Category: College Soccer Reporter

MEN’S NEWS … Four more teams made their 2009 debut in the Soccer America Men’s Top 25. They all parlayed big wins on the road into spots in this week’s rankings:

PENN STATE. The Nittany Lions (7-3-0) remained perfect in the Big Ten with a 1-0 win at Michigan State on Sunday. They will be tested in the next month with conference games against No. 12 Northwestern and No. 15 Indiana and a non-conference match at No. 1 Akron.

UAB. The Blazers (7-2-1) extended their unbeaten streak to six games with a 1-0 win at ranked Kentucky on Sunday. A blast from 25 yards by South African midfielder Two-Boys Gumede was the difference. Two future Conference-USA opponents — South Carolina and Tulsa — have been in the Top 25 earlier this season.

CHARLOTTE. The 49ers (6-1-2) ended Wake Forest’s 46-match unbeaten streak against non-conference opponents when they shocked the Demon Deacons, 3-1, in Winston-Salem. Charlotte opens its Atlantic-10 season this weekend when it hosts George Washington and Richmond.

WEST VIRGINIA. The Mountaineers (5-2-2) won their fourth straight game with a 1-0 win over Marquette. They are tied for first place with Connecticut in the Big East’s Blue Division heading into Friday’s “Dollar Night” doubleheader with the Huskies. The men’s game will be featured on Fox Soccer Channel (live, 8 pm ET).

They upped the number of teams to have made at least one appearance in the Top 25 to 50. Only 12 teams have been in the Top 25 every week since the release of the preseason rankings in August:

* EVER-PRESENT DOZEN:
TEAM (RECORD) LAST WEEK:
1. Akron (9-0-0) 1
2. UCLA (6-1-1) 2
3. North Carolina (7-1-1) 5
4. California (7-2-0) 6
5. South Florida (7-1-1) 7
7. Wake Forest (6-2-1) 4
9. UC Santa Barbara (7-2-1) 12
10. Maryland (5-3-1) 3
11. Louisville (6-1-2) 20
12. Northwestern (5-1-3) 21
15. Indiana (5-3-1) 10
17. Boston University (7-2-2) 19

Men’s Player of the Week: Kyle Nakazawa (UCLA)
Men’s Team of the Week

* LOWE’S SENIOR CLASS FINALISTS:
Zak Boggs, South Florida
Ronnie Bouemboue, N.C. State
Richard Edgar, George Mason
Rylan Hawkins, Washington
Tennant McVea, Loyola (Md.)
Patrick Sampson, Loyola Marymount
Zack Schilawski, Wake Forest
Eric Weigman, IUPUI
Jason Yeisley, Penn State
Ben Zemanski, Akron
(Vote here.)

MEN’S NEWS … Kyle Nakazawa is making an early case for Player of the Year honors with a torrid run for UCLA, which is again No. 2 in this week’s Soccer America Men’s Top 25. Once again this season, “Bend it like Naka” has been the refrain for Bruin fans.

The senior midfielder matched his previous season high with his seventh goal of the season — all in the last six games — on a free kick in the Bruins’ 1-1 tie at Washington on Sunday afternoon.

Once considered one of the most promising players in the U.S. national youth team system, Nakazawa is coming off a back injury that limited him to eight starts in 2008.

Nakazawa, who had trained at Dutch club Ajax in 2001, first made a name for himself at the 2005 Under-17 World Cup, where he scored two goals to lead the USA to first place in its group, but he chose to attend UCLA instead of pursuing professional opportunities.

Free kicks have been Nakazawa’s specialty. Both goals at the Under-17 World Cup — against North Korea and Italy — were on free kicks. He scored on a free kick to give UCLA a 1-0 win over New Mexico in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. And he scored on free kicks against both Oregon State and Washington on last weekend’s trip to the Pacific Northwest.

* NAKAZAWA STREAK:
Sept. 10, UC Davis (4-0), goal
Sept. 17, Cal State Fullerton (2-1), assist
Sept. 25, San Diego (2-1), goal on penalty kick and assist
Sept. 27, UNLV (3-0) two goals
Oct. 2, Oregon State (3-1) two goals, one on free kick, and assist
Oct. 4, Washington (1-1) goal on free kick

Weekend Results

* GAME OF THE WEEKEND:
(Tommy Appel-Schumacher‘s goal for Towson from 45 yards just 95 seconds into the game set the tone for a wild match on Alumni Day.)
Oct. 3 in Philadelphia
Drexel 6 Towson 5 (OT). Goals: Assumpcao pen. 19, Goldberg (Assumpcao) 21, Assumpcao (Baker), 74, Baker 77, Goldberg 87, Page 106; Appel-Schumacher 2, Maloney 33, N. Bermudez Roa 66, Cabrales 69, Mangione 83.
Drexel — Washam, Miller, Ermold, Rohlfsen, LeBourne, Assumpcao, Baker, Page, Goldberg, Johnson, Crose. Subs: Vignola, Sales, Olson, Crockett, Volpatti.
Towson — Steele, Greatwich, Spivey, Horta, Hurkamp, Zecha, Mangione, O’Rourke, LeVine, Appel-Schumacher, Maloney. Subs: Nzokou, J. Bermudez-Roa, N. Bermudez-Roa, Froedert, Cabrales.
Referee: Hossam Saad.
Att.: 465.

WOMEN’S NEWS … Virginia Tech’s 1-0 win over defending national champion North Carolina is certainly the biggest upset of the year, but it wasn’t a fluke.

Four days earlier, the Hokies had beaten No. 23 Virginia, 2-1, in Charlottesville, and their win over UNC put them into the lead in the ACC with a 4-0-0 record. It also earned them a No. 6 ranking in this week’s Soccer America Women’s Top 25.

Tech gave Carolina a scare just 46 seconds into the game when Emily Jukich scored on a bicycle kick, but the goal was called off for offside. The winning goal in the 54th minute wasn’t as pretty. Carolina keeper Ashlyn Harris was involved in a collision coming out to grab a ball, and forward Julian Johnson flicked it Hokie teammate Marika Gray, who scored into the wide-open goal.

Last year, the Hokies overcame the loss of Gray, their leading scorer, with a knee injury to make the 2008 ACC championship game — where they lost to Carolina — and earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

For Carolina, Sunday’s loss marked only its eighth loss in 204 ACC games. Only once in 23 years of ACC play have the Heels ever lost more than one game — they lost three times in 2000 and went on to win the national championship — and they have never lost in 57 ACC tournament games — twice they fell in the final on penalty kicks.

