Coastal Athletic Association (CAA Sports)

ODU, VCU Ranked In National Polls: Old Dominion and VCU are ranked among the nation’s top teams in various polls released this week. ODU (2-1), which posted wins over Harvard and Rhode Island last week, moved up six spots to #18 in the College Soccer News Top 30. VCU (2-1) jumped into the Soccer America Top 25 this week at #19 after its 3-1 upset victory over #7 UNC Greensboro last Saturday. VCU and James Madison are among other teams receiving votes in the CSN poll.

W&M/ODU Match To Be Televised Nationally: The William & Mary/Old Dominion match on Thursday, October 26 will be televised nationally on FOX Soccer Channel at 8 p.m. The game was one of 16 men’s contests selected as part of the NSCAA College Match of the Week series on the network.

DELAWARE (2-0 overall, 0-0 in CAA):
The Blue Hens, who opened the season with victories over Loyola (3-2) and Adelphi (2-0), were idle last week. Delaware’s 2-0 start is the best for the team since 1985. Matt Laudeman and Sobhan Tadjalli share the team lead with two goals apiece, while goalie Taylor Thames sports a 1.00 GAA. Delaware was supposed to play its first home game under new head coach Ian Hennessy tonight against Villanova, but it has been postponed until Sept. 19 due to wet conditions. UD visits George Washington on Saturday afternoon.

DREXEL (1-1 overall, 0-0 in CAA):
The Dragons earned their first victory of the season last Friday, edging St. Francis (Pa.) 1-0 on the road. Sophomore goalkeeper Cory Robertson played well for Drexel, making four saves to pick up his first shutout of the year. Freshman midfielder Fabio Assumpcao netted the game-winning goal in the 53rd minute, knocking in a rebound from eight yards out. It was the first career goal for Assumpcao, who led the Dragons with three shots in the contest. Drexel opens its home schedule tonight by hosting Siena. The Dragons meet UMBC on Friday night and Howard on Sunday afternoon in the Drexel Invitiational. Drexel won the tournament a year ago on its newly resurfaced field.

GEORGE MASON (1-2 overall, 0-0 in CAA):
The Patriots came up short in a pair of road games last week, falling 2-0 to #3 Virginia and 2-0 at La Salle. Freshman goalkeeper Sean Kelley played all 180 minutes in net and collected eight total saves. Mason was out-shot just 12-6 by the Cavaliers. Senior Josh Fleming took four of the Patriots’ six shots, including a header that nearly tied the contest in the 64th minute. Mason out-shot La Salle 5-4 in the second half, but were unable to find the net. Chris Chaves put a pair of shots on goal in the game. Mason competes at the Yale Classic this weekend, meeting the host Bulldogs on Friday and Dartmouth on Sunday.

GEORGIA STATE (0-4 overall, 0-0 in CAA):
The Panthers are still searching for their first win of the year after suffering setbacks to #5 Clemson (8-1), North Florida (2-1 in ot) and Jacksonville (4-0) last week. Senior forward Alberto Villarreal scored the game-tying goal against UNF in the 52nd minute. It was Villarreal’s second goal of the season and gave him 100 points for his career. Sophomore forward Dathan Knott picked up the assist on Villarreal’s goal at UNF and scored State’s lone goal in the loss at Clemson. The Panthers were tied at the half with the Tigers before Clemson scored five times in the first 25 minutes of the second half. State managed just seven shots in the setback at Jacksonville on Labor Day. The Panthers are off until Sept. 16 when they meet Eastern Illinois in the UW-Green Bay Tournament.

HOFSTRA (2-2 overall, 0-0 in CAA):
The Pride dropped a 1-0 decison to Columbia last Friday, but bounced back to defeat Stony Brook 2-1 on Sunday. Freshman defender Richard Martinez scored the game-winner against SBU, netting his first career goal from 15 yards out off a cross from Constantinos Christoudias. Senior forward Michael Todd tallied his league-leading fourth goal of the season to tie the SBU contest at 1-1. Todd, who ranks third all-time at Hofstra with 31 goals, is on his way to leading the team in scoring for the fourth straight year. Only all-time leading scorer Stuart Duffin has accomplished that feat for the Pride. Freshman defender Jamal Neptune picked up his first career assist on Todd’s goal. Hofstra out-shot Columbia 14-11, but suffered its first regular-season loss at home since the 2004 campaign. Goalie Tom Johansen made seven saves in the setback. The Pride visits Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday afternoon.

JAMES MADISON (2-0 overall, 0-0 in CAA):
The Dukes were idle last week after Tropical Storm Ernesto washed out a scheduled home game with Lafayette on Friday. James Madison is off to a 2-0 start with victories over Seton Hall and Alabama A&M and continues to receive votes in the College Soccer News Top 30 poll. Senior midfielder Kurt Morsink scored three goals in the two contests and tops the CAA with 1.5 goals per game. The Dukes meet Davidson and host Charlotte this weekend in the Charlotte/JAKO Tournament. JMU has not lost to Davidson in seven previous meetings, but the clubs haven’t met since 1993.

