Category: Story

College buddies provide intriguing option FOXBORO, MASS. – The flashing boots and fiery grimaces of Joe-Max Moore highlighted the proceedings Aug. 16 at Foxboro Stadium, yet Coach Bruce Arena was watching just as intently at the opposite end of the field. Arena needs as much observation and evaluation as he can get of Gregg Berhalter […]

Although MLS’s Project 40 has taken many top underclassmen in recent years, thereÆs still plenty of talent in the NCAA Division I ranks. In particular, thereÆs a plethora of quality strikers who have a shot at the national scoring title. FIRST TEAM PLAYER TEAM YEAR Goalkeeper Adam Zapala Stanford Sr. Defenders Chris Gbandi Connecticut Jr. […]

Games Aug. 25-27. POSITION/PLAYER G Megan Pickering (Pacific) (1) 10 saves to beat Fresno State, 4 in St. Mary’s win D Heather Dyche (Florida State) (1) Free kick goal starts comeback win over Florida D Sarah Powell (Boston College) (1) Tough D in close Hartford loss, goal vs. Fairfield M Leslie Gaston (North Carolina) (1) […]

U.S. Men’s National Team goalkeeper Brad Friedel and Los Angeles Galaxy rookie midfielder Sasha Victorine have been added to the final 18-man roster as replacements for injured players Adin Brown (Colorado Rapids, MLS) and Chris Armas (Chicago Fire, MLS). The announcement came after it was ruled that Armas would be unfit to compete in the […]

Joe-Max Moore and Brian McBride claim the U.S. striker spots after blowing away Barbados It took less than 10 seconds for Joe-Max Moore to make an impression on the United States’ qualifier against Barbados. He chased the visitors’ opening kickoff and rushed a defender’s pass that Chris Armas intercepted. Armas dished the ball to Brian […]

The following quotes are from the Aug. 29 MLS conference call featuring Chicago Fire coach Bob Bradley New England forward Wolde Harris and MLS executive vice president Ivan Gazidis. Gazidis’ Opening Comments “The divisional races and playoff races are heating up. Every game is critical at this point and I think you see that in […]

(Through Aug. 27.) Rank/Team Record Last Week 1. North Carolina 2-0-0 1 2. Penn State 1-0-0 2 3. Santa Clara 1-0-0 3 4. Notre Dame 1-0-0 4 5. Nebraska 2-0-0 5 6. Stanford 1-0-0 7 7. Clemson 2-0-0 9 8. Connecticut 0-0-0 8 9. Hartford 1-0-0 10 10. UCLA 1-1-0 11 11. Wake Forest 1-0-0 […]

Highly rated goalie Adin Brown will miss the Olympics because of continuing injury problems. Brown, who attracted the attention of European scouts for his play during Olympic qualifying, suffered the latest injury in practice with the Colorado Rapids on August 23, when he hurt the hip flexor while in the midst of attempting to come […]

Duke gets the nod at No. 1 over Connecticut, but that may change as soon as Week 1. The Huskies host the Blue Devils in the New England Ford Dealers Soccer Classic. Virginia retains most of a squad that made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, while both UCLA and Clemson have plugged […]

The U.S. womenÆs Olympic team roster spot opened by the retirement of veteran Michelle Akers has been filled by defender Michelle French. French, 22, was one of the four alternates named when the Olympic roster was announced on Aug. 10, and now moves onto the 18-player squad. French is a four-year captain of the U.S. […]

SA Senior Editor Ridge Mahoney puts the MLS playoff picture in focus following Aug. 26 games: The race is down to six teams fighting for four remaining places. Two weeks remain in the regular season. Playoff spots have been clinched by the Metros (51 points), Kansas City (50), Tampa Bay (48), and Los Angeles (47). […]

U.S. Soccer provides this update from the menÆs national team camp in Herndon, Va., where Coach Bruce ArenaÆs men are preparing for their World Cup qualifier against Guatemala Sept. 3 in RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C., (live on ABC 2:00 pm ET.): Camp opened Aug. 28 today, as 16 of the 20 players selected by Bruce […]

