The Kickapoo Shootout returns this week, with games beginning on Friday and continuing through Saturday. Vianney is the biggest name and I’ll be offering up some background on all of the teams and the games as the week progresses. The Chief’s are working hard to make this a significant event, including advertising on my site and in other areas. It should be an excellent weekend of soccer.

Four weeks remain in the regular season and it’s time to start looking at Conference opportunities as well as District seeding. The one game I see that can have the biggest impact this week is Thursday’s game between the Rolla Bulldogs and Waynesville Tigers. The game features teams that sit at #3 and #4 in the Ozark Conference standings at the moment, and these two teams along with Camdenton are chasing the District 10 title.

On the College front, the Missouri State Bears hosts Central Arkansas Tuesday night at 7:00 pm. For the women’s game, the Southwest Baptist Bearcats have a pair of games this week, with Missouri Western visiting Thursday at 4:00 pm and Saturday will feature a rematch with Truman State. The Bearcat’s tied the #14 nationally-ranked Bulldogs on Saturday, 2-2, and spoiled their homecoming weekend by coming back from an 0-2 deficit. Saturday’s game could be a humdinger!

The US Men’s National Team could qualify for the final qualification round with a win on Saturday against Cuba. The game is being played at RFK Stadium in Washington DC and will be broadcast on ESPN Classic. It begins at 6:00 pm CST. Join us at Coester’s.

And a couple of shout outs - first to Sophomore Matt Magana , who broke the Bolivar Liberator soccer career assist record Saturday when he assisted Bradley Stillwagon on a goal. Matt now has 36 for his career.

The Glendale Falcon’s went 2-1 at the Gateway Classic in Collinsville, losing to St Thomas Aquinas (KS) 2-1 in the championship game of their bracket . They defeated Dunbar High from Lexington Ky in penalty kicks again after a 2-2 tie in regulation. Both goals were by Devon Newport on set pieces. Jordan Pitts comes up big for the second day in a row with a save in the pk shoot out . Ryan Partch nailed the final pk attempt to seal the win. The first win came against Morton (IL) and it went to sudden death penalty kicks after 1-1 tie in regulation. The Post-Dispatch offers some updates.

Galavision will be airing the game on tape delay, with coverage starting at 11:30 pm tonight. From the highlights I’ve seen, it’s a game not many of you will recognize.

In its four previous visits to the FIFA Futsal World Cup, the U.S. has played 25 matches all-time, going 12-9-4. The U.S. is 4-1-2 in 2008, with its only loss coming against Guatemala in the CONCACAF Futsal Championship semifinals in June.

Here’s the complete Galavision TV Coverage schedule.
U.S. vs. Paraguay Oct. 1 12:30 a.m. ET/PT
U.S. vs. Italy Oct. 3 12:30 a.m. ET/PT
U.S. vs. Portugal Oct. 5 12:30 a.m. ET/PT

Hopefully, the economic challenges the US is facing won’t affect you any more personally than this reminder - Manchester United confident AIG sponsorship deal will survive Wall Street uncertainty At least we know Zack the Chelsea fan will be unaffected.

On a more positive note, I didn’t get pictures or a game report on the KC Wizards win over David Beckham, Landon Donovan and the LA Galaxy last Saturday. Heck it was Monday before I even heard what the score was, which was a bit strange. I did see that Jack Jewsbury played in his 150th game for the KC Wizards that day, tying him for 10th all-time for the Wizards. It’s also great to see that Jack’s back in the middle. He expressed an interest in that position in my interview with him in the first Magazine, teaming with his best friend Davy Arnaud has to ensure great communication as well. Congrats Jack!

OK, now for the goalkeepers and coaches out there. Was chatting with a couple of high school coaches recently and goalkeeper training came up. Well, here’s one of two video examples I found recently that will probably offer some good ideas that are easily implemented for your team. Click on the video itself to be taken to a second example as well as others that YouTube will highlight for you.

And yes, that’s Chris “Tommy” Tombridge (Kickapoo/Springfield SC/Northwestern) doing plenty of hard work with Lance Parker (Chivas/MSU Bears) under the guidance of former MSU Coach Jesse Miech.

Have you been watching the US Men’s team qualifying games? Any thoughts on who deserves to play in South Africa in 2010? These guys have been!

Elsewhere, Soccer by Ives offered several good articles this week:
Here are the CONCACAF Standings prior to the games last night
Mexico Beats Canada puts our neighbors to the North very close to elimination
Oh, and for those of you born in the 80’s or later, here’s some history for you from Ives.

November 19, 1989, when U.S. national team defender Paul Caligiuri sent a curling left-footed shot into the net from 35 yards away to help give the Americans a 1-0 win and berth in the 1990 World Cup, the first World Cup berth since 1950.

It was against Trinidad & Tobago, played in Port of Spain, T&T I can’t recall where I was, although I had been living in Chicago for a couple of years by then, but I remember leaping to my feet and celebrating. I’d spent the summer coaching an A League Women’s team in Chicago and I’m certain there was a group of us watching it together. And it’s the reason you need to know who Caligiuri is.

