Author Archives: Soccer America

The following are quotes from the Oct. 19 MLS media teleconference, which featured MLS executive vice president of player relations and operations Ivan Gazidis, Dallas Burn coach Dave Dir and Chicago Fire coach Bob Bradley. Gazidis’ Opening Comments: “We have an exciting announcement today and that is the signing of D.C. United forward Jaime Moreno […]

‘This felt like the right time’ Kansas City defender Alexi Lalas ended a storied career when he announced his retirement Oct. 9. SOCCER AMERICA: Why? ALEXI LALAS: If there’s a reason, it’s because of at this point in my life, there are other things that I’ve had in my life, and want to have, that […]

DALLAS 2 CHICAGO 1 OCT. 16 Att.: 10,980 Goals Dallas: Graziani (Pareja) 52, Santel (Graziani, Pareja) 75. Chicago: Ball (Nowak, Dougherty) 79. SA Report Card Dallas: Jordan 6, Farrer 6, Rodriguez 5, Pollard 6, Daniv 4 (Suarez, 71st, 5), Deering 6, Eck 6, Pareja 7 (Dade, 80th, 5), Santel 6, Graziani 6, Kreis 6. Chicago: […]

Felix A. Ulloa Warren, N.J. Our club has 21 travel teams from U-8s to U-14s. We have devoted one day a week training for each team with professional coaches. In addition, we have on Saturdays five sessions from 9am to 3pm devoted to skills, drills and tactics, also ran by professional coaches. But our attendance […]

Here is the Soccer America Women’s Top 20, taking into account games played through Oct. 17: Rank/Team Record Last Week 1. Santa Clara 15-0-0 1 2. North Carolina 12-2-0 2 3. Florida 14-1-0 3 4. Nebraska 14-1-1 4 5. Penn State 12-2-1 5 6. Notre Dame 11-3-0 6 7. Virginia 11-4-0 9 8. Stanford 11-3-0 […]

Here is the Soccer America men’s Top 20, taking into account games played through Oct. 17: Rank/Team Record Last Week 1. Indiana 11-2-0 1 2. UCLA 11-1-0 2 3. Saint Louis 12-1-1 5 4. San Diego 11-1-0 8 5. SW Missouri 12-0-1 7 6. Maryland 10-3-0 10 7. Duke 7-0-3 6 8. Furman 11-1-1 13 […]

Aminah San Luis Obispo, Calif. My children’s coach wants us all to learn about soccer history. Our question is: Who was the oldest player to play in a World Cup match? Mike Woitalla: Roger Milla of Cameroon not only became the oldest player to play in a World Cup match, he is also the oldest […]

For the first time since 1990, when Mark Dodd won the award with the WSL’s Colorado Foxes, a goalie is the A-League MVP. Minnesota Thunder keeper John Swallen won the 1999 award. The 34-year-old St. Paul, Minn., native recorded the league’s best goals-against average of 0.56, a league-high 11 shutouts and a league-best 17 wins. […]

Minnesota, the bridesmaid but never the bride three times in the ’90s, finally earned its first national title when it beat the Rochester Rhinos, 2-1, to take the A-League title Oct. 16 in Blaine, Minn. The Thunder scored goals three minutes apart at the close of the first half and the start of the second […]

Jennifer Jones Williamsville, N.Y. How do I find out what youth soccer tournaments are happening and where they are happening? Is there a listing by date or locations of what youth tournaments are available to attend? Mike Woitalla: The most complete listing of tournaments — youth and adult — can be found in Soccer America […]

Compromise isn’t working, but the cash is rolling in It was compromise, fueled by greed, that led to this, the ransacking of one of soccer’s most treasured competitions in an effort to create something truly super. What UEFA and Europe’s biggest clubs couldn’t comprehend is how terrific the European Cup already was. The stain of […]

My View…Adrift in a harsh realm RIDGE MAHONEY Did the end to the MLS regular season receive any notice in the harsh realm of professional sports coverage? Barely a whisper, IÆm afraid. ItÆs a sad example of league travails when the final weekend of play ù with the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference […]

George Adeff Westchester, Calif. A fellow at the office, who knows enough about soccer to know who Pele is, told me he’d heard on the radio that Pele was under indictment for murder as a result of a motorcycle accident. I’ve been looking for a news article on this but without success. Was this the […]

Featuring SA player ratings D.C. UNITED 2 TAMPA BAY 4 Oct. 6 Att.: 10, 846. Goals D.C. United: Agoos (Sonora, Wood) 70, Lassiter (Wood, Llamosa) 76. Tampa Bay: Ralston (Kotschau, Valderrama) 7, Kotschau (Lagos, Ralston) 22, Shannon (Valderrama, Ramos) 83, Lagos 88. SA Report Card D.C United: Presthus 5, Sonora 4, Pope 4, Llamosa 4 […]

