Tag: Florida

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: South Carolina Survive, Wilkinson Continues to Shine and NWSL Pair End Year With Injury

Posted on by RJ Allen

Top 5 showdown between Duke and Virginia:

These ACC powerhouses are ranked #4 and #5 respectively, and the Blue Devils backed that up with a big win over the Cavaliers on Saturday. It was a perfect senior night at Koskinen Field, as all six Duke seniors started the game and one scored the game winner. Christina Gibbons was called upon to take a penalty kick in the 63rd minute, and she buried it to grab her fourth goal on the season.

With this important victory, Duke snaps a 10-game regular season losing streak to Virginia. The Blue Devils are 11-2-2 on the season and are still unbeaten in ACC play this year. It doesn’t get any easier for Duke as they travel to Tallahassee to face another tough ACC opponent in FSU on Thursday. As for the Cavaliers, they fall to 10-3-2 and look to rebound Thursday night against NC State.

Arkansas Falls to Auburn in SEC clash:

The 3-2 score line doesn’t really do Auburn justice.  The Tigers controlled this match from the first whistle and never looked back. With three second half goals from Brooke Ramsier, Kristen Dodson and Casie Ramsier, Auburn pushed past #12 Arkansas for a sixth consecutive conference win. For Brooke Ramsier, it was her third goal of the season. Ramsier has come alive as in the last two weeks, tallying two goals and three assists to continue to the Tigers six-game win streak.

Auburn improves to 11-4-0 and has a tough road game ahead in Baton Rouge as they face off with LSU on Thursday. Arkansas only had one loss in the last nine games before losing to South Carolina and now Auburn in the same week. The Razorbacks still have an impressive record at 13-3-0 and look to get back to winning ways. They won’t have to wait too long as they host Missouri (who are on a two-game winning streak) on Thursday.

Tennessee’s Wilkinson shining bright:

Many know this 24-year-old from her rapid success on the New Zealand National team (two Women’s World Cups, two Olympics), but she has had a remarkable career at the University of Tennessee here in the states. The Whangarei native is a great comeback story after getting injured in preseason last year, her senior year. She graduated but was able to return to finish her playing career as a grad student.  

In 63 appearances for the Vols, Wilkinson has 31 goals and 17 assists. She is tied fourth in program history with 10 game-winning goals to her name. This season she has led Tennessee to a 9-6-1 record, while also leading the team with nine goals and adding nine assists.  For me, this is one of the best stories of the year in women’s college soccer. Wilkinson has scored in three consecutive games helping her team to two wins and a draw in that span. The Vols return to action Thursday versus Mississippi State.

Nadim and Dydasco injured as NWSL season ends:

    Portland Thorns forward Nadia Nadim suffered a Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL) tear in the semifinal loss to Western New York two weeks ago. The Danish international has played in the NWSL all four years and this season led the Thorns with nine goals. She announced she had surgery last Tuesday to repair. An LCL tear is a result of a crucial blow to the inside of the knee and overstretching the ligament, according to USCF Health. Recovery time takes anywhere between six weeks to three months.

Washington Spirit defender Caprice Dydasco went down in the 17th minute after a challenge from Makenzy Doniak in the NWSL championship game against WNY. Two days later it was confirmed to be a torn left Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) and Meniscus for the 23-year-old. These can be caused by many things: twisting of the knee in a swift movement, stopping suddenly or some kind of collision.  Unfortunately this is a common injury among female soccer players. With surgery, Dydasco is expected to be out six to nine months, but each case has a different timeline according to degree of tear and athlete.

I hope both of these players have a healthy recovery and get the rest they need. I’m looking forward to seeing them back on the field next year for their respective clubs.

NWSL players take their talents to Australia:

Entering its ninth year of existence, the Westfield W-League has begun its preseason that consists of practices and a few scrimmages. It’s a popular destination for many players who are in the NWSL and looking for a home in the off-season. Signed to a contract that will last only a few months, it’s time well spent keeping in game shape and sharpening skills.  Of course, many of the Australian internationals return to their homeland at this time every year. Most notable are Boston Breaker Kyah Simon, the Houston Dash’s Lydia Williams, Sky Blue FC’s Sam Kerr, Orlando Pride’s Steph Catley and recently crowned champion with WNY, Alanna Kennedy.

Many Americans have made announcements and are on their way to Australia to start right away. Of the first signed was Katie Stengel (WAS), Alex Arlitt (FCKC) and Seattle duo Kendall Fletcher and Paige Nielsen. Following them was Stephanie Ochs (HOU), Hayley Raso (POR) and Chicago duo Alyssa Mautz and Vanessa DiBernardo.

The W-League season will begin play November 5th.

Gamecocks survive tough test from Gators:

It took 102 minutes to decide a winner between these SEC opponents. With South Carolina dominating every team they face, (boasting a 14-0-1 record) they have more than earned the #2 rank. But on Sunday, the #17 Gators gave them a serious challenge. Florida is no slouch either, showcasing a 10-3 record and had a four-game win streak heading into this matchup.

The Gators have one of the top forwards in the country this season in Savannah Jordan who has 12 goals and seven assists to lead her team. South Carolina’s leading scorer Savannah McCaskill almost matches Jordan’s stats, contributing 11 goals and seven assists. But neither managed to get on the score sheet in this one. Two minutes in to the second overtime, fellow Gamecock Simone Wark got taken down in the box and Senior Chelsea Drennan stepped up and buried it top shelf.

With the win, they are off to the best start in program history. Plenty of former players in attendance, including 2016 Olympic Bronze medalist and recent NWSL champion/MVP Sabrina D’Angelo. South Carolina is back in action Thursday at Vanderbilt, while Florida looks to rebound on Thursday at Alabama.