MEN
Postseason play is well underway across the country, and several conference champions have already been crowned, including Fairfield University in the MAAC Conference and UCLA in the PAC-12. Most of the remaining title games will take place this weekend, with quarter and semi-final matches being played out beginning today in places like the America East, the Big West, and Conference USA.

The biggest story out of tournament play this week was Maryland’s quarterfinal loss to BC. The 2-1 defeat was the Terps’ fourth straight loss, the first time that’s happened since 2004. The Eagles scored twice in the first 17 minutes of play to set the tone for the contest.

Another big story in the men’s game this week was the Akron Zips’ 1-0 loss to Michigan State. That ended a 48-game home win streak for Akron, the longest current streak in the country. Spartans goalie Jeremy Clark had six saves in recording the shutout, which earned him Player of the Week honors from Soccer America.

The local teams made some news as well as Hofstra midfielder Maid Memic and Columbia defender Ronnie Shaban were named to the Soccer America Team of the Week for their outstanding play. Memic, just a freshman, scored the game winner and assisted on another goal in the Pride’s upset win over James Madison. Shaban, a senior, came off the bench to score on a diving header against Adelphi, and then had two goals against Harvard.

St. John’s has advanced to the Big East semi-finals and will play at Red Bull Arena this weekend. Tickets are still available.

WOMEN
The final Top 25 ranking of the season features Stanford and UCLA at #1 and #2, respectively. Undefeated Memphis sits at #3, while Oklahoma State dropped a spot from last week to finish 4th. The ACC took the next four spots with Duke, Florida State, Wake Forest, and Virginia taking spots 5-8 in order, and West Virginia and Pepperdine round out the Top 10.

The NCAA announced the field of 63 for the women’s national championship tournament. The action gets underway this weekend with Stanford, Duke, FSU, and Wake Forest serving as the top regional seeds. The ACC led the way with 9 teams entering the draw, and the SEC was close behind with eight teams. Locally, the Big East enters four teams into the fray. Marist, who won the MAAC Conference, will visit Boston College this weekend in the first round.

Of course, just as it is in every sport, the selection committee was under fire this week after the selections were announced. The biggest discrepancy seemed to be with the omission of Georgetown out of the Big East. The team was 15-6-0 overall and posted an 8-4-0 conference record against tough competition. The Hoyas also defeated defending national champ Notre Dame late in the season, and advanced to the Big East semi-finals. But the conference as a whole didn’t seem to garner much respect. After sending four teams to the 3rd round of the tournament a year ago, only four even got an invitation this year (W. Virginia, Notre Dame (with a 10-7-3 record), Louisville, and Marquette).

Traditional soccer powers Portland (9-9-1) and 2010 semi-finalist Ohio State (currently ranked 55th nationally) both received invites.