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Upsets hit NCAA Tournament First Round

CollegeSoccer

Looks like the RPI called it right by labeling the Big East as a weak conference. Of the three schools involved in the first round out of the conference, two fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday.

UConn traveled to Monmouth in a match-up of two top 25 teams who failed to earn a seeding in the tournament. The game was even throughout, with Monmouth more than holding their own against an experienced UConn program. Neither side could breach the net, and when the game went into penalties, a sensational save in the last round by Hawks keeper Bryan Meredith allowed his side to clinch their first ever NCAA Tournament win. Monmouth travels next to Harvard on Sunday for the second round.

The other Big East team to go down was Louisville. The Cardinals had no easy task, traveling on the road to take on Indiana. And it was Louisville native Darren Yeagle coming up big against his hometown school, scoring a brace in a 2-0 win for the Hoosiers.

Here's a complete list of first round results:

What did you think of the first round? What results surprised you?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Clayton, interesting point. I agree with you – the amount of schools without soccer teams is disheartening. One thing to consider though is that football and (sometimes)basketball are the money sports for schools. All the other sports suck from the budgetary teat that is football/basketball. I’m no college athlete, but I think football/basketball players get more perks than other student-athletes (can anyone confirm?). Thus, the life of a college soccer player probably isn’t as enticing as the life of a college football player. I could be wrong though.

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  2. You just couldn’t wait for the “I was right” blog.

    There were four Big East teams that played and 2 won. Give this conference a break. We still have 3 teams in this thing.

    We had 2 teams in the Elite Eight last year and one in the Final Four.

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  3. The Brown-SB game was a high-paced and exciting one! You wouldn’t expect it from the billing, but this game definitely exceeded all expectation and I’m glad I sacrificed some TV time to go out and watch it.

    Now, unfortunately, my Bears have to go on the road to face UNC. Great…

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  4. Ives, can we please open a Q&A about title IX and how to amend it to allow for more soccer shcolarships. The rule is about 35 years old, and it is time to create a way in for soccer. If there was a way for some kid from the ghetto to use soccer as a tool into college, that would change the culture. The best athletes in the South and Southwest all play football (and hoops) becuase they have a rediculous amount of FREE schooling, plus living the life of a colllege athlete/celeb. Adding especially the Big 12 and SEC, along other major college football conferences, is the only thing that needs to happen for the US to bring home World Cups. We need the best athletes to play this sport (Davies, Altidore, Onyewu, Depmsey, Demerit, and all keepers) in order to compete on the world stage. C’mon, those schools already have facilities for soccer..

    Great site, Ives.

    Reply

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