After announcing weeks ago that the 2012 Major League Soccer season would be his last one in a Los Angeles Galaxy uniform, Beckham finished his American career with a bang by winning the MLS Cup Saturday night in a style fitting of his up-and-down six-year career with the Galaxy.

After going down a goal in the first half, the Galaxy came storming back in the second half — scoring three goals of its own — on the way to its second-consecutive MLS Cup victory.

It seemed a nearly impossible task to complete, but over the course of his short career in American soccer, Beckham did exactly as he said he would. He not only increased his own brand as an athlete, but also brought much-needed awareness both domestically and abroad for a league in dire need of attention.

While many fans will have differing opinions on the man who has been the face of soccer worldwide for more than a decade, it is hard to deny he has kept the majority of the promises he made when he first arrived to play in the United States in 2007.

When Beckham first arrived in July 2007 — with a following of more reporters and photographers than American soccer had ever seen before — and was officially unveiled across the country, it seemed that MLS had hired not a soccer player, but instead a stuntman to bring up ratings in a young and burgeoning league. After all, Beckham was into his 30s, which is typically when most soccer players begin to think about retirement if they have not already done so.

Not only that, but his arrival was accompanied with ringing endorsements and TV advertisements from every news outlet around the country and beyond as he was proclaimed the “chosen one” to bring MLS and American soccer to the promised land almost overnight.

Other more cynical fans, however, believed the promises too good to be true.

Those worst fears became reality almost immediately, as Beckham quickly aggravated an ankle injury he had sustained entering the season and sat out much of his first year, finishing the season with only five starts to his name.

Then, after a pair of seasons in 2008 and 2009 that failed to live up to his enormous expectations, Beckham suffered another setback in 2010 and spent even more time on the bench with a torn Achilles tendon.

Through the first half of his Galaxy career, it would have been hard to disagree with those who saw Beckham’s U.S. career as one of the biggest flops in sports history. After all, he hadn’t brought the promised championships, very few other big-name European players had followed his lead and attendance at games only increased for the Galaxy home games or those teams that were lucky enough to host Beckham and co.

Overall, it was a far cry from the visions of full stadiums and a blossoming American soccer fanbase that many fans expected to magically materialize upon Beckham’s arrival.

But much like the 2012 MLS Cup, Beckham’s career could best be characterized as a game of two halves.

A closer look at the second half of his six-year career reveals some of the most impressive growth MLS — not to mention American soccer in general — has ever seen.

Don’t believe me? Just take a look at the facts.

The league that Beckham entered contained only 14 teams. Six years later, America’s premier soccer league boasts a respectable 19 teams.

Better yet, the attendance average in 2006 (one year before Beckham joined the team) was 15,504. This has steadily increased to the point where, in its most recent season, MLS broke its attendance record with an average of more than 18,000 fans per game.

Looking solely at attendance figures, since Beckham has arrived, professional soccer has become the third-most attended professional sports league in the United States, trailing only the MLB and NFL.

Infinitely more important than the attendance figures and the increasing number of teams participating in the league is the presence of the most well-known soccer player in the world putting American soccer on the map. That is one aspect of Beckham’s career American soccer fans can be sure will not be leaving when Beckham does after the dust settles and the championship festivities come to an end in the coming weeks.

While he may be moving on to his next challenge, thanks to David Beckham, American soccer is here to stay.

It is unfortunate that neither host country is through to knockout stage. Then again, Poland seemed to reliant on their forwards and Ukraine was presented with a very tough group with England France and Sweden.

But aside from the stories of the nonexistent fifth official, illegal underwear, and the respective Soap Operas of the Dutch and Mario Balotelli, here are my predictions for the Quarterfinals.

Czech Republic vs. Portugal

This is a dream matchup for Portugal. With each game in group play, they seemed to get better. Cristiano Ronaldo’s two goals against the Netherlands are a great sign for Portugal, especially with the support he’s gotten from the players around him. Meanwhile, it’s hard to believe that the Czechs went from a 4-1 loss to Russia to the top of Group A. Granted, Group A did not have many “sexy” teams (see my Twitter account), but the Czechs were very tactical and got big saves from Petr Cech when he wasn’t in miscommunication with his defense. Then again, Portugal has Ronaldo and the Czechs don’t.

Portugal 2, Czech Republic 0

Germany vs. Greece

Let’s be honest. Germany is the Miami Heat. Not winning a championship will certainly be failure for them. It seems that the Germans always get tight in the bigger games. Maybe manager Joachim Löw needs to upgrade to a larger sized white button-down.

For now, Germany looks like the best side in this tournament, and Mario Gomez has answered his critics on the international stage. If Greece were to pull off a huge upset, I would honestly think it would end every economic, political and social dilemma that is wrong in that country. It will be tough, as they are without their captain Giorgos Karagounis, who is suspended.

Germany 3, Greece 0

France vs. Spain

I really thought France looked like a big favorite, but their head-scratching loss to Sweden has me thinking otherwise as they back into matchup with the defending European and World Champions.

The French are hesitant to play with two strikers. But combining Olivier Giroud with Karim Benzema might not be a bad idea against a Spanish backline that has looked vulnerable. For “La Roja,” they have their own striker ordeal. Yes, Fernando Torres scored twice against Ireland, but they were easily the worst team in the tournament. I’d really like to see Fernando Llorente get a chance, but Del Bosque seems hesitant. Their midfielders have done their part by creating chances, but not every goal will be a simple as the goal scored by Jesus Navas against Croatia.

France 1, Spain 1 (Spain through on PK’s)

England vs. Italy

You’d have to go all the way back to 1996 when England made the knockout stage. The Roy Hodgson experiment is going according to plan so far, as the Three Lions have gotten contributions from starters and substitutes. I know Theo Walcott has been a huge spark coming off the bench, but Hodgson should stop treating him like James Harden, and put him in the starting eleven. It would certainly be hard to defend the fast wings of Walcott and Ashley Young, with Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck coming up the middle. Feels like miniature Manchester United arsenal (Premier League fans would get that play on words).

By the way, England finally has a star goalkeeper in Joe Hart. The “Azzuri” were certainly deserving of winning Group C, but knowing their style matches up well with England should give them some confidence. To start Balotelli or not? You don’t know if you’ll get “pound the ground” Balotelli or “cool, relaxed wonder-goal” Balotelli. I would feel content with the combination of Antonio Di Natale and Antonio Cassano, and knowing I have the 21-year old on the bench as a solid insurance policy. Pay attention to the injury to Giorgio Chiellini. Should he not be able to go, Italy will have to change up their backline combinations.

England 2, Italy 1

End-of-season discussions around some European professional soccer leagues are about survival. Mainly, which teams are going to survive to play another year in a given country’s top league. The English Premier League, the world’s most prominent soccer league, is among those leagues where suspense almost always carries into the final minutes of the season.

The EPL has a stipulation in place that relegates or downgrades its bottom three teams in any one season to the Football Association’s Championship division.

In return, the top three teams of the Championship are promoted to the Premier League. Conceptually, it would be like the Columbus Clippers having the best record in Triple-A baseball and then moving up to play Major League Baseball the following season.

And the same goes for the Championship, as well as the two divisions below it — the FA’s League One and League Two. The top and bottom three teams from each of England’s four divisions shuffle back and forth season after season.

With its season concluding on Sunday, this year’s EPL relegated teams are Wolverhampton F.C., Blackburn F.C. and Bolton F.C. No club is safe from the relegation rule as Blackburn (1995 EPL Champions) becomes the first former Premier League champion to be relegated.

How harsh is that? 17 years removed from a championship and you’re deemed not good enough to compete in the league.

Harsh or not, the rule is ingenious on some levels. It creates a level playing field and makes every game in a season matter. There certainly isn’t any talk of “tanking” game in the Premier League for any reason.

