Author Archives: Paul Kennedy

MEN’S NEWS … Maryland and North Carolina will meet Friday night in a rematch of their 2008 NCAA Division I championship game won by the Terrapins, but fans watching at Ludwig Field (where a record crowd is expected) or on Fox Soccer Channel (kickoff: 8 pm ET) will hardly recognize the two teams.

Maryland lost five players from its championship team to MLS — Omar Gonzalez, A.J. DeLaGarza, Rodney Wallace, Jeremy Hall and Graham Zusi — while Carolina graduated four seniors and lost freshman star Sheanon Williams, who left school and is playing for the U.S. under-20 national team in Egypt.

Maryland beat North Carolina three times in 2008, but the No. 2 Tar Heels are the slight favorites this time. They have yet to lose a game in 2009, while the No. 8 Terrapins lost their opener, 2-0, to UCLA before a Ludwig Field record crowd of 6,718.

Freshmen should play key roles in Friday’s game. Ethan White and Taylor Kemp have played well on the Maryland backline that features four news starters. South Carolina prep legend Enzo Martinez has played well for Carolina in ACC wins over N.C. State and Duke.

* PROJECTED STARTERS:
MARYLAND
Goalkeeper:
1 *Zac MacMath, SOPH. (Played for USA at 2007 Under-17 World Cup.)
Defenders:
2 Taylor Kemp, FR. (All-Development Academy pick at Real Colorado)
4 Ethan White, FR. (Product of D.C. United’s academy program)
15 Kevin Tagney, SR. (Came on as sub in 2008 championship game.)
18 Alex Lee, SOPH. (Played as a forward during freshman season)
Midfielders:
5 *Doug Rodkey, SR. (Led Terrapins with nine assists in 2008.)
8 Matt Kassel, SOPH. (Product of New York Red Bulls youth program.)
10 Drew Yates, SR. (Sparkplug off bench in 2008.)
23 Kaoru Forbess, SOPH. (Back injury slowed him down in 2008.)
Forwards:
9 *Jason Herrick, JR. (Missed the 2007 due to an injury.)
11 *Casey Townsend, SOPH. (2008 Soccer America Freshman of the Year.)

NORTH CAROLINA
Goalkeeper:
1 *Brooks Haggerty, SR. (Has allowed only four goals in six games.)
Defenders:
4 Brett King, SOPH. (One of four 2008 appearances came in final.)
5 *Zach Loyd, SR. (Started in midfield in 2008 championship game.)
14 *Jordan Graye, SR. (Knee injury limited playing time at College Cup.)
23 Drew McKinney, SOPH. (Red-shirted in ’07 and didn’t play in ’08.)
Midfielders:
15 *Cameron Brown, JR. (Leads UNC with two game-winning goals.)
18 Kirk Urso, SOPH. (Reserve in 2008 championship game.)
19 Michael Farfan, JR. (Transferred from Cal State Fullerton)
Forwards:
3 Alex Dixon, SOPH. (One of seven former U-17 residents on UNC roster.)
10 *Billy Schuler, SOPH. (Starter in 2008 championship game.)
16 Enzo Martinez, FR. (Star on Discoveries SC U-18 national champs.)
*Starter in 2008 NCAA Division I championship game.

Weekend Top 25 Schedule

* ZIP FEVER. No. 1 Akron is selling season-ticket packages — $40 for adults, $25 for youth — to its remaining six games. The Zips drew a sellout crowd of 2,443 for their game against Indiana a week ago, and another sellout is expected for the match against Ohio State on Wednesday night.

MEN’S NEWS … Like North Carolina, Maryland, Duke and Virginia the day before, Wake Forest made things hard on itself in its mid-week non-conference test. Corben Bone broke a 1-1 tie in the 53rd minute to lift the No. 9 Demon Deacons to a 2-1 victory against Elon on Wednesday night. But for a couple of great saves by Wake keeper Akira Fitzgerald, the Phoenix could have tied the score.
 
— Next up for Wake Forest is another non-conference game on Saturday against No. 6 Harvard. The Crimson improved to 6-0-0 with a 1-0 win at New Hampshire on Wednesday. Freshman Brian Rogers, who had the goal against UNH, has complemented All-American Andre Akpan beautifully up front. Rogers, who had started as an eighth-grader for his high school team in Bronxville, N.Y., already has four goals and three assists.

