Soccer America Archives

SMALL COLLEGE NEWS … Top-ranked Tampa fell to fifth in the NSCAA/adidas NCAA Division II Men’s Top 25 after it was held to a 1-1 tie by West Florida in what Coach Adrian Bush termed an “ugly performance.” Northern Kentucky, which took over as No. 1, got two goals from Steven Beattie (the 40th and 41st of his career) to earn a 2-1 victory over Indianapolis in Great Lakes Valley action on Sunday.

* MEN RANKINGS:
NCAA Division II 1. Northern Kentucky, 2. Lynn, 3. Cal State Los Angeles.
NCAA Division III 1. Messiah, 2. Amherst, 3. Ohio Wesleyan

* WOMEN RANKINGS:
NCAA Division III 1. Messiah, 2. Puget Sound, 3. Williams
NCAA Division II 1. Seattle Pacific, 2. West Florida, 3. Saint Rose

* NAIA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:
Men’s Offense: Arturo Guizar, Kansas Wesleyan (had three goals in wins over William Jewell, 3-2, and Graceland, 2-0)
Men’s Defense: Jesse Guevara-Lehker, Aquinas (notched shutouts against Concordia, Mich., 4-0, and St. Xavier, 1-0)

Women’s Offense: Kirsten Morley, SUNY-Canton (posted hat tricks against Morrisville State, 6-1 and Vermont Tech, 4-3)
Women’s Defense: Emily Evanson, Cal Baptist (earned shutouts against Simon Fraser, 0-0, and Concordia, Ore., 3-0)

WOMEN’S NEWS … George Mason, one of the great names in women’s soccer is on the comeback trail. The Patriots defeated UMBC, 4-0, on Tuesday night and improved to 8-1-0, their best start since 1993. They need only two more wins for their first 10-win season since 1994. George Mason was the first team other than North Carolina to win an NCAA women’s national championship. It followed up on its 1985 title with a second-place finish in 1993.

First-year players have been key to the turnaround for the Patriots, who won only five games in 2008. Freshman Diana Kallenberger had two goals and an assist against UMBC to give her a team-high seven goals and four assists. Jamaican international Omolyn Davis, a transfer from NAIA power Lindsey Wilson, has six goals and three assists. Freshman Katie Frey picked up her fourth shutout of the season against UMBC.

“The girls did a great job of being professional,” said Patriots coach Diane Drake. “We told them we needed to find a way to win while still preserving players for Thursday.” That’s when GMU hosts preseason favorite James Madison in the CAA opener.

Tuesday’s Results

MEN’S NEWS … Four ranked ACC teams were in action at home against unfancied opponents on Tuesday night, and they all won by one-goal margins, three on golden goals.

— No. 2 North Carolina needed a goal from sophomore Billy Schuler in the 98th minute to eke out a 2-1 win over East Tennessee State, which went into the game with one win in five matches. Freshman Enzo Martinez played a through ball into the box to Schuler, who chipped ETSU goalkeeper Scott Rosman from 10 yards.

— Despite playing most of the game with a man advantage and having a 29-7 advantage in shots, all No. 8 Maryland could muster was a goal by Jason Herrick with 12 seconds remaining in the first half for a 1-0 win over St. Peter’s. Freshman defender Taylor Kemp preserved the win when he headed Rumen Kerekov‘s shot away with goalie Will Swaim beaten with eight minutes left in the game. “We got the win and we got the shutout,” Coach Sasho Cirovski said. “We got some guys into the game and they came in and performed quite well.”

— Junior Cole Grossman‘s goal in the 102nd minute off a pass from freshman Andrew Wenger gave No. 12 Duke a 2-1 win over UNC Wilmington at soggy Koskinen Stadium. The Blue Devils had plenty of chances and outshot the Seahawks, 11-0, in a scoreless first half. “We should have been up two or three-nil,” said Coach John Kerr. “When you don’t capitalize on that play and those opportunities, you allow teams to get a little confident.”

— Neil Barlow‘s goal in the 92nd minute gave No. 13 Virginia a 2-1 win over George Washington for Coach George Gelnovatch‘s 200th career victory. “Winning is a hard business,” Gelnovatch said. “Any time a program and a head coach can accumulate 200 wins, it’s not an easy thing to do. This game was a reminder of that.” On the winning goal, Chris Agorsor fed Barlow in the box, collecting the first assist of his career.

* UMBC REMAINS PERFECT. Sophomore Andrew Bulls, the nation’s leading scorer, did it again scoring on a free kick in the 44th minute and leading UMBC to a 1-0 win Loyola (Md.) before 1,505 fans at UMBC Stadium. Bulls has scored 10 goals with at least one goal in all but one of UMBC’s eight games, all wins.

Freshman goalie Phil Saunders made three game-saving stops in the final two minutes to preserve the win for the Retrievers, the first team in the country to go 8-0-0, their best start ever as a Division I program. It was also their first win ever at home against Loyola and only their second in 22 games against their Baltimore neighbor.

* UCSB DOWNS TRI U-17S. Joe Eubanks‘ goal in the final minute of overtime gave UC Santa Barbara a 2-1 win over the touring Mexico under-17 national team before a crowd of 8,425. The Tri U-17s and Gauchos had traded goals on either side of halftime. Daniel Guzman put Mexico ahead in the 38th minute, and Peter McGlynn equalized in the 49th minute. Recent FC Dallas signing Bryan Leyva started for Mexico.

Tuesday’s Results

T&T CALL-UPS. Three players with ties to U.S. college programs are representing Trinidad & Tobago at the 2009 Under-20 World Cup in Egypt: Liberty freshman Uriah Bentick, College of Charleston standout Sean Da Silva and former Florida prep star Jesse Fullerton, who spent the 2008 season at FIU.