From College to the Pros - The US soccer ladder

Friday, September 28, 2007

MLS Playoffs Are Hotting Up...

Ok, maybe hotting isn't a word but I seem to remember reading it in the English press in reference to football matches. Anyone, Anyone? Once again, I'm diverging from the typical formula to give you my thoughts on MLS in more general terms.

Did you see that LA is on a two game winning streak? They're back above RSL by 1 point with a game in hand. That puts them 5 points behind Colorado. LA couldn't be inserting themselves into the playoff hunt, could they? Well, they have the game in hand over Colorado too, so assuming they win that game they're all of a sudden 2 points back of the Rapids and 5 back of current 8th place team, Chicago. (Remember I picked Chicago a long time ago for the 8th and final spot much to the chiding of the From The Pitch crew.)

Colorado wishes they closed the door on LA earlier this month, don't they? Had the Rapids won that game they would be tied with Chicago for the last spot and LA wouldn't be nipping at their heels. Well, the Rapids didn't and the playoffs are now a four team race. Had the Rapids beat RSL last weekend the playoffs wouldn't be a four team race.

Adding to the excitement is this weekend's schedule. Here is what the playoff contenders are up to:
- Colorado faces the second best team in the east, New England, in New England.
- Chicago travels to LA Western Conference leading Chivas USA.
- LA goes to Columbus to see if they can continue their winning ways on the road.

Should LA win they put the hurt on Columbus' playoff hopes and potentially draw closer to the Rapids. As a Rapids fan who do I root for in that game? LA wins we can gain on Columbus with any road points. LA lose and Columbus pulls away from the mighty 'Pids. I guess I want them to draw.

Another story in the playoff race, can Chicago catch Kansas City. In a home match KC should have won, they lost to LA kicking off all of this discussion. KC is now only 4 points up on Chicago and the Fire have a game in hand so that could become 1 point. KC only has three games left so all results are important for them going forward. The Wizards don't have an easy remaining schedule hosting DC, going to New York and going to Dallas. There are three games they could easily lose, allowing Chicago, Colorado, Columbus and even LA to pass them potentially.

No matter what you think of MLS, you have to admit there is some excitement around this latest incarnation of the playoff system. I am an advocate of six teams making the big dance, but that doesn't seem likely. The league should continue with this winning combination of making the last 4 playoff spots not conference based.

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Monday, September 24, 2007

How About This For Deflating...

Imagine your a Princeton player. In the closing minutes of the second half you tie up the match 3-3 against a regional rival Seton Hall. Yes! You get set for the kick off thinking about how you're going to take the lead with only 5 minutes left when all of a sudden a player on the other team decides to take a touch and blast a shot from midfield. "What an idiot..." Right?

Wrong. Thanks for Ives Galarcep for posting the following:



The video sucks but you'll get the idea.

The ballsy player who took the shot? Eliseo Giusfredi. Check my last post. Ives thinks he'll go in the top two overall in the SuperDraft assuming he leaves early and MLS gives him a Generation Adidas contract. I didn't have him being selected because at the time I felt like many MLS coaches wouldn't take a chance on a Seton Hall product at that high a spot. If he can continue to get press and do things like scoring midfield goals, he could move into the first round. Giusfredi grew up in the River Plate youth system so he's had some good coaching and knows how the game is played.

He seems like a superior pick to some American kid who was coached by an untrained coach from a young age, right? Face it folks, the American youth development system has a long way to go and I'd rather gamble on a River product then a local one. Not sure what his citizenship issues are, but MLS should seriously consider Giusfredi for a GA spot. He's already said he'll leave college after his junior year.

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Friday, September 21, 2007

2008 MLS SuperDraft...

Folks, I wasn't even thinking about the above event until the all knowing author of Climbing The Ladder, scaryice, put together this recent tome. That is right folks, the seasons isn't even over and he's taking a guess at the SuperDraft order! Sure, a lot is subject to change but we do know San Jose will be #1 until they trade it away for Landon Donovan.

Here is scaryice's first round:
Round One

1 San Jose Earthquakes
2 Los Angeles Galaxy
3 Real Salt Lake
4 FC Dallas
5 Columbus Crew
6 Colorado Rapids
7 Chicago Fire
8 Kansas City Wizards
9 Red Bull New York
10 FC Dallas
11 Toronto FC
12 New England Revolution
13 Real Salt Lake
14 Toronto FC

He's taken into account all of the trades made involving draft picks and any of the picks not traded are based on current standings and the better team advancing in potential playoff matchups. So, until the dust settles on the playoff race this is a good stab in the dark.

