Friday's showdown between Nos. 1 and 2 in college women's soccer has a new twist: It is Stanford, not North Carolina, that is No. 1.The Cardinal took the top spot in Soccer America's College Women's Top 25 after dominating Tennessee and Montana -- just as it has dominated nearly ever foe before them -- to win Santa Clara's adidas Classic. Stanford has played flawless team defense this season, allowing its last seven foes a combined 11 shots on goal.Its victims include six teams that have been ranked in the Top 25 -- defending national champion Santa Clara, Texas, Texas A&M, …

FULL STRENGTH: Top-ranked North Carolina didn't have to do without three of its stars in its matchup with No. 5 Portland on Saturday, but the Tar Heels couldn't escape Merlo Field with a victory.Pilots defender Lauren Orlandos and midfielder Betsy Barr were instrumental in shutting down the Carolina attack in a 0-0 draw. Portland was the more dangerous team, but Tar Heels keeper Aly Winget made three spectacular saves on the afternoon to keep things even.U.S. U-19 stars Lindsay Tarpley and Lori Chalupny were released from April Heinrichs' national team camp and played for North Carolina. So did defender Cat …

San Diego and New York swapped first-round draft choices -- with the Spirit picking up the No. 1 selection and New York the No. 2 pick -- as part of a five-player trade, the biggest in WUSA history.New York, coming off a 3-17-1 campaign and in need of help in several areas, sent attacking midfielder Jen Lalor and defender Wynne McIntosh to the Spirit in exchange for defensive midfielder Shannon Boxx, attacking midfielder Sherrill Kester and defender Margaret Tietjen.The deal enables San Diego to grab Santa Clara University playmaker Aly Wagner, also a U.S. women's national team standout, with the …

9/30 Ranking ... Team (Record) ... 9/23 Ranking1 St. John's (7-1-1) 22 Wake Forest (6-0-2) 33 Indiana (6-1-2) 44 Clemson (6-1-1) 65 Stanford (8-1-0) 16 UCLA (5-1-0) 77 Connecticut (6-2-0) 98 San Diego (9-1-0) 89 South Carolina (7-1-1) 510 Furman (7-1-1) 1211 SMU (7-1-1) 1512 Loyola Marymount (8-0-2) 1413 Maryland (8-2-0) 1014 Yale (5-0-0) 1715 Bradley (8-0-2) 2016 Portland (7-3-0) 1117 Boston College (5-1-0) NR18 Duke (5-2-1) 2519 California (6-2-1) NR20 Creighton (5-2-1) 2121 North Carolina (6-3-0) 1322 Coastal Carolina (8-0-1) 2323 UC Santa Barbara (7-0-0) 2424 Davidson (5-2-1) NR25 Notre Dame (4-2-3)

SHORE LEAVE: The Crew will have a few days to savor its two-game sweep of San Jose and rest up for the next round.The other three series will be decided on Wednesday but Columbus can sit and watch after beating the Quakes, 2-1, for the second straight time.Freddy Garcia scored his second goal in as many playoff appearances, and Brian McBride added the winner to take over the team's all-time playoff scoring lead. McBride (8 goals, 3 assists) moved one point ahead of former Crew striker Stern John (1998-99).Jeff Cunningham earned assists on all four goals the team has scored …

Sinisia Angelovski's golden goal gave the Milwaukee Rampage a 2-1 win over the Richmond Kickers and its second A-League title.Angelovski scored in the 106th minute, nine minutes after entering the game, when it pounced on a loose ball and scored from 19 yards. Angelovski entered the match in the 97th minute. He had played only 10 minutes since the Rampage's 2-0 loss against the Kansas City Wizards in the U.S. Open Cup Aug. 24.Rampage forward John Wolyniec was named the A-League Championship MVP for his goal in the 45th minute and assist on Angelovski's goal. Wolyniec, who was called up …

Ryan Pore scored two second-half goals to lead Tulsa to a 3-1 win over No. 1 Stanford, dropping the Cardinal from the ranks of the unbeaten.The Golden Hurricane rallied from a 1-0 deficit to win on goals by Pore at 54:46 and 82:35 and Kyle Brown's insurance goal at 87:30. Two days later, Cal knocked off Tulsa, 2-0, to claim Stanford's Nike Invitational.No. 5 South Carolina also fell for the first time this season when it dropped a 1-0 decision to unranked Davidson on Joel Sadler's first goal of the year.In the weekend's top clash, No. 3 Wake Forest crushed …

For the second straight weekend, Tony Sanneh and Earnie Stewart each scored a goal for their respective clubs. Stewart's tally helped NAC Breda become the first team not to lose to mighty Ajax this season as it earned a 2-2 draw in Amsterdam. ENGLAND* Brad Friedel (Blackburn, PL) at West Brom, Monday* Kasey Keller (Tottenham, PL) vs. Middlesbrough, 0-3. Started: 90 minutes. Keller suffered a calf injury during the game that leaves him questionable for Tuesday's Worthington Cup match against Cardiff. Since backup Neil Sullivan has a broken thumb, Canadian Lars Hircshfeld will play if Keller is unable to go. …

