All the favorites advanced in the quarterfinals of Mexico’s Torneo Clausura. Guadalajara and Club America, Mexico’s two most popular clubs, will meet in one semifinal, while regular-season leader Pachuca, which edged Santos on the tiebreaker (better regular-season record), meets Cruz Azul in the other semifinal.
Monthly Archives: May 2007
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Spector plays role in Hammers’ Old Trafford triumph
[U.S. ABROAD] Jonathan Spector came off the bench in the 26th minute for injured George McCartney and helped West Ham United upset his old club, Manchester United, 1-0, at Old Trafford on Sunday. The Hammers’ win cap a late-season comeback to remain in the English Premier League. Fulham’s three Americans — Carlos Bocanegra, Brian McBride and ,B>Clint Dempsey — all went the entire 90 minutes in a 3-1 loss to Middlesbrough that dropped Fulham to 16th place. Loan players Oguchi Onyewu and DaMarcus Beasley may have played their last games in the EPL.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Victory loses USL home opener before sparse Kezar crowd
[USL RESULTS] The USL-1 expansion California Victory fell in its home opener, dropping a 3-1 decision to the Rochester Rhinos on Saturday before an announced crowd of 1,017 at Kezar Stadium. On Sunday, the Portland Timbers beat the Rhinos for the first time ever with a 2-0 victory goals by former MLS players Andrew Gregor and Leonard Griffin.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
Article 21894
“It just shows that Ronnie on one leg is better than most players with two.”
— Toronto FC coach Mo Johnston on Irishman Ronnie O’Brien, who set up the first two Toronto goals in his first start for the MLS expansion team, which beat Chicago, 3-1, on Saturday. Toronto had previously lost all four games and didn’t score a goal. The 28-year-old O’Brien had missed the four games after suffering a partial tear to his right knee ligament.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Twellman tallies twice as Revs take top spot in the East
[MLS VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS] Early goals livened up MLS play as Toronto FC broke onto the scoresheet and into the win column with a 3-1 victory over Chicago. Landon Donovan (two assists) and Taylor Twellman (two goals) slugged it out at Home Depot Center, but TT’s supporting cast overran that of LD as the New England rallied twice to pull out a 3-2 win over Los Angeles. Colorado spoiled the debut of Juan Pablo Angel by beating the Red Bulls, 1-0, and dumping them from the unbeaten ranks. FC Dallas went to Kansas City, where it hadn’t won since 1998, and beat the Wizards, 2-1, with goals by Kenny Cooper and Juan Toja.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Despair in Steel City as Sheffield United is relegated
Four months after leaving Sheffield United, David Unsworth returned to haunt the Blades, scoring the winning goal that gave Wigan Athletic a 2-1 win at Bramall Lane Sunday and doomed Sheffield United to relegation when West Ham United upset champion Manchester United, 1-0, on the final day of the English Premier League season.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Sochaux wins first French Cup in 70 years
[EUROPEAN ROUNDUP] Sochaux twice fell behind Marseille on goals by France international Djibril Cisse but recovered to win the French Cup for the first time in 70 years, beating OM, 5-4, on penalties after their thrilling final at the Stade de France ended, 2-2, on Saturday. Anderlecht (Belgium) and Fenerbahce (Turkey) clinched league titiles, while Juventus is on the brink of returning to Italy’s Serie A.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Wild weekend ends with Real Madrid in La liga lead
Real Madrid survived a first-half hat trick by Uruguayan Walter Pandiani to beat Espanyol, 4-3, and take over the lead in Spain’s La Liga for the first time in 19 months when Barcelona was forced to settle for a 1-1 tie with Real Betis.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Stuttgart moves into Bundesliga driver’s seat
Schalke 04’s long wait for its first Bundesliga title may have to wait. VfB Stuttgart rallied to beat VfL Bochum, 3-2, on the road on Saturday to move two points ahead of Schalke, which relinquished the Bundesliga when it lost to archrival Borussia Dortmund, 2-0, in their Ruhr derby.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
U.S. women shred Canadian defense in 6-2 victory
The U.S. women’s national team put on one of its most impressive displays of attacking firepower in recent years, crushing Canada, 6-2, on a steamy Saturday evening at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. The Americans struck on six of their 12 shots, and the first four shots of the game were all goals — three for the USA and one for Canada in the first 28 minutes. The U.S. women got two goals from Abby Wambach and goals from Kristine Lilly, Lindsay Tarpley, Lori Chalupny and Heather O’Reilly.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
Mexico’s U-20s beat Indiana and fall to Notre Dame
Mexico’s under-20 men’s national team split in two recent games against college powers. A Ryan Miller goal in the 79th minute gave Notre Dame a 1-0 win in front of 2,313 fans at a rainy Alumni Field. Goals from Javier Hernandez and Hector Moreno gave Mexico’s U-20s a 2-0 win over Indiana two days later, in front of nearly 6,000 fans.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
Harvard adds Tracey Leone to women’s staff
