Author Archives: Soccer America

SMALL COLLEGE NEWS … There is a new No. 1 in the NCAA Division III men’s rankings for the first time this season following Messiah’s 2-0 loss to York College on headers by Mike O’Connell and Andy Stromberg. Christopher Newport took over as the top-ranked team in the NSCAA/adidas rankings — the first time in school history it has been No. 1 in any sport.

For the fifth straight week, there is a new No. 1 in the NSCAA/adidas NCAA Division II men’s rankings.  Less-McRae is No. 1 after Cal State Los Angeles lost twice on its swing through Northern California.

MEN’S RANKINGS:
NCAA Division II 1. Lees-McRae, 2. Tampa, 3. Millersville
NCAA Division III 1. Christopher Newport, 2. Ohio Wesleyan, 3. Messiah,

WOMEN’S RANKINGS:
NCAA Division II 1. Seattle Pacific, 2. West Florida, 3. Saint Rose
NCAA Division III 1. Messiah, 2. Puget Sound, 3. Williams

WOMEN’S NEWS … Falling to North Carolina, 7-2, was no way to start the season, but No. 4 UCLA has recovered to run off 11 straight victories after the loss in Chapel Hill and 0-0 tie with San Diego in its second game.

The Bruins got their biggest scare during their streak on Sunday when they trailed Arizona State, 1-0, at the half, but they eventually won, 3-2, on Lauren Barnes‘ golden goal. The win extended the nation’s longest home unbeaten streak to 60 matches.

UCLA lost Canadian star Kara Lang for the rest of the season with a knee injury last month, but it still has one of the nation’s top 1-2 scoring threats in Sydney Leroux, the 2008 Under-20 Women’s World Cup MVP, and Lauren Cheney, the 2008 Olympic gold-medalist. The Bruins have also been getting strong play from freshmen Zakiya Bywaters, Chelsea Cline, Ahsha Smith and Lucretia Lee, the daughter of former NFL player Mike Lee.

UCLA take its 21-game Pac-10 winning streak to the Bay Area this weekend for games against No. 17 California on Friday and top-ranked Stanford on Sunday.

Tuesday Result

SMALL COLLEGE NEWS … It doesn’t pay to be No. 1 in the NCAA Division II men’s rankings. Unbeaten Cal State Los Angeles, the fourth different No. 1 team in four weeks in the NSCAA/adidas poll, was shocked by Humboldt State, 3-0, and then beaten by Sonoma State, 1-0, two days later in front of 1,142 fans at Seawolf Field, the largest regular-season crowd in school history.

Humboldt State entered the game with a 2-8-2 record but upset the Golden Eagles, getting two first-half goals from striker Josh Suggs. Sonoma State, which got a first-half goal from Ryan Hall to beat Cal State Los Angeles, had only lost for the first time in 12 games two days earlier when it fell to defending national champion Cal State Dominguez Hills, 2-0.

WOMEN’S NEWS … No. 1 Stanford (13-0-0) is one of only three team unbeaten teams with four weeks remaining in the regular season. No. 5 South Carolina improved to 13-0-1 with a 2-0 win over Alabama on Sunday, while Dayton is 9-0-5 after beating Saint Louis, 2-1, in overtime.

— Senior Blakely Mattern scored the two goals 100 seconds apart against Alabama, and junior goalie Mollie Patton needed to make only one save to earn her 11th shutout of the season. After four one-goal wins and a 1-1 tie at Mississippi State — the Gamecocks’ only blemish — the 2-0 win was their most comfortable SEC victory. South Carolina has two victories over ranked teams — No. 14 UCF and No. 21 Mississippi. Its season now hits the toughest stretch with four of its next five games on the road, beginning with a match against No. 24 Georgia in Athens on Friday night.

— For the second time in two weeks, senior Mandi Back had a golden goal to for the Flyers, scoring in the 109th minute to give them the win over Saint Louis. A week earlier, she scored a golden goal with four seconds left in overtime to defeat La Salle, 2-1. Back, a three-time Atlantic-10 first-team selection, has 12 game-winning goals in her career, three this season. “The girls found a way to win,” said Dayton coach Mike Tucker. “I love this group because they persevere and battle; they find a way to get great results.”

* FEWEST LOSSES:
Stanford 13-0-0
South Carolina 13-0-1
Dayton 9-0-5
Portland 12-1-0
North Carolina 11-1-1
UCLA 11-1-1
Samford 8-1-3
Michigan State 7-1-4

Women’s Player of the Week: Danielle Foxhoven, Portland
Women’s Team of the Week

* LEADING GOAL SCORERS:
1. Morgan Marlborough, Nebraska  19
2. Sarah Hagen, Milwaukee 16
3. Danielle Foxhoven, Portland 15
3. Kelley O’Hara, Stanford 15
5. Whitney Palmer, Oklahoma 14
5. Britany Curry, Texas State 14
7. Jessica Fuccello, Penn 12
7. Rochelle VanBuskirk, UC Davis 12
7. Sylvia Kowalski, Canisius 12
7.  Christen Press, Stanford 1