Men’s and Women’s college soccer teams across the country battled for standing and momentum in upcoming conference tournaments while celebrating senior night in many venues as programs head down the homestretch of an unprecidented fall 2020 season.
Men’s and Women’s college soccer teams across the country battled for standing and momentum in upcoming conference tournaments while celebrating senior night in many venues as programs head down the homestretch of an unprecidented fall 2020 season.
Men’s College Soccer
Wake Forest 2 – Clemson 0 – Clemson topped the Demon Deacons 2-1 when these two teams squared off at Historic Riggs Field back on October 13. The Demon Deacons came out on top in this rematch at Spry Stadium in Winston-Salem by containing a highly productive Clemson attack that had twelve shots on the evening and doing a good job of taking advantage of the scoring opportunities that came their way.
Demon Deacon head coach Bobby Muuss described it as a total team performance stating, “Guys stepped up and we needed a lot of guys, we used a lot of guys.” He praised the contribution of freshmen midfielder Colin Thomas and defenders Jahlane Forbes, Cristian Escribano and Garrison Tubbs in the win.
Clemson head coach Mike Noonan stated, “We are disappointed in the result tonight. However, I thought the team ran the tank dry and we had some of our best moments late in the game.” He added, “Now we need to rest and refocus for the ACC Tournament in two weeks.”
Sophomore defender Nico Benalcazar scored in the 40th minute of the match from inside the six yard box after pushing forward into space to find a seam that he was able to exploit with an assist from Jahlane Forbes. Senior forward Machop Chol made it 2-0 out of a counter attack with an assist from sophomore Takuma Suzuki in the 64th minute.
Andrew Pannenberg had a four save evening to record the shutout for Wake Forest. George Marks had three saves in goal for Clemson. Wake Forest improves to 6-1-0 while Clemson stands at 5-2-1.
Virginia Tech 2 – Louisville 1 (ot) – This ACC match took place at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium in Louisville.
Jake Gelnovatch had a ten save evening in goal for Louisville which kept this one close but in the end two goals by senior forward Jacob Labovitz gave Virginia Tech the edge they needed to win. Labovitz scored in the 57th minute from inside the box with senior midfielder Kristo Strickler providing the helper and in the 93rd minute with an assist from junior midfielder Chris Little.
Midfielder Elijah Amo netted the lone goal from Louisville in the 72nd minute after receiving a through ball from forward Pedro Fonseca.
Virginia Tech had a huge 26 to five advantage in shots for the contest. Mathijs Swaneveld had two saves between the pipes for the Hokies.
Virginia Tech improves to 1-1-2. Louisville which has two losses and a tie so far this year in three overtime contests drops to 1-5-1.
Virginia 1 -Syracuse 0 – This one which took place on senior night in Charlottesville could have gone either way with both teams having opportunities to score that they were unable to capitalize on. Both of these teams have been going through a learning curve this year. Both gave it their all in this gut check type contest. The game came down to a penalty kick resulting from a handball in the box in the 71st minute that Virginia defender sophomore Andreas Ueland converted.
Virginia head coach George Gelnovatch stated, “With a young group, today was just making sure that when we got the lead we held it.” He added, “We fought for it and you know we had that grit and grind, just to get the three points today. I think that was a pretty big thing for this young, young group to figure out how to secure that as opposed to at Notre Dame and the Pitt game. So, we’re growing.”
Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre stated, “It’s difficult, the difference was a decision by a linesman. It was a good ACC college match. I’m proud of our guys. We traveled down here and I felt we deserved to get something out of this game. It’s a little bit tough to take.”
Redshirt freshman Alex Rando had four saves in goal for Virginia. Russel Shealy had four saves in goal for Syracuse. Virginia is 2-2-1 while Syracuse drops to 0-3-2.
Women’s College Soccer
Tennessee 2 – Florida 1 – Tennessee picks up a solid on the road win in Gainesville at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
Sophomore midfielder Claudia Dipasupil gave Tennessee momentum and the early lead when she controlled a clearance and utilized her left foot to curl a shot into the top of the frame from 25 yards out in the 27th minute of the contest. Redshirt freshman forward Jaida Thomas converted a header from close range out of a corner kick served in by Dipasupil in the 70th minute to give the Vols a 2-0 lead.
