Conneticut vs New Mexico l NCAA College Cup Third Round

The University of Conneticut Huskies defeated the New Mexicos Lobos 2-1 in double overtime of their NCAA tournament third round match to get a birth to the elite eight round. Freshman Nicolas Zuniga's first goal of his collegiate career came at the right time, as he scored the golden goal for the Huskies. Devon Sandoval (NM) and Mamadou Diouf (CT) goals cancelled each other out before the Freshman's winner. UCONN will host Creighton on Sunday in the quarterfinals of the College Cup.

UCONN Huskies

Max Wasserman (Senior, Right Back, #22): The senior RB did all he could to keep his college career going. He made a game-saving tackle in the second half to keep the Lobos from going up 2-0. Then he served up the cross that was converted by Diouf. Did a decent job against New Mexico's Left Winger Blake Smith. And he also occupied the right wing in attack, had the work rate and the energy to do both jobs well. He has good control on the ball and is composed. He can whip in decent crosses, the Huskies could have scored a couple of times off his services. This performance along with getting further along the tournament will take him far, at least get him into the Combine.

Carlos Alvarez (Senior, Attacking CM, #10): Their most creative player in midfield. Likes to take set pieces. He didn't get too much going, but his touch and control was decent nevertheless. He checked deep into the midfield to start the attacks once he found it frustrating to join the attack from further up. At times, a bit selfish, but has good vision.

George Fochive (Junior, Defensive CM, #9): The Frenchman worked hard during Sunday's match, breaking up plays and making great tackles. Also showed he had the ability to switch fields with a long ball. Can cover tons of ground along the back-four and will take the place of a member of the back four when necessary.

New Mexico Lobos

Blake Smith (Senior, Left Midfield, #23): Blake is a very quick and talented midfielder. He didn't have the most freedom that he's probably had in many games this season. However you can tell he has what it takes to be a first round draft pick in the MLS. He's quick, good on the ball, and has very good vision. I saw him play this beautiful ball into the path of an attacker. He didn't have the same effectiveness during the later portions of the match. Quick player who has terrific vision, has a good left peg. 

Devon Sandoval (Senior, Striker, #9) He scored his team's first goal. He was the first to the loose ball in the box. The player isn't the faster but he's strong and persistent. His touch was okay. Didn't show me great movement. He would at least project as a striker but I don't know how good he would be in the MLS. Seems like he doesn't have the technical ability to, but it was only one game I saw him in 

(2) Radford vs (6) Winthrop (Big South Semifinal)

Winthrop defeated Radford 2-1 in overtime after Alex Istern scored his second goal of the match. The Spaniard was determined to cut inside from his left midfield spot and hit a nice volley which went to the far post of Radford's goal. Istern cancelled out Radford's Bernando Ulmo's goal in the first half. The second ranked Highlanders started out brightly when the Brazilian Ulmo made a clever run off a free kick and slot the ball home. Winthrop was the better side during the second half and overtime and they deserved the victory. Radford's season ended after this match with a 10-6-4 record. Meanwhile Winthrop's season is still going on after they defeated Coastal Carolina in the Big South finals, then they upset SMU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles face Louisville in the second round of the tournament.

Radford: 

Bernando Ulmo (Junior, Center Midfielder, #7): Ulmo has decent movement, he showed clever movement when he curled around and received a short pass to score his team's first goal of the game. Very good on the ball. Has a decent touch. He was active in the first half but he disappeared in the second half.

Lucas Diniz (Freshman, Forward, #11): Good pace. Lots of energy and decent work rate. Pressures the ball  Pesky forward who worked the line pretty well in the first half. Deceptively fast. Like a lot of the players on the Radford team, he disappeared also.

Winthrop 

Achille Obougou (Junior, Forward, #7): Tall Spanish forward who has quick feet. I was watching the game with a good friend Daniel Revivo, who is a Winthrop alum, and he told me that Achille was a futsal player going on, so it does explain his quick feet. Very physical player. Doesn't mind banging around with the central defenders. He received a red card after the Highlander defender dove on the ground and was yelling. It was unfair to him but his physically was going to hinder him.

Alex Istern (Senior, Left Midfielder, #6): Scored two goals. Has good pace and quick feet on the ball. At times he gets caught dribble too much. He made some good runs into the center to get into the box. Inconsistent at times. He faded a little bit but he came back strong towards the end. Doesn't track back too often. Good player but not MLS quality.

Magnus Thorsson (Freshman, Central Midfielder, #8): The Icelandic player hit a beautiful strike that just barely struck the post before Istern came in for the rebound and scored his first. Very hard-tackler and clever. He dove to get a foul and a yellow card for the opposing team then he jumped up and laughed like everything was all good.