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Like father like son

MEN’S NEWS … The sons of former U.S. men’s national team players are certainly making a name for themselves …

— Michael Nanchoff, son of George Nanchoff, heads the Soccer America Men’s Team of the Week after scoring the winning goal that gave top-ranked Akron a 1-0 win over Indiana.

— Tyler Krumpe, who plays for father Paul Krumpe at Loyola Marymount, has started every game for the Lions, who knocked off unbeaten Dartmouth 3-2, on Sunday and are No. 20 in the Soccer America Men’s Top 25.

— JC Banks, whose father Jimmy played with Paul Krumpe on the U.S. national team backline in the late 1980s, scored the first two goals on Monday night and helped No. 25 Wisconsin-Green Bay remain unbeaten with a 4-1 win over North Florida. JC’s two goals gave him a career-high seven goals.

* MONDAY’S RESULTS:

No. 25 Wisconsin-Green Bay 4 (Banks 26, 32, Ksenidi 58, Znaty 68) North Florida 1 (O’Neill 69).

* TRI U-17S ON TOUR. Mexico’s under-17 national team, which is preparing for the world championship next month in Nigeria, is kicking off a college tour Tuesday at UC Santa Barbara. The Tri will also played at Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday and an opponent to be determined on Saturday. Mexico’s roster includes Bryan Leyva, recently promoted from FC Dallas’ U-15/16 team to its pro team.

* LEADING SCORERS:
1. Andrew Bulls, UMBC 9
2. Levi Houapeu, UMBC 8
2. Matthew Skonicki, Winthrop  8
4. Chris Cutshaw, Bradley 7
4. Matt Eliason, Northwestern 7
(Through games played Sept. 20.)

Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story

Oregon schools join elite

WOMEN’S NEWS … Oregon women’s soccer is more than the Portland Pilots, the two-time national champions (2002 and 2005) and the top-drawing program in the country. Oregon State and Oregon both joined UP in this week’s Soccer America Women’s Top 25, giving the state of Oregon three teams in the Top 25 for the first time.

Oregon State (7-1-0) has a seven-game winning streak following its 3-1 win over Denver on Sunday. The Beavers have already surpassed their 2008 win total of six games and equaled the seven games they won in 2007. “We’ve been in the building [process] these past three years,” Melissa Peck, who scored in both games at the Oregon State Nike Invitational, told the Corvallis Gazette-Times. “To finally win some games, against some pretty good teams, it’s kind of special.” The Beavers will put their winning streak on the line on Friday when they travel to Portland.

Oregon (6-1-1) has won five games in a row and gone seven straight without a defeat. Junior Jen Stoltenberg‘s sixth of the season gave the Ducks a 1-0 win over Dartmouth on Sunday at the Oregon State tournament and earned her a place on this week’s Soccer America Women’s Team of the Week. “Our team was patient and persistent in our attack,” Oregon coach Tara Erickson said afterwards. “I think we’ve learned, from some of our previous games, how to manage the game.”

Oregon has had more success than OSU in recent years but has never advanced to the NCAA Tournament. In 2006, the Ducks went 6-1-2 in Pac-10 play and were 12-6-2 overall but did not get a bid. Oregon State’s only NCAA Tournament berth came in 1994.

* MONDAY’S RESULTS:
Campbell 1 Radford 0
New Mexico State 0 West Texas A&M 2
Seton Hall 1 Iona 0
South Carolina State 1 Wofford o (OT)
USC Upstate 1 Coastal Carolina 5

* INJURY REPORT. Senior Brittney Harrison, fourth all-time on Texas Tech’s scoring list for points and goals, was lost for the season after suffering an ACL knee injury in Friday night’s 2-1 loss to Alabama. Red Raider coach Tom Stone described Harrison, who had five goals in seven games, as “easily been the most dangerous player we’ve had.”

* RECORD BOOK. Junior Kaity Mattsson became Nicholls State’s all-time leading scorer when her goal in the Colonels’ 7-1 win over Texas Southern on Sunday gave her 18 goals in her career.

