Results tagged “soccer>”

In a move which should surprise no one, D.C. United head coach Tom Soehn removed his name from consideration for the team's head coaching position in advance of his contract's expiration yesterday, effectively ending six years of service with the club. Soehn, an assistant coach from 2004 to 2006, was promoted to head coach for the 2007 season and started brightly, leading United to the MLS Supporters Shield in his first season. But after two consecutive years in which United failed to make the MLS playoffs, it was obvious that the club would not be extending his three-year contract, which was due to expire at the end of 2009. Soehn finished his tenure at United with a 55-48-31 record in all competitions.

With their chances of making the postseason finally dashed on Saturday night after a heartbreaking 2-2 draw in Kansas City, D.C. United's focus moved from the inconsistency of their on-the-field performance to their arguably much more intriguing off-the-field affairs. Besides a potential coaching change and plenty of questions about a major shake-up in the front office, the more pertinent debate is perhaps the still-looming issue of finding a new home for the club.

United 1, Toluca 1: D.C. United have spent this year on the fringes of pretty much everything. The fringe of the MLS playoffs. The fringe of silverware in the Open Cup. The fringe of victory or defeat (the team has 14 draws in 44 games over all competitions). The fringe of being able to put together a complete ninety minutes as a cohesive unit. Teams that live on such fringes often end up owing up their successes and failures to chance -- and so it is with United, whose advancement to the knockout stages of the CONCACAF Champions League (much like their chances to advance to the MLS Cup playoffs) now sits in the hands of other teams. On its own, the one-all draw at Toluca would probably be viewed as a success. American sides never fare well in the high altitudes and hostile atmospheres of Mexico, let alone against one of the marquee sides in the country. Additionally, Tom Soehn was understandably resting a large number of his regulars in advance of Saturday's league finale against Kansas City -- Ben Olsen, Clyde Simms, Jaime Moreno and Marc Burch sat, and Boyzz Khumalo, Rodney Wallace, Christian Gomez and Dejan Jakovic played abbreviated roles. With a win, United could have assured their place in the next stage of the competition, and they got off to as good a start as they could. Chris Pontius supplied a fantastic strike to open matters, but Israel López equalized for Toluca from the penalty spot in the 62nd minute. United was fortunate to hold on, as keeper Steve Cronin impressed again with several key saves. D.C. will now need Marathon to either tie or lose against San Juan Jabloteh to advance; it would be the first positive result for Jabloteh in the group stage, so don't hold your breath.

Capitals 3, Predators 2: The Caps won in a dramatic shootout -- we'll have a full recap tomorrow.

              

The cold, blustery and wet conditions at RFK Stadium were nothing short of appropriate for the United States' final World Cup qualifier, really: the fitting backdrop for the conclusion of a road trip which has seen little sunshine for the men's national team. In the light of the car crash which severely injured forward Charlie Davies, most of the 26,243 on hand focused their meditations on one question: would the accident inspire the Americans to perform at the peak of their abilities, or would they simply fall flat in a match that both math and the accident had rendered much less of a priority?

Wire reports now confirm that a fatal early-morning car accident on the GW Parkway did indeed involve U.S. Men's National soccer team forward Charlie Davies. Davies was not behind the wheel at the time of the accident. WTOP reported that the collision, which occurred at about 3:15 a.m., claimed at least one fatality and seriously injured two others. One look at the car involved in the wreck, and it's understandable that Davies' injuries -- which have required hours of surgery -- are being described as "possibly career-threatening." (Although as of 5 p.m., the U.S. Soccer Federation is backing off of that assessment, calling the effect of Davies' injuries on his future "unclear.") Steve Goff's SoccerInsider twitter account first reported the news, and confirmed that Davies, who is still under the knife, did not suffer "life threatening" injuries.

              

Okay, let's just get this out of the way up top: San Juan Jabloteh features a player named Elton John. It's kind of difficult to take that seriously, even for a sport where guys named Banana score goals and participants sport these kinds of hairstyles in a tournament watched by a billion people.

• Maryland 1, North Carolina 0: Leading with college soccer? You bet. 6,946 -- an attendance record for a Maryland soccer match, and more than 1,500 more spectators than last night's D.C. United match -- and soccer nuts watching on Fox Soccer Channel saw the Terrapins win a rematch of last season's NCAA men's championship game, which they also won by the same score. It was pure drama at the expanded Ludwig Field, as fifth-year senior captain Kevin Tangney headed in with two minutes left to settle matters. North Carolina's Billy Schuler, who has scored as a member of the United States' U-20 team (soccer fans, don't forget: the U.S. opens their 2010 U-20 World Cup tomorrow against Germany in Egypt) missed a penalty kick in the 55th minute to set up the dramatic ending. Said Maryland coach Sasho Cirovski, "that was one of the best moments of my 17 years here."
• Braves 4, Nationals 1: The Nationals got some ink earlier this year for statistically being the unluckiest team in the bigs, though losses like last night's only reinforce that idea is influenced by a lot of errors. John Lannan allowed but two unearned runs in the first inning thanks to two errors, and still found himself with a loss. Braves starter Javier Vazquez went the distance to keep Atlanta's slim hopes of a playoff berth alive. Vazquez worked quickly and shut down the Nats' offense, allowing only three hits in his third complete game of the year.

