NCAA College Cup 2009

[DeacsWF]

College Soccer Professor: NCAA College Cup Preview

A preview of each part of the bracket in this year's NCAA College Cup.

Nov 17, 2009 5:07:21 PM

J.R. Eskilson

College basketball has March Madness for their tournament nickname, but there is no name for soccer besides College Cup. How can you possibly get excited about something with that bland of a name? Time to give soccer’s tournament a nickname: Delirious December. November is such a negative word to work with so we will ignore the first few weeks of the tourney.

Plus, tell me you are not excited to get behind something with delirious in the title. Just saying the word delirious is the verbal equivalent of drinking an energy drink (not as a mixer). So many college students would get behind the idea of watching some double d action, but enough with the nickname, if you love college soccer, these are the best three weeks of the year.

There will be a Cinderella story that everyone will hear about five hundred times before ESPN finally becomes aware of the situation and drives it home. There will be an ACC team in the Final Four just so we all remember how good that conference is. And there will be a player that plays well above his means just to trick everyone into believing he is MLS quality before we all wake up and laugh it off (oh Graham Zusihttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2_bing.gif (College Soccer Professor: NCAA College Cup Preview - Goal.com), you silly man). But before we get to this point, lets analyze the four brackets.

The brackets are named after the top seed: Akron (#1), Virginia (#2), Wake Forest (#3), and Ohio State (#4). The breakdowns include the teams, what to look for, and the players to watch; so read up, and impress the boss next time the topic of the Delirious December comes up at the water cooler.

Akron’s Group:

Teams: Akron, Tulsa, Northwestern, UC Irvine, Stetson, South Florida, Saint Mary’s, Stanford, Green Bay, Notre Dame, Missouri State, Saint Louis.

What to look for:

If the soccer gods have any mercy, they will ensure that South Florida knocks off Stetson in the first round. If Stetson has to face Akron, we could see the institution of a mercy rule in college soccer. Stetson already lost, 7-0, to North Carolina this year. Akron is the most skillful team in the nation, and on paper this should be a cake walk, but the games are not played on paper. UC Irvine (potential third round match-up) is physical and skillful. Also, Northwestern (potential quarterfinal opponent) is the last side to defeat Akron. As good as Akron is, they have never been past the third round.

Former UVA stud, Kyle Martino, picked Notre Dame to win this group, and the fact he was not laughed out of the studio should tell you two things: 1) No one respects Akron’s killer instinct. 2) Everyone else in this group is roughly at the same level.

Players to watch:

Irving Garcia/Carlos Aguilar, UC Irvine, Seniors- Not entirely fair to bunch these two together because they are both good enough to stand on their own. With an NCAAhttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2_bing.gif (College Soccer Professor: NCAA College Cup Preview - Goal.com) bid on the line, they combined for four goals and two assists in the Big West tourney. Did I mention both games they played were on the road? Garcia’s first half in the conference final made UCSB’s defense look like LA Galaxy circa 2008. Aguilar chipped in with both the goals in the semi.

Teal Bunbury, Akron, Soplalalalare- He is fast, strong, and lethal with the ball on his foot. He is the best forward in college soccer and none of the defenders in this group have seen a player close to his ability this season. If you live anywhere close to Akron and have not seen him play, shame on you. Go watch him in the NCAA tourney, cause this will probably be his last one.

Virginia’s Group:

Teams: Virginia, Penn State, Harvard, North Carolina State, Loyola (MD), Maryland, UCONN, Monmouth, New Mexico, Portland, Bucknell, Princeton.

What to look for:

Virginia is the hottest team in America right now. They cruised through the ACC tournament beating Maryland, Wake Forest (in PKs), and NC State along the way. Their goalie, Diego Restrepo, is one of the best in the nation. This is their group to lose. Loyola against Maryland is a fascinating first round match up: Maryland at home is close to impossible to beat but Loyola has some experienced and savvy players. The winner faces off against Penn State in the second round. Penn State has to be wondering what if they had beat Ohio State in the Big Ten final. Would they be the #4 seed and in a much better position? Those are the breaks of the game.