I figured I'd take this the next step. Let's put some names and faces with potential selections. At this point getting the right players in their respective spots will be tough, so I'll start with 20 players who I think will go first round, in no particular order:

Seniors:
Pat Phelan - D - Wake Forest
Kevin Forrest - F - Washington
Michael Videira - M - Duke
Stephen King - M - Maryland
Joseph Lapira - F - Notre Dame
Ryan Maduro - M - Providence
Rob Valentino - D - San Francisco
Peter Lowry - M - Santa Clara
Michael Zaher - D - UCLA
Julius James - D - UConn
Andy Iro - D - UCSB
Andre Sherard - D - UNC

Remember, underclassmen will be enticed with Generation Adidas contracts. Here I'm picking those who have performed well and should get a look.

Juniors:
Mike Grella - F - Duke
Eliseo Giusfredi - F - Seton Hall (Ives reports he's going pro whether MLS wants him or not.)
Bruno Guarda - M - SMU (Brazilian and may not be offered a GA contract)
O’Brian White - F - UConn (Again, not sure if MLS will offer GA contracts to non-American born players but he is Canadian so Toronto may be able to get something done.)
Jordan Graye - F - UNC
Marcus Tracy - F - Wake Forest

Sophomores/Freshman:
Christopher Schuler - D - Creighton (Great size at 6-4, 200 lbs. Raw and talented. In a physical league he could grow up quickly.)
Corben Bone - M - Wake Forest (The kid is tearing it up as a freshman, leading the #1 team in the country in scoring. Maybe he won't want to wait three more years.)

Like I said above, picking the GA players at this point in the college season is tough business. But what fun is it if I don't go out on a limb a little.

In the 2007 draft we saw more seniors going in the first round which means to me coaches are not just gambling on GA to save the roster room. The Colorado coaching staff has told me before they need players who can help the team in their first two years. The young guys need to be ready to grow up quickly because if they don't contribute to the team within the first two years of their GA contract they could be looking for USL-1 work by their third professional season.

So, who will take which player??? Great question. Let's take a shot at it.

1 San Jose Earthquakes - If the Earthquakes draft, and I do think that is a big if as LA needs to deal Landycakes or trade for a second DP slot, I think they'll take Mike Grella out of Duke. Right now he continues to show a good understanding of the game and how to attack out of the deep forward spot.

2 Los Angeles Galaxy - Can you imagine if LA really gets the first two draft picks? They need help all over the field and I think they'll go for a solid defender like Andy Iro out of UCSB. His size (6-5, 220) will translate well to MLS and he grew up playing in England. I believe he'll be a youth international.

3 Real Salt Lake - A fourth season picking early draft picks. The difference, John Ellinger won't be there to mess things up. Kreis is a forward and will be able to spot attacking talent. I'll suggest Marcus Tracy here.

4 FC Dallas - Dallas doesn't need instant impact and their attack continues to be stacked. Why not take a young project from Texas like Corben Bone? Done.

5 Columbus Crew - What do the Crew need to put the pieces together? A healthy Chad Marshall would certainly help the back line, but lets add Pat Phelan to back him up.

6 Colorado Rapids - Ahh, my boys in the 6th position for a second year in a row. While my team is silly enough to think Kyle Beckerman is expendable, I think Stephen King will be able to learn from Pablo and help give the Rapids some depth in their thinest position after the loss of Wasson and Becks.

7 Chicago Fire - Chicago got some attacking punch with Blanco and Wanchope. Christopher Schuler should be able to learn something from a good coach and will be able to live with mom and dad. Who doesn't want a 6-4 center back?

8 Kansas City Wizards - Joseph Lapira will be looked to as someone to replace EJ who finally leaves for Europe in the winter break.

9 Red Bull New York - Attacking is solid for RBNY with Altidore and Angel. Let's go for an athletic back in Julius James. Hopefully Arena likes him more then Wynne.

10 FC Dallas - Another first rounder in Dallas. Good for them. Morrow can continue to build for the future with Jordan Graye.

