by TRAVIS CLARK
Tournament season is finally here, and today marks the kickoff of one of the premier tournaments in men's college soccer. The ACC, regarded by many as the best conference in the nation, gets underway today with a play-in match between Clemson and Virginia Tech. The winner will advance to play top-seeded Wake Forest in tomorrow's quarterfinal.
The top two schools in the tournament, Wake Forest and North Carolina, have to be the favorites at this point. Both schools have plenty of talent, as evidenced on the All-ACC First team, with seven of the best 11 from the two schools. Wake Forest's Corben Bone and Ike Opara were also named ACC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year respectively, and are decent pro prospects. Then there's the scoring prowess of Zack Schilawski, the ACC's leading scoring making Wake a dangerous squad.
North Carolina has talent of their own, with Billy Schuler leading the charge with eight goals as a forward. Senior defender and captain Zach Loyd, who has split time at centerback and on the outside, must step up to see the Tar Heels through to the final.
Who can contend with the top two? Pretty much any other school on the right day. Seven of the nine ACC schools finished the season with double digit wins, and six are ranked in the NSCAA top 25. The hottest school at the moment is the University of Virginia, riding an eight game unbeaten streak. The Cavaliers boast one of the nation's best defenses statistically, having conceded just seven goals all season and have notched ten shutouts.
And then there's the University of Maryland, only the NCAA defending champions, fresh off a respectable 12-4-2 record in the regular season. While not as dominating as in the past, Maryland had to deal with a injury to star attacker Casey Townsend that kept him out of action for a month. At the back goalie Zac MacMath, a product of the U.S. program in Bradenton who played in the U-17 World Cup two years ago, gives Maryland experience between the posts.
Schools like Duke, Boston College and NC State can't be counted out either. The Blue Devils have been a mainstay in the top 25 since September, though couldn't beat either UNC or Wake in regular season play. Boston College already has experience as a giant killer, beating second seed Wake Forest just two weeks ago.
Here's a look at the schedule for the first two rounds of the ACC tournament, with all games played in Cary, NC:
First Round - Tuesday
No. 8 Virginia Tech vs. No. 9 Clemson, 1pm
Quarterfinals - Wednesday
No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 5 Virginia, 12pm
No. 3 Boston College vs. No. 6 Duke, 2:30pm
No. 1 Wake Forest vs. Virginia Tech/Clemson, 5:30pm
No. 2 North Carolina vs. No. 7 N.C. State, 8pm
The semifinals and championship are scheduled for Friday and then culminating on Sunday, the day before the NCAA Tournament field is announced. Whether the ACC teams that earn a tournament spot will have enough energy left for a deep tourney run after battering each other this week will be something to watch for.
Some of the games will be broadcast live via the ACC Championship website. Be sure to tune in to get a first glance at potential MLS players in 2010. After all, five of the first 15 picks in the 2009 SuperDraft hailed from ACC schools.
Who do you think will win the ACC tournament? Can anyone knock off Wake or UNC, or is it going to be a top-seeded final?
Share your thoughts below.
