Florida State. As for the Seminoles, they’ve navigated a tricky nonconference schedule well, with their only blemish being yet another loss to in-state rival Florida. Florida State has played angry ever since, scoring 10 goals over the past three games and allowing one goal against.
Top Performers
The players who made a difference this past week.
McKenzie Meehan, Boston College
After missing all of 2014 due to ACL surgery, the Boston College striker has picked up where she left off in 2013. The redshirt junior scored both goals in the Eagles’ overtime loss to Providence on the weekend and now has nine goals in nine games played. She currently leads the NCAA in goals scored and is nearly halfway home to the 20 goals she scored as a sophomore in 2013.
Megan Kufeld, Washington
The career clean sheet record at the University of Washington has a new name atop the school’s career records. Megan Kufeld earned her 19th career shutout in Washington’s 2-0 win over UC Irvine on Sunday as she passed former Husky standout and current U.S. Women’s National Team No. 1, Hope Solo. Kufeld already is the Washington leader in career goals against average (GAA) and is fourth all-time in career saves.
Jorian Baucom, LSU
The Tigers have been in the thick of SEC inconsistency so far this season, but sophomore forward Baucom has been the opposite. LSU has posted some big time wins and some head-scratching ties, but through it all, Baucom has tallied eight goals in eight games. The forward is responsible for 50 percent of LSU’s goals this season, and is currently on a six-game scoring streak, including a penalty kick game-winner against Duke this Sunday.
You Might Have Missed
News from women’s college soccer you might have missed.
Cal Quietly Taking Care of Business
After a season-opening 2-0 loss to BYU, the Golden Bears have since gone 5-0-1. In that stretch, they’ve conceded three times and have picked up good résumé-building wins against Duke and San Diego State. A difficult task comes on Sunday as they travel to face a perennial high-scoring Cal Poly team but if they can win that game, the Golden Bears will be a confident team heading into PAC-12 play.
And Then There Were Two
Only two Division I teams remain that have yet to allow a goal scored this season. One of those teams is Rutgers, which pulled off an impressive win this past weekend against UConn and are now in the OGM Top 25. The other team is none other than… Cornell. Yes, the Big Red are 4-0-2 this year and are looking good before heading into Ivy League play. Big Red will have to navigate a road trip to Seton Hall this week and a home game to Binghamton if they want to stay perfect defensively before their conference opener against Columbia.
Quest for Perfection
The aforementioned Rutgers Scarlet Knights have yet to allow a goal this season and are also one of three teams in the nation with a perfect record at 7-0-0. Along with Rutgers, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (8-0-0) and the Washington State Cougars (7-0-0) have also maintained an unblemished record to begin the 2015 season. The first chance for Rutgers to fall may not come until October, when Ohio State comes to town. As for Tulsa, a trip to Oklahoma looms large, and Arizona State will prove to be a challenge for Washington State.
Coach Guerrieri Reaches 400
Texas A&M’s opening conference win against Florida was big for many reasons, but one worth mentioning is the win was head coach G. Guerrieri’s 400th win. Guerrieri won last year’s SEC Coach of the Year award, and has done an amazing job thus far leading an Aggies team that lost a bulk of its starters from last season’s College Cup team. Funnily enough, for Guerrieri’s 400th win, the Aggies defeated the only other head coach in the SEC with over 400 wins, Florida’s Becky Burleigh.
[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.