What went down in the third week of college soccer?
The aim each week is to bring you five stories that defined the week or help navigate the long road to Cary, North Carolina, and the Women's College Cup.
Savannah McCaskill wins the Palmetto State derby
South Carolina's junior forward can erase an asterisk on her list of accomplishments after she scored both goals in a 2-1 win over archrival and sixth-ranked Clemson on Saturday.
Although neither she nor her teammates presumably felt any less jubilant upon eliminating their in-state rival in an NCAA tournament penalty shootout two years ago, the fact remained that McCaskill had never officially beaten Clemson, that 2014 draw sitting alongside losses each of the past two regular seasons. One of the relatively few in-state players on the Gamecocks and likely playing the rivalry game at home for the final time, McCaskill surely wanted to change that in front of 3,838 fans in Columbia.
Unranked South Carolina asserted itself early, outshooting Clemson 8-1 in the first half, and McCaskill provided the reward for the patient buildup play with a deftly steered header to the back post off a cross in the 37th minute. She added her second goal with a good run off a long ball that was headed into her path early in the second half.
It all bodes well for another prominent entry on her to-do list, erasing the sting of last season's first-round exit in the NCAA tournament at the hands of UNC Wilmington.
UCLA ascending again
If No. 11 UCLA's plan is to get back to business as usual in the NCAA tournament, having missed out on that event a season ago, the current stretch of schedule offers a useful blueprint. In the span of 15 days, beginning a week ago and concluding this coming Friday, UCLA takes on Texas A&M, Florida, Penn State and North Carolina in a four-game run at least equal to any a team would face in the final four rounds of the postseason. After an overtime win this week against the Nittany Lions, the Bruins are thus far 2-1-0 in that stretch -- without a loss in regulation.
The winner this time came courtesy of freshman and Canadian Olympian Jessie Fleming, a header she kept on frame even while absorbing a blow in the back from a late-arriving defender. While the Bruins wait another year for Mallory Pugh, Fleming is off and running with three goals in her first two college games. Just imagine what she'll do if she ever gets an easy game.
ACC perfection takes different forms
It is no surprise that two ACC teams were the first to six wins this season. It is hardly a surprise that one of them is No. 3 Virginia, both because of the talent once again assembled in Charlottesville and because the Cavaliers haven't exactly taxed themselves in the schedule department. Sunday's 2-0 win against Pepperdine was their first against a top-tier opponent.
More surprising, especially considering the 15-1 goal advantage for the season, is Wake Forest's 6-0-0 start. The strength of the ACC tends to exacerbate the pain of rebuilding, but Wake Forest had little choice after enjoying life with the likes of Katie Stengel and Aubrey Bledsoe. Rock bottom came with a 5-12-2 record a season ago -- 10 of the 12 losses by either 2-1 or 1-0 scores. None of its individual wins this season are stunners, Dartmouth and New Hampshire the vanquished this past week, but the sum is already the most wins since 2013.
While Duke and North Carolina battled to a scoreless draw and Florida State saw its rivalry game against Florida canceled by weather concerns, the Demon Deacons reclaimed the spotlight.
Reality check for the Big Ten
To be clear, the reality is that the Big Ten appears quite good. It is as stocked with nationally relevant teams as it has been in -- well -- ever. But the weekend tested the brakes on the bandwagon.
It began well enough. Ohio State knocked off No. 16 Virginia Tech on Thursday and Michigan did the same against Mississippi on Friday (a week after the up-and-down Wolverines beat Notre Dame). But Friday also saw No. 13 Penn State absorb another one-goal defeat and No. 12 Rutgers fall to old Big East rival Georgetown. Then Sunday, both No. 9 Minnesota and Ohio State fell from unbeaten in games at No. 7 Duke and No. 4 West Virginia, respectively.
Amid that, Wisconsin put up a challenge but ultimately managed only a point out of games at No. 2 Stanford (2-1 loss) and No. 22 Santa Clara (1-1 draw). The Badgers are now 1-2-3.
Playing in a top-10 matchup for the first time ever, Minnesota played the part well against Duke. Simone Kolander and Josee Stiever looked like players who could change a game on any field. It just wasn't quite enough against the established elite. Which more or less summed up the Big Ten's week.
Long roads worth the effort for Cal and USC
This has been a long time coming for Cal's Ifeoma Onumonu. As a freshman in 2012, Onumonu scored 11 goals for the Bears. It took her nearly three seasons to match that total, 2014 lost to a leg injury and 2015 producing a modest three goals in 16 games. She matched that 2015 total before Labor Day this season and made goal No. 3 count. Her goal at Texas on Sunday held up for a 1-0 win and gave No. 19 Cal a solid weekend sweep on the heels of a 4-0 win at Texas Tech.
And that might not even have been the most impressive road swing by a Pac-12 school. Proving at least one USC defense could handle an offense from the state of Alabama, the Women of Troy blanked host Auburn 2-0 Sunday evening after beating Georgia 3-0 on the same field earlier in the trip. After losing its first two games of the season, USC has three quality wins in a row as it heads home to host North Carolina (and Loyola Marymount) this week.