The U.S. forwards must improve if the women hope to win a medal at the Olympics. Mia Hamm and Tiffeny Milbrett are two of the best in the world, but when neither can finish against non-Olympic teams such as Canada and Russia, in their second encounter, something is wrong. The rest of the U.S. team […]

U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bruce Arena has recalled goalkeeper Kasey Keller and midfielders Jovan Kirovski and Richie Williams and called up San Jose midfielder Richard Mulrooney for the first time in his roster of 20 players for the important World Cup qualifying rematch against Guatemala, which will be shown live on ABC from […]

The following are quotes from an Aug. 25 conference call in which Michelle Akers spoke about her decision to retire from the U.S. women’s national team. Akers was joined on the call by U.S. Soccer President Dr. Robert Contiguglia, U.S. national team doctors Mark Adams and Rob Palumbo and U.S. coach April Heinrichs. Palumbo performed […]

MLS clubs are looking at soccer stadiums as the wave of their future. The key: ancillary revenues they can derive from owning their own stadiums. Three clubs are seriously looking at building their own stadiums in the next few years. The future of MLS is not dependent just on good players, smart marketing and butts […]

United States women’s national team star Michelle Akers announced today that she will not compete in the 2000 Olympic Games due to an injured shoulder and her long-time battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Comments “After winning the gold medal in 1996, I promised myself to never again play in the condition I was in during […]

U.S. Soccer secretary general Dan Flynn, who succeeded Hank Steinbrecher after serving as the Federation’s chief administrative and chief operating officers and as executive director of the U.S. Soccer Foundation, is starting to feel at home again in Soccer House. SOCCER AMERICA: You’ve been on the job a month and a week. A progress report? […]

A story of tragedy and inspiration: The West Bablyon Panthers of New York won the U-17 national championship just weeks after the death of their co-captain Tom MacEwen. One of the most inspiring stories of the recent Snickers U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships was the West Babylon PanthersÆ journey from dark horse to U-17 boys […]

The 1998 U.S. Open Cup champion Chicago Fire is headed to the 2000 championship match on Oct. 22 after Josh Wolff’s golden goal in the second period of overtime gave the Fire a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday night. The Fire will have a chance to make U.S. Open Cup history […]

SA Senior Editor Ridge Mahoney puts the MLS playoff picture in focus: The top two teams in MLS labored to a 0-0 tie Wednesday (Aug. 23) night, and so Kansas City (49 points) and the MetroStars (48 points) keep their places as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively. Both teams have four matches […]

Mark Nester Hoboken, N.J. Why were the MetroStars allowed four substitutions during the Colorado game Aug. 20? Russell Payne was brought on for Tim Howard after the Metros had already used their allotted subs to remove Mathis, Matthaeus and Ramos. Mike Woitalla: Good question Mark, because MLSÆs substitution rule differs with FIFAÆs. HereÆs MLSÆs sub […]

Despite injuries, U.S. captain and ’91 scoring sensation return for a shot at second gold medal April Heinrichs will bring some major question marks to the Olympics. While her Olympic roster didn’t surprise anyone, the selection of Michelle Akers and captain Carla Overbeck raises key issues for the defending Olympic champion. They were among the […]

Defending champion North Carolina tops the list with four players, while NCAA semifinalist Santa Clara has three players. There are two Olympians — Santa Clara’s Danielle Slaton (USA) and Oakland’s Anita Rapp (Norway) — and three Women’s World Cup ’99 players — Rapp, Nebraska’s Karina LeBlanc (Canada) and USC’s Isabelle Harvey (Canada). FIRST TEAM PLAYER […]

Soccer America Magazine’s MLS Team of the Week from games played August 16 – 20. Goalkeeper Matt Jordan (2) Dallas Burn Defenders Carlos Bocanegra (3) Chicago Fire Greg Vanney (3) Los Angeles Galaxy Mike Petke (3) MetroStars Midfielders Francisco Gomez (1) Kansas City Wizards Mark Chung (2) MetroStars Mark Santel (1) Dallas Burn Clint Mathis […]