Archive for February, 2011

0

Americans overwhelm Canada in extra time

By
Steven Sandor
– 02/28/2011

The American team got to carry away the CONCACAF U-17 championship trophy.


It took until extra time of the final game of the CONCACAF U-17 Championship for Canada’s spotless defensive record to be broken — and then the goals came in droves.

The Canadians, who hadn’t given up a goal in the round robin, quarter-finals or semifinals, made it through 90 minutes of scoreless soccer with the Americans in the championship game Sunday in Montego Bay, Jamaica. But, the U.S. teens struck three times in extra time to take the regional championship with a 3-0 victory.

Canadian keeper Maxime Crepeau had little chance a minute into extra time, as American Nathan Smith unleashed a looping, swerving shot from well outside the area that crashed off the post and went into the goal. Not only did Smith break Canadian hearts by putting the Americans ahead, he usurped Canada’s Keven Aleman for the unofficial title of goal of the tournament.
Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 6% [?]

Share
0

Forfeits create odour in CMISL title race

By
Steven Sandor
– 02/27/2011


If Calgary United comes from way back in the standings to win the Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League title and go on to the Professional Arena Soccer League playoffs in Cincinnati, followers of the league may have to hold their noses.

Calgary showed a heck of a lot of guts last week when the club came to Edmonton — where it hadn’t won all year — and beat the Drillers 10-7. That win put United one game back of the Drillers with each team having three to play.

Oh, wait, three to play each? Well, sort of. The Kitsap Pumas, from one of the PASL’s American divisions, forfeited two games against Calgary this weekend, as the Washington State team’s travel plans fell apart. So, Calgary went from 5-4 to 7-4 on the season.

“I don’t know the whole story,” PASL director of operations Sydney Nusinov said. “Kitsap was a fairly last minute addition to the schedule. The games didn’t count for Kitsap.”

And the Drillers fell to 6-4 Saturday night, after they were crushed by the powerful San Diego Sockers, 13-3. All of a sudden, the Drillers are in second place in the CMISL.
Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 20% [?]

Share
1

Canada-U.S. U-17 final should have MLS smiling

By
Steven Sandor
– 02/27/2011

Bryce Alderson


Dare to dream.

We are in the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Both Canada and the United States are cruising towards qualification, with teams built on the backbones of the two U-17 squads who will face off in Sunday’s CONCACAF U-17 final.

Striker Keven Aleman and midfielder Bryce Alderson lead Canada towards Qatar 2022, while striker Marc Pelosi fills the net for the Americans. All of them are household names.
Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 10% [?]

Share
0

Busy day: Three Canadian teams in preseason action

By
Steven Sandor
– 02/27/2011

Three of Canada’s four professional sides were in action Saturday.

Our two MLS sides both faced non-league, lower-tier competition, with mixed results.

Orlando City, who is affiliated with Premiership side Stoke City, beat Toronto FC in the consolation game of the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic. Toronto left the land of Mickey Mouse with two losses, one to the Houston Dynamo and the other to Orlando, which will play in USL-Pro this season.
Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 6% [?]

Share
0

Canadian teens off to CONCACAF final

By
Steven Sandor
– 02/25/2011

Luca Gasparotto


Canada got an early goal, and then held on.

Check that. Held on desperately in a 1-0 win over Panama in the first of two semifinals at the U-17 CONCACAF Championship in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Canada, which had already qualified for the U-17 World Cup in Mexico by making it to the semifinals of the competition, faces the winner of the United States-Jamaica semifinal, being staged later Friday.

Canada started off as it did in the quarter-final win over Trinidad and Tobago; the Canadians came out hungry to score, and hit paydirt when central defender Luca Gasparotto out-leaped a group of Panamanians off a corner kick and headed home what would be the game’s only goal.
Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 6% [?]

Share
0

FC Edmonton signs four players

By
Steven Sandor
– 02/25/2011

Shaun Saiko


FC Edmonton has announced the signings of four players who spent the 2010 season with the club.

Dutch goalkeeper Rein Baart and Alberta products Shaun Saiko, Kyle Yamada and Michael Cox have all signed for the 2011 NASL season.
Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 9% [?]

Share
0

Calgary United sweeps doubleheader without playing a game

By
Steven Sandor
– 02/25/2011

The aborted travel plans of the Kitsap Pumas have greatly influenced the Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League race.

Calgary United will see it’s record go from 5-4 to 7-4 this weekend without having to kick a ball. This weelend’s scheduled home Professional Arena Soccer League interconference doubleheader against the Pumas was cancelled, after the Seattle-area team’s travel plans fell apart.

Those games will be awarded as 1-0 forfeits to Calgary United, who entered the weekend trailing the Edmonton Drillers (6-3) by one game in the CMISL standings. The Drillers have three games left on the schedule; two PASL interleague games at the California Cougars and the San Diego Sockers, then the CMISL finale at Calgary.
Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 12% [?]

Share
0

Poor defending costs TFC in loss to Dynamo

By
Steven Sandor
– 02/25/2011


In a game filled with trialists, some old problems haunted Toronto FC.

Despite twice taking the lead, TFC lost 3-2 to the Houston Dynamo Thursday in their opening match of the preseason Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic in Orlando, Fla.

Even with a bunch of new faces in the lineup, including brand-new trialists Ivo de Heus, Mikael Yourassowsky and Jamal Gay, TFC was beaten thanks to some huge deficiencies down the flanks.
Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 5% [?]

Share
0

It’s all in the timing; women announce boycott is off

By
Steven Sandor
– 02/25/2011


The Canadian women’s team public-relations strategy has been up and down since the beginning of the Carolina Morace ordeal; but Thursday night’s announcement that the threatened boycott of international games has been aborted was a masterstroke.

“We are excited about returning to the field as these are important games in preparing for the World Cup in June,” midfielder Rhian Wilkinson, speaking on behalf of the team, said in a short statement that was released to The Canadian Press.

The team had threatened to boycott, beginning with next week’s Cyprus Cup, unless the Canadian Soccer Association found a way to convince coach Morace not to resign . She previously pledged she would hand in her walking papers at the conclusion of the upcoming women’s World Cup.

But the women indicated Thursday that enough progress has been made in talks with the CSA to satisfy them — and they will play.
Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 10% [?]

Share
0

Great day for former TFC players

By
Steven Sandor
– 02/25/2011

OBrian White

Thursday was a pretty good day for ex-Toronto FC players.

Maurice Edu, the No. 1 pick in the 2007 SuperDraft and rookie of the year that same season, scored the goal that sent Rangers through to the final 16 of the Europa Cup a minute and a half into stoppage time against Sporting Lisbon.
Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 4% [?]

Share
Older Entries