* BACK IN GOAL. During UMBC’s 8-0-0 start, much of the attention has been focused on Andrew Bulls and Levi Houapeu, who have combined for 18 goals. But one of the unsung stars has been freshman goalie Phil Saunders. He wasn’t even the starting goalie last year at Maryland’s Perry Hall High School — the starter was Zach Kane, now at Loyola (Md.) — but Saunders’ play with the Baltimore Bays caught the attention of UMBC coach Pete Caringi. “He played the last year of high school as a back and made all-state,” Caringi told the Catonsville Times, “but we knew he was probably the best goalkeeper in the state.”

Wednesday’s Results

* HAT TRICK HERO. Justin Meram, one of the many stars from JC juggernaut Yavapai now scattered across the country, had his first hat trick in No. 18 Michigan’s 5-1 victory over Bowling Green on Wednesday night. After being blown out by Notre Dame, 5-1, on opening day, the Wolverines have been unstoppable. The triumph was their seventh straight — and fifth straight by two or more goals.

MEN’S NEWS … Four ranked ACC teams were in action at home against unfancied opponents on Tuesday night, and they all won by one-goal margins, three on golden goals.

— No. 2 North Carolina needed a goal from sophomore Billy Schuler in the 98th minute to eke out a 2-1 win over East Tennessee State, which went into the game with one win in five matches. Freshman Enzo Martinez played a through ball into the box to Schuler, who chipped ETSU goalkeeper Scott Rosman from 10 yards.

— Despite playing most of the game with a man advantage and having a 29-7 advantage in shots, all No. 8 Maryland could muster was a goal by Jason Herrick with 12 seconds remaining in the first half for a 1-0 win over St. Peter’s. Freshman defender Taylor Kemp preserved the win when he headed Rumen Kerekov‘s shot away with goalie Will Swaim beaten with eight minutes left in the game. “We got the win and we got the shutout,” Coach Sasho Cirovski said. “We got some guys into the game and they came in and performed quite well.”

— Junior Cole Grossman‘s goal in the 102nd minute off a pass from freshman Andrew Wenger gave No. 12 Duke a 2-1 win over UNC Wilmington at soggy Koskinen Stadium. The Blue Devils had plenty of chances and outshot the Seahawks, 11-0, in a scoreless first half. “We should have been up two or three-nil,” said Coach John Kerr. “When you don’t capitalize on that play and those opportunities, you allow teams to get a little confident.”

— Neil Barlow‘s goal in the 92nd minute gave No. 13 Virginia a 2-1 win over George Washington for Coach George Gelnovatch‘s 200th career victory. “Winning is a hard business,” Gelnovatch said. “Any time a program and a head coach can accumulate 200 wins, it’s not an easy thing to do. This game was a reminder of that.” On the winning goal, Chris Agorsor fed Barlow in the box, collecting the first assist of his career.

* UMBC REMAINS PERFECT. Sophomore Andrew Bulls, the nation’s leading scorer, did it again scoring on a free kick in the 44th minute and leading UMBC to a 1-0 win Loyola (Md.) before 1,505 fans at UMBC Stadium. Bulls has scored 10 goals with at least one goal in all but one of UMBC’s eight games, all wins.

Freshman goalie Phil Saunders made three game-saving stops in the final two minutes to preserve the win for the Retrievers, the first team in the country to go 8-0-0, their best start ever as a Division I program. It was also their first win ever at home against Loyola and only their second in 22 games against their Baltimore neighbor.

* UCSB DOWNS TRI U-17S. Joe Eubanks‘ goal in the final minute of overtime gave UC Santa Barbara a 2-1 win over the touring Mexico under-17 national team before a crowd of 8,425. The Tri U-17s and Gauchos had traded goals on either side of halftime. Daniel Guzman put Mexico ahead in the 38th minute, and Peter McGlynn equalized in the 49th minute. Recent FC Dallas signing Bryan Leyva started for Mexico.

Tuesday’s Results

T&T CALL-UPS. Three players with ties to U.S. college programs are representing Trinidad & Tobago at the 2009 Under-20 World Cup in Egypt: Liberty freshman Uriah Bentick, College of Charleston standout Sean Da Silva and former Florida prep star Jesse Fullerton, who spent the 2008 season at FIU.

MEN’S NEWS … The sons of former U.S. men’s national team players are certainly making a name for themselves …

— Michael Nanchoff, son of George Nanchoff, heads the Soccer America Men’s Team of the Week after scoring the winning goal that gave top-ranked Akron a 1-0 win over Indiana.

— Tyler Krumpe, who plays for father Paul Krumpe at Loyola Marymount, has started every game for the Lions, who knocked off unbeaten Dartmouth 3-2, on Sunday and are No. 20 in the Soccer America Men’s Top 25.

