November 21, 2013 – As expected there were a few upsets in the first round of play in the NCAA Tourney and a lot of contests required penalty kicks to determine who advanced but for the most part the games went as expected. Sixteen teams survived and earned the right to advance to the second round of play on November 24 while sixteen teams saw their season come to an end.
UCLA Bracket
Elon 1 – Clemson 1 – Elon advances 4-1 in penalty kicks to face UCLA. Both teams had opportunities to score but were unable to convert in the first half. The action picked up in the second stanza with junior forward Jason Waterman scoring from eight yards out for Elon with an assist from Nathan Diehl and Thales Moreno scoring for Clemson with an assist from back Jack Metcalf. An enthusiastic crowd of 3,348 was on hand at Rudd Field.
Connecticut 2 – Quinnipiac 1 – Senior forward Mamadou Diouf got into the scoring column for the first time this year when he headed in what proved to be the game-winning goal for the Huskies with ten minutes remaining in regulation after receiving a pass from freshman back Jakob Nerwinski. Nicholas Zuniga scored UConn's first goal in the 50th minute of play. Simon Hinde netted his tenth goal of the season for Quinnipiac in the 72nd minute to knot the score at 1-1 when he placed a shot in the upper right corner of the goal. Connecticut improves to 12-2-6 and advances to face UMBC. A determined Quinnipiac team ends an historic season with a 9-5-7 record.
Akron 3 – Indiana 2 – Akron jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind two first half goals from senior forward Reinaldo Brenes and a single score in the second half from senior midfielder Aodhan Quinn. Indiana made a game out of it with second half goals from midfielder Dylan Lax and defender Jacob Bushue. Jake Fenlason had seven saves in goal for the Zips. Akron improves to 17-3-1 and advances to face number nine seeded Marquette. Defending National Champion Indiana concludes their season earlier than most thought they would at the beginning of the season with a 8-12-2 record.
St. John's 2 – Delaware 1 – Gabriel Camara scored in the 17th minute of play to give St. John's the early advantage. Freshman midfielder Guillermo Delgado netted his fifteenth goal of the season for Delaware in the 88th minute of regulation out of a corner kick to send the contest into overtime. Jordan Rouse scored the game-winning goal for the Red Storm with a little over a minute remaining in the second overtime period. St. John's improves to 11-6-2 and keeps their season alive. They now travel to Charlottesville to square off with the Virginia Cavaliers. The Red Storm lost to Virginia 2-0 in an early regular season contest played on September 2.
Notre Dame Bracket
Wisconsin 1 – Milwaukee 0 – Defense was the name of the game in this one. Chris Prince's goal from the top of the six yard box just thirteen minutes into the match was the only score of the evening. Senior Max Jentsch had four saves in goal in route to notching the shutout for the Badgers. Wisconsin improves to 14-4-2 and advances to face number three seeded Notre Dame. Milwaukee ends a banner season with a 15-3-2 record.
Navy 3 – VCU 0 – This one looked like it might go down to the wire until the Mids broke it wide open in the second half behind a goal from senior midfielder Martin Sanchez in the 68th minute followed by goals from junior midfielder Geoff Fries in the 71st and 76th minutes of play. Senior Gavin Snyder had four saves in goal for Navy to record his fourth consecutive shutout and tenth for the year to date. Navy is now 16-3-2 and travels to Winston-Salem to challenge Wake Forest. VCU ends their season with an 11-8-2 record.
Louisville 0 – Denver 0 – Survive and advance was applicable to this one as defense ruled with Louisville prevailing 3-2 in penalty kicks after neither team was able to score during 110 minutes of play. The Cardinals improved to 11-4-4 and earned the right to face Michigan State on Sunday, November 24. Junior Joachim Ball had two saves in goal during regulation and extra time for Louisville and made three stops during the penalty kick shootout. Denver ended an impressive first season with a 13-3-4 record.
Old Dominion 5 – Drexel 1 – The Monarchs dominated this one scoring three unanswered goals in the first sixteen minutes of play. Senior forward Tim Hopkinson scored twice and junior forward Ivan Militar contributed three assists to power ODU past Drexel. The Monarchs are now 11-5-1 and advance to face Georgetown.
California Bracket
Providence 1 – Penn 1 – This one required penalty kicks to determine who advanced. Providence prevailed 3-1 in the shootout. Penn took the early lead when freshman forward Alec Neumann scored in the ninth minute of play with an assist from fellow freshman midfielder Matt Poplawski. Providence tied it at 1-1 on a goal in the 23rd minute of play from midfielder Wilder Arboleda with a helper from forward Mac Steeves. Sophomore Max Polkinhorne had nine saves in goal for Penn while Keasel Broome had five save between the pipes for the Friars. Providence hopes to keep a magical season alive as they now travel to College Park to tangle with number five seeded Maryland. Ivy League champion Penn concludes their season with an 8-8-2 overall record.
