College Soccer 360.com

Penn State senior midfielder Nikki Watts (left) scored the game-tying goal and then assisted on the eventual gamewinner, as PSU rallied past UConn (3-2).

Penn State's home tournament ended on an up note, as the Nittany Lions scored twice late in thesecond half to snatch victory away from Connecticut (3-2). UConn held the lead twice, as sophomore forward Jessica Shufelt (Rochester, N.Y.) scored a rebound goal in the third minute of the game (2:36) and junior forward Elise Fugowski (Stockholm, N.J.) tallied in the 57th minute for a 2-1 lead (on a breakaway, after senior defender Lauren Ebert's thru-ball split the defense).

PSU junior forward Danielle Toney (Northville, Mich.) had scored on a similar play 16 minutes into the game, connecting with a thru-ball from senior forward Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) and sending the tying score between the legs of 'keeper Jessica Dulski. UConn later was 15 minutes away from victory, but senior midfielder Nikki Watts (Hungerford, England) re-tied the game, after taking a pass from sophomore midfielder Ali Schaefer (Las Vegas, Nev.) and scoring far-post.

The 2-2 score lasted only a couple minutes, as freshman midfielder Christine Nairn (Bowie, Md.) scored the eventual gamewinner, heading in a cross after a combination play that included assists from Watts and Toney.

Freshman midfielder Christine Nairn (left) had a memorable first career goal for Penn State, scoring the gamewinner vs. UConn.

Penn State finished with a dominating 30-6 shot edge, including 13-5 in shots on goal (UConn owned its 2-1 lead, despite having put only three shots on frame at that time). The Nittany Lions reached double-digit corner kicks (10) while limiting UConn to a pair of CKs.

WEST VIRGINIA 1, BYU (final/OT) - Carlee Payne sent home shot from top of box in 98th minute (WVU 20-14 shot edge, 6-5 SOG; BYU 7-4 CKs).

CS360 exclusive video interview with Colorado College head coach Geoff Bennett, following Sunday's 2-1 win over Washington State. Due to a thunderstorm that arrived at the end of the game, we had to take cover to conduct the interviews with CC. Similar video still to be posted of Colorado College player Tiffany Brown. (Note: after clicking on link for first time, you may need to allow for video download – typically 10-30 seconds, depending on speed of your computer).

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CS360 exclusive video interview with Washington head coach Matt Potter, following Sunday's 2-1 loss at Colorado College. Similar video still to be posted of WSU player Kiersten Dallstream, plus Colorado College head coach Geoff Bennett and player Tiffany Brown. (Note: after clicking on link for first time, you may need to allow for video download – typically 10-30 seconds, depending on speed of your computer).

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CS360 exclusive video interview with Colorado head coach Bill Hempen (part-1, of 2), following Sunday's 8-1 win over St. Mary's (8/30/09; @DU). Similar video still to be posted of Washington State head coach Matt Potter and player Kiersten Dallstream, plus Colorado College head coach Geoff Bennett and player Tiffany Brown. (Note: after clicking on link for first time, you may need to allow for video download – typically 10-30 seconds, depending on speed of your computer).

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St. John's (2-0-0) journeyed all the way across the country and the trip was worth it, as the Red Storm knocked off USC today (1-0). SJU's Vaila Barsley opened the scoring six minutes before halftime, heading home a corner kick from Courtnery Lane. USC tied the game up early in the second half, on a Megan Ohai penalty kick, but the visitors scored the eventual gamewinner in the 77th minute. Courtney Curby assisted on the GWG with a pass from the right side, with Raelynn Lee then scoring inside the right post for the 2-1 lead.

USC (0-2-0) – which suffered a rare loss at McAllister Field – owned a decisive edge in total shots (23-6), plus 7-4 in shots on goal and 8-1 in corner kicks.

In other Sunday-night action, Stony Brook has played to a tie (1-1) at Rutgers (no details available at this time) – giving us eight games today in which higher-ranked teams have lost or tied (based on the CS360 Composite National Rankings). UCLA just wrapped up its 4-0 win at Long Beach State and there is one top-25 game left to be played today: San Diego at Arizona.

