Conference regular season championship charges continue apace as we head into Week 8, with a number of teams looking to either continue their league-leading form or make a jump into the upper reaches of the standings. Meanwhile, can Oregon bounce back from a tough week against the LA schools as they make the trip to the Pac-12’s Mountain schools?
Oregon may be sitting in eighth in the Pac-12 at this early stage, but given that two of their three games have come against UCLA and USC, there is no need for panic as they visit the conference’s Mountain schools. Despite their 3-4-4 record to this point, Oregon’s strength of schedule means they still sit in a healthy 35th in the RPI rankings, at least 20 spots ahead of both Colorado and Utah. Wins in both games this weekend would be an ideal way to bounce back after their losses to UCLA and USC, and it would also put them back in the race for a spot in the upper reaches of the Pac-12. Isabel Rolley appears set to continue her role in the Ducks backline, whilst Lara Kirkby has provided reliable midfield support from the bench throughout the season as her role has grown significantly in her second year with the program.
Staying on the west coast, Aimee Medwin and Long Beach State shot to the top of the Big West standings last week, and will attempt to put a significant gap between themselves and one of the chasing pack as they make the 30-mile trip to Orange County to face UC Irvine. Should Beach pick up a win, they would put six points between themselves and the Anteaters, who have already played an additional game. With the Big West tournament expanding to six teams this season, a win for Beach would put them within one or two results of securing a conference tournament berth, which would be the first step in their chase for an NCAA Tournament bid. As per usual, expect Medwin to be heavily involved not only in defence, but providing support to the attack as she looks to grow her assist tally after tallying the first of her career against Cal State Fullerton last week.
Meanwhile, Eliza Ammendolia’s Hawai’i side take on two of the bottom teams in the Big West as they look to rebound from last week’s loss to Long Beach State. Cal State Northridge and UC San Diego find themselves winless through four and five games of conference play respectively, making these games must-wins for the Rainbow Wahine. Although the travel from Hawai’i to California is a factor that no other team in the league faces more than once a season, that will be no excuse for the team in green as they attempt to cement themselves in the top six of the conference at the midpoint of league play. Expect to once again see Eliza Ammendolia starting in midfield for the Rainbow Wahine as she continues to play an integral role for the team.
Greta Kraszula and VCU have set themselves up nicely for a run at a conference regular season championship, but they’ll need to take down high-flying Dayton this week if they are to have any real chance of securing the silverware. The Rams do have a game in hand on Dayton, but currently sit seven points behind the 6-0-0 Flyers, meaning only a win will keep them in with a realistic shot of catching this week’s opponents. However, Kraszula’s side are undefeated in their last 11 games and have won their last 3 on the trot as the Young Matildas defender has helped her team keep a clean sheet in each of those victories.
Hannah Peric and UMass find themselves in a similar situation as they take on undefeated Saint Louis. Sitting tied with VCU on 11 points, the Minutewomen this week take on a Billikens side that sits undefeated in league play at 5-0-0 and is widely considered one of the conference favourites, putting them in an almost identical situation to VCU. Peric has been making solid appearances off the bench over the last couple of weeks, with UMass keeping a pair of clean sheets in their last two games since a 2-1 defeat to Dayton. Not only could UMass do themselves a massive favour with victory this weekend, they would also help VCU massively, and the same goes for the reverse as both Aussies look to make a title run.
Finally, we head to Conference USA to take a look at Abbey Burns and league-leading UAB. The Blazers sit a point clear of Rice atop the table, but have played one more game than the Owls, who they will not face until the final day of the season. Therefore, it is imperative that they keep winning to stay atop the table, and this week they host UTSA in their only game of the week. These teams drew 1-1 last season, but that was during a campaign that saw both sides finish midtable. 2022 is a different story, with UTSA sitting six places behind UAB at this stage. Matches like this can be tricky, particularly as UTSA have given up only 9 goals in 12 games this season despite their middling league record. However, Burns and UAB have found a way to get things done throughout this season and will be confident that they can once again secure three points.
