Daily news roundups

Hack expects playoff feel in NE, Union cautious with return of Gaddis from injury, more news.

Philadelphia Union

In his weekly press conference on Wednesday, John Hackworth said Sunday’s game against New England will have a playoff feel to it. Acknowledging the remaining schedule is filled with opponents fighting for their own postseason hopes, Hackworth added later, “You’ll probably hear me say that every week” as the regular season goes down to the wire.

Hackworth said that, while there haven’t been many changes in personnel, both the Union and the Revolution are different, much improved team since they last met. “That sets up for this game being difficult for both of us. We didn’t play well last time we were up there,” Hackworth said. “I think it might have been one of our poorer performances on the year. We certainly want to change that and so we have been trying to emphasize our preparation, our process, and our performance. We feel like if we get those three right, we put ourselves in a good position to be successful in the game. I think knowing that we didn’t play well there gives our guys a little bit of an incentive too.”

“We’re gonna have to be really good,” Hackworth said, “and I think we’re gonna have to bring our best.”

Hackworth said of Jack McInerney, “Despite the fact that he hasn’t found the back of the net, we still think that he is contributing to our success…Anytime a player contributes to an overall team performance, we should give him some credit for that. I don’t think he’s getting any credit for some of the work he’s done, for some of his play outside of scoring.”

Hackworth seemed to suggest that Fabinho would again start at left back in place of the injured Ray Gaddis. Hackworth said that Gaddis, who is recovering from a high ankle sprain, “is still coming along but probably not to the level that we expected him to.” Hackworth said that Gaddis was back in training on Tuesday but was unable to make it through the full session. “Our medical staff has gone back and, I think we’re being a little cautious with him.”

Hackworth said while the transition between replacing Gaddis with Fabinho “hasn’t been seamless, it’s been pretty good.” Hackworth explained, “Fabinho is a different player than Ray” who ‘brings different things.”

Hackworth said “Fabinho has come in and contributed and done very well with his opportunity.” He added, “It’s a nice thing to have when a guy like Fabinho comes in during the summer transfer window and is now contributing on both sides of the ball the way he is.”

Hackworth continued, “I think once Ray is back at a hundred percent, I think there will be a serious battle [for who will start at left back].

There were no other injuries to report in the press conference.

Jack McInerney and Amobi Okugo make ProSoccerTalk’s MLS Best XI of players under the age of 24.

Looking ahead to Sunday’s game in New England, Revolution coach Jay Heaps says it’s too early to say who will be starting in goal. Matt Reis was between the pipes last weekend for the first time since Bobby Shuttleworth began his string of 21 consecutive starts.

If you haven’t seen this yet, Brian Carroll was miked up for the recent game against Chicago. It’s an interesting  glimpse into what goes on on the field. Let no one say that Carroll wouldn’t give you the shirt off his back.

At MLSsoccer.com, Dave Zeitlin writes about the new YSC Academy school that will offer an academic curriculum for the team’s development academy players. YSC Sports owner, and member of the Union’s ownership group, Richie Graham said, “What the school allows us to do is really drive the cultural identity of the club. We considered partnering with an outside school, but an outside school has its own culture.”

Graham continued, “I’m not saying our model is better, but I do think it gives us the ability to really focus on driving through the culture of what it means to play for the Philadelphia Union. A dream come true for me would be that someday these boys are representing the Philadelphia Union at PPL Park, they score a goal, that they run in the corner and they’re the kid that’s kissing the badge.”

Nick Sakiewicz, who describes the new school as “a game-changer,” said, “This is not an inexpensive venture. This is multiple millions of dollars over a long period of time. But our dream is to put as many starting-11 players as we can from our local area. And this is how we can do that.”

The school, which offers financial assistance on a need basis, will open in September with 32 student players in grades 8-11 with students moving up to 12th grade in the next academic year.

University of Louisville head coach Ken Lolla doesn’t want the College Cup final played at venues like PPL Park, which will be hosting the championship for the first time this year. “I’ll take the opportunity now to say we as an organization—the men’s soccer organization within the NCAA—are not getting it right…We’ve had too many places that are unfilled, that aren’t attended well, in MLS stadiums that are beautiful venues but the atmosphere isn’t good enough for an NCAA final.” Unsurprisingly, Lolla suggests his school’s new stadium, scheduled to open next year, should host the final.

