Category: Story

[SIGN OF THE TIMES] The University of Maine’s men’s program became the first Division I soccer program to get the ax in response to cutbacks necessitated by the economic woes that have befallen state universities. This was no Title IX move. Women’s volleyball also was dropped, resulting in a projected savings of $600,000 from dropping the two programs in the next fiscal year. It’s a decision that will have a devastating impact on soccer in Maine. It leaves Maine without a D1 program at a time when boys soccer, always popular at the schoolboy level, has taken off at the club level.

[MAKING A LIST] Maine became the 19th Division I school to drop its men’s soccer program in the last 19 years.

[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Cristiano Ronaldo‘s goal from 40 yards six minutes into the game was all Manchester United needed to accomplish what no other English club has done — beat Porto at the Dragao Stadium. United’s defense held, and the defending champion moved into the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League with a 1-0 win that gave it a 3-2 victory on aggregate.

[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] By this point last season, Arsenal was running out of gas. Now, the Gunners may be the hottest team in Europe. Their performance in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League series was certainly the most impressive. Arsenal cruised to a 3-0 win over Villarreal that extended it record in 2009 to 13 wins, seven ties and only one loss in 21 games and gave it a 4-1 win on aggregate, setting up a date with Manchester United in the semifinals.

[MLS] Less than six months after MLS rejected its bid for an expansion team in 2011, the Montreal Impact is seeking to strengthen its case by getting $20 million in government funding to expand 13,000-seat Stade Saputo.

[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] One of the most wide-open high-profile UEFA Champions League series ever ended with Chelsea reaching the semifinals for the fifth time in the last six years but not before the Blues got a scare from Liverpool, which rallied from 3-1 down after the first leg at home to take a 2-0 lead at halftime of Tuesday’s second leg. The second half produced six goals as the match ended in a 4-4 tie that gave Chelsea a 7-5 win on aggregate and a semifinal date with Barcelona, which beat Bayern Munich 5-1 on aggregate after their second leg ended with a more sedate 1-1 tie.

[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Manchester United will probably need to accomplish what no other English club has done and win at Porto’s Dragao Stadium on Wednesday (TV: ESPN2, live, 2:30 pm ET) to advance to the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League. Five years ago, United fell to Porto, coached by Jose Mourinho, on a late goal that marked the beginning of the end of Tim Howard‘s stint as the United No. 1 keeper.

[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Only fourth in the English Premier League, Arsenal nonetheless may be the hottest of the four EPL clubs in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. The Gunners are favored to beat Villarreal Wednesday (TV: ESPN Deportes & Setanta Sports USA, live, 2:30 pm ET) and advance to the semifinals.

[CONCACAF] Clive Toye, one of the pioneers in American pro soccer, Nicaraguan soccer federation president Julio Rocha and former Jamaican Football Federation head Anthony James have been selected for induction into Concacaf’s Hall of Fame at ceremonies to take place on June 1 during the XXVI Concacaf Ordinary Congress in the Bahamas.

[OFF THE POST] In non-league English soccer, a Chorlton Villa player was shown a yellow card for passing gas as an International Manchester FC took a penalty kick, and missed. The referee said, “The player who made the noise was booked for ungentlemanly conduct – trying to put the other player off.” The penalty kick was retaken and converted.

[WORLD CUP 2018/2022 BID] President Barack Obama gave his support for the U.S. World Cup bid, writing FIFA President Sepp Blatter about how he has seen soccer bring children together, first as a child growing up in Indonesia and more recently as the father of two soccer-playing girls in Chicago.