Getting ready to shoot some video with Colorado, as the Buffs are closing out an 8-1 victory. Here's some quick top-25 scores:

• @Florida 2, UCF 1 (final; Annis scored with 12 min. to play)

• UCF 3, Duke 2 (final, @UNC; Yvonne George scored for UCF in 82', Lynnea Pappas re-tied it at 85' and then UCF scored GWG moments later, by Stacie Hubbard)

• @Michigan State 4, Bowling Green 0 (final) – fourth goal was scored by Laura Heyboer (61').

• @Wake Forest 2, Loyola-Md. 1 (final) – Heather Cooke scored with five minutes to go.

•@Virginia 7, Hofstra 0 (final) - details to come.

• @Georgia 1, Mercer 1 (9 min. to go)

• at Virginia 2, Hofstra 0 (halftime) – Goals by Laura Alwine and Meghan Lenczyk.

• at Florida 1, South Florida 1 (40 min. left) – Bulls looking for the upset. Noelle Piniero converted a loose ball for USF with 0:35 left in the first half (assist from Brittany Pilon). Florida tied the game early in the second half, when Lauren Hyde sent home a 25-yard free kick. Florida with stat edges in shots (9-4), SOG (5-1) and CKs (2-2)

• at Michigan State 3, Bowling Green 0 (40 min. left) – Lauren Hill has scored twice, with Cara Freeman adding 1G-1A and Hannah Peterson 2A. Sophomore standout Laura Heyboer assisted on the third goal. MSU with the margins in shots (11-2), SOG (6-2) and CKs (5-0).

Today's schedule includes plenty of top teams in action, as 24 of the 35 teams ranked in the CS360 Composite National Rankings (CNR) will be playing on Sunday. Only one of those games – Washington at Portland – includes two teams that are ranked in the CNR.

Looking back at Friday, there was one other game involving a top-25 team, as Rutgers shut out visiting Fordham (3-0). That was the second game of the week for the busy Scarlet Knights, who play again today vs. Stony Brook. In the win over Fordham, RU senior goalkeeper Erin McLeod (Sparta, N.J.) – a standout since early in her freshman season – was credited with her 34th career shutout, despite not having to make a single save. McLeod now shares the RU career shutout record with Saskia Weber ('89-'92). Rutgers dominated play (14-0 edge in corner kicks) while receiving goals from Stephanee Pace, senior mainstay Jen Anzivino and Melissa Smith. A corner kick from Gina DeMaio provided the assist on the second goal, while Karla Schacher set up the first score.

CS360 exclusive video interview with Illinois head coach Janet Rayfield, following Friday's 2-1 victory over Colorado (8/28/09; @DU). Coach Rayfield provided some very articulate and insightful commentary, graciously taking 10 minutes to talk with CS360 ... thus, the interview is broken into three parts. Part-2 is linked below and includes Rayfield's comments about the team's senior captain Courtney Bell and about the Illinois program's geographical recruiting philosophy. Note: after clicking on link for first time, you may need to allow for video download – typically 10-30 seconds, depending on speed of your computer.

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The West Virginia Mountaineers (1-0-1) registered a strong road victory this evening at Penn State, 2-1. WVU – listed 14th in the CS360 National Composite Rankings (NCR) – scored in the 12th minute and later scored the decisive goal early in the second half, after Penn State (9th in the NCR) had tied the game 12 minutes before intermission.

WVU's Megan Mischler finised a cross from Blake Miller scoring near-post to give the visitor's the early lead. Penn State (1-0-1) then tied the game roughly 20 minutes later, as veteran frontrunner Katie Schoepfer scored on a leftfooted shot into the right side of the net.

Miller netted the eventual gamewinner 13 minutes into the second half, cashing in a deflection by advancing down the middle of the field and uncorking a strong shot past All-America goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher.