* LEADING SCORERS:
1. Morgan Marlborough, Nebraska 13
2. Rachel King, Louisiana Tech 11
3. Kelley O’Hara, Stanford 10
4. Kiersten Dallstream, Washington State 9
4. Maddy Elder, Clemson 9
(Through games played Sept. 20.)

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

League juggles broadcasts to bump ratings

[MLS] The league is doing what it can to build its ratings on ESPN2. A scheduled telecast for an Oct. 7 meeting between FC Dallas and San Jose that likely will have no effect on the playoff race has been scrapped; instead, the final game of the season, New England and Columbus on Oct. 25, will be aired at 5 p.m. ET. League and network executives, said league spokesman Will Kuhns, have worked to give league telecasts better lead-in programming as well as showcase the top teams as much as possible.

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

Rising Star: Jeremy Hall

[MLS] Jeremy Hall was the New York Red Bulls’ first selection in the 2009 SuperDraft. Even though he was drafted as an attacking player from last year’s NCAA champs, Maryland, Jeremy has found his way on the field with the Red Bull’s as a defender and has made 20 appearances. Get to know the 21-year-old in this profile by Soccer America’s Bryan Alvarez that covers on and off-field experiences.

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

Rough day for striker

[OFF THE POST] Universidad Chile striker Juan Manuel Olivera had to be taken away by ambulance after a collision with O’Higgins goalkeeper Jorge Rivera. Then Olivera’s arrival at the hospital was delayed for two hours because the ambulance crashed and the replacement vehicle was stuck in rush-hour traffic.

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

Americans add English-based player for camp

[UNDER-17 WORLD CUP] The USA is holding its final international training camp to prepare for the U-17 World Cup in Nigeria. Coach Wilmer Cabrera brought in 22 U-17 players for a 10-day camp in Cobham, England. The only player not currently in the under-17 residency program in Bradenton, Fla., is former FC Greater Boston Bolts midfielder Will Packwood, who plays in Birmingham City’s youth system. Not in camp is English-based U-17 star Sebastian Lletget, who joined West Ham’s academy program this summer. For the complete roster and game schedule …

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Playoffs begin on Thursday

[USL-1] The two-leg series in the USL First Division quarterfinals will take place Thursday and Sunday. The two Canadian entrants, defending champion Vancouver and Montreal, will be at home in the first leg, while Puerto Rico will travel to Rochester in the third game, two days after the Islanders host Saprissa of Costa Rica in the Concacaf Champions League.

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MLS teams host crucial Champions League games

[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] The second phase of the regional championship’s group play gets underway this week, as the teams run through their three opponents for the second time. Houston starts off action for the three MLS participants Tuesday by hosting Panamanian club Arabe Unido at Robertson Stadium (10 p.m. ET), Columbus plays Mexican powerhouse Cruz Azul Wednesday (8 p.m. ET) at Columbus Crew Stadium, and D.C. United faces CD Marathon of Honduras Thursday (8 p.m. ET) at RFK Stadium. All of the games will be televised live on Fox Soccer Channel, and since the MLS teams are playing at home and none are atop their groups, each needs a victory.

Posted inSoccer on TV., Story

Soccer on TV

Catch Columbus (Wednesday) and D.C. United (Thursday) in Concacaf Champions League action. Copa Sudamericana, Italian and Spanish are also in the midweek. The USA starts its U-20 World Cup campaign on Saturday. Look for updates in Wednesday’s and Friday’s Soccer on TV.

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Akron puts some Zip in its attack

MEN’S NEWS … Akron confirmed its No. 1 ranking in the Soccer America Men’s Top 25 by capturing the tournament it hosted this weekend with wins over Indiana (1-0) and Saint Louis (4-0).

The Zips, who lost 2008 Hermann Trophy winner Steve Zakuani to MLS’s Seattle Sounders FC, has been getting their scoring by committee. Sophomore Michael Nanchoff, son of former U.S. international George Nanchoff, had the winning goal against Indiana on a free kick. Sophomore Teal Bunbury, who scored twice against SLU, is the son of former Canada star Alex Bunbury.

