Photo by Chris Putman/ISIphotos.com
Another young American attacking talent appears to be taking his game overseas.
According to a report out of Sweden, University of North Carolina forward Billy Schuler will
sign with top-flight club Hammarby -- the team coached by former U.
The NCAA College Cup Final always has its share of scouts tracking the top talent, and last
weekend's matches in Hoover, Alabama drew extra attention from foreign clubs interested in the
handful of top pro prospects on display.
At the top of that list was North Carolina striker Billy Schuler, who helped lead the Tar Heels
to their second NCAA title after scoring the vital equalizer in the semifinal win against UCLA last
Friday.
Perhaps only in the nonrevenue-producing universe of collegiate men's soccer would Creighton
University, a small Jesuit college in Nebraska, be considered a more desirable destination than the
University of North Carolina.
But that is essentially what the highly regarded Elmar Bolowich said when he stunned the soccer
community last February with his decision to leave Chapel Hill after 22 years as coach and with the
Tar Heels building toward a potential second N.
First-year North Carolina men's soccer coach Carlos Somoano isn't one to sling one-liners in a
press conference or blow a gasket at a referee.
His leadership style is understated yet effective, as evidenced by the confetti machine raining
yellow, blue and white down on the Tar Heels on Sunday following the championship match of the NCAA
College Cup.
North Carolina withstood a late-charge from Charlotte to hold onto a 1-0 win and capture its
second College Cup in school history on Sunday afternoon at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala.
Ben Speas scored the decider in the 65th minute while the Tar Heel defenders barely kept the
49ers off the board in the waning minutes as the first-seeded squad ended the Cinderella run of
their in-state opponent.
By JOHN BOSCHINI
Underdog Charlotte looked poised to pull another upset, and make North Carolina the latest
victim, but Tar Heels forward Ben Speas delivered a goal worthy of a championship to help UNC win
its first NCAA title in a decade.
Speas, who won a national title with Akron last season, produced the game's lone goal 24 minutes
from time with a fantastic strike.
The championship favorites take on the ultimate Cinderella story as No. 1 ranked North Carolina
faces Charlotte in the NCAA Men's College Cup Final today in Hoover, Alabama (4pm, ESPNU).
The Tar Heels entered the tournament as favorites, and showed their quality in beating a tough
UCLA side in penalties in the semifinal.
Once again the College Cup is upon us. While this game has little to do with MLS as a whole,
it's nice to see the current top crop of NCAA soccer prospects, especially since many of them are
probably looking at MLS as an entry to playing professionally. A few are probably already signed up
for Generation Adidas as well.
By JOHN BOSCHINI
The National Championship is headed back to North Carolina in one way or another.
It was a long yet dramatic night in Hoover, Alabama as both UNC and Charlotte booked their place
in the final with the help of penalty kicks. Charlotte was never able to break down Creighton's
record-breaking defense but were vastly superior in the penalty kick shootout that followed a dull
0-0 draw.
Top prospects and college teams are on display at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala., as the NCAA College
Cup gets underway.
Creighton takes on surprising Charlotte (6 p.m., ESPNU/ESPN3.com) to kick off the Final Four.
The Bluejays have been one of the top teams in the country all season, relying on the play of
senior striker Ethan Finlay and sophomore left back Tyler Polak.
Photo courtesy of Duke athletics
The quest for college soccer's top individual award has been narrowed to three competitors.
Duke's Andrew Wenger, North Carolina's Billy Schuler and Creighton's Ethan Finlay were named
finalists for the Hermann Trophy, emerging from a list of 15 semifinalists that was released
earlier in the week.
With the Super Draft a little over a month away, it's time to start getting familiar with some
of the prospects that will be available for selection. Every few days or so leading up to the draft
we will be providing player profiles to give you some insight into each prospect. These previews
will obviously have a Revolution-centric theme and feel to them, and we'll be looking at players
that we feel will be a proper fit for the organization going forward.
The race to win the 2011 NCAA College Cup will heat up today as the 16 remaining contenders
square off in pre-quarterfinal action across the country.
Four of the top five seeds are still alive, including No. 1 North Carolina, which opens today's
action in a tricky match-up against Indiana.
Photo by ISIPhotos.com
By JOHN BOSCHINI
We're getting down to the nitty gritty of the postseason as the Round of 16 in the NCAA
Tournament kicks off at campus sites around the country on Sunday.
With students still returning from Thanksgiving break, don't expect crowd support to be quite as
raucous as it has been during the season.
WVU faces a tough challenge in the opening round.. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo)
The 2011 College Cup kicks off later this week with plenty of good match-ups and potential
second round pairings. With no clear cut favorite in this year's tournament, several teams could go
the distance to win this year's tournament.
By JOHN BOSCHINI
Here come the Tar Heels
Ben Speas scored twice and added an assist as North Carolina rolled to its third ACC title with
a 3-1 victory over Boston College.
The Tar Heels offense came from an unlikely source as Speas equaled his goal-scoring tally for
the season.
Perhaps No. 2 ranked North Carolina was looking ahead to Friday's showdown against No. 3 ranked
Maryland heading into Monday night's visit to tiny Davidson College. Whether it was distraction, or
just a special team effort by an underdog, the Wildcats took full advantage to knock out one of the
country's top teams.
Virginia Tech celebrates their big win over UNC. (Photo via Hokiesports.com)
You can tell it is early in the season because change keeps taking place. College soccer this
week will have a new number one after UNC fell over the weekend at Virginia Tech. Last year we only
had two teams grace the top of the rankings, this year it seems to be a curse to have the big
target on your back.
Maryland faces a big challenge from Boston College this weekend. (Photo via Maryland Athletics/
TJ Root)
After a couple big weekend of college soccer where top schools faced off against one another,
this weekend cools off a bit at least in terms of a No 1 vs No 2 matchup. There are still plenty of
good match ups to discuss for the weekend ahead.
Photo courtesy of University of North Carolina
By JOHN BOSCHINI
For all the success enjoyed by the University of North Carolina last season, there was one
player who found it hard to enjoy.
Redshirt junior forward Billy Schuler was one of the most potent attacking threats the Tar Heels
possessed during his first two years in Chapel Hill and was set to be a focal point last
season.
UNC downed Louisville in a big #1 vs. #2 battle. (Photo via UNC Athletic Dept.)
The three-day weekend is over and the scene in college soccer is a little different after a few
big games over the weekend rearranged the top of the rankings. For the second weekend in a row big
crowds came together at a few college venues to watch some top programs take on one another.
Austin Berry and Louisville have two big games this weekend. (Photo via Louisville Athletic
Department)
If you thought the opening weekend in college soccer was a good one, well buckle up because the
Labor Day weekend slate is possibly even better. A couple more high-profile match ups headline this
holiday weekend as we once again have a #1 v.
By JOHN BOSCHINI
Times are changing in Chapel Hill.
After 22 years on the job, former head coach Elmar Bolowich seemed to be part of the furniture
at North Carolina. This made his sudden departure for Creighton in the offseason a surprise to just
about everyone involved in college soccer, including the team he was leaving behind.
Longtime North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance, who has led the Tar Heels to 20 NCAA titles, is the
recipient of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's Honor Award for 2010. Dorrance
was presented the award at the NSCAA's annual awards banquet Friday in Baltimore.
Dorrance, who coached such stars as Mia Hamm, April Heinrichs, Kristine Lilly, Cindy Parlow, Carla
Overbeck and Heather O'Reilly at UNC, was the coach of the U.
