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The 2017 D1 Men’s Soccer Championship has been narrowed down to four teams, as Indiana, North Carolina, Akron and Stanford will meet at Talen Energy Stadium Philadelphia this weekend to battle it out in the College Cup. The pair of semifinals will take place on Friday, December 8, while the national championship will be held two days later on Sunday, December 10.
Here’s everything you need to know to watch:
Live Stream Info
The two semifinals will be broadcast on ESPNU, while the national championship is on ESPN2 (you can scroll down for the complete schedule and start times). That means you can watch a live stream of all the games via WatchESPN if you have a cable log-in, but if you don’t have cable, you can watch the games online, on your phone or on another streaming device by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services. They cost a monthly fee but all come with a free trial, so you can watch the College Cup for free:
DirecTV Now: ESPN and ESPN2 are included in all four channel packages, while ESPNU is included in the “Just Right” package and up. It comes with a free 7-day trial no matter what package you choose, plus you can get $25 off your first month if you enter promo code “BDAY2017”. You can watch on your computer via your browser, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the DirecTV Now app
Sling TV: ESPN and ESPN2 are both included in the “Sling Orange” package, while ESPNU is in the “Sports Extra” add-on. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial right here. You can watch on your computer via the Sling website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app
PlayStation Vue: ESPN and ESPN2 are part of every bundle, while ESPNU is in the “Core” bundle and up. You can sign up for a free 5-day trial right here. You can watch on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the PlayStation Vue app
Also note: You can also watch on your computer via the WatchESPN website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the WatchESPN app. When you’re asked to verify your cable provider, you’ll just use your DirecTV Now, Sling TV or PS Vue credentials to sign in
2017 College Cup Schedule
Semifinal No. 1: Stanford vs Akron | Friday, December 8, at 6 p.m. ET | ESPNU
Semifinal No. 2: North Carolina vs Indiana | Friday, December 8, at 8:45 p.m. ET | ESPNU
National Championship: Sunday, December 10, at 1 p.m. ET | ESPN2
Preview
The first semifinal matchup pits No. 9 Stanford against No. 5 Akron. Though the Cardinal are the lowest-ranked team in the College Cup, they enter with the most impressive win, having defeated No. 1 Wake Forest, 2-0, in a rematch of last year’s national championship to advance to the national semifinals. Defender Tomas Hilliard-Arce headed home for the opening goal in the 37th minute, while Stan Werner doubled the lead in the 53rd minute, and Nico Corti picked up five saves to help keep the clean sheet.
“It boiled down to the fact that we created so many good chances and had a complete game,” Stanford head coach Jeremy Gunn said. “Our team was fantastic. Wake [Forest] did carve out some opportunities, but on the night we had more chances, better chances and we executed on those chances. Defensively we were rock solid at the back, kept the ball different spells and defended well when they had good possession.”
In search of their third national title in a row, the Cardinal will take on Akron, who played Louisville to a 0-0 draw in their quarterfinal matchup before ultimately advancing, 4-3, on PK’s. A win would return the Zips to the national championship for the first time since 2010.
Over on the other side of the bracket, No. 2 Indiana will be playing in an NCAA record 19th College Cup after defeating Michigan State on penalties. They’ll face No. 3 North Carolina, a dangerous attacking side that has scored two goals in all of their three tournament games thus far.
“We’re a very aggressive team going to goal,” Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley said. “We will still continue to be, but I think to pick and choose those moments against UNC will be important. Us taking care of the ball against a team that really likes the ball will also be important.”