Getty The Maryland Terrapins will play the Akron Zips in the College Cup final on Sunday.
The Maryland Terrapins and the Akron Zips will meet in the College Cup final at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara, California, on Sunday.
The game is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN U. If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can still watch a live stream of the game (or DVR it) on your computer, phone, or streaming device by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, including ESPNU. You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet, or streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
ESPNU is included in the “Sling Orange” plus “Sports Extra” channel bundle. You can sign up for a free seven-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone, tablet, or streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on.
ESPN Platforms
Additionally, you can watch a live stream of the game on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone, tablet, or streaming device via the ESPN app. You’ll need to log in to a cable provider to watch this way, but if you don’t have that, you can still sign up for one of the above options and then use your Hulu or Sling TV credentials to sign in and watch on the ESPN digital platforms.
Preview
The Terrapins, the tournament’s No. 11 seed, shut out all four of their opponents leading up to the final for their first four-game winning streak of the season.
“We don’t have defensive players or attacking players. We just have players,” said coach Sasho Cirovski, according to The Diamondback. “They knew in the course of a game, you have an opportunity to impact a game on both sides of the ball.”
Their staunch defense is led by Donovan Pines, a 6’5″ junior center back who made the All-Big Ten team. Midfielder Amar Sejdic also received the honor.
Maryland started the year 4-5-3 before rallying for a 12-6-4 record and sneaking into the playoffs.
“Since our win against Denver [on October 16] we told ourselves that we needed to focus on what we had to do to get to the point we’re at right now,” Pines said, according to the Washington Post. “Now, we are like brothers. We fight for each other, we play for each other and we play good with each other.”
The defender scored the second goal in the Terrapins’ 2-0 semifinal win over No. 2 Indiana.
“I was just so ecstatic and I just couldn’t believe I did it,” Pines said, per The Diamondback. “I was just so happy I could contribute to the team on the offensive side.”
Cirovski added: “To beat a great program like Indiana on this stage, it was going to take a Herculean effort on both sides of the ball. This was our most complete performance of the year.”
Akron (15-6-2) wasn’t seeded in the tournament, but they’re riding a nine-game winning streak; five of those games came in the tournament. They bested No. 9 Stanford — the defending national champions — and No. 1 Wake Forest before blasting Michigan State 5-1 to reach the final.
“I feel like a lot of championship teams are born in adversity and difficult situations. Not born in comfort level and expectations,” Akron coach Jared Embick said, according to The Plain Dealer. “The history and tradition of Akron I think helped them, because it’s been proven when we play our game and find our style of play we can win a lot of games, and I give a lot of credit to the previous teams for building that belief.”
Akron’s scored 15 goals across five tournament games.
“They’ve been good defensively, so obviously they are doing something right,” said Akron’s leading scorer David Egbo, per The Plain Dealer. “If you really check us, we’re doing good things offensively because we’ve been scoring a lot of goals, so that’s good for us. It’s going to be an important matchup.”