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 highlights, 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
Georgetown senior midfielder Steve Neumann – Georgetown started out their week against American, scoring an 85th-minute winner to down the Eagles 1-0. The real fireworks began on Saturday afternoon, however, as the Hoyas steamrolled Seton Hall 8-0.
Leading the charge for Georgetown was offensive talisman Steve Neumann, who put up a hat-trick and an assist against the Pirates. Neumann (above), who has played with the Philadelphia Union’s PDL affiliate Reading United, had 10 goals and 13 assists last year and almost singlehandedly powered Georgetown through the national semifinals against Maryland with a hat-trick performance. Saturday showed just what Neumann and the Hoyas can do when they are at their best.
Notre Dame senior forward Harrison Shipp – Shipp started out his week by assisting on both of Notre Dame’s goals in a fairly routine 2-0 win over the reigning national champion Indiana Hoosiers. He then finished his week by scoring both goals in the Irish’s 2-1 overtime nailbiter on the road at Clemson. Fair to say that Shipp had a decent week.
UAB junior forward Diego Navarrete – UAB have put together a pretty impressive season so far, going 8-1-1 with wins over Indiana and VCU. The Blazers put another feather in their cap this weekend by handing Florida Atlantic their first loss of the season, and doing so pretty stylishly. Navarrete, for his part, had two goals and four assists in UAB’s 6-2 demolition of the Owls.
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<strong>Last</strong> |
<strong>College</strong> |
<strong>Comment</strong> |
<strong>1</strong> |
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<b>1</b> |
<p class="rtecenter"><strong style="font-size: 16px;">Notre Dame</strong><br><span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong><span style="font-size: 12px;">(6-0-3)</span></strong></span></p> |
<p>The Fighting Irish have yet to pick up a really eye-popping win, but to be unbeaten through nine games with the schedule that they have definitely makes up for it. A win against Indiana isn’t what it used to be, but it’s solid enough, and the result at Clemson is impressive any way you slice it.</p> |
<strong>2</strong> |
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<b>2</b> |
<strong style="font-size: 16px;">California<br><span style="font-size: 12px;">(7-0-3)</span></strong> |
<p>After beating Oregon State comfortably on Thursday, the Golden Bears let one get away from them on Sunday morning in their 1-1 draw with Washington. The Huskies nabbed the equalizer late, but finishing level against the No. 3 team in the country is nothing to sniff at, and Cal could very well have had two or three goals.</p> |
<strong>3</strong> |
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<strong>5</strong> |
<strong style="font-size: 16px;">Washington<br><span style="font-size: 12px;">(7-0-3)</span></strong> |
<p>On the other side of the coin, battling back for a draw on the road against the No. 1 team in the country is a pretty handy result. Combine that with a 3-1 result against Stanford earlier in the week and it becomes abundantly clear that the Huskies are not to be toyed with.</p> |
<strong>4</strong> |
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<b>3</b> |
<strong style="font-size: 16px;">UCLA<br><span style="font-size: 12px;">(6-2-1)</span></strong> |
<p>Bad luck for the Bruins, who drop one spot despite a 2-1 win over San Diego State. This week will be big for UCLA, who can reassert their supremacy in the Pac-12 with matches against Stanford and Cal on Thursday and Sunday, respectively, at Drake Stadium.</p> |
<strong>5</strong> |
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<strong>4</strong> |
<strong style="font-size: 16px;">Creighton<br><span style="font-size: 12px;">(6-2-2)</span></strong> |
<p>The Bluejays fell for the second time this year on Wednesday, losing 1-0 on the road to No. 22 St. Louis. It’s a slightly worrying result, considering that Billikens have been fairly inconsistent of late, but it’s not the worst loss in the world. Creighton bounced back on Saturday with a 2-0 win over Xavier.</p> |
<strong>6</strong> |
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<b>8</b> |
<strong style="font-size: 16px;">Cal State Northridge<br><span style="font-size: 12px;">(10-1-0)</span></strong> |
<p>So far, so good for the Matadors, who opened their conference schedule with back-to-back wins over Sacramento State and UC Davis. CSUN face a much tougher test this weekend when UCSB and Cal Poly come to town.</p> |
<strong>7</strong> |
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<b>10</b> |
<strong style="font-size: 16px;">Georgetown<br><span style="font-size: 12px;">(8-2-1)</span></strong> |
<p>Seton Hall and American aren’t powerhouses by any stretch, but that 8-0 outburst should have Hoyas fans smiling for all kinds of reasons. The Georgetown offense has been inconsistent this season, and though an eight-goal performance doesn’t guarantee similar results against stronger opponents, it certainly suggests that they’ve figured it out on the attack. If that’s indeed the case, the rest of the country better look out.</p> |
<strong>8</strong> |
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<b>(NR)</b> |
<strong style="font-size: 16px;">Maryland<br><span style="font-size: 12px;">(5-2-3)</span></strong> |
<p>Oh, hey, look who’s back. Yes, after taking a four-week vacation from MLSsoccer.com’s Top 10, the Terrapins make their triumphant return after a week that saw them beat Tulsa and conference opponents Boston College. The defense still hasn’t really figured it out – Maryland have just one shutout this year – but the offense has shown up consistently, and they’ve held their own in ACC play. Their return may be short-lived, though: Their next game is at Notre Dame on Tuesday.</p> |
<strong>9</strong> |
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<strong>(NR)</strong> |
<strong style="font-size: 16px;">Dayton<br><span style="font-size: 12px;">(10-0-0)</span></strong> |
<p>With UMBC’s gut-wrenching loss to Delaware last week, the Flyers are now the last team in the country with a spotless record, earning their 10th win of the season on Friday against Incarnate Word. Dayton kick off their A-10 schedule this week with home games against George Washington and Fordham.</p> |
<strong>10</strong> |
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<strong>6</strong> |
<strong style="font-size: 16px;">North Carolina<br><span style="font-size: 12px;">(3-1-5)</span></strong> |
<p>With all due respect to the conventional wisdom about rivalry games – that anything can happen – UNC just drew 0-0 against a Duke team that is 4-4-2 and had lost three of their previous four ACC games. In Chapel Hill. If the Heels ever get their offense back on track, pity the poor, luckless teams they’ll have to face. Until then, the season will continue to crumble into a lost cause.</p> |
Highlights
Northwestern’s ascension up the rankings took a major hit this week with losses to giant-killers Bradley and Big Ten dark horses Michigan State, who nabbed a 3-2 win in Evanston in double overtime. You can check out the goal – and lots of shirtless Michigan State players – here. Sparty on.
In the wake of the Federal government’s shutdown this past week, Army and Navy announced that their midweek games had been canceled. Fortunately, the break doesn’t seem like it’s going to be permanent, and this past Saturday, Army returned to action to face Boston University. After going down 2-0, the Black Knights were able to bring it back to finish with a dramatic 3-2 double overtime win.
What to Watch for:
Notre Dame vs. Maryland, Tuesday, 7 pm ET (ACC Digital Network)
Notre Dame’s one game against an ACC heavyweight this season – North Carolina – ended in a 1-1 draw. Not a bad result, but the Irish could use a win against Maryland to burnish that 3-0-2 conference record. Maryland, meanwhile, could finally exorcise the demons of those tough opening-weekend results against Cal and Stanford with a win in South Bend.
UCLA vs. California, Sunday, 4 pm ET (Pac-12 Network)
The Bruins were supposed to be the runaway favorites to win the Pac-12, but the national spotlight is now focused squarely on Cal. There’s been exactly zero crossover in the two schools’ schedules so far, so this will be our first indication of whether or not we all went to sleep on UCLA too quickly.
