So That Happened
August 22, 2014
Stanford 1-0 North Carolina
Stanford opened its season with a landmark victory over North Carolina, the Cardinal’s first win in 13 meetings with the Tar Heels. Chioma Ubogagu scored the game-winner in the first period of overtime. On Sunday, she added an assist in a 2-0 win over Duke. With a pair of wins over ACC teams on the road, Stanford moved up a spot in our rankings, now sitting in fourth over UNC.
Portland 0-1 Florida State
In another West Coast vs. East Coast battle, the Florida State Seminoles continued their excellent form at home in their season opener by defeating the Portland Pilots, 1-0. The only goal of the game came from Icelandic international Berglind Thorvaldsdottir, who scored from distance on the literal stroke of halftime. Thorvaldsdottir’s shot hit off the underside of the crossbar and crossed the line as the clock read 44:59 in the first half. Combined with this win and their 4-0 win on the weekend against Minnesota, the Seminoles are now unbeaten in their last 37 matches in Tallahassee (36-0-1).
Illinois 1-3 Notre Dame
For the first time since 1988, Notre Dame came from behind to win its season opener. Against the run of play, Illinois struck first through Abby Elinski on its first chance of the match. The Fighting Irish continued to push forward, and entered the half up, 2-1, after two goals in less than three minutes from freshman Taylor Klawunder and junior Katie Naughton. Anna Gilbertson would add one more for the Irish in the second half, giving Head Coach Romagnolo’s first season with Notre Dame a solid start.
August 24, 2014
Arkansas 2-1 Oklahoma State
After hitting the crossbar in two consecutive games, Ashleigh Ellenwood opened up her 2014 account in style, scoring the game-inner in the 88th minute. Arkansas took the lead just over a minute into the match off of a Claire Kelley header. Madison Mercado was dangerous for the Cowgirls all game long, and scored a deserved equalizer to put the game at 1-1 in the 73rd minute. The win capped off a 2-0-0 starting weekend for the Razorbacks, while Oklahoma State fell to 0-2-0 to begin the season. This puts the Cowgirls in a tough spot early as they’ll be fighting to return to the NCAA tournament in a competitive Big 12.
August 25, 2014
Army 2-1 St. John’s
Despite leading the Black Knights in shots 19-5, St. John’s fell, 2-1, on the road. The Red Storm would have been shut out in the match, if not for an Army own goal late in the game. Junior Rachel Daly ended the match with nine shots, but couldn’t find a way to put one in the back of the net. The result puts St. John’s in a bit of hot water early, as the Red Storm look for a repeat trip to the NCAA tournament.
Injury Report
Duke’s 2012 National Freshman of the Year Cassie Pecht will miss her second straight season after under going another knee surgery.
In and Out
Penn State and Boston University, both honorable mentions in the preseason rankings, defeated mid-ranked teams on opening weekend to break into the 2014 standings. Penn State kicked off with a 3-1 win over perennial non-conference foe No. 12 West Virginia and blanked Syracuse, 2-0, to close the weekend. Boston University delivered a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over No. 16 Boston College (full match video available here). Penn State debuts at No. 22 with Boston University right behind at No. 23 on Our Game Magazine’s Top 25.
BYU and Nebraska fell from the lower end of the rankings after shaky openers. Nebraska, No. 21 in our preseason rankings, fell 2-1 to DePaul at home. DePaul could have come away with a shutout if not for for a Jaycie Johnson goal for Nebraska in the 88th minute. BYU, No. 23 in the preseason rankings, played only one game over the weekend, coming away with a 1-1 draw at Cal State Fullerton. After the Week 1 rankings were released, the Cougars followed up with a scoreless draw at home against Washington State.
Unlikely Goalscorers
We don’t often see goals scored from the last line of defense, let alone two in one week, but we saw two gems from the past week.
While UCF defeated Miami, 2-1, this past Sunday, the Miami Hurricanes goal was scored by the least likely contributor. Senior goalkeeper Emily Lillard launched a free kick from midfield that went right through UCF ‘keeper Connie Organ’s hands and into the net in the 64th minute.
Texas junior goalkeeper Abby Smith also tallied the first goal of the Longhorns’ season in their opening 2-2 draw with Arizona State. The free kick was taken from 45 yards out and is Smith’s second career goal.
Coming Up
UCF vs. Texas A&M (Friday, 8pm local)
This match will be a proving ground for the Aggies, who had a testy start to the season. After being up at home against Dayton, 3-1, they allowed the Flyers to tie the match in the last 10 minutes before putting their A-10 foes away. Then on the weekend, the Ladyjacks of Stephen F. Austin gave the Aggies all they could handle before the hosts walked away with a 1-0 win. Now playing against a tough ranked opponent in UCF, G Guerreri’s side has little room for error in one of their top tune-up matches before SEC play begins. And for Central Florida, they will see the return of Lena Petermann — the lone goal scorer in the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup final that saw Germany take its third U-20 title — who gives them a needed boost after a 2-1 win over Miami
And find a TV or computer for these games:
- No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 5 UNC
- No. 4 Stanford vs. No. 16 Portland
- No. 9 Notre Dame vs. No. 15 Texas Tech
- No. 13 West Virginia vs. No. 24 Duke
- No. 14 South Carolina vs. No. 23 Boston University
News
Last Friday, the University of New Mexico suspended women’s soccer Head Coach Kit Vela after a hazing incident that sent players to the hospital. Vela’s suspension will last one week without pay. Assistant coaches for the team will receive letters of reprimand. Earlier, the university announced the team would forfeit its season opener against Texas Tech. Each player will serve a one-game suspension but the suspension will be staggered over the next few weeks so as to avoid future game forfeitures. The hospitalized player and her sister, both freshmen on the team, have since quit and returned home.
Rachael Caldwell, JJ Duke, Ruth Moore, and Brandi Ortega all contributed to this report.