Monthly Archives: May 2009

[WPS] Women’s Professional Soccer Commissioner Tonya Antonucci suspended Washington Freedom forward Abby Wambach for one game for her tackle on the St. Louis Athletica’s Daniela Sunday at Maryland SoccerPlex that left the Brazilian star with damage to two knee ligaments and a cracked tibia. Athletica defender Kia McNeill was also suspended for “persistent egregious conduct toward” Wambach during the game, which ended in a 3-3 tie.

[WPS] After drawing the two lowest crowds of the inaugural Women’s Professional Soccer season for back-to-back games — 3,321 and 2,533 — FC Gold Pride, WPS’s Bay Area team, announced it was cutting individual game ticket prices by an average of 25 percent. In addition, beginning with the May 24 match against the Los Angeles Sol, the Pride will reduce seating capacity at Buck Shaw Stadium, the Santa Clara University stadium used by MLS’s San Jose Earthquakes, from 10,500 to 5,680.

[WPS] A week after Boston handed the leader Los Angeles Sol its first defeat of the season, the Breakers head to the Home Depot Depot, where they face the Sol in a Mother’s Day afternoon game. For a look at all the weekend action …

[MLS PREDICTIONS] Of the seven games, only Friday’s matchup of New York and San Jose pairs teams from different conferences. Out west, Texas rivals Houston and Dallas play the first of their three meetings this season. In the East, foes Chicago and New England square off again, the Crew celebrates the 10th anniversary of the first game played at Columbus Crew Stadium when it hosts Kansas City, and leader D.C. United takes on second-place Toronto FC at RFK. For all of Soccer America’s predictions, as well as TV viewing information, and to see how we’ve fared on prediction so far this season …

[BRAZIL] Having scored 10 goals in 13 games for Corinthians since returning from a one-year knee-injury layoff, two-time world champ Ronaldo could be set for a national team comeback.

[UEFA CUP] Germany’s Werder Bremen and Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk defeated domestic rivals on Thursday to advance to the final of the last edition of the UEFA Cup before the competition is converted to the Europa Cup.

[MEXICO] Stadiums across Mexico will be reopened — with restrictions — for the final weekend of regular-season play in Mexico’s Torneo Clausura. Following two weekends of games without fans in response to the swine flu outbreak, supporters will be allowed at games, but they will restricted to sitting in every other seat and every other row and they must wear facemasks, wash their hands when entering and walk to their seats in single file.

[CANADA] Despite its MLS status, Toronto FC came out third best amongst the three Canadian professional teams last year, but got its 2009 international program off to a good start by beating Vancouver, 1-0, in the opening game of the Nutrilite Championships, which determine Canada’s entrant into the Concacaf Champions League.

Precious few games pack more action and drama into stoppage time than the rest of the match, but by such a remarkable scenario Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles wound up tied, 2-2, Wednesday at Rio Tinto Stadium.

[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] How was it that Barcelona, the highest-scoring team in European soccer’s modern history, could have gone scoreless for 179 minutes of its UEFA Champions League semifinal series with Chelsea and went without a shot on goal for 89 minutes in Wednesday’s second leg? Chelsea had the lead and all the chances until a desperation goal by Andres Iniesta sent Barca into the final against Manchester United.

[MLS] The already snug Eastern Conference standings were drawn tighter Wednesday when host Kansas City tied D.C. United, 1-1, to bunch the top four teams within two points of each other.

[U.S. WOMEN] U.S. women’s national team coach Pia Sundhage has named 17 WPS players and four collegians to face Japan in friendly matches on May 20 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas and on May 23 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. For the complete roster …