No. 1 Florida State needed overtime to stave off Wisconsin and North Carolina took an early season rivalry match 2-0 over Duke on a day headlined by four head-to-head Top 25 matchups in women's soccer.
With 23 teams in the United Soccer Coaches poll in action, here's our roundup of Sunday's key games.
SUNDAY'S SCORES: Full scoreboard from a loaded opening Sunday
No. 16 Wisconsin at No. 1 Florida State
Both teams had long 2018 NCAA tournament runs: Wisconsin made the third round while Florida State won the title. On Sunday, the two programs offered a glimpse of a meeting that could potentially be seen again towards the end of the season.
Stifling defense on both sides kept the match scoreless through regulation, up until Malia Berkely found the back of the net for the defending champions in the 99th minute. The redshirt junior drifted to the right of two Badgers and fired through a tight window, a difficult shot across her body that sailed into the top left corner.
OH MY MALIA BERKELY! 🤯
— NCAA Soccer (@NCAASoccer) August 25, 2019
No. 1 @FSUSoccer nabs the win over No. 16 Wisconsin in overtime.#NCAASoccer | @accnetwork pic.twitter.com/Ycb8IyMbM3
The Seminoles travel to No. 4 UCLA and No. 5 Southern California in the upcoming week.
HERMANN TROPHY: 3 women's soccer players who could win it this year
No. 21 North Carolina State at No. 7 Georgetown
North Carolina State made a statement on Sunday, defeating Georgetown 3-1 to snap the Hoyas' streak of 24 consecutive home games without a loss — the active record in Division I.
After trading first-half goals, senior midfielder Tziarra King's second-half brace — on her birthday — secured the win for the visitors.
The Hoyas had the active streak in Division I for most consecutive home games without a loss. Milwaukee now holds the active streak at 23 games following a 3-1 win over Northern Illinois on Sunday.
The Wolfpack let a lead slip away in a loss to South Carolina on Thursday but got the job done at Shaw Field, earning the first top-10 upset of 2019.
No. 8 Duke at No. 2 North Carolina
A top-10 showdown and an in-state rivalry, North Carolina took the first of its two regular season meetings against Duke with a 2-0 victory over the Blue Devils.
The Tar Heels broke a scoreless tie with seconds remaining in the first half when Alexis Strickland connected with a header towards the right post following a cross from Hallie Klanke. Carolina doubled its lead off of a Blue Devils' own goal in the 76th minute.
🐏 vs. 🔵😈@ncwomenssoccer's Alexis Strickland puts one away in the rivalry matchup!#NCAASoccer | @accnetwork pic.twitter.com/hIeGbA4h9c
— NCAA Soccer (@NCAASoccer) August 25, 2019
The rematch between the two is on Oct. 10 in Durham.
No. 11 West Virginia vs. No. 3 Stanford (neutral site)
Stanford kicked off the afternoon slate by knocking off its second ranked team in the season's fledgling days. After edging No. 6 Penn State on Friday, the third-ranked Cardinal picked up a 3-1 win over West Virginia in State College, Pennsylvania.
STANFORD SOCCER: Cardinal get by Penn State in top-10 match
A trifecta of first-half goals was more than enough to keep Stanford in front of the Mountaineers. Carly Malatskey opened the scoring 13 minutes in after winning a ball deep in the final third of the pitch, a lead that doubled in the 36th minute on account of Sierra Enge's first collegiate goal. Madison Haley capped the Cardinal scoring with an impressive chip from 25 yards out just before the conclusion of the first half.
FINAL | Headed home with ✌️ wins over ranked teams to start 2️⃣0️⃣1️⃣9️⃣! 👊
— Stanford Women's Soccer (@StanfordWSoccer) August 25, 2019
🌲: 3
⛰: 1#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/8cpGK91krq
Sophomore forward Alina Stahl put West Virginia on the board in the second half's opening minute, but the Mountaineers were unable to capitalize beyond that. The Mountaineers were awarded a penalty kick in the 85th minute but it went wide.
Liberty at No. 9 Virginia
Virginia scored five of its six goals in the second half, but the bigger story of its 6-0 win revolves around underclassmen Diana Ordoñez and Alexa Spaanstra.
84' | That's a 🎩trick for the freshman! Diana Ordoñez adds another goal with the assist from Anna Sumpter. #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/n0DrMwNq0Z
— Virginia Women's Soccer (@UVAWomenSoccer) August 25, 2019
Ordoñez, a freshman, scored in her UVA debut on Aug. 23. Her second act was a hat trick as she found the back of the net in the 11th, 66th and 84th minutes to pace the Cavaliers' attack. Of Ordoñez's tallies, Spaanstra contributed to two of them, receiving the assist on each of Virginia's first four goals.
RANKINGS: United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll
Hofstra at No. 6 Penn State
After dropping a low-scoring contest to Stanford, the Penn State offense fired on all cylinders Sunday. Led by a second-half brace from Frankie Tagliaferri, five Nittany Lions scored in the team's 6-0 win over Hofstra.
Mercer at No. 10 Tennessee
Tennessee showed the extent of its offensive prowess in a 3-0 win over Mercer.
The Volunteers received goals from Alicia Donley, Claudia Dipasupil and MA Vignola to improve to 2-0, peppering the Bears with 23 shots. Of those, 11 were on target. Tennessee also denied Mercer a shot attempt.
Upsets and close calls
Most of Sunday's games ended with higher ranked teams coming away victorious. But a few matches provided upsets and a late-game heroics.
Florida at No. 18 South Florida
South Florida was the second ranked team to fall on Sunday. Florida edged USF 2-0 behind two goals from Kit Loferski and Deanne Rose in a 5:23 span of the second half. Gators' goalkeeper Susi Espinoza made a career-high eight saves in the win.
No. 24 LSU at Navy
After a 1-0 loss at Villanova to open the season, LSU got into the win column for the first time in 2019 but needed extra time to do so.
The Tigers were scoreless with Navy after 90 minutes, a drought that extended through the first half of overtime. Out of the additional break, Meghan Johnson dribbled past goalkeeper Sydney Fortson and netted her first-career goal, a game-winner for LSU.
It was a scoreless match in overtime.
— NCAA Soccer (@NCAASoccer) August 25, 2019
Then, Meghan Johnson happened. 😧
She secured No. 24 LSU's first win of the season with her first collegiate goal.#NCAASoccer | @LSUSoccer pic.twitter.com/ZA4dNJHZn6