              

Sure, I could be negative. I could tell you that last night was the quietest I've heard RFK Stadium in some time. I could talk about how secondary the reputation of the CONCACAF Champions League appears to be, even for those involved in the competition. I could harp on the poor finishing in the first half of the match, an effort so indicative of numerous D.C. United matches this season -- full of exciting offensive potential, but so little return.

              

When I was but a wee lad, I loved watching the game show Press Your Luck. The most exciting part of the show was watching someone get their last whammy and crapping out -- for whatever reason, it was just far more entertaining to watch someone with thousands of dollars lose their money because they stopped the moving lights on a small red...thing. The tension, it was palpable.

            

For the sparse crowd of United supporters who attended last night's CONCACAF Champions League debacle against Toluca of Mexico at RFK Stadium, it would be easy to attribute the result and the team's incredibly poor performance to fixture congestion.

Three area Men's soccer squads made Soccer America's Preseason Top 25, led by the defending national champion Maryland, at #8. The Terps lost a number of stars from last year's title team (its second in four years), but return enough talent to merit the top ten ranking. They're also one of three ACC teams in the first ten. George Mason is ranked #19, and actually claimed a solid 1-0 exhibition win on the road at Virginia last week. The Patriots are coming off their first Colonial Athletic Association title in 20 years and open the season by hosting the annual D.C. College Cup, featuring American, George Washington, and Howard. Loyola (Md.) also feature in the Top 25, coming in at #17. The Greyhounds are picked to take home the MAAC crown again this year, and return preseason player of the year Jamie Dervill.

United 0, Galaxy 0: A downpour, the two biggest stars in MLS, a nearly-must-win scenario, a season-high 22,134 hopping fans, and assistant coach Chad Ashton taking the first-team reins for the first time in his United career after regular manager Tom Soehn came down with flu-like symptoms before the game -- to say that it was an exciting night at RFK would be an understatement. United came out strong, but sadly, the spotlight of the game fell mostly onto the referee. The stadium exploded in the eighth minute after a beautiful interplay through midfield ended with a fantastic finish by Luciano Emilio poking it into the back of the net -- but the goal was incorrectly disallowed for offside. (Emilio was at least a yard on.) A booking in the 11th for captain Ben Olsen's tackle on Beckham only intensified the crowd volume. United's quality in possession delivered plenty of chances, but Galaxy keeper Donovan Ricketts was up to the task and kept things scoreless. The second half saw the introduction of Jaime Moreno, and United continued to pressure the L.A. goal. But shot after shot, corner after corner, header after header just went wide or over. Of course, the referee again blowing a big call -- waving off a clear-cut penalty when Emilio was pushed down -- didn't help anything. United's firm grip on the game began to loosen in the final fifteen minutes -- L.A. began to push forward and created a couple of chances. But keeper Josh Wicks maintained the clean sheet by denying a couple of direct shots on goal, especially a Landon Donovan header from a Beckham cross in the waning minutes. The Black-and-Red bossed the game, but it was just not their night. It was hardly a surprise that two teams with 20 draws between them split the points -- though the lack of goals was disappointing.

              

How different, really, are D.C. United and Real Madrid? On the surface, that's a laughable question. One has spent vast fortunes to attempt to knock off their eternal rivals; the other has only a handful of players who earn salaries that wouldn't be scoffed at on the other team. One is from Spain, a country that arguably boasts the best domestic league and national team in the world; the other is from the United States, where the domestic league is seen as little but a minnow in the worldwide football hierarchy, and the national team is in a constant uphill battle for respectability. One squad's bench contains nine players who could wipe the floor with most teams in the world by simply adding a couple guys they found on the street; the other's bench, while not untalented, would likely struggle to make it through an entire season with a winning record.

          

Last weekend, teams from 16 cities around the country descended on Washington to participate in the 2009 Street Soccer USA Cup, and DCist's Martin Locraft was there to capture the action. But these weren't your typical weekend footballers: 160 homeless men and women made up the teams that battled it out at a specially converted Kastles Stadium. Street Soccer USA, one of many organizations focused on eradicating homelessness and poverty via the beautiful game, put together the tournament, which was tightly contested. And rightfully so: the best eight players from the tournament would be selected to represent the United States in the Homeless World Cup in Milan this September. San Francisco ended up lifting the Leonsis Trophy (named after Caps owner and big Street Soccer USA supporter Ted Leonsis) after a thrilling affair against Minneapolis, but local sides were also competitive - Montgomery County's entry finished in third place.