— JC Banks, whose father Jimmy played with Paul Krumpe on the U.S. national team backline in the late 1980s, scored the first two goals on Monday night and helped No. 25 Wisconsin-Green Bay remain unbeaten with a 4-1 win over North Florida. JC’s two goals gave him a career-high seven goals.

* MONDAY’S RESULTS:
No. 25 Wisconsin-Green Bay 4 (Banks 26, 32, Ksenidi 58, Znaty 68) North Florida 1 (O’Neill 69).

* TRI U-17S ON TOUR. Mexico’s under-17 national team, which is preparing for the world championship next month in Nigeria, is kicking off a college tour Tuesday at UC Santa Barbara. The Tri will also played at Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday and an opponent to be determined on Saturday. Mexico’s roster includes Bryan Leyva, recently promoted from FC Dallas’ U-15/16 team to its pro team.

* LEADING SCORERS:
1. Andrew Bulls, UMBC 9
2. Levi Houapeu, UMBC 8
2. Matthew Skonicki, Winthrop  8
4. Chris Cutshaw, Bradley 7
4. Matt Eliason, Northwestern 7
(Through games played Sept. 20.)

MEN’S NEWS … Akron confirmed its No. 1 ranking in the Soccer America Men’s Top 25 by capturing the tournament it hosted this weekend with wins over Indiana (1-0) and Saint Louis (4-0).

The Zips, who lost 2008 Hermann Trophy winner Steve Zakuani to MLS’s Seattle Sounders FC, has been getting their scoring by committee. Sophomore Michael Nanchoff, son of former U.S. international George Nanchoff, had the winning goal against Indiana on a free kick. Sophomore Teal Bunbury, who scored twice against SLU, is the son of former Canada star Alex Bunbury.

Sophomores Kofi Sarkodie and Darlington Nagbe connected on a highlight-reel goal to open the scoring against Saint Louis. Freshman Yoram Mwila, who first came to Ohio from Zambia in 2006 to attend Brad Friedel‘s Premier Soccer Academies as part of the Grassroots Soccer Partnership, finished out the scoring with his third goal of the season.

Akron dominated the struggling Billikens, outshooting them, 21-3.  “If we are on the ball enough, we are going to find the seams,” Akron coach Caleb Porter said. “That’s what happened today, and we put the game away.”

* CROWD COUNT:
— The sell-out crowd of 2,443 fans for the Akron-Indiana game set a record for Lee Jackson Field.

— No. 2 North Carolina handed Duke its first loss of the season, winning, 1-0, before 4,439 fans, the second largest men’s crowd in Fetzer Field history.

— Missouri State spoiled a Missouri Valley record crowd of 5,609 at Creighton’s Morrison Stadium, beating No. 4 Bluejays, 1-0.

This weekend’s results

* PERFECT STARTS:
UMBC 7-0-0
Akron 6-0-0
Monmouth 6-0-0
Harvard 5-0-0
Stetson 5-0-0

MEN’S NEWS … No. 1 Akron remained perfect with a 4-0 win over Saint Louis on Sunday. Teal Bunbury, son of former Canada international, led the Zips with a pair of goals.

No. 18 Loyola Marymount knocked No. 5 Dartmouth from the unbeaten ranks with a 3-2 win.  Rafael Baca broke a 2-2 tie in the 82nd minute with his second goal of the game. Jamaican youth international Yannick Salmon scored twice in the second half to lead Rutgers past No. 21 Connecticut, 2-1. Marshall ended No. 25 Kentucky’s 15-game unbeaten streak with a 1-0 overtime win. Dustin Dawes‘ golden goal in the 102nd minute decide the Conference USA opener for both teams.

Michigan State goalie Avery Steinlage‘s NCAA record shutout streak was snapped at 1,319 minutes when the Spartans fell at San Diego.

