While most of the American soccer world was focused on MLS Cup taking place in Canada Sunday night, the NCAA men's soccer tournament kicked into full gear with Round 2, including the top 16 seeds which had byes in last week's opening round.
It was a night of high drama, with eight of the 16 games going to overtime and four of those going to penalty kicks. In the end, 13 of the 16 seeded teams advanced to the Sweet 16, but not before most of them had to sweat it out.
Here's what happened on Sunday, with 16 teams advancing to next Sunday's Round 3:
Ohio State 2, Providence 1 (Highlights)
No. 16 Ohio State eased into Round 3 by stopping one of the hottest teams in college soccer, Providence, which entered with a 10-game unbeaten streak. Providence had the wind at its back and the best chance in the first half, earning a penalty kick. Ohio State goalkeeper Matt Lampson stopped the shot, giving Ohio State the momentum. The Buckeyes took the lead in the second half on a penalty kick from Konrad Warzycha, son of Columbus Crew coach Robert Warzycha. Omar Vallejo added a second before Providence pulled back a late goal.
Michigan State 1, Butler 0 (Highlights)
Michigan State knocked off unbeaten No. 13 Butler 1-0 on the road Sunday to advance to Round 3 of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1968. Butler (16-1-3) had a 15-6 shot advantage, but Michigan State's breakthrough came when senior Jeff Ricondo, back after missing a month due to injury, entered as a sub and scored the game-winning goal from long range in the 85th minute.
Brown 1, UConn 1, 2 OT (Brown wins 7-6 on PKs)
Brown stunned No. 11 seed UConn with an early goal and eventually won on penalty kicks to reach Round 3 for the first time since 2000. Taylor Gorman scored in just the eighth minute to give the Bears the lead, but UConn carried a 19-5 shot advantage in regulation and eventually tied the match in the 87th minute on a headed goal from Mamadou Diouf. In a dramatic shootout, Brown won 7-6 to advance.
South Carolina 1, Duke 0, OT (Highlights)
Dynamo Academy defender Sebastien Ibeagha and Duke fell in overtime on the road against No. 7 South Carolina on Sunday. Ibeagha played all 99 minutes and received a yellow card. In a tense game, with a relatively even shot count, South Carolina got the win when Bradlee Baladez, a freshman from FC Dallas, snuck between Ibeagha and his center back partner to score late in the first overtime.
Michigan 2, UCF 1, OT (highlights)
Seeded 10th, Michigan rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit to beat UCF in overtime on a dramatic goal from Latif Alashe, who headed in a free kick from Hamoody Saad in the fifth minute of overtime. UCF had taken an early lead following a long throw-in when Nik Keown-Robson tapped in a flick at the back post. The Wolverines tied the game early in the second half on a right-footed strike from Justin Meram, then won it in overtime for their school record 15th win of the year.
Penn State 4, Old Dominion 1 (highlights)
A hat trick from junior forward Corey Hertzog, who now has 20 goals on the season, helped No. 15 seed Penn State rebound from an early deficit to dismiss Old Dominion on Sunday. Chris Harmon gave the Monarchs the lead in the 14th minute, but Hertzog tied the game in the 27th minute when he juggled a cross on his thigh, then lobbed it over the charging goalkeeper. He scored on a header and a penalty kick in the second half as Penn State rolled to the 4-1 win.
Cal 2, UCSB 1, OT (recap)
In the most controversial game of the night, UCSB - with hopes of making an upstart run to the College Cup it will be hosting in December - was denied in truly gut-wrenching style by No. 6 seed Cal. UCSB dealt with a disputed first-half red card to take the lead in the 82nd minute on a goal from Michael Tetteh. Then with less than two minutes remaining, Cal was awarded a penalty kick for a handball that UCSB protested was neither a handball nor inside the box. At any rate, Servando Carrasco converted the penalty kick to tie the game. Then at the end of the first overtime period, Cal scored on a counterattack tap-in with one second remaining before the match would have gone to a second overtime period. Unfortunately, UCSB players lost their cool at the final whistle and had three players ejected.
