A 2-0 conference-opening win over Virginia Tech keeps North Carolina at the top of the TopDrawerSoccer.com college soccer Tournament 48 National Ranking this week.

The ranking is an effort to project the postseason NCAA Tournament field of 48 each week, including the automatic qualifiers from every DI conference. The ranking update is posted after reviewing all results from the previous week.

Maryland moves up a spot to #2, just ahead of Connecticut. Teams improving a number of places in the ranking include Notre Dame, Virginia, NC State, Xavier, Northwestern and SMU. Newly entered this week are San Francisco, Florida International, George Mason and Metro Atlantic berth-holder Canisius.

The complete ranking can be seen here.

Meanwhile, Old Dominion’s Tim Hopkinson is our TopDrawerSoccer.com Men’s College Player of the Week after a monster offensive weekend including 4 goals and 4 assists, helping the Monarchs to a pair of wins.

The honor, along with the 11-player Team of the Week, is awarded each week after a review of match reports through DI men’s college soccer

The entire Team of the Week is as follows:

GK: Victor Rodriguez, New Mexico – Recorded a shutout despite wet and windy weather as the Lobos defeated UAB.

D: Eric Miller, Creighton – Went the distance in a pair of 1-0 victories for the Blue Jays.

D: Tim Parker, St. John's – Played 180 minutes in the back as the Red Storm picked up a pair of non-conference wins.

D: Grant Van de Casteele, Notre Dame – Went 180 minutes as the Fighting Irish beat two ranked opponents, earning the Defensive MVP award for the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament.

M: Martin Murphy, North Carolina – Scored twice as the Tar Heels opened ACC play with a win over Virginia Tech.

M: Alex Martinez, NC State – Scored 3 goals as the Wolfpack won a pair of matches.

M: Tyler Engel, SMU – Scored twice as the Mustangs earned 2 victories.

M: Chris Ritter, Northwestern – Named MVP of the NIU adidas Invite after scored an overtime winner and adding a pair of assists as the Wildcats won twice.

F: Chris Thomas, Elon – Scored 4 goals in a pair of wins for the Phoenix.

F: Max Estrada, UCLA –Scored twice as the Bruins won a pair of weekend matches.

F: Tim Hopkinson, Old Dominion – Tallied 4 goals and 4 assists as the Monarchs won a pair of games on the weekend.

 

Player of the Week:  Tim Hopkinson, Old Dominion