“I said to Nana: ‘You’re not the best looking kid, so go and put your head in there'”
— Toronto FC coach Chris Cummins jokes about defender Nana Attakora‘s first MLS goal, a header that provided his team with the third goal in a 3-2 triumph over Colorado. (Toronto Sun)
[MLS] After a move to Turkey fell through, U.S. international Heath Pearce is returning home to play for MLS’s FC Dallas, which acquired him via its No. 1 allocation ranking. Pearce will be added to the FCD senior roster upon receipt of his International Transfer Certificate.
[COLLEGE] No. 2 Stanford beat No. 7 Notre Dame, 2-0, to gain revenge for its loss to the Irish in last year’s Women’s College Cup semifinals. Two days after beating Notre Dame, Santa Clara knocked off No. 8 Purdue. No. 10 Wake Forest and No. 12 Indiana lost for the first time this season. Washington beat No. 20 Illinois, 1-0, and Penn edged No. 25 Pitt, 2-1, in overtime. For the weekend results and schedules …
[COLLEGE] Sophomore Stephen Knox‘s first goal of the season gave Boston University a 1-0 win over No. 3 St. John’s on Sunday night at Nickerson Field. No. 7 UC Santa Barbara lost, 2-1, at home to Loyola Marymount. No. 1 Akron and No. 4 Wake Forest rolled on the road on Sunday. American was the only other Top 25 team to fall to an unranked team, dropping a 3-0 decision to Monmouth. For the weekend results and schedules …
I’m not sure how long the various MLS coaches and clubs expect their fans to put up with this. I’m talking of the decidedly scrappy soccer that the league served up over the weekend. That’s an impression, of course — my impression — but I’ll go with it.
MEN’S NEWS … Unranked Santa Clara was the weekend’ big winner, beating No. 7 Notre Dame (2-0) and No. 8 Purdue (3-1).
No. 10 Wake Forest and No. 12 Indiana lost for the first time this season. Washington beat No. 20 Illinois, 1-0, and Penn edged No. 25 Pitt, 2-1, in overtime.
No. 10 Wake Forest and No. 12 Indiana lost for the first time this season. Dartmouth defeated No. 15 West Virginia, 1-0, Washington beat No. 20 Illinois, 1-0, and Penn edged No. 25 Pitt, 2-1, in overtime.
The biggest rout: Three days after losing for the first time, No. 4 Florida State took it out on No. 24 UAB with an 8-0 win. Three different Seminoles had two goals.
PERFECT STARTS
Unbeaten and untied Top 25 teams …
1. North Carolina (6-0-0) 1
2. Stanford (7-0-0) 2
3. Portland (7-0-0) 3
5. Boston College (6-0-0) 6
18. Maryland (7-0-0) NR
25. South Carolina (6-0-0) NR
TOP 25 RESULTS:
Sunday, Sept. 13
No. 2 Stanford 2 (Nogueira 56, Press 58) No. 7 Notre Dame 0.
No. 3 Portland 2 (Enyeart 11, Foxhoven 86) Miami, Fla. 0.
(Pilots complete sweep of Nike Portland Invitational before 3,038 fans.)
No. 4 Florida State 8 (Lim 2, 25, McCarty 10, 29, Bolinsky 33, 84, Switzer 51, Price 63) No. 24 UAB 0.
No. 5 Boston College 4 (G.DiMartino 16, 63, V.DiMartino 54, Caldwell 76) Long Beach State 0.
No. 6 UCLA 2 (Larsen 2, 46) Gonzaga 0.
Santa Clara 3 (Patton 3, Webster 18, 82) No. 8 Purdue 1 (Forbes 15).
No. 9 California 4 (Omarsdottir 3, Morgan 9, 16, Kevorkian 81) SMU 2 (Briggs 18, Scovill 86)
Connecticut 4 (Cunningham 17, Giddings 31, 55, Clark 39) No. 10 Wake Forest 2 (Hutchinson 48, Fountain 88)
Arizona vs. No. 11 Rutgers (10 pm ET kickoff)
St. John’s 2 (Ludeman 73, McGrath 76) No. 12 Indiana 1 (McKay 11)
Colorado College 0 No. 13 Kansas 0.
No. 14 Florida 3 (King 41, Tymrak 48, Thompson 54) Colorado 1 (Russell 80).