‘We don’t take a back seat’ D.C. United general manager Kevin Payne says Las Vegas wasn’t the best choice for the CONCACAF Champions Cup. SOCCER AMERICA: Is it a setback for MLS to have both teams knocked out in the semifinals? KEVIN PAYNE: We can play with anybody in this confederation, that’s pretty clear, as […]

Here’s a look at the MLS quarterfinals schedule with TV information as of Oct. 14. Date Matchup Kickoff (ET) Television Oct. 16 Chicago at Dallas 5:00 Fox Sports Chicago Oct. 16 Miami at D.C. United 7:30 NewsChannel 8 Oct. 17 Tampa Bay at Columbus 3:00 espn2 Oct. 17 Colorado at Los Angeles 7:30 TBD Oct. […]

WOMEN’S NCAA DIVISION II Central Region 1 North Dakota State 9-1-1 DH Nebraska-Omaha 3-1 2 Northern Kentucky 12-2-0 LA Southern Indiana 0-2, LA SIU-Edwardsville 1-3 2 UMN-Duluth 9-1-0 DH St. Scholastica 6-0, DA Northern State 1-0, DA Minnesota-Morris 3-0 4 Minnesota State 9-4-1 DH WI-River Falls 4-1 4 Indianapolis 10-3-0 DA WI-Parkside 4-0 6 SIU-Edwardsville […]

MEN’S NCAA DIVISION I SCHOOL RECORD PTS. 1 Santa Clara 11-0-0 479 2 Duke 7-0-2 454 3 St. Louis 10-1-1 425 4 Indiana 9-2-0 408 5 Penn State 11-1-0 375 6 UCLA 9-1-0 351 7 Wake Forest 8-0-3 330 8 San Diego 10-1-0 293 9 Maryland 8-3-0 271 10 SW Missouri 10-0-1 254 11 Furman […]

WOMEN’S NCAA DIVISION I Central Region 1 Nebraska 12-1-1 DA Denver 2-0, DA Colorado 9-0 2 SMU 10-3-0 DH Tulsa 3-1, DH UTEP 2-0 3 Missouri 10-3-0 DH Oklahoma 2-0, DH Oklahoma State 3-0 4 Texas A&M 10-4-0 LA Baylor 0-1, LA Texas Tech 0-1 5 Baylor 9-5-0 DH Texas A&M 1-0, LH Texas 2-4 […]

POSITION/PLAYER G Jon Conway (Rutgers) (1) 12 saves in Big East wins over Seton Hall and UConn D Chad Evans (Wake Forest) (1) 3 goals in wins over Radford and N.C. State D Aaron Rickard (SW Missouri) (1) Strong D and assisted on OT winner vs. Tulsa M Sasha Victorine (UCLA) (2) Scored winners against […]

WOMEN’S NCAA DIVISION III Central Region 1 Macalester 11-1-0 DA Concordia-Moorehead 4-0, DH Bethel 3-0 2 Washington U 9-2-0 LA Rochester 1-2, DA Brandeis 2-0 3 Chicago 7-2-1 DH WI-Stevens Point 2-0, DA Brandeis 3-0, DA Rochester 1-0 3 WI-Stevens Point 11-2-0 DA La Crosse 7-0, LA Chicago 0-2, DH St. Norbert 2-0 5 Gustavus […]

Craig Adelman Los Angeles, Calif. The Chicago Fire has four very good foreign players on its roster and Dema Kovalenko as a Project-40 player, who doesn’t count against the team’s allotment of four foreigners. Can Kovalenko stay a Project-40 player for another year or will the Fire have to make a decision on which foreign […]

Regional club championship blighted by organizational problems on and off the field The organization formerly known as CONCACAF cannot, unfortunately, change its reputation as easily as its name. Not even the gaudiness and glitz of America’s gambling capital can cast a flattering light on The Football Confederation’s crowning of Necaxa as regional club champion. Events […]

MEN’S NCAA DIVISION II Central Region 1 Lewis 9-2-2 DA St. Joseph 2-1, DA Saginaw Valley 1-0 2 Truman State 8-2-1 DA St. Joseph 3-1, DA Indianapolis 3-0 3 IUP-Fort Wayne 8-2-2 TA SIU-E 0-0 4 Rockhurst 8-3-1 DH SIU-E 2-1, TH Midwestern State 2-2 5 Quincy 7-4-2 DH Lindenwood 4-0, DH Bellarmine 4-0, DH […]

WOMEN’S NCAA DIVISION I SCHOOL RECORD PTS. 1 Santa Clara 13-0-0 300 2 Florida 12-1-0 284 3 North Carolina 11-2-0 272 4 Nebraska 12-1-1 269 5 Penn State 9-2-1 250 6 Notre Dame 11-2-0 241 7 UCLA 10-2-0 228 8 Virginia 9-4-0 198 9 Clemson 9-3-1 190 10 SMU 10-3-0 180 11 Connecticut 9-4-0 170 […]