2024 Week 13 Wrap

Grace Wilson and Lara Kirkby helped capture Maine's second successive America East championship (Photo: Maine Athletics)

The defending champions and #1 seed in the America East Tournament, Maine and their Aussie duo came into the final weekend with a target on their backs, but they had a target of their own: back-to-back championships. However, their tournament campaign was thrown a curveball after starting goalkeeper Jessica Kasacek was unfortunately called away from the team for personal reasons. This led the Black Bears to turn to freshman Grace Wilson, and the Young Matildas representative did everything asked of them in helping secure a conference championship, whilst Lara Kirkby dominated the tournament for the second year in succession. Wilson played every minute of the weekend, and although UMass-Lowell forced only one save in Maine’s 2-0 win, the South Australian pulled off five more in the championship game as the Black Bears rolled to a 3-0 win, with Wilson firing the ball into low Earth orbit as time expired. Meanwhile, Kirkby acted as both scorer and facilitator, posting an assist in both games and scoring the third goal in the championship game with a world-class strike that left the New Hampshire goalkeeper with no chance. Kirkby earned an All-Tournament Team selection to go with her Most Outstanding Player award in 2023, whilst Wilson can certainly feel aggrieved that they weren’t selected in an All-Tournament Team that didn’t actually contain a goalkeeper. They will have their mind on bigger things though, as the Black Bears await their first-round matchup for the NCAA Tournament.

Santa Clara had one of the earlier kickoffs on the final day of the chaotic West Coast Conference, but came in knowing that a win over Saint Mary’s would be enough to secure at least a share of the conference title, but more importantly, the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Broncos flew out of the blocks, scoring twice in the first seven minutes before some semblance of normalcy returned to proceedings. Santa Clara made it 3-0 just before the hour mark, and with Saint Mary’s able to post only two shots on target throughout the contest, the result was never really in doubt. Holly Furphy played a late 15-minute cameo off the bench, but hopefully there is more playing time on the horizon for the Victorian in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

With Lindenwood ineligible for the NCAA Tournament and facing Candice Kilderry and Little Rock in the second semi-final, Australian fans knew that a win for Morehead State and their Western Australian duo of Natasha Tanner and Lilly Bailey over Tennessee Tech in the day’s first game would ensure they had a representative from the Ohio Valley Conference in the NCAA Tournament. Thanks in no small part to Bailey, the Eagles knocked off their hosts for the second year in succession. The Eagles managed just one shot on target in the 110 minutes, but thanks to Bailey’s seven saves, the match went all the way to a shootout, at which point the game was completely flipped on its head. Bailey made way for Claire Cress, who made two saves before Tennessee Tech’s third penalty taker hit the post, whilst Morehead State went a perfect three from three to advance to the title game. Unfortunately, Lindenwood proved to be a thorn in the side for both Australian sides, defeating Kilderry and Little Rock in the semi-final before storming home from 2-0 down at halftime to secure a 3-2 win and the Ohio Valley Conference championship. However, it will be Tanner and Bailey who get a chance to continue their season in the NCAA Tournament, with both players expected to play a major part as the duo have been two of the first names on the team sheet for most of the season.

Unfortunately, the news wasn’t quite so good for Hannah Peric and Massachusetts, who came up agonizingly short of preventing Saint Louis from securing a seventh-straight Atlantic 10 crown. Having reversed their regular season defeat to Dayton with a 2-1 win in the semi-final courtesy of an 89th minute winner (helped in no small part by Peric creating havoc in the box, of course), the Minutewomen were looking to repeat the dose against a Billikens team to who they had fallen 1-0 in their opening conference game. Despite trailing early, the Minutewomen managed to equalise before halftime to set up a tantalizing final 45 minutes of the Atlantic 10 campaign. Unfortunately, it was Saint Louis who took the lead in the 74th minute before sealing things with a third in the final minute. However, Peric and the Minutewomen are not necessarily done yet; they are right on the bubble and will face an agonizing wait for the NCAA Tournament selection committee’s decision on Tuesday morning (Sydney time).

Finally, the long history of Australians finding success in the SWAC continued as Southern secured the conference championship. Unfortunately, though, Yazmin Baird-Watson’s unavailability meant that the junior college transfer did not see the pitch as the Jaguars rolled through three matches in four days, including a shootout win over #2 seed Grambling State and a championship game win over #1 seed Texas Southern. The title is Southern’s first conference championship in program history, scoring in the 16th minute of the championship game before holding Texas Southern to just four shots on target, all of which were dealt with by Jaguars goalkeeper Sydney Bellamy to secure a 1-0 victory.

Complete Results

Alabama State (Grace Norbury, Madison Chambers)

This week: lost 2-1 to Southern (SWAC Tournament Quarter-Final)

Grace Norbury played the full 90 minutes in Alabama State’s loss to Southern, whilst Madison Chambers came off the bench to play 45 minutes.

Bellarmine (Teagan Douglas)

This week: No games.

Charleston Southern (Eve Tiktikakis)

This week: No games.

Coastal Carolina (Tahlia Voskanian)

This week: No games.

Dartmouth (Kate Ryan)

This week: No games.

Denver (Isabella Chidiac)

This week: lost 2-1 to South Dakota State (Summit League Tournament Semi-Final)

Isabella Chidiac did not feature in Denver’s loss to South Dakota State.

