NCAA D1 Women's and Men's Soccer tournament nearing the end

The GIST: There were no turkeys on NCAA pitches this weekend as the best in the beautiful game played for a shot at the natty. Four teams remain in the championship hunt for the gals, while the fellas set their quarter-final field yesterday.

The women: Three of the tourney’s No. 1 seeds advanced to this Friday’s semis, but all had to fight to get there. The defending champ Florida State Seminoles booked their ticket to Cary, NC, thanks to a 53rd-minute No. 3 Arkansas Razorback own goal that was the, ahem, razor-thin difference in the ’Noles 1–0 win.

• Both the UCLA Bruins and the Alabama Crimson Tide needed OT to clinch their spots, with the Bruins knocking out No. 3 Virginia 2–1. And after an epic four goals in 11 minutes that saw the Tide sitting 2–2 with No. 2 Duke, Bama’s Reyna Reyes slotted in a 98th-minute game-winner to roll her squad through to the semis.

• The lone No. 1 seed knocked out? The unlucky Irish of Notre Dame, who fell 2–0 to the No. 2 UNC Tar Heels. They don’t call the Heels a dynasty for no reason.

The men: As for the fellas’ third round, No. 3 Syracuse, No. 7 Duke, No. 13 Indiana, Vermont and Portland all notched tight but expected victories over No. 14 Cornell, No. 10 FIU, Marshall, UCLA and Western Michigan, respectively. Unseeded Creighton, though, knocked out No. 15 Tulsa with a 2–1 upset win on Saturday and No. 12 UNCG upset No. 5 Stanford in penalties last night.

• The biggest shocker of the weekend? Unseeded (and undermanned) Pittsburgh defeating No. 1 Kentucky 2–1 yesterday, ending Kentucky’s (undefeated) season with Bertin Jacquesson’s 87th-minute strike. Damn.