NCAA Women's Soccer Championship Blog: Five of six Pac-12 teams survive round 1

Six Pac-12 women's soccer squads competed in the 2016 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship which began this weekend. In total, No. 1 seed Stanford, No. 2 seed USC, No. 4 seed UCLA, Colorado and Utah advanced to the second round of competition, and California fell to Pepperdine in penalty kicks.

The second-seeded Trojans rolled to a 3-1 win over Eastern Washington in the first round of the Tournament. Senior Morgan Andrews netted two goals, the first coming in the 29th minute, and then slotted in a penalty kick five minutes later. Junior Nicole Molen found the Trojans' third goal off a header right before halftime. Eastern Washington denied Sammy Jo Prudhomme a shutout, heading home in the 59th minute. The Trojans will play the winner of TCU/Texas A&M in the second round.

The Utes defeated Texas Tech in overtime, 1-0, coming from a first-overtime game winner by redshirt senior Katie Rogers. Next up for the Utes is a date with No. 3 seeded Florida State in Round 2. 

The fourth-seeded Bruins downed Seattle, 3-0, in Friday's opening round contest. This team, known for having many different players who can score, had three different Bruins score against Seattle. Redshirt freshman Anika Rodriguez scored the game-opening goal in the 4th minute, and upperclassmen teammates Zoey Goralski and Amber Munerlyn put the game out of reach with second half goals of their own. Freshman keeper Tegan Micah notched her eighth shutout of the season and made four saves. The Bruins will face Nebraska in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on November 18.

The top-overall seeded Cardinal opened its postseason against Houston Baptist, and rolled to a dominant victory. Stanford won the match, 4-0, with four different players finding the back of the net. Stanford came out swinging early and scored its first three goals in the opening 25 mintues. The Card underclassmen stepped up, with Andi Sullivan missing the match due to her U.S. Women's National Team call up for matches against Romania on Nov. 11 and Nov. 13 in San Jose. All underclassmen scored against Houston Baptist, including Kyra Carusa (6'), Sam Tran (17'), Michelle Xiao (25') and Logan Karam (83'). Stanford will play the winner of Saturday's match against Long Beach State and Santa Clara in the second round. 

The Buffs also rolled to their opening round win, defeating Oklahoma State by a score of 3-1. Colorado got on the board first in the 18th minute, getting the help of a deflection off a throw in from flip-throw expert Danica Evans. A similar situation occurred for the Buffs second goal in the 37th minute. The Cowgirls got on the board shortly after halftime, but Danica Evans again made an impact for the Buffs, scoring the insurance goal in the 90th minute. The Buffs will face 1-seed South Carolina in the second round, who defeated Alabama State in the first round, 7-0.

The Golden Bears fought hard against Pepperdine, after the Waves scored in the sixth minute. 2015 Pac-12 Player of the Year Arielle Ship stepped up for her team, and netted the equalizer in the 68th minute and assisted by Ifeoma Onumonu. Neither team could find a game winner regulation or two overtime periods, so the match headed to penalties. Off five attempts, California's Kelly Fitzgerald and Onumonu slotted their attempts home. The Waves found the match winner on their fourth attempt.