Tag: Beattie Goad

NCAA Tournament Preview

This season, seven Australians across six teams will contest the NCAA Tournament. Three of those sides – Stanford, UCLA, and USC – could be considered legitimate challengers for the title, whilst Colorado and Texas Tech could definitely shake things up and spring an upset or two. Beattie Goad and Stanford have secured the overall top seed, but UCLA and USC have also managed to grab seeded positions and could use those favourable draws to their advantage.

Stanford (Beattie Goad)

First Round: v Houston Baptist – 2pm, Saturday November 12

Live on Stanford Women’s Soccer Facebook

Beattie Goad
Beattie Goad (Photo Credit: Bill Dally/ISIPhotos.com)

As the overall top seed in the tournament, Stanford go in as favourites to make it to San Jose for the College Cup. First up, they take on Houston Baptist, who qualified for the tournament as champions of the Southland Conference. The Huskies have compiled a 10-10-1 record this season, and sit a lowly 220th in the RPI rankings. If Stanford get through this first game, they will take on the winner of Long Beach State and Santa Clara, two teams in the top 50 of the RPI rankings. Expect to see Beattie Goad play a cameo off the bench for Stanford, as she has done in recent weeks, unless the Cardinal get out to a big lead, which is possible. If that happens, there may be scope for Beattie to play a lot more minutes as some starters are rested.

UCLA (Teagan Micah)

First Round: v Seattle – 2pm, Saturday November 12

Live on Pac-12 UCLA Stream

The 4th seed in their quarter of the draw, UCLA will be hard-pressed to reach the final weekend as they must go through heavyweights West Virginia (or a team that defeats them) to reach even the quarter-finals. Before that though, they must take on Seattle in the first round. The WAC champions, Seattle are 93rd in the RPI rankings with a 14-5-1 record to this point. UCLA should win this game comfortably, but a second round matchup with Top 20 side Nebraska would be far tougher. However, with Teagan Micah doing her best impression of a brick wall between the sticks for the Bruins, the path through to a potential game with West Virginia should be much more smooth.

Colorado (Isobel Dalton, Kahlia Hogg)

First Round: v Oklahoma State – 6am, Sunday November 13

Live on Pac-12 Colorado Stream

Of the four Pac-12 teams featuring Aussies to reach the tournament, Colorado are the lowest in the RPI rankings and, as such, face the toughest test in the first round. The 29th ranked Buffaloes face off against 56th ranked Oklahoma State on their home patch. Colorado do have a reasonable history of making things happen in the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Sweet 16 in 2013 after knocking off Denver and BYU in unexpected wins, and taking North Carolina to overtime in 2014 as the Buffaloes came incredibly close to a huge upset. If Colorado can manage a win, they will almost certainly play #1 seed South Carolina in the first round, unless Aussie student assistant coach Shelbi Vienna-Hallam can help Alabama State conjure what would be a ludicrously massive upset. We may not see a lot of Isobel Dalton and Kahlia Hogg in this game due to various circumstances, but you never know how these things pan out.

Texas Tech (Demi Koulizakis)

First Round: at Utah – 7am, Sunday November 13

Live on Pac-12 Utah Stream

Texas Tech were forced to wait until Selection Monday to learn if they would make the tournament, as they sat firmly on the bubble. Fortunately, Demi Koulizakis and the Red Raiders were granted a bid, and they will travel to Utah for their first round game. At 21st in the RPI rankings, Utah will go into this game as favourites against 42nd ranked Texas Tech. If Texas Tech can manage a victory first up, things only get tougher as they will likely take on ACC champions Florida State. Demi Koulizakis was only seeing limited minutes earlier in the season, but her playing time has exploded recently and it will be interesting to see if this continues through the tournament.

USC (Lulu Pullar)

First Round: v Eastern Washington – 8am, Sunday November 13

Live on Pac-12 USC Stream

The second seed in their quarter of the draw, USC were close to snagging a top seed until their final day loss to UCLA and Florida’s SEC championship victory. The Women of Troy come into this game against Big Sky champion Eastern Washington as hot favourites to advance to the second round and a game against either TCU or Texas A&M. USC sit in the same section of the draw as Demi Koulizakis and Texas Tech, and whilst it might take some upsets, we could see a Sweet 16 matchup between the two Aussies. How much playing time Lulu Pullar gets in that potential game, or indeed in any other, remains to be seen, though.

Albany (Claire Urquhart)

First Round: v Connecticut – 10am, Sunday November 13

Live on Husky Vision ($$)

Last season, Claire Urquhart played the first few games, then saw no playing time for the rest of the season until the NCAA Tournament. This season has followed a similar course so far, and we may yet see Claire in the NCAA Tournament again as the Great Danes take on Connecticut in the first round. Certainly, it will be another tough game for Albany. Last season, Penn State were a #1 seed and won the NCAA title after beating Albany in the first round. This season, Connecticut are #8 in the RPI even if they haven’t secured a seeding for the tournament. It’s going to be hard for Albany to get through the first round, but upsets are certainly more likely in soccer than they are in many other sports.

Week 12 Wrap

Whilst at the start of the weekend there was a possibility of up to 10 or more teams with Australians featuring in the NCAA Tournament, it didn’t quite pan out that way. With that being said, many of those teams were outsiders in conference tournaments. Nonetheless, plenty of Aussies performed well even if their teams didn’t quite get the results they wanted.

Isabel Hodgson has flourished since being moved into a more advanced role midway through the season, and conference tournament time saw the South Australian sophomore take on a starring role for East Tennessee State. Isabel volleyed home the opener after her initial shot was blocked, before tallying an assist after her shot cannoned off the crossbar straight into the path of Molly Collinson to restore the Buccaneers’ lead after Mercer had equalised earlier. Isabel then added the insurance with East Tennessee State’s third goal 14 minutes from time.

Isabel then scored the opener in the final against Samford after just two minutes. However, the top seeded side would storm home for a 2-1 win to end the Buccaneers’ season one game shy of reaching the NCAA Tournament.

