Zips flying high

When New Mexico tied Air Force 0-0 in its conference opener last weekend, it cracked the door for undefeated, untied Akron to leapfrog the Lobos into the national number one spot. And the Zips will stay there despite their first non-win of the season, a 2-2 result at no. 4 St. John's on Wednesday night.

Make no mistake; Akron thoroughly deserves the top spot. Leaving Belson Stadium with a point is an accomplishment for any team, but the Zips actually had to battle two Storms on Wednesday - the powerhouse Red variety as well as the horrendous weather conditions in Queens. The match was delayed over an hour due to torrential downpours and standing water on Belson's FieldTurf pitch.

However, once play got underway, the Zips showed the fight that's been the hallmark of their season. The Zips twice came back from a one-goal deficit to secure the point in their toughest game yet. When the Zips began making waves last month, we said this game would be a true test of the Ohioans mettle, and they passed with flying colors.

However, one more yardstick remains: On Nov. 3rd, Akron will be in Bloomington, Indiana, to face the two time defending champion Hoosiers. Mark your calendars right now.

As for the New Mexico, its stalemate in Colorado Springs was the first time the Lobos had failed to score in 36 games, a span that lasted nearly two years. This was hardly the way Lobo boss Jeremy Fishbein wanted to start conference play, especially after the way the NCAA tournament selection committee dissed his team eleven months ago.

The excuse for the low seed the once-beaten Lobos received in 2004 was that they play in the comparatively weak Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. So, dropping their first meaningful match of this year was no way to make a statement to the haters. "Maybe this puts us back down to earth and gets us refocused," a dejected Fishbein said after the game.

The biggest gainer in this week's NSCAA/adidas national rankings is N.C. State. The Wolfpack are on a five game winning streak and jumped eleven spots to No. 11 with a pair of big Ws at Clemson (2-0) and at home to Boston College (3-1) last weekend. N.C. State stands seventh in Soccer America's poll (the other poll recognized by the ACC), the first time the Pack has broken into anyone's top ten in eight years. The Pack are second in the conference behind Virginia with a 3-1-1 mark, and are 8-1-1 in their last ten games overall after starting the season with two losses.

Yep, we've done it yet again. Last week, after giving deserved shout outs to San Diego's two undefeated squads (that would be the University of and State), both teams suffered their first setbacks of '05. San Diego lost to then-number seven Santa Clara on Oct. 7th, the same day San Diego State was upset by Oregon State. The Aztecs avoided a second loss two days later, settling for a scoreless deadlock at Washington, while Oregon State used their momentum to topple UCLA 1-0.

Old Dominion held steady at number three despite drawing Drexel in Philly last Sunday after besting Delaware, 1-0, two days earlier. The remainder of the 8-1-2 Dragons' schedule is a cakewalk, and with a total futbol approach that doesn't depend on any one player (such as Senior forward Brian Cvilikas) to score the goals, don't be surprised to see Old Dominion climb the rankings even further if the Akron and New Mexico falter down the stretch.

Indiana superfrosh Lee Nguyen continues to turn heads in the Hoosiers attack where his silky touches and composure on the ball make him stand out in one of the nation's most talented veteran lineups. He just turned 19 last week, but Nguyen is already the class of the champs even though he doesn't always appear to be on the same page as his teammates. But that will come in time, and he's already a better pro prospect eleven games into his college career than IU's senior star Jacob Peterson. In fact, the Texan could be the best talent to emerge from the NCAA's flagship program since current U.S. World Cup team hopeful Pat Noonan. Oh, we almost forgot - Nguyen notched his team's winner at Michigan in Indiana's lone game last week.

Penn State update: America's best sub .500 team beat Northwestern and Wisconsin last weekend to improve their record to 5-7-2 after starting the season with four straight losses. As we explained last week, that had more to do with the Nittany Lions ambitious early-season schedule than with a slow start, bad luck or straight suckiness in Happy Valley. And despite an overall mark checkered by failure, the Lions sit atop the Big Ten (ahead of Indiana) at 3-0. Will it take a conference crown for PSU to get its due?

UCLA continues its Jekyll and Hyde act out west. As we mentioned previously, the Bruins were dropped by Oregon State last Sunday, their first Pac-10 loss, and fell from no. 12 to no. 17 in the process. With six goals, the defensive trio of Jordan Harvey, Marvell Wynne and Patrick Ianni has just one less tally than frontrunners Kamani Hill and Jonathan Bornstein. UCLA has netted just three goals in its last three outings, a far cry from the thrilling attacking displays that saw the Bruins trounce both Maryland and Loyola-Marymount 4-0 in consecutive contests last month. UCLA has a chance to recharge its sputtering offense this week when it faces local foes Cal State Northridge and league rival San Diego State.

Notes:

Great game of the week again on Fox Soccer Channel last Friday, as then-thirteenth Maryland upset Atlantic Coast Conference rival Duke (who were eighth) in Durham. Stephen King (the second nomination to our All-Name Team after IU's John Mellencamp) and conference scoring leader Jason Garey each had a goal and an assist in the Terps' 3-1 victory.

This Friday, tune in as Maryland goes for its six straight W against a ranked opponent when it welcomes no. 5 UNC to College Park in another ACC grudge match.

Doug McIntyre is a soccer columnist for ESPN The Magazine and ESPNsoccernet.