2015 Week 3 Wrap

A bit of a tough weekend for the Aussies as there were some heavy losses suffered by a few teams. On the plus side, Emma Heckenberg played her first serious batch of minutes this weekend after playing just token minutes in other games, whilst all five Australians at Wyoming started in the same game for the first time against Drake.

Drexel (Emma Heckenberg)

This week’s results: defeated George Washington 1-0, lost to Rutgers 3-0

Results went pretty much as expected for Drexel this weekend, as a 1-0 victory over George Washington was followed by a 3-0 loss to nationally ranked Rutgers. George Washington showed more attacking impetus than the Dragons, but it was Drexel who used the few chances they received more efficiently, scoring the only goal of the game in the 50th minute despite only managing three shots for the entire game. Drexel goalkeeper Eve Badana was huge, making five saves to keep a clean sheet. The Rutgers game saw Emma Heckenberg given her first batch of decent minutes for the season, as the Victorian freshman played over half an hour off the bench, but Rutgers opened the scoring just 49 seconds into the game and didn’t really look back after that. A shot line of 20-6 led to two more goals for the Scarlet Knights as they finished off a comprehensive 3-0 win.

Wyoming (Alisha Bass, Annika Clayton, Jessie Gentle, Georgia Rowntree, Candace Sciberras)

This week’s results: defeated Morehead State 1-0, defeated Drake 3-1

After starting the season with 3 draws, Wyoming kept their undefeated record alive in a much more emphatic way this weekend with two wins. The Cowgirls left their run late against Morehead State, though. In a game in which Wyoming took 25 shots and had 11 on target, it took until the 88th minute to secure the victory with the lone goal of the game as overtime looked all but certain. The Wyoming attackers were far more deadly against Drake, especially Shaina Ashouri, who scored the opening two goals in the 35th and 47th minutes. Alyssa Murray tacked on a 3rd five minutes from time, before Drake scored a late consolation. The five Australians all saw plenty of playing time, with all bar Annika Clayton starting against Morehead State, before all five got the start against Drake. Interestingly, all four outfield Aussies managed to fire off shots in the game against Morehead State, with even defender Alisha Bass managing two, but despite this none were able to score.

Massachusetts (Laura Johns)

This week’s results: drew with Central Connecticut State 1-1 (2OT), lost to Yale 1-0

Massachusetts notched up their second draw of the season with a result against Central Connecticut State, but finished the weekend still without a win as they lost the second game to Yale. Massachusetts and Central Connecticut State played out a remarkably even game, with both sides notching almost 20 shots, and it’s really no shock that the game finished even. Howver, that it finished just 1-1 is slightly surprising, after CCSU opened the scoring in the 28th minute, before Massachusetts evened it up just before halftime, with Laura Johns getting the assist. The Minutewomen have nobody but themselves to blame for their loss to Yale. Outshooting the Ivy League side 18-10, and allowing just 3 shots on target, Massachusetts had all the chances to win this one, but went down 1-0 courtesy of an 8th minute goal. Laura Johns came off the bench in both games to play around 50 minutes in each game, registering the aforementioned assist in the game against CCSU.

Creighton (Anastasia McCleary)

This week’s results: defeated Nebraska-Omaha 4-0, lost to South Dakota State 1-0

Creighton started the weekend with a bang, but by the end of it were back down to earth after a 1-0 loss to South Dakota State. The local derby against Nebraska-Omaha was a walk in the park for the Bluejays, scoring as many goals as they allowed shots on target in a smashing 4-0 win. Creighton were 2-0 up within half an hour, and Omaha may still have stood a chance in the second half had they not conceded a third just 9 seconds before halftime. A fourth goal 7 minutes after the break killed off the game and Creighton cruised to the 4-0 victory. South Dakota State proved to be a far more challenging proposition. After being shut down almost completely for the first half, Creighton could count themselves lucky to go in at the break 0-0 after being outshot 10-2. In a cruel turn of events, the Bluejays turned the stat line around in the second half, but South Dakota State scored the only goal of the game in the 49th minute. Anastasia McCleary started both games for Creighton this weekend, playing around an hour in each game.

