Soccer America Archives

In Europe, when the coach of a troubled team receives a vote of confidence from the club’s board, it’s usually a prelude to his sacking just a few days later. The phrase has now entered soccer parlance as ‘the dreaded vote of confidence.’ One can only hope for the sake of FC Dallas coach Schellas […]

Joe Public Vows Revenge ‘By Four Goals’

Even as the Montreal Impact celebrated another fine result for the United Soccer Leagues’ representatives in the Concacaf Champions League Wednesday, its defeated opponent vowed a terrible revenge. Joe Public coach Keith Griffith, whose side fell 2-0 to the Impact, boldly forecast that his side would win the return game in Trinidad next month “by […]

Some Questions For Ottawa’s Soccer Plan

When Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk undertakes a project, you’d hate to bet against a man with “deep pockets, an acute sports marketing acumen, plus energy and creativity,” says an editorial in the Ottawa Citizen. That’s why there’s “a very good chance” that his plan to bring Major League Soccer to the Canadian city will […]

MORNING BRIEFING: Colorado College off to great start

by Paul KennedySeptember 18, 2008

Colorado College, the sole women’s soccer-only Division I program in the country, moved into the Soccer America Women’s Top 25 at No. 23 thanks to its 6-0-1 start. The Tigers, who have twice reached the NCAA Division I championship game, will have a better idea of their chances in 2008 after a road trip to Big Ten powers Illinois and Purdue this weekend.

MORNING BRIEFING: Tough day for unbeaten teams

by Paul KennedySeptember 18, 2008

Loyola (Md.) and Appalachian State both went into action with perfect records, but both suffered blemishes that left only four unbeaten and untied teams in the NCAA Division I men’s ranks.

SCOREBOARD: Soccer America Women’s Top 25

Notre Dame will put its No. 1 ranking on the line this weekend when it travels to DePaul and Penn State. No. 4 Portland hosts surging Florida, while Virginia plays West Virginia in another battle of Top 25 teams. For this week’s Soccer America Women’s Top 25 results and schedules …

SCOREBOARD: Soccer America Men’s Top 25

Wake Forest, the No. 1 team in the Soccer America Men’s Top 25, travels to California for a potentially tricky match at UC Santa Barbara on Sunday. Several intriguing conference matches are on tap for the weekend: Maryland-Duke and BC-UNC in the ACC, Notre Dame-St. John’s in the Big East. Ranked Missouri Valley teams Drake and Creighton face No. 5 Cal at the Stanford Nike Classic. For this week’s Soccer America Men’s Top 25 results and schedules …

SOCCER AMERICA INTERVIEW: Indiana’s Ofori Sarkodie

by Bryan AlvarezSeptember 18, 2008

SOCCER AMERICA interviews Ofori Sarkodie, one of the top young defenders in American soccer. He captained the USA at the 2005 Under-17 World Cup and played in the 2007 Under-20 World Cup. He trained with three European clubs earlier this year before returning to Indiana University. Sarkodie talks about what it will take for Indiana to win an eighth NCAA title, his advice for young players, his professional ambitions and his thoughts on the presidential election.

UEFA Champions League Results

Despite the introduction of star Cristiano Ronaldo in the second half, defending champion Manchester United had to settle for a 0-0 tie with Spain’s Villarreal to open the group stage of the 2008-09 UEFA Champions League. For all the Day 1 results and goal scorers …

Yank stars set for UEFA Cup clash

by Paul KennedySeptember 18, 2008

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Less than a month after being edged by Liverpool in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, Belgian champion Standard Liege returns to Merseyside to face Everton in the first leg of the first round of the UEFA Cup, setting up a battle of American stars — Tim Howard hosting Oguchi Onyewu (TV: Fox Soccer Channel, 5 pm ET). For a look at the nine Americans on teams in UEFA Cup action Thursday.

Kai earns USA record-tying 28th win

[U.S. WOMEN] The U.S. women’s national team beat Ireland for the second time in five days with a 1-0 victory on Wednesday night at Giants Stadium. Natasha Kai‘s goal in the 72nd minute gave the Americans their record-tying 28th win of the year.

