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(10) North Carolina vs (3) Duke – 7:00 PM EST [Last Year: Duke 3 - 5 North Carolina]

The mother of all college basketball rivalries runs no less fierce in college soccer circles, despite most of the historical mojo residing in Chapel Hill with the Tar Heels. With a dynamic attack and fearsome defense, Duke has quickly risen to the top of the list of ACC title contenders in 2011. But they know full well that lifting the trophy likely means they’ll have to dethrone North Carolina in Chapel Hill first with Thursday’s opponents also eager to defend their crown. The grumbling from Carolina quarters has been profuse over the last month despite a 9-2-0 record and both losses having been in extra time to strong opponents. But that’s life at UNC, where titles and greatness are expected and where the criticism will rain down even harder if the Heels can’t defend their turf and deal Duke their first ACC defeat. Last season’s epic explosion of offense in Durham could be a precursor of things to come on Thursday night, with both clubs packing some serious firepower. Duke’s frontline of Cobb, Pathman, and Weinberg can knock them in early and often and will be a key test for a North Carolina defense that’s had a wobble or two this year. Then again, a Duke defense that’s pitched five straight clean sheets in ACC action and only conceded once so far in league play will also need to do their part on Thursday night. North Carolina has scored multiple goals in all but one of their matches so far in 2011 and has been shutout only once, in the team’s 1-0 loss to Virginia a few weeks ago. The stakes are huge. Duke knows a win would likely mean they could all but wrap up the title next week in Winston-Salem against Wake Forest. North Carolina gets the Demon Deacons on Sunday and knows that a sweep of Duke and Wake could well vault them back into being title favorites once more.

(14) Florida State vs (23) Maryland – 7:00 PM EST [Last Year: Maryland 2 - 1 Florida State]

Two sides who entered the 2011 season with ACC title hopes will instead be fighting just to ensure their participation in the ACC Tournament in a few weeks time. Florida State again endured a heartbreaking fate in a big league clash as they went behind on three separate occasions to Virginia and equalized each time but were finally put away for good by Caroline Miller’s golden goal in extra time. The Noles are sitting on six points in the league but have dropped all four of the team’s big time clashes in league play this year. There’s still time to rally for national seeding purposes with a big weekend against Maryland and Boston College upcoming, but FSU are likely still wondering what could have been this year. The Terps have been marginally better in league play with a win over Virginia Tech and a draw with Wake Forest last time out being the highlights. The Terps also drew with NC State though, showing that Brian Pensky’s group can be prone to inconsistent displays. RPI fears of a few weeks ago seem to have eased though, and with Jasmyne Spencer back in the lineup, there’s the hope that this team will peak at the right time in league action and be able to build some momentum going into the postseason. It’s not going to be easy this weekend though, with Florida State desperate for a win on Thursday followed by a Miami (FL) team desperate to get back in the ACC Tournament picture in Coral Gables on Sunday.

(38) Ohio State vs (61) Iowa – 7:30 PM EST [Last Year: Iowa 1 - 3 Ohio State]

Could Ohio State go from the College Cup to missing out on the Big Dance entirely? That seems a little extreme at this point, but it’s worth noting that the question is even being raised as Ohio State lingers near the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes looked to be sitting pretty just a few weeks ago with wins over West Virginia and Illinois in its back pocket and no truly bad losses to their name. But it’s been a roller coaster since, with the Buckeyes beating Wisconsin a few Sundays ago after a defeat to Penn State. Last Sunday though was a real wakeup call to these Buckeyes as OSU fell on the road to Purdue, all but icing their Big Ten title hopes and sending them on a downward bend in the RPI. Some strong wins means that Ohio State probably still has a bit of a cushion, but that could evaporate with losses to some of the league’s teams languishing further down the standings. One of those teams is Thursday’s opponents, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have won just two of six in the league so far and losses to Michigan and Minnesota have countered a win over Michigan State and draw with Illinois and leaves Ron Rainey’s team needing a strong finishing kick to have hopes of breaking into the Big Dance. Games against OSU, Penn State, and Wisconsin will give Iowa a chance at climbing the ladder, but unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, all of those games are away from home, meaning they have an uphill task ahead of them which starts on Thursday in Columbus.

(19) Santa Clara vs (58) BYU – 10:00 PM EST [Last Year: Santa Clara 2 - 1 BYU]

Thursday could be the pivotal night in BYU’s season as they simultaneously try to stay alive in both the WCC title race and the bubble battle. The Cougars have paid the price for an uninspiring set of results in non-conference play. BYU hasn’t beaten an opponent in the uRPI Top 50, though the Cougars also only have one bad loss, on the road to Oklahoma. The side from Provo had a golden opportunity to nab their statement win last Saturday against Pepperdine but gave up a very early goal and never recovered. The trip to Santa Clara is really the last chance for BYU to grab that big win they so desperately need, with defeat meaning they might have to win their final five matches to stand a chance on Selection Monday. Their opponents may have turned the corner, having won five in a row after the 2-0 defeat to Stanford. In that time span, the Broncos have kept four clean sheets and scored fourteen goals and conceded just one. The home advantage has helped with SCU in the middle of a nine match homestand that ends on Sunday, and the Broncos will want to take full advantage of the comforts of home with four of their last five in the league on the road. A national seed for Jerry Smith’s team isn’t out of the question, especially given their recent form, but they need to keep rolling against their newest league rivals.

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