South Carolina survived on penalties again as they defeated Seattle 2-1 from the spot to advance to the round of 16 in the NCAA Women’s College Cup. Also advancing are big names Florida, Florida State, UNC and Stanford, among others. University of Central Florida knocked out No. 4 seed Wisconsin in a narrow 3-2 victory.
South Carolina once again was involved in a match that took penalties to decide as they defeated Seattle 2-1 from the spot to advance to the round of 16. South Carolina defeated Clemson 4-3 on penalties in their first round match. This is the second time that the team has made the round of 16. The big news of the evening for this match revolved around South Carolina’s goalkeeper. With starter Sabrina D’Angelo injured, freshman Abbey Crider stepped in for her first career shutout and stopped two penalties during the shootout that helped her team earn the victory. While Seattle had the first attempt of the match, South Carolina maintained momentum and had the better of the chances in the first half. The attacking dominance of South Carolina continued into the second half as they pressed forward and had the majority of opportunities, but were unable to find the net. South Carolina was dealt a blow right before the end of regulation as Taylor Leach, who had one of the best chances to score off a corner in the 65th minute, was issued her second yellow card of the night and sent off.
While South Carolina was the stronger attacking team in regulation, Seattle almost ended it at the start of the second overtime period as Stephanie Verdoia launched a long range shot toward the South Carolina goal, but Crider was able to dive and make the save and the match went to penalties. South Carolina was down 0-1 going in to the third round of penalties when Crider guessed correctly and made the save and Lindsay Lane converted her shot to tie things up. Kiana Kraft hit the post for Seattle and Brianna Smallidge saved a shot by Bay Daniel keeping the score at 1-1 after four rounds. With Stephanie Spikerman left for Seattle, Crider made an outstanding save and put the game on the shoulders of Chelsea Drennan who sent a powerful, low shot into the net to give South Carolina the win.
No. 1 seed Florida State punched their ticket for the round of 16 for the 10th straight year as they easily defeated Northeastern in a 3-0 shutout win at Seminole Soccer Complex in Tallahassee, FL. Cheyenne Williams gave Florida State the early lead in the 18th minute when she picked up the ball at the edge of the box, broke away from her defenders and lifted the ball over the outstretched arms of Northeastern goalkeeper Paige Burnett. That was the only goal in the first half as Florida State went to the locker room at halftime with a 1-0 lead. The scoring continued for Florida State in the second half as they scored twice within a one minute span. The first of those goals came as the result of a free kick from Megan Campbell that found Kirsten Crowley in the box. Crowley was able to position herself and beat a diving Burnett to double the lead. Dagny Brynjarsdottir score a minute later when Jamia Fields saved the ball from going out on the end line and was able to get it over to Isabella Schmid on the edge of the box. Schmid dribbled it in before sending a perfectly time cross in front of the goal that Brynjarsdottir was able to put in to make it 3-0.
Also down in Tallahassee, UCF sent No. 4 ranked Wisconsin home with a close 3-2 victory. Tatiana Coleman had a brace for UCF, while Ashley Spivey kicked off the scoring in the 9th minute with a header from a cross by Coleman. Coleman put one in on her own in the 22nd minute as she received a ball in the box from Jennifer Martin. Coleman’s initial shot was blocked but she was able to chase down the rebound and put it past Wisconsin standout goalkeeper Genevieve Richard who was not able to get back into position. Wisconsin, who had not allowed a goal in seven matches found themselves at a 2-0 deficit at the half. Wisconsin started the second half on a mission to cut the margin down and was able to do so in the 77th minute as Kodee Williams place a low strike into the corner of the net to cut the lead to a goal. Coleman found herself on a breakaway in the 83rd minute and was able to beat Richard again, this time with a low shot to the center of the goal. Wisconsin was able to pull one more back five minutes later as Micaela Powers put a header in off a corner, but were ultimately unable to find an equalizer and force overtime.
