The bells may have only just chimed to welcome 2011 but registrations are already being accepted for spring recreational soccer at Southern Indiana United.
The program for children ages 4-17 provides the opportunity for all children of any skill level to learn and play soccer. The focus is on fun as players learn about good sportsmanship and teamwork, while also getting some great exercise.
All team members play at least half of every game and there are no cuts or tryouts. Each child receives a uniform, but players are expected to turn up with their own shin guards, a ball and a water bottle.
You have until February 11 to register, and can do so at www.siusoccer.com.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Want to be a Rover?
River City Rovers, the newly formed United Soccer League team for Kentuckiana, will be holding an open combine next week for interested players.
Rovers, who will play in the USL’s Premier Development League, will be made up of approximately 26 male players, ages 17-30, and will showcase the best and brightest local talent.
It also provides elite college players the opportunity to taste a higher level of competition while maintaining their NCAA eligibility.
The PDL is seen as a shop window for Major League Soccer clubs looking to discover and identify aspiring pros.
Many of the players currently playing in the MLS began their careers there, while notable US internationals with PDL experience include Charlie Davies, Brad Guzan, Jonathan Spector, Clarence Goodson and Jay DeMerit.
The open combine will be held from January 7-9 and the registration fee is $95.
The weekend will include testing at Velocity, 11470 Bluegrass Parkway on Friday, January 7 (10 a.m.), and continues with sessions at Oldham County YMCA Indoor Sports Arena in Buckner on January 8 and 9 (starting at 2 p.m.).
All players should bring indoor and outdoor shoes. Two combine t-shirts will also be distributed the day of the tryouts.
Players can complete an online application at www.roverssoccer.com. The website is under construction, but registering online is active through January 5.
Muhamed Fazlagic, who will serve as head coach and technical director, said he is excited to be part of creating this opportunity for local players.
“Now they'll be able to play at the highest level in front of their friends and family,” said the founder of United 1996. “River City Rovers is certainly a new and positive chapter in Louisville’s soccer history."
Unofficially, the PDL is considered to be the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid, behind the MLS, the USSF Division 2 and the USL Second Division.
It had 67 teams competing in four conferences -- split into eight regional divisions across the US and Canada -- in 2010. So far, three new franchises have been announced to participate in 2011 season.
The season comprises 16 regular season matches for each team -- eight home and eight away -- and runs from May to August.
Dale Helfrich, general manager of Oldham Thoroughbreds Soccer Club, has just appointed as operations manager of River City Rovers. For further information, you can contact him at 502-445-3482.
Rovers, who will play in the USL’s Premier Development League, will be made up of approximately 26 male players, ages 17-30, and will showcase the best and brightest local talent.
It also provides elite college players the opportunity to taste a higher level of competition while maintaining their NCAA eligibility.
The PDL is seen as a shop window for Major League Soccer clubs looking to discover and identify aspiring pros.
Many of the players currently playing in the MLS began their careers there, while notable US internationals with PDL experience include Charlie Davies, Brad Guzan, Jonathan Spector, Clarence Goodson and Jay DeMerit.
The open combine will be held from January 7-9 and the registration fee is $95.
The weekend will include testing at Velocity, 11470 Bluegrass Parkway on Friday, January 7 (10 a.m.), and continues with sessions at Oldham County YMCA Indoor Sports Arena in Buckner on January 8 and 9 (starting at 2 p.m.).
All players should bring indoor and outdoor shoes. Two combine t-shirts will also be distributed the day of the tryouts.
Players can complete an online application at www.roverssoccer.com. The website is under construction, but registering online is active through January 5.
Muhamed Fazlagic, who will serve as head coach and technical director, said he is excited to be part of creating this opportunity for local players.
“Now they'll be able to play at the highest level in front of their friends and family,” said the founder of United 1996. “River City Rovers is certainly a new and positive chapter in Louisville’s soccer history."
Unofficially, the PDL is considered to be the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid, behind the MLS, the USSF Division 2 and the USL Second Division.
It had 67 teams competing in four conferences -- split into eight regional divisions across the US and Canada -- in 2010. So far, three new franchises have been announced to participate in 2011 season.
The season comprises 16 regular season matches for each team -- eight home and eight away -- and runs from May to August.
Dale Helfrich, general manager of Oldham Thoroughbreds Soccer Club, has just appointed as operations manager of River City Rovers. For further information, you can contact him at 502-445-3482.
Lolla named Coach of the Year
Soccer America magazine has named University of Louisville’s Ken Lolla the Men’s Coach of the Year.