No. 15 West Virginia 0 Dartmouth 1 (O’Dea).
No. 16 Virginia 4 (Lenczyk 12, 20, Rostedt 26, L.Miller 56) Seton Hall 0.
Charlotte 2 (Beam 26, McGowan 87) No. 17 Georgia 3 (Vorless 17, Perry 37, Dennis 64).
No. 18 Maryland 1 (Dreska 60) James Madison 0.
No. 20 Illinois 0 Washington 1 (Perez 83).
No. 23 Penn State 3 (Toney 29, 47, Evans 49) Boston Univ. 0.
Penn 2 (Campbell 85, McDermott 94) No. 25 Pittsburgh 1 (Nicassio 53) (OT).
No. 25 South Carolina 2 (Mattern 56, Grimsley 64) UNC Wilmington 0.
(Goalie Mollie Patton hasn’t given up a goal in 540 minutes.)
No. 25 Vanderbilt 1 (Andrews 3) Missouri 1 (Bonnick 56).
Saturday, Sept. 12
No. 1 North Carolina 2 (Washington 82, McDonald 88) No. 21 Texas A&M 0.
(Read more below for other Sunday results and highlights from around the country.)
MEN’S NEWS … Sophomore Stephen Knox‘s first goal of the season gave Boston University a 1-0 win over No. 3 St. John’s on Sunday night at Nickerson Field.
No. 1 Akron and No. 4 Wake Forest rolled on the road on Sunday. Golden goals gave New Mexico a 2-1 win at No. 15 Notre Dame and No. 17 Northwestern a 3-2 victory over Tulsa.
American was the only other Top 25 team to fall to an unranked team, dropping a 3-0 decision to Monmouth.
With UC Santa Barbara trailing Loyola Marymount, 2-0, in the second half, it looks like only three Top 25 teams will complete Week 2 with unbeaten and untied records: No. 1 Akron, No. 12 South Florida and No. 20 Duke (4-0-0).
(Read Monday morning’s Soccer America Daily for the new Soccer America Top 25.)
TOP 25 RESULTS:
Sunday, Sept. 13
Cincinnati 0 No. 1 Akron 3 (own goal 17, Nanchoff 80, Mwila 81).
Boston Univ. 1 (Knox 34) No. 3 St. John’s 0.
Clemson 1 (Thornton 89) No. 4 Wake Forest 3 (Opara 6, Randolph 60, 83).
(Ike Opara scores in last game before joining U.S. U-20s.)
No. 6 Dartmouth 2 (Keat 25, pen. 60) Rhode Island 0.
51st minute: No. 7 UC Santa Barbara 0 Loyola Marymount 2 (Baca 24, Da Silva 34).
Marquette 0 No. 8 UC Irvine 1 (Thompson 57).
No. 11 California 3 (Wiedeman 16, Cosgriff 35, Jimenez 71) Cal Poly 1 (Gray pen. 66).
No. 13 Louisville 1 (Rolfe 50) UIC 1 (Trout 63).
No. 15 Notre Dame 1 (own goal) New Mexico 2 (Davis 38, 92) (OT).
No. 16 Indiana 2 (Bruin 54, Adlard 83) Seattle 0.
No. 17 Northwestern 3 (Bellizzi 23, Eliason pen. 66, 99) Tulsa 2 (Albertson 33, Parada 75) (OT).
No. 18 Connecticut 0 Iona 0.
No. 22 Northern Illinois 1 (De La Cerda 85) Oakland 0.
Monmouth 3 (Clark 1, Kinne 7, Caiella 42) No. 23 American 0.
No. 24 Michigan 3 (Fuzetti 10, Saad 25, Keller 74) Lipscomb 0.
No. 25 South Carolina 1 (Ruthven 45) George Mason 0.
Saturday, Sept. 12
No. 2 North Carolina 2 (Loyd 33, Farfan 65) No. 19 N.C. State 1 (Sanchez 2).
(Read more below for other Sunday results and highlights from around the country.)
