Cancellations and postponements continue to rip through the college season, with Amy Sayer’s debut for Stanford pushed back once again as the Cardinal’s game against Ashley Jordan and San Francisco was cancelled. However, a small number of teams are managing to keep things rolling, with Sandra Hill and Grand Canyon as well as Ashleigh Lefevre and Illinois kicking off conference play.
Alabama State’s Aussie duo of Sophie Bui and Grace Norbury were meant to open up their season last weekend, but that game has been pushed back to Thursday as the Hornets now start their campaign with a pair of home games against in-state rivals. Troy and UAB will provide an excellent litmus test for Alabama State this weekend; if they can hang with a pair of teams from much more prestigious conferences, it will bode extremely well for their conference season in the SWAC. For context, former Western Sydney Wanderers and current Napoli defender Alexandra Huynh played for Troy after transferring from Colorado.
Grand Canyon did well to hang with Arizona State in a narrow overtime defeat last week, and Sandra Hill will get another chance to showcase her solid early form as the Lopes take on Utah Valley in a pair of home contests. Grand Canyon will be battle-hardened by three games against Pac-12 schools as they begin conference play against a team that received three of the eight first-placed votes in the Western Athletic Conference preseason poll. However, Grand Canyon were picked to finish fourth and have an encouraging result against Arizona State under their belt.
Alyssa Van Heurck and La Salle put Villanova to the sword last week, and there should be absolutely no changes to the script as they face lowly Delaware State in their second game of the campaign. The Hornets gave up four or more goals on eight occasions last season, and with the La Salle attack clearly firing, this week is probably Van Heurck’s best chance to secure her first goal and/or assist of the Spring 2021 campaign. With only two more games after this week before conference play starts, expect the Explorers to show no mercy as they try to maintain their excellent start to the season.
Finally, Ashleigh Lefevre and Illinois kick their season off this weekend against Purdue as they commence a conference-only campaign. Now in her junior season, the Victorian has established herself as an integral part of the Fighting Illini side, whether deployed as a fullback or slightly higher up the pitch. As for the team itself, they will be looking to get the jump on a Purdue side that finished a single point ahead of them in the Big Ten standings this season. More than that though, Illinois will be hoping to vastly outstrip last season’s 11th place finish, and an opening day win would provide a perfect start to achieving that goal.
Full Schedule
Alabama State (Grace Norbury, Sophie Bui)
This week: v Troy – 12pm, Thursday February 18; v UAB – 11am, Monday February 22
Butler (Claire Farrington)
This week: v Marian – 3:30am, Thursday February 18; v Dayton – 11am, Monday February 22
Creighton (Renee Pountney)
No games this week.
East Tennessee State (D’arne Boato)
This week: v Lipscomb – 5am, Monday February 22
Eastern Illinois (Ashleigh Harvie)
No games this week.
Grambling State (Ashley Commens)
No games this week.
Grand Canyon (Sandra Hill)
This week: v Utah Valley – 1pm, Friday February 19; v Utah Valley – 7am, Sunday February 21
Hartford (Jamie Campbell)
No games this week.
Hofstra (Grace Watson Carr)
This week: v Stony Brook – 3am, Monday February 22
Illinois (Ashleigh Lefevre)
This week: v Purdue – 6am, Friday February 19
Incarnate Word (Madison McComasky)
This week: v McNeese State – 10am, Saturday February 20; v Lamar – 6am, Monday February 22
La Salle (Alyssa Van Heurck)
This week: @ Delaware State – 6am, Monday February 22
Marshall (Laura Farrelly)
This week: v West Virginia Tech – 9am, Sunday February 21
Massachusetts (Hannah Peric)
No games this week.
Nicholls State (Shauni Reid)
No games this week.
Rhode Island (Teresa Morrissey)
No games this week.
San Francisco (Ashley Jordan)
No games this week.
St. Francis Brooklyn (Jazzmin Forwood)
No games this week.
Stanford (Amy Sayer)
No games this week.
Tennessee-Martin (Kiarnie Latham)
No games this week.
UMBC (Abi Jordan)
No games this week.
USC (Talia Grossman)
No games this week.
Washington State (Aly Hay)
This week: v Idaho – 2pm, Saturday February 20
Wyoming (Indianna Asimus)
No games this week.
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