Penn State (1-1-0) finished with a 14-12 shot margin, but WVU 'keeper Kerri Butler stopped five of the six PSU shots that were on frame (WVU had five shots on goal). Each team had only one corner kick in the top-20 showdown.

CS360 exclusive video interview with Colorado sophomore midfielder Kate Russell (Longmont, Colo.), following Friday's 2-1 loss to Illinois (8/28/09; @DU). Similar video still to be posted of Illini head coach Janet Rayfield. (Note: after clicking on link for first time, you may need to allow for video download – typically 10-30 seconds, depending on speed of your computer).

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CS360 exclusive video interview with Illinois junior forward Jordan Hilbrands (Bexley, Ohio), who scored twice for Illinois in Friday's 2-1 win over Colorado (8/28/09; @DU). Similar video to be posted of Janet Rayfield, Couurtney Bell and CU's Kate Russell. (Note: after clicking on link for first time, you may need to allow for video download – typically 10-30 seconds, depending on speed of your computer).

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ILLINOIS 2, COLORADO 0 (@DU) – Junior forward Jordan Hilbrands scored her second goal of the game in the 63rd minute (unassisted). Hilbrands dribbled into open space and sent home a leftfooted shot from 18 yards out. ... Of note, CU senior sensation Nikki Marshall started this game on the back line, where she has played for various U.S. youth national teams (Marshall has 34 career goals and is a two-time All-American at forward).

UPSET BREWING - UNC-Greenboro was leading Duke 1-0, with 16 min. left. Tabitha Padgett converted thru-ball from Heather Mitrisin (24'). Duke held a 17-4 shot edge through 74 minutes of play.

BIG ROAR FROM COUGARS - Washington State posted a 4-0 win over Syracuse, in tournament action at Colorado College. Kiersten Dallstream scored twice for WSU, with Tiarra Pittman and Emma Stoltz also notching goals while Elysse Van Leer had a pair of assists; WSU finished with a 23-2 shot edge (4-2 CKs).

G: #0/19 sr. Alexandra Kapicka (Arlington Hts, IL) ... D: #6 so. Julie Ewing (Batavia, IL), #9 jr. Danielle Kot Brookfield, WI), #12 jr. Krystin Miller (Berkey, OH) and #23 so. Caitlin Dombart (West Chester, OH) ... M: #11 sr. Courtney Bell (Bainbridge Island, WA), #18 jr. Cory Steigerwald (Long Grove, IL) and #24 so. Marissa Mykines (Spokane, WA) .... F: #4 sr. F Christina Sahly (Naperville, IL) ... #5 fr. Niki Read (Lake Orion, MI) and#20 sr. Chichi Nweke (Virginia Beach, VA).

CollegeSoccer360.com is on site for the first official game being played at the new University of Denver Soccer Stadium. Colorado has generated several corner kicks in the first few minutes. ... Lineups to follow.

CollegeSoccer360 introduced composite national rankings in 2008 and here is a look at updated composite rankings for the 2009 season. This composite look is a simple formula, taking into acount four polls/rankings and crediting 25 points for a #1 ranking, 24 for #2, etc. (for a convenient 100-point scale). The four polls used are from the National Soccer Coaches Association (NSCAA), Soccer America (SA), the top-25 in the Top Drawer Soccer NCAA field projection (TDS) and the Soccer Times coaches poll (ST). The composite rankings again will be housed on their own page here at CS360 and gradually will include more factors, such as RPI, power rankings (Albyn Jones and Massey), NCAA Tournament selection criteria, etc.

There are a total of 35 teams ranked among the top-25 in at least one of the four polls mentioned above, led by six each from the Atlantic Coast Conference (UNC, FSU, UVa, BC, Duke and Wake) and the Pacific-10 Conference (Stanford, UCLA, USC, Cal, Wash. St. and Washington). The big 12 has five teams among those listed below: the Big 12 (A&M, OK St., Missouri, Texas, CU), while four Southeastern Conference teams are in the top-25 (Florida, Georgia, Tenn., Auburn).

