Feel like fall to you? It does to college soccer teams across the country. Here's a look around the country from Week 3:
BIG MEN ON CAMPUS
Stefano Bonomo, F, Cal
- Replacing
Steve Birnbaum
and
Christian Dean
at the back is going to make Cal a work-in-progress all year, but if you want to know whether the Bears can still dominate teams, here's exhibit A:
Cal 6, Cleveland State 1
. Which brings us to
Stefano Bonomo
(right), who scored his first goal in the 11th minute, his second in the 20th, and third in the 66th, complementing the performacne with an assist. This could be a shared honor with
Connor Hallisey
, who had two goals and two assists. Safe to say both had pretty decent outings.
Audi Jepson, M, Wisconsin-Green Bay
– Jepson (right) had five goals and an assist in the Phoenix's 8-0 win over NAIA outfit Viterbo, which is pretty boss by itself, but then he went and opened the scoring in their next game, a 2-2 draw against Northern Illinois.
Plus: awesome name.
TOP 10
1) North Carolina (4-1)
The Tar Heels backed into the top spot of the rankings this week after so many other teams tripped up, but that doesn't mean UNC haven't earned their spot. A 3-0 win over Pittsburgh
will not be looked on as a watershed moment, but UNC have beaten Cal, and their only loss was to UCLA. The win over Pitt saw the Tar Heels put up multiple goals for the first time since their season opener, thanks in part to a goal and an assist from Gambian-American redshirt sophomore
Nyambi Jabang
.
2) New Mexico (4-1)
New Mexico's tough loss to UCLA last weekend did nothing to take the wind out of their sails. The Lobos held on for a 1-0 win over Cal State Northridge on Friday, then followed that with a 2-0 win over San Diego on Sunday courtesy of goals from Jamaican Oniel Fisher
, part of the New York Red Bulls U-23s' NPSL championship squad, and Colorado Rapids academy product James Rogers. Not a flashy week, but New Mexico have been consistent in an otherwise turbulent landscape.
3) Washington (4-1)
While UConn have not proven as good as we thought they might be, Cyle Larin's 8th-minute opener helped lead to
Washington's respectable 3-1 in over the Huskies
on Friday,
and the Huskies followed up with another 3-1 win on Sunday, this time over Penn, led by two goals from Seattle Sounders academy product Darwin Jones. Neither result erases last week's loss to St. Mary's, but the results hint that the loss may have been an aberration.
4) Creighton (4-0-1)
The warm, fuzzy feelings we had for the Bluejays were tempered somewhat by a 1-1 draw against Tulsa, but as far as ties against unranked teams go, you could do a lot worse than the Golden Hurricane.
5) Notre Dame (
3-1-1)
Last week, we put Notre Dame atop the rankings. Later that day, the Fighting Irish lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to Kentucky. Wildcats goalkeeper Callum Irving, from the Vancouver Whitecaps' residency program, was forced into seven saves to keep a desperately needed shutout, and Kentucky forward Stefan Stojkovic fired home the game-winner in the final minutes. The Irish bounced back to grab their first ACC win, doing so against a ranked opponent in Syracuse, so points for keeping
their poise.
6) UCLA (3-1-2)
Two games, two shutouts this week for UCLA. If that sounds misleading or incomplete, well, it is. The Bruins were also kept off the scoreboard in scoreless
ties
against Santa Clara
and
against Cal Poly
. UCLA have a wall in former US youth international goalkeeper Earl Edwards, but they also have Leo Stolz, so it's a little weird to see them stopped in their tracks by unranked teams. They still boast wins against Wake Forest, North Carolina and New Mexico; we'll leave them here for now.
7) Louisville (2-1-1)
Louisville's Jekyll & Hyde routine makes it hard to rank them accurately. After a 0-0 tie with Cornell last week, the Cardinals lost 1-0 to St. Louis, who weret definite underdogs. Apparently fed up w
ith dropping games to inferior opposition, Louisville turned around on Saturday and
ground ACC opponents Duke into dust with a 5-0 win
. Ben Strong scored twice for Louisville. Next up: Boston College and Kentucky.
8) UC Irvine (4-0-1)
Cross-country road trips are hard. Cross-country road trips to face top-10 opponents are harder, but the Anteaters returned to Southern California basically unscathed after
beating West Virginia 3-2
on Thursday and
drawing 1-1 with
Georgetown
on Sunday. The sheen from the latter result may be a little dulled considering
the Hoyas' loss to VCU
earlier in the week, but it's a great road result nonetheless.
9) Cal (3-1)
This is a bit of a jump for the Golden Bears, who were No. 18 in the NSCAA rankings last week, but the number of questions about the Bears' defense is decreasing, while the season-opening loss to North Carolina looks more and more respectable. After demolishing Cleveland State on Friday (see Big Men on Campus, above), Cal put the cherry on top of their first home weekend by beating Gonzaga 1-0.
10) Penn State (4-0-1)
Sure, why not? The Nittany Lions don't get a lot of love in the Big Ten, because
… well, because Maryland, Indiana, Michigan State, for starters. But
Penn State beat Indiana
(on a really nice long-range goal from Mason Klerks), Maryland has been startlingly inconsistent, and
Michigan State dropped a headscratcher to Valparaiso
. To be fair, Penn State started their week by surviving two red cards
in a 1-1 draw against James Madison
, but perhaps we should all be following Penn State's games more closely going forward.
HIGHLIGHTS
Maryland went to the national championship game last year. They could field an entire starting lineup with nothing but MLS academy players. They are coached by Sasho Cirovski, one of the great coaches in the history of NCAA soccer. They are Goliath in this story. Playing the role of David? The United States Naval Academy, where
on Monday to see the Midshipmen hold on for a 2-1 win over the Terrapins.
.
For a really filthy golden goal, we bring you CSU Bakersfield vs. UC Davis. Skip to 5:18 if you can't wait.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
Maryland vs. Michigan State, Friday, 7:30 pm ET(watch on Big Ten Network)
Both the Terrapins and Spartans are in desperate need of a "signature win
," and on Friday night there will be no time like the present to get it. Expect a big crowd to come out for the Terps, too.
Penn State vs. Ohio State, Sunday, 1 pm ET (watch on GoPSUSports.com)
Penn State-Ohio State is always exciting and, frankly, if the Nittany Lions lose, then it will be that much more fun for the rest of you to leave us snarky comments next week.
Virginia vs. Notre Dame
, Sunday, Noon ET (watch on ESPNU)
The rare regular-season, nationally televised game features two of the four teams from last year's College Cup. 'Nough said.
Nate Sulat covers the college soccer scene for MLSsoccer.com.
