U.S. Soccer’s Spring Men’s College Program, which saw six participating
NCAA Men’s Division I schools face one another across seven weeks,
culminated in Winston Salem, N.C. with a Coaching Education Workshop and
three games at Wake Forest University’s W. Dennie Spry Stadium. The pilot
program, instituted as part of U.S. Soccer’s ongoing effort to develop
world class players, coaches, and referees, was initiated to provide
meaningful competition with international standards to the participating
colleges. Providing further player development opportunities for potential
U.S. Olympic and Men’s National Team players in zone three (18+), the
initiative also placed a focus on coaching education, with all six head
coaches completing a U.S. Soccer Coaching Education workshop.
On top of clinching the inaugural season title heading into the final weekend
of games, University of North Carolina took down conference rivals Duke 1-0
behind a second half score from midfielder Jeremy Kelly. With the win, the
Tar Heels went undefeated in group play, posting three shutouts and
outscoring the rest of the field 13-2. Georgetown and Wake Forest also
found victories on the final slate of games, outpacing Clemson 5-2 and
Virginia 2-1, respectively.
“I couldn’t be happier that we had the opportunity to work with U.S.
Soccer,” UNC head coach Carlos Somoano said. “The culture of college
athletics combined with the support and expertise of U.S. soccer can only
help to grow our beautiful game in this country. We are extremely proud to
have won the league in its inaugural season. Playing under FIFA rules was
fantastic, and every game was competitive as each team presented different
challenges. In the future I hope U.S. Soccer and college soccer can expand
on our relationship to build our sport and help our student athletes gain
valuable experiences.”
|
Final Standings
|
|
School
|
GP
|
W
|
L
|
D
|
GD
|
GF
|
GA
|
SO Wins
|
Points
|
|
University of North Carolina
|
5
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
11
|
13
|
2
|
3
|
15
|
|
Duke University
|
5
|
2
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
6
|
5
|
0
|
6
|
|
Georgetown University
|
5
|
2
|
3
|
0
|
-2
|
9
|
11
|
0
|
6
|
|
University of Virginia
|
5
|
2
|
3
|
0
|
-2
|
8
|
10
|
0
|
6
|
|
Wake Forest University
|
5
|
2
|
3
|
0
|
-2
|
5
|
7
|
0
|
6
|
|
Clemson University
|
5
|
2
|
3
|
0
|
-4
|
10
|
14
|
0
|
6
|
|
Schedule and Results
|
|
Date
|
Home
|
Home Score
|
Away Score
|
Away
|
|
3/4/18
|
University of North Carolina
|
4
|
1
|
Clemson University
|
|
3/17/18
|
University of Virginia
|
1
|
4
|
Georgetown University
|
|
3/17/18
|
Clemson University
|
3
|
1
|
Wake Forest University
|
|
3/24/18
|
Georgetown University
|
0
|
4
|
University of North Carolina
|
|
3/24/18
|
Duke University
|
0
|
2
|
University of Virginia
|
|
3/29/18
|
Wake Forest University
|
2
|
1
|
Duke University
|
|
4/7/18
|
University of North Carolina
|
2
|
1
|
University of Virginia
|
|
4/7/18
|
Clemson University
|
1
|
2
|
Duke University
|
|
4/8/18
|
Georgetown University
|
0
|
1
|
Wake Forest University
|
|
4/14/18
|
Duke University
|
3
|
0
|
Georgetown University
|
|
4/14/18
|
Wake Forest University
|
0
|
2
|
University of North Carolina
|
|
4/15/18
|
University of Virginia
|
2
|
3
|
Clemson University
|
|
4/21/18
|
Duke University
|
0
|
1
|
University of North Carolina
|
|
4/21/18
|
Georgetown University
|
5
|
2
|
Clemson University
|
|
4/21/18
|
Wake Forest University
|
1
|
2
|
University of Virginia
|
Before the triplet of games Saturday, U.S Soccer Coaching Education
Director Barry Pauwels and Instructor Wim Van Zwam led a collaborative
discussion with the Head Coaches of the six participating schools, as each
made final presentations to the program’s coaching education workshop. The
contents of the workshop included player development plans, the youth to
professional transition, player preparation and recovery best practices and
the creating culture and identity within a program.
"The sharing of ideas is something that we are always hungry for as
coaches,” Georgetown head coach Brian Wiese said. “For U.S. Soccer to
organize this initiative, and then following it up with the coaching
education workshop, it provided us with a great opportunity to talking
about the game and open up and learn from each other. Barry, Wim and Tab
(Ramos) really opened up to a lot of how they think about the game, and it
was wonderful to forge these relationships between U.S. Soccer and the
college game."
With each of the 15 games played under international standards, each game
provided additional opportunities for U.S. Soccer Talent Identification to
identify players and expand the Youth National Team player pools. On hand
during the coaching education workshop and Saturday’s trio of games was
U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team head coach Tab Ramos, who reflected on
the positive impact of the program and the strengthened connection between
U.S. Soccer and the college game.
“This program was a major step in helping the college game become an even
more important part of our player development pathway,” Ramos said. “The
games were highly competitive, and we were able to identify some young
players who were not on our Youth National Team radar after the fall
season. We would like to thank these leading college programs who have been
willing to think outside the box with us as we look to make the program
even stronger next spring.”
