Five Pac-12 women's soccer teams remain in the NCAA Tournament
Five Pac-12 women’s soccer teams remain in the 2016 NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship.
The second round of the tournament begins Thursday, Nov. 17 with COLORADO at number one seeded-South Carolina at 4 p.m. PT. The rest of the Pac-12 teams will play on Friday, Nov. 18. Number three seeded-Florida State match up against UTAH at 11 a.m. PT in Los Angeles, followed by a matchup between Nebraska and number four seeded-UCLA at 12 p.m. PT in Morgantown, WV. Number two seeded-USC plays Texas A&M at 1:30 p.m. PT at home. Number one seeded-STANFORD rounds out the day with a bay area match up against Santa Clara at 7 p.m. PT at home. Stanford plans to live stream their game.
Teams advanced to the second round after Colorado beat Oklahoma State (3-1), Stanford beat Houston Baptist (4-0), UCLA beat Seattle (3-0), USC beat Eastern Washington (3-1), and Utah beat Texas Tech (1-0) in overtime. California underwent a hard fought battle against Pepperdine on Saturday, tying 1-1 in double overtime, but ultimately losing in penalty kicks (3-2).
NCAA TOURNAMENT... Pac-12 teams hold an all-time record of 174-118-25 (.588) in the NCAA Women’s College Cup, with three national championships and five second-place finishes. The Pac-12 was tied for the third-most conference representatives in the first round this year with six. View the 2016 NCAA women's soccer bracket here.
STANFORD WINS CONFERENCE TITLE… Stanford was crowned the 2016 Pac-12 Champion on Friday, Nov. 11. (Pac-12 10-1-0, Overall at the time 17-1-1). USC and Colorado tied for second in the Conference with 8-2-1 in conference play. Utah, UCLA, and California round out the top six and are the six teams who will competed in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
After the end of rivalry week, Arizona ended seventh in the Conference with Washington State, Oregon State, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona State following, respectively.
NSCAA RANKINGS… The Pac-12 Conference has continuously had three or more teams in the NSCAA top-25 poll with Stanford having a strong presence in the top three each week this season, including coming in on top four weeks in a row from Sept. 13-Oct. 4.
After the end of the regular season and for the second week in a row, NSCAA rankings featured six Pac-12 teams, the most this season, with Stanford leading the Conference at No. 2. After starting the season unranked, USC is No. 7, UCLA is No. 18, Colorado is No. 20, Utah is No. 23, and California is No. 24.
NCAA STATS… Conference goalies continue to prove their worth with three teams appearing in the top-30 in the nation in shutout percentage: USC is 12th (0.600), Utah is 20th (0.550), and California is 29th (0.524). Three teams are also ranked in the top-30 in save percentage: USC is fifth (0.892), Utah is 13th (0.857), and Colorado is 24th (0.848).
USC’s Sammy Jo Prudhomme is seventh (0.890) in the nation in save percentage with Colorado’s Jalen Tompkins at 21st (0.857) and Utah’s July Mathias at 24th (0.855). California’s Emily Boyd is tied with Prudhomme for seventh in the nation in shutouts (11).
Three Pac-12 players appear in the top-25 in the nation in game-winning goals. Utah’s Hailey Skolmoski is seventh (7), Colorado’s Taylor Kornieck is ninth (6), and UCLA’s Darian Jenkins is 22nd (5). All three players are dominant offensive forces on their respective teams, having each won at least one Pac-12 weekly honor this season.
Two teams appear in the top-15 in the nation in goals-against average. USC is ninth (0.493) and Utah is 14th (0.614).
Although Stanford has suffered one tough loss and a tie this season, the Cardinal still rank third in the nation in won-lost-tied percentage (0.925). Four other teams also rank in the top-30 of the category: USC is 15th (0.775), Colorado is 24th (0.738), and Utah and UCLA are tied for 28th (0.725).
NCAA RPI… NCAA RPI rankings had six Pac-12 teams in the top-35 after the regular season with Stanford at No. 1, USC is No. 6, UCLA is No. 11, Utah is No. 21, Colorado is No. 29, and California is No. 32.
UPSETS… Pac-12 teams reigned victorious over ranked teams in non-conference play, proving their worth, including multiple upsets and notable wins. Most notably, an upset by then-unranked USC over then-No. 8 North Carolina on Sept. 11 and UCLA beating reigning national champion Penn State on Sept. 2.
Upsets continue to fill the Conference schedule with then- No. 7 USC beating Stanford on Thursday, Oct. 13, but then-No.14 California bounced back from a tie at then-No. 10 UCLA and beat then- No.7 USC on Sunday, Oct. 15.
Then-No. 22 Colorado upset California on Sunday, Oct 23 and the Buffs look to do the same with two top-25 matches on the schedule this week.
For the first time in five seasons, Utah beat a ranked team on Sunday, Oct. 30. After coming off of a tie (1-1) with then-No. 4 USC on Thursday, Oct. 27, Utah came back to beat then-No. 9 UCLA 2-0.
UCLA ended its regular season beating then-No. 5 USC on Friday, Nov. 4.
