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WOMEN’S NEWS … This weekend’s most intriguing matchup of Top 25 teams takes place Friday in Portland, where the No. 3 Pilots host No. 16 California.

The game will be a reunion of former U.S. under-20 national team stars. Alex Morgan, who scored a hat trick for Cal in its 4-1 win over Nevada, will face UP stars Elli Reed, Keelin Winters and Michelle Enyeart. They all missed the 2009 NCAA Tournament because of the Under-20 Women’s World Cup the USA won with a 2-0 win over North Korea in the final.

Cal will be without Katrin Omarsdottir, who is playing for Iceland (0-2 after two games at the 2009 European Women’s Championship). In Omarsdottir’s absence, the Bears have been getting some quality time from Zulma Munoz, a sophomore who played for the Cal women’s club team in 2008.

* Follow the weekend Top 25 action at the Soccer America Women’s Top 25 Scoreboard.

* Only two Top 25 teams were in mid-week action:

— After scoring 21 goals last season as a freshman, Laura Heyboer picked up where she left off, scoring No. 18 Michigan State’s first goal of the season less than four minutes into the Spartans’ 3-0 win over Oakland.

—  Senior captain Caycie Gusman scored back-to-back goals in the first half to help secure No. 22 Rutgers a 4-0 win over UMBC.

* Robyn DesOrmeaux, who started for four years (2001-04) at LSU, died early Thursday morning following a six-year battle with cancer. She was 27.
 
DesOrmeaux, the LSU’s all-time leader with 28 wins, fought a courageous six-year battle with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer that is commonly found in the pelvis. She was diagnosed with the disease on Nov. 11, 2004, in the weeks after completing her athletic eligibility at LSU.
 
When DesOrmeaux was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, she was given only a 10 percent chance to live five years, but she persevered and graduated from LSU in 2006 with a degree in general studies.

Fans who wish to assist the DesOrmeaux family with medical bills and funeral expenses can donate to the Robyn DesOrmeaux Donations Trust Account at any Chase Bank location.

MEN’S NEWS … Three Soccer America Men’s Preseason All-Americans — UCLA’s Brian Perk and Michael Stephens and Wake Forest’s Ike Opara — are among the 21 players named to the U.S. under-20 national team that will compete in the world championships in Egypt.

FC Dallas defender Anthony Wallace and Perk are the only players with prior U-20 World Cup experience.

Notre Dame is the only other team with two collegians on the team: Aaron Maund, who represented Trinidad & Tobago at the U-17 level, and Dillon Powers. Other U-20s expected to play during the ’09 college season are Brian Ownby (Virginia) and Sam Garza (Denver).

Several other collegians, notably Sheanon Williams, who started for North Carolina, aren’t playing in 2009 with the hope of earning a pro contract.

The U.S. U-20s will train in Larnaca, Cyprus, for a week, beginning Sept. 14, before traveling to Suez, Egypt. The USA will open against Germany on Sept. 26 before facing Cameroon on Sept. 29 and rounding out group play against South Korea on Oct. 2.

* Transfer midfielders Michael Farfan and Stephen McCarthy combined for a pair of first-half goals to lead North Carolina to a 2-1 win over Old Dominion in its final preseason tune-up Thursday at Fetzer Field.

McCarthy scored in the seventh and 31st minutes off corner kicks from Farfan for Carolina, ranked No. 1 in the Soccer America Preseason Top 25. McCarthy, the lone Tar Heel on the Soccer America Preseason All-American team, scored the goal in UNC’s previous game, a 10 win over VCU.
 
The Heels open the 2009 regular season Tuesday against UNC Asheville at Fetzer Field.

* Canadian Julien Edwards‘ goal off a scramble in front of the goal in the 88th minute completed Drake’s comeback and gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 win over No. 4 Indiana on Thursday evening at the National Soccer Festival. IU went ahead on Will Bruin‘s goal, but Evan Harrison evened the score in the 58th minute.

Edwards was one of four Drake players, along with Nick Foster, Hunter Kennedy and Garrett Webb, who helped the Des Moines Menace with its conference title in the PDL.

