Category: Story

On Wednesday, the U.S. men (already assured of passage to the final-round phase of qualification play for the 2010 World Cup) hosts Guatemala . Also on Wednesday, the USA kicks off its Women’s U-20 World Cup campaign. Midweek international friendlies include Germany vs. England. On Sunday, Columbus battles New York for the MLS crown. The Mexican playoff schedule will appear in Friday’s Soccer on TV e-letter.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Men’s Conferences

Regular-season champions took it on the chin in men’s conference tournament action over the weekend. Unbeaten Wake Forest (3-2 loser in overtime to Virginia, which fell to Maryland, 1-0, in the ACC final) and Loyola (Md.) (1-0 loser to Fairfield in the MAAC final) were upset. Campbell had its 12-game winning streak snapped when it fell to Jacksonville, 4-3, in the Atlantic Sun final. The biggest surprise was UNC Greensboro’s victory in the Southern Conference. The No. 7 seed Spartans, who began the tournament with a 6-11-1 record, beat College of Charleston, 2-1, in the final. For all the results and all-tournament teams …

POLLS: Soccer America Men’s Top 25

Wake Forest is No. 1 in the final Soccer America Men’s Top 25 of the 2008 season. Creighton, Maryland, Akron and South Florida round out the top five. For this week’s Soccer America Men’s Top 25 and last week’s results …

SCOREBOARD: NCAA Division 2 & 3 Men

Top-ranked Lynn fell to Tampa, 3-2, in the second round of the NCAA Division II Men’s Tournament on Sunday. Three unbeaten teams — Montclair State, Hobart and Trinity (Texas) — are still alive in the NCAA Division III Men’s Tournament. For all the weekend results …

MORNING BRIEFING: Unseeded teams make round of 16

by Paul KennedyNovember 17, 2008

Four unseeded teams remain alive after the first two rounds of the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament. Minnesota, James Madison, Rutgers and Illinois all moved into next weekend’s round of 16 with upsets.

SCOREBOARD: NCAA Division I Women

The four No. 1 and No. 2 regional seeds all moved into the third round of the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament. Top-ranked Notre Dame needed a late goal to beat Michigan State, 1-0, in the second round. Two other No. 1 seeds, North Carolina and Stanford, won their second-round games in convincing fashion. UCLA’s game against San Diego was postponed until Monday night because of the poor air quality in the Los Angeles area. For all the results and schedules …

SCOREBOARD: NCAA Division 2 & 3 Women

Unbeaten and untied Grand Valley State advanced in the NCAA Division II Women’s Tournament. Unbeaten Williams, Lynchburg, Messiah and Johns Hopkins moved into the round of 16 in the NCAA Division III Women’s Tournament. For all the weekend results …

MORNING BRIEFING: Evaluating the men’s bubble teams

by Paul KennedyNovember 17, 2008

We don’t envy the NCAA Division I men’s soccer committee with its task of picking the at-large teams for the 2008 NCAA Division I Tournament — the 26 teams that will join the 22 conference champions. The rash of weekend upsets and number of low-ranked conference champions ate into the number of places available for at-large teams.

USA falls to North Korea in final

by Paul KennedyNovember 17, 2008

[UNDER-17 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP] North Korea confirmed its status as the dominant power of women’s soccer at the youth level, beating the USA, 2-1, in overtime in the final of the inaugural U-17 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand. North Korea’s championship comes on the heels of its Under-20 Women’s World Cup title two years ago in Russia.

Villa upsets Arsenal, Redknapp’s run snapped

[ENGLAND] Brad Friedel and Aston Villa sprung the weekend’s big surprise with a 2-0 win at Arsenal, while Clint Dempsey helped Fulham break Harry Redknapp‘s unbeaten streak as Tottenham manager.

Bradley blunts Bayern, Subotic sinks Frankfurt

[GERMANY] Michael Bradley scored his first Bundesliga goal as Borussia Moenchengladbach came back to hold Bayern Munich. Defender Neven Subotic scored a brace as Dortmund downed Frankfurt 4-0.

