[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Three second-half goals by Jerry Nelson Palacios helped give Honduran club Marathon a 4-2 win at Trinidad & Tobago’s San Juan Jabloteh on Thursday night and claim a berth in the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Champions League at D.C. United’s expense. Thursday’s action completed the eight-team field that once again includes only one MLS representative: the Columbus Crew.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Early returns could decide race
[MLS] Six teams take the field on the final weekend of MLS league play with playoff hopes, and only two can get in. The suspense, and the probabilities, could be lessened if Toronto FC and Colorado win their games. Colorado would clinch if it beat Real Salt Lake Saturday, and a Toronto win at New York would all but mathematically make it a Toronto-Dallas contest for the eighth spot.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Breakers land Osborne and Weimer
[WPS] The Boston Breakers’ rebuilding campaign has begun with the signing of a pair of FC Gold Pride free agents, U.S. national team veteran Leslie Osborne and Tiffany Weimer.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Tim Howard endures rough evening
[AMERICAN ABROAD] With Tim Howard in goal, Everton suffered its worst defeat ever in a European competition when it fell, 5-0, at Benfica in the Europa League. Howard could do little in the face of the Benfica onslaught. The Merseysiders were decimated by injuries and were no match for the likes of Argentines Angel Di Maria and Pablo Aimar. Clint Dempsey was the only other American to suit up Thursday but did not play in Fulham’s 1-1 with Roma.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Mexico to play six games in U.S.
[WORLD CUP 2010 COUNTDOWN] The Mexican soccer federation has announced plans for the Mexican national team’s pre-World Cup preparations, which include 12 friendlies, of which six will take place in the United States.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Onyewu to be sidelined six months
[WORLD CUP 2010 COUNTDOWN] If you were to name the three most indispensable players in the U.S. national team’s lineup, the players who come to mind are Landon Donovan, Charlie Davies and Oguchi Onyewu. Davies will almost certainly miss the 2010 World Cup after sustaining serious injuries in a car crash. Now comes the news that Onyewu’s rehabilitation process following knee surgery could be as long as six months, also jeopardizing his chances of representing the USA at the 2010 World Cup.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Soccer America Women’s Weekend College Scoreboard
[COLLEGE] No. 3 North Carolina dropped back-to-back games for only the sixth time in its history when it fell at Miami (Fla.), 1-0, on Beverly Goebel‘s unassisted goal with less than 10 minutes to play. Danielle Foxhoven had four goals for the second time this season and Halley Kreminski added the final three goals for No. 2 Portland in an 8-0 win over San Francisco. For the Sunday Top 25 action …
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
Long before they became stars …
When Soccer America profiles the nation’s top young players, we ask them to reflect on their early youth soccer years and share their outstanding memories. Here are some of our favorites:
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Onyewu’s Recovery Pushed to Six Months
U.S. Soccer announced on its web site that defender Oguchi Onyewu underwent successful surgery on Wednesday in Los Angeles on his patellar tendon in his left knee. The defender will miss an estimated six months of action, two months more than initially reported, to rehabilitate the injury. The AC Milan defender began rehabilitation exercises immediately, […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Huth Faces Ban for Punch
Stoke defender Robert Huth received a three-match ban for punching West Ham defender Mathew Upson during Saturday's Premier League match. Huth swung his right arm at Upson while the pair jostled for position in the penalty box during Stoke's 2-1 win over the Hammers. Huth escaped punishment during the match, but will watch this Saturday's […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Gillett Backs Benitez
Liverpool co-owner George Gillett has reiterated his support of manager Rafael Benitez while outside pressure grows around the Spanaird during Liverpool’s early-season woes. On Tuesday, Gillett witnessed Liverpool’s 2-1 loss to Lyon in the Champions League, the club’s fourth loss in a row and the most recent amid its worst losing stretch since 1987. Asked […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Germans Told To Wear Bullet-Proof Vests in South Africa
Germany’s players have been advised to strap on bullet-proof vests at next summer’s World Cup in South Africa. BaySecur, the German security company that deals with the country’s soccer federation (DFB), announced its concerns with players travelling outside the team’s hotel grounds in Pretoria. “The possibility for the players of moving outside of the hotel […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Vieri Calls it Quits
Italian forward Christian Vieri announced his retirement from soccer on Thursday. "I don't want to carry on playing," Vieri said. "I'm not even tempted to play abroad." Vieri made his debut in 1991 for Torino, after which he played for eight different clubs in eight seasons, including Juventus, Atletico Madrid and Lazio. After claiming the […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Cronin Making Most of Season-After
Goalkeeper Steve Cronin thought his season had ended when Vancouver eliminated his Portland from the USL-1 playoffs on Oct. 4. But D.C. United had other ideas. United, exercising the league's "extreme hardship" exemption to shuffle its roster late in the season, called on Cronin to replace injured starter Josh Wicks. Cronin joined the team last […]
Posted inSoccer on TV., Story
Soccer on TV
MLS heads into the last week of play with six teams chasing two remaining playoff spots. Don’t miss the 2009 Supporters’ Shield winners, Columbus Crew, as they host New England on Sunday. Also, on Sunday, Chivas USA and Houston battle for first place in the Western Conference. In European action Liverpool squares off with Manchester United. Also, the U-17 World Cup kicks off this weekend. The USA plays Spain on Monday.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
Bubble teams have three weeks to improve positions
WOMEN’S NEWS … It’s not too early for teams to be evaluating their chances of making the NCAA Tournament. Win their conference and they’re in. Otherwise? The following teams could be categorized as bubble teams. Based on this week’s NCAA Women’s Division I RPI index, they would just miss out on the 34 at-large berths. But there’s still three weeks to go for these teams to improve their position before the NCAA Women’s Committee gets down to work and must pick the 64-team field.
