NCAA SOCCER
Soccer Cultures Certain to Clash in 2014 College Cup
Tonight's College Cup semifinals feature perennial power Virginia against unheralded Maryland-Baltimore County and a loaded UCLA team that will take on upstart Providence.
CARY, N.C.—This year’s College Cup, NCAA soccer’s final four, features a pair of well-established elite programs with the championship bloodlines to justify their reputations and a pair of hardscrabble outsiders with little in the way of an established pedigree.
Representing college soccer’s establishment are Virginia and UCLA, programs that have combined to win 10 national titles and play in 26 final fours while sending myriad players on to pro soccer and the U.S. national team. Representing the new money at the College Cup are Providence and Maryland-Baltimore County, which entered the tournament as the longest of longshots.
In the first game, No. 16 seed Virginia takes on UMBC (5pm ET, ESPNU) while No. 2 UCLA faces No. 11 Providence (7:30pm ET, ESPNU) in a geographic matchup that should feel familiar to anyone who watched Sunday’s MLS Cup. (Adding to that particular subplot, Providence has a couple of starters from the New England Revolution academy while several L.A. Galaxy products feature for UCLA.) The winners will play for the national title Sunday.
The blue bloods even have legacy coaches in UCLA’s Jorge Salcedo and Virginia’s George Gelnovatch, both of whom played at their respective schools and inherited established programs that won multiple titles under Sigi Schmid and Bruce Arena before both left for MLS.
While Gelnovatch guided the Cavaliers to a national title in 2009 and is in his fifth College Cup, Salcedo has yet to win it all and the pressure to do so grows louder every year because of UCLA’s history and natural recruiting base in Southern California. So while it’s easy to grin when your ship comes in, it brings a lot of pressure, too.
That’s not the case for UMBC, a college still trying to shake its commuter school local image and build a competitive soccer program made up mostly of local kids who were overlooked by bigger powers or transferred from them in search of a better playing situation.
“We have a group of kids who aren’t given anything, so when we go to play schools with million dollar facilities we respect our opponents, but we aren’t intimidated and we thrive in those atmospheres,” said UMBC’s veteran coach Pete Caringi, a Baltimore native whose team fits his city’s image.
“Our guys are committed to proving themselves every day, and when they get a chance to play up against the more recognized schools they relish the opportunity," he added. "We have a Baltimore chip on our shoulders where we are out there every game to prove how good we really are.”
UMBC’s tournament run suggests as much, and with wins at Wake Forest, Maryland, Louisville, and Creighton, you’d be hard pressed to find a more impressive collection of road wins, at more impressive facilities, in college soccer history. (This century alone, those four schools have combined to play in 16 College Cups, six finals, and win three national titles.) But while the media has pegged them as underdogs, the Retrievers (14-5-4) don’t notice.
“We’ve never felt like we’re in over our head, or accomplished something more than we have,” said Caringi, whose team has won the America East conference three straight years and last season lost only once before falling to Connecticut on penalty kicks in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“Our kids just look at their success and say, 'Ok, who’s next?’ No doubt, every place we’ve had to play people talk about what a daunting task it is, but that hasn’t been our attitude. Still, I’m sure we’ll look back on it when it’s all said and done and think, ‘What a run!’ For now we still have games to play.”
All-American central defender Oumar Ballo is one of the key reasons UMBC is still playing, hasn’t conceded a goal in the NCAA tournament, and is the first team in NCAA Tournament history to advance in four straight road games. A Baltimore native and highly regarded MLS prospect, Caringi says Ballo is already playing like a pro.
“He’ll play in MLS, and if he plays like he has the last two months, he’s the best back in the draft.”
Virginia made it to the final four last year with just one senior starter and figured to be a championship contender this season because of its returning talent. But one starter, Jordan Allen, turned pro early; another, Zach Carroll, transferred to Michigan State; and a third, Marcus Salandy-Dafour, missed the entire season because of an injury. On top of that, key performers like Darius Madison, Riggs Lennon, and Eric Bird have missed parts of the season, forcing the Cavaliers (12-6-3) to win with grit as much as talent.
“We may not be the most talented College Cup group that I’ve had,” Gelnovatch told the Charlottesville Daily Progress, “but in terms of the will-to-win type of thing, this is one of my best. Sometimes, that goes a long way.”
That was on display in the quarterfinals against Georgetown when the Cavaliers needed a 90th-minute goal to force a 1-1 tie before advancing in penalty kicks.
