Copa America Opens With Argentina Today

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copa america 2011The Copa America kicks off today with host Argentina playing against Bolivia. First played in 1916, this is the 43rd edition of the oldest tournament of national teams in the world. The game will be held at the stadium Unico in the city of La Plata, at 8:45pm, with referee Roberto Silvera (FIFA-URU).

The Argentinian national team-which is led by Sergio ‘Checho’ Batista-begins their journey with the goal of winning, for the first time in 18 years, while Bolivia is now ready to play and would be satisfied to reach the second round, something that has not happened since 1997, when the team reached the final and lost to Brazil in Bolivia. The Argentine motivation for this game, in particular, is to avenge the 6-1 thrashing they suffered from the Bolivians in La Paz, during the South American qualifiers for the World Cup in South Africa-2010.

However, Argentina approach Copa América less in hope than trepidation

Suddenly, there are no certainties. The relegation of River Plate last Sunday, an event that seemed impossible and yet in hindsight looks inevitable – a slow motion slither of nine games without a win at the end of the season as the cliff edge got closer and closer – has had a profound effect on the mood of Argentinian football. If something as seismic as River being relegated can happen, who knows what the Copa América, which begins on Friday, might bring.

Games are being broadcast on Telefutura and Univision but it also appears that YouTube will be streaming games live. Check out YouTube/CopaAmerica for team previews (see Argentina below) and games.

July 1 – Argentina vs. Bolivia (TeleFutura, 8:30 pm ET)
July 2 – Colombia vs. Costa Rica (Univision, 2:30 pm ET)

SuperClubs College Showcase at Lake Country July 23-24

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Superclubs LogoSoccer Excellence is very excited to be hosting the annual SuperClubs College Showcase at Lake Country Soccer Complex on July 23rd and 24th. The event will draw teams from all over the Midwest as well as college coaches from the region representing schools from the Junior College level to Division 1.

In conjunction with the College Showcase, there will be a College Combine event on Friday night from 6pm-9pm. This will allow players to train in an environment typical of the college level. Players do not need to be playing in the Showcase in order to participate in the Combine.

For more information, please contact Chad Edwards via phone at 913.851.3431×34 or by email at chad@kclegendssoccer.com.

Download the 2011 SuperClubs College Combine Flyer and the 2011 SuperClubs College Showcase Press Release

Visit our website: http://www.upper90.com/superclubs-college-showcase-july-23rd-24th-2011.html

World Cup This Weekend

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World Cup Soccer 2011There are some good games this weekend, including the US WNT on Saturday morning. As noted in the Goal column today – “In Germany right now, the women’s soccer players are the headliners”

The best source for commentary I’ve found on the Women’s World Cup is From the Left Wing. If you have a daughter, you owe it to yourself to read Jennifer’s work. And to watch some of these games!

FRIDAY, July 1
FIFA Women’s World Cup JAPAN-MEXICO (live) 7:45 am. – ESPN
FIFA Women’s World Cup NEW ZEALAND-ENGLAND (live) 10:45 am. – ESPN

SATURDAY, July 2
FIFA Women’s World Cup USA-COLOMBIA (live) 10:30 am. – ESPN
FIFA Women’s World Cup KOREA DPR-SWEDEN (live) 6:45 am. – ESPN2

SUNDAY, July 3
FIFA Women’s World Cup BRAZIL-NORWAY (live) 11:45 am – ESPN
FIFA Women’s World Cup AUSTRALIA-EQUATORIAL GUINEA (live) 7:45 am – ESPN2
FIFA U-17 World Cup TBD, Quarterfinal (live) 3:55 pm.

MONDAY, July 4
FIFA U-17 World Cup TBD, Quarterfinal (live) 3:55 pm. – ESPN3.com
FIFA U-17 World Cup TBD, Quarterfinal (live) 6:45 pm.- ESPN3.com

The US Boys U17 team got hammered 0-4 by Germany in their Round of 16 game yesterday. Another nail in the coffin of the US Developmental effort. A chance to see Germany or England, who defeated Argentina in PK’s, is worth it however. We’re a small market and we get excited about seeing Springfield Cardinal players make it to the Major’s. This is your chance to do the same thing with the World’s Game.

