As if heading into crunch time wasn’t exciting enough, plenty of Aussies stood out this week in crucial matches to help set their teams up for the final couple of weeks of the regular season. Meanwhile, teams continue to lock in postseason berths, ensuring plenty of action in Weeks 11 and 12.
Louisiana need all the points they can get at this stage if they are to qualify for the Sun Belt conference tournament, and Emma Bates helped the Ragin’ Cajuns on their way in a 3-1 win over Arkansas State. A sumptuous free kick on the half-hour mark from the midfielder tied things up after the Red Wolves had taken an early lead, and that strike set the Ragin’ Cajuns on their way. A red card to Arkansas State early in the second half only helped Louisiana’s cause, and they capitalised with a goal just a minute after the incident before tacking on a third with 24 minutes to play. Bates would finish the game with 69 minutes under her belt as her role becomes more and more integral to the Louisiana setup.
A loss to Troy in their second game of the week left Louisiana sitting right on the cut line in the Sun Belt, but a result against Marshall on Thursday night should secure their passage through to the conference tournament. Unfortunately, Bates left that game against Troy after just 32 minutes of action, so her involvement in the next couple of games will be something to keep an eye on.
A recent loss to UMass-Lowell put Maine slightly behind the eight-ball in the race for the America East regular season title, but the Black Bears had the chance to right the ship as they faced league leaders Binghamton this weekend. Needing a win to move back to the top of the table, Lara Kirkby set her team on their way early, firing home a rebound from point blank range just five minutes in. A second goal quickly followed courtesy of a 19th minute penalty, but there is one caveat when a team goes up 2-0 early on: it means the opposition have plenty of time to make a comeback. Annoyingly, that is exactly what Binghamton did, scoring in the 36th and 60th minutes to tie the game at 2-2, which would be the final result. Kirkby would play the entire 90 minutes once again, doing so for the fifth time in the last six games, having not done so for the entire season up until that point. With one game remaining, Maine find themselves a point behind Binghamton, so a win against New Hampshire next week is a must if they want to even think about a regular season title.
Hawaii found themselves in a tight race in the Big West, but Eliza Ammendolia helped ensure that her team would secure a crucial three points against UC Santa Barbara. In a tight game that saw shots hard to come by – the final shot count finished 8-7 in Hawaii’s favour – a delightful pass from Ammendolia in the 76th minute put Cate Sheahan through to score the only goal of the game to deliver the Wahine a 1-0 victory. Eventually, despite falling to a 2-1 defeat to Cal Poly in their second match of the weekend, those three points were enough to secure Hawaii’s passage to the Big West conference tournament.
Unlike most conferences, the West Coast Conference does not feature a conference tournament, meaning that even after this week, there are still three games to play, with Holly Furphy and Santa Clara right at the heart of the title race. In fact, it was Furphy herself helping the Broncos keep pace with Gonzaga and Pepperdine as they secured a 2-0 win over Loyola Marymount. With Santa Clara absolutely dominating but only holding a 1-0 lead following a 15th minute goal, the Broncos were able to breathe easier after a 65th minute goal that doubled the advantage. Furphy smartly laid the ball off to Alex Klos, whose cross was finished by Jordyn Crosby, securing all three points and also handing both Furphy and Klos assists on the goal. The assist was Furphy’s first of her collegiate career to go alongside a pair of goals this season.
The Broncos now stand level with Gonzaga and Pepperdine on 12 points, with the Zags still to face both Santa Clara and Pepperdine in the next couple of weeks. Not only is the title still up for grabs, but at-large bids are definitely in play for whichever teams do not secure the conference championship.
Alabama State may not have been able to pick up the three points against Texas Southern on Friday night, but Madi Chambers’ strike to level the game just after halftime was certainly a highlight. Coming on at the break with her team trailing 1-0, Chambers quickly injected herself into the game, and tallied the equaliser in the 58th minute after creating space for herself and firing off a shot that was too hot for the Texas Southern goalkeeper to handle. Unfortunately, Texas Southern responded with a goal just four minutes later which would prove to be the game-winner. Alabama State would go on to secure a draw against Prairie View A&M in their second game of the weekend as the Hornets’ celebrated, among others, Grace Norbury on senior day. The result leaves the side faced with a do-or-die game on the road against arch-rivals Alabama A&M, with only a win enough for the Hornets to secure a conference tournament berth.
Libby Davy also found herself in the unfortunate position of producing an impressive performance that ultimately counted for little in terms of the result as Pacific fell to a 2-0 defeat. Having not featured for a couple of weeks before playing 17 minutes against Gonzaga earlier in the weekend, the freshman managed to hold out Saint Mary’s for 70 minutes, making ten saves for the game, but two goals in quick succession changed the complexion of the game. With Pacific only able to put one shot on target for the entire game, eventually the sheer weight of shots from the Gaels proved enough for the team for Moraga to get the win.
