Week 10 was the final weekend of regular season play for some teams, while other teams have one more weekend of conference action before tournament action begins. Many teams have already locked up tournament spots, but it’s coming down to the wire for several others. With conference tournaments looming, here’s a quick recap of some of Week 10’s college woso action.
UCLA undefeated streak snapped by 1-0 loss to Washington State
4′ | GOOOOAAAALLLLL Maegan O’Neill off the scrum on the corner | 1-0 WSU #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/LQ6Ek9fDGz
— WSU Cougar Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) October 20, 2017
UCLA suffered its first loss of the season in a 1-0 road upset to Washington State on Thursday night, undoubtedly one of the biggest upsets in college WoSo this year. An early Cougars goal by Maegan O’Neill was the lone goal in an otherwise defensive battle between the two Pac-12 opponents.
The Cougar goal came in the fourth minute off a corner kick, which freshman Aaqila McLyn headed down into a scrum in front of goal. O’Neill managed to get her foot on the ball and put it past Bruins goalkeeper Teagan Micah for the early game winner.
What followed was a heavily defensive battle, with both teams testing the opposing keeper throughout. Delanie Sheehan nearly scored the equalizer for UCLA in the 20th minute, putting a header on frame that nearly dipped just under the crossbar, but Washington State netminder Ella Dederick took to the air to punch Sheehan’s header out of danger. Micah finished with a season-high-tying six saves on the day, while Dederick finished with four.
UCLA bounced back by defeating Washington, 3-0, on Sunday with goals by Jessie Fleming, Hailie Mace, and Ashley Sanchez. Washington State fell to UCLA’s rivals, defending national champs USC, 2-1, also on Sunday.
10-player Virginia bests Boston College, clinch tournament spot
Just days after a tiring 5-4 loss to Notre Dame, the No. 12 Virginia Cavaliers defeated Boston College, 2-1, to clinch a spot in the ACC tournament. The game-winning goal was scored by Montana Sutton in the 77th minute, just minutes after the Cavaliers went down a player.
Like in the NCAA Game of the Week between Florida and Tennessee, the opening half remained scoreless before a goal in the opening minutes of the second half opened up scoring on the day. Sophomore forward Jenna Bike put Boston College on the board first in the 51st minute after being on the receiving end of a long ball from freshman Sam Coffey, and minutes later it appeared as though Carly Leipzig had increased their lead, but her goal was negated by the offside flag.
Instead, it was Virginia’s Taryn Torres who struck next, scoring off a Cavalier set piece. Hana Kerner sent the corner kick to the far post, where Megan Reid headed it down, allowing Torres to one-time the ball past Boston College keeper Alexis Bryant to equalize.
Boston College seemed to gain the upper hand in the 72nd minute after Virginia’s Zoe Morse was ejected from the game. However, the Eagles were unable to capitalize on being up a player, instead giving up the game winner to Sutton and the Cavaliers just minutes later.
South Carolina gives up late equalizer, fails to clinch SEC title
The No. 3 South Carolina Gamecocks were just seconds away from clinching their second straight SEC regular season title, but a 90th-minute goal by Georgia and a scoreless overtime period derailed those plans for the time being.
The Gamecocks found their way onto the board in the 34th minute after Grace Fisk was taken down inside the 18. Senior captain and midfielder Lindsey Lane took the spot kick and converted to give South Carolina a one-goal lead they’d retain until Georgia midfielder Katie Ralys slotted home a loose ball following a Bulldog corner kick in the 90th minute.
After two scoreless overtime periods, the score remain level at one goal apiece, and the one point was not enough for the Gamecocks. South Carolina will now look to their last regular season conference game, a road match against the Florida Gators on Thursday night, to reclaim the title.
Elsewhere in the NCAA…
– Stanford continued their dominant attacking ways this weekend, outscoring opponents 10-0. Sunday’s 6-0 win over Oregon State was the Cardinal’s seventh consecutive shutout and 13th on the season.
– Arkansas shutout Kentucky, 2-0, on Sunday to earn the Razorbacks an SEC tournament berth. Kentucky will now hope to edge out LSU, Mississippi State, and Missouri for the final tournament berth when they face Texas A&M on Thursday.
– North Carolina State defeated Virginia Tech, 1-0, on Sunday, clinching an ACC tournament berth while eliminating the Hokies from the tournament. Wake Forest, Clemson, Louisville, and Boston College are left to compete for the final two tournament spots.
– Furman and Samford split the Southern Conference title after Week 10 action concluded. Furman will get the top seeding in the Southern Conference tournament because of goal differential.
– San Jose State clinched the Mountain West title after defeating Air Force, 3-1, on Sunday.
