Author Archives: Soccer America

SMALL COLLEGE NEWS … Jim Regan played at Bethany College, where he was enshrined in its Hall of Fame in 2005. Son Seth was an all-conference selection for Wheeling Jesuit.

On Wednesday night, they squared off when Wheeling beat Bethany, 5-1, but they switched sides (VIDEO). Jim is in his 27th season as the head coach at Wheeling Jesuit and needs only four more wins to reach the 300 mark in his career. Sean, in his first season as the head coach at Bethany, is still seeking his first win. The Bison is 0-4-0.

“Most people dream of playing professionally,” Seth told woaktv.com, “but when I was little, I never missed one of my dad’s games and I wanted to follow in his footsteps. Now to be the head coach at Bethany where he played and run the program that John Cunningham, who was like a second grandfather to me, started, is a dream come true.”

WOMEN’S SOCCER … UCF knocked No. 5 Florida State from the unbeaten ranks Thursday when it defeated the Seminoles, 1-0, on Courtney Whidden‘s golden goal on a header off fellow senior Becca Thomas‘ free kick that touched off a massive celebration among the fans in a school record crowd of 1,142 in Orlando.

“I knew we could do it,” said Whidden. “This team has worked so hard and finally we are getting recognition. We are showing everybody that we need to be ranked. We got what we deserved tonight.”

UCF (4-1-1) had already beaten one ranked ACC team, defeating Duke, 3-2, on Stacie Hubbard‘s late goal off another set piece. The Knights’ only loss was a 4-0 defeat at No. 1 North Carolina.

“Credit to UCF,” said FSU coach Mark Krikorian.  “They came in, had a great game plan and were very organized.  They were disciplined in their defending and limited our chances.  I would say it was a fair result for the game.”
 
Thursday’s Scoreboard

* WEEKEND TOP 25 ACTION:
Friday, Sept. 11
No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 8 Purdue (Santa Clara Tournament)
No. 3 Portland vs. No. 20 Illinois (Nike Portland Invitational)
No. 10 Wake Forest vs. No. 23 Penn State (UConn Classic)
No. 16 Virginia vs. No. 15 West Virginia (Virginia Nike Classic)

Saturday, Sept. 12
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 21 Texas A&M

Sunday, Sept. 13
No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 7 Notre Dame (Santa Clara Classic)
No. 4 Florida State vs. No. 24 UAB

* INJURY REPORT. Cincinnati lost defender Logan Ballinger with a season-ending injury in Sunday’s match against South Carolina. The junior, the Bearcats’ second-leading scorer when she was injured, will seek a medical redshirt.

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.