All but two of the 35 teams listed above are affiliated with one of the six "power" conferences: the ACC, Pac-10, Big 12 and SEC, plus four from the BIG EAST (ND, WVU, Rutgers, UConn) and three West Coast Conference teams (Portland, USD, SCU). The final two teams are Memphis (Conference) and Richmond (Atlantic-10).

The top-10 includes three teams from the ACC and two from the Pac-10, plus one each from the WCC, BE, B12, SEC and Big 10. Projecting the 16 top seeds for the NCAAs, there would be five from the ACC, three Pac-10 and Big 12, two from the BIG EAST, and one from the WCC, SEC and Big 10.

In the latest update of the CS360 Composite National Rankings (CNR), North Carolina remains a near-unanimous #1 (99 pts) while Portland moved up from #3 to #2 (flipped with Stanford), with Notre Dame (#4) and Florida State (#5) also moving up one spot while UCLA dropped from #4 to #6. The top-10 includes nine of the same teams, with Penn State moving up from #11 to #9 while USC slipped from #10 to #12.

The most noteworthy jumps in the CS360 Composite National Rankings include: Colorado (#26 to #16), Santa Clara (#30 to #24) and California (#23 to #18). Teams that suffered the biggest drop: Oklahoma State (#14 to #23), Texas (#18 to #26) and BYU (#25 to #29). LSU and James Madison both dropped out, replaced by the teams that beat them last week (Memphis and Richmond, respectively).  

Div. 1 Women's Soccer Composite National Rankings (Aug. 25, 2009)
                                                    (compiled by CollegeSoccer360.com)

1. North Carolina  99   (NSCAA-1, SA-1, TDS-2, ST-1)
2. Portland  94   (NSCAA-3, SA-3, TDS-1, ST-3)
3. Stanford  93   (NSCAA-4, SA-2, TDS-3, ST-2)

4. Notre Dame  89   (NSCAA-2, SA-4, TDS-5, ST-4)
5. Florida State  82   (NSCAA-5, SA-6, TDS-6, ST-5)
6. UCLA  77   (NSCAA-9, SA-7, TDS-4, ST-7)
7. Texas A&M  76   (NSCAA-6, SA-9, TDS-7, ST-6)
8. Florida  71   (NSCAA-7, SA-10, TDS-8, ST-8)
9. Penn State  69   (NSCAA-8, SA-5, TDS-13, ST-9)
10. Virginia  58   (NSCAA-10, SA-14, TDS-10, ST-12)

11. Boston College  56   (NSCAA-20, SA-8, TDS-9, ST-11)

12. USC  52   (NSCAA-12, SA-15, TDS-11, ST-14)

Sunday's late-night game in Hawaii saw Stanford ride its strong offense to the 6-2 victory over Hawaii. Here's the starting lineup that the Cardinals (#2 in the CS360 Composite Rankings) sent out in the their season opener (note that the positions may not be exactly correct and are based on what the Hawaii scorekeeper entered - CS360 will try to confirm, it's possible that Levin played midfield and Heath was up top, in a 4-3-3):

G #1 jr. Kira Maker (Potomac, MD) ... D: #2 so. Camille Levin (Newport Coast, CA), #3 sr. Ali Riley (Pacific Palisades, CA), #4 fr. Alina Garciamendez (Fairview, TX), #6 sr. Alicia Jenkins (Diamond Springs, CA) and #11 fr. Rachel Quon (Lake Forest, IL) ... M: #7 so. Teresa Noyola (Palo Alto, CA), #21 fifth-yr sr. Hillary Heath (Seattle, WA) and #24 jr. Morgan Redman (Indianapolis, Ind.) ... F: #19 sr. Kelley O'Hara (Fayetteville, GA) and #23 so. Christen Press (Palos Verdes Estates, CA).