North Carolina 1 – South Florida 0 – The crowd at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill had just begun to settle into their seats when Omar Holmes netted what proved to be the game-winning goal for the Tar Heels in just the fourth minute of play when he one-touched a cross into the back of the net that was served in out of a corner kick by teammate junior Cooper Vandermass-Peeler. North Carolina now travels cross country to face U.C. Irvine out of the Big West Conference on Sunday, November 24 in second round action. Brendan Moore had two saves in goal for UNC. A determined South Florida team finishes the 2013 campaign with an 8-4-9 record.
Coastal Carolina 2 – ETSU 0 – Sergio Camargo scored his ninth goal of the season in the 16th minute of play and Jakub Stourac added his sixth goal of the season in the 31st minute of play to give the Chanticleers the edge they needed to advance past ETSU. Senior Devin Cook had four saves in goal to record his 11th shutout of the 2013 campaign. Coastal Carolina ups their record to 18-4-0 and earns the right for a rematch with a Charlotte team out of CUSA that they were defeated by 2-1 at home back on September 6. A good ETSU side ends the season with a 10-6-4 record.
Bradley 3 – Northwestern 2 – This one featured plenty of scoring. Scott Davis opened the scoring for Bradley in the sixth minute of play with a double assist from Wojciech Wojcik and Grant Bell. Senior forward Wojcik, the MVC Player of the Year, scored twice for Bradley including the game-winning header from five yards out in the 96th minute. Nikko Boxall and Grant Wilson were the goal scorers for Northwestern. This is the same result that the two achieved when they faced each other on October 2 in a regular season matchup. Bradley improves to 14-6-2 and advances to face number four seeded California on Sunday, November 24. Northwestern ends an up and down season with a 10-8-3 record.
Washington Bracket
George Mason 2 – William and Mary 2 – George Mason earned the right to advance by prevailing 4-2 in a penalty kick shootout. The momentum changed several times in this one. Timi Mulgrew converted a rebound in the 33rd minute to give George Mason the early advantage. William and Mary responded two minutes later with a Roshan Patel goal out of a corner kick. Wes Sever scored in the 71st minute with an assist from Zach Herstek to put George Mason back on top. Jackson Eskay drove a blast into the back of the net from twenty-two yards out in the 78th minute for William and Mary to knot the score at 2-2. George Mason out of the Atlantic 10 conference survives and now hits the road traveling to Albuquerque to tangle with a good New Mexico side in round two. William and Mary out of the Colonial Athletic Association brings to a close very interesting season which included several huge wins with an 11-5-2 record.
Penn State 1 – Saint Francis Brooklyn 0 – Eli Dennis scored the lone goal of the match from eight yards out in the 36th minute of play with an assist from midfielder Drew Klingenberg. Andrew Wolverton had four saves in goal for the Nittany Lions to record his seventh shutout of the season to date. Tom Giovatto's Saint Francis Terriers finish a stellar season with a 12-6-1 record. Senior forward Gabriel Bagot completed a successful tenure at Saint Francis with a total of twenty-five career goals. Penn State out of the Big Ten Conference now take their game to the west coast where they tangle with number ten seeded UC Santa Barbara out of the Big West Conference in the second round of the NCAA Tourney.
Stanford 1 – Loyola Marymount 1 – Stanford came out on top 3-2 in penalty kicks. Stanford dominated the first half of play but could not find the back of the net. Adrien Perez scored his eleventh goal of the season in the 82nd minute of play to give LMU what appeared to be the edge they needed to secure the victory. However with seventeen ticks remaining in regulation Stanford's Zach Batteer sent a blast into the back of the net from eight yards out off a throw-in with a double assist from Jimmy Callinan and goalkeeper Drew Hutchins to knot it at 1-1 and send the match into extra time. Paul Blanchette was outstanding in goal for LMU with eight saves on the evening. Hutchins was the man of the match for Stanford assisting on the lone Cardinal goal, converting a penalty kick in the shootout, and making several key stops including the deciding one in the shootout. Stanford now advances to face Cal State Northridge.
Seattle 2 – Creighton 1 – In what was perhaps the biggest surprise of first round play, Seattle came from behind to upset Creighton behind two goals from forward Miguel Gonzalez. Gonzalez netted the game-winning goal in the 72nd minute when he fired a bullet into the back of the net from the top of the box. Gonzalez has now scored fifteen goals season to date. Sonny Makh gave Creighton the early lead when he scored from five yards out in the 15th minute of the match. Seattle improves to 11-8-4 and will face number two seeded Washington on Sunday, November 24. After advancing to the Final Four in 2012 and 2013, Creighton ends the 2013 season with a 9-9-2 overall record.
