Monthly Archives: August 2009

Charles Renken Signs With 1899 Hoffenheim

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Scott Gallagher SC vs St Louis SC - Jun 12 U14 Soccer by Ives has reported that former Scott Gallagher player Charles Renken has signed with German-side 1899 Hoffenheim

Two of the best players in the U.S. national team youth system will be taking their development to Europe.

ESPN.com’s Justin Rodriguez is reporting that Charles Renken and Joseph Gyau will be joining the 1899 Hoffenheim youth academy. The story mentions multi-year contracts for both, but it should be noted that FIFA bylaws do not permit players younger than 18 to sign binding professional contracts outside of their home countries.

The agreement will mean that Gyau and Renken will split time between the Hoffenheim academy and the Vancouver Whitecaps residency school for the next year.

Gyau, 16, and Renken, 15, are two of the best players on the current U.S. Under-17 national team and have been hotly pursued by several European clubs.

Charles, pictured above playing in Springfield as part of the 2006 Missouri State Cup, was a 12 year old playing as a member of the U14 State Championship squad in 2006 that included Skyler Russell, who is a senior at Kickapoo and will play at Syracuse next year AND Jordan Pitts, a senior goalkeeper at Glendale. Skyler is center row, 3rd from left while Jordan is top row, far right.

SGFsoccer.com Tweets on 2009-08-25

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  • Michelle Makasini has transfered to Mizzou from LSU for her senior season. A story on soccer, motivation and renewal ~ http://bit.ly/ht1DJ #
  • Class 2 District 12 Champion Carthage Tigers are previewed by the Carthage Press ~ http://bit.ly/FUmoQ #
  • The 4 leaders of the Carthage Tigers District title defense will be Robinson, Curti, Ortiz & Navarette ~ http://bit.ly/lwGdp #
  • Class 3 District 10 champions Rolla Bulldogs featured in Rolla Daily News ~ http://bit.ly/T9HRd #
  • 11 seniors and an emphasize on technical skills for the Waynesville Tigers ~ http://bit.ly/LhuOV #
  • Max Duncan, Joplin 2010/KC Wizard Jrs, verbally commits to Drake Bulldogs. Story to follow. #

What’s Happening in Major League Soccer

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MLSlogoHaven’t had much to report regarding Major League Soccer recently, primarily due to the lack of positive results in Kansas City. Mama taught me that if you don’t have something good to say, then shut up. Or something along those lines…

Regarding the Wizards, this is a pretty strong message from a major supporter, Down The Byline

Since scoring 3 goals in the first half against New England back on June 13th, the Wizards have scored 1 goal in the next 13 halves of soccer.

Soccer by Ives has the Wizards at 13th in the 15 team league although they’ll probably fall to 14th after losing to current #14 San Jose Earthquakes

The team at the bottom of the pile is Red Bull NY. You know their manager just resigned right? There are also rumors that Barcelona might be interested, the best answers offered on what will happen in the future come from GM Erik Stover who did a recent Q&A with Soccer by Ives.

Looking at some positive news, one of my new favorite soccer sites is Pitch Invasion. They did a recent story on building a soccer culture in America, using Seattle and Portland as recent examples.

Closer to home, the St Louis Soccer United group has been surprisingly quiet this summer. Part of that can be attributed to their efforts with the Athletica squad that played in the WPS. The one interesting bit of news that came out was a group that is proposing a soccer complex in Richmond Heights. Jeff Cooper has been quoted that they are not part of his effort to lure an MLS team to the St Louis metropolitan area.

Looking at the bigger picture here is Don Garber’s recent State of the League comments as well as Yank’s Abroad’s recent editorial on their concerns related to MLS and the marketing approach being taken in a story titled A Troubling Disconnect

Like everyone who wants to see MLS do well because of its vital role in the development of the American game, I am still trying to avoid coming to the conclusion that the level of play in MLS is a total embarrassment, and I’m still not quite there. About half the time I tune in, I see what could be described as an entertaining match with decent tactics and play.

Finally, Pitch Invasion takes a look at the possibility of the United Soccer League, home of the PDL and teams that include the Springfield Demize, becoming a part of Major League Soccer. It’s not necessarily a positive thing.

OK, that’s it for my ride around the world of American soccer, time to concentrate on Liverpool vs Aston Villa on ESPN2. W00t!

SGFsoccer.com Tweets on 2009-08-23

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  • RT @MissouriStBears women's soccer drops regular season opener, 3-0, at Oklahoma. http://tinyurl.com/m4ysry #
  • RT @curq: SBU had a rough game against Drury. After 120 minutes (4, 30 min quarters) SBU lost 6-1. we will bounce back! were too good not to #
  • Billiken's scored in 10th minute, hold 1-0 lead at halftime over @MissouriStateBears #
  • Jimmy Holmes in 74th, counter-attack sent in alone by Roach. MSU's Hennessey had his header from corner kick blocked in 69th #
  • Billiken's hold off Bears 2-0. Devon Newport earns a start, he and Ryan Moses play in both halves. #
  • RT @MissouriStBears Missouri State men's soccer drops exhibition finale to @SLUMensSoccer, 2-0. http://tinyurl.com/l9u5lt #
  • RT @drurypanthers: Check out the DU Women's Soccer video roster on our site … their true personalities shine through! ~ http://bit.ly … #

What Do You Want And How Do You Want It?