The final day of the Pac-12 saw three teams with Australians still in the hunt for a conference title: Beattie Goad and Stanford were in the box seat, but Lulu Pullar and USC and Colorado’s pair of Isobel Dalton and Kahlia Hogg were both still in the hunt. Isobel and Kahlia played minor roles off the bench in the opening game of the day as Colorado drew 1-1 with Utah, denying the Buffaloes a chance at the title, but securing third place in the league. That left USC sweating on California beating Stanford to give themselves a chance at the title. Stanford were having none of it though, demolishing their rivals 4-1, with Beattie Goad scoring, with no exaggeration, in the final second of the game as the Cardinal secured the Pac-12 title.

As it was, USC fell to Teagan Micah and UCLA in front of over 8000 people at StubHub Center, the home of LA Galaxy. Teagan was a huge part of the win as well, coming up with seven saves in a 1-0 win. With Annie Alvarado’s winner being one of just two UCLA shots on target, Teagan’s performance was all the more important as the Bruins moved into fourth place to end the Pac-12 season.

Murray State had been undefeated in two consecutive regular season conference schedules and were odds-on to storm their way through the conference tournament after winning the Ohio Valley Conference title last season in overtime against Southeast Missouri State. This year, overtime did not favour the Racers as last year’s wooden spooners SIU Edwardsville got the upset in the semifinals. All three goals came after halftime, with SIU Edwardsville opening the scoring just shy of the hour mark before Harriet Withers equalised ten minutes later. Deep into the first period of overtime, SIU Edwardsville managed to get clear of the Murray State defence and, with just 12 seconds remaining before halftime of overtime, banged home the winner to head to the final.

Player Of The Year Points:

3: Isabel Hodgson (East Tennessee State)
2: Teagan Micah (UCLA)
1: Harriet Withers (Murray State)

Complete Results:

Texas Southern (Paige Hayward)

This week: defeated Prairie View A&M 1-0 (SWAC Quarterfinals), lost 2-1 to Alabama State (SWAC Semifinals)

Paige Hayward had a ridiculous 8 shots against Prairie View A&M but couldn’t find the back of the net in a complete game. Paige did score the opener against Alabama State, but the team featuring Shelbi Vienna-Hallam as an assistant coach stormed home to get the win.

Drexel (Emma Heckenberg)

This week: defeated James Madison 2-0 (CAA Semifinals), lost 3-0 to Northeastern (CAA Final)

Emma Heckenberg started both games for Drexel, playing the full 90 minutes against James Madison and 71 minutes against Northeastern.

Murray State (Nyomi Devine, Jade Horcicka, Harriet Withers)

This week: lost 2-1 (OT) to SIU Edwardsville (OVC Semifinals)

Harriet Withers scored the Racers’ only goal in a 97 minute performance against SIU Edwardsville, whilst Nyomi Devine played all 100 minutes in the loss.

Fairleigh Dickinson (Sam Roff)

This week: lost 2-0 to St Francis University (NEC Semifinals)

Sam Roff maintained her starting spot for Fairleigh Dickinson and played a complete game for the fifth consecutive fixture.

Colorado (Isobel Dalton, Kahlia Hogg)

This week: drew 1-1 with Utah

Isobel Dalton and Kahlia Hogg both came off the bench for Colorado, with Isobel playing a single minute and Kahlia playing 12 minutes in her comeback from injury.

UCLA (Teagan Micah)

This week: defeated USC 1-0

Teagan Micah played the full 90 minutes for UCLA, coming up with 7 vital saves in the win over USC.

Stanford (Beattie Goad)

This week: defeated California 4-1

Beattie Goad came off the bench to play 11 minutes and scored her first college goal with literally one second remaining in the game as Stanford clinched the Pac-12 title.

USC (Lulu Pullar)

This week: lost 1-0 to UCLA

Lulu Pullar did not feature for USC against UCLA.

East Tennessee State (Isabel Hodgson)

This week: defeated Mercer 3-1 (SoCon Semifinals), lost 2-1 to Samford (SoCon Final)

Despite going down in the final, Isabel Hodgson had a spectacular weekend. Isabel scored twice and tallied an assist in the 3-1 win over Mercer, before scoring the opener in the final before Samford launched a comeback.

Pacific (Ellie Papalexiou)

This week: lost 1-0 to Pepperdine

Ellie Papalexiou did not feature this week due to injury.

San Francisco (Price Keogh)

This week: lost 2-1 to Santa Clara

Price Keogh did not feature for San Francisco against Santa Clara.

Albany (Claire Urquhart)

This week: defeated Hartford 2-1 (America East Final)

Albany reached the NCAA Tournament with a 2-1 win but Claire Urquhart did not feature in the final.

Week 12 Preview

We are down to under 15 schools featuring Australians still playing, and all bar two are still in with a shot at making the NCAA Tournament. All four Aussies in the Pac-12 are basically locked into tournament spots already, whilst plenty more have earned high seedings for conference tournaments, giving them excellent shots at winning a conference title and heading to the NCAA Tournament.

Paige Hayward and Texas Southern kick off the weekend with a SWAC tournament quarterfinal against Prairie View A&M on Friday morning. Paige scored two goals against Prairie View A&M just last week to hand the Tigers a 2-0 win and set up a rematch in the #2 v #7 matchup. Texas Southern will be expected to go all the way to the final, and tomorrow morning’s match is just the start of a 3 game campaign to reach the NCAA Tournament.

The Pac-12 has been a dogfight to the last and the Australians have been right amongst it, with USC (Lulu Pullar), Stanford (Beattie Goad), and Colorado (Isobel Dalton, Kahlia Hogg) all still with at least a slight chance of clinching the conference title on the final matchday. It would be unwise to forget about Teagan Micah and UCLA, though. The Bruins take on USC, and a win would destroy the Trojans’ title chances and almost certainly hand the crown to Stanford or Colorado. Stanford sit top of the pile as things stand, so they only need to win, whilst Colorado need to defeat Utah and rely on other results going their way, as will USC if they are to defeat UCLA.