Attempting to limit distractions during England's hopeful World Cup, England coach Fabio Capello declared that he will allow players' partners to visit the squad for only one day per week, after each game at next year's World Cup. Capello aims to avoid a repeat of the 2006 World Cup, which defender Rio Ferdinand called the […]
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has a problem with FIFA's plan to ban the transfer of players under the age of 18. A staunch believer in developing young talent, as opposed to making big money signings, Wenger believes FIFA's new plan will stunt the growth of the best players. "If your players cannot move to the […]
Last week, Mexico's Guillermo Franco was all set to sign for Estudiantes de La Plata in Brazil. Not anymore. Multiple sources have reported that the Mexican striker, who professed his desire to remain in Europe, is on the verge of signing a contract with English Premier League club West Ham United. Franco's contract with Villarreal […]
The league’s two best teams face off on Sunday as Western Conference leading Houston Dynamo travels Northeast to take on the Columbus Crew, leaders of the Eastern Conference (Sunday, 5 pm ET, Direct Kick). The two teams account for the last three MLS Cup titles, with Columbus winning last year and Houston winning both years […]
Just 10 days after winning the U.S. Open Cup 2-1, the Seattle Sounders travel to D.C. United’s RFK stadium again, this time for a league game. (Saturday, Direct Kick, 7:30 pm). The teams’ meetings have been tense affairs. The U.S. Open Cup saw United goalkeeper Josh Wicks ejected for stomping on Seattle striker Fredy Montero. […]
Honduran midfielder Martin Chavez is scheduled to make his debut with FC Dallas when the club takes on the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Home Depot Center (Saturday, 10:30 pm ET, Direct Kick). Chavez decided to turn down a call-up to the Honduras national team for its latest qualifiers to get acquainted with his new […]
Toronto FC will introduce Canadian national team star Julian De Guzman as the club’s first Designated Player at a press conference today . The multi-million dollar signing is expected to help TFC make a serious push toward playoff contention. The club failed to reach the MLS playoffs in its first two seasons. De Guzman, 28, […]
On Friday, Charleston hosts Miami FC Blues in USL action. The playoff race is heating up so you won’t want to miss a full slate of MLS matches. The European leagues are back in session following a World Cup qualifying break.
U.S. Club Soccer will take a boys team of the best players from this fall’s id2 Regional Training Camps to the Netherlands and Germany for a 10-day trip next February. For fall id2 dates and locations …
As U.S. Soccer readies to send a team to one Under-17 World Cup, it begins preparations for another Under-17 World Cup two years from now. U.S. under-17 coach Wilmer Cabrera welcomed 40 players for the 2009 fall semester at the Residency Program in Bradenton, Fla.
Chris Branscome, the director of marketing for U.S. Youth Soccer, has been named the chief executive officer of the Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association. In his new role, the Philadelphia Soccer Hall of Famer oversees all aspects of youth soccer operation and development in Eastern Pennsylvania.
Soony Saad, the 2008 Under-15/16 Development Academy Player of the Year, is returning to Dearborn, Mich., for his senior year of high school but will play for the Derby County Wolves, not Vardar, which he left last fall to enter the U.S. U-17 resident program.
Eddie Henderson, one of the fastest college players during his heyday in the late 1980s, has joined Las Vegas club Neusport FC as director of coaching from this position as director of coaching of the Nevada State Soccer Association. Henderson, who starred at the University of Washington and represented the USA at the 2007 Under-20 World Cup in Chile, was a stockbroker but says he reassessed what he was doing after the events of 9/11 and returned to soccer. He talks about his career and plans for Neusport …
Newcomer Weston FC swept all four games in the debut of its U-17/18 and U-15/16 teams in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. The Florida club dominated during the abbreviated Labor Day schedule that kicked off the 2009-10 season for 77 clubs.
“It’s going to be a disaster. Am I going to do everything I can to make this program go? You betcha. But I read the handwriting on the wall, and it’s not going to be pretty.”
— Alan Wharton, a referee assignor for New York’s Public Schools Athletic League, on the projected 50 high school programs (25 boys and 25 girls) that might disband because of lack of players. This follows the move to shift the girls season from the spring to the fall, as part of an agreement made by the New York Department of Education and the New York Civil Liberties Union after a lawsuit was threatened. (Girls want to be able to play for club teams in the spring when they can be seen by colleges.) (New York Daily News)
SMALL COLLEGE NEWS … Jim Regan played at Bethany College, where he was enshrined in its Hall of Fame in 2005. Son Seth was an all-conference selection for Wheeling Jesuit.
