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UMass won its second-ever Atlantic-10 title this season. (Source: UMass Athletics) |
Down in Norfolk, Virginia, Providence (9-7-2) will face Old Dominion, the winner earning a date with sixth-seeded Brown (15-1-1).
For the full 2007 NCAA College Cup bracket, click here.
Otherwise, here’s a preview of this week’s local games:
Amherst, Massachusetts
First round - Boston University at UMass (Nov. 23, Noon)
Second round - Winner at Boston College (Nov. 28, 7 p.m.)
The Terriers (9-6-4) rode the strength of their non-conference schedule to an at-large berth in the tournament. BU faced five teams in the Top 20 of the RPI and was the only team in the nation to beat No. 6 Brown.
Host UMass gets the benefit of playing a home game (and possibly two) on its own Rudd Field. The Minutemen are coming off their second-ever Atlantic-10 Championship title this past weekend and have gone 11-3-1 since starting the season 2-4.
The Terriers, who lost to UMass, 1-0, on Sept. 29, are a young team, lead by freshman Aaron O’Neal (six goals) and sophomore Shaun Taylor (5) up front and sophomore Hrafn Davidsson (0.89 goals-against average) in net.
In that 1-0 UMass win, Stuart Amick put home a Kenny Cook rebound the give the Minutemen the only goal they would need in front of goalkeeper Zach Simmons (five saves).
Simmons (Durham, N.H.) and a strong defense all season, anchored by Cook and redshirt junior Chris Brown. Simmons ranks ninth nationally in save percentage (.855) and holds the UMass single-season record for goals-against average (.74) to go with his school record 23 career shutouts.
This is UMass' second ever berth to the NCAA Tournament with its last appearance coming in 2001. The Minutemen defeated Creighton in the first round before falling to St. John's.
It’s the Terriers first trip to the dance since 2004 when they won the America East Championship en route to a first-round victory over Dartmouth in penalty kicks and a 3-1 loss to St. John’s the next round.
This will be BU’s tenth trip to the NCAA tournament, but the Terriers have never managed to advance past the second round.
Whichever team wins will travel to Newton to play Boston College, the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and the winner of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Eagles (15-4-1) defeated Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest to capture the 2007 ACC Tournament championship last week in Cary, N.C.
BC also won the 2007 league regular-season title, finishing with a conference mark of 7-1-0.
The Eagles beat BU this year, 1-0, behind junior Mike Konicoff’s second-half goal assisted by ACC Player of the Year Alejandro Bedoya.
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Andre Akpan leads Harvard with 36 points. (Source: Crimson Athletics) |
Boston, Massachusetts
First round - Central Connecticut at Harvard (Nov. 24, 1 p.m.)
Central Connecticut (8-8-3) will travel to Harvard (12-3-2) in a classic battle of offense versue defense. The game pits a Blue Devil defense that has allowed just one goal in its last six games against a Harvard offense ranked fourth in the nation in scoring with 2.41 goals per game.
CCSU, which is unbeaten in its last seven games, won the Northeast Conference Championship on Sunday, defeating Saint Francis (PA), 1-0, to earn the school's first ever men's soccer title and trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Led by NEC Defensive Player of the Year David Tyrie, the Blue Devil backline helped sophomore goalkeeper Paul Armstrong post seven shutouts. As a team, Central Connecticut allowed 0.80 goals per match. Armstrong, who’s notched five clean sheets in the past six games, fashions a 0.62 GAA on the season.
The high-octane Crimson were ranked as high as sixth in the nation this season. Three Harvard players reached double figures in points, led by 13-goal scorer Andre Akpan (35 points) and 11-goal scorer Michael Fucito (29 points).
The Crimson played well this season at home, posting a 7-2-1 mark on Ohiri Field.
The winner of Saturday’s match will travel to 16th-seeded Tulsa University for a second-round game on Nov. 28.
Hanover, New Hampshire
First round - Vermont at Dartmouth (Nov. 24, 7 p.m.)
Second round - Winner at UConn (Nov. 28, 7 p.m.)
The America East Champion Catamounts will travel to Dartmouth in a battle of long-time rivals. The Big Green (11-4-2) hold a slim 15-12-4 edge over UVM (9-9-2) in the series that dates back to 1977.