Murray State were forced to share the Ohio Valley Conference regular season title this year, but still secured the top seed and a first round bye in the conference tournament. Now coming off a week’s rest, the Racers take on SIU Edwardsville in the semifinals. These two sides battled to a 1-1 draw on SIUE’s home patch, but this game will take place at the fortress that is Murray State’s Cutchin Field. Harriet Withers’ goal production has been down slightly recently in recent weeks, but the striker has been creating plenty of opportunities for herself and hopefully will be able to find the back of the net again in this must-win game. Nyomi Devine has been out for a couple of weeks and it is unknown as to whether she will return for this game.

Fairleigh Dickinson missed out on the conference title by virtue of a final-day loss that saw the Knights drop to fourth in the standings. This week, they take on the team that jumped them to win the title, St Francis University, in the semifinals of the Northeast Conference tournament. Whilst Fairleigh Dickinson were able to come away with a 3-2 victory at home in the regular season meeting, they will now have to travel to Pennsylvania for this fixture. Sam Roff has been ever-present for the Knights this season, switching between defence and midfield, and a big performance from the freshman will no doubt go a long way to keeping the St Francis attack at bay for the 90 minutes, or 110 if need be.

Emma Heckenberg and Drexel have flown slightly under the radar this season, but with some excellent early season form of their own combined with some upset losses for teams around them despite no wins in their last four, the Dragons managed to play themselves into second spot in the Colonial Athletic Association and a first-round bye. Their semi-final matchup will see them take on James Madison, a side that looked set to take a top two spot until Emily Hulbert and Hofstra knocked them off, paving Drexel’s way to the bye. If the Dragons can turn around their mediocre recent form, they already have an away win over James Madison under their belt, which will no doubt give the team confidence to do the same at a neutral site.

Isabel Hodgson and East Tennessee State have already played one tournament game at home, defeating Western Carolina 2-1 in a nail biter this week. This week, they host both the semi-finals and final of the Southern Conference tournament regardless of seedings, and will be looking to make full use of the advantage. First up, they have to get past Mercer, whom they lost to 3-2 away earlier in the year. Since that game, East Tennessee have won 6 of their last 8 games, with their only loss coming to regular season champions Samford. With Isabel Hodgson pushed into a more advanced role for the latter half of the season, the Buccaneers’ attack is firing and revenge is most definitely on the cards.

Full Schedule:

Texas Southern (Paige Hayward)

This week: v Prairie View A&M – 8:30am, Friday November 4 (SWAC Quarterfinals)

Drexel (Emma Heckenberg)

This week: v James Madison – 5am, Saturday November 5 (CAA Semifinals)

Murray State (Nyomi Devine, Jade Horcicka, Harriet Withers)

This week: v SIU Edwardsville – 5am, Saturday November 5 (OVC Semifinals)

Fairleigh Dickinson (Sam Roff)

This week: at St Francis University – 5am, Saturday November 5 (NEC Semifinals)

Colorado (Isobel Dalton, Kahlia Hogg)

This week: v Utah – 8am, Saturday November 5

UCLA (Teagan Micah)

This week: at USC – 9am, Saturday November 5

Stanford (Beattie Goad)

This week: at California – 9am, Saturday November 5

USC (Lulu Pullar)

This week: v UCLA – 9am, Saturday November 5

East Tennessee State (Isabel Hodgson)

This week: v Mercer – 10:30am, Saturday November 5 (Southern Conference Semifinals)

Pacific (Ellie Papalexiou)

This week: at Pepperdine – 7am, Sunday November 6

San Francisco (Price Keogh)

This week: v Santa Clara – 1pm, Sunday November 6

Albany (Claire Urquhart)

This week: v Hartford – 10am, Monday November 7 (America East Final)

Week 11 Wrap

Paige Hayward (Photo Credit: John Posey)

It was a topsy-turvy week this week to say the least, with some vital wins tempered by a couple of brutal losses. Julia De Angelis, Kristy Helmers and Kate Swartwout saw their freshman seasons end with tournament losses, whilst Laura Johns and Jess Coates rounded out their college careers this week as their teams failed to reach conference tournaments. On the other side, Beattie Goad and Stanford are in pole position for a conference title, whilst Demi Koulizakis, Paige Hayward and Isabel Hodgson enjoyed crucial victories.

The undoubted star of the week was Paige Hayward. With Texas Southern needing a win over in-state rival Prairie View A&M in their final league game to secure second place, the junior came up huge for the Tigers. The striker scored both goals for Texas Southern, including a penalty, to ensure that her team would finish in second place and earn a favourable draw for the SWAC conference tournament quarterfinals, where they will play Prairie View A&M again in the 2-7 matchup, with Prairie View A&M hosting the tournament.

Laura Johns’ impact with Massachusetts has been reduced in her senior season after winning the 2015 College Matildas Breakout Player Of The Year, but the South Australian showed just what she could offer in her final college game. Although the Minutewomen lost 3-1 to Dayton in their final game of the season, that goal came courtesy of Laura as she wrapped up her college career in the best way possible on a personal level, if not from a results level.

It was a mixed week for the Aussies in the Pac-12, to say the least. Teagan Micah and UCLA lost both their games this weekend to drop out of conference title contention, but one of those losses came at the hands of Colorado. Whilst Colorado were able to get that win over UCLA, they lost 3-0 to Lulu Pullar and USC, but neither Isobel Dalton nor Kahlia Hogg played any minutes all weekend. It was a better weekend for Beattie Goad and Stanford, though. Their trip south to play the two Arizona schools saw them come away with a pair of wins to take a two-point lead at the top of the Pac-12 table with one game to play.

