Jubilation has erupted near the Maryland goal as they hung on to their 1-0 lead until the clock read all zeroes. The trophy has been brought out to the group huddled in celebration, and the Terps raise it proudly. There's a lot of hugging and jumping.

With less than two minutes left and Maryland still leading, 1-0, we traveled back down to the painted duo we visited with before to re-check their temperature. Nate DePoint, the Carolina fan, said that things had quieted down in their UNC-dominated section since the Maryland goal. "They're not hitting their targets," he said. He seemed pretty down on his team's chances but made sure to end the interview on a positive note, saying that no matter what happened, he would be going to tonight's Cowboys-Giants game. That endeared him to those in his sections for about 5 seconds, at which point he said "Go Giants!" It just doesn't seem to be Nate's day. 

Maryland is on the board first. Junior midfielder Jeremy Hall got in a good shot on Carolina's goal but was blocked. The blocked ball went to the foot of Terrapin Graham Zusi, who deposited it in the back of the net. With 22 minutes left in the game, Maryland leads, 1-0.

With this being the 50th Anniversary for the College Cup, a combination of experts' opinions and fan voting named the 50th Anniversary Team. Among those named to the team was Saint Louis University alum Al Trost. Trost is one of the midfielders for the team. As a player, he won the Hermann Trophy twice, in 1969 and 1970.

With the second half just beginning, we talked to Cesar Fuente. He's a North Carolina student. He felt that the Tar Heels have yet to assert themselves but expressed confidence that they would in the second half. 

We traveled down to the stands behind the Maryland bench where the student shave gathered to get their feel for the weekend. Maryland grad and current College Park resident Mike Mastrantuono said that he felt Maryland has played very well thus far, limiting UNC's opportunities. He was here for Fridays overtime win and used Saturday to explore the surronding area a bit. He gave very positive reviews of the shops and eateries, rating them as "great" and "very nice." He even went so dar as to say, "If I didn't live in Maryland, I'd be moving to Frisco."

Near the North Entrance to Pizza Hut Park, Dallas Face Painters have set up a table to supply fans with an avenue to show their allegiances. The two ladies working the booth said that they started it mainly for the kids but were amused when the college students began to participate. As a whole, they said they felt a far greater presence of Maryland fans. That was bit of a shock to them when they learned that Maryland's finals start tomorrow. One girl had an 8:00 am final in College Park but was here today in Frisco. Sounds to me like someone who knows her priorities!

In our continued efforts to bring you the feel from the crowd, we met Brett Johnson. Brett's a Maryland native who moved here for medical school. He said he liked the idea of Maryland being the favorite and said he'd been following them throughout the tournament. On Friday night during the semi-final, he had to go to a party celebrating the end of the semester for his Molecular Biology class. He said he spent the party updating his iPhone checking the score of the game against St. John's. When Maryland won, he dusted off his Terrapins flag and is now flying it proudly in the stands.

We've got about 10 minutes until kickoff here at Pizza Hut Park. The teams are lining up for introductions at midfield. We'll be heading out in to the crowd to get some early predictions.

It will be North Carolina and Maryland battling for the 'ship on Sunday. The Terps put one in the top corner of the net off a kick to win it in overtime.

Maryland has scored. We're out collecting the reactions. Be back in a minute.

Ninety minutes and no goals. Still tied at the end of regulation, St. John's and Maryland are going into overtime. We're in the stands with the people waiting to bring you their reaction when the tie is broken.

This match features something the last did not: a true, organized student section! We ventured down to the St. John's half of the stands to find how this came to be.

As mentioned earlier, Pizza Hut Park features an area called the Verizon Club. It's an restaurant/bar with a view of the field and stadium seating in the front. As the night has gone on, it's become more and more popular, so we headed down to see why. Jason Rothman, one of the patrons of the club, gave the expected answer: it's a lot warmer inside. He also said that the quieter atmosphere made for a pleasant game-watching environment. The club makes for a nice place for coaches and scouts from other teams to watch the game, in addition to the fans. Rothman hails from the Dallas suburb of Plano and does coaching for club teams around Dallas. He told us that Maryland was doing real well. No one player stood out to him, but he liked the way they were functioning as a team. He was surprised that Wake Forest lost, but since they did, he thought Maryland could win it all.

The play-by-play voice of both FC Dallas and the Dallas Cowboys has been on hand to watch the festivities here at the College Cup. He said that it's the final four of a sport he loves and that he wouldn't dream of missing it. He also expressed excitement over being able to see some of the players he will one day cover when they make it to the MLS.

