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2017 Women’s College Cup Semifinals: Stanford, UCLA Advance to Championship Match

Published

9 years ago

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We now know who will compete in the 2017 NCAA Women’s College Cup final at Orlando City Stadium on Sunday. Stanford advanced with a 2-0 semifinal win over South Carolina in the opener and UCLA out-lasted Duke in penalties after a scoreless draw. The two Pac-12 rivals will meet in Sunday’s final at noon.

The Cardinal and Gamecocks were essentially over by halftime but the Bruins and Blue Devils needed to play beyond 90 minutes to decide who would move on. The game went through two 10-minute overtime periods and into penalty kicks before Marley Canales’ shot as the fifth UCLA shooter pushed the Bruins to a 4-3 penalty victory following 110 minutes of scoreless soccer.

Stanford 2-0 South Carolina

In the opening match, Stanford bossed the South Carolina Gamecocks, controlling the vast majority of the possession throughout the first half and finding the net twice. Junior midfielder Jordan DiBiasi scored her eighth and ninth goals of the season in the opening period to stake the Cardinal to a 2-0 halftime advantage.

Stanford started quickly, getting a scoring chance in the first minute when Jaye Boissiere had a shot blocked just inside the top of the penalty area. South Carolina had trouble getting out of its own end but the Gamecocks finally broke for their first shot in the ninth minute. Ryan Gareis did well to get onto a long ball down the left channel and whipped a cross into the box for Meaghan Carrigan, who sent a one-time shot on target but it was right at goalkeeper Alison Jahansouz.

Just one minute later, Gareis had to come off with an injury just as Stanford won a free kick out near the left sideline. The Cardinal used the set piece to open the scoring. DiBiasi got her head to Tegan McGrady’s service and nodded it home to break the scoreless deadlock.

It was the first goal allowed by South Carolina in its entire NCAA tournament run to the Final Four.

The Cardinal continued to dominate possession and the Gamecocks started to show some cracks on defense as the first half wore on, trying to counter whenever they could. But Stanford was able to thwart most of those counters with speed and the diligent tracking back of USWNT midfielder Andi Sullivan.

South Carolina fashioned a good chance on its first corner of the game in the 16th minute, when a good hustle play by freshman Luciana Zullo led to a rare Gamecocks set piece. The corner fizzed into the area and Jahansouz couldn’t get a touch on it but no one could get onto it and it skipped harmlessly out the other side of the box.

DiBiasi doubled the lead in the 26th minute. McGrady sent Catarina Macario down the left channel and the freshman crossed to DiBiasi, who quickly fired a shot that deflected off a defender and wrong-footed goalkeeper Mikayla Krzeczowski to make it 2-0. It was DiBiasi’s first multi-goal game of the 2017 season.

Stanford continued to control the game and build up attacks, taking an 8-3 edge in shots into the break. DiBiasi hit a hard strike right at the keeper, nearly netting a hat trick in the first half, and the Gamecocks cleared two shots off the line to keep the match from getting out of hand early.

The Cardinal nearly put the game away two minutes into the second half. Macario sent a blast off the post from about 20 yards out and the ball hit the back of Krzeczowski and spun toward the goal line but the South Carolina keeper jumped on it to keep it out just at the last second.

The game calmed down quite a bit after that, with Stanford sending a few shots from the top of the box or beyond over the net. South Carolina, for its part, got a rare attempt away from distance but neither side worried the other’s keeper for much of the second half.

DiBiasi came about a foot from a hat trick in the 82nd minute, scorching a shot from distance just over the bar. That was the game’s final good scoring chance as Stanford hung on for the 2-0 win. It was just the second time all season that South Carolina was shut out. The Cardinal out-shot the Gamecocks 17-5 (7-1 on goal) en route to a fourth College Cup final.