Akron 3, West Virginia 2 (highlights)
Third-seeded Akron, the heavy favorite in college soccer most of the year, dominated its first NCAA tournament match of the year and led 3-0 after 80 minutes, only to see West Virginia score twice in the final 10 minutes to set up a dramatic finish. Jamaican freshman Darren Mattocks - with a serious head of hair - netted two goals, and midfielder Scott Caldwell, from the New England Revolution's youth system, netted a third. Akron even had some team celebrations prepared, doing a mock tug-of-war and posing for a photo.
Maryland 4, Penn 0
No. 2 seed Maryland breezed to a 4-0 rout behind a goal and an assist from Matt Kassel (New York Red Bulls) and a goal from freshman Patrick Mullins (Chicago Fire). The Terps advanced to the Round of 16 for the ninth consecutive year.
Dartmouth 2, Notre Dame 1, OT
Senior midfielder Andrew Olsen scored two goals for Dartmouth, including the game-winner in the 100th minute, as the Big Green knocked off No. 9 seed Notre Dame in one of the day's biggest upsets. Big Green goalkeeper Lyman Missimer, from The Woodlands, made 12 saves in the match, while Dynamo Academy goalkeeper Pat Wall, just a freshman, did not play and preserved his redshirt for the season.
North Carolina 0, Georgetown 0, OT (UNC wins 5-4 on PKs)
Dynamo Academy forward Alex Dixon started and had two shots as the No. 4 seeded Tar Heels advanced to the Round of 16 with a shootout win over Georgetown. Dixon had two shots, including one on goal, in the scoreless tie, but did not attempt a penalty kick in the shootout. UNC, which has been to the national semifinals in each of the last two years, will host Michigan State on Sunday.
Indiana 5, Tulsa 1
Will Bruin had two goals and two assists as No. 14 seed Indiana crushed Tulsa (and Dynamo Academy defender Matt Boullt, who fought through a hip flexor injury to appear as a sub) 5-1.
William & Mary 0, UMBC 0, OT (William & Mary wins 4-3 on PKs) (highlights)
No. 12 seed William & Mary survived a shootout with upstart UMBC to advance to the Round of 16. William & Mary had not reached the Sweet 16 since 2002. Goalkeeper Andrew McAdams made a huge penalty kick save in regulation against UMBC star Levi Houapeu, then stopped Houapeu again in the shootout as the Tribe advanced.
Louisville 3, College of Charleston 1
No. 1 seed Louisville scored twice in the final 10 minutes to pull out a 3-1 win against underdog College of Charleston and stay undefeated in front of a school-record crowd of 5,197. All-Big East forward Colin Rolfe had a goal and an assist, including the game-winner in the 84th minute, and Nick DeLeon (Real Salt Lake) also had a goal and an assist for the Cardinals.
UCLA 4, Sacramento State 1 (highlights)
The No. 8 seed UCLA broke open a close game in the second half with four goals in 30 minutes to down Sacramento State. The Bruins got two goals from Chandler Hoffman and a goal and an assist from Reed Williams (LA Galaxy) off the bench.
SMU 2, Creighton 2 (SMU wins 5-3 on PKs)
The final game of the night may have been the most dramatic, as No. 5 seed SMU and Dynamo Academy midfielder Josue Soto rallied from two different one-goal deficits in the final 12 minutes to force overtime, then hung on under significant pressure before prevailing on penalty kicks. Creighton's Ethan Finlay had given the Bluejays a 1-0 lead in just the 13th minute. SMU finally tied the game in the 79th minute when freshman Juan Castillo (Humble Kingwood Park) headed in his 10th goal of the year. Less than two minutes later, however, Creighton responded through Sergio Castillo. With time running out in the final minute and Creighton pressuring SMU, the Mustangs found a miraculous - and fortuitous - equalizer on a long-range blast from Arthur Ivo that took a deflection past Creighton's Brian Holt with just 15 seconds remaining in regulation.
SMU then withstood nine shots and five corner kicks from Creighton in overtime (game totals were 27-14 shots and 15-3 corners) to reach the shootout. In penalty kicks, Soto got SMU off to a winning start by converting his penalty kick, and the Mustangs scored all five to advance. SMU will host William & Mary next Sunday.
