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(23) Florida vs (12) South Carolina – 7:00 PM

It feels a bit foreign to have this fixture so early in the league calendar after it’s been typically played on the final day of the SEC season for so many years. It’s also crowned many a champion since South Carolina’s rise up the league hierarchy. This year, it might go a long way once more in determining who is lifting SEC silverware come season’s end. Florida looked like odds on title favorites after their first two league fixtures, in which they demolished Alabama and Ole Miss by a combined margin of 7-1. The brakes were put on in a major way by Missouri though, as the Tigers scored early against Florida on Sunday before watching shot after shot from the Gators go off-target. Seventeen shots that didn’t force McKenzie Sauerwein into a save to be precise. The threatening duo of Savannah Jordan and Pamela Begic put just one combined shot on goal from eleven overall, and the Gators can’t afford too many more games where they’re shooting blanks if they’re to find themselves on top of the heap come November. Finishing their chances is going to be more important than ever against a team with a defense the calibre of South Caroilna’s. If the home side can get over this hurdle, they’ve got two easy fixtures on paper before the visit of Kentucky in a few weeks’ time that could be another important piece of the league title puzzle.

South Carolina recovered from their opening blip against Georgia in the league opener to beat Auburn and Arkansas back in Columbia, both by a single goal. The Gamecocks have, in typical fashion, now won four straight by a single goal. After giving up goals in their first two league games, SC finally got their defensive groove back as well, shutting down an inconsistent but dangerous Arkansas offense. Arkansas were held to just a single shot on goal, which wasn’t a bad result considering the Lady Razorbacks had just come off hitting Kentucky for three on the road. The offense didn’t exactly overwhelm their opposition, but it did enough to ensure the job got down, with Raina Johnson netting the match’s only goal. The Gamecocks are in a good position for a national seed, but they still probably need a signature win down the stretch to really cement their spot. Florida obviously represents the best opportunity for such a win before the SEC Tournament, and the schedule after it is certainly pliable, despite tricky road trips to Tennessee and Ole Miss among others. The future aside, Friday night will present an interesting clash of contrasts, with Florida’s dangerous offense going toe-to-toe with the usually formidable South Carolina defense. It’s a match with SEC title and NCAA Tournament ramifications, making it one of the night’s most tantalizing contests.

(36) Cal vs (38) Arizona State – 5:00 PM

Cal will look to kickstart its league season with the visit of Arizona State on Friday afternoon in Berkeley. The Golden Bears’ initial conference match against Utah last Thursday was a bit of a clunker, with the Golden Bears playing out a scoreless draw in Salt Lake City against Utah. The team’s non-conference finale on Sunday against San Francisco was a bit more perfunctory, with the club rolling right over their WCC opponents, 3-0. Kaitlyn Fitzpatrick proved the starring figure, scoring once and assisting on the club’s two other goals, one off the foot of the rampant Ifeoma Onumonu. Now on four goals and four assists, Fitzpatrick may finally be in line to get her due as one of the Pac-12′s most dynamic attacking players both finishing and creating chances. Defensively though, Cal will be desperately hoping that their recent uptick in form carries through against a very potent Arizona State team. The Golden Bears had conceded in three of four before their league opener but kept a pair of clean sheets last weekend. Cal really needs to do the business over the next half month, because the club has a brutal finishing kick, going on the road for their final five after spending the next five at home, starting with Friday’s contest. They should be favored in all but the home contest against UCLA, so some momentum here could go a long way in driving the club up the RPI and away from any bubble trouble.

