Maine slipped up against NJIT last week, rallying from two goals down but splitting the points with the Highlanders. However, the Black Bears and their Aussie duo of Lara Kirkby and Grace Wilson remain in the box seat as the America East regular season title race comes down to the final day. Maine will take on second-place New Hampshire, where a draw on the road will be enough to secure the title after narrowly missing out last season. The Black Bears have been the standard bearers in the conference for the last couple of years, but do not have a conference regular season crown to show for their efforts. However, with Kirkby returning to goalscoring form last week and a desire to put the end of 2023’s regular season campaign behind them, even the famed Bear Patrol from The Simpsons might have trouble stopping the ursidae from Orono.
Staying in the Northeast, Erin Gordon and Harvard also find themselves needing a result as they sit on the cusp of qualifying for the Ivy League tournament. The Crimson come into the final matchday tied with Yale for fourth spot, with the teams facing off in what is essentially an elimination game. However, should the match finish in a draw, sixth-placed Cornell could swoop in and jump both teams with a win over Penn. Of course, we should fully expect to see Erin Gordon playing the majority of the match, if not the full 90 minutes, with the freshman having played all bar 31 minutes of the season and a couple of her early marks coming in blowout games. The Crimson went seven games without conceding a clean sheet through the middle of the campaign, but have kept two in their last three games. If recent form holds, they are in good shape to pick up the most vital of victories.
Holly Furphy and Katie Godden face off this week in a game that could send the West Coast Conference title race in any number of directions. Santa Clara currently sit three points clear of a trio of teams, including Oregon State, with three games to play. With a game in hand on Loyola Marymount, a win for Furphy and the Broncos would see the battle for the conference’s automatic NCAA Tournament berth become a two-horse race between themselves and Pepperdine. However, a win for Oregon State would throw the final weekend into absolute chaos, as we could see three teams on 17 points with two games to play, and Loyola Marymount only a win behind. Godden has been instrumental throughout the campaign for Oregon State, whilst Furphy has already demonstrated her impact off the bench for Santa Clara, so don’t be surprised if either Aussie has the final say in this one.
Of course, it’s not just regular season battles coming down to the wire; for some teams, it’s as cut-throat as it gets as conference tournaments kick off around the country. No fewer than seven tournaments starting this week will feature Aussies, including a couple that feature multiple Aussies, with Greta Kraszula and Hannah Peric potentially on a collision course with each other. The duo has fallen on the same side of the draw in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, with Peric’s Massachusetts side finishing as the #3 seed and Kraszula’s VCU outfit landing in the #7 spot. Although it will take UMass repeating their regular season win over Loyola Chicago and VCU reversing a 1-0 loss to Dayton earlier in the campaign, there is certainly a chance that the two could face off in the semi-finals and guarantee that an Aussie will feature in the championship game. It was only last week that the pair battled to a 2-2 draw on VCU’s home patch, so there is certainly the potential for a lot to unpack over the next 10 days.
Meanwhile, in the Ohio Valley Conference, Candice Kilderry and Little Rock have secured the double-bye as the eight-team double-stepladder (the One True Format) tournament commences. Whilst the Trojans will only need to win two games to secure a conference championship, fifth seed Morehead State and their Western Australian pairing of Lilly Bailey and Natasha Tanner will have to run the gauntlet, winning four games if they are to secure back-to-back titles. The Eagles will face UT-Martin first up, whom they defeated in the regular season 1-0. Should they get the win in that match, they will face a Southern Indiana against whom they fell to a 1-0 defeat. Interestingly, #4 seed Southern Indiana and #3 seed Lindenwood are both ineligible for the NCAA Tournament as they continue their reclassification process from Division II. Should one of those sides reach the championship game, their opponent would secure the NCAA Tournament bid regardless of the result.
A raft of other Aussies will see their conference tournaments commence this week, with Adelaide Wyrzynski, Teagan Douglas, Chantelle Symes, Iona Snape, Ava Blizzard, and UNC Asheville duo Mercedes McNabb and Jasmine Barry all entering tournament play this week. For Wyrzynski’s Tarleton State outfit, it will mark the program’s first foray into the postseason since the team was founded in 2022. Meanwhile, for UNC Asheville, tournament success would be richly deserved for a team that has suffered through Hurricane Helene forcing them to evacuate and spend an extended period of time on the road before McNabb’s goal secured them a postseason spot on the final day of the regular season.