So, what if American sports leagues adopted its European counterparts relegation and promotion rules? Would it be a good thing? Is it even possible? Would the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats have lost 23 games in a row to end the season?
Whether it would be good for leagues like the NFL, MLB, NBA and the NHL to adopt the relegation-promotion rule is purely subjective. It would be good in the sense teams likely wouldn’t tank, and every regular-season game matters, but at what cost?
Would the playoffs have to be eliminated? The EPL crowns its champion based solely on regular season performance. If there were no Super Bowl or World Series, would that be a good thing?
The question of whether it’s even possible to have a relegation-promotion rule in American professional sports is interesting. As it stands now, only two of the top four leagues have the type of minor-league system in place to piggyback off the system used English soccer.

The NHL has the American Hockey League (AHL) below it as an incremental level and MLB has Triple-A baseball with the International League and Pacific Coast League.

Even then, those leagues would need adjustment. The NHL or MLB teams couldn’t have ties to the AHL or Triple-A teams as they do now using the lower level teams as a means of producing players within a farm system.

The Premier League’s relegation and promotion rule is something American sports fans envy, and although some fans wish it would be adopted tomorrow by America’s sports leagues, it’s not a simple as it may seem.

The same can be said of the U.S. men’s national soccer team, which saw midfielder Clint Dempsey — the best player on the squad — wearing the No. 10 shirt.

The Americans’ usual No. 10, midfielder Landon Donovan, was absent from the U.S’s international friendly match against Italy on Wednesday due to illness, according to multiple reports.

Fortunately for the Yanks, Dempsey donned the No. 10 shirt, and he didn’t disappoint.

You wouldn’t expect Dempsey to disappoint, though — after all, he, and not Donovan, is clearly the go-to player for the U.S.

You don’t walk into the locker room of most national, professional or collegiate soccer teams and demand the No. 10 shirt. Rather, you’re given permission to borrow it, sometimes on a game-by-game basis. And unlike the NFL, the number can’t be from another player simply because they covet it enough. In soccer, you earn the No. 10 through hard work and artful, on-field play, as well as finishing on goal.

Famed No. 10′s throughout the history of soccer include Brazil’s Pele, Argentina’s Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi and France’s Zinedine Zidane.

Dempsey did the number justice on Wednesday when he hit the eventual game-winning goal against Italy in the 55th minute at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa, Italy, to help lift the U.S. to its first-ever win against the Italians. The goal was the 25th Dempsey has scored for his country since debuting against Jamaica in November 2004.

In his own right, Donovan is deserving of wearing No. 10 for America, but he isn’t the best American on the field during national team games anymore — Dempsey has passed him.

Donovan plays the majority of his games with Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy, save for an occasional loan stint at English Premier League side Everton F.C. Donovan went on loan to the English club in January 2010 and went again at the start of this year. Both times, Donovan returned to America in time to begin the domestic season with the Galaxy.

On the other hand, Dempsey has graduated from MLS and is a fixture in England with fellow Premier League club Fulham F.C. Dempsey played in every minute of every Premier League game for Fulham in 2011. He is also tied for eighth-best in Premier League goal-scoring with 10 goals so far in 2011-12.

Earlier in the current season, Dempsey became the first American to score a hat trick in the Premier League when he dumped three goals to help sink Newcastle United on Jan. 21. Fulham won the match, 5-2.

During Fulham’s 2009-2010 campaign, Dempsey stood on the medal stand of a major European club competition when he helped guide his club to the Europa League final against Atletico Madrid on May 12, 2010.

Fulham lost the game to Atletico Madrid in extra time, 2-1, but that’s still more than Donovan has accomplished in Europe.

Donovan helped lead Everton to some impressive wins during his two loan stints, but never to a piece of silverware or a medal for the club.

Donovan is one of the great Americans to ever lace his boots up for the country — he’s scored big goals, won trophies and will always be remembered for the dramatic stoppage-time goal he scored against Algeria in the 2010 FIFA World Cup to help America win its group. In the process, Donovan has elevated the world’s awareness of American soccer and made the country relevant on international stages — this is his greatest contribution.

The game hasn’t necessarily passed Donovan by, but Dempsey has. You can expect Donovan to retain the No. 10 shirt for the U.S. Considering his accomplishments, he’s probably earned the right to wear it until he retires from international competition. With or without the No. 10 shirt, Dempsey is the man for America, and he showed the world why again on Wednesday.

But in the wake of fan violence at a game in the Mediterranean city of Port Said that resulted in the deaths of over 70 fans, Bradley’s decision to participate in a march commemorating the victims and publicly express his support for their families has thrust him into a role as a sort of cultural interpreter that most national team coaches never have to fill.

“We all felt it was important to be in Sphinx Square with the people and make sure that in a simple way we were showing our respect,” Bradley said in a telephone interview from his home in Cairo, referring to the location of the march. “In a country where there’s so much passion for football, it’s incredibly sad that a group of young people would lose their lives at a football match.”

In a Feb. 1 match in Port Said between two Egyptian club teams, fans stormed the field after Al-Ahly, a top Egyptian club team based in Cairo, lost 3-1 to longtime rival Al-Masry, leaving thousands injured and the nation’s facade of security tarnished.

The next morning, after discussing the incident with assistant coach Diaa El Sayed and goalkeeper coach Zak Abdel — a longtime friend of Bradley’s who served the same role while Bradley coached the U.S. national team — Bradley and his wife Lindsay decided to attend the march commemorating the victims.

Bradley, who served as the head coach of the Princeton men’s soccer team from 1984-95, emphasized that he did not think the Port Said riots could be dismissed as simple soccer violence, arguing instead that the recent riots were premeditated and inextricably linked to the political tensions that continue to plague post-revolutionary Egypt.

Many of the die-hard fans — known as ‘ultras’ — who instigated the riots were passionate participants in the 2011 protests that ultimately led to the overthrow of former president Hosni Mubarak.

Furthermore, Near Eastern studies professor Bernard Haykel noted that there is suspicion that the Egyptian government deliberately ordered the police not to intervene in order to allow the chaos to demonstrate the necessity for a strong military.

“In this particular event, there are allegations — not proven, but allegations — that the government allowed for these riots to take place and for these deaths to happen for political purposes of their own,” Haykel said.

Because of the larger political implications surrounding the Port Said incident, Bradley’s attendance at the march received a significant amount of international media attention; it is not common for a coach, let alone a foreign-born one, to become so visibly and outspokenly associated with the internal politics of the country he represents.

But those who know Bradley well were not surprised by his decision to attend the march. Current men’s soccer head coach Jim Barlow ’91, who played for Bradley while at Princeton, said that he noticed the same senses of thoughtfulness and respect that he associated with Bradley’s coaching style while reading Bradley’s quotes in recent articles.

“I wouldn’t have described him as a political activist, but he’s always put a lot of thought into a lot of different topics,” Barlow said. “He could engage us in conversations about politics that would challenge us in similar ways to how he challenged us about the game.”

“Most people, if they found themselves in his situation, would get out of it as quickly as possible,” religion professor Jeffrey Stout, who was close with Bradley during his coaching days at Princeton, said in an email. “Yet Bob understands that he owes the Egyptian people not merely an honest attempt at World Cup qualification but also a steady of example of just behavior.”

Scott Bradley, Bob’s younger brother and current head coach of the Princeton baseball team, said that Bradley had been deeply immersed in Egyptian daily life since his arrival. According to his brother, Bradley declined the option of commuting back and forth between Egypt and the United States and even refused to live in a gated community in the Cairo suburbs, choosing instead to live in the heart of the city.

In their spare time, Scott Bradley said, his brother and Lindsay enjoy frequenting the imbaba market in Cairo, a vibrant shopping district very popular among locals but rarely visited by foreigners.

“He felt like to really do the job right he really needed to get an understanding of the people and the culture,” Scott Bradley said. “He and his wife threw themselves right into the middle of it.”

While the turmoil has led top Egyptian soccer officials — including the soccer federation president who hired Bradley — to resign, Bradley has remained committed not only to his goals of helping Egypt qualify for the 2013 African Cup of Nations and the 2014 World Cup, but also to showing support to the victims of the tragedy.

