Their home patches may be separated by just 14 miles of traffic-filled Los Angeles roads, but USC and UCLA are even closer on the Pac-12 table, with two points between the teams as they enter their final day local derby. USC head to Wallis Annenberg Stadium knowing that a draw will be enough to secure the conference championship, whilst UCLA will need to defend their turf successfully if they are to snatch the title from their rivals at the last possible moment. With no conference tournament in the Pac-12, the winner of this game takes all the marbles in the conference. From an Australian perspective, the hope is that it will be USC and their duo of Talia Grossman and Isabel Rolley who finish atop the standings. Whilst Grossman has been backing up goalkeeper Anna Smith all season, it was a rare week without seeing Rolley on the pitch last week, and hopefully the junior returns for the Women of Troy in this potential blockbuster.
Staying in the Pac-12, both Lara Kirkby’s Oregon side and Amy Sayer’s Stanford outfit face crucial matchups for vastly different reasons. Both teams fell to a pair of defeats last week, leaving them sliding perilously close to the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble. However, both teams have the chance to bounce back and add one last win to the résumé before the tournament field is selected next week. Stanford currently sit at #34 in the RPI, which isn’t a terrible place to be, but a loss to #60 ranked California would do some damage to that ranking. The Cardinal probably sit on the right side of the bubble, but they wouldn’t want to risk a few at-large bids being swallowed up by conference tournament upsets. Meanwhile, Oregon sit at #51 in the RPI, putting the Ducks in a far more precarious position. There are no two ways about it for the team from Eugene: they must beat local rivals Oregon State this weekend to give themselves a chance at reaching a first NCAA Tournament, and even then, they will probably be hoping for other results to go their way. The assignment isn’t particularly easy for either Stanford or Oregon, but both teams are favoured. Amy Sayer’s minutes were down last week for Stanford, but given the Cardinal lost both games, perhaps a return to more playing time for the sophomore could be the catalyst for a return to form for Stanford. Meanwhile, Lara Kirkby remains a backup for the Ducks, but has already shown in her one brief cameo this season that she can produce, with her single assist in nine minutes delivering a healthy average of ten assists per 90 minutes played.
Moving to the Big East, Claire Farrington’s Butler side have moved into the conference tournament semi-finals and will face Georgetown in a game that could prove crucial for multiple reasons. Firstly, a win would put the Bulldogs into the championship game. Secondly, if Butler are to win and then lose in the championship game, the win over Georgetown would be a massive positive mark on their résumé, with the Hoyas currently sitting at #17 in the RPI. Butler sit at #31 in the RPI, but that lack of results against top teams will not be viewed favourably by the selection committee. The teams have already faced off once this season, with Georgetown getting the win at home courtesy of an 89th minute goal in a game that saw each team finish with just three shots on target. Claire Farrington can claim some of the credit for Georgetown’s side of that low shot count, with the Northern New South Wales product a rock at the back for Butler all season. If the Bulldogs can keep Georgetown’s attack that quiet again, they’ll give themselves every chance.
Meanwhile, down in the Southland Conference, a pair of Aussies have proven integral to a couple of teams that have put together solid campaigns and could upset the apple cart in the conference tournament. All-conference third team selection Madison McComasky helped lead Incarnate Word to a third seed for the tournament, and the senior will now look to steer the Cardinals past #6 seed Houston Baptist in their quarter-final. Incarnate Word picked up a 2-0 win the last time the teams met, whilst a Houston Baptist victory in a second fixture earlier in the season was annulled and awarded to Incarnate Word after the fact. All things considered, Incarnate Word come into this game as favourites, and it will be players like McComasky who ensure that the Cardinals earn the desired result. Meanwhile, Molly Arens spent considerable time off the pitch this season, but has returned with a vengeance to help Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to the fourth seed, with the Islanders’ first tournament game coming against Southeastern Louisiana. These teams faced off just over a week ago, with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi picking up a 1-0 victory after a 1-1 draw in their first fixture in late September. Being the 4 v 5 matchup, this is expected to be a close encounter, but with four points in six games, Arens and her team have every reason to be optimistic about their chances of advancing to Friday’s semi-finals, particularly as the Islanders are playing host to the tournament.
Staying in Texas, Alabama State are headed to Prairie View for the SWAC Tournament, with Grace Norbury set to play a crucial role in the Hornets’ quest to defend their conference championship. As the fourth seed, Alabama State will take on the fifth-seeded Texas Southern in their quarter-final. The teams’ regular season contest came on Alabama State’s home patch in Montgomery, with the Hornets picking up a 1-0 victory and holding Texas Southern to a single shot for the entire contest. However, despite the fact this game is on neutral turf, Texas Southern will travel just 50 miles from Houston for the tournament, whilst Alabama State will travel the best part of 700 miles, giving Texas Southern a significant advantage on this occasion. However, Alabama State have already dominated the Tigers once this season, and Norbury will be looking to boss the midfield once again as the Hornets look to make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Full Schedule
(All Times AEDT – please check team or conference websites for tournament games yet to be determined)
Alabama State (Madison Chambers, Grace Norbury)
This week: v Texas Southern – 5am, Friday November 5 (SWAC Tournament Quarter-Final)
Butler (Claire Farrington)
This week: v Georgetown – 10:30am, Friday November 5 (Big East Tournament Semi-Final)
Creighton (Ayana Aoyagi, Renée Pountney)
No games this week.
DePaul (Katie Godden)
No games this week.
East Tennessee State (D’arne Boato)
No games this week.
Eastern Illinois (Ashleigh Harvie)
No games this week.
Grand Canyon (Sandra Hill)
This week: v New Mexico State or Lamar – 8am, Saturday November 6
Hawaii (Eliza Ammendolia)
No games this week.
Hofstra (Grace Watson-Carr)
This week: v James Madison – 10:30am, Friday November 5 (CAA Tournament Semi-Final)
Illinois (Ashleigh Lefevre)
No games this week.
Illinois State (Indianna Asimus)
No games this week.
Incarnate Word (Madison McComasky)
This week: v Houston Baptist – 8am, Thursday November 4 (Southland Conference Tournament Quarter-Final)
La Salle (Alyssa Van Heurck)
No games this week.
Long Beach State (Aimee Medwin)
No games this week.
Louisiana Tech (Caitlin Le Roux)
No games this week.
Massachusetts (Hannah Peric)
This week: v Saint Joseph’s – 4am, Saturday November 6 (Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Semi-Final)
Oregon (Lara Kirkby)
This week: @ Oregon State – 1pm, Saturday November 6
San Francisco (Ashley Jordan)
This week: @ Gonzaga – 1pm, Thursday November 4; v San Diego – 1pm, Sunday November 7
Stanford (Amy Sayer)
This week: v California – 9:30am, Sunday November 7
Tennessee-Martin (Kiarnie Latham)
This week: v Tennessee Tech – 8am, Saturday November 6
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Molly Arens)
This week: v Southeastern Louisiana – 11am, Thursday November 4 (Southland Conference Tournament Quarter-Final)
UMBC (Isobel Davy, Annaliese Grove, Abi Jordan)
No games this week.
UNC Asheville (Jasmine Barry)
No games this week.
USC (Talia Grossman, Isabel Rolley)
This week: @ UCLA – 2pm, Saturday November 6
VCU (Greta Kraszula)
No games this week.
Leave a Reply