It was do or die for Stanford in the second half of their first round match up against Cal State Fullerton Friday night. Down 2-0 at the half, the Cardinals scored five second half goals to advance to the second round of the tournament. The other three seeded teams; Florida, Texas Tech and Washington also advanced.
Stanford, who holds one of four No. 1 seeds in the tournament, faced the potential for a huge upset as they found themselves headed to the locker room with a 2-0 deficit at halftime against Cal State Fullerton. The first goal for Fullerton came as the result of a penalty awarded ten minutes into the match. Brianna Chapman was able to convert to give her team the early lead. Christin Burkenroad doubled the lead in the 29th minute after a pass was intercepted in Stanford’s defensive end. Stanford looked rattled for the remainder of the first half, unable to settle down and organize their play.
The second half was a completely different story as Stanford came out swinging. Despite the strong offensive play, Stanford was unable to get on the board until around the 60th minute, but once they did, the floodgates opened. The first goal came from a free kick on the edge of the box as Chioma Ubogagu curved the ball over the wall and into the corner of the net. That was not the only goal from Ubogagu for the evening as she added two more later in the match, completing her first collegiate hat trick. The two other Stanford goals came from Taylor Uhl who has been on a hot streak lately. Having gone the first 14 games of the season without a goal, she has scored nine in the past seven matches. This is the ninth straight season that Stanford has advanced to at least the second round in the tournament.
It took two overtime periods to find a winner as California defeated San Diego State 3-2. San Diego State scored first in the 11th minute off a volley from Aliyah Utush. The team’s lead was short-lived, however, as Grace Leer was able to get her foot on a corner and tap it in to level the score two minutes later. Cal took the lead in the 16th minute when Samantha Witteman picked up a loose ball in the box. With the San Diego State goalkeeper out of the box, Witteman was easily able to score, making it 2-1 Cal. After San Diego State tied it up in the second half off a set piece from Meggie Gulczynski, the teams battled it out through regulation and into two overtime periods. Eventually, Arielle Ship would get the winner and send Cal through to the second round as she put a foot on a ball from Witteman and into the goal.
Another match that needed extra time to find a winner was Arkansas vs Oklahoma. In what some would consider an upset, it took only two minutes of overtime for Arkansas to net the game winner, defeating Oklahoma by a score of 3-2. The scoring started early in the first half as Rachel Ressler’s rocket of a shot found the back of the net for Oklahoma in the 5th minute. Chelsea Jackson doubled the lead about ten minutes later when a blocked shot deflected back to her feet and she was able to put in the rebound. That was the end of the scoring for Oklahoma though, and Arkansas was able to pull one back just before the half as Gabriella DeLeon scored her first collegiate goal. The tying goal came in the 48th minute as Claire Kelley flicked a header past the Oklahoma goalkeeper. Arkansas had the opportunity to pull ahead in regulation, but the goal was called back on an offside call. DeLeon would net her second goal of the night, the game winner, in the second minute of overtime after she was able to poke the ball in during a scramble in the box. There was a brief meeting to discuss whether the ball crossed the line before the goalkeeper got to it, but ultimately the goal stood sending Arkansas through to the next round.
After scoring the lone goal of the match in the 10th minute, Auburn was able to hold on to defeat Florida Gulf Coast University 1-0 in what was a very closely contested match. Junior Haley Gerken gave Auburn the early lead after she one-timed an excellent ball toward the far post. From there on out defense was the name of the game as Auburn held FGCU to only one shot at the half. FGCU themselves put on a solid effort on both sides of the ball, allowing only three shots on goal and creating some excellent offensive chances that were thwarted only by some outstanding saves by Auburn goalkeeper Alyse Scott. This is the sixth time that Auburn has advanced to the second round of the tournament.
In a match that highlighted another solid defensive effort, Washington defeated Rider 1-0. Washington’s goal came from center back McKenzie Karas in the 16th minute. Washington was awarded a corner kick which found Shannon Simon who sent a cross towards the back post and on the head of Karas who sent the ball across the goal and over Rider’s goalkeeper. Washington’s defense was like an impenetrable wall only allowing Rider three total shots the entire match and outshooting them 21 to 3. Credit to Rider’s goalkeeper Bethany-may Howard who put forth an outstanding effort facing a heavily attacking Washington team and making eight saves on the night.
Down in Gainesville, Florida, No. 2 seed Florida defeated Mercer 3-0 to easily advance to the second round. In another match where defense played a key role in the team’s success, Florida allowed Mercer only three total shots compared to their sixteen, though not for lack of effort. Mercer was relentless in trying to wear down Florida’s defense, but were unable to break through and find the back of the net. Assisting the strong defensive efforts were a pair of goals by Savannah Jordan and one by Annie Speese. Speese started the scoring in the 19th minute when she volleyed a cross from 12 yards out into the upper corner of the goal. Jordan, the leading goalscorer for Florida, found the back of the net twice within the last ten minutes to extend the lead and help Florida through to the next round.
Missouri advanced to the second round after defeating Kansas in their opening match of the tournament. Senior Taylor Grant had a brace while junior Reagan Russell scored the third in the team’s 3-1 victory. Liana Salazar scored for Kansas. Missouri was the stronger attacking team in the first half, netting the first goal in only the third minute. Russell sent a long cross to Grant who was stationed at the back post and was able to chest it in to give her team the lead. Grant scored again in the second half when she drew the goalkeeper off her line and was able to slot it past to double the lead. Kansas pulled one back about five minutes later but was unable to find the net again. Missouri collected an insurance goal in the 66th minute as Russell slid the ball far post and past the Kansas goalkeeper. Missouri’s strong attacking play was complimented by a strong performance in goal by McKenzie Sauerwine who had seven saves for the evening.
Three different players had multiple goal games as Texas Tech routed Prairie View A&M 8-0. Janine Beckie recorded her first career hat trick and became the first player in Texas Tech history to record a hat trick in an NCAA Championship tournament match. Beckie’s hat trick was part of four goals that came all within the first 22 minutes of play. Ashley Casey and Maddy Crabtree both had a pair of goals each while Caity Heap got on the score sheet as well. By the end of the match, Texas Tech had an astounding 33 shots for the evening, 17 of them on goal while allowing only two shots to their opponents. Bianca Garza, the Prairie View goalkeeper had nine saves on the evening which is noteworthy considering the sheer volume and quality of shots she faced throughout the match.
The second round matches are as follows:
Florida vs California
Auburn vs Texas Tech
Washington vs Missouri
Arkansas vs Stanford
All second round matches will be played on Friday November 21.
Feature photo courtesy of Stanford Women’s Soccer
