College Games to Watch: September 19 – 25

The No. 14 Syracuse Orange and the No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels look to battle in this top 20 contest.

The Orange (4-1) have outshot opponents 15-7 so far, with graduate student Bo van Kempen leading the scoring efforts. Defensively, senior Louise Pert has gotten the start in net all five games, splitting time with freshman Vera Hekkenberg. Hekkenberg has only allowed two goals and holds a .778 save percentage thus far, and was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week.

After a ten day break, the Tar Heels (4-0) are back and ready to begin ACC play. So far North Carolina has scored 13 goals while holding their opponents to just two goals allowed. Eight different Tar Heels have points so far this season, with reigning ACC Freshman of the Year Charly Bruder leading the charge (8).

When these two teams faced off last October the Tar Heels came out victorious with a commanding 4-1 win.

Two undefeated teams face off this Friday in a matchup between the Cavaliers of Virginia and the Golden Bears of California. 

No. 3 Virginia (5-0) is coming off of their fifth straight win – most recently defeating American with an overtime goal from Dani Mendez-Trendler. Ten different Cavaliers have contributed to the offensive efforts thus far in their 2024 campaign, emphasizing the depth of their offensive talents.

Meanwhile, the Golden Bears (4-0) have had a strong offensive performance from freshmen Liz Klompmaker, who has five goals and an assist in her first three games. Key defensive plays have come from freshman Maya Hoepfner, with two defensive stops, and graduate student Canisha van Duyn, who has three defensive saves on top of her six points. Klompmaker and van Duyn are familiar with each other on the field, as they grew up playing together for the same club in the Netherlands. 

The last time these two teams met was back in 2011, when the Golden Bears took down the Cavaliers 4-3. California and Stanford will both make their Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) debut this weekend.

After losing their season opener to Assumption 1-0, West Chester (4-1) has bounced back by winning their last four straight games, most recently taking down No. 5 Bloomsburg and No. 8 Millersville. The Rams are outscoring opponents 14-3, with ten different players contributing to these offensive efforts. Jasmine Miller has been critical to the offense so far, tallying five of the team's 14 goals. Graduate transfer Ryan Curley, who has already recorded two shutouts in goal, picked up PSAC and Division II Defensive Player of the Week honors.

East Stroudsburg (4-1) is on a three game win streak, the latest coming in a 10-2 win against St. Thomas Aquinas. Leading the scoring efforts for the Warriors with seven goals on the season so far is senior Jady van Gils. Allyson Forman and Minke Klijn have four goals apiece, while Forman leads in assists (4). ESU has had solid performances from both of their sophomore goalkeepers so far to start this season, with Jet Vermeulen averaging a save percentage of .667 while Sydney Pope is averaging .800.

It is always a close match between the Warriors and the Golden Rams, with seven of the past eight being decided by a single goal. East Stroudsburg has won the past three meetings, but trail overall 15-9.

This Saturday, No. 1 Middlebury travels to No. 10 Amherst, who is undefeated at home. 

Middlebury (4-0, 2-0 NESCAC) had a close call last Sunday, as a goal from junior Grace Keefe with just 24 seconds left in the game gave them a 2-1 win over Babson. The Panthers have 16 different athletes in the points column, with Caroline Segal leading the team (14). In goal, Izzy Redzic has stood tall against the tough competition Middlebury has faced so far this season.

The Mammoths (4-1, 1-1 NESCAC) have started their 2024 campaign off strong with a 4-1 record, their only loss coming to Williams College. They followed that loss with a solid 4-0 victory against Western New England this past Wednesday. Amherst will look to junior Anna Aiello and freshman Caroline Busler, who have three goals each and have made their presence known in the attacking 25s of their opponents. 

The last time these two New England Small Athletic Conference (NESCAC) teams met was in the 2023 NESCAC semifinals, in which Middlebury shut down the Amherst offense and took a 4-1 victory.

This Saturday, Patriot League play begins for both Lehigh and Colgate. 

Lehigh (3-3) looks to start off conference play with a win after coming up with a hard fought victory against Fairfield last Sunday. Julia Gatelein, who led the team last season in points, continues to make impacts for the Mountain Hawks. Jenny Canoni, who is currently averaging a save percentage of .667 is expected to start in goal on Saturday.

Colgate (1-4) looks to find themselves a win after getting blanked last Sunday by Michigan State. The loss followed a 2-1 overtime win against Central Michigan. The Raiders will rely on upperclassman leadership for  offense, including Anna Lochhead, who scored the OT gamewinner, Grace Schmelzinger, Hannah Marcotrigiano, and Lily Schoonmaker.

The last time these two teams met was last September, when Lehigh came away with a 3-1 victory. Lehigh has come away victorious the past eight times these two teams have met. The Raiders look to end that streak on Saturday.

In their NESCAC opener, Hamilton (3-2, 1-1 NESCAC) put up an impressive showing against No. 1 Middlebury, falling 3-1. Lydon Kelly, who leads the Continentals’ offense, tallied the lone goal off a penalty corner. All three of Hamilton’s wins have been decided by one goal, and Kelly holds two gamewinners so far.

