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The NCAA tournament field has been reduced from 48 to 18, with two games remaining in the second round to be played this afternoon. The top three seeds -- Wake Forest, Maryland and St. John's -- all advanced, but fourth-seeded Michigan State was upset by Illinois-Chicago in a penalty-kick shootout.
Here is a breakdown of the second round match-ups from Tuesday night.
No. 1 Wake Forest vs. William & Mary
It wasn't easy, but top-seeded Wake Forest advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 1-0 victory against William & Mary Tuesday night at Spry Stadium. Junior forward Cody Arnoux scored the overtime winner for the Demon Deacons, his 15th of the season, taking a short pass from Marcus Tracy and chipping it past Tribe goalkeeper Andrew McAdams five minutes into the first overtime period.
Wake Forest (19-1-1) will play the winner of Wednesday afternoon's match between Dartmouth and Boston College, which was postponed because of inclement weather in New Hampshire.
No. 2 Maryland vs. George Mason
Casey Townsend scored his 11th goal of the year and Graham Zusi added his fourth of the season to lift second-seeded Maryland to a 2-0 victory against George Mason at Ludwig Field Tuesday night. The Terps, which had a 19-4 shot advantage, advance to the third round for a record seventh straight year and will host California, which upset No. 15 UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday, Sunday at 1 p.m. The Bears defeated Maryland, 1-0, in Los Angeles on Aug. 31.
No. 3 St. John's vs. Boston University
St. John's improved to 10-0 at Belson Stadium this season and 17-2-1 at home overall in NCAA tournament games with a 1-0 victory against Boston University Tuesday night. Sverre Wegge Gundhus scored the game's lone goal in the 83rd minute on an assist from Nelson Becerra as the Red Storm advance to the Round of 16 for the 11th time in the last 12 years. St. John's goalkeeper Neal Kitson made two saves, including a diving stop with 1:05 left in the second half, to earn his school-record 15th shutout of the season. On Saturday afternoon the Red Storm host UC Irvine, which defeated Cal Poly, 3-0, on Tuesday night.
No. 4. Michigan State vs. Illinois-Chicago
Joe Baum's 32-year reign as Michigan State coach came to an end Tuesday night in stunning fashion, as No. 4 Michigan State was upset by Illinois-Chicago, 3-2, in a penalty kick shootout after a scoreless draw through 110 minutes.
"It's disappointing, it really is," said Baum, who had an all-time record of 320-227-54. "But, I'm really proud of our effort. I thought we gave 110 percent effort and, once again, we didn't allow a goal. When you get into a shootout, it's almost like rolling the dice."
Illinois-Chicago will take on North Carolina, which defeated Jacksonville, 1-0, on Tuesday night.
No. 6 Indiana vs. St. Louis
John Mellencamp scored in the 19th minute and Kevin Alston headed in his third goal of the season in the second half to lift No. 6 Indiana to a 2-0 victory against St. Louis Tuesday night at Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington, Ind. On Saturday night, the Hoosiers will face Michigan, which defeated UC Davis, 2-1, on Tuesday.
No. 7 Creighton vs. Tulsa
Andrei Gotsmanov's goal 36 seconds into the first half set the tone for No. 7 Creighton, which defeated Tulsa, 2-1, on Tuesday night at Morrison Stadium. On Saturday afternoon, the Blue Jays will face the University of Connecticut, which defeated 10th-ranked Virginia, 2-0, on Tuesday night. Seth Sinovic knocked in a cross from Jeff Thayerin the 35th minute to put Creighton in front, 2-0. Tulsa scored its lone goal in the 86th minute on a header by Austin Neil.
No. 8 South Florida vs. Harvard
A brace by Zak Boggs lifted eight-seeded South Florida to a 2-1 victory against Harvard Tuesday night in Tampa, Fla. Boggs put the Bulls in front with a 5th minute goal, but Harvard equalized in the 24th minute on John Stamatis' sixth goal of the season. Boggs broke the deadlock, knocking in a rebound in the 64th minute. On Saturday night, USF, which advances to the Sweet 16 for a second straight year, will take on UNC Greensboro, which upset No. 9. Loyola (Md.) on Tuesday.
No. 9 Loyola (Md.) vs. UNC Greensboro
In the biggest upset of the second round, UNC Greensboro shocked No. 9 Loyola, 2-1, in overtime with Corey Maret scoring the Golden Goal winner as the Spartans rallied from a 1-0 first-half deficit to advance to the Sweet 16. Phil Bannister put the hosts in front with his 13th goal in the
25th minute, but UNC Greensboro tied the game in the 74th minute on a rebound by Nirav Kadam and then won the game 2:11 into overtime as Maret knocked in his third goal of the year from the top right of the 18-yard box.
No. 10 Virginia vs. Connecticut
Dori Arad scored the lone goal UConn would need in the 30th minute, but the Huskies also got an insurance marker from Tony Cascio in a 2-0 victory at No. 10 Virginia Tuesday night. Mike Pezza had a pair of assists and Josh Ford made three saves for UConn, which heads to Creighton on Saturday afternoon.
No. 11 Michigan vs. UC Davis
Jake Stacy and Perica Marosevic scored second-half goals, both set up by Mauro Fuzetti, to lift No. 11 Michigan to a 2-1 victory against UC Davis on Tuesday afternoon. The Wolverines will take on Big Ten rival Indiana in the Sweet 16. Chris Leer scored his fourth goal of the year for UC Davis in the 88th minute.