Of note, sophomore All-America forward Lindsay Taylor (Los Altos, Calif.) did not start (but did play) in this game, thus requiring the likely shift of one of the midfielders into a start on the forward line. The starters vs. Hawaii included four seniors (one a 5th-yr), two juniors, three sophomores and two freshmen. Five of the starters are California native, with the six others hailing from Maryland, Texas, Illinois, Washington, Indiana and Georgia.  

Stanford returned nine starters from its dominating 2008 team that went 22-2-1. The two big losses (both in quality and size!) are from the central defense spots: All-American Marissa Abegg (now a member of the Stanford coaching staff) and fellow all-Pac-10 performer Allison Falk (both of those players were drafted into the WPS). Hawaii failed to score a goal on Friday vs. BYU, but the Wahine found the net twice vs. the Cardinals (who allowed only eight goals in all of the '08 season). Stanford inserted two promising freshmen into the starting lineup: Alina Garciamendez as a central defense spot and Rachel Quon at right back (we're guessing that Ali Riley was the left back and Jenkins filled the other central D spot,).

Stanford's veteran pair of forwards – senior Kelley O'Hara and junior Christen Press (1A) – each scored twice in Sunday's win, giving O'Hara 33 career goals with the Cardinal while Press now has 25. Highly-regarded freshman Courtney Verloo (Tualatin, Ore.) came off the bench to contribute a goal and two assists. Stanford finished with a 29-4 shot edge (14-2 in shots on goal) and owned a 6-2 margin in corner kicks.

Christen Press (above) scored twice in the win over Hawaii and now has totaled 25 goals in  47 career games at Stanford.

Press assisted on the first goal (in the 5th minute), with a thru-ball that sprung O'Hara for a breakaway goal. Freshman Mariah Nogueira (Wesminster, Calif.) provided the header that later assisted on Verloo's rising, far-post score from 12 yards out (39') and sophomore Teresa Noyola scored shortly before halftime (41'), with a low shot to the far post (Taylor's flick over the defense set up that third goal).

Hawaii made things a bit more interesting early in the second half (54'), when sophomore midfielder Rachel Domingo (Honolulu) tapped in a low cross from freshman forward Skye Shimabukuro (Kalaheo) – but Stanford responded with three goals in a five-minute span. Press showed her speed and skill be beating two defenders to score far-post (69'), followed minutes later O'Hara scoring on a low shot past 'keeper xxx (Verloo supplied the thru-ball). Verloo then sent another thru-ball that connected with Press, who scored on a high far-post shot for the 6-1 cushion.

Hawaii capped the scoring in the 81st minute, when senior forward Ambree  Ako (Aiea) sent a low cross from the  endline and junior forward Britta Bourne (Honolulu) – a transfer from the University of Montanta – scored on a low strike.

Promising freshman Courtney Verloo came off the bench to register a goal and two assists in the win at Hawaii.

This would have to qualify as the biggest upset of the season thus far, as Cal State Bakersfield defeated visiting San Diego today (2-1). USD was listed as high as 13th in the preseason national rankings (by the NSCAA coaches poll) and returned eight starters from the 2008 USD squad that went 15-3-3, finished second in the West Coast Conference (6-1-0) and reached the second round of the NCAA (0-1 loss to UCLA). Bakersfield, on the other hand, lost more starters (6) than it returned (5) from a 2008 team that managed only a 5-13-1 record.

San Diego held the edge in shots (20-10) and shots on goal (9-4), with each team attempting only one corner kick – but the Roadrunners emerged with the one-goal margin. All three of the game's goals came in a span of 1:57, with USD claiming a brief lead when freshman midfielder Sierra Ferreira (La Jolla, Calif.) scored in the 69th minute. Ferreira received a feed from sophomore defender Natalie Garcia and chipped a 15-yard shot over the head of sophomore goalkeeper Kym Gause (Manteca, Calif.) for the game's first goal. Gause ultimately finished the game having stopped eight of the nine shots she faced.

