Of the five home teams in desperate need of a victory last weekend, three of them not only failed to win, they failed to score a goal.
Monthly Archives: August 2009
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Brazilian Signings Pay Off For Juventus
Juventus’ new pair of Brazilians gave the club an impressive 3-1 win over AS Roma at Rome’s Olympic Stadium. Diego struck in each half. And Felipe Melo scored in the second half of injury time to seal the game. “It was as hard as we thought it would be,” Diego said, “but you have to […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
TV Show’s Chides Irk Materazzi
Inter Milan defender Marco Materazzi has sued the directors of an Italian television program after one episode showed a character blaming the player for losing at fantasy soccer. “We have received a complaint from the player,” Inspector Coliandro director Marco Manetti told a news conference on Monday. “The ironic thing is I’m an Inter fan; […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Man U Halts Arsenal’s Fast Start
Manchester United took all three points in the first 'Top Four' clash of the season after a hard-fought win against Arsenal at Old Trafford. Arsenal struck first during a first half devoid of good chances when Andrey Arshavin struck a blast past from outside of the penalty area past United goalkeeper Ben Foster. Against the […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Inter Charge Over AC Milan
In the first ever Milan derby played in August, Inter Milan trounced AC Milan 4-0. After an even start, Inter unlocked AC Milan’s defense with some slick passing around the box that freed Thiago Motta to curl a shot past Marco Storari to make it 1-0 Inter. Gennaro Gattuso then brought new striker Samuel Eto’o […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Bayern Celebrates ‘Rib and Rob’
Bayern Munich’s wingers Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery played only 30 minutes together in the second half against Wolfsburg, but that was more than enough time to dismantle defending league champ, 3-0. The German press went into pun-tastic overdrive in the face of the duo’s devastating display. “Robb and Roll rock Bayern,” gushed the Kicker. […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Revs Roll On With Win Over Quakes
The New England Revolution was happy to see the halftime break on Saturday during a windy and rainy game against the San Jose Earthquakes in Santa Clara. If not for the Earthquakes’ squandered chances, the Revolution would have gone behind in the first half. “(Coach Steve Nicol) just tried to calm us and get us […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Red Bulls Avoid Worst-Ever Label
“I’m getting used to this winning thing again,” New York Red Bulls striker Dane Richards said after Sunday’s 1-0 win over the Columbus Crew. “I like it.” The win marked the second in a row for the Red Bulls and means the team avoided having the worst record in league history. The Red Bulls now […]
Posted inSoccer on TV., Story
Soccer on TV
In the U.S. Open Cup final, MLS expansion club Seattle faces D.C. United on Wednesday. On Saturday, the USA hosts El Salvador in World Cup qualifying. Look for updates later this week in Soccer on TV.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
Preseason campaign a total loss for Virginia
MEN’S NEWS … Virginia won’t get out of Charlottesville fast enough and get on with the regular season. The Cavaliers lost their third straight preseason exhibition, falling to West Virginia, 2-0, on Saturday night at Kloeckner Stadium. The defeat followed losses last week to George Mason (1-0) and Old Dominion (3-1).
“I think if we get guys motivated and going we will be fine,” Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. “The other part of it is going to be getting a couple guys healthy.” The Cavs open the regular season this weekend at the Nike Portland Invitational, where they will face Portland and Washington.
* Weekend highlights from the National Soccer Festival in Ft. Wayne, Ind.: No. 2 Akron beat Wisconsin, 2-1, on Anthony Ampaipitakwong‘s free kick. Rich Balchan, Alec Purdie and Andy Adlard scored to give No. 4 Indiana a 3-0 win over DePaul.
* No. 9 UCLA and No. 16 UC Irvine battled to a 1-1 tie on Saturday afternoon. After a listless first half, play heated up after intermission. Brett Berman put the Anteaters ahead in the 48th minute, and Prince Lapnet fed freshman Evan Raynr for the equalizer in the 84th minute. “We trained hard throughout the week, so we knew they would be a little lethargic,” said UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo. “Prince and Dakota [Collins] came in and did well and had some great energy, and Michael Stephens could have scored in the overtime on a pass from Prince.”
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
Top 25 teams fall by the wayside
WOMEN’S NEWS … It was not a good weekend for teams in the Soccer America Top 25. Nine lost to unranked teams.
— Duke fell twice, losing to UNC Greensboro, 1-0, and UCF, 3-2, at the Carolina Nike Invitational. The Blue Devils outshot UNCG, 22-5, but couldn’t win in a game delayed 69 minutes because of lightning. Against UCF, Duke lost starting center back Nicole Lipp in the 25th minute with an injury and did not return. Coach Robbie Church took the blame for the loss, saying he failed to readjust his defense after Lynnea Pappas equalized in the 85th minute. Less than two minutes later, Stacie Hubbard scored the winner on a UCF corner.
— USC fell to 0-2 after losing to St. John’s, 2-1, on Sunday. (Two days earlier, the Trojans lost to Mexico’s national team, 2-0, in an exhibition.) Sunday’s defeat was USC’s first at McAlister Field since 2006. The Trojans lost despite playing with a player advantage after Courtney Lane was red carded in the 54th minute for a foul that led to the tying goal on a penalty kick by Megan Ohai. Raelynne Lee later gave St. John’s the win.
— The highest ranked team to lose was Texas A&M. It took Sylvia Forbes only four seconds to score for Purdue, and the Boilermakers went on to win, 3-2, before 6,589 fans. “We’re upset with the result, but you can’t take anything away from Purdue,” said A&M coach G Guerrieri. “They played great.”
