Although No. 1 Florida State continued to roll on Thursday night, dominating Pitt 5-0 to move to 9-0, everything became less predictable from there.
Of our 11 undefeated teams entering the night, eight remain after Thursday's slate.
UNDEFEATED: Here are the remaining undefeated women's college soccer teams
Let's take a deeper look at these matchups:
No. 4 North Carolina 2, Virginia Tech 2
This was a weird game. No. 4 North Carolina was shocked by Duke last week, and although Duke was a fellow top-5 team, the first rivalry loss for the Tar Heels since 2015 seemed to have them a bit deflated. Virginia Tech scored in the 31st minute of the first half and doubled up with under 11 minutes remaining, notching their first series points against North Carolina since 2011. North Carolina was on the back foot for nearly the entire game, as Virginia Tech held on to a 2-0 lead despite being outshot 32-10. North Carolina tied this one up by barely breaking through in the final 10 minutes thanks to a pair of goals from freshman phenom Emily Colton, who received high praise from coach Anson Dorrance. This one was able to end in a tie by two major factors: Hokies goalkeeper Alia Skinner managing to make a career-high 14 saves, and North Carolina assistant coach Damon Nahas crafting a new formation for Carolina to be able to score twice in a span of 2:50.
Fabulous endorsement of the play of Tar Heel freshman Emily Colton from the former U.S. National Team and World Cup-winning head coach @VisionsofaChamp.#GoHeels pic.twitter.com/koGlmC2YC5
— UNC Women's Soccer (@uncwomenssoccer) September 24, 2021
No. 7 Virginia 1, No. 2 Duke 0
The Cavaliers posted an impressive showing, as Diana Ordoñez continued to prove lethal in front of the net, scoring the game-winning goal in back-to-back games for Virginia. Her goal in the 57th minute is her 11th game-winning goal of her career, and her ninth goal on the season. Ordoñez leads the team in goals with nine and in total points with 18. Though both teams took nine shots, Virginia got in a few more quality chances on goal and ultimately stopped No. 2 Duke after coming out to a 7-0 start. Virginia has now shutcout two ACC opponents in a row and is 9-1 on the season, with its only loss coming from Penn State in a thrilling 4-2 matchup earlier this month.
Ole Miss 2, No. 5 LSU 0
After coming out to an unprecedented start at 8-0 and defeating the most ranked opponents in program history, LSU found its historic run come to a halt as Ole Miss overwhelmed the Tigers. Both teams were knotted at zero at the half despite the Rebels having the edge in scoring chances. Ultimately, Ole Miss broke through in the 62nd minute from a corner kick, and then on a cross in the 74th minute to extend the lead. Ole Miss dominated this game, outshooting LSU 19-5. Keep in mind that this win for Ole Miss comes after LSU upset the Rebels in the SEC tournament last season, 2-1 in OT. Ole Miss came in ready to avenge a loss that knocked them out of the conference tournament and ended their fall season.
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No. 17 Tennessee 2, No. 11 Auburn 1
This match was a double-overtime thriller in Knoxville. Marissa Arias struck first as she gave Auburn the 1-0 lead in the 69th minute. Just over fifteen minutes later, Tennessee's Taylor Huff notched the equalizer. The Volunteers led the Tigers in shots 8-3 in the first, but trailed in the second 10-7. This game remained tied at 1-1 through regulation and then one overtime period until Brooke Wilson called game for Tennessee 12 seconds into 2OT with a far post shot from just over 10 yards out.
Golden goal vibes 😍 @brookiiew231 pic.twitter.com/mOQyObIb1K
— Tennessee Soccer (@Vol_Soccer) September 24, 2021
Northwestern 2, No. 12 Penn State 1
Ending their road stretch, Penn State hosted Northwestern for its first home game in almost a month. Northwestern's offense came out rolling, testing the Nittany Lions keeper within the first five minutes. Kaylee Titus of Northwestern was able to break through and get the 1-0 advantage for her side just under six minutes later on a well placed curling shot to the bottom corner of the net. Northwestern capitalized in transition against Penn State to go up 2-0 within 37' minutes in the first. Though Penn State got one back in the second half, this one ended 2-1 with Northwestern having the advantage in shots all night.
