BY SCOTT FRENCH, SENIOR EDITOR The college women’s soccer playoffs have played out almost as expected, with an upset here (SMU over Texas in the first round) and there (Cincinnati over Notre Dame in the second round) but most of the favorites getting through. The NCAA made a mess of the draw with their insistence on geographical matchups and some ill-considered seeding, but in the end, seven of the top eight teams in Soccer America’s final Top 20, plus No. 11 Virginia, have reached the quarterfinals. No. 1 North Carolina and No. 2 Santa Clara have had the simplest roads to this point. Carolina’s bracket wasn’t particularly tough — Connecticut, ranked 16th, was gifted the No. 8 seed — and Santa Clara’s only difficulty (besides nagging injury to two top players) was a trip to Illinois for the first two games. The Broncos were the only seeded team sent on the road, an NCAA move to reduce travel for the other teams in their foursome. How Conference USA runner-up Marquette was awarded a home assignment for the first two rounds (with relative weaklings UW Milwaukee, Oakland and Dartmouth in their foursome) — while No. 10 Texas plays in the group at No. 5 Texas A&M and No. 13 St. Mary’s is in the foursome at No. 9 Stanford, with the winners of each group meeting in the third round — defies reason. Winners of this weekend’s games advance to the Women’s College Cup Dec. 7 and 9 at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Here’s the quarterfinal pairings: FRIDAY PENN STATE (21-3-1) AT NORTH CAROLINA (22-0), 7 p.m. EST The top-ranked Tar Heels are coming off their roughest outing of the season, a 2-1 comeback triumph over Rutgers. That should restore any missing focus, and the depth of their talent — as always — is unmatched. Penn State has a great forward (junior Christie Welsh, with 25 goals and 18 assists in 25 games) surrounded by some really good ones. The Nittany Lions have impressed in the playoffs after dominating during against mediocre opposition during the regular season. Scott French says: If Welsh or Heidi Drummond go off and Emily Oleksiuk has a blinder in the nets, Penn State might pull off the upset. That’s unlikely. North Carolina 3 Penn State 1. SATURDAY VIRGINIA (17-3-2) AT SANTA CLARA (20-2), 1 p.m. PST The nation’s best freshman-heavy squads tangle in what should be the most aesthetically attractive of the four games. Lindsay Gusick, one of Virginia’s freshmen, has been hot since moving into the starting lineup after five games (17 goals in 16 starts), and her hat trick finished off Cincinnati’s Cinderella run last weekend. Santa Clara has an enormously gifted team, but playmaker Aly Wagner (hip flexor) and Veronica Zepeda (shin-splints) are ailing. Scott French says: Wagner’s injury is worrisome, but the key matchup will be Virginia playmaker Lori Lindsey vs. Santa Clara midfielder Devvyn Hawkins in the center. Santa Clara 2 Virginia 1. SUNDAY TEXAS A&M (17-3-1) AT PORTLAND (19-3), noon PST Senior Nicky Thrasher and freshman Linsey Johnson are sort of the yin and yang of A&M’s attack. Thrasher is thoughtful and savvy, a student of the game. Johnson is aggressive — wildly, and effectively, so at times — with 4.6 40 speed. Portland, as with all Clive Charles teams, plays suffocating defense. Freshman Christine Sinclair, already starring for Canada’s national team, has 21 goals, eight of them gamewinners, four of them critical strikes in the final 15 minutes. Scott French says: Sinclair adds a new dimension to the powerful Pilots, and she’s scored eight first-half goals in the past eight games. And nobody can kill a game like Portland. Portland 2 Texas A&M 0. FLORIDA (20-3-1) AT UCLA (20-2), 1 p.m. PST The best matchup in the bunch, and the one the WUSA Insider wishes it could see (damn airfare prices). UCLA, one of the nation’s best-balanced squads, seems to be finding its groove at the best possible time. Florida might be the nation’s hottest side — 17 wins in 18 games — and the difference is defense. The Gators gave allowed 10 goals in their past 22 matches after surrendering four in their first two. Scott French says: Florida’s Abby Wambach (31 goals, 13 assists) is battling Santa Clara’s Aly Wagner for player-of-the-year votes. How well she copes with the Bruins’ defense could determine the outcome. UCLA 2 Florida 2 (Florida wins on penalty kicks, 4-2). The Division II Final four is Friday (Christian Brothers vs. Franklin Pierce, 11:30 a.m. PST, and Northern Kentucky at UC San Diego, 1:30 p.m.) and Sunday (final, 1 p.m.) in La Jolla, Calif.