Spring 2020 Week 10 Wrap

Alabama State hadn’t tasted SWAC Championship success since 2017, but that all changed this week as the Hornets secured the conference title to complete an undefeated league season. The team rolled through the first round, defeating Alcorn State 6-1, before holding off a fast-finishing Jackson State side in the semi-finals to win 3-2. That set up a championship game against Grambling State, ensuring an Aussie would win the title as Grace Norbury and Sophie Bui faced Ashley Commens. With the teams finishing the 90 minutes tied at 2-2 and no goals forthcoming in extra time, the destination of the championship trophy would be decided from the spot. Norbury, who had been instrumental for the Hornets all season, continued in the same vein until the last, slotting home the second penalty as Alabama State won the shootout 3-1 to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament in Cary, North Carolina. Norbury would play all 110 minutes of the final, maintaining a crucial midfield presence as the freshman has done all season. Alabama State will now have a week off as they await the announcement of their first-round opponent for the NCAA Tournament.

Things were slated to get a bit crazy in the Atlantic 10, and they did as a seemingly bizarre tiebreaker situation decided the final conference tournament berth. UMass defeated Fordham 1-0 to secure top spot in the North pool, with Hannah Peric playing 41 minutes. Meanwhile, Alyssa Van Heurck played the full 90 minutes as La Salle defeated Saint Joseph’s 1-0 to finish with 12 points, four behind Massachusetts in the North pool, but with a better points per game tally than the second-place finisher in either the South or Midwest. At first glance, it would seem obvious that in a season with an unbalanced schedule, the second-place team with the highest points per game would secure the wildcard berth. However, the powers that be in the Atlantic 10 decided that total points would be used, leaving La Salle on the outer as VCU, George Washington, and Dayton used their additional games to rack up 13-point totals. Dayton would eventually secure the semi-final berth despite playing eight games to VCU’s seven.

Meanwhile, two Aussies will kick off their conference tournaments on Wednesday. Madison McComasky’s Incarnate Word side get things started in the Southland Conference tournament with a contest against an Abilene Christian side that they lost to this past weekend, whilst Sandra Hill and Grand Canyon will host the WAC Tournament and play Chicago State in their opening round fixture.

Moving away from the college game, over in Germany, four of the five college players in the Matildas squad saw playing time during the 5-2 defeat to the home side. Aivi Luik started the game, before Beattie Goad made her debut early in the piece, coming on as a substitute for the injured Karly Roestbakken and immediately becoming one of the best players on the pitch for the Matildas. Amy Sayer earned her fourth cap early in the second half, whilst a late cameo from Alex Huynh made her the second of three debutants for the day, with Indiah-Paige Riley the third to earn her first cap. The Matildas take on the Netherlands at 2:30am on Wednesday morning (AEST), with fingers crossed that midfielder Dylan Holmes can also make her national team debut.

Finally, it was a fourth W-League championship for Florida International legend Amy Jackson, but her first with Melbourne Victory as the team in navy blue secured the title on a 120th minute Olimpico from Kyra Cooney-Cross. Jackson was outstanding in midfield for Victory, whilst former UCLA midfielder Rachel Lowe was ever-present for Sydney FC as the Premiers came up agonisingly short of completing the double.

Full Schedule

Alabama State (Grace Norbury, Sophie Bui)

This week: defeated Alcorn State 6-1; defeated Jackson State 3-2; defeated Grambling State 3-1 on penalties (2-2 after extra time)

Grace Norbury started all three games in Alabama State’s SWAC Championship success, tallying a shot on target in both the semi-final and final, and slotting home a penalty in the shootout against Grambling State. Sophie Bui came off the bench in the win over Alcorn State, tallying a pair of shots.

Butler (Claire Farrington)

This week: defeated Creighton 2-1

Claire Farrington came off the bench for Butler in their win over Creighton, playing 24 minutes.

Creighton (Renee Pountney)

This week: lost to Butler 2-1

Renee Pountney did not feature for Creighton in their loss to Butler.

Eastern Illinois (Ashleigh Harvie)

No games this week.

Grambling State (Ashley Commens)

This week: defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff 2-0; defeated Southern 2-0; lost to Alabama State 3-1 on penalties (2-2 after extra time)

Ashley Commens did not feature for Grambling State in their run to the SWAC Championship game before falling to Alabama State.

Grand Canyon (Sandra Hill)

This week: defeated New Mexico State 2-0

Sandra Hill started for Grand Canyon in their win over New Mexico State, playing 36 minutes.

Hofstra (Grace Watson Carr)

This week: defeated Towson 7-2

Grace Watson Carr did not feature for Hofstra in their win over Towson.

Illinois (Ashleigh Lefevre)

This week: lost to Iowa 2-1 (OT)

Ashleigh Lefevre did not feature for Illinois in their Big Ten tournament loss to Iowa.

Incarnate Word (Madison McComasky)

This week: lost to Abilene Christian 2-0

Madison McComasky started for Incarnate Word in their loss to Abilene Christian, playing 71 minutes.

La Salle (Alyssa Van Heurck)

This week: defeated Saint Joseph’s 1-0

Alyssa Van Heurck started for La Salle in their win over Saint Joseph’s, once again playing the full 90 minutes.

Marshall (Laura Farrelly)

This week: lost to Middle Tennessee State 7-2

Laura Farrelly did not feature for Marshall in their loss to Middle Tennessee State.

Massachusetts (Hannah Peric)

This week: defeated Fordham 1-0

Hannah Peric started for Massachusetts in their win over Fordham, playing 41 minutes.

Nicholls State (Shauni Reid)

This week: lost to Southeastern Louisiana 4-0

Shauni Reid did not feature for Nicholls State in their loss to Southeastern Louisiana.

Rhode Island (Teresa Morrissey)

No games this week due to cancellations as a result of a positive COVID-19 case.

San Francisco (Ashley Jordan)

This week: defeated Loyola Marymount 3-2

Ashley Jordan did not feature for San Francisco in their win over Loyola Marymount.

St. Francis Brooklyn (Jazzmin Forwood)

No games this weekend.

Stanford (Amy Sayer)

This week: drew with USC 0-0; lost to UCLA 2-1

Amy Sayer did not feature for Stanford this week due to national team commitments with the Matildas.

Tennessee-Martin (Kiarnie Latham)

No games this week.

UMBC (Abi Jordan)

This week: lost to Binghamton 1-0 (OT)

Abi Jordan did not feature for UMBC in their loss to Binghamton.

USC (Talia Grossman)

This week: drew with Stanford 0-0; defeated California 5-0

Talia Grossman did not feature for USC in either game this week.

Washington State (Aly Hay)

This week: defeated Oregon State 3-2; drew with Oregon 1-1

Aly Hay did not feature for Washington State in either game this week.

Wyoming (Indianna Asimus)

This week: lost to New Mexico 3-1; lost to Utah State 3-0

Indianna Asimus started both games for Wyoming this week, playing 70 minutes against New Mexico and 60 minutes against Utah State.

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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