Detroit Mercy (Chantelle Symes)

This week: lost 1-0 to Northern Kentucky (Horizon League Tournament Semi-Final)

Chantelle Symes did not feature in Detroit Mercy’s season-ending loss to Northern Kentucky.

Fresno State (Shivani Battaglia)

This week: No games.

Harvard (Erin Gordon)

This week: lost 3-1 to Princeton (Ivy League Tournament Semi-Final)

Erin Gordon played the full 90 minutes in Harvard’s loss to Princeton, tallying an assist on the Crimson’s late consolation goal.

High Point (Meg Roden)

This week: defeated Radford 3-2 (AET) (Big South Conference Tournament Semi-Final), lost 3-0 to USC Upstate (Big South Conference Championship)

Meg Roden started both games in High Point’s run to the championship game, playing 48 minutes in the win over Radford and tallying one shot in 78 minutes in the defeat to USC Upstate.

Incarnate Word (Montanna Mathews)

This week: No games.

Little Rock (Candice Kilderry)

This week: lost 1-0 to Lindenwood (Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Semi-Final)

Candice Kilderry played the full 90 minutes in Little Rock’s season-ending loss to Lindenwood, tallying two shots with one on target.

Long Island (Izzy Stein)

This week: No games.

Loyola Maryland (Ava Blizzard)

This week: lost 4-0 to Bucknell (Patriot League Tournament Semi-Final)

Ava Blizzard did not feature in Loyola Maryland’s loss to Bucknell.

Maine (Grace Wilson, Lara Kirkby)

This week: defeated UMass-Lowell 2-0 (America East Conference Tournament Semi-Final); defeated New Hampshire 3-0 (America East Championship)

Grace Wilson played every minute of Maine’s tournament run, making one save against UMass-Lowell and five more in the win over New Hampshire. Lara Kirkby also started both games, tallying an assist in 85 minutes against UMass-Lowell before posting a goal, an assist, and two shots on target in 75 minutes against New Hampshire as Maine sealed back-to-back conference championships.

Massachusetts (Hannah Peric)

This week: lost 3-1 to Saint Louis (Atlantic 10 Championship)

Hannah Peric played the full 90 minutes in Massachusetts’ championship game loss to Saint Louis.

Mississippi Valley State (Jacquelline Kambere)

This week: lost 3-1 to Grambling State (SWAC Tournament Quarter-Final)

Jacquelline Kambere started in Mississippi Valley State’s season-ending loss to Grambling State, registering two shots with one on target in 58 minutes of action.

Morehead State (Lilly Bailey, Natasha Tanner)

This week: defeated Tennessee Tech 3-0 on penalties (0-0 AET) (Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Semi-Final), lost 3-2 to Lindenwood (Ohio Valley Conference Championship)

Lilly Bailey played every minute of the weekend apart from the semi-final shootout for Morehead State, making seven saves against Tennessee Tech and five more against Lindenwood. Natasha Tanner also started both games, playing 106 minutes against Tennessee Tech and tallying one shot in 80 minutes against Lindenwood.

Northwestern State (Caitlin Le Roux)

This week: lost 1-0 to Stephen F. Austin (AET) (Southland Conference Tournament Semi-Final)

Caitlin Le Roux did not feature in Northwestern State’s golden goal loss to Stephen F. Austin.

Old Dominion (Alice Thompson)

This week: lost 1-0 to James Madison (Sun Belt Conference Tournament Semi-Final)

Alice Thompson came off the bench to play 29 minutes in Old Dominion’s loss to James Madison.

Oregon State (Katie Godden)

This week: lost 1-0 to Portland

Katie Godden came off the bench to play 54 minutes in Oregon State’s final-day loss to Portland.

Pacific (Libby Davy)

This week: lost 5-0 to Washington State

Libby Davy did not feature in Pacific’s final-day loss to Washington State.

Purdue (Zoe Karipidis)

This week: No games.

Rider (Eloise Jones)

This week: No games.

Saint Francis (Claire Scarpin, Aimee Benton)

This week: No games.

Saint Peter’s (Sophie Cook, Wilma Thodhlana)

This week: No games.

Santa Clara (Holly Furphy)

This week: defeated Saint Mary’s 3-0

Holly Furphy came off the bench to play 15 minutes as Santa Clara secured the West Coast Conference’s auto-bid to the NCAA Tournament with a win over Saint Mary’s.

Seton Hall (Grace Mitchell, Sarah Mitchell)

This week: No games.

Siena (Iona Snape)

This week: No games.

Southern (Yazmin Baird-Watson)

This week: defeated Alabama State 2-1 (SWAC Tournament Quarter-Final); defeated Grambling 6-5 on penalties (0-0 AET) (SWAC Tournament Semi-Final), defeated Texas Southern 1-0 (SWAC Championship)

Yazmin Baird-Watson did not feature in Southern’s run to the SWAC Championship.

Stetson (Camila Madriz Figueroa)

This week: No games.

Tarleton State (Adelaide Wyrzynski)

This week: No games.

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

This week: lost 2-1 to East Texas A&M (Southland Conference Tournament Semi-Final)

Molly Arens played the first 26 minutes of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s loss to East Texas A&M, whilst Emma Bates did not feature in the defeat.

Towson (Courtney Butlion)

This week: No games.

UAB (Abbey Burns)

This week: No games.

UMBC (Annie Grove)

This week: No games.

UNC Asheville (Mercedes McNabb, Jasmine Barry)

This week: No games.

VCU (Greta Kraszula)

This week: No games.

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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