The NCAA tournament is upon us in men's soccer, with the field announced Monday afternoon. There was good news for most Dynamo Academy hopefuls, with (4) North Carolina, (5) SMU, (9) Notre Dame, Duke, Tulsa, and Denver all making the field. Preliminary games in the 48-team field are set for Thursday, with the top 16 seeds entering the competition on Sunday.
NCAA Tournament schedule - teams with Dynamo Academy players
Thursday, November 18
6 p.m. CT Duke vs. Coastal Carolina
7:30 p.m. CT Tulsa vs. Bradley
9 p.m. CT Denver at UC Santa Barbara
Sunday, November 21
5 p.m. CT North Carolina vs. UNC-Greensboro/Georgetown winner
5 p.m. CT Notre Dame vs. Monmouth-Dartmouth winner
7 p.m. CT SMU vs. New Mexico-Creighton winner
The 2010 season marks the first group of college seniors who spent time in the Dynamo Academy, so college soccer is especially worth watching to see which players might be drafted or even signed prior to the draft in the 2010-11 offseason.
Below is a report on Dynamo Academy players this weekend, sorted by year of eligibility:
Seniors
Daniel Roberts, MF/FW, UNC-Wilmington (Fort Bend Clements) Dynamo bio | UNCW bio
Roberts did not play after September 10 due to injury and may apply for a medical redshirt to maintain his collegiate eligibility for the 2011 season. UNC-Wilmington did not qualify for postseason play and has completed its season.
Josue Soto, MF, SMU (PrepaTec, Mexico) Dynamo bio | SMU bio
SMU is seeded fifth nationally and will host either New Mexico or Creighton on Sunday night. The Mustangs face potential matchups with William & Mary and North Carolina in their quest to reach the College Cup.
In the Conference USA tournament last week, Soto started and played 79 minutes, but SMU was upset by South Carolina, which went on to take the tournament title.
Juniors
Alex Dixon, FW, North Carolina (Humble Atascocita) Dynamo bio | UNC bio
North Carolina is seeded fourth nationally and will host either UNC-Greensboro or Georgetown on Sunday. The Tar Heels could face a tricky Third Round game against unbeaten Butler, seeded 13th, and could face SMU in the quarterfinals. They are also on the same side of the bracket as unbeaten No. 1 Louisville if they reach the NCAA College Cup.
Dixon started all three games in UNC's run to the ACC Tournament championship game, with Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear watching the quarterfinal and assistant coach Steve Ralston watching the semifinals and final. In the quarterfinal, Dixon started and notched a second-half assist in a 4-0 rout of North Carolina State. UNC edged Boston College 1-0 in the semifinals before losing 1-0 to Maryland in the final on a penalty kick from New York Red Bulls prospect Matt Kassel.
Clayton Holz, MF, Stanford (St. John's) Dynamo bio | Stanford bio
Holz appeared as a substitute as Stanford fell 3-2 to rival Cal in the regular season finale. Holz was, however, named to the academy all-Pac 10 team for the second straight year with a team-best 3.82 GPA. The Cardinal did not qualify for the postseason and have completed their season.
Matt Kirby, MF, Denver (Beaumont Msgr. Kelly) Dynamo bio | DU bio
Denver received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament but will open at UCSB on Thursday night, a team that has drawn more than 10,000 fans to some games and will host the College Cup later this year. The winner of that match will play at No. 6 Cal on Sunday.
In the MPSF Tournament, Kirby started and played 67 minutes, but the Pioneers were upset 3-1 in the semifinals by host Sacramento State, which went on to win the tournament.
Pana Vasquez, FW, SMU (Cy Falls) Dynamo bio | SMU bio
SMU is seeded fifth nationally and will host either New Mexico or Creighton on Sunday night. The Mustangs face potential matchups with William & Mary and North Carolina in their quest to reach the College Cup.
Vasquez did not appear in the Conference USA Championship semifinal loss to South Carolina.
Sophomores
Matt Boullt, DF, Tulsa (Fort Bend Clements) Dynamo bio | Tulsa bio
Tulsa received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and will face Bradley on Thursday, with the winner playing at No. 14 Indiana on Sunday.
Boullt helped Tulsa reach its fourth consecutive Conference USA title game with back-to-back wins in the tournament, but the Golden Hurricane fell to South Carolina on an overtime penalty kick in the final. In the first round, Boullt set up Ashley McInnes for the opening goal in just the 15th minute, and Tulsa went on to a 5-0 rout of Kentucky despite being outshot 17-13. He started and again and had a shot on goal in the 2-1 semifinal win over UCF. In the final, Boullt and his teammates kept South Carolina scoreless until a penalty kick in extra time decided the title.
Freshmen
Sebastien Ibeagha, DF/MF, Duke (Fort Bend Hightower) Dynamo bio | Duke bio
Duke received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and will face Coastal Carolina on Thursday, with the winner playing at No. 7 South Carolina on Sunday.
Ibeagha started and went the distance as the Blue Devils dominated the game but fell 1-0 to Boston College in the ACC quarterfinals last Wednesday under the watchful eye of Kinnear.
C.J. Odenigwe, DF, North Carolina (Fort Bend Travis) Dynamo bio | UNC bio
North Carolina is seeded fourth nationally and will host either UNC-Greensboro or Georgetown on Sunday. The Tar Heels could face a tricky Third Round game against unbeaten Butler, seeded 13th, and could face SMU in the quarterfinals. They are also on the same side of the bracket as unbeaten No. 1 Louisville if they reach the NCAA College Cup.
Odenigwe did get into one ACC Tournament game as North Carolina reached the final, playing the last eight minutes of UNC's 4-0 win over North Carolina State on Wednesday.
Jonny Torres, MF, Wake Forest (Humble Atascocita) Dynamo bio | Wake bio
Torres did not play in Wake Forest's quarterfinal match in the ACC Tournament, a 1-0 loss to Virginia. Wake Forest did not qualify for the NCAA tournament and has completed its season.
Pat Wall, GK, Notre Dame (Strake Jesuit) Dynamo bio | ND bio
Notre Dame was seeded ninth for the NCAA tournament and will open on Sunday against either Dartmouth or Monmouth, which has just one loss on the year. The Irish face a potential Third Round clash with No. 8 UCLA, with the winner likely to face No. 1 Louisville.
Notre Dame has already been eliminated once by Louisville, falling 1-0 to the Cardinals in the Big East semifinals at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., on Friday night.
Area College Teams
Houston Baptist University
The Huskies were stunned in an overtime heartbreaker in the Atlantic Soccer Conference final on Sunday, letting a late 1-0 lead slip away and falling 2-1 to host Adelphi. Former Dynamo Academy player Mateo Jimenez (Spring Woods) had set up Kris Tyrpak (Dripping Springs) for the go-ahead goal in the 78th minute, but Adelphia tied the game in the 86th minute and won it six minutes into overtime. HBU had advanced with a semifinal shootout win over Howard. The overtime loss broke a seven-game unbeaten streak (5-0-2) that included a tie with Adelphia earlier in the week. HBU is not eligible for the Division I postseason.
