Author Archives: Paul Kennedy

MEN’S NEWS … Tuesday was another rough night for Top 25 teams. Three ACC teams — No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 Wake Forest and No. 14 Boston College — all lost to unranked opponents.

— Despite playing the last 49 minutes with 10 players, George Mason beat No. 3 Maryland, 2-0, before 2,781 fans. Victor Freeman scored the first goal and redirected the ball for Draymond Washington to head home for the second goal. The Patriots, who had not beaten Maryland since 2001, lost midfielder Ryan Gracia to a red card in the 41st minute.

— Evan James, Jennings Rex and Owen Darby scored to give visiting Charlotte a 3-1 win over Wake Forest, snapping the Demon Deacons’ 46-game unbeaten streak against non-conference opponents. “This was a tremendous result,” said Charlotte coach Jeremy Gunn. “We played great soccer tonight and we showed people what we are capable of as a soccer program. Wake Forest has been one of the bench mark programs in college soccer.

— Freshman Emery Welshman scored his first collegiate goal in the 10th minute to give Siena a 1-0 win over Boston College for its first victory ever over an ACC team.

Tuesday Results

* LEADING GOAL SCORERS:
1. Andrew Bulls, UMBC 12
2. Matthew Skonicki, Winthrop 8
2. Saeed Sulemana Baba, Western Michigan 8
2. Chris Cutshaw, Bradley 8
2. Matt Eliason, Northwestern 8
2. Andrew Wiedeman, California 8
2. J.C. Banks, Green Bay 8
2. Levi Houapeu, UMBC 8
(Through games played Sept. 27.)

* MILESTONE. Sam Koch won his 200th game as Massachusetts head coach Tuesday when the Minutemen improved their unbeaten streak to five games with a 3-0 win over Colgate. Koch’s record now stands at 200-133-36 in 19 seasons at UMass. He was 58-53-16 in six seasons at Stanford. (VIDEO: UMass-Colgate highlights)

MEN’S NEWS … This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Boston College, but after a 1-3 start — including losses to No. 3 Maryland and No. 8 Harvard — the Eagles have run off four wins in a row, including a 2-0 win over Duke on Friday night, and made their 2009 debut in the Soccer America Men’s Top 25 this week at No. 14.

Veteran coach Eddie Kelly had seven starters, including All-American Alejandro Bedoya, graduate and an eighth, Shawn Chin, transfer to South Florida. But Kelly, now seconded by Marco Koolman, the highly successful head coach at Division II Franklin Pierce, has built BC into one of the hottest men’s programs in recent years. The Eagles have held their own since joining the ACC in 2005, and they’ve featured such players as U.S. national team star Charlie Davies and Bedoya.

The ’09 Eagles’ best player may be sophomore Edwin Worley, who like Bedoya and Chin hails from Florida, but a corps of eight freshmen have made a huge difference. Except for Worley’s two goals, all the scoring has come from freshmen. Kelly has found them in New England boarding schools, MLS academy programs, as far away as the LAFC Chelsea program in Southern California.

Only one senior, defender Chris Carey, played against Duke, and it was his first appearance of the season since returning from injury.

* BOSTON COLLEGE FRESHMEN:
GK-Justin Luthy (Columbus Crew Academy) Allowed one goal in the last four games.
D-Isaac Taylor (D.C. United Academy) Left-sided player made first start at Maryland.
D-Sacir Hot (New York Red Bulls Academy) Started first seven games.
D-Stefan Carter (Albertson SC) One of five freshmen to start on opening day.
M-Kyle Bekker (Canada) Has two goals and three assists.
M-Colin Murphy (New Zealand) First collegiate goal was winner against Duke.
F-Kevin Mejia (LAFC Chelsea) Scored insurance goal against Duke from penalty spot.
F-Charlie Rugg (FC Greater Boston Bolts) Leads BC with three goals and two assists.

