Day 5 in our countdown to the Men's and Women's College Cups: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

On The Men’s Side…

Look through our men’s conference standings page to get an idea of what’s happening on the weekend prior to most conference tournaments. Big East Quarterfinal play begins this weekend on campus sites and in a key Big Ten matchup, Indiana did wonders for its NCAA hopes with a 2-1 win over Penn State.

In the ACC, #5 Wake Forest impressed with a convincing win over in-state ACC rival and #8 Duke, while #3 North Carolina closed its regular season with a 3-1 win over Clemson on goals from Jordan Graye, Martin Murphy and Billy Schuler.#9 Maryland came from behind to defeat College of Charleston 2-1. Casey Townsend got the winner.

On the Women’s Side…

Owning up… New Mexico’s Elizabeth Lambert was suspended indefinitely by the school for her actions in Thursday’s game. As we reported, Lambert was caught kicking, punching, slapping, tripping, cleating, most spectacularly, yanking an opponent to the ground by her ponytail, during a Mountain West semifinal with BYU. The actions were highlighted by ESPN and others, and have become something of an Internet sensation, confirming the severity of the case for those of us who watched it live. Lambert issued a written apology through the school as well.

Back to the field, the women remain on center stage as the major conferences were featuring semifinal matchups. Some of the key semifinal results from Friday:

SEC… LSU finally broke the glass ceiling keeping them out of the conference tournament title match, beating Auburn in the semifinal behind a Mo Isom shutout and a winner from Malorie Rutledge. The Tigers go up against South Carolina, who defeated Florida 1-0 in the other semifinal.

ACC… Florida State defeated Virginia Tech 2-0 behind goals from Jessica Price and Amanda DaCosta, while Kimmy Diaz and Erin McNulty shared the honors for a shutout. The Seminoles now play North Carolina in the final after the Tar Heels won in overtime on an own goal against Boston College. I have to add that I’m reminded from watching the game on the ACC web site, that it is a sad thought indeed to think a day will come someday when we don’t get to watch Tobin Heath play soccer. She is just a sheer delight in terms of technique and grace and commitment. It is to my eternal shame that I once saw her play as a U15 player for PDA and commented to someone that she didn’t seem all that spectacular to me. Someone must have put something in my drink that day because she has proved me wrong every single time I’ve seen her play since. What a superstar.

Big East... Natalie Kulla recorded a six-save shutout as Marquette beat West Virginia 1-0. Rachel Sloan had the winning goal. The Golden Eagles will play Notre Dame, who got an overtime winner from Jessica Schuveiller to beat St. John's 2-1.

Big 12… Oklahoma State won an important match for its NCAA hopes, beating Missouri 3-2 on a winner from Annika Niemeier… The Cowgirls will play Texas A&M(w) which defeated arch-rival Texas in the other semifinal.

Conference USA… UCF continued a dream season with a 1-0 win over UAB in the semifinal on a winner from. The Golden Knights will now play Memphis, a 1-0 winner over Colorado College behind a goal from Lizzy Hilderbrandt.

Siera Strawser, Oklahoma State

Other Conferences… Dayton and Charlotte set up the expected Atlantic 10 title match with semifinal wins. They play Sunday at the 49ers home field…Top-seeded Northeastern lost 3-1 to James Madison in the CAA. The Dukes will play UNC Wilmington, who beat #2 seed Hofstra 2-1. Those results could cost somebody else a spot in the tournament. ...Jessica Carlson scored the winner as Illinois State beat Drake in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Cardinals will play Creighton, who defeated Missouri State 2-1 on a golden goal from Laura Nasseri ...In the Ohio Valley, Tennessee Tech upset top seed Morehead State 2-1 while Murray State defeated UT Martin 1-0…College of Charleston defeated Samford on penalties after a scoreless draw, to set up a Southern Conference final with Davidson, 1-0 winners over UNC Greensboro …In the Patriot League, Colgate defeated Navy 1-0 on an overtime winner from Elise Amioka. The Raiders will face American, who got a late winner from Kristin Piorun to beat Bucknell 1-0.

Regular Season Play…The Pac 10 and the Big Ten are the two major conferences with no postseason tournaments. Michigan State took a huge 2-1 win over Ohio State (which also gives Penn State at least a share of the league title for the 12th consecutive year). Minnesota and Indiana also met in a Loser Leaves Town type matchup Friday, with Molly Rouse scoring the winner in a 1-0 victory for the Golden Gophers.  Penn State plays Michigan Saturday, while Purdue hosts Iowa.

In the Pac 10, #1 Stanford looks to close out a perfect regular season with a win at home Sunday over arch-rival California. Washington State and USC, both of whom should be in the NCAA, played to a scoreless draw Friday.

Missed a day? Catch up on our previous countdowns to the Men's and Women's College Cups:
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4