Category: Story

[OFF THE POST] Georgia captain Kakha Kaladze, who plays his club ball with AC Milan, apologized for scoring two own goals in Georgia’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying loss to Italy.

[USL-1] Miami FC kept its very slim playoff hopes alive when it snapped its six-game losing streak Saturday night, by beating the Austin Aztex, 3-1.

North Carolina, Stanford and Portland remain 1-2-3 in the Soccer America Women’s Top 25, but there were lots of changes in the rest of the rankings. Nine teams, eight for the first time this season, climbed into the Top 25.

With 1-0 wins over SMU and host Tulsa, Akron climbed one spot and took over as No. 1 in the Soccer America Men’s Top 25. North Carolina, which was held to a 1-1 tie by Northern Illinois, dropped to No. 2. Northern Illinois moved into the Top 25 along with ACC teams N.C. State, Duke and Virginia, American and South Carolina.

[USA-EL SALVADOR REPORT CARD] Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney grades the U.S. players in their 2-1 win over El Salvador in World Cup qualifying on Saturday in Sandy, Utah.

Brazil and Ghana became the seventh and eighth teams — and the first from South America and Africa qualifying — to clinch berths in the World Cup over the weekend. For all weekend results …

[WORLD CUP QUALIFYING] For once, not all of the U.S. troubles against a supposedly overmatched Concacaf foe were of its own doing. Still, it fouled up on enough occasions to mar stretches of crisp, confident play while beating El Salvador, 2-1, in Sandy, Utah, Saturday. Goals by Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore late in the first half brought the USA back from a 1-0 deficit inflicted when Christian Castillo headed home a Rodolfo Zelaya cross in the 32nd minute.

[WORLD CUP 2010 QUALIFYING] Ghana became the eighth team to clinch a berth in the World Cup when it beat Sudan, 2-0, on Sunday. Elsewhere, Ivory Coast, Algeria and Tunisia won to remain in first place, while Cameroon’s 2-0 win at leader Gabon left Group A up for grabs.

Colorado helped its playoff cause and Toronto FC hurt its with the Rapids’ 1-0 win over MLS’s Canadian entry Saturday night. D.C. United’s 2-2 tie at FC Dallas and New England’s 4-2 loss to Kansas City left the Revs among four teams with 33 points — tied for seventh place in the overall standings. For all the weekend summaries and current standings …

[AMERICANS ABROAD] On a World Cup qualifying weekend, Mexico’s Primera Division was the only other major league besides MLS to hold games. New Mexico product Edgar Castillo, whom FIFA has cleared to represent the USA, played the entire 90 minutes in Tigres’ 1-1 against Club America, the club that loaned him to Tigres for the fall season.

[COLLEGE] Freshman Alyssa Rich was the unlikely hero with the lone goal in No 1 North Carolina’s 1-0 win over Marquette 1-0. Senior reserve Kristin Stannard hat a hat trick in a 27-minute span of the second half to lead No. 2 Stanford to a 5-0 victory over Virginia Tech. Canadian Sophie Schmidt scored four goals for No. 3 Portland in its 5-1 win over Columbia. No. 8 UCLA won, 3-0, at No. 7 Florida. Other Top 25 teams to fall on Sunday were No. 10 Penn State, No. 18 St. John’s, No. 19 Utah, No. 21 Missouri, No. 22 Colorado. For all the Labor Day weekend’s Top 25 action …

[COLLEGE] In Top 25 action, No. 3 John’s beat No. 10 Notre Dame, 2-0, and No. 5 Wake Forest edged No. 4 Indiana, 2-1, at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic, while No. 8 Maryland defeated No. 7 California, 2-1, on Jason Herrick‘s golden goal. For all the Labor Day weekend action …

[USA-EL SALVADOR] For the second straight home qualifier, the USA made it hard on itself, falling behind in the half, but goals by Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore at the end of the first 45 minutes gave the Americans the goals they needed to beat El Salvador, 2-1, Saturday in Sandy, Utah.

[HEXAGONAL] With its 2-1 win over El Salvador, the USA’s path to the 2010 World Cup became clearer. It continues on to Port of Spain, where the need for a result against Trinidad & Tobago Wednesday became even more critical because of Mexico’s 3-0 win at Costa Rica on Saturday.

[HEXAGONAL] With young Giovani dos Santos in brilliant form for Mexico (one goal set up by Cuauhtemoc Blanco and two assists), the Tri beat Costa Rica, 3-0, in San Jose and dropped the Ticos, the first of the top four Hexagonal contenders to concede even one point at home, from first to fourth place in the Concacaf World Cup 2010 qualifying group.

[ARGENTINA-BRAZIL] Sixteen years to the day after its infamous 5-0 loss to Colombia in Buenos Aires, Argentina suffered another humiliating defeat at home. Brazil’s 3-1 win in Rosario kept its record intact of qualifying for every World Cup tournament and put Argentina’s hopes of qualifying in jeopardy. It also produced the unlikely sound of fans at the Estadio Gigante de Arroyito chanting the name of Brazil coach Dunga in protest to Argentina coach Diego Maradona.

[MLS] The Kansas City Wizards, which had gone four games without scoring and seven games without a win, beat New England, 4-2. D.C. United escaped from FC Dallas with a 2-2 tie. Conor Casey scored his 12th goal of the season to give Colorado a 1-0 home win over Toronto FC.

[WORLD CUP QUALIFYING] Highlights of the USA’s 2-1 win over El Salvador. …

[WORLD CUP QUALIFYING] Highlights of Mexico’s 3-0 win over Costa Rica. …

[COLLEGE] In Saturday’s only game involving a Top 25 team, No. 12 Purdue improved to 4-0-0 with a 1-0 win over Valparaiso at the Boilermaker Challenge Cup. For all the Labor Day weekend’s Top 25 matches …

[COLLEGE] No. 24 Boston University won the battle of New England Top 25 teams, handing No. 13 Connecticut its worst loss in three seasons with a 3-0 victory in Storrs. No. 19 George Mason also fell at home, losing to American, 2-1, on a pair of Daniel Shannon in the deciding game of the D.C. College Cup. For all the Labor Day weekend’s Top 25 matches …

Brazil beat Argentina, 3-1, in Rosario to become the seventh team to qualify for the World Cup. In Europe, there were big wins for Italy and Spain, while France and Portugal had to settle for ties. For all Saturday’s results and updates …