In an Aussie v Aussie matchup in the Southern Conference quarterfinals, it was Isabel Hodgson and East Tennessee State who got the chocolates over Kate Swartwout and Western Carolina. East Tennessee State opened the scoring on the 20 minute mark through Molly Collinson who finished off some neat play from Irina Brutsch and Eleonora Goldoni. Western Carolina equalised through a penalty in the 73rd minute, but East Tennessee State earned the winner less than 3 minutes later. Isabel Hodgson tallied a single shot, but was heavily involved in the attack throughout the game, opening up several opportunities for the Buccaneers. Meanwhile, Kate Swartwout was solid in defence for the 47 minutes that she played off the bench for the Catamounts.

Demi Koulizakis has been used sparingly off the bench for the most part this season, but in a must-win game against nationally ranked Oklahoma, the Aussie freshman earned a rare start. Koulizakis’ performance must have improved the Texas Tech coaching staff as the Sydneysider saw 69 minutes of playing time in a 1-0 overtime win that saw the Red Raiders steal a Big 12 tournament spot from Monique Iannella and Texas.

This week saw us say goodbye to Nicholls State legend Jess Coates after the Colonels went down 3-0 to Southeastern Louisiana in a game that they had to win to reach the Southland Conference tournament and keep their season alive. Jess finishes her college career as Nicholls State’s all-time assists leader with 19 in 4 seasons, and was also a Senior CLASS Award nominee in her shortened senior season in 2015. Jess also won the 2014 College Matildas Midfielder Of The Year and was also 2nd in the Player Of The Year award in 2014.

Player Of The Year Points:

3: Paige Hayward (Texas Southern)
2: Georgia Rowntree (Wyoming)
1: Laura Johns (Massachusetts)

Complete Results:

Massachusetts (Laura Johns)

This week: lost 2-1 to Saint Joseph’s; lost 3-1 to Dayton

Laura Johns started in both games this weekend, playing 38 minutes against Saint Joseph’s and 56 minutes against Dayton. Despite the loss against Dayton, Laura rounded off her college career with a goal in her final game.

UCLA (Teagan Micah)

This week: lost 1-0 to Colorado; lost 2-0 to Utah

Teagan Micah played two complete games this week, making three saves against Colorado and five saves against Utah.

Colorado (Isobel Dalton, Kahlia Hogg)

This week: defeated UCLA 1-0; lost 3-0 to USC

Neither Isobel Dalton nor Kahlia Hogg saw any playing time for Colorado this weekend.

Murray State (Nyomi Devine, Jade Horcicka, Harriet Withers)

This week: drew 0-0 with Austin Peay

Harriet Withers had six shots for Murray State with two on target as the striker played all 110 minutes. Nyomi Devine continued to sit out through injury, whilst Jade Horcicka also did not feature against Austin Peay.

LSU (Caitlin Cantrill)

This week: lost 2-0 to Arkansas

Caitlin Cantrill came off the bench to play 36 minutes in the loss to Arkansas.

Southeast Missouri State (Maddy Cornell, Siena Senatore)

This week: defeated Tennessee-Martin 4-1

Maddy Cornell came off the bench to play 25 minutes, whilst Siena Senatore played 28 minutes as a substitute.

USC (Lulu Pullar)

This week: drew 1-1 with Utah; defeated Colorado 3-0

Lulu Pullar did not feature against Utah, but came off the bench to play the final five minutes against Colorado.

Stanford (Beattie Goad)

This week: defeated Arizona 4-0; defeated Arizona State 2-1

Beattie Goad came off the bench to play 15 minutes in both games this week, registering a shot on target in the win over Arizona.

Pacific (Ellie Papalexiou)

This week: lost 2-1 to San Diego; lost to BYU 4-0

Ellie Papalexiou missed this week due to injury.

Wyoming (Alisha Bass, Annika Clayton, Jessie Gentle, Georgia Rowntree, Candace Sciberras)

This week: defeated Colorado State 1-0

Alisha Bass had four shots, of which three were on target, in 74 minutes of action against Colorado State. Georgia Rowntree played all 90 minutes and saved all five shots that came her way. Annika Clayton and Jessie Gentle both had short stints off the bench, whilst Candace Sciberras missed out through injury.

Fairleigh Dickinson (Sam Roff)

This week: defeated Long Island-Brooklyn 4-2; lost 2-1 to Mount St. Mary’s

Sam Roff started both games and played the full 90 minutes on both occasions this week, managing to register a shot against Long Island-Brooklyn.

Nicholls State (Jess Coates, Kristy Helmers)

This week: lost 3-0 to Southeastern Louisiana

Kristy Helmers tallied a single shot in 45 minutes of action, whilst Jess Coates had two shots on target in 84 minutes in what would be her final college game.

Texas (Monique Iannella)

This week: lost 3-2 to TCU

Monique Iannella did not feature this week as Texas’ season came to an end with the loss to TCU.

Texas Southern (Paige Hayward)

This week: defeated Prairie View A&M 2-0

Paige Hayward scored both goals for the Tigers, including one from the spot, from seven shots in a complete game effort.

Texas Tech (Demi Koulizakis)

This week: defeated Oklahoma 1-0 (OT)

Demi Koulizakis managed a rare start for Texas Tech and played 69 of the 103 minutes in the overtime win, tallying a shot from midfield.

San Francisco (Price Keogh)

This week: lost 1-0 to Portland; defeated Gonzaga 2-1

Price Keogh did not feature for San Francisco this week.

East Tennessee State (Isabel Hodgson)

This week: defeated Western Carolina 2-1

Isabel Hodgson played 75 minutes in the win, tallying a shot on target in the process.

Western Carolina (Kate Swartwout)

This week: lost 2-1 to East Tennessee State

Kate Swartwout came off the bench to play 75 minutes in defence in the tight quarterfinal loss.

Albany (Claire Urquhart)

This week: defeated New Hampshire 1-0

Claire Urquhart did not feature for Albany in their conference tournament semi-final victory.

Indiana (Julia De Angelis)

This week: lost 3-1 to Minnesota

Julia De Angelis came off the bench to play 13 minutes as Indiana’s season ended with a quarter-final loss to Minnesota.