It took overtime to do it, but UNC defeated Colorado 1-0 to earn their 33rd consecutive round of 16 birth. Fresh legs were likely a contributing factor in this match as UNC played 21 players who all saw double digit minutes while Colorado only played a total of 13 players who tallied more minutes individually than the UNC players. Though they did not do much offensively, garnering only two shots the entire match, Colorado did well to keep a clean sheet throughout regulation. UNC had a staggering 22 shots, but only seven of those shots found their target and none went in until the first overtime period. It only takes one goal in overtime though and Maya Worth scored that goal, the first of her career, five minutes in. Colorado gave the ball away right after kick off and that was all UNC needed to find a winner. UNC kept possession in Colorado’s half for the first five minutes of the period when Danae O’Halloran sent the perfect ball into the box. Worth was able to get a head on it, but the ball was deflected by a Colorado player. Unfortunately for Colorado, the ball deflected right back to Worth who found the back of the net for the game winner.
In Gainesville, No. 2 seed Florida defeated California 3-1. It took just three minutes before Florida took the lead on a goal from Annie Speese. After some contact on the edge of the box, Cal gave up what was only their second penalty all season. Speese was able to convert from the spot, giving Florida the early 1-0 lead. The lead doubled for Florida only 10 minutes later as Havana Solaun found the back of the net. Speese and Savannah Jordan took the ball down the right flank before crossing it to Solaun who was able to chip the ball over Cal goalkeeper Emily Boyd. Despite being down two goals early, Cal remained calm and was able to create some good offensive chances of their own, resulting in a goal in the 17th minute. Cal took a corner that came off Florida player before bouncing back into play and to the foot of Samantha Witteman. Witteman tried to put the ball on target, but it bounced off the woodwork and once again, came back into play. Celeste Boureille was the first player to it and fired a powerful shot behind Florida goalkeeper Taylor Burke to cut the lead in half. Cal came out the better team after the half, controlling possession and put on a solid defensive performance, but Florida was able to put the game out of reach with less than a minute remaining. Jillian Graff found Jordan who was a mere five feet from goal and was able to extend the lead to 3-1.
Texas Tech advanced to the round of 16 for the first time ever as they defeated Auburn 2-1 in a match that did not find its winner until the 87th minute. Texas Tech had to overcome an early deficit as Auburn’s first and only goal came a mere six minutes into the match. The goal came from a bad clearance as Toni Ball was able to pick up the failed attempt and put it by Lauren Watson to give Auburn the early 1-0 lead. That was the only goal Auburn was able to score though and Texas leveled the score in the 31st minute. Paige Strahan contributed to an turnover in the Auburn end before taking it across the field and sending a rocket from outside the box, into the upper corner and past Auburn goalkeeper Alyse Scott. The teams went back and forth with missed scoring opportunities until the 87th minute when Alli Murphy pulled out the game winning goal from just over the center line. Murphy took a free kick most likely looking to find a teammate in the box, but Scott had come off her line in anticipation of a header attempt and was unable to get a hand on the ball as it sailed overhead and into the net.
In another match that took overtime to declare a winner, No. 4 seed Washington defeated Missouri 1-0 to advance to the round of 16. Washington had the majority of possession in the match, mainly in the first half, but were unable to get past goalkeeper McKenzie Sauerwine. Missouri started off the second half strong; asserting control over Washington and creating some very dangerous chances they were not able to capitalize on. Eventually, Washington regained their composure and the teams were fairly even through the remainder of regulation. It took only two minutes for Washington to find a winner though, as Kimby Keever received the ball and was able to dribble into the box. With her defender beat Keever slid the ball across the face of the goal and into the back of the net to clinch the game for Washington. This is the fourth time the team has made the round of 16 with the last being in 2010.
A 24th minute penalty was the deciding factor as Stanford defeated Arkansas 1-0 and earned their 16th shutout this season. From a statistical standpoint, the match was very much dominated by Stanford with 24 shots, 9 on goal to Arkansas’s 6 shots, 3 on goal. From a realistic standpoint, Arkansas had some excellent chances and could very well have leveled the score. The lone goal came as a result of a hard foul on Taylor Uhl in the box. Lo’eau Labonte stepped up to take the penalty and converted after drilling the ball high into the net. Arkansas defended well throughout the match and while they had some good chances, they lacked the overall offense to really pressure Stanford.
Third round matches are as follows and will be played on November 23:
Florida State vs UCF
South Carolina vs UNC
Florida vs Texas Tech
Washington vs Stanford
Feature photo courtesy of South Carolina Women’s Soccer
