College Soccer latest news

[Frank Cunha]

MEN’S WRAPUP
1. San Jose State knocks off No. 2 New Mexico

San Jose State handed No. 2 New Mexico its first loss of the season with a 3-2 overtime win on Sunday before 3,023 fans in Albuquerque, N.M.
The Spartans won on Nelson Diaz’s golden goal in the 98th minute. Twice earlier, they had erased Lobo leads thanks to goals by Dan Oka (25-yard free kick) and Ismael Ibarra (header off Gavon Wenyon cross).
Akron (13-0-1) is the only unbeaten team in NCAA Division I men’s soccer. New Mexico (10-1-1), Virginia (10-1-2), Indiana (8-1-4), Old Dominion (10-1-2), Missouri State (9-1-2), San Diego State (7-1-4) and Fordham (7-1-4) have one apiece.
San Jose State improved its record to 7-3-2 overall and 3-0-0 in the MPSF.
Two days earlier UNM attracted 4,356 fans – its second largest crowd ever -- for its 1-0 overtime victory over Sacramento State.

[Frank Cunha]

WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY ACTION
1. Top 25 scores & goalscorers

MEN’S TOP 25
October 19
#6 Maryland 3 (Rogers 44, King 64, Garey 86) #2 Virginia 0.
#3 Connecticut 3 (White 53, 58, Lopez 84) Pittsburgh 0.
#4 Indiana 6 (Plotkin 32, Chirico 40, Robson 65, Ambersley 65, Hayden 76, Weaver 87) Butler 0.
#8 St. John’s 1 (Alvarado-Ralph 81) Hartwick 2 (Hemming 14, Boyle 56).
(St. John’s star Matt Groenwald sent off in 82nd minute.)
#11 N.C. State 2 (Salter 56, Cisse 81) Longwood 0.

High Point 1 (Morfaw 81) #15 UNC Greensboro 6 (Jones 36, 64, FitzGerald 51, Carlson 77, Zazenski 80, Richardson 86).
#17 Wake Forest 3 (Moose 51, Curfman 63, 68) Appalachian State 1 (Hall 39).
#19 South Florida 2 (Neaves 86, Seabrook 99) Stetson 1 (Wolfe 24) (OT).
Georgetown 0 #24 Creighton 6 (Biggerstaff 3, Wieland 5, 68, Junge 45, Tarver 48, Dacy 73).
#23 Cal State Northridge 2 (Rossi 81, pen. 85) UC Irvine 1 (Ettinger pen. 88).
(Matadors extend unbeaten streak to six games.)

October 20
#12 UCLA 1 (Valdez 3) #22 UC Santa Barbara 0.
San Francisco 0 #9 Santa Clara 0 (OT).

WOMEN'S TOP 25
October 20
#3 North Carolina 1 (White pen. 31) N.C. State 0.
(Two big saves by Aly Winget in 77th and 78th minutes preserve shutout.)
#14 Boston College 1 (Maurer 2) #5 Virginia 0.
Clemson 1 (Foster 16) #8 Duke 0.
(Duke has lost seven in a row to the Lady Tigers.)
UNLV 0 #12 BYU 1 (Swenson 64).

[Frank Cunha]

big upset, check the above scores
St. John's -1-Hartwick -2

[Frank Cunha]

HIT PARADE
1. Men’s Top 25 Scores & Goalscorers

Oct. 21
#1 Akron 5 (McKenzie 20, 30, 48, Ubiparipovic 67, Murphy 85) Northern Illinois 1 (Woerner 21).
(Ross McKenzie picks up second hat trick of the season.)
#7 Old Dominion 2 (Elcock 18, Banks 47) VCU 0.
(Trevor Banks adds assist to up season totals to six goals and two assists for 14 points.)
#10 Duke 6 (Camp 8, Kramer 9, 21, Loftus pen. 14, Castaneda 35, Videira 54) #11 N.C. State 0.
(Game draws 3,489 fans at Koskinen Stadium.)
Clemson 1 (Roberts 72) #13 Virginia Tech 1 (Nyarko 88) (OT).
#25 Washington 0 #16 California 2 (Quintero 17, Carr 87).
#21 Oregon State 2 (Egenwall 36, Johnson pen. 51) Stanford 3 (Oblak 14, McKee 83, Brown 92) (OT).
(Cardinal wins for first time in six Pac-10 starts.)





