If the New England Revolution carries its current form into the playoffs, Coach Steve Nicol faces a long winter with no games and nothing to complain about. So he made sure to let off some final regular-season steam at referee Kevin Stott after the Revs lost 3-1 at home to Kansas City on Saturday. They […]
Monthly Archives: October 2008
Rapids Pause Before Next Coaching Move
Meanwhile the side that Salt Lake eliminated with its late equalizer, the Colorado Rapids, is taking its time over whether or not to make interim head coach Gary Smith’s position a permanent one. Smith himself seems unsure of his wishes. “I think I need to sit down, take a deep breath,” he told Brian Forbes. […]
Kreis: We Were Due Some Luck
It’s arguable whether or not Real Salt Lake’s “perfect ten” record (10-10-10) merits a place in the postseason, but after four barren years Coach Jason Kreis believes unequivocally that that his side deserves to be there, and welcomes the little bit of luck that took them into the playoffs. “There’s been a lot of points […]
Width Of The Woodwork Separates D.C. From Playoffs
The late winning goal by Columbus Crew’s Brad Evans was irrelevant to D.C. United by the time it finally ended the team’s tardy but impressive final-day bid for the postseason, writes Steven Goff. “A tie would not have done United any good, and with each agonizing miss during a scoreless game, its hopes faded into […]
Luck, and momentum, decide playoff spots
What is momentum, or Big Mo, as proponents of sports, both team and individual, sometimes like to call it?
MORNING BRIEFING: Wake Forest seniors celebrate
On Senior Night, No. 1 Wake Forest’s seniors came through as Sam Cronin, Jamie Franks and Marcus Tracy all scored in the 5-2 win over Boston College. Akron clinched its fourth consecutive Mid-American regular-season championship with a 2-0 win over Western Michigan. Winners of Top 25 clashes were Michigan (over previously unbeaten Northwestern) and Connecticut (playing without stars O’Brian White and Akeem Priestley) over Notre Dame. North Carolina and Virginia both were upset in ACC matches.
CROWD COUNT: USC-UCLA clash draws 7,804 fans
Defending women’s champion Southern California came close in its bid to break the attendance record for a regular-season women’s game, drawing 7,804 fans at the Los Angeles Coliseum for a 2-1 loss to UCLA on Friday night. The regular-season attendance mark of 8,204 was set in 2006 when Texas A&M hosted North Carolina. For this season’s top men’s and women’s crowds …
POLLS: Soccer America Men’s Top 25
Akron moved up to No. 2 behind top-ranked Wake Forest, while Maryland jumped two places to No. 4. No. 3 Creighton and No. 5 Northwestern rounded out the top five. For this week’s complete Soccer America Men’s Top 25 and last week’s results …
POLLS: Soccer America Women’s Top 25
There was no change in the top six spots in the Soccer America Women’s Top 25. Florida State moved up one spot to No. 7, while Big 12 teams Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State all climbed up two or more spots to round out the top 10. For this week’s Soccer America Women’s Top 25 and last week’s results …
MORNING BRIEFING: Visitors claim big road wins
Women’s weekend play featured four big conference matchups involving Top 25 teams, and the visiting teams won all four games: UCLA over USC (Pac-10), North Carolina over Virginia (ACC), Florida over LSU (SEC) and Texas A&M over Colorado (Big 12). For a look at all the action …
Playoff Time! Salt Lake and New York Join Party
[MLS] The New York Red Bulls, despite winning just two of their last nine games, snuck into the playoffs because D.C. United fell, 1-0, to Columbus on Sunday while Real Salt Lake reached the postseason for the first time in club history thanks to a 1-1 tie with Colorado on Saturday.
MLS Results, Stats & Playoff Schedule
The Los Angeles Galaxy missed out on the playoffs for a third straight year but Landon Donovan, who struck from the penalty spot in a 2-2 tie with FC Dallas, captured the regular-season scoring crown with 20 goals. For MLS game summaries, final standings, leading scorers, and MLS quarterfinal playoff TV schedule. …
Clint Dempsey on target
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Clint Dempsey scored his first English Premier League goal of the season. Borussia Moenchengladbach gave Michael Bradley his third start of the season. For a wrap-up of how U.S. players fared for their foreign clubs. …
Barcelona hits five, Villarreal and Atletico share eight (VIDEO)
[SPAIN] Barcelona and Real Madrid continued to pressure league-leading Valencia during a free-scoring weekend in La Liga.
Udinese tops Roma, tops league (VIDEO)
[ITALY] Udinese and Napoli continue to give the Milan teams a good run for their money at the top of Serie A.
Hoffenheim high after hammering Hamburg (VIDEO)
[GERMANY] 1899 Hoffenheim took first place in the Bundesliga in style, hammering previous leader Hamburg, 3-0.
Liverpool beats Chelsea, Robinho hits hat trick (VIDEO)
[ENGLAND] Liverpool went top after winning 1-0 at Chelsea and breaking the London side’s 86-game unbeaten home run.
What They’re Saying
“The Beckham stuff came from him. It was the English player who made his lawyers phone us having decided to play for Milan. Beckham, very probably, will be with us from the start of January, he will stay with us for two or three months then he will go back. It is not definite that he is coming.”
— AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani. (Reuters)
Soccer Saboteurs at ESPN?
So the Beckham saga — if that’s what it is — staggers on, Failure after failure, mistake piled upon mistake, a farcical sequence of laughable bumblings and ineptitudes that have long since blotted out the basic fact that Beckham came here to play soccer and — his words — to help “make the sport as popular here as it is in the rest of the world.”
What They’re Saying
“It’s hard to say that we’re the favorites here, because there’s no real history in this age group.”
— U.S. coach Kazbek Tambi on the inaugural Under-17 Women’s World Cup that begins next Tuesday in New Zealand. (fifa.com)
POLLS: NSCAA/adidas High School Girls Rankings
The Pennington School is still No. 1 in the NSCAA/adidas High School Girls Rankings. Acton-Boxborough (Mass.) Regional moved into the No. 2 spot. For the complete Top 25 …
POLLS: NSCAA/adidas High School Boys Rankings
Sacramento Jesuit suffered its first blemish when it was held to a 1-1 tie by Vintage and remained No. 1 in the NSCAA/adidas High School Boys Rankings. Norfolk (Va.) Academy climbed to No. 2. For the complete Top 25 …
U.S. Soccer Development Academy Results
MLS’s FC Dallas has gotten off to a solid start in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. Recent results included a lopsided win (5-1 at the U-15/16 level) and tie (2-2 at the U-17/18 level) against the national powerhouse Dallas Texans. The U-15/16 team is now 4-0-0 in the first year of Academy play for Dallas area teams. Andromeda leads the Texas Division in the U-17/18 age group with a 3-0-2 level. For last week’s results …
Region IV championships headed to Lancaster, Calif.
The 2009 U.S. Youth Soccer Region IV Championships will take place at the Lancaster National Soccer Center from June 15-21.
Magic and Freedom top SYL rankings
The Chicago Magic (boys) and Washington Freedom (girls) have been named the top clubs in the annual Super Y-League First and Second 11 club rankings for the 2008 regular season. For the rankings …