A mere 20 seconds after the USD goal, Bakersfield freshman defender Raquel Gervas (Upland, Calif.) sent her penalty-kick try by sophomore 'keeper Courtney Parsons. Then, 37 seconds after the PK score, sophomore forward Kassi Massey (a Bakersfield native)

scored on a header to provide the eventual winning margin. Massey scored four goals as a freshman, accounting for 25% of the Roadrunners' entire goalscoring output (16) in the 2008 season.

Bakersfield native Kassi Massey (left) had the go-ahead/game-winning goal in Cal State Bakersfield's 2-1 upset victory over San Diego.

Homestanding West Virginia is in the early moments of overtime, after playing to 90 scoreless minutes with Ohio State. WVU owns a 10-6 shot edge but only one shot in the game has been on frame (by the Mountaineers; both teams have earned four corner kicks). The CS360 blog will be taking a short break, but check back soon for a final recap of this game.

The Santa Clara Broncos became the first top-25 team in the nation to open the season 2-0, with Sunday's 2-0 win over visiting UC Santa Barbara (SCU won 4-0 at San Jose State, on Friday). The game was scoreless through 65 minutes of play, before midfielder Olivia Klei (Pleasanton, Calif.) finished a cross from forward Amanda Webster (Saugas, Mass.) – as two of the SCU newcomers combined for that opening goal.

Eleven minutes later, versatile veteran Jordan Angeli (Lakewood, Colo.) scored the insurance goal, converting a penalty-kick chance. The fifth-year senior Angeli – who tragically missed all of the 2007 and '08 seasons due to injuries – is listed as a defender/midfielder/forward on the SCU roster and provides valuable leadership for a Broncos program looking to return to a top-10 national status (the SCU game stats don't list positions for the starters, but it appears that Angeli may have started on the back line today).

The game featured a statistical rarity, as SCU held UCSB without a shot (of any kind, not just on goal). The Broncos totaled 17 shots (10 on goal) and finished with a 7-2 edge in corner kicks.

Click HERE for a recent Q&A with Angeli, as featured on SantaClaraBroncos.com (July 15, 2009).

Santa Clara fifth-year senior Jordan Angeli (left) – a leading member of the U.S. U-20 National Team in 2006 – is back on the field for Santa Clara, after missing the past two seasons due to injury. 

CollegeSoccer360 introduced composite national rankings in 2008 and here is a look at the composite preseason rankings for the 2009 season. This initial composite look is a simple formula, taking into acount four polls/rankings and crediting 25 points for a #1 ranking, 24 for #2, etc. (for a convenient 100-point scale). The four polls used are from the National Soccer Coaches Association (NSCAA), Soccer America (SA), the top-25 in the Top Drawer Soccer NCAA field projection (TDS) and the Soccer Times coaches poll (ST). The composite rankings again will be housed on their own page here at CS360 and gradually will include more factors, such as RPI, power rankings, etc.

There are a total of 35 teams ranked among the top-25 in at least one of the four polls mentioned above, led by six each from the Atlantic Coast Conference (UNC, FSU, UVa, BC, Duke and Wake) and the Pacific-10 Conference (Stanford, UCLA, USC, Cal, Wash. St. and Washington). Two other leagues have five teams among those listed below: the Big 12 (A&M, OK St., Missouri, Texas, CU) and the Southeastern (Florida, Georgia, Tenn., Auburn, LSU).

All but two of the 35 teams listed above are affiliated with one of the six "power" conferences: the ACC, Pac-10, Big 12 and SEC, plus four from the BIG EAST (ND, WVU, Rutgers, UConn) and three West Coast Conference teams (Portland, USD, SCU). The final two teams are BYU (Mt. West) and James Madison (Colonial).

The top-10 includes three teams from the ACC and Pac-10, plus one each from the WCC, BE, B12 and SEC. Projecting the 16 top seeds for the NCAAs, there would be five from the ACC, three Pac-10, two each from the BIG EAST, WCC and Big 12, and one from the SEC and Big 10.

It will be interesting to take a look back at these composite rankings when the NCAA seeds are announced in early Nov. (and also at the end of the NCAAs).

