2024 NCAA Division I Week 8 Wrap

Holly Furphy's first two goals of the season came in the space of two minutes against Portland.

Holly Furphy had the undisputed best single-game impact of the weekend as Santa Clara dispatched of Portland, 3-0. The Broncos had shut the Pilots down for the entirety of the contest, but held only a 1-0 lead as the match entered the final 20 minutes. However, Furphy made absolutely sure of the win with two goals in as many minutes. A sumptuous chest-down and finish was followed by a perfect chip over the Portland goalkeeper to push the lead out to 3-0 and see the Broncos finish the weekend as one of only two West Coast Conference teams with perfect records. The WCC is looking very healthy for Australians at the moment, with Katie Godden and Oregon State sitting atop the standings on seven points after a draw with Saint Mary’s, and Santa Clara just a point behind but with a game in hand. Hopefully, we also see the return of Libby Davy between the sticks for Pacific soon to round out the Australian presence in the league.

Meanwhile, Candice Kilderry spread her two goals across the weekend, netting a pair of game-winners to leave Little Rock undefeated and a point clear atop the Ohio Valley Conference standings. The sophomore fired home a perfectly placed long-range free kick to put Little Rock up 1-0 on the half-hour mark of their first game against UT-Martin, which was enough to secure victory despite a second-half barrage from the Skyhawks, but Kilderry was hardly done for the weekend.

Little Rock held the ascendancy for much of their game against Western Illinois, but it took until the hour mark to take full advantage as goalkeeper Peyton Urban’s long ball was nodded on by Abbie Smith for Kilderry to run on to, and the Victorian made absolutely no mistake for the game’s only goal. The two wins not only handed Little Rock the conference lead, but sent them eight points clear of fifth place, with the Ohio Valley Conference tournament awarding first-round byes to the top four finishers in the regular season.

Molly Arens also found the back of the net this week, scoring a vital goal for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as the Islanders navigate an incredibly tight Southland Conference, picking up a crucial win over Texas A&M-Commerce. A long ball pinged around before Storm Harris found Arens on the edge of the box, and with the Lions’ defence leaving the Novocastrian far too much space for a player of her calibre, Arens put the ball just out of the goalkeeper’s reach to give her team the lead. Although Texas A&M-Commerce would equalise just a couple of minutes later, a 78th minute winner saw the Islanders move into fourth place, but with at least one game in hand on each of the three teams above them on the standings.

Meanwhile, sticking with Texas-based teams but moving to the WAC, Adelaide Wyrzynski followed up last week’s elite performance against Utah Valley with another instrumental effort in Tarleton State’s win over Cal Baptist. Making her first start since August 22, the freshman assisted on the opener, using what is becoming her trademark cut-back to open up space to deliver a cross onto the head of a team-mate to put the Texans up 1-0. Cal Baptist would equalise just after halftime, but Tarleton State restored their lead in the 84th minute to secure their first conference victory despite being outshot 20-9. Tarleton State now sit fifth in the eight-team WAC with four games to play, with six teams advancing to the conference tournament in Abilene, Texas.

Courtney Butlion notched an assist last week in a win over Elon, but went one better in Towson’s win over Campbell, scoring the game’s only goal to hand the Tigers a 1-0 win and keep her team within reach of the top four in the Coastal Athletic Association. Kale’a Perry made the most of a bobbling ball in the box to lift a cross to the Western Australian, who fired home an unstoppable header to once again provide an impact off the bench. Butlion also put another shot on target to remain dangerous throughout her 30 minutes on the pitch. Towson now sit in seventh position in the CAA, but with a three-team tie for fourth just a point ahead of the Tigers, there is all to play for with just six of the league’s 13 teams advancing to the conference tournament.

UMBC may not have secured the desired results this week, but it wasn’t for lack of trying from Annie Grove as the defender made a tangible impact on the attack in both games. The fullback’s throw-in gave Meghan McKye an opportunity to fire home to give the Retrievers a 3-0 lead inside 20 minutes against Binghamton, but a six-minute triple salvo from Bearcats saw them storm back for a 4-3 victory.

