College Soccer

We interrupt your regularly-scheduled Champions League reactions and analysis to bring you a heartwarming story out of Central Michigan University that involves a soccer player, a drowning squirrel and "The Office."

The 2018 NWSL College Draft was held Thursday morning in Philadelphia. Andi Sullivan went No. 1 to the Washington Spirit, as expected. But “player to be named later” was the real star of the NWSL draft. By the end of the day, Carli Lloyd, Sam Kerr and Christen Press had changed teams in blockbuster trades.

Following the NCAA football National Championship Game, you might think the hero of the day was freshman Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. You would be wrong about this, because the actual hero of Monday's game was bespectacled sophomore, former walk-on Georgia kicker Rodrigo Blankenship, a.k.a. Hot Rod a.k.a. Gawdrigo a.k.a. Rowdy Roddy Blankenship (I made the last one up).

You may be wondering why, on a soccer website, we are talking about college football. Well, how are legendary college footballers made? With soccer.

Men's college soccer in the United States is an anomaly. No other country sends potential professional athletes to academic universities instead of athletic academies like the U.S. While this is the accepted norm in football and basketball, the two most popular sports in the country, soccer operates differently throughout the world.

After more than 100 minutes of impressive defensive play, Indiana’s defense finally made a mistake and Stanford pounced for a 1-0 victory in the NCAA Men's College Cup final on Sunday at a chilly Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania. 

The Cardinal won their third straight NCAA championship and Stanford became the first school to win the men’s and women’s NCAA College Cup in the same year after the Cardinal women won last week against UCLA. 

Stanford had lost a two-goal lead and Julie Foudy suggested the momentum was all with UCLA. Jaye Boissiere had other things in mind. Boissiere curled in a beautiful shot from 20 yards out in the 67th minute to propel the Cardinal to a 3-2 victory in the Women’s College Cup final in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday.

Stanford (24-1-0) won its second national title by finishing the season on a 22-match win streak. The Cardinal’s only loss came in August against Florida in Gainesville, not far from where the Women’s College Cup took place at Orlando City Stadium. 

The 2017 NCAA Men’s College Cup field has been whittled to eight with many of the usual suspects advancing to the quarterfinals. The marquee matchup of the quarters will be a rematch of last year’s College Cup final — Wake Forest, the top-seed, will take on back-to-back national champion Stanford. Seeds 2 through 5 remain alive as well: Indiana, North Carolina, Louisville and Akron. 

Footy fans don't agree on much, but one thing most fans can agree on is soccer's extra time rules are generally awful. For most leagues, the general "30 minutes of extra time followed by a penalty shootout" format prevails, and that format is butt.

You know what format is better? Golden goal. That is, if a team scores in extra time, that's it. Game over. If the ball goes in the net, that's the last kick of the game, and everyone watching can pivot to doing something else. This format is also known as "sudden death" which is cool and spooky-sounding.