“Obviously no one wants to be sitting here saying the season’s over but I couldn’t be more proud of this group and this team,” said South Carolina Head Coach Shelley Smith after the match. “I told these players to not hang their heads. They’ve done amazing things for this program. They’ve accomplished great things and we just ran into a better team tonight. Stanford is excellent. We wish them well and they deserved that win.”

“I am very happy with the team’s performance,” said Stanford Head Coach Paul Ratcliffe. “I think we played really well. We started the game fast, Jordan scored a couple great goals, just a fantastic performance all around.”

UCLA 0-0 Duke (4-3 on pens.)

The nightcap started as the more entertaining game, with UCLA pressing high and Duke throwing counter-attack haymakers back. While the Bruins came at the Blue Devils in waves, with creative passing and runs into the area, Duke looked to hit back with the blazing speed of Imani Dorsey, who fired three of the Blue Devils’ four first-half shots.

UCLA got numbers into the box just five minutes in but between three different players, no one could pull the trigger on a shot and a great early scoring chance went wanting. Dorsey missed wide of the back post by inches on the counter attack at the 18-minute mark for Duke.

Three minutes later, UCLA earned a corner kick and tried an audacious playground set piece, with two players dummying for Hailie Mace but referee Jonathan Weiner got in her way and she was unable to take the shot. When the ball cycled back in from the opposite wing, Jessie Fleming got onto a cross but her header didn’t have enough sting to beat Duke keeper E.J. Proctor. A minute later, Ashley Sanchez fired just wide for UCLA. 

Mace nearly caught Proctor napping in the 33rd. Off a Duke turnover, Mace picked up the ball, turned, and fired from about 30 yards out but her long-range effort was just over the bar.

The best chance of the first half came from Duke in the 37th minute. Kayla McCoy got down the right wing and fizzed a cross to the top of the six-yard box for Taylor Racioppi, but she got under it and fired high from close range. 

The frantic pace settled down just a bit toward the end of the opening period, but UCLA did send a few dangerous crosses into the box. The Bruins consistently were getting four or five players into the area but couldn’t quite connect and eventually the halftime whistle blew on a scoreless opening 45 minutes.

UCLA held a 6-4 advantage in shots (1-1 on target).

The Bruins got a chance just after the restart with a great through ball putting Mace in behind the defense but her shot went just wide. Five minutes later, Racioppi again fired over the bar for Duke — this time from the top of the box. But four minutes after her miss, Racioppi made a vital block on a shot by Sanchez to prevent a good scoring opportunity for the Bruins.

The Bruins weren’t able to break down Duke as much in the second half. The Blue Devils had five defending on the defensive end with a four-player midfield and they started forcing more and more turnovers as the game wore on. The pace slowed considerably as the Bruins tired and it made Duke’s counter much more dangerous.

In the 67th minute Dorsey sliced through the UCLA defense by herself and fired from the top of the area but she didn’t get all of it and Teagan Micah made a sprawling save. Ten minutes later, McCoy got into the box but a last-minute challenge by Kaiya McCullough prevented a clean shot and forced a corner.

As time wound down, MacKenzie Cerda fired a long-range effort a few feet over the bar for the Bruins with four minutes to play as the prospect of extra time loomed over the match. UCLA got the last opportunity in normal time in the 89th minute but Zoey Garolski fired over the bar from range.

Anika Rodriguez tried to get the Bruins on the board early in the extra session, trying to chip Proctor but the Duke goalkeeper didn’t stray from her line and caught it easily. That was basically it for the chances in the first half of overtime. There wasn’t any real menace in the second overtime period either and the game went into spot kicks. UCLA out-shot Duke, 15-10, but got only one shot on goal and that came in the first half. The Blue Devils put three on target.

In the shootout, Duke shot first and put the Bruins under pressure when Gabi Brummett sent Micah the wrong way and slotted into the lower left corner. Zoey Goralski evened it up for UCLA with a shot high on the right side past Proctor. The Bruins took the advantage when Duke’s Melinda Allen fired off the top of the crossbar and Julia Hernandez followed with a goal for UCLA. After Karlie Paschall evened things up with Duke’s third shot, Proctor stopped Cerda’s effort and the teams were even at 2-2 after three shooters.

