Author Archives: Paul Kennedy

[WPS] Parity finally arrived to Women’s Professional Soccer in the form of victories for Sky Blue FC and the Saint Louis Athletica, the first wins for both teams six weeks into the league’s first season. Sky Blue’s 2-0 win at Chicago resulted in the Red Stars’ first loss of the season.

[MEXICO] The final weekend of play in the Torneo Clausura first phase, which saw longtime First Division club Necaxa be relegated when it lost to sister club Club America, was overshadowed by the decision by the Mexican soccer federation (FMF) to sever ties with Conmebol, South America’s confederation, the latest fallout from the flu epidemic that impacted Mexico.

[USL-1] Journeyman Charles Gbeke did it again. The 31-year-old Ivorian-born Canada international, who was the MVP in Vancouver’s 2-1 win over Puerto Rico in the 2008 USL First Division final, scored in the 82nd minute to give the Whitecaps a 1-0 win over the Islanders Sunday night and move them into first place.

[EUROPEAN RACES] It was not a good evening for Barcelona. It had a chance to wrap up La Liga title Sunday, but it blew a 3-1 lead late in the game against Villarreal and had to settle for a 3-3 tie, meaning Barca needs one more point to clinch. But there was worse news for Barca. In England, Chelsea took out the frustrations of its Champions League exit out on Arsenal. In Germany, four goals by VfB Stuttgart’s Mario Gomez threw the Bundesliga race wide open with three matches left. Races were decided in Portugal and Ukraine, while there was a lead change in Scotland.

[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.

[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 …

[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] 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.

[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 …

[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.

[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Dutchman Guus Hiddink‘s reputation as a miracle worker preceded his arrival at Chelsea as interim manager in February, but he will have pulled off one of his greatest coups if the Blues can knock off Barcelona Wednesday at Stamford Bridge (TV: ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, live, 2:30 pm ET).

[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] With one slip, the biggest game of Arsenal teenager Kieran Gibbs‘ career quickly turned into a nightmare, and by halftime he was gone. By then, Gunners’ hopes of advancing to the UEFA Champions League final had evaporated. Arsenal’s 3-1 loss at home to Manchester United sent the defending champions through to the final, 4-1 on aggregate, in Rome, where they will meet the winner of the series between Barcelona and Chelsea.

[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Arsenal plays its most important match of the season when it hosts Manchester United Tuesday in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League series (TV: ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, live, 2:30 pm ET). Defeat would be a crushing blow for Arsene Wenger, who has never won a European trophy in 14 years as Arsenal manager, and revive talk of the possible breakup of the Gunners’ young team.

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Brad Friedel was in goal Monday night for Aston Villa, which ended its 12-game winless streak with a 1-0 victory over Hull City.

[LIBERTADORES CUP] Guadalajara and San Luis, the two Mexican clubs still alive in the Libertadores Cup, have had the first legs of their second-round series postponed because of the H1N1 flu while the search for venues continues.

[USL-1] St. Vincent & Grenadines international Marlon James enjoyed a memorable debut for the Vancouver Whitecaps, scoring a hat trick, including the winning goal on a penalty kick in the 90th minute, to give the defending champions a 3-2 win at Minnesota on Saturday. For all the weekend action …

[SPAIN] On the one hand, former Barcelona star Luis Enrique called Barcelona’s display “a soccer orgasm.” On the other, it was called “the greatest of humiliations” for Real Madrid. For the first time in the 80-year history of Spain’s greatest rivalry, Barcelona scored six goals at Real Madrid, inflicting a 6-2 defeat on the Merengues that all but decided La Liga race for 2008-09.

[EUROPEAN RACES] The top four teams in the English Premier League all won, leaving teams in the same places at the top of the standings with three weeks to play.

[WPS] Marta‘s first trip to Harvard Stadium drew a crowd of 8,031, the second largest in Women’s Professional Soccer’s short history, but Englishwoman Kelly Smith won the duel of WPS’s two best strikers, scoring only two minutes into the game to help the Breakers down the Los Angeles Sol, 2-1. For all the WPS action …

[WPS]  The Los Angeles Sol’s Marta and Boston Breakers’ Kelly Smith return to WPS action after missing last week’s play, and they meet for the first time Saturday at Harvard Stadium. For a look at all the WPS weekend action …

[USL-1] Two weeks ago, MLS’s Real Salt Lake loaned Chris Seitz to the Cleveland City Stars. On Thursday, the 22-year-old keeper played for the Portland Timbers. Only this time the result was different.

[MEXICO] The Mexican soccer federation, which has already ordered all domestic games this weekend to be played behind closed doors in response to the influenza A outbreak, has agreed with Conmebol, the South American confederation, to move the next home games of San Luis and Guadalajara in the Libertadores Cup to Bogota, Colombia, on May 6.

[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Like Tuesday’s Barcelona-Chelsea game, the offensive explosion expected from Manchester United-Arsenal never materialized. United scored early on a goal by John O’Shea, but that was all the scoring Wednesday at Old Trafford, and United takes a narrow 1-0 lead into next Tuesday’s return leg in Arsenal.