Madrid loses, Barca opens up gap at top

[SPAIN] Barcelona opened up a three-point lead at the top of La Liga as Real Madrid fell to Real Valladolid and Valencia lost at home.

On-fire Ibrahimovic keeps Inter top

[ITALY] Inter stayed top thanks to a brace of cracking goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Kaka gave Milan a narrow win, and a single goal also decided the Rome derby.

Colorado’s Jose Burciaga named Humanitarian of the Year

[MLS AWARDS] Colorado Rapids defender Jose Luis Burciaga Jr. is the is the recipient of the 2008 U.S. Soccer Foundation-MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year Award.

SoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story

The Merlin of the Meadowlands

by Paul GardnerNovember 17, 2008

So the Amazins did it again. Don’t ask me how, their last two games have been played as though the players are enchanted, as though they’ve created a magic spell around their goalmouth, a spell with the power to repel the ball, to make sure it just will not go into the goal.

Red Bulls earn ticket to MLS Cup 2008

by Ridge MahoneyNovember 17, 2008

Maybe the gods of this game really are contrarians, as so often seems the case when one team plays the soccer and the other team gets the luck, when a fourth-year franchise playing just its fourth game in a new stadium packs the place yet sends a sellout crowd home unhappy. Reducing the Real Salt Lake-New York semifinal — won by the Red Bulls, 1-0, Saturday in a pulsating Rio Tinto Stadium — to that simple formula does an injustice to the resilient Red Bulls, scorers of an opportunistic goal in the 28th minute and stout fighters through numerous furious assaults.

REPORT CARD: Real Salt Lake-New York Red Bulls

by Ridge MahoneyNovember 17, 2008

[MLS] Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney grades the players’ performance in the New York Red Bulls’ 1-0 semifinal win at Real Salt Lake. …

Adu, Altidore called in for USA-Guatemala game

[USA ROSTER] U.S. coach Bob Bradley has called in Freddy Adu and Jozy Altidore, two young Americans who are struggling for playing time with their European clubs, for the USA’s World Cup qualifier on Wednesday against Guatemala (ESPN Classic & Galavision, 8 pm ET) in Commerce City, Colo. The semifinal round qualifier has no implications for the USA, which has clinched passage to the final qualifying round. The Guatemalans, however, need a win.

Bocanegra vs. Adu

[AMERICANS IN FRANCE] Defender Carlos Bocanegra went the full 90 for Rennes as it won at home, 2-1, against Monaco, for which Freddy Adu was a a 69th minute sub.

U.S. products to face off in playoffs

[AMERICANS IN MEXICO] The quarterfinals of the Apertura 2008 include a faceoff between young American defenders Edgar Castillo (Santos) and Michael Orozco (San Luis). And on the last day of regular season play, Daniel Hernandez received his third red card of the season.

Soccer America Confidential, Story

Youngsters can shape playoff destinies

by Ridge MahoneyNovember 14, 2008

Like many leagues around the world, MLS teams largely depend on foreign players to provide that touch of magic, that gift of craft, that moment of flair by which the game, or in some cases the season, is decided.

Philly’s Ready For Don And His Shovel

Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber will grab a shovel December 1 and, together with team, local and state officials, officially break ground on the Philadelphia team’s new stadium in Chester.

Fred ‘Does A Beckham’

In keeping with the David Beckham trend of heading abroad to stay in shape during the MLS offseason, D.C. United’s Brazilian midfielder Fred is off on loan to … Wellington Phoenix of Australia’s A-League, where he will be eligible to play six games. Fans of Fred’s former team, the Melbourne Victory, are reportedly miffed at […]

Crew’s Long Wait Makes Title Sweeter Still

There’s nothing like the long term deferral of success to make triumph a sweeter experience. The Chicago Fire won the MLS Cup in the team’s first season of existence, and has since been unable to recapture the standard it established perhaps a little too quickly. But the Columbus Crew has kept its public waiting long […]

McBride Laments Missed Opportunity