Oct. 22
#2 Virginia 2 (Cristman 36, Colaluca 59) Liberty 0.
#20 Seton Hall 1 (S. Kljestan 33) #3 Connecticut 0.
(Game played at New Jersey Insititute of Technology.)
Boston College 0 #6 Maryland 4 (Garey 33, pen. 77, Edu 65, Lancos pen. 74).
(Terrapins win seventh straight game.)
#8 St. John’s 1 (Schmid 83) DePaul 0.
(DePaul is outshot, 18-1.)
#9 Santa Clara 3 (Clubb 7, Guzman 21, Ogunbiyi 36) San Francisco 0.
#17 Wake Forest 0 #14 North Carolina 1 (Callahan 97) (OT).
(Game draws WFU regular-season record crowd of 4,112 at Spry Stadium.)
#15 UNC Greensboro 3 (Patterson 30, FutzGerald 57, 87) College of Charleston 0.
Rutgers 3 (Sternberger 13, 70, Cameron 52) #19 South Florida 0.
(Scarlet Knights have won five of their last six games.)
#22 UC Santa Barbara 2 (Iro 66, Becerra 68) Cal Poly 0.
#23 Cal State Northridge 1 (Beard 26) UC Riverside 0.
(Matadors are 5-0-2 in last seven games.)
Western Kentucky 1 (Downey 72) #24 Creighton 0.
(Hilltoppers had lost nine previous games to Creighton.)

Oct. 23
Western Michigan 0 #1 Akron 2 (Tutich 19, DiFranco 85).
(Akron clinches eighth Mid-American regular-season title since 1993.)
#4 Indiana 2 (Peterson 8, Zayner 23) Ohio State 2 (Traeger 60, own goal 84) (OT).
(Brian Plotkin assists on both IU goals.)
#5 New Mexico 7 (Rowland 4, 5, 26, Watson 20, Ashwill 42, Bagwell 59, Boyens 69) UNLV 2 (Dyachenko 43, Kenny 77).
#7 Old Dominion 1 (Cvilikas 61) James Madison 2 (Britton 8, Morsink 96) (OT).
(ODU’s regular-season unbeaten streak at home snapped at 32 games.)
#21 Oregon State 0 #16 California 4 (Jacobson 10, Wahl 21, 84, Carr 41).
#25 Washington 3 (Cummings 9, Allen 30, Schmidt 80) Stanford 0.

[Frank Cunha]

MEN’S TOP 25
1. The 'Wick hits the charts

TEAM (RECORD) LAST WEEK
1. Akron (14-0-1) 1
2. Maryland (12-3-0) 6
3. New Mexico (11-1-1) 5
4. Indiana (9-1-5) 4
5. Virginia (10-2-2) 2
6. Duke (9-3-1) 10
7. Connecticut (10-3-1) 3
8. Santa Clara (11-3-1) 9
9. UCLA (8-3-2) 12
10. Old Dominion (11-2-2) 7
11. St. John’s (8-3-4) 8
12. Virginia Tech (8-3-4) 13
13. North Carolina (11-3-1) 14
14. UNC Greensboro (12-3-0) 15
15. California (11-3-1) 16
16. Seton Hall (11-2-2) 20
17. North Carolina State (9-5-1) 11
18. San Diego State (7-1-4) 18
19. Wake Forest (9-4-2) 17
20. Penn State (8-6-2) NR
21. Hartwick (9-3-1) NR
22. James Madison (9-4-2) NR
23. Cal State Northridge (9-3-2) 23
24. SMU (9-4-2) NR
25. UC Santa Barbara (8-3-3) 22

[Frank Cunha]