* ON THE BUBBLE:
45. Duke (6-5-4) Takes 290-minute shutout streak into Thursday’s game against Virginia.
46. Memphis (11-5-0) Wins at Top 25 teams LSU and UCF work in Tigers’ favor.
47. San Diego State (9-3-5) Unbeaten in their last 10 games.
48. St. John’s (11-4-1) Fell out of the Top 25 after loss to Big East rival Rutgers.
49. Auburn (6-7-3) Tigers’ best result was 0-0 tie with North Carolina.
50. Charlotte (13-2-1) Unbeaten Dayton is its main rival in the Atlantic-10.
51. UAB (10-5-1) Beat Mississippi and lost to three other Top 25 teams.
52. UTEP (12-4-0) Best win was 2-1 victory over Washington State.
53. Michigan State (8-2-4) Only one win (over Penn State) in five Big Ten games hurts.
56. Virginia (6-5-3) Dragged down by poor ACC play (one win in five games).
57. Pepperdine (8-5-1) Must improve on 1-1-1 conference record.
58. N.C. State (7-7-1) Lost three straight to ACC foes Carolina, BC and Wake Forest.
59. Missouri (10-4-3) Tigers lead the Big 12 standings with 5-0-2 record.
* CROWD COUNT. Portland is on course to lead all NCAA Division I women’s programs in average attendance for the fifth straight year. UP and Texas A&M are once again the only programs averaging more than 3,000 fans a game. The SEC leads all conferences with four teams averaging more than a 1,000 fans a game. The Mountain West, led by BYU, has three teams in the top 12. The surprise is first-year program New Mexico State, whose outstanding play in the WAC (4-0-1 record) has helped boost interest. The Aggies’ average attendance is 1,145 fans a game.
* AVERAGE ATTENDANCE:
1. Portland 3683
2. Texas A&M 3180
3. North Carolina 2418
4. BYU 2171
5. Georgia 1591
6. New Mexico 1523
7. Notre Dame 1443
8. Stanford 1432
9. Florida 1340
10. Colorado 1283
11. Penn State 1282
12. TCU 1248
13. New Mexico State 1145
14. Virginia 1129
15. LSU 1065
16. Santa Clara 1061
17. Tennessee 1020
18. Fresno State 1017
(Averages through games played Oct. 18.)
— Seven different players scored as Boston University (11-5-2) defeated Bryant, 7-0, at Nickerson Field. In Wednesday’s only other game, Canisius beat Cleveland State, 4-0.
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
Indiana takes another tumble
MEN’S NEWS … Indiana’s troubles continued when the No. 25 Hoosiers lost for the fourth time in the last six games, falling at No. 11 Louisville, 4-0. Indiana found itself down 1-0 in the sixth minute when Freddie Braun scored on a header off a free kick from Kenney Walker, and things went downhill from there.
Colin Rolfe made it 2-0 seven minutes later, and the Cardinals padded their lead in the second half thanks to a second goal from Rolfe and a goal by Mark Knight. Indiana had sophomore forward Will Bruin sent off for dissent. He will miss Sunday’s Big Ten match at No. 12 Northwestern.
