
There’s always a mixture of good news and bad news at this stage of the season, and it was no different this week. However, even for some Aussies whose campaigns came to an end in Week 11, there were still some bright moments. Of course, there are also more than a few players whose seasons will continue on into Week 12 and hopefully beyond.
Lua Suero saw only limited minutes off the bench in Kent State’s win over Buffalo, but managed to have a significant impact for the Golden Flashes. Suero was credited with one of two assists on the game’s opening goal, finding teammate Emma Barnett who crossed for Josie Morgan to finish. Although Buffalo would equalise 8 minutes after halftime, the Golden Flashes restored their advantage in the 71st minute to secure the win and the 4th seed in the MAC Tournament.
A match with #5 seed Northern Illinois awaited, and the Golden Flashes dominated on the scoresheet, racking up a 3-0 win despite being outshot 14-13 by the Huskies. Suero saw only five minutes off the bench, and hopefully that number increases in the semi-final against #1 seed Western Michigan later in the week.
Although Long Island fell to a 4-2 defeat to Merrimack in their final game of the season, Izzy Stein continued her recent good form, notching her second assist in as many games to go along with last week’s goal against Delaware State. With her team already 1-0 up after a 65th minute opener from Noa Bartels van Bosbeek, Stein’s determination to maintain possession against some solid defensive pressure along the byline led to a cross that found the very same player for her second goal of the game. Unfortunately, Merrimack banged home four goals in the last 22 minutes to secure a 4-2 win and see Long Island dip narrowly below .500 as they ended the season with a 7-8-2 record. However, considering last season saw the Sharks finish 4-12-3, the team is certainly on an upwards trajectory.
The Atlantic 10 Tournament started this week, and whilst it certainly wasn’t all good news for our three Aussies, there is still one standing as we head into the semi-finals. Hannah Peric played the full 90 minutes for Massachusetts, but the Minutewomen saw their 30th minute equaliser against Duquesne erased just 29 seconds later as the Dukes handed UMass their only home loss of the season at the worst possible time. Meanwhile, Greta Kraszula notched a shot on target in a 90-minute outing as valiant VCU put up a solid fight against Saint Louis. However, conceding a first-minute goal put the Rams on the back foot early, and a 37th minute strike doubled the Billikens’ lead as they marched to a 2-0 victory.
Therefore, by process of elimination, Courtney Butlion and La Salle must be the team still standing, and indeed it was the Explorers getting a 2-0 quarter-final win over Rhode Island. It didn’t come easy though, with their first goal not coming until the 74th minute. However, once they found the back of the net once, the second came just three minutes later to put the game to bed. Butlion may not have scored, but was a threat throughout, managing a pair of shots on target in her 66 minutes of playing time. The Explorers will now face #3 seed Dayton in the semi-finals, who defeated #6 seed Saint Joseph’s 1-0 in the quarter-finals.
Finally, it may not have been good news on the pitch for Eliza Ammendolia and Hawaii as their season came to an end with a Big West tournament defeat to Cal Poly, but there was still good news for the midfielder. Ammendolia was named to the All-Big West Second Team, her fourth All-Conference selection in as many years. A first team selection in 2019 and 2022, Ammendolia has now been named to the second team in 2021 and 2023, putting together one of the finest careers by an Australian in NCAA Division I in the process.
Complete Results
Alabama State (Madison Chambers, Grace Norbury)
This week: lost 1-0 to Alabama A&M
Grace Norbury played the full 90 minutes in Alabama State’s season-ending loss to Alabama A&M, whilst Madi Chambers came off the bench to play 46 minutes.
Bellarmine (Teagan Douglas)
This week: No games.
Butler (Claire Farrington)
This week: defeated Creighton 3-1; lost 3-2 to UConn (Big East Tournament Quarter-Final)
Claire Farrington came off the bench to play 18 minutes in Butler’s season-saving win over Creighton, before playing 68 minutes off the bench in their last-gasp defeat to UConn in the Big East tournament.
Central Michigan (Shivani Battaglia)
This week: lost 2-0 to Ball St.
Shivani Battaglia came off the bench to play the final 10 minutes of Central Michigan’s loss to Ball State in their final game of the season.
Coastal Carolina (Asha McClurg)
This week: lost 1-0 to James Madison
Asha McClurg did not feature in Coastal Carolina’s loss to James Madison.
Dartmouth (Kate Ryan)
This week: lost 2-0 to Brown
Kate Ryan did not feature in Dartmouth’s season-ending loss to Brown.
Denver (Isabella Chidiac)
This week: lost 3-2 on penalties to Omaha (2-2 AET) (Summit League Tournament Semi-Final)
Isabella Chidiac did not feature in Denver’s season-ending loss to Omaha in the Summit League tournament.
Eastern Kentucky (Sophie MacAlpine)
This week: lost 4-2 on penalties to Queens (0-0 AET) (ASUN Tournament First Round)
Sophie MacAlpine did not feature in Eastern Kentucky’s tournament loss to Queens.
