Soccer America Archives

What does MLS referee boss Joe Machnik do in the offseason? HeÆs orchestrating ways for the league to address four major issues. SOCCER AMERICA: One of the most obvious problems for MLS referees must be the amount of abuse they took from players last year … JOE MACHNIK: The first focal point addresses the outrageous […]

The way things were going this season, there was some doubt North Carolina would make the Sweet 16. The Tar Heels lost three games for the first time in two decades and entered the playoffs as the No. 5 seed. But Carolina endured to capture its 16th NCAA title in 19 years. Parity means teams […]

Uhlsport America and the Women’s United Soccer Association have reached a multi-year agreement for Uhlsport to become the official uniform supplier for three WUSA teams: the Bay Area CyberRays, New York Power and Philadelphia Charge. “We are very excited and pleased to be associated with the first premier women’s soccer league,” said Jurgen Kiefer, president […]

Graham Dalziel Lawrenceville, Ga. A friend told me that once a year you have an issue that has a list of college coachesÆ names and school addresses. If this is so, how can a buy that issue? Mike Woitalla: Indeed, Graham, Soccer America annually publishes its College Choice issue. (In fact, I used it 20 […]

U.S. Olympic team forward Conor Casey decided to join the ranks of the growing legion of Americans abroad when he signed a contract with German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund. Casey, the West Coast Conference Player of the Year in 1999 after leading the country in goals, will pass on his remaining eligibility at the University […]

U.S. women’s national team coach April Heinrichs added a pair of North Carolina defenders — former Tar Heel star Keri Raygor and current Tar Heel star Danielle Borgman — to her roster for the United States’ Dec. 17 friendly against Japan. The match, to be played in Phoenix, is the last stop on the world […]

Connecticut defender Chris Gbandi won the Hermann Trophy as the top college player in the nation in the same weekend he and the Huskies won the Men’s College Cup. Notre Dame’s Anne Makinen won the women’s Hermann Trophy, which was her second player of the year award in one week. Makinen, a Finnish national team […]

FIFA named former U.S. women’s national team star Michelle Akers its Women’s Player of the Century. She received the award at the FIFA World Player of the Year Awards Gala in Rome on Dec. 11. Akers was the first women’s soccer player to gain global fame and sign a shoe-endorsement contract. She dominated the 1991 […]

Mondelo and Manning are reunited in Tampa Bay; Swift and Counce must continue their search He was a candidate for both jobs, yet in the end, Alfonso MondeloÆs past association with Bill Manning won the day. Mondelo was announced as the MutinyÆs new head coach after Manning spent nearly two months evaluating and interviewing candidates. […]

Update on Americans in Europe CROATIA Erik Kuster, Cakonec (D1) winter break DENMARK Will Orben, Viborg (SL) winter break ENGLAND Brad Friedel, Blackburn (D1) started (90 min.) vs. Queens Park Rangers (0-0) Ben Olsen, Nottingham Forest (D1) started (90 min.) vs. Portsmouth (2-0) Marcus Hahnemann, Fulham (D1) DNP at West Bromwich Albion (3-1) Eddie Lewis, […]

Cindy Parlow came off the bench to score two goals in the United States’ 3-2 come-from-behind win over Mexico Dec. 10 in Houston in the second to last game of the Glory Tour. The goals upped Parlow’s international total to 45 in 98 games. Mexico had never scored against the world champions before, but took […]

Here are the complete results of the 15-round WUSA inaugural draft, held Dec. 10-11 in Boca Raton, Fla. Chinese star Sun Wen, the first overall pick in the draft, is now expected to play at the start of the inaugural season; her knee injury is not as bad as originally thought: Pick No. Round Name […]

A Federal Court jury in Boston unanimously found that Major League Soccer is not an illegal monopoly, as the lawyers for the soccer players had claimed in in a class-action lawsuit that was originally filed by a group of MLS players in 1997. The verdict resolves all but some minor claims in the case. The […]

The following are Dec. 11 MLS press conference quotes, in the wake of the leagueÆs legal victory, from Don Garber (MLS Commissioner), Mark Abbott (MLS chief operating officer), Ivan Gazidis (MLS executive V.P. player Relations and operations), Michael Cardozo (Proskauer Rose LLP, MLS legal counsel) and Paul Robbins (U.S. Soccer Federation Legal Counsel). On Dec. […]