And here’s the video that’s getting the most play - Denmark’s stunning 3-2 win over Portugal

All the more remarkable given the display Portugal puts on. That first goal was a classic hold, build, destroy! The World Cup blog offers game details -

Portugal had led 1-0 through Nani since the 42nd minute. But then the following happened: Nicklas Bendtner equalized with a great cut inside and strike in the 84th minute, Deco restored Portugal’s lead with an 86th minute penalty (and must have thought he’d won the game) only for Christian Poulsen to make it 2-2 with a 90th minute header.

But it wasn’t over. Because in the 92nd minute Werder Bremen’s Daniel Jensen stepped up and lashed a shot from about 20 yards out, which took a deflection and went past Quim to make it 3-2.

I knew there was a reason I didn’t have a High School game on my calendar I’ll be at Coester’s, come join me if your son isn’t playing!

And here’s some interesting news - since a 3-2 home loss to Honduras on Sept. 1, 2001, the United States on home soil has posted an astounding record of 37-0-10, with a walloping 106 goals for and a miserly 15 surrendered.

Missouri Southern host MIAA foe, the Central Missouri Mules, on Thursday at 7:00 pm at home. Head coach Trevor Wachsman is two wins shy of reaching 50 for his career (48-35-18 in his sixth season). It would be a nice weekend if they could get wins against the Mules and SBU who visit Saturday.

The Missouri Southern Lion’s men’s squad lost a pair of games this weekend. On Friday, Colorado State - Pueblo beat them 3-1, taking a 2-0 lead before the Lion’s Greg Edmonds scored from an assist by Stuart Ziegler (West Plains). Today’s game against Colorado-Colorado Springs saw the Mountain Lions score just four minutes into the match, adding another tally in the 71st minute for the victory.

Missouri S&T Miners - 1
Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars - 3
The Prairie Stars were outshot by the Miners 26-9 in the game and had only five shots on goal to the Miners’ 11. However, UIS turned two counterattack plays into goals in the first half and rode the play of NAIA All-American goalkeeper Chance Walker to keep S&T at bay as it tried to rally in the second half. The Miner’s goal was scored by Brandon Moore (Rolla) in the 58th minute, he was joined by Zack Hay (Kickapoo) in the starting lineup.

Missouri S&T Lady Miners - 2 (OT)
Emporia State Hornets - 1
The Lady Miners soccer squad picked up a 2-1 overtime win at Emporia State on Sunday afternoon on Melissa Young’s goal 2:48 into overtime. Young headed a shot inside the right post off a feed from Paige Smothers. The Miner’s win finished ESU’s first ever 2-0 start to season.

On Friday, the Miners lost to Christian Brothers 0-1, the lone goal coming in the 55th minute from a crowd in front of the box. Zack Hay (Kickapoo) once again got the start in the game for S&T.

This Friday, Southern Indiana visits to open the GLVC calendar for the Miners. The women will play at 5:00 and the men at 7:30 pm. Sunday will feature Kentucky Wesleyan with games at 12:00 pm and 2:30 pm. Both

Drury Panthers - 5
Harding Bison - 1
Drury University’s men’s soccer Panthers spotted Harding an early goal, then rolled to a 5-1 victory over the Bison here on Sunday afternoon. Steve Wilczewski (Glendale) scored two goals, Adam Peterson (Kickapoo) added one along with an assist and Danny Collins (Glendale) assisted on a goal as well. Kyler Temple (Kickapoo) and Alex Palmer (Kickapoo) also saw playing time in a game that also welcomed back Tyson Bramley from injury and Ben Taylor who picked up two assists.

Drury Lady Panthers - 2
Harding Bison - 3
The Lady Panthers fall, after giving up 3 goals in just over 4 minutes. The game winner for the Bison came in the 88th minute, pushing the Panthers to 0-2-1 this season. It is the first win for the Bison, who lost 5-4 in OT to the MSSU Lions, last week. Goals were scored by Mandi Little and Nicole Williams, both in the 2nd half.

The Panthers hit the road Friday for their first GLVC game at UMSL where they’ll take on the Tritons. They’ll return home on Sunday to host Southern Indiana

The Southwest Baptist Bearcats had the weekend off, after seeing their game at Rolla cancelled at halftime. They at Emporia State (KS) Thursday evening and at Missouri Southern Saturday afternoon at noon as they open MIAA play.

Missouri State Bears - 0
St Louis University Billikens - 0
The Bills out-shot the Bears 11-6 in the first half, 8-3 in the second stanza and 8-1 in the two overtime periods for an overall 27-10 advantage. Freshman goalkeeper Hannah Perry was forced to make just one save in posting her third consecutive shutout. Missouri State’s Jackie Jasper made nine saves.

Not much buzz about the game on the internet, the biggest story seems to be about the 5 American fans who defied the US Embargo in order to continue their personal journey of following, and supporting, the US team.

At least it’s not France’s World Cup qualification campaign, which now sees Domenech set off to the worst possible start with a 3-1 loss to Austria. World Cup Blog has plenty of details.