“When he commits to something, he commits to it 100 percent,” Barlow said. “He’s not the kind of person to take a job like that without really investing himself in doing the best job he can.”

Bradley’s forays into Egyptian public life come at a contentious time for the normally warm relations between his home country and the country for which he currently coaches. In late January, Egypt began cracking down on American NGOs and human rights groups and detained many U.S. nationals — including Sam LaHood, the son of Barack Obama’s transportation secretary — at the Cairo airport. In response, the United States threatened to withhold military aid to Egypt.

But, despite the tensions, Bradley noted that there is little correlation between how Egyptians feel about American policies and how they treat Americans. Haykel agreed, noting that Egyptians are for the most part appreciative of Bradley’s service and will not let politics get in the way of that.

“The fact that he went out and showed respect for the people who were killed in those riots, he’s doing a really great service for Egypt and the national football team,” Haykel said. “They know they have a much better chance of winning with him around.”

And as the coach of the national team, Bradley said he has a responsibility to be a force for unity and understanding.

“Because of the passion that Egyptians have for football and because of the way politics and football are connected here, at this time the national team must be strong,” Bradley said. “We must be strong; we must be a good example; we must help people be united.”

“The response of leaders in these moments is very important for helping the people be united and for giving an idea now of moving forward,” Bradley added.

In a country where soccer and politics are deeply intertwined, many Egyptians’ hopes for the national team’s success are connected to hopes for their country’s progress.

“I know my brother’s abilities as a coach and his abilities to bring people together and to really get them to understand that they’re playing for something much bigger than soccer,” Scott Bradley said.

But just as the Egyptian government faces many challenges in its transition to a stable, functioning democracy, the national team will have to overcome many obstacles in its quest to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1990.

The Port Said incident led many Al-Ahly players who also play for the national team to retire from soccer, leaving Bradley’s team with a depleted roster. A slate of friendly matches scheduled for late February have been cancelled, as has the Egyptian club teams’ league season.

The team will soon set up camp in Qatar in order to prepare for qualifier games for the World Cup and African Cup of Nations — of which Egypt is a seven-time winner — in June. Bradley is reportedly attempting to convince some top players to reverse their decisions to retire, and he expressed confidence on Wednesday that veteran right wing Mohamed Barakat would come out of retirement.

Bradley acknowledged that there is more riding on his team in this slew of international competitions as a result of Egypt’s current political situation.

“At a time when there’s so much hope for the future of the country, the hope for the national team to qualify for the World Cup, it’s almost like these things are linked,” Bradley said.

But now times are changing. The US of A is no longer the sole great superpower in the world, and to be honest, many don’t even consider America to be No. 1 anymore.

It didn’t help the public’s sentiment when the heavily-favored U.S. soccer team lost the World Cup final to Japan in penalty kicks on Sunday.

There has been growing discontentment about how America’s dominance in professional sports, particularly golf and tennis, is waning.

On the men’s side, tennis is controlled by the big four of Rafael Nadal (Spain), Roger Federer (Switzerland), Novak Djokovic (Serbia) and Andy Murray (UK). The top U.S. player, Mardy Fish, checks in at No. 8 with Andy Roddick trailing at No. 10.

It has been since 2003 that a U.S. player won a Grand Slam tournament.

Golf has been nothing short of a crapshoot, but in a very positive way. The past 11 majors have seen 11 different winners. All of these young players are great for golf. However, the highest-ranked U.S. player is Steve Stricker at No. 5, and the U.S. has only won four of the past 14 major championships.

Women’s golf is a little brighter. Cristie Kerr stands at No. 2 in the world, but the rest of the top 10 is pretty much dominated by those of Asian descent (six to be exact).

The women’s tennis rankings are a disaster zone for the U.S. — the highest-ranked American player is No. 31. That’s never a good thing.

Thank goodness for the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, who have been the only U.S. players to win a Grand Slam since Jennifer Capriati at the Australian Open in 2002.

From some people’s reactions to all of this, you would think someone had planned to cancel Christmas.

Two things here.

One, it’s really not that bad. Sure, there isn’t an American ranked No. 1 in any of these sports, but when they’re competing against the rest of the world, Americans in the top 10 are pretty special.

Two, since when does the U.S. have to have the best player in every sport or be the best at everything it does?

Golf, tennis and soccer aren’t even American sports. The modern game of golf originated in Scotland, and tennis originally began in France, but the modern game ripened in Great Britain.

In soccer, the U.S. struggles and just can’t seem to get over the hump to be an elite team on the global stage.

So the country is bad at something. Whoop-de-doo.

I’ll bet the same people who want the U.S. to be the best at everything are the same who think there is no other country that comes close to the U.S. in economic power or overall authority.

If you want to be the best, you have to play the best and beat them.

U.S. athletes just aren’t doing a whole lot of that right now.

But while all the attention is on Megan Rapinoe’s majestic cross and former Florida Gator Abby Wambach’s timely finish, the U.S. really owes it all to someone who was cast aside, benched and dismissed just four years ago.

Hope Solo, the USA goalkeeper, kept it real in 2007 when she was unjustifiably benched before the semifinal against Brazil. After the creators of the beautiful game dropped a four-spot on Briana Scurry, Solo spoke out.

She criticized then-coach Greg Ryan for his decision and said she would have, undoubtedly, made the saves that Scurry missed. Ryan kicked her off the team. She wasn’t allowed to attend or participate in the third-place game or the subsequent awards ceremony. She even had to book her own flight back from China.

But all of her actions are now vindicated. Solo has shown she is the best keeper in the world, and it was her save during penalty kicks — not Wambach’s header in the 122nd minute — that ultimately clinched the game.

Two more wins and this team will enter into the history books alongside the heralded ’99 squad — thanks to Solo.

Quick hits from the world of sports: My heart goes out to Texas Rangers left fielder Josh Hamilton. The man already had plenty of demons from his past and now must deal with feeling culpable for the horrible accident that took firefighter Shannon Stone’s life. But the blame is certainly not on Hamilton. It’s on the Rangers organization for allowing such a death trap to exist, especially after a similar incident occurred in the upper deck just over a year ago. … Roger Clemens’ trial on charges of lying to Congress about using performance-enhancing drugs is getting underway this week. He faces six felony counts and could potentially face more jail time than Casey Anthony. Way to go, America. … Tiger Woods made an announcement Sunday night that he would make an announcement on Monday. Rumors swirled, speculation ensued, but all the hoopla was about an agency switch. That’s it. Go ahead and call it, golf is dead. … An Ohio State recruit, Kyle Kalis, who decommitted late last month after the much-publicized scandal, has committed to Michigan. Guess the news that Mike Vrabel is coming to save the day didn’t mean much to OSU’s only ESPNU 150 2012 commit. … News out of Oregon today is that the Ducks plan to hire a full-time investigator to weed out the negative relationships between athletes and agents that helped lead to the school’s current NCAA investigation. While this seems like a great idea on the surface, it’s just a save-face move from one of the savviest athletic departments in the country. Cheating is as much a part of college football as tackling and touchdowns. … And in the bonehead move of the week, the fan who caught Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit — a home run to left field bleachers — gave the ball back to the Yankee shortstop free of charge. Seriously.

Truthfully, I don’t typically watch or follow women’s sports, but one day I had nothing better to do and tuned in to a match between the United States and Colombia.

Twelve minutes into the match, Heather O’Reilly ripped a gorgeous ball past the Colombian keeper into the back of the net.

O’Reilly’s goal had me hooked and convinced.

Fast forward to the quarterfinals.

The match between Brazil and U.S., despite the awful officiating, was one of the most epic World Cup matches I’ve seen, men’s or women’s.

Between Brazil’s Marta and her beautiful Brazilian play, Hope Solo’s brilliant saves and Abby Wambach’s game-tying header to bring the match into penalties, it was a game for the ages.

So when the U.S.‘s Ally Krieger drilled the match-winning penalty kick against Brazil’s keeper to advance to the semifinals of the World Cup, I realized something: soccer is the most entertaining professional women’s sport. Not golf, basketball or tennis.

