Mamadou Diouf scored his sixth goal of the season for UConn. (Photo via UConn Athletic Department/Stephen Slade)

Conference play is heating up around the country but we still had a few big out of conference games that were fun to take note this past weekend in college soccer. Below are a few of the bigger results from a jam-packed weekend.

No. 1 Maryland 2 – 0 Virginia. Maryland is still holding serve as the top school in the country (at least for most pollsters) with their 2-0 win over rivals Virginia. Casey Townsend scored his ninth goal of the season while John Stertzer added his sixth. The Terps continue to roll over opponents as Townsend plays at a high level.

No. 2 UConn 2 – 0 No. 12 St. Johns. The Huskies continue to quietly get it done as they are still undefeated on the season and are making a strong case to win the Big East this season. Mamadou Diouf scored his sixth goal of the season in the big win over the Red Storm.

No. 4 Akron 3 – 0 Tulsa. Darron Mattocks scored a hat trick on Saturday to help lift the Zips in a big road test at Tulsa. Mattocks now has seven goals on the season, proving he definitely has what it takes to lead this young Zips squad in 2011.

No. 17 Notre Dame 1 – 0 No. 5 Louisville. The second loss of the season for the Cards comes at the hands of a conference rival in the form of the Irish. Notre Dame rode a early goal from Danny O’Leary to upset the Cards in this one.

No. 21 South Florida 2 – 1 No. 19 WVU. The nation’s longest home winning streak came to an end this weekend as the Bulls upset the Mountaineers 2-1. Lucas Baldin scored a late second half goal to give the Bulls the big conference win.

Other results:

No. 3 Creighton 1 -0 Saint Mary’s

No. 6 UNC 3 – 0 Virginia

No. 7 Indiana 1 – 0 Penn State

FGCU 2 -1 No. 9 UCF

SMU 2 – 1 No. 18 UCLA

Virginia Tech celebrates their big win over UNC. (Photo via Hokiesports.com)

You can tell it is early in the season because change keeps taking place. College soccer this week will have a new number one after UNC fell over the weekend at Virginia Tech. Last year we only had two teams grace the top of the rankings, this year it seems to be a curse to have the big target on your back.

No. 1 UNC 0 – 1 Virginia Tech: The Tar Heels followed their big win over Louisville with an overtime loss at Virginia Tech. James Shupp broke a 0-0 deadlock in the 103rd minute as the unranked Hokies stunned UNC. It was UNC’s first regular season loss since last September.

No. 2 Maryland 4 – 0 No. 8 Boston College: MLS prospect Casey Townsend and Patrick Mullins guided the Terps to a big 4-0 win over fellow ranked ACC foe BC. Expect Maryland to grace the top of the rankings after this game as they looked strong from start to finish in this one.

No. 7 Louisville 3- 2 Cent. Arkansas – The Cards struggled in this one as Central Arkansas had a 2-1 lead at halftime. Buck Tufty had a goal and an assist in the second half to lead the Cards to their second win of the weekend (they beat IUPUI 2-0 on Friday).

No. 4 Akron 4 – 0 Saint Louis – No struggles in this one for Caleb Porter’s team as they downed Saint Louis 4-0. The Zips are averaging nearly three goals a game here this season.

Other results:

Friday

No. 3 UConn 1, Tulsa 0
No. 6 UCSB 2, No. 12 West Virginia 0
No. 5 Creighton 1, Fordham 0
Bradley 2, No. 11 South Florida 1 (OT)
No. 10 Indiana 3, Bucknell 2
Denver 2, No. 17 Notre Dame (2OT)

Sunday

No. 3 UConn 1, No. 23 SMU 0
Villanova 0, No. 6 UCSB 0 (2OT)
No. 5 Creighton 1, DePaul 0 (2OT)
No. 12 West Virginia 0, Cal Poly 0 (2OT)
No. 11 South Florida 3 Dartmouth 3 (2OT)
No. 10 Indiana 2, Denver 1
No. 17 Notre Dame 2, Bucknell 1

Maryland faces a big challenge from Boston College this weekend. (Photo via Maryland Athletics/ TJ Root)

After a couple big weekend of college soccer where top schools faced off against one another, this weekend cools off a bit at least in terms of a No 1 vs No 2 matchup. There are still plenty of good match ups to discuss for the weekend ahead. A lot of conference matches kickoff this weekend for some teams, which always can spell trouble.

No. 1 UNC vs Virginia Tech: The Hokies are never an easy team to face in Blacksburg, so this will be a good test for the newly minted number one side in the land. Billy Schuler will have to guide the Tar Heels in this one, just like he did a week ago against Louisville.