11 Toronto FC - Needs help scoring goals and O’Brian White is from Canada. Looks good to me.

12 New England Revolution - NE knows how to pick and they'll look for some local talent in Ryan Maduro.

13 Real Salt Lake - Again, Kreis needs goals. Kevin Forrest.

14 Toronto FC - TFC could use some help in back. Andre Sherard.

So there you go. I'm sure someone out there will have a different opinion. So let's go!

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Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Is Altidore The One???

Every once and awhile I like to step out of the college to pro mold around here, however this topic isn't too far from that formula. Today Doug McIntyre wrote a nice article on Jozy Altidore over at espn.com. I wanted to bring my reader's attention to the article and give people a place to talk about it. So here is the question...Is Altidore the American forward who will score 7 goals in a World Cup...Is Altidore the American forward who signs with Manchester United and leads the Premier League in scoring two consecutive seasons...Is Altidore the forward who brings respect to the American game?

McIntyre correctly points out that MLS put too much on the Freddy Adu show. You can never manufacture results from professional athletes and in all cases, the future will reveal itself. While Adu was a tremendous talent on the field with his piers, and boys a couple years older, he should never have been expected to perform on an adult stage. Let's hope Adu's early debut does not turn into a Britney Spears type situation. She's done at 25 folks, I think Adu should last longer since he got out of the limelight and moved to a real developmental team in Portugal.

Altidore's rise to prominence came a different direction. He started as a talented teen playing in Florida in the Spring of 2004 with the US U-17 squad after being discovered however young soccer talent is discovered in this messy youth soccer nation. After 3 semesters at Bradenton, Altidore entered the 2006 MLS draft and was selected 17th overall by New York. Many MLS fans had never heard of young Jozy and many wouldn't hear from him until late in the 2006 season because he started his MLS career in Florida finishing his high school studies.

Jozy Altidore snuck into MLS. He wasn't put on a pedestal and paraded around as the league's savior. Leave that work to David Beckham. Our young stars need appropriate time to grow.

McIntyre goes on to highlight one of Jozy's best qualities...his size. MLS is a physical league and only the best players are going to able to survive if they're under 5'-9" or so. Beasley did it but can you remember how often you saw him hammered to the ground by those beastly MLS defenders who defend based by shoving as opposed to stealing the ball? As a little guy, Adu belongs in a more finesse league while Altidore can hold up against anyone.

Jozy won't stay in MLS forever. The article talks about his agent already fielding questions from international clubs. However, MLS needs to use his presence in the league to help bring soccer fans through the gates. MLS' biggest issue over the years has been appealing to fans of the sport who live in the US. A certain portion of us have been able to overlook the lack of quality in exchange for live soccer. Now is the time for the league to capture the rest of the American soccer market. This is the type of quality MLS has been waiting for and it is in a 17 year old package. McIntyre is right...Altidore could be the one to bring success to American soccer.

In the future MLS should learn from this lesson. Make sure you hype the proven players as opposed to the untested youngsters.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Undefeated...

Remember when you played youth soccer and your team went undefeated? Wasn't that a great feeling? The last time it happened to me was first grade. The likelyhood of any college coaches and players feeling that glee at the end of the season is slim, but some can feel it today. The following teams have not lost or tied in NCAA DI play so far this season:

#1 Wake Forest - 5 Wins
#2 Connecticut (UCONN) - 6 Wins
#9 Harvard - 6 Wins
#14 Michigan - 6 Wins
#17 South Florida - 5 Wins
#21 Brown - 4 Wins
#23 Furman - 6 Wins
#25 UC Irvine - 5 Wins

Rankings are based on 9/18/07 NSCAA Poll (just to make sure Marcelo and I are on the same page)

32% of the top 25 is undefeated. That's impressive.