Grambling State (Aimee Benton)
This week: defeated Ark.-Pine Bluff 3-0
Aimee Benton did not feature in Grambling State’s win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Hawaii (Eliza Ammendolia)
This week: lost 4-2 to Long Beach St.; lost 2-1 to Cal Poly (Big West Tournament Quarter-Final)
Eliza Ammendolia started both games for Hawaii this week, notching three shots with one on target in 81 minutes against Long Beach State and playing 79 minutes in the Wahine’s season-ending loss to Cal Poly in the Big West tournament.
Illinois (Isabel Rolley)
This week: No games.
Kent State (Lua Suero)
This week: defeated Buffalo 2-1; defeated Northern Illinois 3-0 (MAC Tournament Quarter-Final)
Lua Suero came off the bench for Kent State in both games this week, notching an assist in 16 minutes against Buffalo and playing 5 minutes in the win over Northern Illinois.
La Salle (Courtney Butlion)
This week: defeated Rhode Island 2-0 (Atlantic 10 Tournament Quarter Final)
Courtney Butlion started in La Salle’s conference tournament win over Rhode Island, registering 3 shots with 2 on target in 66 minutes of playing time.
Little Rock (Cameron Barreiro, Emily Jensen, Candice Kilderry, Bronte Peel)
This week: defeated UT Martin 1-0 (OVC Tournament First Round); defeated Southern Indiana 3-1 (OVC Tournament Quarter-Final)
Bronte Peel started both games for Little Rock this week, registering four shots with one on target against UT Martin before tallying another shot on target in 70 minutes in the win over Southern Indiana. Candice Kilderry came off the bench in both games, playing 24 minutes against UT Martin and 25 minutes against Southern Indiana. Cameron Barreiro did not feature against UT Martin but played 7 minutes off the bench against Southern Indiana, whilst Emily Jensen did not feature for the Trojans this week.
Long Island (Matilda Boyle, Isabella Stein)
This week: lost 4-2 to Merrimack
Izzy Stein started for Long Island in their loss to Merrimack, tallying an assist on the Sharks’ second goal and tallying a shot in her 78 minutes on the pitch. Matilda Boyle did not feature for the Sharks.
Louisiana (Emma Bates)
This week: defeated Marshall 1-0
Emma Bates did not feature in Louisiana’s win over Marshall due to a slight knock picked up last week.
Maine (Lara Kirkby)
This week: drew 0-0 with New Hampshire
Lara Kirkby played the full 90 minutes in Maine’s draw with New Hampshire, registering one shot.
Massachusetts (Hannah Peric)
This week: lost 2-1 to Duquesne (Atlantic 10 Tournament Quarter Final)
Hannah Peric played the full 90 minutes in Massachusetts’ season-ending loss to Duquesne.
Mississippi Valley State (Jacquelline Kambere)
This week: drew 0-0 with Alcorn
Jacquelline Kambere started in Mississippi Valley State’s draw with Alcorn State, playing 20 minutes.
Morehead State (Natasha Tanner)
This week: No games.
Northwestern State (Caitlin Le Roux)
This week: drew 2-2 with Nicholls
Caitlin Le Roux started in Northwestern State’s draw with Nicholls State, playing 45 minutes.
Oral Roberts (Layla Lopez)
This week: defeated Kansas City 2-1 (Summit League Tournament Quarter-Final); lost 5-2 to South Dakota State (Summit League Tournament Semi-Final)
Layla Lopez did not feature for Oral Roberts in either game this week as the Golden Eagles’ season came to an end with their semi-final defeat to South Dakota State.
Oregon State (Katie Godden)
This week: drew 2-2 with Washington St.; drew 0-0 with Washington
Katie Godden started for Oregon State in both games this week, playing an hour against Washington State and 48 minutes against Washington, tallying a single shot in each game.
Pacific (Libby Davy)
This week: defeated LMU (CA) 2-1
Libby Davy did not feature in Pacific’s win over Loyola Marymount.
Rider (Eloise Jones)
This week: defeated Canisius 1-0 (MAAC Tournament Quarter-Final)
Eloise Jones did not feature in Rider’s win over Canisius.
Santa Clara (Holly Furphy)
This week: lost 1-0 to Gonzaga
Holly Furphy came off the bench to play 11 minutes in Santa Clara’s loss to Gonzaga.
Siena (Iona Snape)
This week: No games.
Southern Illinois (Chantelle Symes)
This week: No games.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Molly Arens)
This week: No games.
UAB (Abbey Burns)
This week: defeated Temple 4-0
Abbey Burns started in UAB’s win over Temple, playing 48 minutes as the Blazers clinched an AAC Tournament position.
UMBC (Isobel Davy, Annaliese Grove)
This week: No games.
UNC Asheville (Jasmine Barry)
This week: No games.
USC (Talia Grossman)
This week: drew 0-0 with Stanford; defeated California 2-0
Talia Grossman did not feature for USC in either game this week.
VCU (Greta Kraszula)
This week: lost 2-0 to Saint Louis (Atlantic 10 Tournament Quarter-Final)
Greta Kraszula played the full 90 minutes in VCU’s season-ending loss to Saint Louis, notching a shot on target in the process.
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