* UNC’S ACC LOSSES.
2009 Virginia Tech 0-1
2007 Miami (Fla.) 0-1
2005 Duke 1-2
2002 N.C. State 1-2
2000 Clemson 1-2
2000 Florida State 2-3
2000 Wake Forest 0-1
1994 Duke 2-3

* SEC THRILLER. The other team to debut in this week’s Top 25 is Mississippi (8-3-0), which overcame heavy rain and swirling winds to upset defending SEC champion Florida, 3-2, in overtime Sunday at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium.

One of the shortest players on the field, 5-foot-1 sophomore Abbie Curran, came up with the game’s big play, heading in Danielle Johnson‘s free kick into the Florida goal to break a 2-2 tie. “When I saw Dee taking it, I had an open spot in front of me,” Curran said. “I had a good feeling.”

Ole Miss should have put the game away earlier but it hit the woodwork three times, once in the first half and twice in the second period. Despite their domination — and 13-5 shot advantage in the second half — the Rebels needed Kelsey Breathitt‘s goal in the 84th minute to send the game into overtime.

“I’m proud of the way our girls came out here and fought,” Ole Miss coach Steve Holeman said. “We could have beaten them in regulation and we were the better team in the second half. Florida had two good opportunities and they scored on those two chances in the second half. We had five or six very good scoring opportunities, but their keeper [Katie Fraine] is phenomenal. She made some big-time saves. This certainly wasn’t a game that we would have been happy with a tie.”

Weekend Results

* GAME OF THE WEEKEND:
(On Friday, UMBC got its first win in 10 games. Two days later, Vermont came back from 2-0 and 4-3 down to earn its first win in 11 games.)
Oct. 4 in Baltimore
UMBC 5 Vermont 6. Goals: Vacarino (Gazarek) 6, Vacarino 23, Sadowski (Bilardo) 36, Kell (McDonald, Edgar) 51, Purdum (Vacarino, Kell) 90; Bonfigli (Laderoute) 24, Laderoute 26, Herbst (Becker) 27, Laderoute 53, Becker (Laderoute) 67, Herbst (Becker) 68.
UMBC — Van Vlerah, Johnson, Gazarek, Sadowski, McKay, McDonald, Gitlin, Vacarino, Bilardo, McKee, Edgar. Subs: Jackson, Kopytko, Epps, Kell, Purdum.
Vermont — Bradley, Rozumalski, Hassler, Herbst, Andres, Hemphill, Milbank, Deppen, Laderoute, Becker, Bonfigli. Subs: Kelly, McGowan, Miele, Feldman, Eckenstein, Mucia, Gill, Coggins, Kwarta, Davenport.
Referee: Jason Cullum.
Att.: 203.

MEN’S NEWS … Kyle Nakazawa extended his scoring streak to six games when he scored on a free kick from 25 yards early in No. 2 UCLA’s game at Washington, but the Bruins had to settle for a 1-1 tie in their Pac-10 showdown when they conceded an own goal early in the second half. Nakazawa has seven goals and four assists in his last six games. The senior’s seven goals match a career high.

* ZIPS REMAIN PERFECT. On Saturday, No. 1 Akron improved to 9-0-0 with a 3-0 win at Florida Atlantic. Teal Bunbury led the Zips with two goals. Akron, which has allowed just one goal all season, has not allowed a goal in the last 574 minutes.

* RETRIEVERS FALL. No. 25 UMBC lost for the first time after nine wins Saturday when the Retrievers fell at Vermont, 3-1, in their America East opener. Marty Galvin led the Catamounts with two goals and an assist on fellow senior Matt Hennessey‘s goal. UMBC now falls to 0-8-2 in its last 10 America East road games.

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

* TOP 25 RESULTS:
Sunday, Oct. 4
Pac-10: Washington 1 (own goal 50) No. 2 UCLA 1 (Nakazawa 8).
Northeast: Fairleigh Dickinson 0 No. 9 Monmouth 1 (Kinne 84).
WCC: St. Mary’s 1 (Coehlo 45) No. 18 Portland 1 (vanSchaik 69).
Big Ten: No. 11 Ohio State 0 No. 21 Northwestern 1 (Hilgard 52).
Conference USA: No. 23 Kentucky 0 UAB 1 (Gumede 15).
(Game draws crowd of 1,774 fans at the UK Soccer Complex.)

Saturday, Oct. 3
Mid-American: Florida Atlantic 0 No. 1 Akron 3 (Bunbury 2, 30, Speas 38).
Big East: No. 7 South Florida 2 (Fairclough 51, Anor 83) Cincinnati 0.
Ivy: Yale 0 No. 8 Harvard 1 (Rogers 103).
America East: No. 19 Boston Univ. 3 (Appiah 22, 25, Prunier 43) Stony Brook 0.
Big East: DePaul 0 No. 20 Louisville 6 (Rolfe 4, Knight 13, 16, DelPiccolo 20, Walker 55, Tufty 87).
———————————————————–
Big East: No. 22 Connecticut 1 (Cascio 56) No. 13 Georgetown 0.
America East: Vermont 3 (Hennessey 13, Galvin 23, 65) No. 25 UMBC 1 (Bulls 30).
CAA: No. 25 Old Dominion 0 UNC Wilmington 0.
Ivy: Columbia 1 (Adafin 51) No. 25 Brown 2 (Thompson 42, Elenz-Martin 104) (OT).

WOMEN’S NEWS … Marika Gray‘s goal in the 54th minute gave unranked Virginia Tech its second upset win of the week, this time a 1-0 win over No. 2 North Carolina Sunday afternoon in Blacksburg. With the victory, the Hokies moved into first place in the ACC with a 4-0 win.

Goalie Kristin Carden was outstanding for Virginia Tech with 10 saves. Her biggest save came in the 67th minute when she denied Casey Nogueira after a scramble right near the goal line. Carden had made five saves in the Hokies’ 2-1 win at No. 16 on Thursday.

The loss was Carolina’s first ever to Virginia Tech and only its eighth ever in ACC play.

* TOP 25 UPSETS. No. 12 St. John’s, No. 15 Florida, No. 16 Ohio State and No. 25 Kansas were the other Top 25 teams to lose to unranked teams in Sunday. St. John’s’ dropped its first Big East game when it lost, 1-0, at home to Cincinnati. Ole Miss knocked off Florida, 3-2. Katie Schoepfer‘s late penalty kick gave Penn State a 2-1 win over Ohio State, while Kansas dropped a 2-1 decision to Texas, its second Big 12 loss of the weekend on the road.

— It was otherwise an afternoon for stalemates. No. 7 South Carolina, No. 8 Notre Dame, No. 9 Notre Dame, No. 12 St. John’s and No. 13 Rutgers all had to settle for ties. No. 1 Santa Clara and No. 11 California also played to a draw, tying, 1-1, at Buck Shaw Stadium.

