Ivy League play kicks off this week, and headlining the action is one of the premier Aussie v Aussie battles of the season. Breakout star Kate Ryan and her Dartmouth side head to Cambridge to take on Erin Gordon and Harvard, with both teams looking to build on solid non-conference results. Harvard, who garnered a first-place vote in the conference pre-season poll, currently sit at 2-3-2, but those two victories have come in their last two games against Boston University and New Hampshire. The Crimson would probably expect better in non-conference, but there is no denying that they have found form at the right time. Meanwhile, Dartmouth have compiled a 3-2-2 record, and with one of their losses coming in a one-goal defeat away at Santa Clara, the Big Green have every reason to believe they can outperform their preseason prediction of sixth in the eight-team league. Gordon and Ryan each feature in list of minutes leaders among Aussies in NCAA Division I, so expect to see both defenders heavily involved in keeping the opposition at bay in this one.
Margaux Chauvet and Purdue knocked off Wisconsin last week, and the Boilermakers have their eyes on another nationally ranked scalp this weekend as Iowa visit for a Thursday night showdown in West Lafayette. The Hawkeyes have compiled an impressive 5-1-2 record, with their only loss coming against a highly rated TCU side. Not only that, Iowa also have a win over national contenders Arkansas under their belt. However, Purdue showed last week that the opposition’s pedigree won’t bother them in the slightest as they went up 2-0 over Wisconsin before holding on after conceding with ten minutes to play. Purdue then travel to Maryland for a Sunday kickoff against the Terrapins, who sit 4-4 but fell to a heavy 4-0 defeat to top 10 side Penn State in their Big Ten opener. Should the Boilermakers pick up another two wins this week, they will immediately be in a very healthy position in the Big Ten, and Chauvet is like to be heavily involved in any success they have. The former Sydney FC midfielder has started all nine games to this point, and has averaged more than 80 minutes per game to this point.
Abbey Burns notched two assists in UAB’s 3-3 draw with Rice in their conference opener, and the Blazers may well need another performance of that calibre as they take on top 10 side and AAC preseason favourite Memphis. Memphis are flying high at 7-0-1, with wins over then-#2 Tennessee and #11 Vanderbilt already on their CV for 2025. However, UAB held the Tigers to a 0-0 draw in similar circumstances last season, when Memphis were ranked #15 at the exact same point in the campaign. However, Burns will have no interest in another goalless draw as she looks to add to her three assists for the season and perhaps find the back of the net for the first time in 2025.
Little Rock and their trio of Aussies face Tennessee Tech in their Ohio Valley Conference opener in a matchup of teams left wondering what might have been after last season’s conference tournament. These two teams finished the regular season 1-2 but both missed the championship game as Morehead State swooped in to take the NCAA Tournament bid after reclassifying Lindenwood stormed to the conference title. Lindenwood are now a full NCAA Division I member, eliminating that potential backdoor and making things even more competitive in the OVC. Entering league action, Little Rock have compiled a 2-3-2 record in non-conference play, whilst Tennessee Tech sit 0-6-4. However, the Golden Eagles finished without a win in non-conference in 2024 before rolling to a 6-2-1 regular season conference record. Little Rock secured a draw against a Tulsa side that holds a 5-3-2 record, and have every reason to be confident going into this one. Candice Kilderry and Serenity Thake should be absolutely integral at either end of the pitch, whilst Claudia Hewitt has already shown herself to be an impact player off the bench early in her freshman campaign.
Full Schedule
Bellarmine (6-0-2) (Teagan Douglas)
This week: @ Austin Peay – 9:00am, Friday 19 September; @ Lipscomb – 7:45am, Monday 22 September
Cal State Bakersfield (3-4-1) (Georgia Martell)
This week: @ UC San Diego – 12:00pm, Friday 19 September
Canisius (2-4) (Chloe Tseros)
This week: @ Rider – 5:00am, Sunday 21 September
Central Michigan (0-7) (Alyssa Di Campli)
This week: @ Ball St. – 6:00am, Friday 19 September
Charleston (4-3-1) (Viktorija Calusic)
This week: @ Monmouth – 8:00am, Friday 19 September; @ Northeastern – 2:00am, Monday 22 September
Charleston Southern (1-3-3) (Eve Tiktikakis)
This week: @ UNC Asheville – 4:00am, Sunday 21 September
Chicago State (2-3-3) (Jacquelline Kambere)
This week: @ Le Moyne – 5:00am, Monday 22 September
Cleveland State (3-3-1) (Sophie Abbott)
This week: @ Detroit Mercy – 9:00am, Friday 19 September; @ Oakland – 3:00am, Monday 22 September
Dartmouth (3-2-2) (Kate Ryan)
This week: @ Harvard – 9:00am, Sunday 21 September
Denver (Isabella Chidiac)
This week: No games.