UNC WILMINGTON (2-1 overall, 0-0 in CAA):
The Seahawks were declared co-champions of the Olitsky Memorial Classic in Charleston, SC after defeating UCF 2-1 and Alabama A&M 7-1 over the weekend. UNCW’s seven goals versus AA&M was the most for the team since pounding Mount Olive 9-2 in 1999. Sophomore forward Tim Masters had a great tournament, scoring the game-winning goal versus UCF with just 15 minutes remaining and then finding the net twice in the romp of Alabama A&M. Senior Chris Murray returned to the lineup and converted a penalty kick that gave the Seahawks a 1-0 lead over UCF and contributed a goal and an assist versus AA&M. Senior Russell Bienias picked up his second goal of the year in the tournament, while freshman Pedro Pereira recorded a goal and assist to increase his season point total to four. The Seahawks host Stony Brook and College of Charleston this weekend in the UNCW/Jameson Inn Soccer Classic.

NORTHEASTERN (2-2 overall, 0-0 in CAA):
The Huskies dropped two of three in a busy week of action, beating Maine 2-1 before losing 1-0 to both Providence and Brown. Junior forward Ahmed Talaat snapped a 1-1 tie at Maine by putting home a loose ball in the box for his first collegiate goal in the 87th minute. The victory game Northeastern its first 2-0 start since 2001. Freshman midfielder Alexander Volk netted his first collegiate goal in the opening half versus Maine, but suffered a knee injury late in the contest. Freshman goalkeeper Mahmoud Talaat stopped 13 of the 16 shots he faced last week, including making nine saves in the one-goal loss to 20th-ranked Brown. The Huskies face Harvard and Rhode Island this week.

OLD DOMINION (2-1 overall, 0-0 in CAA):
The Monarchs pulled out a pair of one-goal victories at the URI Tournament, edging Harvard 4-3 and host Rhode Island 1-0 in overtime. Freshman forward Ambane Emmanuel scored his first two collegiate goals versus Harvard, including the game-winner with just 1:30 left in regulation to snap a 3-3 tie. Another freshman, Dylan Montambo, was the hero against URI, converting a 25-yard shot off a Gregg Mottinger assist with 4:21 remaining in overtime. ODU owned a 3-0 advantage on the Crimson with less than 10 minutes to go as seniors Zachary Kinney and Edson Elcock scored. Freshman goalie Evan Newton made five saves in recording his first career shutout against the Rams. Newton, Elcock, David Horst and Ross Mackenzie earned all-tournament accolades. ODU travels to Elon on Wednesday afternoon.

TOWSON (2-0-1 overall, 0-0 in CAA):
The Tigers are off to their best start since 1998 after remaining unbeaten with a 1-0 triumph over Longwood on Sunday. Junior forward Angus Burke scored the lone goal of the game midway through the first half, firing a 15-yard shot off the goalkeeper’s hand and into the net. Senior goalkeeper Greg Flaherty (five saves) and junior goalie Billy Chiles (four saves) combined on the shutout. Towson is undefeated despite scoring only three goals in its three games this season. All-CAA forward Sebastian Haensel has yet to score, but has a team-high three assists. The Tigers meet Marist and host Hartwick this weekend at the Hartwick Mayor’s Cup Classic.

VCU (2-1 overall, 0-0 in CAA):
The Rams vaulted into the national polls at #19 after knocking off #7 UNC Greensboro 3-1 on Saturday. It was VCU’s first victory over a ranked foe since beating #12 ODU 3-1 on Oct. 3, 2004. The Rams have been nationally ranked at some point in each of the past 10 seasons. Junior forward Pat Viray assisted on sophomore Owusu Sekyere’s first collegiate goal in the 13th minute and then finished off a cross from Adam Combs in the 68th minute for his first goal of the year. Junior Matthijs Maruanaya tallied the game-winner for the Rams on a 25-yard free kick in the 32nd minute. VCU’s six goals this season have come from six different players. The match with UNCG was stopped with 13:51 to play after the Spartans had five players and an assistant coach receive red cards. VCU faces 20th-ranked Michigan State and host Michigan in Ann Arbor this weekend. The Rams are 1-3-1 all-time against Big 10 opponents.

WILLIAM & MARY (1-3 overall, 0-0 in CAA):
The Tribe split their first two home games of the season, blanking Stony Brook 2-0 before falling 1-0 to 24th-ranked South Carolina. William & Mary improved to 29-6-2 since 1970 in home openers after beating SBU. Junior midfielder Doug Ernst assisted on both goals versus Stony Brook, setting up sophomore Andrew Hoxie for a header in the 32nd minute and feeding senior Pat Scherder for a breakaway with 2:09 to go in regulation. Hoxie has now scored five goals in 10 career home matches, including the game-winners in each of the past two years. Scherder, who missed the final 15 games of the 2005 campaign with an injury, netted his 17th career goal. Senior goalie Kris Rake made three saves against SBU to record his 12th career shutout, which is tied for fifth on the Tribe’s career chart. The Tribe out-shot USC 11-10, but couldn’t overcome a Gamecock goal in the 12th minute. W&M continues a stretch of five straight games versus 2005 NCAA Tournament teams when it visits #8 Virginia Tech tonight. The Tribe hosts VMI on Friday.