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

* TOP 25 RESULTS:
Sunday, Oct. 4
ACC: Virginia Tech 1 (Gray 54) No. 2 North Carolina 0.
No. 3 Portland 2 (Foxhoven 29, pen. 57) Washington State 1 (Dallstream 73).
ACC: No. 5 Florida State 4 (Hunter 4, Jaurena 6, McCarty 30, Price 78) Miami (Fla.) 1 (Rickers 45).
ACC: No. 6 Boston College 2 (MacNeil 62, V.DiMartino 72) N.C. State 1 (Dugal 8).
SEC: Mississippi State 1 (Wannek 71) No. 7 South Carolina 1 (Jacobs 46).
———————————————————–
Big East: Pittsburgh 0 No. 8 Notre Dame 0.
Big Ten: Purdue 1 (Forbes 19) No. 9 Michigan State 1 (Peterson 50).
No. 11 Santa Clara (Goynes 72) No. 10 California 1 (Morgan 42). Big East: No. 12 St. John’s 0 Cincinnati 1 (Ranson 40)
SEC: Mississippi 3  (Weatherly 61, Breathitt 84, Curran 102) No. 15 Florida 2 (Thigpen 63, Annis 78).
———————————————————–
Big East: South Florida 0 No. 13 Rutgers 0.
Big Ten: Penn State 2 (Nairn 38, Schoepfer pen. 75)  No. 16 Ohio State 1 (Granberg 85).
(Buckeye  Courtney Jenkins missed a penalty kick.)
Big East: No. 17 Connecticut 2 (Ruutu 38, Busque 77) Georgetown 1 (Jordan 76).
ACC: Clemson 0 No. 18 Wake Forest 3 (Feger 41, 40, Fountain 63).
SEC: Auburn 0 No. 20 LSU 2 (Rutledge 20, Clarke 51).
(Tigers are 4-0-0 in SEC play.)
———————————————————–
SEC: Vanderbilt 0 No. 21 Georgia 3 (Farley 33, Simpson 64, Hooker 78)
ACC: Duke 0 No. 22 Maryland 4 (Hubka 11, Dreska 24, Spencer 38, Ayinde 90).
Big 12: Texas 2 (Rivera 67, Doniak 78) No. 25 Kansas 1 (Noble 59).
(Longhorns are on a four-match unbeaten streak.)

Saturday, Oct. 3
Weber State 0 No. 14 Oregon 1 (Kuhns 108) (OT).
Mountain West: No. 25 BYU 2 (Anderson 2, Ringwood 100) Utah 1 (Isleib 35) (OT).

MEN’S NEWS … UC Santa Barbara set a school regular-season attendance record Friday night when the No. 12 Gauchos drew 10,114 fans to watch them beat No. 11 Indiana, 3-0, in a nationally televised game at Harder Stadium. Danny Barrera and Canadian freshman Michael Nonni led UCSB with a goal and an assist apiece.

* GAME OF THE DAY:
Oct. 2 in Santa Barbara, Calif.
UC Santa Barbara 3 Indiana 0. Goals: Barrera (Tetteh) 39, David (Nonni) 51, Nonni (Barrera) 61.
UC Santa Barbara — Hayden, Boxall, Hoyle, McGlynn, Tetteh, Silva, Barrera, Hedevag, David, Walker, Nonni. Subs: Zerah, Ibrahim, Madueno.
Indiana — Soffner, Sarkodie, Wiet, Meyer, Balchan, Alexander, Jordan, Yeagle, Kelly, Bruin, Adlard. Sub: Hagedorn.
Referee: Alex Gorin.
Att.: 10,114.

* NAKAZAWA FIREWORKS. Senior Kyle Nakazawa scored two goals and set up the third to lead No. 2 UCLA to a 3-1 win at Oregon State in their Pac-10 opener. Nakazawa has six goals and three assists in his last five games and extended his scoring streak to five games. He has scored or assisted on eight of UCLA’s last nine goals.

* ACC SHOWDOWNS. No. 15 Duke defeated No. 3 Maryland, 2-0, and No. 5 North Carolina edged No. 16 Virginia, 1-0, in overtime. Zack Schilawski‘s first career hat trick lifted No. 4 Wake Forest to a 5-1 win over Virginia Tech, while Tyler Lassiter‘s two goals led N.C. State past No. 14 Boston College.

* BATTLE OF THE BAY. In their Pac-10 opener, No. 6 California beat No. 17 Stanford, 1-0, thanks to Andrew Wiedeman‘s team-leading ninth-goal of the season.

— After opening with seven straight wins, No. 9 Monmouth had to settle for a 0-0 tie at Northeast rival Sacred Heart.

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

* FRIDAY’S RESULTS:
Top 25
Pac-10: Oregon State 1 (Ramsey 19) No. 2 UCLA 3 (Nakazawa 38, 87, Hollingshead 62).
ACC: No. 15 Duke 2 (Finley 52, Harrison 79) No. 3 Maryland 0. (Highlights)
(Blue Devils remain perfect at home with a 6-0-0 mark.)
ACC: Virginia Tech 1 (Bentley 63) No. 4 Wake Forest (Lubahn 6, Adams 12, Schilawski 48, 59, 70).
(Senior Zack Schilawski gets his first career hat trick.)
ACC: No. 5 North Carolina 1 (Brown 109) No. 16 Virginia 0 (OT).
(Game draws 3,192 fans at Fetzer Field.)
Pac-10: No. 6 California 1 (Wideman 49) No. 17 Stanford 0.
Northeast: Sacred Heart 0 No. 9 Monmouth 0.
No. 12 UC Santa Barbara 3 (Barrera 39, David 51, Nonni 61) No. 11 Indiana 0.
(Bears draw 1,320 fans, largest regular-season crowd in Kevin Grimes era.)
ACC: N.C. State 2 (Lassiter pen. 65, 103) No. 14 Boston College 1 (Fitzpatrick pen. 6 (OT).
WCC: Santa Clara 0 No. 18 Portland 1 (Warner pen. 77).
Horizon: Loyola (Ill.) 0 No. 24 Butler 0.

[COLLEGE] No. 8 Notre Dame extended its NCAA record conference unbeaten streak to 56 games when it rallied to win at Big East rival West Virginia, 3-2, on Taylor Knaack‘s goal 41 seconds into overtime. No. 9 Michigan lost for the first time in 10 games when it fell at Big Ten rival Indiana, 1-0, on Carly Samp‘s goal with 21 seconds left in regulation. For all the Friday action and the weekend Top 25 schedule …

WOMEN’S NEWS … Last year, Stanford put up a five-spot when it made the trek down El Camino Real to Santa Clara. Thursday night, the No. 1 Cardinal outdid itself, pounding the Broncos, 6-2. Buck Shaw Stadium sure feels like home!

Christen Press and Kelley O’Hara combined for four goals and two assists, giving them 30 points apiece for the 11-0-0 Cardinal, who matched its best start ever in 1991.