For the remaining Aussies still in the hunt, this week is more about trying to secure as high a seed as possible in the final regular season games. Meanwhile, for those not in the hunt, destroying a rival’s season at the last possible moment can still serve as a satisfying way to end the campaign!
Full Schedule
NCAA Division I
Alabama State (Grace Norbury, Madison Chambers)
This week: v Alabama A&M – 10:00am, Saturday 2 November
Bellarmine (Teagan Douglas)
This week: v Austin Peay – 5:00am, Friday 1 November (ASUN Tournament First Round)
Charleston Southern (Eve Tiktikakis)
This week: No games.
Coastal Carolina (Tahlia Voskanian)
This week: v Georgia St. – 10:00am, Friday 1 November
Dartmouth (Kate Ryan)
This week: v Brown – 6:00am, Sunday 3 November
Denver (Isabella Chidiac)
This week: No games.
Detroit Mercy (Chantelle Symes)
This week: v Purdue Fort Wayne – 5am, Monday 4 November (Horizon League Tournament First Round)
Fresno State (Shivani Battaglia)
This week: @ San Jose St. – 1:00pm, Friday 1 November
Harvard (Erin Gordon)
This week: v Yale – 3:00pm, Saturday 2 November
High Point (Meg Roden)
This week: No games.
Incarnate Word (Montanna Mathews)
This week: @ Lamar University – 11:00am, Saturday 2 November
Little Rock (Candice Kilderry)
This week: No games.
Long Island (Izzy Stein)
This week: v Wagner – 6:00am, Friday 1 November
Loyola Maryland (Ava Blizzard)
This week: v Colgate – 6:00am, Monday November 4 (Patriot League Tournament Quarter-Final)
Maine (Grace Wilson, Lara Kirkby)
This week: @ New Hampshire – 9:00am, Friday 1 November
Massachusetts (Hannah Peric)
This week: v Loyola Chicago – 4:00am, Sunday 3 November (Atlantic 10 Tournament Quarter-Final)
Mississippi Valley State (Jacquelline Kambere)
This week: No games.
Morehead State (Lilly Bailey, Natasha Tanner)
This week: v UT Martin – 5:00am, Friday 1 November (Ohio Valley Conference Tournament First Round)
Northwestern State (Caitlin Le Roux)
This week: @ SFA – 11:00am, Saturday 2 November
Old Dominion (Alice Thompson)
This week: @ App State – 10:00am, Friday 1 November
Oregon State (Katie Godden)
This week: v Santa Clara – 7:00am, Sunday 3 November
Pacific (Libby Davy)
This week: v Saint Mary’s (CA) – 1:00pm, Sunday 3 November
Purdue (Zoe Karipidis)
This week: No games.
Rider (Eloise Jones)
This week: No games.
Saint Francis (Claire Scarpin, Aimee Benton)
This week: @ Mercyhurst – 9:00am, Friday 1 November
Saint Peter’s (Sophie Cook, Wilma Thodhlana)
This week: No games.
Santa Clara (Holly Furphy)
This week: @ Oregon St. – 7:00am, Sunday 3 November
Seton Hall (Grace Mitchell, Sarah Mitchell)
This week: v Marquette – 9:00am, Friday 1 November
Siena (Iona Snape)
This week: v Manhattan – 5:00am, Monday 4 November (MAAC Tournament Quarter-Final)
Southern (Yazmin Baird-Watson)
This week: v Jackson St. – 11:00am, Saturday 2 November
Stetson (Camila Madriz Figueroa)
This week: No games.
Tarleton State (Adelaide Wyrzynski)
This week: v Cal Baptist – 9:00am, Monday 4 November (WAC Tournament Quarter-Final)
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Molly Arens, Emma Bates)
This week: v UTRGV – 11:00am, Saturday 2 November
Towson (Courtney Butlion)
This week: No games.
