NCAA Women's Soccer Field Down to Elite Eight
Santa Clara advances to Elite Eight of NCAA Tournament (Santa Clara Athletics)
The 2016 NCAA Tournament has given every soccer fan a little bit of everything, from upsets to dominating performances, the field has been trimmed down to the final eight. Two #1 seeds remain in South Carolina and West Virginia, while one unseeded team, Santa Clara continues its cinderella run. Action begins Friday and wraps up on Saturday... Who's going to the College Cup? Check out the games below!
Friday November 25, 2016
The Trojans and Tigers will be meeting in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. Earlier this season, USC defeated Auburn 2-0, on the road at the Auburn Soccer Classic on September 4th. Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year, Sammy Jo Prudhomme has been phenomenal for USC all season and looks to guide her team to its first College Cup appearance since 2007. On the opposite end is a surging Tigers team that has defeated it's three NCAA opponents by a combined score of 11-2. Auburn is coming off a big 3-1, victory over #1 seed Florida to advance to their first ever Elite Eight in program history. Kristen Dodson and Brooke Ramsier have combined for six goals and six assist in the tournament and will look to take down another top seed on Friday.
It's rivalry week and #1 South Carolina will host #2 North Carolina in a battle for a spot in the NCAA College Cup. Does it get any better than that? The Gamecocks finished the regular season undefeated and suffered their first loss of the season in the SEC Tournament semifinals to Florida. After opening up the tournament with a 7-0 win over Alabama State, USC had two earn two hard fought 1-0 victories over Colorado and BYU, Respectively. This is the fourth time the programs will meet, and just the second in the NCAA Tournament. In 2014, North Carolina fell 1-0 in the third round to the Gamecocks. This season the Tar Heels are led by freshman Bridgette Andrzejewski, scoring nine goals and two assists for a team leading 20 points. The ACC Freshman of the year was also the only rookie to be named to the All-ACC first team, selected by the leagues coaches. UNC is the only team to have been invited to play in all 35 NCAA Women's soccer tournaments, the Tar Heels have won 22 of 37 National Championships. UNC will look to put their "drought" to an end, not having one since 2012.
So many story lines in this matchup, Santa Clara is looking for an 11th College Cup appearance while Georgetown is in only its second National quarterfinal in program history. Georgetown is a dangerous team, not ranked in the preseason polls, the Hoyas have become a top 10 team with wins over #3 Virginia and #1 West Virginia. The Hoyas also bring four double digit scorers into this contest, the team has outscored their opponents 60-14 this season. Rachel Corboz has proven to be a threat, notching 11 goals and a nation leading 16 assists. Santa Clara is use to playing against and shutting down a potent offense. The Broncos pulled off an incredible upset against #1 Stanford in double overtime with a goal by Jenna Holtz and then defeated NC State 3-0 to advance into the Elite Eight. Santa Clara has won their last seven games and have outscored their opponents 14-2. This will be a very close game so be sure to watch!
If you have listened to the MyWSports Sports Monday podcast, you will know that I have been a huge fan of West Virginia all season long. As a Boston College alum, I have also been known to "hate" on the Blue Devils but all that being said this is my GAME OF THE WEEK. #1 West Virginia has been here before, last season the Mountaineers fell in the Elite Eight to eventual National Champion, Penn State. In their only home quarterfinal match, WVU dropped the home contest in 2007 to eventual College Cup champion, USC. So needless to say the program has suffered some tough losses, but their opponents have enjoyed some great success. On Monday, I said this game will produce this years national champion and I still stand by that. #3 Duke fell in the National championship to Penn State last season and made a deeper run than anyone expected. Senior Toni Payne for the Blue Devils seems to shine when it's tournament time, in nine NCAA matches she has collected six goals and four assist. This tourney, Payne has three goals and two assists for eight points and has been a key to Duke's success this post season. West Virginia and Duke played each other earlier this season with the Mountaineers earning a 3-1 victory in Durham, N.C. WVU is undefeated in their last 15 matches and are led by Michaela Abam who has 11 goals and eight assist on the year. This will be the fourth meeting between the two programs, the teams splitting the first three meetings 1-1-1. You don't want to miss this one if you're a soccer fan!
