Soccer America Archives

9/24 … TEAM (RECORD) … 9/17 … 9/10 1 SMU (6-0-0) 1 1 9/27 at TCU. 2 Virginia (5-0-1) 2 2 9/26 William & Mary, 9/30 at N.C. State. 3 St. John’s (4-0-0) 3 3 9/26 Rutgers, 9/29 Villanova. 4 Furman (4-0-0) 4 4 9/25 at College of Charleston, 9/28 VCU, 9/30 Cal Poly. 5 […]

Fire employs extensive arsenal of firepower HOW THEY BEAT YOU: The arsenal of weapons is extensive. Hristo Stoitchkov, Peter Nowak, Dema Kovalenko, DaMarcus Beasley, Ante Razov and Eric Wynalda can all apply the coup de grace. Kovalenko and Nowak are very tough to knock off the ball and can seldom be stopped by a single […]

Harkes and Maisonneuve spark attacks HOW THEY BEAT YOU: MLSÆs hardest-working team ù or so says its slogan ù didnÆt always work that hard or that smart until former head coach Tom Fitzgerald got the ax. Replacement Greg Andrulis has released the brilliance of John Wilmar Perez and Jeff Cunningham and harnessed the savvy of […]

Here are Soccer AmericaÆs player ratings for MLS playoff games played Sept. 20, 22 and 23. SA Report Cards: 1 (low) to 10 (high) Sept. 20 Chicago 2 Dallas 0. Goals: Bocanegra (Wynalda) 40, Whitfield (Nowak) 98+. Chicago (3-5-2) — Zach Thornton (6); C.J. Brown (5), Carlos Bocanegra (6), Diego Gutierrez (5); Chris Armas (6), […]

Quarterfinals Sept. 23 in Port of Spain France 2 (Sinama Pongolle 38, Le Tallec 40) Brazil 1 (Alberoni 70). Nigeria 5 (Opabunmi 24, 69, 79, Mohammed 81, Temile 85) Australia 1 (Engele 86). Sept. 24 in Malabar Argentina 2 (Rodriguez 38, Fanari 96) Mali 1 (D.Diarra 35) (OT). Burkina Faso 2 (Gorogo 56, Sanou 84) […]

Several U.S. players had standout performances for their clubs in Europe this past weekend and John O’Brien returned to action for Ajax. Goalkeeper Brad Friedel’s sparkling performance for Blackburn shut out Everton, defender Tony Sanneh scored a decisive goal in Nuremberg’s victory over FC Cologne and Cory Gibbs had an assist in St. Pauli’s tie […]

9/24 … TEAM (RECORD) … 9/17 … 9/10 1 SMU (6-0-0) 1 1 2 Virginia (5-0-1) 2 2 3 St. John’s (4-0-0) 3 3 4 Furman (4-0-0) 4 4 5 Saint Louis (4-0-0) 8 8 6 Washington (4-1-0) 10 10 7 Indiana (4-2-0) 11 11 8 South Florida (6-0-0) 14 15 9 Stanford (4-0-0) 9 […]

Fusion passing makes scoring look easy HOW THEY BEAT YOU: The attack can come from buildups or quick strikes. The lineup is teeming with good passers, and their flank play may be the best in MLS. The crossing is unusually accurate, and their passing riddles defenses. The player receiving the final pass is often so […]

Donovan and Lagos are keys up front HOW THEY BEAT YOU: The Earthquakes very seldom beat themselves. The central core ù defenders Troy Dayak and Jeff Agoos and midfielders Richard Mulrooney and Ronnie Ekelund ù is nearly impenetrable. They always seem to have numbers back. Landon Donovan and Manny Lagos are the key figures in […]

Quarterfinals Sept. 23 in Port of Spain France 2 (Sinama Pongolle 38, Le Tallec 40) Brazil 1 (Alberoni 70). Nigeria 5 (Opabunmi 24, 69, 79, Mohammed 81, Temile 85) Australia 1 (Engele 86). Group A Sept. 13 in Port of Spain Trinidad & Tobago 1 (Blackman 57) Croatia 2 (Krancjar 43, 65). Sept. 14 in […]

There was plenty of movement within Soccer America‘s Top 20 this week, with Stanford (from No. 8 to No. 5), Texas A&M (No. 12 to No. 7), California (No. 13 to No. 8) and Florida State (No. 17 to No. 13), among others, jumping up the rankings following impressive weeks. A&M made its leap despite […]