The Santa Clara program has been rejuvenated this season, but the Silicon Valley Super Clasico was no contest. Even a special pre-game speech by San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary, a friend of strength and conditioning coach Greg Marshall, was of little help to the Broncos.

“Stanford proved today how good a team they are,” said Santa Clara coach Jerry Smith. “They beat us in every aspect of the game tonight and you have to hand it to [Stanford coach] Paul Ratcliffe, his staff, and his players.  They did a tremendous job.  I’ve been saying for weeks they are the best team in the country and they beat us good today. I think my team is pretty solid team and today they made us look average.”
 
* GAME OF THE DAY:
Oct. 1 in Santa Clara, Calif.
Santa Clara 2 Stanford 6. Goals: Angeli (Bosio) 16, Shim pen. 80; O’Hara (Press) 25, Press (Nogueira) 37, Noyola (Taylor) 53, O’Hara (Taylor) 55, Press (O’Hara) 62, Hing-Glover 87.
Santa Clara — Henninger, LaPonte, Potts, Angeli, Matheson, Perry, Reynolds, Webster, Patton, Vernon, Bosio. Subs: Lahman, Orand, Miller, Chun, Poach, Lewis, Aozasa, Beaudoin, Johnson, Shim, Jeffers, Crum.
Stanford — Maker, Quon, Jenkins, Garciamendez, A.Riley, Nogueira, McCann, Noyola, O’Hara, Taylor, Press. Subs: Verloo Dickerson, Stannard, K.Riley, Watkins, Finley, Averbuch, Heath, Redman, Hing-Glover.
Referee: Vince Cortes.
Att.: 1,483.

* BC COACH FUMES. No. 2 North Carolina survived another scare, getting late penalty kicks from Casey Nogueira and Ali Hawkins to defeat No. 6 Boston College, 2-1, on Thursday night before a crowd of 1,800 at the Boston College Soccer Complex. Both goals resulted after the Eagles were called for handballs in the penalty area — calls that infuriated BC coach Alison Kulik, who had to restrain herself from confronting referee Andrew Chapin.

“Clearly, both of those [handballs] weren’t intentional,” she told the Boston Globe. “It’s unfortunate … What’s done is done. I can’t change the result. For me, to go after the middle guy [Chapin], as tempting as it might have been, serves me no purpose. I’d let my team down. They need me on Sunday and I need to be there [for another ACC home game against N.C. State]. That’s my job. It crossed my mind.”

Midfielder Gina DiMartino had chipped Tar Heel goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris (back from the U.S. national team camp) in the 55th minute for BC, which won its opening nine games of the season before dropping back-to-back games to No. 5 Florida State, 3-2, and now Carolina.

Weekend Top 25 Schedule

MEN’S NEWS … The Stanford’s women’s 11-0-0 start has overshadowed the Cardinal men’s remarkable turnaround. It takes a 6-1-0 record into Pac-10 play, which begins Friday when it travels to Berkeley to face archrival Cal.

Stanford, ranked No. 17 this week, has already matched its output of only 14 goals last season when it finished 4-11-3 — quite a feat when you consider that the Cardinal’s best attacker, Bobby Warshaw, was moved to center back.

Stanford, which hasn’t qualified for the NCAA Tournament since 2002 when it lost to UCLA, 1-0, in the final, has been bolstered by the return of sixth-year senior Evan Morgan and fifth-year senior T.J. Novak, who were injured early last season.

* RECORD CROWD? UC Santa Barbara’s emergence as a national power has created several intersectional rivalries. The Gauchos will host Indiana on Friday in a rematch of their 2004 NCAA Division I final the Hoosiers won penalty kicks.

The match will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel (11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT), and UCSB will be shooting for a regular-season record crowd. The school record at Harder Stadium is 9,749, set last November when the Gauchos hosted Cal Poly. The national record is 22,512 for the 1980 Bronze Boot game between Saint Louis and reigning national champion SIU-Edwardsville at Busch Stadium.

Weekend Top 25 Schedule

* LIBERTY ROLLS. One of the most dominant teams in the country has been Liberty, who began the week ranked first in scoring (3.2 goals per game) and third in defense (0.33 goals per game). The Flames head into Big South action at Coastal Carolina on Saturday with a 5-1-1 and shutout streak of 346 minutes.

A trio of sophomores — Darren Amoo and Phillip Aseweh from Ghana and Timothy Bullock from nearby Forest, Va. — have combined for 14 goals in seven games. None was much of a factor or part of the team last season. Amoo started four games before suffering a season-ending injuries. Bullock made only four appearances off the bench, while Aseweh played at Virginia Tech.

(Click here to hear Coach Jeff Alder talk about Liberty’s successful start.)

WOMEN’S NEWS … Unranked Virginia Tech took over first place in the ACC with a 2-1 win at No. 23 Virginia on Wednesday. The game turned in the 13th minute when Virginia was awarded a penalty kick, but Hokie goalie Kristin Carden saved Lauren Alwine‘s shot.

Virginia Tech, which had never scored more than one goal against Virginia, got goals from Robin Chidester, who made a 40-yard run to the top of the box and cut a shot back just inside the far post, and Julian Johnson, who chipped a ball from 15 yards out just under the crossbar.

The Hokies will put their 3-0 ACC record on the line on Sunday when they host No. 2 North Carolina, the defending ACC and national champion.

Wednesday Results

* SILICON VALLEY SUPERCLASICO. You can bet Santa Clara players have had Thursday night’s game against No. 1 Stanford marked on their calendars. Last year, the Cardinal won, 5-0, at Buck Shaw Stadium, marking the beginning of the end of a miserable season for the Broncos, who went on to win only one conference game and finish 4-12-4.

Stanford returns to Buck Shaw as the top-ranked team in the country, but another rout is unlikely. Santa Clara is 8-3-0. Both teams have gotten great play from their freshmen.

* BATTLE OF THE FRESHMEN:
Stanford:
RB-*Rachel Quon, Eclipse Select (Should return to starting lineup this week)
CB-**Alina Gariciamendez, Dallas Texans (Only freshman to start every game)
M-Mariah Nogueira, Slammers FC (Tied for third on Cardinal with nine points)
F-*Courtney Verloo, FC Portland (Tied for second on Cardinal with five assists)

Santa Clara:
LB-*Olivia Klei, Pleasanton Rage (Has started 10 of 11 games)
M-Lauren Matheson, So Cal Blues (Scored insurance goal in big win over Notre Dame)
M-Allie Vernon, NSA Tigers (Celebrated first start with goal against Purdue)
F-Amanda Webster, Stars of Mass. (Leads freshmen with two goals and two assists)
*Represented USA at 2008 Under-17 Women’s World Cup.
**Represented Mexico at 2008 Under-20 Women’s World Cup.

