Category: Story

After three consecutive losing seasons. Coach Lesle Gallimore has Washington back on the right track. The Huskies are 9-1-0 and hit the charts this week at No. 23 — their first ranking in the Soccer America Women’s Top 25 since 2004 when they reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. UW begins a brutal stretch when it faces teams ranked No. 4, No. 5, No. 3 and No. 2 in its next four games.

No. 3 Saint Louis and No. 10 Northwestern battled to a 0-0 tie in the marque match of a busy Tuesday night of men’s college action. ALSO: Freshmen gave Maryland and North Carolina narrow wins. Indiana downed Evansville in thriller. Drake gave up as many goals it had done in its first eight games.

Lynn replaced Northern Kentucky at No. 1 in the NCAA Division II men’s rankings. Trinity (Texas), one of six unbeaten and untied teams, remained the top-ranked team in the Division III rankings. For the NSCAA/adidas D2 and D3 men’s rankings …

Grand Valley State, No. 1 in the NCAA Division II women’s rankings, improved to 10-0-0. Williams is the new No. 1 in the NCAA Division III women’s rankings after last week’s No. 1 Messiah and No. 2 Lynchburg both earned ties last week. For the NSCAA/adidas D2 and D3 women’s rankings …

SOCCER AMERICA talks with Harvard’s Andre Akpan, one of the most exciting players in college soccer. The lone sophomore on last year’s Soccer America MVP first team, Akpan is considered one of the top pro prospects in the college game, but the former U.S. U-20 has resisted the temptation to leave Harvard early and turn pro.

Austin da Luz, who played a key role off the bench in Wake Forest’s 4-2 win over Maryland in the battle of No. 1 and No. 3 teams, is the Soccer America Men’s Player of the Week. For all the Men’s Team of the Week selections for games played Sept. 22-28 …

It will be a big week in the Big West, which had three teams — No. 16 UC Santa Barbara (5-3-0), No. 20 UC Davis (8-1-0) and No. 25 UC Irvine (7-0-2) — move into the Soccer America Men’s Top 25. UC Irvine hosts UCD on Wednesday and UCSB on Saturday.

Nebraska, a national power for more than a decade, is making a spectacular comeback after enduring a 5-10-4 season in 2007 and opening the 2008 campaign with four losses. The Cornhuskers are undefeated in their last seven games after opening the Big 12 play last weekend with a 2-1 win over Kansas and 3-2 win over Missouri — both overtime victories achieved after they rallied to equalize late in regulation.

Meghan Lenczyk, who scored two critical goals in Virginia’s ACC wins at Florida State and Miami (Fla.), is the Soccer America Women’s Player of the Week. For all the Women’s Team of the Week selections for games played Sept. 22-28 …

Doug Demartin of Michigan State and Swazi MfanaFuthi Bhembe of Alabama A&M joined South Carolina’s Sam Arthur as the NCAA Division I men’s points leaders. They are among six players tied for the national lead in goals. For all the NCAA Division I leaders …

Michigan State freshman Laura Heyboer took over the lead in points among NCAA Division I women’s scorers. For all the NCAA Division I leaders ..