Week 8 Wrap

This week saw some thrilling games, plenty of goals from Aussies, and a huge upset win in the Sun Belt for one Aussie that really shook things up in that particular conference. Colorado kept their perfect conference record intact, but Kahlia Hogg unfortunately went down injured early in the Buffaloes’ first match of the weekend and did not return for their second game.

Stanford v UCLA had all the makings of an absolute heartstopper on paper, and the game didn’t disappoint as fans were treated to an overtime thriller. With both teams dropping points in their first games of the weekend, the pressure was on to secure a result and keep pace with the leaders in the Pac-12. Amber Munerlyn opened the scoring for UCLA in the 12th minute, but recent US National Team call-up Andi Sullivan equalised just 90 seconds later. Michelle Xiao put Stanford ahead just after the hour mark, but Canadian Olympian Jessie Fleming would equalize for UCLA yet again just 4 minutes from time. Teagan Micah made six saves for UCLA, but in the end Beattie Goad would be the Aussie celebrating as Maddie Bauer managed to tuck home the winner for Stanford after a scramble from a corner. The win keeps Stanford just 3 points off the pace in the Pac-12, whilst UCLA sit 5 points off leaders Colorado.

Murray State needed to win twice this weekend to keep themselves atop the Ohio Valley Conference standings, and with a lot of help from Harriet Withers and Nyomi Devine, they did exactly that. Nyomi tallied the assist on the Racers’ only goal in their 1-0 win over Tennessee Tech, before Harriet Withers whipped home a free kick to put Murray State ahead against Eastern Kentucky, with the Racers going on to win 3-0.

Wyoming came into the weekend sitting just shy of .500, with a 5-6-1 mark. That all changed with two victories that took the Cowgirls to a 7-6-1 record and extended their winning streak to three games. Alisha Bass was the star amongst the five Aussies in Laramie. Playing in a more advanced role than her usual defensive position, Alisha tallied an assist in a 4-2 win over Air Force, and then headed home a goal in a 2-0 win over Colorado College as Wyoming moved up to 7th in the Mountain West Conference.

South Alabama had not lost a conference game in 3 seasons, with 33 opponents coming and going in that time. Enter Alexandra Huynh and Troy. In their only game of the week, the Trojans scored in the 7th minute and then hung on for dear life as South Alabama unleashed 13 shots. But Alexandra and the Troy defence ensured that only 5 of those shots would end up on target, and with Mikki Lewis resembling a brick wall in front of the net, Troy emerged with a massive upset win against their in-state rivals. The win also lifted Troy off the bottom of the Sun Belt standings, and they now sit just two points behind a logjam of six teams tied for 3rd.

Paige Hayward has been at the top of her game for most of the season so far, and little changed in a pair of wins for Texas Southern. Paige wrapped up the scoring on both occasions for the Tigers, who defeated Mississippi Valley State 3-1 before knocking off Alcorn State 3-0 in their second game of the week to keep pace with Howard at the top of the Southwestern Athletic Conference standings.

Player Of The Year Points:

3: Alisha Bass (Wyoming)
2: Paige Hayward (Texas Southern)
1: Harriet Withers (Murray State)

Complete Results:

Massachusetts (Laura Johns)

This week: lost 2-1 to George Mason (OT); lost 2-0 to George Washington

Laura Johns did not feature against George Mason, but played 27 minutes off the bench against George Washington.

Colorado (Isobel Dalton, Kahlia Hogg)

This week: defeated Oregon 3-1; defeated Oregon State 3-0

Kahlia Hogg was forced off after just 5 minutes against Oregon and did not return for the game against Oregon State. Isobel Dalton did not feature against Oregon, but came off the bench to play 27 minutes in the win over Oregon State.

Albany (Claire Urquhart)

This week: defeated Binghamton 1-0; drew 2-2 with Hartford

Claire Urquhart did not feature for Albany in either game this week.

Stanford (Beattie Goad)

This week: lost 3-0 to USC; defeated UCLA 3-2 (OT)

Beattie Goad started both games for Stanford this week, playing 83 minutes against USC and 56 minutes in the win over UCLA.

Indiana (Julia De Angelis)

This week: drew 1-1 with Penn State; drew 2-2 with Rutgers

Julia De Angelis started both games for Indiana this week, with her minutes increasing markedly this week as the freshman continues to make progress since her return from injury.

USC (Lulu Pullar)

This week: defeated Stanford 3-0; lost 1-0 to California

Lulu Pullar did not feature for USC this week.

LSU (Caitlin Cantill)

This week: lost 3-1 to Tennessee; lost 3-0 to Georgia

Caitlin Cantrill did not play against Tennessee, but came off the bench against Georgia to play part of the first half and the entire second half.

UCLA (Teagan Micah)

This week: drew 1-1 with California; lost 3-2 to Stanford (OT)

Teagan Micah played two complete games for UCLA this week, making five saves against California and six saves in the loss to Stanford.

Murray State (Nyomi Devine, Jade Horcicka, Harriet Withers)

This week: defeated Tennessee Tech 1-0; defeated Eastern Kentucky 3-0

Nyomi Devine played two complete games this week, and also tallied an assist on the only goal in the win over Tennessee Tech. Harriet Withers played 66 minutes against Tennessee Tech, tallying four shots, before registering a superb goal from a free kick as well as an assist against Eastern Kentucky.

Wyoming (Alisha Bass, Annika Clayton, Jessie Gentle, Georgia Rowntree, Candace Sciberras)

This week: defeated Air Force 4-2; defeated Colorado College 2-0

Georgia Rowntree played two complete games this week, but made just the one save, against Colorado College. Alisha Bass played 82 minutes against Air Force, tallying an assist on Summer Halle’s hat-trick goal, before heading home a goal of her own against Colorado College in a 75 minute effort. Annika Clayton tallied an assist against Air Force on the game-tying goal, and played 41 minutes off the bench against Colorado College in her return from a concussion sustained a few weeks ago. Jessie Gentle came off the bench in both games, playing 15 minutes on each occasion.