Why is ESPN shoving the WNBA down our throats and not WPS — Women’s Professional Soccer?

I’d rather watch a game between the Western New York Flash and magicJack of Boca Raton featuring Marta, Alex Morgan and Solo over Diana Taurasi unsuccessfully attempting to dunk with a much smaller basketball than males use.

Women’s soccer uses the same size net and ball as men’s, which, if anything, makes it more difficult for women to play.

According to Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated, shorter and smaller goal keepers in women’s soccer give an idea of what larger goals in a men’s game would look like. There is more space available vertically for goal-scorers, and goal keepers have to be able to make more acrobatic saves.

I’ve also observed that women’s soccer players take significantly fewer dives than males, which calls for a more entertaining match.

The talent discrepancy is obvious between the NBA and the WNBA; players in the WNBA simply aren’t as fast as NBA players, can’t jump as high or dunk. But is the talent discrepancy as obvious between the WPS and the, let’s say, MLS? I don’t think so.

According to Sports Illustrated, women’s soccer is more competitive and more watched than ever, averaging record viewership of millions in the U.S. during the World Cup.

For a comparison, the WNBA averages about 400,000 viewers per game. All things considered, ESPN needs to look into a television contract with the WPS.

The Women’s World Cup has been extremely entertaining so far and has proven something significant to sports fans across the U.S. — women’s sports can be entertaining.

Okay, you may think and say whatever you want about me. You may call me a hater, an envious individual or even a loser, but that won’t convince me to not write the following column. You see, I consider myself a philosopher who seeks the universal truth of everything surrounding us. Unlike many people, who only see shadows and mere perceptions of things, I see the essence of everything. Following Plato’s allegory of the cave in The Republic, I will say that I have been inside the cave, I have been released from the cave and seen the light, and now I am back to the cave with complete understanding of the world. I am an advocate of the truth, and will not tolerate ignorance, which according to Socrates, is the only evil.

It is for these reasons, that I find myself compelled to write a column about Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo. I remember a situation earlier in the semester, where I overheared some girls on Ho Plaza talking about Mr. Ronaldo. The following dialogue is what I was able to hear:

Girl #1: Cristiano Ronaldo is so hot. I will do anything to sleep with him.

Girl #2: Hell yeah, I would certainly include that achievement on my résumé.

Poor individuals! They don’t understand the underlying essence of things; they just rely on mere material appearances. I know, I can’t just ignore the fact Ronaldo is “smokin’ hot”, and that his abdominal area –– which according to him, has been developed at a rate of 3,000 abs per day –– is 10 times more fit than Leonidas’ in 300. It would also be ignorant on my part to claim he is a terrible player. Ronaldo scored 84 goals and provided 34 assists in his 196 appearances for English giant Manchester United. He even adapts to the playing style of other countries. In his current season with Real Madrid (Spain), for instance, he has 11 goals and four assists in just 10 games. You might find yourself thinking right now, “I don’t see a problem with this Ronaldo. He works and performs over the average level, and the percentage of the world’s female population that doesn’t want to sleep with him is lower than Harvard’s acceptance rate.” Well, my friend, you have never left the cave. The absolute truth about Cristiano Ronaldo is simple. He is an ass. Why? Let me answer you in the words of Stu –– the dentist from The Hangover–– “[he] is such a bad person, like all the way through to [his] core.” Indeed, Ronaldo has a terrible personality. Let me show you the light, my friends:

1. He is extremely egotistical: During the 2006 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal between Portugal and England, English striker Wayne Rooney –– who was Ronaldo’s teammate in club soccer at that time –– stamped Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho when fighting for the possession of the ball. Quickly, Ronaldo went to the referee in order to complain about the foul. Naturally, Rooney felt betrayed by the fact that Ronaldo, his teammate and friend, was trying to kick him out of the game –– and not just an ordinary game, but a World Cup quarterfinal that most players in the world don’t get the chance to play in during their lifetimes. Rooney then mildly pushed Ronaldo (like NFL players sometimes do to opponents during the game). In my opinion, this was a reasonable reaction. However, Ronaldo didn’t care about Rooney.

The Portuguese kept complaining and eventually achieved what they wanted. Rooney was expelled. Some people try to defend Ronaldo by arguing that during the World Cup they weren’t teammates because they were playing for their respective countries, that Ronaldo just did what any player should have done: perform in the interest of your team and country. Although those are valid points, I think the right decision from Ronaldo would have been to avoid the situation. Manchester United –– the club that developed him as a player, saw him rise to fame and paid him more than any other player on the team –– plays in England.

Ronaldo owed at least some degree of respect to all the English fans that supported him every year, and the English businessmen that made him “Cristiano Ronaldo”. Besides, the foul situation was between the referee, Carvalho and Rooney. Ronaldo had nothing to do with the play. However, he just cared about himself and winning at all costs. To make matters worse, he taunted every English and decent soccer fan in the world when he was afterwards caught by the international broadcast intentionally winking at the Portuguese bench.

2. He doesn’t know what respect means: In addition to the offense he committed against English fans explained above, Ronaldo doesn’t fail to show that he is obnoxious under other circumstances. In a UEFA Champions League match against Sporting Lisbon (a club where Ronaldo used to play), Manchester United head coach Sir Alex Ferguson told him to pass the ball into the penalty box area instead of taking a shot during the free kick opportunity. Ronaldo, instead of listening, decided to shoot to the goal. And you know what? He scored. In my opinion, this is unacceptable.

As a player, your role is to obey your coach, not to execute what you find correct. But no, he couldn’t just stop there. Ronaldo then looked at the bench were his coach was and made a mocking gesture. If I had been Sir Alex, Ronaldo would have been benched for a long time because in sports, as in most of society, discipline is more important than talent or performance. Another disrespecting situation regarding Ronaldo is that he is constantly diving during games and making a show out of everything.

He is the biggest drama queen of them all. Most Americans despised the FIFA World Cup because of all the diving and acting performances by players. And although I love soccer, I have to agree with this one. Diving is not just a lack of respect towards the game, but to all the fans of the sport that go to stadiums or watch the games on television.

3. He dated Paris Hilton: I think this one is self-explanatory.

According to Mark Young, a freelance contributor to ESPN Soccernet, Gulati made the safe choice and should have been more aggressive in pursuing a big name coach. In Bob Bradley’s defense, and the state of soccer in America, Mark Young could not be more incorrect.

Bradley is not an international big name. He has never coached a big time European club like Klinsmen with German Bundesliga powerhouse Bayern Munich or Sir Alex Ferguson with Manchester United. However, Bob Bradley knows how to win.

Bradley has been coaching collegiate and international soccer since 1981. During his four years at the helm of the United States men’s national team, Bradley has amassed 38 wins. 24 of those wins came during the 2009 World Cup qualifying campaign.

In international competitions, such as CONCACAF Gold Cup and others, Bradley’s teams have performed at the best the United States men’s soccer has had to offer.

Because he has been through the system with former Men’s national team head coach and now Los Angeles Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena, Bradley knows the inner workings of American soccer better than any big name European coach.

In the past the USSF has tried using high priced European coaches, like Bora Milutinović who coached the Americans during the 1995 World Cup in the United States and it has not brought the most effective result.

The best solution to American soccer to make it to the next level of international competition is to help develop young American players both abroad and at home. Tim Howard, the American goalkeeper who plays for English Premier League squad Everton, is one of the best goalkeepers in Europe because the competition level in American has risen to a higher level than 10 years ago.

Some may argue that Bradley’s son, Michael, being part of the team is an example of nepotism. But Michael Bradley, who plays in the German Bundesilga’s top flight with Borussia Mochenglabach, has more than earned a role as the holding midfielder.

The United States will maybe never win the FIFA World Cup. But at least with Bradley at the helm for the next four years, the Red White and Blue will be in the best position to win. One thing that they would have to improve on would be the backline. It seems that the Americans have to battle back far too often.

The heated intrastate rivalry game included multiple skirmishes, a red card and no shortage of drama as the shorthanded Buckeyes escaped with a 2-2 tie.