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

WEEKEND TOP 25 RESULTS:
Sunday, Sept. 20
No. 1 Akron 4 (Nagbe 16, Bunbury 54, 71, Mwila 79) Saint Louis 0.
No. 18 Loyola Marymount 3 (Canty 44, Baca 52, 82) No. 5 Dartmouth 2 (Keat 76, 80).
No. 8 California 3 (Cosgriff 7, Wiedeman 59, 77) Santa Clara 1 (Hurtado 11).
No. 9 South Florida 2 (Sinclair 5, Mora 84) No. 23 Notre Dame 1 (Dike 78).
No. 10 Indiana 2 (Bruin 68, 106) FIU 1 (Cabas 85) (OT).
No. 13 Louisville 5 (DelPiccolo 19, Yanez 20, own goal 21, Braun 65, Rosendall 85) Pittsburgh 0.
Columbia 0 No. 14 Boston Univ. 1 (own goal 26).
No. 15. St. John’s 0 Seton Hall 0.
Princeton 0 No. 16 Monmouth 1 (Von Bargen 5).
(Loss is Princeton’s first of the season.)
No. 19 UC Santa Barbara 1 (Barrera 87) Wisconsin 1 (Miller 82).
No. 20 UC Irvine 2 (Garcia 67, Thompson 83) Sacramento State 0.
Rutgers 2 (Salmon pen. 62, 69) No. 21 Connecticut 1 (Cascio 10).
No. 22 Kentucky 0 Marshall 1 (Dawes 102) (OT).
(Wildcats’ unbeaten streak snapped at 15 games.)
No. 25 Northwestern 2 (Kupe 59, O’Neill 88) Lafayette 1 (Peckham pen. 54).

Saturday, Sept. 19
No. 4 Creighton 0 Missouri State 1 (Hoffman 45).
(Game draws Missouri Valley record crowd of 5,609.)
No. 22 N.C. State 1 (Carpenter 64) No. 7 Maryland 1 (Yates 89).
Fairfield 1 (Burridge 84) No. 12 Harvard 4 (Akpan 33, 60, Rogers 57, Wolfenson 82)
Western Michigan 1 (Suleman 80) No. 24 Michigan 5 (Keller 33, Cameron 41, Wood 71, Meram 71, Klein 89).
(Western Michigan falls to 0-6-0.)

MEN’S NEWS … Michael Nanchoff‘s goal on a free kick in the 78th minute gave No. 1 Akron a 1-0 win over No. 10 Indiana before a record Akron crowd of 2,443 fans.

Junior defender Mike Volk‘s first career goal gave No. 25 Virginia a 1-0 win over No. 3 Wake Forest, snapping the Deacons’ home unbeaten streak of 35 games.

No. 2  North Carolina handed No. 11 Duke its first loss of the season the battle of Tobacco Road, winning, 1-0, before 4,439 fans, the second-largest men’s crowd in Fetzer Field history.

Ranked Connecticut and Notre Dame both won their Big East openers on the road.

In late night action St. Mary’s edged No. 20 UC Irvine, 2-1, on Dylan Lesley‘s golden goal.

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

TODAY’S TOP 25 RESULTS:
Friday, Sept. 18
No. 1 Akron 1 (Nanchoff 78) No. 10 Indiana 0.
No. 2 North Carolina 2 (Schuler 22, Brown 69) No. 22 Duke 1 (Finley 79).
No. 3 Wake Forest 0 No. 25 Virginia 1 (Volk 25).
San Diego 1 (Carminatti 34) No. 5 Dartmouth 2 (Bowers 64, Henderson 78).
No. 9 South Florida 1 (Anor 30) Marquette 1 (Lysak 57).
No. 13 Louisville 2 (Knight 11, Chavez 66) West Virginia 0.
No. 14 Boston Univ. 0 Boston College 1 (Worley 57).
No. 15. St. John’s 2 (Himeno 80, Terra 89) Georgetown 0.
No. 16 Monmouth 4 (Kinne 42, 44, Barbieri 51, Clark 84) Cornell 1 (Nissl 51).
(Hawks improve to 6-0-0.)
Ohio State 2 (Hegngi 32, 59) No. 17 Butler 1 (Pateros 81).
(Buckeyes remain unbeaten at 3-0-2.)
Michigan State 3 (Beca 7, 42, Saydee 89) No. 18 Loyola Marymount 0
(Avery Steinlage extends NCAA record shutout streak to 1,259 minutes.)
Wisconsin-Milwaukee 0 No. 19 UC Santa Barbara 2 (Silva 27, Ibrahim 46).
No. 20 UC Irvine 1 (Prieto 61) St. Mary’s 2 (Rivas 71, Lesley 107) (OT).
Villanova 1 (Griffith 41) No. 21 Connecticut 2 (Brickley 66, Ponce 67).
DePaul 1 (Leinauer 11) No. 23 Notre Dame 2 (Brovsky 10, Dike 59).
No. 25 Northwestern 0 South Carolina 0.

MEN’S NEWS … No. 6 UCLA survived its first game since seniors Brian Perk and Michael Stephens left to prepare for the Under-20 World Cup in Egypt, but it wasn’t easy. The Bruins went down a goal against Cal State Fullerton after only four minutes, but rallied on goals by freshman Evan Raynr and junior Shawn Singh to defeat the Titans, 2-1. In his first collegiate start in goal, sophomore Brian Rowe, Perk’s backup, was called upon to make five saves.

