Category: Soccer America Site

UCLA was ranked No. 1 in the Soccer America Preseason Women's Top 25, in part because of its considerable depth, but the Bruins were depleted when they headed to No. 8 Penn State for Friday's opener at the Penn State Invitational. Depth helped UCLA reach the Women's College Cup final the last two years. ôOur […]

South Carolina and Clemson renew one of the great rivalries in men's soccer Friday night when they meet in Columbia, S.C. The Palmetto State derby in one of the great state rivalries. Nine of the 20 biggest crowds in the history of the Graveyard, since renamed Hunt Stadium, are for USC-Clemson games. Last year's game […]

MLS expansion team Toronto FC named Scotsman Mo Johnston as its first head coach. Johnston takes charge of MLS's first Canadian team less than two months after being fired as New York Red Bulls coach. With three games remaining in the 2005 regular season, he was promoted from assistant coach to head coach with the […]

Spain's La Liga starts this weekend after a hectic summer during which clubs loaded up on international stars signed from foreign teams. The moves confirmed La Liga's status as the best league in the world. Here's a look at moves by the principal contenders: BARCELONA. The champions spent almost $40 million on new talent. Barca […]

There's been good news and bad news for West Virginia fans since Marlon LeBlanc took over as men's coach in early August, arriving from Penn State, where he was an assistant. The Mountaineers earned preseason victories over No. 19 Virginia Tech (1-0) and Marshall (2-0) but lost New Zealand international Jarrod Smith. West Virginia’s leading scorer […]

North Carolina, ranked No. 1 in the Soccer America Preseason Men's Top 25, has lost freshman defender Eric Lichaj, who is likely out for the season after breaking a bone in his left foot in the Heels' Aug. 13 exhibition at Davidson. The Chicago Magic product was rated one of the nation's top freshman defenders […]

Soccer America continues its countdown the 2006 college season, which starts Friday for men and women, with a look at the 2006 NCAA Division I women's conferences. ACC Defending Champion: North Carolina. Preseason Poll:1. North Carolina (No. 3 in Soccer America Preseason Top 25), 2. Florida State (No. 4), 3. Virginia (No. 7), 4. Boston College (No. 10), […]

For the third year in a row, Barcelona and Chelsea will meet in the UEFA Champions League. Barca, the defending champion, was drawn with Chelsea in Group A for the group stage of the European club competition. Last year, Barcelona beat Chelsea in the second round en route winning the title. In 2005, the Blues […]

The USA captured first place in Group D at the 2006 U-20 Women’s World Championship with a 1-0 win over France at Moscow's Dynamo Stadium. Virginia forward Jessica Rostedt scored the game-winner with a dipping shot from 20 yards in the 61st minute to move the Americans into the quarterfinals. They face  Group C second-place finisher Germany, […]

Kevin Kennedy has been named interim men’s coach at Georgia Southern, replacing Kevin Chambers, who resigned to take a position in the Georgia Southern office of admissions.   For the past six years, Kennedy has been the director of coaching and club director of the Augusta (Ga.) Arsenal Soccer Club. He led Augusta Aquinas High School […]

John R. Eiler, who led alma mater East Stroudsburg as a coach to the NAIA national championship in 1962 and the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament in 1964 and 1965, died last week at the age of 93 in East Stroudsburg, Pa. He built the Warriors into one of the first national powers in college soccer. […]

Oregon women's head coach Tara Erickson gave birth Wednesday at Sacred Heart Hospital in Eugene, Ore., to daughter Taj Makena, weighing 7 pounds, 14 ounces, and measuring 20 inches. Mom, dad Kraig and daughter (and big brother Maklain) are all doing well. Baring any complications, Tara still plans on being on the sideline for Oregon's opener Friday night […]

HORIZON Defending Champion: Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Preseason Poll: 1. Detroit, 2. Wisconsin-Milwaukee (No. 24 in Soccer America Preseason Top 25), 3. UIC. Players to Watch: Wisconsin-Milwaukee keeper Grant Fernstrum had 10 shutouts and led the nation with a 0.47 goals-against average as a freshman. Detroit midfielder Vahid Assadpour had a Horizon-high 10 assists in 2005. UIC forward Tonci […]

