Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story

Five Official Experiment Underway

by Soccer America

On Thursday, the Europa League implemented its experimental policy of using five match officials, using two extra assistants to help officiate incidents from behind the goals for the 24 first-round games. U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard got a shutout as Everton opened European soccer's second-tier cup competition with a 4-0 victory over AEK Athens in Group […]

Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story

European Clubs Spilling Red Ink

by Soccer America

On Thursday, UEFA reported that almost a quarter of Europe's top division soccer clubs suffered major financial losses last year. Clubs' rising costs have offset increases in income. For example, while income rose five percent last year, player costs increased 9 percent. "The huge spending on players produces constantly an inflationary effect with consequences on […]

Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story

Notre Dame and West Virginia face Big East challenges

by Soccer America

WOMEN’S NEWS … The first major women’s conference kicked off play Thursday night when Marquette edged South Florida, 2-1, on Kerry McBride‘s late goal in the Big East opener, and a full slate of games is scheduled for Friday. Notre Dame and West Virginia were picked to win their respective divisions, but both teams head into conference play with .500 records.

The Big East is as deep as its ever been with all 16 teams beginning conference action with legitimate shots of claiming the divisional crowns. Five are ranked in the Soccer America Top 25: No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 18 St. John’s, No. 19 Connecticut, No. 23 Rutgers and No. 25 West Virginia. And only one team has a losing record in non-conference play. Here’s a look at the divisional races with the teams cited in order of their preseason ranking.

* AMERICAN
1. West Virginia, 2-2-3 (Mountaineers have scored only seven goals.)
2. Connecticut, 4-2-0 (Huskies have won four games in a row.)
3. Marquette, 6-2-0 (Golden Eagles are very tough at Valley Fields.)
4. St. John’s, 5-1-0 (C.J. Ludemann leads Red Storm with two goals and four assists.)
5. South Florida, 3-3-1 (Six of USF’s 10 goals came against Austin Peay.)
6. Pittsburgh, 4-2-0 (Panthers opened with four straight victories.)
7. Syracuse, 3-2-2 (Tina Romagnuolo has four of Orange’s six goals.)
8. Providence, 4-2-1 (Both Friar losses came in overtime.)

* NATIONAL
1. Notre Dame, 3-3-0 (Irish are unbeaten in last 52 Big East games — 50-0-2)
2. Rutgers, 5-1-1 (Erin Guthrie allowed her only two goals last Friday against San Diego.)
3. Georgetown, 6-1-0 (Ingrid Wells leads Big East with seven assists.)
4. Louisville, 2-3-0 (Cardinals have only scored four goals.)
5. Villanova, 6-0-1 (Katie Ryan leads Big East with seven goals and two assists.)
6. Cincinnati, 4-3-0 (Julie Morrissey had four goals last week in pair of wins.)
7. Seton Hall, 3-3-0 (Nicki Gross leads Pirates with four of their eight goals.)
 8. DePaul, 4-2-2 (Blue Demons have already equaled last year’s win total.)

Thursday’s Scoreboard

* WEEKEND TOP 25 MATCHUPS:
Friday, Sept. 18
No. 12 South Carolina vs. No. 17 UCF
No. 14 Florida vs. No. 6 Florida State
No. 25 Kansas vs. No. 21 San Diego (Jayhawk Invitational)

Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story

Derby night on the West Coast

by Paul Kennedy

MEN’S NEWS … No. 6 UCLA survived its first game since seniors Brian Perk and Michael Stephens left to prepare for the Under-20 World Cup in Egypt, but it wasn’t easy. The Bruins went down a goal against Cal State Fullerton after only four minutes, but rallied on goals by freshman Evan Raynr and junior Shawn Singh to defeat the Titans, 2-1. In his first collegiate start in goal, sophomore Brian Rowe, Perk’s backup, was called upon to make five saves.

“At the end of the day, it was a good win after going down 1-0 and not having the best start,” said UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo. “As the first half wore on, we got better and had more energy and were able to get the win.”

* DERBY NIGHT. Thursday was derby night on the West Coast, where three other big matches were played. Defender A.J. Soares matched his career total with two goals in No. 8 California’s 3-0 win at San Francisco. He also had an assist on Davis Paul‘s opening goal.

