Tag: BIG 12

Around the World of WoSo: Stanford Roll, Florida outlasts Arkansas for SEC Title, TCU Collapse, and 64 Teams Set to Dance

Posted on by RJ Allen

Stanford Keeps PAC-12 Title:

 Stanford was my favorite to win this one, but the #21 ranked California Bears put a decent effort in. Within the first 15 minutes, each team had already scored, making for an exciting and unpredictable match-up. In the middle of it all was Andi Sullivan, a player you should be familiar with by now. She leads this team in goals with 11 and is second in assists with 7. Sullivan has proven that she is one of the best players in the nation, even as a junior. She grabbed her goal in the 56th minute by way of a brilliant one-on-one effort to beat Bear keeper Emily Boyd.

    The Sullivan goal seemed to spark the rest of the offense, as sophomore Kyra Carusa and freshman Beattie Goad also contributed goals in the second half to cruise to a 4-1 victory. This was the second consecutive PAC-12 title and 11th in program history for the Cardinals.

FSU outlasts UNC in ACC Showdown:

    Going into this game, I had many expectations, one being that Florida State would win. But I also knew North Carolina would put up a fight. First half was possession-heavy for the Tar Heels, while the Seminoles had troubles connecting the final pass.

    One thing I didn’t expect was for redshirt senior, Kirsten Crowley, to struggle as much as she did in the first half. She gave away bad turnovers, there was a lack of communication between Crowley and the defense, and her passing was horrific. Not sure if it was nerves, fatigue, or just having a rough start, but she did settle in a little more in the second half. A few mistakes by Crowley led to several set piece opportunities for UNC, but they ended up with nothing to show for it.

    One player who is arguably FSU’s best offensive threat is Deyna Castellanos, the explosive freshman from Venezuela. She had her best scoring chance early in the second half, but was stopped by Lindsey Harris, who stood tall for FSU all game. UNC’s best player for me was Maya Worth, who pressured the backline of FSU all game and nearly had a few goals herself. Worth was impressive and very solid in her effort.

    In penalty kicks, the Seminoles converted four while UNC only made three, missing the last one to keep the ACC title in Tallahassee. This is FSU’s fourth consecutive conference title—fifth in sixth seasons.

Georgetown Handles Marquette for Big East crown:

    Two of the best players in the nation happen to be on the same team. Yes, I’m talking about junior Rachel Corboz and senior Grace Damaska. The dynamic pair each scored to lead Georgetown to a 2-0 win and secure its first ever Big East conference title in program history.

    Damaska opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, going unassisted on a loose ball in the box and putting home her team-leading 13th goal of the year. The Hoyas unsurprisingly controlled possession, and they found their second goal early in the second half thanks to Corboz pouncing on a rebound and blasting it home for her 10th goal on the season.

    This win was Georgetown’s 13th shutout of the year, which ties the school record. Another impressive stat was that Marquette only managed one shot on goal, a real testament to the strong defense the Hoyas have put together. This is Georgetown’s seventh bid to the NCAA Tournament in program history.

TCU Collapse Gives West Virginia Big 12 Championship:

    The Horned Frogs got off to a fast start, pressuring and grabbing loose balls, until Michelle Prokof capitalized on a turnover and scored in the 5th minute. That goal was her sixth of the year, putting her at second all-time on the TCU scoring list, with 27 goals to her name. The Horned Frogs struck again just before half. Super sub Allison Ganter earned her ninth goal of the year. What’s notable about that is that Ganter has scored all of her goals when coming off the bench.

    The second half, West Virginia looked more like themselves, pressuring and creating serious scoring threats. Still, the defense of TCU was hanging on. With less than two minutes to go, TCU lost focus, and West Virginia senior defender-turned-forward Kadeisha Buchanan buried a loose ball in the six yard box (from a beautiful dummy by her teammate) to tie the game and give her team life. TCU had the title in their hands, and then it was gone.

    Heading into overtime, the Mountaineers definitely had the momentum—rightfully so. Just seven minutes into OT, senior Ashley Lawrence got ahold of a low cross on the back post for the game winner. It was a remarkable comeback—one that will surely haunt TCU for a while. This was WVU’s third Big 12 championship in four years.