Texas Tech (Demi Koulizakis)

This week: lost 1-0 to Oklahoma State; lost 1-0 to Baylor

Demi Koulizakis did not feature for Texas Tech in either game this week.

East Tennessee State (Isabel Hodgson)

This week: defeated UNC Greensboro 1-0; defeated VMI 3-0

Isabel Hodgson played 74 minutes against UNC Greensboro, registering two shots. Isabel came off the bench on Senior Day against VMI, playing 67 minutes and setting up Thomai Vardali for East Tennessee State’s third goal.

Drexel (Emma Heckenberg)

This week: defeated College of Charleston 3-0; drew 1-1 with UNC Wilmington

Emma Heckenberg started both games for Drexel this week, playing 82 minutes against College of Charleston and 65 minutes against UNC Wilmington.

Western Carolina (Kate Swartwout)

This week: defeated VMI 1-0; lost 1-0 to UNC Greensboro

Kate Swartwout started both games for Western Carolina this week as the Catamounts split their games.

Hofstra (Emily Hulbert)

This week: defeated Elon 3-1; lost 1-0 to William & Mary

Emily Hulbert finally made her return from a foot injury sustained over a month ago, starting both games and playing a total of 107 minutes across the weekend.

Southeast Missouri State (Maddy Cornell, Siena Senatore)

This week: lost 2-1 to Jacksonville State (OT); drew 0-0 with Belmont

Maddy Cornell came off the bench in both games, playing 57 minutes against Jacksonville State and 43 minutes against Belmont, but Siena Senatore did not feature this week.

Nicholls State (Jess Coates, Kristy Helmers)

This week: lost 4-0 to McNeese State

Jess Coates and Kristy Helmers both started for Nicholls State. Jess played 79 minutes whilst Kristy put in a 50 minute shift.

Troy (Alexandra Huynh)

This week: defeated South Alabama 1-0

Alexandra Huynh played the full 90 minutes for Troy in a massive upset win over South Alabama.

Texas Southern (Paige Hayward)

This week: defeated Mississippi Valley State 3-1; defeated Alcorn State 3-0

Paige Hayward played 69 minutes against Mississippi Valley State, scoring Texas Southern’s third goal, before tallying the Tigers’ final goal against Alcorn State.

Texas (Monique Iannella)

This week: defeated Kansas State 2-0

Monique Iannella played the full 90 minutes for Texas in their victory, also tallying a shot.

Pacific (Ellie Papalexiou)

This week: lost 3-0 to Santa Clara; lost 1-0 to San Francisco

Ellie Papalexiou did not feature this week as she continues to recover from an injury.

San Francisco (Price Keogh)

This week: defeated Saint Mary’s 2-0; defeated Pacific 1-0

Price Keogh did not feature against Saint Mary’s, but played 54 minutes against Pacific, 6 more than her combined total minutes for the rest of the season.

Winthrop (Jai Jackson)

This week: lost 3-2 to Campbell

Jai Jackson started in defence for Winthrop and played all 102 minutes in the overtime loss.

Fairleigh Dickinson (Sam Roff)

This week: defeated Wagner 1-0

Sam Roff started for Wagner and played all 90 minutes in the win, tallying a shot.

Week 5 Wrap

It wasn’t the most eventful week for the Australians in college this week, but there were still a couple of players doing some great things. Isabel Hodgson was the undoubted star of the week, tallying goals and assists throughout the weekend. Elsewhere, Beattie Goad and Alex Huynh each made unexpected impacts on games.

Isabel Hodgson was the undoubted star of the week amongst the Australians. Bombing forward from her right back position, the South Australian tallied an assist in East Tennessee State’s 3-1 win over Alabama A&M, setting herself up for a huge performance in a 7-0 drubbing of South Carolina State. Isabel opened the scoring for the Buccaneers inside 20 minutes, and then tallied a pair of assists late on as East Tennessee State banged in one goal after another in what proved to be an absolute demolition job leading into conference play next week.

Alex Huynh has become a rock at the back for Troy this season, but a move up field almost paid dividends as the senior went agonisingly close to scoring her first career goal. Alex spent the first half playing in an attacking midfield role before reverting to a defensive role in Troy’s 3-0 win over Appalachian State, but tallied 4 shots in a 1-1 draw with Arkansas State, tallying two on target including a free kick that was denied by the fingertips of the goalkeeper.

Beattie Goad hasn’t seen much playing time since the opening weekend, but was moved back into the starting lineup for the first time in a month for top-ranked Stanford. Beattie played 86 minutes for the Cardinal as the top team in the RPI rankings knocked off Santa Clara 2-1 to remain undefeated at 7-0-1 for the season so far.

Player Of The Year Points;

3: Isabel Hodgson (East Tennessee State)
2: Alexandra Huynh (Troy)
1: Beattie Goad (Stanford)

Complete Results:

Massachusetts (Laura Johns)

This week: drew 0-0 with Brown; lost 3-0 to Providence

Laura Johns started against Brown and played 74 minutes, tallying a shot, before coming off the bench to play 34 minutes against Providence.

Indiana (Julia De Angelis)

This week: lost 1-0 to Northwestern; defeated Illinois 1-0 (OT)

Julia De Angelis started both games, playing 40 minutes and tallying a shot on target against Northwestern and following up with 39 minutes against Illinois.

San Francisco (Price Keogh)

This week: lost 4-1 to California; defeated UC Davis 1-0

Price Keogh came off the bench in both games, playing 17 minutes against California and 3 minutes against UC Davis.

Nicholls State (Jess Coates, Kristy Helmers)

This week: drew 0-0 with Lamar

Jess Coates and Kristy Helmers both started for Nicholls State, with Jess tallying three shots and Kristy one.

USC (Lulu Pullar)

This week: defeated Kansas 2-0

Lulu Pullar did not feature for USC this week.

UCLA (Teagan Micah)

This week: defeated Pepperdine 3-0; defeated Long Beach State 2-1

Teagan Micah played the complete 90 minutes in both games, making two saves in each game.