Sporting KC’s Davy Arnaud out 6 weeks

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Sporting KC captain Davy Arnaud is expected to miss the next six weeks after undergoing sports hernia surgery.

“I’m a quick healer and will work hard to get back on the field,” Arnaud said in a press release. “With the new stadium and our commitment to making the playoffs, I will do whatever it takes to return and contribute on the field.”

Arnaud, 31, is the longest-tenured player on the Sporting roster. He has been in the league for 10 seasons.

Arnaud has played in 15 matches this season. He did not play in Sporting KC’s US Open Cup match against Chicago PDL on Tuesday.

This is the second sports hernia injury the team has incurred this year, Omar Bravo was sideline with the same ailment to start the year.

 

US Open Cup – Sporting KC Thru To Quarterfinals

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Korede Aiyegbusi, Sporting KC

Korede Aiyegbusi, Sporting KC

June 28, 2011) – Sporting Kansas City defeated the Chicago Fire PDL by a score of 3-0 in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday night at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

Teal Bunbury, Milos Stojcev and Kei Kamara provided the goals and Eric Kronberg made one save for a Sporting Kansas City side that now advances to the quarterfinal round of the tournament for the first time since 2009. Sporting Kansas City will host the Richmond Kickers on July 12th at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park.

The action got going early, as Sporting were able to convert their first chance of the match in just the third minute. A foul at the edge of the area saw a free kick given against the Fire PDL. Standing over the ball, Luke Sassano rolled a quick pass to Teal Bunbury, and the second-year forward smashed a low drive past Fire PDL goalkeeper David Meves.

Catch the whole story on the Sporting KC website, including video

Springfield Soccer Photos

Region 2 Tournament: SSC’s Run Ends In SemiFinals

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Springfield SC 94/95 Boys at Region 2 Tournament

Springfield SC 94/95 Boys at Region 2 Tournament by Duane Moses

The Springfield SC 94/95 Boys will play against the Cincinnati Crew Jr’s at 10am today in the U16 Boys semifinals.

There are several other teams from Missouri who have reached the semifinals as well including the U13 Boys Sporting KC Jr’s, U18 Girls Scott Gallagher (Cline & Hatz), U16 Girls JB Marine Wipke, U18 Girls KCFC Intensity (Groom, Clark and other Liberty Jay’s), U15 Girls KCFC Futura Academy and in the U17 Boys, Scott Gallagher will face Lou Fusz Popovic ensuring one Missouri team will reach the Finals.

8:00 am games
U13B Sporting KC Jrs (MO) – 3
Pacesetter Premier (OH) – 1

U16G JB Marine Wipke (MO) – 1
MI Hawks 95 (MI) – 5

U18G St Louis Scott Gallagher – 0
Mockingbird (KY) – 2

U18G KCFC Intensity – 1
FC Milwaukee – 2

10am games
U16B Raiders FC (IL) – 3
MN Thunder Academy 95 (MN) – 4

U16B CUP Crew Juniors Gold (OH-S) – 2 (OT)
Springfield SC (MO) – 1
A goal in the 10th minute by Mitch Moncada (Catholic), assisted by Ismael Serratos (Carthage) provided the team with their 4th straight game holding the lead. Unfortunately their stout defense, which had not surrendered a goal in the 3 group stage games, gave up one in the second half, leading to overtime. The Ohio squad scored again in the 1st OT and held on to win, advancing to the Final tomorrow.

The boys finish 3-1 in reaching the semifinals their first time to Regionals. The three group games were all shutouts, with a 5-0 advantage in goals scored vs surrendered.