Lolla, who led Louisville to the Men's College Cup for the first time, also won the award in 2005, his last season at Akron before leaving for the Cardinals.
Louisville's 1-0 loss to Akron in the championship decider was its only defeat of the 2010 season, following a remarkable NCAA tournament run.
Despite freezing temperatures and snow, 5,467 fans packed Cardinal Park for the quarterfinal match against UCLA, a 5-4 victory for Louisville that will go down as one of the epic matches in the history of the NCAA tournament.
Such was the madness that police had to shoo cars along as drivers stopped to get a peak of the action.
Lolla has taken Louisville (20-1-3), a program with no previous winning tradition, and made it into a national contender, said Soccer America.
Others to have won the award in past years include Indiana’s Jerry Yeagley (2003), and Jim DeRose of the 2007 Bradley team that included Floyd Knobs’ defender Brad Snook.
Meanwhile, Cards’ junior forward Colin Rolfe was named on the magazine’s MVP first team, along with Indiana’s Will Bruin. Louisville defender Austin Berry was named on the second team. The awards honor the players who have the biggest impact on their team’s success, regardless of position.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Top 10 moments of 2010
Here are our top moments of 2010 – some local, some not so, and in no particular order of preference. If you have anything to add that was memorable for you, please add. A very, merry Christmas to all, and have a kicking new year!
The World Cup
The goal that united a nation: Donovan celebrates after his injury timer winner against Algeria
As to be expected, there were many highlights within a rather large highlight as South Africa hosted a pretty successful World Cup. Spain emerged as winner for the first time in the nation’s history, after beating the Netherlands in the final. The top U.S. moment was Landon Donovan’s dramatic injury time winner against Algeria, which sent Bob Bradley’s men through to the last 16, where they lost to Ghana in overtime. Another star to make the headlines was Paul the oracle octopus, who predicted correctly all of Germany’s seven encounters and the final itself. Alas, Paul departed for the great sea in the sky after he died in October.
Feldhaus save clinches regional for Jeff
Jeffersonville goalkeeper Cauldon Feldhaus dove to his left to stop Cameron Hensley’s shot, giving the Red Devils a 5-3 penalty kick victory over Trinity Lutheran for the team’s third regional championship, and first since 2005. “To be honest, I totally guessed,” said Feldhaus. The Red Devils (18-2) lost to Washington at semi-state.
Final fling for UofL
One of the best moments of 2010 and helping the game locally no end, came towards the year’s conclusion when University of Louisville reached the NCAA Division 1 championship game for the first time in its history. The Cardinals went into the tournament as No. 1 seeds, and beat Charleston, Ohio State and UCLA in front of bumper home crowds before traveling to the Men’s College Cup in Santa Barbara, Calif. Ken Lolla’s boys beat North Carolina to get to the final, where it lost to No. 3 Akron, a program Lolla had been in charge of from 1993-2005.
Cards celebrate Big East tournament win
Two class soccer
The moment that the IHSAA announced in May that high school boys’ and girls soccer would be divided into two classes come the fall of 2011 was the moment that certain smaller schools started dreaming of long post season tournament runs and maybe even a state title. The cut-off point for the revamped tournaments — to be based on school enrollment — will be known in the spring following the next classification realignment.
Providence winner v Floyd Central
Providence's Casey Marlin fires homes against Floyd Central. Photo by Ronda Trimble.
The Pioneers’ overtime clincher against the Highlanders in the sectional semi-final is so far one of the best goals I’ve seen since covering local girls’ high school soccer. It was rather apt that it was superbly finished off by Casey Marlin, who broke all manner of records in her junior year (top all-time Providence scorer at 59; most goals in a season with 29), but it was the searing 60-plus yard run by defender Leah Mattingly, leaving a number of Floyd Central players in her wake, and her delivery to Marlin, that made the goal special. Providence went on to win sectional and bowed out at regional to eventual state finalist Columbus North, coached by Jeffersonville’s Mike Spock.
Christian Academy forces shootout
Beaten 6-0 by the Pioneers during regular season, Christian Academy of Indiana was in no mood for a repeat result. Following a 1-1 tie after overtime, and penalty kicks tied at 3-3 with just one shot remaining for both teams, CAI goalkeeper Tyler Stumler’s effort dramatically hit the crossbar and sped downwards, but was adjudged not to have crossed the line when it bounced off the turf. Ben Orem made no mistake with the last penalty, sending the Pioneers to the championship game, where they lost to Jeffersonville.