No. 12 Notre Dame vs. Northwestern
Oliver Kupe scored a pair of second half goals as Northwestern rallied from a first-half deficit to defeat No. 12 Notre Dame, 2-1, Tuesday in South Bend, Ind. Jack Traynor put the Fighting Irish in front on 24 minutes, but Kupe equalized in the 66th minute and then scored the winner with 1:14 left in regulation. The Wildcats will face either Akron or Ohio State in the third round on Sunday.
No. 13 North Carolina vs. Jacksonville
Freshman Billy Schuler scored the game's lone goal in the 56th mintue to lift No. 13 North Carolina to a 1-0 victory against Jacksonville in Chapel Hill, N.C. Tuesday. The Tar Heels snapped a five-match losing streak and advance to the Round of 16 for the first time since 2005. UNC will host Illinois-Chicago Sunday at 1 p.m.
No. 14 UC Irvine vs. Cal Poly
Irving Garcia scored a second-half brace and Rafael Macedo added an insurnace goal in the 74th minute as the 14th-seeded Anteaters from UC Irvine defeated Cal Poly, 3-0, on Tuesday night. Riding an 11-match unbeaten streak, UC Irvine will head to New York to face third-seeded St. John's Saturday at 5 p.m.
No. 15 UC Santa Barbara vs. California
Andrew Wiedeman scored two goals, including the overtime winner, to lift California to a 3-2 double-overtime victory against No .15 UC Santa Barbara Tuesday night. Davis Paul put the visitors in front in the 23rd minute and Wiedeman doubled Cal's lead in the 61st minute. But UCSB rallied to equalize on goals by Martin Hedevag and Michael Tetteh 2:30 later.
Ives Galarcep is an American soccer columnist for ESPNsoccernet.com and creator of SoccerByIves.net.
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Go Creighton!
I predict it is finally the year for this storied club to bring home the National Championship!
How they didn't get a higher seed is still confusing to me...
Posted by: BlueJay | November 26, 2008 at 02:16 PM
fear the turtle!
Posted by: froboy | November 26, 2008 at 02:32 PM
Go Jays!
The Creighton v. UConn game will be interesting. O'Brien White is a stud, even if he is in a mini-slump. Dont count out the Jays D either; they are the best in the nation
Posted by: Joey | November 26, 2008 at 03:02 PM
Wait a sec? Indiana has a player named John Mellencamp? Is his middle name Cougar?
Posted by: SonicDeathMonkey | November 26, 2008 at 03:10 PM
YEA HOOSIERS!!! It was a very well played game on both sides, it maybe could have been better if Kyle Patterson hadnt missed the game for SLU (he broke his arm in the first round) and Dado Hamzagic hadnt missed the end of the first half and begenning of the second. Players of the game were Brad Ring and the 4 defenders for IU, and Dado Hamzagic and Brandon Barkladge for SLU.
Posted by: Dan Karell | November 26, 2008 at 03:57 PM
Northern Illinois University Huskies got robbed! Ives, why skip #5 Akron and not give the MAC some media?
Posted by: baldguy | November 26, 2008 at 03:59 PM
It'll Northwestern vs. Akron.
Akron won the game with 5 seconds left in 2OT. Sucks...
Posted by: AndyinSeattle | November 26, 2008 at 04:35 PM
Went to last weeks UCONN game, and really enjoyed it. The only thing i didnt enjoy was the 25 degrees in mid november.
I def encourage people to support their local colleges, a lot of pretty decent football is played.
I also encourage people not to bring up switching the european schedule, after sitting through 90min of that game I am all for march-november schedule
Posted by: Reid | November 26, 2008 at 04:46 PM
What's with all the Jays fans? I'm from Omaha. I'm pulling for them, too.
I once mentioned the Cornhuskers in a post which spurred several people to shout "Go Huskers!"...based on my calculations, Nebraska is second only to New York in soccerbyives readers--it's time we get some recognition.
Go Jays!
Go Huskers, beat the Buffs!
Oh when the Wiz
Go marching in!
Posted by: Mike Caramba | November 26, 2008 at 05:32 PM
Nelson Becerra is the truth, I saw him absolutely demolish Cincy on halloween this year, and have seen him at SJU a couple times. He'll be playing professionally somewhere
Posted by: patrick | November 26, 2008 at 05:47 PM
dartmouth won on penalties after a 0-0 game.
Too bad we have Wake Forest now, but I think we can do it.
Posted by: dartmouth | November 26, 2008 at 05:55 PM
The jays are on a roll...Warming has a magic touch and seems to be at the top at the ncaa tournament year after year after year......
Posted by: jay fan | November 26, 2008 at 07:16 PM
Go USF Bulls! I was there.
Posted by: Blake | November 26, 2008 at 10:33 PM
Hey Baldguy,
No mention of Akron because they didn't play on Tuesday, they played today and I had already posted the story before today's games.
I'm not hating on Akron.
Posted by: Dylan Butler | November 26, 2008 at 11:34 PM
John Mellencamp is John Cougar Mellencamp's nephew. Go Hoosiers!!!!!!!!!!!
Sarkodie is going to be disgusting in the MLS next year.
Posted by: This Guy | November 27, 2008 at 03:18 AM
(GO DEACS)
Posted by: Will | November 27, 2008 at 11:29 AM