Today's NCAA men's soccer semifinals provide two interesting matchups.

The first game, broadcast live on ESPN2 at 5 p.m. ET, features two teams with sharply contrasting formations: Maryland against UCLA. The second game, which will be shown on tape delay at Saturday at noon ET on ESPN2, appears to be a duel between Creighton's risk-taking offense and Stanford's stingy team defense.

Maryland plays a 4-3-3 formation and generally tries to attack at speed, whereas UCLA plays a 3-5-2 and relies more on a patient possession game.

Maryland has no seniors on its roster while UCLA has six.

Bruins senior defender Scot Thompson briefly analyzed Maryland's striking trident of Abe Thompson, Domenic Mediate and Nino Marcantonio yesterday. With four goals, Mediate is the only Terrapin to score in the NCAAs. Maryland earned an own goal against Connecticut.

''We really have to watch out for their three forwards, play fast in the back, get the ball out wide and attack them on the flanks,'' Thompson said.

UCLA Coach Tom Fitzgerald said neither team is going to play ''conservative soccer,'' but that he hopes to force Maryland's wide forwards to track back, making them less capable of counterattacking.

Maryland Coach Sasho Cirovski said he expects his team to concede some possession, ''but we're not going to change what we do. … we don't get caught up in trying to make five-yard passes and pretty soccer, but we are still exciting. We like to get the ball and go.''

The Bruins are making their 30th NCAA Tournament appearance, second only to St. Louis' 41. This is UCLA's 11th trip to the College Cup, ranking it third behind St. Louis (16) and Indiana (15). The most recent of UCLA's three championships came in 1997.

This is Maryland's 20th tournament appearance and seventh semifinal appearance. The Terrapins won their only national title in 1968. In its most recent College Cup, Maryland lost to Stanford in the 1998 semifinals.

The second semifinal will likely be determined by Creighton's ability to threaten the Stanford goal. The Bluejays have averaged 2.3 goals a game this season, but averaged 3.3 goals over the past six games. Stanford, meanwhile has only allowed 14 goals all season — an average of 0.61 per game.

''Stanford has a great team shape, they don't send too many guys forward, they're very conscious of the counter,'' Creighton Coach Bob Warming said. ''They're very dangerous on corner kicks and free kicks — very dangerous.

The Bluejays two outside backs, Matt Thomas and David Wagenfuhr, tend to join the attack frequently. Creighton plays without a left midfielder to give Wagenfuhr more room to push forward. Brazilian Luis Del Monte, meanwhile, will try to beat players on the dribble and cross from the right side. Both are looking for the center forward duo of Mike Tranchilla (14 goals) and Damien Westfield (8).

''[Creighton has] a lot of good attacking players, and it's not just their forwards,'' said Stanford Coach Bret Simon, who coached the Bluejays to the national final in 1999. ''If we weren't here, I'd be here cheering them on.''

Stanford, meanwhile, attacks and defends as a unit but has had four-game goal-less drought in October.

Center midfielder Johanes Maliza is the catalyst, but he is also looks for his own shots. Top forward Roger Levesque scored his first goal in 12 games in the quarterfinal win against Clemson, but he leads the team with 13 assists.

Field conditions could be a factor in today's matches, as SMU's Gerald Ford Stadium was re-sodded this past week due to damage from overuse. Some light rain fell Thursday and Friday.

Probable starters:

MARYLAND (20-4) — Palmer (Va.); Lancos (N.J.), Goodson (Va.), Stammler (Ohio), Bertz (Ohio); Buete (Md.), Ibrahim (Ghana), Rodway (Md.); Mediate (Tex.), Thompson (Va.), Marcantonio (Md.).

UCLA (16-3-3) — Wells (Calif.); Thompson (Calif.), Lawson (Calif.), Griffin (Calif.); Gregorio (Calif.), Enfield (Calif.), Lopez (Calif.), Frazelle (Calif.), Maurin (Calif.); Pierce (Calif.), McKinley (Calif.)

CREIGHTON (18-3-2) — Gabb (Neb.); Thomas (Neb.), M. Wieland (Neb.), Havens (Tex.), Wagenfuhr (Colo.); Del Monte (Brazil), Ballouchy, (Morocco), J. Wieland (Neb.), Jewitt (Kan.); Tranchilla (Mo.), Westfield (Trinidad).

STANFORD (17-4-2) — Fulton (Ore); Maines (Maine), Graham (Calif.), Marshall (Calif.), Dunivant (Colo.); Geiger (Mich.), Wilson (New Zealand), Maliza (Ill.), Twellman (Mo.); Levesque (Maine), Fernandez (South Africa).