Top-seeded Azusa Pacific recovered from a 1-0 deficit at halftime to dispose of Fresno Pacific, in the quarterfinals of the NAIA Men’s National Championships. Auburn-Montgomery got goals from Kari Arsaelsson and Magnus Olafsson — two of eight Icelanders in the starting lineup — to beat seven-time champion Lindsey Wilson, the second seed. Canadian entrant Simon Fraser, winner of three NAIA titles, and Concordia (Calif.) also moved into the semifinals with wins on Saturday. Azusa Pacific is also still alive at the women’s nationals in Daytona Beach, Fla., thanks to its 4-1 win over Northwood. No. 1 seed Lee, defending champion Lindsey Wilson and Martin Methodist are also through to Monday’s semifinals. For all the results, goal scorers and schedules …
Monthly Archives: November 2007
What They’re Saying
“It was a tale of two halves. In the first half, we outplayed them. We had quality chances. In the second half, we bunkered in and just didn’t get the job done.”
— New England star Taylor Twellman, bemoaning the Revs’ approach after they blew a 1-0 halftime lead and lost to the Houston Dynamo, 2-1, in the MLS Cup final.
World Cup 2010 Qualifying Results
Argentina, Paraguay and Colombia won South America qualifiers over the weekend. Singapore, Syria, Thailand and Turkmenistan clinched berths in Asia’s group stage.Featuring MLS players Andrew Boyens and Duncan Oughton in the starting lineup, New Zealand escaped from Vanuatu with a 2-1 win on a stoppage-time goal in Oceania qualifying. For all the results and standings …
Imports Emilio, Angel and Schelotto head all-MLS team
[MLS BEST XI] Three first-year players — MVP Luciano Emilio (D.C. United), Juan Pablo Angel (New York) and Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus) — are among the players named to annual MLS Best XI, its all-league team determined by equal voting from the media, MLS players and MLS coaches and general managers.
REPORT CARD: D-Ro does it
[MLS CUP ’07 GRADES] Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney grades the Houston and New England players who took part in the Dynamo’s 2-1 win on Sunday.
Revs and Dynamo resort to form
Ridge Mahoney reporting from MLS Cup ’07
[Video] Houston maintained the status quo, and so did New England. The Dynamo is still a team that can win the final and the Revs aren’t. Joseph Ngwenya and Dwayne DeRosario scored to erase a 1-0 Revs halftime lead provided by Taylor Twellman‘s third playoff goal and retain the MLS Cup, 2-1, before a crowd of nearly 40,000 at RFK Stadium.
More magic from Riquelme and Kaka
[WORLD CUP HEADLINERS/VIDEO] Thanks in large part to Juan Pablo Riquelme, Argentina remained perfect in World Cup qualifying. Riquelme and Brazil’s Kaka made highlight reels around the world with exquisite strikes. Ecuador, a World Cup finalist in 2002 and 2006, is pointless at the bottom of South America’s 10-team competition after a 5-1 loss to Paraguay that cost Coach Luis Suarez his job.
Euro 2008 Qualifying Results
Six more teams qualified for the Euro ’08 finals. Poland, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands all clinched with wins, while Croatia, a 2-0 loser at Macedonia, and idle France both qualified thanks to the other results in their respective groups on Saturday.
REPORT CARD: Solid games by Adu and Edu
[USA-SOUTH AFRICA GRADES] Soccer America’s Paul Kennedy grades the U.S. players’ performance in their 1-0 victory at South Africa on Saturday.
USA downs South Africa to claim Mandela Cup
[SOUTH AFRICA-USA] The U.S. national team finished 2007 on a winning note with a 1-0 win over World Cup 2010 host South Africa Saturday in the Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup. A well-constructed goal by right back Steve Cherundolo highlighted a solid first-half performance by the United States, which finished the year with a 12-5-1 record.
English hopes brighten thanks to Israeli win
[ISRAEL-RUSSIA] There was gloom and doom last month when England fell to Russia, 2-1, compromising its chances of reaching the Euro ’08 finals. It was all but conceded that England wouldn’t be going — one report calculated the cost to the FA of not making the Euro ’08 finals at tens of millions of dollars — but it was based on the assumption Russia would beat Israel in Tel Aviv. A mistaken assumption, indeed.
Panucci ends Scotland’s fitba dream
[SCOTLAND-ITALY] They call it the Hampden Roar. In the old days, when the capacity of Glasgow’s Hampden Park exceeded 100,000, it was said the roar of the crowd could be heard for miles. The capacity of Hampden has been cut to a more modest 52,000, but the Hampden Roar was supposed to be Scotland’s home-field advantage when it took the field Saturday night in its decisive Euro ’08 qualifier against Italy.