This is the second time Vermont and Dartmouth have met in the NCAA Tournament. On Nov. 12, 1990, the two schools battled to a 1-1 first-round draw through two overtimes before Dartmouth won a penalty kick shootout, 4-1.
The Big Green got the best of UVM this season too, downing the Catamounts, 1-0, behind Ben Salmon’s late goal and Sean Milligan’s four-save shutout. The loss dropped Vermont to 3-7 at the time, setting the stage for a dramatic late-season push that culminated with the program’s fourth America East Championship.
In the title game Saturday, the Catamounts beat Binghamton, 1-0, to extend their winning streak to five and unbeaten streak to seven (5-0-2) while once again holding their opponent scoreless for a school-record seventh time.
The Big Green finished in second place in the Ivy League and earned an at large bid to qualify for the tournament for the 10th time in school history. Coach Jeff Cook's team was ranked nationally for several weeks and finished the regular season fifth in the NSCAA Northeast Region final regular season poll.
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Dartmouth's Sean Milligan has posted nine shutouts this season. (Source: Dartmouth Athletics) |
This marks Dartmouth’s third NCAA appearance in the past four seasons, also getting the nod in 2004 and 2005 - both times as Ivy League champs. In its last tournament, Dartmouth earned the 16-seed and a first round bye, but lost at St. John's 1-0. The Big Green is 4-8-2 overall in NCAA Tournament play, with its best outings coming in 1990 and 1992 when it reached the Elite Eight.
Craig Henderson leads the Big Green with six goals and 16 points while Milligan posted a 0.52 GAA en route to nine shutouts this season. Lee Kouadio heads Vermont’s attack with 10 points while keeper Roger Scully (0.59 GAA) also recorded nine shutouts.
The winner will head to Storrs, Conn. on Wednesday to face-off against No. 3-seeded UConn.
The BIG EAST Champion Huskies are making their 10th consecutive trip to the College Cup and 28th overall. As the No. 3 seed, the Huskies are guaranteed home field advantage until the College Cup semifinals as long as they continue to advance.
UConn is currently ranked No. 2 in the NSCAA/adidas poll and No. 1 in the Soccer America poll. The Huskies were No. 1 in both major polls and for four weeks in the NSCAA and two weeks in SA polls.
Connecticut ended the regular season with a share of the BIG EAST Blue Division title and the top seed in the BIG EAST Championship. The Huskies shut out USF (2-0), the fourth seed in the Red Division, in the quarterfinals and then beat Louisville (5-1) in the semis and Notre Dame (2-0) to capture the BIG EAST Championship crown.
Norfolk, Virginia
First round - Providence at Old Dominion (Nov. 24, 7 p.m.)
Second round - Winner at Brown (Nov. 28, 7 p.m.)
Providence, which earned at large bid after going 9-7-2 in a tough Big East conference, makes its third-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, and fourth in program history.
The Friars are led by senior All-America and All-BIG EAST First-Team performer Ryan Maduro (Bristol, R.I.). Maduro owns five goals and six assists on the season for 16 points. Timothy Murray mans the pipes, notching seven shutouts.
Providence is 1-3 in NCAA Tournament action under the direction of eighth-year Head Coach Chaka Daley and 1-4 all-time at the NCAA's.
Old Dominion enters the NCAA's with a 12-6-3 overall record. The Monarchs earned an automatic berth into the NCAA field after capturing the CAA Tournament title over Towson in penalty kicks.
The winner of Saturday’s match will take on Brown University at Stevenson Field in Providence, R.I. on November 28.
Brown (15-1-1) received the sixth seed and a first-round bye in the tournament after claiming its 19th Ivy League title with a stellar 7-0-0 record this season. This will be the Bears 23rd appearance in the College Cup and their eighth trip in the last 11 years.
Sophomore Dylan Sheehan leads Brown in scoring with 10 goals and six assists for 26 points. Tied for the team lead in goals is senior Kevin Davies with 10 tallies to go along with three assists for 23 points Junior Darren Howerton (Northboro, MA) leads Brown in assists with nine.
Goalkeeper Paul Grandstrand registered a 0.66 goals-against average.
Material from multiple press releases was used in this report
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