On Sunday, Columbus battles New York for the MLS crown. Complete Mexican playoff schedule was not available at press time. Check local listings.
Germany Lost Without Ballack, Frings
German national team coach Joachim Loew has told his players that form will count over experience when it comes to selection. But after Wednesday's mediocre defeat at home to England, the German press has concluded that the only winners were the absent captain Michael Ballack (injured) and midfield veteran Thorsten Frings (not selected). Both players […]
Danny Cepero And Post-War Decolonization
In the run-up to MLS Cup, the story continues to be Danny Cepero, and here's the latest angle: it's not just for sporting reasons that the RB New York goalkeeper is happy the team's season has been extended with every unlikely playoff win. Each further game has given him a valid excuse not to hand […]
Wizards Get Stadium Tax-Break
The Kansas City Wizards received a boost toward its plan for a soccer specific stadium in the southeast of the city Thursday when the Missouri Development Finance Board approved $30 million in tax credits toward the $1 billion mixed-use project, reports Randy Covitz. The approval "clears the way for the LANE4 Property Group and the […]
Crew In Danger Of Losing Schmid
These should be happy days for Sigi Schmid, says Steve Davis, given that the Columbus Crew coach is just 90 minutes from lifting his second MLS Cup. But for the second time in his career, Schmid is finding that success is not necessarily enough to secure him a new contract It would be ironic if […]
Gallas A Captain But Not A Leader
"The team captain has a unique position in English football," writes Dan Bryant. And few things in soccer irk an English fan more than "a perceived lack of effort from a player; a captain represents something the rest of the team can look up to, a shining example, leading his team to glory." Arsenal's French […]
Confed Cup Crowds Will Be A Challenge
"We have a major challenge to fill the stadium for every match, not only the games involving high-profile teams." Danny Jordaan, chief executive of South Africa's 2010 World Cup Organizing Committee, admits it will be tough getting crowds to the 2009 warm-up tournament, the Confederations Cup, also in South Africa. The United States, as Gold […]
Arsenal Will Seek Walcott Compensation
As Theo Walcott faces an expected 12 week-absence with a dislocated shoulder sustained training with the England team, Arsenal will seek compensation of up to $1.6 million from the English FA under the insurance deal that covers players injured while on national team duty.
Hahnemann Eyes Seattle In Long Run
"It has always been the plan to go back to Seattle, only my good pal Kasey [Keller] is there at the moment for the next couple of years. Hopefully then that will present me with an opportunity to play there." Reading goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann looks to end his career in MLS.
Copa Sudamericana Finalists Set
Estudiantes of Argentina will play Internacional of Brazil in the two-legged final of the Copa Sudamericana, Central and South America's secondary club competition after the Copa Libertadores. Estudiantes, captained by Juan Sebastian Veron, beat compatriot club Argentinos Juniors 2-1 on aggregate in one semifinal, while in the other Internacional routed Mexico's Chivas de Guadalajara 6-0 […]
Three biggies in three days
The big game – MLS Cup 2008 – is Sunday, but the big meeting is Friday and the big draw is set for Saturday. On Friday, the MLS Board of Governors will vote on many competition and scheduling issues for the 2009 season, and late in the afternoon Commissioner Don Garber will make many of those decisions public. On Saturday is the draw for the final round of Concacaf World Cup 2010 qualifying – the Hexagonal – in Johannesburg, South Africa.
POLLS: NSCAA/adidas High School Rankings
Brentwood (N.Y.) High School claimed the No. 1 spot in the NSCAA/adidas High School Boys Rankings when last week’s No. 1, Sacramento Jesuit, fell to Davis in a shootout in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I semifinals. The Pennington School, whose season is finished, is the No. 1 team in the NSCAA/adidas High School Boys Rankings.
What They’re Saying
“I wrote on a piece of paper at the beginning of the season: 24-0.”
— Brentwood (N.Y.) High School coach Ron Eden, scripting the season for the Indians, who won their first boys state title since 1989 after a 2-1 victory over Clarence on Sunday and claimed the top spot in the national high school rankings. (Newsday)
U.S. kids battle Madrid’s future stars
The U.S. under-20 men’s national team took on some of Madrid’s top young talent. The Americans put three goals past Real Madrid C, but that total was matched by a 16-year-old Portuguese dubbed the new Cristiano Ronaldo, and the Madrid team won, 5-3. The next day, FC Dallas keeper Josh Lambo held off Atletico Madrid B and earned the U-20s a 0-0 tie.