Opponents Arizona State have been riding a roller coaster of inconsistency for the last few weeks. The Sun Devils have alternated wins and losses over their last five, a dangerous trend considering the club has just one positive result against a team in the uRPI Top 50. ASU looked to be riding high after three straight wins, including a 4-3 triumph in a slugfest against Illinois, but it’s been considerably more difficult for them since, as they’ve dropped matches to Texas Tech (not so bad) and Boise State (bad). They managed to avoid a defeat to USC last weekend, getting a last minute goal from scoring talisman Devin Marshall to edge past the Trojans. Marshall figures to be a key figure again on Friday, not just because of her scoring prowess, but also with her being on four yellow cards coming into the match. One more means a one match ban, and with Stanford the team’s next opponent, they certainly can’t afford a booking from one of their offensive leaders here. Marshall and Cali Farquharson have teamed up to become one of the nation’s most formidable scoring duos, but the two haven’t been infallible, as the team has been shutout in both of its defeats over the last month of the season. The defense has been hit or miss all season, but considering some of Cal’s attacking players, they might need one of their best efforts of the season to give the visitors a chance at three points. It’s a crucial weekend for ASU’s hopes of an at-large bid or more. A result this weekend could make the Sun Devil faithful breathe a little easier down the stretch. If the team can’t find some points on the road here though, the pressure could ramp up as the season moves along.

(46) Tennessee vs (40) Ole Miss – 7:00 PM

Bubble trouble looms for both Tennessee and Ole Miss ahead of their big showdown on Friday night in Knoxville. Relatively speaking, the home side are in a wee bit better shape thanks to their road win over UCF earlier in the season. The bad news for the Lady Vols is that that’s basically the only result of note on their record right now. The club looked to be cruising for a few weeks early in the season, but results have been very inconsistent since. A 1-0 defeat at Middle Tennessee was the beginning of a weekend from hell that saw the club draw with Western Kentucky as well. The club’s SEC form has been utterly confusing. Good enough to beat Texas A&M, bad enough to lose by multiple goals to Alabama with a draw against LSU in between. The defeat to Alabama was utterly bizarre, as the Lady Vols found themselves three goals down just a little over thirty minutes into the match. They’d fight back and get it back to 3-2 but were then hit for another goal, consigning them to a 4-2 defeat. It was the club’s worst defensive showing of the season and a potentially foreboding sign considering the hit or miss nature of the attack at times. Though Amy Neal did score a pair of goals, the combined offensive might of Hannah Wilkinson, Caroline Brown, and Amalie Thestrup totaled just a single shot on goal, which isn’t exactly a great sign considering the club’s defensive showing in that match. Though the recent stretch of one win in five has seen the club lag in the RPI, defending their turf against Ole Miss and South Carolina could see them rocket back up the standings. If their poor form continues though, the Lady Vols might just find themselves sweating down the stretch.

Opponents Ole Miss are a slight touch better in the computer numbers right now, but the Rebels don’t have the quality win that Tennessee has. Last weekend was a tale of wildly contrasting results, as the Rebels fell well short in a big clash against Florida, shooting themselves in the foot with a horrific early stretch that saw the club go down three goals early in the first half. That 4-1 loss seemed to infuriate the club though, as they came out Sunday and put on a devastating performance in dismantling Auburn, 7-0. The Rebels put together their ninth multiple goal performance of the season. Not coincidentally, they’ve won every game they’ve scored at least two goals in. The scoring duo of Rafaelle Souza and Mandy McCalla continue to crush opponents, with the two combining for twenty goals thus far. Add in ancillary threats like Bethany Bunker and Olivia Harrison, and you’ve got an offense capable of giving any opponent fits, especially a club like Tennessee that looked out of shape last Sunday. Defensively, OM will be hoping for more of last Sunday and less of last Friday. The defense has been vulnerable to big clubs so far this season, and Tennessee has enough firepower to trouble the Rebels. The real big fish is on Sunday at Georgia, but picking up a win in Knoxville certainly wouldn’t do the Rebels any harm in their bid to return to the NCAA Tournament.

(15) UCF vs (33) UConn – 7:00 PM

Unbeaten in seven, UCF will continue their push towards a national seed in a potential league title decider against UConn in Orlando on Friday night. The Knights made a winning start to their league campaign last Friday with a 2-1 win over state rivals South Florida. The Knights have been in top form since their last defeat, to Florida State, with the only slight blip coming in a draw at Georgetown, which still looks mighty good on the resume. UCF were on top for much of the game against the rival Bulls, with Kayla Adamek giving the team a deserved advantage before Demi Stokes equalized. UCF would make their dominance count though, with Megan Fish heading in a winner in the seventy-eighth minute to continue the Knights’ dominance over their neighbors. While Tatiana Coleman and Lena Petermann have understandably gotten many of the headlines coming into the season, Adamek has been just as important in the attack and gives the club a litany of weapons to use up top. Defensively, the team has given up multiple goals just once all season, while the team has three clean sheets in the last five games, though most of those have come against lesser opposition. UConn is definitely not lesser opposition, and if the Knights can keep firing on all cylinders, they should be in the catbird seat for a league title with the schedule easing up a bit before a trip out to Louisville.