U.S. loses World Cup bid
Matching the disappointment of the U.S. losing to Ghana at the World Cup was the awarding of the 2022 tournament by FIFA to Qatar. At one stage considered a strong favorite, the U.S. bid (which included the Colts’ Lucas Oil Stadium as one of the possible venues) lost out to the Persian Gulf nation the size of Connecticut amid allegations of a corrupt selection process driven by oil money. Bah, humbug. Russia won the right to host the 2018 World Cup.
Eh, where?
The winner … oops, no it isn't!
Those who witnessed it, including Providence match report writer Tim Brown, said they had never seen anything like it before. With just 20 seconds left, and the game tied at 3-3, the Pioneers took the lead when Pierce Crawley notched his hat-trick. However, Providence celebrations were short-lived. In fact, they lasted as long as it took Jennings County’s Matt Flora to kick the ball from the restart at the halfway line perfectly into upper left hand corner of the net to tie proceedings at 4-4.
School shocks in Louisville
Soccer powerhouses St. Xavier and Sacred Heart, both winners of boys’ and girls’ Kentucky state titles respectively for the past three years, crashed out of their respective tournaments on the very same night. Minnows Louisville Collegiate tamed the Tigers, while DuPont Manual overcame the Valkyries on penalties in a game played over two evenings. Collegiate would later lose to Central Hardin the quarterfinals, while Manual made it to the final four, where it lost to eventual winner St Henry.
Some magical assistance from Rick 'Dumbledore' Underwood helped the Gryffindores (DuPont Manual) make the final four in Kentucky.
Déjà vu for New Albany
It was a case of déjà vu as New Albany, for the second successive year, beat rival Floyd Central on penalty kicks after a scoreless encounter. The Highlanders had gone through the entire season unbeaten, securing the Hoosier Hills Conference along the way, before the shootout defeat to the Bulldogs.
New Albany celebrates sectional win over Floyd Central
Others highlights worth mentioning include the fifth staging of the New Albany Deanery Soccer League for hundreds of the area’s children; the acceptance of Javanon ‘94 (featuring Southern Indiana’s Jordan Vejar, Matt Kelecy and Nick Blackwell) into the U.S. Youth Soccer National League; and the announcement of a new adult team for Kentuckiana in the shape of River City Rovers, which will play in the United Soccer League’s Premier Development League, seen as a shop window for aspiring pros.
And then on a wider scale, there was Colorado Rapids winning its first MLS Cup over Dallas; Inter Milan being crowned king of Europe and World Club champion, and the interesting acquisition of Liverpool FC by John W. Henry, owner of the Boston Red Sox, following a long and drawn out saga.
The World Cup
The goal that united a nation: Donovan celebrates after his injury timer winner against Algeria
As to be expected, there were many highlights within a rather large highlight as South Africa hosted a pretty successful World Cup. Spain emerged as winner for the first time in the nation’s history, after beating the Netherlands in the final. The top U.S. moment was Landon Donovan’s dramatic injury time winner against Algeria, which sent Bob Bradley’s men through to the last 16, where they lost to Ghana in overtime. Another star to make the headlines was Paul the oracle octopus, who predicted correctly all of Germany’s seven encounters and the final itself. Alas, Paul departed for the great sea in the sky after he died in October.
Feldhaus save clinches regional for Jeff
Jeffersonville goalkeeper Cauldon Feldhaus dove to his left to stop Cameron Hensley’s shot, giving the Red Devils a 5-3 penalty kick victory over Trinity Lutheran for the team’s third regional championship, and first since 2005. “To be honest, I totally guessed,” said Feldhaus. The Red Devils (18-2) lost to Washington at semi-state.
Final fling for UofL
One of the best moments of 2010 and helping the game locally no end, came towards the year’s conclusion when University of Louisville reached the NCAA Division 1 championship game for the first time in its history. The Cardinals went into the tournament as No. 1 seeds, and beat Charleston, Ohio State and UCLA in front of bumper home crowds before traveling to the Men’s College Cup in Santa Barbara, Calif. Ken Lolla’s boys beat North Carolina to get to the final, where it lost to No. 3 Akron, a program Lolla had been in charge of from 1993-2005.
Cards celebrate Big East tournament win
Two class soccer
The moment that the IHSAA announced in May that high school boys’ and girls soccer would be divided into two classes come the fall of 2011 was the moment that certain smaller schools started dreaming of long post season tournament runs and maybe even a state title. The cut-off point for the revamped tournaments — to be based on school enrollment — will be known in the spring following the next classification realignment.
