Category: Story

Women’s Professional Soccer’s seven teams have begun preseason work in preparation of the league’s inaugural season, which begins March 29. The Boston Breakers will open the preseason Friday when they face the University of Connecticut in a scrimmage in Storrs, Conn. For all the preseason matches …

MLS has released a statement that by mutual consent, MLS and prospective operator-investor Marcelo Claure have agreed to terminate Miami’s application to field an expansion team in 2010. The withdrawal of Miami leaves four possible expansion candidates, should MLS stick to its timetable and announce the two 2011 teams in the next few weeks.

[CONCACAF UNDER-20 CHAMPIONSHIP] The USA begins play at the the 2009 CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Championship Friday when it faces Jamaica Friday at Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago. The Americans have qualified for the last six U-20 world championships, but they will face three ambitious national youth teams in Jamaica, Honduras and El Salvador.

[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] One team had the polish and poise to turn opportunities into goals while blotting out its opponent at critical moments, and the other team didn’t. Atlante downed Houston, 3-0, Tuesday in the second leg of their Concacaf Champions League quarterfinal to win the series, 4-1, on aggregate while eliminating the last MLS team alive in the competition.

[OFF THE POST] Brazilian club Barueri’s experiment with three head coaches came to an end when it fired Toninho Moura, Diego Cerri and Luis Carlos Goiano, who had been given equal status as co-coaches.

[MAKING A LIST] The cutback in MLS roster sizes has created opportunities for USL-1 clubs to sign players with extensive professional experience. Steve Cronin, who started 22 games for the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2008, became the latest player to move to the USL-1 when he signed with the Portland Timbers. For 2008 MLS players headed to the USL-1 …

[U.S. WOMEN] Former Norwegian star Hege Riise has joined the U.S. women’s national team staff as an assistant coach.

[MLS] In his first MLS preseason as head coach, Schellas Hyndman is learning some vital lessons of the pro game. Among them is a reminder that each year is whole new ballgame.

[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Seldom in its four seasons of play has the Houston Dynamo shown any reluctance to attack, but like any team, it has struggled through periods of slack finishing. That won’t be an option if it wants to prevail in the quarterfinal, second leg with Mexico’s Atlante in Cancun on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer Channel, Telefutura).

[ENGLAND] When Manchester United goalie Ben Foster dived to his left and stopped Jamie O’Hara‘s penalty kick en route to a 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur in Sunday’s English League Cup final, he wasn’t guessing. Only minutes earlier, Foster was studying clips on his iPod of Spurs’ penalty-takers prepared by United goalie coach Eric Steele and watched O’Hara shoot to the exact spot in an England U-21 game in November.

[MLS] Not to get too giddy about what’s going on in Seattle, but right now, the sky – if not an imposed capacity for Qwest Field – seems to be the only limit. Sales for its inaugural game March 19 against New York have been cut off at slightly more than 32,400, and team management has also announced plans to increase the maximum capacity for regular-season games to 27,700.

[MLS] All teams were required to comply with the 2009 roster limit of 24 players and salary cap, believed to be $2.35 million this season, by Tuesday. Not all teams were required to make moves, since teams are permitted to retain players on trial without restrictions. Here are the moves made by teams since Friday …