JOHN BOSCHINI
This weekend's game of the week in college soccer could quite possible be the game of the year as two title contenders clash in Chapel Hill.
Newly minted No. 1 Maryland and No. 5 North Carolina have been the two leading contenders in the chase for the ACC title and Friday's clash (5:30 p.m. ESPNU) could go a long way towards deciding the race. North Carolina will try to bounce back from their shocking loss to Davidson in midweek. Maryland, on the other hand, has only lost once all season and is coming off a full week of rest after not playing during the week. North Carolina's crowd support could also be diminished as students are home for fall break.
No. 2 Connecticut will try to rebound after the Huskies suffered their first loss of the season to West Virginia. Things don't get easier for the former number one as UConn welcomes No. 25 Georgetown. The Hoyas are riding high after a dramatic victory over Marquette on Wednesday.
Duke will try to break back into the top 25 with a conference matchup with No. 19 Boston College. Duke fell out of the top 25 after a 4-2 loss to Maryland last weekend but the Blue Devils are back on form and can try to start some momentum heading into the stretch run.
No. 7 Akron will also look to build some momentum after their shocking loss to Michigan but Caleb Porter's men should have no trouble with lowly Buffalo.
Here is the full weekend schedule.
Friday
(1) Maryland at North Carolina (5)
(4) New Mexico at Seattle
(7) Akron at Buffalo
Providence at West Virginia (14)
VMI at Coastal Carolina (15)
UNLV at Cal-State Bakersfield (20)
(22) Virginia at Virginia Tech
(23) UNC-Charlotte at La Salle
Saturday
(25) Georgetown at UConn (1)
Villanova at South Florida (3)
(6) Creighton at SIU-Edwardsville
Cal-State Northridge at UCLA (7)
DePaul at St. John's (9)
(10) Notre Dame at Pittsburgh
Rutgers at Louisville (10)
UC Riverside at UCSB (13)
(16) Furman at Appalachian State
Fullerton at UC-Irvine (17)
Tulsa at Central Florida (18)
Duke at Boston College (19)
(24) UAB at Marshall
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What do you think of this weekend's games? Can Carolina topple Maryland? Can UConn get back on track in th Bi East?
Share your thoughts below.
Why?
I would very much like to see my SIUE cougars upset creighton today but I’m not going to hold my breath.