California Region 3rd Round Game Breakdowns
#4 California vs. Coastal Carolina
There should be plenty of goals in the game between California and Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers took the long way to the round of 16, beating East Tennessee State in the first round 2-0 and knocking off Charlotte 1-0 in the second round. Against the 49ers, Ricky Garbanzo netted an early goal and CCU held on despite the barrage of shots by the 49ers. Alec Sundly scored two goals for California, including the 57th minute score to give the Golden Bears a 3-1 victor over Bradly. The Braves were a bit outmatched by Cal, but had some decent chances to find another goal to make things more interesting down the stretch. With strong goal scoring options and midfielders on both sides, the better defense could move on to face the winner of Maryland and UC Irvine in the quarterfinals. California and Steve Birnbaum are the better defense, but that has not been the case late in the year. In their last five regular season games before the NCAA Tournament, the Bears have allowed eight goals. Coastal Carolina is certainly a team that can take advantage of Cal’s defensive lapses.
This will be a battle between Maryland’s offense and the UC Irvine defense. Maryland is coming off of a 3-1 win over Providence in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and will look to have another wide open offensive game against the Anteaters. Meanwhile, UC Irvine will try and keep keeper Michael Breslin bored in goal again. In their second round contest against North Carolina, the Tar Heels did not force Breslin to make a single save. Patrick Mullins netted his 15th goal of the season for the Terrapins in their win over the Friars and they have now reached the third round for the 12th straight year. Most of the time, including last year when they made it the national semifinals, this program goes further than the third round. This will be a tough matchup for Maryland and UC Irvine, the last remaining team from the Big West in the tournament, is not going to go away easily. However, the long road trip for the Anteaters and the friendly confines for the Terrapins, puts the advantage squarely in Maryland’s favor.
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