Astoundingly, Anson Dorrance’s 800th career win at UNC came in his 900th game (Photo: UNC/goheels.com)
Anson Dorrance wins number 800
Anson Dorrance has coached all 900 contests the Tar Heels have played. While coaching 900 games is a feat in and of itself, which was honored before the game, winning 800 of them is downright insane. Following a 2-1 comeback victory over Wake Forest, Dorrance recorded his 800th win at the helm of the most dominant collegiate program in the history of college sports.
To put that another way, nearly 89% percent of the time the Tar Heels have taken the field, they won. Some records stand only for a time and some will never be touched. Dorrance’s record is of the later variety especially with increasing parity at the collegiate level.
Crazy weekend in PAC 12
It was a crazy week in the PAC 12. Much like we’ve seen across the country, just when you think you might have it figured out another top team is toppled and you’re left trying to put it all together again. It started with USC beating then no. 1 Stanford 3-0, with of two goals from Morgan Andrews and another from Alex Anthony. This contest came after Stanford impressively beat Washington 3-0 last weekend despite star keeper Jane Campbell receiving a red card just 11 minutes into the match. Needless to say, the Cardinal really missed her services in the USC game.
On Sunday, USC was unable to continue their winning ways against California. With a little over 5 minutes left in the match, Abigail Kim netted the game’s only goal for the Bears in the 1-0 victory. Both keepers had busy afternoons. Emily Boyd recorded 8 saves for the Bears while Sammy Prudhomme made 11 of her own.
Also on Sunday afternoon was a much-anticipated matchup between UCLA and Stanford. Unfortunately, the game couldn’t be seen outside the confines of Drake Stadium due to technical issues with the stream. Amber Munerlyn got the scoring underway in the 12th minute of play and the Cardinal quickly responded about a minute and a half later courtesy of Andi Sullivan. In the second half, Michelle Xiao put Stanford ahead 2-1 off a close-range shot following a thrown in. Canadian sensation Jessie Fleming scored her 8th goal of the season in the 86th minute to force overtime. In the second overtime period, Stanford defender Maddie Bauer would put the ball in following a scramble in the box to decide the contest.
Pepperdine defeats BYU 1-0
With Southern California demolishing Stanford 3-0 Thursday and Florida State losing to Boston College, then no. 5 BYU looked primed to possibly move up in the Top 25 rankings. That went by the wayside when no. 25 Pepperdine defeated the visiting Cougars 1-0.
The game’s only goal came on a 75th-minute penalty kick taken by Bri Visalli. Visalli drew the penalty when she was taken down in the box while trying to get on the end of a cross. The game was a very defense oriented affair. Pepperdine managed just 4 shots on goal, including the penalty kick while BYU managed only two in the match. With Saturday night’s win, the Waves now hold sole possession of first place in the conference and have yet to allow a goal in league play.
South Carolina tops Arkansas 3-1 in clash for control of the SEC
While Arkansas has been the surprise of the SEC, South Carolina has continued its ascent to the top of the conference. On Sunday, The Razorbacks and the Gamecocks squared off for control of the league. Daija Griffin opened South Carolina’s account in the first minute off a counterattack. In the 37th minute, Claire Kelley tied it with a strike from inside the box. South Carolina added two unanswered goals in the second half from Sophie Groff and Lindsey Lane respectively.
With the win over then no. 11 Arkansas and losses elsewhere, South Carolina is now second in the NSCAA poll. South Carolina is also perfect in its last thirteen matches. The team’s only blemish on the year came in the first game of the season, a draw against Oklahoma.
UNLV wins on a last-second stunner
With just 3 seconds remaining in the match, Jordan Magnin lifted UNLV over New Mexico 2-1 Sunday on a brilliant strike. It’s the kind of golazo that would be noteworthy no matter when it was struck, but the fact that just before the whistle makes it truly recap material. This strike is certainly making rounds on social media.
<blockquote class=”twitter-video” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Hey <a href=”https://twitter.com/SportsCenter”>@SportsCenter</a> we've got a <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/SCTop10?src=hash”>#SCTop10</a> play for you! Check out this last-second game-winning goal by <a href=”https://twitter.com/jmagss20″>@jmagss20</a> to give the Rebels a 2-1 win! <a href=”https://t.co/HjD86VZseb”>pic.twitter.com/HjD86VZseb</a></p>— UNLV Women's Soccer (@UNLVwSoccer) <a href=”https://twitter.com/UNLVwSoccer/status/785278944333303808″>October 10, 2016</a></blockquote>
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More importantly, Sunday’s win gives UNLV a share of second place in the Mountain West 6 games into the conference slate. UNLV will head to Colorado Springs this weekend to take on Air Force and Colorado College.