Which players have stood out for those teams? Let's take a look:
- Andre Akpan has taken what he learned at the U-20 World Cup and applied it on the field. He's leading Harvard in points with 3 goals and 3 assists having played in all 6 victories. He's just a Sophomore.
- Corben Bone has to be leading the Freshman of the Year award voting in the early going. The youngster from Texas is leading Wake Forest to the #1 spot. In 5 games Corben has scored 4 goals and made 2 assists. In 2006 he also spent time with the US U-20 team.
- O'Brian White is getting the job done in Stores, CT. He has featured heavily in all 6 UCONN victories and has found the back of the net 6 times while assisting on 2 goals. The Junior from Scarborough, Canada will certainly be getting a look from Toronto FC should he decide to leave college early.
- Jake Stacy has racked up the most points for the Wolverines. He has scored 3 goals and assisted on 5 to lead the Maize and Blue to a surprise start. The Big 10 will certainly have some interesting match-ups with more teams fielding solid programs this year.
- Simon Schoendorf has started his senior campaign off with a bang by scoring 4 goals and making 3 assists for the South Florida Bulls. A huge 6-1 victory over American University has USF flying into conference play. This Friday's Big East opener against UCONN should be a great match.
- Dylan Sheehan has helped Brown to their 4th victory. His 4 goals and 1 assist are tops for the Bears.
- Brooks Duff is off to a flying start as a freshman at Furman. In 6 victories he has 5 goals and 3 assists.
- Matt Murphy is getting the job done in Irvine with 3 goals and 1 assist. Irvine is spreading the love with 7 goal scorers netting 12 goals over their 5 wins.

As we all know offense is worthless without defense. We'll look more closely at who is holding these teams together another time.

Last but not least, tune into From The Pitch tonight from 6 pm - 8 pm mountain to hear yours truly discuss the Rocky Mountain Cup. For more information on the show and how to listen in: www.myspace.com/fromthepitch

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Tuesday, September 11, 2007

FCTP Falls Off The Wagon...

You've already figured out that I can't keep up with the MLS Rookie of the week business. I'm sorry, I really am. Today I am officially declaring that feature is dead. I gave it a good go but it is too tough as the MLS season wears on and work gets busy. If anyone out there wants to join my "staff" and take over the honor of scouring match write ups and trying to make an educated decision on who the best rookie was this past week, please write me or comment below. Work, life and other interesting soccer news has gotten in the way.

One thing that has certainly gotten in the way is my reading of other soccer blogs. Google Reader has hooked me people. I'm going to put a link to the right call "What Bonji Is Reading." It will show you what I share in Google Reader. For those who enjoy blogs but haven't started using a blog compiler, check it out. You subscribe to the blog and then get all of their articles automatically. You can take the time it takes to search for what you want to read and put it into reading. I highly recommend you start by subscribing to your favorite soccer blog, FCTP.

The fall US U-17 residency class has been announced. Top Drawer Soccer does a great job on their write up, check it out. Yes, I found this through Google Reader and someone else's blog. Can't remember who's...sorry.

I got some confused calls from family members yesterday wondering why I wasn't on the radio. Tonight is From The Pitch. It is every Tuesday night from 6 - 8 pm mountain time. Tune in! If you like the logo update we posted the other day, I can put you in touch with the graphic designer who did the update. I'm sure he'd be happy to charge you for a similar service.

MLS is coming down to the final playoff push. Colorado, Chicago and Columbus are all pushing for the 8th and final spot. I love the new playoff qualification format. It really did open up the competition. Instead of both conferences being interested in who is going to get the last spot, now there is one spot for teams from both conferences. Check out the single table widget in the right hand margin to see who is in the playoffs and who is out.

I think Chicago is going to take that magical 8th spot. The addition of Blanco and Wanchope has really helped Chicago come alive in the second half of the season. They can actually go on the road and beat a team they're competing with for the final playoff spot. That is something the Rapids couldn't do. The Rapids need to take notice. Many other teams are improving their situation by signing quality designated players and senior internationals while the Rapids are signing unfit has been former internationals and saving their money on the designated player. GM Plush makes it sound like next year we will see a DP in Colorado, but I'm not so sure. Nothing in the club's history would make me think they are ready to splash the cash on a quality player to bring wins to the club. The Rapids seem to try and emulate the Oakland A's of MLB. When was the last time the A's won the World Series is my question? Ohh, right...1989. When I was still a baseball fan and attended the ALCS where the A's swept the Red Sox to make it to the World Series against the SF Giants and the epic Battle of the Bay that was interrupted by the biggest earthquake I've ever felt. I remember.

Rapids take note, you need to spend to win. My prediction for MLS Cup 2007 is that the two teams in the final will have highly paid players on their roster who know how to score goals in big games. Angel....Blanco...I'm looking at you two.

But I digress....Listen in tonight. Call in to ask some questions. It'll be fun!

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Monday, September 10, 2007

FCTP Hits The Airwaves...

