Santa Clara loses to Virginia and UCLA
The defending champion Santa Clara Broncos (3-2-2, 0-0-0) faced a daunting out-of-conference schedule playing 3rd ranked Virginia and 4th ranked UCLA. They ended up losing both matches 1-0 while defeating unranked Virginia Tech 2-0.
Last week against Virginia, 8th ranked Santa Clara battled but gave up a free-kick struck by Lia Godfrey in the 70th minute.
Next, the Broncos defeated Virginia Tech behind goals from Izzy D’Aquila and Skylar Smith.
Santa Clara then traveled to Los Angeles to take on undefeated UCLA. Although they outshot the home side 18-6, they could not put the ball into the net. Reilyn Turner scored for the Bruins in the 23rd minute.
After their brutal three-game road trip, the Broncos return to Santa Clara on Sunday to take on Cal at 1 pm.
Stanford also loses to two top-10 teams
The ranked Cardinals (4-2-0) also went on the road to face off against 2nd ranked North Carolina, and 5th ranked Duke losing both matches 2-1.
After being down a goal at the half, the Cardinals tied the game in the 66th minute behind a Naomi Girma strike. Duke only took four minutes to reclaim the lead and held off the visitors until the final whistle.
Against North Carolina, Stanford went into the break with a 1-0 lead, thanks to Andrea Kitahata. However, the Tar Heels responded with two in the second half to claim the victory.
Returning home, the Cardinals secured a 1-0 victory over the University of San Francisco (2-2-1), with Jojo Harber getting the game-winner in the 71st minute.
Cal, Saint Mary’s, USF battle local competition
UC Berkeley (3-0-2, 0-0-0) ran their unbeaten streak to five games to start the season. They defeated USF 1-0 thanks to a Karlie Lema goal. Cal also earned a 1-1 tie with Saint Mary’s. The Gaels Taylour Mendoza claimed the early lead, but the Bears’ Amaya Gray tied the match in the 83rd minute.
Cal was supposed to play Sacramento State on Thursday afternoon, but the match was suspended. The school announced it was postponed ‘on direction from UC Berkeley’s campus and local health authorities.’
Despite losing to Cal and Stanford, USF got a well-deserved win defeating UC San Diego. Samantha Curwood-Wagner scored in the 35th minute, assisted by Marissa Vasquez.
After tying Cal last week, Saint Mary’s (4-0-1, 0-0-0) bounced back with a 1-0 victory over UC Riverside and a scoreless draw against Fresno State. Suzuna Shibukawa scored for the Gaels against Riverside.
San Jose State split pair of games
San Jose State (2-3-0, 0-0-0) split a pair of games against teams from Utah. The Spartans lost to Utah Valley 2-0 and defeated Southern Utah 2-1 behind goals from Carly Burns and Karina Barkmeyer.