Canada and Honduras play it safe in Jamaica 20 Feb 2011 Instead of going for it, Honduras decided instead to protect its starters, and went through the motions in a 0-0 draw with the Canadians Saturday in Jamaica. Honduras made five change to its starting lineup Saturday, choosing to protect key players from card trouble and injury rather than try to win the group.
TFC Academy accounts for five goals in Canadian rout 18 Feb 2011 TFC Academy accounted for five of Canada’s goals in an 8-0 rout over Barbados in CONCACAF U-17 men’s championship Thursday in Jamaica. Michael Petrasso scored three times in just 69 minutes on the pitch, while Keven Aleman scored twice in 58 minutes as the Canadians earned themselves a spot in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
American success is what’s needed to pull women’s soccer back into mainstream 18 Feb 2011 These are signs that the women’s game isn’t getting stronger; in fact, we may be seeing the same trend that we’ve seen with women’s hockey. After a surge in interest in the 2000s, the game is shrinking rather than growing.
Canadian Soccer Association confirms Nutrilite dates 18 Feb 2011 The announcement of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship schedule brought no surprises. Today, the Canadian Soccer Association confirmed the new format, which has been bandied about since November. Toronto FC, as the defending champs, will be seeded No. 1, and faces No. 4 seed FC Edmonton in one semifinal, while the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps will meet in the other semi.
Chivas shows its defensive cards in win over Vancouver 18 Feb 2011 The Vancouver Whitecaps are still a month away from their first regular-season MLS game, so it’s early to even call the club “a work in progress.” But Chivas USA, trying to recover from a disastrous season under former coach Martin Vasquez, is showing strongs signs of what we should expect from the club in the regular season. Chivas beat the Whitecaps 1-0 in a training match in Casa Grande, Ariz. on Friday, as Jesus Padilla beat Vancouver keeper Jay Nolly with a last-gasp strike.
Canada delivers 2015 Women’s World Cup bid book to FIFA 15 Feb 2011 A Canadian Soccer Association delegation has delivered the bid book for the 2015 Women's World Cup to FIFA headquarters in Zurich. The delegation, which included federal Minister of State (Sport) Gary Lunn, Canadian Soccer Association President Dominic Maestracci, Vice-President Victor Montagliani and General Secretary Peter Montopoli, met with FIFA officials Tuesday, including President Sepp Blatter.
Should Canada abort Antalya date with Belarus? 14 Feb 2011 According to FIFA’s international match calendar, Canada’s senior men’s team will face Belarus March 29 in Antalya, Turkey. But FIFA announced Monday that it is investigating two international friendlies that were played in the Mediterranean resort. Last Wednesday, Estonia drew Bulgaria 2-2 and Latvia defeated Bolivia 2-1 in a doubleheader played in Antalya. In those two games, all seven goals were scored on penalties.
“Door open” for Whitecaps, Impact to keep teams in NASL 14 Feb 2011 According to the NASL, the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps can field affiliated teams in Div. 2 as early as 2012. While neither team has concrete plans in place to have affiliated teams in NASL, Vancouver has retained its membership in the league and Montreal plans to do the same when it leaves NASL for MLS in 2012. This is consistent with previous indications from the league.
NASL gets one-year sanction; FC Edmonton’s preseason in gear 13 Feb 2011 After a close board vote on Friday, the decision to give NASL the Division 2 sanction was ratified by the membership of the United States Soccer Federation Saturday in Las Vegas. But the sanction is only good for the 2011 season. According to a release from the league, “The NASL will need to meet certain requirements defined by the Board of Directors to be granted full sanctioning beyond the 2011 season.”
Whitecaps release Arnoux so he can make MLS debut 11 Feb 2011 The Cody Arnoux saga is close to a resolution. The Vancouver Whitecaps released the former Everton prospect on Friday, paving the way for Arnoux to make his MLS debut. He will likely come to the league via a weighted lottery.