“This team has a strong belief and they don’t quit,” coach John Bluem said. “I’m so proud of our team, the way they played tonight. Going a man down, continuing to battle and to be rewarded with a goal that late is a great sign for us that justifies the work and justifies the effort.”

After being down 2-1 with three seconds to play, David Tiemstra scored the game-tying goal when the desperate Buckeyes elected to play two forwards and only three defenders after giving up the go-ahead goal with 22 minutes to play.

“Unbelievable, there’s no other feeling I can describe or I’ve ever felt in my life besides that. Unbelievable,” Tiemstra said.

The late switch in game plan worked out, said Austin McAnena, who scored for OSU in the first half.

“It shows that we can attack, too,” he said. “We were sitting back, but we switched it to three backs and put two up top and started attacking and pressuring them because they had so much time.”

The 7,255 fans were an all-time record for OSU soccer and added electricity to an already gripping contest.

“Besides scoring the goal, it was the best feeling ever,” Tiemstra said of the attendance. “Even when the away fans are so loud, you’re talking about the extra 10 percent on the field, that’s coming from everyone (in the stands). We get those chills that everyone hears about.”

With the game tied at one early in the second half, Konrad Warzycha was called for a foul and kicked the ball out of frustration. It drilled Akron’s Dalington Nagbe in the head, causing his teammates to confront Warzycha, and a skirmish ensued.

Warzycha was given a red card and the Buckeyes were forced to play a man down for the rest of the game.

Shortly thereafter, Akron’s Darren Mattocks scored to make it 2-1, leading to Bluem’s change in scheme.

“I think the guys just really, the last 30 minutes, we got into an aggressive mode when we were defending most of the game and I think that really caught them by surprise.”

Coming into Wednesday, Akron had tied the all-time NCAA record for posting 11 consecutive shutouts.

“We wanted to play to win,” McAnena said. “We didn’t want to sit back against these guys.”

A shorthanded tie against the nation’s top team bodes well for the Buckeyes heading into the start of conference play Sunday against Michigan State. But Bluem made sure not to underscore the importance of getting a head start in the Big Ten standings.

“You live and breathe for your conference,” he said. “Our guys have set a goal for themselves to finish as high as they can in the conference standings and that means getting as many points as we can at home.”

When asked if he expected a result like this, with no hesitation, Bluem said, “Yes.”

“All the drama that went on, well no, I guess I didn’t expect that.”

After the first weekend of conference play, a chasm between the MAC East and West Divisions is beginning to show.

Five of the six West Division squads picked up at least one win in conference play last weekend, but only two East Division teams earned wins. The West went 7-4-1 and scored 21 goals, while the East posted a 4-7-1 mark and put 15 balls in the net.

MAC West schools have 11 more wins than MAC East schools this season despite having played two fewer games.

Only one East squad has more than four wins this season, but five West schools have five or more victories. The West has allowed 36 fewer goals than the East.

“Some of the traditional powerhouses in the conference are certainly in the West,” said coach Stacy Strauss, adding that strength of schedule often plays a role in a team’s overall record and goal differential.

“Each year has been different in terms of parity,” she said.

This is the first season the conference has been split into six-team divisions. The two division champions will clinch the top two seeds in the MAC Tournament in November.

Ohio (3-4-2, 0-1-1 MAC) was one of four MAC East teams not to pick up a win this weekend, but still finds itself in third place in the division. No conference team won on the road this past weekend.

“We’ll take any point we can get,” Strauss said. “We were the only road team to get any road point at all.”

Winning a MAC Tournament title will be difficult for the Bobcats or any other MAC East school, as a MAC West squad has won the regular season and tournament championship each of the last four seasons.

“It’s probably something we’ll think about later in the season as all that pans out,” Strauss said. “But for now, everyone still has to play every other team, so it’s proven again to be a tough conference – very physical games throughout from top to bottom.”

The Bobcats’ schedule is especially top-heavy. Ohio plays all six West Division squads before facing the other five teams in the East Division.

“The trip to Michigan that we just took is, for everybody in the conference, probably the toughest road trip,” Strauss said. “As long as we stay confident and don’t freak out, it’s good to get those out of the way. You’d like to think you’re continuing to improve and learn from playing quality competition.”

Saint Mary’s (2-8) secured its second win on Sunday with a 3-0 victory over Franklin. It was the Belles’ second straight home shutout but will face a challenge in taking on Calvin. The Knights come into the game with a 7-1-1 record and are the defending MIAA champions. Belles coach Michael Joyce said he knows his team will face a strenuous test on Wednesday.

“Calvin is a top-25 team, so that is a challenging conference opener,” Joyce said. “We’re going to have to work hard no matter who we play in our conference, so we’ve got to go out each game and look for points with either a win or a tie.”

Led by freshman goalkeeper Ashton Hearn, the Knights have only given up one goal this season. Saint Mary’s has given up 27. Calvin’s starting freshman Brittany Hieftje leads the Knights in goals and points.

Joyce said he understands the challenge that is ahead of the team against Calvin and the entire MIAA, but he said believes that his team has the potential to sneak up on a few opponents within the league.

“We’ll have to be at our best against Calvin and a few bounces our way won’t hurt either,” Joyce said. “I think we’re good enough to surprise one or two teams in our conference.”

The Belles will kick off their conference season against the Knights today at 4 p.m. at Calvin’s Zuidema Field.

“Northwestern have had our number,” Irish coach Bobby Clark said. “They’ve knocked us out in the second round of the NCAA’s two years in a row. That’s really all you need to say. They’re well-coached and they play good soccer. Clearly, they’re a team that has a lot of credibility both in the Midwest and nationally.”

The clash between the Irish (3-2-2) and the Wildcats (3-4-0) will be played under the bright lights of Toyota Park, home to the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer. Clark said that the neutral site game between Midwest powers will act as a showcase to alumni and fans in the Chicago area.

“We thought a nice answer for this game would be to play on a neutral ground,” Clark said. “It’ll give our alumni and our fans in the Chicago area a chance to come out and see the team. We hope for a nice turnout. There’ll definitely also be a lot of Northwestern fans at the game.”

The Irish are coming off of a 1-0 weekend victory against No. 18 St. John’s at Alumni Stadium in which the Irish found the offensive rhythm they had been seeking in recent contests.

“We had nine shots on target and we outshot them 18 to seven I think,” Clark said. “There were a lot of positives from that game. The only negative is that we didn’t score more goals, but you’ve got to credit the St. John’s goalkeeper who made three great saves.”

Clark emphasized that in order to preserve their form on the offensive end of the field, the Irish need to believe in their preparation rather than focusing on the goal drought against Michigan and Michigan State Sept. 17 and 19.

“I don’t think we’ve ever really played poorly in a game, with the exception of Michigan State where we came out flat,” Clark said. “We’ve got to continue to play well. We’re not really doing anything different offensively, we just have to believe in the way we do things.”

The Irish will look to build off the St. John’s win as action gets underway against the Wildcats in Chicago on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Facing one of its fiercest Midwest rivals in the midst of an uncharacteristically rough start to its season, senior forward Matt Eliason said that NU is keenly aware of the season-changing potential of the game.

So perhaps it’s fitting that when the Wildcats take the field against the Fighting Irish Wednesday night, the stadium as well as the stakes will loom a bit larger. For the first time in program history, NU will play a regular season match at Toyota Park, home of the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer.

“This game was always going to be important to us,” Eliason said. “One game can change an entire season so playing it at that stadium against a team like Notre Dame is going to make it even more of a pressure situation, but also just a great opportunity.”

NU (3-4) may be a stranger to the venue, but it is certainly no stranger to high pressure matches against Notre Dame (3-2-2). The two teams have faced off 17 times, with Fighting Irish winning 12 of those contests. But NU has seized the most important games recently, knocking Notre Dame out of the second round of the NCAA tournament for the past two years. This game will mark the first time that NU and Notre Dame will face off in the regular season since 2000.

