Any questions about just which college team should have the No. 1 ranking were answered on Saturday by Louisville when the Cardinals defeated No. 2 UCLA, 2-0, in Kentucky.
The Cardinals overcame the loss of star playmaker Dylan Mares to an injury and road the deadly finishing of All-American striker Colin Rolfe to a major victory between title contenders.
Elsewhere, the first weekend of the college season saw several of the nation’s best players step up and show why they are so highly-regarded. South Florida goalkeeper Chris Blais showed why he is considered by some to be the best netminder in the nation by posting a shutout in a 1-0 win against Wake Forest, while Akron striker Darren Mattocks bolstered his place atop the draft boards of MLS teams with his stellar effort in the defending national champions’ 5-0 opening-weekend victory against Cleveland State, the same team that handed Akron the only loss of its national championship season in 2010.
So who are the big movers in this week’s FOXSoccer NCAA Top 25? West Virginia was very impressive in knocking off Virginia as well as pushing Maryland to the brink before some terrible officiating marred a match that finished with the Terrapins winning 3-1. William & Mary received a significant boost for knocking off highly-regarded SMU. Blais and South Florida also saw a big jump, while UNC-Greensboro, Brown and Central Florida all broke into the Top 25 this week.
Here is the latest FOX Soccer NCAA Top 25:
NCAA MEN’S SOCCER TOP 25
(Previous ranking in parentheses, records through Tuesday)
1. (1) LOUISVILLE (1-0)
2. (3) AKRON (1-0)
3. (4) NORTH CAROLINA (1-0)
4. (5) MARYLAND (2-0)
5. (2) UCLA (0-1)
6. (7) CREIGHTON (1-0)
7. (8) UCONN (1-0)
8. (10) UCSB (1-0)
9. (6) SMU (0-1)
10. (15) WEST VIRGINIA (1-1)
11. (12) Notre Dame (0-0-1)
12. (9) Duke (1-1)
13. (17) South Florida (1-0)
14. (11) Virginia (1-1)
15. (16) Indiana (0-0-1)
16. (18) Penn State (2-0)
17. (13) Ohio State (0-0-1)
18. (19) Boston College (2-0)
19. (23) William & Mary (1-0)
20. (14) Wake Forest (0-1)
21. (21) California (1-0)
22. (22) Monmouth (1-0)
23. (NR) UNC-Greensboro (1-0)
24. (NR) Central Florida (1-0)
25. (NR) Brown (0-0)