MEN’S NEWS … There’s no stopping Akron. The top-ranked Zips (8-0-0) made easy work of No. 11 Ohio State, defeating the Buckeyes, 3-0, Wednesday before a record crowd of 2,473 fans at Lee Jackson Field.

Caleb Porter‘s Zips have won five straight games by shutouts and outscored their opponents, 23-1. Ohio State came into Wednesday’s game unbeaten, but the Buckeyes were no match for Akron, which had a 20-3 edge in shots.

All the Zips had to show for their domination in the first half was a penalty kick by Blair Gavin after Darlington Nagbe was taken down in the box. Michael Nanchoff, who tied a 43-year school record shared by his father, George, with four assists in Saturday’s 6-0 win over Bowling Green, added two more assists on goals by Nagbe and Ben Zemanski to put the game away.

* AKRON STARTING XI:
GK-*David Meves (0.13 GAA), Fr., Sockers FC Chicago
D-*Zarek Valentin (0-0-0), Fr., PA Classics
D-*Kofi Sarkodie (1-2-4), Soph., U.S. U-17 residency
D-*Chad Barson (1-0-2), Fr., Columbus Crew Academy
D-Chris Korb (0-3-3), Jr., Internationals SC
M-*Anthony Ampaipitakwong (1-1-3), Jr., Dallas Texans/IMG Acad.
M-Michael Nanchoff (2-7-11), Soph., Internationals SC
M-Blair Gavin (2-1-5), Jr., Sereno SC/IMG Academy
M-Ben Zemanski (2-1-5), Sr., Beadling SC
F-Darlington Nagbe (4-0-8), Soph.,  Internationals SC
F-Teal Bunbury (5-2-12), Soph., Shattuck-St Mary’s Acad.
*Former U.S. under-17 resident.

— No. 25 Brown came back from 2-0 and 3-2 down to tie No. 19 Boston University Wednesday night and remain unbeaten at 4-0-4. Samuel Appiah led BU with a goal and assist, while Sean Rosa had a goal and two assists for the Bears.

* ANOTHER WILDCAT COMEBACK. Davidson came back from 2-0 down in the 72nd minute to beat College of Charleston, 3-2, in overtime on a penalty kick by junior Alex Caskey. It was the third time in its last four matches the Wildcats (7-1-0) came from behind to win.  “The guys responded again down 2-0 and showed great character,” said Davidson coach Matt Spear. “They stuck with the game plan and didn’t panic.”

Wednesday Results

* BILLIKEN HALF-CENTURY TEAM: Saint Louis University will honor 22 players and two coaches named to the Billiken Half-Century Team at halftime of Saturday’s match against Clemson at Hermann Stadium. The Billikens, who are celebrating their 50th season, won or shared 10 of the first 15 NCAA championships.

Coaches — Bob Guelker (1959-66), Harry Keough (1967-82)
Goalkeepers — Kevin Johnston (1987-90), Chuck Zorumski (1972-73)
Defense — Don Ceresia (1962-64), Joe Clarke (1972-75), Mark Demling (1970-73), Bruce Hudson (1971-74), Kevin Kalish (1997-98), Bob Matteson (1970-73), Bill McKeon (1979-82), Denny Werner (1970-73)
Offense — Brad Davis (2000-01), Dan Counce (1970-73), Carl Gentile (1963-65), John Hayes (1978-81), Jack Jewsbury (1999-2002), Ty Keough (1975-78), Brian McBride (1990-93), Pat McBride (1963-65), Matt McKeon (1992-95), Mike Seerey (1969-72), Mike Sorber (1989-92), Al Trost (1968-70)

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)

WOMEN’S NEWS … USC has overcome injuries and suspensions to its backline to return to the Soccer America Women’s Top 25 at No. 19. The Women of Troy’s 2-0 win at ranked Santa Clara on Sunday was their sixth in a row.

Goalkeeper Kristin Olsen was named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player at the Women’s College Cup two years ago when USC won its first women’s title, and she could be the top keeper in the country this year. Olsen matched her career high with eight saves against Santa Clara. USC hasn’t lost since Sept. 4 when Olsen was red carded in a 1-0 loss at Ohio State.

Senior All-American Meagan Holmes has been sidelined with a knee injury since the first game of the season. Junior Ashli Sandoval moved from the midfield to fill in for Holmes but suffered a season-ending ACL injury three weeks ago. Chelsea Buehning missed last week’s Pacific game after being red carded against Oklahoma a week earlier. Junior Karter Haug will miss the first game of her career Friday when she is suspended for USC’s match with San Diego, leaving sophomore Claire Schloemer as the only defender to play in every game this season.

There is good news for USC, though. Freshmen Kelly Morgan and Stephanie Morgan have earned their first starts in the back, and Holmes could return to action soon.

Tuesday Results

* LEADING GOAL SCORERS:
1. Morgan Marlborough, Nebraska 15
2. Rachel King, Louisiana Tech 11
3. Kiersten Dallstream, Washington State 10
3. Sydney Leroux, UCLA 10
3. Britany Curry, Texas State 10
3. Victoria DiMartino, Boston College 10
3. Corky Julien, James Madison 10
3. Kelley O’Hara, Stanford 10
3. Whitney Palmer, Oklahoma 10
(Through games played Sept. 27.)

SMALL COLLEGE NEWS … Northern Kentucky, the No. 1 team in the NSCAA/adidas NCAA Division II men’s rankings, fell to No. 11 after losing to Saint Joseph’s College, 2-1, on Greg Gehrig‘s late goal. Lynn took over as the top-ranked Division II men’s team. The Fighting Knights, led by Paulo Vaz (13 goals and seven assists), put their top billing on the line Saturday when they travel to battle No. 4 Tampa.

MEN’S RANKINGS:
NCAA Division II 1. Lynn, 2. Cal State Los Angeles, 3. Lees-McRae
NCAA Division III 1. Messiah, 2. Ohio Wesleyan, 3. Christopher Newport

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

* STADIUM OPENING. Division III Hope College opened its $5.3 million Van Andel Soccer Stadium on Tuesday with a 1-0 win over Albion before 650 fans. Jeff Stusick scored the game’s only goal. The stadium dedication will take place Oct. 17 during a men’s and women’s doubleheader.

SMALL COLLEGE NEWS … NCAA Division III New Jersey City beat Rutgers-Newark, 5-1, Saturday to end its New Jersey Athletic Conference women’s winless streak at 111 games.

Julia Caseres had a hat trick in the win for NJCU, whose only tie in the streak was a 1-1 tie against Ramapo in 1995. It had since lost 103 straight conference games. It entered the Rutgers-Newark game 0-2 in conference play after going 7-2 in non-conference action.

