Category: Story

G VANESSA SCOTTO (Pennsylvania) (1) Shut out George Mason and William & Mary, making 10 saves to hold Tribe scoreless for first time since ’98 in 0-0 tie D MIKEL CASEY (Charlotte) (1) Box clearance creates decisive goal in 2-1 win vs. Davidson, goal and assist in 4-0 romp over Houston, keyed defense that limited […]

G KERRY THOMPSON (Ohio State) (1) Six saves in 4-1 win over Creighton, shutout in 1-0 win over Southwest Missouri State D MATT DOMINICK (Georgia State) (1) Helped unbeaten GSU to OT wins over Atlantic Sun foes Mercer and Campbell D MICHAEL NELSON (Loyola, Md.) (1) Scored off corner kick to give Greyhounds first win […]

Several U.S. players had standout performances for their clubs in Europe this past weekend and John O’Brien returned to action for Ajax. Goalkeeper Brad Friedel’s sparkling performance for Blackburn shut out Everton, defender Tony Sanneh scored a decisive goal in Nuremberg’s victory over FC Cologne and Cory Gibbs had an assist in St. Pauli’s tie […]

Sophomore Alyssa Ramsey totaled four goals and four assists and 13 of her teammates joined in the scoring as top-ranked North Carolina destroyed Georgia, 9-0, and Missouri, 7-0, in romping to the Duke adidas Classic title. Elizabeth Ball and Anne Morrell tallied twice apiece in the rout of Georgia (3-2-1), and 13 different players earned […]

The WUSA champion Bay Area CyberRays’ worst-to-first tale comes down to talent, tactics, character – and plenty of good fortune. Ian Sawyers realized quickly there was something about the group, something greater than the sum of its talent, something more than the force of its personality. Some elusive quality, not quite definable but very apparent. […]

The overall level of play has improved significantly this year in MLS. Miami has the best record, but the MetroStars, whom we rank sixth, have beaten the Fusion three times. Like Miami and the MetroStars, Chicago, San Jose, Los Angeles and Columbus have all put together at least one long hot streak during the campaign. […]

No. 1 SMU improved its record to 6-0-0 with a pair of emphatic wins over Wisconsin (6-0) and Memphis 7-0) at the TCU-adidas Classic. Defending champion UConn fell to 3-2-2 after being crushed by UNLV, 6-1, at the UNLV/Fila Rebel Classic. In Top 20 clashes, No. 2 Virginia beat No. 13 North Carolina, 2-0, No. […]

There was plenty of movement within Soccer America‘s Top 20 this week, with Stanford (from No. 8 to No. 5), Texas A&M (No. 12 to No. 7), California (No. 13 to No. 8) and Florida State (No. 17 to No. 13), among others, jumping up the rankings following impressive weeks. A&M made its leap despite […]

Quarterfinals Sept. 23 in Port of Spain France 2 (Sinama Pongolle 38, Le Tallec 40) Brazil 1 (Alberoni 70). Nigeria 5 (Opabunmi 24, 69, 79, Mohammed 81, Temile 85) Australia 1 (Engele 86). Group A Sept. 13 in Port of Spain Trinidad & Tobago 1 (Blackman 57) Croatia 2 (Krancjar 43, 65). Sept. 14 in […]

Donovan and Lagos are keys up front HOW THEY BEAT YOU: The Earthquakes very seldom beat themselves. The central core ù defenders Troy Dayak and Jeff Agoos and midfielders Richard Mulrooney and Ronnie Ekelund ù is nearly impenetrable. They always seem to have numbers back. Landon Donovan and Manny Lagos are the key figures in […]

Fusion passing makes scoring look easy HOW THEY BEAT YOU: The attack can come from buildups or quick strikes. The lineup is teeming with good passers, and their flank play may be the best in MLS. The crossing is unusually accurate, and their passing riddles defenses. The player receiving the final pass is often so […]

9/24 … TEAM (RECORD) … 9/17 … 9/10 1 SMU (6-0-0) 1 1 2 Virginia (5-0-1) 2 2 3 St. John’s (4-0-0) 3 3 4 Furman (4-0-0) 4 4 5 Saint Louis (4-0-0) 8 8 6 Washington (4-1-0) 10 10 7 Indiana (4-2-0) 11 11 8 South Florida (6-0-0) 14 15 9 Stanford (4-0-0) 9 […]