From College to the Pros will be getting some airtime tomorrow evening on From The Pitch, hosted by Marcelo Balboa. We'll be talking about college soccer, up and coming players and more. If you're in Denver you can listen to yours truly waxing poetic on soccer over the airwaves - AM 1060. In fact, many Colorado residents will be able to hear my beautiful voice over terrestrial signals.

AM-1060 in Denver
AM-1580 in Colorado Springs
AM-610 in Vail
AM-1450 in Buena Vista

I want to hear from all you Buena Vista residents!!!

Call in 303-485-2152 or 800-531-3815.

For those outside Colorado, listen on the Internet.

The show starts at 6 pm mountain time and runs until 8 pm. I don't know exactly when I'll be on, so you're stuck listening to Marcelo and the rest of the crew before they let me speak.

Folks, the last time I was available on live radio was 1995 in Lafayette, California. You'd better make sure you tune in this time because who knows if Marcelo will ever invite me back. Talk to you tomorrow!

If you're on myspace, check out the show's page and become their friend.
www.myspace.com/fromthepitch

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From U-8 To The Pros...

I was considering changing the name of this blog to the above title. What do you all think? Yeah, I agree. That would be difficult. However, I am proud to say that I have a future pro in my family and he is currently tearing up the U-8 soccer scene.

The U-8 Roberson 1 "Vise Grips" suffered a stunning 6-5 defeat at the hands of the Roberson 3 "Lizards" at the Sports Park today. The Grips, previously unscathed in regular season play over the past two seasons, drew first blood on a brilliant goal by Walker Vasey. Vasey dribbled through three defenders before beating the keeper with a remarkable shot into the "upper 90". The Lizards responded, taking a 3-2 lead before the Grips seemingly put the game away with a three goal burst, including an outstanding set play off of a hand ball indirect to lead 5-3. Surprisingly, one of the outstanding Grips left to pose for pictures with his baseball team, hampering the squad's defensive effort down the stretch. Despite intense offensive pressure over the final minute from the heralded U-8 front-line, the Vise Grips were doomed to a 6-5 defeat.

Thank you to the proud father of future star Walker Vasey for putting together this report.

Friday, September 07, 2007

How The Mighty Have Fallen...

In the most recent NSCAA Men's Soccer Poll the pre-season #1 UCLA Bruins have fallen out of the top 10 after a rocky first weekend. They were playing some of the best teams in the country away from home. Meanwhile Wake Forest takes over the top spot for soundly winning two games against lower level opponents. This is the age old debate...do you play tough teams early to prepare for the conference games or do you schedule games that will make you look good? What do you all think.

This and more will no doubt be the topic of conversation on the next From the Pitch radio show. Yours truly will be a guest along side host Marcelo Balbo. Check out their myspace page to see how you can listen in on Tuesday, September 11th. The last time you could have heard me on the radio would have been in 1995 on Acalanes High School's KCEQ. I hope I've changed since then. Give us a call on the show to talk about the latest in college soccer and some of the young talent coming up through the US system.

If you have a myspace account, become a friend of the show.

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Wednesday, September 05, 2007

What American College Players Have To Look Forward To...

I want to call my readers' attention to this article by Kristian Dyer on ESPNsoccernet. Odds are, you are an avid soccer reader and saw it before my blog, but that is neither here nor there.

Kristian brings up the MLS developmental contract situation for us all to ponder further, however this time there is a real example in Jay Needham. I'm glad Dyer checked in with Needham, I was wondering how life was treating him in USL. Sounds like things are going well and he is earning a good, living wage.

That is what I really take away from Dyer's story. MLS needs to figure out how to pay these kids a living wage so that they don't feel the need to work multiple jobs taking them away from improving at soccer. That is what the developmental contract is all about, right? How is MLS justifying forcing its young players to get second jobs and not focus 100% on the sport they're employed to play? That doesn't add up.

Here is what does add up. The 2007 developmental salary is $12,900 for the lowest and $17,700 for the second tier. We all agree, peanuts. What is holding the league back from making the minimum salary $35,000/year regardless of status? At most that is an increase of $22,100/player. If the entire developmental team was made up of $12,900 players then that is an increase to the salary cap of $221,000 per team (not all developmental players on a team are making the min, so the increase could be less.)