Indiana fell to 7-6-1 with the loss. Five of its losses have been to teams ranked in the top 16: No. 1 Akron, No. 3 Wake Forest, No. 8 UC Santa Barbara, No. 11 Louisville and No. 16 Butler.
* WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS:
Top 25
No. 7 South Florida 1 (Mora 27) No. 18 Dartmouth 0.
No. 11 Louisville 4 (Braun 5, Rolfe 13, 56, Knight 82) No. 25 Indiana 0.
No. 13 N.C. State 2 (Zuerner 74, Sanchez 90) High Point 1 (Sloan 86).
No. 16 Butler 3 (Capito 6, Cardona 23, Gatzky 79) DePaul 1 (Lara 2).
No. 17 Tulsa 2 (Parada 10, Neil 83) SMU 3 (Soto pen. 13, Vasquez 26, Rosenbaum 63).
No. 23 Ohio State 0 No. 20 West Virginia 0.
Wednesday Results
* ATTINELLA SAVES USF. The Big East is loaded this season with top-flight goalies — most notably Josh Ford, who has eight shutouts in a row for Connecticut, and Zach Johnson, who has allowed only two goals in West Virginia’s last nine games. One of the best is Jeff Attinella, who came up big again for South Florida in the No. 7 Bulls’ 1-0 win over No. 18 Dartmouth. Midfielder Jorge Mora put USF ahead in the 27th minute, but the visitors from the Ivy League had plenty of chances. Attinella finished with eight saves, making several big stops in the second half.
* TULSA FALLS ON 70-YARD GOAL. No. 17 Tulsa had its 20-game unbeaten streak in Conference-USA regular-season play snapped when the Golden Hurricane fell at home to SMU, 3-2, in the pouring rain. “I think we started the game like we wanted to do,” Tulsa coach Tom McIntosh said. “Our play in the backfield was poor tonight, and we gave away three easy goals.” The third came when Ryan Rosenbaum‘s clearance from 70 yards out bounced over Tulsa keeper Andy Aguilar‘s head and into the goal.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
UEFA Champions League Results
Manchester United and Chelsea both won their third games to join Lyon and Sevilla as the only teams to have perfect records after three games. For all the midweek results …
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Sky Blue lands Oranje captain
[WPS] Defending Women’s Professional Soccer champion Sky Blue FC isn’t wresting on its laurels. First, it signed 2008 U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year Carli Lloyd. And now it has landed Dutch national team captain Daphne Koster.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Chicago should get point to clinch
[MLS PREDICTION] The final Thursday night game of the regular season emanates from Toyota Park, where the Fire – despite sitting no lower than second in the Eastern Conference for much of the season – must get at least a tie to assure a playoff spot.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Fire needs result … or faces nervous weekend
[MLS] You might think you have the MLS playoff mosaic sorted out, yet there’s one piece that doesn’t quite fit the standard procedure. Chicago holds second place in the Eastern Conference, and needs just a point Thursday in its final game to clinch that spot (TV: ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, 8 pm ET) and the home-field advantage in the conference semifinals that comes with it. If Chicago wins or ties, it finishes second in the East, end of story.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Loss sends Houston packing
[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Houston got the help it needed to advance to the knockout phase of the Concacaf Champions League but didn’t keep up its end of the bargain. Despite a goal from goalie Tally Hall just before halftime, Houston lost its Group A finale to Salvadoran club Isidro Metapan, 3-2, on Wednesday and finished third behind Pachuca and Arabe Unido. Those two teams advance to the CCL quarterfinals to be played next February.
BREAKING NEWS:
Onyewu sidelined six months
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They’re Saying
“You’re going to witness something that will make history.”
— Elias Rodriguez, the general manager of Televisa, which will broadcast Sunday’s Club America-Guadalajara in 3D in Mexican theaters. (Reuters)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Eye on the wrong ball [VIDEO]
[OFF THE POST] Liverpool suffered a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland by giving up a goal from a Darren Bent shot that deflected off a beach ball punched on to the field by a Liverpool fan. “I lost sight of the official ball and stayed on the red one,” said Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina. “I went for the red ball instinctively as it was the closest to me and the other went past me.”
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
What we learned on Wednesday …
[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] First, Barcelona. Now, Real Madrid. For the second day in a row, a Spanish giant fell at home. This time, AC Milan put aside its troubled start to the 2009-10 season and beat Real Madrid, 3-2, at the Bernabeu Stadium. Manchester United has found a new rising star in Ecuadoran Antonio Valencia, while Bayern Munich’s problems continued with an ugly performance in France. Here are things we learned on Wednesday …