Category: Soccer America Daily

[MLS PLAYOFF RACE] After the top two in each conference — which right now are Columbus and Chicago in the East, Houston and Los Angeles in the West — here’s how the MLS wild-card race stacks up, with teams ranked not by points, but rather their chances of joining the final eight.

[UNDER-20 WORLD CUP] What a difference! Three days after being embarrassed against Germany, the USA buried Cameroon, 4-1, in a wild game Tuesday at the Under-20 World Cup in Suez. What went right against Cameroon that had gone so wrong against the Germans?

[WORLD CUP 2018/2022] One of the USA’s chief competitors in its bid for the 2018/2022 World Cups dropped by the wayside on Tuesday when Mexico’s soccer federation announced it lacked the resources to finance the work needed to host. The move leaves the USA as the lone Concacaf bidder and prevents a regional fight for the support of the influential Concacaf members on FIFA’s executive committee.

[UNDER-20 WORLD CUP] Soccer America’s Paul Kennedy grades the U.S. players in Tuesday’s 4-1 win over Cameroon at the Under-20 World Cup in Suez.

Barcelona and Arsenal cruised. Lyon and Sevilla won big on the road. Inter Milan struggled, and Liverpool lost. For Tuesday’s results and goal scorers and Wednesday’s schedule with TV listings …

[WPS] Sky Blue FC, winner of the inaugural Women’s Professional Soccer championship, hired its fourth coach in 18 months when it named Finn Pauliina Miettinen as its new head coach. Never heard of Miettinen?

[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Fiorentina and Lyon came out firing and were rewarded with big wins on Day 2 of the group stage of the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League. Inter Milan’s tentative form continued, however, and it almost paid dearly in Russia. Here are three things we learned on Tuesday …

[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Seconds away from advancing to the quarterfinals of the regional championship, Columbus instead will have to wait more than three weeks to know its fate. Alexander Robinson headed home a Walter Centeno free kick in the second minute of stoppage time to earn Deportivo Saprissa a 1-1 draw in a Group B match and avoid elimination. A win would have guaranteed the Crew a quarterfinal berth; instead, it must at least tie the Puerto Rico Islanders away Oct. 20 in its final group match.

[MLS PREDICTION] MLS left the Cotton Bowl more than four years ago, yet that’s where New England and FC Dallas play their league match Wednesday as a preliminary to a Mexico-Colombia friendly. As one of the league’s founding members, the Dallas Burn used the Cotton Bowl as its primary home from 1996 to 2002, and again starting in 2004 until Pizza Hut Park opened in early August, 2005. Its large, smooth surface was regarded as among the league’s best to play on. New England was 6-3-1 against Dallas at the Cotton Bowl and won when it last played there, 3-0, in August of 2004.

[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] The tasks for Houston and D.C. United are vastly different though both are playing at home Wednesday night in the group play of the regional championship.While tricky, United’s match against Trinidadian club San Juan Jabloteh (8 p.m., Fox Soccer Channel) is nothing like the Dynamo’s date with Mexican powerhouse Pachuca (10 p.m., FSC, Galavision). The Tuzos are in second place in Group A with nine points, two more than Houston and one less than Arabe Unido of Panama, which took over the group lead by battering Isidro Metapan, 6-0, on Tuesday.

[UNDER-20 WORLD CUP] The USA faces 2009 African Youth Championship runner-up Cameroon Tuesday in their second game at the Under-20 World Cup. The Young Lions, 2-0, winner over South Korea on Saturday, will be favored, but the USA has had success against them.

[COLLEGE] Senior Rachel Yepez, who had three goals and two assists for LSU in SEC wins over ranked Georgia (6-0) and Tennessee (5-1), is the Soccer America Women’s Player of the Week for games played Sept. 21-27. For the Soccer America Women’s Team of the Week …

[COLLEGE] Senior Kevin Tangney, who battled back from serious knee injuries in 2006 and 2007 and scored the winning goal in Maryland’s 1-0 victory over North Carolina in a rematch of the 2008 NCAA Division I final, is the Soccer America Men’s Player of the Week for games played Sept. 21-27. For the Soccer America Men’s Team of the Week …

[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] The 2009-10 UEFA Champions League moves into Day 2 of the group stage on Tuesday. Clashes between the top teams from England, Germany and Italy highlight Day 2. For a look at the top matches and top stars as well as the complete television schedule …

[MLS PLAYOFF RACE] In baseball, a magic number is the sum of games a team needs to win plus the games its foes need to lose for it to clinch a postseason spot. In MLS, the magic number is how many points are needed to get into the playoffs, and as the number of teams has increased, that magic number has inched up as well. A benchmark of 40 points – which would represent a 10-10-10 record in a 30-game season – doesn’t look like it will be quite enough this year.

[OFF THE POST] Perhaps not having faith in his team’s shooter, a fan invaded the field during a Russian league game between Saturn and Spartak Moscow and nicely stroked home penalty kick.

[UNDER-20 WORLD CUP] The USA resumes play at the Under-20 World Cup in Egypt on Tuesday when its faces Cameroon (TV: ESPN2, Galavision, live, 12:40 pm ET). Following a dismal performance in their opening game against Germany, the Americans will look turn things around in a tournament that is of particular importance to the five players who have left school or signed with a management firm hoping to parlay strong showings into pro contracts …

USA-Cameroon:
Update

[MLS PLAYOFF WATCH] Defending champion Columbus secured a playoff spot by beating the Galaxy, 2-0, but the real news came from the other end of the standings. The bottom three teams – New York, FC Dallas, and San Jose – all dented the hopes of teams in the chase by refusing to lose, and in two cases, actually winning. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney updates the playoff race …

[COLLEGE] No. 1 Akron, No. 9 Monmouth and No. 25 UMBC are the only unbeaten and untied teams left in the Soccer America Men’s Top 25. UCLA moved up to No. 2 with a pair of wins, while ACC teams Maryland, Wake Forest and North Carolina complete the top five. For the complete Soccer America Men’s Top 25 rankings …

[COLLEGE] Stanford and North Carolina both overcame close calls and remain 1-2 in the Soccer America Women’s Top 25. Portland, UCLA and Florida State all moved up one spot and complete the top five. For the complete Soccer America Women’s Top 25 rankings …

[MLS NAMES & NUMBERS] Fredy Montero scored on a spectacular long-range rocket but the Seattle Sounders went down to New England. Columbus remained red hot when the Galaxy came to town. FC Dallas’ Jeff Cunningham moved to the top of the league-scoring lead at Real Salt Lake’s expense. For highlights from last weekend’s MLS action. …

Chelsea lost its first game in the English Premier League, falling to Wigan, 3-1, and allowing defending champion Manchester United to pull even in first place. Barcelona and Real Madrid remained perfect in Spain’s La Liga. In Germany, Hamburg, a 1-0 winner over Bayern Munich, and Bayer Leverkusen are tied for the Bundesliga lead. For the weekend results and current standings …