Whilst a number of debuts are expected in the first week of any college season, for one team to see two performances of the calibre that Isobel Davy and Annaliese Grove put together for UMBC against Robert Morris is the kind of thing dreams are made of. The Retrievers rolled to a 3-1 win, with Robert Morris’ goal coming in almost identical circumstances that had seen a UMBC goal ruled out earlier, with an injured player in proximity to the play. That slightly annoying moment aside, Davy was solid in making three saves in her opening performance, whilst Grove might well be poached to keep Fort Knox secure after a scintillating 90-minute performance in defence that saw little to nothing get by the freshman.
Meanwhile, Madison Chambers was instrumental in her opening weekend in collegiate soccer for Alabama State. Coming off the bench for the Hornets in their season opener at Winthrop, the Tasmanian wasted little time in making an impact, tallying an assist as the team from Montgomery stormed back from 2-0 down to tie the game at 2-2 before falling 3-2 in golden goal overtime. That performance earned Chambers a start in the Hornets’ 1-0 loss to Presbyterian later in the week, and already it looks as though Jodie Smith has once again made the right call with his latest Australian recruit. Meanwhile, Grace Norbury was her usual reliable self for the Hornets, playing 96 of the 102 minutes against Winthrop before playing 42 minutes against Presbyterian in a busy weekend for the sophomore.
In Omaha, Renée Pountney may not have played huge minutes, but certainly made the most of the playing time she was afforded in Creighton’s opening weekend wins over Montana and Drake. The 75 minutes the former Newcastle Jet saw across the two games saw Pountney eclipse last season’s total of 67 minutes, whilst tallying four shots and notching the first assist of her college career as she pressured the Drake goalkeeper into a mistake following an under-hit back pass. Already, Pountney’s second season for the Bluejays looks as though it will bring far more success on a personal level than her first.
Moving to the west coast, Lara Kirkby saw only nine minutes of action on debut for Oregon, but that was more than enough to make an impact in the Ducks’ 5-0 win over Fresno State. Just 90 seconds after stepping onto the pitch for the first time in a college game, Kirkby delivered a delightful ball through to teammate Kaitlyn Paculba, who finished for the Ducks’ final goal and Kirkby’s first statistical tally of her career.
It won’t count on the official stats, but Molly Arens won’t mind after tallying a goal in Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s exhibition win over Texas A&M-International. The Novocastrian notched the third and final goal in the win, and continued to be a threat in attack as the Islanders dismantled Texas Southern 5-0 in Arens’ official debut. Arens started and played 56 minutes, rattling off three shots with one on target as even at this early stage, the sophomore demonstrates her versatility and the danger she poses across the park.
Several other players made their debuts this week, with Katie Godden coming off the bench for DePaul in their 2-1 loss to Iowa but showing enough to earn a 63-minute outing. Jasmine Barry started each of her first two games for UNC Asheville, whilst Greta Kraszula came off the bench twice for VCU. Meanwhile, it was heartening to see Ash Jordan make her first appearance for San Francisco at long last, coming on for a ten-minute cameo in the Dons’ draw with Oregon. There was also a debut of a different type, as Claire Farrington, who had only ever appeared off the bench for Butler, made her first start for the Bulldogs. Whilst the result may have not gone Butler’s way in a 5-0 defeat to Michigan, it was another career milestone for the former Brisbane Roar defender.
Complete Results
Alabama State (Madison Chambers, Grace Norbury)
This week: lost to Winthrop 3-2 (OT); lost to Presbyterian 1-0
Grace Norbury started both games for Alabama State this weekend, notching a shot in 96 minutes of action in the loss to Winthrop and playing 42 minutes against Presbyterian. Madison Chambers came off the bench to debut against Winthrop, playing 50 minutes and notching a first collegiate assists. The freshman then started against Presbyterian, finishing with two shots in 62 minutes.
Butler (Claire Farrington)
This week: lost to Michigan 5-0
Claire Farrington made her first career start in Butler’s loss to Michigan, playing 62 minutes.
Creighton (Ayana Aoyagi, Renee Pountney)
This week: defeated Montana 2-1; defeated Drake 2-0
Renée Pountney came off the bench for Creighton in both games this week. The sophomore finished with a pair of shots in 41 minutes against Montana, before tallying an assist on the Bluejays’ opener alongside three shots in 34 minutes of action against Drake. Backup goalkeeper Ayana Aoyagi did not feature in either game.
DePaul (Katie Godden)
This week: lost to Iowa 2-1
Katie Godden came off the bench to make her collegiate debut in DePaul’s loss to Iowa, playing 63 minutes.
East Tennessee State (D’arne Boato)
This week: match v Ole Miss cancelled
East Tennessee State’s only match of the week against Ole Miss was cancelled due to extreme weather.
Eastern Illinois (Ashleigh Harvie)
This week: lost to Indiana State 3-1; defeated Illinois-Springfield 3-0
Ash Harvie did not feature for Eastern Illinois in either game this week.
