Category: College Soccer Reporter

The Men’s College Cup returns to SAS Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., for the second time. For information on tickets to this weekend’s College Cup and television coverage …

NJCAA Division III women’s champion Broome Community College landed four players on the 2007 NSCAA/adidas Women’s Junior College Division III All-America Team: forwards Allie Stabler and Emily Dixon on the first team and goalkeeper Alicia Sagendorf and midfielder Emily Cirillo on the second squad. For all the All-Americans …

There are 13 repeat selections on the 2007 NSCAA/adidas NCCAA All-America teams, including two women — junior midfielder Summer Mullen (Philadelphia Biblical) and junior defender Beth Seitz (Southeastern) — who were chosen for the third time.  For all the All-Americans …

San Francisco’s Chris Rodd became the first collegian to sign a pro contract since the end of the college soccer when the All-WCC defender inked a three-year contract to play for Bryne Fotballklubb, a Norwegian second-level pro team.

On the road to Cary …
Virginia Tech reached the Men’s College Cup for the first time with four first-year upperclassmen whose participation in college soccer has touched off a debate. Ringers or bona-fide students? Ohio State is known as a football school, but the Buckeyes’ march to Cary has raised awareness about the men’s soccer team. Wake Forest goalie Brian Edwards chose to return as a fifth-year senior instead of turning pro, while Mike DeSantis chose to follow older brother Mark to UMass, for whom they will form the College Cup’s only starting brother tandem. For what’s being said about the 2007 College Cup entrants …

No team at the Men’s College Cup comes close to matching the dominance of Wake Forest, which has outscored its opponents 63-13. For how the four finalists match up …

NJCAA Division I champion Yavapai earned two first-team selections on the 2007 NSCAA/adidas Men’s Junior College Division I All-America Team: defender Vincent Fimbrez and midfielder Irving Garcia. Two other teams had two first-team selections: Georgia Perimeter (Jon Selkow and Marcelo Aguirre) and Tyler (Roger Dacosta and Kyle Timm). For all the All-Americans …

NJCAA Division III champion Richland placed two players on the 2007 NSCAA/adidas Men’s Junior College Division I All-America first team: Carlos Videla and David Freeland. For all the All-Americans …

The Community College of Baltimore County-Catonsville, the NJCAA Division I women’s champion, landed three players on the on the 2007 NSCAA/adidas Junior College Division I All-America Team: goalkeeper Kristen Sample, defender Saige Steinmetz and forward Shaneka Gordon. For all the All-Americans …

The NSCAA has selected legendary Indiana University coach Jerry Yeagley as the 43rd member of its Hall of Fame.

Paul Kennedy begins the Men’s College Cup Countdown
Zach Simmons‘ college career began on the intramural fields at UMass and with the school’s club team. Three years later, he is headed the Men’s College Cup after leading the Minutemen to four straight wins in the NCAA Tournament.

Marci Miller Jobson, who played on the U.S. team that finished third at the 2007 Women’s World Cup, is leaving Northern Illinois, where she spent the past three years as head coach, to lead the Baylor women’s program.

[EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES] More than 20 head coaching positions have opened up at NCAA Division I men’s and women’s soccer programs. For a list of coaching openings and job postings …

[ELITE 8] Virginia Tech pulled the biggest upset of the NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament quarterfinals with a 1-0 victory over No. 3 seed Connecticut Saturday afternoon before 5,495 fans in Storrs, Conn. The Huskies took a 17-game home winning streak into the game, but bad field conditions and bad luck conspired to knock them out. Instead, Virginia Tech is heading to the Men’s College Cup this weekend in Cary. N.C.

[ELITE 8] Wake Forest will be the only team at this year’s Men’s College Cup that played in last year’s finals in St. Louis. Indeed, the No. 2 seed Demon Deacons are the only team still alive to have ever played in a men’s final four. They moved into Friday’s semifinal against ACC rival Virginia Tech with a 1-0 overtime win over Notre Dame Saturday night before a record crowd of 4,589 at Spry Stadium.

[ELITE 8] Sam Koch will be the first to admit that he didn’t plan on Massachusetts going to the Men’s College Cup. The Minutemen coach went so far as to book a family trip to Disney World for Thanksgiving. Well, the trip came and went without him, and three weeks later, UMass is still playing. The Minutemen made sure of that with a 2-1 victory over UIC on Sunday at the place the Minutemen call Fort Rudd.

[ELITE 8] Bradley had overcame one- and two-goal deficits to win at Indiana and Maryland in the second and third rounds, but there was no Braves’ comeback Sunday at Ohio State. Even the support of eight busloads of Bradley supporters who had made the trek from Peoria couldn’t help the Braves after they fell behind on a Xavier Balc penalty kick in the 58th minute. A four-goal blitz over 12 minutes sent the Buckeyes to the Men’s College Cup for the first time with a 4-0 win.

Paul Kennedy on the new women’s champion
On the eve of the Women’s College Cup, first-year USC coach Ali Khosroshahin recounted his first meeting with his new boss, Athletic Director Mike Garrett, after being named the Trojans’ women’s soccer coach last winter. “We evaluate you on national championships,” Garrett, SC’s first Heisman Trophy winner, told Khosroshahin, who arrived from Cal State Fullerton. “No pressure!” Khosroshahin joked. More like, no problem.

USC’s Ali Khosroshanin exuded confidence going into the Women’s College Cup, and he said it was for real. “With this group,” he said afterwards, “it took them a while to start believing, but once they started it’s been a spectacular run.” The assessment of star Amy Rodriguez? Once USC got rolling, it was “like every game we just took teams apart.” For more from the USC and FSU players and coaches after Sunday’s Women’s College Cup final …

All the results and goal scorers from the first games on Nov. 17 in College Station to Sunday’s final back in Aggieland …

USC is only the seventh team to win the NCAA Division I women’s championship in the 26-year history of the tournament.

Paul Kennedy previews the Women’s College Cup
[UCLA PREVIEW] This is the fifth straight year UCLA has reached the Women’s College Cup, and the Bruins are still looking for their first championship. What means this weekend will be different in College Station?

[USC PREVIEW] The Trojans are the self-described “rookies” at the Women’s College Cup, but that doesn’t mean they lack confidence heading into Friday’s match against No. 1 UCLA — a team they have lost to in their last nine meetings.

[FLORIDA STATE PREVIEW] It’s three years and three College Cups for Coach Mark Krikorian, so how do the ’07 ‘Noles compare with his other two FSU teams?

[NOTRE DAME PREVIEW] After nine years in South Bend, Coach Randy Waldrum still has a little of his North Texas drawl, which was on show on the eve of the Irish’s rematch with Florida State in the semifinals of the Women’s College Cup.