Fans Ask Austria to Withdraw from Euro 2008
A campaign is underway in Austria to withdraw the team from next summer’s European Championship. Austria, along with co-host Switzerland, has automatically qualified for the finals as host. More than 10,000 supporters, however, have now signed a petition urging the team to withdraw from its own tournament. Why? Simply put, “it is the worst Austrian […]
Interview: U.S. Women Coach Pia Sundhage
GreenPitch.com has an exclusive interview with new U.S. women’s head coach Pia Sundhage, who just signed a one-year contract that will see her coach the team through the Beijing Olympics next summer. Sundhage says “very, very” excited about the opportunity. “We have to work as a team and show that we are the best again […]
Did Emilio Deserve to be MVP?
When D.C. United’s Luciano Emilio was named Major League Soccer’s Most Valuable Player on Thursday, there were always going to be a few disappointed rumblings in the press that the award didn’t go to New York’s Juan Pablo Angel, the other hot favorite to win the prestigious award. In the end, Emilio’s 20 goals, which […]
MLS Finally Arrived in 2007
The general consensus is that 2007 was the best ever season for MLS. Game attendance was up, TV viewership was up, Beckham and — to a far lesser extent, Blanco — drew all kinds of media buzz, and some teams found a new revenue source in shirt sponsorship. Overshadowed by all these positives is the […]
MLS’s Successful, Measured Approach
Business Week has a lengthy article about Major League Soccer’s recent success. In 2007, the league saw attendances rise 8.2 percent to an average of 16,770. TV ratings were also up, helping the league secure its first national broadcasting fee in its history. The biggest jump came in sponsorship revenue, a 25 percent increase, and […]
2007 Pac-10 Women’s Awards
UCLA sophomore forward Lauren Cheney was named Pac-10 Player of the Year. It was the first time since 2003 that a Bruin captured Player of the Year honors. Coach Jillian Ellis, whose Bruins are ranked No. 1 in the final Soccer America Women’s Top 25, was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year. Stanford’s Christen Press was named Freshman of the Year. UCLA and Stanford dominated the all-conference team with a combined seven of the 12 selections.
2007 Big East Men’s Awards
Connecticut’s Julius James was named 2007 Big East Defensive Player of the Year for the third straight year, while teammate O’Brian White was tabbed Offensive Player of the Year. Other player honors went to DePaul’s Brian Visser (Goalkeeper of the Year), West Virginia senior Andy Wright (Midfielder of the Year) and Seton Hall midfielder Brayan Martinez (Rookie of the Year). DePaul head coach Craig Blazer, along with his staff, earned Coaching Staff of the Year accolades.
Lightning doesn’t deter Golden Hurricane
Top-seeded Tulsa got an early goal by Eric DeFreitas to stand up as the Golden Hurricane beat host UAB, 1-0, in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA men’s tournament in Birmingham, Ala. Tulsa, ranked No. 7 in the latest Soccer America Men’s Top 25 rankings, had to wait a day to get in its game against the Blazers. Wednesday’s game, the last of four quarterfinal matches, got underway but was delayed due to lightning and eventually postponed.
NCAA Division I Men’s Scoreboard
WITH WEEKEND UPDATES … Vernont (America East) and Campbell (Atlantic Sun) knocked off top seeds Saturday to win their respective conference tournaments. Six top seeds were knocked off in semifinal play on Friday night: St. Louis (Atlantic-10), Coastal Carolina (Big South), Drexel (CAA), Loyola, Ill. (Horizon), Monmouth (MAAC) and Holy Cross (Patriot). For all the conference tournament results and goalscorers, as well as schedules and television updates …
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: NJCAA Division I National Championships
WITH FRIDAY UPDATES … Sunday’s championship games are set at the NJCAA Division I National Championships. In the men’s final, top seed Georgia Perimeter (21-0-2) meets Yavapai (23-2-0). In the women’s final, CCBC Catonsville (20-1-0) faces Iowa Western (21-1-1). For all the scores and schedules …
Texas grudge match on tap
Ashlee Pistorius broke the Texas A&M career record for goals and points with two goals in the first nine minutes of the Aggies’ 4-1 win over Stephen F. Austin on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament. The win set up a grudge match Saturday at College Station between A&M and Texas, a 2-0 winner over BYU on a pair of goals by freshman Alisha Ortiz.
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: NAIA National Championships
WITH WEEKEND UPDATES … Simon Fraser and Concordia (Calif.) moved into the semifinals with wins on Saturday at the NAIA Men’s National Championships. At the women’s nationals in Daytona Beach, Fla., No. 1 seed Lee beat St. Xavier, 3-0, in Saturday’s first quarterfinal match. For all the results, goal scorers and schedules …
NCAA Division I Women’s Scoreboard
WITH SUNDAY UPDATES … Texas knocked out No. 2 seed Texas A&M, 3-2, on Saturday, and three other regional seeds fell on Sunday. Indiana beat No. 2 Purdue in a shootout. Duke beat No. 3 Georgia, 1-0. Connecticut also downed No. 4 Wake Forest, 1-0. For all the weekend results and goalscorers …