MEN’S WRAPUP
2. Indiana ties Maryland with amazing comeback

No. 4 Indiana rallied from three goals down in the last 17 minutes to tie No. 2 Maryland, 3-3, Saturday night before a Ludwig Field-record crowd of 6,203 fans.
The comeback culminated in sophomore Greg Stevning’s header with just five seconds remaining.
Freshman forward Lee Nguyen was sensational for Indiana. He created all three goals, setting up Jacob Peterson for the first goal, sending in a cross that was deflected by a Maryland defender into the goal for the second goal and taking the corner kick that led to Stevning’s goal.
Jason Garey scored twice and Stephen King had the third goal for Maryland, which went into halftime with a 3-0 lead.





WOMEN’S WRAPUP
3. Weimer’s streak ends at 17 games

Tiffany Weimer was held scoreless for the first time this season when she failed to score in No. 1 Penn State’s 1-0 victory over Minnesota on Friday night.
Ali Krieger’s golden goal in the 115th minute preserved the Lions’ perfect record. Two days later, they beat Navy, 5-0, to complete a 19-0-0 regular season – their first perfect season in history.
Weimer saw her streak of 17 consecutive games with at least one goal in each game end against the Golden Gophers. She tied Portland’s Christine Sinclair for the longest scoring streak in NCAA Division I history.



TOURNAMENT SEASON
4. Portland first to clinch women’s berth

No. 2 Portland became the first women’s team to earn a berth in the NCAA Division I Tournament when it clinched at least a share of the West Coast Conference title with a 3-0 shutout of San Francisco. The Pilots (17-0-1 overall and 5-0-1 in the WCC) have won or shared eight conference crowns since the WCC began sponsoring women’s soccer in 1992.
Portland can win the WCC crown outright with a victory at home against St. Mary’s Saturday in the regular-season finale for both schools. Even if UP lost and Santa Clara ties it for first place, the Pilots win the automatic bid by virtue of their 3-1 win over Santa Clara.
The WCC is one of three conferences not to hold a postseason tournament. Five team still have a shot at winning the Ivy League: Dartmouth, Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Penn.
No. 4 UCLA leads the Pac-10, but four other teams have a shot at overtaking the Bruins: California, USC, Arizona and Arizona State.
The second berth in the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament will be determined this afternoon when Niagara faces surprise Fairfield in the final of the MAAC Tournament in Florida.

Women’s Conference Tournament Scores & Goalscorers



UPSET CENTRAL
5. This weekend’s major surprises

MEN’S TOP 25
Oct. 28
#22 James Madison 0 Hofstra 1 (Osooli 94) (OT).
Oct. 29
#5 Virginia 1 (Holder 82) #12 Virginia Tech 2 (Nyarko 86, 98) (OT).
Notre Dame 4 (Dike 41, Lapira 49, 76, Miller 51) #16 Seton Hall 0.
Oct. 30
South Carolina 3 (Hislop 25, Akinsete 78, Alcala 83) #24 SMU 0.

[Frank Cunha]

TUESDAY ACTION
1. Top 25 scores & goalscorers

MEN'S TOP 25
Philadelphia 1 (Tompkins 96) #19 Hartwick 0 (OT).

[Frank Cunha]

They said yesterday that the package will expand next year.

THANKS FSC!!!

[Frank Cunha]

HIT PARADE
1. Men’s Top 25 Scores & Goalscorers

Nov. 4
#10 Virginia Tech 1 (Boateng 52) #2 Maryland 2 (King 83, Bucrh 103) (OT).
(Game draws record crowd of 2,412 in Blacksburg.)