Elsewhere …

— No. 5 Wake Forest exploded for three second-half goals from Corben Bone, Ike Opara and Chris Estridge to win, 3-0, at Furman on Thursday night at Stone Soccer Stadium.

— Five different Bluejays scored for No. 6 Creighton  in its 5-0 victory over the University of Nebraska club team.

— No. 22 Tulsa had a 17-6 advantage in shots but had to settle for a 0-0 tie with city rival Oral Roberts.

* Oklahoma City University’s Brian Harvey, the most combined men’s and women’s wins (576) of any soccer coach in NAIA history, has been selected for induction into the NAIA Hall of Fame. Harvey first came to the United States in 1968 to play fort the NASL’s Dallas Tornado.

WOMEN’S NEWS … It’s still early, but there are lots of positives Coach Jerry Smith saw from Santa Clara’s opening two games, wins San Jose State (4-0) over UC Santa Barbara (2-0).

The two wins put the Broncos within two wins of matching last year’s total. Their 4-12-4 record was their first sub-.500 season since 1983.

Injuries have decimated women’s powerhouse Santa Clara in recent years, so perhaps the most encouraging news was the return of Jordan Angeli, who missed the last two seasons with injuries and was granted a sixth year by the NCAA. She converted a penalty kick to seal the UCSB win.

“We missed her the past two years,” said Smith “and she brings a lot of things to our team with her ability to start an offensive attack out of the back and her leadership and organization.”

Freshmen Lauren Matheson, Amanda Webster and former U-17 national team midfielder Olivia Klei all got their first collegiate goals last weekend. “I’m pleased with how well this rookie class is playing,” Smith added.

Next up for the Broncos is a date Friday night at Utah, coached by former Santa Clara assistant coach Rich Manning.

MEN’S NEWS … Yavapai, the Arizona JC superpower, lost for the first time in its 21-year history in the state of California when it fell to Mount San Antonio, 2-1, in an exhibition match.

The trip to California will be the only action outside the state of Arizona until the postseason. There are now 11 teams in the Arizona Community College Athletics Conference, so all 20 games on Yavapai’s regular-season schedule are conference matches.

The Roughriders, who won the last two NJCAA Division I titles and hold a 33-game unbeaten streak in regular-season and postseason play, lost seven players to Division I programs but have brought in players from seven different states. The freshmen include Nomads product Rodolfo Godinez, a 2009 U.S. Soccer Development Academy Starting XI selection in the under-17/18 age group.

Yavapai ’08 players on the move:
Dirk Petersen, UC Irvine
Justin Meram, Michigan
Jeff Bendawald, Ohio State
Evan McNiel, UC Santa Barbara
Chris Hunter, UC Santa Barbara
Sam Hayden, UC Santa Barbara
Ivan Dizdar, Seattle

* Saint Louis University, who have won or shared a record 10 men’s national championships, is celebrating its 50th anniversary of men’s soccer, and fans have the chance to select a “Billiken Half-Century Team.”

Fans may select 22 players and two coaches. If you think that’s a lot of selections, consider the choices. Former Billikens include two National Soccer Hall of Famers, three Hermann Trophy winners and 20 U.S. internationals, plus Vedad Ibisevic, who plays for Bosnia, and Dipsy Selolwane, who represents Botswana.

The 24-member roster will be recognized Oct. 3, along with the more than 450 Billiken soccer alumni at that night’s game against Clemson at Robert R. Hermann Stadium.

Fans can vote here.

* Wednesday’s preseason highlights:

— Matt Schmitt set up freshman Latif Alashe and Mauro Fuzetti for goals to give Michigan, ranked No. 21 in the Soccer America Preseason Top 25, a 2-1 win over Xavier.

— J.J. Greer and Andreas Guentner scored first-half goals to give Memphis a 2-0 win over Saint Louis.

— Defender Patrick Hopkins‘ goal in the 79th minute gave DePaul a 1-1 tie at Northern Illinois.

AWARDS … Seven members of the 2009 Soccer America Men’s Preseason All-American team and five players on the Soccer America Women’s Preseason All-American team are among the 60 candidates for the 2009 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, given to a senior who has achieved notable accomplishments in four areas of excellence — classroom, character, community and competition.

Read more for the complete list of nominees.