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Jessica Ringwood & BYU Will Look To Knock Off Another Ranked Opponent Saturday

BYU vs Washington – 9:00 PM

Just a tiny bit of the prestige of this clash diminished after Washington’s Thursday draw at Utah State, but with both of these clubs enjoying seasons of rejuvenation, it’s still clearly the match to watch on Saturday. The home side have proven to be nigh unstoppable at home thus far, winning all five of their matches at South Field with a goal differential of sixteen goals scored to just two conceded. The Cougars have knocked off two Top 11 teams in that span and have all but sealed their return to the NCAA Tournament at this point but will be looking to keep on winning and earn the chance to stay in Provo as long as they can in the Big Dance. They’ll aim to take down their third ranked opponent on Saturday, as Washington comes to town for a primetime clash. The Huskies came into their Thursday match with Utah State on the back of a 3-0 win over Notre Dame that extended their perfect start to the season. They’d leave Logan with only a share of the spoils though, as the altitude and a tough Aggies team took them to the limit. Going an extra twenty minutes at altitude on Thursday might not bode well for the visitors, as BYU excels at wearing teams out over the course of a game with their high energy style and excellent depth. BYU has really hit their stride offensively as of late, including on Thursday as they put Cal Poly to the sword with another five goals. Hotshot freshman Michele Murphy and senior stalwart Carlee Payne Holmoe have been leading the charge and should again be a serious threat for a solid Washington defense. The X-Factor of course could be the crowd, or specifically how much of one BYU gets on Saturday with the football team kicking off at arch-rival Utah in Salt Lake City in the middle of this match, meaning some of BYU’s normally rabid support could be otherwise occupied during a critical September showdown.

Harvard vs Boston College – 7:00 PM

Dare Harvard dream of an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament this season? The Crimson haven’t quite been perfect at 3-1-1, but they’ve been good enough to at least keep themselves in the discussion as we creep closer to the halfway point of the season. While their RPI could degrade a bit given some of their opposition, a win over Saturday’s foes, Boston College, could make things very interesting indeed should Harvard need an at-large bid come November. Beating the Eagles would be quite the achievement though, with BC coming into this one undefeated and having enjoyed a fine season thus far. With the only blemishes thus far on the Eagles’ record being draws with UCF and Stanford, the visitors will be looking to keep building on their resume for November with a derby win here. The ACC side could have hardly made a better impression to begin league play on Thursday as they blitzed Clemson to the tune of a 5-1 drubbing. Kristen Mewis didn’t even play a full forty-five minutes but put on a clinic, scoring twice and assisting on a third for the rampant Eagles. The grand conductor of BC’s offense has been in imperious form thus far and will be looking to continue her great senior season on Saturday night against the Crimson. The last time the home side faced such a powerful offense this year, they were dealt a 3-1 defeat by Dayton in a home loss they won’t want to repeat on Saturday. The defending will have to be much improved though, as besides that loss, Harvard has only kept two clean sheets in five matches thus far. One gets the feeling that their best chance of an upset will be to keep it tight and try to eke out a win. Trying to outgun the Eagles is a recipe for a hammering for most teams, and it’s no different for the Ivy League power going into this one.

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