Nov. 4
#10 Virginia Tech 1 (Boateng 52) #2 Maryland 2 (King 83, Bucrh 103) (OT).
(Game draws record crowd of 2,412 in Blacksburg.)
San Jose State 1 (Pender 52) #3 New Mexico 3 (Barklage 2, Rowland 80, Boyens 82).
#6 Santa Clara 1 (Kristensson 67) San Diego 1 (Rendahl 17) (OT).
Stanford 0 #7 UCLA 1 (Griffin 92) (OT).
(Bruins record sixth straight shutout.)
William & Mary 0 #9 Old Dominion 2 (Foglesong 76, Cvilikas 82).
#17 Wake Forest 1 (Lahoud 53) #11 Virginia 2 (Colaluca 56, Vide 93) (OT).
#12 North Carolina 5 (Ashe 5, Campbell 20, 64, 67, Hunter 62) Boston College 0.
#14 Penn State 3 (Chambers 21, Omekanda 41, 86) #19 Hartwick 0.
#15 California 2 (Serafini 68, Carr 97) #16 San Diego State 1 (Creager 88) (OT).
Nov. 5
#8 Duke 1 (Wadsworth 58) Clemson 3 (Albright 7, Richards 48, Moore 60).
#18 UNC Greensboro 6 (FitzGerald 4, 63, Patterson 9, 56, Jonason 33, Jones 63) Georgia Southern 0.
#20 South Florida 4 (Hidalgo 65, 73, Marshall 67, Schoendorf 69) West Virginia 1 (Wright 21).
Cal State Fullerton 0 #21 Cal State Northridge 3 (de Mattos 53, Rossi 67, Deldo 89).
(Matadors clinch at least a share of the Big West title.)
#23 St. John’s 1 (Lewis 78) Notre Dame 0
#24 Seton Hall 2 (S.Kljestan 41, Giusfredi 63) Providence 2 (Nobrega 43, Bury 60) (OT).
(Providence wins 4-2 on penalties.)
Yale 2 (Morrissey 8, Leonard 38) #25 Brown 1 (Daniels 18).
Nov. 6
Sacramento State 1 (Ricks-Chamber 29) #3 New Mexico 1 (Loeseth 12) (OT).
#5 Connecticut 5 (White 11, Schilling 65, Chijindu 83, Cenatiempo 85, 89) Georgetown 0.
#6 Santa Clara 1 (Kristensson 44) Loyola Marymount 2 (Chiankwe 6, Ogletree 70).
#15 California 1 (E.Ebert 88) #7 UCLA 1 (Hill 82) (OT).
(UCLA clinches Pac-10 title.)
Stanford 0 #16 San Diego State 0 (OT).
#19 Hartwick 2 (Boyle 12, Greatwich 78) NJIT 0.

Men's Conference Tournament Scores & goalscorers

[Frank Cunha]

WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT WATCH
1. North Carolina romps in ACC final

No. 3 North Carolina served notice that it is ready to begin its quest for its 19th NCAA Division I women’s title when it beat No. 7 Virginia, 4-1, Sunday in the ACC Tournament final before 4,547 fans in Cary, N.C.
The Tar Heels got a pair of goals from junior Elizabeth Guess and one each from 2004 Olympic gold medalists Lindsay Tarpley and Heather O’Reilly. Senior midfielder Kacie White was named the tournament MVP.
Anna Rodenbough went all 90 minutes in goal for the second successive contest. Rodenbough has started the last two matches in relief of Aly Winget, who suffered a knee injury in Wednesday’s quarterfinal game against Maryland. Winget is expected to be available for the Tar Heels by Friday’s NCAA first round.
Coach Anson Dorrance will go for his 600th career victory in Friday's game. He is 599-27-17 since starting the Carolina program in 1979.
With the win, Carolina captured its 16th ACC Tournament title in the 18-year history of the tournament. The victory avenged last year's loss to the Cavaliers, who claimed the title in a shootout. The Tar Heels are 30-0-1 lifetime against Virginia.

2. Texas goalkeeper scores from midfield

Texas lost to Colorado, 3-2, Friday in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament but not before a spectacular comeback that featured a rare goal by goalie Dianna Pfenninger.
Trailing 2-0 with 15 minutes left, Texas scored on goals by its freshman stars, Kasey Moore and Pfenninger.
Pfenninger’s tying goal came with less than two minutes remaining. She launched a free kick from midfield into the Colorado box that bounced inside the six-yard line and into the back of the net to knot the game at 2-2. Colorado won in overtime.
“I never had a doubt that we were going to come back,” Moore told the Daily Texan. “Even when Dianna was taking the free kick, I was like, 'We can score off this.' I didn't think we would score that exact way, but we ended up scoring. Everyone just kept going and kept fighting."
Texas A&M beat Colorado, 2-1, in overtime Sunday to win the Big 12 title.

