USL College Round-Up
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Toronto Lady Lynx standout Tiffany Cameron scored a pair of goals to key one of the upsets in the first round of the NCAA Divison I Women’s Tournament last weekend as Ohio State upended Tennessee 3-0 in Knoxville to advance. Cameron was just one of a number of current and former W-League players to make an impact for their teams as the road to the national championship began.
In a weekend that saw multiple seeds fall in the first round for the first time since 2005, Ohio State dominated their SEC opponent. Cameron scored in the ninth minute to put the Buckeyes on top, and then added her second after the break six minutes after Kristen Niederhaus had doubled their advantage.
In another upset, former Los Angeles Legends goalkeeper Kaitlyn Gustaves recorded a 12-save shutout as Long Beach State defeated Pepperdine 1-0. Gustaves was named to the All-Big West Second Team earlier in the week, the Santa Clarita Blue Heat’s Cynthia Jacobo taking First Team honors for Cal-State Northridge, and was exceptional as the 49ers earned a dramatic overtime victory through former Pali Blues player Nadia Link in the 100th minute.
It was also a record-setting weekend for Hamilton Rage standout Christabel Oduro, who scored nine points in Memphis’ 7-0 victory against UT-Martin, a new NCAA Tournament record. Oduro, who had 12 points in 11 games for Hamilton this summer, will lead the Tigers as they play host this weekend, potentially meeting Florida State in the Round of 16.
The major contenders for the College Cup didn’t have many problems in advancing to the second round, with overall No.1 seed Stanford advancing easily 3-0 against Montana with Pali Blues standout Mariah Nogueira tallying one of the goals for the Cardinal. Pac-12 rival UCLA had a slightly tougher time, but took a 1-0 victory through Kylie McCarthy.
Former Pali Blues player Janice Cayman also played a role in helping her side to victory, scoring as Florida State took a 2-0 win against Samford in Tallahassee. The performance that left some impressed following the game, though, was that of defeated goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead. The Charlotte Lady Eagles standout recorded 10 saves for the Bulldogs, capping a strong season that saw her earn All-Southern Conference First Team honors.
The ACC received the most bids to the tournament, nine overall, and all of them advanced. Virginia took a 2-0 victory against Long Island, former Washington Freedom standout Julia Roberts scoring one of the goals, while Roberts’ former teammate Julia Bouchelle found the back of the net as Boston College took a 6-1 win against Marist.
The NCAA Tournament continues this weekend with the second and third rounds being played at local sites as the field is whittled down to eight teams.