South Carolina 0 – 1 (Kit 45′) Florida [Attendance: 2548]

A hotly disputed Nicky Kit free kick goal at the stroke of halftime ensured she’d be picking up her fourth league title ring and redshirt seniors Ashlee Elliott and Katie Fraine would be picking up one for the thumb as Florida topped South Carolina, 1-0. A foul was whistled against South Carolina a few yards outside the area to the right of the frame of the goal, but it appeared that time would run out before the Gators could get the kick off. But with South Carolina players standing over the ball, the referee whistled for the clock to stop in the belief that the Gamecocks were wasting time. SC coach Shelley Smith was less than thrilled with the decision after the match, claiming that Florida had chosen to play the ball quickly and weren’t entitled to their ten yards. The official disagreed and Kit stepped up to bend a shot to the right side of the goal, ricocheting the free kick off the post and across the line with just a few seconds left to play in the half.

The fateful free kick clock decision wasn’t the only call Carolina found themselves unhappy with. With Danielle Au being bodychecked in the box from behind by the Gators with less than a quarter of an hour to play, the home side believed they should have been awarded a penalty but were denied. The Gamecocks found it difficult to put the ball on frame throughout, with just one shot on goal. Kayla Grimsley should have made it 1-0 to the hosts in the thirty-ninth minute after getting 1v1 vs Fraine but screwed her shot wide of the goal. Grimsley would come close to making up for it on an indirect free kick a few yards inside the area in the fifty-eighth minute but would see Fraine tip the ball over to keep the Gators on top. The visitors would force Mollie Patton to make five saves in the Carolina goal but could not get a second goal to establish breathing room. In the end though, the Gators would hold on to their slim lead and head back to Gainesville with a fifth straight SEC title in tow.

St. Francis (PA) 1 (Dunyon 55′) – 0 Long Island [Attendance: 244]

St. Francis’ high powered offense did just enough with a single goal to solve the rock solid Long Island defense and ensure the NEC title race would go down to the last day. Under duress in the first half after being outshot 8-2, the Red Flash would give the Loretto crowd to cheer about ten minutes into the second half. Traci Flick would hammer a shot off the bar for the home side, but Haleigh Dunyon would swoop in and head the ball home for her tenth of the season, giving St. Francis the lead. The Blackbirds would ratchet up the heat over the final stretch of the second half, but St. Francis keeper Lauren Fearer would make five saves in keeping a clean sheet for the hosts. Long Island retains their lead in the conference, but also knows they must beat Robert Morris on Sunday to ensure themselves of a league title

Michigan State 0 – 1 (DiBernardo 5′) Illinois [Attendance: 310]

Illinois cut through Michigan State with relative ease on Friday afternoon, pushing the home side to the brink as far as their NCAA at-large bid hopes are concerned. National Freshman of The Year contender Vanessa DiBernardo was the difference in front of goal for the Illini, striking for the match winner in just the fifth minute. Marissa Mykines fed Niki Read on a corner kick, leading to a shot which was parried by Michigan State keeper Jill Flietstra but not controlled. DiBernardo was on hand to power the rebound home and give the visitors a dream start. The bad times continued through the first half as the Illini laid siege to the Spartan goal, forcing Flietstra into seven saves as the hosts struggled to stay into the match. The news got worse for MSU at the break, with Flietstra being forced off by injury and Elizabeth Watza donning the gloves for the second half. Watza wasn’t busy, only making one save, but neither was her counterpart in the Illinois goal. Alexandra Kapicka only had to make two saves to record the clean sheet as the Illinois defense stifled Laura Heyboer and Olivia Stander holding both to a combined one shot, which was off-target.

Baylor 1 (Clark 69′) – 0 Texas Tech [Attendance: 419]

Baylor’s season may be over after Colorado’s win over Nebraska eliminated the Bears from the Big XII Tournament picture, but the Bears were sure to spread the misery in their season finale after beating floundering Texas Tech, 1-0. In a match filled with hard, crunching tackles, it was a moment of individual brilliance that separated the sides. Christine Clark drove hard down the right side of the area, holding off a defender, before ripping a shot to the far post past Red Raiders keeper Colleen Pitts. The Bears had come close to taking the lead in the second half on a couple of occasions when Georgia Mullins’ effort off a corner went just wide and later when Alex Klein’s header was saved by Pitts. Texas Tech coach Tom Stone was as acid tongued as ever afterwards, bemoaning Baylor’s unabashed long ball style while at the same time cursing his side’s inability to finish chances. Stone will have injury worries to deal with before next week’s do or die Big XII Tournament match against Oklahoma State as well. Taylor Lytle was a scratch for this defeat while Whitney Sharpe went down injured and was carried off. The Red Raiders will be hoping for better health and better luck next Wednesday. Another defeat will likely spell the end of their season.