Women's Conference Tournament Scores & Goalscorers

[Frank Cunha]

NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT DRAW
1. The four brackets

PENN STATE BRACKET
Nov. 11 & 13 in University Park, Pa.
1-Penn State (19-0-1) vs. Bucknell (11-8-1)
Hofstra (14-3-3) vs. West Virginia (11-5-3)
Nov. 11 & 13 in Santa Clara, Calif.
2-Santa Clara (14-4-2) vs. Fresno State (10-9-1)
Stanford (10-6-3) vs. Saint Louis (15-4-0)
Nov. 10 & 12 in Storrs, Conn.
3-Connecticut (15-4-2) vs. Boston Univ. (13-4-4)
Boston College (11-5-2) vs. Dartmouth (12-4-1)
Nov. 11 & 13 in College Station, Texas
4-Texas A&M (16-3-2) vs. Northwestern State (12-5-1)
SMU (14-4-2) vs. North Texas (16-3-2)

PORTLAND BRACKET
Nov. 11 & 13 in Lincoln, Neb.
1-Portland (18-0-1) vs. Iowa State (11-6-3)
Nebraska (13-7-1) vs. Creighton (12-5-3)
Nov. 10 & 12 in Salt Lake City, Utah
Utah (14-6-1) vs. Arizona (9-7-3)
4-BYU (15-2-3) vs. Weber State (14-4-1)
Nov. 11 & 13 in New Haven, Conn.
3-Duke (13-5-1) vs. Fairfield (10-6-3)
Yale (13-3-1) vs. Central Connecticut State (17-3-0)
Nov. 11 & 13 in South Bend, Ind.
2-Notre Dame (19-2-0) vs. Valparaiso (12-7-1)
Michigan State (11-5-5) vs. Bowling Green (14-6-2)



UCLA BRACKET
Nov. 11 & 13 in Los Angeles
1-UCLA (17-1-2) vs. Mississippi Valley State (9-7-2)
UC Riverside (11-4-5) vs. Colorado (12-7-3)
Nov. 11 & 13 in Milwaukee
4-Marquette (17-3-1) vs. Wisconsin (13-8-2)
Purdue (11-7-1) vs. UW-Milwaukee (12-4-4)
Nov. 11 & 13 in Fullerton, Calif.
3-Cal State Fullerton (17-3-0) vs. UNLV (13-6-3)
USC (12-5-2) vs. Gonzaga (12-3-4)
Nov. 11 & 13 in Charlottesville, Va.
2-Virginia (15-5-1) vs. Liberty (12-6-2)
Tennessee (14-5-2) vs. Wake Forest (9-8-1)

NORTH CAROLINA BRACKET
Nov. 11 & 13 in Chapel Hill, N.C.
1- North Carolina (20-1-0) vs. Western Carolina (18-5-0)
Clemson (9-8-2) vs. VCU (12-4-5)
Nov. 11 & 13 in Nashville, Tenn.
4-Pepperdine (13-3-3) vs. Mississippi (14-4-2)
Vanderbilt (16-3-2) vs. Samford (15-3-3)
Nov. 11 & 13 in Austin, Texas
3-California (14-3-2) vs. Rice (13-6-1)
Texas (11-8-1) vs. UTEP (18-3-1)
Nov. 11 & 13 in Tallahassee, Fla.
2-Florida State (17-3-0) vs. Florida Atlantic (16-3-1)
Florida (13-5-1) vs. Illinois (11-6-3)



BY THE NUMBERS
2. The 64-team field

16
Sixteen teams were seeded. Heading the four brackets are No. 1 seeds Portland, North Carolina, Penn State and UCLA. The No. 2 seeds are Notre Dame, Virginia, Florida State and Santa Clara. The No. 3 seeds are California, Connecticut, Duke and Cal State Fullerton. The No. 4 seeds are BYU, Pepperdine, Marquette and Texas A&M.