Coach Tim Lenahan said it will be good practice for a potential NCAA tournament appearance, where they would likely face the Fighting Irish in regional rounds.

“Notre Dame is the more established program obviously,” Lenahan said. “But we’ve really begun to close the gap over the past couple of years.”

The gap may be more imposing this year than ever before, with NU starting one of its youngest lineups in program history. Last Sunday’s matchup against a veteran-powered No. 11 Michigan State saw NU playing timidly at the opening of the game and conceding its second own goal in as many games.

Senior defender and captain Cody Stanley said that the slow start to the season has been surprising, especially for a senior class not accustomed to losing this early on.

“It’s definitely strange for us to be losing at this point in the season,” Stanley said. “But as seniors we’ve got to be responsible for helping the team, and particularly the younger guys, to turn that around. This game will really test that.”

If NU is going to pass the test it will need a bit more luck up top. The Cats have gone scoreless in their past two games, and Eliason has found the back of the net just once this season on a penalty kick that cemented him as NU’s all-time leading goal scorer.

“Obviously it’s frustrating not to be scoring as much as I would like,” Eliason said after NU’s loss to Michigan State on Sunday. “But I can’t let that get to me. Sometimes it’s also about setting other people up if I am not getting the goals.”

Junior forward Oliver Kupe has been NU’s best hope up front. Kupe has pitched in a team-leading three goals this season and has provided a much needed distraction against defenses that double-team Eliason.

Kupe got his first big offensive break against Notre Dame in the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2008. The then-freshman scored two goals, the first in his collegiate career, to lift the Cats over the Fighting Irish 2-1.

Whether it’s Kupe or a younger player, Lenahan said the Cats will need someone to step up and do what has proven elusive in the past two games: finish.

“It does come down to making plays,” Lenahan said. “The last few years we have been able to do that against Notre Dame. This year we are going to need to do that again.”

On a cold, wet Sunday afternoon at Nebraska Soccer Field, the Cornhuskers were locked in a 1-1 game with the Iowa Hawkeyes. After birthday-girl Jackson’s first goal and – scored as the P.A. announcer was declaring one minute left in the half and – Nebraska had the advantage, as Iowa could muster no offense in the first half due to the stifling and and physically imposing and Husker defense.

But Iowa scored early in the second half, leveling the game. Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, they allowed a through ball that led to a corner kick not a minute later.

As the referee got set to blow the whistle and Blair Slapper ran up to put the ball in play, Jackson was ready. The ball went up by the post and the 5-foot-7 forward jumped up and blasted the ball with her head.

‘Oh, my gosh, we won on my birthday, ” Jackson laughed. ‘I got to score two goals. It’s 10 times better than a normal win.

The second goal was even worth the pain.

‘When you put it in, it doesn’t hurt at all,” Jackson said. ‘You only think about the goal, not the pain. But, really, it hurts a little bit.”

But most of the pain Sunday went to the Hawkeyes, whom Nebraska beat 3-1 off of Jackson’s two goals and a Morgan Marlborough penalty kick late in the game.

The result, along with NU’s 3-1 victory over Cal State Fullerton on Friday, brought the Huskers to 7-2 on the season, with Big 12 Conference play beginning Friday against Texas.

Against Fullerton, redshirt freshman Stacy Bartels had not just the first goal of her Husker career, but the first two, leading the Huskers to victory.

As this weekend was Omaha Hometown Husker Day, Bartels was able to do it in front of her parents, something she’d been hoping for.

‘My parents wanted to be here for my first goal, and rdquo; Bartels said. ‘I wish I’d been able to do it before now, but it’s nice to do it at home, in front of them.”

Bartels and Jackson’s goals were welcome to coach John Walker, who had been hoping to diversify the team’s scoring output besides just Marlborough and Molly Thomas.

‘We have some talented attacking players,” Walker said. ‘It’s good to see more people get involved. We need that moving forward.”

Moving forward means the start of Big 12 play for the Huskers. While they gained some impressive nonconference victories, most notably 3-1 wins over future Big Ten rivals Iowa and Indiana, they were unimpressive in their losses to New Mexico and Arizona State at a combined 8-0.

While “hard work” seems to be the team mantra heading into Friday’s tilt with Texas, Husker players have more specific goals in mind.

‘Coach Walker has been stressing defense in strikers recently,” Marlborough said. ‘I’d like us to stay aggressive and, if we do, we have a great chance of winning.”

But some of the Husker players were looking way forward, past Big 12 play, past even being members of the Big 12, with their smiles after the game.

‘We’ve been establishing a pattern for the Big Ten,” Jackson said. ‘We beat (Iowa), and we beat Indiana. We’re already (setting) a mark for the Big Ten next year.”

One team that hasn’t lost a step is the reigning Premier League Champions, Chelsea. The Blues return the bulk of a squad that held off Manchester United and Arsenal in route to the Premier League crown, and they seem to have picked up right where they left off.

Aided by a lackluster performance in the World Cup by most of their players, Chelsea is much more rested than perhaps teams like Arsenal that feature several players with a deep World Cup run. Nonetheless, Chelsea is running through the beginning of this year’s campaign with flabbergasting results. The Blues have gone undefeated to start, posting a record of 4-0, while scoring 17 goals and conceding a lone one.

Not much has changed with the champs. The majority of the scoring still comes from world-class striker Didier Drogba, and for the second straight year, Frenchman Florent Malouda is delivering early on, matching Drogba for the league lead in goals at four. Chelsea let the aging German midfielder Michael Ballack go, as well as the crafty English flanker Joe Cole. To add depth to that midfield, the Blues added the young and talented Brazilian Ramires and Israeli captain Yossi Benayoun.

The biggest challenge for Chelsea once again comes at the hands of mighty Manchester United. Man U has stumbled out of the gate though, recording draws in their last two matches to inferior opponents. The latter of the ties was especially deflating as Everton recovered from a two-goal deficit in stoppage time to secure one point.

The Red Devils also have some controversy hanging over their heads, as star striker Wayne Rooney is facing claims of adultery in British tabloids; similar to that of Tiger Woods having his dirty laundry aired out for all of us to see.

The Arsenal Gunners once again have the talent and philosophy to challenge any team in the world, yet can’t catch a break. The majority of Arsenal’s attack is spending more time in the rehabilitation facility than on the pitch, with Dutchman Robin Van Persie, speedy Englishman Theo Walcott and Denmark’s striker Nicklas Bendtner all sidelined with injuries until October.

The last team with the capabilities to puncture the dominant sail that is Chelsea is the free-spending Manchester City. Since the Abu Dhabi Prince commonly known as The Sheikh bought Manchester City, over $445 million has been spent on acquiring and signing players, with an additional $250 million used to upgrade facilities.

This year Manchester City looks like an all-star team, with world-class talent at each position. The problem that coach Roberto Mancini and is going to have is balancing all these players that deserve a great amount of playing time. Personalities are going to combust, costing this talented crew the chance at capturing some silverware.

It’s far too early to tell who will end up on top, especially with the January transfer window still months away. However, it will take a major move by a contender or an untimely injury to knock the dominant Chelsea off the top of the soccer world.

The Bobcats (2-2-0) look to hand the Vikings their first home loss of the season in Ohio’s first ever trip to Krenzler Field. A win for the Bobcats would be a welcome result for the beginning game of a lengthy stretch of road matches.

This year, the Vikings (4-1-1) have taken advantage of a schedule that features a hearty 10 home games, the most in the program’s seven-year history. Cleveland State has outscored its opponents 13-5 at home and has netted at least two goals in every contest. The Vikings are 4-0-1 on their home turf.

The Bobcats have a career record of 2-1-0 against Cleveland State, with all three matches being played in Athens. Krenzler Field might be new to Ohio, but coach Stacy Strauss sees the venue as just another place for her team to play its own style.

“It’s always difficult to play on someone else’s home turf,” she said. “They do have a nice field. It should help our style of play if we can settle the ball and move it around them.”

Krenzler Field opened in 1985 and was renovated in 2005 to replace the grass surface with FieldTurf.