UAB (Abbey Burns)
This week: v North Texas – 11:00am, Friday 1 November
UMBC (Annie Grove)
This week: @ NJIT – 10:00am, Friday 1 November
UNC Asheville (Mercedes McNabb, Jasmine Barry)
This week: v Radford – 10:00am, Sunday November 3 (Big South Tournament First Round)
VCU (Greta Kraszula)
This week: @ Dayton – 10:00am, Saturday November 2 (Atlantic 10 Tournament Quarter-Final)
NCAA Division II
American International (5-6-3) (Eloise Paine)
This week: @ Assumption – 3:00am, Sunday 3 November
Barton (4-6-5) (Brigitte Sander)
This week: v Chowan – 7:00am, Saturday 2 November
Cal Poly Pomona (12-1-2) (Georgia Rink)
This week: v Cal Poly Humboldt – 10:30am, Saturday 2 November; v Sonoma St. – 6:30am, Monday 4 November
Cal State Dominguez Hills (4-5-5) (Katie McDermott)
This week: @ Cal St. Monterey Bay – 10:30am, Saturday 2 November; @ San Fran. St. – 9:00am, Monday 4 November
Caldwell (10-3-1) (Liz Warne)
This week: v Jefferson – 2:00am, Sunday 3 November
Carson-Newman (5-5-3) (Amber Wilkinson)
This week: @ Anderson (SC) – 8:00am, Sunday 3 November
Catawba (9-1-4) (Ashley Hughes)
This week: @ Newberry – 4:00am, Sunday 3 November
Charleston (WV) (13-3) (Ciara Casamento, Kate Duffy)
This week: v Concord – 5:00am, Monday 4 November
Concord (10-5-1) (Caitlin Webster, Holly Gray)
This week: @ Charleston (WV) – 5:00am, Monday 4 November
Drury (12-1-4) (Keva Culkin)
This week: v Southwest Baptist – 5:00am, Monday 4 November
Felician (1-11-3) (Ruby Samild)
This week: v Lincoln (PA) – 10:00am, Sunday 3 November
Fort Lewis (7-4-3) (Renee Junna)
This week: @ Colo. Christian – 6:00am, Saturday 2 November; @ MSU Denver – 7:00am, Monday 4 November
Francis Marion (8-2-4) (Ashley Jordan)
This week: v Mount Olive – 4:00am, Sunday 3 November
Franklin Pierce (12-3-1) (Erin Keyt)
This week: @ Saint Michael’s – 4:00am, Sunday 3 November
Gannon (11-0-3) (Paige Taylor)
This week: v Seton Hill – 9:00am, Sunday 3 November
Glenville State (7-7-2) (Summer McShane-Cale)
This week: v West Va. Wesleyan – 10:00am, Monday 4 November
Jefferson (12-1-2) (Liv Riddel)
This week: @ Caldwell – 2:00am, Sunday 3 November
Lincoln Memorial (6-4-3) (Jade Brown)
This week: @ Limestone – 4:00am, Sunday 3 November
Mississippi College (7-4-3) (Erin Stamatopoulos)
This week: v Valdosta St. – 5:00am, Saturday 2 November; v AUM – 6:00am, Monday 4 November
Oklahoma Christian (9-3-4) (Layla Lopez, Chloe Walker)
This week: @ St. Mary’s (TX) – 10:00am, Saturday 2 November
Seton Hill (5-4-5) (Maddie Teakle)
This week: @ Gannon – 9:00am, Sunday 3 November
Southern New Hampshire (9-0-4) (Imogen Noon)
This week: @ Adelphi – 5:00am, Sunday 3 November
UNC Pembroke (Sarah Bonifant)
This week: No games.
USC Beaufort (7-4-4) (Alice Webster)
This week: v Columbus St. – 5:00am, Sunday 3 November
UT-Tyler (10-2-3) (Mackenzee Stokes)
This week: v Lubbock Christian – 9:30am, Saturday 2 November
UTPB (4-7-3) (Lara Brewis)
This week: v St. Edward’s – 3:00am, Saturday 2 November
Valdosta State (7-6-1) (Sienna Havill)
This week: @ Mississippi Col. – 5:00am, Saturday 2 November; @ Delta St. – 5:00am, Monday 4 November
West Virginia State (10-3-3) (Emma Farrelly)
This week: v Davis & Elkins – 5:00am, Monday 4 November
Wingate (9-2-3) (Sophie MacAlpine)
This week: v Emory & Henry – 8:00am, Sunday 3 November
NCAA Division III
Bethany College (Gabby Hicks)
This week: @ Saint Vincent – 3:00am, Sunday November 3 (PAC Tournament Quarter-Final)
Dean College (Miro McIntyre Clere)
This week: No games.
Lesley (Maya Spatafore)
This week: v Maine Maritime Academy – 5:30am, Sunday November 3 (NAC Tournament Quarter-Final)
Millikin University (Lila Castillo Burgess)
This week: v Augustana – 4:30am, Sunday November 3 (CCIW Tournament Quarter-Final)
Monmouth College (Brontë De Zwart)
This week: No games.