American goalies Brad Friedel and Tim Howard squared off for the fifth time in the English Premier League on Wednesday when Howard's Everton held Blackburn to a 1-1 tie. Howard did well to hold Blackburn to only one goal scored by South African Benni McCarthy, who has been a nemesis for Howard. It was McCarthy's […]

The quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup produced heroes in unlikely roles. Landon Donovan was the supersub for the Los Angeles Galaxy, and Jamil Walker made the most a rare start for D.C. United. Donovan, who came on the 37th minute, scored twice in overtime to give the Galaxy a 3-1 victory over the Colorado […]

U.S. under-20 men's national team head coach Thomas Rongen will take 11 professionals to the Busan International Tournament Aug. 29-Sept. 2 in Busan, South Korea. The pros are defenders Carlos Borja (Chivas USA), Erik Hort (Sparta Prague/Czech Republic), Blake Wagner (FC Dallas), Tim Ward (Columbus Crew), midfielders Nikolas Besagno (Real Salt Lake), Miguel Gonzalez (New […]

Ricardo La Volpe is returning to his native Argentina to coach Boca Juniors, the legendary Buenos Aires club, after spending more than two decades in Mexico. La Volpe, the No. 3 goalie on Argentina's 1978 World Cup championship team, finished his playing career in Mexico, then had a successful career as a club coach before […]

U.S. SoccerÆs under-17 residency program reopened this week with 19 first-semester players in the 40-player fall class at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Preparations begin in earnest this fall for qualifying for the 2007 Under-17 World Championship next summer in South Korea. The fall class is dominated by '90 players who will form the nucleus […]

Soccer America continues its countdown the 2006 college season, which starts Friday for men and women, with a look at rest of the 2006 NCAA Division I men's conferences (ACC to Conference USA). ACC Defending Champion: Duke. Preseason Poll: 1. North Carolina (No. 1 in Soccer America Top 25), 2. Virginia (No. 3), 3. Maryland (No. […]

Newly promoted Reading won its English Premier League opener, 3-2, over Middlesbrough but American keeper Marcus Hahnemann looked shaky on both goals. Bobby Convey played 83 minutes for Reading. … Brad Friedel saved a Nwankwo Kanu penalty kick in stoppage time but went down, 3-0, with Blackburn against Portsmouth. … Jay DeMerit played the second […]

Jeff Cunningham assisted twice and scored his league-leading 14th goal as Real Salt Lake won an unprecedented fourth straight game with a 3-1 win over Houston Dynamo. Chris Klein and Douglas Sequeira also scored for Salt Lake, now just two points out of a playoff spot, in front of a 14,091 crowd at Rice-Eccles Stadium. […]

The USA moved into the quarterfinals of the Under-20 WomenÆs World Cup with a 4-1 win over Argentina, its second win in two games in the Group D play. France also clinched a berth in the quarterfinals with a 1-0 victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Bleuettes, who have the better goal difference […]

In women's preseason action involving Top 25 teams, No. 10 Boston College, whose biggest need this season will be increased scoring, erupted for three first-half goals to beat No. 12 Connecticut, 3-1, on the road Friday night. Kia McNeill, Tara Luciani and Caitlin Hiler scored for BC, which got a pair of assists from Jenny […]

Creighton won the men's competition at the Westfield Insurance Cup, 3-1 on penalty kicks, over Clemson in Sunday’s final. The teams had played to a 2-2 tie. Clemson twice took the lead on goals by Tate Parrish and Michael Brooks, but the Bluejays equalized, first through Tyler Stansberry’s penalty kick and then Irishman Alan O’Hara’s […]

Eight ACC teams have players on the 2006 Soccer America Preseason Men's All-American Team. Englishman Ben Hunter is the selection for North Carolina, ranked No. 1 in the Soccer America Preseason Men's Top 25. Every ACC team except N.C. State has a player on the Preseason All-American Team. Seven ACC teams are ranked in the Soccer […]