[U.S. SOCCER] After Mexico beat the USA, 2-1, at Azteca Stadium last month, Landon Donovan grumbled about Israel Castro‘s equalizer, a searing strike from well outside the penalty area that tied the game in the 19th minute.
WEEKEND UPDATES …
College Men: Weekend Scoreboard
College Women: Weekend Scoreboard
[ENGLAND] There was good news and bad news for David Beckham following England’s 5-1 win over Croatia that qualified it for the 2010 World Cup. The strong play of Tottenham’s Aaron Lennon on the right side of midfield relegated him to the bench, but Coach Fabio Capello expressed confidence that the Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder would be in England’s 23-player squad for South Africa.
[AMERICANS ABROAD] The Ochoa family of Riverside, Calif., holds the distinction of being the first family to have three brothers playing abroad at the same time — in three different countries no less.
[EUROPEAN WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP] Three-time World Player of the Year Birgit Prinz waited until the final of the European Women’s Championship to break out of her slump, scoring her first two goals of the tournament to lead Germany to a 6-2 win England in Thursday’s final. The European title was the fifth in a row and seventh in the last eight tournaments for Germany.
Below are reader comments on recent editions of the Youth Soccer Insider. Soccer America Members can post their feedback on SoccerAmerica.com’s Blog and Commentary section using the link provided at the bottom of our e-letters. Selected posts are included periodically in the e-letters.
Brian McBride, who underwent surgery on his shoulder in July, is back in full contact training with the Chicago Fire. The striker could see action as soon as this Saturday against Real Salt Lake. “He’s in full go,” Fire coach Denis Hamlett said Wednesday. “He’s looking good. We are still being cautious, and working on […]
Danny Dichio, the beloved Toronto FC striker known for scoring the club's first-ever goal, announced his retirement from soccer on Wednesday. "It's a sad day for me because I'm retiring and I'll never put on the boots again," Dichio told reporters at a news conference at BMO Field. "But at the same time, it's a […]
Germany has won four European Women’s Championships in a row, a run that England will try to end when the two teams meet in Helsinki on Thursday. The game marks England’s first final since the inaugural tournament in 1984, when England lost to Sweden. England hasn’t beaten Germany, World Cup winner and six-time European champions, […]
A few months ago Mexico looked as if it might miss out on World Cup qualification. Now El Tri is back on track to qualify while looking the best team in the group. Cuauhtemoc Blanco converted a penalty kick in the 75th minute en route to a 1-0 win over Honduras that moved Mexico into […]
Scotland finished another disappointing qualifying campaign with a 1-0 loss to the Netherlands at Hampden Park. The loss put Scotland in third place in Group Nine and out of contention for a place at South Africa 2010. The Scottish FA’s president, George Peat, will meet next week with Scottish manager George Burley to decide the […]
Spain and England joined the Netherlands in qualification for the World Cup. Maintaining perfect records in their respective groups, Spain beat Estonia 3-0 and the English looked impressive with a 5-1 victory over Croatia. England’s win came almost two years after Slaven Bilic‘s Croatian team won at Wembley Stadium to prevent England from qualifying for […]
After Argentina’s fourth loss in its last five qualifying games, a 1-0 defeat to Paraguay, Coach Diego Maradona promised to fight on for his country. “As long as I have a drop of blood left, I will fight to get Argentina qualified,” said Maradona, captain of the country’s 1986 World Cup-winning team. “We’re not out […]
Ismail Abdullatif scored Bahrain's second equalizer of the match in stoppage time to draw 2-2 at Saudi Arabia. The result qualifies Bahrain for a two-leg playoff against New Zealand, the Oceania champion, for the right to advance to next year's World Cup. Bahrain qualified thanks to its away-goal tally after holding the Saudis to a […]
COLLEGE CUP NEWS … Regions Park, the 10,000-seat home of the Double-A Birmingham Barons, hasn’t never hosted a soccer game, but that isn’t stopping the city of Hoover, Ala., from bidding for the 2011 and 2012 Men’s and Women’s College Cups, which will be held jointly for the first time.
Alabama Sports Foundation President Gene Hallman is pushing Hoover as a warm-weather option for the final fours, which have been plagued through the years by cold weather,
“We were told they were looking for a place where they can establish roots on a long-term basis,” Hallman told the Birmingham News. “The city of Hoover is very aggressive going after these types of events. Our intention is to make the bid so attractive that they reward it to Hoover for two years.”
WOMEN’S NEWS … No. 18 Maryland joined ACC rival Wake Forst and UAB as the first teams to go 6-0-0 when it beat American, 1-0, on Wednesday. An early second-half goal by sophomore Jasmyne Spencer was the difference for the Terps, who had a 20-4 edge in shots but struggled to put away AU.
“American is a good team and they put 10 players behind the ball and made it difficult for us,” said Maryland coach Brian Pensky. “Good teams find ways to win on not so crisp days. And today we were not so crisp.”
