Sporting KC knew that it was better than its 1-6-1 start. Saturday night in Kansas City, Sporting finally climbed out of last place in the Eastern Conference with a 2-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Vancouver jumped on KC early when Camilo Sanvezzo scored in the 15th minute. But Sporting came right back as Omar Bravo and Julio Santos Correa each scored before halftime to put KC up for good.
With the win, KC (4-6-5) has not lost in its last seven games and remain unbeaten at Sporting Livestrong Park.
This will be the sixth Women’s World Cup that FIFA has staged since the inaugural tournament back in 1991.
ESPN will be broadcasting games, beginning Sunday:
NIGERIA-FRANCE (live) 7:45 am on ESPN2
GERMANY-CANADA (live) 10:30 am on ESPN
MONDAY, June 27
JAPAN-NEW ZEALAND (live) 7:45 am on ESPN
MEXICO-ENGLAND (live) 10:45 am on ESPN
You can download the Women’s World Cup TV Schedule, 2011 and import it into your calendar using the Comma Delimited setting in Outlook, Google, Yahoo or Apple.
The Germans are the class of the sport, thanks to the world’s most sophisticated development program—and they might be unbeatable on their home turf. “It’s just not enough to be athletic and fit anymore,” said U.S. midfielder Carli Lloyd, who scored the gold-medal winning goal in the 2008 Olympics.
The U.S. may be the world’s No. 1 according to the FIFA rankings, but the team suffered the indignity of being last to qualify for the World Cup as it was forced to straggle in via playoff. The squad has only occasionally impressed in recent warm-up games, appearing strangely unsyncopated as if all too aware it hasn’t won the tournament since 1999.
The US Group stage games are listed below
June 28 Korea DPR 10:45 a.m. Rudolf-Harbig Stadium; Dresden
July 2 Colombia 10:30 a.m. Rhein-Neckar-Arena; Sinsheim
July 6 Sweden 1:30 p.m. World Cup Stadium Wolfsburg; Wolfsburg
All games will be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN3.com and Univision
There are 13 players on the U.S. roster who will be participating in their first Women’s World Cup, but eight of them represented the USA in at least one FIFA youth Women’s World Cup Tournament and five of them played in the 2008 Olympic Games. Rachel Buehler played in the 2002 and 2004 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Cups. Amy Rodriguez, Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn played in the 2004 U-19 event. Rodriguez also played in the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup along with Lauren Cheney, Kelley O‘Hara and Tobin Heath. Alex Morgan was one of the stars of the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, helping the USA to the title. Heather Mitts, Buehler, Rodriguez, Cheney and Heath were a part of the USA’s 2008 Olympic gold medal team. Mitts was also on the USA’s 2004 Olympic gold medal winning side. Only back-up goalkeeper Jill Loyden, defender Ali Krieger and midfielder Lori Lindsey have never participated in a world championship at any level.
Springfield SC 94/95 at Region 2 Championships by JT Adams
Springfield SC - 2
Waukesha Pumas (WI) – 0
A pair of goals in the first half held up for the win in their first Regional game. Goals were scored by Jakob Neidig (Ozark) from Dallas Moses (Catholic) free kick and by Evan Craig (Catholic) from Mitch Moncada’s (Catholic) assist.
The boys will play against Galaxy (IL) on Sunday. Galaxy is the 12th ranked team in Region 2 and they defeated the #5 ranked Everest Black (OH) squad 1-0 this morning. SSC faced the Galaxy May 7th in Muscatine IA. The Galaxy won that game 2-1 enroute to a 1st finish in the Midwest Regional League Premier Blue Division with a 6-1-0 record. Springfield SC finished 3-3-1, finishing 4th. Galaxy’s one loss was to Vardar (MI) in their opening match April 8th. SSC defeated Vardar 2-0 two weeks later at a game in Rockford.
