Category: Story

Troy sophomore Jill Pinder, a transfer from Louisiana Tech, leads all goal scorers with 13 goals (including three straight hat tricks) and is tied for the lead in points (with Georgia State’s Kay Harbrueger). For all the NCAA Division I goal and point leaders …

MORNING BRIEFING: St. John’s makes rapid climb

by Paul KennedySeptember 23, 2008

St. John’s was unranked when the 2008 season began but has moved up to the No. 6 spot in this week’s Soccer America Top 25. The young Red Storm have been led by a fifth-year senior starting full-time for the first time at the Division I level.

AWARDS: Soccer America Men’s Team of the Week

Boston College’s Alejandro Bedoya, who scored a hat trick in the 4-1 victory over previously unbeaten North Carolina, is the Soccer America Men’s Player of the Week. For all the Men’s Team of the Week selections for games played Sept. 15-21 …

MORNING BRIEFING: Rutgers romps on Carli Lloyd Night

by Paul KennedySeptember 23, 2008

On a night when Rutgers retired the No. 10 jersey of former Scarlet Knight standout and U.S. Olympic gold-medalist Carli Lloyd, it crushed Big East rival Villanova to improve to 7-1-0 for the season.

AWARDS: Soccer America Women’s Team of the Week

Duke senior Lorraine Quinn, who scored a hat trick in the space of 30 minutes in a 3-0 win against Georgia, is the Soccer America Women’s Player of the Week. For all the Women’s Team of the Week selections for games played Sept. 15-21 …

USL-1 Playoff Schedule

It will be a busy week for the Montreal Impact with a Concacaf Champions League game against Atlante of Mexico in Montreal on Wednesday. The Impact then heads to Seattle to face the USL First Division defending champion Sounders in the first round of the USL-1 quarterfinals on Friday and concludes the week with the second leg on Sunday at Saputo Park. The top seed Puerto Rico Islanders, the USL-1’s other Concacaf Champions League representative, has a bye. For all the USL-1 quarterfinal pairings …

River runs into trouble

by Ian PlenderleithSeptember 23, 2008

[ARGENTINA] Reigning champion River Plate has made a stumbling start to the new Argentine season. On Sunday, it lost to unfancied opposition, while its main rival, Boca Juniors, fell at home for its first defeat of the season.

Zakumi the Leopard is World Cup mascot

by Mike WoitallaSeptember 23, 2008

Zakumi the Leopard is the official mascot of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Zakumi, the 12th World Cup mascot since the tradition began in 1966, is the third of the feline persuasion after World Cup Willie (1966) and Goleo, the big pantless lion of Germany 2006. Only once has a dog had the honor – USA 1994’s Striker.

Crew clinches playoff spot, seven spots left

by Ridge MahoneySeptember 23, 2008

[MLS] By notching four points in two matches it has played without the assist catalyst, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Columbus ended a three-year playoff drought. For a playoff race update …

Houston Dynamo copes with Ike

by Ridge MahoneySeptember 23, 2008

Rather than jam its postponed Concacaf Champions’ League match into an already crowded schedule, the Houston Dynamo will instead delay it as long as possible. Hurricane Ike forced the Dynamo’s first of six CCL matches last Wednesday against Salvadoran champion CD Luis Angel Firpo to be rescheduled, and on Monday the team announced the new date: Nov. 26, three days after MLS Cup. The Dynamo is in Panama City to play its first CCL match against league champion San Francisco FC on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer Channel).

Man United Team Bus Damaged After Chelsea Game

“It appears to be an isolated incident but we have launched a full investigation in conjunction with local authorities.” Chelsea FC reacts to the stone reportedly thrown by a Chelsea fan that cracked a window on Manchester United’s team bus as it left Stamford Bridge Sunday.

How Newcastle Would Love a Lerner

“The American may possess all manner of foibles we have yet to discover, but for the moment he represents a species thought to be nearing extinction: a football club owner with a positive approval rating.” Nick Townsend lauds Aston Villa’s U.S. owner, Randy Lerner.

