Nov. 28, 2007

No. 19 Maryland Advances To Sweet Sixteen On Penalty Kicks; Hosts Bradley Saturday Night

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - After a scoreless 110 minutes of action at Ludwig Field, the No. 19 Maryland men's soccer team and Loyola had to go to a penalty shootout to determine which side would advance to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. Freshman keeper Thorne Holder, who did not play in the entire game, made two saves and sophomore Jeremy Hall converted the winning kick as the Terrapins advanced past Loyola in the shootout, 4-2, and into the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Terps advance to play Bradley on Saturday, December 1 at 6:00 p.m. at Ludwig Field. The Braves tied Indiana, 1-1 in Bloomington, and advanced on penalty kicks, 5-4.

"It feels great to advance," head coach Sasho Cirovski said. "It was an extremely well played game. I thought the spirit of the game was exemplary and Loyola should be congratulated for how they played and the number of people they brought. It made for a great college soccer atmosphere."

Wake Forest Holds off Furman 1-0 in NCAA Second Round

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Julian Valentin's header on a free kick by Sam Cronin propelled Wake Forest to a 1-0 victory over visiting Furman in a second round match in the NCAA men's soccer tournament Wednesday night at Spry Stadium.

The win moves the Demon Deacons into the NCAA Tournament third round. Wake Forest will be at home on Sunday, Dec. 2 with a 1 p.m. match against West Virginia. WVU advanced after defeating Virginia 1-0 on Wednesday night.

The win also snapped a two-game losing streak against Furman in NCAA tournament play.

At the 22:47 mark of the first half, a Furman penalty set-up Cronin about 40 yards from the Furman goal. His kick came down at the center of the six-yard box where Valentin waited and timed his leap perfectly to meet the ball. His header flew by Furman goalkeeper Bryan Amos and landed in the right side of the net to give the Demon Deacons the lone goal of the match.

Hokies Down California, 3-2; Advance in NCAA Championship

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Sophomore midfielder Charlie Campbell's career-high performance of two goals propelled the 11th-seeded Virginia Tech men's soccer team to its first victory in the NCAA Championship with a 3-2 win over California on Wednesday at Tech Soccer Stadium.

Tech (12-3-5) advanced in the NCAA Championship for the second time in school history despite being slightly out-shot by the Golden Bears, 13-10. Tech tied with Clemson in 2003, winning in penalty kicks to advance.

"I'm very happy with the result," head coach Oliver Weiss said. "We worked hard to get to this point to receive a home game. I think it may have been a difference tonight to play in front of our home crowd. In the end, it was a deserving 3-2 victory with [the match] getting tight at the end."

Boston College Falls To Massachusetts, 2-1, In NCAA Tournament Play

NEWTON, Mass. - Boston College junior Alejandro Bedoya scored the game's first goal - his eighth of the season - at 17:14, before Massachusetts responded with two goals in game's final 45 minutes to lead the visiting Minutemen to a 2-1 NCAA Tournament victory over top-seeded Boston College before 1,882 fans at Newton Campus Soccer Field.

Sophomore Bryan Hogan and junior Mike DeSantis each scored second-half goals to lift Massachusetts, which will face Central Connecticut State in third-round play, to the win.

Both second-half goals were scored off corner kicks, of which the visiting Minutemen recorded an 11-4 advantage.

Hogan tied the score with a header off Ben Arikian's corner kick at 50:15 and DeSantis netted the game-winning goal at 84:43, redirecting Doug Rappaport's corner kick to the far post.

No. 25 Virginia Falls 1-0 At No. 18 West Virginia In NCAA Second Round

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. - Mountaineer midfielder Dan Stratford scored on a perfectly placed free kick in the 50th minute and No. 18 West Virginia defeated No. 25 Virginia, 1-0, Wednesday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Virginia (12-8-2) concludes its season after playing in its 27th-consecutive NCAA Tournament, which is the longest active streak in the nation. West Virginia (14-5-2) advances to the third round and will face either Wake Forest or Furman.

"This senior class should be remembered for winning an ACC Championship, advancing to a College Cup and setting new attendance records in college soccer," head coach George Gelnovatch said. "We will miss them and I was proud of our effort tonight."