Category: Story

BY SCOTT FRENCH IN CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA A timely second-half volley by Mia Hamm on Sunday lifted the U.S. women’s team to the Olympic gold-medal match for the second time, delivering a 1-0 triumph over Brazil in an ugly semifinal at Bruce Stadium. Hamm, to the left of the goal, finished a sequence from a Brandi […]

BY SCOTT FRENCH IN ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA Sasha Victorine’s spot kick glanced off goalkeeper Seigo Narazaki’s fingertips and into the net Saturday night to secure a semifinal berth — and guarantee a place in an Olympic medal game — for the U.S. men’s soccer team with a stirring victory over Japan on penalty kicks. Victorine’s blast […]

The USA-Brazil history is a long one, dating back to 1986 and includes a Women’s World Cup match in 1991, but the rivalry took a whole new meaning on Dec 13, 1997, when Brazil defeated the USA for the first time. Brazil defeated the Americans, 1-0, with a goal from Roseli on a steamy Saturday […]

This is the fifth straight Olympics in which the United States has competed in the men’s soccer competition ù more than any other team in this year’s tournament ù and the only thing more surprising than the stunning display of attacking soccer by Clive Charles’ team has been NBC’s commitment to provide full coverage of […]

(Through Sept. 17) POINTS PER GAME Player, School Class GP G A P PPG 1 Patrice Feulner, Arizona St. Fr. 7 10 4 24 3.43 2 Tammy Waine, Auburn Jr. 8 12 3 27 3.38 3 Danielle Petro, Furman Fr. 8 11 4 26 3.25 4 Anne-Marie Lapalme, Mercer Fr. 6 6 7 19 3.17 […]

U.S. coach April Heinrichs on the problems her team had with Nigeria: “The style that they play can be unsettling to anybody… From the bench, it seemed like we had time and space to possess the ball better, but none of us on the bench are under the pressure of having our legs ripped off […]

Gunar Williams Koga city, Japan. I am an American living here in Japan, and I am shocked and irritated at how the Japanese are overlooking the U.S. menÆs soccer team in the upcoming quarterfinal match. A Japanese commentator last night said the Japan has an 80 percent chance of advancing to the final four. I […]

The lack of American athletes on Australian national TV has left the U.S. women with a dearth of favorite Olympic moments, but there have been some highlights. Shannon MacMillan: “My favorite moment so far was when Cathy Freeman stood in the middle of the pool of water and lit the Olympic flame. It gave me […]

Group A SUMMARIES Sept. 19 in Adelaide Italy 1 Nigeria 1. Goals: Lawal (pen.) 40; Okunowo (own goal) 65. Italy — Abbiati, Mezzano, Ferrari, Cirillo, Rivalta, Comandini, Baronio (Ambrosini, 80), Zanetti (Zambrotta, 80), Vannucchi, Margiotta, Pirlo. Nigeria — Etafia, Okunowo, Okpara, Okoronkwo, C.Kanu, Oliseh, Lawal, Aghahowa, Ikedia, Iginadolor (Kaku, 69), Agali. Yellow cards: Italy — […]

Group E SUMMARIES Sept. 19 in Sydney Australia 1 Brazil 2. Goals: Hughes 33; Raquel 56, Katia 64. Australia — Wheeler, Starr, Alagich, Tann-Darby, Salisbury, McShea (Golebiowski, 74), Forman, Duus (Wilson, 62), Black (Garriock, 70), Ferguson, Hughes. Brazil — Andreia, Juliana, Simone, Rosana (Maicon, 46), Daniela, Tania, Cidinha, Raquel (Formiga, 57), Sissi, Katia, Pretinha (Roseli, […]

Men’s Soccer USA vs. Japan: none. Brazil vs. Cameroon: Brazil — Edu. Italy vs. Spain: Italy — Roberto Baronio; Spain — Felip. Chile vs. Nigeria: Nigeria — Celestine Babyaro, Azubike Oliseh. Women’s Soccer USA vs. Brazil: none. Germany vs. Norway: Germany — Renate Lingor.

Jason Hollins Bridgewater, N.J. Where can I go to find information on the defunct MISL and NASL leagues? I spent many years as a diehard San Diego Sockers’ fan during their title-filled decade of the 1980s, and I am having the hardest time locating any information on either league (aside from a few media guides […]

Kate Sobrero does not count among the team’s household names, but she may be the United States’ most valuable defender. Coach April Heinrichs resorts to an up-to-date analogy to describe the U.S. central defenders Kate Sobrero and Joy Fawcett ù a tandem she feels has been underrated. “They’re ‘that player on the American team that’s […]