In the Bay Area Classic’s other game, Stanford ended its six-game winless streak against Santa Clara and beat the Broncos, 2-0, on goals by juniors Bobby Warshaw and Daniel Leon. The visiting team also won the Pacific Northwest derby as Portland defeated Washington, 2-1, on goals by Keith Grubisich and Michael Nielsen.

* HAT TRICK HERO:
— Transfer Debola Ogunseye‘s third goal of the game in 89th minute earned Furman a 3-3 tie at Coast Carolina.

Thursday’s Scoreboard

* WEEKEND TOP 25 MATCHUPS:
Friday, Sept. 18
No. 1 Akron vs. No. 10 Indiana (Akron Tournament)
No. 2 North Carolina vs. No. 22 Duke
No. 3 Wake Forest vs. No. 25 Virginia
Saturday, Sept. 19
No. 22 N.C. State vs. No. 7 Maryland
Sunday, Sept. 20
No. 5 Dartmouth vs. No. 18 Loyola Marymount (San Diego Nike Classic)
No. 9 South Florida vs. No. 23 Notre Dame

Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying

What They’re Saying

by Soccer America

“People talk about the best being Pele or Diego Maradona, but for me the best player ever was Alfredo Di Stefano. Maradona was a great player, but he could not kick with his right foot and did not score goals with his head. The only time he scored an important goal with his head, it turned out he had used his hand.”

— Pele, while others are focusing on Diego Maradona‘s struggles as Argentina’s coach, throws a different blow. (AFP)

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

Easy wins for playoff hopefuls Revs and Rapids?

by Ridge Mahoney

[MLS PREDICTIONS] Two playoff hopefuls have a chance to move up on Friday when they face league doormats. Colorado, on ESPN2, aims to stay near the top of the playoff wild-card race in San Jose (last in the West). New England, under pressure after two straight losses, hopes to get back in the postseason qualifiers’ pack with a win against overall last-place New York. For all of Soccer America’s predictions, as well as TV viewing information …

COLLEGE: FRIDAY NIGHT …
Men’s Scoreboard
Women’s Scoreboard

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

Red-hot Toluca remains perfect

by Paul Kennedy

[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Toluca, Mexico’s hottest team, is also the only team with nine points at the halfway point of the Concacaf Champions League group stage. The Red Devils remained perfect with a 7-0 win over Honduran club Marathon on Thursday. In Thursday’s only other game, Comunicaciones of Guatemala took over second place, one point behind UNAM of Mexico, in Group C with a 2-0 win over Real Espana.

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

Man City will miss its $41 million man against Man U [VIDEO]

by Soccer America

[ENGLAND] Manchester City, in its bid to become a Premier League power, spent more than $150 million on players in the offseason, including $41.6 million to buy Emmanuel Adebayor from Arsenal. But he’ll miss this weekend’s game against archrival Manchester United because of the three-game suspension handed to him by the English FA for stamping on the face of Arsenal’s Robin van Persie in last Saturday’s 4-2 win over the Gunners. The FA will decide later whether he’ll be punished for taunting Arsenal fans after his goal, while Arsenal playmaker Cesc Fabregas said he was also an Adebayor victim.

Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story

Soccer America Men’s Weekend College Scoreboard

by Soccer America

[COLLEGE] No. 1 Akron remained perfect with a 4-0 win over Saint Louis on Sunday. No. 18 Loyola Marymount knocked No. 5 Dartmouth from the unbeaten ranks with a 3-2 win. Jamaican youth international Yannick Salmon scored twice in the second half to lead Rutgers past No. 21 Connecticut, 2-1. Marshall ended Kentucky’s 15-game unbeaten streak with a 1-0 overtime win. Michigan State goalie Avery Steinlage‘s NCAA record shutout streak was snapped at 1,319 minutes when the Spartans fell at San Diego. For weekend action …

Posted inSoccer on TV., Story

Soccer on TV

by Soccer America

Concacaf Champions League play continues on Thursday evening. The MLS Game of the Week moves to Friday as San Jose hosts Colorado. In the USL, on the same night, Vancouver hosts Cleveland. The weekend holds a full slate of MLS matches and games from various leagues from around the world.

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