Providence winner v Floyd Central
Providence's Casey Marlin fires homes against Floyd Central. Photo by Ronda Trimble.
The Pioneers’ overtime clincher against the Highlanders in the sectional semi-final is so far one of the best goals I’ve seen since covering local girls’ high school soccer. It was rather apt that it was superbly finished off by Casey Marlin, who broke all manner of records in her junior year (top all-time Providence scorer at 59; most goals in a season with 29), but it was the searing 60-plus yard run by defender Leah Mattingly, leaving a number of Floyd Central players in her wake, and her delivery to Marlin, that made the goal special. Providence went on to win sectional and bowed out at regional to eventual state finalist Columbus North, coached by Jeffersonville’s Mike Spock.
Christian Academy forces shootout
Beaten 6-0 by the Pioneers during regular season, Christian Academy of Indiana was in no mood for a repeat result. Following a 1-1 tie after overtime, and penalty kicks tied at 3-3 with just one shot remaining for both teams, CAI goalkeeper Tyler Stumler’s effort dramatically hit the crossbar and sped downwards, but was adjudged not to have crossed the line when it bounced off the turf. Ben Orem made no mistake with the last penalty, sending the Pioneers to the championship game, where they lost to Jeffersonville.
U.S. loses World Cup bid
Matching the disappointment of the U.S. losing to Ghana at the World Cup was the awarding of the 2022 tournament by FIFA to Qatar. At one stage considered a strong favorite, the U.S. bid (which included the Colts’ Lucas Oil Stadium as one of the possible venues) lost out to the Persian Gulf nation the size of Connecticut amid allegations of a corrupt selection process driven by oil money. Bah, humbug. Russia won the right to host the 2018 World Cup.
Eh, where?
The winner … oops, no it isn't!
Those who witnessed it, including Providence match report writer Tim Brown, said they had never seen anything like it before. With just 20 seconds left, and the game tied at 3-3, the Pioneers took the lead when Pierce Crawley notched his hat-trick. However, Providence celebrations were short-lived. In fact, they lasted as long as it took Jennings County’s Matt Flora to kick the ball from the restart at the halfway line perfectly into upper left hand corner of the net to tie proceedings at 4-4.
School shocks in Louisville
Soccer powerhouses St. Xavier and Sacred Heart, both winners of boys’ and girls’ Kentucky state titles respectively for the past three years, crashed out of their respective tournaments on the very same night. Minnows Louisville Collegiate tamed the Tigers, while DuPont Manual overcame the Valkyries on penalties in a game played over two evenings. Collegiate would later lose to Central Hardin the quarterfinals, while Manual made it to the final four, where it lost to eventual winner St Henry.
Some magical assistance from Rick 'Dumbledore' Underwood helped the Gryffindores (DuPont Manual) make the final four in Kentucky.
Déjà vu for New Albany
It was a case of déjà vu as New Albany, for the second successive year, beat rival Floyd Central on penalty kicks after a scoreless encounter. The Highlanders had gone through the entire season unbeaten, securing the Hoosier Hills Conference along the way, before the shootout defeat to the Bulldogs.
New Albany celebrates sectional win over Floyd Central
Others highlights worth mentioning include the fifth staging of the New Albany Deanery Soccer League for hundreds of the area’s children; the acceptance of Javanon ‘94 (featuring Southern Indiana’s Jordan Vejar, Matt Kelecy and Nick Blackwell) into the U.S. Youth Soccer National League; and the announcement of a new adult team for Kentuckiana in the shape of River City Rovers, which will play in the United Soccer League’s Premier Development League, seen as a shop window for aspiring pros.
And then on a wider scale, there was Colorado Rapids winning its first MLS Cup over Dallas; Inter Milan being crowned king of Europe and World Club champion, and the interesting acquisition of Liverpool FC by John W. Henry, owner of the Boston Red Sox, following a long and drawn out saga.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
There's 'Snow' stopping the Cards; U.S. WC bid frozen out
On Saturday morning, I joked with someone via e-mail that the University of Louisville would beat UCLA in the NCAA quarterfinal matchup by the not very realistic scores of 5-3, 5-4 or 6-5, given both teams’ propensity for flowing, attacking soccer and the expected inclement weather.
If I had have known of anybody offering odds on this game, I would probably be walking around the streets of Southern Indiana right about now with a wheelbarrow stuffed high with notes featuring the faces of various presidents.