Players to watch:

Andre Akpan, Harvard, Senior- He has one of the best afros in college sports, it has the cushion to support a good header and the volume to bounce back. As long as he does not try to bring the fade back, he will be considered among the best forwards in the nation. (Great forwards have great hair, it is a rule.) Also, he runs 40 meters in under 4.5 seconds, so there is that too. He has already proven his worth in the Ivy League, this is the last chance to leave his mark on the nation and shed the tag “invisible in big games.”

Tony Tchani, Virginia, Soplalalalare- Recap of last week for Tchani during the ACC tourney: During hurricane conditions against Maryland, Tchani put the Cavaliers on his back and destroyed Maryland’s ACC title hopes when he scored the game winner in the 88th minute on an absolutely mind-blowing piece of skill and composure. (He beat three defenders on the dribble then slotted it by the keeper.) He spent 110 minutes dominating the Wake Forest midfield before nailing a PK in the shoot outhttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2_bing.gif (College Soccer Professor: NCAA College Cup Preview - Goal.com). In the final, he took his victory lap by showing the nation he can defend with the best of them. In case you need more convincing, Tchani won freshman of the year last season in the ACC even though he missed HALF the season. How is he not talked about more often?

Wake Forest’s group:

Teams: Wake Forest, UCLA, San Diego, Michigan State, UNC-Wilmington, Charlotte, Duke, Winthrop, Wofford, UCSB, Sacramento State, Loyola Marymount.

What to look for:

Here is what I like about this group, every match up is intriguing. All of the first round games are going to be close. All the second round games could be potentially dangerous for the seeded teams. Plus we have two of the top teams in the nation from different coasts headlining the group. In the upper half of the bracket, Wake Forest is faced with a potential rematch against Charlotte. Earlier this season, Charlotte snapped a forty-six game non-conference winning streak by Wake Forest. In the bottom half of the bracket, the West Coast schools are lining up for a shot at UCLA. Sac St, LMU, UCSB, and San Diego all want to lay claim as best in the West.

Players to watch:

Kyle Nakazawa, UCLA, Senior- When NCAA finally adopt an actual scoring system, there is going to be a category for points scored in the clutch (last fifteen minutes of games decided by two goals or less). Nakazawa would be the clear winner of this category this year, he is averaging a clutch point per game over the last three games. His free kicks are deadly, his vision is uncompromising, and he is going to break your heart.

Ike Opara, Wake Forest, Junior- A name that should be familiar with most U.S. soccer fans, he was the starting center backhttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2_bing.gif (College Soccer Professor: NCAA College Cup Preview - Goal.com) for the U-20 team in Egypt. In an interview with goal.com earlier this season, Opara said his goal for the season was to win the treble (ACC regular season title, ACC tourney title, and NCAA title), at this point he is going to have to settle for the double. Wake Forest will need his leadership if they want to advance out of this group.

Ohio State’s Group:

Teams: Ohio State, North Carolina, Butler, Saint John’s, Stony Brook, Brown, Louisville, Indiana, Dartmouth, Boston College, Western Illinois, Drake.

What to look for:

Is anyone really buying into the idea that Ohio State is the fourth best team in the nation? Outside of their conference schedule, they have one win over a tournament team (Butler). And the number five seed, North Carolina, has not beaten a quality opponent since the second of October. They played like they had completely checked out during the ACC tourney. This group only needs to be described by two words: Upset Central.

Players to watch:

The Goalies! Derby Carrillo, Senior, St. John’s. Andre Boudreaux, Junior, Louisville. Brooks Haggerty, Senior, North Carolina. Fabian Knopfler, Senior, Butler. Matt Lampson, Freshman, Ohio State. These five goalies are ranked 5, 8, 12, 13, and 24 respectively in the nation in terms of goals against average. An unreal collection of the some of the top talent in between the pipes in this bracket. I would not be expecting any soft goals in this bracket.

For a bracket go here: NCAA.com ? The Official Website of NCAA Championships - NCAA


Predictions anyone?

[DeacsWF]

I hope we get UCSB in the next round! CMON JR!

[Tio Nicci]

Its quite funny, my Community College soccer team could of participating the NCAA but we have to go through tons of Pre-Eliminaries in Texas before we can even think about NCAA.

[DeacsWF]

Well then why didn't you?!

[Tio Nicci]

Originally Posted by DeacsWF

Well then why didn't you?!