The Vikings are 15-29-4 in their time at Krenzler Field and have never won five games at the stadium in a season. That could change if they beat the Bobcats tonight.

Strauss said her team would have to match the intensity of Wednesday’s match against Marshall to pick up the win.

“I think we need to match our physical effort (from the Marshall game) and stay organized defensively,” she said. “There’s a few improvements we need to make to expect another win.”

Those improvements include clearing the ball better and playing stronger defense in the final 30 minutes, she said. Strauss also wants her forwards to take more chances against an aggressive Cleveland State squad.

“They’re hard-working, physical,” she said. “We need to ensure we do a good job to take advantage where we have numbers up.”

Another First

Rachael Goulding will make her first start of the 2010 campaign tonight. The fifth-year senior defender was redshirted in 2008 to play for the Canadian U20 World Cup team. The NCAA granted her a fifth year of eligibility, provided she sat out the beginning of the season.

Headlining the trip for the Irish will be their matchup with No. 13 UCLA, a perennial force in NCAA soccer Friday night. The Irish will then wrap things up Sunday with a game against Loyola Marymount.

UCLA (2-1) opened the year as the consensus No. 3 team in the country, but an early upset loss to Northwestern saw the Bruins take a tumble in the polls, something that Irish coach Randy Waldrum thinks will add extra motivation for the UCLA squad.

“I think they’re going to be really ready to play the next few weeks to gain back a little of that respect they lost,” Waldrum said,

The Bruins are led by junior forward Sydney Leroux, who won the Golden Boot at the under-20 World Cup. She currently leads UCLA with five goals and 11 points. Junior goalkeeper Chante Sandiford has been stout between the pipes for the Bruins, with a 0.52 goals against average and a shutout in four starts.

“They’re really loaded with talent,” Waldrum said of the Bruins. “You look at that team and they’re made up of a lot of national team kids, so they’re going to be pretty solid through and through.”

Notre Dame (4-0) leads the all-time series with UCLA 2-0-0, with both wins coming in the NCAA Tournament. Their most recent victory over the Bruins was in the 2004 NCAA finals, when the Irish won a national championship in a penalty shootout. The victory marked the first and only time that the national title has been decided on penalty kicks.

Loyola Marymount will also be a relatively new foe for the Irish, as this weekend’s matchup will mark just the second time that the two squads have faced each other. Their previous matchup was a 4-0 win for Notre Dame in 2008, the last season at old Alumni Stadium. Junior Melissa Henderson notched a goal in the game during what was her first season with the Irish.

The Lions are off to a 4-1 start this year, with just a 2-1 loss to No. 14 California in the season opener marring their record. They will also be Notre Dame’s second opponent from the West Coast Conference in as many weekends, as the Irish played Santa Clara last Friday.

Loyola Marymount is led this year by a pair of freshmen in defender Tata Gilmer and forward Tawni Martino. Martino leads Loyola Marymount with four goals, and senior midfielder Nickey Ha trails her with three. Like UCLA, the Lions have a stout netminder in goal in freshman Brittany Jagger, who has posted an 0.80 goals against average and a .871 save percentage.

The Irish will kick off against UCLA at 7 p.m. Pacific time Friday and will round out the weekend at 11 p.m. Sunday against Loyola Marymount.

The tournament honors Berticelli, a former Irish soccer coach, who led the team from 1990-99 before suddenly passing away during the 1999-2000 season.

The Irish (0-1-1) are coming off a 0-0 draw with Cal, a game in which the Irish lost senior Jeb Brovsky to injury. With his status uncertain, others will need to step up this weekend to fill a large whole in an offense, which has been unable to score in their first two matches of the year.

“We opened the game well and then got impatient when we did not get anything tangible out of our good play,” Irish coach Bobby Clark said. “We must hold firm to our beliefs and be patient”

The 0-0 result was a good sign for one Irish player. Junior goalkeeper Will Walsh was able to record his first clean sheet against Cal, and has recorded nine saves in 200 minutes of play.

Junior Aaron Maund and sophomore Dillon Powers were both named as Soccer America Preseason All-Americans, and the Irish will look to them for on-the-field leadership.

Drake came into the season after a 16-7-2 2009 campaign where they reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, and are 1-1 so far this season.

They defeated Michigan 1-0 in their first game, and then lost 1-0 in overtime to Oakland leading up to this weekend. Junior goalkeeper Jordan Kadlec leads the team with 13 saves, and senior Kenan Malicevic netted their lone goal.

The Cal Poly Mustangs come into the weekend with a 1-1 record, coming off of a 2-1 overtime loss to Air Force. They defeated Denver 1-0 in their first match of the season. Sophomore Chris Gaschen and junior Tim White have scored for the Mustangs, while junior goaltender Patrick McLain has 15 saves in two games so far.

“We respect all our opponents as we play a very strong schedule but we concentrate mainly on what we will do rather than our opponents,” Clark said.

Cal Poly will open the tournament against No. 18 Indiana, the fourth competitor in the Mike Berticelli Memorial, at 5 p.m. Friday, followed by Notre Dame’s matchup against Drake at 7:30 p.m at Alumni Field. The tournament will wrap up Sunday with Indiana playing Drake at 11:30 a.m. and the Irish facing Cal Poly at 2 p.m., also at Alumni Field.

“We have about as ambitious a schedule as anyone out there,” he said. “While we end up with a number of losses, it does force us to raise our level of play.”

The Belles will need to be ready to raise that level as soon as today, however, as they venture to Otterbein University for a weekend tournament. Saint Mary’s will face off against the No. 7 host Cardinals this afternoon before finishing up with Ohio Northern U. Saturday.

The weekend will certainly be challenging, as both teams qualified for the NCAA Division III Tournament last year.

Regardless of the difficulty of this weekend’s matchups, Joyce said he has an unshakable faith in his team’s ability to continue to work hard and compete.

“We can knock the ball around with anyone we face,” he said. “Sometimes against a good team you end up playing defense the whole game and are lucky to get past midfield, but with everyone we’ve faced we’re able to create good scoring chances.”

While Joyce would admit that his team has had a few unlucky breaks this year, he said he believes the key to the team’s success is to stay the course and, above all, focus.

“We’re positive about of performances,” he said. “Our biggest challenge is keeping our head in the game for 90 minutes”.

An inopportune lapse of focus, even if only for a few minutes, is enough to derail Saint Mary’s efforts as the season rolls on. The Belles fell victim to such a mistake once before and paid the price

“I thought we had a 10-minute spell against Illinois Wesleyan where we let down and it cost us two goals,” Joyce said. “Without that let down and a few mistakes, it could’ve been a very close game.”

The Belles will look to internalize their coach’s words as they take the field against two very formidable opponents this weekend. Saint Mary’s takes on Otterbein today at 2 p.m. and concludes the weekend against Ohio Northern tomorrow at 2:30 p.m.

There was no way the Penn State U. women’s soccer coach was going to pass up having Bri Hovington’s skills in her lineup.

Through the last three games, the freshman defender has made an impression on the Nittany Lions back line as a reserve with her speed and communication. And Hovington might not be just a sub much longer.

“[She's] composed, has good pace. She’s a great communicator,” Walsh said. “That’s why we recruited her, we thought her communication was excellent. She’s coming into her own.”

Hovington came into the season in the final stages of recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear.

The coaches knew there was a chance the freshman wouldn’t be ready to start the season but also expected a quick impact once the she was ready.

While the defense typically sees very few subs, Hovington’s talents are too good to keep her off the field. The defender played in the team’s Blue-White scrimmage on Aug. 22, but didn’t make her regular season debut until the Aug. 29 loss to William & Mary.

After she got her bulky ACL brace off in the preseason, Hovington said she injured her right patellar tendon in a tackle with Maya Hayes. Despite that, and a another, smaller brace she had to wear for a few days, the freshman hasn’t been hesitant since returning.

“I’m not afraid going into tackles because I’ve always heard if you’re afraid going into tackles, you’re going to get hurt again,” Hovington said. “I’m excited to be back out here and it’s a great feeling.”

