It’s been a long time since we saw an Aussie score a goal in NCAA Division I, but three players delivered in the space of a few days, including two freshmen. The first-year players continue to star, but one veteran also popped up to bang home a goal in an exciting week of football.
Hannah Peric has been a revelation for Massachusetts in the first few weeks of her college career, and this week picked up the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week Award as just reward for her efforts. After helping hold Rhode Island to just three shots on target in a 0-0 draw earlier in the week, Peric came up with the winning goal against La Salle just 40 seconds from the end of regulation. Fellow Aussie, Alyssa Van Heurck had gone close to breaking the deadlock for La Salle 20 minutes earlier, cracking a shot against the crossbar, but Peric would have the final say from a free kick. With the La Salle goalkeeper unable to handle the cross, the ball fell to ground and Peric was first on it, lashing the ball home for the game-winner. With two clean sheets and a game-winning goal under her belt, it is little wonder that the former Manly United star picked up the conference’s Rookie of the Week honours.
Having only recently made her college debut, Butler freshman Claire Farrington quickly made a tangible impact for the Bulldogs, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over Marquette. Butler outshot Marquette 21-5, but it took Farrington taking advantage of some mediocre defence on a corner to glance home a pinpoint cross with an equally as accurate header with six minutes to play. Farrington also came off the bench later in the week against Xavier in a 4-0 win as Butler moved to a perfect 6-0 record in competitive play.
It had been a while since we’d seen Indianna Asimus on the pitch for Wyoming, but the Dubbo product returned this week, bagging her first goal of the season in the process. Having missed the previous two games, Asimus returned to the starting lineup against Colorado College and gave the Cowgirls a glimmer of hope with her goal after 71 minutes, which halved Colorado College’s lead. Unfortunately, Wyoming were not able to secure an equaliser, but with Asimus back in goalscoring form, the attack suddenly looks a lot more dangerous.
This week also saw two more players make their NCAA Division I debut. Former Newcastle Jet Renee Pountney took to the pitch for Creighton in their overtime loss to DePaul, playing 30 minutes. Meanwhile, Ashley Commens came on at halftime for Grambling State in their 5-2 demolition of Alcorn State, playing 35 minutes.
Complete Results
Alabama State (Grace Norbury, Sophie Bui)
This week: game v Southern postponed due to COVID-19 protocols; defeated Jackson State 2-1
Neither Grace Norbury nor Sophie Bui featured for Alabama State against Jackson State, with Norbury continuing to recover from a knock suffered last week.
Butler (Claire Farrington)
This week: defeated Marquette 1-0; defeated Xavier 4-0
Claire Farrington came off the bench for Butler in both games this week, tallying a goal in 30 minutes against Marquette and playing 38 minutes against Xavier.
Creighton (Renee Pountney)
This week: lost to DePaul 2-1 (OT)
Renee Pountney came off the bench for Creighton in their overtime loss to DePaul, playing 30 minutes on college debut.
East Tennessee State (D’arne Boato)
This week: lost to Chattanooga 2-1 (OT); lost to Samford 5-0
D’arne Boato did not feature for East Tennessee State against Chattanooga, but came off the bench to play 43 minutes against Samford.
Eastern Illinois (Ashleigh Harvie)
This week: lost to Tennessee Tech 1-0
Ashleigh Harvie played all 94 minutes in Eastern Illinois’ overtime loss to Tennessee Tech.
Grambling State (Ashley Commens)
This week: defeated Alcorn State5-2
Ashley Commens came off the bench for Grambling State in their win over Alcorn State, playing 35 minutes on her college debut.
Grand Canyon (Sandra Hill)
This week: lost to Seattle 4-2; defeated Seattle 2-1
Sandra Hill started for Grand Canyon and played 30 minutes in the loss to Seattle, before coming off the bench to play 13 minutes in their win over the same opponent.
Hartford (Jamie Campbell)
No games this week.
Hofstra (Grace Watson Carr)
This week: game v Drexel postponed, defeated Boston College 2-1 (OT)
Illinois (Ashleigh Lefevre)
This week: defeated Indiana 1-0
Ashleigh Lefevre did not feature for Illinois in their win over Indiana.
Incarnate Word (Madison McComasky)
This week: defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 1-0; defeated Sam Houston State 3-2
Madison McComasky came off the bench for Incarnate Word in both games this week, playing 45 minutes against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and 24 minutes against Sam Houston State.
La Salle (Alyssa Van Heurck)
This week: lost to Massachusetts 1-0
Alyssa Van Heurck played the full 90 minutes in La Salle’s loss to Massachusetts, registering a single shot.
Marshall (Laura Farrelly)
This week: defeated Appalachian State 2-1
Laura Farrelly did not feature for Marshall in their win over Appalachian State.
Massachusetts (Hannah Peric)
This week: drew with Rhode Island 0-0; defeated La Salle 1-0
Hannah Peric started both games for Massachusetts this week, playing 54 minutes in the draw with Rhode Island and scoring the game-winner in a 67-minute outing against La Salle.
Nicholls State (Shauni Reid)
This week: lost to Lamar 2-0; lost to Louisiana-Monroe 4-0
Shauni Reid did not feature for Nicholls State in either game this week.
Rhode Island (Teresa Morrissey)
This week: drew with Massachusetts 0-0; drew with Saint Joseph’s 1-1
Teresa Morrissey did not feature for Rhode Island against Massachusetts, but played all 110 minutes against Saint Joseph’s, making 8 saves and only conceding via a spot kick.
San Francisco (Ashley Jordan)
This week: drew with Portland 0-0
Ashley Jordan did not feature for San Francisco in their draw with Portland.
St. Francis Brooklyn (Jazzmin Forwood)
This week: No games this week.
Stanford (Amy Sayer)
This week: defeated Washington 1-0; game v Washington State cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols.
Amy Sayer started and played 79 minutes in Stanford’s win over Washington, finishing with one of the Cardinal’s three shots on target.
Tennessee-Martin (Kiarnie Latham)
This week: lost to SIU Edwardsville 2-0
Kiarnie Latham started for Tennessee-Martin in their loss to SIU Edwardsville, playing 72 minutes.
UMBC (Abi Jordan)
No games this week.
USC (Talia Grossman)
This week: lost to Utah 2-0; lost to Colorado 3-2 (2OT)
Talia Grossman did not feature for USC in either game this week.
Washington State (Aly Hay)
This week: games v California and Stanford cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols.
Wyoming (Indianna Asimus)
This week: lost to Air Force 2-1; lost to Colorado College 2-1
Indianna Asimus did not feature for Wyoming against Air Force, but returned to play 62 minutes and score the Cowgirls’ only goal against Colorado College.
Leave a Reply