Category: Story

SMALL COLLEGE NEWS … The fall was swift for defending NCAA Division II men’s champion Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Toros, ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA/adidas preseason rankings, dropped out of the Top 25 after they fell at Grand Canyon, 2-1. St. Mary’s transfer Kyle Ciliento led GCU with both goals.

By contrast, No. 2 Dowling fell to Franklin Pierce, 3-0, and only dropped to No. 15. The new No. 1 is Tampa.

Seattle Pacific remained No. 1 in the Division II women’s rankings after the Falcons extended their unbeaten streak to 19 games with 1-0 wins over Cal State Monterey Bay and San Francisco State.

Read more for the complete men’s and women’s Division II rankings …

MEN’S NEWS … No. 1 North Carolina opened the season Tuesday with a 5-0 victory over UNC Asheville, but few other Top 25 teams had it as easy on opening day.

Two Top 25 teams fell at home to unranked teams — No. 17 Loyola (Md.) to Villanova and No. 20 Cal Poly to UNLV, both by 1-0 scores — while No. 6 Creighton, No. 11 Northwestern and No. 24 Boston University all had to settle for ties.

No. 16 UC Irvine pulled the night’s best comeback, going down at Santa Clara, 2-0, on a pair of goals by former U.S. U-17 star Mykell Bates before rallying to win, 3-2, on Amani Walker‘s golden goal.

TOP 25 RESULTS:
Tuesday, Sept. 1
No. 1 North Carolina 5 (Urso 22, 86, Dixon 61, Martinez 80, McCarthy 86) UNC Asheville 0.
No. 5 Wake Forest 1 (Schilawski 73) William & Mary 0.
No. 6 Creighton 0 Loyola (Ill.) 0.
No. 10 Notre Dame 5 (Brovsky 26, Perry 50, Dike 64, 71, 77) No. 21 Michigan 0.
Wisconsin-Green Bay 3 (Banks 69, Raymonds 74, Basty 80) No. 11 Northwestern 3 (Eliason 29, 39, Bellizzi 71).
No. 15 UC Santa Barbara 3 (Hedevag 7, Nonni 10, 89) Cal State Bakersfield 1 (Coppieters pen. 37).
Santa Clara 2 (Bates 2, 43) No. 16 UC Irvine 3 (Bagby 64, Garcia 81, Walker 104) (OT).
No. 17 Loyola (Md.) 0 Villanova 1 (Soroka 83).
No. 18 South Florida 2 (Gonzalez 24, Boggs 31) UCF 1 (Simmons 76).
No. 20 Cal Poly 0 UNLV 1 (Marshall). (OT)
No. 22 Tulsa 2 (Albertson 77, Parada 87) Missouri State 0.
Massachusetts 1 (DeNormandie 42) No. 24 Boston Univ. 1 (Taylor 65).

Here is this week’s Top 25 schedule.

Elsewhere …

* Graceland’s 4-0 victory over Western Illinois was a major victory for NAIA soccer. Canadians Diego Gonzalez and Roger Thompson teamed up for Gonzalez’s first goal after two minutes and it was all downhill from there for WIU. Jamaican Andre Sharpe, Gonzalez (again set up by Thompson) and Ian Christensen added goals in the second half. “The team has gelled well early in the season,” said Graceland coach Aldemar Angel Monroy. “We’ve got some really good newcomers and some seasoned returners that have helped to mold us.”

* Virginia Tech and Clemson, two ACC powers, facing transition years, both lost on Tuesday. Virginia Tech trailed, 2-0, at UMBC after only 26 minutes and lost, 3-1, in Mike Brizendine‘s debut as Hokie head coach following Oliver Weiss‘s resignation. After seven losses, Gardner-Webb finally beat Clemson, 1-0, when John Sargent lobbed Tigers keeper Joseph Bendik in the 34th minute. Tiger assistant Phil Hindson took over as interim head coach following Coach Trevor Adair‘s resignation in June.

* Saint Louis University coach Dan Donigan is fuming after the Billikens fell to New Mexico, 3-0, at home. “This was obviously a disappointing way to begin the season,” he said. “We can’t make those simple, fundamental mistakes that are preventable against a tough team like New Mexico. This is an unacceptable performance by our team, and we are not going to forget this.”