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

WOMEN’S NEWS … Canadian international Kara Lang‘s college career is over following the season-ending knee injury she suffered Friday in UCLA’s 2-0 win at Cal State Northridge. She was marking Northridge’s Heidi Farran when she fell down, re-tearing the ACL in her right knee. The Oakville, Ont., native suffered a similar injury prior to her sophomore year at UCLA and was forced to redshirt the entire 2006 season.

At 22, Lang is already second all-time on the Canadian national team in scoring with 33 goals in 86 games. She debuted for Canada at the age of 15 and played all six games for Canada a year later at the 2003 Women’s World Cup. She was the subject of an intense recruiting battle and finally settled on UCLA.

Lang set UCLA freshman records for both goals (17) and assists (6) in 2005 and had eight goals in the NCAA Tournament. After coming back from knee surgery, she played for Canada in the 2007 Women’s World Cup and 2008 Olympics but never had the impact many expected she would at UCLA, where she had 15 goals and 13 assists over the last two-plus seasons.
 
“I feel extremely sorry for Kara to have suffered this type of injury during her senior year,” said UCLA coach Jillian Ellis.  “She is a vital part of this program and I know she will continue to be with us and support this team in some capacity the rest of the season.  Kara is a strong individual, and I have full confidence that she will rebound from this injury and continue to have a successful soccer career.”

— Rachel Yepez, who had three goals and two assists for LSU in SEC wins over ranked Georgia (6-0) and Tennessee (5-1), heads this week’s Soccer America Women’s Team of the Week.

* MONDAY’S RESULT:
NJIT 1 Iona 2 (OT)
(Gabriella D’Aprile scores on breakaway with 48 seconds remaining in first overtime.)

* COMEBACK KIDS (VIDEO). As Lang did, Brittany Taylor and Jessica Diakun have come back from knee injuries. After missing the 2008 season, Taylor and Diakun have returned and helped Connecticut, which missed out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever, off to a No. 17 ranking in this week’s Soccer America Women’s Top 25.

(View WTNH’s profile of Taylor, a top WPS prospect, and Diakun, a vocal leader in the back.)

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.

WOMEN’S NEWS … LSU put on one of the most impressive displays of the women’s season when the Tigers blasted previously unbeaten Georgia, 6-0, and Tennessee, 5-1, to open their SEC season. The wins propelled LSU into the Soccer America Women’s Top 25 for the first time this season at No. 20.

On Friday, freshman forward Carlie Banks led LSU with a hat trick and frontline partner Rachel Yenez added a goal and two assists. Two days later against Tennessee, the Tigers switched formations, dropping Banks from the starting lineup and using just Yenez up front. The result? LSU scored four first-half goals.
 
“We’ve got a versatile attack,” said LSU coach Brian Lee after the Tennessee game. “That was the appropriate move for today. I think it speaks well of our team that we can take out Carlie Banks, who had a hat trick on Friday, and still be up 2-0 nine minutes in. We did a good job of keeping up the pressure.”

Yenez finished the weekend with three goals and two assists, while midfielder Malorie Rutledge had one goal and three assists. Freshman Tricia Johnson scored goals against Georgia and Tennessee.

Weekend Results

* TALLAHASSEE BARN-BURNER. You’d be hard-pressed to find two better young women’s teams than Florida State and Boston College. Between them, they started 10 sophomores and four freshmen Sunday in Tallahassee, where they put on quite a show.

Twice Florida State went ahead and twice the visiting Eagles equalized before sophomore Jessica Price gave the Seminoles the lead for good, breaking a 2-2 tie in the 73rd minute on her seventh goal of the season. The 3-2 win was the Seminoles’ third in a row over a Top 25 team. The loss snapped BC’s nine-game winning streak.

“Well, it was exactly what we expected,” said FSU coach Mark Krikorian.  “We know Boston College is a very, very good team.  They came in here and pushed us to the limit.  The good thing for us is that we found a way to win.”

* GAME OF THE DAY:
Sept. 27 in Tallahassee, Fla.
Florida State 3 Boston College 2. Goals: Huster (Short, Pressley) 10, McCarty (Edwards) 23, Price (McCarty) 73; V.DiMartino (Mewis) 13, Caldwell (Bouchelle, V.DiMartino) 56.
Florida State — McNulty, Jaurena, Brockway, Edwards, Pressley, Short, DaCosta, Hunter, Lim, Price, McCarty. Subs: Crown, Bolinsky, Switzer, Kazbour.
Boston College — Mastroianni, Pember, Henderson, Cerrone, Beyar, Regan, G.DiMartino, Bouchelle, Mewis, V.DiMartino, Caldwell. Subs: Gimpel, Knowlton, Payne, Wirth.
Referee: Shane Moody.
Att.: 902.

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).
—————————————————————————————–
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).
—————————————————————————————–
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).
—————————————————————————————–
83th minute: No. 11 UC Santa Barbara 1 (Ibrahim pen.) UC Irvine 0. (Attendance: 4,511.)
—————————————————————————————–
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.)

WOMEN’S NEWS … No. 6 Florida State handed No. 3 Boston College its first loss of the season with a 3-2. The visiting Eagles twice came back from one-goal deficits, but sophomore Jessica Price won the game for the Seminoles with her seventh goal of the season in the 73rd minute.

In another ACC match involving Top 25 teams, No. 2 North Carolina rediscovered its scoring touch and made easy work of No. 17 Wake Forest, 4-0.Top-ranked Stanford improved to 10-0-0 with a 1-0 at St. Mary’s in a game played in 100-degree temperatures.

Top 25 teams to fall on Sunday to unranked teams were:

— No. 9 Maryland (2-0 at Miami, Fla.);
— No. 10 Santa Clara (2-0 at home to USC);
— No. 19 Indiana (3-2 at Wisconsin on sophomore Laurie Nosbusch‘s hat trick);
— No. 21 Texas A&M (3-2 at Oklahoma);
— No. 25 UCF (1-0 at home to Memphis).