Oklahoma 0 – 2 (Marchesano 16′, Richardson 82′) Oklahoma State [Attendance: 1946]

A program record 1,946 fans flooded Norman to watch the second edition of Bedlam in 2010, but the result was the same for the hometown Sooners, a defeat to their rivals from Stillwater. The visiting Cowgirls would break at pace a little after the quarter hour mark to take the lead through Megan Marchesano. Kyndall Treadwell did most of the hard work, racing down the line before sliding a ball across to Marchesano. Marchesano put a charge into the ball from twelve yards, but Kelsey Devonshire will be disappointed at not keeping the ball out of the back of the net after getting a piece of the ball with her hand. OU nearly equalized through Caitlin Mooney at the beginning of the second half, forcing Adrianna Franch into a diving save from a blast right outside the box. The Sooners would put the pressure on the visitors, trying desperately for an equalizer but would see their dreams of three points evaporate some eight minutes from time. Katie Richardson would launch a piledriver from twenty-five yards that found the upper-corner of the goal past Devonshire. With a derby win in their pocket, OSU will hope they’ve finally gotten their groove back ahead of the Big XII Tournament in San Antonio. Meanwhile, the Sooners face a crunch match with Texas on Wednesday, with a defeat likely condemning them to missing the NCAA Tournament.

Texas 1 (Doniak 13′) – 1 (Mautz 12′) Texas A&M [Attendance: 2829]

Texas took advantage of an absolute clanger from the now apparently deposed Aggies keeper Kelly Dyer to claim a point from the latest edition of the Lone Star Showdown and all but wrap up a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies had taken the lead just seconds earlier when Alyssa Mautz had scored a freak goal for the visitors, lofting a ball towards the far post from twenty-five yards out that dropped down off the bar and across the line to give A&M the lead. Less than a minute later, Kylie Doniak would aim a shot from the top of the box at goal. The effort would go through a jumping Dyer’s hands and into the back of the net. Unsurprisingly, Dyer was yanked short of the half-hour mark for senior Kristin Arnold, making her return from an injury suffered against Portland. Alexa Gaul was solid in the Longhorns’ goal, denying Rachel Shipley’s shot before Mautz sent the rebound wide. Gaul would make six saves in the second half, including a stop at point blank range on a Bri Young header, to ensure the match would head to extra time. The Texas defense would hold strong in the extra frames, Nina Pedersen charging down a breaking Whitney Hooper near the end of the first half of extra time to deny the Aggies a chance at a winner. A second goal for either side wasn’t coming though, and both sides would have to settle for a point in a hard fought derby.

Oregon State 1 (Ingalls 44′) – 0 Arizona State [Attendance: 927]

A simple goal by Melinda Ingalls before the halftime break gave Oregon State a lead over Arizona State they wouldn’t relinquish as they continued to move towards a Pac-10 title showdown with Stanford. With the Sun Devils putting heavy pressure on the OSU goal throughout the first half, the hosts would hit their foes with a sucker punch right before the break. Justyne Freud drove in a free kick from midfield that Ingalls leapt for, heading into the back of the net to leave the visitors stunned going into the half. The frenetic pace of the Sun Devils would taper off in the second half as the Beavers kept a foothold on the match for much of the rest of the match. Lindsey Johns would come closest to equalizing with a handful of minutes left, but her shot from the edge of the area was stopped by OSU’s massive keeper, Colleen Boyd. Boyd made seven saves on the evening as her Beavers won their fourteenth match of the season and boosted their chances of hosting a regional come NCAA Tournament time.

UCLA 0 – 1 (Webber 18′) Washington [Attendance: 1146]

Jorde Laftontaine-Kussman stifled the UCLA attack at one end while setting up the Huskies’ winner at the other as Washington topped the Bruins for the first time since 2000. The Washington keeper drove a ball to midfield where it was nodded on by the head of Sarah Martinez. Alex Webber ran onto the loose ball and dribbled through the Bruin defense before beating UCLA keeper Chante’ Sandiford 1v1 to stun the Drake Stadium crowd. If Washington taking the lead wasn’t surprising enough for the home crowd, their side’s inability to put the ball in the back of the net was also distressing. Bruins forward Sydney Leroux was again a passenger for much of the match, only putting two off-target shots on the box score. Washington can likely celebrate another bid to the NCAA Tournament while UCLA must be wondering if their name will be listed among the nationally seeded teams come selection time after an exceptionally lean year.

