College Games to Watch: September 12 to 17

Ohio State enters the weekend looking to rebound after a double-overtime setback against Syracuse and 2-1 loss to Virginia in the ACC/B1G Challenge. Harvard, meanwhile, comes off a successful West Coast trip capped by a shootout win over Stanford and an Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week honor for sophomore goalkeeper Linde Burger. Burger proved to be key in the win over the Cardinal, notching five saves and shutting down three shootouts. This top-15 matchup will test both squads’ defensive structures against nationally ranked opposition, and will be the first ever meeting between the Crimson and the Buckeyes.

Boston College will host Massachusetts in their annual Red Bandanna Game.

The Massachusetts defense has been nearly airtight so far, recording its third shutout of the season last Sunday in a 4-0 victory over Boston University. The Minutewomen had an emotional 3-2 shootout victory over Brown the previous match, with Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC) Goalkeeper of the Week Myrte van Herwijnen turning away three shootout attempts. The win marked the 100th career victory for head coach Barb Weinberg.

Boston College, who started off their campaign 3-0, suffered their first defeat of the season last weekend, a 2-0 loss to No. 1 Northwestern. In their previous match, the Eagles upset then-No. 4 Maryland—their first win over the Terrapins since 2021. Sophomore transfer Melea Weber tallied the gamewinner.

Assumption is seeking their first win of the season after narrow one-goal defeats to No. 7 West Chester and No. 3 East Stroudsburg. Despite these outcomes, the Assumption defensive line has looked strong against high-powered offenses, and saw two Northeast-10 (NE10) weekly honors. Paige Gillette and Mieke Rentesch were recognized as Goalkeeper of the Week and Rookie of the Week, respectively.

Meanwhile, Shippensburg survived the Golden Rams in double overtime earlier this week, picking up their second win of the season after first shutting out Belmont Abbey, 7-0.

Shippensburg has won all three meetings with the Greyhounds.

Williams remains a top contender in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), picking up a huge conference win against then-No. 2 Tufts last Saturday. Senior Kiki Higgins finished the week with two goals and an assist, including the game-winning tally against the Jumbos. Just one day later on Sunday, the Ephs dropped a heartbreaking 2-1 overtime result at No. 3 Babson.

Amherst, fresh off an overtime thriller against Connecticut College and up five places in the NFHCA National Coaches Poll, will look to ride that momentum into this rivalry matchup. Senior Molly Donegan, who scored both goals in their 2-0 season opener against Union, notched an assist in the 4-3 OT victory.

Saint Anselm rolled past No. 8 Southern New Hampshire last weekend with a 4-2 win and NE10 Player of the Week honors for sophomore forward Kelly Holmes. Holmes scored the gamewinner against the Penmen, and her first collegiate goal in a 2-1 loss to No. 3 East Stroudsburg.

West Chester, despite their overtime heartbreaker against Shippensburg, continues on with one of the toughest schedules in Division II. Last time the pair met was in 2023, when the Hawks took a 2-1 overtime victory.

SUNY Geneseo has climbed into the national rankings following an unbeaten 4-0 start, including a 2-0 shutout over Skidmore and 5-2 victory over William Smith last week. Senior forward Sam Lewis picked up Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Week honors after tallying two goals and an assist.

Ithaca finds themselves 3-2, with recent shutout wins over Misericordia and St. John Fisher. The Bombers dropped two extremely tight contests—a 2-1 loss to No. 13 Ursinus opening weekend and most recently a 1-0 defeat to SUNY Cortland.

Saint Joseph’s ran into trouble at Penn State last Sunday, falling 2-1 in overtime. The Hawks had kicked off their season with another match that was tied at regulation, that time defeating No. 16 UConn in shootouts.

Maryland meanwhile aims to regain footing after a two-loss weekend against top-ranked opponents. Part of the ACC/B1G Challenge, the Terps could not withstand No. 4 Boston College and No. 6 Duke. Now 2-2, Maryland will seek out their first ranked win of the season.

This weekend’s Terrapin Challenge will feature American, Saint Joseph’s, UPenn, and host Maryland.

Liberty remains undefeated, most recently toppling Richmond, 4-2, and seeing multiple Flames pick up Big East weekly honors. Josefina Tomasi, who had a goal featured on last week’s SportsCenter Top 10, earned Offensive Player of the Week, while Dara Semmartin was honored as Defensive Player of the Week.

North Carolina, meanwhile, has leaned on the offensive spark of ACC Player of the Week Dani Mendez to help stay perfect through its opening stretch. After downing two ranked opponents in the ACC/B1G Challenge to open the season, the Tar Heels took down UPenn and No. 11 Princeton in last weekend's Conference Crossover.

The Tar Heels only dropped four games in the previous two seasons, with one of them being to Flames–a 2-1 overtime loss in 2023. North Carolina responded with a commanding 7-0 win in 2024.

Middlebury continues to flex its championship pedigree, recently blanking then-No. 15 Bryn Mawr, 2-0, the day after a shootout win over No. 24 Hamilton. Junior Megan Fuqua, who tallied the opening goal against the Owls and scored the lone regulation goal against the Continentals, and was recognized as NESCAC Player of the Week.  

Babson, fresh off a pair of 2-1 ranked wins over No. 22 Swarthmore and No. 5  Williams, has climbed to the number three spot in the national rankings behind a standout defense, which includes New England Women’s & Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Defensive Athlete of the Week Anna Bonazzoli.

Arguably one of the biggest Division III showdowns of the month, Babson has been giving Middlebury a tough match the past few years, falling just 3-2 in 2023 and 2-1 in 2024.

Iowa’s offense has clicked early, with five different Hawkeyes scoring in their most recent 8-1 win and multiple players picking up Big Ten weekly honors. Already with an average of six points per game, junior Dionne van Aalsum earned her fifth career B1G Offensive Player of the Week honor, while Felicia Zonnenberg picked up Freshman of Week honors.

Louisville enters on a high after a dramatic 5-4 road win at Indiana, also showcasing their offensive talent with five separate Cardinals finding the back of the net. The win was the boost the team needed after falling 1-0 to Drexel in a neutral-site match-up the day before.

This pairing has not faced off since 2023, which saw a split result. A 2-1 win from Iowa in the regular season was reversed with a 2-1 overtime victory from Louisville in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.

Temple bounced back from their 5-2 loss at Monmouth with a 3-1 win at Bucknell last weekend, and saw Lucia Magro collect Big East Freshman of the Week honors this Tuesday. Magro netted the opening goal against the Bison with a penalty stroke conversion. Drexel comes with momentum of its own, after Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Co-Rookie of the Week Fleur Hamers scored the game’s lone tally in a 1-0 win over Louisville.

Despite being in the same city, Temple and Drexel have not clashed since 2022, when Drexel dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker to the Owls.

3-1 on the season, Johns Hopkins is looking strong after back-to-back ranked wins. A 3-2 victory at No. 9 Rowan came behind a two-goal performance from Kaitlin Coward, while Grace Waldeck scored in the final seconds to bolster a 3-2 victory over No. 2 Salisbury.

York, also 3-1, picked up a hard-fought victory over No. 22 Swarthmore this week after Claire Burrows buried a goal in overtime.

The Spartans' previous game ended with a 3-2 win over Scranton, boosted by a two-goal outing from Kelbie Linebaugh.