Brewers 7, Nationals 5: While the Nationals might not have much to play for standings-wise, at least there's always the intriguing potential for any one game to come down to that most dramatic of individual showdowns.

Shaq couldn't get in to see the Commander-In-Chief on Monday, but FIFA boss Sepp Blatter sure did. And from the sound of it, Washington's most famous resident turned on the charm, dribbling a ball which Blatter brought with him and kinda-sorta accepting an invitation to attend the upcoming World Cup in South Africa.

              

It's a question that's often refreshed every year: what's the next positive step for American soccer?

     

Yes, the D.C. Real World cast meandered its way to RFK Stadium on Saturday night for United's 3-1 win. DCist was there to report on the match, but we also managed to document the reality show's entrance into the stadium. We were surprised when the castmembers were seated in the Barra Brava section of the stadium, certainly the most difficult for a camera crew to shoot in, what with the constant bouncing and all. Highlights of the evening included United supporters booing castmembers for reading chants off a piece of paper (obviously, singing and shouting "D.C. United" or "United" in rhythm is a very difficult thing to commit to memory), and Barra members arguing whether the filming was an annoying distraction from the game or just good PR for the team. The question now: will The Real World acknowledge D.C.'s baseball futility with a trip to Nationals Park?

            

You know that show about the fishermen who leave home for months at a time to come back with big catches, significantly more grizzled faces, and, at times, missing certain people that they left with? Right -- we all know that one. One of the best parts about that program: even though some of the things they go through on the high seas would make the most hardened of individuals tremble, when they get back on land, all the fishermen down a few beers, talk about what a wild, strange trip its been, and hop right back on the ship that could be their collective coffin.

              

Santino Quaranta's emotional evening took center stage -- but there was still the matter of the match itself, a solid 2-0 win for U.S. over a tricky Honduras side last night at a pumping RFK Stadium.

              

It's because we see something in the game that we see in ourselves.

It was a night where one would be hard-pressed to call United's 2-0 victory over the amateur Ocean City Barons at the Maryland SoccerPlex undeserved. It took a penalty kick, a mishandle by the goalkeeper, some kind woodwork, and a some spectacular efforts from Milos Kocik to get by a team consisting of collegiate players, an elementary school teacher, a civil engineer, and a youth soccer coach. You can probably forgive the few United supporters in attendance for sweating a bit.

by DCist contributor Andrew Helms

"I'm not going to be content. I want to make the World Cup team."

            

On the surface, there wasn't much separating D.C. United and the Chicago Fire heading into their match at RFK Stadium last night. Both teams had scored and allowed the exact same number of goals -- 20 for, 17 against. Both held large margins in the way they score, namely, from the run of play -- United had scored 70% of goals in open play, the Fire, 65%. United had not lost at home, while Chicago boasted a spotless record on the road.

So, Madrid's bringing in Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, eh? In that case, it looks like D.C. United lucked out in nailing down Real Madrid for their August 9th friendly at FedEx Field. The European football world is all upside down with possibilities due to the second wave of galacticos at Madrid; but regardless of the dominoes that are yet to fall across the pond, soccer fans here will be able to see two of world's consensus top five players (unless, of course, Madrid adds another -- hey, you never know) when Los Merengues roll into town later this summer. And hey, right on cue, individual tickets just went on sale at 10 a.m. -- well played, United. You can get yours here -- we wouldn't recommend procrastinating for too long.

Say what you will about United's performance this season on the whole, but even the most pessimistic of supporters would have a difficult time arguing that this year's encounters with our rivals to the north, New York, have been anything but enjoyable. In the first two matches -- one, a thrilling, last-minute, two-goal comeback at Giants Stadium, and the other a game in which United led by four after 30 minutes in the Open Cup -- D.C. has earned positive results amid an ocean of mediocre draws. As they should: the league's runner-up last season, the Red Bulls currently wallow in dead last at an anemic 2-7-3, having only managed to score more than two goals in a game once this year.

After months of hardly-secret negotiations between the two clubs, it's now official -- D.C. United will take on La Liga's Real Madrid in a friendly at FedEx Field on August 9. The game will likely be a mid-afternoon kickoff, and United's previously scheduled August 8 home match against Kansas City will be moved to September 9. The match will be a part of a short North American tour for the Spanish giants; the two teams last met in Seattle in 2006, a game in which United played well and earned a 1-1 tie. Steven Goff -- who, as usual with all things soccer, has been all over this story for an eternity -- also reports that current United season ticket holders are being emailed for the advance ticket sale, with prices ranging between $50 and $100, including parking. (Since it's FedEx Field, we're assuming that the face value of tickets is likely between $25 and $75. Thanks, Dan Snyder!) With this match and AC Milan and Chelsea in Baltimore on July 24, it's turning into a very nice summer for European football fans in D.C. indeed.