Soccer Capsules: Akron, Virginia face off for NCAA soccer title
CARY, N.C. — The men’s soccer programs at Akron and Virginia have little in common from a tradition standpoint.
But as the top two teams in the country, they share some striking similarities this season. The top-seeded Zips (23-0-1) and second-seeded Cavaliers (18-3-3) will play for the NCAA Men’s College Cup championship Sunday at 1 p.m.
"They’re a very worthy opponent and would do well in our league," Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. "I think the three games we played against Wake Forest, the three games we played against Maryland, the game we played against North Carolina, those games in our conference prepare us for a game like this. I feel like we’re playing an ACC-caliber team, and we’re prepared for that."
The Zips, champions of the Mid-American Conference and ranked No. 1 in the nation since early September, have proven that they belong. They made their presence known in an otherwise all-ACC affair, eliminating No. 5 seeded North Carolina on penalty kicks in Friday’s semifinal round.
The Cavaliers, unbeaten in their last 15 matches, advanced with a 2-1 overtime victory over league rival Wake Forest. While Virginia has won five NCAA championships in 10 College Cup appearances, Akron has reached the final four for just the second time. Still, the Zips don’t feel like underdogs.
"I don’t see us as an inferior team, even though I have a lot of respect for all these teams here," Akron coach Caleb Porter said. "The last several years, we’ve been competitive against the top teams in the country and have not played a cupcake schedule. ... We’ve gone into this weekend thinking we’re the team to beat."
Akron’s previous trip to the College Cup ended with a 1-0 loss to ACC foe Duke in the 1986 championship game, but Porter has encountered the Cavaliers on this stage before. He was a freshman midfielder on the Indiana team that lost to Virginia 1-0 in the 1994 national championship game.
That was Virginia’s last of four consecutive NCAA titles — and its last overall. The Cavaliers returned to the College Cup final in 1997, but this year marks their first trip back to the championship game since.
"Everyone comes to this school because of the tradition and the pride that we get with putting on the jersey," Virginia forward Chase Neinken said. "It’s taken awhile for us to get back to the point we’re at today, so we just want to carry that as well as create some tradition of our own."
It won’t be easy against Akron, which leads the nation in scoring (2.4 goals per game), goals-against average (0.29) and shutouts (18). But Virginia has been nearly as stingy. The Cavaliers (0.32 GAA) have recorded 16 shutouts, allowing just one goal over their last 12 matches.
Plus, Virginia goalkeeper Diego Restrepo knows a little bit about beating Akron in the postseason. When he played at South Florida in 2007, Restrepo made 10 saves in the Bulls’ 1-0 double-overtime win over the Zips in the NCAA second round.
"I’ll never forget that moment because it was a tough game, and I gained encouragement from that game," Restrepo said.
The Zips are looking for an even bigger boost against Restrepo this time around. They already have set a school record for wins and tied the NCAA record for consecutive victories in a season, but their goal is to win their school’s first NCAA team championship.
"This program, with Caleb’s vision and the players we’ve brought in, has really come into sight now," Akron midfielder Blair Gavin said. "I think this is one of many to come for this program. This is like the stepping stone."
League Roundups
Chelsea stretches lead with 3-3 draw vs. Everton
LONDON — Chelsea stretched its lead over Manchester United at the top of the Premier League to three points despite a 3-3 draw with Everton after the defending champion lost 1-0 at home to Aston Villa.
Didier Drogba scored twice as Chelsea recovered from an early own-goal by goalkeeper Petr Cech, but Everton fought back to equalize twice and secure a valuable point in its efforts to move away from the bottom of the standings.
Chelsea had not conceded a goal at Stamford Bridge since the opening day of the season in August.
It has now lost its perfect home record and has not won for four matches, but was helped by United's fourth loss of the season.
Gabriel Agbonlahor scored for Villa in the 21st minute with a header from Ashley Young's curling left-wing cross.
"Who can say we are in crisis?" Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti said. "I don't think so. I want to be objective and, when I look at the game and the way we played, I saw that my team played very well.
"We still have the same chance to win the title. It will be a long race until the end of the season. The Premier League is very competitive."
