Author Archives: Soccer America

SMALL COLLEGE NEWS … There are only seven unbeaten and untied NCAA Division II and III teams left in the NSCAA/adidas rankings: No. 1 Lees-McRae (10-0-0) and No. 3 Drury (12-0-0) in Men’s Division II, No. 1 West Florida (12-0-0) and No. 2 Saint Rose (13-0-0) in Women’s Division II and No. 1 Williams (11-0-0), No. 4 Trinity (Texas) (11-0-0) and No. 7 Concordia-Moorhead (14-0-0) in Women’s Division III.

WOMEN’S NEWS … Stanford, No. 1 in this week’s Soccer America Women’s Top 25, is now top-ranked in the second NCAA Women’s Division I RPI index released this fall. North Carolina, which fell from No. 1 to No. 2, is one of six ACC teams in the top 15.

The biggest climber of the teams in the initial index’s top 25 was Notre Dame, which moved from No. 23 to No. 10. Four teams weren’t in the initial index’s top 25: No. 18 Ohio State, No. 20 Mississippi, No. 24 California and No. 25 Arizona State.

The RPI — Ratings Percentage Index — is the most important of the criteria it uses to determine the 64-team field for the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament. The RPI is a mathematical formula designed to objectively compare results and strength of schedule.

* WOMEN’S RPI (TOP 25)
1. Stanford,  Pac-10
2. North Carolina,  ACC
3. Portland, WCC
4. UCF, Conference USA
5. Florida State, ACC
6. UCLA,  Pac-10
7. Wake Forest, ACC
8. Boston College, ACC
9. Georgia, SEC
10. Notre Dame, Big East
11. Maryland, ACC
12. South Carolina, SEC
13. Santa Clara, WCC
14. USC, Pac-10
15. Virginia Tech, ACC
16. Florida, SEC
17. Penn State, Big Ten
18. Ohio State, Big Ten
19. Connecticut, Big East
20. Mississippi, SEC
21. LSU, SEC
22. Washington State,  Pac-10
23. Texas A&M, Big 12
24. California,  Pac-10
25. Arizona State, Pac-10

* TUESDAY’S RESULTS:
Ivy
Yale 2 Harvard 3

Non-Conference
Dartmouth 3 Vermont 0
Missouri-St. Louis 0 SIU-Edwardsville 4

JUNIOR COLLEGE NEWS … Arnaldo Salazar, considered one of the top junior college prospects in California, was in serious condition at Memorial Hospital in Santa Rosa, Calif., with a broken neck and two broken arms suffered in a car crash that took place Saturday and killed a friend.

“He’s probably one of the most gifted players in this area, if not the most gifted,” Santa Rosa Junior College coach Marty Kinahan told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. “One of the big boys, Stanford, Cal. He would have gotten a scholarship.” Salazar played for the NPSL’s Sonoma County Sol and at Santa Rosa JC in 2008. He was rehabilitating a hip injury this fall and concentrating on his studies.

The accident took place on Highway 101 early Saturday. It killed Sonoma State University student Maribel Raya Medina and also injured two other students.

WOMEN’S NEWS …. Central Michigan, which has the longest NCAA Division I women’s shutout streak in more than a decade, can clinch its first Mid-American regular-season title with one more victory. The Chippewas (13-3-0 overall and 8-0-0 in the MAC) have won 11 games in a row, all by shutout. Its the fifth longest shutout streak in NCAA history and the longest since Santa Clara set a record with 16 straight shutouts in 1998.

“Everyone focuses on defending as well as they can every second they are on the field,” CMU coach Tom Anagnost said. “That mentality has gotten us to where we are. Offensively, I feel we can be a little more dangerous than we have been in the last few matches in creating and finishing more opportunities.” The Chippewas, who host Bowling Green and second-place Toledo Sunday, have won their last three games by 1-0 margins. Their only losses were to Big Ten teams Indiana, Michigan and Michigan State.

* TAR HEEL HONORED. North Carolina graduate Yael Averbuch was named the recipient of the 2009 Patterson Medal, the most prestigious award presented to student-athletes at the University of North Carolina, along with Tyler Hansbrough, ACC basketball’s all-time leading scorer, and baseball star Dustin Ackley.

Averbuch, who is now with WPS champion Sky Blue FC, helped the Tar Heels win the 2008 NCAA Division I title. She won four ACC titles and two NCAA crowns in her career. She is the 11th women’s soccer player to win the award. Other winners included Shannon Higgins (1990), Kristine Lilly (1993) Mia Hamm (1994), Tisha Venturini (1995), Debbie Keller (1997), Cindy Parlow (1999), Lorrie Fair (2000), Meredith Florance (2001), Catherine Reddick (2004) and Heather O’Reilly (2007).

* LEADING SCORERS:
1. Morgan Marlborough, Nebraska  21
2. Sarah Hagen, Milwaukee 19
3. Kelley O’Hara, Stanford 17
4. Jessica Fuccello, Penn 16
5. Danielle Foxhoven, Portland  15
5. Britany Curry, Texas St. 15
5. Whitney Palmer, Oklahoma 15
8. Christen Press, Stanford 14
9. Kiersten Dallstream, Washington St. 12
9. Sydney Leroux, UCLA 12
9. Tiffany McCarty, Florida St.  12
9. Rochelle VanBuskirk, UC Davis 12
9. Sylvia Kowalski, Canisius 12
9. Marky Boyce, Charleston So.12
9. Corky Julien, James Madison 12
9. Dawn Ward, Texas Tech 12

Women’s Player of the Week: Sarah Hagen (Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
Team of the Week