Grove was also given the second assist on the Retrievers’ 11th minute equaliser against Vermont after the Retrievers fell behind in just the third minute. However, with that being UMBC’s only shot on target for the entire contest, two more first half goals from Vermont were more than enough to seal the victory. However, despite the week’s results, UMBC still sit in sixth place in America East as Grove looks to join Maine duo Lara Kirkby and Grace Wilson as Aussies in the six-team conference tournament.

Complete Results

NCAA Division 1

Alabama State (Grace Norbury, Madison Chambers)

This week: drew 0-0 with Southern U.; drew 0-0 with Jackson St.

Grace Norbury started both games for Alabama State this week, playing 88 minutes against Southern and the full 90 minutes in the draw with Jackson State. Madison Chambers did not feature against Southern, but started and played 49 minutes against Jackson State.

Bellarmine (Teagan Douglas)

This week: defeated North Ala. 1-0; lost 4-2 to Central Ark.

Teagan Douglas started both games for Bellarmine this week, playing the full 90 minutes against North Alabama and 79 minutes against Central Arkansas.

Charleston Southern (Eve Tiktikakis)

This week: defeated Radford 3-2

Eve Tiktikakis came off the bench to play a solitary minute in Charleston Southern’s win over Radford.

Coastal Carolina (Tahlia Voskanian)

This week: defeated Ga. Southern 2-1; drew 1-1 with Southern Miss.

Tahlia Voskanian did not feature for Coastal Carolina in either game this week.

Dartmouth (Kate Ryan)

This week: lost 1-0 to Cornell

Kate Ryan did not feature in Dartmouth’s loss to Cornell.

Denver (Isabella Chidiac)

This week: lost 4-2 to Oral Roberts

Isabella Chidiac came off the bench to play 11 minutes in Denver’s loss to Oral Roberts.

Detroit Mercy (Chantelle Symes)

This week: defeated IU Indy 3-2

Chantelle Symes did not feature in Detroit Mercy’s win over IU Indy.

Fresno State (Shivani Battaglia)

This week: lost 4-3 to Wyoming; lost 3-2 to Colorado St.

Shivani Battaglia played the second half of each game for Fresno State this week, making two saves against Wyoming and seven in the loss to Colorado State.

Harvard (Erin Gordon)

This week: lost 2-1 to Columbia

Erin Gordon played the full 90 minutes in Harvard’s loss to Columbia.

High Point (Meg Roden)

This week: No games.

Incarnate Word (Montanna Mathews)

This week: defeated Nicholls 1-0; defeated McNeese 1-0

Montanna Mathews did not feature for Incarnate Word against Nicholls, but started and played 14 minutes against McNeese.

Little Rock (Candice Kilderry)

This week: defeated UT Martin 1-0; defeated Western Ill. 1-0

Candice Kilderry started both games for Little Rock this week, tallying two shots and scoring the winner in 85 minutes of playing time against UT Martin, before playing the full 90 minutes and once again scoring the game-winner with one of her three shots against Western Illinois.

Long Island (Izzy Stein)

This week: defeated Chicago St. 4-1

Izzy Stein played the full 90 minutes in Long Island’s win over Chicago State, tallying a shot.

Loyola Maryland (Ava Blizzard)

This week: drew 1-1 with Colgate

Ava Blizzard did not feature in Loyola Maryland’s draw with Colgate.

Maine (Grace Wilson, Lara Kirkby)

This week: defeated UMass Lowell 1-0; defeated Bryant 3-1

Lara Kirkby started both games for Maine this week, tallying six shots with two on target in 79 minutes against UMass Lowell, and rattling off another three shots with one on target in 57 minutes against Bryant. Grace Wilson did not feature this week.

Massachusetts (Hannah Peric)

This week: defeated George Washington 4-2; drew 2-2 with Saint Joseph’s

Hannah Peric started both games for Massachusetts this week, registering one shot in 81 minutes against George Washington and playing 89 minutes in the draw with Saint Joseph’s.

Mississippi Valley State (Jacquelline Kambere)

This week: defeated Ark.-Pine Bluff 3-1; lost 2-0 to Grambling

Jacquelline Kambere played every minute of the weekend for Mississippi Valley State, tallying two shots with one on target against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and another three with two on target in the loss to Grambling State.

Morehead State (Lilly Bailey, Natasha Tanner)

This week: lost 1-0 to Tennessee Tech; defeated UT Martin 1-0

Lilly Bailey played every minute of the weekend for Morehead State, making five saves against Tennessee Tech and ten in the win over UT Martin. Natasha Tanner also started both games, playing 73 minutes and tallying one shot against Tennessee Tech, and playing 74 minutes in the win over UT Martin.

