Katie Godden has been an absolute star for DePaul this season, but Sarah and Grace Mitchell have both played their part for Seton Hall and this week sees the Blue Demons take on the Pirates in an Aussie v Aussie matchup. Not only is it a chance to see three Aussies in action, it is also getting close to last chance saloon for a pair of teams languishing at the foot of the Big East table if they are to scrape their way into the six-team conference tournament. DePaul have fallen to five consecutive one-goal losses in league play so far, scoring in all bar one of those games. Conversely, Seton Hall have one win to this point, a 1-0 win over Marquette that included the Pirates’ only goal in conference play so far. Can Godden continue her scoring form from last week and lead DePaul to victory, or will the Mitchell twins control the midfield and help Seton Hall secure their second win of the conference season?
Meanwhile, in the Atlantic 10, Greta Kraszula and VCU’s win over Dayton last week has them putting real pressure on the teams at the top of the table, and with the two teams above them facing off this week, two wins this week will guarantee that they close the gap on at least one of those teams. Facing a pair of midpack teams in Fordham and Loyola Chicago, the Rams will certainly be favoured in both but these games can be tricky affairs. Fordham have collected a respectable 10 points in their 6 games to this point, whilst Loyola Chicago have conceded just three goals in five games since a 3-2 defeat to high-flying Saint Louis early in the league slate. Kraszula has been a star both defensively and providing support to the attack this season, with last week’s assist just the latest highlight in an outstanding campaign, and we can expect the sophomore to be instrumental in any success VCU has this week as well.
Aimee Medwin and Long Beach State have no such concerns about teams above them on the table as they currently sit a point clear on the Big West ladder with five games to play in the regular season. This week gives Beach a real chance to shake off some members of the chasing pack as they play a pair of teams in the lower reaches of the standings whilst those just behind them play each other. UC San Diego could be quite an annoyance, as they have only lost two of their six games despite sitting in 8th in the 11-team league. However, Long Beach State’s defence has given up just four goals in five games this season, whilst UC San Diego have scored only four goals in six games, so Beach should be cautiously optimistic of their chances of keeping a clean sheet and ensuring one goal will be enough. Meanwhile, Beach’s second opponent of the week, Cal State Northridge, have leaked 12 goals in six games and picked up just a single point from those matches. Beach will be fully expecting to pick up six points this week, and after picking up a career-first assist a couple of weeks ago, could there be more scoreboard impact coming from the remarkably in-form Aimee Medwin?
UAB sit one point behind league leaders Rice having played an additional game, and with those two teams facing each other in their last match of the regular season, Abbey Burns and the Blazers simply have to keep winning to remain in with a shot at knocking the Owls off their perch on the final matchday. This week, they face two teams sitting just inside the cut-off for a spot in the eight-team conference tournament in Charlotte and Western Kentucky. Charlotte in particular should be tough to beat this week, as the conference tournament will be hosted in Charlotte and no team wants to miss out on a home championship appearance. Meanwhile, Western Kentucky can barely buy a goal at the moment, with just three in six conference games. However, they have only given up three as defence has proven to be their preferred method of picking up points. However, UAB have lost just two games all season and look unlikely to let their solid performance to this point go to waste as they look to finish their time in Conference USA on a high before moving to the AAC next season. Whether starting or coming off the bench, Abbey Burns has been instrumental for the Blazers all season, and hopefully we can see more solid performances from the South Australian this weekend.
Thirteen teams have attempted to knock off UCLA this season without success, and this week it will be Amy Sayer and Stanford looking not only to ruin the Bruins’ perfect record, but also shoot to the top of the Pac-12 standings in a conference that doesn’t utilise a tournament to decide its champion. The Cardinal look as though they may be returning to their usual position in the upper echelons of college soccer, and if they can knock off UCLA in their only game of the week, it will certainly announce to everyone that Stanford is Stanford again. Amy Sayer’s minutes have been down in recent weeks with a number of players in outstanding form, but if there’s something we know about Amy Sayer, it’s that she doesn’t always need much time on the pitch to have an impact.
