College Roundup: Dixon, Boullt reach quarters

UNC sophomore scores goals in back-to-back games

By Jonathan Yardley / HoustonDynamo.com

Forward Alex Dixon is second on UNC with seven goals on the year. (University of North Carolina)

The Houston Dynamo Player Development System, presented by Statoil, includes a number of collegiate players on the team's Home-Grown Player List. Many of these players have already practiced with the Dynamo first team while in Houston, a unique and invaluable opportunity afforded to Dynamo Academy players.

During the college soccer season, HoustonDynamo.com and MyDynamo.net will be keeping tabs on these players. The 48-team NCAA tournament is underway, and the Dynamo representation has been whittled from four to two. This year's NCAA Men's College Cup will be held Dec. 11-13 in Cary, N.C.

Here's the latest news from collegiate players in the NCAA Tournament through games of November 29:

Juniors:
MF Daniel Roberts (UNC-Wilmington / Fort Bend Clements / Texans) - Had a shining NCAA tournament moment Nov. 19, scoring the game-tying goal with a free kick in the 81st minute and converting in a shootout as UNC-Wilmington advanced past Charlotte on penalty kicks. In the second round at No. 3 seed Wake Forest on Nov. 22, Roberts set up a goal in the 86th minute, but the Seahawks could not complete the comeback and fell 2-1 ... Roberts finished his junior season with four goals and five assists.

Sophomores:
FW Alex Dixon (North Carolina / Humble Atascocita / Texans) - Scored game's only goal in 1-0 win vs. Indiana on Sunday, lifting UNC to quarterfinals. Dixon now has seven goals on the year, second on the squad ... He also scored the clinching goal on a counterattack in 89th minute of No. 5 seed UNC's 2-0 win vs. Brown on Nov. 22 ... The Tar Heels, who reached the NCAA final last year, host underdog Drake (Des Moines, Iowa) on Friday.
MF Clayton Holz (Stanford / St. John's / Houstonians) - Stanford advanced to the NCAA third round with wins over California rivals St. Mary's (3-0) and No. 16 seed UC Irvine (1-0) before losing to No. 1 seed Akron (2-0) on Sunday, but Holz did not see action in the tournament ... Holz finished the year with 12 appearances and five starts.

Freshmen:
DF Matt Boullt (Tulsa / Fort Bend Clements / Tulsa) - Has started and played all of both matches as No. 8 seed Tulsa advanced to the quarterfinals ... First, the Golden Hurricane survived an upset scare with a 4-3 overtime win over St. Louis at home on Nov. 22 ... Then, Boullt and the Tulsa back line shut out No. 9 Northwestern with a 1-0 win on Sunday, avenging an earlier loss to the higher-ranked (though lower-seeded) Wildcats. Tulsa now plays at No. 1 Akron on Saturday for a spot in the final four.