Category: College Soccer Reporter

[ACC FINAL] Boston College completed an ACC double — its first regular-season and tournament championships since joining the conference in 2005 — by beating top-ranked Wake Forest, 2-1, in Sunday’s final in Cary, N.C.

The NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Committee will reveal on Monday afternoon the 48 lucky teams that will participate in the 2007 NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament that begins after Thanksgiving. There are 26 at-large berths up for grabs. Soccer America predicts these 26 teams — 20 that appear to be locks and six we’ll go out on a limb and pick from among a dozen bubble teams.

[SMALL COLLEGE RESULTS] The fields are set for the NCAA Division II and III men’s and women’s final fours. The Division III finals will be played next weekend at the Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The Division II finals will be held the following week in Orange Beach, Ala. For all the weekend results …

Top-seeded Azusa Pacific recovered from a 1-0 deficit at halftime to dispose of Fresno Pacific, in the quarterfinals of the NAIA Men’s National Championships. Auburn-Montgomery got goals from Kari Arsaelsson and Magnus Olafsson — two of eight Icelanders in the starting lineup — to beat seven-time champion Lindsey Wilson, the second seed. Canadian entrant Simon Fraser, winner of three NAIA titles, and Concordia (Calif.) also moved into the semifinals with wins on Saturday. Azusa Pacific is also still alive at the women’s nationals in Daytona Beach, Fla., thanks to its 4-1 win over Northwood. No. 1 seed Lee, defending champion Lindsey Wilson and Martin Methodist are also through to Monday’s semifinals. For all the results, goal scorers and schedules …

[FROM 64 DOWN TO 16] Texas knocked out No. 2 seed Texas A&M, 3-2, on Saturday, and three other regional seeds fell on Sunday. Indiana beat No. 2 Purdue in a shootout. Duke beat No. 3 Georgia, 1-0. Connecticut also downed No. 4 Wake Forest, 1-0. For all the weekend results and goalscorers …

[HEADLINERS] The second round of the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament produced its share of drama. Golden goals rescued two seeds, and show-stopping performances sent other teams through to the Sweet 16 with upset victories.

[TEXAS A&M-TEXAS] On the first weekend of play in the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament, no game was bigger than the Texas A&M-Texas game in College Station, and it certainly lived up to its billing. Despite pouring rain and the threat of hail and thunderstorms that delayed the start of the game for 50 minutes, 2,438 fans showed up at Aggie Soccer Stadium — the largest crowd of the weekend — to watch A&M and UT put on a show.

[THE 23 CHAMPIONS] Central Connecticut State, the first No. 4 seed to win the Northeast Conference tournament in a decade, was the lowest seed to win a men’s conference tournament. Three No. 3 seeds — Campbell (Atlantic Sun), Massachusetts (Atlantic-10) and UIC (Horizon) — captured conference titles. New Mexico won the last remaining automatic berth from a conference that didn’t sponsor a postseason tournament when it clinched its fourth straight MPSF title with a 0-0 tie at Denver. For all the conference tournament champions, all the results and goalscorers …

Connecticut claimed the top spot in the final Soccer America Men’s Top 25 thanks to its sweep of the Big East Tournament and last week’s No. 1 Wake Forest’s 2-1 loss to Boston College in the ACC final. Brown and Santa Clara, which finished with one loss apiece, moved up to No. 2 and No. 3 ahead of BC and Wake. Conference USA champion Tulsa was No. 6. For the final Top 25 …

WITH SUNDAY UPDATES … Texas knocked out No. 2 seed Texas A&M, 3-2, on Saturday, and three other regional seeds fell on Sunday. Indiana beat No. 2 Purdue in a shootout. Duke beat No. 3 Georgia, 1-0. Connecticut also downed No. 4 Wake Forest, 1-0. For all the weekend results and goalscorers …

WITH WEEKEND UPDATES … Simon Fraser and Concordia (Calif.) moved into the semifinals with wins on Saturday at the NAIA Men’s National Championships. At the women’s nationals in Daytona Beach, Fla., No. 1 seed Lee beat St. Xavier, 3-0, in Saturday’s first quarterfinal match. For all the results, goal scorers and schedules …

Ashlee Pistorius broke the Texas A&M career record for goals and points with two goals in the first nine minutes of the Aggies’ 4-1 win over Stephen F. Austin on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament. The win set up a grudge match Saturday at College Station between A&M and Texas, a 2-0 winner over BYU on a pair of goals by freshman Alisha Ortiz.