Former U.S. international Tracey Leone, who led the USA to the 2002 Under-19 Women’s World Championship title, will work as an assistant at Harvard University alongside husband Ray Leone, the new Crimson women’s head coach
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
NCAA D1 Men & Women Coaching Changes
[MAKING A LIST] Vacancies still exist for the men’s soccer head coaching positions at Air Force and Howard, two prominent men’s programs, in addition to position that has opened up at FIU.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
Kremser is stepping down as FIU men’s coach
Karl Kremser is retiring after 27 years as the men’s head coach at Florida International University, which he helped build into a national power. He guided the Golden Panthers to NCAA Division II championships in 1982 and 1984, and three other FIU teams reached the national finals, including his 1996 team that played for the NCAA Division I crown against St. John’s. Long-time assistant Munga Eketebi, a former FIU star, is expected to replace Kremser.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Canadian Soccer Is a Mess at National Level
Things look up for Canadian soccer, or do they? With the debut of Toronto FC, the opening of its BMO Field and strong interest in the USL teams in Montreal and Vancouver, the pro game is doing surprisingly well. It’s at the national team level where there are problems. Canada is ranked 94th place in […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Bayern Fills War Chest
With two games to play, defending champion Bayern Munich is out of contention for the 2007 German Bundesliga title — or a berth in next season’s Champions League for that matter. The conservative German club is reportedly prepared to shell out as much as $160 million to regain the title. At the top of general […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Barcelona Press Rings Alarm Bell
Local dailies jumped all over Barcelona’s players on Friday after the La Liga leaders lost, 4-0, at Getafe and blew a place in the Copa del Rey final they were all but assured of after a 5-2 win in the first leg. “Azulgrana disaster” said El Mundo, while the front page of Sport said: “Failure. […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Real President Calderon Praises Becks
The mood at Real Madrid has improved as the Merengues have made a strong run to overtake Barcelona in the race for the 2007 Spanish league title. Less than four months ago, Madrid president Ramon Calderon ripped David Beckham for signing with MLS’s Los Angeles Galaxy, saying the Englishman was leaving to become a movie […]
Posted inSoccer on TV., Story
Article 21871
Weekend action kicks off Friday with a USL-1 Northwest derby. The U.S. women are back in action, against Canada, on Saturday. There’s five MLS games, titles races in Germany and Spain are in the final stretch, and the Mexican quarterfinals will be settled.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Still winless Salt Lake shares spoils with Rapids
Well, Freddy Adu used his touches well, but Nicolas Hernandez and Jeff Cunningham usually didn’t, and Atiba Harris treated the ball as he would a bucket of snakes: avoid it if at all possible.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Barcelona embarrassed in 4-0 Copa del Rey loss to Getafe
Barcelona’s season of misfortune continued as its blew a three-goal cushion against Getafe in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey and was knocked out of the Spanish cup competition after falling, 4-0, in Madrid on Thursday night. Barcelona must regroup for the stretch drive in La Liga race, where it leads with five games remaining, two points ahead of Real Madrid and four in front of Sevilla. If Real Madrid beats Espanyol on Saturday, Barcelona will need to beat Real Betis in Seville on Sunday to keep sole possession of first place.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Schalke dreams of title conquest at Ruhr rival
[TV PREVIEW] Saturday’s Ruhr derby between Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund in Dortmund will take on added significance as Schalke 04 has a chance of wrapping up its first Bundesliga title. Schalke is a point ahead of VfB Stuttgart and two clear of third-place Werder Bremen with two games left to play. A Stuttgart loss at Bochum and a Werder Bremen loss or tie against Eintracht Frankfurt would give Schalke the title if it beats Dortmund.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
As much as $100 million on line in EPL finale
[TV PREVIEW] As much as $100 million could be on the line when Sheffield United hosts Wigan Athletic at Bramall Lane on Sunday on the final day of the English Premier League season. England’s three UEFA Cup spots will also be decided.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
New faces highlight MLS Week 6 action
[TV PREVIEW] The goal watch in Toronto continues as the Fire goes north of the border. Expected to make their MLS debuts are Pablo Richetti for FC Dallas in Kansas City and Juan Pablo Angel for the New York Red Bulls hosts Colorado. Alejandro Moreno reunites with Sigi Schmid. What’s up with Carlos Ruiz? Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney previews all of the weekend’s MLS action.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
Article 21873
"People forget that I am still 17 years old. People criticize me and say I’m not this, I’m not that. Gosh! Come on! I’m still learning. I’m on track – I’m definitely on pace with the goals I set for myself, and hopefully I keep progressing."
— Freddy Adu (USA Today)