Photo courtesy of Jeff Camarati/UNC Athletics
With only two full weeks remaining in college soccer's regular season, each big game carries major implications in the rankings.
Such was the case last Friday night in Chapel Hill, N.C., as two Top 5 teams, North Carolina and Maryland, squared off with first place in the ACC on the line. And after 110 minutes, neither side could break a 1-1 deadlock, as goals by John Stertzer for the Terps and UNC’s Enzo Martinez accounted for the scoring.
MLSsoccer.com's Top 20
Rank |
School |
Record |
Last Week |
1 |
New Mexico |
13-0-2 |
3 |
2 |
Maryland |
13-1-2 |
2 |
3 |
Connecticut |
13-1-2 |
1 |
4 |
Creighton |
13-2-0 |
5 |
5 |
South Florida |
11-2-2 |
8 |
6 |
Akron |
11-2-2 |
4 |
7 |
North Carolina |
11-2-2 |
6 |
8 |
Georgetown |
9-3-4 |
17 |
9 |
Old Dominion |
11-2-0 |
20 |
10 |
Central Florida |
9-2-2 |
11 |
11 |
UCLA |
10-4-1 |
7 |
12 |
Boston College |
11-4-0 |
19 |
13 |
Indiana |
9-3-3 |
14 |
14 |
Furman |
11-2-4 |
18 |
15 |
Notre Dame |
7-3-4 |
15 |
16 |
Charlotte |
10-3-2 |
12 |
17 |
UC Irvine |
13-4-0 |
9 |
18 |
St. John's |
10-4-2 |
10 |
19 |
James Madison |
11-2-1 |
NR |
20 |
San Diego St. |
9-3-2 |
NR |
Maryland now has the inside track on the ACC regular-season title, with only games against Clemson and Wake Forest left in the next two weeks.
Here’s how the rest of the MLSsoccer.com Top 20 fared over the weekend:
Connecticut finally lost for the first time this season on the road last Wednesday against West Virginia. This past Saturday, the Huskies hosted Georgetown with a chance to return to their winning ways, but the Hoyas defense came on strong in a 0-0 draw.
UConn’s loss left New Mexico as the lone remaining unbeaten team. The Lobos maintained their winning ways in two weekend matches on the road – a 2-1 win over Seattle, followed up by a 2-0 shutout of Cal State Bakersfield. UNM has three games left in its attempt to run the table.
After losing to Michigan in a midweek rematch of the 2010 College Cup semifinal, Akron responded with an emphatic 5-2 win over Buffalo on Saturday. Lethal forward Darren Mattocks continued to climb up the nation’s goal-scoring charts, bagging a hat trick en route to a comfortable win for the Zips.
While other ACC teams – outside of Maryland and North Carolina – have struggled at times, Boston College continued a strong vein of form. The Eagles came from behind to win 2-1 against Duke, thanks to Charlie Rugg’s winner with just three minutes left in the second overtime.
Elsewhere, Old Dominion continued to prove its status as one of the nation’s hottest teams. The Monarchs won their seventh straight game on Saturday, a 4-1 win against Hofstra. Yannick Smith notched his 15th goal of the season, and midfielder Tim Hopkinson had three assists to lead ODU.
Next up is a trip to James Madison in a battle of the top two teams in the Colonial Athletic Association.
The struggles of Louisville continued after a 3-1 Tuesday loss to South Florida last week; the 2010 NCAA runners-up couldn’t best Rutgers, drawing 1-1. While the Cardinals have battled consistency all year, USF continued to roll after the win over Louisville, defeating Villanova by a 2-1 score for a sixth straight victory.
Travis Clark covers D.C. United, college and youth soccer for MLSsoccer.com.