SUNY Oneonta (Lisa Schinckel)
This week: @ SUNY Oswego – 4:00am, Sunday November 3 (SUNYAC Tournament First Round)
Southern Maine (Kayla O’Connor)
This week: v Vermont State Castleton – 5:00am, Sunday November 3
NAIA
Briar Cliff (IA) (Tamzin Hilton)
This week: @ Morningside – 10:00am, Sunday November 3 (GPAC Tournament Quarter-Final)
Corban (Ava Hayes)
This week: v Rocky Mountain (MT) – 6:00am, Saturday 2 November
Cumberlands (Ky.) (Georgia Martell)
This week: No games.
Jamestown (N.D.) (Olivia Cullen, Gaby Sarkis)
This week: No games.
Keiser (Fla.) (Zara Board, Georgia Little, Zoe Edwards)
This week: v Warner (FL) – 3:00am, Sunday 3 November
Midway (Holly Johnstone)
This week: @ Indiana East – 6:00am, Sunday 3 November
Reinhardt (Ga.) (Riley Welsh)
This week: v CIU (SC) – 6:00am, Sunday 3 November (AAC Tournament Second Round)
Rio Grande (Saskia Vos)
This week: v Oakland City (Ind.) – 6:00am, Sunday 3 November
Rocky Mountain (MT) (Piper Adams-Jones, Georgia Dean, Tara Appleby, Ellen Gaudry)
This week: @ Corban – 6:00am, Saturday 2 November; @ Bushnell (OR) – 7:00am, Monday 4 November
Science and Arts (Emali Goulas)
This week: No games.
St. Andrews (NC) (Charlotte Weinand)
This week: No games.
St. Thomas (Fla.) (D’arne Boato)
This week: v SCAD Savannah (Ga.) – 10:00am, Sunday 3 November
Webber International (FL) (Claudia Vincent)
This week: v Ave Maria – 6:30am, Sunday 3 November
Xavier (La.) (Amelia Suma)
This week: v LSU Alexandria (La.) – 3:00am, Friday 1 November; v Louisiana Christian – 4:00am, Sunday 3 November
NJCAA Division I
Barton (Mary Kahraman)
This week: v Chowan – 6:00am, Saturday November 2
Dodge City (Jada Lamond)
This week: @ Hutchinson – 6:00am, Monday November 4 (NJCAA Division I Plains District Tournament Quarter-Final)
Eastern Florida State (Aimee Longhurst)
This week: v USC Lancaster – 8:00am, Saturday November 2 (NJCAA Division I Southeast District Tournament Semi-Final)
LSU Eunice (Gabby Stone)
This week: v Eastern Oklahoma State – 7:00am, Friday November 1 (NJCAA Division I South District Tournament First Round)
Laramie County (Giselle Heck)
This week: @ Northwest – 6:00am, Sunday November 3 (NJCAA Region IX Tournament Championship)
Monroe University (Emily Mackie)
This week: @ Harcum – 8:00am, Sunday November 3 (NJCAA Division I East District Tournament First Round)
Murray State (Sofia Lopez, Kellie McMahon)
This week: v Northern Oklahoma College-Enid – 1:00am, Friday November 1 (NJCAA Division I South District Tournament First Round)
Seminole State (OK) (Sophia Doumos)
This week: v Northern Oklahoma College-Enid or Murray State – 1:00am, Saturday November 2 (NJCAA Division I South District Tournament Semi-Final)
Seward County (Ryshelle Taylor)
This week: @ Butler – 5:00am, Saturday November 2 (NJCAA Division I Plains District Tournament Quarter-Final)
Tyler (Ella Palframan, Anna Powell, Sienna Powell, Layne Chapman)
This week: No games.
Western Wyoming (Isabelle Kenna)
This week: No games.
NJCAA Division II
Heartland (Morgan Stanton)
This week: v John Wood – 5:00am, Friday November 1 (NJCAA Region 24 Tournament Semi-Final)
Johnson County (Sophie Abbott, Montana-Rose Curry)
This week: v Allen County – 8:00am, Friday November 1 (NJCAA Division II Region 6 Tournament)
Mineral Area (Thea Draganova)
This week: No games.
Northeast (Samantha Bayer, Amelia Bingley, Helena Chetcuti, Talia Sanders)
This week: No games.
3C2A
Feather River (Lillian Pettersen)
This week: v Shasta – 5:00am, Saturday 2 November
USports Canada
UNBC (Scarlet Thomas)
This week: No games.
Leave a Reply