By IVES GALARCEP
One school is a traditional national powerhouse. The other is a neighbor with a chance to legitimize its recent success and earn some respect in the process.
SBI No. 6 Maryland will play host to No. 15 University of Maryland-Baltimore County on Friday night at Ludwig Field in a match-up with plenty of intrigue, and quality pro prospects. UMBC star central defender Oumar Ballo will look to keep Maryland’s high-powered offense in check, while Terps goalkeeper standout Zack Steffen tries to help his defense post its first shutout of the season.
The weekend’s other high-profile match-up takes place in the heat of new New Mexico, where the SBI No. 11 Lobos try to knock off No. 1 UCLA. The meeting marks the first between these perennially -ranked squads since New Mexico beat the Bruins in the 2012 season opener in Los Angeles.
The weekend’s third match-up of ranked opponents features SBI No. 16 UC-Irvine playing host to No. 20 Denver, which has been one of the surprises of the young season.
Here is a rundown of this weekend’s top college matches:
THIS WEEKEND’S COLLEGE SOCCER SCHEDULE
FRIDAY
4pm – (4) Georgetown vs. Harvard
5pm- (18) Indiana vs. Kentucky
6pm- Marquette vs. Gonzaga
6pm- CSU Northridge vs. UAB (in Tulsa, Okla.)
6:30 pm – (1) UCLA vs. American
6:30pm- (16) UC Irvine vs. (20) Denver
7pm- Wake Forest vs. (7) UConn
7pm- Old Dominion vs. (5) North Carolina
7pm- Charlotte vs. (12) Coastal Carolina
7pm- (14) Penn State vs. Temple
7pm- (17) George Mason vs. Wisconsin
7:30pm- (6) Maryland vs. (15) UMBC
7:30pm- (3) Notre Dame vs. Dartmouth
7:30pm- VCU vs. Northeastern
7:30pm- Furman vs. North Florida
8pm- Illinois-Chicago vs. (8) Michigan State
8:30pm- Tulsa vs. (10) Virginia
8:30pm- (9) Louisville vs. Cornell
8:30pm- (19) Creighton vs. Western Illinois
9pm- (11) New Mexico vs. UC Riverside
10pm- UCSB vs. (23) Northwestern
SATURDAY
3pm- Columbia vs. Michigan
7pm- Florida Gulf Coast vs. Akron
7:30pm- St. John’s vs. Syracuse
8pm- Memphis vs. (25) Saint Louis
10pm- (21) Stanford vs. San Jose State
SUNDAY
11:30am- (18) Indiana vs. Dartmouth
1pm- (4) Georgetown vs. Wisconsin
1pm- UAB vs. (10) Virginia (in Tulsa, Okla.)
1pm- Marquette vs. Oregon State
1:30pm- (19) Creighton vs. Cincinnati
2pm- (3) Notre Dame vs. Kentucky
3:30pm- Tulsa vs. CSU Northridge
3:30pm- Furman vs. Georgia State
4pm- (2) Washington vs. St. Mary’s (Ca.)
4pm- San Diego State vs. (20) Denver
7pm- VCU vs. (5) North Carolina
7pm- (16) UC Irvine vs. Clemson
7pm- Wake Forest vs. Cleveland State
8 pm – (11) New Mexico vs. (1) UCLA
MONDAY
8pm- Navy vs. (6) Maryland
TUESDAY
7pm- (25) Saint Louis vs. (9) Louisville
7pm- UNC- Greensboro vs. Charlotte
10pm- (21) Stanford vs. UCSB
Folks, I watched the New Mexico Lobos play UCLA this evening via simulcast. UCLA won the match but the LOBOS where without question the better Team. I love this Kid Nick Miele, he reminds me of a young a young John Terry (Chelsea). He has excellent size, skill, speed and situational awareness. He dominated the UCLA attack as the LOBOS surrendered 2 shots on goal all night (1 a controversial penalty shot) the second a mishandled ball by the Freshman goaltender, the only ball he touched in the second half. Miele did the same to Akron a week ago, helping to shutout Akron. In my opinion, Miele is a top 5 pick and could go number 1 as many Teams need a strong center back.
Let’s go Irvine.
Zot Zot!
Let’s go ‘Eaters!
Zot zot!
My Syracuse Orange should be in the Top 25 after we beat St. John’s on Saturday to go 4-0! Go Cuse!!
St. John’s isn’t that good this year. Syracuse will be in the Top 25 soon enough if they keep on winning.
Lobos upset the Bruins 2-0. Book it.
Which Amercian is playing UCLA? He must be pretty good.