Such a thought faded rapidly from the mind to be replaced with joy. The emotion was shared thousands of times over at Cardinal Park by the Louisville fans who braved the elements, even if they couldn’t feel too many of their bodily parts at the end of 90 minutes of play.
The Cards have reached the Men’s College Cup — their Final Four — for the first time in their history, courtesy of a thrilling come-from-behind 5-4 victory, the clincher arriving with just 52 seconds of play remaining from the boot of Aaron Horton.
Despite the snow and freezing temperatures, there was a record 5,467 attendance — plus hundreds of others on the ‘Ville Hill’ and in cars outside the soccer grounds — to see the Cards earn themselves a trip to the warmer climes of Santa Barbara, Calif.
This is a team that had won only one NCAA tournament game before this year. It is a squad that went into the postseason with the burden of No. 1 on its shoulders.
Having fallen 2-0 and 3-1 behind, top-ranked Louisville (19-0-3) showed the sort of refuse-to-lie-down-and-die attitude that accompanies teams who just don’t know how to lose.
Ken Lolla’s charges will now take on No. 4 North Carolina at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Harder Stadium.
Before they depart for the Men’s College Cup, supporters are invited to a send-off for the team at the KFC Yum! Center at 5 p.m. today. The first 500 kids at the event will get a free Louisville soccer T-shirt, while the coaches and players will be available for autographs.
The Tar Heels have won all of their three NCAA tournament games this year on penalty kicks against Georgetown, Michigan State and SMU.
They are no strangers to the Men’s College Cup, most recently falling to Akron on penalties last year and advancing to the final in 2008.
The second semifinal on Friday will feature No. 3 Akron (a team coached by Lolla from 1993-2005) against No. 10 Michigan at 11 p.m. The championship game will take place at 4 p.m. Sunday. All three games will be shown live on ESPNU or ESPN2 and online at ESPN3.com.
What a joke, there's no way . . . oh, wait, that looks nice: An artist's impression of The Al-Shamal stadium, one of the nine being built from scratch -- and 12 in total -- for the Qatar World Cup in 2022. Its shape was derived from the traditional "dhow", the local fishing boats of the Persian Gulf.
Exemplifying how the game of soccer can provide a roller-coaster ride of emotions was FIFA’s announcement last Thursday that it would be Qatar, not the United States, which will host the 2022 World Cup, while Russia was awarded 2018.
The fallout from the picks of oil rich countries with gargantuan budgets has been as entertaining as the actual decisions themselves.
The English have not been taking it very well (Google “England” and “World Cup 2018” for yourself), while the United States’ bid team was despondent but more gracious.
Both nations had technically superior assessments compared to their respective rivals. But FIFA made it clear that it doesn’t pay much attention to the reports that itself demanded.
Whatever the accusations of bribery, vote trading and backroom politics, the fact is that FIFA has chosen to continue its theme of establishing legacies and breaking new ground.
Russia will become the first Eastern European nation to host the tournament, while choosing Qatar — a nation the size of Connecticut with a population of just more than 1.5 million — means the World Cup will dip its toes in Middle East territory for the first time.
Russia’s selection is not a major surprise. Qatar’s, however, is head-scratching to say the least. Classified by FIFA itself as “high risk,” much has already been made of its searing temperatures in the summer, while it will basically be building infrastructure from scratch to host the biggest sports event on the planet.
All 12 stadiums will be within a 20-mile radius encompassing its capital, Doha. Then after the tournament, they’ll be dismantled and transported off to countries that need them.
So the decisions might be seen by FIFA as very brave and noble, but let me put this to you: Four horses are running in four different races on the same card. Only one has ever run on the course (Brazil), although he hasn’t run for a while (1950) and there are real concerns about whether he’s ready or not to do this again.
One other has run over the distance (South Africa in hosting the Rugby World Cup). The others might be good, because a lot of money has been invested in their breeding (Russia and Qatar), but no one really knows how they’ll take to the course and distance.
Let me ask you — Would you stick your hard-earned loot on all four sluicing home to victory?
One has already made it successfully home, of course, with South Africa hosting a decent World Cup this year. However, experience sadly tells me you’d be foolish to believe all four longshots will romp it. Which is why I can’t help feeling these decisions are going to come back and haunt FIFA somewhere along the line, and judging by the worldwide reaction in recent days, there won’t be too many shedding a whole bunch of tears if that happens.
And me? Well, I’m not expecting any full wheelbarrows in my backyard.
