The good news is that of the 11 MLS postseason games, 10 will be televised nationally. The bad news is that after a regular season that produced a meager 2.54 goals per game, keeping a national audience captivated, or at least tuned in, if goals are scarce won’t be easy. There can be all manner of previews and pre-game hits and studio segments, but the game itself needs as much drama as possible, and that can only be guaranteed by goals, or at least the threat of same.
Monthly Archives: October 2009
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Some Memorable North London Derbies
The Guardian rehashes six of the most memorable clashes between Tottenham and Arsenal, two North London sides that face off this weekend. Over the years, these two teams have bucked the trend of local rivalries to produce gritty and low-scoring affronts to the beautiful game. They have produced lots of goals, many strange and dramatic. […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Manchester Rivalry Heating Up
In the Industrial town of Manchester in Northwest England, the soccer debate has reached a new fervor this season. Friends and even family, like Kevin and Tony Parker, are split into two camps: Red and Blue. “This year, Manchester has accomplished something remarkable for a city of its modest size and stature,” writes Dave Kansas […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Williams’ Resurgence Sparking Real Salt Lake
Midfielder Andy Williams, 32, has spent much of this season on the bench for Real Salt Lake. Through the first two thirds of the season, Williams made just two starts in addition to a dozen or so brief appearances as a substitute. But Williams has been a crucial offensive sparkplug during Salt Lake’s run to […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
MetroStars Coaches in South Africa
Four members of the New York MetroStars coaching fraternity could have jobs heading various national teams at next summer’s World Cup. Bob Bradley, in charge at the Meadowlands from 2003-05, led the U.S. national team to first place in its CONCACAF qualifying group. Bradley was the MetroStars’ seventh head coach; the third was Carlos Alberto […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Epic Atmosphere in Seattle Overshadows Result
Although the Seattle Sounders FC could only muster a 0-0 tie against the Houston Dynamo on Thursday, the atmosphere at Qwest Field didn’t disappoint in Seattle’s inaugural appearance in the MLS playoffs: 35,807 fans packed into the stadium for the largest ever crowd at an MLS conference semifinal game. The passion spilled over to […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Blanco to Return to Mexico
Mexico star Cuauhtemoc Blanco announced on his website that he will leave the Chicago Fire at the end of the season to return home to rejoin second-division club Veracruz in January. Of Blanco’s decision, Fire technical director Frank Klopas said: “We respect his desire to continue playing in Mexico during the MLS offseason and continue […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
‘Most important is scoring’
The youth coach faces many formidable tasks. Carrying a net full of soccer balls, a big duffle bag, the fold-out bench and pop-up goals from the parking lot to the field – that’s no mean feat.
Posted inSoccer on TV., Story
Soccer on TV
Real Salt Lake hosts defending MLS champion Columbus Crew on Saturday as the MLS Playoffs continue. Catch the first legs of the two remaining MLS Conference semifinals on Sunday with a battle for LA (Galaxy-Chivas USA) and a matchup between New England-Chicago. In the U-17 World Cup, the USA finishes the first round against the United Arab Emirates.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
Virginia has momentum heading into Maryland clash
MEN’S NEWS … Coming off what its coach called the “most complete 90 minutes of the year,” No. 12 Virginia heads to No. 8 Maryland Saturday for a key ACC match. The Cavaliers’ 2-0 victory over visiting Boston College last weekend was their third in a row and improved their record to 10-3-1. Virginia has come a long way since a horrible pre-season when it lost all three games. “We defended well and converted on our scoring chances,” said Virginia coach George Gelnovatch after the BC game.
Freshman Will Bates has scored goals in each of the last four games, joining Chris Agorsor and Tony Tchani on one of the nation’s most dangerous frontlines. U.S. U-20 national team winger Brian Ownby, Bates’ former Richmond Strikers teammate, came off the bench and scored against BC. Former U.S. U-17 keeper Diego Restrepo, who spent two seasons at South Florida before transferring to Virginia, has been outstanding in goal for the Cavs with six shutouts.
Weekend Schedule
* LARGEST RPI IMPROVEMENT (OCT. 12-OCT. 27):
+78 Sacramento State (92 from 170) (Hornets are perfect — 4-0-0 in the MPSF.)
+63 Missouri State (39 from 102) (Bears are riding a five-game winning streak.)
