Soccer America Archives

“I think he set the tone for the game when I saw how he approached our player before the game, their player before the game. I thought it was embarrassing. He’s having an argument with Kei [Kamara] before the game, then goes and practically hugs Juan Pablo Angel, almost sprints across the field to shake […]

The Sisyphean Struggle Of Chivas USA

“It’s pretty painful. We felt like we were always going uphill this year. You get the goal you need tonight [Saturday] and you just give it right back and you’re pushing that boulder up the hill again. It is a microcosm of our year.” Chivas USA striker Ante Razov reflects upon the his team’s season […]

Time To Seriously Improve MLS Officiating

“Every weekend… brings a frustrating, sometimes maddening level of sub par refereeing. The increasingly swell and swank grounds of MLS are fraught with lenient refereeing. When parlayed with routinely ineffective game management, it all serves to drag down the overall quality of the product.” Steve Davis calls for MLS to seriously address the standard of […]

Tycoon Behind Miami Bid Has Knack For Success

The businessman behind the bold bid to bring a Major League Soccer franchise to Miami in collaboration with Spanish giant Barcelona “has an uncanny knack for pouncing on opportunities at just the right time and the ingenuity to carry out his ideas,” writes Michelle Kaufman, citing “those who know him best.” Bolivian native and South […]

Unbelievable Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake playmaker Javier Morales has done everything for his team this year, writes Michael Lewis: “Spearheaded the attack. Led the team in assists. Set up some of the biggest goals in franchise history.” On Saturday at Chivas USA it was logical that he would deliver the goal that sealed the team’s berth in […]

Wizards Concede That The Best Team Won

The Kansas City Wizards were gracious in defeat after falling 2-0 to the Columbus Crew Saturday and 3-1 overall in the Eastern Conference semifinal. “They’re a good team,” admitted Wizards’ goalkeeper Kevin Hartman. “There’s no bones about it. Maybe if we were able to come in with the goal advantage that we coughed up at […]

Of All The Lousy Luck

“The home-field edge, regular-season stats and vast playoff experience were rendered meaningless,” for the Houston Dynamo Sunday, writes Bernardo Fallas. All that was left for them to do was rue their bad luck. “I feel sick to my stomach,” said Dynamo Coach Dominic Kinnear. “I think it’s the most lopsided 3-0 loss I’ve ever seen […]

Team Play, Toughness And Scoring Goals

The U.S. soccer world continues to digest RB New York’s 3-0 playoff win in Houston that caught out pundits from Anchorage to Miami, but it seems less surprising when you read how New York striker Juan Pablo Angel summarized the game. “We were physical,” said Angel. “We scored on the chances we created. We defended […]

Soccer America Confidential, Story

Bring on anti-parity!

by Ridge MahoneyNovember 10, 2008

For all its proclamations about parity, MLS playoffs haven’t been rife with diversity come showdown time.

MORNING BRIEFING: Denver claims MPSF title

by Paul KennedyNovember 10, 2008

Denver is the second team to clinch an automatic berth to the NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament thanks to Saturday’s 1-0 win over Air Force and New Mexico’s 1-0 loss to San Jose State on Sunday that gave the Pioneers their first-ever Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Men’s Conferences

Connecticut was the only seeded team to fall in the Big East quarterfinals when the Huskies lost at home to DePaul, 1-0. UNC Greensboro pulled an upset in the Southern Conference quarterfinals when the No. 7 Spartans beat No. 2 Furman. For all the weekend results …

POLLS: Soccer America Men’s Top 25

The top six teams all won and held their spots in the Soccer America Men’s Top 25. For this week’s Soccer America Men’s Top 25 and last week’s results …

CROWD COUNT: ACC final sets pace

The ACC Tournament final in Cary, N.C. drew the largest women’s crowd of the weekend. A crowd of 5,116 watched North Carolina beat Virginia Tech, 3-0. The Women’s College Cup will return to WakeMed Soccer Park on Dec. 5 and 7 …