* SOCCER FEVER. Two days before game time, No. 1 Akron announced that its game against No. 11 Ohio State is already a sellout. It’s the Zips’ second advance sellout in four games at Lee Jackson Field this season. UA set an attendance record on Sept. 18 when 2,443 watched the Zips defeat Indiana, 1-0. (UA students with valid ID will be admitted free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis when the gates open at 6:30 p.m. and continuing until the facility reaches its capacity.)

* TUESDAY’S TOP 25 SCHEDULE:
George Mason vs. No. 3 Maryland
Radford vs. No. 5 North Carolina
No. 4 Wake Forest vs. Charlotte
No. 10 Indiana vs. No. 23 Kentucky
No. 14 Boston College vs. Siena
No. 15 Duke vs. Elon
No. 16 Virginia vs. VCU

* MASTERS CANDIDATE. Mike Mattson, whose goal gave Clemson a 1-0 win over Virginia Friday for its first win in seven games, is in the masters of professional accounting program at Clemson after graduating from the University of Central Florida in May. He started for three seasons at UCF, sat out the 2008 and spent the summer with the Central Florida Kraze in the PDL, where was second in the league with 10 assists. Mattson is featured in this week’s Soccer America Men’s Team of the Week

MEN’S NEWS … Fourteen teams ranked in last week’s Soccer America Men’s Top 25 lost this weekend. They included three upsets apiece in two of the major conferences, the ACC and Big East.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was Clemson’s 1-0 win at Virginia on Saturday night. The win was get first win in seven games under interim coach Phil Hindson. Another ACC team in transition, Virginia Tech, followed suit by beating N.C. State, 2-0.

The third unranked team ACC to beat a ranked team was Boston College, a 2-0 winner over Duke. The Eagles have won five in a row and jumped into this week’s Soccer America Men’s Top 25 at No. 14.

Two Big East teams, Louisville and South Florida, lost for the first time this season on Friday when they dropped conference games to Notre Dame (4-0) and West Virginia (1-0), respectively. Also losing on Friday was St. John’s, which fell at Connecticut, 1-0.

Weekend Results

* TOP 25 UPSETS:
Friday, Sept. 25
No. 4 California 1 (Carrasco 41) New Mexico 2 (Urbany 21, Farquharson 89).
West Virginia 1 (Sebele 92) No. 5 South Florida 0 (OT).
Notre Dame 4 (Thomas 49, Perry 60, Dike 75, Brovsky 77) No. 7 Louisville 0.
San Diego State 4 (Reza 21, 60, Wallace 31, Tott 75) No. 11 UC Santa Barbara 2 (Silva 27, Nonni 46).
Boston College 2 (Reddick 59, Mejia 89) No. 12 Duke 0.
Connecticut 1 (Watson-Siriboe 40) No. 22 St. John’s 0.
Davidson 4 (Pilgrim 23, Caskey pen. 39, 62, Reiter 81) No. 25 South Carolina 1 (Lindsay 74).

Saturday, Sept. 26
No. 13 Virginia 0 Clemson 1 (Mattson 41).
Hartwick 2 (Roydhouse 40, Summers 75) No. 15 Dartmouth 0.

Sunday, Sept. 27
No. 14 Creighton 1 (Gjoesund 34) Portland 2 (Warner 48, Nielsen 84).
Virginia Tech 2 (Akogyeram 80, Shupp 5) No. 17 N.C. State 0.
Penn State 2 (Hertzog 53, Yeisley 80) No. 18 Michigan 0.
Cal State Bakersfield 1 (Lampart 19) No. 20 Loyola Marymount 0
Butler 2 (Pollock 52, Cardona 87) No. 25 Wisconsin-Green Bay 1 (Walls 82).

* PERFECT STARTS. Following Harvard’s 1-0 loss at Wake Forest on Saturday and Stetson’s 1-1 tie with Alabama A&M on Sunday, the number of unbeaten and untied teams is down to three:

— No. 1 Akron (7-0-0) defeated Bowling Green, 6-0, to open its Mid-American season. The Zips scored all six goals in the first half. Midfielder Michael Nanchoff, who missed the entire 2008 season due to an illness, matched a 43-year school record shared by his father, George, with four assists.

