NCAA DI Women’s Quarterfinal field set

by Travis Clark

November 23, 2015

And then there were eight.

After the quick-fire second and third rounds of the women’s DI NCAA Tournament, the field of contenders for a spot in the College Cup has been trimmed to just eight programs.

MORE: Women's DI Top 25 update | College Scoreboard | DI NCAA Women's Tournament Bracket

Here’s a recap of some of the action from Sunday.

Virginia continues home dominance

For the second time in two games, Makenzy Dniak and Alexis Shaffer propelled Virginia on to the next round of the NCAA Tournament.

The pair scored both of UVA’s goals in Friday’s 2-0 victory against UNC Wilmington, and they provided all the offense the Cavaliers needed on Sunday to knock out USC. Doniak opened the scoring with a 43rd minute finish, her 14th of the season, while Shaffer put the game to bed with an 81st minute strike as the ACC power is one game away from a third straight College Cup appearance.

Sub helps Stanford past Pac-12 foes

While injuries are creating issues in Palo Alto, Stanford's success in this year's tournament continued, as Megan Turner and two goals from Ryan Walker-Hartshorn provided the offense in a 3-0 defeat of Arizona.

Turner's 18th minute goal stood for nearly the entire game, before Walker-Hartshorn added two late tallies to put the game away.

Penn State powers past Ohio State

Is there a more in form team at the moment than the Nittany Lions? Penn State's offense continued to drive its postseason success, defeating Big Ten opponents Ohio State 4-0. The Buckeyes nearly kept it at 0-0 until the halftime break, before Megan Schafer's 43rd minute tally. Raquel Rodriguez made it a 2-0 lead 51 seconds into the second half, while Emily Ogle and Haleigh Echard chipped in the final two goals.

Rutgers bests Connecticut

Known all season for its stingy defending, the Scarlet Knights scored twice in each half, defeating Connecticut 4-0 at home to setup a quarterfinal meeting against Virginia. Madison Tiernan opened the scoring in the 28th minute, and three minutes later, Katelyn Walters doubled the lead three minutes later. Cassie Inacio made it a 3-0 lead in the 50th minute, while Colby Ciarocca made it four goals with just under a minute remaining.

.@RVisionRU: @RUWSoccer Runs Through UConn 4-0, Advances to Elite 8 https://t.co/nCxF2tmCcc
— RutgersWomensSoccer (@RUWSoccer) November 22, 2015

Seminoles roll into the quarterfinals

Once again, FSU's sensational form in the NCAA Tournament continued. After blanking Auburn 2-0 at home, the Seminoles have outscored opponents 10-0 through the first three knockout rounds of the 2015 competition. Freshman forward Kaycie Tillman's 25th minute goal would've been sufficient as Auburn managed just a single shot on goal in the 90 minutes. An own goal more than three minutes later rounded out the scoring, as FSU is one win away from a fifth straight appearance in the national semifinals.

Freshman fires Duke past Florida

One of the top recruits in the nation ahead of the fall campaign, Duke freshman star Taylor Racioppi showed a real poacher's instinct, firing in a second half finish as the Blue Devils topped Florida 2-1 in Gainesville.

Sarah Troccoli put the Gators up 1-0 in the game's 21st minute, heading home from a corner kick. The lead lasted just nine minutes, as Duke defender Rebecca Quinn leveled the score wiht a header of her own. Racioppi fired home the winner in the 55th minute, and the Duke defense held firm to setup a quarterfinal matchup in California against Stanford.

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Related Topics: American Athletic, Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Coastal Athletic Association, Pacific 12, SEC