College Games to Watch: October 3 to 8

Maryland enters this Big Ten (B1G) matchup looking to rebound after a narrow 2-1 loss to No. 8 Princeton last Sunday. The defeat came after an important 1-0 conference victory over No. 12 Michigan, which featured a goal from Ella Gaitan, assisted by Maci Bradford. The Terps are now 2-0 in conference play, previously defeating Penn State, 3-1.

Ohio State is coming off a 4-0 shutout over Delaware, which followed a 2-1 overtime loss to No. 15 Rutgers, giving them an 0-1 start in B1G play. The 4-5 Buckeyes have had several narrow losses to top teams this season, including a pair of 2-1 OT defeats to No. 5 Syracuse and No. 4 Harvard.

Duke comes into this Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) test after a comfortable 3-0 win against VCU, outshooting the Rams 9-2 to post their fourth shutout of the season. The game also marked Alaina McVeigh’s 80th career point, the 18th in program history. Now 6-3 on the season, all three of Duke’s losses have come from ranked opponents: No. 6 Liberty, No. 1 Northwestern, and No. 4 Syracuse. This will be a crucial game for the Blue Devils, an opportunity to topple currently unbeaten Virginia and put the team in strong conference standing.

After a west coast ACC weekend sweep against California and Stanford, Virginia is back at home in Charlottesville. Maintaining a perfect 8-0 record, the Cavaliers have outlasted all five ranked opponents they faced—including No. 15 Rutgers and then-No. 13 Boston College—and even handed No. 4 Syracuse their second loss of the season. Virginia secured the coveted second spot in this week’s NFHCA Coaches poll, just behind Northwestern.

In this long-standing ACC match-up history, Duke has 23 wins to Virginia’s 42. Last year the Cavaliers had a 1-0 victory.

Northwestern continues its undefeated 9-0 start with a dominant 5-0 win over Indiana last weekend. Junior Ilse Tromp, who leads the ‘Cats in goals (9), opened the scoring, while Olivia Bent-Cole added a goal and two assists, and Ashley Sessa topped it off with two goals and two assists, showcasing the depth and versatility of the top-ranked Wildcats. Sessa collected another B1G Offensive Player of the Week Honors after her six-point weekend.

After taking last weekend off, Iowa enters this top-10 matchup 7-1 overall. The Hawkeyes started 1-0 in B1G competition after a recent 3-2 victory over Indiana, led by forward Fréderique van Cleef, who netted a goal and an assist. Midfielder Dionne van Aalsum, who continues to lead the division in points per game (4.25), added another in the win.

Wake Forest is riding off of a stellar weekend, stunning previously untouchable North Carolina in double overtime for the first time since 2017 and notching a win against Boston College. The Demon Deacons are unbeaten in conference play (3-0)—their best conference start since 2015. Goalkeeper Ellie Todd and junior Mia Schoenbeck swept ACC weekly honors for their contributions to the win over the Tar Heels. Todd recorded 11 saves against UNC’s relentless offense, while Schoenbeck notched the golden goal in overtime.

Louisville, on the other hand, dropped their ACC opener to Stanford, 2-1, in a shootout. The Cardinals, who are 5-4 overall, have had several tough matches, including one in which they were leading against No. 1 Northwestern before eventually dropping the contest, 2-1, in overtime. This match will be a great opportunity for the Cardinals to assert themselves in one of the most competitive conferences.

This Saturday, WPI will look to do something that has not been done in ten years—hand Babson a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) loss. The Engineers have had a solid start to the season, going 8-2 with losses only to Wesleyan and Amherst.

Babson enters the match-up with a top-ten ranking and a single defeat at the hands of then-No. 1 Middlebury. The Beavers have otherwise been perfect against ranked foes, taking down No. 8 Tufts and No. 7 Williams. Babson nearly gave up a second loss this past Wednesday against Roger Williams, needing overtime to pull out the win. The DiGiovanni sisters, Caroline and Helen, pulled through, each scoring in the 2-1 victory.

Both now 4-0 in Northeast-10 (NE10) play, Adelphi and No. 9 Saint Anselm will see who retains their unbeaten conference record on Saturday.

Sitting at 7-3 overall, Saint Anselm has had trouble against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) teams so far, falling only to East Stroudsburg, West Chester, and Shippensburg. Against NE10 opponents, the Hawks are much more comfortable—winning their past four match-ups by a combined score of 19-1.

Adelphi finds itself in a similar situation, having lost to three PSAC teams for its three losses. Like the Hawks, the Wildcats have won their past four consecutive matches, all NE10 foes, and by a combined scoreline of 15-2.

This Saturday’s meeting between Shippensburg and Wester Chester should be an intense PSAC battle. Shippensburg, defending the top spot in Division II, will lean on its experienced back line, which has earned them six clean sheets and nine straight wins. West Chester will counter with the form of offensive threat Veerle Hersman and the prowress of goalkeeper Audra Szymborski, who was named last week's NFHCA Defensive Player of the Week. In their most recent match, the Golden Rams had an unlikely comeback win, as they found five goals after going down 3-0 to start to Millersville. The 5-4 victory kept the team 2-0 in PSAC play.

