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Mollie Pathman & Duke Will Aim To Topple Rivals North Carolina on Thursday

(10) Duke vs (8) North Carolina – 7:00 PM

The ACC title may not be on the line in Durham on Thursday night, but there’s not much else that isn’t in this primetime showdown between heated rivals. With both clubs currently in the RPI Top Ten but hardly assured of a high national seed and coveted second weekend hosting rights, victory over the other could be crucial in getting a leg up for a high national seed. The home side will be seeking revenge for last season’s defeat in Chapel Hill, the club’s only defeat in their ACC title winning season. The Blue Devils’ slim hopes of repeating as champions ended last Sunday with a draw against Wake Forest in the club’s penultimate ACC match. Even with that draw though, Duke still extended their four match unbeaten run, which was very necessary given the club’s rocky start to league play. Sunday also brought the welcome return of Kelly Cobb to action for the Blue Devils, after the sophomore had missed a handful of games through a nagging ankle injury. Cobb didn’t have much of an effect on proceedings in Durham, but her return to form could be crucial to the club’s postseason hopes. Even without Cobb firing, Duke’s deadly attacking duo of Kim DeCesare and Laura Weinberg hit paydirt again against Wake, with the latter assisting on the former’s second half equalizer. The duo, along with Kaitlyn Kerr, Cassie Pecht, and hopefully Cobb, will be sure to test North Carolina’s defense on Thursday. The Tar Heels themselves are on a nice run of four wins in five matches, having last toppled Clemson in decisive fashion. Still with hopes of making a late charge to a #1 seed, UNC will be eager to defend at least a high national seed by thwarting Duke in Durham. Though Duke has plenty of weapons, their Thursday opponents aren’t without offensive muscle themselves. UNC got a brace from Maria Lubrano in the win over Clemson, while Amber Brooks netted a goal and two assists to the cause. It was a positive sign in showing that the Heels can win even when Summer Green and Kealia Ohai aren’t knocking them in. The defense has also stabilized a bit since a dreadful beginning to league play, having conceded seven goals in the opening five ACC matches. Two straight clean sheets have calmed the waters a bit in Chapel Hill, while the club may have also done away with the goalkeeping rotation for the moment. Adelaide Gay has started and finished the last two games and could be the club’s undisputed first option in goal the rest of the way. It’s just another subplot to watch in a match full of them in what could be a classic encounter between these two rivals.

(27) Boston College vs (2) Florida State – 7:00 PM

It may be less a case of “Mission Impossible” than “Mission Improbable” at this time for Florida State, whose stunning season continued in earnest last week with two 1-0 shutouts over the Virginia schools to run their clean sheet streak to nine games and their winning streak to fourteen as they remain perfect on the season. It also marked the club’s eighth 1-0 win of the season, another astonishing fact in a season full of them for the Seminoles. Completing a perfect regular season is in sight for FSU, but it’s definitely not going to be easy this weekend, facing Boston College and Maryland, two sides desperate to take points off the Noles and boost their chances of a national seed. Up first are the Eagles, and Florida State will be weary of the home side’s exceptional attacking talent. It could be one of the season’s biggest tests for the defense, which has been in unbelievable form in the ACC so far in 2012. It hasn’t always been a masterclass on offense, but it’s been enough to get the job done, with the Noles finishing off all of the league’s top teams by a 1-0 margin. FSU’s proven deceptively difficult to stop on offense in the league, with no player having more than three goals, though ten have scored in ACC play. Boston College has much to think about then, as their defense has been horrid as of late, having conceded in ten straight matches. The club powered right through NC State last Sunday, but at the same time, they still conceded twice, running their streak of giving up multiple goals to three games. A leaky defense is a sure way to come home empty-handed against a club like Florida State, and fixing that rearguard has to be a concern for Alison Foley and co. It’s a shame, as the club has seemingly gotten its offensive groove back after being shut out in back-to-back matches against Pepperdine and North Carolina. Kristen Mewis had two goals and four assists in two games last week, while Stephanie McCaffrey and McKenzie Meehan both netted braces against NC State on Sunday. The Eagles have no shortage of offense, and they’ll need every bit of it if they’re to stand a chance of pulling an upset on Thursday. Even if they find a way to breach the FSU defense though, they still have to keep the Noles’ offense at bay, which could be a problem if the defense hasn’t been sorted out.

