Week 6 signifies the midpoint of the regular season, and it’s certainly an intriguing one for many reasons. There are a couple of big Aussie v Aussie games, whilst two more Aussies have the chance to make big moves even in the early stages of conference play.
It’s a game that we at College Matildas circle on the calendar as soon as the schedule comes out, and the 2023 season sees Hannah Peric and Greta Kraszula face off in a battle of Atlantic 10 teams each looking to earn one of the top seeds in the conference tournament. Peric’s UMass side definitely had the tougher opening week, defeating George Washington but falling to conference championship contenders Dayton in their second game of the week. Meanwhile, Kraszula and VCU knocked off Richmond before demolishing George Mason to sit level with powerhouse Saint Louis atop the conference standings. VCU have had the wood on UMass in recent years, winning three of the last five meetings and splitting the points in the remaining two. However, each of those wins have been by a single goal, so Massachusetts have hardly been out of the contest in any of the five games.
Both Peric and Kraszula have been absolutely integral to their respective teams, with each player embedded in the starting lineup and playing the full 90 minutes on a number of occasions. There won’t be many better Aussie v Aussie matchups this season, so this is definitely one to watch.
However, that is not the only clash of Australians this week, with a good old-fashioned Victoria v South Australia rivalry brewing in the West Coast Conference. Libby Davy has put herself in the frame for both the College Matildas Freshman of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year, and after earning her first clean sheet last week, takes on a nationally ranked Santa Clara side featuring Young Matildas representative and former Melbourne Victory training player Holly Furphy. Intriguingly, this match will not actually count to conference standings, with the teams set to face off again on October 14. However, this will give both teams an idea of where they might stand in terms of their chances in conference play, particularly for Davy and Pacific, as Santa Clara are favourites to take home the league title. Adding to the intrigue for Australian fans is the potential for the Australian pairing to face off directly, with Furphy part of a Broncos’ attack that Davy will be looking to keep at bay.
Losses to Lipscomb and Austin Peay was definitely not the start to conference play that Teagan Douglas and Bellarmine had been hoping for, but the Knights have a chance to bounce back against a pair of teams that also had less-than-favourable starts to their ASUN schedule. Kennesaw State was once the home to South Australian star Nicole Calder, but this week they will have to contend with an Australian defender on the opposition as Douglas has slotted straight into the starting lineup, averaging in excess of 80 minutes per appearance and starting on all nine occasions to this point. Meanwhile, Queens University of Charlotte, Bellarmine’s second opponent of the weekend, have failed to score in six of their eight games so far, with eight of their nine goals coming in an 8-0 drubbing of South Carolina State. Douglas and the Bellarmine defence will be confident in their ability to pick up at least one clean sheet this week, but they will need to be at their best to do so, even against teams who have struggled to score goals this season.
Southern Illinois have been tipped to finish eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference this season, but if Chantelle Symes’ team can snag wins over Drake and Northern Iowa on their trip to the Hawkeye State, it will go a long way to confounding that prediction. Drake were picked to finish fourth and Northern Iowa sixth in the league, and actually played each other last week with Drake getting a 2-1 win. Meanwhile, Symes did everything to keep her team in the contest against Illinois-Chicago, but unfortunately the Salukis fell to a 1-0 defeat. However, the former Brisbane Roar player’s skillset has been on show throughout the season, demonstrating that even if the shot count is lopsided, Southern Illinois are rarely out of the contest as long as Symes is on her game. There is little doubting that the Australian will keep the opposition score down, and hopefully the Salukis’ attack can fire and provide the goals to secure six points from the weekend for the team from Carbondale.
Full Schedule
Alabama State (Madison Chambers, Grace Norbury)
This week: No games.