Virginia has played its last two games without Bird, an All-American midfielder who was nursing a groin injury. But he has trained this week and should give the team's attack a much-needed boost against Ballo and the Retrievers' tight defense.
Because of all the northern transplants in this area, the locals here joke that Cary stands for “concentrated area of relocated Yankees,” so the Friars (16-4-2), with six starters from Massachusetts and Rhode Island, should feel right at home.
Under third-year head coach Craig Stewart, the Friars made the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament last year, matching the best finish in program history and setting the stage for this year’s run. Providence won the championship of the Big East, one of the power conferences in college soccer.
“A lot of people may not know them but they’re a really good team, as we learned,” said Michigan State coach Damon Rensing, whose team lost to the Friars 3-2 in a quarterfinal. “They’re big, they counter (attack) really quickly, and they hit great set pieces. The counter and the set piece make them very dangerous and they can hurt you. They also bring their leading scorer (redshirt senior Markus Naglestad, with 10 goals) off the bench, which shows you their depth.”
The pulse of the Friars are central midfielders Dominik and Fabio Machado (no relation), both products of the New England Revolution academy. Domink, a sophomore holding midfielder, has scored in each of Providence’s three NCAA Tournament wins while Fabo, a senior, leads the team with eight assists. Besides Naglestad, the team's favorite target is Mac Steeves, a six-foot-three forward who has nine goals on the season and registered two assists against Michigan State.
“We kind of just look at it as another game. We’ll get really excited if we go to the final and win it all, but for now, we’re just looking at this as a business trip,” Fabio Machado told the Providence Journal. “We have a great team and we’re committed to winning [Friday] and one more game after that. But it’s going to be tough.”
After eliminating North Carolina on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals, UCLA’s players admitted to not knowing much about Providence. “I know they have to be really good to get this far and I know they won the Big East and that’s a good conference, so we better be ready,” said sophomore defender Michael Amick.
Because of a roster loaded with MLS prospects, the Bruins (13-4-5) entered this season as the favorites but the team has dealt with its fair share of injuries. Starting defender Nathan Smith was lost for the season with a broken leg in late October and freshman forward Seye Adekoya was leading the team in goals scored when he suffered the same injury last month.
Fortunately, that was just when freshman Abu Danladi began to get healthy after missing most of the early part of the season. Danladi has been electric in the NCAA Tournament, and while he’s played just 10 games this season, he has five goals and five assists in that span. He has shown enough skill and speed that he could be the top pick in next month’s SuperDraft—if MLS can get him inked.
If Major League Soccer doesn't sign Danladi, the top pick could be Bruins senior Leo Stolz, a German playmaker who leads the team with nine goals and six assists. Stolz was a finalist for the Hermann Trophy last year and is a strong candidate to win it this year.
“At this program, a national title is the expectation every year,” said fifth-year senior goalkeeper Earl Edwards, who made a pair of saves when UCLA defeated the Tar Heels in penalties. “That’s what we shoot for and that’s what our fans, our alumni that support us, expect. Thankfully we’ve gotten the chance to keep playing and deliver that.”
Brooke Tunstall is an American Soccer Now contributing editor and ASN 100 panelist. You can follow him on Twitter.
Robert L Kehoe III (@robertkehoe3) played soccer and studied politics at Wheaton College
“We have a group of kids who aren’t given anything, so when we go to play schools with million dollar facilities we respect our opponents, but we aren’t intimidated and we thrive in those atmospheres,” said UMBC’s veteran coach Pete Caringi, a Baltimore native whose team fits his city’s image.
“Our guys are committed to proving themselves every day, and when they get a chance to play up against the more recognized schools they relish the opportunity," he added. "We have a Baltimore chip on our shoulders where we are out there every game to prove how good we really are.”
UMBC’s tournament run suggests as much, and with wins at Wake Forest, Maryland, Louisville, and Creighton, you’d be hard pressed to find a more impressive collection of road wins, at more impressive facilities, in college soccer history. (This century alone, those four schools have combined to play in 16 College Cups, six finals, and win three national titles.) But while the media has pegged them as underdogs, the Retrievers (14-5-4) don’t notice.
“We’ve never felt like we’re in over our head, or accomplished something more than we have,” said Caringi, whose team has won the America East conference three straight years and last season lost only once before falling to Connecticut on penalty kicks in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“Our kids just look at their success and say, 'Ok, who’s next?’ No doubt, every place we’ve had to play people talk about what a daunting task it is, but that hasn’t been our attitude. Still, I’m sure we’ll look back on it when it’s all said and done and think, ‘What a run!’ For now we still have games to play.”