Florida & Arkansas Entertain For SEC Bragging Rights:

This match-up was my favorite of the day, mostly because I enjoy seeing Arkansas continue to prove people wrong. Another reason is that Florida has one of the best forwards in college in senior Savannah Jordan, and she’s got some serious wheels. Jordan and Razorback defender, Qyara Winston, tangled in a few tackles early on, and that seemed to set the tone for the rest of the night. This game brought serious energy, tough challenges, and chippy plays—all the makings for a highly entertaining game.

    Jordan grabbed the opening goal for Florida in the 19th minute by backing down her defender in the six yard box and turning on a dime to score her 15th goal of the year. It also moves her into second place all-time in scoring for the Gators with 80 goals, only 16 behind USWNT and Florida legend Abby Wambach.

    Arkansas continued to hang and pressure the Gators’ backline, and finally capitalized on a mistake. Florida gave a weak and dangerous back pass to keeper Kaylan Marckese, who then had a deflected clearance that fell to Razorback, Sparky Fischer. Marckese took her time getting into position, and Fischer took advantage of that to send a laser into the upper left corner for the equalizer. It was a beautiful goal to keep hope alive for Arkansas.

    This game, like so many others, went into overtime. But both teams were energized and had chances to end it. Both defenses stepped up big time to neutralized those chances. That is, until the final minute, when Gator, Brooke Sharp, headed home a lofty back-post cross by Dougherty Howard. It was a great team goal. This was quite a match, as Arkansas was very tough and gave it all without a doubt. Florida earned their 12th SEC title and first since the 2012 season.

NCAA DI Tournament Selection:

On Monday, the fate of 64 teams looking to get into the NCAA DI tournament was official. The 31 conference winners received automatic bids, along with Stanford (PAC-12), Harvard (IVY), and Pepperdine (West Coast), who each won the regular season in their respective conferences.

    Plenty of the usual powerhouses are included: North Carolina, Virginia, Florida State, Notre Dame, Duke, West Virginia, and UCLA. Teams who are back after a long absence are NC State (1996), Bucknell (2005), UNLV (2006), SMU (2006), and Charlotte (2008). Every year, new teams emerge onto the national stage. This year, four are making their debuts: Alabama State, Kent State, Eastern Washington, and Northern Kentucky.

    Two teams that I had on the bubble were Texas A&M (11-8-1) and Texas Tech 9-8-2). They both managed to make the tournament, even with less than impressive records and wins. The Aggies’ biggest win was 2-1 against Auburn. Other than that, they didn’t stack up against top-20 opponents all year. They struggled in conference play, finishing with five wins, five losses, and a draw. Certainly a team I wouldn’t have picked, but it’s a new season, and anything could happen. As for Texas Tech, they finished conference at an abysmal two wins and six losses. The biggest win on the year for them was at Oklahoma, a narrow 1-0 victory.

    The first round will take place November 11, 12 and 13.

Around the World of WoSo: USWNT Youth Prevail, NCAA DI Conference Champions Crowned and DePaul Shocks Georgetown

Posted on by RJ Allen

USWNT Youth Show Promise:

In the two friendlies with Switzerland over the weekend, the U.S. Women’s National team had five players make their senior debut. Among those were Lynn Williams and Andi Sullivan. Williams became the 20th player in USWNT history to score in her debut while Sullivan showcased her passing ability and grabbed an assist as well. While Coach Jill Ellis has mentioned that this is an experimental time, these two players looked comfortable and ready for the bright lights.

    Two other players who earned minutes were Casey Short and Kealia Ohai. Short was solid on defense while Ohai also managed to score in her first cap; making it the fastest goal in debut at 48 seconds. Getting these minimal opportunities and making the most out of them are crucial for the young players who want to be included in the next cycle.

    In these friendlies Ellis went with a different formation, a 3-5-2; putting Becky Sauerbrunn paired with Short on the outside and Allie Long at center back. While it’s certainly not a look I would want moving forward, I know Ellis is experimenting. Based on these two games our offense looks ready for adjustments, while our defense needs some work. By work, I mean I’m hoping Arin Gilliland gets a serious shot in the next camp. I was surprised when she wasn’t even dressed for the second game. One more player who I thought would get minutes is Danielle Colaprico, a crafty midfielder who has been very consistent this year for Chicago in the NWSL.

    Overall I believe these were successful victories when you look at all the different players involved and formation. One thing that hasn’t changed is the demand for this team; in Utah a crowd of 14,336 showed up while in Minnesota on Sunday over 23K was in support.

