Alyssa Van Heurck has been one of the best performing Australians ever since she set foot on campus at La Salle, and the Western Australian will have the opportunity to be honoured for her stellar career as the Explorers celebrate Senior Day this week against Massachusetts. However, in amongst all the celebrations, there is a game to be won and it could be a crucial contest for La Salle. Currently sitting eighth in the Atlantic 10, taking maximum points is the only way to ensure a spot in the eight-team conference tournament as they sit equal on ten points with George Mason. First up is a clash with Saint Joseph’s, who sit a further point back from La Salle, making this game an important one as a win for Van Heurck’s side would knock Saint Joseph’s out of the running for the final tournament spot. Every game on Sunday will be played simultaneously as the final positions are thrashed out, meaning La Salle won’t have any prior knowledge of the required result. However, one thing they can rely on is the performance of Van Heurck, who has made the wide areas of the McCarthy Stadium pitch her own over her time in Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, Greta Kraszula and VCU have things slightly easier as they require just a point from their last two games to ensure an Atlantic 10 regular season title. The Rams have already ensured a share of the title and the #1 seed in the conference tournament, but an outright title would be far sweeter after their dominance to this point. This week sees the Rams take on bottom side Davidson and 10th placed Saint Joseph’s, two teams that the Rams really should be beating at this stage. Furthermore, losses to this teams would severely impact VCU’s RPI, which would leave them with absolutely zero margin for error in the conference tournament. Kraszula’s minutes have fluctuated since her return from injury, but hopefully this week brings more playing time for the former Northern Tigers defender.
Meanwhile, in the Big East, Claire Farrington and Butler can make a real impact on the title race this week as they take on top side Xavier. With three games left in the regular season, the Bulldogs sit five points behind the Musketeers, but can erase the majority of that lead in one fell swoop with a win in their opening game of the weekend. The Bulldogs finish the weekend with a game against bottom side Villanova, so if they can hit their straps against Xavier, a six-point weekend isn’t out of the question, and it would also provide a significant boost to their chances of landing an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as they sit right on the bubble at this stage. Farrington has been ever-present in the starting lineup for Butler this year, and there seems to be little reason for that to change as we approach the conclusion of the regular season.
Staying in the Big East, a pair of Aussie forwards will face off this week as a Creighton side featuring Renée Pountney as well as goalkeeper Ayana Aoyagi take on Katie Godden and DePaul, with Creighton looking to make a late charge up the table. Since drawing 1-1 with conference title contenders Georgetown, the Bluejays lost five on the trot but bounced back last week with a win over Seton Hall. They may be a better team than their 1-5-1 record in conference play suggests, but the time has come for Creighton to rack up the results that they should have secured earlier in the season. Meanwhile, DePaul fare slightly better currently, sitting in eighth position but just three points off Connecticut in fourth spot. If Godden’s side can fire this weekend, they can make a real charge for a decent seeding in the conference tournament. Both Pountney and Godden have seen regular playing time this season, so it wouldn’t be unthinkable to see both on the pitch at the same time during their clash.
Finally, we head to California as Aimee Medwin and Long Beach State look to grab a win over Cal State Northridge before facing conference leaders Cal Poly next week. Currently sitting at 5-1-1 in conference play, Beach are just two points off the top of the standings, so a win in this game will really keep the pressure on Cal Poly, who also need to keep winning to maintain their position atop the table. Cal State Northridge are not the worst team, but have only picked up two wins in their six games this week, making Long Beach State the favourites in their only game of the weekend. Expect Medwin to feature heavily in this contest as the sophomore’s transfer from Ole Miss continues to be an absolute masterstroke.
Full Schedule
(All Times AEDT)
Alabama State (Madison Chambers, Grace Norbury)
This week: v Jackson State – 10am, Saturday October 23; v Southern – 5am, Monday October 25
Butler (Claire Farrington)
This week: at Xavier – 10am, Friday October 22; @ Villanova – 4am, Monday October 25
Creighton (Ayana Aoyagi, Renée Pountney)
This week: @ DePaul – 6am, Friday October 22; v St. John’s – 5am, Monday October 25
DePaul (Katie Godden)
This week: v Creighton – 6am, Friday October 22; v Providence – 5am, Monday October 25
East Tennessee State (D’arne Boato)
This week: @ UNC Greensboro – 10am, Saturday October 23; @ VMI – 5am, Monday October 25
Eastern Illinois (Ashleigh Harvie)
This week: @ Austin Peay – 10am, Friday October 22
Grand Canyon (Sandra Hill)
This week: @ New Mexico State – 1pm, Sunday October 24
Hawaii (Eliza Ammendolia)
This week: @ UC Davis – 10am, Friday October 22; @ Cal State Bakersfield – 11am, Monday October 25
Hofstra (Grace Watson-Carr)
This week: @ Drexel – 8am, Friday October 22; @ Elon – 4am, Monday October 25
Illinois (Ashleigh Lefevre)
This week: v Nebraska – 11am, Friday October 22; v Rutgers – 5am, Monday October 25
Illinois State (Indianna Asimus)
This week: @ Indiana State – 10am, Saturday October 23
Incarnate Word (Madison McComasky)
This week: @ Southeastern Louisiana – 11am, Saturday October 23; @ Nicholls State – 5am, Monday October 25
La Salle (Alyssa Van Heurck)
This week: @ Saint Joseph’s – 10am, Friday October 22; v Massachusetts – 4am, Monday October 25
Long Beach State (Aimee Medwin)
This week: @ Cal State Northridge – 1pm, Friday October 22
Louisiana Tech (Caitlin Le Roux)
This week: v North Texas – 11am, Saturday October 23
Massachusetts (Hannah Peric)
This week: v St. Bonaventure – 6am, Friday October 22; @ La Salle – 4am, Monday October 25
Oregon (Lara Kirkby)
This week: @ Colorado – 8am, Friday October 22; @ Utah – 5am, Monday October 25
San Francisco (Ashley Jordan)
This week: @ Pacific – 1pm, Sunday October 24
Stanford (Amy Sayer)
This week: v Arizona State – 11am, Friday October 22; v Arizona – 6am, Monday October 25
Tennessee-Martin (Kiarnie Latham)
This week: v Belmont – 11am, Friday October 22; @ Morehead State – 5am, Monday October 25
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Molly Arens)
This week: @ Nicholls State – 8am, Saturday October 23; @ Southeastern Louisiana – 5am, Monday October 25
UMBC (Isobel Davy, Annaliese Grove, Abi Jordan)
This week: v Vermont – 4am, Monday October 25
UNC Asheville (Jasmine Barry)
This week: v Longwood – 8am, Sunday October 24
USC (Talia Grossman, Isabel Rolley)
This week: @ Washington State – 1pm, Friday October 22; @ Washington – 6am, Monday October 25
VCU (Greta Kraszula)
This week: @ Davidson – 10am, Friday October 22; v Saint Joseph’s – 4am, Monday October 25
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