Women's Soccer Games of the Week (9/26 - 9/28)
#1 UCLA at Arizona State, Friday, 7:00 pm ET, Pac 12 Network
The Sun Devils come in on a hot streak, having won their last six, four of which were shutouts. That includes the last three in a row. The team has outscored opponents 19-2 in that time. ASU has two main scorers in Cali Farquharson and Aly Moon. Farquharson has eight goals on the season, while Moon has had quite the collegiate debut thus far, scoring seven goals in her first season.
UCLA is on a remarkable run, going undefeated in its last 30 matches. The team has also shut out seven of its nine opponents and had not given up a goal until September 12th against Wake Forest. Sam Mewis leads the squad with seven goals, while Rosie White has added four. Despite only scoring twice, Sarah Killion has nine assists. Goalie Katelyn Rowland has been a machine in net, setting or tying numerous school records. She broke the record for consecutive shutout minutes in a season with 638, consecutive shutouts in a season (6) and career shutouts (43). UCLA leads the all-time series with Arizona State 16-1, with the Bruins on a 13-match winning streak.
#25 Georgia at #6 Florida, 7:00 pm ET, SEC Network+
Florida comes in on a two-game winning streak, including last weekend's win over Alabama, its first in Tuscaloosa since 2008. Savannah Jordan picked up right where she left off last year, scoring five goals on the season. Brooke Sharp, Annie Speese and Jillian Graff have each scored two goals and seven others have scored once.
The Bulldogs ride a five-game winning streak into this matchup. They have outscored their opponents 14-2 in that span. Gabby Seiler and Marion Crowder are the leading goal scorers with five apiece. Three others have scored twice and four more once. Georgia will be going for their first-ever win in Gainesville, coming in with an all-time record of 2-25-1 against the Gators.
#2 Virginia at #5 Florida State, Sunday, 4:00 pm ET, ESPNU
The Seminoles come into this enormous tilt on a four-game winning streak (Thursday's Louisville game notwithstanding). In that stretch, they have outscored their opponents 16-2, with three of the four being shutouts. The team is led by its Icelandic combo of Dagny Brynjarsdottir and Berglind Thorvaldsdottir, who each have six goals. Englishwoman Marta Bakowska-Mathews has five goals and three assists. Virginia has won two straight in the series, however all three of FSU’s wins have come in the last five games. Nineteen of the matches have been decided by one goal or less including 17 of the last 20. Four of the last seven have gone to overtime.
The Cavs come into their Thursday game with Wake Forest as one of just four unbeaten teams. Virginia has shutout five teams it has played this year and has allowed just one girl apiece in the other four games. Makenzy Doniak leads the squad with six goals, while Brittany Ratcliffe has five goals. Three others have scored three goals each.
Rutgers at Iowa, 1:00 pm ET
Rutgers swept the Michigan schools in its first conference weekend as a member of the Big Ten last weekend, winning both matches 1-0. The Scarlet Knights have shutout five of their seven opponents this season. Amy Pietrangelo and Stefanie Scholz lead the Rutgers offense with three goals each. Casey Murphy has played all but 2:35 in goal this season, racking up 18 saves.
Iowa goes into Thursday's game on a four-game winning streak and hopes to make it five heading into its tilt with Rutgers. Three of those four have been conference-game shutouts. The 3-0 Big Ten start is the best conference start in Iowa history. Cloe Lacasse is the team's top offensive threat, having a squad-leading seven goals and four assists. Melanie Pickert has four goals, while Bri Toelle has three goals and four assists. The Hawkeyes have used a two-goalie approach this year and each has very similar stats. Kiley Beck leads the two with 420:24 played in goal and has saved 11 shots, while Hannah Clark has played in 405:00, but has a team-leading 15 saves.