Florida freshman forward Maddy Rhodes from Vero Beach narrowed the gap to a single goal and gave Florida new life when she placed a header into the far post out of a corner kick received from redshirt senior midfielder Parker Roberts. However, that concluded the scoring for the evening.
Jenna Rolfe had one save in goal for Tennessee. Susi Espinoza had four saves between the pipes for the Gators.
Florida played the contest without head coach Becky Burleigh and five players due to injuries or COVID-19 protocol. The Gators drop to 1-4-1. Tennessee improves to 3-3-1.
South Carolina 2 – Mississippi State 0 – This one took place at Stone Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina on senior night for the Gamecocks.
The teams went into intermission with the score tied at 0-0. Freshman forward Corinna Zullo broke the ice for the Gamecocks when she scored out of a corner kick put in play by Jyllissa Harris in the 69th minute of the match. Senior Ranya Senhaji netted the insurance goal for South Carolina in the 82nd minute that was set up by a nice combination of passes with teammate senior Lauren Chang.
Sophomore goalkeeper Heather Hinz had four saves in goal for South Carolina including a stop of a penalty kick to record the shutout. Maddy Anderson had two saves in goal for Mississippi State.
Gamecock head coach Shelley Smith stated. “I think it was a tremendous team effort. We told the team how a lot of people played their roles tonight and that’s what helped to get through the 90 minutes tonight.”
South Carolina improves to 6-1-0 and moves into the top spot in the SEC standings with a lone regular season contest with Tennessee on the road remaining on their dance card. Mississippi State drops to 2-2-3.
Arkansas 2 – Auburn 1 – Arkansas gained the early lead and set the pace of this one with goals from sophomore forward Anna Podojil with an assist from teammate senior forward Parker Goins in the 13th minute of play and a goal from Goins with a double assist from Polojil and senior midfielder Taylor Malham in the 19th minute of the contest.
The teams went into halftime with the Razorbacks holding a two goal lead.
Senior midfielder Alyssa Malonson from Houston, Texas pulled one back for Auburn when she sent a left footer into the back of the frame in the 76th minute of the match.
Taylor Beitz had a five save evening for Arkansas. Freshman Maddie Prohaska had a very busy ten save contest for Auburn.
Arkansas improves to 6-1-0 with a contest remaining in regular season play at Mississippi State. Auburn is now 2-1-2 and will travel to Baton Rouge to face LSU on Monday.
A and Texas M 2 – Alabama 0 – Texas A and M won for the first time in Tuscaloosa since 2014 with two freshmen playing key roles. Youth was served in this one for Texas A and M.
The Aggies came out firing with freshman midfielder Taylor Pounds scoring out of a corner kick put in play by senior midfielder Jimena Lopez a mere fifty seconds into the contest. Freshman forward Laney Carroll netted the second goal for Texas A and M in the 68th minute off a nice give and go courtesy of fellow freshman midfielder Barbara Olivieri.
Sophomore Kenna Caldwell had two saves to secure the shutout in goal for the Aggies. McKinley Crone had two saves in goal for the Crimson Tide.
Texas A and M improves to 5-1-0 with regular season matches remaining against LSU on Friday, November 6 and Auburn on Monday, November 9. Alabama is now 1-4-2.
Vanderbilt 2 – LSU 0 – This one was played in Baton Rouge.
Senior midfielder Leila Azari aggressively drove a header into the left side of the goal out of a free kick put in play by senior midfielder Maddie Elwell from just outside the right side of the box in the 16th minute to give Vanderbilt the early advantage. Senior forward Olivia Simmons gave Vanderbilt a 2-0 lead when she decisively and skillfully placed a shot into the left corner of the frame from 22 yards out after creating a turnover.
Senior goalkeeper Sarah Fuller from Wylie, Texas had two saves to record the shutout for the Commodores. Mollee Swift had two saves in goal for LSU.
After opening the season with a win followed by three losses, Vanderbilt has won three in a row to improve to 4-3-0. LSU drops to 0-4-2.
