Photo by ISIPhotos.com
The 2012 Men's College soccer season is ready to kick off tonight around the country and the best teams and players in America will give soccer fans plenty of added entertainment to go along with their usual pro soccer fix.
Defending champion North Carolina is back, and despite all the new faces, the Tar Heels should be in contention again. Another former champion, 2010 winner Akron, should be at the top of the list of teams capable of knocking off North Carolina for the crown, while schools like UConn, Maryland and UCSB also try make their case for being crowned national champions.
College soccer will feature a plethora of quality pro prospects, and if the contributions of this year's MLS rookies are any indication, the level of talent in the college game remains high. If you want to know which young players are coming through the ranks, and which players your favorite MLS team might be adding come the 2013 MLS Draft, you will be able to track those top talents here on SBI.
If you need a primer on the upcoming college season, this is your place. You can start with my FOX Soccer column discussing the state of the college game, as well as my Top 25 pro prospects list for 2012.
Once you get through that, SBI has plenty more for you. You can check out SBI's Pre-Season All-American Team, The SBI Pre-Season Top 25, and our list for best college games of the season, after the jump:
SBI PRE-SEASON TOP 25
1- AKRON
2- UCONN
3- NORTH CAROLINA
4- MARYLAND
5- UCSB
6- INDIANA
7- UCLA
8- DUKE
9- WEST VIRGINIA
10- BOSTON COLLEGE
11- SOUTH FLORIDA
12-ST. JOHN’S
13- LOUISVILLE
14- VIRGINIA
15- XAVIER
16- NEW MEXICO
17- COASTAL CAROLINA
18- CREIGHTON
19- SMU
20- CHARLOTTE
21- CSU-BAKERSFIELD
22- WAKE FOREST
23- UC-IRVINE
24- NOTRE DAME
25- GEORGETOWN
=================================
SBI PRE-SEASON ALL-AMERICAN TEAM
GOALKEEPER- ANDRE BLAKE, UCONN
DEFENDER- SEBASTIEN IBEAGHA, DUKE
DEFENDER- ERIC SCHOENLE, WEST VIRGINIA
DEFENDER- WALKER ZIMMERMAN, FURMAN
DEFENDER- TAYLOR KEMP, MARYLAND
MIDFIELDER- DILLON POWERS, NOTRE DAME
MIDFIELDER- CARLOS ALVAREZ UCONN
MIDFIELDER- MIKEY LOPEZ, NORTH CAROLINA
MIDFIELDER- ROBBIE DERSCHANG, AKRON
FORWARD- GYASI ZARDES, CSU-BAKERSFIELD
FORWARD- MAMADOU DIOUF, UCONN
===========================================
SBI'S TOP COLLEGE MATCHES TO WATCH IN 2012
Aug. 24th- UCLA vs. New Mexico
Aug. 26th- Maryland vs. Louisville
Aug. 31st- North Carolina vs. West Virginia
Aug. 31st- Creighton vs. Akron
Aug. 31st- Maryland vs. UCLA (ESPN3.com)
Sept. 2nd- Wake Forest vs. West Virginia
Sept. 7th- Akron vs. Indiana (in South Bend, Indiana)
Sept. 7th- Maryland at Boston College
Sept. 9th- UCLA vs. UC-Irvine
Sept. 11th- Louisville vs. Wake Forest
Sept. 14th- North Carolina vs. Wake Forest
Sept. 16th- Akron vs. South Florida
Sept. 18th- UConn vs. Boston College
Sept. 21st- North Carolina vs. Virginia (FOX Soccer Channel)
Sept 21st- UCSB vs. UCLA
Sept. 21st- Wake Forest vs. Duke
Sept. 22nd- UConn vs. St. John’s
Sept. 26th- Indiana vs. Notre Dame
Sept. 28th- Duke vs. North Carolina
Sept. 29th- UConn vs. Notre Dame
Oct. 3rd- Georgetown vs. UConn
Oct. 5th- Maryland vs Virginia (FOX Soccer Channel)
Oct. 6th- Wake Forest vs. Boston College
Oct. 10th- Louisville vs. Indiana
Oct. 12th- Duke vs. Maryland
Oct. 12th- Virginia vs. Wake Forest
Oct. 19th- Maryland vs. North Carolina (ESPNU)
Oct. 20th- Akron vs. West Virginia
Nov. 1st- North Carolina vs. Boston College (ESPN3.com)
Nov. 1st- Wake Forest vs. Maryland (ESPN3.com)
Nov. 11th- Big East Final
Nov. 11th- ACC Final
=================
What are you most looking forward to this upcoming college season? Which players are you excited to see play? Which games are you planning to catch?
Share your thoughts on the upcoming Men's College Soccer season below.