Virginia vs. UCLA: Live Blog

Jul 9, 2014; Cary, NC, USA; Carolina Railhawks players warm up prior to the game against FC Dallas at WakeMed Soccer Park. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

Jorge Salcedo’s UCLA Bruins and George Gelnovatch’s Virginia Cavaliers clash this afternoon in the NCAA College Cup Final at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., the home of the Carolina RailHawks of the NASL. Both teams battled tooth and nail to get to college soccer’s biggest stage.

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Virginia, after falling short in the ACC Tournament against Notre Dame, opened their tournament run with a 3-1 victory over UNC WIlmington in the second round. They got their revenge with a 1-0 shutout win over the Irish in the third round before prevailing on penalties, 5-4, over Georgetown following a 1-1 draw in the quarters. Finally, the Wahoos shut out the UMBC Retrievers, 1-0, in the semis.

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UCLA, which we have boldly predicted to win it all, defeated San Diego 2-1 in the second round, took down California 3-2 in the third round and outlasted North Carolina 7-6 on penalties in the quarterfinals following a 3-3 draw and a stirring second half comeback from the Tar Heels. In the semifinals, the Bruins battled back yet again to force extra time against the Providence Friars before scoring on a Friars own goal to advance, 3-2, to today’s final.

Kickoff is scheduled for 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET and will be televised by ESPNU. The live blog will be scheduled for 7 a.m. PT/10 a.m. ET. Keep it right here on the MLS Multiplex for continuing coverage of the 2014-15 MLS offseason and the 2015 MLS preseason.

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T-120: Welcome to a special Live Blog of the 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s College Cup final between the Virginia Cavaliers and UCLA Bruins, live from WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. My name is Jo-Ryan Salazar, co-editor of the MLS Multiplex alongside Sean Maslin. This is the final live blog of the calendar year, since live blogging will resume here on the Plex in March.

How does College Soccer vary from how soccer in played in leagues like MLS? The NCAA explains.

"NCAA rules diverge significantly from FIFA Laws of the Game. If a player accumulates five yellow cards over the period of one season, he or she is banned one game. A manager may make unlimited substitutions; however, a player cannot re-enter a game in the same half that he left in. All matches have an overtime period if the game remains tied after 90 minutes. As opposed to a classic two half overtime, a sudden death rule is applied. If neither team scores in the two ten-minute halves, the match ends in a draw (unless it is a playoff match, then it would be penalty kicks). College soccer is played on a “running clock” that is constantly counting down unless the referee signals for the clock to be stopped by injuries, the issuing of misconducts, or when he feels a team is wasting time. The clock is also stopped after goals until play is restarted. In most professional soccer leagues, there is an up-counting clock with the referee adding injury time to the end of each 45-minute half."

T-119: Gameday temperature is 42 degrees Fahrenheit. Cold, clear skies in Cary, N.C.

T-95: UCLA Men’s Soccer has a long and storied history. In the early days, UCLA started its program under Dan Stevenson and had mixed results between 1937 and 1939, when the program was shuttered. The program was then restored under Don Drury in 1948 and has continued ever since. After the first major dynasty of success under Jock Stewart between 1949 and 1966, which included eight conference championships, Dennis Storer’s leadership between 1967 and 1973 saw the Bruins finish runners-up three times.

The 1980s would see the rise of Sigi Schmid’s prominence as one of the top minds in the game here in America. Schmid, now the manager of the Seattle Sounders, coached the Bruins from 1980 to 1998 and led UCLA to three national championships in 1985, 1990 and 1997. Tom Fitzgerald would lead the Bruins to another ring in 2002 before handing the rains to Jorge Salcedo in 2004.

T-89: Virginia’s program, like UCLA’s, started out rough, with a winless season in 1941, their inaugural year, and a 4-2-1 record in 1942. The program would also be shuttered for a time before resuming play in 1946. Virginia would witness mixed success under Laurence Ludwig, Hugh Moomaw, Wilson Fewster, Robert Sandell, Eugene Corrigan, Gordon Burris, Jim Stephens and Larry Gross before Brune Arena took over the reins in 1978.

The era under Arena would be the most successful and would form the foundation for his career as a gaffer. The Cavaliers won national championships in 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994 before turning over the reins to assistant George Gelnovatch in 1996, who remains the head coach of the team to this day. Under Gelnovatch, Virginia would win one more national championship, in 2009.

T-87: So just by looking at the history, it can be argued that this is a proxy battle between Bruce Arena and Sigi Schmid, in addition to the Galaxy vs. D.C. United. So many parallels can be throw in this, it’s uncanny.

T-81: We’re going to give you some tweets as they happen in this Live Blog.

T-80: Who are you tapping to win this? Sound off in the Comments section below!

T-75: Leo Stolz of UCLA passed up a chance to play in Germany to wrap up his degree and potentially be a SuperDraft pick worth investing on.

“My family back home, my mom and dad, they both have their masters degrees and they wanted me to continue to do schooling,” said Stolz to MLSSoccer.com’s Stam Stejskal. “I like the environment at UCLA, and that’s why I decided to come back.

“Winning would be the best. To finish school with a degree and with a national championship, I would love to end it that way.”

T-72: Darius Madison is Virginia’s trigger man and will also be a player to watch today. He knows how to shoot, but finding the back of the net  and figuring out Earl Edwards Jr. is a massive priority.

“ was a big load off my shoulders,” said Madison to Stejskal. “This season’s actually been pretty rough for me. Coming in, I was really focused and really excited for the season, but I sprained my ankle in the first preseason game. That was a shocker and it hurt, but always told me just keep focusing, keep working hard and it’ll happen. It took a while, but it did, eventually.”

Born and raised in Philly, could Madison be the next great player to come out of the Philadelphia Union?

“I was asked the same exact question last year, and I have no idea,” Madison said. “My job as a player is just to get better and give my best for whatever time I’m on the big stage. is totally up to .”