COMPLETE STUDENT-ATHLETES... Colorado's Jalen Tompkins became the Buff’s starting goalkeeper as a redshirt freshman, but also stands out in the classroom. She has a 3.789 GPA and is majoring in integrative physiology with hopes of becoming a pediatric oncologist.
Arizona's Lexe Selman Richards battled cancer just after accepting her offer from the University of Arizona. She had Acute myeloid leukemia, but was able to beat it and come back to play for the Wildcats.
California's Elliott Gentille organized a Be The Match Bone Marrow campaign on campus last year. She teamed up with Be The Match to assist her family friend, who was battling Leukemia, in finding a bone marrow match. Elliott was responsible for many people signing up to be on the bone marrow registry.
Arizona State's Annie Warren is currently co-president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for the second straight year.
Bella Geist led the Oregon State women’s soccer team with first-team Academic All-Pac-12 honors last season after recording a 3.95 GPA as a biology major.
UCLA's Gabbi Miranda is a co-chair of the UCLA Student-Athlete Mentor (SAMS) program. The purpose of SAMS is to provide each team with a representative that will be trained and able to serve as a role model and resource to his or her teammates and other student-athletes.
During the summer of 2016, Stanford's Jaye Boissiere volunteered in South Africa for three weeks with the Rubenstein-Bing Student-Athlete Civic Engagement Program - a service program for Stanford and Duke student-athletes.
PAC-12 POSTSEASON HONORS… The All-Pac-12 honors for the 2016 season were announced on Tuesday, as determined by a polling of the Conference coaches. Stanford’s Andi Sullivan was voted Pac-12 Player of the Year, while USC's Mandy Freeman was tabbed Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. Colorado’s Taylor Kornieck was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year while USC’s Sammy Jo Prudhomme was voted Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year. For the seventh time in the last nine years, Stanford head coach Paul Ratcliffe was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year. The All-Pac-12 and All-Freshman teams were also announced. The full release can be seen here.
MAC HERMANN WATCH LIST… Twenty-eight players from NCAA Division I schools around the country have been marked as potential contenders for the 2016 Missouri Athletic Club’s (MAC) Hermann Trophy. The MAC Hermann Trophy is the most prestigious individual award in college soccer, presented annually to one male and one female athlete. The Pac-12 has five representatives on the list: Stanford’s senior Jane Campbell and junior Andi Sullivan, USC’s seniors Kayla Mills and Morgan Andres, along with California’s senior Arielle Ship.
The countdown of Pac12 Networks’ 850 live event telecasts begin on the pitch with a 68-game women’s soccer schedule. Each Pac-12 team appears on the Network at least six times (home or away) in 2016.
CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Expanded standings)
| Teams | Points | Pac-12 Record | Overall Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford | 30 | 10-1 | 18-1-1 |
| USC | 25 | 8-2-1 | 15-4-1 |
| Colorado | 25 | 8-2-1 | 15-5-1 |
| Utah | 22 | 6-1-4 | 12-3-5 |
| UCLA | 22 | 7-3-1 | 14-5-1 |
| California | 20 | 6-3-2 | 15-6-2 |
| Arizona | 12 | 4-7 | 9-9-2 |
| Washington State | 10 | 3-7-1 | 8-9-2 |
| Oregon State | 9 | 3-8 | 8-10-2 |
| Oregon | 7 | 2-8-1 | 8-10-2 |
| Washington | 6 | 2-9 | 7-12-1 |
| Arizona State | 4 | 1-9-1 | 6-11-2 |
UPCOMING SCHEDULE (Times local to site)
| Thursday, Nov. 17 | ||
| COLORADO at South Carolina | 4 p.m. PT | |
| Friday, Nov. 18 | ||
| Florida State vs. UTAH | 11 a.m. PT | |
| Nebraska vs. UCLA | 12 p.m. PT | |
| Texas A&M at USC | 1:30 p.m. PT | |
| Santa Clara at STANFORD | Live Stream | 7 p.m. PT |
P12N/P12A/P12BA/P12LA/P12M/P12O/P12W - Indicates live broadcast on Pac-12 Network. MWN - Indicates live broadcast on Mountain West Network.
PAC-12 ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Andi Sullivan, Stanford
PAC-12 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Mandy Freeman, USC
PAC-12 FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Taylor Kornieck, Colorado
PAC-12 GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR: Sammy Jo Prudhomme, USC
PAC-12 COACH OF THE YEAR: Paul Ratcliffe, Stanford
The full release can be found here.
2016 PAC-12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
NATIONAL HONORS
MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List
Jane Campbell, Stanford; Andi Sullivan, Stanford; Kayla Mills, USC; Morgan Andres, USC; Arielle Ship, California
TopDrawerSoccer.com Player of the Week
Taylor Kornieck, COLO (Oct. 4)
Emily Boyd, CAL (Oct. 11)
National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Player of the Week
Emily Boyd, CAL (Oct. 11)
Andi Sullivan, STAN (Nov. 1)
ESPNW Player of the Week
Sammy Jo Prudhomme (Sept. 8)
Emily Boyd, CAL (Oct. 14)