POLLS: Soccer America Women’s Top 25

For the second time in three years, Notre Dame finished as No. 1 in the Soccer America Women’s Top 25. Two years ago, the Irish were 20-0-1. This year, they are 21-0-0. For the final Soccer America Women’s Top 25 …

MORNING BRIEFING: NCAA tournament predictions

by Paul KennedyNovember 10, 2008

The 64-team field for the NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament will be announced by the NCAA Women’s Soccer Committee on Monday. Soccer America analyzes how weekend results affect teams on the bubble and predicts who will get at-large bids.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Women’s Conferences

Champions were crowned at 27 Division I women’s conference tournaments. Three teams — North Carolina (ACC), Toledo (Mid-American) and Denver (Sun Belt) — won their third straight titles. CAA champion Northeastern and SEC champion Tennessee were the lowest seeds — at No. 6 — to prevail. For all the conference tournament results …

Soccer America Daily, What They're Saying

What They’re Saying

“It was unbelievable effort by every single guy, which is why it feels so rewarding right now. If we can continue doing this, who knows?”

— New York Red Bulls defender Chris Leitch after his team ousted two-time defending champ Houston from the MLS playoffs with a 3-0 win on Sunday. (MLSnet.com)

East takes three of final four places

by Ridge MahoneyNovember 10, 2008

[MLS] For the first time, one conference will provide three members of the final four MLS playoff teams, and might yet supply both MLS Cup finalists. Form held in the East, with both of the higher seeds winning, yet in the West, neither of the top two survived. Eastern conference champion Columbus defeated No. 4 Kansas City, 2-0, Saturday to complete a 3-1 aggregate win and on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET ESPN2) hosts the No. 2 Fire, a 3-0 aggregate winner over No. 3 New England. The Red Bulls, fifth-place finishers in the East, travel to Utah for a Saturday (9:30 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer Channel) showdown with Real Salt Lake, which won the first playoff series in its history by tying Chivas USA, 2-2, to prevail on aggregate, 3-2. New York stunned Western Conference champion Houston, 3-0, Sunday for a 4-1 series victory.

SoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story

The Amazin’ New York Red Bulls

by Paul GardnerNovember 10, 2008

Now that’s what I call an upset – safe to call it the biggest one in MLS playoff history, I think. Here comes Juan Carlos Osorio with the, let us say, undistinguished Red Bulls, a team rendered even weaker by drug suspensions and injuries, and they knock off the high-flying Houston Dynamo. I’m not going to say that they did it in style, that would hardly be accurate. But they did it in just about as convincing a way as possible — by winning down there, in Houston, in the packed, hostile, stadium of the Dynamo. Winning? This was a wipe out — you can’t argue with a resounding 3-0 scoreline.

Inter’s late winner takes it top

[ITALY] Inter took the Serie A top spot after leaving it late to beat Udinese, with city rivals Milan dropping points when Lecce also scored a last-gasp goal.

Barcelona hits six, Real gets the best of seven

[SPAIN] Barcelona stayed at the top of the Spanish Liga after thumping Valladolid 6-0, while Real Madrid edged a seven-goal thriller at home to Malaga.

Bayern lurks as Hoffenheim falls at Hertha

[GERMANY] Bayern Munich beat Schalke to move up to third in the Bundesliga, just one point off the leading pair of Leverkusen and Hoffenheim, both of whom dropped points.

Chelsea and Liverpool open up gap

[ENGLAND] Liverpool and Chelsea are six points ahead of the chasing pack after easy weekend wins in the English Premier League, helped by Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Manchester United in a classic attacking encounter.

O’Reilly gives Americans another tour win

[U.S. WOMEN] The USA improved to 5-0-1 on this fall’s Achieve Your Gold Tour thanks to a 1-0 win over South Korea on Saturday in Tampa. Making her first start up front in 2008, Heather O’Reillyscored the lone goal for the USA.