WITH FRIDAY UPDATES … Sunday’s championship games are set at the NJCAA Division I National Championships. In the men’s final, top seed Georgia Perimeter (21-0-2) meets Yavapai (23-2-0). In the women’s final, CCBC Catonsville (20-1-0) faces Iowa Western (21-1-1). For all the scores and schedules …

WITH WEEKEND UPDATES … Vernont (America East) and Campbell (Atlantic Sun) knocked off top seeds Saturday to win their respective conference tournaments. Six top seeds were knocked off in semifinal play on Friday night: St. Louis (Atlantic-10), Coastal Carolina (Big South), Drexel (CAA), Loyola, Ill. (Horizon), Monmouth (MAAC) and Holy Cross (Patriot). For all the conference tournament results and goalscorers, as well as schedules and television updates …

Top-seeded Tulsa got an early goal by Eric DeFreitas to stand up as the Golden Hurricane beat host UAB, 1-0, in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA men’s tournament in Birmingham, Ala. Tulsa, ranked No. 7 in the latest Soccer America Men’s Top 25 rankings, had to wait a day to get in its game against the Blazers. Wednesday’s game, the last of four quarterfinal matches, got underway but was delayed due to lightning and eventually postponed.

Connecticut’s Julius James was named 2007 Big East Defensive Player of the Year for the third straight year, while teammate O’Brian White was tabbed Offensive Player of the Year. Other player honors went to DePaul’s Brian Visser (Goalkeeper of the Year), West Virginia senior Andy Wright (Midfielder of the Year) and Seton Hall midfielder Brayan Martinez (Rookie of the Year). DePaul head coach Craig Blazer, along with his staff, earned Coaching Staff of the Year accolades.

UCLA sophomore forward Lauren Cheney was named Pac-10 Player of the Year. It was the first time since 2003 that a Bruin captured Player of the Year honors. Coach Jillian Ellis, whose Bruins are ranked No. 1 in the final Soccer America Women’s Top 25, was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year. Stanford’s Christen Press was named Freshman of the Year. UCLA and Stanford dominated the all-conference team with a combined seven of the 12 selections.

[ACC TOURNAMENT] Wake Forest, ranked No. 1 in the Soccer America Men’s Top 25, needed two goals in the last two minutes to beat Clemson, 3-1, Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament in Cary, N.C. The Tigers finished their season with a 7-11-1 record, their worst record in the 41-year history of the program, but not before they threw the Wake offensive machine off track.

Play begins Thursday in the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament with two games at the Texas A&M regional: Texas A&M-Stephen F. Austin and Texas-BYU. The other 30 first-round games will be played Friday. For all the matchups …

WCC champion Portland swept this year’s conference individual awards. Angie Woznuk was the sixth UP player to be selected as the WCC Player of the Year in the last 15 years, while fellow senior Stephanie Lopez garnered WCC Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second time in her career. Keelin Winters was named the Freshman of the Year, while Pilot head coach Garrett Smith was selected as the Coach of the Year for the second time.

The NJCAA Division I Men’s National Championships begin Thursday and continue through Sunday in Tyler, Texas. Defending champion Jefferson is joined by traditional powerhouses Mercer County, Yavapai and Georgia Perimeter, the No. 1 seed, and resurgent CCBC Essex in the eight-team field. This year’s surprise is Iowa’s Marshalltown featuring Grenadian scoring sensation Arkenson Neckels, who set a JC national record with 13 goals in one game this season. For a breakdown of the quarterfinal matchups …

America East top seeds Binghamton and Vermont moved into Saturday’s final with wins on Wednesday. Campbell (Big South) and Niagara and Siena (MAAC) all lit it up for six goals in first-round victories. For all Wednesday’s tournament results and goalscorers and Thursday’s schedules …

[NAIA MEN] No. 17 seed MidAmerica Nazarene, No. 18 Mid-Continent and No. 19 Embry-Riddle all pulled upsets Wednesday on the opening day of the NAIA Men’s National Championships in Olathe, Kan. Play continues Thursday with Wednesday’s four winners taking on the top four seeds. For all the results and goal scorers …