Bellarmine (Teagan Douglas)
This week: @ Kennesaw St. – 9:00AM, Friday September 22; @ Queens (NC) – 3:00AM, Monday September 25
Butler (Claire Farrington)
This week: @ Xavier – 9:00AM, Friday September 22; @ Marquette – 4:00AM, Monday September 25
Central Michigan (Shivani Battaglia)
This week: v Eastern Mich. – 9:00AM, Friday September 22; @ Miami (OH) – 3:00AM, Monday September 25
Coastal Carolina (Asha McClurg)
This week: v App State – 9:00AM, Friday September 22; @ Georgia St. – 3:00AM, Monday September 25
Dartmouth (Kate Ryan)
This week: @ Yale – 7:00AM, Sunday September 24
Denver (Isabella Chidiac)
This week: v Oral Roberts – 11:00AM, Sunday September 24
Eastern Kentucky (Sophie MacAlpine)
This week: @ Queens (NC) – 9:00AM, Friday September 22; @ Kennesaw St. – 3:00AM, Monday September 25
Grambling State (Aimee Benton)
This week: @ Texas Southern – 9:30AM, Saturday September 23; @ Prairie View – 3:00AM, Monday September 25
Hawaii (Eliza Ammendolia)
This week: @ Cal St. Fullerton – 12:00PM, Friday September 22; @ UC Riverside – 10:00AM, Monday September 25
High Point (Meg Roden)
This week: v Winthrop – 3:00AM, Sunday September 24
Illinois (Isabel Rolley)
This week: v Indiana – 9:00AM, Friday September 22; v Michigan – 3:00AM, Monday September 25
Kent State (Lua Suero)
This week: @ Ohio – 6:00AM, Friday September 22; v Akron – 3:00AM, Monday September 25
La Salle (Courtney Butlion)
This week: @ George Washington – 5:00AM, Friday September 22; v Richmond – 3:00AM, Monday September 25
Little Rock (Cameron Barreiro, Emily Jensen, Candice Kilderry, Bronte Peel)
This week: v Southern Ind. – 9:00AM, Friday September 22; @ UT Martin – 4:00AM, Monday September 25
Long Island (Matilda Boyle, Isabella Stein)
This week: @ Central Conn. St. – 8:00AM, Friday September 22; v Le Moyne – 2:00AM, Monday September 25
Louisiana (Emma Bates)
This week: @ Old Dominion – 9:00AM, Friday September 22; v ULM – 4:00AM, Monday September 25
Maine (Lara Kirkby)
This week: @ UAlbany – 3:00AM, Monday September 25
Massachusetts (Hannah Peric)
This week: v VCU – 5:00AM, Friday September 22; @ Davidson – 3:00AM, Monday September 25
Mississippi Valley State (Jacquelline Kambere)
This week: @ Southern U. – 10:00AM, Saturday September 23; @ Jackson St. – 4:00AM, Monday September 25
Morehead State (Natasha Tanner)
This week: v UT Martin – 6:00AM, Friday September 22; v Western Ill. – 4:00AM, Monday September 25
Northwestern State (Caitlin Le Roux)
This week: v UIW – 10:00AM, Saturday September 23; @ Tex. A&M-Commerce – 4:00AM, Monday September 25
Oral Roberts (Layla Lopez)
This week: @ Denver – 11:00AM, Sunday September 24
Oregon State (Katie Godden)
This week: @ Arizona St. – 12:00PM, Saturday September 23
Pacific (Libby Davy)
This week: @ Santa Clara – 6:00AM, Monday September 25
Rider (Eloise Jones)
This week: @ Fairfield – 9:00AM, Sunday September 24
Santa Clara (Holly Furphy)
This week: @ San Francisco – 11:00AM, Friday September 22; v Pacific – 6:00AM, Monday September 25
Siena (Iona Snape)
This week: @ Saint Peter’s – 2:00AM, Sunday September 24
Southern Illinois (Chantelle Symes)
This week: @ Drake – 10:00AM, Friday September 22; @ UNI – 3:00AM, Monday September 25
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Molly Arens)
This week: @ McNeese – 10:00AM, Saturday September 23
UAB (Abbey Burns)
This week: v East Carolina – 10:00AM, Friday September 22
UMBC (Isobel Davy, Annaliese Grove)
This week: v Iona – 9:00AM, Friday September 22; @ Binghamton – 3:00AM, Monday September 25
UNC Asheville (Jasmine Barry)
This week: @ USC Upstate – 9:00AM, Sunday September 24
USC (Talia Grossman)
This week: @ Utah – 11:00AM, Saturday September 23
VCU (Greta Kraszula)
This week: @ Massachusetts – 5:00AM, Friday September 22; v Rhode Island – 3:00AM, Monday September 25
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