Ashton Miller put Duke ahead on penalties, 3-2, when her shot went in off of Micah’s hands and it seemed the tide was starting to turn. But McCoy leveled it for UCLA on the next shot. With the shootout tied at 3-3 after four shooters apiece, Kat McDonald stepped up for Duke but Micah made the save. The stage was then set for Marley Canales, who fired high but just under the bar to send UCLA through to the final.

“I can’t say enough how hard that is to do, coming in cold off the bench and being the fifth kicker,” said UCLA Head Coach Amanda Cromwell after the match. “A lot of players would shy away from those moments and Marley grasped it, took it, and got to celebrate.”

“I was approaching the ball and I could see (Proctor) moving right-left, right-left,” Canales said. “And for a quick second I was like, ‘oh shoot.’ But I knew that Coach Amanda and the rest of our staff told me to trust the side that you’re always going to. I had been hitting it well to that side for a lot of the season. So I just had to hit it well and whatever happens, happens.”

While the Bruins were celebrating, Duke Head Coach Robbie Church had to console his players on the other side, including his goalkeeper who played well all season but saw four shots go past her in the penalty shootout.

“You just hug her and tell her you love her,” Church said. “She did the best she could and she did great.”

Canales finished as the game’s hero but that didn’t keep her teammates from literally dumping on the freshman afterwards.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Orlando City restarts its 2026 MLS campaign late tonight out west at San Jose.

Published

3 weeks ago

on

July 22, 2026

By

Image of Braian Ojeda taking a shot in a friendly against FC Dallas.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Welcome to your match thread for a late night midweek matchup tonight between Orlando City (4-9-2, 14 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (10-3-2, 32 points) at PayPal Park (10:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the only scheduled meeting between the teams in 2026 and the first time the teams have met since 2024.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of tonight’s match.

History

Orlando City is 3-1-3 in the previous seven MLS meetings with the Quakes since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015. The Lions got their only away win in the series in the last meeting and enter tonight 1-1-2 on the road against San Jose.

The teams last met on May 18, 2024, with Jack Lynn coming off the bench to score the game’s only goal. Lynn’s strike in the 89th minute broke the scoreless deadlock and lifted the Lions to a 1-0 victory.

The teams met in Orlando most recently way back on June 22, 2021, with the Lions beating the Quakes down, 5-0. Orlando got things started with an early penalty kick goal by Nani, followed by braces from Benji Michel and Daryl Dike to easily put the game away. The lasting memory from the game is Michel’s celebratory dance wearing a cowboy hat that came out of the stands.

Prior to that Orlando City romp, the last time the teams met was on Aug. 31, 2019 when the Lions got freight trained 3-0 at Avaya Stadium, giving the Quakes their first win in the series. San Jose’s offense came via a Chris Wondolowski brace and an early opening goal by Magnus Eriksson. Orlando looked flat and weary out of the gate.

The Lions were victorious in Exploria Stadium in the 2018 meeting on April 21, a 3-2 Orlando win. It was the first win in the series for either side after three straight draws. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer gave the Lions a 3-0 lead before Florian Jungwirth pulled two back in the game’s late stages.

The Lions led all of the first three matches in the second half only to see San Jose pull level, with two of those tying goals coming late. In the 2017 meeting, Carlos Rivas finally broke the scoreless tie and gave Orlando City the lead in the 81st minute, but Wondolowski spoiled the Lions’ night with an equalizer two minutes later as the teams drew at Avaya Stadium, 1-1.

In 2016, the Lions were gut-punched in the 94th minute in an emotional match that ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the first home match following the Pulse nightclub tragedy and what appeared to be a storybook ending to a cathartic win turned sour on a last-gasp equalizer by Shea Salinas. Seb Hines — now the Orlando Pride’s head coach — opened the scoring for Orlando, only to see Chad Barrett tie it up. Julio Baptista restored the lead in stoppage time, but Salinas ruined everything.

