Welcome back to MLS On Campus, our weekly look at the goings-on in the college game. Every Monday, we'll give you the week's best highlight, the standout players, which games to watch in the week ahead and, of course, our national Top 10 list.
After all, the SuperDraft is only a few months away...
Big Men on Campus
Connecticut senior Carlos Alvarez – Alvarez, a senior attacking midfielder from Los Angeles, is certainly no stranger to any MLS team’s big board, and he had yet another impressive weekend to raise his draft stock even higher. He notched two goals and two assists in shutout wins over Boston College and St. John’s, giving him four goals and three assists in eight games this season.
Cornell junior Daniel Haber – The Big Red are quietly a perfect 7-0-0 on the young season and a big part of that have been the scoring exploits of the junior forward from Toronto. Haber had four goals and two assists this weekend, giving him a remarkable 11 goals from 7 games this year.
<strong>Rank</strong> |
<strong>Trending</strong> |
<strong>Last </strong> |
<strong>College</strong> |
<strong>Comment</strong> |
<strong>1</strong> |
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<strong>1</strong> |
<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong>Maryland<br><span style="font-size:12px;">(6-0-1)</span></strong></span> |
<p>The defense got back on track for Maryland this weekend in a 2-0 shutout of Virginia Tech. If the Terps don’t slip up in a weekend trip to South Carolina for a tough game at College of Charleston, a long undefeated run seems to be on the cards for Sasho Cirovski’s men. MLS scouts will be looking on. </p> |
<strong>2</strong> |
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<strong>9</strong> |
<strong style="font-size: 16px; text-align: center; ">UConn<br><span style="font-size: 12px; ">(7-0-1)</span></strong> |
<p>The Huskies throttled previously unbeaten St. John’s 3-0 on Saturday night to move to 7-0-1 on the year as Big East play begins in earnest. UConn features two potential Generation adidas signings in forward Mamadou Diouf and goalkeeper Andre Blake, while Alvarez seems a surefire first round SuperDraft pick as well. </p> |
<strong>3</strong> |
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<strong>3</strong> |
<strong style="font-size: 16px; text-align: center; ">North Carolina<br><span style="font-size: 12px; ">(5-1-1)</span></strong> |
<p>UNC held serve at home against Virginia, winning 1-0 in an ultra-physical game. Congratulations go out to senior goalkeeper Scott Goodwin who became the Tar Heels’ all-time shutout leader. He could find his way onto an MLS roster as a late-round pickup based simply on his winning pedigree. </p> |
<strong>4</strong> |
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<strong>4</strong> |
<strong style="text-align: center; font-size: 16px; ">Akron<br><span style="font-size: 12px; ">(5-1-2)</span></strong> |
<p>Now is the time of the year where Akron beats up on its MAC counterparts before taking on big boys in midweek non-conference games. A move to attacking midfield for Colorado Rapids Academy freshman Dillon Serna has paid dividends, while senior Scott Caldwell’s production from central midfield has the Revolution sure to sign him to a Homegrown deal at season’s end. </p> |
<strong>5</strong> |
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<strong>2</strong> |
<strong style="text-align: center; font-size: 16px; ">Notre Dame<br><span style="font-size: 12px; ">(7-1-0)</span></strong> |
<p>The Fighting Irish had their first slip-up of the season as they fell on the road 2-1 to a good Louisville team. Senior Ryan Finley scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season for the Irish, who have a chance for redemption on Wednesday in a tough non-conference matchup with Indiana. That's followed by a massive game Friday at UConn.</p> |
<strong>6</strong> |
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<strong>5</strong> |
<strong style="text-align: center; font-size: 16px; ">New Mexico<br><span style="font-size: 12px; ">(7-1-0)</span></strong> |
<p>The Lobos' winning streak moved to six games with two shutout wins over some lesser foes in Fairfield and Northern Illinois. Senior Devon Sandoval, one of the better poachers in this year’s draft class, grabbed three goals to move his team-leading tally to seven for the year.</p> |
<strong>7</strong> |
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<strong>8</strong> |
<strong style="text-align: center; font-size: 16px; ">UCSB<br><span style="font-size: 12px; ">(6-0-2)</span></strong> |
<p>Behind a mazy individual effort from freshman Ema Boateng, UCSB came from behind to draw UCLA 1-1 in front of more than 7,500 at Harder Stadium on Friday night. Two conference road games await for the Gauchos in a weekend that will give us a better idea if they’re a contender for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. </p> |
<strong>8</strong> |
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<strong>NR</strong> |
<strong style="text-align: center; font-size: 16px; ">UCLA<br><span style="font-size: 12px; ">(5-1-2)</span></strong> |
<p>Some early-season struggles look long gone for the Bruins with two good results in the middle of a five-game road trip. Senior Fernando Monge, a two-way midfielder who has played for the Sounders U-23 PDL squad, scored both goals for UCLA last weekend. </p> |
<strong>9</strong> |
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<strong>10</strong> |
<strong style="text-align: center; font-size: 16px; ">Georgetown<br><span style="font-size: 12px; ">(8-0-1)</span></strong> |
<p>Big freshman forward Brandon Allen, a New York Red Bulls Academy product, scored his fifth game-winning goal of the season as the Hoyas beat Rutgers 1-0 in overtime. Georgetown will have a chance to prove themselves as they run through a tough Big East conference schedule.</p> |
<strong>10</strong> |
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<strong>NR</strong> |
<strong style="text-align: center; font-size: 16px; ">Marquette<br><span style="font-size: 12px; ">(8-0-0)</span></strong> |
<p>The Golden Eagles are starting to be impossible to ignore. They became the only team in Division I college soccer to move to a perfect 8-0-0 record last weekend, throttling DePaul 5-0. Junior left back Paul Dillon is following up a solid sophomore season with four assists in eight starts this year. </p> |
Highlight of the Week
San Diego State junior midfielder Blake Wise was a top-rated prospect coming out of high school in north Texas, but has struggled with injuries over his first two seasons. Having transferred to SDSU from Indiana this year, he seems to have righted the ship with four assists in seven games, while his first goal of the season in a 3-1 victory over UNLV last weekend was a real cracker.
What to Watch For:
No. 5 Notre Dame at No. 2 UConn (Saturday, 7 pm ET)
Powers collide in Storrs as Notre Dame looks to bounce back from last weekend’s loss in front of what's expected to be a crowd of 5,000 Huskies fans and a dozen scouts. The winner of Saturday’s match has the inside trade to the Big East division title.
No. 3 UNC vs Duke (Friday, 7 pm ET, ACC Digital Network)
No matter the sport, UNC-Duke is a big deal. The Tar Heels take their ACC unbeaten streak to Durham for a match against their archrivals. Duke has had a rocky start to the season, but could go a long way in earning a tournament spot with a win.