This week’s results also saw several teams either advance to their conference’s tournament or find themselves eliminated from contention. The following teams will feature in postseason action after securing a spot this week:
Atlantic 10: Massachusetts (Hannah Peric), VCU (Greta Kraszula)
Big West: Hawaii (Eliza Ammendolia)
MAAC: Siena (Iona Snape)
MAC: Kent State (Lua Suero)
Ohio Valley: Little Rock (Cameron Barreiro, Candice Kilderry, Emily Jensen, Bronte Peel)
Southland: Northwestern State (Caitlin Le Roux), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Molly Arens)
Summit League: Oral Roberts (Layla Lopez)
(Clinched in Week 9: America East: Maine (Lara Kirkby); ASUN: Eastern Kentucky (Sophie MacAlpine); Atlantic 10: La Salle (Courtney Butlion); Ohio Valley: Morehead State (Natasha Tanner); Summit League: Denver (Isabella Chidiac); SWAC: Grambling State (Aimee Benton))
Unfortunately, a number of teams were eliminated from contention this week, putting an end to their season once league play wraps up.
American: UAB (Abbey Burns)
Big South: UNC Asheville (Jasmine Barry)
Big Ten: Illinois (Isabel Rolley)
MAC: Central Michigan (Shivani Battaglia)
NEC: Long Island (Matilda Boyle, Isabella Stein)
Sun Belt: Coastal Carolina (Asha McClurg)
SWAC: Mississippi Valley State (Jacquelline Kambere)
Libby Davy and Pacific also found themselves eliminated from title contention in the West Coast Conference, with that league not featuring a conference tournament and relying solely on league play to decide the recipient of the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
(Eliminated in Week 9: America East: UMBC (Isy Davy, Annie Grove); ASUN: Bellarmine (Teagan Douglas); Missouri Valley: Southern Illinois (Chantelle Symes); Pac-12: Oregon State (Katie Godden))
Complete Results
Alabama State (Madison Chambers, Grace Norbury)
This week: lost 2-1 to Texas Southern; drew 1-1 with Prairie View
Grace Norbury played the full 90 minutes in both games this week, tallying a shot against Texas Southern and three more in the draw with Prairie View A&M. Madi Chambers came off the bench to score in 27 minutes of action against Texas Southern, before starting and playing 38 minutes against Prairie View A&M.
Bellarmine (Teagan Douglas)
This week: lost 1-0 to Eastern Ky.
Teagan Douglas started for Bellarmine and played 80 minutes as their season ended with a loss to Eastern Kentucky.
Butler (Claire Farrington)
This week: drew 2-2 with Seton Hall; lost 4-2 to Georgetown
Claire Farrington did not feature for Butler in either game this week.
Central Michigan (Shivani Battaglia)
This week: lost 5-1 to Bowling Green; lost 1-0 to NIU
Shivani Battaglia did not feature for Central Michigan in either game this week.
Coastal Carolina (Asha McClurg)
This week: lost 1-0 to South Alabama; lost 1-0 to Marshall
Asha McClurg did not feature for Coastal Carolina in either game this week.
Dartmouth (Kate Ryan)
This week: lost 2-0 to Princeton
Kate Ryan did not feature in Dartmouth’s loss to Princeton.
Denver (Isabella Chidiac)
This week: lost 1-0 to North Dakota St.; drew 3-3 with North Dakota
Isabella Chidiac did not feature in Denver’s loss to North Dakota State, but came off the bench for an eight-minute cameo in the draw with North Dakota.
Eastern Kentucky (Sophie MacAlpine)
This week: defeated Bellarmine 1-0
Sophie MacAlpine did not feature in Eastern Kentucky’s win over Bellarmine.
Grambling State (Aimee Benton)
This week: defeated Jackson St. 2-1; drew 1-1 with Southern U.
Aimee Benton did not feature for Grambling State against Jackson State, but came off the bench to play three minutes as an outfield player against Southern.
Hawaii (Eliza Ammendolia)
This week: defeated UC Santa Barbara 1-0; v Cal Poly – 1:00PM, Monday October 23
Ammendolia: start, 71 minutes, shot on target, assist v UCSB
Illinois (Isabel Rolley)
This week: lost 2-1 to Michigan St.; lost 4-2 to Nebraska
Isabel Rolley came off the bench for Illinois in both games this week, playing 19 minutes against Michigan State before notching a shot in a 40-minute outing against Nebraska.
Kent State (Lua Suero)
This week: lost 2-0 to Western Mich.; defeated Toledo 4-1
Lua Suero came off the bench for Kent State in both games this week, playing 14 minutes against Western Michigan and 11 minutes in the win over Toledo.
La Salle (Courtney Butlion)
This week: drew 0-0 with Loyola Chicago; defeated Davidson 2-0
Courtney Butlion came off the bench in both games this week, playing 48 minutes against Loyola Chicago and 35 minutes in the win over Davidson.
