Union

There are some big names on the Fire but the Union is focused on the whole team.

Justin Mapp talks about facing his former club.

Danny Califf says he wants to stay with the Union.

Local

Yesterday we mentioned that four Independence players—Heather Mitts, Lori Lindsey, Amy Rodriguez and Joanna Lohman—had been called up for the USWNT 30-player roster to face China. It turns out there are further local connections among those selected as Alyssa Naeher, Ali Krieger, as well as Lohman, all played their college soccer at Penn State.

Penn’s women’s team is hosting the Penn Invitational this weekend. The women’s teams from Saint Joseph’s, Dayton and Lehigh will participate in a series of doubleheaders on Friday and Sunday at Rhodes Field.

Father Judge, co-state champion last year, is looking to settle some unfinished business. Father Judge comes in at fourth in the Inquirer’s preseason high school boy’s soccer top-ten rankings.

Unionville Indians star forward Kelsey McDonald wanted to play football but she was too small. Which opened the door to soccer.

Speaking of girl’s soccer, the Inquirer has released its list of young Southeastern PA talent to keep an eye on as well as its top-ten ranking of local high school girl’s soccer teams.

MLS

Reining MLS champions Real Salt Lake could move to the top of the league standings for the first time in club history if they defeat Seattle Sounders tonight. You can watch the match at 11pm on ESPN2.

After seven years of wrangling, Salt Lake City has approved funding for the construction of a $23m soccer complex that will feature 16 soccer fields including a “championship facility” with seating for 2,000. Construction is expected to be completed by the fall of 2011. Real Salt lake will contribute $7.5m to the construction.

San Jose Earthquakes have selected the architects for their new stadium.

USL

The USL announced on Wednesday that it will merge its top two divisions into a single entity for the 2011 season. The new USL PRO league will be more regionally based “to build natural rivalries and reduce travel-related costs.” It is unclear at present whether the the new league will represent Division 2 soccer in the US soccer pyramid. The new NASL has been negotiating with US Soccer over the past year to be the sole organizational body of Division 2 soccer in North America but has had difficulty recruiting the minimum requirement of eight teams. This has been more difficult given the recent announcement by US Soccer of more stringent financial standards for teams to qualify for Division 2 status. Look to Inside Minnesota Soccer for more information—they have been doing an outstanding job covering lower division soccer league developments.

The coach of the Richmond Kickers thinks the new league could have anywhere from 12 to 18 teams.

US

Here’s a look at how the US v Mexico rivalry may never be the same, thanks to changes in the structure of CONCACAF’s qualification system.

Elsewhere

Sepp Blatter says that FIFA may look into changing how extra time is handled when games are tied after regulation time.

Fabio Capello says he will retire after Euro 2012.

Carlos Tevez says he may retire from international football before the next World Cup.

Etc.

In the wake of the Wayne Rooney sex scandal, here’s a top-ten list of soccer’s most notorious sexcapades. Meanwhile, one professional player explains why so many players seem to end up in these kind of scandals. And finally, here’s one Taiwanese news outlet’s hilarious take on the deal: