So That Happened
September 18, 2014
Florida State 3-2 UConn
For a minute there, the UConn Huskies looked like they might claim a major upset in their final weekend of nonconference play when two goals by sophomore Rachel Hill put them up 2-0 over visiting Florida State. But sophomore Berglind Thorvaldsdottir got one back for the Seminoles 48 seconds later and pulled the ACC side even in the second half. Kristin Grubka scored the game-winner in the 71st minute, heading a trickling ball over the line after the keeper slowed her initial shot. Carson Pickett is credited with assists on all three goals, tying the Florida State record.
September 19, 2014
Penn State 5-1 Ohio State
Whatever promise Ohio State showed at the beginning of the season was nowhere to be seen in Penn State’s dominant 5-1 win against the fellow Big Ten foe. The Nittany Lions had four different goal scorers in the match. The brace came from freshman Frannie Crouse, while sophomore Salina Williford, junior Raquel Rodriguez, and senior Whitney Church all added goals of their own. Freshman Sydney Dudley was able to bring the Buckeyes within one with her goal just under a minute into the second half, but it was all Penn State from there on out.
Stanford 3-0 Santa Clara
The Cardinal are the only team not to concede a goal this season, with their current streak sitting at nine straight games. Stanford’s shutout win against Santa Clara was number eight, and was yet another solid performance against a Broncos side still looking for a breakthrough win this season. A first-half own goal saw the home side enter halftime with a 1-0 lead, and the second half saw the offense come to life with two goals in seven minutes. Sophomores Ryan Walker-Hartshorn and Stephanie Amack were the goalscorers on the night.
September 20, 2014
North Carolina 3-2 Notre Dame
For the third time this season, the Fighting Irish gave up a first-half lead and lost the game (and the first time in program history Notre Dame lost a game after leading 2-0). Sophomore Morgan Andrews and freshman Taylor Klawunder helped give the home team an early advantage, but the Tar Heels came storming back in the second half to force overtime with goals from sophomore midfielders Cameron Castleberry and Joanna Boyles. The game-winning goal came just 27 seconds into the second overtime period from senior Kat Nigro.
September 21, 2014
San Diego 2-0 Oklahoma
After a promising start, Oklahoma seems to be coming back down to earth, while San Diego is one game closer to .500 after a poor beginning to its season. This was the second straight win against a ranked opponent for the Toreros, and their third win over a ranked opponent this year (a best in program history). With goals from seniors Mariah Butera and Jacey Birtcher, the San Diego defense did the rest of the work as sophomore keeper McKenna Tollack only had to make two saves in the match.
Pepperdine 2-1 USC
The Waves keep winning in what seems to be a path to a national seed in this year’s NCAA tournament. The loss was USC’s first of the season, and despite tying the game at one in the second half through junior Erin Owen’s goal, the comeback effort fell short. As for the visitors, Pepperdine took the lead with sophomore Meagan Harbison’s first-half strike. The game-winning goal came from sophomore Taylor Alvarado. The Trojans were perhaps unlucky not to tie the game in the second half, outshooting the visitors 15 to four.
Top Performers
Illinois senior forward Jannelle Flaws racked up conference- and national-level accolades with her five-goal weekend that included a 2-0 win over Indiana and a 3-0 win over Purdue. With 11 goals this season, Flaws is tied for second in the NCAA behind ETSU’s Hannah Short (15 goals).
Senior Shea Groom (Texas A&M) also tallied a hat trick as the Aggies opened conference play with a 3-0 win over Tennessee last Thursday. Groom leads the team in goals this season with eight.
Penn State freshman Frannie Crouse has been a key offensive threat as well. Crouse scored two goals in the Nittany Lions’ 5-1 win over conference rival Ohio State, then added two goals and an assist in a midweek 7-0 win over the local Bucknell Bisons. The freshman forward leads PSU in goals with six and is second on the team in points.
Coming Up
- No. 15 Penn State vs. No. 18 Illinois
- No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 6 Florida State (on ESPNU)
- No. 7 Florida vs. Missouri (on ESPNU)
News
Head women’s soccer coach and two assistant coaches at Clemson University have responded to a lawsuit filed by a former player who claims she was seriously injured in a hazing incident that the coaches were aware of and condoned. Head Coach Eddie Radwanski, Assistant Coaches Siri Mullinix and Jeff Robbins acknowledge access was provided to the team’s field at the request of team members and that Haley Hunt was injured but deny Hunt’s claim they encouraged the hazing ritual.
[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). 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.