Monthly Archives: July 2009

[WPS] Referee Jose Carlos Rivero decision to eject Boston Breakers defender Alex Scott for her studs-up tackle — a clear red-card offense — on Washington’s French international, Sonia Bompastor, five minutes into Wednesday’s game didn’t sit well with Boston coach Tony DiCicco, who for the second time this year ripped the Women’s Professional Soccer refereeing after the game.

[BARCELONA TOUR] In a summer highlighted by huge crowds across the country for international matches, the biggest crowd of the summer should turn out Saturday at the Rose Bowl, where the Los Angeles Galaxy hosts European champion Barcelona on the first game of the Spanish club’s three-game West Coast tour (TV: Fox Soccer Channel, live, 11 pm ET). In addition to the stars from last season’s triple championship team, newly acquired Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be in Pasadena for his second game in two weeks and Mexican teenager Jonathan Dos Santos is in the traveling squad.

[MLS PREDICTIONS] The Galaxy takes the week off to play some Spanish team (Barcelona by name), giving several Western Conference foes opportunity to move up at its expense. Also off this week are Chivas USA and New York. So bunched are the Eastern Conference’s top teams that third-place D.C. United could take over the lead by winning, or drop to eighth overall by losing in Houston. The Revs can tie fourth-place Toronto by beating TFC at Gillette, and Chicago could go on top by handling RSL at home. For all of Soccer America’s predictions, as well as TV viewing information, and to see how Ridge Mahoney fared so far this season …

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Four days after being in goal for the USA in its 5-0 loss to Mexico in the Gold Cup final, Troy Perkins was back in action, this time playing for Norwegian club in in its 2-1 loss at Greek club PAOK in the first leg of the third round of qualifying for the new Europa League. Of the four Americans in action on Thursday, the star was Californian Ryan Guy, who assisted on the winning goal in Irish club St. Patrick’s 1-0 win at Russian club Krylya Sovetov.

[PDL] The Premier Development League has moved into the quarterfinals with a pair of games set for Friday in Des Moines, Iowa, and Laredo, Texas. The quarterfinalists represent the fourth division summer league’s dynamic blend of the new and the old, including teams affiliated with the Chicago Fire, Burnley and the IMG Academies, a first-year team from the Puget Sound area and a Southern California team that had its first player signed by an English Premier League club.

[OFF THE POST] Aston Villa coach Martin O’Neill was ejected for thrusting the ball into the chest of an Atlante player during the Peace Cup in Malaga. 4thegame.com speculated that O’Neill may have come into the game angry because the tournament program listed his name Martin O’Leary.

[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Leave it to the worst team in Major League Soccer to extract some respectability for MLS from the first leg of the preliminary round. The Red Bulls, welded to the bottom of the Eastern Conference with a 2-15-4 record, scored a pair of deflected goals to come out of the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella with a 2-2 tie against W Connection of Trinidad & Tobago Thursday.

[MLS] After four years at UCLA, Mike Zaher joined MLS in 2008 and had a stint with D.C. United before settling in nicely with the San Jose Earthquakes. Get to know the 23-year-old in this profile by Soccer America’s Bryan Alvarez that covers on- and off-field experiences.