The two teams also drew in the first meeting, a 1-1 affair at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with the Lions down to 10 men after Brek Shea was sent off in the first half. Kaká and Wondolowski each scored from the penalty spot four minutes apart in that initial meeting.

Overview

The teams meet tonight to get their post-World Cup portion of the season started. Orlando City has been terrible on the road all season long, keeping only one MLS opponent under two goals all year away from home and allowing five goals twice (at New York City FC and Nashville) and six goals twice (at LAFC and in the team’s most recent match away at FC Cincinnati just before the break).

Orlando City is a putrid 1-6-1 on the road this season, and now the Lions must face the Western Conference co-leaders tonight before coming home to face Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC at home on Saturday. They’ll have to play at least tonight’s game without Martin Ojeda, who is out with a thigh injury sustained some time between his first-half goal a week ago in a friendly against FC Dallas and the time the availability report dropped on Tuesday.

But it isn’t all bad news for the Lions, who should have both Antoine Griezmann and Dike in the lineup. Griezmann was the club’s highly prized and widely publicized summer Designated Player signing, while Dike’s return to Orlando came together more recently, following his departure from West Bromwich Albion. They’ll help the club’s offense, but the attack hasn’t been the issue in 2026 — it’s been the historically porous defense, which is on pace to shatter the MLS record for goals conceded.

Meanwhile, San Jose is one of the first half of the season’s biggest surprises, as the Quakes have been outstanding in 2026. Scoring 34 goals while conceding just 15, San Jose is among the league leaders in goals scored (tied for third), goals conceded (third), and goal differential (+19, third).

The Earthquakes are 4-2-1 at home and are coming off a 3-1 road win at Portland in their last game prior to the World Cup break. San Jose boasts Golden Boot challenger Preston Judd, who leads the Quakes with 11 goals, adding two assists in his 15 appearances. Ousseni Bouda has chipped in five goals and three assists. Niko Tsakiris leads the team with seven assists to go along with his two goals, but he’s still recovering from a lower body injury and is not available tonight. However, the arrival of Timo Werner (four goals and five assists in just seven games) has truly elevated Bruce Arena’s Quakes, and he’ll need to be one of the main focal points for the Orlando defense.

To have any shot at taking something from this game, the Lions will need to play better road defense than they have all season. Orlando can score goals, but with Ojeda out, Griezmann will need to adapt quickly, and someone other than the team’s leading scorer will need to find the net.

The Lions will play without Ojeda (thigh), Joran Gerbet (knee), Nolan Miller (knee), Colin Guske (international duty), and Clovis Archage (international duty). In addition, Marco Pasalic may or may not have returned to the team after the World Cup. He was not in training Monday, although interim head coach Martin Perelman said he expected the Croatian back soon. The Earthquakes will be without Nonso Adimabua (lower body), former Lion Earl Edwards Jr. (lower body), DeJuan Jones (lower body), and Tsakiris (you guessed it, lower body…come on, San Jose).

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.

Forwards: Justin Ellis, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Bernardo Rhein, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Harvey Sarajian, Tyrese Spicer

San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Angus Gunn.

Defenders: Jamar Ricketts, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benjamin Kikanovic.

Defensive Midfielders: Beau Lerouox, Ronaldo Vieira.

Attacking Midfielders: Timo Werner, Nick Fernandez, Ousseni Bouda.

Forwards: Preston Judd.

Bench: Jonathan Gonzalez, Dave Romney, Paul Marie, Jack Skahan, Jack Jasinski, Ian Harkes, Francesco Montali, Max Floriani, Darius Johnson.

Referees

REF: Elijio Arreguin.
AR1: Adam Wienckowski.
AR2: Mike Nickerson.
4TH: Timothy Ford.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 10:30 p.m.

