The second round of the NCAA tournament was replete with upsets, drama, and some really beautiful goals. Here’s a recap of the weekend and a look ahead at the Round of 16.

North Carolina Bracket

Top-seeded North Carolina eked out a win over local rival Coastal Carolina, who have the highest offensive production of any team in the nation, averaging three goals a game. Their star player, Ashton Bennett, ended the season with 23 goals and is likely to be a first-round selection in MLS. The Chanticleers couldn’t seal the deal, though, losing at UNC 3-2.

UNC goes on to play Indiana, who took Old Dominion to the woodshed and beat them 3-0. ODU’s high-octane offense was no problem for the Hoosiers, and IU’s trio of Kotlov, Purdie, and Zavaleta has become one of the most efficient in the country. Kotlov was injured during Indiana’s match against Creighton in October. IU is peaking at the right time, but I think UNC is a more complete team top-to-bottom. I predict UNC wins this matchup of soccer dynasties, 2-1.

Saint Mary’s appears to be this year’s Team of Destiny. They squeaked into the tournament on an at-large bid, beat a really good CSU Bakersfield side in the first round, and then traveled south to defeat #7 UC Irvine on their home field. Irvine lost in the Big West championship and got totally outplayed by Creighton in Omaha, but the Anteaters had a season to be proud of. They hovered at 4th in the RPI standings for a considerable period of time, and midfielder Miguel Ibarra is one of the top talents in the nation.

The upset wasn’t a surprise to some, though. In an exclusive interview with the WBR, J.R. Eskilson of Goal.com noted this:

“UCI has not been very good at home this year, [St. Mary’s] could surprise the Anteaters. (That is not a slight on Irvine. Good team, but never adapted to its own home field.)”

The Gaels will fly across the country to face Brown in the third round, who earned an upset victory of their own over Big East champs St. John’s. Reports say it was a defensive battle, as the Bears scored the game’s only goal just before halftime and won 1-0. The result was no fluke: Brown and SJU played to a 0-0 draw earlier in the season, and the Bears’ defense has proven to be exceptional this season. The Ivy League co-champs appear to have simply outworked the Johnnies, and will be rewarded with home field advantage in the Round of 16. I predict a 2-0 win for Brown.

UConn Bracket

UConn, the third overall seed, fell behind early 1-0 to a gutsy Monmouth side, but two goals from All-Name-Team starter Mamadou Doudou Diouf sent the Huskies to the third round. Monmouth had a key player sent off in the 50th minute after a risky challenge in the penalty box, and it was smooth sailing for Connecticut after that.

They’ll play at home against James Madison University, who finished in first place this season in the competitive CAA, but were bounced early from the conference tournament. Madison is playing in its first NCAA tournament in six years, and is off to a good start with a home win over ACC power Wake Forest. The Dukes had 15 shots to the Deacs’ 9, and all reports indicate that WFU was pretty seriously overmatched. JMU is a talented and quick team but I’m not convinced they have as much maturity and experience as their next opponent, UConn. I’ll take UConn in a 3-2 win.

Atlantic Ten champion Charlotte got on the board less than a minute into their game against C-USA runner-up UAB, and ended up winning 3-1. UAB had some major scoring opportunities in the second half, but the ball was twice cleared off the line by Charlotte defenders.

They’ll play defending champion Akron in the third round, who upset #6 Southern Methodist in Dallas, 3-2. The Zips’ star player and Jamaican national, Darren Mattocks, put the team on his back and scored two goals, pushing his season total to 21. SMU scored twice in the 83rd minute to cut the lead to one, but the equalizer was elusive. Akron struggled in the regular season but are absolutely loaded with talent and seem to be regaining their old form.

At the beginning of the season, I predicted Charlotte would make the Final Four, and I’m not ready to jump ship just yet. I think Charlotte beats Akron 2-2 with PKs to play UConn in the Round of Eight.

Boston College Bracket

I’m sure glad I didn’t publish a bracket preview earlier, since I was predicting an easy win for Boston College over Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights had other ideas, beating 4th-seed-overall BC 1-1 in a shootout. A late goal from Rutgers’ Ibrahim Kamara sent the game to PKs, where the Rutgers goalkeeper came up with a few big-time saves to secure the win.

The Eagles’ loss lent credence to their detractors, including J.R. Eskilson who noted:

“I don’t think Boston College will make it that far. I haven’t been impressed with the Golden Eagles this season. I thought the 4 seed was incredibly generous for what amounts to a 14 win team with 6 of those wins against awful opposition (all below 103 in the last RPI).”

