BIRMINGHAM, AL (WIAT) - The teams are set for the 2011 NCAA Men’s Soccer College Cup national championship, which will be played at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala. on Dec. 9-11. The event is being co-hosted by UAB and the Alabama Sports Foundation.
The tournament’s No. 1 overall seed North Carolina (20-2-2), advanced to its fourth-straight NCAA College Cup, topping St. Mary’s, 2-0, in the quarterfinals Saturday. The Tar Heels used goals from Matt Hedges and Ben Speas en route to the 20th victory of the season, which came in front of a record crowd of 5,810 in Chapel Hill, N.C. North Carolina will now take on UCLA at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala. on Friday, Dec. 9.
The No. 2 seed Creighton (21-2-0), advanced to Hoover when Ethan Finlay delivered a golden goal in the 97th minute, to squeak past No. 7-seeded South Florida 1-0 Sunday afternoon in front of 2,341 fans in Omaha, Neb. The goal moved the Bluejays into the fourth College Cup in program history and their first since 2002. Creighton will face unseeded Charlotte on Friday, Dec. 9.
In a tightly contested match that went back and forth all night, 13th-seeded UCLA (18-4-1) got a golden goal from Reed Williams in the 102nd minute to top No. 12 seed Louisville in front of 4,832 fans in Louisville, Ky. With the win, the Bruins earn their first trip to the College Cup since 2006 and 13th in program history. The Bruins will square off against top-seeded North Carolina on Friday night.
The surprise of this year’s tournament is unseeded Charlotte (16-4-1), which advanced to the second College Cup in program history. The 49ers moved on thanks to winning a penalty kick shootout, 4-2, to squeak past No. 5 seed Connecticut. The game ended on a 1-1 tie, with both goals coming in the final 10 minutes of regulation.
Three Of Four Team s Have Local Ties
UCLA, North Carolina, and Charlotte each have players who are from the local area.
This year’s College Cup will feature the Alabama Gatorade State Player of the Year for three straight seasons from 2007 (Paul Willoughby), 2008 and 2009 (Chandler Hoffman).
One of the top players in the nation is UCLA’s Chandler Hoffman (Birmingham, Ala./Oak Mountain HS). Hoffman, a Second-Team CoSIDA Academic All-American, leads the Pac-12 in goals (18), points (40), goals per game (0.82) and points per game (1.82). The First-Team All-Pac-12 performer has started in every game this season and has the most goals by a UCLA player in a single season since Joe-Max Moore had 18 in 1991.
Charlotte has a pair of players from the local area. Senior midfielders Paul Willoughby (Huntsville, Ala./Grissom HS) and Matt Wallace (Birmingham, Ala./Briarwood HS) have seen limited action for the 49ers on the campaign.
North Carolina freshman Nathan Diehl (Birmingham, Ala./Mountain Brook HS) is on the active roster, but has not seen any playing time this season.
The semifinals will take place at 5 and 7:30 p.m. CST on Friday, December 9. The first game will feature Charlotte vs. Creighton, while UCLA and North Carolina will square off in the second game. The championship game will start at 3 p.m. on Sunday, December 11. All three games will be televised live on ESPNU.