* Wednesday’s most intriguing game pitted Morehead State against Kentucky. It marked the return of Warren Lipka to UK, the program he started and coached for 17 years, for the first time since he was dismissed at the end of last season.
Now the coach of Morehead State, Lipka watched the two teams battle to a 0-0 tie. “There were a lot of close calls,” he said. “I think it could have easily been a 2-2 score.”
* Utah’s 2-0 win over Princeton gave Coach Rich Manning his 100th career win. “I got here at the right time [in 2002] and I am very lucky,” said Manning who previously was an assistant at powerhouse Santa Clara.
Wednesday’s Scoreboard
* No. 24 UAB’s game against Samford scheduled for Thursday was postponed due to the sudden passing of Samford men’s basketball player Jim Griffin. No makeup date has been set.
MEN’S NEWS … Denver lost one of the nation’s top sophomores when Sam Garza tore his anterior cruciate ligament and miniscus in the Pioneers’ game against N.C. State on Friday.
The injury means that Garza, the 2008 MPSF Newcomer of the Year , won’t be joining the U.S. under-20 national team in Cyprus Sunday for preparations for the Under-20 World Cup later this month in Egypt. Hertha Berlin midfielder Bryan Arguez has been added to the U.S. U-20 roster.
* Akron will put its No. 1 ranking on the line this week when it travels to Cincinnati to face High Point and the host Bearcats at the inaugural adidas Bearcat Classic on Friday and Sunday. Two easy games? Hardly. Both High Point and Cincinnati are 3-0-0.
HPU has only allowed one goal in three games. “We are excited for the fast start,” said Coach Dustin Fonder. “We are really proud of the fact that we had our second shutout in three games. A goal of ours was to tighten up defensively and it looks like we are starting to do that. “
Hylton Dayes‘ Bearcats scored 12 goals in their three wins — one less goal than they scored all last season. They’ve gotten goals from eight different players, led by Branden Stelmak with three goals.
* Clemson continued to struggle as the winless Tigers had to settle for a 1-1 tie at home with Charlotte on Wednesday night.
Wednesday’s Scoreboard
[MLS] Count Kansas City among the MLS teams that in October may be lamenting the squandering of opportunities as other teams prepare for the playoffs. The Wizards carried much of the play Wednesday against D.C. United at RFK Stadium but were not only shut out, but also beaten, 1-0, by a Luciano Emilio goal to quell the momentum they’d created by thrashing New England, 4-2, last weekend.
[U.S SOCCER] The USA defeated Trinidad & Tobago, 1-0, on Ricardo Clark‘s goal in the 62nd minute. Clark, whose father was born in Trinidad and met his wife in Guyana, scored from 25 yards after being fed by Landon Donovan.
[COLLEGE] No. 18 Maryland improved to 6-0-0 with a 1-0 win over American. In the only other game involving a Top 25 team, UC Santa Barbara knocked off No. 22 William & Mary, 2-0, in Williamsburg. For all the Wednesday results and the weekend Top 25 matches …
[TRINIDAD & TOBAGO-USA REPORT CARD] Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney grades the U.S. players in their 1-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago in World Cup qualifying on Wednesday in Port of Spain.
[COLLEGE]. Clemson continued to struggle as the winless Tigers had to settle for a 1-1 tie at home with Charlotte. For all of Wednesday’s results and goal scorers and weekend Top 25 schedules …
“I am not afraid of criticism. I am afraid of nobody. I am doing my job, I have my team and I am going to go forward. I have been battling critics since I was 15 years old. Now I am 48 and I am going to continue to battle with them.”
— Argentina coach Diego Maradona after a 1-0 loss to Paraguay marked his team’s fourth loss in its last five World Cup qualifying games. (FIFA.com)
[WORLD CUP 2010 QUALIFYING] Wednesday’s Hexagonal results could not have been more favorable to the USA and its World Cup 2010 hopes. They give it multiple ways to close the deal next month, but they do pose a quandary for Coach Bob Bradley. Does he go for a win against Honduras on Oct. 10 in San Pedro Sula or save key players for the game four days later against Costa Rica in Washington when a win or tie will clinch a berth in the World Cup finals.
[U.S. U-17s] The new group of 40 players in the U.S. U-17 national team’s residency program in Bradenton, Fla., includes 24 players born in 1992 and 1993 who are preparing for the U-17 World Cup (Oct. 24-Nov. 16 in Nigeria) and 16 born in 1994, who are also eligible for the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup. No longer is residency are Joseph-Claude Gyau and Charles Renken, who signed with German Bundesliga club Hoffenheim.
[WORLD CUP QUALIFYING] The USA defeated Trinidad & Tobago, 1-0, on Ricardo Clark‘s goal in the 62nd minute. The win moves the Americans closer to their goal of playing in the World Cup for the sixth straight time. It clinched no worse than fourth place in the Hexagonal and a berth in the Concacaf-South America playoff. With two games to play, the Americans are now in first place, one point ahead of Mexico, three ahead of Honduras and four ahead of Costa Rica, which lost at El Salvador, 1-0, on a last-minute goal.
