Monthly Archives: September 2007

The United States women’s national team needed a good performance from star forward Abby Wambach to get its World Cup campaign back on schedule and an excellent performance is what it got. Wambach netted both goals as the U.S. beat No. 3-ranked Sweden, 2-0, to grab hold of the top spot in Group B alongside […]

Donovan or Dempsey Up Top?; USA-Sweden Result

Ever wonder what’s up with Bob Bradley’s deployment of Landon Donovan in right midfield? To be fair, the one-time U.S. striker has responded brilliantly this year, scoring nine goals and adding three assists in a string of mostly midfield performances, but Ives Galarcep, writing on his blog Soccer by Ives, says that U.S. fans better […]

McClaren Earns His Keep

On a night when Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari embarrassed himself in Lisbon, England coach Steve McClaren out-coached the great tactician Guus Hiddink at Wembley, trouncing the Dutchman’s organized Russian side, 3-0. It was a remarkable turn of events for the two coaches; before the latest round of Euro 2008 qualifiers, McClaren’s job was hanging […]

ODU loses star Katie Watson for season

Old Dominion’s chances of defending its CAA women’s title suffered a blow when senior forward Katie Watson was lost for the 2007 season after she underwent surgery to correct a soft tissue problem. Watson, who led Old Dominion to its first-ever CAA title and first NCAA Tournament bid last season, has not played in 2007.

Collegians at the Women’s World Cup

Seven of the nine current U.S. collegians on duty at the Women’s World Cup in China started in their opening games.

Soccer America Women’s Top 25 Results & Schedules

[FRIDAY NIGHT UPDATE] No. 1 Santa Clara needed overtime to beat No. 15 Rutgers, 3-2, at the Stanford Inivitational. Rutgers was one of five Top 25 women’s teams to fall from the unbeaten ranks. For the complete Women’s Top 25 weekend schedules …

UIC falls from unbeaten ranks; No. 16 Bears beat Black Bears

[THURSDAY ACTION] Elliot Bradbrook scored from close range in the 82nd minute to give host Akron a 2-1 win over UIC. Junior Dylan Sheehan and freshman Jon Okafor each scored goals in No. 16 Brown’s 2-1 comeback win over Maine.

Creighton makes case as Midwest’s best

by Paul KennedySeptember 14, 2007

Creighton just may have the best men’s team in the Midwest this season. The Bluejays knocked off No. 3 Indiana on Thursday night, 2-1, at the Saint Louis/Nike Classic. Tim Walters, son of the former Indiana star of the same name, and Tim Bohnenkamp scored, as the Bluejays (3-0-2) dominated the match at Hermann Stadium.

Soccer America Men’s Top 25 Results & Schedules

Conference play begins for Top 10 teams Connecticut and Notre Dame (Big East) and Maryland (ACC). Meanwhile, there are three ACC-Big East clashes on tap for the weekend: Wake Forest-Louisville, Duke-West Virginia, Virginia-St. John’s. For the complete Men’s Top 25 weekend schedules …

Floundering Galaxy hosts streaking Dynamo

[MLS PREVIEW] These teams are at opposite ends of the Western Conference, yet both lost excruciating penalty-kick tiebreakers to Pachuca in the SuperLiga, so how different can they be? Well, a lot. They haven’t played since a 0-0 tie at Robertson Stadium way back on April 8; so much has happened since.

Colorado hosts first-place Chivas USA

[MLS PREVIEW] Losers of two in a row, the Rapids do have the edge of playing fresh, whereas Chivas USA knocked heads with the Galaxy Thursday night and took over first place in the Western Conference by winning, 3-0.

Can Chicago keep it up when Red Bulls visit?

[MLS PREVIEW] Coach Juan Carlos Osorio has won four of seven games since replacing Dave Sarachan but crunch time is at hand.
Next week, Chicago plays at Dallas and hosts D.C.; against those two teams and New York, it is a combined 0-4 in 2007, and it also must play D.C. again in October.