Northwestern State (Caitlin Le Roux)

This week: defeated McNeese 4-1; lost 2-1 to Southeastern La.

Caitlin Le Roux came off the bench in both games this week, playing 39 minutes in the win over McNeese State and 21 minutes against Southeastern Louisiana.

Old Dominion (Alice Thompson)

This week: defeated South Alabama 1-0

Alice Thompson did not feature in Old Dominion’s win over South Alabama.

Oregon State (Katie Godden)

This week: drew 0-0 with Saint Mary’s (CA)

Katie Godden started in Oregon State’s draw with Saint Mary’s, tallying a single shot in 56 minutes of action.

Pacific (Libby Davy)

This week: No games.

Purdue (Zoe Karipidis)

This week: lost 2-1 to Illinois

Zoe Karipidis did not feature in Purdue’s loss to Illinois.

Rider (Eloise Jones)

This week: drew 0-0 with Sacred Heart

Eloise Jones did not feature in Rider’s draw with Sacred Heart.

Saint Francis (Claire Scarpin, Aimee Benton)

This week: lost 2-1 to Howard

Neither Aimee Benton nor Claire Scarpin featured in Saint Francis’ loss to Howard.

Saint Peter’s (Sophie Cook, Wilma Thodhlana)

This week: lost 3-2 to Siena

Sophie Cook and Wilma Thodhlana both started in Saint Peter’s loss to Siena, playing 29 and 81 minutes respectively.

Santa Clara (Holly Furphy)

This week: defeated Portland 3-0

Holly Furphy came off the bench in Santa Clara’s win over Portland, scoring goals with her only two shots of the game in just 29 minutes of playing time.

Seton Hall (Grace Mitchell, Sarah Mitchell)

This week: defeated Providence 1-0

Neither Grace nor Sarah Mitchell featured in Seton Hall’s win over Providence.

Siena (Iona Snape)

This week: defeated Saint Peter’s 3-2

Iona Snape started in Siena’s win over Saint Peter’s, playing 59 minutes.

Southern (Yazmin Baird-Watson)

This week: drew 0-0 with Alabama St.; defeated Alabama A&M 2-1

Yazmin Baird-Watson did not feature for Southern in either game this week.

Stetson (Camila Madriz Figueroa)

This week: defeated West Ga. 1-0; defeated Queens (NC) 1-0

Camila Madriz Figueroa did not feature for Stetson this week.

Tarleton State (Adelaide Wyrzynski)

This week: defeated California Baptist 2-1; lost 1-0 to Grand Canyon

Adelaide Wyrzynski started both games for Tarleton State this week, notching an assist and a shot on target in 57 minutes of playing time against Cal Baptist, and playing 63 minutes against Grand Canyon.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Molly Arens, Emma Bates)

This week: defeated Tex. A&M-Commerce 2-1

Molly Arens started in Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s win over Texas A&M-Commerce, scoring with one of her three shots in a 73-minute outing. Emma Bates came off the bench, playing six minutes.

Towson (Courtney Butlion)

This week: defeated Elon 2-1; defeated Campbell 1-0

Courtney Butlion came off the bench in both games this week, tallying an assist and two shots in 51 minutes against Elon before scoring with one of two shots on target in 31 minutes in the win over Campbell.

UAB (Abbey Burns)

This week: lost 4-0 to South Fla.

Abbey Burns played the full 90 minutes in UAB’s loss to South Florida.

UMBC (Annie Grove)

This week: lost 4-3 to Binghamton; lost 3-1 to Vermont

Annie Grove started both games for UMBC this week, playing 79 minutes against Binghamton and 55 minutes against Vermont, notching an assist in each game and a shot against Vermont.

UNC Asheville (Mercedes McNabb, Jasmine Barry)

This week: No games.

VCU (Greta Kraszula)

This week: drew 0-0 with Loyola Chicago

Greta Kraszula played the full 90 minutes in VCU’s draw with Loyola Chicago.

About Lachy 436 Articles
Founder of College Matildas. An Australian women's football fan who also happens to be a college sports fan. Often found at A-League Women or NPLW games.

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