It lived up to the hype, and that’s all you can ask for in a marquee match. The week gave us one top-billing showdown, and much more. 

 

The rematch: Lightning struck three times at Stanford on Friday when the No. 1 Cardinal pulled off a 2-1 drama-filled win over Notre Dame. In a rematch of last season’s national championship game, Stanford got a little payback by scoring two goals in the final two minutes to earn the ‘W.’ This, after the match was delayed for 49 minutes during in the first half because of lighting. All the real fireworks happened in the second half, though, where Melissa Henderson gave No. 12 Notre Dame a 1-0 edge in the 66th minute. Lindsay Taylor netted the equalizer in the 80th before Mariah Nogueira’s header in the 87th helped deliver a memorable triumph.  

 

Washington State's Gurveen Clair

Sunshine statement: The state of Florida had its own score to settle as the Gators and Seminoles hooked up on Friday. Florida State came out on top 3-2 over No. 9 Florida in a great seesaw battle that featured two goals and an assist from Tiffany McCarty. Her final score in the 71st minute stood up as the game winner and gave the No. 4 Seminoles bragging rights over their instate rival. The match also continued a trend of nail-biting games between the two programs as the last six meetings have ended in one-goal wins. 

 

Tie goes to the underdog: There are good ties and bad ties. But when unranked Washington State battles No. 11 Virginia to a 0-0 draw you just know it’s a good one for the Cougars. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Gurveen Clair made four saves and kept the Cavaliers off the scoreboard to earn a great result for Washington State, which had ran into several travel delays that set back their trip to the East Coast but didn’t dim their energy level. 

 

No. 43 James Madison should also be saluted for a 0-0 result against No. 5 Maryland. James Madison’s own red-shirt goalkeeper finished with a career-high 10 saves to record her fourth shutout of the year.

 

Speaking of ties: No. 17 Santa Clara just can’t seem to separate from its competition – not that it’s a bad thing. The Broncos earned a 1-1 draw against Notre Dame on Friday and then matched UC Irvine in a 1-1 result on Sunday. That gives Santa Clara four consecutive ties – dating back to Sept 2 when they finished in a 1-1 draw against Oregon State only to finish in a scoreless tie with Oregon two days later. Head coach Jerry Smith says it’s the first time he’s experienced such competitive equality.  

 

Upsets:  It wasn’t of the jaw-dropping variety, but No. 21 Texas A&M taking down No. 2 North Carolina is worthy of a look. The Aggies were down 3-1 but scored three unanswered goals capped by freshman Shea Groom’s overtime game-winner. 

 

Unranked Nebraska also pulled off a huge win in beating No. 14 Virginia Tech 4-3 in double overtime on Friday. The Cornhuskers also needed three consecutive goals to turn the trick. Morgan Marlborough netted her eighth score of the season (she added her ninth in Sunday’s match) to tie the match 3-3 in the 82nd minute while Stacy Bartels had the game-winner in the second OT.