Colorado (Kahlia Hogg, Alex Huynh)

This week’s results: defeated Cincinnati 1-0, defeated Iowa State 2-1 (1OT)

Colorado didn’t have the easiest time of it this weekend, but still came away with two wins to continue an excellent start to the season. The Buffaloes had all the running against Cincinnati but just couldn’t seem to put the ball in the net in the first half, but as it turns out they wouldn’t have had to do it much anyway as Cincinnati only forced goalkeeper Kate Scheele into one save throughout the 90 minutes. The second half quickly brought the decisive goal though, as Erin Greening smashed one home from 10 yards out. Against Iowa State, the Buffaloes needed slightly more to get the win, including a period of overtime. The first half was as close as they come with regards to the stats, but the Cyclones went to the break with a 1-0 lead after a 4th minute goal put the Buffaloes behind the eight ball early on. Despite dominating the play against a team that was looking to defend its one goal lead rather than press for a second, Colorado had to wait until the 81st minute to score a second, as Portland transfer Danica Evans grabbed the equaliser. The final 9 minutes could not bring a goal, but the 5th minute of overtime saw Colorado win a penalty which Brie Hooks calmly converted for a 2-1 win. Alex Huynh and Kahlia Hogg each started both games. Both Aussies received yellow cards against Cincinnati, although neither was deserved (in fact, Alex’s was a case of mistaken identity!), and both played the full 95 minutes against Iowa State.

Washington State (Tia Gavin)

This week’s result: defeated Montana 1-0 (1OT)

Washington State kept their fans on the edge of their seats yet again, being taken to overtime by a Montana side that they should really have had no problems defeating. The Cougars peppered Montana with shots, but could only get 5 of their 18 on target in nearly 100 minutes of soccer. Montana offered little in the way of attacking play, only managing four shots for the entire match, but defended resolutely and in the end it was a penalty just 12 seconds from the end of the first half of overtime that saw Kailiana Johnson step up and slot home the golden goal winner. In such a tightly contested match, it was left mostly up to the more experienced players in the squad to get the win, and as such Tia Gavin unfortunately didn’t see any playing time in this game.

Albany (Claire Urquhart)

This week’s result: defeated Marist 2-0

Just one game this weekend for Albany, but it was a big one for multiple reasons. The Great Danes got their second win in a row to bring their record back to 3-3, and did it with real fight as time and again the defence did just enough to keep Marist out as the side was outshot 15-8. 8 shots were more than enough for Albany though, as they scored their two goals on just five shots on target. Most importantly, though, Claire Urquhart did enough in her performance off the bench against Holy Cross last week to earn a start, and played a full game in defence for Albany.

Hofstra (Emily Hulbert)

This week’s results: defeated Yale 5-4 (2OT), defeated Central Connecticut State 4-0

Hofstra were well and truly amongst the goals this weekend as their two games saw the ball in the net no less than 13 times. The Pride went down 1-0 to Yale in the opening minute of the game, but quickly recovered and tied things up just 7 minutes later. Surprisingly for such a high-scoring match, there were no more goals until the 43rd minute, when Yale went up 2-1, before making it 3-1 three minutes after halftime, putting Hofstra in a big hole. In traditional Hofstra fashion, though, they came back with three more goals of their own, scoring just two minutes after Yale before knocking in another two to take the lead. A speculative shot from Yale with just a minute left snuck in off the post in the 89th minute, and we would head to overtime with Yale taking the momentum. Unbelievably, it took until the 14th minute of overtime for a winner to come, and it was Hofstra who would get the win, with Jeannine Molleda slotting home a cross from the right wing for a 5-4 win. Things were a whole lot easier for the Pride in their second match against Central Connecticut State. Two goals in the opening 10 minutes for Jill Mulholland set the tone for the game as Hofstra scored four goals in the first half to allow them to cruise in the second half for a 4-0 win as the Blue Devils had plenty of attacking chances but made little use of any of them. Emily Hulbert came off the bench against Yale and played just 27 minutes, before starting against Central Connecticut State and registering an assist on Mulholland’s opener in 75 minutes played.