Cincinnati United Crew advance to the Regional Final against the MN Thunder Academy who won 4-3 in their semifinal against the Raiders (IL)

12pm games
U17B St Louis Scott Gallagher Gold (MO) -
Lou Fusz Gold Popovic (MO) -

U15G Michigan Hawks (MI) -
KCFC/Futura Academy (MO) –

Sporting Kansas City Host Chicago Fire PDL in U.S. Open Cup Tuesday

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I’ll be taking in Livestrong Sporting Park on Tuesday for the US Open Cup match between Sporting KC and the Chicago Fire PDL squad. Look for photos and a game story on Wednesday. Sporting KC offers these notes on the match…

Fresh off a win in MLS play over the weekend, Sporting Kansas City faces a quick turnaround as they host Chicago Fire PDL of the USL Premier Development League Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. CT in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The match will be held at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park and is the first-ever U.S. Open Cup match to be played at the brand new stadium.

Tickets for the match are just $10 for Sporting Kansas City season ticket members and $15 for the general public. Tickets can be purchased here or at the LIVESTRONG Sporting Park box office.

Sporting Kansas City enter the third round of the tournament by virtue of a 5-0 win over the New England Revolution on May 25th at the Blue Valley District Activities Complex in Overland Park, Kansas. Chance Myers and C.J. Sapong each scored twice while Aurelien Collin got his first competitive goal for Sporting Kansas City in the victory.

The Fire PDL enter Tuesday’s contest after edging the NPSL’s Madison 56ers by a 2-0 scoreline in Madison, Wisconsin on Wednesday, June 22nd. Andrew Ribeiro and Thierry Zahui got the goals in a match that took 24 hours to complete after a lightning delay forced the match to be abandoned the previous night.

The winner of Tuesday’s contest will advance to the quarterfinal round of the tournament, set to be held on July 12th, against the winner of the match between the Columbus Crew and the Richmond Kickers of USL Pro. Should Sporting Kansas City advance, the quarterfinal match will be played at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park.

The U.S. Open Cup has been held annually since 1914 and is named after Lamar Hunt, original owner of Sporting Kansas City from 1995-2006. Kansas City won the U.S. Open Cup in 2004,defeating the Chicago Fire 1-0 on a golden goal by striker Igor Simutenkov off a free kick in the 95th minute at Arrowhead Stadium on September 22nd, 2004. Current Sporting Kansas City captain Davy Arnaud featured in the starting lineup for Kansas City in the final.

Region 2 Championships – Springfield SC to Semifinals!

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The final day of group stage and everyone is still in a position to advance. The photos are from the win on Sunday, including the PK goal by Josh McCutcheon, and are provided by Duane Moses who’s son Dallas (Catholic) is a midfielder for SSC. The boys kick off at 8am this morning needing a tie to advance.

U16 Boys Springfield SC – 1
Everest SC Black (OH-N) – 0
A second half goal by Ismael Serratos (Carthage) in the 71st minute has given the boys their third straight shutout win in the group stages and they now advance to the Semifinals tomorrow at 10am. Awaiting word on winner of Carmel United U16 Elite (IN) vs CUP Crew Juniors Gold (OH-S) match. It’s the Crew!

The Cincinnati United Premiere (CUP) Crew Gold squad finished 1st in the Midwest Regional League Premier East this Spring, finishing 6-1. Their sole loss was to the Everest SC Black team, 3-0 on April 10th in Cincinnati. The team is ranked 2nd in the Region according to GotSoccer.

U19 Boys St Louis Scott Gallagher Elite – 0
Javanon 92 (KY) – 2
The loss appears to have finished the teams run at Regionals. A 2-1 finish with six points ties them with the KCFC Spartans (KS) but the Spartans have a +5 GD compared to Gallagher’s +1, meaning the Wild Card spot will elude them.

U17 Girls St. Louis Scott Gallagher – 2
Cincinnati Soccer Alliance U17 Elite (OH-S) – 0
The win was not sufficient to allow Molly Brewer (Glendale) and her teammates to advance as the MN Thunder Academy tied Lexington and advance with a 2-0-1 record and 7 points versus Gallaghers six points from two wins.

U18 Girls St. Louis Scott Gallagher – 3
E Iowa United 92/93 (IA) – 0
The STL representatives, which include Emily Cline (Glendale) and Shelby Hatz (Catholic), advance to the semifinals with a 2-0-1 record and 7 points. They avoid the KCFC Intensity squad that includes Shea Groom and Kaysie Clark of the Liberty Jays who advance with the 3-0 record and 18 goals scored. They will instead play Mockingbird (KY) who advanced via PK’s against Eclipse (IL) when both teams finished 2-0-1 with a +8 GD. Eclipse was the #1 ranked team in the Region while Mockingbird is #10

Region 2 Tournament – Springfield Wins Again!