Sept. 28 in Columbus, OhioColumbus 2 San Jose 1. Goals: Garcia (Cunningham, Martino) 50, McBride (Buddle) 81; Graziani (Donovan, Lagos) 58.Columbus -- Busch, McCarty (West, 80), Clark, Dunseth, Denton, Oughton (Perez, 81), Buddle, Garcia, Martino (Maisonneuve, 66), Cunningham, McBride.San Jose -- Cannon, Robinson, Agoos, Barrett, Conrad, Corrales, Russell (Ekelund, 77), Lagos (Barclay, 84), Donovan, Graziani, DeRosario (Ibsen, 84).Yellow cards: Columbus -- Clark 46; San Jose -- Robinson 76.Referee: Jair Marrufo.Att.: 13,004.(Columbus wins series 6-0.)Sept. 28 in Kansas CityKansas City 4 Los Angeles 1. Goals: Simutenkov (Garcia) 19, Quill (Vermes, Preki) 37, Preki 70, Fabbro (Quill) 73; Albright (Ruiz) 71.Kansas City …

9/23 Ranking ... Team (Record) ... 9/16 Ranking1 Stanford (8-1-0) 19/27 -- Tulsa (1-3); 9/29 -- Santa Clara (3-0).2 St. John's (7-1-1) 39/26 -- Notre Dame (1-0); 9/28 -- Pittsburgh (1-0).3 Wake Forest (6-0-2) 59/25 -- UNC Greensboro (3-0); 9/28 -- Maryland (3-0).4 Indiana (6-1-2) 89/27 -- at Penn State (1-0, OT).5 South Carolina (7-1-1) 69/29 -- at Davidson (0-1).6 Clemson (6-1-1) 109/27 -- Gonzaga (2-0); 9/29 -- Fairfield (3-0).7 UCLA (5-1-0) 29/29 -- San Diego State (7-0).8 San Diego (9-1-0) 119/25 -- at UC Irvine (2-1); 9/29 -- UNLV (3-0).9 Connecticut (6-2-0) 49/27 -- Portland (2-1); 9/29 -- at …

Kelly Golebiowski's stunning 25-yard blast to the upper-left corner in the 64th minute lifted Australia's women's national team past Canada, 1-0, Saturday night in Victoria, British Columbia, as the teams split their two-game exhibition series.The Matildas, who face the U.S. women's team Wednesday in Cary, N.C., in the U.S. Women's Cup, played well in the second half after struggling against the Canadians during the first 45 minutes.Golebiowski, a W-League alum, has scored three goals in six matches for Australia after going without a goal in her first 38 international appearances.Goalkeeper Melissa Barbieri made one exceptional save to earn the shutout …

Mia Hamm scored two second-half goals and Aly Wagner played a role in three scores after coming on at halftime as the U.S. women's national team buried Russia, 5-1, Sunday in the U.S. Women's Cup opener in Uniondale, N.Y.Hamm, enjoying a renaissance that began during the WUSA season, also created two first-half goals as the Americans dominated play, rolling up a 22-4 advantage in shots and coming close to scoring several more goals, before 4,322 at Mitchel Athletic Complex.Briana Scurry got her first start in the U.S. nets since Aug. 15, 2000, a 1-1 tie with Russia in a closed-door …

Freshman Stacy Lindstrom set up one goal and scored the next as UCLA's fourth-ranked women's team rallied to beat the Mexican national team, 2-1, Saturday at the Bruins' Drake Stadium.A thousand miles north, top-ranked North Carolina -- with national-teamers Cat Reddick, Lindsay Tarpley and Lori Chalupny on the field -- played No. 5 Portland to a 0-0 draw at the Pilots' Merlo Field.In Los Angeles, Bruin freshman Iris Mora scored Mexico's goal in the ninth minute, taking a long pass from W-League MVP Maribel Dominguez, racing past two defenders, then beating goalkeeper Sarah Lombardo.Whitney Jones nodded in a Lindstrom throw-in …

Isabelle Morneau scored two second-half goals Thursday night in Burnaby, British Columbia, to lead Canada's women's national team past Australia, 2-0, in the first of a two-game exhibition series.The teams meet again Saturday in Victoria, British Columbia.Morneau tallied in the 62nd and 84th minutes to carry the Canadians, preparing for the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup, before 2,653 at Swangard Stadium. Former Atlanta Beat midfielder Amy Walsh set up the first goal.Boston Breakers goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc stopped Australia's Kelly Golebiowski on a breakaway shortly after Morneau's first goal. Atlanta striker Charmaine Hooper created two strong scoring chances during the first half, …

Iris Mora and Maribel Dominguez scored goals less than a minute apart as Mexico's women's national team rallied to beat Long Beach State in an exhibition Thursday afternoon on the 49ers' field.Mora, a freshman at UCLA, scored from a Maria de Jesus Castillo feed to pull the Mexicans even in the 65th minute. Dominguez, the W-League scoring champion and MVP with the Kansas City Mystics over the summer, tallied 44 seconds later from a Mora pass.Marcia Rewolt's 25-yard blast off the underside of the crossbar gave Long Beach State a 47th-minute lead.Mexico, which plays at UCLA on Sunday, is preparing …