Sophomores Kofi Sarkodie and Darlington Nagbe connected on a highlight-reel goal to open the scoring against Saint Louis. Freshman Yoram Mwila, who first came to Ohio from Zambia in 2006 to attend Brad Friedel‘s Premier Soccer Academies as part of the Grassroots Soccer Partnership, finished out the scoring with his third goal of the season.

Akron dominated the struggling Billikens, outshooting them, 21-3.  “If we are on the ball enough, we are going to find the seams,” Akron coach Caleb Porter said. “That’s what happened today, and we put the game away.”

* CROWD COUNT:
— The sell-out crowd of 2,443 fans for the Akron-Indiana game set a record for Lee Jackson Field.

— No. 2 North Carolina handed Duke its first loss of the season, winning, 1-0, before 4,439 fans, the second largest men’s crowd in Fetzer Field history.

— Missouri State spoiled a Missouri Valley record crowd of 5,609 at Creighton’s Morrison Stadium, beating No. 4 Bluejays, 1-0.

This weekend’s results

* PERFECT STARTS:
UMBC 7-0-0
Akron 6-0-0
Monmouth 6-0-0
Harvard 5-0-0
Stetson 5-0-0

Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story

Carolina attack suddenly goes quiet

WOMEN’S NEWS … The North Carolina attack that scored seemingly at will against UCLA (7-2) and Notre Dame (6-0) couldn’t buy a goal on Sunday. The Tar Heels piled up 40 shots but had to settle for a 0-0 tie with unranked Auburn. The result snapped the defending national champions’ 17-game winning streak and dropped them from the top spot in the Soccer America Women’s Top 25 for the first time this season.

The result at the Duke Nike Classic came two days after a very sluggish performance in a 1-0 victory over LSU. To make matters worse, North Carolina star Nikki Washington was injured early in the second half of the LSU game and didn’t play against Auburn.

The closest Carolina came to scoring against Auburn was in the 86th minute when Casey Nogueira hit the crossbar with a free kick. Goalie Amy Howard was superb for Auburn with 12 saves, including a diving stop on an Alyssa Rich shot in overtime.

North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance blamed the result on his players’ atrocious work in the final third of the field. “‘We could have taken a film of today’s game and shown you every poor finishing decision that was possible,” he said. One bright spot for North Carolina was the play of Canadian freshman Ranee Premji in her first extended appearance for the Tar Heels.

* AGGIES’ SHOCKER. Portland, who was No. 3 in last week’s rankings, had won its first seven games by a margin of 22-2, but it was upset by Texas A&M, 3-1, Friday night in front of 3,542 fans at the Aggie Soccer Stadium. Junior Whitney Hooper scored two goals for A&M, which looked great in its opening game, a 3-0 win over USC, but has since suffered losses to Purdue, California and North Carolina.

“It’s nice to be winning again,” said Aggies coach G Guerrieri. “We’ve played a very difficult schedule, but we played those difficult games to get better and they helped us win this one today. Portland is a great team.”

* STANFORD ON TOP. Stanford, which beat Colorado, 4-0, and Wisconsin, 6-0, at its Nike Invitational to improve its record to 9-0-0, took over for North Carolina as the top team in the Soccer America Women’s Top 25.

On Sunday, the Cardinal overwhelmed Wisconsin with its multi-pronged attack. Kelley O’Hara scored her 10th goal, Christen Press had a goal and two assists, and Teresa Noyola was in superb form with a pair of assists. Freshman Mariah Nogueira added two goals to become the sixth Stanford player to have a multi-goal game.

This weekend’s results

* PERFECT STARTS:
Louisiana Tech 10-0-0
Stanford 9-0-0
Boston College 8-0-0
Maryland 8-0-0
South Carolina 8-0-0
Mississippi State 8-0-0
Chattanooga 5-0-0

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

International Results

Barcelona and Real Madrid romped in Spain, where they are tied with Athletic Bilbao for first place. Leaders Sampdoria and Juventus won their fourth games in a row in Italy. Bayern Munich, Hoffenheim and Mainz  took advantage of ties by Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen to move to within three points of the lead in Germany. For the weekend results and current standings …

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