Also Saturday, Manchester City equalized three times to hold Bolton 3-3 and draw for the eighth time in nine Premier League games, while Tottenham's hopes of staying in contention for Champions League qualification took a big hit with a 1-0 loss against visiting Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Chelsea was undone by poor defending at set pieces.
Yakubu Ayegbeni had only just come on as a substitute when he made it 2-2 in first-half injury time following John Terry's failure to clear a throw and, although Drogba restored Chelsea's lead in the 59th minute, Louis Saha scored for 3-3 four minutes later.
Drogba was helping out in defense but headed a free kick by Johnny Heitinga into Saha's back and the ball bounced over Cech and into the empty net.
"To come here and get a draw, especially with the players we played, is terrific," Everton manager David Moyes said of his injury-hit side. "We deserved it. We never gave in when we went behind."
Everton had led in the 12th when Saha's header from a free kick hit the post and rebounded into the net off Cech's back. Ricardo Carvalho and Frank Lampard set up Drogba for an equalizer five minutes later, and Nicolas Anelka made it 2-1 in the 23rd with a close-range shot into the roof of the net.
Drogba has now scored 18 goals this season and Anelka has seven but Chelsea has conceded 10 goals in four games.
Villa rarely threatened apart from when Agbonlahor hit his eighth league goal of the season. United striker Wayne Rooney had plenty of possession but was below the form that brought him 11 Premier League goals so far this season.
United brought on Michael Owen, Dimitar Berbatov and Darron Gibson in search of a goal and continued to dominate without reward. Berbatov was unmarked in front of goal but completely missed Michael Carrick's cross and Nemanja Vidic had a header blocked on the line.
United has 34 points to Chelsea's 37. Villa's first win at Old Trafford since 1983 lifted it two places to third, although Arsenal could retake third if it beats Liverpool in Sunday's only game.
Carlos Tevez scored two of Manchester City's goals to take his tally to five in the Premier League, while Tottenham had 83 minutes plus injury time to recover from a third-minute goal by Wolves striker Kevin Doyle but still lost a third home game of the season.
"The players were magnificent for 96 minutes," Wolves manager Mick McCarthy said.
Birmingham moved to within three points of Spurs with midfielder Lee Bowyer scoring for a 1-0 win over former club West Ham, Fulham drew 1-1 at Burnley and last-place Portsmouth equalized in the final minute for a 1-1 draw at Sunderland.
But Portsmouth's Younes Kaboul got a second yellow card for removing his shirt in celebration of his goal and was sent off.
In the other games, Blackburn drew 0-0 with Hull and Maynor Figueroa scored from halfway to help Wigan to a 2-2 draw at Stoke.
Newcastle lost the chance of winning an eighth straight League Championship match when it drew 2-2 at Barnsley but still stretched its lead at the top of the second tier to eight points.
Second-place West Bromwich Albion is not in action until Monday, giving Nottingham Forest and Leicester the chance to move closer.
Third-place Forest won 1-0 at Swansea, while Leicester beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-0.
-- Stuart Condie
Barcelona beats Espanyol 1-0 in Spain
MADRID — Spanish leader Barcelona defeated crosstown rival Espanyol 1-0 on Saturday in its last domestic game of 2009 before traveling to the Club World Cup.
Barcelona couldn't have asked for a better sending off for its Club World Cup date against Mexico's Atlante on Wednesday as the European champion go for its sixth major trophy since May on the heels of a sixth straight victory.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic made no mistake in beating goalkeeper Carlos Karmeni with a 39th-minute penalty shot into the top corner after Xavi Hernandez was fouled. Ibrahimovic matched Valencia's David Villa with his league-high 11th goal, sending Espanyol crashing to its fourth straight defeat in the 151st meeting between the teams.
Barcelona leads the standings with 39 points. Real Madrid has 31, Valencia 28, Sevilla 27 and Deportivo La Coruna 25.
Later Saturday, Madrid faces a tough test against No. 3 Valencia without stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka.
