Photo by GoldenBearSports.com
By IVES GALARCEP
Thanks to the Cal Golden Bears, and senior centerback Steve Birnbaum, the SBI College Soccer Top 25 endured a shake-up in the very first week of the season.
Birnbaum, the SBI College Soccer Player of the Week, scored goals in each game, and helped the Golden Bears post victories against Maryland and Georgetown, the top two teams in the country in the pre-season polls. That impressive started helped Cal catapult from No. 27 in the SBI Pre-Season Top 40, to No. 6 in the first SBI Top 25 of the season.
The UCLA Bruins move into the No. 1 spot in the polls after knocking off defending champion Indiana, and holding Notre Dame scoreless in a draw, to start the season. Posting a pair of shutouts despite fielding so many young players was definitely a statement accomplishment for Jorge Salcedo and the Bruins, who play their home opener on Thursday night against Cal Poly.
Two other teams that broke into the rankings after impressive early results are UC-Santa Barbara and UAB. The Gauchos trounced highly-regarded Northwestern in a 2-0 road trip to the Chicago area, while UAB dismantled Virginia Commonwealth, 4-0, in their opening match.
Here is the SBI Top 25:
SBI COLLEGE SOCCER TOP 25
1- UCLA (1-0-1)
2- AKRON (2-0)
3- GEORGETOWN (1-1)
4- UCONN (1-0)
5- NOTRE DAME (1-0-1)
6- CALIFORNIA (2-0)
7- NORTH CAROLINA (2-0)
8 – MARYLAND (0-1-1)
9- CREIGHTON (2-0)
10- INDIANA (1-1)
11- SAINT LOUIS (1-0)
12- LOUISVILLE (2-0)
13- NEW MEXICO (2-0)
14-COASTAL CAROLINA (1-1)
15- WAKE FOREST (1-1)
16- VIRGINIA (1-1)
17- MARQUETTE (1-1)
18- UCSB (2-0)
19-NORTHWESTERN (0-1)
20- WASHINGTON (3-0)
21-TULSA (2-0)
22- STANFORD (0-1-1)
23- DUKE (1-0-1)
24- BROWN (0-0)
25- UAB (2-0)
HONORABLE MENTION
Cal-State Northridge (2-0), Michigan State (1-0), Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1-0), St. John’s (1-1), UNC-Greensboro (2-0), Syracuse (2-0), North Carolina State (1-0), Penn State (2-0), Furman (1-1), Tulsa (1-1).
how is UCLA #1 with a 1-0-1 record and teams with perfect records are well below?
Won’t be #1 next week, as tehy got handled at home 3-0 against Cal Poly
As a UMD fan, I’m hoping that the results were due to the cross-country difference, also seen in MLS, and we’re going to see better results from here on out. See also: Georgetown.
UNCG is back
Go Hoyas and Bluejays
Creighton is 3-1-0 now.
Finally! Creighton University in Ives pre-season top 25.
Pretty Sure Tulsa isn’t 2-0 anymore, since Creighton beat them.
Correct. Tulsa is 3-1 now.
GO BEARS!
Re: Northwestern – Gauchos: not sure that 2-0 qualifies as “trouncing” an opponent, especially in college ball.
Sorry misread the line – UCSB went 2-0 in Chicago. But though they beat NU 3-1, NU had 12 shots to UCSB’s 8, 2 saves to UCSB’s 4, and 2 corners to UCSB’s 1. While it’s a significant away win, I”m still not sure this qualifies as a “trouncing.”
Did you watch the game? UCSB was up 3-0 after 30 minutes, then put the breaks and stopped attacking in favor of possessing the lead. No need to shoot or win corners when you’re up 3-0. Better use of possession to knock it around the defense/midfield and make NU chase shadows, which is eactly what happened.