Another feather in USL’s cap

by Paul KennedySeptember 18, 2008

[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS CUP] For the second time in two days, a USL First Division team defeated a team that had knocked an MLS team out of the Concacaf Champions League. Defender Stefano Pesoli and Tony Donatelli scored Wednesday to give the Montreal Impact a 2-0 win over Joe Public of Trinidad & Tobago, which had beaten MLS’s New England Revolution twice. The result left the two USL-1 entrants — Montreal and Puerto Rico — with a 4-0-2 record in the new Concacaf competition, while MLS teams are 0-4-1 …

Hurricane Ike disrupts Dynamo

by Ridge MahoneySeptember 18, 2008

The busy, crowded schedule of the Houston Dynamo just got busier, and more crowded. In the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, an MLS match Saturday at Robertson Stadium against San Jose has been postponed to Oct. 15. Houston was supposed to play Luis Angel Firpo in its Concacaf Champions League opener on Wednesday, but that match was also postponed and is not yet rescheduled.

Soccer America Daily, What They're Saying

What They’re Saying

“I think only in England this would happen. In other countries, the referee is the God.”

— Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari on the English Football Association’s decision to overturn Chelsea captain John Terry‘s red card against Manchester City — which will allow Terry to play against Manchester United on Sunday instead of begin serving a three-game suspension. (Sky Sports)

SoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story

John Terry, Captain Cheat, Gets Last Laugh

by Paul GardnerSeptember 18, 2008

English referee Mark Halsey is in trouble — when he should be receiving some sort of award for making a brave game decision. What Halsey did, this past weekend, was to red-card John Terry — the Chelsea and England captain.

Blatter Wants Fewer European Countries At World Cup

FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s Idea of the Day is to decrease the number of European teams at the World Cup to give an African country a better chance of winning. Right now, by coincidence, Blatter is in Africa. “We will have to change the numbers but we’ll do it step by step,” Blatter said. “One […]

Where’s The Respect?

Just a few weeks into the EPL season, and already there’s little talk of the FA’s Respect campaign towards referees. Everton manager David Moyes is to be charged by the FA with “improper conduct” after being sent to the stands during Saturday’s game at Stoke City for his response to referee Alan Wiley’s failure to […]

Kroenke To Be Appointed To Arsenal Board

Denver Nuggets and Colorado Rapids owner Stan Kroenke will be appointed to Arsenal’s board Thursday, report Gary Jacob and Tom Dart. Billionaire Kroenke, who owns a 12.38 per cent share in the north London team, has been tipped for the appointment ever since Russian-Uzbek oligarch Alisher Usmanov amassed a shareholding of 24.9 per cent. Rumors […]

Houston Slashes Prices For San Jose Game

Despite postponing its home Concacaf Champions League game against Luis Angel Firpo Tuesday, the Houston Dynamo plans to press on with its MLS game against the San Jose Earthquakes Saturday. Better still, it is slashing ticket prices and letting first responders and kids under 14 in for free. The team still hasn’t received final […]

John Barnes Appointed New Jamaica Coach

The former Liverpool and England forward John Barnes, 44, has been named as the new coach of the Jamaica national team. Barnes, who was born in Kingston before moving to England with his family as a teenager, will start work in November on a one-year contract. Barnes takes over from Brazilian Rene Simoes, who […]

United May Rest Players For World Club Cup

Not content with getting his excuses in early for a possible defeat to Chelsea at the weekend, Ferguson is already looking ahead to that brazen FIFA marketing tool, December’s World Club Cup in Japan, and warning that United may not field its strongest team. “When we come back [from Japan]…we will have three days […]

Sir Alex And Big Phil Beg To Differ

Unsurprisingly, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and his Chelsea counterpart Felipe “Big Phil” Scolari hold differing opinions on the English Football Association’s decision to rescind the red card given to Chelsea’s oak-solid captain John ‘Tiny Tears’ Terry at the weekend. The decision allows Terry to play against United in this weekend’s game between the […]

Prices Up, Performance Down At D.C.

D.C. United was outclassed by an opponent that was superior in terms of fitness, speed, skill and technique throughout its opening Concacaf Champions League group against Deportivo Saprissa of Costa Rica Tuesday. But rather than admit that its regional club counterparts are still several strides ahead of Major League Soccer, it’s best to blame the […]

Youth Soccer Reporter, Youth What They're Saying

What They’re Saying

“It’s just that when you feel like it’s your baby that you’re trying to protect, and that’s kind of how I feel about my fields, I tend to take it a little personally. It’s a pretty big emotion.”

— Mark Vessell, the groundskeeper for the St. Louis Youth Soccer Association complex, which has suffered an estimated $1 million in damage when heavy rain caused by Hurricane Ike sent Mississippi River water pouring on to Vessell’s fields for the third time in three months. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Story, Youth Soccer Reporter

U.S. Soccer Development Academy Results