Monthly Archives: January 2010

US MNT Faces Honduras Saturday Night

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THE COUNTDOWN STARTS: With less than five months to go until the 2010 FIFA World Cup commences in South Africa, the United States Men’s National Team kicks off the year against fellow World Cup qualifiers Honduras on Jan. 23 in Carson, Calif. Kickoff at The Home Depot Center is set for 8 p.m. CT, and the match will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel and Telefutura. Fans can also follow the match live via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker and at www.twitter.com/ussoccer. The January camp and game has traditionally served as a staging ground for MLS players who are looking to make an impression, and this year’s opportunity has a little extra spice with the carrot of the World Cup roster dangling before their eyes.

WORLD CUP PREP: Saturday’s game is one of three games scheduled for the USA before the naming of the 2010 FIFA World Cup roster. In addition to the game against Honduras, Bob Bradley’s team will face El Salvador in Tampa on Feb. 24 before traveling across the Atlantic Ocean to meet the third-ranked Netherlands on March 3 in Amsterdam. The game against the Netherlands comes on the only FIFA match date prior to the start of preparations for the World Cup.

Check out this article my favorite soccer writer, Dan Loney, looking at the last 3 January camps prior to a World Cup

DOES JANUARY CAMP LEAD TO THE WORLD CUP? With the January camp serving as the last long audition for players trying to make the squad for South Africa, what does history tell us about the role of this opportunity? In total, 13 of the 28 players in Bruce Arena’s 2002 January camp were named in the 23-man roster for Korea/Japan. In 2006, Jimmy Conrad and nine other players from the Carson camp found their way to Germany.

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Springfield SC 24 Hr Marathon Match Opens With Champion Athletes of the Ozarks

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Springfield SC with Champion Athletes of the Ozarks

Springfield SC with Champion Athletes of the Ozarks

Earlier today, the 24 hour Marathon soccer match opened at the Springfield SC facilities. The 4pm opener was made up of SSC players along with Champion Athletes of the Ozarks, a local nonprofit that will be the beneficiary of the fundraising efforts by SSC. Here are more details from the Club:

On Friday January 22, 2010 the Springfield Soccer Club will host a 24-Hour Marathon Soccer Match as a charity/fundraising event, to help benefit the Champion Athletes of the Ozarks.

This is the third year for this event and Director of Soccer Operations Jeremy Alumbaugh is excited to host this event as it helps benefit such a worthy organization. “The past two years have been huge events with each building on the other. The amount of funds that were raised was tremendous but also the sense of caring for our community by the players, parents and coaches in the club. It showed that when the Springfield Soccer Club family gets behind a cause that we can be quite powerful in helping out those in need.” said Alumbaugh. Players and coaches will participate during the 24 hour marathon soccer match and a score is kept. All 29 teams will participate in the 4 v 4 indoor game held at the Springfield Soccer Club Indoor Facility.

The last two years have seen the Springfield Soccer Club partnering with the Community Partnership of the Ozarks and the Ronald McDonald House and raising over $55,000 to help those in the community. The club hopes to continue to add to this total while continuing to build strong ties in our community. “Champion Athletes of the Ozarks will be a great partner to work with and we are excited to have them on board. There were so many quality organizations that were nominated and it was a difficult decision.” said Alumbaugh.

Champion Athletes of the Ozarks mission is to build self-esteem, self-confidence and everyday life skills, therefore enhancing the lives of children and adults with disabilities through sports competition and new opportunities. Champion Athletes serves children and adults with disabilities living in the Ozarks area. Through sports training and competition we are building self-esteem, self-confidence and social skills.

“Champion Athletes of the Ozarks is proud to partner with Springfield Soccer Club. Our athletes are looking forward to the opportunity to work with Springfield Soccer Club players and learn more about the game. The money raised will allow us to expand our programs and reach more families.” said Susan Miles Director of Champion Athletes of the Ozarks. “We know there were many great organizations that were nominated and are thrilled to have been chosen.”

Springfield Soccer Club seeks to develop soccer players to their fullest athletic, educational, and social potential. This will be accomplished by providing a high level of education and training necessary for each individual player to be their best on and off the field.

For more information about Springfield Soccer Club and the 24 Hour Soccer Match please visit the club website at www.springfieldsportsclub.com

SLU Coach Dan Donigan Leaves For Rutgers

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SLU Coach Dan Donigan, patting Devon Newport

SLU Coach Dan Donigan, patting Devon Newport

The Trenton New Jersey native, pictured here during a game against Missouri State in August 2009 patting Springfield native Devon Newport on the back, heads home:

Dan Donigan was named the new Rutgers men’s soccer coach, Scarlet Knights athletics director Tim Pernetti said Friday morning. Pernetti offered the job to the ninth-year Saint Louis coach after the other finalist, Monmouth coach Rob McCourt, withdrew his name for consideration Thursday night.

Pernetti said that while he believed he couldn’t go wrong with either finalist, Donigan was the candidate he honed in on after his second round of interviews Wednesday.

In Donigan, Rutgers is getting a highly-accomplished coach with both New Jersey and Big East ties to replace Bob Reasso, who resigned in November after 29 mostly-successful seasons.

During his tenure at SLU, the 43-year old Donigan compiled a 118-42-23 record, including a 15-7 mark last fall. The Trenton native, who was an All-State player at Hamilton East in the 1980s, led the Billikens to four straight NCAA Tournaments, including a run to the second round last November.