Full Schedule
(All Times AEDT)
Alabama State (Madison Chambers, Grace Norbury)
This week: @ Jackson State – 7am, Saturday October 15; @ Southern – 5am, Monday October 17
Butler (Claire Farrington)
This week: v St. John’s – 5am, Friday October 14; @ Connecticut – 4am, Monday October 17
Coastal Carolina (Asha McClurg)
This week: @ Georgia Southern – 3am, Monday October 17
Creighton (Renée Pountney)
This week: @ Seton Hall – 9am, Friday October 14
Denver (Isabella Chidiac)
This week: v Western Illinois – 11am, Saturday October 15; v St. Thomas – 5am, Monday October 17
DePaul (Katie Godden)
This week: @ Connecticut – 10am, Friday October 14; v Seton Hall – 5am, Monday October 17
Hawai’i (Eliza Ammendolia)
This week: v Cal State Bakersfield – 1pm, Monday October 17
Kent State (Lua Suero)
This week: v Bowling Green – 10am, Friday October 14; @ Northern Illinois – 4am, Monday October 17
La Salle (Courtney Butlion)
This week: @ Richmond – 7am, Friday October 14; v St. Joseph’s – 4am, Monday October 17
Long Beach State (Aimee Medwin)
This week: @ UC San Diego – 1pm, Friday October 14; v Cal State Northridge – 12pm, Monday October 17
Long Island (Isabella Stein)
This week: @ Fairleigh Dickinson – 7am, Friday October 14
Louisiana (Emma Bates)
This week: @ Louisiana-Monroe – 5am, Monday October 17
Louisiana Tech (Caitlin Le Roux)
This week: @ Florida Atlantic – 4am, Monday October 17
Massachusetts (Hannah Peric)
This week: @ George Washington – 4am, Monday October 17
Oral Roberts (Layla Lopez)
This week: @ South Dakota State – 10am, Saturday October 15; @ South Dakota – 4am, Monday October 17
Oregon (Lara Kirkby, Isabel Rolley)
This week: @ Washington State – 1pm, Saturday October 15
Rider (Eloise Jones)
This week: v Niagara – 4am, Sunday October 16
Sam Houston State (Cameron Barreiro)
This week: v New Mexico State – 4am, Sunday October 16
San Francisco (Ashley Jordan)
This week: @ Pepperdine – 6am, Sunday October 16
Santa Clara (Holly Furphy)
This week: v Saint Mary’s – 7am, Sunday October 16
Seton Hall (Grace Mitchell, Sarah Mitchell)
This week: v Creighton – 9am, Friday October 14; @ DePaul – 5am, Monday October 17
Siena (Iona Snape)
This week: v Mount St. Mary’s – 4am, Monday October 17
Southern Illinois (Chantelle Symes)
This week: v Murray State – 10am, Friday October 14; v Illinois State – 5am, Monday October 17
St. Francis Brooklyn (Chloe Walker)
This week: @ Howard – 4am, Monday October 17
Stanford (Amy Sayer)
This week: v UCLA – 12pm, Saturday October 15
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Molly Arens)
This week: @ Southeastern Louisiana – 11am, Saturday October 15; @ Nicholls State – 5am, Monday October 17
UAB (Abbey Burns)
This week: v Charlotte – 11:04am, Friday October 14; @ Western Kentucky – 5am, Monday October 17
UMBC (Isobel Davy, Annaliese Grove)
This week: @ NJIT – 10am, Friday October 14; @ UMass Lowell – 4am, Monday October 17
UNC Asheville (Jasmine Barry)
This week: @ Longwood – 4am, Sunday October 16
USC (Talia Grossman)
This week: @ California – 10am, Saturday October 15
UTRGV (Dani Rutstein, Caitlin Webster)
This week: @ Utah Valley – 12:30pm, Friday October 14; @ Seattle – 6am, Sunday October 16
VCU (Greta Kraszula)
This week: v Loyola Chicago – 10am, Friday October 14; @ Fordham – 4am, Monday October 17
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