Best of Women's College Soccer Week Seven

Best of Women's College Soccer Week Seven
by Victor Olorunfemi
September 30, 2026

Women’s college soccer delivered this week as the defending champions and several contenders continue to struggle, a mid-major star added to her incredible campaign, and plenty more.

Dive into this week's College Recap, presented by Soccer Management Company. 

TDS Player of the Year Leaderboard | College Team of the Week | Best of Week Six | College Soccer Scoreboard

Game of the Week: Boston College 3-3 Clemson

An ACC clash that came down to the wire is the game of the week.

The action began frantically as Clemson took a lead through Juju Harris in the 21st minute, only for Sophie Reale to equalize just 45 seconds later. That wrapped up the scoring for an action-packed first half, with both sides combining for 16 shots.

It seemed like a Tigers win was in the cards as they regained the lead and pushed the score to 3-1 through Anna Castenfelt and Danielle Davis in the 73rd and 78th minutes. But the Eagles would not be denied. Amalia Dray first struck through an 86th-minute goal to cut the deficit.

That allowed Reale to complete the comeback in the 89th with this absolute gem of a goal.

Honorable mention: Cal State Fullerton 3-3 CSUN

CSU Fullerton and CSUN traded leads through the night before settling for a 3-3 draw. Keilani Claiborne, Lia Peterson, and Jana Akins scored for CSUN. Fullerton scored on Jaidyn Williams, Sali Bozinovic, and Cassie Villanueva.

 

Team to Watch: Texas Tech

Despite losing several program legends to graduation and the transfer portal in the offseason, Texas Tech has remarkably managed an undefeated 6-0-4 start to the campaign. Taylor Zdrojewski has scored seven to lead the team, while Kylie Bahr has provided four assists, and Addie Todd has been ever-present in goal.

Tom Stone is in his 20th season, having turned the Red Raiders into a perennial national power despite never reaching the NCAA tournament before he took charge.

Honorable mention: Seton Hall

With six consecutive clean sheets, Seton Hall has managed an undefeated 4-0-3 start to the year, boasting one of the best defensive records in college soccer.

 

Player to Watch: Brianna Castleberry, Oral Roberts

Castleberry, a redshirt senior, is enjoying the best year of her career, scoring in all but one game so far to manage 11 goals and one assist in 11 games. Even better, the Oklahoma native has scored in both games the Eagles have played against Power 4 opposition, first against No. 18 Oklahoma, then against No. 9 Baylor. With Castleberry in this form, a Summit League postseason title and Cinderella NCAA tournament run may eventually be in the cards.

Honorable mention: Ola Goebel, Dartmouth

Boasting a 92 percent save percentage, seven clean sheets, and just three conceded in ten matches, Goebel has arguably been the best keeper in the country.

 

Top Five Goals

Hope Leyba, Colorado vs. West Virginia

Gemma Gillespie, Butler vs. Marquette

Jaiden Anderson, Purdue vs. Illinois

Zamorah Malinoski, Alabama vs. Oklahoma

Sydney Schuler, Loyola Marymount vs. Pacific

 

Top Five Assists

Zerina Markovic, Memphis vs. South Florida

Aleigha Arndt, James Madison vs. Louisiana Monroe

Daisy Duda, NC State vs. Virginia Tech

Mia Hebert, Vanderbilt vs. Tennessee 

Hailey Phillips, Middle Tennessee vs. Jacksonville State

 

Top Five Saves

Amy Mason, East Carolina vs. UTSA

Tanna Schornstein, Purdue vs. Illinois

Shannon Mejia, Bryant vs. Binghamton

Julianna Trujillo, Virginia Tech vs. NC State 

Mackenzie Lorkowski, Louisiana Tech vs. Appalachian State

 

Storylines to Know

Schlueter Record

In one of the season's more impressive individual accomplishments so far, Ohio State star Amanda Schlueter recently became the first in program history to reach 100 points. All that is left is leading the Buckeyes to a second College Cup trip.

Mid-Season Contender Woes 

Duke and Stanford, considered two of the favorites for the College Cup, are going through some mid-season woes.

The Cardinal have won just one of the last four, failing to score in three of those matches.

Duke, meanwhile, is winless in the last three after reaching the No. 1 ranking in the nation. 

Full Season Woes

While those contenders are struggling lately, defending national champion Florida State has failed to build momentum all year, finally falling out of the top 25. The Seminoles have won just one of the last five as the high turnover from last season’s roster seems to be taking a toll.

Related Topics: College Recap, America East, American Athletic, Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Big West, Conference USA, Ivy League, SEC, Summit League, Sun Belt, West Coast
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