Little Rock (Cameron Barreiro, Emily Jensen, Candice Kilderry, Bronte Peel)
This week: defeated Western Ill. 1-0; lost 2-1 to Tennessee Tech
Bronte Peel started both games this week, registering two shots with one on target in 64 minutes against Western Illinois before scoring with her only shot of the game in 67 minutes against Tennessee Tech. Candice Kilderry came off the bench in both games, playing 26 minutes against Western Illinois and 23 minutes against Tennessee Tech. Cameron Barreiro did not feature against Western Illinois but came off the bench to play 17 minutes against Tennessee Tech, whilst Emily Jensen did not feature this week.
Long Island (Matilda Boyle, Isabella Stein)
This week: defeated Delaware St. 2-0
Izzy Stein scored in Long Island’s win over Delaware State, but more complete stats are unavailable for this game.
Louisiana (Emma Bates)
This week: defeated Arkansas St. 3-1; lost 1-0 to Troy
Emma Bates started both games for Louisiana this week, scoring with one of her two shots in 69 minutes against Arkansas State but unfortunately being forced off after 32 minutes against Troy.
Maine (Lara Kirkby)
This week: drew 2-2 with Binghamton
Lara Kirkby played the full 90 minutes in Maine’s draw with Binghamton, scoring with her only shot of the game.
Massachusetts (Hannah Peric)
This week: defeated Saint Joseph’s 2-0; defeated Fordham 2-0
Hannah Peric started both games this week, notching three shots with one on target in 90 minutes against Saint Joseph’s before playing 78 minutes in the win over Fordham.
Morehead State (Natasha Tanner)
This week: defeated Tennessee Tech 2-1; defeated SIUE 2-0
Natasha Tanner did not feature for Morehead State in either game this week.
Northwestern State (Caitlin Le Roux)
This week: defeated Houston Christian 2-1
Caitlin Le Roux started in Northwestern State’s win over Houston Christian, playing 55 minutes.
Oral Roberts (Layla Lopez)
This week: drew 1-1 with South Dakota St.; defeated South Dakota 5-1
Layla Lopez did not feature for Oral Roberts against South Dakota State, but came off the bench to play 13 minutes against South Dakota.
Oregon State (Katie Godden)
This week: lost 3-1 to Stanford; lost 3-0 to California
Katie Godden started both games for Oregon State this week, playing 26 minutes against Stanford before registering a shot on target in 51 minutes against California.
Pacific (Libby Davy)
This week: lost 2-0 to Saint Mary’s (CA)
Libby Davy played the full 90 minutes for Pacific in their loss to Saint Mary’s, making ten saves.
Rider (Eloise Jones)
This week: lost 4-0 to Niagara
Eloise Jones came off the bench to play a six-minute cameo in Rider’s loss to Niagara.
Santa Clara (Holly Furphy)
This week: defeated LMU (CA) 2-0
Holly Furphy came off the bench to play half an hour in Santa Clara’s win over Loyola Marymount, registering one of two assists on the Broncos’ second goal.
Siena (Iona Snape)
This week: lost 2-0 to Mount St. Mary’s
Iona Snape started in Siena’s loss to Mount St. Mary’s, registering a shot on target in her 68 minutes on the pitch.
Southern Illinois (Chantelle Symes)
This week: lost 2-0 to Missouri St.
Chantelle Symes did not feature in Southern Illinois’ loss to Missouri State in the Salukis’ final game of the season.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Molly Arens)
This week: lost 1-0 to Lamar University; lost 2-0 to McNeese
Molly Arens started in both games this week, playing 66 minutes on each occasion and tallying a shot on target against McNeese State.
UAB (Abbey Burns)
This week: lost 4-0 to Memphis; lost 4-2 to Tulsa
Abbey Burns started both games for UAB this week, playing 54 minutes against Memphis and the full 90 minutes in the loss to Tulsa.
UMBC (Isobel Davy, Annaliese Grove)
This week: drew 0-0 with New Hampshire
Annie Grove started in UMBC’s season-ending draw with New Hampshire, playing 40 minutes. Isy Davy did not feature for the Retrievers this week.
UNC Asheville (Jasmine Barry)
This week: lost 1-0 to Charleston So.
Jasmine Barry came off the bench in UNC Asheville’s loss to Charleston Southern, tallying a shot in 36 minutes of action.
USC (Talia Grossman)
This week: lost 1-0 to Arizona St.; drew 1-1 with Arizona
Talia Grossman did not feature for USC this week.
VCU (Greta Kraszula)
This week: defeated Fordham 3-1; drew 2-2 with Loyola Chicago
Greta Kraszula started both games for VCU this week, playing 85 minutes against Fordham and registering a shot on target in a 90-minute outing against Loyola Chicago.
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