Category: College Soccer Reporter

Defending champion Yavapai improved to 24-0-0 with a 3-1 win over Schoolcraft that moved it into the semifinals of the NJCAA Division I Men’s Tournament in Phoenix. Francis Khamis, Justin Meram and Gabriel Okito scored for the Roadrunners, who play Garden City of Kansas in Friday’s semifinals. The other semifinal pits Mercer County against San Jacinto. In the NJCAA Division I Women’s Tournament being played in nearby Chandler, Ariz., host Chandler-Gilbert faces top-seed Darton and Lewis & Clark of Illinois meets North Idaho in Friday’s semifinals.

The NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament begins with first-round play Friday and Saturday. The 16 seeded teams move into action in the second round next Tuesday. The third round follows the weekend of Nov. 28-30. For the complete first- and second-round schedules …

Play resumes in the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament with eight games this weekend. It begins Friday when No. 1 regional seeds Notre Dame and Stanford host unseeded Minnesota and Rutgers, respectively. For all the results and schedules …

The NAIA has introduced an opening round to its national championships for men’s and women’s soccer. Play gets underway Saturday with 15 first-round games for both the men and women. The men’s winners will advance the 50th annual NAIA National Men’s Championship Dec. 1-6 at Fresno Pacific. Winners of the opening-round women’s games will play at Embry-Riddle, the site of the National Women’s Championship Dec. 1-6 in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Columbus Crew coach Sigi Schmid will face a dilemma if the Crew wins the MLS Cup on Sunday at the Home Depot Center. Does he return with the Crew for its celebrations back home or does he stay in Southern California to watch his son, Kyle, play for Big West champion UC Irvine on Tuesday in the second round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament? The Anteaters are one of three teams making their first appearance in the NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament. Atlantic-10 champ Dayton also earned an automatic berth, while Missouri Valley regular-season runner-up Drake took an at-large bid.

The biggest third-round match in the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament pits a pair of Olympic gold-medalists in action when Lauren Cheney’s UCLA hosts Amy Rodriguez‘s USC Saturday in Westwood. Last year, they met in the Women’s College Cup semifinals, where the Women of Troy prevailed, 2-1. The Bruins were crushed, having had their hopes of a title after five straight College Cup appearances dashed. USC went on to win the national championship two days later.

Kerri Hanks, the 2006 Hermann Trophy winner, and Notre Dame teammates Carrie Dew and Brittany Bock are among the first group of players who have accepted invitations to Women’s Professional Soccer combines to be held Dec. 11-14 (San Diego) and Dec. 18-21 (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla). Invitees included college seniors and former college players. For the complete list …

SOCCER AMERICA interviews UC Davis forward Quincy Amarikwa, one of this year’s top seniors. He earned Big West Offensive Player of the Year honors. The Aggies begin play in the NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament Saturday at home against MPSF champion Denver.

San Francisco and UNC Greensboro, two legendary programs, sneaked into the NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament. USF won the WCC (9-9-1 overall), while UNCG, the Southern Conference champion, is the only team in the men’s field with a losing record (8-11-2).

The NCAA Division I  Men’s Tournament begins with first-round play Friday and Saturday. The 16 seeded teams move into action in the second round next Tuesday. The third round follows the weekend of Nov. 28-30. For the complete first- and second-round schedules …

Play resumes in the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament with eight games this weekend. It begins Friday when No. 1 regional seeds Notre Dame and Stanford host unseeded Minnesota and Rutgers, respectively. For all the results and schedules …

Like fivethirtyeight.com, which brought some clarity to the polls in the presidential race, collegesoccer360.com, the newest web site to cover women’s college soccer, provides an important overview to the national women’s scene.

Top-ranked Darton College takes a 21-0-1 record into the NJCAA Division I Women’s Championship, which begins Thursday at Chandler-Gilbert Commnity College in Chandler, Ariz.

Top-ranked Wake Forest had its 25-game unbeaten streak snapped in the ACC Tournament. Loyola (Md.) lost for the first time in 28 games. But there are many other teams riding unbeaten streaks into the NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament, which starts Friday with the first round.

In its 20th year of varsity play, Yavapai College has enjoyed considerable success — six NJCAA men’s championships and 18 national tournament appearances. But this year’s team is on the verge of greatness. The Roughriders are 23-0-0 heading into the NJCAA Division I finals, which begin Thursday at nearby Paradise Valley Community College in Phoenix, Ariz. For more on the Roughriders and Coach Mike Pantalione‘s advice for players looking to play JC soccer …

The NJCAA Division I Men’s Tournament begins Thursday in Phoenix. The tournament annually features some of the most intriguing prospects to be found in the college ranks. Here are this year’s players to watch, one from each team …

The Under-20 Women’s World Cup begins Wednesday in Chile. Many of college soccer’s top young players are skipping this fall’s NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament to represent their countries.

Cynthia Morote-Ariza of Loyola (Ill.) and Milwaukee’s Sarah Hagen remained 1-2 in points among NCAA Division I women’s players, but Casey Nogueira will have a chance to overtake them when North Carolina plays in the third round of the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament. For all the NCAA Division I leaders …

Defending champion Wake Forest is the top seed in the 48-team NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament field announced on Monday. The Demon Deacons, whose 25-game unbeaten streak was stopped by Virginia in Saturday’s ACC semifinals, were joined by two other teams from last year’s Men’s College Cup, Massachusetts and Ohio State, which nabbed at-large bids ahead of several teams disappointed to be left out.

Four days after the devastation of the Tea Fire in Montecito, Calif., that destroyed more than 100 homes, including the home of head coach Dave Wolf, and closed down the school, Westmont College regrouped and won the Golden State Athletic Conference men’s championship with a 2-0 win at defending national champion Azusa Pacific on Monday that earned the Warriors a berth in the 50th annual NAIA national championship that begins Saturday.

Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe, who led streaking George Mason to the CAA title, is the Soccer America Men’s Player of the Week. For all the Soccer America Men’s Team of the Week selections for games played Nov. 10-16 …

Unbeaten UCLA moved into the third round of the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament with a tense 1-0 victory over San Diego in a match postponed until Monday because of poor air quality caused by the Southern California fires. The win set up a date with cross-town rival USC Saturday in Westwood in a rematch of last year’s Women’s College Cup semifinal the Women of Troy won.

Play resumes in the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament with eight games this weekend. It begins Friday when No. 1 regional seeds Notre Dame and Stanford host unseeded Minnesota and Rutgers, respectively. For all the results and schedules …

We don’t envy the NCAA Division I men’s soccer committee with its task of picking the at-large teams for the 2008 NCAA Division I Tournament — the 26 teams that will join the 22 conference champions. The rash of weekend upsets and number of low-ranked conference champions ate into the number of places available for at-large teams.

Regular-season champions took it on the chin in men’s conference tournament action over the weekend. Unbeaten Wake Forest (3-2 loser in overtime to Virginia, which fell to Maryland, 1-0, in the ACC final) and Loyola (Md.) (1-0 loser to Fairfield in the MAAC final) were upset. Campbell had its 12-game winning streak snapped when it fell to Jacksonville, 4-3, in the Atlantic Sun final. The biggest surprise was UNC Greensboro’s victory in the Southern Conference. The No. 7 seed Spartans, who began the tournament with a 6-11-1 record, beat College of Charleston, 2-1, in the final. For all the results and all-tournament teams …