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

* TOP 25 SCOREBOARD:
Sunday, Sept. 27
St. Mary’s 0 No. 1 Stanford (Press 59).
(Cardinal extends scoreless string to 447 minutes.)
ACC: No. 2 North Carolina 4 (Hawkins 12, McDonald 22, Engen 62, Rich 70) No. 17 Wake Forest 0.
UC Santa Barbara 1 (Ortega 43) No. 5 UCLA 3 (Belcher 50, Leroux 62, 80).
No. 6 Florida State 3 (Huster 10, McCarty 23, Price 73) No. 3 Boston College 2 (V.DiMartino 13, Caldwell 56).
SEC: Arkansas 0 No. 8 Georgia 2 (Pollock 4, Falle 80).
ACC: Miami (Fla.) 2 (Roseboro 27, Steinbruch 64) No. 9 Maryland 0.
(Coach Tricia Taliaferro gets her 100th career win.)
No. 10 Santa Clara 0 USC 2 (Buehning 50, Davila 90).
——————————————————————————-
SEC: No. 11 South Carolina 1 (Watts 56) Kentucky 0.
Big East: No. 12 Notre Dame 1 (Fowlkes 50) Louisville 0.
(Irish stretch unbeaten streak against conference opponents to 55 matches.)
Big Ten: No. 13 Michigan State 3 (Heyboer 22, 95, Stander 49) Penn State 2 (Schoepfer 59, Nairn 69) (OT).
ACC: No. 14 Virginia 3 (Miskel 8, Rostedt 38, Alwine 54) Clemson 0.
Big East: Providence 1 (Camburn  15) No. 15 St. John’s 1 (Stefansdottir 77).
Big East: No. 16 Connecticut 5 (Ruutu 27, Shufelt 36, 66, Busque pen. 50, Garufi 88) Syracuse 0.
Oral Roberts 3 (Manyan 31, Booth 70, Soto 90) No. 18 Kansas 5 (Cressy 1, Williamson 18, 45, Dolinsky 67, Robbins 83).
Big Ten: Wisconsin 3 (Nosbusch 52, 73, 87) No. 19 Indiana 2 (Beach 73, 76).
Big East: No. 20 Rutgers 1 (Schacher 53) Villanova 1 (Schuyler 24).
——————————————————————————-
Big 12: Oklahoma 3 (Palmer 6, 9, Kraft 61) No. 21 Texas A&M 2 (Hamilton 14, 55)
SEC: No. 24 Florida 5 (Annis 34, Barney 44, 83, Eicken 66, Tymrak 83) Vanderbilt 1 (Forester 90).
Conference USA: No. 25 UCF 0 Memphis 1 (Strnadova 41).
Big Ten: Northwestern 0 No. 25 Purdue 2 (Leinert 62, Seeger 85).
Big Ten: No. 25 Ohio State 1 (own goal 19) Michigan 0.
——————————————————————————-
America East
Vermont 1 Albany 1

Atlantic Sun
Mercer 2 Stetson 3

Atlantic-10
Duquesne 0 Massachusetts 1
George Washington 0 Dayton 6

Big East
DePaul 1 Cincinnati 0
South Florida 2 West Virginia 1

Big Ten
Illinois 2 Minnesota 2
(Crowd of 2,347 for SoccerFest is second largest crowd in school history.)

Big 12
Baylor 0 Texas 0
Colorado 1 Iowa State 0
Missouri 3 Oklahoma State 2
Texas Tech 3 Nebraska 3

CAA
Hofstra 4 Drexel 0
James Madison 3 Towson 2
Northeastern 1 Delaware 1
Old Dominion 1 UNC Wilmington 3
VCU 2 George Mason 1
William & Mary 6 Georgia State 2

Conference USA
Colorado College 2 Tulsa 0
East Carolina 1 Houston 2
Marshall 1 Rice 0
Southern Miss 0 UAB 1
UTEP 2 SMU 0

Horizon
Valparaiso 0 Loyola (Ill.) 1

Northeast
Central Conn. State 3 Quinnipiac 2

SEC
LSU 6 Tennessee 1
(Tigers have scored 12 goals in their first two SEC games.)
Mississippi 3 Auburn 2 (OT)
(Hannah Weatherly converts penalty kick to break tie.)
Mississippi State vs. Alabama-postponed

Southern
College of Charleston 1 Samford 0
(Bulldogs give up first goal of the season.)

Non-Conference
Cal Poly 3 Arizona 0
Middle Tennessee 1 Florida Atlantic 0
(Blue Raiders extend their school-record best start to 8-1-1.)
Pacific 3 Air Force 0
Robert Morris 1 American 0
San Diego State 2 UC Irvine 1
TCU 4 Texas Women’s 0
UC Davis 2 Nevada 1
Utah 0 Pepperdine 1
Wagner 0 Lafayette 0
Wyoming 1 UC Riverside 0
Youngstown State 0 St. Francis (Pa.) 0

* EARLIER TOP 25 RESULTS:
Friday, Sept. 25
No. 4 Portland 1 (Burk 55) No. 22 Oregon State 0.
(Top 25 showdown draws 4,238 fans.)
Cal State Northridge 0 No. 5 UCLA 2 (Larsen 18, Cheney 43).
No. 7 California 1 (Sisler 93) Cal Poly 0 (OT).
SEC: LSU 4 (Banks 16, 18, 63, Yepez 52) No. 8 Georgia 0.
No. 10 Santa Clara 1 (Patton 17) Cal State Fullerton 0.
SEC: No. 11 South Carolina 2 (Rhoades 16, Jacobs 52) Vanderbilt 1 (Lukens 89).
(Gamecocks remain perfect at 9-0-0.)
Big East: Cincinnati 1 (Hebbeler 76) No. 12 Notre Dame 2 (Fowlkes 78, Schuveiller 81).
Big 12: Oklahoma State 3 (Miller 17, Langdon 53, Richardson 76) No. 18 Kansas 0.
Big Ten: Northwestern 1 (Herczeg 80) No. 19 Indiana 0.
Big East: Georgetown 0 No. 20 Rutgers 1 (Jones 13).
(Ashley Jones has eight goals in last six games.)
Big 12: Baylor 0 No. 21 Texas A&M 1 (Hooper 59).
No. 23 Oregon 2 (Sweeney 38, Mansfield 65) Portland State 0.
SEC: No. 24 Florida 2 (Thompson 13, pen. 99) Kentucky 1 (Lopez 56) (OT).
Conference USA: No. 25 UCF 3 (Whidden 3, 12, George 90) UAB 1 (Blair 59).
Big Ten: Wisconsin 1 (Leinert 78) No. 25 Purdue 1 (Flannery 52).

Thursday, Sept. 24
ACC: No. 2 North Carolina 2 (Lubrano 83, Rich 97) Duke 1 (Gummersall 89) (OT).
ACC: Miami (Fla.) 0 No. 3 Boston College 2 (V.DiMartino 32, Mewis 36).
ACC: No. 6 Florida State 2 (McCarty 18, Kazbour 35) No. 9 Maryland 1 (Spencer 22).
ACC: N.C. State 2 (Dugal 5, 88) No. 14 Virginia 1 (Norbo 69).
Big East: No. 15 St. John’s 1 (Pasciolla 96) No. 16 Connecticut 0 (OT).