Local

A Community Caring and Fundraising Campaign for former City Islander and current Harrisburg Heat player Jason Hotchkin, who was wounded in a shooting in West Chester early Sunday morning, will take place at Harrisburg’s USL PRO playoff game this Saturday. At Penn Live.com, Michael Bullock reports, “In addition to donating a portion of all paid ticket sales to Hotchkin’s medical fund, City Islanders players will wear a special No. 11 jersey during pre-game warmups. Those jerseys will be autographed and auctioned during the game, with the proceeds going to the same medical fund.”

Hotchkin, who wore No. 11 for the City Islanders, is recovering at Paoli Hospital and his condition has been upgraded to good.

If you wish to make a contribution but cannot attend Saturday’s game, a Give Forward campaign has also been established to help Hotchkin, who has no medical insurance.

The La Salle women’s team opens the new season on Friday at 5 pm against Old Dominion in the JMU Invitational Tournament as it looks to defend its Atlantic 10 title and advance to the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive year.

MLS

In CONCACAF Champions League play, Montreal Impact fell 1-0 on the road to Costa Rica’s Heredia.

At US Soccer Players, Jason Davis writes, “MLS ratings are poor. If MLS is going to improve the number of fans watching, a must if television revenue is to increase to any type of transformative level (the current deal, which runs through 2014, reportedly brings MLS $10 million a year), concessions will need to be made to broadcast partners. Concessions like flex scheduling and exclusive windows.”

The Brotherly Game says the playoffs are here to stay.

NWSL

Former Philadelphia Independence goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart, now with FC Kansas City, has been named NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year.

US

The AP has a story with Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, and Julie Foudy following the broadcast of “The 99ers” on ESPN.

This article at Forbes about NBC’s opening weekend of Premier League broadcasts? I don’t even know where to begin, it’s so riddled with idiotic comments.

Elsewhere

El Salvador’s football federation has provisionally suspended 22 players for alleged match-fixing.

In a match in Hungary last Saturday, supporters of Ferencvárosi TC displayed a banned in support of the recently deceased Csatary Laszlo. The Allgemeiner reports, “Csatary, who died just over a week ago at the age of 98 while awaiting trial in Hungary, was accused of torturing Jews and sending over 15,000 to their deaths at the Auschwitz Nazi death camp. In 1948 he was convicted in absentia in Czechoslovakia for war crimes and sentenced to death. Jewish human rights group the Simon Wiesenthal Center labeled Csatary as the world’s ‘Most Wanted’ Nazi.”

Wayne Thorne, manager of Western Football League Premier Division club Larkhall Athletic, was in an induced coma following a head on car accident that left him with multiple serious injuries. When told by his wife that his club had won their season opener, Thorne, who had been in a coma for a week, opened his eyes.

5 Comments

  1. OneManWolfpack says:

    So that Forbes article hurt my head and ruined my day. Thanks. Ha. Linking up teams? There may one day be a global league? My god…

  2. Great to see Carroll being so vocal. A lot of people wrote that he isn’t an agressive presense. Well, maybe that helps change that perception. He isn’t an attacking player, but he gets things done on defense. No one is 100% all the time but Carroll is the most consistent player on that field.

    • Carroll was bad to start the year, and he earned the jeers he received to start the season. However, he rounded into form after about 5 games, and since then he’s been just a little bit less than what he was last season, which is what you’d expect from a player his age.
      .
      Most consistent player? No. But he’s important to our team this year. I’d love to see us bring Valdes back and push Okugo to CDM next season, but who knows (our roster is bound to change a lot, based on previous seasons).

  3. Ray’s injury may be a blessing in disguise it makes his benching seem like not a benching at all. And gives him a chance to play himself back on the field.

    • The Chopper says:

      Agreed. And credit Hack for saying it will be a battle. I never bought into that you can’t lose your starting job due to an injury crap that is so prevalent in other sports.

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