Two teams will move a major step closer to an NCAA title tonight when Louisville, Akron, North Carolina and Michigan play in the NCAA semifinals tonight in Santa Barbara, California.
Louisville enters as the top seed and only remaining undefeated team in the nation, but the Cardinals will face a stiff test from North Carolina (8:30pm, ESPN2), which is playing in its third straight College Cup semifinal. The Tar Heels reached the semifinals courtesy of a run of penalty kick shootout victories, but may still have the edge in experience against a Louisville side making its first appearance in the semifinals.
In tonight's nightcap, Akron takes on surprising semifinalist Michigan (11pm, ESPN2). The Zips came into the tournament as the No. 3 seed but are widely regarded as the strongest team in the nation and one of the most talented squads in American college soccer history.
Here's a closer look at tonight's semifinals:
(1) LOUISVILLE vs. (4) NORTH CAROLINA
The Cardinals come in unbeaten and boast a talented, though young, squad. Freshman midfielder Dylan Mares and junior striker Colin Rolfe are the leading catalysts in an offense that generates chances fairly easily. Junior midfielder Nick DeLeon and senior left back J.T. Murray are also key components in the Louisville attack, as is freshman forward Aaron Horton.
Defensively, senior centerback Austin Berry is the anchor. The All-Big East defender is also a threat on set pieces and will be key to neutralizing North Carolina's strikers.
For the Tar Heels, the tandem of Michael Farfan and Enzo Martinez form a creative combo that is as good as there is in the nation. Farfan is the distributor and regarded as one of the best seniors and MLS Draft prospects in the nation, while Martinez is the team's top goal-scoring threat, helping pick up the slack caused by the loss of injured junior standout Billy Schuler.
North Carolina boasts a strong midfield that includes the combination of Stephen McCarthy and Dustin McCarty, two players invited to the MLS Player Combine. Defensively, central defender Jalil Anibaba is one of the best centerbacks in the nation and his likely match-up against Colin Rolfe will be one of the highlights of the match.
Who has the edge? Louisville is a quality team, but has been vulnerable to slow starts. North Carolina has the players to capitalize, and the defense to shut down the Cardinals attack. The Tar Heels should advance, handing Louisville its first loss. 1-0, North Carolina.
(3) AKRON vs. (10) MICHIGAN
The Zips are the clear favorites to win the tournament, boasting a roster that reads like a list of best MLS prospects. They must first stop a Wolverines squad that has put together one of the strongest runs in the nation.
For Michigan, the attack is spear-headed by the tandem of Soony Saad and Justin Meram. Saad was one of the nation's leading goal scorers and earned a U.S. Under-20 national team call-up for his efforts. As good as Saad is, Meram may be playing the best soccer on the Michigan team, emerging as the team's best goal-scoring threat in the post-season.
While Michigan's attack gets plenty of headlines, goalkeeper Chris Blais is one of the team's most important players and he will need to play his best game tonight to give the Wolverines a chance to avenge a 7-1 drubbing at the hands of Akron earlier in the year.
For Akron, a fully loaded attack features freshman standout Darren Mattocks as well as Hermann Trophy finalist Darlington Nagbe, the most highly-rated attacking prospect in college soccer. They, along with playmaker Anthony Ampaipitakwon and winger Michael Nanchoff, figure to present plenty of problems for a Michigan defense that can be described as vulnerable.
Defensively, the Zips will look to contain Saad and Meram with defenders Zarek Valentin and Kofi Sarkodie, while freshman star Perry Kitchen will also contribute to stifling Michigan's playmakers.
As good as Michigan's attack is playing, Akron is just too strong from front to back and will return to the College Cup final with a 3-1 victory tonight.
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What do you think of tonight's match-ups? Who are you most looking forward to watch play? Who do you see winning?
Share your thoughts below.
Prediction: Michigan vs. NC in the final. Chris Webber will call time out as time winds down, but they won’t have any time out’s left. This will lead to a yellow card and NC will convert their penalty kick for the national championship.
Go Blue! The defense is suspect, but hey, not as bad as the football team’s D. Soony Saad and Meram can score like DRob. Likely to be a high scoring affair.
As a Michigan student who has followed my team’s run with awe and pleasure, I can only hope that they manage to pull off yet another miracle tonight. The odds are certainly stacked against them, but I also can’t count them out. Big performances from Chris Blais and Justin Meram could be decisive, but the victory over Maryland demonstrated that Michigan is truly a team that plays for each other, scoring 2 out of 3 goals from first-time goal scorers. Who knows what they’ll do tonight? I just hope they keep their heads and play their beautiful game, no matter what happens.
Go Blue!!
UNC-Louisville is on ESPNU and ESPN3.com. Michigan-Akron is on ESPN2.
The UNC Louisville is on ESPN 2? The schedule says college football is on…but ESPN 3 says they are showing it.
Michian 3 Akron 2
UNC 2 Louisville 1
UNC 2 Michigan 0
live or on tape delay?
Sorry, they conceded two. My point stands, though.
That’s not the only barometer. Note that Spain conceded one goal all tournament, making many of their victories pure domination. Akron has only had a clean sheet three times in this recent ten-game stretch: Creighton (ok), @MSU (very good), Western Michigan (LOL).
So the only barometer for how good a team is is the number of multi-goal victories they have? Spain had one multi-goal victory in the World Cup, as did the Netherlands. Germany, Brazil and Argentina all had 2 or more. Look how that turned out.
It’s incredible that Akron, who are far and away the best team remaining in the tournament, can still be so overrated. They’ve had just two multi-goal victories since they played Michigan earlier this season… about six weeks ago. 10 games, 8-1-1, great, but there’s seven home games and six one-goal victories in that stretch against some pretty miserable competition with @MSU and vs. Cal being the highlights.
And they’re getting all the love. Sweet.
They are the clear favorites, but I’d take any bet against them for winning the College Cup straight up. There’s nothing THAT special about this year’s Zips. I’d be shocked if they only put up three goals tonight, regardless.
Akron 4-2
UNC 1-1 in Penalties