Nicholls State (Jess Coates)

This week’s results: lost to Mississippi State 4-0, lost to Louisiana Tech 4-1

It had shaped up to be a tough weekend for Nicholls State, but nobody was really expecting results this emphatic as the Colonels shipped 8 goals across the weekend in two heavy losses. Mississippi State has been pegged as one of the bottom SEC teams this season, but that mattered little here as the Bulldogs scored two goals in the first 17 minutes to jump out to an early lead. Not that Mississippi State needed multiple goals, as Nicholls State were unable to register even a single shot. The Bulldogs tacked on two more goals in the second half to cap a dominant 4-0 win. The Colonels were at least able to get six shots away against Louisiana Tech, and after going 2-0 down early again, Spencer Valdespino slotted home a penalty to get one back. It remained close until the final ten minutes, when Louisiana Tech kicked in the home stretch to score another two goals for a 4-1 win. Jess Coates again started both games for Nicholls State, playing an hour in each game.

Alabama State (Shelbi Vienna-Hallam)

This week: lost to Northern Arizona 6-0 lost to Grand Canyon 4-0

Alabama State’s first trip to Arizona may have been a great experience for the team, but the results weren’t quite so positive, with two heavy losses. The Hornets were only able to get three shots away for the entire game against Northern Arizona, whilst they gave away that many goals either side of the break as the home team romped to a 6-0 win, despite Gianna Guyot’s 8 saves. Somehow, Grand Canyon were even more dominant, notching up a massive 34 shots, but again Gianna Guyot kept the scoreline semi-reasonable, with 14 saves on 18 on-target shots as GCU finished up with a 4-0 win. Shelbi Vienna-Hallam started at the back for the Hornets, playing 74 minutes against Northern Arizona and 55 minutes against Grand Canyon.

East Tennessee State (Isabel Hodgson)

This week’s result: lost to Navy 6-1

A game that started promisingly for East Tennessee State went south quickly as the game progressed, as Navy scored the last five goals of the game to waltz away with a 6-1 victory. Navy opened the scoring in the 13th minute, but were quickly pegged back by the Buccaneers as a free kick was whipped into the left corner to tie things up just 4 minutes later. Navy tacked on two goals shortly before halftime to take the score to 3-1, which left ETSU with a slim chance, but that was extinguished with goals in the 66th, 74th, and 80th minutes as Navy rolled on home to the win. Isabel Hodgson did start for East Tennessee State, continuing her streak of games started in her freshman year.

Murray State (Nyomi Devine, Harriet Withers)

This week’s result: lost to Tennessee 3-0

Murray State took a 2-1 record into this weekend, but came up against by far their toughest this week against Tennessee. Despite the 3-0 result, Murray State were not without their chances, with 11 shots in comparison to Tennessee’s 15. Unfortunately, the Racers couldn’t get those shots on target, with just 2 of 11 troubling the goalkeeper. Tennessee scored in the 13th and 55th minutes to make things tough for Murray State, before sealing it 19 minutes from time. Harriet Withers had 3 shots (1 on target) in 62 minutes up front, whilst Nyomi Devine played a full 90 minutes in defence. Nyomi has now played 358 of the side’s 360 minutes so far this season.

Southeast Missouri State (Jenna Collingridge, Maddy Cornell, Siena Senatore)

This week’s result: lost to Louisville 2-0

Southeast Missouri State fought admirably, but a couple of defensive lapses proved costly in a 2-0 loss to Louisville this week, and it almost appeared as if Siena Senatore being off the pitch was the issue. After starting on the bench, Siena was subbed on shortly after Louisville scored their opener in the 7th minute. Louisville did have a penalty in the 25th minute but it was sprayed high and the score remained 1-0. The score remained this way until the 79th minute, four minutes after Senatore was subbed off, when Louisville scored their second to put the game away. As well as Siena playing 61 minutes, Jenna Collingridge came off the bench to play 42 minutes, whilst Maddy Cornell had a 28 minute cameo.

Player Of The Week Points:

3: Emily Hulbert (Hofstra)
2: Laura Johns (Massachusetts)
1: Alex Huynh (Colorado)