Soccer America Women’s Top 25
TEAM (RECORD) LAST WEEK
1. Stanford (10-0-0) 2
2. North Carolina (9-0-1) 1
3. Boston College (9-1-0) 4
4. Portland (9-1-0) 3
5. UCLA (8-1-1) 5
6. Florida State (9-1-0) 6
7. California (6-2-0) 7
8. Georgia (7-1-1) 8
9. Maryland (8-2-0) 9
10. Santa Clara (8-3-0) 10
11. South Carolina (10-0-0) 12
12. Notre Dame (7-3-0) 13
13. Michigan State (7-0-2) 11
14. Virginia (6-2-2) 16
15. St. John’s (8-1-1) 18
16. Connecticut (7-3-0) 19
17. Wake Forest (8-2-0) 20
18. Kansas (8-2-1) 25
19. Indiana (8-2-0) 22
20. Rutgers (8-1-2) 23
21. Texas A&M (6-4-0) NR
22. Oregon State (7-2-0) NR
23. Oregon (7-1-1) NR
24. Florida (8-3-0) 14
25. UCF (6-3-1) 17
25. Ohio State (8-1-1) NR
25. Purdue (6-2-2) 15

Get the latest college news Monday-Friday in Soccer America’s College Soccer Reporter.

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).

WOMEN’S NEWS … Two Top 10 teams — No. 7 California and No. 8 Georgia — lost on Friday night to unranked teams.

Cal outshot Cal Poly, 25-8, but fell to the visiting Mustangs, 1-0, on Whitney Sisler’s golden goal. The star of the night was Carlie Banks, who scored a hat trick for LSU in its 6-0 win over Georgia. The loss was the first of the season for the Bulldogs.

The other Top 25 teams to fall to unranked teams were No. 18 Kansas, which lost to Oklahoma State, 3-0, in the Big 12 opener for both teams, and No. 19 Indiana, which lost at Big Ten rival Northwestern, 1-0.

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

* FRIDAY’S SCOREBOARD:
Friday, Sept. 25
No. 4 Portland 1 (Burk 55) No. 22 Oregon State 0.
(Top 25 showdown draws 4,238 fans.)
Cal State Northridge 0 No. 5 UCLA 2 (Larsen 18, Cheney 43).
No. 7 California 1 (Sisler 93) Cal Poly 0 (OT).
SEC: LSU 6 (Banks 16, 18, 63, Yepez 52 Boudreau 84, Johnson 85) No. 8 Georgia 0.
No. 10 Santa Clara 1 (Patton 17) Cal State Fullerton 0.
SEC: No. 11 South Carolina 2 (Rhoades 16, Jacobs 52) Vanderbilt 1 (Lukens 89).
(Gamecocks remain perfect at 9-0-0.)
Big East: Cincinnati 1 (Hebbeler 76) No. 12 Notre Dame 2 (Fowlkes 78, Schuveiller 81).
Big 12: Oklahoma State 3 (Miller 17, Langdon 53, Richardson 76) No. 18 Kansas 0.
Big Ten: Northwestern 1 (Herczeg 80) No. 19 Indiana 0.
Big East: Georgetown 0 No. 20 Rutgers 1 (Jones 13).
(Ashley Jones has eight goals in last six games.)
Big 12: Baylor 0 No. 21 Texas A&M 1 (Hooper 59).
No. 23 Oregon 2 (Sweeney 38, Mansfield 65) Portland State 0.
SEC: No. 24 Florida 2 (Thompson 13, pen. 99) Kentucky 1 (Lopez 56) (OT).
Conference USA: No. 25 UCF 3 (Whidden 3, 12, George 90) UAB 1 (Blair 59).
Big Ten: Wisconsin 1 (Leinert 78) No. 25 Purdue 1 (Flannery 52).

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.

WOMEN’S NEWS … North Carolina women’s fans are starting to get a little nervous. The Tar Heel attack that buried UCLA (7-2) and Notre Dame (6-0) earlier this season has suddenly turned into the gang that can’t shoot start. About the worst thing you can say about the ’09 Heels is they are starting to look like the ’07 Heels, whose offensive woes cost them a national championship.

Returning home Thursday night for its ACC opener after scoring only once in a pair of games at the Duke Nike Classic last weekend, No. 2 UNC didn’t score its first goal against Duke until Maria Lubrano struck in the 84th minute with her first collegiate goal, and it needed a golden goal from freshman Alyssa Rich to win, 2-1. KayAnne Gummersall had tied the score for the Blue Devils with 66 seconds left in regulation to the dismay of the 2,428 fans at Fetzer Field.

Carolina was playing without three of its senior stars. Midfielder Tobin Heath and goalie Ashlyn Harris are with the U.S. women’s national team in training, and winger Nikki Washington‘s career is over after injuring her knee against LSU a week ago. Another starter, sophomore Courtney Jones, has been bothered by a hamstring injury and only played 30 minutes off the bench. Freshman Lucy Bronze was also on national team duty, playing with England’s U-20 national team.

In other ACC action …

— No. 6 Florida State handed No. 9 Maryland its first loss of the season with a 2-1 win. Marissa Kazbour‘s first goal of the season on a header in the 35th minute broke a 1-1 tie. “Maryland is a much improved team and gave us all we could handle,” said Seminole coach Mark Krikorian. The win ended FSU’s four-game losing streak in ACC openers.

— No. 14 Virginia had its seven-game unbeaten streak snapped with a 2-1 loss at N.C. State, which won a pair of goals by Paige Dugal, the second in the 88th minute. “This is obviously a disappointing result for us,” said Cavalier coach Steve Swanson. “But is a result that we can learn some lessons from.” Virginia had a 21-4 edge in shots.

— With Maryland’s loss, No. 3 Boston College is the only unbeaten and untied ACC team. The Eagles won, 2-0, at Miami (Fla.) on first-half goals by freshman stars Kristen Mewis and Victoria DiMartino. BC puts its perfect record on the line Sunday when it travels to Florida State.

Weekend Top 25 Schedule

* RED STORM ROCKS. The surprise of the Big East has been No. 15 St. John’s, which improved to 8-1-0 with a 1-0 over No. 16 Connecticut on Amanda Pasciolla‘s golden goal. The Red Storm has never played in the NCAA Tournament but is making a strong case in 2009. It already has quality wins over USC and Indiana in addition to UConn, which it beat for only the third time in 18 meetings.

St. John’s has yet to score more than two goals in a game, but it is getting timely goals from players throughout the lineup. Pasciolla was the eighth different player in eight wins to score the winning goal. “Once again, I felt the team showed a lot of character in the game,” coach Ian Stone said. “UConn is an excellent team and tonight’s game showed that we can find a way to dig deep and grind out wins.”
 
* RIO TINTO DEBUT. The first women’s game at MLS club Real Salt Lake’s Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy featured a bizarre finish as Utah State defeated Utah, 2-1, in overtime on Thursday when Shantel Flanary‘s attempted cross deflected off a Ute defender and floated into the goal. The game drew 2,070 fans.