— No. 9 Monmouth (8-0-0) beat Loyola (Md.), 1-0, on Saturday and finished with a perfect non-conference record for the first time in program history. A pair of freshmen teamed up to give the Hawks the win before 1,322 fans in Baltimore. Cody Calafiore‘s cross found Ryan Clark for the winning goal in the 78th minute.

— After eight wins at home, No. 25 UMBC (9-0-0) took to the road Saturday and defeated La Salle, 3-0, ending an 11-game road winless streak dating back to the 2007 season. Sophomore forward Andrew Bulls, scored a pair of first-half goals to give him 12 for the season.

MEN’S NEWS … No. 3 UCLA improved to 5-1-0 with a 3-0 win over  visiting Air Force. The Bruins got two second-half goals from senior Kyle Nakazawa.

No. 4 California and No. 5 South Florida rebounded from losses on Friday night to pick up wins on Sunday over Air Force (3-0) and Pitt (2-1), respectively.

Four more Top 25 teams fell to unranked teams, bringing the weekend total to 13:

— Portland edged No. 14 Creighton, 2-1;
— No. 17 N.C. State fell at Virginia Tech, 2-0;
— Penn State snapped No. 18 Michigan’s winning streak at seven games with a 2-0 win;
— No. 25 Wisconsin-Green Bay lost for the first time this season when it fell at Butler, 2-1.

(Click here for more Sunday men’s results.)

* TOP 25 SCOREBOARD:
Sunday, Sept. 27
No. 4 California 3 (Wiedeman 9, 26, Omphroy 57) Air Force 0.
Big East: Pittsburgh 1 (Boehm 86) No. 5 South Florida 2 (Mittoo 16, Anor pen. 52).
Big East: Marquette 2 (Von Rueden 57, Herrera 88) No. 7 Louisville 2 (Braun 4, Knight 23).
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No. 14 Creighton 1 (Gjoesund 34) Portland 2 (Warner 48, Nielsen 84).
ACC:  Virginia Tech 2 (Akogyeram 80, Shupp 5) No. 17 N.C. State 0.
Big Ten: Penn State 2 (Hertzog 53, Yeisley 80) No. 18 Michigan 0.
(Wolverines’ winning streak is snapped at seven games.)
Big Ten: No. 19 Michigan State 0 No. 24 Ohio State 1 (Scales 18).
Cal State Bakersfield 0 No. 20 Loyola Marymount 3 (Gallaudet 1, Rementer 11, Lawson 26).
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Big East: Providence 0 No. 22 St. John’s 0.
Big Ten: No. 23 Northwestern 1 (Hillgard 93) SIU-Edwardsville 0 (OT).
Horizon: Butler 2 (Pollock 52, Cardona 87) No. 25 Wisconsin-Green Bay 1 (Walls 82).
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83th minute: No. 11 UC Santa Barbara 1 (Ibrahim pen.) UC Irvine 0. (Attendance: 4,511.)
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Saturday, Sept. 26
Mid-American: No. 1 Akron 6 (Barson 7, Bunbury 19, 35, Nagbe 25, Zemanski 36, Speas 44) Bowling Green 0.
ACC: No. 9 Wake Forest 1 (Arena 62) No. 6 Harvard 0.
Loyola (Md.) 0 No. 10 Monmouth 1 (Clark 78).
(Game draws 1,322 fans at Geppi-Aikens Stadium.)
ACC:  No. 13 Virginia 0 Clemson 1 (Mattson 41).
(Tigers get first win in seven games under interim coach  Phil Hindson.)
Hartwick 2 (Roydhouse 40, Summers 75) No. 15 Dartmouth 0.
Rhode Island 1 (Puranen 45) No. 21 Boston University 2 (O’Neal 6, 23).
(Aaron O’Neal leads BU with seven goals in nine games.)

MEN’S NEWS … A record Ludwig Field crowd of 6,946 fans watched No. 8 Maryland beat No. 2 North Carolina, 1-0, in a rematch of last year’s NCAA Division I championship game.