Div. 1 Women's Soccer Composite National Rankings (Aug. 21, 2009)
(compiled by CollegeSoccer360.com)

1. North Carolina  99   (NSCAA-1, SA-1, TDS-2, ST-1)
2. Stanford  95   (NSCAA-2, SA-2, TDS-3, ST-2)
3. Portland  90   (NSCAA-4, SA-4, TDS-1, ST-5)
4. UCLA  89   (NSCAA-5, SA-3, TDS-4, ST-3)
5. Notre Dame  87   (NSCAA-3, SA-5, TDS-5, ST-4)

6. Florida State  79   (NSCAA-6, SA-7, TDS-6, ST-6)
7. Texas A&M  74   (NSCAA-7, SA-9, TDS-7, ST-7)
8. Virginia  66   (NSCAA-9, SA-11, TDS-10, ST-8)
9. Florida  66   (NSCAA-10, SA-10, TDS-8, ST-10)
10. USC  64   (NSCAA-8, SA-12, TDS-11, ST-9)

16. San Diego  31   (NSCAA-13, SA-15, ST-19)
17. Missouri  31   (NSCAA-24, SA-13, TDS-20, ST-16)
18. Texas  31   (NSCAA-15, TDS-15, ST-17)
19. Rutgers  25   (NSCAA-20, SA-21, TDS-17, ST-21)
20. Illinois 20   (NSCAA-17, SA-23, TDS-22, ST-22)

Texas A&M used a pair of goals in the final 17 minutes to pull away from visiting USC, 3-0. Junior forward Whitney Hooper scored the second goal in the 73rd minute, after taking a pass from freshman Nora Skelton (Austin, Texas) and beating veteran 'keeper Kristin Olsen on a 1-v-1 chance. It was the eight career goal for the Houston native.

Senior midielder Amber Gnatzig (Humble, Texas) scored the clinching goal in the 87th minute. Olsen was playing 12 yards beyond the top of the box and the ball bounced past her, with Gnatzig racing in for the empty-netter.

The Aggies finished with decisive edges in shots (25-10) and shots on goal (14-12), plus an 8-5 corner-kick margin.

Mary Grace Schmidt (above)

Freshman midfielder Mary Grace Schmidt (Orange, Calif.) scored 22 seconds before halftime, with a far-post header off a corner kick by sophomore defender Becca Herrera (Aurora, Colo.). A&M owns a 12-6 shot edge (6-2 shots on goal/5-3 on corner kicks). USC will need to rally in the second half, while the Aggies will look to ride their strong fan support to take the season-opening victory.

Here's the starting lineup for today's top-10 matchup between USC and Texas A&M (no score, through 15 minutes). With USC as the visiting team, it's possible that the positions noted are not indicative of USC's formation (as listed below, it's a 3-5-2). USC was running a 4-5-1 in the 2008 season (with national-teamer Amy Rodriguez serving as the designated forward). UNC's system has featured a rare three-back line - but it's unlikely USC is adopting a similar formation while taking on a top opponent on its home field (CS360 will check with the USC folks and report back later). 

USC - G Kristin Olsen ... D: Claire Schloemer, Karter Haug and Meagan Holmes ... M: Brittany Kerridge, Carly Butcher, Ashli Sandoval, Marihelen Tomer and Chelsea Buehning ... F: Samantha Johnson and Megan Ohai.

TEXAS A&M – G Kristin Arnold ... D: Becca Herrera, Bri Young, Emily Peterson and Rachael Balaguer ... M: Amber Gnatzig, Beth West and Mary Grace Schmidt ... F: Kim Castleberry, Whitney Hooper and Alyssa Mautz.

The University of Colorado picked up one of its biggest season-opening victories in the program's history, after scoring in the 63rd minute and then holding off Oklahoma State to knock off the defending Bog-12 Conference champions.

