Dan Cirucci: This Weekend: Semi-Final College Soccer Matchups

Monday, December 9, 2013

This Weekend: Semi-Final College Soccer Matchups

The top collegiate men’s soccer teams in the nation compete for the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer College Cupon Friday December 13 and Sunday, December 15 at PPL Park. The championship bracket is set to include No. 3 seed Notre Dame (15-1-6), No. 5 seed Maryland (16-3-5), No. 7 seed New Mexico (14-5-2) and No. 8 seed Virginia (13-5-5).

The national semifinal matches take place on Friday, December 13 (5:00 and 7:30 p.m.) The national championship match will be contested on Sunday, December 15 at 3 p.m. All three games will be televised live on ESPNU, on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.

No. 3 seed Notre Dame (15-1-6) is the highest advancing seed to the College Cup after holding on for a 2-1 victory over No. 11 seed Michigan State (14-6-3) on Saturday night. On their way to the national semifinals, the Fighting Irish also defeated Wisconsin (4-0) in the second round and Wake Forest (4-2) in the third round. This is the first College Cup appearance for Notre Dame.

No. 5 seed Maryland (16-3-5) was a 2-1 winner at No. 4 seed California (14-5-2) on Saturday afternoon. Maryland is returning to the College Cup for the second straight year and the 13th time overall. Maryland defeated Providence (3-1) and UC Irvine (1-0) in the second and third rounds prior to advancing to the semifinals with Saturday’s victory. The program has won three national titles (1968, 2005, 2008).

No. 7 seed New Mexico (14-5-2) knocked out No. 2 seed Washington (16-2-4) with a 1-0 victory on Saturday night. The Lobos have made one prior appearance in the College Cup, when they were the national runners-up in 2005. Prior to the win over the No. 2 seed Huskies, New Mexico also defeated George Mason (1-0) in the second round and Penn State (2-0) in the third round.

No. 8 seed Virginia (13-5-5) has won six previous national championships, which is the third most all time. The Cavaliers are making their 11thCollege Cup appearance and do so after tournament wins over St. John’s (2-0), Marquette (3-1) and Connecticut (2-1).

NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer College Cup

Semifinals – Friday, December 13

Notre Dame (15-1-6) vs. New Mexico (14-5-2) – TBA (ESPNU)

Maryland (16-3-5) vs. Virginia (13-5-5) – TBA (ESPNU)

National Championship – Sunday, December 15

Semifinal 1 winner vs. Semifinal 2 winner – 3:00 PM (ESPNU)

Tickets range from $23 - $65 and include free parking in PPL Park parking lots. Tickets can be purchased online at pplpark.com, by phone at 1-800-298-4200, or in person at the PPL park box office. For Group Sales Information, please call 215-389-9543 or email groupsales@comcast-spectacor.com.

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About Dan Cirucci

He's been cited by the late Rush Limbaugh, quoted in the New York Times, featured at Real Clear Politics and Lucianne.com and interviewed across all media.

He's Dan Cirucci, the founder and editor-in chief of the Dan Cirucci Blog, a Save Jersey blog columnist, frequent guest on the Matt Rooney radio show and one of the most widely honored public relations professionals in his field. He's also been a public relations consultant to numerous organizations and individuals and hosted The Advocates on RVN-TV.

Inducted into the Philadelphia Public Relations Hall of Fame, for many years he served as a Lecturer in Corporate Communication at Penn State University. A former President of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association (PPRA) he has lectured at Rowan University, Temple University, The College of New Jersey and Arcadia University. He has conducted workshops on public relations for thousands of participants throughout the nation and has taught countless others the art of public speaking. He has also advised numerous lawyers, judges, public officials and political candidates.

Cirucci is a prolific writer and his op-ed pieces have appeared in the Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Courier-Post, Broad and Liberty and other print and online platforms.

A native of Camden NJ, Cirucci is a former President of the Philadelphia chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. Cirucci served as Associate Executive Director of the Philadelphia Bar Association for nearly 30 years. He served as Chair of Penn State University's Professional Advisory Board for the Corporate Communication major at Penn State Abington and on the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Judicial Selection Commission.

He received his MA degree from Rowan University and his BA from Villanova University. He has been named a Distinguished Alumnus of Rowan's public relations program and received the E. A. "Wally" Richter Leadership Award, the highest honor from the National Association of Bar Executives' Communications Section. He has also been honored by numerous other local, state and national groups.

In his hometown of Camden, Cirucci taught fifth grade at the Ulysses Wiggins Elementary School named for the founder of the Camden NAACP. There he was one of the first teachers in the country to teach African-American history to inner city students. He later served as editor of a local weekly newspaper, as Assistant to the Township Manager of Cherry Hill Township and as Associate Director of Communications at the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Cirucci's passions include all things Italian, politics, the popular culture, books and authors, art, communication, music, theatre, movies, dining and travel.

He and his wife Carole have two grown children and seven grandchildren.

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