For his first goal in more than two months, Brian Ching struck one of the shots of the season to highlight a Saturday during which every team with a reasonable chance of reaching the MLS postseason kept those hopes alive. Ching's 11th goal of the season downed D.C. United, 1-0, and clinched a playoff spot […]
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
1. Villanueva comes through for Virginia
Jonathan Villanueva was good enough to earn an extended tryout at famous Dutch club Ajax over the summer, but it took him 11 games to score his first collegiate goal for Virginia. The former Dallas Texans star picked an opportune time for his first goal as it gave the Cavs a 1-0 win over Clemson […]
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
4. SOCCER AMERICA WOMEN’S TOP 25: New Rankings
RANK/TEAM (RECORD) LAST WEEK 1. Notre Dame (11-0-0) 1 2. North Carolina (12-1-0) 2 3. Florida State (8-1-1) 3 4. Portland (9-2-1) 4 5. Santa Clara (9-2-0) 5 6. UCLA (9-2-0) 6 7. West Virginia (9-1-2) 7 8. Texas A&M (8-3-1) 12 9. BYU (9-1-1) 14 10. California (7-1-2) 15 11. Villanova (11-0-2) 13 12. […]
Posted inCollege Soccer Reporter, Story
2. SOCCER AMERICA MEN’S TOP 25: New Rankings
RANK/TEAM (RECORD) LAST WEEK 1. SMU (11-0-1) 1 2. Clemson (8-1-1) 2 3. North Carolina (10-2-0) 5 4. Virginia (10-1-0) 6 5. Maryland (10-1-1) 3 6. Duke (7-2-1) 7 7. Wake Forest (9-2-0) 8 8. West Virginia (9-1-2) 10 9. Indiana (6-3-2) 14 10. Notre Dame (7-3-2) 15 11. UCLA (6-3-2) 17 12. Washington (8-2-0) […]
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3. WOMEN: Notre Dame romps before big crowds
Notre Dame remained No. 1 in the Soccer America Women’s Top 25 with a pair of wins in Big East games that drew almost 6,000 fans at Alumni Field. The Irish rallied from a goal down at halftime to beat previously unbeaten West Virginia, 3-1, before 3,056 fans on Friday night. The Irish got goals […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
3. AMERICANS ABROAD: Friedel injured; Reading notches fourth win
American goalkeeper Brad Friedel, the U.S. iron man in English Premier League play with nearly 200 starts, was replaced at halftime because of a groin injury in Blackburn’s 2-1 win over Wigan. It was Blackburn’s fourth straight win. Reading celebrated a 1-0 at West Ham. The newly promoted Royals, with Marcus Hahnmenn and Bobby Convey, […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
2. MLS: Ching’s beauty clinches playoff spot for Houston
For his first goal in more than two months, Brian Ching struck one of the shots of the season to highlight a Saturday during which every team with a reasonable chance of reaching the MLS postseason kept those hopes alive. Ching’s 11th goal of the season downed D.C. United, 1-0, and clinched a playoff spot […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
1. WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
"I am sure the timing of our goal had a lot to do with any over-celebration.” — Manchester City coach Stuart Pearce on Joey Barton mooning Everton fans after his team earned a 1-1 tie with a stoppage-time goal. Police and the English FA are investigating the exposure. (Reuters)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
5. WORLD: Raul ends drought
Spanish star Raul broke a 11-month drought in La Liga to score in Real Madrid’s 1-1 tie with crosstown rival Atletico Madrid on Sunday. Raul’s goal against the team started out with as a youth came two days after Spain coach Luis Aragones left him out of Spain’s squad for next week’s Euro 2008 qualifier […]
Posted inSoccer America Site, Story
MLS: Game summaries (Sept. 30)
Sept. 30 in Columbus Columbus 3 FC Dallas 1. Goals: Ngwenya (Garey, Kotschau) 22, Thomas (Oughton) 66, Garey (Gaven, Thomas) 76; Ruiz (Thompson, McCarty) 91+. Columbus – Gaudette, Pierce, Gonzalez, Marshall, Kotschau, Gaven, Moss, Oughton, Ngwenya (Leitch, 80), Garey (Hendrickson, 83), Virtuoso (Thomas, 50). FC Dallas – Hislop, Rhine, Moor, Vanney, Wagenfuhr (Oduro, 76), Nunez […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
6. WOMEN: USA crushes Chinese Taipei, 10-0
The USA scored the most goals in a women’s international match in more than six years with a 10-0 blowout of Chinese Taipei at The Home Depot Center. Abby Wambach recorded her fifth career hat trick and picked up three assists to lead the U.S. effort that saw a three players — Megan Rapinoe, Leslie […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
4. USL-1: Whitecaps capture first championship
The Vancouver Whitecaps captured their first USL First Division championship in their 14th season in the league with a 3-0 victory over Rochester on Saturday night. It was the first win by the visiting team in a single-game USL-1 final in 16 occasions. The Caps opened the scoring just before halftime when a Joey Gjertsen […]
Posted inSoccer America Site, Story
WOMEN: USA crushes Chinese Taipei, 10-0
The USA scored the most goals in a women's international match in more than six years with a 10-0 blowout of Chinese Taipei at The Home Depot Center. Abby Wambach recorded her fifth career hat trick and picked up three assists to lead the U.S. effort that saw a three players — Megan Rapinoe, Leslie […]
Posted inSoccer America Site, Story
USL-1: Whitecaps capture first championship
The Vancouver Whitecaps captured their first USL First Division championship in their 14th season in the league with a 3-0 victory over Rochester on Saturday night. It was the first win by the visiting team in a single-game USL-1 final in 16 occasions. The Caps opened the scoring just before halftime when a Joey Gjertsen […]
Posted inSoccer America Site, Story
COLLEGE MEN: Pac-10 derby postponed — no refs
The Pac-10 game between California and Stanford scheduled for Saturday at Cal's Edwards Stadium was postponed due to the absence of the referee and assistant referees. The game will now be played the weekend of Oct. 21.
