Author Archives: Paul Kennedy

Wake Forest and North Carolina are located only 85 miles apart, but the schools will be meeting Friday 1,100 miles away in Frisco, Texas, in the semifinals of the Men’s College Cup (TV: ESPN2, live, 5:30 pm ET). The Tar Heels lead the all-time series 19-10-7, but the Demon Deacons have enjoyed recent success, winning the last three meetings, most recently, 4-2, at Chapel Hill this fall in one of their most impressive performances of the season.

Maryland coach Sasho Cirovski says the 2008 Men’s College Cup has the potential to be one of the best ever.  The four participants — Maryland, St. John’s, North Carolina and Wake Forest — have all won national titles in the last 12 years. Maryland takes a 14-game winning streak into its game against St. John’s (TV: ESPNU, live, 8 pm ET; ESPN2, Saturday, 11 am ET).

Transfers play an increasingly important role at major college programs, in particular as they seek to fill gaps left by the early departure of stars to the pro ranks. St. John’s, Maryland and North Carolina, which aim to dethrone Wake Forest at this weekend’s Men’s College Cup at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, all have transfers in prominent roles.

Of all the accomplishments defending champion Wake Forest has achieved this season — No. 1 ranking, top seed and the nation’s top offense — perhaps none is as remarkable as the fact that Jay Vidovich has six seniors projected to start in their third straight final four. Sophomores Ike Opara and Corben Bone may be Wake’s top pro prospects and junior Cody Arnoux is its leading scorer, but the heart of the team is the six seniors — defenders Lyle Adams and Evan Brown, midfielders Sam Cronin, Jamie Franks and Michael Lahoud and striker Marcus Tracy — who all started at College Cup ’06 and College Cup ’07 and are projected to start in Friday’s semifinal against North Carolina (TV, ESPN2, live, 5:30 pm ET).

It’s fitting that the Men’s College Cup will be played at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. Dallas soccer has had a big impact on the college game. All four Men’s College Cup teams have key players who hail from the Dallas soccer community. Two played for the Texans — St. John’s Ale Ivo and Maryland’s Omar Gonzalez — and two played for Solar — Wake Forest’s Corben Bone and North Carolina’s Cameron Brown. They’ll each square off in Friday’s semifinals.

Just when you thought some parity had arrived in women’s soccer, North Carolina came along to set things start.  The Tar Heels underdogs? Hah! They had to knock off not one, but two unbeaten teams, and they fell behind after only 16 seconds in the final. But they recovered to beat Notre Dame, 2-1, in the Women’s College Cup final and capture their 19th NCAA Division I women’s title and 100th win in NCAA Tournament history — against only eight losses. The hero was Casey Nogueira with two of the most phenomenal goals UNC coach Anson Dorrance says he has ever seen.

Last week it was 7-0. This week it was 5-0 — 4-0 in less than half an hour. Wake Forest left doubt who is the favorite to win the Men’s College Cup with a win over Big East champion South Florida that sends the Demon Deacons to the final four for the third straight year.

[2008 WOMEN’S COLLEGE CUP] Notre Dame, which enters its semifinal match against Stanford at the Women’s College Cup with a 25-0-0 record, looks to accomplish what it’s never done before — finish the season unbeaten. The Irish captured national titles in 1995 and 2004 but failed to win the four previous years it entered the final four unbeaten.

A rash of injuries to star players has impacted the men’s soccer season like none other in recent memory. The most notable injury was a knee injury 2007 Hermann Trophy winner O’Brian White is reported to have suffered playing for Connecticut — an injury that could impact his value in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. But other college stars have also been affected.

No Women’s College Cup has ever featured the depth of talent in the frontlines of the four participants. They include an Olympic gold-medalist (UCLA’s Lauren Cheney) and a former Hermann Trophy winner (Notre Dame’s Kerri Hanks). For a look at the North Carolina, Notre Dame, Stanford and UCLA frontlines …

No. 1 seed Wake Forest left no doubt who has the most explosive attack in men’s soccer, trouncing No. 16 seed Dartmouth, 7-0, on Sunday to move into the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament.

UCLA advanced to the Women’s College Cup for the sixth straight year in dominating fashion thanks to a 6-1 win over Duke Saturday. Olympic gold-medalist Lauren Cheney broke an early 1-1 tie with a goal in the 18th minute.

North Carolina moved into the women’s final four for the 24th time in 27 years when it outlasted Texas A&M, 2-1, in overtime before 2,686 fans Friday afternoon in Chapel Hill, N.C.

In a game moved to the St. Vincent-St. Mary High School’s athletic complex in Akron after it was postponed due to inclement weather and unplayable field conditions at Lee Jackson Field, No. 5 seed Akron beat Ohio State, 1-0, on a goal by senior Matt Tutich with five seconds remaining in the second overtime on Wednesday. The Zips won’t get time, however, to have their home field in shape for Sunday’s game against No. 12 Northwestern. The NCAA moved their third-round game to Northwestern.