Donovan Thinking Of Europe Again

by Ian PlenderleithSeptember 22, 2008

After his scintillating hat trick against D.C. United at the weekend, L.A. Galaxy striker Landon Donovan has Germany on his mind again, writes Andrea Canales. After two unsuccessful spells at Bayer Leverkusen earlier in his career, the U.S. national team's all-time record goalscorer can't help but think that now, at the peak of his career, […]

Busch: Time For The Men To Step Up

The Chicago Fire was booed off the field at halftime Sunday when it went in to the locker room 3-0 down at home to FC Dallas. Goalkeeper Jon Busch was no happier with the final 4-1 result than the jeering fans. “If I paid money to go to this game, I would be booing too,” […]

Preferential Treatment For Beckham?

Does David Beckham receive preferential treatment from MLS referees? D.C. United defender Marc Burch seems to think so after being red-carded for kicking Beckham from behind Saturday night in L.A. Referee Terry Vaughn interpreted Burch's challenge, which occurred on the touchline, as "violent conduct." "I swung for the ball and hit the back of his […]

Ukraine Could Be Dropped as Euro 2012 Hosts

"What must Ukraine do to avoid losing Euro 2012?" Michel Platini asked, repeating a question posed by Simon Kuper. The UEFA President, writes Kuper, "puffs out his cheeks, drums a rhythm on the table with his fingers. What he says next implies that … Uefa may remove Ukraine as co-host of the 2012 European Championships." […]

Arsenal Favors Security Over Instant Success

Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has stressed that his club favors long-term sustainability over splashing out cash for huge transfer fees, and said he is "sure" that fans understand not winning the Premier League title if it means the club is kept on a stable financial footing. "We obviously can't compete with the money Manchester City […]

Coppell Happy To Replay ‘Phantom Goal’ Game

"If the authorities decide a replay is the correct thing to do then I've got no objections whatsoever." Reading manager Steve Coppell will be happy to replay Saturday's 2-2 draw at Watford, when his team was awarded a bizarre "goal" that should have been a corner. But the Football League has already ruled out a […]

Soccer America Confidential, Story

Landon Donovan’s MVP obstacles

by Ridge MahoneySeptember 22, 2008

History is strongly against it, yet on stats and influence, this is the first season Landon Donovan truly deserves to win the MVP award.

MORNING BRIEFING: Wake Forest puts on show

by Paul KennedySeptember 22, 2008

If there were any doubts about who is the top team in men’s soccer, Wake Forest put them to rest Sunday when it won the battle of the last two national champions with a 6-2 win at UC Santa Barbara. ALSO: O’Brien White ends scoring slump.

POLLS: Soccer America Men’s Top 25

There is a shakeup among the teams immediately behind No. 1 Wake Forest. Connecticut moved into the No. 2 spot, and Maryland climbed three places to No. 3. For this week’s Soccer America Men’s Top 25 rankings …

CROWD COUNT: Battle of the champions draws

The crowd of 7,408 fans at UC Santa Barbara’s Harder Stadium on Sunday for the UCSB-Wake Forest game was the largest men’s crowd of the season. Maryland also drew a 6,000-plus crowd over the weekend for its ACC game with Duke. For the top men’s crowds …

MORNING BRIEFING: Irish overcome adversity to win at Penn State

by Paul KennedySeptember 22, 2008

Top-ranked women’s team Notre Dame, which improved to 8-0-0 with its 3-1 win at Big Ten powerhouse Penn State on Sunday, was playing without Coach Randy Waldrum, who was not in attendance at Sunday’s game due to a death in his family. ALSO: Six teams lose perfect records, and UCLA sets shutout record.

POLLS: Soccer America Women’s Top 25

There was no movement at the top of the Soccer America Men’s Top 25 as the top eight teams all won. LSU, Texas A&M, Duke, Wake Forest and West Virginia each climbed two spots to claim the No. 9-13 spots in this week’s rankings. For this week’s Soccer America Women’s Top 25 rankings …

USL-1 Results