All-American central defender Oumar Ballo is one of the key reasons UMBC is still playing, hasn’t conceded a goal in the NCAA tournament, and is the first team in NCAA Tournament history to advance in four straight road games. A Baltimore native and highly regarded MLS prospect, Caringi says Ballo is already playing like a pro.
“He’ll play in MLS, and if he plays like he has the last two months, he’s the best back in the draft.”
Virginia made it to the final four last year with just one senior starter and figured to be a championship contender this season because of its returning talent. But one starter, Jordan Allen, turned pro early; another, Zach Carroll, transferred to Michigan State; and a third, Marcus Salandy-Dafour, missed the entire season because of an injury. On top of that, key performers like Darius Madison, Riggs Lennon, and Eric Bird have missed parts of the season, forcing the Cavaliers (12-6-3) to win with grit as much as talent.
“We may not be the most talented College Cup group that I’ve had,” Gelnovatch told the Charlottesville Daily Progress, “but in terms of the will-to-win type of thing, this is one of my best. Sometimes, that goes a long way.”
That was on display in the quarterfinals against Georgetown when the Cavaliers needed a 90th-minute goal to force a 1-1 tie before advancing in penalty kicks.
Virginia has played its last two games without Bird, an All-American midfielder who was nursing a groin injury. But he has trained this week and should give the team's attack a much-needed boost against Ballo and the Retrievers' tight defense.
Because of all the northern transplants in this area, the locals here joke that Cary stands for “concentrated area of relocated Yankees,” so the Friars (16-4-2), with six starters from Massachusetts and Rhode Island, should feel right at home.
Under third-year head coach Craig Stewart, the Friars made the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament last year, matching the best finish in program history and setting the stage for this year’s run. Providence won the championship of the Big East, one of the power conferences in college soccer.
“A lot of people may not know them but they’re a really good team, as we learned,” said Michigan State coach Damon Rensing, whose team lost to the Friars 3-2 in a quarterfinal. “They’re big, they counter (attack) really quickly, and they hit great set pieces. The counter and the set piece make them very dangerous and they can hurt you. They also bring their leading scorer (redshirt senior Markus Naglestad, with 10 goals) off the bench, which shows you their depth.”
The pulse of the Friars are central midfielders Dominik and Fabio Machado (no relation), both products of the New England Revolution academy. Domink, a sophomore holding midfielder, has scored in each of Providence’s three NCAA Tournament wins while Fabo, a senior, leads the team with eight assists. Besides Naglestad, the team's favorite target is Mac Steeves, a six-foot-three forward who has nine goals on the season and registered two assists against Michigan State.
“We kind of just look at it as another game. We’ll get really excited if we go to the final and win it all, but for now, we’re just looking at this as a business trip,” Fabio Machado told the Providence Journal. “We have a great team and we’re committed to winning [Friday] and one more game after that. But it’s going to be tough.”
After eliminating North Carolina on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals, UCLA’s players admitted to not knowing much about Providence. “I know they have to be really good to get this far and I know they won the Big East and that’s a good conference, so we better be ready,” said sophomore defender Michael Amick.
Because of a roster loaded with MLS prospects, the Bruins (13-4-5) entered this season as the favorites but the team has dealt with its fair share of injuries. Starting defender Nathan Smith was lost for the season with a broken leg in late October and freshman forward Seye Adekoya was leading the team in goals scored when he suffered the same injury last month.
Fortunately, that was just when freshman Abu Danladi began to get healthy after missing most of the early part of the season. Danladi has been electric in the NCAA Tournament, and while he’s played just 10 games this season, he has five goals and five assists in that span. He has shown enough skill and speed that he could be the top pick in next month’s SuperDraft—if MLS can get him inked.
If Major League Soccer doesn't sign Danladi, the top pick could be Bruins senior Leo Stolz, a German playmaker who leads the team with nine goals and six assists. Stolz was a finalist for the Hermann Trophy last year and is a strong candidate to win it this year.
“At this program, a national title is the expectation every year,” said fifth-year senior goalkeeper Earl Edwards, who made a pair of saves when UCLA defeated the Tar Heels in penalties. “That’s what we shoot for and that’s what our fans, our alumni that support us, expect. Thankfully we’ve gotten the chance to keep playing and deliver that.”
Brooke Tunstall is an American Soccer Now contributing editor and ASN 100 panelist. You can follow him on Twitter.
Robert L Kehoe III (@robertkehoe3) played soccer and studied politics at Wheaton College