On Wednesday night, they squared off when Wheeling beat Bethany, 5-1, but they switched sides (VIDEO). Jim is in his 27th season as the head coach at Wheeling Jesuit and needs only four more wins to reach the 300 mark in his career. Sean, in his first season as the head coach at Bethany, is still seeking his first win. The Bison is 0-4-0.
“Most people dream of playing professionally,” Seth told woaktv.com, “but when I was little, I never missed one of my dad’s games and I wanted to follow in his footsteps. Now to be the head coach at Bethany where he played and run the program that John Cunningham, who was like a second grandfather to me, started, is a dream come true.”
WOMEN’S SOCCER … UCF knocked No. 5 Florida State from the unbeaten ranks Thursday when it defeated the Seminoles, 1-0, on Courtney Whidden‘s golden goal on a header off fellow senior Becca Thomas‘ free kick that touched off a massive celebration among the fans in a school record crowd of 1,142 in Orlando.
“I knew we could do it,” said Whidden. “This team has worked so hard and finally we are getting recognition. We are showing everybody that we need to be ranked. We got what we deserved tonight.”
UCF (4-1-1) had already beaten one ranked ACC team, defeating Duke, 3-2, on Stacie Hubbard‘s late goal off another set piece. The Knights’ only loss was a 4-0 defeat at No. 1 North Carolina.
“Credit to UCF,” said FSU coach Mark Krikorian. “They came in, had a great game plan and were very organized. They were disciplined in their defending and limited our chances. I would say it was a fair result for the game.”
Thursday’s Scoreboard
* WEEKEND TOP 25 ACTION:
Friday, Sept. 11
No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 8 Purdue (Santa Clara Tournament)
No. 3 Portland vs. No. 20 Illinois (Nike Portland Invitational)
No. 10 Wake Forest vs. No. 23 Penn State (UConn Classic)
No. 16 Virginia vs. No. 15 West Virginia (Virginia Nike Classic)
Saturday, Sept. 12
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 21 Texas A&M
Sunday, Sept. 13
No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 7 Notre Dame (Santa Clara Classic)
No. 4 Florida State vs. No. 24 UAB
* INJURY REPORT. Cincinnati lost defender Logan Ballinger with a season-ending injury in Sunday’s match against South Carolina. The junior, the Bearcats’ second-leading scorer when she was injured, will seek a medical redshirt.
MEN’S NEWS … The hottest duo in the men’s ranks is UMBC’s Andrew Bulls and Levi Houapeu.
For the third straight game, Bulls had two goals, while Houapeu added three assists in the Retrievers’ 3-1 win over St. Francis (Pa.) that improved their record to 4-0-0, making them the first Division I men’s team to win four games. Bulls, a sophomore, now has seven goals and four assists in four games. Houapeu, a junior, has four goals and six assists.
Their reputations as scoring threats extend beyond the college game. Bulls’ goal for the Baltimore Bays was named the 2008 Goal of the Year in the first year of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. Houapeu was named to the all-tournament representing D.C. United this summer at the Super-20 men’s championships.
UMBC’s 4-0-0 start is the program’s best since the 1999 season. It will host Mount St. Mary’s Saturday in the final game of the adidas Kick Off Classic.
* OFF TO EGYPT. Goalie Brian Perk and midfielder Michael Stephens played their last game for UCLA Thursday night before leading off to Cyprus, where the USA will begin preparations Sunday for the Under-20 World Cup beginning later this month in Egypt. Both played 79 minutes before coming out in the Bruins’ 4-0 win over UC Davis.
The Bruins should make do without their seniors thanks to one of the deepest squads to grace Westwood in the program’s long history. That was evident Thursday night as freshmen Chandler Hoffman and Evan Raynr combined for three goals off the bench. Brian Rowe, who did not have to make a save in his 20 minutes of action Thursday, will assume starting goalkeeper duties while Perk is away.
* U-20 COLLEGIANS:
Brian Perk (UCLA)
Aaron Maund (Notre Dame)
Ike Opara (Wake Forest)
Brian Ownby (Virginia)
Dillon Powers (Notre Dame)
Michael Stephens (UCLA)
Thursday’s Scoreboard
* WEEKEND TOP 25 ACTION:
Friday, Sept. 11
No. 6 Dartmouth vs. No. 18 Connecticut (Nike Hypertherm Classic)
No. 21 Virginia vs. No. 20 Duke
Saturday, Sept. 12
No. 2 North Carolina vs. No. 19 N.C. State
