Akron falls in upset of the year

Let’s get to it:

Marquee match: UC Santa Barbara had one final chance to make a serious dent in UC Irvine’s hope of claiming the Big West Conference but the Gauchos could not break through and settled for a 0-0 tie. The Anteaters can now take the conference with a win in either of their two remaining matches against Cal State Northridge and Cal State Fullerton.

Upset of the week: Cleveland State? Really? In what may have been the upset of the year, previously unbeaten Akron lost to Cleveland State 2-1 on Saturday – their first regular season loss since 2008. The Vikings scored twice in the final 12 minutes to pull off a historic win for their program. The Zips probably thought they were getting off easy with a nonconference game against a Horizon League opponent, but they were wrong in a big way!

The California Golden Bears must wait for their fate.

Wait for it: California has positioned itself nicely to claim the Pac-10 title but will be waiting anxiously as the Golden Bears won’t see action again until Nov. 11. By then, California may have already claimed the conference by virtue of losses by UCLA which has games remaining against Washington, Oregon State and San Diego State.

Clinching: Georgetown won the Big East Blue Conference this weekend and will take a top seed into the tournament beginning Nov. 6. The Hoyas defeated Connecticut 1-0 on Thursday then fell to Notre Dame in a match that was inconsequential.

TopDrawer jinx reverse!: The jinx has been cured! After weeks of mentioning top programs and players only to have them fall flat shortly thereafter, C.J. Sapong has bucked the trend. After this story last week Sapong scored three goals in two wins to keep James Madison in the Colonial Athletic Association race.

Great Lakes finish: Michigan topped instate rival Michigan State 3-2 in overtime Saturday on a game-winner from Hamoody Saad at 1:24 in the extra session. The win gave the Wolverines the Big Bear Trophy and some added confidence heading into the Big Ten tourney.

Men’s Top 20 Action (SEE FULL SCOREBOARD)

1. Louisville def. Syracuse 2-1; def. Villanova 3-1
2. Maryland def. Virginia 2-0
3. Akron def. Creighton 1-0; lost to Cleveland State 2-1
4. North Carolina def. VCU 1-0; def. East Tennessee State 2-1
5. SMU def. Kentucky 2-0
6. UC Irvine def. UC Riverside 2-1; tied UC Santa Barbara 0-0
7. California def. Oregon State 2-1; def. Washington 2-1
8. Connecticut lost to Georgetown 1-0; def. Pittsburgh 2-0
9. Virginia lost to Maryland 2-0
10. Butler def. Indiana 4-1; def. Detroit 2-0
11. William & Mary(m) def. UNC Wilmington 1-0; tied Hofstra 0-0
12. UCLA def. Cal State Northridge 2-1
13. Monmouth def. St. Francis(m) (PA) 2-1; def. Robert Morris 3-0
14. Boston College def. Dartmouth 2-1; lost to Wake Forest 4-3
15. UCF def. Stetson 2-0; lost to UAB 2-1
16. Michigan State lost to Michigan 3-2
17. Princeton def. Cornell 1-0
18. Notre Dame def. Pittsburgh 3-2; def. Georgetown 3-0
19. Penn State def. Penn 2-1
20. Creighton lost to Akron 1-0; tied SIU-Edwardsville 2-2