Venue: PayPal Park — San Jose, CA.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 542: Tampa Bay Friendly, McGuire Traded, OCB Beats Cincinnati, and More

Lions maul the Rowdies in friendly action, OCB wins on the road, and it’s transfer season.

Published

4 weeks ago

on

July 14, 2026

By

Image of Antoine Griezmann and Ivan Angulo celebrating a goal in a friendly against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City welcomed I-4 Derby rival Tampa Bay to Inter&Co Stadium for a friendly match on Wednesday and then proceeded to bludgeon the Rowdies with a couple of hammers named Antoine Griezmann and Justin Ellis. The two attackers combined for a goal and four assists in a 6-0 beatdown of the team from the Gulf Coast, with five different Lions scoring and Griffin Dorsey forcing an own goal. We discuss Griezmann’s first minutes with Orlando City, what the team showed in its formation, and how good Justin Ellis’ vision is.

Oh, and it’s also transfer season now. Duncan McGuire is on his way out and Marco Pasalic reportedly will follow soon, while a new left back may be headed from Spain to Orlando.

Following all of that, we discuss Maxime Crepeau being added to the MLS All-Star Team and the announcement that he’ll participate in the 2026 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge.

Our mailbagbox asked us about which World Cup semifinalist players we’d want to join Orlando this season (if we could only pick one), and more. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

After the mailbagbox, we dive into OCB’s 2-1 road win at FC Cincinnati 2. It wasn’t the prettiest game by the Young Lions, but they managed to do enough to earn three points on the road, where they’ll stay to face Chattanooga on Saturday. We briefly preview that game.

Finally, Orlando City will be in Dallas Wednesday for the second of two friendlies leading up to the restart of the MLS season. It’s unlikely we’ll get a lot of details about that one, but we’ll see what happens. Maybe the FC Dallas folks will help us out.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how No. 542 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City crushed the Rowdies, the transfer season is in full swing, plus: hey now, Crepeau’s an all-star.

28:50 – The mailbagbox is always good for a hypothetical scenario.

36:54 – The Young Lions slipped past Cincy and head to Chattanooga, while the senior Lions head to Dallas.

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Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 119: International Break, USWNT, Louisville Preview, and More

The Pride return from a long international break looking to get their first-ever road win against Racing Louisville.

Published

4 months ago

on

April 22, 2026

By

Image of Haley McCutcheon scoring the opening goal in Orlando's home playoff win over Seattle.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

It feels like months since the Orlando Pride last took the field, but the calendar says otherwise. If you believe calendars, it’s only been a little less than three weeks, but time moves strangely in the post-pandemic apocalyptic world.

Anyway, we don’t have a match to recap, so we touched on a couple of Pride players putting the ball in the net during the international break and chat a bit about the United States Women’s National Team’s three-game friendly series against Japan. Emma Hayes used a lot of players, and the team looked solid for two of the three matches, but the rotated middle game seemed a bit disjointed. Hayes has greatly expanded the player pool and will have plenty of options when the World Cup approaches.

Our mailbagbox had questions about a potential change in the NWSL schedule, as the league explores adopting the fall-to-spring slate, and opposition own goals. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

After the mailbagbox, we turned our attention toward Friday’s late afternoon tussle with Racing Louisville in Kentucky. The Pride have never won on the road against Louisville, and it’s about high time they did. This match begins a congested push to the June World Cup break, and although Friday’s hosts aren’t high in the table, the Pride must be at their best to get a road result in this fixture. We look back at the series history, compare the two sides, provide our key matchups in the game, and make our final score predictions.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how Episode 119 went down:

0:15 – We open the show with a little banter about the Pride in the international break and the USWNT’s series vs. Japan.

9:03 – The mailbagbox features questions via both eletronic mail and social media. We welcome all modes of delivery.

19:59 – The Pride travel to Louisville to face Racing. They’ve never won in Kentucky, but we inform them how to do so.

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