(19) Ohio State vs (17) Michigan – 8:00 PM

Deadly rivals on the gridiron and beyond, Thursday night’s meeting between Ohio State and Michigan might be as meaningful as any in recent history with both doing so well in 2012. Though the Buckeyes’ Big Ten title hopes have come and gone, Michigan’s are still very much alive, and the Wolverines will be hoping to win here to set up a monumental title showdown against Penn State on Sunday. Both sides are also in the mix for a national seed, and a winner here would have a nice leg up going into the final weeks before the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes’ offense was in scorching form last weekend, hitting Iowa and Nebraska for four each on the road to record a pair of dominant wins, extending the club’s winning streak to three and its unbeaten run to four. Though OSU has been spearheaded by Tiffany Cameron this season, the attack got a brace from Aly Walker against Iowa and a hat trick from Lauren Granberg against Nebraska to help do the damage. Coincidentally, Cameron scored against both opponents as well, showing that OSU is a deadly side when they can get more than Cameron involved in the attack. Michigan will provide a big challenge for the Buckeyes’ offense though. The Wolverines have been doing it with defense this season, having conceded just two goals in the league in 2012. They began Big Ten play by shutting out four opponents and have conceded those two goals in the last four. Michigan may have been accused of being a one-trick pony in attack by many, but they showed they were more than just the goals of Nkem Ezurike in two wins last weekend. Four goals from three different scorers, including two from Jaffe, showed the Wolverines had multiple weapons to punish foes. Ezurike, of course, is a great battering ram herself, and will be a big threat to the OSU defense on Thursday night. It’s a big-time rivalry game with much on the line in Columbus in what looks like one of the Big Ten’s marquee matches of the 2012 season.

(1) Stanford vs (48) Washington State – 10:30 PM

The pressure is rising on Washington State, as their RPI lags and the end of the regular season draws near. The Cougars would appear to be in great shape if they stay on the bubble thanks to a draw at UCLA, much like their draw against Virginia on the road last year got them in the NCAA Tournament. If the bubble contracts as much as projected currently though, they could be in a spot of danger. WSU’s paid the price for an indifferent start to the league season, with the club also carrying a few too many wins over very weak sides in the RPI on their resume. The club only played one match last week and made an emphatic statement by pounding USC, their second win by three or more goals in as many tries. The Cougars got four goals from four different scorers, including Micaela Castain’s ninth as the cherry on top in the ninetieth minute of play. WSU won’t get nearly as many chances against Thursday’s opponent, Stanford. Still holding onto their #1 ranking in the RPI despite nearest challengers Florida State being perfect at the moment, the Card will look to extend their ten match winning streak and eleven match unbeaten run this weekend against the Washington schools in their final regular season home weekend. Ironically, Stanford also got four goals from four different scorers in their lone match last weekend, putting Arizona to the sword in convincing fashion. Stanford has been a well-oiled machine in the league thus far, scoring seventeen goals in six conference matches. Impressively, the Card don’t have any player with more than two goals in those Pac-12 games, meaning the well-balanced defending national champs are a hard bunch to keep at bay going forward. They’ve been pretty stingy going the other way too, with only four goals conceded in those six games. While Stanford will come in as significant favorites on paper, nobody can doubt how tough WSU can be when on their game. Just ask Stanford’s title rivals UCLA, who drew with the Cougars earlier this year. Another such surprise could throw the title race in the Pac-12 into doubt before Stanford and UCLA lock horns next weekend.

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