No. 2 Maryland vs No. 8 Boston College: Probably the biggest match of the weekend. The Terps rose up the rankings to number two this week and will get a huge ACC battle against another top 10 team in Boston College. Maryland will need a big effort from Casey Townsend and their defense which is lead by FC Dallas academy product London Woodberry.

No. 4 Akron vs Saint Louis: The Zips face a tough challenge this weekend as they host Saint Louis. This is the same Saint Louis squad that beat Notre Dame last weekend in overtime. Look for Akron to lean on forward Darren Mattocks in this one as he heated up in a big way last weekend out in California.

No. 12 WVU vs No. 6 UC Santa Barbara: A big west coast challenge for the Mountaineers as they travel to California to play UCSB. The Gauchos are always tough to face at home and it will be a tall task for Marlon LeBlanc’s young team to deal with. Look for Andy Bevin to add to his three goals this season for the Gold and Blue.

UNC downed Louisville in a big #1 vs. #2 battle. (Photo via UNC Athletic Dept.)

The three-day weekend is over and the scene in college soccer is a little different after a few big games over the weekend rearranged the top of the rankings. For the second weekend in a row big crowds came together at a few college venues to watch some top programs take on one another.

No. 2 UNC 2 – 1 No. 1 Louisville: The Tar Heels came up huge in the second half against the top rated Cardinals. Striker Billy Schuler reminded folks about how good he can be with this late second half goal to give UNC a huge win at home. The victory was revenge for the Cardinals’ victory over the Tar Heels in the 2010 semifinals. A couple MLS academy stars like FC Dallas’ Boyd Okwuonu shined for the Tar Heels in this one.

No. 4 UConn 4 – 1 No. 12 California: A hat-trick from Mamadou Diouf was more than enough for the 4th ranked Huskies to beat the Golden Bears at home. UConn looked strong in this one from start to finish.

UC Davis 2 – 1 No. 6 UCLA: Another rough match for the Bruins as they were upended by two Alexes in this one, Alex Aguiar and Alex Henry scored goals for Davis in this big upset. (UCLA also drew Santa Clara 2-2 earlier in the week)

No. 11 Notre Dame 1 – 2 Saint Louis: Ryan Findley scored for the Irish but it wasn’t enough to get Notre Dame their first win of the year. A stoppage time goal by Alex Johnston gave Saint Louis the big early season win over a ranked opponent. (ND had beaten Dayton 4-1 earlier in the week as well)

No. 3 Akron 2 – 1 Cal-State Northridge: Scott Caldwell had a goal and an assist in this one as the Zips crossed the country to get two quality results in California (they drew Cal-State Fullerton earlier in the week).

No. 23 Duke 0 – 1 No. 21 SMU: Arthur Ivo scored a stoppage time goal for the Mustangs as SMU beat Duke.

Austin Berry and Louisville have two big games this weekend. (Photo via Louisville Athletic Department)

If you thought the opening weekend in college soccer was a good one, well buckle up because the Labor Day weekend slate is possibly even better. A couple more high-profile match ups headline this holiday weekend as we once again have a #1 v. #2 match and a couple other big tests for some top 10 teams.

No. 1 Louisville vs Wake Forest (Friday, Sept. 2) – Wake had a disappointing opening to their season last week with a loss to South Florida while the Cards showed their experience in a big 2-0 win over then No. 2 UCLA. Wake matches up terribly in this one as they lack the speed and experience that Louisville has. One silver lining in this one for Wake is that Louisville could be looking ahead to Sunday’s big clash with UNC.

No. 1 Louisville vs No. 2 UNC (Sunday, Sept. 4) – Easily the biggest matchup of the weekend pits the Cards and the Tar Heels against one another. This one being at UNC will give the Tar Heels the advantage, expect a very big crowd for this one. Look for Louisville center back Austin Berry to have a big one in this one on the set pieces, he is typically a hand-full on them. Should a healthy Billy Schuler get back into the UNC lineup it could be a huge difference maker for the home side in this one.

No. 3 Akron vs Cal-State Northridge (Saturday, Sept. 3) – The Zips youth showed up last night in their 0-0 draw to Cal-State Fullerton. Caleb Porter’s team will have to dig a little deeper against the home side in this one. Striker Darren Mattocks has to get loose for the Zips in this one to keep them on the winning track.

No. 4 UCLA vs Santa Clara (Friday, Sept. 2) – Both teams started off in different paths last week but look for UCLA to be more like themselves in this one. Both teams have quality defenses which lead me to believe that the first one to score will likely prevail in this one. Some folks have this one on the upset watch for good reason considering how much UCLA struggled last week against Louisville.

