NCAA Week 7 wrap: Stanford win despite Campbell red

The seventh week of the college season is in the books. Here’s a look at some of the stories that defined the week as we move closer to the NCAA tournament.  

Stanford defeats Washington 3-0

The Cardinal’s afternoon started off well when Megan Turner gave her side an early lead off a feed from Kyra Carusa in the 3rd minute. Things would take a turn for the worse when Jane Campbell was shown a red in the 11th minute after she came off her line to challenge a Washington breakaway.

How Stanford responded to going down a player with 79 minutes left in the match is why Stanford is considered the “team to beat” as we inch closer to the NCAA tournament. Alison Jahansouz stopped the penalty kick awarded to the Huskies on the Campbell foul. Then the Cardinal managed to not only keep their an opponent off the scoreboard despite a player disadvantage but also add two goals to their credit.

Stanford showed that they are able to deal emotionally deal with a difficult situation on the pitch. The team also showed they are more than capable of making the unexpected tactical changes games sometimes require. While some will point to Washington’s less than convincing record to downplay Stanford’s win but even facing a team below .500, it’s still impressive to not only maintain a lead but add to it, down a woman for the vast majority of a match. Stanford will face another challenge this week as Campbell will be forced to sit as the Cardinal takes on Southern California.

West Virginia gets important win over Oklahoma

Michaela Abam notched a goal and an assist against Oklahoma to give West Virginia a 2-0 win over a top 25 opponent. Hannah Abraham scored the Mountaineers first goal in the 78th minute off a corner. Abam added a second in the 86th minute to seal the victory. West Virginia held the Sooners to just two shot on goal in the contest, snapping an 8-game winning streak for the conference opponent.

West Virginia has responded well to the double overtime loss to Georgetown a few weeks ago. Since that loss on September 18th, the Mountaineers have outscored opponents 8-1. West Virginia will continue conference play Friday on the road against Kansas, who is currently on top of the Big 12 standings.

McCaskill’s late strike lifts South Carolina over Texas A&M

Savannah McCaskill scored in the 87th minute to give South Carolina a 1-0 win over Texas  A&M on the road. Midfielder Lindsey Lane fed McCaskill a long ball to set up the game’s deciding play.  The tally was the junior forward’s sixth game-winning goal on the season, a category she now holds the school record in with a considerable amount of soccer to left to play this season. She has 11 goals total on the season.

The win helped the Gamecocks record their highest ever ranking in the latest NSCAA poll, coming in at number 4. South Carolina has now won 11 straight after tying the Oklahoma in the first contest of the season.

Wisconsin bests border rival Minnesota in Overtime

For the third straight season Wisconsin reign supreme in the border battle with Minnesota. Going into the contest it seemed that the Gophers were destined to reverse their fortunes of late against the Badgers, as Minnesota started off conference play with 3 wins and a tie, including a 3-0 stomping of Ohio State and has looked impressive so far.

Through 90 minutes the contest remained even, with each side firing off 7 shots. In the 99th minute of the affair, freshman Dani Rhodes scored from about 6 yards out to decide the contest. The win was important for Wisconsin especially coming off a 2-3 defeat vs. Indiana, who is not exactly a powerhouse in the conference, the week prior.

Northwestern and Ohio State battle to a 0-0 tie

Northwestern goalkeeper Lauren Clem posted a career-high 9 saves against Ohio State en route to a scoreless tie with the Buckeyes.  The 9 saves by Clem matches the number of clean sheets the Wildcats have managed this season. Her efforts earned the junior Defensive Player of the Week honors in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes overwhelmed Northwestern in every offensive category, managing 28 shots and 17 corners in the match.  Ohio State meanwhile, limited the Wildcats to just two shots on goal in the contest.
The Buckeyes are certainly disappointed with the result after dominating the match. Canadian international Nichelle Prince led the way for Ohio State, recording 8 shots in the contest.