Cup Notes: Freshmen are impact players

Thanks in part to the rise in youth development academies, the skill level and savvy of collegiate freshmen soccer players has never been better.

There will be some impact freshmen on the field Friday at the NCAA Men’s College Cup at UCSB’s Harder Stadium.

At the top of the list is Michigan’s Soony Saad. Last year’s Gatorade National Player of the Year out of Dearborn, Mich. Saad carried his goal-scoring prowess from high school to the Division 1 level. He’s tallied 19 goals, ranking him second in the nation and helping Michigan advance to its first College Cup. In his senior year in high school, he poured in a staggering 76 goals.

“He’s a player that has a natural ability for scoring goals, and not any specific type of goal,” said Michigan coach Steve Burns. “There’s scouting reports out there and anywhere from 35 yards and in is a real threat for the kid.”

Akron lost goal-scoring star Teal Bunbury from last year’s NCAA runner-up team to the MLS, but the Zips haven’t missed a beat with freshman Darren Mattocks from Jamaica. He’s scored 18 goals this season, ranking him third in the country.

The Zips also have another freshman sensation in midfielder Perry Kitchen. He’s tough, good on the ball and a finisher. He scored a great goal in the quarterfinals against Cal, juggling the ball at the top of box and blasting a volley past the goalkeeper.

At Louisville, Dylan Mares stepped onto the field and started making things happen for the Cardinals. He’s scored eight goals, including three game-winners and has three assists.

Off the bench, freshman Aaron Horton delivered one of the biggest goals and most amazing goals in Louisville history. In the waning moments of regulation time, Horton dribbled through a cluster of UCLA defenders and scored the game-winner to put the Cardinals in their first College Cup.

At North Carolina, speedy forward Robbie Lovejoy has emerged as a dangerous threat.

AMONG THE ELITE: The finalists for the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy, the college soccer player of the year award, will be announced on Friday. Of the 15 semifinalists, four are playing in the College Cup. They are midfielder Michael Farfan of North Carolina, defender Kofi Sarkodie of Akron, forward Darlington Nagbe of Akron and forward Colin Rolfe of Louisville.

Former Akron stars Teal Bunbury and Steve Zakuani won the last two Hermann Trophies.

NATIONAL TEAM DUTIES: Michigan freshman forward Soony Saad is one of four players competing in the College Cup who have been invited to the U.S. Under-20 national team camp in Florida right after Sunday’s national championship game at UCSB’s Harder Stadium.

Saad, who ranks second in the nation in goals with 19, will be joined by freshman midfielder-defender Perry Kitchen and sophomore defender Zarek Valentin of Akron and freshman forward Dylan Mares of Louisville.

Head coach Thomas Rongen invited a total of 10 collegiate players to join 10 professionals in the Dec. 12-19 camp. The team will play two friendlies against Canada on Dec. 16 and 18.

Here is the U.S. camp roster:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Zac MacMath (Univ. of Maryland; St. Petersburg, Fla.), Kevin Piedrahita (America de Cali; Queens, N.Y.)?DEFENDERS (8): Gale Agbossoumonde (no club; Syracuse, N.Y.), Greg Garza (Estoril Praia; Grapevine, Texas), Sebastien Ibeagha (Duke Univ.; Missouri City, Texas), Perry Kitchen (Univ. of Akron; Indianapolis, Ind.), Eric Schoenle (West Virginia Univ.; Yardley, Pa.), Ben Sweat (Univ. of South Florida; Palm Harbor, Fla.), Zarek Valentin (Univ. of Akron; Lancaster, Pa.), Korey Veeder (no club; St. Petersburg, Fla.).

MIDFIELDERS (8): Steven Evans (Univ. of Portland; Troutdale, Ore.), Joshua Gatt (SCR Altach; Plymouth, Mich.), Joe Gyau (Hoffenheim; Silver Spring, Md.), Alex Molano (Dinamo Zagreb; Grapevine, Texas), Amobi Okugo (Philadelphia Union; Sacramento, Calif.), Dillon Powers (Univ. of Notre Dame; Plano, Texas), Kelyn Rowe (UCLA; Newport Beach, Calif.), Conor Shanosky (D.C. United; Sterling, Va.)

FORWARDS (6): Conor Doyle (Derby County FC; McKinney, Texas), Dylan Mares (Univ. of Louisville; Zionsville, Ind.), Jack McInerney (Philadelphia Union; Alpharetta, Ga.), Adrian Ruelas (Santos; Fontana, Calif.), Soony Saad (Univ. of Michigan; Dearborn, Mich.), Omar Salgado (no club; El Paso, Texas)

FAN SUPPORT: Like UCSB’s Gaucho Locos, Akron and Michigan have passionate student fan groups with nicknames.

Michigan’s group is called the Ultras.

“Against Michigan State, we probably had around 1,000 in the student section and it was awesome,” midfielder Alex Wood said. “The best thing is they go from minute one to minute 90 and they don’t stop. It’s been a great addition to our program and they’ve definitely been a major player in how we’ve done this year.”

At Akron, it’s the AK Rowdies.

On their Web site, they have a song created for the College Cup.

“E I E I E I O
To the College Cup we go
And when we win the tournament
this is what we’ll sing
WE ARE AKRON!
WE ARE AKRON!
WE ARE SOCCER KINGS!”

As a coach of non-BCS school like UCSB, Porter was asked if he sought the support of the tortilla-throwing Gaucho Locos this weekend.

“I will certainly adopt the Gaucho Locos and I will be happy to buy tortillas for all of them if they band together with our AK Rowdies this weekend.”

The Rowdies who couldn’t make the trip to Santa Barbara have been reaching out to the Locos via their fan message boards. On ZipsNation.org, Rowdies have pledged to buy beer for the Locos if they go out a cheer for their team

Said one fan from Cleveland: “Looks like we’re the popular choice of the UCSB fan base right now. In a gesture of good will I’d be willing to pay a few bucks to buy these fans some beer in exchange for some temporary loyalty. We are too close to a championship not to take advantage of every given opportunity!”

CHAMPIONS DINNER: Arch Rock Fish Restaurant will host the NCAA College Cup champion for dinner on Sunday.

Cobi Jones, the most capped U.S. national team player in history (164 caps), is part owner of the seafood restaurant, located at 608 Anacapa in downtown Santa Barbara.

Jones, who played in three World Cups, was a part of a national championship team at UCLA in 1990.