The game remains scoreless as St. John's and Maryland head to the locker rooms at the half. The general consensus says that Maryland is playing better, but until someone scores, that's all pretty moot.

After hearing from St. John's fan Frank Matte, we set out to find someone wearing Maryland's shade of red to get their view of the game. We found Philip Salyer, a native of the Dallas area and a former player for the Terrapins. He played there in 2000 and still personally knows a few of the assistant coaches. He admitted that he didn't know enough about St. John's to make any grand pronouncements about how the game would go, but he knew plenty about Maryland's team. Based on that, he felt the talented group could take on all challengers. 

This weekend's venue is the home to the MLS team FC Dallas. Its construction was completed in 2005. Fans enter the stadium at ground level and walk down to get to their seats, as the field is set in below the rest of the surrounding area. The stadium has twice hosted the MLS Cup Final and also functions as a venue for concerts. To that end, behind one of the sides of the field is a permanent stage. The park seats 20,500 fans is located in Frisco, Texas, a northern suburb of Dallas. We can tell you firsthand that the press accommodations are very generous. Below the press box is an exclusive club area that's pretty popular right now, as it is packed with fans looking to shield themselves from the December weather.

The second match has begun, and St. John's and Maryland remain tied just a few minutes into the contest. Both teams' color is red, so differentiating between fans presents a challenge, but it's one we can handle. In order to get the pulse of the St. John's crowd, we went to New York resident Frank Matte. He traveled here with a friend to cheer on the third-seeded Red Storm. So long as St. John's plays well on defense, Frank likes their chances. He said that if the defense makes it so that the goalie only has to make a few saves, the offense will be able to eke out enough points to win, but he was quick to remind that it was all about defense. 

The time reads 00:00, and the score board still reads "Carolina 1, Wake Forest 0." Carolina players mobbed each other in the middle of the field, clearly enthused of their upset. They didn't have too much time for on-field celebration, though. They were cleared after a few minutes to make room for the warm-ups of St. John's and Maryland. The Wake Forest players were predictably just the opposite, streaming off the field like they were leaving a funeral. The black warm-up jackets certainly supported that image.

Carolina still leads, and Wake continues to threaten. With that in mind, we ventured back to the Carolina stands to re-check the confidence levels. Father-and-son combo Chris and Cory Hazelie continue to feel good about Carolina's chances to hold the lead. Cory said the key to their success is their quick, precise passes, and that if they keep those up, Wake Forest will not be able to stop them.

In addition to the College Cup going on at Pizza Hut Park, there's round robin tournament going on among several club teams. Among those teams is GSA Phoenix '93, a team from the Atlanta area. In between their own games, they've settled in to watch this match. Team member Walker Zimmerman said that he found the viewing experience "very nice." The game itself, though, was not as pleasing to him. He's a life-long Wake Forest fan and said they're his number one choice for college. Despite the score, he felt confident that Wake would come back, saying that they're still putting a lot of pressure on Carolina. He predicted that if Wake were able to score one goal, they'd get on a roll and quickly take over the game.

Many readers have inquired as to the concessions going on at Pizza Hut Park (It is, after all, named after a restaurant chain). To get the feel for the vending scene, we interviewed Leonard Thompson of Dallas, one of the vendors serving the fans in their seats. He said that drink orders were a bit down from a normal game, giving him more time to watch the action. He described himself as a soccer fan, and while he has not chosen a team to support in this tournament, he said he was excited to see the action unfold.

It's the midway point, and we mustered the courage to go across the stadium to the Wake Forest side. With UNC still leading the favored Demon Deacons by one, the spirits were not high among Deacon supporters. When asked the pulse, one group replied that they were "dead." As the conversation wore on, however, their optimism peeked through. One member of the group, Mike Lean, even went on to predict a 3-1 final score in Wake's favor. The group agreed that scoring early in the second period would be key, and that the team just had to show up and play like they have all year.

We were just down in the stands taking in more of the pulse of the spectating masses. Matt and Brian Hoover came from Nebraska to take in the Cup. Matt's a Creighton supporter and booked the trip in hope that this might be their year. Now that they're out, he has thrown his support behind underdog Carolina, and it's worked out well for him so far with Carolina still holding the 1-0 lead with about 15 minutes left in the first half. Matt said that he liked Carolina's composure in the early going, and that said composure had helped them establish a favorable tempo. Brian chimed in, saying that "It looks like Carolina wants it more."

"Start Me Up" has played over the loudspeaker, and we are under way. The National Anthem was beautiful but a bit startling. The presentation was punctuated by fire works, and I think several members of the crowd joined us in not anticipating them. There were quite a few jumps. Still, the fire works were a nice touch, and the performance was very nice.