Senior defender Ally Goodman (Cherry Hills Village, Colo.) - playing in her 47th career game with the Buffs - set up the goal sequence with a cross that was batted down by goalkeeper Adrianna Franch. Sophomore midfielder Kelly Butler (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley HS) was in position to send home the deflection, for the fifth goal of her career. The Cowgirls finished with a 12-7 margin in total shots, but only three of those launches were on goal (CU put four shots on frame).

The Big-12 title chase again should be a wild one, but kudos to Colorado for collecting this key early-season victory.

Kelly Butler (left) – a product of the talent-rich Naperville, Ill., soccer community – scored the lone goal in Saturday's showdown between Colorado and Oklahoma State.

This was yet another game with no second-half scoring, as junior F Danielle Toney (Northville, Mich.) converted a breakaway chance in the game's seventh minute for one of the biggest goals of her career (and 18th overall, in 58 games played with PSU). The early-season showdown was played in front of the second-largest crowd in the history of Penn State's Jeffrey Field (3,098). Virginia peppered the goal for 17 shots (only five on frame), led by five from Caroline Miller and four by Megan Lenczyk. Penn State (9) managed only half as many shots as UVa, but the Nittany Lions matched the Cavs with five SOG (UVa had the 7-3 edge in corner kicks).

Penn State entered the game ranked as high as sixth in the national polls (per Soccer America), while Virginia is ranked as high as ninth (by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America).

There was no second-half scoring, as Washington State closed out visiting Idaho 3-0. WSU dominated the run of play, with a 21-4 shot edge (10-1 in shots on goal) and all 11 corner kicks attempted in the game. (See blog post below for firth-half notes.)

California junior forward Alex Morgan (Diamond Bar, Calif.) had three goals and senior forward Lisa Kevorkian also scored, in the Bears' 4-1 win over Nevada. More game details are to follow.

Morgan – a key member of the U.S. Under-20 National Team – was an honorable mention all-Pac-10 performer as a freshman in 2007, when she was Cal's leading scorer with 18 points (8G-2A).  She went on to register a hat trick for the Bears in a 2008 spring game vs. North Carolina and returned in the 2008 fall season to again lead Cal in scoring with 23 points (9G-5A). Days after the end of the '08 college season, Morgan scored the gamewinning goal for Team USA in the U-20 World Cup gold-medal game vs. Korea (2-1).

Florida State holds a 2-0 lead on Jacksonville with roughly 15 minutes left to play in the first half (goals by Becky Edwards and Tiffany McCarty; more details soon in halftime report).

FSU's starting lineup for this season opener consisted of the following: G Erin McNulty; D - Ines Jaurena, Tiana Brockway, Ella Stephan and Toni Pressley; M - Lauren Switzer, Tori Huster, Amanda DaCosta and Becky Edwards; F - Jessica Price and Tiffany McCarty.

Washington State has taken a 3-0 lead into halftime versus visiting Idaho, with the Cougars owning the edge in shots (11-4), shots on goal (5-1) and corner kicks (5-0). Freshman M Brandi Vega, senior F Kiersten Dallstrem (a second team all-Pac-10 performer in '08) and sophomore F Tiara Pittman have combined on the goals.

Dallstream (Fountain Hills, Ariz.) – who also assisted on Vega's goal – scored her 18th career goal exactly 30 minutes into the game, after beating her defender and the 'keeper to score from eight yards out. Less than three minutes later, Pittman (Spokane, Wash.) sent home the third goal of her young WSU career, scoring from the left side on a 12-yard shot inside the far-right post (assisted by Elysse Van Leer).

The Cougars made some noteworthy strides over the past couple seasons and appear well on their way to a convincing win in their season opener.

It looks like there is no live coverage of today's game out in Berkeley (Nevada @Cal), but CS360is hoping to track down some updates. Despite losing nearly half of its starting lineup (5) from its 2008 team, the Bears should be in good shape today vs. a Nevada program that went 3-14-3 a year ago (the Wolfpack do return seven starters). Cal is coming off a 10-9-1 season that included a sixth-place finish (3-5-1) in the Pac-10.