East Tennessee State (Isabel Hodgson)

This week: defeated Alabama A&M 3-1; defeated South Carolina State 7-0

Isabel Hodgson started both games, playing 65 minutes and registering an assist against Alabama A&M before scoring her first career goal against South Carolina State and also tallying another two assists in a 90 minute effort.

Pacific (Ellie Papalexiou)

This week: lost 2-1 to UC Davis

Ellie Papalexiou started for UC Davis, her 8th consecutive start.

Albany (Claire Urquhart)

This week: lost 3-1 to Dartmouth

Claire Urquhart did not feature for Albany this week.

Texas (Monique Iannella)

This week: defeated North Texas 1-0; defeated UC Santa Barbara 2-1

Monique Iannella returned to the starting lineup to play 90 minutes against North Texas, but did not feature against UC Santa Barbara.

Stanford (Beattie Goad)

This week: defeated Santa Clara 2-1

Beattie Goad returned to the starting lineup for the first time since the opening weekend, playing 86 minutes and tallying a shot.

Texas Tech (Demi Koulizakis)

This week: drew 1-1 with Loyola Marymount; defeated San Diego State 1-0

Demi Koulizakis came off the bench in both games, playing 18 minutes against Loyola Marymount and 2 minutes against San Diego State.

LSU (Caitlin Cantrill)

This week: defeated Ole Miss 3-0; defeated Lamar 4-0

Caitlin Cantrill did not feature for LSU against Ole Miss, but did come off the bench against Lamar.

Troy (Alexandra Huynh)

This week: defeated Appalachian State 3-0; drew 1-1 with Arkansas State

Alexandra Huynh started both games, playing 82 minutes against Appalachian State and a complete 110 minutes against Arkansas State, playing in a more advanced role in parts and tallying 4 shots, with two on target.

Iona (Kiri Dale)

This week: lost 4-2 to Siena

Kiri Dale started for Iona, playing all 90 minutes and tallying a shot on target.

Colorado (Isobel Dalton, Kahlia Hogg)

This week: defeated Denver 1-0 (OT)

Kahlia Hogg played the full 99 minutes, tallying a shot, but Isobel Dalton did not feature this week.

Western Carolina (Kate Swartwout)

This week: defeated Tennessee Tech 1-0 (OT)

Kate Swartwout once again started for Western Carolina this week.

Winthrop (Jai Jackson)

This week: lost 1-0 to Kennesaw State

Jai Jackson got a rare start for Winthrop, playing the full 90 minutes.

Fairleigh Dickinson (Sam Roff)

This week: lost 4-1 to Army

Sam Roff did not feature for Fairleigh Dickinson this week.

Hofstra (Emily Hulbert)

This week: defeated Fordham 2-1

Emily Hulbert did not feature for Hofstra this week.

Southeast Missouri State (Maddy Cornell, Siena Senatore)

This week: lost 1-0 to Missouri State

Siena Senatore got a start this week and played 71 minutes against Missouri State, whilst Maddy Cornell came off the bench to play 40 minutes.

Texas Southern (Paige Hayward)

This week: lost 7-0 to Oral Roberts

Paige Hayward started for Texas Southern, playing the full 90 minutes and taking 3 of Texas Southern’s five shots.

Drexel (Emma Heckenberg)

This week: drew 0-0 with Penn

Emma Heckenberg scored a rare start for Drexel, and played the entire 110 minutes in the overtime draw.

Week 1 Wrap

The first week of the college soccer season brought more than a bit of success for the Australians. Sam Roff, Caitlin Cantrill, Demi Koulizakis, Isobel Dalton, Kiri Dale, and Teagan Micah made their debuts, with Teagan being recognised by the Pac-12 for an excellent debut performance. Paige Hayward also picked up SWAC Offensive Player of the Week for an outstanding shift for Texas Southern against Texas A&M-Texarkana.

From an attacking standpoint, Jessie Gentle was the first Australian this season to have a tangible impact on a game, tallying an assist on Wyoming’s second goal as the Cowgirls won their opener 2-0 against Houston Baptist. Goalkeeper Georgia Rowntree played all 90 minutes in keeping a clean sheet, with Alisha Bass forming part of her back four. Wyoming’s second game saw Annika Clayton go one better than Jessie, scoring the team’s second goal in a 2-0 win over Idaho State as Georgia kept a second successive clean sheet.

Kahlia Hogg also registered an assist, in Colorado’s first game of the season. Playing a full 90 minutes against both Air Force and Colorado State this week, Kahlia tallied her assist on the Buffs’ second goal against Air Force as Colorado won 2-0 before following up with a 2-1 win over Colorado State. Sophomore transfer Isobel Dalton came off the bench to make her debut against Air Force, registering a shot in her 6 minutes of play.

Murray State’s first game of the season was cancelled as the Racers were due to travel to the flood-ravaged state of Louisiana for their opener. However, once the side got on the field, reigning Player of the Year Harriet Withers showed that she will certainly be in the reckoning for the award again as the striker banged home two goals against Alabama. Unfortunately for Murray State, they imploded in the second half as their opponents tallied four unanswered goals to storm home for a 4-2 win.

Perhaps playing slightly out of position in an overlapping left fullback role, Beattie Goad nevertheless earned starts in her first two college games as Stanford picked up wins over Navy and Georgetown on their trip to the national capital. Goad played 53 minutes against Navy and 69 minutes against Georgetown as the Cardinal picked up 2-1 and 3-0 wins on the first weekend of the season.

Paige Hayward and Texas Southern had a slow start to the season, going down 3-0 to Houston in the side’s opening game. Playing NAIA team Texas A&M-Texarkana proved to be far less of a challenge for the Tigers. Paige assisted on Texas Southern’s first three goals before banging home one of her own as the Tigers racked up a 4-1 win. Paige’s performance against Texas A&M-Texarkana was pivotal in her being named SWAC Offensive Player of the Week.

