Union Academy in College

When Georgetown visited the University of Pennsylvania last Thursday night for the first of a two game set against Ivy League opponents, they brought along a roster with far stronger ties to the City of Brotherly Love than that of the home team.

The Hoyas' roster this season has four players who have appeared for the Philadelphia Union Academy and a fifth, Steve Neumann, who has featured the last two summers for Union PDL affiliate Reading United. By contrast, the Quakers have only one player, Alex Murphy, with ties to the Union and only one from the state of Pennsylvania, Neumann's younger brother Alec.

Three of the four Union Academy players on Georgetown's roster featured in the game the Hoyas dominated from the opening whistle and won by a 3-0 final.

Sophomore defender Keegan Rosenberry, who was named Big East Defender of the Week for his performance in a pair of shutouts the week prior, went the full 90 and looked strong on both sides of the ball from his right back position while sophomore forward Melvin Snoh and freshman forward Brett Campbell saw significant minutes off the substitute's bench.

Cambpell, a Wallingford native who had his own personal cheering section in the game calling his number every time he touched the ball, came close on a couple occasions to delivering his first college goal, including a chance created by Rosenberry that he blasted high over the bar while Alex Murphy saw limited action off the substitute's bench for a Penn team that saw very little of the ball.

Snoh and Rosenberry both played in a 3-2 win over Princeton on Sunday that saw the Hoyas end their three-game shutout streak while freshman midfielder Jon Azzinnari still awaits his college debut for Georgetown.

The Union's highest profile Academy alum, Maryland goalkeeper Zack Steffen, has continued to impress in his first season despite the fragile and inexperienced backline in front of him. The Downingtown native appeared to be on his way to his first cleansheet on Tuesday night against Old Dominion when a ball struck off the back of a teammate's head and into the goal. The freshman keeper ended up with a career high seven saves in 1-1 draw, including a diving save that kept the Terps in the game. Steffen had three saves in a 3-1 win over previously unbeaten Clemson on Saturday.

Sophomore defender Quincy Thomas played all but 1 minute in a pair of victories for Memphis over Cincinnati (2-0) and Mercer (3-1) while delivering the assist on the eventual game-winner against Mercer. The Tiger defense has conceded just three goals since being blown out 4-1 by Cal State Northridge in the second game of the season. La Salle defender Joe Farrell was involved in a game winning goal in the 75th minute for his side in a 3-0 win over Lehigh on Saturday. Temple forward Jared Martinelli assisted on the Owls only goal in a 2-1 loss to Delaware on Sept. 17 and now has four goals and two assists on the year for the 5-2 Owls.

On the offensive side of the field, Virginia sophomore Darius Madison has been impressing of late with a goal and an assist in a 3-0 win over George Mason on Sept. 17 and another goal scored in a 3-3 draw with NC State on Sept. 20. Yale forward Cameron Kirdzik, a freshman, scored his second goal of the season in a 3-2 loss to Cal Poly on Sunday. Cam Alexander, a sophomore forward for Division III Lebanon Valley College scored his second goal of the season in a 3-0 win over Wilkes on Saturday.

Redshirt freshman midfielder Andrew Herr hasn't registered any points for Michigan State but he continues to get high marks from his coaching staff with mentions in game recaps while playing significant minutes for the Spartans, who after a draw on the road against Creighton Tuesday evening, ran their record to 4-1-1.