College soccer week seven preview

Four area teams will be kicking off their conference schedules as the college soccer season enters its seventh week.

Penn (2-1-4) looks to continue their strong form – they’ve already equaled their goal total from last season – with their Ivy League opener at Cornell on Sunday afternoon. The Quakers will also host Delaware (8-2-0) on Wednesday night after the Blue Hens face Hofstra at home on Saturday night in a key Colonial Athletic Association contest.

Saint Joseph’s opens Atlantic 10 play on the road at St. Bonaventure, La Salle (5-4-0) hosts Saint Louis (1-4-3) at 7 p.m. and Princeton (4-3-0) hosts Dartmouth (1-2-4) at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Temple (6-3) kicks off the home portion of their American Athletic Conference home schedule with their first game under the lights at the new Temple Sports Complex on Saturday night. The Owls will look to continue their offensive dominance against Memphis and pick up their first conference victory. Senior forward Jorge Gomez Sanchez is second in the nation with 10 goals while the Owls as a team are outscoring opponents 17-7.

Nationally, Syracuse (8-1-0) will host No. 4 North Carolina (7-1-0) in a top five battle tonight at 7 p.m. while fifth-ranked Clemson (8-1-0) hosts No. 11 Wake Forest (8-1-1) in another critical ACC match-up.

No. 4 North Carolina also have an in-state derby with No. 24 UNC Wilmington (5-1-1) on Tuesday. UNC Wilmington will tune up for the showdown in Philadelphia against Drexel (1-6-2) at 4 p.m. on Saturday. Drexel’s offense has struggled of late, failing to score in four straight matches, all losses.

Top-ranked Maryland (6-0-2) has two games to solidify their standing, a Big 10 match-up with Northwestern (2-6-1) on the road tonight and a non-conference match back home in College Park against San Diego (3-3-3) on Monday night.

South Bend will play host to another key match Tuesday with No. 6 Indiana coming to town to take on the second-ranked Irish (7-1-0) in a state derby match.

Check out the schedule of local games and key national games below.

Local

Saturday, October 1
Villanova vs DePaul, 1 p.m. (Big East Digital Network)
Temple vs Memphis, 7 p.m. (Live Stream)
Drexel vs No. 24 UNC Wilmington, 4 p.m. (Live Stream)
La Salle vs Saint Louis, 7 p.m. (Live Stats)
Saint Joseph’s at St. Bonaventure, 6 p.m. (Live Stream)
Princeton vs Dartmouth, 4 p.m. (Live Stream)
Lafayette at Army West Point, 4 p.m. (Live Stream)
Rider vs Niagara, 1 p.m. (Live Stream)
Lehigh at Colgate, 4:30 p.m. (Live Stream)
Delaware vs Hofstra, 7 p.m. (Live Stats)

Sunday, October 2
Penn at Cornell, 4 p.m. (Live Stream)

Tuesday, October 4
Drexel at Columbia, 7 p.m.
Temple vs Villanova, 3 p.m. (Live Stream)

Wednesday, October 5
Saint Joseph’s vs Rhode Island, 7 p.m. (Live Stream)
Lafayette at Bucknell, 7 p.m. (Live Stream)
Lehigh vs Navy, 7 p.m. (Live Stream)
Princeton at Seton Hall, 7 p.m. (Live Stream)
Penn vs Delaware, 7 p.m. (Live Stream)
Rider at Monmouth, 7 p.m. (Live Stats)

National

Tonight
No. 3 Syracuse vs No. 4 North Carolina, 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
No. 5 Clemson vs No. 11 Wake Forest, 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
No. 1 Maryland at Northwestern, 8 p.m. (BTN Plus)

Saturday, October 1
No. 7 Butler vs Georgetown, 7 p.m. (Live Stream)

Sunday, October 2
No. 13 UCLA vs Oregon State (Pac-12 Networks)

Monday, October 3
No. 1 Maryland vs San Diego, 7 p.m. (BTN Plus)

Tuesday, October 4
No. 4 North Carolina vs No. 24 UNC Wilmington, 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
No. 3 Syracuse at Albany, 7 p.m.
No. 2 Notre Dame vs No. 6 Indiana, 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
No. 5 Clemson at Coastal Carolina