Finalists share impressive pedigree

Last year's NCAA Men's College Cup featured three clubs who had never played on men's college soccer's biggest stage. However, this year is a different story as the four participants -- Maryland, North Carolina, St. John's and Wake Forest, are no stranger to the event. Of course, three of those sides come from the Atlantic Coast Conference, with St. John's being the lone non-ACC school in attendance as the Red Storm play in the Big East. Wake Forest is the lone holdover from 2007 and the Demon Deacons return looking to repeat as NCAA champions.

Wake and UNC open the event on Friday with first kick set for 4:30 p.m. CT. St. John's and Maryland meet in the nightcap, which is scheduled for a 7 p.m. CT kickoff. Here's a closer look at the four national semifinalists:

MARYLAND

Maryland (21-3-0) comes into the College Cup riding a 14-match winning streak. The second-seeded Terrapins clinched a spot in the big event by defeating Creighton 1-0, thanks to a goal by Rodney Wallace off a free kick. Wallace also had his side's first tally of the 2008 season, in a 2-1 win against UCLA at The Home Depot Center back on Aug. 29.

The Terps' top scorer throughout 2008 was junior midfielder Jeremy Hall (14 goals, 6 assists) but freshman striker Casey Townsend (11 goals, 4 assists) is another player to watch. Junior midfielder/forward Doug Rodkey led Maryland in assists with nine, while freshman midfielder Matt Kassel chipped in with seven. As a team, Maryland allowed an average of 0.75 goals per game. In goal, Zac Macmath has been a huge asset with a 17-1-0 record, 10 shutouts and a goals-against-average of 0.49 in 19 games.

This will be Maryland's 11th trip to the national semifinals in program history and fifth College Cup appearance in the last seven years. Their last trip was in 2005 when the Terps came away with the NCAA championship.

"It feels great to be back," said Maryland head coach Sasho Cirovski, who has led his team to six College Cups. "I couldn't be more proud of our team right now."

Maryland has beaten St. John's, their Friday opponent, in three consecutive matches, eliminating the Red Storm from the NCAA Tournament in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

The College Cup will be a homecoming for two Maryland players who are from the Dallas area. Freshman midfielder Kaoru Forbess, who played in 11 games as a reserve, is from Garland while defender/midfielder Omar Gonzalez (five goals, one assist) is a Dallas native who has trained with FC Dallas in the past.

NORTH CAROLINA

The Tar Heels' last trip to the Men's College Cup was in 2001, when they won the NCAA title. This is their third appearance in the in program history and UNC (14-7-1) heads into the event riding a three-match winning streak. Carolina advanced to Frisco by beating a pesky Northwestern squad 1-0 in the national quarterfinals. Freshman midfielder Kirk Urso had the lone goal of the game for the Heels, who were a No. 13 seed when he scored in the 61st minute.

"It's like a dream right now," Urso said after the win. "We've worked so hard. Our team, we knew we had the potential the whole year. For this to be happening at this time, it's just amazing. It's just a dream."

Offensively, the Heels were led by senior striker Brian Shriver (13 goals, five assists), junior forward Eddie Ababio (seven goals, four assists) and freshman midfielder/forward Billy Schuler (four goals, five assists). UNC allowed 1.27 goals per game and should be set between the posts with senior starter Jacob Wescoe (10-5-1, 3 shutouts, 1.27 goals-against-average) although backup Brooks Hagerty (4-2-0, 2 shutouts, 1.22 goals-against-average in seven games) is also a solid option for UNC.

Carolina, a No. 13 seed, will be facing a familiar foe in Wake Forest. On Nov. 1, the Tar Heels, who at the time were ranked No. 7 in the nation, lost 4-2 to the top-ranked Demon Deacons, but the final score was a bit deceiving. UNC had a 2-1 lead before Wake exploded for three goals in a six-minute span in the second half to break the game open.