If I had have known of anybody offering odds on this game, I would probably be walking around the streets of Southern Indiana right about now with a wheelbarrow stuffed high with notes featuring the faces of various presidents.
Such a thought faded rapidly from the mind to be replaced with joy. The emotion was shared thousands of times over at Cardinal Park by the Louisville fans who braved the elements, even if they couldn’t feel too many of their bodily parts at the end of 90 minutes of play.
The Cards have reached the Men’s College Cup — their Final Four — for the first time in their history, courtesy of a thrilling come-from-behind 5-4 victory, the clincher arriving with just 52 seconds of play remaining from the boot of Aaron Horton.
Despite the snow and freezing temperatures, there was a record 5,467 attendance — plus hundreds of others on the ‘Ville Hill’ and in cars outside the soccer grounds — to see the Cards earn themselves a trip to the warmer climes of Santa Barbara, Calif.
This is a team that had won only one NCAA tournament game before this year. It is a squad that went into the postseason with the burden of No. 1 on its shoulders.
Having fallen 2-0 and 3-1 behind, top-ranked Louisville (19-0-3) showed the sort of refuse-to-lie-down-and-die attitude that accompanies teams who just don’t know how to lose.
Ken Lolla’s charges will now take on No. 4 North Carolina at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Harder Stadium.
Before they depart for the Men’s College Cup, supporters are invited to a send-off for the team at the KFC Yum! Center at 5 p.m. today. The first 500 kids at the event will get a free Louisville soccer T-shirt, while the coaches and players will be available for autographs.
The Tar Heels have won all of their three NCAA tournament games this year on penalty kicks against Georgetown, Michigan State and SMU.
They are no strangers to the Men’s College Cup, most recently falling to Akron on penalties last year and advancing to the final in 2008.
The second semifinal on Friday will feature No. 3 Akron (a team coached by Lolla from 1993-2005) against No. 10 Michigan at 11 p.m. The championship game will take place at 4 p.m. Sunday. All three games will be shown live on ESPNU or ESPN2 and online at ESPN3.com.
What a joke, there's no way . . . oh, wait, that looks nice: An artist's impression of The Al-Shamal stadium, one of the nine being built from scratch -- and 12 in total -- for the Qatar World Cup in 2022. Its shape was derived from the traditional "dhow", the local fishing boats of the Persian Gulf.
Exemplifying how the game of soccer can provide a roller-coaster ride of emotions was FIFA’s announcement last Thursday that it would be Qatar, not the United States, which will host the 2022 World Cup, while Russia was awarded 2018.
The fallout from the picks of oil rich countries with gargantuan budgets has been as entertaining as the actual decisions themselves.
The English have not been taking it very well (Google “England” and “World Cup 2018” for yourself), while the United States’ bid team was despondent but more gracious.
Both nations had technically superior assessments compared to their respective rivals. But FIFA made it clear that it doesn’t pay much attention to the reports that itself demanded.
Whatever the accusations of bribery, vote trading and backroom politics, the fact is that FIFA has chosen to continue its theme of establishing legacies and breaking new ground.
Russia will become the first Eastern European nation to host the tournament, while choosing Qatar — a nation the size of Connecticut with a population of just more than 1.5 million — means the World Cup will dip its toes in Middle East territory for the first time.
Russia’s selection is not a major surprise. Qatar’s, however, is head-scratching to say the least. Classified by FIFA itself as “high risk,” much has already been made of its searing temperatures in the summer, while it will basically be building infrastructure from scratch to host the biggest sports event on the planet.
All 12 stadiums will be within a 20-mile radius encompassing its capital, Doha. Then after the tournament, they’ll be dismantled and transported off to countries that need them.
So the decisions might be seen by FIFA as very brave and noble, but let me put this to you: Four horses are running in four different races on the same card. Only one has ever run on the course (Brazil), although he hasn’t run for a while (1950) and there are real concerns about whether he’s ready or not to do this again.
One other has run over the distance (South Africa in hosting the Rugby World Cup). The others might be good, because a lot of money has been invested in their breeding (Russia and Qatar), but no one really knows how they’ll take to the course and distance.
Let me ask you — Would you stick your hard-earned loot on all four sluicing home to victory?
One has already made it successfully home, of course, with South Africa hosting a decent World Cup this year. However, experience sadly tells me you’d be foolish to believe all four longshots will romp it. Which is why I can’t help feeling these decisions are going to come back and haunt FIFA somewhere along the line, and judging by the worldwide reaction in recent days, there won’t be too many shedding a whole bunch of tears if that happens.