Wizards face depleted Crew

[MLS PREVIEW] The Wizards sit seventh in the overall standings and have conceded 37 goals, which ties them with Toronto FC and Real Salt Lake as the league’s most porous defenses. The Crew is tied for ninth with Colorado, a point behind Chicago, and has failed to win any of its last six games.

FC Dallas to test Revs backline

[MLS PREVIEW] They’ve posted the same number of wins playing vastly different styles: the Revs seldom sparkle but can split open opponents, while FC Dallas is adding South American artisans as fast as it can.

Can it get worse for Toronto?

[MLS PREVIEW] Toronto, scoreless in the last 732 minutes and winless in nine games, hosts Real Salt Lake.

Dempsey named Fulham’s Player of the Month

[AMERICANS ABROAD] American attacker Clint Dempsey was named Player of the Month at his English Premier League club Fulham. Dempsey was used a sub in the first three games of the season, then started the next two games and notch a goal in each.

Snakebit Galaxy embarrassed again by Chivas USA

The Galaxy played its role to the hilt once again: running endlessly if somewhat mindlessly, falling behind in the first half, pushing forward aggressively only to squander enough chances to win, and succumbing to a pair of late goals. Final score: Chivas USA 3, Los Angeles 0. Sound familiar?

Soccer America Daily, What They're Saying

What They’re Saying

"Words in Spanish directed at my family, I understand perfectly well. As such when I reacted, it was the wrong reaction but sometimes even rational and normal people err. As such, I would like to apologize to you, to the fans, the players and to the people of Portugal."

— Portugal’s Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who disregarded the sticks-and-stones adage and took a swing at Ivica Dragutinovic after Wednesday’s Euro 2008 qualifier, a 1-1 tie. (Reuters)

Women’s World Cup TV ratings in perspective

by Paul KennedySeptember 14, 2007

When the Americans opened play against North Korea at the 2007 Women’s World Cup on Tuesday morning, only 195,000 U.S. households were watching ESPN2’s early-morning telecast from China. But its reairing of the USA-North Korea game on Tuesday evening drew an audience of more than 340,000 households. Here’s putting those viewerships in perspective …

TV PREVIEW: International Weekend Headliners

by Paul KennedySeptember 14, 2007

European clubs are back action after a week off for Euro ’08 qualifying, and Liverpool’s Rafael Benitez isn’t happy with the the Reds’ early kickoff on Saturday. French Thierry Henry will look for his first La Liga goal with Barcelona. The Altintop twins, Hamit and Halil, square off in a Bundesliga clash of giants. In Argentina, struggling River Plate must rebound after a disastrous midweek result. Soccer America’s International Weekend Headliners series continues with a look at what’s on TV.

Soccer on TV., Story

Soccer on TV

A crowded slate of weekend action includes the Women’s World Cup, a USL quarterfinal, several major club clashes from around the world and six MLS matches.

China-Denmark Clash Marred by Bad Blood

The Women’s World Cup turned ugly on Wednesday as China alleged that Denmark had accused the World Cup host of spying on a Danish team meeting prior to their Group D clash, which China won, 3-2. Substitute Song Xioali won the match just a minute after the Danes had equalized, sending in a powerful shot […]

Disgraceful Night for Scolari, Portugal

Papers in Portugal said the world might have seen the ignominious ending of Luiz Felipe Scolari’s tenure as national team coach after the Brazilian threw a punch at one of Serbia’s players following an ill-tempered 1-1 draw in Lisbon. The embarrassing outburst added insult to injury as Portugal slumped to a third consecutive draw in […]

Historic Night For Scotland in Paris

Was it the biggest night in Scottish soccer history? That’s the debate this morning in Edinburgh after Scotland pulled off a stunning 1-0 victory in Paris over France, giving the Tartan Army the advantage over both France and Italy in the remaining three Euro 2008 qualifiers. Said the Herald: “James McFadden’s goal is not only […]

England, Owen Back on Track