+57 Wisconsin (33 from 90) (Badgers have Big Ten wins over Northwestern, Ohio State and Michigan State.)
+51 San Jose State (137 from 188) (Spartans put eight-game unbeaten streak on the line Friday against UNLV.)
+49 Hofstra (82 from 131) (The Pride is 4-1-1 in its last six games.)
+47 Michigan State (23 from 70) (Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Notre Dame was the Spartans’ fourth in a row.)
+45 San Diego State (11 from 56) (Aztecs have wins over ranked UCSB and Stanford, tie with UCLA and two wins over Cal.)
+41 Bowling Green (144 from 185) (Falcons have lost to No. 1 Akron and ranked Louisville.)
+40 Northeastern (111 from 151) (Wednesday’s 2-1 over Delaware extended winning streak to five games.)
+38 UCF (139 from 177) (Wednesday’s 2-1 overtime loss to Kentucky dropped UCF to 6-6-2.)
(Statistics courtesy of Jamie McConeghy, San Diego State University.)
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
Where have you been, Casey Nogueira?
WOMEN’S NEWS … North Carolina ended its two-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over Clemson. The Tar Heels got two goals from 2008 Player of the Year Casey Nogueira, who had only one goal in her 12 previous games.
Nogueira, who scored 25 goals in 2008 but only has six this season, was one of eight seniors to start in the Tar Heels’ last home game of the regular season. Nikki Washington, whose senior year ended against LSU last month when she tore her right ACL, started the game in uniform wearing a brace on her right knee. Clemson, in a show of sportsmanship, intentionally kicked the ball out of play so sophomore Maria Lubrano could replace Washington 31 seconds into the match. The only senior not to start was midfielder Tobin Heath, who was with the U.S. women’s national team in Germany for its exhibition match against the Germany.
The other six Tar Heel seniors, all part of one of the most celebrated classes in UNC’s long history, were defenders Whitney Engen and Kristi Eveland, goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris, midfielder Sterling Smith and forwards Ashley Moore and Caroline Boneparth. Both Moore and Boneparth earned the first starts of their careers.
* THURSDAY TOP 25 RESULTS:
ACC: No. 4 North Carolina 3 (Nogueira 12, 54, McDonald 52) Clemson 0.
ACC: No. 6 Boston College 1 (Caldwell 25) Duke 0.
ACC: No. 8 Maryland 1 (Hutchinson 3) No. 17 Wake Forest 3 (Hutchinson 3, Farrell 75, Fountain 86).
Indiana 1 (Moses 70) No. 25 Penn State 2 (Toney 21, Nairn 80).
Weekend Schedule
* TOURNAMENT WATCH. Conference tournament play began Thursday with a huge first-round game in the Big East Tournament between Villanova and Connecticut. The Huskies are hoping to return to the NCAA Tournament after missing out for the first time ever in 2008, but they fell at ‘Nova, 4-1, in a shootout after their 1-1 tie. Villanova (11-4-5) travels to Milwaukee to face Marquette on Sunday. UConn will have to wait to see whether it gets an at-large bid, though its No. 19 in the last RPI Index puts it in good shape. In the other Big East first-round game, Chelsea Klotz scored late to give host South Florida a 1-0 win over DePaul.
Conference Tournament Scoreboard
* CMU STREAK OVER. Central Michigan’s shutout streak ended at 1,238 minutes when Paige Sheridan scored 11 minutes into Eastern Michigan’s Mid-American match with the Chippewas on Thursday. CMU rallied for a 1-1 tie with the Eagles to extend its school record unbeaten streak to 14 matches. The 13-game shutout streak was tied for the second longest in NCAA Division I women’s history. The Chippewas, the MAC regular-season champions, return home to begin their quest for their first conference tournament championship against Kent State on Sunday.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“The problem in our league isn’t who is or isn’t in the playoffs; it’s that not enough people want to watch our league yet, and we have to convince them that our league is worth watching. I don’t think [playing conservatively] is the way to do it.”
