Fall is finally starting to ramp up, and conference play continues to take front and center in the women’s Division I soccer season.

Below are five critical matches to watch (all times EST).

Friday, Sept. 29

No. 3 South Carolina (9-1, 3-0) at Mississippi (9-1-1, 2-1), 8 p.m, (SEC Network+)

A huge clash at this point in the SEC schedule, one conference power lines up against a surprise package so far this season. Ole Miss has a shot at cracking the SEC race wide open if it can come away with a win at home. The offense has been a big part of the Rebels’ early success, as both CeCe Kizer and Channing Foster have both scored 10 goals each. South Carolina’s back line is solid as usual, shutting down opposing attacks, leaving Savannah McCaskill to make magic happen in the final third.

Saturday, Sept. 30

Brown (8-2, 1-0) at Columbia (5-4-1, 1-0), 4 p.m. (Ivy League Network)

The Ivy League race is shaping up to be one of the best league races in 2017, as the duo of Brown and Columbia have shown that they can keep pace with Princeton. The Bears have been impressive, winners of five straight, including last weekend’s 1-0 overtime defeat of Dartmouth. Senior forward Mikela Waldman’s emerged as the offensive standout for a Brown side that was defensively excellent last season. Starland White’s provides a nice compliment offensively as a freshman. The Lions have more to prove in this clash after a more uneven nonconference schedule. They are coming off an 11-0 walloping of Wagner and a 2-0 win to open Ivy League play against Cornell. Whichever side can come up with the three points in this clash is going to like its chances of a title run.

No. 7 Penn State (8-1, 3-0-1) at No. 22 Ohio State (8-2-1, 3-1), 6 p.m. (BTN Plus)

Ahead of the new season, it wasn’t clear which teams would emerge to battle Penn State for Big Ten honors. At this stage of the season, Ohio State remains closest, just a point behind the Nittany Lions in the standings. That makes this crash crucial for the Buckeyes, as they’ll look to stay within striking distance or perhaps even overtake the conference leaders. Defensively, the Nittany Lions have started well in league play, conceding just one goal from its first four games. Shutting out the Buckeyes, which has already scored 10 – albeit scoring seven in one match – will go a long way in helping Penn State hold serve on the road.

Sunday, Oct. 1

Memphis (7-4-1, 1-1-1) at No. 23 UCF (5-1-1, 1-0-1), 1 p.m. (ucfknights.tv)

Another conference race that is shaping up to be a close one, the American Athletic title in Florida sees UCF play host to Memphis. The latter started off strong before fading a big towards the tail end of the conference season; Marie Levasseur, Mikayla Morton and Elizabeth Woerner have provided a formidable punch up front, combining for 19 goals and eight assists this year. Memphis certainly faces the more arduous task, as this clash on Sunday comes on the back of another difficult test against South Florida. UCF has seen its season go in fits and starts due to hurricanes in Florida, though the Knights did secure a confidence-boosting win at home against North Carolina on August 25 before three games were cancelled. German freshman Dina Orschmann’s coming into goal-scoring form, while Canadian senior Kayla Adamek has been playing well of late.

Wisconsin (8-2, 2-1) at No. 9 Rutgers (8-0-2, 2-0-1), 1 p.m. (BTN Plus)

While Ohio State and Penn State match up against each other on Saturday, another significant Big Ten clash is slated for Sunday. Both the Badgers and Scarlet Knights are just behind those other two programs, with Wisconsin arriving in New Jersey. Wisconsin’s been led up front by Dani Rhodes, who has six goals and three assists this year, though each side is buoyed by strong back lines. Rutgers finally let up its first goal of the season in a 2-1 win against Illinois last weekend, although it’s fair to say they haven’t played the most demanding schedule. Colby Ciarrocca and Amirah Ali have done a lot of the heavy lifting in the final third, while Casey Murphy has nine shutouts already in just 10 games. Goals may be hard to come by in this one, though it should provide compelling entertainment nonetheless.

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