College soccer week 10 recap & awards

Unbeaten seasons are rare in college soccer – Santa Clara was the last to do it with a 20-0-3 and a national title in 1989 – but two teams this season have made it this far into October without suffering a loss.

Denver has run their record to 14-0-2 after a pair of wins, including an overtime win over New Mexico, in week 10. The Pioneers were the only team with an unbeaten record entering the NCAA Tournament last season, where they fell to SMU 1-0 in the second round.

Head coach Jamie Franks (Medford, N.J.), who is still only 30 years old, is an incredible 29-1-5 at the helm after being promoted to head coach when Bobby Muus left for Wake Forest ahead of the 2015 season.

Maryland, meanwhile, has continued to win despite the giant target on their backs that comes with holding the No. 1 ranking. The Terps have won nine straight since earning the top ranking in the NSCAA coaches poll and have 11 consecutive wins overall.

Their latest came Tuesday night thanks to a Gordon Wild hat trick that overshadowed a historic night for the visiting Delaware Blue Hens and their striker Guillermo Delgado. Delgado scored twice to top Mike Biggs’ 46-year-old program goal-scoring mark with 48 for his career.

Closer to home, Villanova appears to be hitting their stride at just the right time. The Wildcats dropped Penn 4-0 and then held off No. 10 Creighton last week to put themselves in position to qualify for postseason with three critical Big East ties remaining.

Junior midfielder Miguel Polley pulled the strings for the Nova offense in both wins with a free kick goal in the Creighton win and a goal and two assists in the win over Penn. The young Wildcats defense stood tall in front of Will Steiner in both matches as well, including the Creighton match that marked the return of freshman standout Nikkye DePoint after missing five games.

Goal of the Week

Virginia’s Jean-Christophe Koffi delivered this long-range missile in a 3-0 win over William & Mary.

Players of the Week

Philadelphia Union Academy: Doyle Tuvesson, Jr., Lehigh (Kennett Square, Pa.)
Tuvesson scored game-winning goals in wins over Fordham and Boston University. He has three goals and four assists on the season.

Regional: Miguel Polley, R-Jr., Villanova
Polley was deadly from set pieces, delivering two assists off free kicks for goals in a 4-0 win over Penn and scoring the lone goal against Creighton on one. He also added a goal in the Penn victory.

National Player of the Week: Cameron Harr, So., Marist
Had five goals in two wins, including four goals in less than five minutes in the second half against Manhattan. The Red Bulls Academy alum has 16 goals and an assist on the year.

Teams of the Week

Regional/Union Academy Team of the Week

GK: Cameron Keys, So., La Salle (Allentown, Pa.)*
Keys had two shutouts for the Explorers in a 1-0 win over Dayton and 3-0 win over George Mason and now has five career shutouts in nine games.

D: Graham Smith, Sr., South Florida (New Hope, Pa.)
Smith set up the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Memphis with a long ball to Nazeem Bartman.

D: Shane Bradley, Fr., Villanova (Haverford, Pa.)*
Bradley and the rest of the Nova defense deserve a ton of credit for the way they dealt with Creighton’s relentless attacks in a 1-0 win.

D: Eric McKenna, Sr., Villanova
McKenna, who has been filling in at center back, scored his first career goal that held up as a game-winner against Penn and then helped anchor a Wildcats back line that held two clean sheets on the week.

D: Tanner Shane, Fr., William & Mary (Macungie, Pa.)*
Set up the game-winning goal to beat College of Charleston.

MF: Doyle Tuvesson, So., Lehigh (Kennett Square, Pa.)*
Tuvesson scored game-winning goals in wins over Fordham and Boston University.

MF: Miguel Polley, R-Jr., Villanova
Polley was deadly from set pieces, delivering two assists off free kicks for goals in a 4-0 win over Penn and scoring the lone goal against Creighton on one. He also added a goal in the Penn victory.

MF: Lucas Hodges, Jr., Villanova
Had a brace in the 4-0 win over Penn and leads the team with six goals.

MF: Drew Skundrich, Jr., Stanford (Lancaster, Pa.)**
Had a goal and an assist in the Cardinal’s 3-2 win over UCLA.

MF: Pat McCarthy, Fr., La Salle (Cinnaminson, N.J.)
McCarthy had a pair of assists in La Salle’s 3-0 win over George Mason.

F: Guillermo Delgado, Sr., Delaware
Delgado set the program record for assists in a 3-2 win over Elon and then scored twice to break the goals record in a 3-2 loss to Maryland.

* Played for Philadelphia Union Academy between 2013-15
** Participated in the Philadelphia Union Academy as a member of a youth club affiliate

National Team of the Week

GK: Alec Ferrell, Sr., Wake Forest
Made seven saves in a 1-0 win over Boston College and made three saves in a 1-0 win over South Carolina.

D: Alex Crognale, Sr., Maryland
Had two goals, including the game-winner in a 2-1 win over Hofstra. The center back is tied for second on the team with six goals.

D: Eric McKenna, Sr., Villanova
McKenna, who has been filling in at center back, scored his first career goal that held up as a game-winner against Penn and then helped anchor a Wildcats back line that held two clean sheets on the week.

D: Kyle Bjornethun, Sr., Seattle
Assisted on the game-winning goal and led the back line to a shut out in a 3-0 win over UT Rio Grande Valley.

MF: Brandon Williamson, Fr., Duke
Scored the equalizer and golden goal in overtime to lead the Blue Devils to a 2-1 win over Notre Dame. The goals were the first of his college career.

MF: Brandt Bronico, Sr., Charlotte
Recorded first career hat trick in 5-0 win over UAB. He leads the team with six goals and four assists.

MF: Luka Prpa, Fr., Marquette
Had two goals, including the game-winner against Xavier.

MF: Tanner Thompson, Sr., Indiana
Led the Hoosiers with a hat trick in a 5-0 win over Saint Louis.

F: Gordon Wild, So., Maryland
Had a hat trick, including the golden goal in a 3-2 overtime win over Delaware and had an assist in a 2-1 win over Hofstra.

F: Cameron Harr, So., Marist
Had five goals in two wins, including four goals in less than five minutes in the second half against Manhattan. The Red Bulls Academy alum has 16 goals and an assist on the year.

F: Albert Ruiz, Sr., Florida Gulf Coast
Scored a pair of goals in a 3-0 win over USC Upstate and added a goal in a 2-1 win over Jacksonville. The senior leads the nation in goals with 17.