— Other wins by unranked teams over Top 25 teams: BYU-Connecticut (1-0), Utah-Santa Clara (1-0), Georgia-Minnesota (2-0), Hofstra-Richmond (1-0), Colorado College-Washington State (2-1).
* Here is this week’s Soccer America Women’s Top 25.
* As a precaution, Stanford assistant coach Jay Cooney decided to drive his own car to the No. 2 Cardinal’s game at Cal Poly, and it’s a good thing he did. He got the call after he had driven for about an hour that his wife, Greta, was in labor. He turned around, missing Stanford’s 2-1 win, and made it in plenty of time for the birth of their second son, Hayes, at 6:25 p.m. Hayes’ numbers were as healthy as the Cardinal’s: 20.5 inches, 7 pounds, 13 oz.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Soccer America Women’s Top 25
[COLLEGE] The top four teams — No. 1 North Carolina, No. 2 Stanford, No. 3 Portland and No. 4 Notre Dame — remained unchanged in the Soccer America Women’s Top 25, but there was lots of changes in the rest of the rankings. For this week’s Top 25 rankings as well as last week’s results …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Beckham hits net; D.C. keeper goes beserk [VIDEO]
[MLS NAMES & NUMBERS] Only of one the weekend’s seven games had more than one goal. Included in five 1-0 decisions were the New York Red Bulls’ second straight win since their coaching change, David Beckham‘s first goal of the season, and D.C. United keeper’s assault of a teammate.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
New Galacticos fail to impress in opening win
[SPAIN] Real Madrid debuted its $300 signings on Saturday, but they struggled to beat Deportivo Coruna, 3-2, in La Liga opener on Saturday in Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo, the most expensive signing at $131 million, converted a penalty kick, but he otherwise wasn’t much of a factor in the game. Real needed goals from holdovers Lassana Diarra and Raul to pull out the win.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Arsenal’s Wenger to get apology for sending off
[ENGLAND] Luck was not with Arsenal when the Gunners lost to defending champion Manchester United, 2-1, on Saturday. To make matters worse, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was sent off for kicking an empty water bottle late in the game — a decision by referee Mike Dean on the advice of fourth official Lee Probert that was called an error and will result in an apology.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Four teams clinch berths in playoffs
[USL-1] Carolina, Charleston and Puerto Rico joined leader Portland in clinching berths in the USL First Division. Rochester, Montreal and defending champion Vancouver are in line to clinch the remaining three playoff spots.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
International Results
Bayern Munich finally got its first win of the German season when it beat defending Bundesliga champion Wolfsburg, 3-0, Celtic and Rangers remain perfect in Scotland, while Braga is the surprise leader in Portugal. For all the weekend results and current standings …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MLS Results
The MLS playoff race is shaping up to be the tightest ever as wins by D.C. United, Colorado and New England tighten things considerably. Only three point separate the seven teams currently battling for the seven playoff berths. For all the weekend game summaries, current standings and leading scorers …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Castillo hits golazo; Davies earns keep in France [VIDEO]
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Edgar Castillo, the Mexican-American left back who is eying a call-up by the U.S. national team, scored for Tigres with a 25-yard volley. In the English Premier League, Eddie Johnson made his first league appearance of the season and a pair of keepers celebrated wins. For how U.S. players fared last weekend in foreign leagues.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
All-Stars rally to beat Swedish power
[WPS] Women’s Professional Soccer earned bragging rights as the best women’s league in the world Sunday when its All-Stars rallied from two goals down after 15 minutes to beat an albeit depleted Swedish powerhouse Umea, 4-2, in an exciting All-Star Game in Fenton, Mo. WPS MVP Marta, a former Umea star, scored a goal and had two assists and Canadian Christine Sinclair scored twice to lead the the WPS All-Stars.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“Michael Bradley is a young player, who for his age brings a lot, and for me has always been a starter. But in the last weeks he has played unfortunately and has made mistakes. It’s not so much about the mistakes as it is how he reacted to his mistakes. A young player must realize his mistakes to move ahead.”
— Borussia Moenchengladbach coach Michael Frontzeck explains why he benched 22-year-old American midfielder Michael Bradley last weekend, when Gladbach beat Mainz, 2-0. (TorFabrik.de)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Subs spark Richmond to second championship
[USL-2] Second-half subs David Bulow and John DiRaimondo scored late goals to give the Richmond Kickers a 3-1 victory over the Charlotte Eagles in the USL Second Division final. The championship was the second for the Kickers, who were loaded with former MLS players.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Marta named Player of the Year
[WPS] As expected, Brazilian star Marta won the Michelle Akers Player of the Year Award as the top player in the 2009 Women’s Professional Soccer season. Winners of WPS year-end Award awards were announced during WPS’s Awards Gala on the eve of Sunday’s 2009 WPS All-Star Game in Fenton, Mo.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Thomas Rongen picks team for Egypt ’09
[UNDER-20 WORLD CUP] A record five players from MLS’s FC Dallas — goalkeeper Josh Lambo, defenders Kyle Davies and Anthony Wallace and forwards Peri Marosevic and Brek Shea — are among the 21 players named to the U.S. under-20 national team that will compete in the world championships in Egypt.
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Diving witch hunt detracts from real problems
Arsenal’s Eduardo got on to the field in the 79th minute of Saturday’s game against Manchester United. His entry was greeted by shouts of “Cheat!” from the Man U fans, and Eduardo was duly booed each time he played the ball.