Detroit Mercy (2-6) (Chantelle Symes)
This week: v Cleveland St. – 9:00am, Friday 19 September; @ Wright St. – 3:00am, Monday 22 September
East Carolina (3-3-2) (Jenny Hill)
This week: @ South Fla. – 9:00am, Friday 19 September
Fresno State (3-2-2) (Shivani Battaglia)
This week: v Oregon St. – 5:00am, Sunday 21 September
Gardner-Webb (1-6-1) (Sarah Birchall)
This week: @ Longwood – 4:00am, Sunday 21 September
George Mason (1-5-2) (Libby Davy)
This week: v George Washington – 8:00am, Sunday 21 September
George Washington (3-2-3) (Jasmine Black)
This week: @ George Mason – 8:00am, Sunday 21 September
Hampton (5-3-1) (Morgan Stanton)
This week: @ Towson – 8:00am, Friday 19 September; @ Drexel – 3:00am, Monday 22 September
Harvard (2-3-2) (Erin Gordon)
This week: v Dartmouth – 9:00am, Sunday 21 September
High Point (Montana-Rose Currey)
This week: No games.
Hofstra (3-1-4) (Lilly Bailey)
This week: v Elon – 9:00am, Friday 19 September; v Campbell – 3:00am, Monday 22 September
Incarnate Word (2-3-1) (Montanna Mathews)
This week: v Nicholls – 10:00am, Friday 19 September; v Lamar University – 4:00am, Monday 22 September
Jacksonville State (6-2-2) (Lara Aitken)
This week: @ Middle Tenn. – 4:00am, Monday 22 September
Little Rock (2-3-2) (Claudia Hewitt, Candice Kilderry, Serenity Thake)
This week: @ Tennessee Tech – 4:00am, Monday 22 September
Long Island (2-2-2) (Izzy Stein)
This week: v Mercyhurst – 2:00am, Friday 19 September; @ Delaware St. – 5:00am, Monday 22 September
Loyola Maryland (3-2-3) (Eva McGorian, Ava Blizzard)
This week: v Holy Cross – 3:00am, Sunday 21 September
Maine (1-4-1) (Grace Wilson)
This week: @ UAlbany – 5:00am, Monday 22 September
Providence (Meg Roden)
This week: No games.
Purdue (4-3-2) (Margaux Chauvet)
This week: v Iowa – 9:00am, Friday 19 September; @ Maryland – 2:00am, Monday 22 September
Quinnipiac (1-3-2) (Stella Tosoni)
This week: v Mount St. Mary’s – 2:00am, Sunday 21 September
Rider (2-3-2) (CJ Harris, Eloise Jones)
This week: v Canisius – 5:00am, Sunday 21 September
Saint Peter’s (4-2-2) (Wilma Thodhlana)
This week: v Marist – 2:00am, Sunday 21 September
Seton Hall (3-1-4) (Grace Mitchell, Sarah Mitchell)
This week: @ Villanova – 6:00am, Sunday 21 September
Siena (2-2-4) (Iona Snape)
This week: v Niagara – 3:00am, Sunday 21 September
Tarleton State (5-2-2) (Charlie Shanahan, Zoe Daly, Adelaide Wyrzynski, Phoebe Riley)
This week: v Schreiner – 10:00am, Friday 19 September
UAB (3-2-4) (Abbey Burns)
This week: @ Memphis – 10:00am, Friday 19 September
Youngstown State (1-7) (Aimee Benton)
This week: v Green Bay – 8:00am, Friday 19 September; v Milwaukee – 2:00am, Monday 22 September
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