When this duo met up earlier in the season for a nonconference game, the Raiders took a 3-2 victory in double overtime.

Two undefeated top-ten PSAC teams will face-off in Kutztown, Pa. this weekend.

Bloomsburg is off to one of the program’s best starts, extending their win streak to ten games after defeating Mansfield, 1-0, this past Wednesday. Junior Genna Bush, who ranks second in the division in points per game (3) and goals per game (1.44), tallied the lone goal. The win was also the Huskie's eighth shutout of the season, and Nikki Hartranft’s 200th victory as a head coach.

Kutztown has found equal success in overall record, enjoying a 10-0 start. The Golden Bears recently took down two ranked PSAC opponents, then-No. 7 Mansfield and No. 4 East Stroudsburg. Standout junior Jessica Traynor earned both PSAC Athlete of the Week and NFHCA Offensive Athlete of the Week honors. Traynor found the back of the net in each of Kutztown’s three victories last week, notching four goals and the game-winner in each contest.

A mid-Atlantic DIII showdown takes place in Profs territory as the equally matched No. 20 Lynchburg and No. 20 Rowan clash on Sunday. This will be the final matchup before each team enters conference play.

Lynchburg makes the trip with recent form that included a statement ranked win over No. 13 York. Following that, the Hornets notched a 4-1 win against Sewanee, adding to their perfect 4-0 home record.

Rowan, 7-3 overall, collected two conference awards after a two-win week. Tess Herman claimed the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Defensive Player of the Week honor after a goal and an assist in the 7-0 shutout of Arcadia, while redshirt freshman Sydney Kowalczyk picked up NJAC Rookie of the Week, after notching two goals against Arcadia. Kowalczyk leads the conference in points (22) with ten goals and two assists.

Newberry remains one of Division II’s hottest teams, unbeaten and buoyed by a defense led by sophomore goalkeeper Ayanda Mangenah, who was recently named the SAC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after another strong run of shutouts. Offensively, Wibien Dahmen and Finet Heemskerk have given the Wolves reliable finishing, alongside points leader (22) Parker Keeler. Newberry’s recent 3-0 win over No. 5 West Chester showed their ability to close out offensively, even against tough PSAC competition.

Converse will provide a conference test for Newberry, as they look to stay in the win column after a recent 5-0 shutout of Barton. A hat trick from sophomore Amparo Figueroa brought her total tally to 12, as she leads the division in points per game (3.38). The Valkyries are 3-1 in South Atlantic Conference (SAC) play, having lost to No. 7 Lander, 3-1, earlier this fall. Last year, Converse dropped both its matches to Newberry, including a high-scoring 4-3 heartbreaker.

It’s a familiar meeting for old Coast-to-Coast foes Salisbury and Christopher Newport, who will meet for a nonconference match-up on Wednesday.

For the first time in program history, Christopher Newport vaulted to No. 1 in the latest NFHCA Coaches poll. The Captains’ recent climb reflects an offense that has produced high totals while its defense has routinely finished with clean sheets–now up to seven shutouts.Undefeated with a 9-0 record, the Christopher Newport defense has only allowed goals against top-ten opponents, No. 3 Johns Hopkins and No. 9 Stevens.

Salisbury, just recently dominating No. 13 York, 4-0, and SUNY Cortland, 5-0, in their conference opener, will test the depth of the top team in DIII field hockey. The Sea Gulls’ lone loss in a 8-1 overall spread was a 3-2 defeat to No. 3 Johns Hopkins – the only three goals that the defense has allowed all season.

This matchup should be a high-stakes and a post-season indicator as the Captains will look to defend home turf and sustain the form that earned them the top spot, while the Gulls will try to upset the pollsters and prove its own national credentials

It's a battle of the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) on Wednesday—Commonwealth against Freedom—before both Stevenson and Stevens play in their respective conference openers next weekend.

Stevenson picked up both Commonwealth weekly honors, after notching wins against St. Mary's and Mary Washington. Offensive Player of the Week Gracyn Catalano scored in both matches, while Defensive Player of the Week Jordan Vradenburgh recorded six stops in the two victories. The Mustangs are now 9-1 overall, most recently claiming an emphatic 9-0 win over Lancaster Bible this past Wednesday.

Stevens, who is taking on the Mustangs for the first time, has also impressed—boasting an 8-1 overall record. The Ducks' Lauren Flynn took home this week's MAC Freedom Defensive Player award, after scoring and making a defensive save in the 2-1 loss to No. 1 Christopher Newport last Sunday. It was the first defeat of the season for Stevens, who has taken down ranked opponents like No. 20 Rowan and No. 13 York.