Category: Soccer America Daily

[COLLEGE] No. 1 Akron improved to 13-0-0 when it edged Northern Illinois, 1-0. No. 2  UCLA extended its unbeaten streak to nine games with 2-0 win over No. 19 Stanford. No. 3 North Carolina fell to Boston College, 2-1, in one of a string of upsets. Other Top 25 teams to fall over the weekend included No. 5 UC Santa Barbara, No. 7 Louisville, No. 9 Northwestern, No. 13 California, No 16 Georgetown, No. 22 Notre Dame, No. 23 Indiana and No. 25 UAB. For weekend men’s college results …

[COLLEGE] No. 1 Stanford remained perfect with a 2-0 victory over No. 4 UCLA thanks to two second-half goals in
front of an overflow crowd of 2,400. High-scoring Portland rolled on Sunday with a 4-0 win at Loyola Marymount. No. 9 USC beat No. 17 California, 3-2, on Alyssa Davila‘s golden goal. Top 25 upsets: No. 16 Texas A&M fell to Nebraska, 2-1, No. 18 Michigan State lost at Wisconsin, 1-0, and No. 24 Georgia dropped a 1-0 decision to SEC rival Florida. For results of weekend women’s college action  …

[MLS] Matt Besler grew up in the Kansas City area rooting for the Kansas City Wizards. Now instead of sitting in stands on weekends, Besler takes to the field as a starting defender for his favorite team. Get to know the 22-year-old in this profile by Soccer America’s Bryan Alvarez that covers on and off-field experiences.

[USA-COSTA RICA REPORT CARD] Michael Bradley‘s goal — on a rebound of Landon Donovan‘s shot after faking out a Tico defender — put the USA on the comeback path. Jonathan Bornstein‘s header in stoppage time capped the evening. But not to be underestimated was right back Steve Cherundolo‘s performance in the USA’s  2-2 tie that earned it first place in Concacaf qualifying. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney grades the U.S. players and comments on their performance. …

[USA-COSTA RICA] The ejection of Costa Rica coach Rene Simoes and the time it took to send him away was one reason — in addition to Oguchi Onyewu having to be stretchered off after a knee injury — that enough stoppage time was added for the USA to get the tying goal for a 2-2 result that earned the Americans first place in the Hexagonal and denied the Ticos World Cup qualification. Here’s what infuriated Simoes before he stormed up to the fourth official and berated him so severely that referee Benito Archundia stopped the match in order to eject him.

BREAKING NEWS:
U.S. Under-17 World Cup team named

WEEKEND ACTION:
Men’s College Scoreboard
Women’s College Scoreboard

[U.S. SOCCER] His medical situation isn’t nearly as serious as those of teammates Oguchi Onyewu and Charlie Davies, yet U.S. defender Jay DeMerit will undergo eye surgery Monday in London.

[MLS] With only two more weekends of play remaining, nine teams remain in contention for the four playoff spots undetermined. As many as four teams could be eliminated by Saturday night; a much-anticipated Dynamo-Galaxy sellout is set for Sunday.

[COLLEGE] Both of Wednesday’s Top 25 matchups were lopsided affairs. No. 10 Connecticut got two goals apiece from Californians Alan Ponce and Carlos Alvarez and defeated No. 8 Harvard, 4-0. No. 23 Indiana won at Notre Dame, 3-0, thanks to three second-half goals. For all Wednesday’s action …

[2010 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING] There’s much to work on between now and the World Cup for the USA to have a real chance at success, but its mettle has passed another test. Jonathan Bornstein‘s goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time gave the USA a 2-2 tie with Costa Rica and snatched the Ticos’ direct ticket they had in the pocket to the World Cup. The result gave the USA the Hexagonal crown (ahead of Mexico, which tied Trinidad & Tobago, 2-2) and qualified Honduras (a 1-0 winner at El Salvador) for the World Cup. The Ticos will face Uruguay in a playoff next month. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney reports from Washington, D.C., on the USA’s spectacular comeback.

[WORLD CUP 2010 QUALIFYING] Argentina, Slovakia and Switzerland joined Honduras as Wednesday’s four World Cup qualifiers, bringing the number of ticketed teams to 23. An additional 18 teams remain alive in the battle for nine berths — four in Europe’s playoffs, three in Africa and one each in the Concacaf/South America and Asia/Oceania playoffs — that won’t be decided until November.

[USA-COSTA RICA] For postgame reactions from the U.S. contingent after the 2-2 tie with Costa Rica, including Coach Bob Bradley‘s description of his halftime talk, when the USA was trailing 2-0, and his visit with Charlie Davies in the hospital prior to the game.

[USA-COSTA RICA] A day after Charlie Davies was seriously injured in a car accident that took the life of another passenger, central defender Oguchi Onyewu suffered a torn patellar tendon in his left knee late in Wednesday night’s World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica — an injury that typically requires a recovery time of 3-4 months.

[WORLD CUP 2010 QUALIFYING] Four days after being the goat, Carlos Pavon, the elder statesman of the Honduran national team, scored the winning goal in a 1-0 victory at El Salvador that will send the Catrachos to the World Cup for the first time in 28 years. Argentina and Slovakia were also victorious on the road to clinch berths in the World Cup finals, and Switzerland, hit hard by a stomach virus that sidelined three regulars, earned a 0-0 at home against Israel to claim the dramatic day’s fourth ticket to the World Cup.

There will be no College Soccer Reporter on Thursday. For all of Wednesday’s results, along with goalscorers of Top 25 matches, read the Soccer America College Scoreboards elsewhere in today’s Soccer America Daily.

[MLS] Real Salt Lake needed a win against the already-eliminated New York Red Bulls to stay in playoff contention and with 10 minutes left veteran Andy Williams delivered by volleying home a Robbie Findley cross. Fabian Espindola secured a 2-0 win for Salt Lake with a 90th minute strike. The win further tightens the playoff race.

[USA-COSTA RICA] The USA extended Costa Rica’s 24-year-old winless streak in World Cup qualifying on U.S. soil. For video highlights of the dramatic U.S. comeback. …

[USA-COSTA RICA REPORT CARD] Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney grades the U.S. players in their 2-2 win with Costa Rica. …

[COLLEGE] In Wednesday’s only Top 25 game involving a Top 25 team, No. 11 Virginia Tech defeated Longwood, 3-0. For results of women’s midweek college action …

[UNDER-20 WORLD CUP] Traditional youth powers Brazil and Ghana will meet in Friday’s final at the Under-20 World Cup in Cairo.

[MLS PREDICTION] The Red Bulls haven’t won on the road since they beat the Galaxy in May, 2008; Real Salt Lake hasn’t won since late August and comes into a must-win game without a win in its last three games. Coach Jason Kreis has used the long break from league play to address issues such as a defense that conceded six goals in three league matches.

[WORLD CUP 2010 QUALIFYING] Four more World Cup berths will be decided on Wednesday: two in Europe, one in Concacaf and one in South America, where Uruguay hosts Argentina in a dramatic conclusion to Conmebol’s marathon qualifying competition. For a look at the chances of the nine teams in contention …

[TELEVISION WATCH] Coverage of the USA-Costa Rica World Cup 2010 qualifying game on ESPN2 will begin with the pre-game show at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game kicks off at 8 pm ET with Adrian Healey and John Harkes in the booth. The game will also air live in Spanish language on Galavision. For all the Wednesday World Cup qualifiers on the air …