Earlier, Mikel San Jose and Markel Susaeta scored second-half goals to lead Athletic Bilbao to a 2-1 win at Zaragoza, which could only manage Carlos Diogo's injury-time score.
Athletic has 23 points and Zaragoza, which has lost three straight, is 17th with 12 points, one back of Espanyol.
Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes leapt to tip Francisco Chica's swerving drive over after 15 minutes, but that was Espanyol's only sniff of goal as the host dominated in the run-up to the opening goal. Kameni saved from Thierry Henry before Maxwell shot high just before the opener.
Barcelona broke through after the 38th, when Xavi dropped inside the area after slight contact with Jose Baena as the two dueled for a cross.
Kameni anticipated well in the 49th to stop Ibrahimovic, whose quick touches and slick passes troubled Espanyol's defense throughout.
The crosstown rivals kept poking away with long shots with Javier Marquez shooting wide just before Valdes easily caught from Ivan Alonso in the 63rd after the Espanyol striker failed to take advantage of his side's best chance from close so far.
Although Barcelona looked sluggish toward the end as the match became bogged down by fouls, it continued to attack as Gerard Pique headed over in the 77th.
Beside Spanish league and Champions League honors, Barcelona also won the Copa del Rey, European Supercup and Spanish Supercup trophies.
On Sunday, it's: Valladolid vs. Malaga; Getafe vs. Tenerife; Racing Santander vs. Xerez; Almeria vs. Deportivo La Coruna; Osasuna vs. Mallorca; Atletico Madrid vs. Villarreal; and Sporting Gijon vs. Sevilla.
-- Paul Logothetis
Marseille beats Boulogne 2-0 in French league
PARIS — Marseille moved within three points of leader Bordeaux in the French league by beating Boulogne 2-0 on Saturday.
Defender Gabriel Heinze scored for Marseille with a header in the 48th minute off a corner from Benoit Cheyrou, and six minutes later fullback Taye Taiwo converted a penalty kick after Lucho Gonzalez was fouled.
Boulogne defender Olubayo Adefemi was sent off in the 89th for a harsh tackle on Hatem Ben Arfa.
Defending champion Bordeaux tops the standings with 31 points and will face Lyon on Sunday.
Also on Saturday, it was: Le Mans 2, Valenciennes 1; Nancy 1, Rennes 2 and Lens 2, Nice 0.
Le Mans overcame playing the second half a man short when Anthony Le Tallec looped a free kick under the crossbar in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Sebastien Corchia put Le Mans ahead with a header in the 30th but Gael Danic collected a throughball from midfielder Fahid Ben Khalfallah to level with a low shot in the 33rd.
Le Mans was reduced to 10 men on the stroke of halftime when forward Modibo Maiga was ejected for a second yellow card.
This was Arnaud Cormier's first match as a coach at Le Mans since Paulo Duarte's dismissal on Wednesday.
Le Mans remained, however, in the relegation zone with 12 points, tied with Boulogne.
In Nancy, midfielder Julien Feret scored for the host side in the 40th with a powerful strike from the edge of the box.
Rennes equalized in the 48th with an own-goal from Bakaye Traore.
Nancy had an opportunity to recapture the lead in the 62nd when Feret was fouled inside the area, but goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez stopped the penalty kick by Andre Luiz.
Defender Damian Macaluso added more trouble for Nancy in the 67th by receiving a second yellow card for dissent.
Sylvain Marveaux notched the winner for Rennes with a strike into the top corner in the 70th.
Rennes improved to fourth in the standings, five points behind Bordeaux.
In Lens, Kanga Akale headed in a cross from Yohan Demont in the 18th before crossing the ball for Toifilou Maoulida, who doubled the lead with a header in the 36th.
Nice forward Mamadou Bagayoko was red-carded in the 47th for kicking Nenad Kovacevic in the head while fighting for the ball.
Lens moved closer to the middle of the table with 21 points while Nice still had 20 points after its third straight loss.
On Sunday, it's: Toulouse vs. Montpellier; Monaco vs. Lille; Paris Saint-Germain vs. Saint-Etienne and Sochaux vs. Grenoble.
-- Trung Latieule
