Author Archives: Soccer America

Josh Wolff tore Mexico apart with a goal and an assist. Six weeks earlier, he needed follow-up surgery to correct problems emanating from a hernia operation he underwent two years ago. Amid all the clamor in the last year for head coach Bruce Arena to give more time to his young attackers, Josh Wolff bided […]

England star Kelly Smith checks in from San Diego, where the WUSA’s Philadelphia Charge is in preseason camp. She talks training and taking naps in the fourth installment of her column on SoccerAmerica.com. BY KELLY SMITH Training camp is going really well. We have 26 players in camp and we’re training twice a day. The […]

The following are results from MLS preseason games in March: March 11 in Hialeah, Fla. Miami Fusion 3 Copa Latina All-Stars 1. Goals: Heaps (Preki, Serna) 16, Marino (Preki) 33, Preki 61; Zurita (Martinez) 63. Miami — Nick Rimando (Jeff Cassar 46), Pablo Mastroeni, Ivan McKinley (Tim Sahaydak 59), Tyrone Marshall, Jay Heaps (Kyle Beckerman […]

A summary of MLS transactions for March 2001: March 12 Miami Fusion — Waived midfielder Henry Gutierrez. Tampa Bay Mutiny — Waived defender Mersim Beskovic and goalkeeper Adam Throop. March 9 Miami Fusion — Signed forward Pete Marino as a Discovery Player. Released midfielder Keith Beach. March 8 Miami Fusion — Signed midfielder Ian Bishop […]

The United States out-shot Canada, 21-5, but Karina LeBlanc made 13 saves en route to Canada’s 3-0 shut out of April Heinrichs’ team at the Algarve Cup in Lagos, Portugal, on March 11. The young U.S. team, whose average age is 19, took the game to the far more experienced Canadians, who used eight players […]

It was not a good weekend for Americans in Europe as Brad Friedel and Kasey Keller both lost and very few others saw action. Ben Olsen, who suffered a broken ankle during a midweek game against Barnsley, was back in the USA for surgery. And Brian McBride’s stint at Preston North End has ended. Croatia […]

Akide scores in Spirit debut Atlanta held off San Diego, 3-2, in preseason action in El Paso, Texas, despite the addition of discovery player Mercy Akide to the Spirit. Akide, Nigeria’s star attacking midfielder/forward, scored the Spirit’s final goal in the 89th minute. The March 11 match drew 3,116 fans to the Socorro Activities Complex, […]

In-depth interviews with U.S. stars for almost a week. Highlights of U.S. games from decades ago. Glowing praise of American soccer. That’s what you got in the days surrounding the United States’ 2-0 win over Mexico – if you happened to be in Mexico. I spent a family vacation in 80-degree Puerto Vallarta while my […]

A summary of MLS transactions for March 2001: March 9 Miami Fusion — Signed forward Pete Marino as a Discovery Player. Released midfielder Keith Beach. March 8 Miami Fusion — Signed midfielder Ian Bishop (England) as a Discovery Player. Waived forward Welton (Brazil). March 5 Los Angeles Galaxy — Waived midfielder Ivan Polic and forward […]

What Kyle Beckerman has in common with his coach, Ray Hudson … His wrestling background … What music gets him pumped up before games. Get to know 18-year-old Beckerman in SoccerAmerica.comÆs series on the nationÆs most promising talent. INTERVIEWED BY BRYAN ALVAREZ Name: Kyle Beckerman Position: Midfielder Born: April 23, 1982. Hometown: Crofton, Md. 2000 […]

The following are results from MLS preseason games in March: March 8 in Tampa, Fla. Tampa Bay Mutiny 3 University of South Florida 1. Goals: Ralston (Valderrama) 33, Schneider (Trittschuh) 55, Curtis (Valderrama) 68; Paroulek 5. Tampa Bay — Garlick, Demmin (Bankov 78), Addo (McCarty 46), Trittschuh, Maessner, Keller (Armas 46), Ralston (Navarrete 70), Valderrama […]

In the space of 10 days, Liverpool won the English League Cup and moved into the quarterfinals of the English FA Cup and UEFA Cup, keeping its bid alive for an unprecedented cup treble. Liverpool is the most decorated club in English soccer history. The Reds have won 36 titles since their founding in 1892. […]