Other Matches

-George Mason talisman (and WPS super sleeper prospect) Omolyn Davis netted both goals for the Patriots as they defeated Towson, 2-0.

-Beth Lloyd assisted on both of Central Connecticut State’s goals as they left it late but beat Fairleigh Dickinson, 2-0.

-Tori Burchett scored twice for St. Bonaventure in their 2-0 win over George Washington.

-Brianna Bell scored twice for Robert Morris in their 3-0 win over Wagner, while each side had a player sent off in a tense affair.

-North Dakota State began the weekend on Cloud Nine after hitting hapless Centenary for one short of double digits in a 9-0 win. Eight different Bison scored in the match, with Katie Tallas nabbing two goals and adding an assist for good measure.

-North Dakota blitzed their rivals to the south, topping South Dakota, 5-2, thanks to four unanswered goals. Five different UND players hit the back of the net, with Rhaya Ballon assisting on two goals for the winners.

-Kortney Clifton netted a brace for Kansas as they ended their season with a 3-0 win against SIU Edwardsville.

-Louisiana-Lafayette destroyed their state rivals Louisiana-Monroe by a count of 6-0. The Ragin’ Cajuns were led by a two goal effort from Cayla Chatman.

-Boise State scored two goals in the final seven minutes of regulation to claw for a point against Fresno State in a 2-2 draw.

-Alabama A&M got two goals from Celeste Roberts in a 3-1 win over Alcorn State.

-Rachel Harker had a pair of assists for Arkansas-Pine Bluff in a 3-1 victory over Grambling.

-Erringer Helbling scored with twenty-five second to play in regulation to give Army a sensational 1-0 win against Holy Cross.

-Teresa Rynier assisted on a pair of Kelly Germain goals as James Madison topped VCU, 2-1.

-Kentucky flat out demolished Vanderbilt to seal a spot in the SEC Tournament, beating the Dores to the tune of 6-1. Natalie Horner had a pair of goals and assists, while Kelsey Hunyadi added a goal and two assists. Sydney Hiance saved a penalty to boot for the Wildcats,

-Kerrie Deignan scored twice for Iona and Trista Rivera made twelve saves to keep a clean sheet as the Gaels stunned MAAC leaders Marist, 3-0.

-Meryl Hershfield assisted on both of NJIT’s goals as they won on Senior Day, 2-1, over Howard.

-American scored twice in the final three minutes of regulation to come back and shock Navy, 3-2.

-Jamie Raepple assisted on two of Niagara’s four goals as they based St. Peter’s, 4-0.

-Latrice Lee scored both of Radford’s goals as they beat VMI in extra time, 2-1.

-Richmond beat ten-man Duquesne, 4-0, with a pair of goals from Becca Wann and two assists from Emily Dale.

-Macky Wingo scored a hat trick and Whitney Weinraub added two goals and an assist for Charlotte in a 5-1 pounding of Saint Joseph’s.

-Colleen Williams scored twice for Dayton as the won the A10 title with a 2-0 win over Xavier.

-Marky Boyce had two assists for Charleston Southern in their 3-1 win over Gardner Webb.

-Katy Frierson once again rescued Auburn from potential oblivion against Alabama with assists on the Tigers’ equalizer seventeen seconds from the end of regulation and then on Ana Cate’s winner in the ninety-fourth minute as Bama went down to defeat, 2-1. The Tigers went from potentially missing the SEC Tournament to winning the Western Division and finishing in fifth place.

-Central Florida lifted the Conference USA title by throttling Southern Miss, 6-0. Amanda Martorana scored two goals and had two assists in the near celebratory occasion. Brianna Schooley had a hatful of assists, and Kim Newsome had a goal and two assists for the Golden Knights.

-Regina Thomas had a pair of assists for Middle Tennessee State in their 2-0 win over Western Kentucky.

-Tess Hall assisted on two goals from Katie Dorman for UTEP as they dismantled Colorado College on the road, 4-0.

-Missouri suffered a stunning and damaging 5-0 reverse to Iowa State, with Emily Goldstein bagging a hatful of assists and adding the third goal in the beatdown.

-Mo Fitzgerald scored her first two goals of the season, and Mercedes Walters had a pair of assists for Oregon as they pounded Arizona, 4-0.

-Ellie Stott scored twice for Nevada, including the extra time winner as the Wolfpack beat Hawaii, 2-1.

-San Diego got assists from Stephanie Ochs on both of their goals as they grabbed a key win against Pepperdine, 2-1.