Full Schedule
(All Times AEDT)
Alabama State (Madison Chambers, Grace Norbury)
This week: v Grambling State – 10am, Saturday October 8; v Arkansas-Pine Bluff – 5am, Monday October 10
Butler (Claire Farrington)
This week: v Villanova – 10am, Friday October 7; @ DePaul – 5am, Monday October 10
Coastal Carolina (Asha McClurg)
This week: v Southern Miss – 10am, Friday October 7; @ Old Dominion – 4am, Monday October 10
Creighton (Renée Pountney)
This week: @ St. John’s – 10am, Friday October 7; v Villanova – 4am, Monday October 10
Denver (Isabella Chidiac)
This week: v Omaha – 10am, Sunday October 9
DePaul (Katie Godden)
This week: @ Providence – 9am, Friday October 7; v Butler – 5am, Monday October 10
Hawai’i (Eliza Ammendolia)
This week: @ Cal State Northridge – 1pm, Friday October 7; @ UC San Diego – 8am, Monday October 10
Kent State (Lua Suero)
This week: @ Eastern Michigan – 7am, Friday October 7; v Miami (OH) – 4am, Monday October 10
La Salle (Courtney Butlion)
This week: @ Fordham – 4am, Monday October 10
Long Beach State (Aimee Medwin)
This week: @ UC Irvine – 12pm, Monday October 10
Long Island (Isabella Stein)
This week: v Howard – 4am, Friday October 7; v Wagner – 4am, Monday October 10
Louisiana (Emma Bates)
This week: @ Arkansas State – 7am, Friday October 7; v Texas State – 5am, Monday October 10
Louisiana Tech (Caitlin Le Roux)
This week: v UTSA – 11am, Friday October 7; @ Middle Tennessee State – 5am, Monday October 10
Massachusetts (Hannah Peric)
This week: v Saint Louis – 4am, Monday October 10
Oral Roberts (Layla Lopez)
This week: v North Dakota – 11am, Saturday October 8; v North Dakota State – 5am, Monday October 10
Oregon (Lara Kirkby, Isabel Rolley)
This week: @ Utah – 11:30am, Friday October 7; @ Colorado – 6am, Monday October 10
Rider (Eloise Jones)
This week: v Fairfield – 4am, Sunday October 9
Sam Houston State (Cameron Barreiro)
This week: @ Utah Tech – 12:30pm, Saturday October 8; @ Southern Utah – 7am, Monday October 10
San Francisco (Ashley Jordan)
This week: v Santa Clara – 10am, Sunday October 9
Santa Clara (Holly Furphy)
This week: @ San Francisco – 1pm, Sunday October 9
Seton Hall (Grace Mitchell, Sarah Mitchell)
This week: v Marquette – 9am, Friday October 7; @ Georgetown – 4am, Monday October 10
Siena (Iona Snape)
This week: v Marist – 4am, Sunday October 9
Southern Illinois (Chantelle Symes)
This week: @ Indiana State – 11am, Friday October 7; v Northern Iowa – 5am, Monday October 10
St. Francis Brooklyn (Chloe Walker)
This week: v Sacred Heart – 6am, Friday October 7
Stanford (Amy Sayer)
This week: v Washington – 1:30pm, Friday October 7; v Washington State – 6am, Monday October 10
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Molly Arens)
This week: v McNeese State – 11am, Saturday October 8
UAB (Abbey Burns)
This week: v UTSA – 4am, Monday October 10
UMBC (Isobel Davy, Annaliese Grove)
This week: v Albany – 4am, Monday October 10
UNC Asheville (Jasmine Barry)
This week: v Radford – 7:30am, Sunday October 9
USC (Talia Grossman)
This week: v Arizona – 9:30am, Friday October 7; v Arizona State – 6am, Monday October 10
UTRGV (Dani Rutstein, Caitlin Webster)
This week: v Grand Canyon – 8am, Saturday October 8; v Cal Baptist – 7am, Monday October 10
VCU (Greta Kraszula)
This week: @ Dayton – 4am, Monday October 10
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