(Through Sept. 17) POINTS PER GAME Player, School Class GP G A P PPG 1 McKinley Tennyson, UCLA SR 3 7 0 14 4.67 2 Evan Bruno, Lehigh SO 5 9 1 19 3.80 2 Byron Carmichael, Marshall SO 5 9 1 19 3.80 4 Jorge Martinez, San Jose St. SR 5 7 4 18 […]

Mamadou Diallo, Tampa BayÆs much-traveled Senegalese striker, is relishing his new stature Just how strong is Mamadou Diallo? Ask Mario Gori, one of the roughest men in MLS. Gori underwent surgery this month to repair knee ligaments he injured Aug. 30 in a collision with Diallo, who was stationary at the time. ôI think Mario […]

BY SCOTT FRENCH IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA Brandi Chastain, Kristine Lilly and Shannon MacMillan scored goals and the U.S. women’s team claimed the top spot in its group at the Sydney Olympics with a difficult 3-1 victory Wednesday night at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Norway overcame China, 2-1, in Canberra to claim Group F’s other semifinal […]

Evan Whitfield wasn’t included on the U.S. roster for the Olympic qualifying tournament, but a strong season with the Chicago Fire earned him a trip to Australia. Evan Whitfield’s Olympic dream died last spring. His performances for the U.S. under-23 team, by his admission, hadn’t been great, and he had yet to prove himself in […]

Domenic Malizia New York, N.Y. Why does MLS keep scheduling game on Saturday afternoons? To get spectators in stadiums, games should be played in the evening, especially during the summer Ridge Mahoney: Television programming is a tricky process, and the league believes it is so important that it’s willing to forego some of its scheduling […]

The following is Soccer America Magazine’s Men’s Top 20 covering games through Sept. 17. Rank/Team Record Last Week 1. UCLA 4-0-0 1 2 Connecticut 4-1-0 2 3. Portland 4-0-1 3 4. Penn State 6-0-0 4 5. St. JohnÆs 5-1-0 7 6. Duke 4-2-0 8 7. Stanford 4-0-0 9 8. Virginia 4-2-0 11 9. Cal State […]

BY SCOTT FRENCH IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA Danny Califf, Chris Albright and Landon Donovan scored goals and the U.S. men’s Olympic team on Tuesday completed a stunning run through its Group C competition at the Sydney Games, romping past Kuwait, 3-1, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to win the group title and earn a quarterfinal assignment […]

POSITION/PLAYER G Karina LeBlanc (Nebraska) (1) Senior’s 9 saves blank UConn D Kerri Baker (Notre Dame) (1) Portland tourney MVP keys 2 shutouts D Tami Pivnick (California) (1) 25-yard free kick M Carly Fuller (Duke) (1) Late goal ends see-saw affair with FSU M Brittany Oliveira (Stanford) (1) Freshman hits winner against Virginia M Erica […]

POSITION/PLAYER G Matthew Cross (Brown) (1) MVP of Yale-Fila Classic (16 saves in 2 games) D Omar Chavez (St. JohnÆs) (2) Led defense in 2 wins, scored vs. Syracuse D Lee Morrison (Stanford) (1) Scored winner against Dartmouth M David Wood (James Madison) (1) Hit winners against SLU and Vanderbilt M Jorge Martinez (San Jose […]

Craig Sheffler-Collins Wynnewood, Pa. Would you have an e-mail or snail-mail address for Michelle Akers? Mike Woitalla: Michelle Akers, whose retirement after 15 years of U.S. national team service was covered in the Sept. 11 issue of Soccer America, can be contacted at: ò Michelle Akers, Soccer Outreach International, PMB #605, 2875 S.Orange Ave., Suite […]

Group A SUMMARIES Sept. 16 in Adelaide Italy 3 Honduras 1. Goals: Comandini 12, 22, Ambrosini 18; Comandini (own goal) 29. Italy — Abbiati, Grandoni, Zanchi, Cirillo, Gattuso, Comandini (Margiotta, 90), Baronio (Vannucchi, 82), Zambrotta, Ambrosini, Zanetti, Ventola. Honduras — Valladares, Guerrero, Montoya, Izaguirre (Ramirez, 61), Rosales, J. C. Suazo, M.Suazo, Turcios, Chirinos (Paes de […]

Group E SUMMARIES Sept. 16 in Sydney Australia 1 Sweden 1. Goals: Salisbury 57; Andersson (pen.) 66. Australia — Wheeler, Alagich, Tann-Darby, Wainwright, Salisbury, McShea, Forman, Duus (Garriock, 77), Wilson (Black, 46), Ferguson (Golebiowski, 78), Hughes. Sweden — Jonsson, Westberg, Tornqvist, Larsson, Bengtsson, Sandell, Andersson, Ljungberg, Mostroem, Nordlund (Fagerstroem, 76), Svensson (Sjogran, 54). Yellow cards: […]