Kansas State 2 – Iowa State 0 – Kansas State secured a momentum building road win over Iowa State with senior midfielder Brookelynn Entz leading the way with a two goal evening. She sent a shot into the corner of the frame that was set up by a nice pass from defender Shae Turner. Entz’s second score and fourth of the season came in the 78th minute when she sent a left footed shot into the back of the net from 16 yards out.
Freshman goalkeeper Alaina Werremeyer had six saves to record the shutout for Kansas State. Jordan Silkowitz had one save in goal for Iowa State.
Kansas State head coach Mike Dibbini stated, “This was a game we needed to break our road curse. We took another step in our maturation.” He added, “This program turned the page tonight by earning three more points. Baby steps in the process.”
Kansas State and Iowa State are both 2-6-0.
West Virginia 2 – Kansas 1 – No prisoners were taken in this one. West Virginia came out strong and took charge early in this key Big 12 contest. West Virginia fired off 18 shots before Kansas recorded its first shot of the evening.
Senior midfielder Stefany Ferrer-vanGinkel scored in the eighth and 16th minutes to play a key role in West Virginia’s win. Her first goal came from the middle of the box after receiving a pass from sophomore forward Enzi Broussard. Her second goal came from within the box after another nice feed from Broussard, a slashing run, and a blast with her left foot.
Rylan Childers scored for Kansas from the right top corner of the box out of a corner kick in the 75th minute to narrow the margin of victory for West Virginia to 2-1.
Kayza Massey had a single save in goal for West Virginia. Sarah Peters had six saves in goal for Kansas.
West Virginia improves to 7-1-0 and will travel to Fort Worth to face TCU on Friday, November 6 in a contest that will determine who wins the Big 12 regular season title. Kansas sustained their second loss in a row to drop to 4-3-0. The Jayhawks will host Iowa State on Friday, November 6.
Texas 1 – Baylor 0 – Junior forward Cameron Brooks scored from the top of the box with a double assist credited to Carlee Allen and Presley Echols to net the lone goal of the evening for Texas in the fifth minute of play on senior night in Austin.
Baylor had a penalty kick opportunity in the fourth minute of play that they missed that might have changed the pace and the outcome of the contest.
Baylor had a 23 to 16 advantage in shots with a 10 to 7 seven advantage in shots on goal.
Both keepers had a busy evening with Savannah Madden recording ten saves to record the shutout for the Longhorns while Jennifer Wandt had six saves for Baylor.
Texas improves to 4-4-0 while Baylor drops to 2-3-3.
TCU 1 – Oklahoma 0 – Defense ruled in this gut check win for TCU with Grace Collins scoring the lone goal of the contest for the Frogs in the 73rd minute after receiving a cross from Payton Crews.
Emily Alvarado had five saves in goal for TCU to notch her 19th career shutout. Nikki Panas had seven saves in goal for Oklahoma.
TCU had an 18 to 8 advantage in shots in the contest.
TCU head coach Eric Bell stated, “I’m really proud of our group. We had some adversity throughout the week. Coming out the road and taking care of business was good. It would have been a bad deal for us if we played the way that we did and not come away with a result. Sometimes that happens in soccer, but today it didn’t. I think we earned the result today against a very tough defending team that is hard to break down”
TCU improves to 7-0-1 with a huge Big 12 contest on the horizon with West Virginia on Friday, November 6. Oklahoma drops to 0-5-1.
Oklahoma State 2 – Texas Tech 1 (ot) – Texas Tech took the early lead in the 9th minute when forward Macy Schultz scored from long range. Midfielder Rebekah George came off the bench to knot the score at 1-1 in the 44th minute with a goal from within the box and a double helper from teammates Charme Morgan and Camy Huddleston.
The contest remained 1-1 at the end of regulation.
Olyvia Dowell secured the win for Oklahoma State with a little more than a minute remaining in the first overtime period when she placed a left footed shot into the near post from the middle of the box.
Oklahoma State had a huge 28 to 6 advantage in shots and a 12 to 2 advantage of shots of goal. Madison White had a productive ten save evening in goal for Texas Tech. Emily Plotz had a single save between the pipes for the Cowgirls.
Oklahoma State is 5-2-1 while Texas Tech is now 1-4-2.
Pictures from Wake Forest Athletics and West Virginia Athletics