Is $221,000 going to break a team's bank? No. To take it further, let's see who earned that much on their own in 2007:

Fred in DC: $222,008
Chris Armas in Chicago: $225,000
Pat Noonan in New England: $227,500
Jeff Cunningham in Toronto: $232,500
Richard Mulrooney in Houston: $233,200
Greg Vanney in DC: $236,667
Ante Razov in CA: $248,750
Ronnie O'Brien in Toronto: $258,750
Eddie Pope in SLC: $265,000
Jamie Moreno in DC: $275,000
Amando Guevera in ????: $291,250
Luciano Emilio in DC: $293,125
Pablo Mastroeni in Colorado: $298,000
Carl Robinson in Toronto: $315,000
Taylor Twellman in NE: $350,008
Clint Mathis in NY: $410,000
Carlos Ruiz in Dallas: $435,000
Freddy Adu in SLC (before Portugal): $550,000
Eddie Johnson in KC: $875,000
Landon Donovan in LA: $900,000
Claudio Reyna in NY: $1,250,008
Juan Pablo Angel in NY: $1,593,750
Blanco in Chicago: $2,666,778
Beckham in LA: $6,500,000

The question in my eyes becomes: Are 10 potential league players worth one Fred, one Chris Armas, one Eddie Pope? If you are trying to improve the sport in the US then the answer had better be yes! I'm not trying to make a comparison between one star and 10 potential stars. And most of the guys earning $12,900 aren't breaking down the door to a starting spot, but what if they're busting their hump at a day job and not producing on the field because they are working two jobs? The salary is actually doing them a disservice.

At the start of the season there were 56 guys making $12,900 and 36 making $17,700. That has no doubt changed as some players have been promoted to senior players and some have left the league. Upgrading all of those players to a good coming out of college salary of $35,000 would cost the league $1,860,400. Somewhere inbetween Blanco and Angel. That is $1,860,400 for 92 players to be able to concentrate only on soccer, 100% of the time. As teams sign sponsorship deals, increase the cost of season tickets, charge more for parking and food, they should be able to find that as loose change. MLS needs to remember that it is here to grow the sport and improve American soccer players. It needs to continue to invest in player growth, and that will continue to be hampered while these low salaries are payed to 26% of the league's employees.

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Tuesday, September 04, 2007

2007 NCAA Season Kicks Off In Style...

Before conference play starts up this fall, college soccer teams will do their best to go out and put on a show. The best show of the early season has to be the Hoosiers in Indiana as they came out and beat the pre-season #1 UCLA Bruins 1-0. Granted, they were hosting the event but don't take anything away from them, UCLA is a tough team anywhere. Indiana also tied ACC powerhouse Maryland 1-1 earlier in the weekend. Add those two results to a 1-0 victory over ranked New Mexico and you've got the makings to an exciting early season.

Kevin Noschang earned the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week award after scoring against UCLA and Maryland. Looks like he has earned a spot on the watch list.

Maryland rebounded from the draw against Indiana to defeat Notre Dame 3-0. The victory handed Maryland the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic trophy while Junior forward, Graham Zusi was named the Offensive MVP of the event.

Notre Dame did win one of the games at the tournament defeating UCLA 2-1. Senior forward and 2006 Hermann Trophy Winner Joe Lapira got his first goal of the season against hapless UCLA. UCLA is certainly going to fall out of the top spot after two losses this weekend.

#2 Duke is off to a strong start as they have defeated Connecticut, Delaware and Valparaiso. In those three games they have scored 9 goals while conceding 1. They did lose their first match of the season to Coastal Carolina. Junior Forward Mike Grella was named Top Drawer Soccer’s National Player Of The Week as he has already scored 3 goals while setting 1 up.

Defending NCAA champs are off to a shaky start as they tied against Stanford and lost to Gonzaga. Early season stumbles like this may affect NCAA tournament seeding but at this point the loss shouldn't hurt their chances of repeating. The west coast should provide some interesting soccer after seeing UCLA lose, UCSB stumble while Stanford and Gonzaga play at a high level. What will the rest of the western teams do?

Meanwhile in the ACC Wake Forest has made their early claim of supremacy. The Demon Deacons are undefeated in four games having beaten Furman, Cincinnati, Old Dominion and Monmouth. Thus far youngsters Cody Arnoux, Sophomore, and Corben Bone, Freshman, are leading the charge on the scorer's sheet.

Keep up with all of the action at College Soccer News and Top Drawer Soccer.

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