11
Eleven teams are making their first appearance in the tournament: Florida Atlantic, Mississippi Valley State, Western Carolina, Hofstra, Valparaiso, Samford, UTEP, Gonzaga, Iowa State, UC Riverside and Saint Louis.

7
The ACC leads all conferences with seven teams in the tournament. Five teams will represent the Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-10. Four teams will represent the WCC, Big East and SEC.

3
Three 2004 quarterfinalists were not picked to play in this year’s tournament: Princeton, Ohio State and Washington.

2
North Carolina and Connecticut are the only schools to have been picked to play in the NCAA Tournament in all 24 years.

FOR THE RECORD
3. NCAA Division II & III draws

NCAA Division II men's tournament draw

NCAA Division III men’s tournament draw

NCAA Division II women's tournament draw

NCAA Division III women’s tournament draw

FEEDBACK
4. Who do you think will win?

The draw for surely the most competitive NCAA Division I Women's Tournament history is out. Who do you think will win? Who got a lousy draw? Was anyone robbed? Let us know your thoughts on the women's tournament or anything else about the women's season. Send us your comments to letters@socceramerica.com

[Frank Cunha]

1. WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

"Would I like to play at home? Would I prefer to play at home? Absolutely. But we are going to go and compete as best we can in Gainesville."
-- Florida State coach Mark Krikorian on the Seminoles being forced to travel to archrival Florida to open NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament play this weekend despite their No. 2 seed. (Tallahassee Democrat)

“After two years of getting some really tough deals from the NCAA, I'm happy to see a selection process that's good for us.”
-- Santa Clara coach Jerry Smith, whose team finished ranked No. 10 in the Soccer America Top 25 but received one of four No. 2 seeds for the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament. The last two years the Broncos were forced to play the defending champion in the third round. This year, if form holds, they face No. 12 UConn in the third round. (San Jose Mercury-News)

MEN’S TOP 25
2. Maryland moves into No. 1

TEAM (RECORD) LAST WEEK
1. Maryland (14-3-1) 2
2. Indiana (11-1-6) 4
3. Akron (16-1-1) 1
4. Connecticut (12-3-1) 5
5. New Mexico (13-1-2) 3
6. UCLA (11-3-3) 7
7. Old Dominion (14-2-2) 9
8. Virginia (12-3-2) 11
9. Duke (10-4-2) 8
10. Virginia Tech (10-4-4) 10
11. Santa Clara (12-4-2) 6
12. North Carolina State (11-5-1) 12
13. North Carolina (13-3-2) 13
14. Penn State (10-6-2) 14
15. California (12-3-2) 15
16. South Florida (12-5-0) 20
17. Cal State Northridge (14-2-3) 21
18. San Diego State (9-2-6) 16
19. Wake Forest (10-6-2) 17
20. St. John’s (9-4-5) 23
21. Clemson (10-4-3) NR
22. UNC Greensboro (13-5-0) 18
23. Creighton (10-4-3) NR
24. South Carolina (10-6-1) NR
25. Bradley (14-4-1) NR



WOMEN’S TOP 25
3. Portland regains top spot

TEAM (RECORD) LAST WEEK
1. Portland (18-0-1) 2
2. North Carolina (20-1-0) 3
3. Penn State (19-0-1) 1
4. UCLA (17-1-2) 4
5. Notre Dame (19-2-0) 5
6. Virginia (15-5-1) 7
7. Florida State (17-3-0) 6
8. California (14-3-2) 12
9. Texas A&M (16-3-2) 13
10. Santa Clara (14-4-2) 8
11. Duke (13-5-1) 9
12. Connecticut (15-4-2) 10
13. Marquette (17-3-1) 11
14. Tennessee (14-5-2) 17
15. Pepperdine (13-3-3) 19
16. USC (12-5-2) 21
17. Cal State Fullerton (17-3-0) 22
18. Stanford (10-6-3) 24
19. Gonzaga (12-3-4) 25
20. BYU (15-2-3) 14
21. Boston College (11-5-2) 15
22. West Virginia (11-5-3) 16
23. Vanderbilt (16-3-2) 20
24. Wisconsin (13-8-2) NR
25. Yale (13-3-1) NR
Note: This is the final Soccer America Women's Top 25 of the season.