Posted inSoccer America Site, Story
COLLEGE MEN: Virginia knocks off No. 2 Clemson
Freshman midfielder Jonathan Villanueva scored his first collegiate goal in the 75th minute to give No. 6 Virginia a 1-0 win over No. 2 Clemson in front of 7,428 fans, the second largest crowd for soccer in Klockner Stadium history. Virginia (10-1-0) handed the Tigers (8-1-1) their first loss of the season. Villanueva received a […]
Posted inSoccer America Site, Story
CORRECTION: Unbeaten NAIA teams
Mid-Continent of Kentucky was the only NAIA Top 10 men's team that remained unbeaten from the Sept. 20 rankings after Embry-Riddle's pair of losses. Joe Zakowicz's Cougars, ranked No. 9 this week, are 4-0-2. The only other unbeaten NAIA teams in this week's Top 25 are Oklahoma's Science & Arts at No. 7 and Fresno […]
Posted inSoccer America Site, Story
TV PREVIEW: ACC match showcases sophomore stars
No. 3 Maryland hosts No. 7 Duke Friday night in the NSCAA Match of the Week on Fox Soccer Channel (live, 8 pm ET). The match features two of the country's top sophomore strikers. Maryland's Graham Zusi, last week's Soccer America Player of the Week, has tallied a point in each of the Terps' last […]
Posted inSoccer America Site, Story
WOMEN: Carolina captures 11th win in a row
No. 2 North Carolina won its 11th game in a row with a 2-0 win at Clemson thanks to first-half goals by freshman defender Ali Hawkins and sophomore midfielder Yael Averbuch. Sophomore Anna Rodenbough picked up her eighth solo shutout of the season in the Tar Heels' 12 games. No. 3 Florida State's troubles with […]
Posted inSoccer America Site, Story
YOUTH: U-17s off to Uruguay and Argentina for 30 days
The U.S. U-17 boys national team will train in Uruguay and Argentina for the entire month of October. The U-17s will begin their month-long tour by spending five days in Montevideo, Uruguay, before traveling to Argentina, where they will split time training in Buenos Aires, San Luis and Rosario. U-17 coach John Hackworth named a […]
Posted inSoccer America Site, Story
SURVEY: Canadians play big roles at women's powers
Longtime North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance has called it the biggest change in women's soccer in the last decade. Canadian players have played a growing role in the success of nationally ranked teams. In 2002 and 2005, Canada national team star Christine Sinclair led Portland to NCAA Division I titles. In 2004, Canadian Katie Thorlakson […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
All Eyes on the Madrid Derby
If there’s a headlining fixture in Europe this weekend, it’s certainly the Madrid derby between Real and Atletico at the Bernabeu on Sunday. These are two teams with a lot to prove, but the pressure will be on the hosts, who weren’t really tested in their first four games. The Atletico Madrid players know this, […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
In Praise of Arsene Wenger
Just about everybody, with the notable exception of Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson and Chelsea’s Jose Mourinho, has been heaping praise on Arsene Wenger, Arsenal’s talented manager, who this week celebrated 10 years in charge of the Gunners. As ever, the tactician received effusive praise from his players on the eve of the anniversary, his […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
MLS Inflates Attendance Totals
This will come as a surprise to no one: MLS is inflating the number of fans who attend matches. Mark Ziegler of the San Diego Union-Tribune wades through MLS documents that show that not only are game attendances inflated, but roughly one in four tickets for regular season matches are given away. The average paid […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
MLS to Sell Jersey Sponsorships
Major League Soccer will become the first major sports league in the U.S. to allow teams to sell sponsorships on their jerseys when the 2007 season starts next spring. Perhaps, as many hope, this is a sign that MLS is becoming more like Europe’s soccer leagues and less like America’s sports leagues. Or perhaps not. […]