KC Wizards Break Ground On New Kansas Complex

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KC Wizards Stadium renderings, Jan 2010

KC Wizards Stadium renderings, Jan 2010

Kansas City Wizards ownership group OnGoal, LLC announced Tuesday that approval has been granted for a state-of-the-art soccer-centric stadium for the Wizards and a nearby youth-soccer complex. Construction is set to begin tomorrow at the stadium site, located across from Nebraska Furniture Mart and The Legends in the Village West district of Kansas City, Kansas. The Wizards, a founding member of Major League Soccer (MLS), will become the first Major League professional sports team to play its home games in the State of Kansas and the 12th MLS team to play in a venue built for specifically for soccer. Kansas City is preparing for its 15th MLS season, with the League expanding to include 16 teams.

“This is a great day for soccer in Kansas City,” OnGoal CEO Robb Heineman said. “After a lengthy process to keep the team in the metropolitan area, OnGoal and the Kansas City Wizards are thrilled to receive final approval for our stadium and fields complex. There are so many people to thank, including Mayor Reardon and the Unified Government, Governor Parkinson and countless others. Our vision will now become reality for our supporters and organization. We have designed the first authentic American soccer stadium that will showcase and help grow the beautiful game of soccer, while providing all of the modern amenities expected from a modern American sports facility. The stadium has been designed to deliver the highest-level guest experience in an intimate, loud and intimidating atmosphere to build a true home field advantage for the Wizards.”

The Wizards stadium is part of a larger $400+ million project developed by OnGoal and LANE4 Property Group that will help fulfill the initial vision of the Village West project. Additions will include a world-class tournament field complex with 18-24 fields for major youth sporting events and an office complex for Cerner Corporation expansion. The soccer facilities are projected to host more than 300 event dates with over 800 events annually, drawing more than 2.5 million attendees to the area. The Wizards stadium would also play host to concerts, international soccer matches, American football games, rugby matches, lacrosse games, field hockey events and more. The field complex would be an attractive host to major national and regional soccer tournaments due to Kansas City’s central location in the United States and the surrounding development at Village West. The complex will also host other tournaments and sporting events for men, women and children and in multiple sports.

More details can be found here!

Lady Panthers Place Four On All-Scholar Team

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Drury Panthers, Bailey Randol

Drury Panthers, Bailey Randol

Four members of the Drury women’s soccer team have picked up All-Scholar team honors announced by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America at its annual convention.

Senior Bailey Randol was named a Third Team selection with her 3.72 grade point average in History/Secondary Education. The Panthers also placed three players on the Honorable Mention list – senior Micah Little, with a 3.79 gpa in Exercise and Sports Science; senior Emily West, with a 3.64 gpa in Biology; and junior Kelsy Long, with a 3.53 in Biology.

The foursome helped the Panthers of coach Alf Bilbao to a 13-6 overall record this past season.

Ryan Swan Named Regional Coach of the Year by NSCAA

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Drury Panthers, Ryan Swan, GLVC & Regional Coach of the Year 2009

Drury Panthers, Ryan Swan, GLVC & Regional Coach of the Year 2009

First-year head coach Ryan Swan was named the North/Central Region Coach of the Year and a trio of Panthers earned All-Academic honors at the recent National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention.

Junior defenders Grant Bowden and Blake Wilson were named to the Second Team All-Region for their academic prowess, while senior defender Jake Allison was an Honorable Mention selection. Bowden has a 3.39 grade point average in Business Marketing, Wilson a 3.31 in Architecture and Allison a 3.62 gpa in Business.

Swan and the Panthers finished 21-2, won the Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season and post-season tournament championships and advanced to the NCAA-II Sweet 16, all firsts in the program’s history.

Midwest Indoor College Showcase Draws From Entire State

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Midwest Indoor College Showcase coaches

Midwest Indoor College Showcase - Hendrix & NEO A&M

The 3rd Annual Indoor College Showcase, put on by the Springfield SC locally for the benefit of all players in the region, did a good job of living up to its name on Martin Luther King Day.

For the boys ‘who have a dream’ of playing in college, there were 73 registered and assigned to 6 teams, providing two full length games to be seen by the coaches in attendance. Players came from Columbia, St Louis, several towns in Northwest Arkansas including Rogers, Conway and Bentonville, and a large group of club players from Total Demize SC, Springfieldfield SC, SpringHigh Select as well as all of the large school programs.

Coaches ranged from our local programs – Missouri State Bears and Drury Panthers – as well as returning programs such as William Jewell Cardinals (NAIA, entering D2 and GLVC this Fall), Crowder College Roughriders, NEO A&M Norseman and Hendrix College Warriors. New attendees this year included Fontbonne University, University of Ozarks Eagles and Wartburg College Knights (D3) who chose this event over a competitive event in Chicago.

I was able to identify a few players who played in college as a direct result of earlier Showcase events and for the returning coaches, this was a very easy decision to make due to convenience and the quality of the event in their estimation. For the new coaching squads, it is what they hope will be their introduction to this market and the ever increasing number of college capable players who come out of the region.

There has been a Girls event in the past but a majority of the girls that were registered had to attend classes Monday, following the snow days the previous weeks. Mark down Martin Luther King’s holiday for next year now if your child is considering playing in college!