Opponents UConn will be in high confidence coming into this matchup though, as they look set to have a chance for their best season in years. It’d be a shock if they didn’t reach their most wins in a season since the fourteen of 2007, and they look a good bet to return to the NCAA Tournament after a few years away. After losing the first two games of the season, UConn has won eight of ten, including drubbing Houston in the league last Sunday, pushing their AAC record to 2-0-0 ahead of this weekend’s jaunt down to Florida to play UCF and South Florida. Rachel Hill has been one of the nation’s most promising young forwards this season, netting nine so far in twelve games, including four game winners for the surging Huskies. That’s half of the team’s goal total though, and besides Riley Houle, there’s not much in reserve, which could be a problem facing a team with lockdown defender Marissa Diggs on the roster. The Husky defense hasn’t exactly been the most convincing of late either. The team had kept six clean sheets in seven, but they haven’t kept one in three in a row heading into this one, which isn’t a great sign considering some of the firepower they’re up against on Friday. UConn’s been all about beating expectations thus far though, and an upset against the Knights on Friday could have them moving up the ladder towards a national seed.

(7) UCLA vs (31) Washington State – 8:00 PM

It’s acid test time for Washington State, who can not only make a name for themselves by upsetting UCLA, but also throw their hat right into the mix for a shock league title if they can overturn the Bruins in Westwood. The Cougars are one of a handful of teams still carrying an unbeaten record into week seven of the season, while WSU has also kept eight clean sheets in their past nine games, including three in a row going into Friday night’s showdown with the Bruins. The Cougars fluffed their lines a little in the league opener though, going to Eugene and being held to a drab 0-0 draw against Oregon. WSU managed to double up their opponents in shots, shots on goal, and corner kicks but still couldn’t breach the Oregon defense in a hundred and ten minutes of play. While the club can take heart in the defense’s performance, the offense being shutout was a big disappointment with the club having scored four goals just a game ago against a very good UC Irvine team. They’ll obviously need better if they’re to pull off the big upset on Friday night, but the reward for doing so would be huge, with renewed league title hopes, along with hopes of a national seed perhaps. WSU has held UCLA to scoreless draws the past two seasons, showing the Cougars can go toe-to-toe with their fancied opposition. It’s just finding a way past the Bruins’ staunch defense that will be the big test on Friday.

The Bruins come into this one on the back of a five game win streak and three points in a potentially tricky league opener in Tucson against Arizona. The team was 2-0 up shortly after a half-hour and held on for a convincing victory despite conceding late in the first half. Amanda Cromwell got two great offensive performances from the uneven Taylor Smith and Sam Mewis, made all the more important by Jenna Richmond and Darian Jenkins playing a half and under a half respectively. Depth has always been a strong suit in Westwood, and Cromwell and co. have been using it to great effect thus far, allowing them to run teams ragged over the course of ninety minutes. The offense looks like it’s in sync, having netted multiple goals in all five of their wins on the current winning streak, which is a good sign going into Friday against a very challenging WSU defense. Recent history has seen the Bruins struggle notedly against that Cougar rearguard, with the aforementioned two 0-0 draws in the past two meetings. These Bruins might be a different animal though, and the club will surely fancy its chances of extending its winning streak in the second league weekend of the year. Stanford looms next Thursday, but UCLA can’t take its eye off of Friday’s opponent if it wants to stay on track to a league title and a potential #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

(22) Arkansas vs (81) LSU – 8:00 PM
(49) Baylor vs (35) BYU – 8:00 PM
(28) Minnesota vs (50) Ohio State – 8:00 PM
(37) Wisconsin vs (3) Penn State – 8:00 PM

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