No. 1 SMU improved its record to 6-0-0 with a pair of emphatic wins over Wisconsin (6-0) and Memphis 7-0) at the TCU-adidas Classic. Defending champion UConn fell to 3-2-2 after being crushed by UNLV, 6-1, at the UNLV/Fila Rebel Classic. In Top 20 clashes, No. 2 Virginia beat No. 13 North Carolina, 2-0, No. […]

The overall level of play has improved significantly this year in MLS. Miami has the best record, but the MetroStars, whom we rank sixth, have beaten the Fusion three times. Like Miami and the MetroStars, Chicago, San Jose, Los Angeles and Columbus have all put together at least one long hot streak during the campaign. […]

The WUSA champion Bay Area CyberRays’ worst-to-first tale comes down to talent, tactics, character – and plenty of good fortune. Ian Sawyers realized quickly there was something about the group, something greater than the sum of its talent, something more than the force of its personality. Some elusive quality, not quite definable but very apparent. […]

Sophomore Alyssa Ramsey totaled four goals and four assists and 13 of her teammates joined in the scoring as top-ranked North Carolina destroyed Georgia, 9-0, and Missouri, 7-0, in romping to the Duke adidas Classic title. Elizabeth Ball and Anne Morrell tallied twice apiece in the rout of Georgia (3-2-1), and 13 different players earned […]

In Game 2 of their quarterfinal series on Sunday, Dallas and Chicago tied, 1-1, sending the series to Game 3. After ThursdayÆs 2-0 win, Chicago has a 4-1 lead in points and will need only a tie to reach the five points needed to qualify for the semifinals. Los Angeles and the MetroStars tied, 1-1, […]

San Jose pulled the first upset of the MLS playoffs when they beat Columbus, 2-0, before a crowd of more than 20,000 at Crew Stadium. Landon Donovan had two goals to give the Quakes a 3-0 halftime lead. The win was the Quakes first in the playoffs in five years. Miami beat Kansas City, 2-0, […]

Saudi Arabia, which fired Coach Slobodan Santrac after opening with a tie and a loss, took over the Group A lead with a 4-0 win over upstart Bahrain in Manama. The Saudis, who have won three straight games, can all but wrap up their third straight berth in the World Cup if they beat Iran […]

Dan Woog, a Soccer America contributor since 1975 and the executive editor of SAÆs Youth Soccer Letter, is also a longtime coach. A former player of his, Scott Coleman, was among the victims of the attack on the World Trade Center. In his Westport (Conn.) News column, ôWoogÆs World,ö Woog remembers Scott Coleman. BY DAN […]

The MLS playoffs kicked off on Thursday with Chicago’s 2-0 win over Dallas. The other three quarterfinal series kick off this weekend. Senior Editor Ridge Mahoney previews the matchups. LOS ANGELES-METROSTARS How the MetroStars will play in the playoffs with recent additions Gilmar and Ross Paule adds mystery to this matchup. The Galaxy is healthier […]

Chas Moffet of Truckee, Calif. asks: Can the goalkeeper be thrown the ball and touch it with his or her hands, or has FIFA changed that rule to where the goalie cannot touch the ball with their hands pertaining to a throw in? Mike Woitalla: The goalkeeper cannot touch the ball with his hands if […]

No. 7 UCLA and No. 12 Maryland fell to UC Irvine and Loyola (Md.) in clashes earlier in the week. The weekend action is highlighted by an ACC match between No. 2 Virginia and No. 13 North Carolina in Charlottesville, Va. Other Soccer America Top 20 clashes: UCLA vs. No. 16 Cal State Fullerton in […]

Chicago beat Dallas, 2-0, in the first MLS playoff game of 2001. The win gives the Fire a 3-point lead in the “first-to-five-points” quarterfinal playoff series. A Carlos Bocanegra header, off Eric WynaldaÆs free kick, gave the Fire a 1-0 lead in the 40th minute. Evan Whitfield scored the second goal late into second-half stoppage […]

The United States will return from the Under-17 World Cup without a point after dropping its third straight game. John Ellinger’s Americans fell to Nigeria, 2-0, in Bacolet, Tobago, but the score doesn’t begin to reflect the Eaglets’ dominance. They outshot the Americans, 16-1. After having a terrible game in a 5-2 loss to France, […]

Group A Sept. 13 in Port of Spain Trinidad & Tobago 1 (Blackman 57) Croatia 2 (Krancjar 43, 65). Sept. 14 in Port of Spain Brazil 1 (Anderson Costa 76) Australia 0. Sept. 16 in Port of Spain Trinidad & Tobago 0 Australia 1 (Auguis 56). Sept. 16 in Port of Spain Brazil 3 (Bruno […]