“At the end of the day, it was a good win after going down 1-0 and not having the best start,” said UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo. “As the first half wore on, we got better and had more energy and were able to get the win.”

* DERBY NIGHT. Thursday was derby night on the West Coast, where three other big matches were played. Defender A.J. Soares matched his career total with two goals in No. 8 California’s 3-0 win at San Francisco. He also had an assist on Davis Paul‘s opening goal.

In the Bay Area Classic’s other game, Stanford ended its six-game winless streak against Santa Clara and beat the Broncos, 2-0, on goals by juniors Bobby Warshaw and Daniel Leon. The visiting team also won the Pacific Northwest derby as Portland defeated Washington, 2-1, on goals by Keith Grubisich and Michael Nielsen.

* HAT TRICK HERO:
— Transfer Debola Ogunseye‘s third goal of the game in 89th minute earned Furman a 3-3 tie at Coast Carolina.

Thursday’s Scoreboard

* WEEKEND TOP 25 MATCHUPS:
Friday, Sept. 18
No. 1 Akron vs. No. 10 Indiana (Akron Tournament)
No. 2 North Carolina vs. No. 22 Duke
No. 3 Wake Forest vs. No. 25 Virginia
Saturday, Sept. 19
No. 22 N.C. State vs. No. 7 Maryland
Sunday, Sept. 20
No. 5 Dartmouth vs. No. 18 Loyola Marymount (San Diego Nike Classic)
No. 9 South Florida vs. No. 23 Notre Dame

MEN’S NEWS … Freshman midfielder Matt Lodge, the former English prison guard, scored his second goal on a free kick from 30 or more yards away in the last two games to lead No. 25 Kentucky to a 1-0 win over Alabama A&M and improve its record to 5-0-0, equaling the best start to a season in the 19-year history of the program.

“Credit goes to Matt Lodge,” UK head coach Ian Collins said. “He was feeling awful today, battling a bit of sickness. He really showed some toughness and guts to play as hard as he did tonight.”

The goal was Lodge’s team-high fourth of the year.  In his last game, Lodge scored both of UK’s goals in a 2-1 comeback win over SIU-Edwardsville.

— UMBC sophomore forward Andrew Bulls scored ninth goal of the season — and his fifth game-winning goal — to lead the Retrievers to a 1-0 win over neighboring Towson. UMBC tied a school Division I record with the 6-0-0 start, equaling the 1999 squad, which produced the nation’s best record of 19-1-2.

Bulls was fouled 23 yards from the goal, and his ensuing free kick went to the right of the four-man wall and just inside the right post, keeping his streak intact of having scored in every game.

Wednesday’s Scoreboard

* INJURY REPORT: Saint Louis forward Jimmy Holmes was lost for the season after suffering a knee injury in the first half of Saturday’s 3-1 win against Loyola (Ill.). The senior will apply for a medical hardship.

MEN’S NEWS … Having lost his entire backline — including Rodney Wallace, Omar Gonzalez and A.J. DeLaGarza, who all start in MLS —  Maryland coach Sasho Cirovski was preoccupied with defensive issues in the 2009 preseason. But with only four goals in their first three games, scoring was the problem early on. That all changed Tuesday night as No. 7 Maryland routed Duquesne, 7-0, in the pouring rain.

Matt Kassel scored on a free kick from 25 yards out in the 13th minute opened the scoring. Fellow sophomore Casey Townsend put the game away with three goals.

“It was a very gratifying performance,” Cirovski said. “We’ve been talking about getting a little crisper in finishing and tonight I thought we made some good runs and good crosses and had some good goals. We showed a little more menace in our attack and we didn’t give up after we scored one. To be fair to Duquesne, they had two games over the weekend and I think they were a little fatigued and had a hard time keeping up with our energy and pace.”

— Senior Ronnie Bouemboue scored two goals and set up another as No. 21 North Carolina State defeated Campbell, 5-1. Next up for the Wolfpack: Maryland at home on Saturday.

— Neil Barlow‘s goal in the 38th minute was all No. 25 Virginia could muster from an 18-2 advantage in shots and the Cavaliers settled for a 1-0 win over Mount St. Mary’s. They play Wake Forest on Friday.

Tuesday’s Scoreboard

* HAT TRICK HEROES:
— Townsend’s hat trick for Maryland was his first in two seasons with the Terrapins.
— Honduran Romario Blandon‘s three goals gave VCU a 4-3 win over city rival Richmond.