— Among the comments by D.C. United president Kevin Payne that got him fined $5,000 by MLS Commissioner Don Garber. (Washington Post)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Garber makes Payne pay
[MLS] Don Garber, the MLS Commissioner, fined D.C. United President Kevin Payne $5,000 for “public comments deemed detrimental to the public image of the League.” Payne’s costly comments appeared in Steven Goff‘s Washington Post Soccer Insider, which also published Payne’s apology. For the words that made Payne five-grand poorer …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Soccer America Men’s Weekend College Scoreboard
[COLLEGE] It continues to be a tough weekend for Top 25 teams as No. 12 Northwestern fell at Big Ten rival Michigan, 1-0, in overtime. No. 21 Brown lost an Ivy League contest to Penn, 1-0, on Sunday. On Saturday, No. 2 Wake Forest, No. 4 UCLA, No. 5 Connecticut and No. 6 South Florida are among the teams to lose. For the weekend action …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Soccer America Women’s Weekend College Scoreboard
[COLLEGE] No. 3 Florida Sate clinched a share of its first ACC regular-season title with No. 6 Boston College when it beat Virginia Tech, 2-1, on Sunday. In two other ACC battles involving Top 25 teams, No. 4 North Carolina won at No. 8 Maryland, 1-0, and BC edged No. 17 Wake Forest, 2-1, in overtime. Big East Tournament winners include No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 12 Marquette. No. 11 Rutgers fell to West Virginia, 1-0. For the weekend action and Sunday Top 25 schedule …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Sounders frustrated in first playoff test
[MLS] The first MLS playoff game at Qwest Field produced everything it had to, except a goal. Houston, playing its fourth game in 12 days amid a raucous atmosphere generated by nearly 36,000 fans, matched the hometown Sounders in grit and spirit to emerge with a 0-0 tie Thursday night in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal. The teams will have a long rest period before playing the second leg at Robertson Stadium Nov. 8.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Chivas USA hosts SuperClasico, Round 1
[MLS PLAYOFF PREDICTION] After five seasons of knocking heads as neighbors in Home Depot Center, the Southern California teams square off for the first time in the playoffs.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Familiar foes renew playoff rivalry
[MLS PLAYOFF PREDICTION] For the fifth straight year, the Chicago Fire and the New England Revs meet in the playoffs with both teams missing key players because of injuries.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
RSL has Rio Tinto edge against defending champ
[MLS PLAYOFF PREDICTION] The Eastern Conference semifinals get underway Saturday with a “crossover” Western team, Real Salt Lake, hosting the defending champion Columbus Crew, which didn’t fare well the last time it visited Rio Tinto Stadium.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
U.S. women lay claim to No. 1 ranking
[U.S. WOMEN] Before a sellout crowd of 28,377 fans at Impuls Arena in Augsburg, one of the largest crowds ever to watch a women’s friendly match, the USA beat Germany, 1-0, to confirm its status as the best team in the world. The Americans got a first-half goal from Abby Wambach and a tremendous performance by their defense to hold off the recently crowned European champions.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
U.S. Player Ratings
[USA-MALAWI REPORT CARD] Soccer America’s Paul Kennedy rates the U.S. players in Thursday’s 1-0 win over Malawi at the Under-17 World Cup.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Keeper blunder gives USA first win
[UNDER-17 WORLD CUP] Alex Shinsky‘s goal on a volley that slipped through the hands and legs of Malawi goalie Cuthbert Seengwa and trickled across the line was all the United States could muster, but it was enough to beat a weak Malawi team, 1-0, Thursday at the Under-17 World Cup in Kano, Nigeria.
WEEKEND ACTION:
Men’s College Scoreboard
Women’s College Scoreboard
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Violent Goalkeepers: Why Are MLS Refs Afraid to Eject Them?
Seattle can consider itself hard done by. In the opening playoff game it came up on the short end of some decidedly poor decisions from referee Ricardo Salazar.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Whitecaps In Limbo Between USL and New Owners’ League
The Vancouver Whitecaps will join Major League Soccer in 2011. But the team still doesn't know which league it will play in next season. The Whitecaps' membership in the USL-1 league looks less likely every day. In an interview with Montreal radio station CKAC Wednesday, USL CEO Alec Papadakis suggested both Canadian teams – the […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
FIFA and WADA Working on ‘More Intelligent’ Anti-Doping Program
FIFA and the World Anti-Doping Agency are working together to produce a new anti-doping program that resembles the program used to test international cyclists. "We think this is exciting," Fahey said of the partnership with FIFA. "If it brings the results that many scientists believe it can, it will ultimately help all sports. We also […]