Saudi Arabia, which fired Coach Slobodan Santrac after opening with a tie and a loss, took over the Group A lead with a 4-0 win over upstart Bahrain in Manama. The Saudis, who have won three straight games, can all but wrap up their third straight berth in the World Cup if they beat Iran […]

San Jose pulled the first upset of the MLS playoffs when they beat Columbus, 2-0, before a crowd of more than 20,000 at Crew Stadium. Landon Donovan had two goals to give the Quakes a 3-0 halftime lead. The win was the Quakes first in the playoffs in five years. Miami beat Kansas City, 2-0, […]

In Game 2 of their quarterfinal series on Sunday, Dallas and Chicago tied, 1-1, sending the series to Game 3. After ThursdayÆs 2-0 win, Chicago has a 4-1 lead in points and will need only a tie to reach the five points needed to qualify for the semifinals. Los Angeles and the MetroStars tied, 1-1, […]

The MLS playoffs kicked off on Thursday with Chicago’s 2-0 win over Dallas. The other three quarterfinal series kick off this weekend. Senior Editor Ridge Mahoney previews the matchups. LOS ANGELES-METROSTARS How the MetroStars will play in the playoffs with recent additions Gilmar and Ross Paule adds mystery to this matchup. The Galaxy is healthier […]

Dan Woog, a Soccer America contributor since 1975 and the executive editor of SAÆs Youth Soccer Letter, is also a longtime coach. A former player of his, Scott Coleman, was among the victims of the attack on the World Trade Center. In his Westport (Conn.) News column, ôWoogÆs World,ö Woog remembers Scott Coleman. BY DAN […]

No. 7 UCLA and No. 12 Maryland fell to UC Irvine and Loyola (Md.) in clashes earlier in the week. The weekend action is highlighted by an ACC match between No. 2 Virginia and No. 13 North Carolina in Charlottesville, Va. Other Soccer America Top 20 clashes: UCLA vs. No. 16 Cal State Fullerton in […]

Chas Moffet of Truckee, Calif. asks: Can the goalkeeper be thrown the ball and touch it with his or her hands, or has FIFA changed that rule to where the goalie cannot touch the ball with their hands pertaining to a throw in? Mike Woitalla: The goalkeeper cannot touch the ball with his hands if […]

Group A Sept. 13 in Port of Spain Trinidad & Tobago 1 (Blackman 57) Croatia 2 (Krancjar 43, 65). Sept. 14 in Port of Spain Brazil 1 (Anderson Costa 76) Australia 0. Sept. 16 in Port of Spain Trinidad & Tobago 0 Australia 1 (Auguis 56). Sept. 16 in Port of Spain Brazil 3 (Bruno […]

BY RIDGE MAHONEY What is it about the Dallas Burn that makes the Chicago Fire blow leads? That disturbing notion is uppermost in the mind of Fire coach Bob Bradley as he prepares his team for a playoff series fraught with subplots. Game 1 is tonight (Sept. 20) in Chicago. Mike Jeffries left his job […]

(all times ET) Chicago-Dallas Game 1 Sept. 20 in Chicago Chicago 2 Dallas 0 Scoring Summary: CHI–Bocanegra (Wynalda) 40 CHI–Whitfield (Nowak) 98+ Attendance: 8,314 Game 2 Sunday, September 23, (5:00 p.m.) in Dallas Burn (ESPN2) Season series: 2001 regular-season series tied 1-1-1 (Series tied 6-6 in aggregate goals); All-time regular season series: Chicago leads 8-6-1 […]

BY SCOTT FRENCH, Senior Editor It’s never too early to be thinking about next season, so here goes. It is too early to guess what each WUSA team’s roster will look like in 2002, what with drafts, potential trades, potential coaching changes, decisions on and by foreign players, and the second-year tinkering with personnel one […]

Group A Sept. 13 in Port of Spain Trinidad & Tobago 1 (Blackman 57) Croatia 2 (Krancjar 43, 65). Sept. 14 in Port of Spain Brazil 1 (Anderson Costa 76) Australia 0. Sept. 16 in Port of Spain Trinidad & Tobago 0 Australia 1 (Auguis 56). Sept. 16 in Port of Spain Brazil 3 (Bruno […]

The United States will return from the Under-17 World Cup without a point after dropping its third straight game. John Ellinger’s Americans fell to Nigeria, 2-0, in Bacolet, Tobago, but the score doesn’t begin to reflect the Eaglets’ dominance. They outshot the Americans, 16-1. After having a terrible game in a 5-2 loss to France, […]