Looking at scenarios (is it ever too early?) would indicate that a tie Sunday and a win over Galaxy could put the boys through to the semifinals. Goal differential would be the key then, a dangerous place but a better alternative then a loss but the same scenario holds true for the Galaxy, a Chicago-area squad that made it to Regionals as a wildcard choice following their 3rd place finish in the MRL.
U17 Girls St. Louis Scott Gallagher – 4
Lexington FC 94 Premier (KY) – 0 Molly Brewer and her teammates had a strong opening game. They face off against the MN Thunder squad tomorrow. The Thunder won 1-0 over Cincinnati United (also known as CUSA).
U18 Girls St. Louis Scott Gallagher –
Carmel United Elite 93 (IN) –
4pm game
The Springfield SC 94/95 Boys, fresh from their State Championship at the Missouri Cup last Thursday, are enroute to Appleton WI today to compete in the Region 2 Tourney. Part of the USYSA National Championship series, their State title sends them to this regional round with the regional age group winners then advancing to the National Championships in Phoenix next month.
The second team in Springfield Soccer Club to win a State Championship (the 90/91 age group won as 16 and 17 year olds in 2007 and 2008), they will be exposed to the Regional tournament for the first time. The tournament runs June 24-29 and like Cup will include a Group stage followed by knockout rounds.
I stopped by the final practice Thursday prior to their departures and got a few shots (see below) and chatted briefly with Josh McCutcheon (Kickapoo) and Evan Garrad (Glendale), the team captains:
Tournament Schedule:
Sat Jun 25 - 10:00 AM – SC Waukesha Pumas (WI) vs Springfield SC (MO)
Sun Jun 26 – 4:00 PM – Springfield SC (MO) – IL Galaxy (MRL2)
Mon Jun 27 – 8:00 AM – Everest SC Black (OH-N) – Springfield SC (MO)
Tue Jun 28 – 10:00 AM - [TBD] 1 of Pool B vs [TBD] 1 of Pool D
Wed Jun 29 – 8:30 AM - [TBD] Winner of Semifinals 1 vs [TBD] Winner of Semifinals 2
The team is part of Group D and the draw has some good news and some bad news. The good news is the opening match is against a team much like SSC, a first time competitor that comes from a program building new traditions in a state where FC Milwaukee is the dominant program. Waukesha (Wah-ka-shaw) is a western suburb of Milwaukee and where the highway turns North to Appleton. The other portion of the good news is the top-ranked team in the pool is Everest SC Black, ranked 5th in Region 2, but a team that SSC won’t have to face until they’ve played two prior games. That gives them the opportunity to become familiar with the environment, gain confidence and have current scouting reports on what will be the most difficult game of the tournament.
To get out of the group generally requires avoiding a loss and the first game is the most important. A loss in the first game is the most difficult of hurdles and avoiding Everest in that first game was the first piece of good fortune the boys will need. As the interview above notes, there is a quiet confidence and this is a good team with pace, a strong defensive will and enough inventiveness to be dangerous on this larger stage.
Coached by Eric Sorlie and Michael Seabolt from Missouri State (pictured in the white hat), I hope to have regular updates on their results.
There are several other local players competing this weekend as well. Emily Cline (Drury/Glendale) and Shelby Hatz (Drury/Catholic) are playing for St Louis Scott Gallagher at the U18 age bracket while Molly Brewer (Glendale) is playing for SLSG at the U17 age bracket.
ESPNrise.com did a preview of the Girls bracket that includes the KCFC Alliance squad that includes six players from the State Champion Liberty Jays. Regional Champs at U13 and U15, this is likely the last time these girls will play together and like the State tournament, their goal is to win the trophy.
Springfield SC 94/95 – Missouri State Champions 2011, by SpringfieldSportsClub.com
White – 6
Green – 1
A goal midway thru the 1st half by Dylan Corbett who made a great overlapping run down the right, with a ball sent into his path by Adam Entrup, allowed a shot to the far post just under Reece Connors dive. Entrup then scored two, the first a header from Jackson Patillo’s long ball into the box.