No. 11 California vs No. 6 UConn (Sunday, Sept. 4) – The Huskies are coming off a big win over Michigan State last night 2-1 and now host the Golden Bears. UConn has the clear advantage in this one as west coast teams in college typically struggle when the cross the Mississippi River to play. Cal tied Northwestern 0-0 last night, so the road won’t be any easier on Sunday. Look for UConn to control the tempo in this one.

WVU opened up their season with a big win over Virginia. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo)

Men’s college soccer got off to a bang this past weekend with plenty of quality games across the board. We got out first #1 vs #2 battle of the year and the defending national champions Akron opened up with a big win to show they still have a lot to prove.

Here’s a quick recap of some of the bigger games from this past weekend.

No. 1 Louisville 2 – 0 No. 2 UCLA

The Bruins had no luck in their rematch with the Cards. The two top ranked teams showed off their defenses in this one. Louisville was gifted an own-goal early and then Colin Rolfe gave the Cards an insurance goal to start the second half. The Cards cruised to a 2-0 win to open the season in front of nearly 8,000 people.

No. 3 UNC 3 – 1 UNC-Wilmington 

The Tar Heels got goals from Enzo Martinez, Billy Schuler, and Rob Lovejoy to open up the season.

No. 5 Akron 5 – 0 Cleveland State

Darren Mattocks scored two goals and an assist in a big 5-0 win for the Zips in their season opener. Freshman Will Trapp looked real dangerous at times and the Zips looked like their normal selves against the only team to beat them a season ago.

No. 7 SMU 2 – 3 William and Mary

The Mustangs had trouble shutting down Nicolas Abrigo in this 3-2 loss to William and Mary. Abrigo had two goals while SMU got goals from Emmet Kumeh and Aaron Simmons.

No. 17 WVU 1 – 0 No. 11 Virginia

WVU got a first half goal from Eric Schoenle to kick their season off with a big 1-0 win over UVA. The Mountaineers keeper Pat Eavenson got his first career shutout in the win.

Other results:

No. 5 Connecticut 2 – 0 St. Francis (N.Y.)

Denver 0 – 1 No. 6 Creighton

No. 8 Maryland 3 – 0 St. John’s

No. 9 Notre Dame 0 – 0  No. 18 Indiana

No. 10 UC Santa Barbara 3 – 1 Seattle

UNC Greensboro 3 – 2 No. 12 Duke

No. 13 Wake Forest 0 – 2 No. 16 USF

I wanted to start off in the land of college soccer. First and foremost I am a big college soccer guy, not as big obviously when I was actually in college a couple years ago but I do still try to follow it as much as possible to keep me up on future MLSers that are out there across the land.

I bring up the college side of things because my alma mater’s sports media site posted an interesting thought about the growth of the college game. The article is worth a read for those who aren’t familiar with WVU or even Big East soccer for that matter. Both men’s and women’s soccer in the Big East is good, though not nearly as impressive as some we see in the ACC with the likes of Duke, Maryland and Wake Forest each year.

I know a lot of folks are getting tired of the SuperDraft in Major League Soccer but it won’t be going any time soon. The depth of the college game has taken a dip in recent years but I still know there are plenty of good players out there that are just prepping their game for better days in MLS or even in Europe.

But with that sad we will see a decline in the draft down the road as more academy players pop up in the league. I give it a few years at minimum before the draft goes from four rounds to two. It was a sign the draft was starting to get smaller when the league did away with the Supplemental Draft this year.

CCL Action Returns Tonight

MLS sides return in action tonight in the CONCACAF Champions League along with games tomorrow and Thursday. The forth round of the group stage is a big one for MLS clubs.

Houston is hosting group leaders Arabe Unido in a big time clash at Robertson Stadium. According to the Houston Chronicle, The Houston Dynamo is charging $5 for end-line seats for tonight’s game. Not bad if you ask me, though if you are reading this now and you live in the Houston area it may be too late for you to get out to the game to support the Dynamo.

Columbus will go tomorrow night as they host their group leader Cruz Azul in a big Group B showdown at Crew Stadium. The Crew sit just a point behind their Mexican counterparts.

Thursday night DC will hope to build on their first CCL win in round three as they host Marathon. DC needs another win in hopes to even have a shot at moving on in the competition.

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Ngwenya In Red Bull Camp?

Link

Don’t go too crazy here Dynamo fans, your Orange still own the MLS rights to Joseph Ngwenya should he some how sign with the New York Red Bulls. Yes he is in camp with the Red Bulls but since the rosters were frozen on the rest of the season last week the lowly Bulls will not be able to use his services should they sign him before the end of the year.

If the two sides do agree and a deal is worked out with Houston, the first time we could see him play won’t be until next year. More than likely this is Ngwenya’s way of staying fit until he signs elsewhere.

Thing that gets me is why didn’t he sign in Houston? The two sides apparently just couldn’t come to terms and in the end that hurts the player more than the team really.