Daily news roundups

Weekly honors, locals on Hermann Trophy Watch List, Donovan’s foreign suitors, more

Photo: Paul Rudderow

Philadelphia Union

In MLSsoccer.com’s power rankings, the Union move up two spots to No. 10. The blurb next to the rankings says, “The drought goes on for Jack Mac, who’s now without a goal in eight straight games. Saturday in Jersey was hardly his fault, as he saw exactly zero service. But is there anyone at this point who still thinks his brief time with the USMNT was useful?”

Amobi Okugo has been named to MLSsoccer.com’s Team of the Week.

Zac MacMath, Okugo, and Jeff Parke received honorable mentions in the latest SBI Best XI for Week 25.

MacMath comes in at No. 4 in the latest Castrol Weekly Top 20 Performers list. In the Full Castrol Index, the top five Union players are Jack McInerney (No. 6), Conor Casey (No. 12), Zac MacMath (No. 29), Sebastien Le Toux (No. 41), and Amobi Okugo (No. 49).

On the Union website, Andy Jasner has a nice story on the recent Atoms reunion to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1973 NASL championship.

Local

The Harrisburg City Islanders are looking to erase the memory of their regular season ending road loss to Dayton as they prepare for Saturday’s USL PRO playoff game against Charlotte Eagles. Head coach Bill Becher said, “We’re a team that I think responds well to tough situations. We had a couple setbacks and we always seemed to respond well throughout the course of the season. I don’t think it’ll be any different on Saturday. I expect the guys to come out with a big performance.”

Harrisburg’s Coady Andrews received an honorable mention in the latest USL PRO Team of the Week.

New MISL team the Pennsylvania Roar have announced their coaching staff.

Several local players have made the Hermann Trophy Watch List including John McCarthy (La Salle, Cinnaminson, N.J), Tyler Miller (Northwestern, Woodbury, N.J.), Joseph Schmid (Monmouth, Kimgston, Pa.), and Steve Neumann, (Georgetown, New Hope, Pa.). Reading United’s Pedro Ribeiro (Coastal Carolina, Belo Horizonte, Brazil) is also on the list.

On the Women’s Watch List is Elizabeth Hoerner (Navy, Lititz, Pa.). Penn State’s Maya Hayes is also on the list.

Philadelphia University and Wilmington University both topped a preseason poll of coaches of Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) women’s soccer teams.

Southjerseylocalnews.com has a profile on Travis Gould, a 13-year-old eighth-grader from Marlton who was part of the PDA U-14 team that won the U.S. Soccer National Premier League championship in Colorado. Young Travis said, “I like when I go to stadiums. and all the fans start chanting for one player. I want to be one of those players that people are chanting for.”

Jason Hotchkin, the former Harrisburg City Islanders player who was wounded in a shooting over the weekend, has been upgraded to fair condition at Paoli Hospital.

MLS

In Tuesday’s CONCACAF Champions League games, LA Galaxy defeated Costa Rica’s CS Cartaginés, 2-0, courtesy of a brace from Robbie Keane, which comes on the heels of his hat trick against Real Salt Lake on Saturday. Houston traveled to Trinidad & Tobago for a 0-0 draw with W Connection. Montreal is on the road to face Heredia in Costa Rica tonight.

Yesterday we linked to comments from Landon Donovan saying that he is open to a move abroad when his contract with the Galaxy expires at the end of the year. Greg Seltzer reports “the Serie A trio of Genoa, Sassulo and Hellas Verona [are] interested in his services to some degree past mere scouting.” He adds, “I’ve been informed that AC Milan are considering making a summer transfer offer for Donovan if they can get past PSV Eindhoven into the Champions League group stage.” (Emphasis in the original.)

At Goal.com, Avi Creditor notes that, following big contracts recently given to fellow USMNTers Clint Dempsey and Omar Gonzalez and his own contract expiring, Donovan is in an advantageous negotiating position should he look to stay in MLS.

New York’s Jamison Olave, who left Saturday’s game against the Union early, is out 10-12 days with a hamstring tear.

The Guardian on the Dynamo’s Giles Barnes, the one-time “Next Big Thing” in England endured a series of injuries before rejuvenating his career in MLS. He says he’s often contacted by other English players interested in joining the league. “It’s very appealing to a lot of people. I think everyone realizes what this league has got in potential, it’s got the potential to blow up beyond what some people can even imagine. When it does, that’s when the money will come.”

The Brotherly Game says the Supporters Shield shouldn’t take the back seat to the MLS Cup.

Al Jazeera America wonders if New York’s soccer fans will take NYC FC seriously.

A county commissioner in Orange County Fla., in which Orlando is located, says that if taxpayers poney up $20 million to help build a new stadium for Orlando City SC, then they should have partial ownership of the team. Commissioner Pete Clarke wrote in a memo, “I do not want another example of the county expending millions of dollars watching from the sidelines, as our investment climbs in value without the prospects of our taxpayers benefiting.” Seems sensible to me.

More on Brandenton, Fla.’s efforts to become a preseason hub for MLS teams.

NWSL

This weekend’s playoff matches will be broadcast on Fox Sports 2.

US

The referee for the US World Cup qualifier in Costa Rica on Sept. 6 will be Mexico’s Marco Rodriguez. SBI notes Rodriguez showed a card 157 times in 33 games in all competitions between August of 2012 and August of 2013. The US, who has ten players carrying a yellow card going into the game against Costa Rica, plays Mexico four days later in Columbus.

US Soccer began a social media campaign this week “that provides fans with the opportunity to send personal messages and photos that will be displayed on the walls of the tunnel outside the U.S. Men’s National Team locker room” for the match against Mexico on Sept. 10. An announcement on the US Soccer website says, “Fans can submit their messages and photos all this week using #FanWall, and are encouraged to come up with their most creative and patriotic ideas.”

Brian Sciaretta argues that Fabian Johnson is best played at left mid.

Elsewhere

In just seven hours, applications were received for more than one million tickets for the 2014 World Cup on FIFA’s website.

The AP reports, “Brazil’s tourism board said Tuesday that it has officially told FIFA and hotel operators to negotiate lowering prices during the 2014 World Cup.”

Mario Balotelli, on the cover of Sports Illustrated. I wonder is he knows of his debt of gratitude to Bob Rigby?

In the wake of further sanctions following persistent racist chants during Lazio’s 4-0 loss to Juventus in the Supercoppa last Sunday that will see a section of Rome’s Stadio Olympico stadium closed to Lazio supporters once again, a group that claims to represent the supporters in the Curva Nord section says it will stop its “famous monkey chants,” which it claims are misunderstood.

 

2 Comments

  1. Don’t look now … but get who is #5 on the saves list:
    http://www.mlssoccer.com/stats

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