Men
There was some shuffling of the top teams in the Men’s Top 25 Rankings this week, though the players haven’t really
changed. Other big news locally is the appearance of TWO New York area teams in the Top 25.
St. John’s has long been a national soccer power that has turned out top players. Other programs like Hofstra have made strides, but this week it is Iona that appears in the #25 spot nationally. Riding a six game winning streak and an 11-1-0 record that includes wins over Hofstra, Rutgers, and Adelphi, the Gaels only loss is to St. Johns, who stands at #8 despite a loss to #14 South Florida this week. Iona has done all this after losing last year’s MAAC Rookie of the Year in Victor Munoz, who transferred to UCLA. However, this year’s team features sophomore Samuel Adjei, who is one of the best players to come out the Red Bulls' academy program, and junior Ansger Otto, who leads the Gaels with five goals. Coach Barbato has spent time with the Real Madrid youth program and has created a recruiting pipeline of young, talented players. If you have the opportunity, get out to see the Gaels in action.
The other big story this week was the end of #1 UConn’s 11-game win streak. They played Notre Dame to a scoreless tie on Saturday, but they are still one of just three teams that stand undefeated heading into the 8th week of play.
Other games of note this week included Washington’s upset of #18 San Diego State. Michael Harris had two assists in the 3-2 victory. West Virginia topped #19 Georgetown on Uwem Etuk’s goal in the 82nd minute, and Marquette stunned #22 Providence with three goals in the first 60 minutes of play.
The ACC also continues to provide weekly excitement. #23 Virginia beat 2nd-ranked Maryland, 2-1 thanks to one goal and one assist in the second half from Will Bates. North Carolina also beat Clemson 2-0 this week.
Women
On the women’s side, there are five unbeaten teams including #1 Stanford, #2 Oklahoma State, #7 Memphis, #16 Pepperdine, and #22 LaSalle.
The big game of the week was the much anticipated matchup between the Cardinal and previous #2 UCLA. It looked to be a runaway early as Stanford got two quick goals from Chioma Ubogagu in the first 18 minutes, but the Bruins got back in the game less than a minute later when Zakiya Bywaters answered off a cross from Chelsea Cline. However, Stanford would answer with two more first half goals to secure the win in front of nearly 2,000 fans. The lopsided loss dropped UCLA out of the #2 spot for the first time this season. For the Cardinal, the win completed an LA sweep as they defeated USC 3-0 earlier in the week.
Other highlights this week included the South Carolina Gamecocks’ 3-1 victory over #21 Auburn. Gabrielle Gilbert had a goal and an assist for the Cocks. In the ACC, #6 Wake Forest and #11 Maryland played to a 0-0 tie in front of 1,900 people, and #8 Virginia and #10 Florida State played a back and forth thriller that saw the teams exchange seven goals in a 4-3 Cavaliers win. Caroline Miller scored the game-winner (her second of the game) in the 93rd minute off feeds from Lauren Alwine and Amanda Fancher. Finally, #4 Duke defeated #5 Boston College 1-0 on a goal by Kaitlyn Kerr in the 68th minute.