The Division 1 men’s college soccer season has finally arrived with several regional rivalries renewed to open the season. While six of the 21 New England programs were idle, the 15 others squared off in season openers with plenty of drama.
A trio of top teams played a pair over the weekend, representing New England in season-opening tournaments. Vermont had split results, beating Elon on Friday, 2-0, before dropping a Sunday matinee to No. 10 Duke early in overtime, 3-2.
Providence took part in the SMU Tournament down in Dallas, beating hosts Southern Methodist 2-1 in a double-overtime thriller. The Friars then fell handily to University of Illinois at Chicago, 3-0, on Sunday morning. UConn also began the season strong by earning a pair of non-league victories over Lehigh and Niagara.
Rhode Island and Northeastern, meanwhile, both started with shutout victories over Boston University and Niagara, respectively. In the marquee matchup of the week, UMass Lowell beat UMass Amherst 1-0, with standout midfielder Jakov Basic netting the sole goal in the first half.
With Ivy League squads opening up action this Friday, our Top 10 rankings haven’t shaken up too much. Still, there was some movement and several player-of-the-week performances.