— Xavier canceled its match with Radford on the recommendation of the Cincinnati Health Department. Xavier students have been experiencing mild influenza-like symptoms and the university is canceling or postponing many major events.

— Getting his first collegiate goal in Stetson’s 1-0 win over Northwood was Matt Hoskins, son of new USL chairman Rob Hoskins.

Hat trick heroes:

— Bright Dike scored the last three goals in No. 10 Notre Dame’s 5-0 win over No. 21 Michigan in the first game at Alumni Stadium that drew 1,818 fans.
— For the second straight season, Liberty’s Darren Amoo scored three goals on opening day, this time in a 10-1 win over Division II Concord.
— Arie Muniz led the Appalachian State onslaught with a hat trick in the Mountaineers’ 10-0 win over Division III Emory & Henry.
— Despite a second-half hat trick from redshirt junior Riley Phelps, Coastal Carolina fell to the College of Charleston, 4-3.

(Read more for all of Tuesday’s other Division I results and goal scorers of all the games.)

WOMEN’S NEWS … It took only two weeks, but Oklahoma has already topped its win total for all of last season. The Sooners, who went 3-15-1 in 2008, have opened with four straight wins.

Whitney Palmer tied a school record with three goals on Sunday as OU rallied to beat Tulsa, 3-1.

“Each game we have won,” said OU second-year coach Nicole Nelson. “We’ve won in a different manner.  We’ve scored early, not scored in the first half, came right back and scored to start the second half, and it was good for us to have to come from behind.”

Freshman goalkeeper Kelsey Devonshire improved to 4-0 on the season despite allowing her first goal of the season. Another freshman standout is Dria Hampton (two goals in four games).

(Read more for a look at the Sooner starters against Tulsa.)

MEN’S NEWS … The men’s season kicks off Tuesday, and the marquee matchup pits No. 10 Notre Dame against No. 21 Michigan in the Irish’s first game at the new Alumni Stadium, which features a natural grass field, lights, locker rooms, restrooms and concession areas. The lead benefactors for the $5.7 million facility are former Irish soccer players Tom Crotty and Rob Snyder.

Both teams are loaded with young talent. Notre Dame sophomore Aaron Maund and freshman Dillon Powers will leave following the game against New Mexico on Sept. 14 to join the U.S. under-20 national team for the Under-20 World Cup in Egypt. Michigan has one of the deepest freshman classes in the country with Latif Alashe, Hamoody Saad and Kofi Opare among the standouts.

The Irish were perfect in preseason action, while Michigan was 1-0-2 in exhibition play.

Tuesday’s Top 25 Action:
No. 1 North Carolina vs. UNC Asheville
No. 5 Wake Forest vs. William & Mary
No. 6 Creighton vs. Loyola (Ill.)
No. 10 Notre Dame vs. No. 21 Michigan
Wisconsin-Green Bay vs. No. 11 Northwestern
Santa Clara vs. No. 16 UC Irvine
No. 17 Loyola (Md.) vs. Villanova
Massachusetts vs. No. 24 Boston Univ.
No. 18 South Florida vs. UCF
No. 20 Cal Poly vs. UNLV
No. 22 Tulsa vs. Missouri State

Complete Top 25 Schedule

* Virginia got some much-needed good news when sophomore Chris Agorsor was cleared to begin practicing with the Cavaliers.

Agorsor, considered the top freshman recruit in 2008, was lost with a knee injury (torn anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments) suffered in the seventh game of the season. He was held out until a question about his eligibility was cleared up with the NCAA. Agorsor, who missed Virginia’s three exhibition losses, won’t travel with the Cavs for their opening games this weekend at Portland.

Virginia is also awaiting word on the eligibility of German newcomer Ole Hengelbrock, a 21-year-old defender from VfL Osnabrueck, the same club where former Cav star Yannick Reyering played.

* With 10 returning starters, UNC Wilmington had high hopes for the 2009 season, but they suffered a major blow when Devan Carroll, the 2008 CAA Player of the Year, was suspended from the team and the university because of a violation of team rules. “Unfortunately, Devan put himself into a situation that has resulted in him no longer being a part of our soccer program this season,” said Coach Aidan Heaney