Hawks soar in Michigan finals
For the third year in a row, teams from the Michigan Hawks reached the finals of every Michigan State Youth Soccer Association girls division from under-14 to under-18.
Historic Virginia state title for Charlottesville club
The Soccer Organization of Charlottesville-Albemarle became the first club team from West Central Virginia to win a state championship when it won the U-18 boys title at the Virginia Youth Soccer Association’s state tournament for boys and girls teams in the under-14 to under-18 divisions.
Arsenal FC cleans up in CSL Premier
Arsenal FC, the Southern California team that produced U.S. national team captain Carlos Bocanegra, cleaned up in the 2008 CSL Premier League, winning two boys and one girls championship. The boys won the U-19 and U-16 divisions in the Southern California superleague, while the U-16 girls were the only team with a perfect record, finishing 11-0-0. For all the U-19, U-17 and U-16 boys and girls final standings …
North American Finals kick off Friday
The Super Y-League’s North American Finals begin Friday with 136 American and Canadian youth teams competing in 10 boys and girls divisions at the Ed Radice Sports Complex in Tampa and Land O’Lakes Recreation Center in Land O’Lakes, Fla.
OBITUARY: Jonathan Manzo Chavez
Jonathan Manzo Chavez, 10, was on his way home from Santa Clara Sporting Club’s NorCal State Cup qualifier in Manteca, Calif., last Saturday when the mini-van his mother was driving was struck head-on by a car attempting to pass another car on Highway 84, a two-lane road. When rescue workers tried to take off Manzo’s Sporting green jersey and shorts and tend to his injuries, he pleaded, “Don’t cut them, don’t cut them, I have a game tomorrow.” Manzo later died of injuries suffered in the crash.
RISING STAR: U.S. U-20 Midfielder Becky Edwards
SOCCER AMERICA profiles Florida State’s Becky Edwards, a member the U.S. national team competing at the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Chile. She started in midfield for the Americans in their 3-0 win over France in their opening game on Wednesday. She’s a Philly girl through and through. Edwards was ecstatic about the Phillies’ World Series and loves the Jersey Shore.
U.S. U-17 World Cup players are off to Thanksgiving Interregional
Two members of the U.S. national team that finished second at the Under-17 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand are headed to U.S. Youth Soccer ODP Girls Thanksgiving Interregional. Maddy Laddish will represent Region II in the 1992 division, while Morgan Brian is on the U.S. under-15 national team competing at the Interregional to be played at the North Community Park and Coral Glades High School Sportsplex in Coral Springs, Fla. Teams arrive Saturday for two days of training. The competition runs through next Friday. For all the 1992, 1993 and 1994 regional teams and U.S. under-15 national team …
MORNING BRIEFING: For LA bragging rights
The biggest third-round match in the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament pits a pair of Olympic gold-medalists in action when Lauren Cheney’s UCLA hosts Amy Rodriguez‘s USC Saturday in Westwood. Last year, they met in the Women’s College Cup semifinals, where the Women of Troy prevailed, 2-1. The Bruins were crushed, having had their hopes of a title after five straight College Cup appearances dashed. USC went on to win the national championship two days later.
MORNING BRIEFING: Newcomers offer firepower
Columbus Crew coach Sigi Schmid will face a dilemma if the Crew wins the MLS Cup on Sunday at the Home Depot Center. Does he return with the Crew for its celebrations back home or does he stay in Southern California to watch his son, Kyle, play for Big West champion UC Irvine on Tuesday in the second round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament? The Anteaters are one of three teams making their first appearance in the NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament. Atlantic-10 champ Dayton also earned an automatic berth, while Missouri Valley regular-season runner-up Drake took an at-large bid.
SCOREBOARD: NAIA Men & Women
The NAIA has introduced an opening round to its national championships for men’s and women’s soccer. Play gets underway Saturday with 15 first-round games for both the men and women. The men’s winners will advance the 50th annual NAIA National Men’s Championship Dec. 1-6 at Fresno Pacific. Winners of the opening-round women’s games will play at Embry-Riddle, the site of the National Women’s Championship Dec. 1-6 in Daytona Beach, Fla.
SCOREBOARD: NCAA Division I Women
Play resumes in the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament with eight games this weekend. It begins Friday when No. 1 regional seeds Notre Dame and Stanford host unseeded Minnesota and Rutgers, respectively. For all the results and schedules …