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OK, I still want to have a new layout for this website before the month’s over but I also want to get moved into my new loft on Commercial Street with the minimum amount of craziness. Oh, and my clients deserve some attention as well…

That being said, I’m curious. New season coming up, lot’s of news to share and in many formats.

Did you know I have a Facebook page? http://www.facebook.com/SGFsoccer/
That’s become the first place I’ll upload photos to, followed by Flickr so I can embed them in my story. It’s also a somewhat reliable place for posting video and every story I post on the website is automatically posted to FB as well so consider becoming a Fan if you spend any time on that site

How about Twitter? http://www.twitter.com/SGFsoccer/
Seeing a trend? Have you notice how I’m using Twitter? It’s began two years ago as a means of posting scores directly to the website from the game I was covering, so you can be up-to-date by checking the “Live Reports” in the center column or by subscribing to my Twitter feed. I’m also using it now to point you to stories I think you might be interested in, offering a short description with the link or forwarding someone else’s report. Again, either sign up to get it directly or recognize that center column for what it is – a fast moving series of short reports that you can always find on the link above or by subscribing.

How about pictures? I spend $200 annually to maintain the Flickr website And the SmugMug website where you can find low resolution, free to share photos and high resolution photos for purchase respectively. Add in almost $1000 in repairs and accessories this summer to continue my efforts and you can see that my time isn’t free, nor are the pictures. Have you purchased any? I’ll post weekly and I’m uploading all of my old photos so there will always be photos of your favorite player for your memories and to support this site now and in the future.

One of two things are going to happen folks. Either picture sales need to increase dramatically, to cover the costs of my hosting and equipment at a minimum, OR I’m going to have to put a donation link on the website and actively solicit contributions in order to continue.

Do both of us a favor. Purchase $20 worth of pictures in the coming month and get a direct benefit from your money, as well as supporting the on-going life of this website.

Missouri State Bears At St Louis University Billikens

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SLU Billikens host Missouri State BearsSLU Billikens – 2
Missouri State Bears – 0
A pair of goals by a pair of St Louis products gave the home team another win against their in-state rival. A goal in the 8th minute by Mike Roach (Chaminade 2007, pictured being defended by Ryan Hennessey) and Jimmy Holmes (Priory 2006) who was sent in alone in the 74th by Roach, was enough to hold off an improved Bears squad. Tonight’s game included a start by #24 Devon Newport (Glendale 2009, Springfield SC) and minutes in both halves for him and #25 Ryan Moses (Kickapoo 2009, Springfield SC) who also played in both halves.

While unable to break the winless streak against SLU, this MSU squad looks like it should do well in the MVC as noted by the Coaches poll.

Missouri State opens the regular season on Tuesday, September 1, at Tulsa. The Bears and Golden Hurricanes kick off at 7:00 p.m. at Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium.

Game time is 7pm tonight, I’ll be in attendance with my niece. I’ll have a few photos along with a report later.

It’s the first exhibition match for the Billikens and you can catch it via live streaming if you are interested.

All Billiken exhibition and regular-season home games are video streamed live through Billiken All-Access at www.slubillikens.com. Subscriptions are available for $79.95 annually or $9.95 a month. In addition to the games, fans can view player interviews, highlights and much more at no charge. GameTracker is again available free of charge in 2009.

In preseason rankings, the Billikens come in at No. 21 in the NSCAA coaches’ poll and No. 24 in the CollegeSoccerNews.com poll. The Billikens return six starters and 15 total letterwinners from last year’s club that finished 12-5-5 overall and 6-3-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Missouri State Lady Bears Lose Opener At Oklahoma

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From the Sooner’s website – Three freshmen contributed on each of the Sooners’ three goals as the OU soccer team (1-0) rolled to a 3-0 victory over visiting Missouri State (0-1) on Friday in front of 558 fans at John Crain Field. Goals were scored in the 21st and 42nd minute to open the lead. The Bears offense fired 12 shots in the match, but Sooner keeper Kelsey Devonshire only had to make two saves

Missouri State travels to Fayetteville, Ark., on Friday, August 28, to face Austin Peay State University to open the Razorback Invitational. Friday’s match kicks off at Razorback Field at 4:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, around the Missouri Valley Conference:

Indiana State fell 0-1 in double overtime to the SEMO Redhawks. The Redhawks had a 13-7 advantage in shots. That includes a 9-4 edge after halftime.