Maryland has now beaten North Carolina four times over the last two seasons — all by shutouts. UNC had the edge in play, but the Terrapins won on Kevin Tangney‘s header in the 89th minute. Billy Schuler had a chance to put Carolina ahead, but he missed a penalty kick in the second half.

Tangney, a player who has missed two full seasons due to a pair of ACL tears, has emerged as one of the leaders on a very young Maryland team. “That was one of the best moments of my 17 years here and not because we won the game against a great opponent but in the player that found the way to get the game-winning goal,” Maryland coach Sasho Cirovski said. “With all that he has been through, I rarely talk about a single player after a game, but you have a gulp in your throat when he scored that goal and had that celebration because you know what he’s gone through. He’s made of the best stuff on earth.”

GAME OF THE DAY
Sept. 25 in College Park, Md.
Maryland 1 North Carolina 0. Goal: Tangney 89.
Maryland — MacMath, Kemp, White, Tangney, Lee, Kassel, Rodkey, Yates, Forbess, Townsend, Herrick. Subs: Saint Cyr, Cortes, Oduaran, Woodberry.
North Carolina — Haggerty, Graye, McKinney, Loyd, King, McCarty, Brown, Urso, Farfan, Dixon, Schuler. Subs: Lebo, Martinez, Walters.
Referee: Andrew Chapin.
Att.: 6,946.

* TOP 25 SETBACKS. In Big East play, West Virginia and Notre Dame handed No. 5 South Florida and No. 7 Louisville their first losses, respectively. No. 4 California fell to New Mexico, 2-1. No. 11 UC Santa Barbara lost at San Diego State, 4-2. No. 12 Duke, No. 22 St. John’s and No. 25 South Carolina also lost to unranked teams.

* G20 FEVER. Visiting DePaul was not deterred by all kinds of security details in place for the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh to beat host Pitt, 1-0, on Steffen Vroom‘s goal in Big East action on Friday. “There were roadblocks everywhere, and we had to take a detour to the game,” said DePaul coach Craig Blazer. “There were all kinds of policemen and security forces in the streets. Some of the leaders from Germany and their delegation were staying in our hotel. There were SWAT teams in our hotel.”

(Click here for more Friday night men’s results as well as the weekend Top 25 schedule.)

* FRIDAY’S TOP 25 SCOREBOARD:
ACC: No. 8 Maryland 1 (Tagney 88) No. 2 North Carolina 0.
San Diego 1 (Feld pen. 62) No. 3 UCLA 2 (Hollingshead 10, Nakazawa pen. 48).
No. 4 California 1 (Carrasco 41) New Mexico 2 (Urbany 21, Farquharson 89).
Big East: West Virginia 1 (Sebele 92) No. 5 South Florida 0 (OT).
Big East: Notre Dame 4 (Thomas 49, Perry 60, Dike 75, Brovsky 77) No. 7 Louisville 0.
San Diego State 4 (Reza 21, 60, Wallace 31, Tott 75) No. 11 UC Santa Barbara 2 (Silva 27, Nonni 46).
ACC: Boston College 2 (Reddick 59, Mejia 89) No. 12 Duke 0.
Washington 0 No. 14 Creighton 1 (Finlay 25).
Big Ten: Wisconsin 0 No. 16 Indiana 1 (Bruin 57).
(Game drew a crowd of 1,703, largest Badger crowd since the 1997 season.)
Big East: Connecticut 1 (Watson-Siriboe 40) No. 22 St. John’s 0.
Big Ten: No. 23 Northwestern 2 (Eliason 45, O’Neill 84) Drake 2 (Kuhn 27, Webb 86).
Davidson 4 (Pilgrim 23, Caskey pen. 39, 62, Reiter 81) No. 25 South Carolina 1 (Lindsay 74).
Horizon: Wright State 1 (Kercher 89) No. 25 Wisconsin-Green Bay 4 (Walls 5, Grable 22, Banks 66, Patterson 78).