Teagan Micah proved to be the surprise packet of the week. Earning the start in UCLA’s first game of the season, Teagan kept a clean sheet in the Bruins’ 5-0 win over San Diego State. Teagan’s highlight of the game was a brilliant save to deny the Aztecs a goal in the bottom left corner. Whilst Despite not featuring in UCLA’s second game of the week, an exhibition against Beijing Normal University, Teagan was named Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week for her debut performance.

Player Of The Year Votes:

3: Harriet Withers (Murray State)
2: Paige Hayward (Texas Southern)
1: Teagan Micah (UCLA)

Complete Results:

Hofstra (Emily Hulbert)

This week: defeated Buffalo 1-0; lost 3-1 to Penn State.

Hulbert played 90 minutes in both games, picking up a yellow card against Penn State.

Fairleigh Dickinson (Sam Roff)

This week: lost 3-1 to UNLV; defeated UTRGV 3-2 (OT)

Roff started against UNLV, playing 40 minutes, and came off the bench to play 58 minutes against UTRGV, registering a shot on target.

LSU (Caitlin Cantrill)

This week: lost 1-0 to Virginia Tech; defeated College of Charleston 1-0

Cantrill started both games, playing 68 minutes against Virginia Tech and 51 minutes against College of Charleston.

Iona (Kiri Dale)

This week: lost 3-1 to Holy Cross; lost 2-0 to Bryant

Dale started for Iona against Holy Cross, but did not feature against Bryant.

East Tennessee State (Isabel Hodgson)

This week: defeated USC Upstate 1-0; defeated Radford 1-0

Hodgson played a full 90 minutes in both games, registering 2 shots against USC Upstate.

Stanford (Beattie Goad)

This week: defeated Navy 2-1; defeated Georgetown 3-0

Goad started both matches, playing 53 minutes against Navy and 69 minutes against Georgetown.

Southeast Missouri State (Maddy Cornell, Siena Senatore)

This week: defeated Tennessee 1-0; defeated Illinois-Springfield 3-1

Cornell and Senatore both came off the bench in both games. Cornell played 33 minutes against Tennessee and 53 minutes against Illinois-Springfield, registering a shot which was on target against Illinois-Springfield. Senatore played 26 minutes against Tennessee and 25 minutes against Illinois-Springfield.

Albany (Claire Urquhart)

This week: defeated Army 2-0; lost 3-0 to St John’s

Urquhart started both games, playing a full 90 minutes against Army and 79 minutes against St. John’s.

Wyoming (Alisha Bass, Annika Clayton, Jessie Gentle, Georgia Rowntree, Candace Sciberras)

This week: defeated Houston Baptist 2-0; defeated Idaho State 2-0

Alisha Bass played 66 minutes against Houston Baptist and 90 minutes against Idaho State, registering a shot in each game. Annika Clayton sat out the Houston Baptist game as a precaution but played 35 minutes against Idaho State, scoring the team’s 2nd goal. Jessie Gentle played 41 minutes against Houston Baptist and 35 minutes against Idaho State, tallying an assist on Wyoming’s 2nd goal against Houston Baptist. Georgia Rowntree played a full 90 minutes in each game, registering a clean sheet in each game. Candace Sciberras was rested from both games.

Drexel (Emma Heckenberg)

This week: defeated Temple 2-1; defeated Villanova 3-0

Heckenberg played 38 minutes against Temple, but did not feature against Villanova.

Indiana (Julia De Angelis)

This week: drew with Louisville 1-1; lost 2-0 to Western Michigan

De Angelis was rested from both games this week.

Troy (Alexandra Huynh)

This week: defeated Gardner-Webb 2-0; lost 2-0 to Samford

Huynh played 90 minutes in each game, registering a single shot on both occasions.

Western Carolina (Kate Swartwout)

This week: lost 5-1 to Charlotte; defeated Winthrop 3-1

Swartwout did not feature in either game this weekend.

Murray State (Nyomi Devine, Jade Horcicka, Harriet Withers)

This week: lost 4-2 to Alabama

Harriet Withers played 87 minutes and scored 2 goals on 6 shots. Nyomi Devine played a full 90 minutes in defence. Jade Horcicka did not feature in this game.

Texas Southern (Paige Hayward)

This week: lost 3-0 to Houston; defeated Texas A&M-Texarkana 4-1

Hayward played 90 minutes in both games, scoring a goal and tallying 3 assists against Texas A&M-Texarkana.

Texas Tech (Demi Koulizakis)

This week: defeated New Mexico 2-1; defeated Missouri State 1-0

Koulizakis came off the bench in both games, playing 8 minutes against New Mexico and 10 minutes against Missouri State.

Colorado (Isobel Dalton, Kahlia Hogg)

This week: defeated Air Force 2-0; defeated Colorado State 2-1

Kahlia Hogg played 90 minutes in both games, registering an assist on the 2nd goal against Air Force. Isobel Dalton came off the bench to play 6 minutes against Air Force, tallying a shot, but did not feature against Colorado State.

San Francisco (Price Keogh)

This week: defeated Florida Gulf Coast 2-1; defeated UC Riverside 2-1

Keogh did not feature in either game this week.

UCLA (Teagan Micah)

This week: defeated San Diego State 5-0; defeated Beijing Normal University 7-0

Micah played the full 90 minutes against San Diego State, keeping a clean sheet, but was rotated out for the Beijing Normal University game.

USC (Lulu Pullar)

This week: lost 3-2 to Santa Clara (OT); defeated Beijing Normal University 5-1

Pullar did not feature in either game this week.

Winthrop (Jai Jackson)

This week: lost 3-1 to Western Carolina; defeated USC Upstate 1-0

Jackson came off the bench in both games, playing 20 minutes against Western Carolina and 31 minutes against USC Upstate.

Pacific (Ellie Papalexiou)

This week: lost 2-0 to Cal Poly

Papalexiou started for Pacific, registering a shot.

Massachusetts (Laura Johns)

This week: defeated Holy Cross 2-0

Johns started for Massachusetts, playing 39 minutes.