And me? Well, I’m not expecting any full wheelbarrows in my backyard.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
The birth of River City Rovers
EXCLUSIVE
Kentuckiana is about have a new team play in the top U23 men’s soccer league in North America.
The newly formed River City Rovers will join the United Soccer League in the summer of 2011. It will have a 16-game schedule in the Premier Development League – or PDL -- section between the months of May and August.
The team’s home is still to be decided, but the ground will be in Louisville. Among the venues believed to be under consideration are the University of Louisville and St Xavier High School.
A southern Indiana resident is among the 10-strong group of owners.
The PDL is seen as a shop window for Major League Soccer clubs looking to discover and identify aspiring pros.
Many of the players currently playing in the MLS began their careers there, while notable US internationals with PDL experience include Brian Ching, Charlie Davies, Brad Guzan, Jonathan Spector, Clarence Goodson, Herculez Gomez, Robbie Findley, Jay DeMerit and Eric Wynalda.
Muhamed Fazlagic, who founded Louisville youth travel soccer club United 1996 FC, will serve as technical director and head coach, while Thabane Sutu will be the assistant coach.
"I am so excited to be part of creating this opportunity for local players who currently play for top-ranked national colleges,” said Fazlagic. “Now they'll be able to play at the highest level in front of their friends and family. River City Rovers is certainly a new and positive chapter in Louisville’s soccer history."
Peter Laventis, one of the owners and vice-president at United 1996, said the formation of River City Rovers is the natural progression of soccer in the area.
“This team will have the ability to showcase the talents of the best players from all of the clubs, while allowing them to retain their amateur status for NCAA eligibility,” he said. “Rovers’ games will provide local fans with the highest level of soccer experience, short of an MLS game.”
Unofficially, the PDL is considered to be the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid, behind the MLS, the USSF Division 2 and the USL Second Division.
It had 67 teams competing in four conferences -- split into eight regional divisions across the US and Canada -- in 2010. So far, three new franchises have been announced to participate in 2011 season.
Average attendances have risen in recent years to about 550 a game in regular season, and over 1,100 for the play-offs.
Rovers will play in the Great Lakes Division along with the likes of Indiana Invaders from South Bend, Chicago Fire and Cincinnati Kings.
Mary Nieto, marketing director of River City Rovers, said the club welcomes players from all area club and collegiate backgrounds.
“River City Rovers will be representative of the best soccer players the greater Louisville area has to offer,” she said.
“By joining the Premier Development League, our players will be exposed to additional scouts and recruiters who, in turn, report their findings. This provides players additional time on the pitch in front of fans and against collective opponents -- competition that is as close to MLS performance as we can get.”
As for the future, Nieto said the club would be “thrilled” to one day reach MLS qualifications and status.
“Realistically, it takes a lot of investment power to make that happen but we're prepared to put in the time with the River City Rovers,” she said.
“If MLS becomes an achievable goal, we certainly wouldn't say no.”
Kentuckiana is about have a new team play in the top U23 men’s soccer league in North America.
The newly formed River City Rovers will join the United Soccer League in the summer of 2011. It will have a 16-game schedule in the Premier Development League – or PDL -- section between the months of May and August.
The team’s home is still to be decided, but the ground will be in Louisville. Among the venues believed to be under consideration are the University of Louisville and St Xavier High School.
A southern Indiana resident is among the 10-strong group of owners.
The PDL is seen as a shop window for Major League Soccer clubs looking to discover and identify aspiring pros.
Many of the players currently playing in the MLS began their careers there, while notable US internationals with PDL experience include Brian Ching, Charlie Davies, Brad Guzan, Jonathan Spector, Clarence Goodson, Herculez Gomez, Robbie Findley, Jay DeMerit and Eric Wynalda.
Muhamed Fazlagic, who founded Louisville youth travel soccer club United 1996 FC, will serve as technical director and head coach, while Thabane Sutu will be the assistant coach.
"I am so excited to be part of creating this opportunity for local players who currently play for top-ranked national colleges,” said Fazlagic. “Now they'll be able to play at the highest level in front of their friends and family. River City Rovers is certainly a new and positive chapter in Louisville’s soccer history."
Peter Laventis, one of the owners and vice-president at United 1996, said the formation of River City Rovers is the natural progression of soccer in the area.
“This team will have the ability to showcase the talents of the best players from all of the clubs, while allowing them to retain their amateur status for NCAA eligibility,” he said. “Rovers’ games will provide local fans with the highest level of soccer experience, short of an MLS game.”