Gene Kuc (North Little Rock, Ark.) asks: Would you be able to point me in a direction to find the lineup for the USA in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona against Italy on July 24, 1992? Mike Woitalla: Gene, youÆre referring to what I consider one of the most exciting and disappointing games in U.S. […]

Atlanta made injured Chinese star Sun Wen the first pick in the Dec. 10-11 WUSA Global Draft, while the CyberRays made Thori Bryan, at No. 8 in the first round, the first American selected overall. Since the first six rounds of the draft moved along more quickly than the league had anticipated, the draft ran […]

The Connecticut Huskies are national champion. Dec. 10 in Charlotte, N.C. Venue: Ericsson Stadium Attendance: 11, 421 Referee: Paul Tamberino Assistants: Rich Heron, Alex Prus, Rich Grady Connecticut 2 Creighton 0 Goals: Gbandi 15, Lewis (Castellanos) 85. Lineups CONNECTICUT — Bryheem Hancock, Rui Fernandes, Chris Gbandi, Darin Lewis, Mansour Ndiaye, Lindon Pecorelli, Brent Rahim, Will […]

Two U.S. national team players saw action in England Dec. 9. BlackburnÆs Brad Friedel was credited with a game-saving stop in a scoreless tie with Queens Park Rangers. Nottingham ForestÆs Ben Olsen, who also played the full 90 after missing last weekÆs game with an injury, enjoyed a 2-0 win over Portsmouth. The midfielder cleared […]

NSCAA/adidas NCAA Division I All-America Teams First Team Pos., Name, Class, School, Hometown G, Chris Hamblin, Sr., Boston College, Bristol, England D, Chris Gbandi*, Jr., Connecticut, Houston, Texas D, Cory Gibbs, Sr., Brown, Plantation, Fla. D, Ryan Suarez, Sr., San Jose State, Roseville, Calif. M, Mark Lisi, Sr., Clemson, Englewood, Colo. M, Jorge Martinez, Sr., […]

Watching North Carolina win this year’s Women’s NCAA Division I title reminded me of following the Florida election saga. I loved the drama, but I had no doubt about the outcome. There was an air of inevitability to the Women’s College Cup. True, the Tar Heels had lost a record three ACC games this fall. […]

Colorado youth coach jumped at the chance to work in WUSA It meant leaving Colorado, where he was turning into a local soccer icon, but Tom Stone couldn’t pass up the chance to get in on the ground floor of the WUSA. He had been the director of coaching for the girls’ side of the […]

Dec. 8 in Charlotte, N.C. Connecticut 2 SMU 0. Goals: Lewis (Rahim) 14:44, Cueller (Lewis) 49:11. Connecticut — Hancock, Gbandi, Zieky, Thornton, Vargas, Fernandes, Lewis, Ndiaye, Pecorelli, Rahim, Cuellar. Subs: Mark, Rivera, Castellanos, Forko. SMU — Foss, Brown, Kenyon, Suarez, Bussey, Corbin, Dolan, Walsh, Whiteley, Fahim, Gonzalez. Subs: Hudson, Sacasa, Doi, Fraser. Yellow cards: Connecticut […]

NSCAA/adidas Women’s NCAA Division I All-America Teams First Team Pos., Name, Class, School, Hometown G, Emily Oleksiuk*, Jr., Penn State, Willow Grove, Pa. D, Jenny Benson, Sr., Nebraska, Huntington Beach, Calif. D, Rhegan Hypio, Sr., Marquette, St. Petersburg, Fla. D, Jaclyn Ravenia, Sr., Richmond, Fairfax, Va. D, Danielle Slaton**, Jr., Santa Clara, San Jose, Calif. […]

The menÆs NCAA Division I final four kicks off today in Charlotte, N.C. Indiana meets Creighton at 5 pm (ET) and SMU meets UConn 7:30 p.m (ET). The TV broadcast is tape delayed: 12:30 pm ET Saturday, Dec. 9, ESPN2. Here are quotes from the Dec. 7 press conference: Creighton coach Bret Simon: “This was […]

Carla Overbeck, making her final international appearance, is among 16 players on April Heinrichs’ roster for the U.S. friendly against Japan on Dec. 17 at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. MT and the game will be televised live on ESPN2. Overbeck, the long-time U.S. captain, will retire from the national […]