Photo by Mark Jordan/University of Delaware Athletics

By AARON CRANFORD

The Blue Hens are undefeated but untested.

A relatively simple schedule against unranked opponents has seen the SBI No. 20 Delaware surge to a perfect 6-0 record. Five of those six wins were at home, but Delaware now faces a tough weekend, as they travel across the country to play No. 15 California on Friday and No. 18 Stanford on Sunday.

California and Stanford are both 3-1 this year, and both of their losses came against respectable foes in their first match this season. SBI No. 1 North Carolina defeated California, and No. 10 Creighton topped Stanford.

The Blue Hens are being led by junior Joe Dipre, who scored two game-winning goals last week and was voted Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week for his performances.

In Friday’s match, the Golden Bears will want help from playmaker Connor Hallisey, who has five assists this season, to end the Blue Hens unbeaten streak. Stanford, in the middle of a five-game home stretch, will look to continue its winning ways.

The weekend’s biggest clash will be played in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Sunday (12 p.m. ESPNU). The No. 12 Virginia Cavaliers, who are 4-1, will host No. 7 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish enjoyed a 1-0 win against No. 24 Syracuse in their first ACC conference match of the season on Saturday.

The Cavaliers’ Sam Hayward has scored three game-winning goals this season, his latest giving Virginia the 1-0 victory over VCU on Monday. The reigning national champions, who are 3-1-1, seemingly have a tough opening ACC schedule, as they play Virginia and North Carolina and recently played Syracuse. The Fighting Irish will want to avenge their 0-2 defeat to Virginia last year.

Meanwhile, North Carolina and Duke meet in Durham, North Carolina, on Friday (7 p.m. ESPN3). These archrivals seemingly never decide a winner in 90 minutes of play, as the previous three regular season matches were decided or ended in overtime.

Tar Heels senior Andy Craven is tied for 4th in the nation with four goals this season, and he will be looking to add another against a Blue Devils side that gave up 5 goals to Louisville on Saturday.

Another ACC match is featured this week, as Wake Forest plays Virginia Tech on Friday (8:30 p.m. ESPN3). After starting the year with two losses to California and No. 5 UCLA, the Demon Deacons have won three straight, with one of the victories coming against a UConn side that was highly rated at the beginning of the season.

The Demon Deacons will want to continue their unbeaten streak against 3-3 Virginia Tech, a team that has not beaten an opponent with a winning record this season.

Here is a rundown of this weekend’s top college matches:

THIS WEEKEND’S COLLEGE SOCCER SCHEDULE

FRIDAY

4 p.m. — Seton Hall vs. (3) George Mason

6:30 p.m. — (15) California vs. (20) Delaware

7 p.m. — Duke vs. (1) North Carolina

7 p.m. — Boston College vs. Louisville

7 p.m. — Kentucky vs. (13) Furman

7 p.m. — (18) Stanford vs. SIUE

7:30 p.m. — Maryland vs. (11)Michigan State

8:30 p.m. — Virginia Tech vs. Wake Forest

9 p.m. — (9)New Mexico vs. Drexel

Saturday

4 p.m. — Gonzaga vs. UNLV

7 p.m. — Clemson vs. (24) Syracuse

7 p.m. — Rutgers vs. (16) Indiana

7 p.m. — (14) Coastal Carolina vs. UAB

7 p.m. — UMBC vs. Loyola (MD)

7 p.m. — (10) Creighton vs. (23) Saint Louis

8 p.m. — Northern Illinois vs. (18) Marquette

10 p.m. — UC Santa Barbara vs. (5) UCLA

Sunday

12 p.m. — (12) Virginia vs. (7) Notre Dame

12 p.m. — LIU Brooklyn vs. George Mason

1 p.m. — (8) Penn State vs. (25) Ohio State

1 p.m. — (18) Stanford vs. (20) Delaware

4 p.m. — (15) California vs. SIUE

7 p.m. — (6) Georgetown vs. William & Mary

7:30 p.m. — South Florida vs. (2) Washington

8 p.m. — (9) New Mexico vs. VCU

8 p.m. — (4) UC Irvine vs. San Diego

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Looking forward to any matches in particular? Think Delaware can keep winning against stiffer competition?

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