Will next weekend’s NCAA Men’s College Cup at UCSB’s Harder Stadium have a representative from the home state?
Or, will college soccer’s final four turn into an Akron reunion?
Or, will ACC teams again show their dominance?
Or, will first timers get the chance to play on the big stage?
The questions all will be answered by Saturday night when the Elite Eight matches of the NCAA Tournament are completed and the four winners start making their travel plans for Santa Barbara.
Except for No. 10 Michigan, the other quarterfinalists are seeded are among the top eight teams in the 48-team tournament field.
The matchups for the weekend are: No. 5 SMU (16-2-1) at No. 4 North Carolina (16-3-3) on Friday; No. 8 UCLA (16-4-1) at No. 1 Louisville (18-0-3); No. 6 Cal (14-2-3) at No. 3 Akron (20-1-1) and No. 10 Michigan (16-4-3) at No. 2 Maryland (19-2-1) on Saturday.
SMU at North Carolina: SMU, the Conference USA regular season champion, is the Pony Express on the soccer field. The Mustangs, led by midfielders Arthur Ivo and Josue Soto, stretch defenses with their rapid ball movement. North Carolina, the ACC regular season champion, has more big-game experience. The Tar Heels have been to the last two final fours, losing in the semifinals in 2009 and the final in 2008. Midfielder Michael Farfan, a San Diego native, is determined to come back to California and show his stuff.
UCLA at Louisville: The young and talented Bruins run up against a veteran Cardinals squad that has stirred up excitement in the Bluegrass State. They drew more than 5,000 fans for their win over Ohio State. Coach Ken Lolla has brought the success he created at Akron to Louisville. His team is solid all over the field. The key for the Big East champions is containing UCLA’s fleet-footed midfield. The Bruins, who were home for their first two playoff matches, would love to come back to Southern California and play for their fifth national title.
Cal at Akron: Do you think UCSB fans would like to see Cal play for a national title in their stadium? Mmmm. ESPN might have to mute the audio if the Bears get here. Cal, which beat UCSB in a controversial second-round match, will have their gloved-hands full as they play in 30-degree weather against a seasoned, talented Zips team that has a 38-game home unbeaten streak, a midfielder with the longest name in college soccer (Anthony Ampaipitakwong) and hunger to win the national title. Ranked No. 1 last year, they lost in the final to Virginia in a penalty-kick shootout.
Michigan at Maryland: The Terrapins are riding high with back-to-back playoff shutouts (4-0 over Penn, 1-0 over Penn State) and a 15-game winning streak. They have team leadership with players like forward Jason Herrick and midfielder Matt Kassel, and big-game experience: two national titles in the last five years. The key for them against Michigan is containing the Wolverines’ potent attack (49 goals). Freshman Soony Saad leads the Wolverines with 19 goals and runningmate Justin Meram has 15 goals.
So, who’s in your final four?
Here are my picks to win this weekend and play Dec. 10 on Meredith Field at Harder Stadium.
North Carolina, Louisville, Akron and Michigan.
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Way to hit all 4 picks Barry!