Tufts (4-1, 2-1 NESCAC) conceded their lone loss to No. 4 Williams in a 1-0 defensive battle a few weeks ago. Since then, the Jumbos have won three straight with a combined score of 14-2. Andrea DelGuidice tallied six goals and three assists over those three matches, earning the title of NFHCA Division III Offensive Player of the Week.

The Jumbos have been victorious in all 12 meetings against the Continentals, claiming a 5-1 win last season.

South Atlantic Conference (SAC) play continues this Saturday when Limestone hosts Wingate.

Wingate (3-0, 3-0 SAC), a program who debuted in 2022, has started off their 2024 campaign with flair. The Bulldogs are off to their best start ever with three consecutive wins – the third being their first ever win over a ranked opponent. An early goal from senior Coda Fisher put Wingate up 1-0 over No. 7 Mount Olive, a lead which they were able to defend for the remaining 57 minutes.

Limestone (2-2, 1-2 SAC) bounced back from two straight conference losses with a big 8-0 shutout win over Coker this past Tuesday. Sophomore Victoria Gonzalez Lopez picked up four goals and an assist, while Felicitas Herrero Martel – who scored the gamewinner against Adelphi in week one – tallied one of each.

Last season, Limestone took two conference victories over Wingate, with scores of 3-1 and 2-1.

No. 23 SUNY New Paltz will travel down to Pennsylvania this weekend to take on No. 16 Bryn Mawr for the first time.

Bryn Mawr (4-1) has been heating up lately, downing three straight ranked opponents – then-No. 12 Kean, No. 14 TCNJ, and then-No. 10 Lynchburg. Between the two most recent victories, goalkeeper Charlene Basque made 11 saves while posting a 0.846 save percentage, earning NFHCA Division III Defensive Player of the Week. The Owls have a spread-out attack, with ten different athletes contributing goals so far.

With a 5-4 midweek victory over Stevens, SUNY New Paltz improved their record to 6-0 while notching their second win over a ranked opponent this season. It was another high scoring affair for the Hawks, whose previous victory against Endicott last weekend also ended 5-4. Miranda Britton and Rachel Tama were both active on the offense, now with 23 and 20 points, respectively.

It’s another non-conference match-up for No. 5 Duke and No. 10 Saint Joseph’s this Sunday.

Following their opening loss to UConn, Saint Joseph’s (5-1) has impressed with five consecutive wins, including a 4-1 victory over No. 23 Penn State and a 1-0 win over No. 13 Rutgers. Currently leading the Hawks offense is graduate student and 2023 Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year Lily Santi with five goals and six assists.

Duke (4-2) has faced ranked opponents for their past four games and split on the outcomes. A 2-0 loss to No. 1 Northwestern was followed by a big 1-0 win over then-No. 4 Maryland. Alaina McVeigh led the Blue Devils to a 2-0 victory over No. 19 Old Dominion, and most recently Duke conceded a tough 1-0 to No. 12 Liberty after dominating the statbook.

The duo’s last meeting was back in 2022 – head coach Hannah Prince’s first year leading the Hawks. It was an extremely close match-up that ended with a 1-0 double overtime victory for Duke.

It’ll be an interesting match-up when these two North Philadelphia teams clash on Sunday. Temple will host at Howarth Field – where La Salle has also been playing their home games this fall.

La Salle (5-1) began the season with their best start in program history, going 5-0 after a win against Lehigh last Friday. Their undefeated streak was cut off this past Monday when they were felled by Villanova, 2-0. Despite the loss, it’s been a dream start for head coach Michael Warari, who is in his first year leading the Explorers after most recently spending a year as assistant coach at Appalachian State. 

With a slightly stronger schedule, Temple (2-3) is looking to get their win percentage back over .500. The Owls most recently fell 3-1 to neighbor Penn, after a tough 3-2 overtime loss to Richmond. It’s no foot off the gas for the team as they face Big East opponent No. 14 UConn this Friday. 

Last season, Temple defeated La Salle in a close 2-1 match. In overall meetings, the Owls lead 12-1.

In their history, these two Maine teams have met 36 times. Bowdoin has been victorious in 33 of these meetings, but it was Bates who won the past three matchups. In this historically competitive NESCAC battle, either team could come away the victor. 

The Bowdoin Polar Bears enter this conference matchup 3-2 overall, with a 1-1 record in NESCAC play. After starting out with two overtime losses, Bowdoin fell out of the Division III National Coache's Poll, but was back this week at No. 22 following three straight wins. Senior Maya Malenfent has led the scoring efforts so far, tallying six goals, while sophomore Melissa Shunk has been a solid presence on defense.

The Bates Bobcats (3-1, 1-0 NESCAC) come into this match with one NESCAC win, 4-1, over then-No. 25 Trinity. Seven different Bobcats have found the back on the net so far, including junior Brooke Moloney-Kolenberg, who notched the gamewinner in the recent 2-1 win over Thomas.