Women's DI Tournament: Third Round recap

Women's DI Tournament: Third Round recap
by Travis Clark
November 21, 2016

The NCAA women’s DI tournament quarterfinal field is set after the quick-fire second and third rounds were settled over the weekend.

MORE: Women's Division I bracket | Latest DI Women's Top 25

Below is a quick recap of some of the notable results.

West Virginia survives snow, penalty kicks

During the standout careers of West Virginia’s Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence, penalty kicks have so often been their demise in the tournament.

History looked set to repeat itself on Sunday, as snowy conditions led to a tight, close affair with UCLA. On the cusp of a 1-0 win, the Mountaineers conceded a goal with just over a minute left in regulation, nudging the game into overtime.

Despite controlling play for long stretches, West Virginia couldn’t find the finishing touch, despite outshooting UCLA 10-1 in overtime. Penalty kicks provided beneficial this time, as Buchanan converted the decisive tally to win 4-2 after the 1-1 draw.

Hoyas hold serve on the Hilltop

For the second time in 2016, Virginia traveled to Washington, D.C. to play Georgetown.

This time, the Cavaliers’ season came to an end.

Georgetown continued to prove itself worthy of a No. 2 seed, scoring twice in the second half to secure a 2-0 victory. A Virginia own goal provided the opener, before Rachel Corboz extended the lead with a quality free kick after Virginia’s Alissa Gorzak found the woodwork on a mazy run.

Living on the edge

Four clashes in the Third Round were settled by one-goal results.

Duke, North Carolina, South Carolina and USC all held on for 1-0 victories in Sunday’s action.

The Blue Devils were perhaps most dominant in their win, outshooting Northwestern 22-2 in Durham. Freshman Ella Stevens found the finishing touch, continuing her excellent debut season in college soccer.

UNC’s strong defensive record in the tournament continued. Yet to concede a goal in three games so far, Dorian Bailey’s effort in the 71st minute sets up a quarterfinal clash against the Gamecocks.

In the lone Saturday third round game, South Carolina senior Sophie Groff’s tally from the penalty spot won a close encounter against BYU.

After advancing on Friday via penalty kicks, USC edged an all-Pac-12 battle at home against Utah. Transfer Leah Pruitt provided the breakthrough strike, as she slotted home her own rebound in the 73rd minute.

Auburn vanquishes SEC rival

It was a wild clash between in-conference rivals Auburn and Florida, featuring a red card and two goals within eight second of each other.

Auburn eventually held on for a 3-1 victory, and faces a road trip to Los Angeles to take on USC in the quarterfinals. Brooke Ramsier opened the scoring in the 26th minute, and in the second half, things got a bit crazy.

Rachelle Smith was sent off for a foul in the penalty box, and Bri Folds converted from the spot to put the Tigers up 2-0. Florida marched straight back down the field and scored eight second later, cutting into the deficit.

With just a one-goal margin, Auburn finally put things out of reach when Kristen Dodson finished from 30 yards out over Florida goalkeeper Kaylan Marckese.

Survival of Santa Clara

On the heels of a famous second round victory against Stanford, Santa Clara wasn’t ready to go home just yet.

Despite getting outshot 18-7 on Sunday, the Broncos made three of their four shots on target count, defeating NC State 3-0 in Palo Alto.

The Wolfpack were missing Kia Rankin and made just one substitution, coming up short in front of Melissa Lowder’s goal. Lowder finished with six saves before coming out with just over four minutes to go.

Seeking a surprise return to the College Cup, Santa Clara travels to Georgetown for next week’s quarterfinal.

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