And then there were 16.

We’re two rounds into the Women’s NCAA Tournament and what do we have? Total chaos.

I don’t know about your bracket but mine looks like a misprint at this point. Sure, we’ve got a few of the usual suspects, but a good deal of surprises as well.

Let’s recap what unfolded this past week.

No. 1 seeds: Two down, two left. While Stanford(w) and North Carolina took care of business and are on to the third round, top-seeded Maryland and Portland(w) are now home watching like the rest of us. Both programs fell in penalty kicks: the Pilots were undone by Washington(w) while the Terrapins were taken down by Georgetown.   

And just for good measure, No. 2 seeded Florida, a strong program and trendy pick to make the final, slipped up in penalty kicks to the Duke youth movement. I don’t know what to believe anymore.

Surprises: At the top of the list of we-sure-didn’t-see-that-coming programs, is Washington(w). The Huskies were 12-8-2 overall during the regular season, albeit in the difficult Pac-10, and flew largely under the radar. But when the spotlight came on they dominated Oklahoma in a 4-0 beating, then won an epic penalty kick session with Portland(w) 10-9 after finishing in a 1-1 tie. Now Washington(w) will vie for a spot in the quarterfinals against Big West power UC Irvine(w).

Kudos also to Minnesota, who snuck through two rounds, topping Creighton 4-2 and Texas A&M(w) 2-0. This, after finishing sixth in the Big Ten. Duke has also turned some heads with a pair of wins, but the ACC is so tightly bunched that any success coming from this conference is hardly a shock.

Conference ranking: If you’re the kind of person who uses NCAA Tournament results to gauge the strength of conferences, or you’re just a trivial information kind of person, here are the conference leaders in terms of remaining teams:

ACC: 5
Big East: 4
Pac-10: 3

Buckeye of the beholder: It’s interesting that Ohio State has scored just once in two games yet still finds itself in the third round. The Buckeyes squeaked by St. Francis (PA)(w) 1-0 then edged Dayton 0-0 in PKs. I don’t know if this development makes Ohio State really dangerous or really vulnerable.

Questions:  Can the Blue Devils continue? Duke is a freshman-led group that is thriving without the benefit of experience at some key positions. Having knocked off California and Florida, Duke will try to extend its run against Big 12 champion Oklahoma State(w).

How many goals will Christen Press score against UCLA(w)? Press went without a goal in Stanford(w)’s first two wins and that’s bad news for the Bruins. The nation’s leading scorer will not be shutout again. It ain't happening.

North Carolina vs. Notre Dame: I guess this isn’t really a question, but the matchup stands alone. It feels a little early for a meeting between these two powerhouses – last season the Tar Heels edged the Fighting Irish in the College Cup Semifinals – but it’s here and we should savor it.

North Carolina has beaten its first two opponents by a combined score of 8-1, while Notre Dame has a composite score of 7-0. You look around the rest of the bracket and think, shouldn’t that kind of dominance be rewarded with a more favorable opponent? There, I found my question.