Unofficially, the PDL is considered to be the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid, behind the MLS, the USSF Division 2 and the USL Second Division.
It had 67 teams competing in four conferences -- split into eight regional divisions across the US and Canada -- in 2010. So far, three new franchises have been announced to participate in 2011 season.
Average attendances have risen in recent years to about 550 a game in regular season, and over 1,100 for the play-offs.
Rovers will play in the Great Lakes Division along with the likes of Indiana Invaders from South Bend, Chicago Fire and Cincinnati Kings.
Mary Nieto, marketing director of River City Rovers, said the club welcomes players from all area club and collegiate backgrounds.
“River City Rovers will be representative of the best soccer players the greater Louisville area has to offer,” she said.
“By joining the Premier Development League, our players will be exposed to additional scouts and recruiters who, in turn, report their findings. This provides players additional time on the pitch in front of fans and against collective opponents -- competition that is as close to MLS performance as we can get.”
As for the future, Nieto said the club would be “thrilled” to one day reach MLS qualifications and status.
“Realistically, it takes a lot of investment power to make that happen but we're prepared to put in the time with the River City Rovers,” she said.
“If MLS becomes an achievable goal, we certainly wouldn't say no.”
Cards set for last 16 date with Buckeyes
Another record crowd is expected when the top-ranked and unbeaten University of Louisville (17-0-3) faces No. 16 Ohio State (11-5-3) in the third round of the NCAA Division I men’s soccer tournament at Cardinal Park at 7 p.m. Sunday.
The Cards beat College of Charleston 3-1 on Sunday in front of 5,197 fans, pleasing the vast majority of them with two late goals. The attendance smashed the previous school record of 3,583, set against Indiana University in 2005.
Louisville opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a Nick Deleon effort, but Sean Flatley evened the score just five minutes later for Charleston.
With seven minutes remaining in the game, Deleon put Colin Rolfe through for his seventh goal of the season, and Charlie Campbell wrapped it up with 88:13 on the clock following a fine build-up down the left involving Rolfe and Dylan Mares.
Meanwhile, Ohio State made it through with a 2-1 home victory over Providence, a team beaten by Louisville in the Big East Tournament final on penalty kicks last week.
Louisville met the Buckeyes in a regular-season encounter at Cardinal Park in September, with the game ending scoreless.
It was the only game the Cards failed to win at home, where it is now 9-0-1 for 2010. In fact, the last time they lost at home was to Jacksonville in the NCAA tournament in 2008.
The winner will face the victor of Dartmouth and UCLA in the quarterfinal on the weekend of Dec. 3, a tie that would also be at Cardinal Park should Louisville emerge victorious against OSU.
The College Cup (the Final Four) will be held in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Dec. 10 and 12.
Meanwhile, No. 14 Indiana will play at No. 3 Akron at 4 p.m. Sunday after beating Tulsa 5-1. Goals came from Will Bruin (two), Andy, Adlard, Nikita Kotlov and Harrison Petts.
The Cards beat College of Charleston 3-1 on Sunday in front of 5,197 fans, pleasing the vast majority of them with two late goals. The attendance smashed the previous school record of 3,583, set against Indiana University in 2005.
Louisville opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a Nick Deleon effort, but Sean Flatley evened the score just five minutes later for Charleston.
With seven minutes remaining in the game, Deleon put Colin Rolfe through for his seventh goal of the season, and Charlie Campbell wrapped it up with 88:13 on the clock following a fine build-up down the left involving Rolfe and Dylan Mares.
Meanwhile, Ohio State made it through with a 2-1 home victory over Providence, a team beaten by Louisville in the Big East Tournament final on penalty kicks last week.
Louisville met the Buckeyes in a regular-season encounter at Cardinal Park in September, with the game ending scoreless.
It was the only game the Cards failed to win at home, where it is now 9-0-1 for 2010. In fact, the last time they lost at home was to Jacksonville in the NCAA tournament in 2008.
The winner will face the victor of Dartmouth and UCLA in the quarterfinal on the weekend of Dec. 3, a tie that would also be at Cardinal Park should Louisville emerge victorious against OSU.
The College Cup (the Final Four) will be held in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Dec. 10 and 12.
Meanwhile, No. 14 Indiana will play at No. 3 Akron at 4 p.m. Sunday after beating Tulsa 5-1. Goals came from Will Bruin (two), Andy, Adlard, Nikita Kotlov and Harrison Petts.
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