USF 2, Auburn 1
No.18/14 USF defeated Auburn 2-1 Thursday night with a game-winning goal delivered by Sydny Nasello in the last twenty seconds of the game. With the threat of overtime looming, Nasello sealed the victory for the Bulls in the 90
th minute after Sabrina Wagner worked the ball to the inside of the field, setting Nasello up to seal the game with a shot that sailed above the Auburn keeper.
USF took an early lead when all-time leading scorer Evelyne Viens scored her first goal of this season on a pass from Nasello in the fourth minute. In the 34
th minute, Auburntied up the game with a goal from Jessie Gerow, assisted by Caroline Peterson.
USF goalkeeper Sydney Martinez earned her first win of the season, finishing the night with four saves. The Bulls defense limited the Tigers to eight shots, and just three in the first half, in comparison to USF's 19 shots with 10 on frame.
Memphis 6, Little Rock 0
Nearly a 90-minute rain delay was well worth the wait Thursday night, as Memphis turned in a 6-0 victory to begin its 2019 campaign. The Tiger offense collected all six scores in the first half, led by a hat trick by Clarissa Larisey. Tanya Boychuk tallied a brace, while Serena Dolan also added a score. Stasia Mallin, Lisa Pechersky and Mya Jones each tallied a pair of assists.
With Memphis holding a 2-0 lead through the first 30 minutes, Larisey collected her natural hat trick, which spanned 3:26, to provide Memphis with a 5-0 cushion. Her trio of goals is the first hat trick in program history since Christabel Oduro scored four times against Houston in 2013.
Defensively, the Memphis backline limited its opponent to three shots throughout the match with one on goal. Elizabeth Moberg registered the victory after shutting out the first 45 minutes. Rachel Ashworth Shepard preserved the clean sheet in the second half while collecting the team's lone save.
Cincinnati 2, St. John’s 0
Cincinnati opened its 2019 season with a 2-0 victory Thursday night in Harrisonburg, Va., as the Bearcats battled a pair of storms while also providing a lightning display of their own while downing St. John's. After playing just 16:09, the match was halted by lighting for more than 90 minutes.
After a scoreless first half, the Bearcats came back out and saw Vanessa DiNardo score two goals in a lightning-fast 21 seconds to lead the charge in downing the Red Storm. DiNardo scored two goals in 21 seconds, the fastest brace for a Bearcats player since 2013, surpassing the 2:11 Danielle Rotheram needed to score twice against St. Francis in 2014. It was DiNardo’s first career multiple-goal match after scoring one goal all of last year and finishing with three points in 2018.
Houston 3, Sam Houston State 0
Houston opened its 2019 season with a 3-0 shutout over Sam Houston State on Thursday evening, scoring all three goals in the opening half. The first goal of the season was scored by Kennedy Dahlin on an assist from Desiree Bowen at the 10:22 mark before Bowen got her own score 14 minutes later when she found the back of the net on a rebound off of a corner kick.
Houston scored again in the 29th minute with Bowen once again getting an assist, this time on a cross as Morgan Goode found the back of the net. Samantha Cude played every minute in goal for Houston, posting two saves, while the Cougar offense outshot the Bearkats, 13-8.
SMU 1, Northwestern 0
Allie Thornton converted a penalty kick in the 19th minute as SMU opened the season with a 1-0 win at Northwestern on Thursday. The penalty kick was awarded to the Mustangs after Hannah Allred drew a foul in the box, and Thornton’s finish gave SMU an early lead over Northwesternthat they were able to hold throughout the game.
Tatum Sutherland had a strong showing in the goal, with three saves in the game, earning the shutout in her college debut. Two of them came on back-to-back shot attempts from the Wildcats when Northwestern earned a chance to put a goal on the board in the 40th minute with a penalty kick of its own.
Wisconsin 1, UCF 0
UCF fell 1-0 to Wisconsin at the UCF Soccer Complex on Thursday evening to open the 2019 season. The Knights nearly took a lead in the first 10 minutes of the game, taking four shots to put the Badger defense on its heels, but could not find the back of the net.
Leading the charge for the Knights offense, Mallory Olsson put three of her four shots on target and created pressure for the Wisconsin backline all night. The Black and Gold had its best chance to score when Olsson earned a penalty kick in the 79th minute, only to be saved by the Badger keeper. The lone goal of the match came when a loose ball got away from the Knights defense in a dangerous position in the 64th minute and fell to Dani Rhodes of the Wisconsin attack, who put it away.
Providence 2, UConn 1
Despite outplaying Providence for large stretches of the night, UConn ran into some bad luck on a handball and a great save by the Providence keeper helped swing the score line in favor of the home side and hand the Huskies a 2-1 defeat to open the season.
Providence broke through in the 38th minute on a goal from Hannah McNulty. The Friars added to its lead late in the half, on a suspect handball call in the UConn box. The Friars received a penalty kick even though Kara Long looked to be outside the 18. Provided the opportunity, Providence converted to make it 2-0 at the half.
Kess Elmore supplied the fireworks in the 60th minute for UConn, scoring her first goal since September of 2017 when she found space in the middle of the field and maneuvered her way to the far side of the box to unleash a shot past the keeper. Elmore missed the entire 2018 season with an ACL injury, and the score marked her first since tallying a pair of goals at Fordham on September 10, 2017.
Wake Forest 3, Temple 0
Temple opened up its 2019 slate at No. 23 Wake Forest on Thursday night. The Owls battled the Demon Deacons on slick playing conditions, ultimately dropping the contest, 3-0. Wake Forest got on the board first in the 12th minute, when a soaring ball across the box was sent into the back of the net before twice within 35 seconds in the 41st minute.
Goalkeeper Morgan Basileo tallied 10 saves against the Demon Deacons, making several big plays to keep the Owls within striking distance. Temple recorded just two shots, one each from Julia Dolan and Marissa DiGenova.
ECU– George Mason – CANCELLED
Inclement weather, which included excessive lightning, caused ECU soccer's opener against George Mason to be cancelled after 45 minutes of play on Thursday night inside Johnson Stadium.
The Pirates were on the front foot for most of the half, holding 69% of the possession and taking eight shots to George Mason's two. The Pirates also had four corner kicks, while the Patriots had zero.