Grand Canyon (Sandra Hill)
This week: v Southeastern Louisiana – 12pm, Friday August 20; v Central Arkansas – 4am, Monday August 23
Hawaii (Eliza Ammendolia)
This week: defeated Hawaii Pacific 1-0 (Exhibition)
Eliza Ammendolia came off the bench for Hawaii in their exhibition win over Hawaii Pacific, registering a shot on target in her 41 minutes on the pitch.
Hofstra (Grace Watson-Carr)
This week: defeated Stony Brook 5-1; defeated Albany 2-0
Backup goalkeeper Grace Watson-Carr did not feature for Hofstra in either game this week.
Illinois (Ashleigh Lefevre)
This week: defeated Missouri 4-0; defeated Illinois State 5-1
Ashleigh Lefevre did not feature for Illinois in either game this week.
Illinois State (Indianna Asimus)
This week: defeated Eastern Michigan 4-0; lost Illinois 5-1
Indianna Asimus did not feature in Illinois State’s win over Eastern Michigan, but came off the bench to register a shot on target in 12 minutes against Illinois.
Incarnate Word (Madison McComasky)
This week: lost to Texas State 2-1
Madison McComasky started for Incarnate Word in their loss to Texas State, playing 79 minutes.
La Salle (Alyssa Van Heurck)
This week: lost to Penn State 4-0
Alyssa Van Heurck started for La Salle in their loss to Penn State, playing the full 90 minutes.
Long Beach State (Aimee Medwin)
This week: defeated CSU Northridge 2-0
Aimee Medwin started for Long Beach State in their win over CSU Northridge, playing 73 minutes.
Louisiana Tech (Caitlin Le Roux)
This week: defeated East Texas Baptist 9-0; lost to Murray State 3-2
Caitlin Le Roux came off the bench in both games this week, making her debut with a 40-minute outing against East Texas Baptist and playing 15 minutes against Murray State.
Louisiana-Monroe (Brianna Edwards, Siobhan Edwards)
This week: defeated Texas Southern 2-1 (OT); game v Mississippi Valley State postponed
Neither Brianna nor Siobhan Edwards featured in Louisiana-Monroe’s loss to Texas Southern, whilst the second game of the week against Mississippi Valley State was postponed until midweek.
Massachusetts (Hannah Peric)
This week: lost to Penn State 3-1; lost to Boston College 3-1
Hannah Peric came off the bench to play 19 minutes in Massachusetts’ loss to Penn State, but did not feature against Boston College.
Oregon (Lara Kirkby)
This week: defeated Fresno State 5-0; drew with San Francisco 2-2
Lara Kirkby picked up a debut assist in her nine minutes off the bench against Fresno State, but did not feature in the draw with San Francisco.
Rhode Island (Teresa Morrissey)
This week: drew with Providence 1-1; game v Maine cancelled
Teresa Morrissey did not feature for Rhode Island in their draw with Providence, whilst the game against Maine was cancelled due to the threat of a hurricane.
San Francisco (Ashley Jordan)
This week: drew with Oregon 2-2
Ashley Jordan made her long-awaited debut for San Francisco in their draw with Oregon, coming off the bench to play 10 second-half minutes.
Stanford (Amy Sayer)
This week: defeated Cal Poly 2-0
Amy Sayer started for Stanford in their win over Cal Poly, tallying three shots with two on target in her 60 minutes on the pitch.
Tennessee-Martin (Kiarnie Latham)
This week: defeated Southern Illinois 2-0; drew with Little Rock 0-0
Kiarnie Latham came off the bench for Tennessee-Martin in both games this week, playing 8 minutes against Southern Illinois and a solitary minute against Little Rock.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Molly Arens)
This week: defeated Texas A&M-International 3-0 (Exhibition); defeated Texas Southern 5-0
Molly Arens started both games this week, scoring a goal in the exhibition win over Texas A&M-International, before rattling off 3 shots including one on target in 56 minutes in her competitive debut against Texas Southern.
UMBC (Isobel Davy, Annaliese Grove, Abi Jordan)
This week: defeated Robert Morris 3-1; game @ Wagner postponed due to the threat of inclement weather
Isobel Davy and Annaliese Grove both made debut starts for UMBC in their win over Wagner. Davy made three saves in a complete-game performance, whilst Grove played a full 90 minutes. Abi Jordan did not feature for the Retrievers this week.
UNC Asheville (Jasmine Barry)
This week: lost to Appalachian State 3-0; lost to Western Carolina 2-1
Jasmine Barry started each of her first two NCAA Division I games, playing 59 minutes against Appalachian State and 73 minutes against Western Carolina.
USC (Talia Grossman)
This week: lost to Pepperdine 2-0
Backup goalkeeper Talia Grossman did not feature for USC in their loss to Pepperdine.
VCU (Greta Kraszula)
This week: defeated James Madison 1-0; defeated UNC Wilmington 2-1
Greta Kraszula came off the bench to make her debut against James Madison with a 20-minute outing, before playing 9 minutes off the bench in the win over UNC Wilmington.
Washington State (Aly Hay)
This week: drew with Arkansas State 1-1
Backup goalkeeper Aly Hay did not feature for Washington State in their draw with Arkansas State.
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