We lost our first knock game in our league to even compete in the Houston slot, which competes in the Texas, which compete IDK even who.

Basically my college team consist of no coaching with some talented players and rest lalalala players. BTW I didn't even start I was late.

[LilPancho86]

Stanford? BOOOOOO!!!!

[jrlm8]

Originally Posted by DeacsWF

I hope we get UCSB in the next round! CMON JR!

This week's article is going to be 1000 words about UCLA vs UCSB. I hope everyone can put bias aside and enjoy this rivalry. Ah, I can't wait. Sunday can't come soon enough!!!!

(I don't think UCSB will get past UCLA) But Wake vs UCSB would be exquisite. I believe the schlacking from last year still left a bitter taste in the whole staff's mouth.

Interesting fact: Of the 16 teams in the Third Round, SIX are from the ACC! Almost half the teams are from one conference. No other conference has more than TWO!

[DeacsWF]

ACC are quality this year no doubt about it.

I don't like how the games are on Sunday...

[jrlm8]

I don't either. Traffic is going to be terrible heading to LA so that is going to ruin my whole day. I know the game will be worth it, but still being stuck on a freeway for a few hours on the weekend is not my idea of fun.

[DeacsWF]

Especially on a Sunday.

[BarakatTreka]

My university doesn't have a NCAA sanctioned team.

[dena]

Neither does mine, which is why I don't really like the college game, among other reasons.

[jrlm8]

College Soccer Professor: Third Round Preview- Let's Dance - Goal.com

Plenty of sexy third round match ups.

[jrlm8]

tomorrow is game day! so exciting!

[jrlm8]

First games of the day are: Maryland-Harvard (live audio thru Harvard's website) and Virginia-Portland (live audio thru Portland's website) at 10 a.m. (PT).

Then: North Carolina-Indiana (live video thru UNC's website) and Boston College-Drake at 11 a.m. (PT).

[Brendyne]

Quick question about this, why don't colleges who aren't footballing or basketball school's trying harder to get in the spotlight as football/soccer schools?

Just seems silly some colleges don't try harder. The money it could bring in potentially is smart to tap into.

[BMxJoga]

It is just the profit made from basketball and football towersover that made of football/soccer. At least on the collegiate level.

[Gorayfle]

First games of the day are: Maryland-Harvard (live audio thru Harvard's website) and Virginia-Portland (live audio thru Portland's website) at 10 a.m. (PT)

.


Kick some preppie lalala Maryland.

[DeacsWF]

LET'S Go DEACS!!!

Goin at 5 today can't wait.

[USAChrisKY]

Quick question about this, why don't colleges who aren't footballing or basketball school's trying harder to get in the spotlight as football/soccer schools?

Just seems silly some colleges don't try harder. The money it could bring in potentially is smart to tap into.

I think alot of people would want thier college to be a football school even if they are a Basketball and American Football school. I would love the Univeristy of Kentucky to be a football school but first the school has to be good to attract recruits....Im guessing alot of it has to do with the recuriters you have. If you have a good recruiter and a good coach, good players will come. Plus you have to have the backing of the school to want to excel in that sport. Im pretty postive that UK doesnt give a rats lalala about football.

So those same things would apply schools that arent into basketball or American Football and cant get thier football going.

[jrlm8]

Harvard are using a cell phone to do their radio feed. Virginia is standing on top of a building in very windy conditions trying to do their broadcast. No one is ever going to accuse NCAA soccer of being an excessive spending sport.

[jrlm8]

Virginia beat Portland, 1-0. Maryland knocked off Harvard, 2-0. UVA-UMD in the Elite Eight next week.

[USAChrisKY]

Originally Posted by jrlm8

Harvard are using a cell phone to do their radio feed. Virginia is standing on top of a building in very windy conditions trying to do their broadcast. No one is ever going to accuse NCAA soccer of being an excessive spending sport.

They prolly dont even make a whole lot of money do they ?...tickets are prolly what 5 dollars lol...I cant see it being over that...if it is, thats a rip off.

[DeacsWF]

I would pay plenty of money but yes, $5.

Can't wait, hour til I leave!!

[USAChrisKY]

I find college basketball tickets to be a rip off...all college sports should be cheap...they arent professional lol...maybe it just me lol...