With the BC loss, Creighton is the only Jesuit university remaining in the tournament.

Rutgers travels to the City of Angels to face UCLA, who put away CAA champion Delaware 1-0 in a close match. Game reports indicate that the Bruins’ finishing was sub-par, which is to be expected in inclement weather and after a week without games. UCLA is maybe the most talented side in the nation, and will steamroll Rutgers if the Pac-12 champions play to their potential.

Maryland silenced the doubters with a 4-0 obliteration of West Virginia after a four-game winless streak. Previously rattled by injuries and lack of depth, the Terps felt like they had a lot to prove and showed that with the result. Casey Townsend, a pro prospect who scored the Terps’ lone goal against Creighton, scored three (!) goals against a good WVU side.

They’ll keep home field advantage in next week’s game against Louisville, who barely squeezed by a motivated Bradley side. Bradley, the only other Missouri Valley team in the tournament, took the Cardinals to double overtime with a goal in the 90th minute from all-Valley midfielder Brian Gaul. Bradley’s goalkeeper, Brian Billings, kept the Braves in the game but BU just couldn’t find the back of the net. Bradley represented the Valley well and lost a close game to a team many predict to reach the Final Four. Louisville, who entered the season ranked #1 nationally, have the talent to beat Maryland on a neutral field but will have a tough time at Maryland’s Ludwig Stadium. I give Maryland a 2-1 win to advance to the quarterfinals.

Creighton Bracket

South Florida won 2-1 in a terrific rivalry match with Central Florida. The match was played at South Florida’s brand new stadium before a crowd of over 3,000. (It was 80 degrees and sunny.) The game was a rematch of last year’s first round game, in which UCF defeated the heavily favored USF Bulls. USF goalkeeper Chris Blais (who played on last year’s Michigan Final Four team) had a career game, and kept the game in control until the Bulls scored the winning goal in overtime with a dramatic header.

They’ll host New Mexico, who went undefeated this year but were snubbed with the tenth seed overall. Eskilson had this to say about that situation:

“Yes. Absurd decision by the selection committee. New Mexico is a very good team, and they showed that this year throughout this season. There was too much stock put into what conference New Mexico played in and won. They’ll probably feel slighted by the decision and they should. The lack of respect is appalling, but more so the committee took away a huge advantage for New Mexico – the home field. Teams hate playing there. Narrow field that plays fast. But now UNM will likely only have 1 home game and it’ll be a non-factor.”

The Lobos will have to leave their home turf, where they enjoy a tremendous home field advantage. New Mexico won a thriller over Duke, who finished in the middle of the pack in this year’s ACC. Duke scored just after halftime, but a red card in the 76th minute cleared the way for NM to score the equalizer and send the game to overtime. The strike came from Blake Smith, who sent a screamer to the right corner from just outside the box. It was his tenth goal of the year. Duke, no doubt worn down by the difference in altitude, was outplayed in overtime and the Lobos scored the golden goal only eight minutes in.

New Mexico is undefeated and playing with purpose, but there is some question about how good they actually are. Their schedule was a weak one, and the Lobos have shown weakness this season in important games, including two games with Cal. Bakersfield and one at Denver. South Florida enjoys home-field advantage and no travel.

Eskilson says about South Florida, “USF is very good (solid GK, smart def, and excellent forward).”

I’ll give this one to South Florida, 0-0 in PKs.

Former Creighton opponent Providence traveled to sunny Santa Barbara, California, to take on the heavily favored UCSB Gauchos. The Friars, a very young team, went down two goals before trading with UCSB to make the final score 3-2. UCSB enjoys one of the best home field advantages in college soccer, frequently packing over 5,000 fans into Harder Stadium. The Gauchos were favored to make the College Cup this year, but struggled in conference. Goalkeeping has been especially suspect this year, a departure from the typically solid goalkeeping of UCSB teams of old.

Creighton will welcome UCSB to the Hilltop next Sunday for the Round of 16. Creighton is a #1 regional seed for the first time ever, playing their best soccer of the year, haven’t lost in Morrison Stadium all year, and are used to the late November chill they’ll face next Sunday. I predict the Bluejays will beat the Gauchos 2-0, but the game will be close. The UCSB attack could be one of the best the Creighton defense has faced all year, but the defense has been poor and could be the key factor in that match. The Bluejays will need to finish, but that should be no problem if this weekend’s win over NIU was any indication.

Creighton plays next Sunday, November 27, at 1:00 pm at Morrison Stadium.