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FCgreenbay by Green Bay Press Gazette

FC Green Bay by Green Bay Press Gazette

Here are updates from today’s group stages. Teams are playing their second of three games and I offer thoughts on their opportunity to advance.

U18 Girls St. Louis Scott Gallagher – 1
Cleveland FC (OH North) – 0
A late first half goal by Jessica Kelley gave Emily Cline, Shelby Hatz and their teammates their first win of the group stage. The team is now 1-1 and tied for first in the group with 4 points but at a disadvantage in goal differential. They face the winless Eastern Iowa United squad tomorrow where a win guarantees they advance.

U17 Girls St. Louis Scott Gallagher – 0
MN Thunder Academy 94 Blue (MN) – 2
A pair of goals in each half for the Minnesota squad means Molly Brewer and her teammates are now 1-1 in the group. They are 3rd of 4 teams based upon points and goal differential. They will play Cincinnati Soccer Alliance tomorrow who are also 1-1 but ahead on goals. A win combined with a loss by MN against the currently winless Lexington FC squad will be needed to advance out of the group.

U19 Boys St Louis Scott Gallagher – 2
FC Green Bay (WI) – 0
The Green Bay squad loses by 2 for the second day in a row and Gallagher (including Drury players Mike Yuede and Matt Hutchinson) now face Javanon for the Group title tomorrow at noon. Both teams are 2-0 and have identical goal differential (+3) although Gallagher have not given up a goal. With three groups, there is a wildcard opportunity but two groups, including Gallaghers, have two teams with 6 points already so a win is best. Javanon is ranked 7th in the Region, well ahead of Gallagher and were Regional Finalists last year.

U16 Boys Springfield SC – 2
Galaxy (IL) – 0
A pair of goals early in the second half propelled the boys to their second straight win, this one over another higher-ranked team in their group and a squad they had lost to in late April 1-2. A penalty kick by Josh McCutcheon (Kickapoo), which included the ejection of the Galaxy goalkeeper with a red card, was the game-winner in the 54th minute. Minutes later McCutcheon assisted on the second goal, scored by Ismael Serratos (Carthage), and the final margin.

Their opponent tomorrow, Everest SC Black (OH), is ranked 5th in the Region and bounced back from their loss yesterday to the Galaxy with a 2-1 win over Waukesha. The Wisconsin squad opened the scoring in the 57th min but Everest came down the field and tied the game in the 58th and got the game-winner in the 83rd.

Springfield needs a tie to advance, providing them with 7 points from a 2-0-1 finish while Everest would finish with 4 points. A win would be better!

Joplin Eagles Featured In Globe – We Have Nothing Left

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Ed Miller, Joplin Eagles with 2011 Seniors

Ed Miller, Joplin Eagles with 2011 Seniors

The Joplin Globe offers an update on the High School sports programs with JHS teams face summer of adjustments

“We don’t have anything left,” Miller said. “It was a total loss. Most of our stuff was in the garage/storage shed up by the soccer field and it was wiped out. Even the stuff inside, down in the cage in the high school, we haven’t been able to get in there to see if anything is salvageable.”

That means Miller and the Eagles are borrowing from other schools for the time being. But by the time fall rolls around, they’ll need their own gear.

“We’re very fortunate and blessed that area schools have been so gracious,” Miller said. “But it’s going to be just like starting a program from scratch. We have to make a wish list for uniforms and sweat suits, bags, socks, goals, nets, balls. We have to get up and running.”

What are we going to do about this folks?

The photo was taken May 19 following the District Final. The tornado struck three days later. Neither Ashlea Norman (2nd from left) or Vivien Moreno (1st on left) were able to participate in the All-Star game this year although Parker Maher was able to on the Boys side.

The Tulsa World also did a story on the athletic program – Joplin High School Athletic Programs move forward after devastating tornado