Wake has beaten UNC three consecutive times and the Tar Heels haven't defeated the Demon Deacons since a 1-0 win during the 2005 regular season. Carolina has a pair of players with ties to the Dallas area. Sophomore defender David Rodriguez, who has played in 11 games in 2008, is from Big D along with sophomore midfielder Cameron Brown (three goals, five assists), who calls nearby Garland home.

ST. JOHN'S

This will be the Red Storm's fourth trip to the College Cup but first since 2003. With a 19-2-3 record, this year's team has the most wins since the 1996 team won a school-record 22 matches and the NCAA title. St. John's, a No. 3 seed, which punched their ticket with a 2-1 overtime win against Indiana, has won four in a row.

Maryland, their College Cup opponent, has eliminated the Red Storm from the NCAA Tournament three years running. The sides last met on Nov. 15, 2006 with the Terrapins prevailing 2-0.

"(They are) a fantastic team, a great program with unbelievably talented players," said St. John's head coach Dr. Dave Masur. "Collectively, they play very hard and together."

The St. John's offense is led by Big East Midfielder of the Year Nelson Becerra (eight goals, seven assists), who converted the game-winning penalty kick over Indiana. It was the junior's fifth game-winner of the year and he is a perfect 3-for-3 on penalty kicks. Sophomore midfielder Tafadzwa Chiduku (seven goals, one assist) is another threat along with Sverre Wegge Gundhus (four goals, five assists) and Walter Hines (one goal, five assists). In the back, the Red Storm is led by Joel Gustafsson, the Big East Defender of the Year. He is the anchor of a unit that allowed just 0.50 goals per game this year, making St. John's the toughest team in the nation to score on. In goal, redshirt senior Neal Kitson has been a rock, keeping 15 clean sheets in 23 games while amassing a 19-2-2 record and a goals-against-average of just 0.47.

Two players for the Red Storm are from the Dallas area. Redshirt junior defender Ben Clack, who started 24 games this year, hails from Duncanville while sophomore midfielder Ale Ivo, who came off the bench in the win against the Hoosiers, is from Fort Worth. "It's really an awesome feeling to know I can go back and see my host family and friends," Ivo said. "Everyone is going to be there. I went to high school there. I played club there. It's like my second home."

WAKE FOREST

The Demon Deacons (21-1-1) delivered the most decisive win to reach their third consecutive College Cup with a 5-0 blanking of South Florida, where five different players found the back of the net for the defending NCAA champions, who have now won three straight. Wake's only loss of the season came on Nov. 14 when Virginia beat them 3-2 in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament, a setback that came in double overtime.

"I'm very excited for my team," Wake Forest head coach Jay Vidovich said after the win against South Florida. "We had a tremendous start to the match. I'm tremendously happy with how we played and defended right from the beginning. Our guys did a fantastic job the entire game."

Top-seeded Wake heads into their national semifinal match with ACC rival North Carolina having allowed just 0.70 goals per game all year. The Demon Deacons are led by junior midfielder Cody Arnoux (17 goals, eight assists) and senior striker Marcus Tracy (13 goals, 10 assists), who is considered a top prospect for next month's MLS SuperDraft.

Other key contributors to the potent WFU attack, which has averaged 3.5 goals per game this year, include sophomore midfielder Corben Bone (seven goals, 17 assists), a Dallas native, junior forward/midfielder Zack Schilanski (11 goals, five assists), senior midfielder Sam Cronin (10 goals, four assists) and senior midfielder Jamie Franks (three goals, 11 assists). In goal, Wake has junior Akira Fitzgerald (20-1-1, 13 shutouts, 0.61 goals-against-average).

WFU and UNC have already faced each other once in 2008. On Nov. 1, the Demon Deacons went into Chapel Hill and found themselves trailing 2-1 before exploding for three goals within a six-minute span to hand the Tar Heels a 4-2 loss. The last team to repeat as NCAA champions was Indiana, who accomplished the back-to-back feat in 2003 and 2004.