The White MVP was Adam Entrup, Catholic following his two early goals that gave the White team they would not give up. For the Green team, Joe Aubuchon from Glendale was recognized for his field leadership.
A large part of the difference in the scoreline tonight can be attributed to the fact that the White squad had 9 players who are teammates on the Springfield SC U18 squad who had just completed a run to the semifinals in the Missouri State Cup. It’s an inexact science when putting the teams together with the first focus on placing High School teammates together and then trying to balance the teams. With my transition out of the event there was less visibility on this factor but I expect that it was a lesson learned.
7th Annual Southwest All-Stars, Green squad
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Springfield Soccer Photos
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Join us Saturday evening at 8pm at Farmer’s Gastropub as we cheer on the USA in their match against Mexico. Farmer’s noted on their Facebook page today that they’ll have the grills going outside on Saturday with some special treats!
The 2011 Gold Cup final will take place on Saturday, June 25 at a sold-out Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. Kickoff for the match is set for 8 p.m. CT, and the match can be seen live on FOX Soccer and Univision. FOX Soccer will also have a 30-minute pre-game show beginning at 7:30 p.m.
The U.S. and Mexico shard the spoils during the past two Gold Cup finals, with the U.S. taking the 2007 final 2-1 while Mexico pulled away late in 2009 to defeat an inexperienced U.S. squad for a 5-0 victory. The U.S. will be seeking its fifth Gold Cup title and a berth in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil.
The U.S. Men’s National Team advanced to an unprecedented fourth straight CONCACAF Gold Cup final this evening displaying patience and poise in a 1-0 victory against Panama at Reliant Stadium. The U.S. will face Mexico for the third straight time in the final after the USA’s archrival defeated Honduras in the second semifinal.
In a defensive match against Panama that didn’t see many chances for either side, Clint Dempsey scored his third goal of the 2011 Gold Cup in the 76th minute after a great service from Landon Donovan set him up for a sliding finish from close range at the left post.
SBU Bearcats Asst Coach Dean Gray & Head Coach Rob Podeyn
This camp is designed to mimic our pre-season at SBU. Players will go through the fitness, technical and tactical training and will learn our playing system for 4 days.
It is run by the SBU Coaching Staff and focuses on players either entering high school or currently in high school. If a player is interested in SBU or thinking of playing at the college level, then this is a great camp for them. They will learn about the recruitment process, the eligibility process, how to market themselves, what college coaches look for and be evaluated by the staff for where they are and what they need to work on.
From last year’s camp we signed 5 players for this August and have 2 verbally committed for 2012.
The 7th Annual All-Star game is being played at the Greenwood Stadium Field at the Cooper Soccer Complex Thursday June 23rd. There will be two games, a Girls game beginning at 6:00 pm followed by the Boys game at 8:00 pm.
The rosters for the game have just been released with a new color scheme this year.
Girls Roster Final 2011 – The Green Team is coached by Jeff Rogers, Glendale and the White Team coached by Ben Timson, Catholic. Jeff’s youngest son, Jake Rogers, returns from a knee injury that kept him out of the Fall season to participate in the All-Star game. He will play for Crowder College in the Fall.
Boys Roster Final 2011 – The Green Team is coached by Mike Howard, Rolla and the White Team coached by Jacob Osborne, Carthage. Jason Howard, Mike’s oldest son, is playing and is headed for Lewis & Clark in St Louis following a senior season that included 2nd Team All-State and Central Region Offensive Player of the Year honors.
The teams are invited high school seniors who graduated in May 2011 and have recently completed their high school careers. Players are considered from three Class 3 Districts (10, 11 and 12), one Class 2 District (11) plus Bolivar and St James, and two Class 1 Districts (11, 12)
The game features the best graduating high school seniors in this region, as chosen by Eric Sorlie, Duane Moses and Tim Davis of Springfield Soccer Club. The event is organized and supported by Springfield Soccer Club, home to over 20 teams including three State Championship squads (2007, 2008 and recently crowned 2011 Boys U16 Missouri State Champions).