Kentucky Upsets #9 Arkansas:

The Razorbacks perfect home record has been broken thanks to the Wildcats of Kentucky.  With a 2-1 defeat, Arkansas falls to 14-4 and 9-1 at home, still impressive nonetheless. Meanwhile Kentucky had previously lost their last four on the road, so coming into the match, surely Arkansas were the favorites.

    The Wildcats opened the scoring in the 23rd minute but Arkansas managed to equalize 10 minutes later. Kentucky would grab the eventual game winner in the 66th minute when Gina Crosetti assisted Zoe Swift to stun Arkansas in front of their home crowd. Arkansas will finish the regular season Thursday at LSU while Kentucky will face Georgia to cap off the regular season as well.

McCaskill Brace earns South Carolina SEC Crown:

    With a 2-0 defeat of Tennessee on Sunday, the Gamecocks are the SEC champions for the third time in program history and first time since 2011.

    They are led by junior forward Savannah McCaskill, who has 17 appearances; scoring 13 goals (career-high) and adding seven assists. She scored both goals to beat the Vols and is having a career year for the Gamecocks. She isn’t afraid to take shots; evidence of that are her team-leading 89 shots. It’s staggering to think the second most shots is senior Sophie Groff with 29. Yet this offense may be centered on McCaskill, this team has spread around the ball quite a bit, having 10 different players score this season.

 Tennessee fall to 10-7-1 and will finish their regular season at Auburn on Thursday. South Carolina improves to 16-0-1 and look to complete this fairytale regular season with another win when they face Ole Miss on Thursday.

#1 WVU Survives Longhorn Scare for BIG 12 Title:   

    The Mountaineers secured their fifth consecutive BIG 12 conference title on Sunday when they shutout the Longhorns 1-0. In their lowest total regarding shots (12) in a single game all season, West Virginia squeaked by on a long range effort late in the game by junior Carla Portillo.  Texas were more than a worthy opponent , creating several scoring chances in the first half, none resulting in a goal of course, but they were resilient all game.

    The Longhorns shouldn’t hang their heads, as many teams were shut out by the Mountaineers this season, 11 teams have failed to score on that defense. Holding the #1 team in the nation scoreless for 78 minutes has to be a small moral victory. Texas played their best game of the year in my opinion, while WVU didn’t play their best. Even so, WVU claimed their eighth straight win and stand at 15-1-1 and will finish the regular season Friday when they host Oklahoma State. As for Texas, they fall to 8-8-1 and look to end regular season on a high when they travel to TCU on Friday.

Auburn Suffers First Road Loss at College Station:

    The 11th ranked Tigers were previously undefeated on the road, going six for six this season and on a seven game win streak. The Aggies are very tough at home this season, earning eight victories in 12 matches and were on a two-game win streak. Something had to give, right?

    A&M struck first in the 54th minute on a beautiful header by Grace Piper, who earned her fourth goal of the season. The Tigers answered a minute later by way of Brooke Ramsier; her fourth goal on the season as well. All four goals by Ramsier have been from set pieces this year. The game winner was a penalty taken in the 82nd minute by Haley Pounds, who grabbed her seventh goal of the season.

    The Aggies improve to 9-7-1 and will finish at Mississippi State on Thursday. As for Auburn, this is a disappointing loss and fall to 12-5-0. With one game left against Tennessee at home, the Tigers can regain momentum heading into the SEC Tournament next week.

DePaul upends #7 Georgetown:

The Blue Demons scored four first half goals to stun the #7 Hoyas. In a 4-1 dominating performance, these top two teams in the BIG EAST seemed to have switched roles in this one. I certainly didn’t have Georgetown losing this one, not to take anything away from DePaul. But considering the Hoyas had won 14 games in a row, I had my reasons for thinking that.

    DePaul were on the scoreboard quickly, proving me wrong immediately. They scored two goals in a matter of 12 minutes to put the pressure on Georgetown on its senior day. In the 31st minute the Hoyas cut the deficit in half but six minutes later the Blue Demons grabbed another to make it a two goal lead once again. The dagger came just before half when senior Abby Reed found her team leading 10th goal of the year.

    This was DePaul’s most impressive win of the season, bringing them to 10-5-2 and they look to finish the regular season at Marquette on Friday. Meanwhile, this was Georgetown’s biggest loss of the season and they fall to 13-2-2. The Hoyas complete the regular season against Creighton on Friday.