The U.S. face Trinidad & Tobago in their third match of the Semifinal Round on Wednesday, Sept. 10 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill., just outside of Chicago. Kickoff for the match is at 7 p.m. CT and will be televised live on ESPN2. You know what that means right? Yep, I’ll be cheering them on at Coester’s, as the US faces the #2 team in their group. Come join me!

After Trinidad & Tobago, the U.S. will begin the second half of the Semifinal Round when they host Cuba at RFK Stadium on Oct. 11, before traveling to Trinidad on Oct 15 and then concluding the four-team group on Nov. 19 against Guatemala at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. The top two teams in the group will advance to the Final Round of qualifying.

The game is being broadcast on ESPN Classic and as usual it will be on at Coester’s. There’s an MSU Men’s game at the same time, they are playing Centenary following a 5 pm game between Drake and Cleveland State. So you know…

Grant Wahl arrived on the island early and there’s the usual range of material from MNT Blog (explain to me again why they would use Blogger for this? Please call me if you need advice for your business or club on managing technology and don’t make the same mistake!).

UPDATE - We’re #28!!

For something with a bit more meat on the bone, Yanks Abroad offers some terse feedback on the Guatemala game

Still, the Americans sat back in a shell for most of the game and let the mediocre Guatemalans come at them in waves. More concerning, the US looked completely ineffective on offense, as they have for the majority of this year.

And here’s something a true soccer geek will enjoy. ProZone Match Analysis: MNT 1, GUA 0 including Pass Success Rate (%), Final Third Entries and Penalty Area Entries

I still have the six page match report that Bob Guelker used at my D License course in 1986 reviewing a US National team game. Pretty serious stuff

World Cup qualifying games are being played across the globe this weekend. World Cup Blog has the details on the kickoff in Europe, the start of final group stage in Asia, and the on-going campaigns in Africa, South America and the ever glamorous Oceania.

The player pictured is Formiga, I’ll point you to From A Left Wing and Jennifer Doyle’s commentary on Brazil’s decisive 4-1 win over the World Cup champion German squad in the semifinal Monday. Du Nord’s correspondent seems to be counting on the Cinderella factor for the US.

From US Soccer: The gold medal match is a repeat of the 2004 Athens final, in which the U.S. won, 2-1, in overtime on a header from Abby Wambach. A dramatic affair, the match is not only remembered for the gold medal victory, but also as the last world championship event for some of the U.S. veterans, including Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain and Joy Fawcett.

Update - I have to admit that I like this story and the attitude adjustment it represents.

The journey to the 2010 FIFA World Cup resumes August 20th when the U.S. takes on Guatemala on Match Day 1 of Semifinal Round qualifying for South Africa. Kickoff at the Estadio Mateo Flores is set for 9 p.m. CT and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2.

The U.S. has never lost to Guatemala in World Cup qualifying play. With an unblemished 4-0-4 record, the USA’s victories have all come on U.S. soil. The United States is 1-4-4 all-time in Guatemala. The lone victory came Jan. 13, 1988, a 1-0 win courtesy of a goal by Jeff Agoos. (I remember that one!). If you want even more info, check out the Men’s National Team blog, including a photo of the stadium. Yanks Abroad offers their thoughts as well.

I’ll be at Coester’s this evening enjoying the game. Feel free to join me in cheering on the boys!

The U.S. Women’s National Team will take on Ireland in a three-match tour following the 2008 Olympic Games, hitting stops on the East Coast and Midwest shortly after their return from the 2008 Olympic Games in China.

The Fall Tour gets underway on Saturday, Sept. 13 in Philadelphia at 8 p.m. ET at Lincoln Financial Field, and continues on Wed., Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The last of these three games will be played on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. CT at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill.

For the game in Chicago, tickets become available starting Tuesday, August 19, at 10 a.m. CT. Tickets can be purchased through ussoccer.com or by phone at 312-559-1212 (Chicago),

The U.S. team will play Japan in the semifinal at Beijing Workers Stadium on Monday, August 18th. The match kicks off at 8:00 am CT and will be broadcast live on MSNBC, Universal HD and the NBC Olympic Soccer Channel.

The Americans have made the semifinal round in all nine world championships FIFA has held for women’s soccer, including the last four Olympic Games. The quarterfinals saw the elimination of the host country, 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup finalists and the world’s third-ranked team Sweden, as well as the world’s fifth ranked team, Norway. Somewhat appropriately, the Olympic semifinals contain a representative from Europe, South America, CONCACAF and Asia with Brazil facing Germany in the early game.

Japan’s run in the Olympics is its best ever in a world championship and the first time it has made a semifinal of a FIFA tournament … The USA and Japan will be playing for the second time in 10 days after the USA’s 1-0 victory in Group G play on Aug. 9 in Qinhuangdao … Carli Lloyd scored the USA’s lone goal in that match on a blast from the top of the penalty box in the 27th minute … The USA outshot Japan 18-9 in that match and had nine corner kicks to Japan’s four, but the Japanese got a fantastic game from goalkeeper Miho Fukumoto and created a number dangerous scoring chances themselves