MEN'S TOURNAMENT WATCH
4. ACC is loaded once again

It says something about the depth of ACC men’s soccer that Wake Forest, ranked 19th in the Soccer America Top 25, is only the eighth seed in the ACC Tournament and must open play Tuesday in a first-round match against ninth seed Boston College at the SAS Soccer Complex in Cary, N.C.
Wake’s six losses have all come against teams ranked in the Top 25. The Deacs (10-6-2) have beaten three Top 25 teams: Virginia Tech, UNC Greensboro and South Carolina.
For its part, BC (5-8-4) was a preseason Top 25 team but struggled when star Charlie Davies was lost with a knee injury.
With Clemson's return to the Top 25, eight ACC teams are ranked, including new No. 1 Maryland and three other teams in the Top 10, No. 8 Virginia, No. 9 Duke and No. 10 Virginia Tech.
The winner of the Wake-BC game faces top seed Maryland in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The other quarterfinal pairings (with tournament seedings): #4 Virginia Tech vs. #5 Duke, #3 N.C. State vs. #6 North Carolina and #2 Virginia vs. #7 Clemson.
Maryland’s Jason Garey was tabbed ACC Offensive Player of the Year and headed the All-ACC team announced on Monday. Clemson’s Nathan Sturgis, another All-ACC pick, was named the Defensive Player of the Year. Virginia Tech’s Patrick Nyarko was named Rookie of the Year, and Maryland’s Sasho Cirovski was named Coach of the Year for the second time.
Nyarko, a native of Ghana, was one of two freshman imports named to the All-ACC team. German Yannick Reyering was Virginia’s lone first-team selection. Also selected were goalie Phil Marfuggi (Clemson), defender Kenny Bertz (Maryland), midfielders Dax McCarty (North Carolina), Justin Moose (Wake Forest), Michael Videira (Duke) and Blake Camp (Duke midfielder) and forward Aaron King (N.C. State).



WOMEN’S TOP 25
5. No. 1 Portland shipped off to Nebraska

Portland, No. 1 in the final Soccer America Top 25 rankings of the regular season, earned one of four No. 1 seeds in the 2005 NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship, but the Pilots have been forced to travel to Lincoln, Neb., where they will play Iowa State in the opening round on Friday. Nebraska will host the opening rounds of Portland’s regional series and take on Creighton on Friday.
Portland was one of six of 16 seeds to be sent packing for the opening weekend of play. Sites for first- and second-round action are determined to create the least number of flights. With Iowa State and Creighton within driving distance of the Nebraska campus, Portland is the only team forced to fly.
Portland will play on the road despite averaging 3,106 fans per game in 10 home matches -- second in the nation to Texas A&M’s 3,797 average. Nebraska averaged 435 fans in 11 home contests this season. Portland drew more fans for its match against Santa Clara (5,119) than Nebraska did in 11 games (4,785).
All other top seeds – North Carolina, Penn State and UCLA -- will benefit from home-field advantage this weekend.
Florida State, a No. 2 seed, will have to open tournament play against Florida Atlantic at archrival Florida. Last year, the Seminoles traveled to Gainesville and lost in the first round to Boston College in a shootout. They beat Florida, 4-2, at Pressly Stadium earlier this season.
"I was pretty shocked [to play at home], but I'm extremely happy," Florida coach Becky Burleigh said.
Other seeded teams forced to travel are No. 3 seeds Duke and California and No. 4 seeds Pepperdine and BYU.