The San Diego Spirit and New York Power split a couple of preseason scrimmages March 8 at UC San Diego’s Rimac Field. The Power won the first match, 2-0, and the Spirit took the second, 4-1. The matches were played with 35-minute halves. U.S. midfielder Shannon MacMillan scored four times in the Spirit’s win, tallying […]

The following is a summary of NCAA Division I women’s coaching changes during the 2000-2001 offseason: Key: recent moves in bold. School Old Coach New Coach Arizona State Terri Patraw Ray Leone Arkansas-Little Rock Chris Pratt Greg Hess Cal Riverside new program Veronica O’Brien Cal State Fullerton Al Mistri Ali Khosroshahin Canisius Carlos Obiano TBD […]

Mexico had to settle for a 3-3 tie with Brazil before 70,000 fans in Guadalajara after taking 2-0 and 3-2 leads. Romario twice broke Mexico back even at the Jalisco Stadium. Mexico coach Enrique Meza had six changes in his starting lineup from the team that fell to the United States, 2-0, in Columbus: Oswaldo […]

Chance of settlement rests on players’ freedom of movement Baseball may not be the only American professional sport to be plagued by labor strife in 2001. Soccer is riddled by forces much different than those that threaten yet another upheaval in baseball, in which the two sides are fighting over huge chunks of vast revenues. […]

Honduras, the U.S. opponent March 28 in the Hexagonal, played to a 0-0 tie with Peru in a friendly in Miami. Coach Ramon Maradiaga only started six players from the 2-2 tie with Costa Rica in San Jose a week earlier. Despite the experimental nature of the team, the Honduran press blasted the performance, claiming […]

Real Madrid Founded in 1902, Real Madrid was recently named the “Club of the Century” by FIFA. Real holds a record eight European Cups and is the reigning European champion. Some of the world’s best players have worn the glorious Real white jerseys. The long list includes Alfredo Di Stefano, who starred in Real’s all-conquering […]

Silvia Tagliacarne’s 87th-minute goal gave Italy a 1-0 win over a young U.S. national team at Centro d’Italia Stadium in Rieti, Italy. Italy, which is preparing for the European Women’s Championships in June, came out in a low-pressure defense with hopes of winning the ball in midfield to launch their vaunted counter-attacks. A tentative U.S. […]

The United States menÆs under-20 national team will begin their final preparations for the CONCACAF Group B qualifying tournament this week when the players gather in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Head coach Wolfgang Suhnholz has called in 21 players for the camp, which is scheduled to include two matches before the final team will travel to […]

Eleven U-20 players last fall endured the difficulties and distractions of their first semester at college with varying degrees of success. Those from the phenomenal U-17 team expected to prosper in college, but they discovered the challenge wasn’t simple. Kenny Cutler was in trouble. He knew it. His game had slipped, and his future with […]

D.C. United D.C. United moved training indoors March 5 (snow) and March 6 (below freezing temperatures and unplayable field) as the team continues to focus on conditioning prior to departing next week for MLS Spring Training in Ft. Lauderdale … Marco Etcheverry continues his loan with Oriente Petrolero in Bolivia, and is expected to rejoin […]

UCLA coach Jillian Ellis announced her resignation as coach of the U.S. under-21 national team. Ellis, who is in her third year with the U-21s and second as head coach, has decided to step down due to an illness in her family. She will remain the U-21 coach through a training camp scheduled to be […]

A summary of MLS transactions for March 2001: March 5 Los Angeles Galaxy — Waived midfielder Ivan Polic and forward Sebastien Vorbe (Haiti). March 2 Kansas City Wizards — Traded midfielder Preki to the Miami Fusion for a third-round draft pick in 2002 and future considerations. Miami Fusion — Traded a 2002 third-round draft pick […]

After eight years in England, goalkeeper Kasey Keller last season joined Spain’s Rayo Vallecano – the capital’s other team – and contributed mightily to the club’s unexpected success. ‘WE’RE NO. 3!” “We’re definitely the third team in Madrid,” Kasey Keller acknowledges. “Everyone goes to see Real Madrid or Atletico [Madrid], but they like Rayo. For […]