For some freshmen, coming into an established team can take some getting used to but for Hovington, fitting into the Nittany Lions back line didn’t take long. Walsh said the defender easily adjusted in training and quickly started talking.

Having established defenders in senior Megan Monroig, junior Emma Thomson and sophomore Lexi Marton helped. Hovington said she’s been learning a lot from practicing with Monroig and Thomson, the starting outside backs.

“She’s working hard, she’s very in tune to listening and learning,” Monroig said. ‘She asks questions all the time because she wants to be the best she can be in that position. When she comes in she works hard, gets a tackle in when she needs to.”

Monroig said Hovington works well with all of the defenders and never gives up on a play. With her speed, the freshman can get up in the attack but can also track back to defend easily.

Hovington said she hasn’t lost any of her speed coming off the injury and pointed to a play against Connecticut on Sunday where she and Monroig were able to chase down and stop a 2-on-2 Huskies counterattack.

Combining with Monroig and centre back Carly Niness, the Lions have a quick back

line, a benefit that Walsh enjoys having.

“It gives you a lot of confidence,” Walsh said. “Bri can track players down, it’s actually her strength. Now that she’s a bit more patient with her defending I think she’s really going to come on here.”

With games this weekend against Washington and No. 4 Portland, Walsh said Hovington could crack the starting

lineup depending on the match-up. Whatever her role is this

weekend, Hovington is happy to be back and contributing for her team.

“I’ve been looking forward to being out here with Penn State since I was a sophomore in high school,” Hovington said.

“To finally get back out here, it was an amazing feeling, absolutely indescribable. I love it out here.”

At least, Bob Warming knows the senior outside midfielder is, so long as Braga’s teammates on the Penn State U. men’s soccer team help him out a little.

“He’s pretty good but he can’t do it alone,” Warming, the Nittany Lions coach, said.

“We’ve got to get better runs out of the forwards so that they understand what he’s capable of with passing.”

Braga is back at the left wing position he occupied last fall, where he tallied a Big Ten-best seven assists in 2009.

The senior said he has no preference where he’s playing, saying he’d still get after it if he was moved to defense.

But he can only do so much, and it’s up to the other players to make good runs that create space for the senior to exploit. Braga has posted results so far and his teammates are working to keep that production going.

“It’s something we’ve been working on the whole season,” senior midfielder Drew Cost said. “If we can exploit that, we’ll be a better team.”

While Warming said it’s going to be on the forwards to start creating space, Warming said they’ve been improving in that area. What the coach does want to see is more players running past Braga when he has the ball to draw away defenders.

The faster the Lions can get players moving and swarming around Braga, the faster the space will appear. While the team’s left back will make the majority of the runs, mixing up who goes will open up more passing lanes.

At the same time, Braga likes the way the team has meshed in the early going.

The senior said his teammates have done well responding when he has the ball and making good runs.

“The team is really well connected right now, we’re keeping the shape and the forwards are making nice runs,” Braga said. “It’s helping me to put those balls through and those assists. I want to get some goals too but it’s been great.”

Junior forward Corey Hertzog has been one of the main benefactors of Braga’s play, having two of his three goals assisted by the senior. Hertzog said Braga’s play has helped the forwards in getting better chances on goal.

Playing on the wing allows the Brazilian-born Braga to take defenders on one-on-one and use his dribbling skills to advance the ball.

Warming said every time Braga gets the ball he makes the right choice and always leaves extra options open.

Watching Braga challenge defenders, his nationality clearly has an influence on his game and he joked that he tries to give defending right backs nightmares.

“That’s the beauty of Brazilian soccer,” Braga said. “I like to do that, just get a ball and see one defender and flip the ball through his legs. I love to do it. When I dribble it helps the objective to get to the goal.”

The Thundering Herd drilled four shots off the crossbar, but ‘Cats’ sophomore midfielder Cathryn Rogers hit the back of the net on a penalty kick to propel the Bobcats to a 1-0 victory yesterday at Chessa Field.

With about nine minutes to play, junior forward Laura Dieter gathered the ball and streaked down the right side of the field. She passed the ball into the box, where Kelsey Pichel and Jackie Hanson helped it along to Rogers, who fired a shot off the hand of Herd defender Meghan Wetzel.

The Bobcats were immediately awarded a penalty kick, and Wetzel was given a yellow card. Rogers confidently walked into the penalty area to take the kick.

“In that situation, you want a player to step up and say, ‘I’m going to take it’,” coach Stacy Strauss said. “She did, and she did a good job with it.”

Rogers put the ball into the wide-open right side of the net as Marshall goalkeeper Lindsey Kerns dove the other direction.

“That’s just where I always go,” Rogers said. “I think (it’s my) comfort zone.”

Marshall had plenty of chances to take a lead earlier in the half. The Herd fired 10 shots at the goal – including eight in the second half – and four on target. Freshman goalkeeper Mattie Liston made four saves to earn her second career shutout.

On one play, Liston tipped the ball into the crossbar, one of the four shots that fired off the horizontal pipe, all in the second half.

“It’s funny. It was a little bit unlucky on their part,” Strauss said. “That being said, from my angle I felt like Mattie had all of them covered. Had it dipped, she would have saved it.”

After a lackluster first half that featured only two shots on goal, the teams combined for seven shots on net and 10 corner kicks in the second half. The referee administered two players yellow cards in the fast-paced, aggressive half.

“We were organized defensively. We took away their threatening players, which is what we were intending to do,” Strauss said. “We played gutsy and physical and earned the win.”

The Bobcats’ match against Marshall is their only home contest in September. Ohio U. will play five consecutive road matches before returning to Athens Oct. 1. But the long string of road games does not alarm coach Stacy Strauss.

“It’s something that we’ve taken pride in, in the past,” she said. “It actually helps us in some ways to get off campus, and we can keep their minds on what it is that we’re doing at the time.”

Ohio was 5-4-1 away from Athens last year, including 5-1-1 on the road in the Mid-American Conference.

The Bobcats opened the regular season with three out-of-state road games. They started with a 2-0 win in Pittsburgh Aug. 22. The win marked the first time a visiting team scored two goals on the Panthers’ home field in two years. No team outside the Big East had accomplished the feat since 2005.

But Ohio has not scored since then. A weekend trip to Columbia, S.C., yielded 180 minutes of shutout soccer as both Bucknell and South Carolina sent Ohio home empty-handed.

“I thought we lacked a little bit of intensity, a little bit of commitment to do whatever it takes to earn the shutout,” Strauss said.

The Bobcats have not played in 10 days since the 2-0 loss to the Gamecocks, who were ranked 13th in the nation at the time. Strauss said her squad has used the unusually long break to refocus.

“We have really challenged the players mentally and physically,” she said. “I thought we made strides in our fitness and our organization and the mental toughness of our players as well.”

Defeating the Herd (2-1-2) will require Ohio’s offense and defense to be top-notch. Marshall has scored 10 times in five games and has not allowed a goal during its last 3 hours, 33 minutes of play.

The Bobcats will need another solid outing from freshman goalkeeper Mattie Liston to keep Marshall off the scoreboard. Liston notched a shutout in her first collegiate match and has stopped 21 of the 24 shots on net she has faced.

“Mattie, for a player of her age, is very composed,” Strauss said. “She’s very confident. She’s not afraid to organize and direct her teammates, which is critical for goalkeepers at this level to do.”

Securing a win against the Herd would help the Bobcats gain momentum before playing five road games in four states throughout the rest of the month. It would also help Ohio remove the long-lasting aftertaste of defeat.

“It’s been a long time to sit on two losses, so I really think we need to come at them and do whatever it takes to get the win,” Strauss said.

“We need to focus on ourselves first and foremost and just ensure that we’re playing our best, and that should take care of whatever Marshall’s doing.”

The reporters usually sport quizzical looks, fully aware Stevens hails from Corona, Calif., an hour north of San Diego.

The reporters also know she had other options: the valedictorian of Santiago High, Stevens’ skill as a keeper led her to many accolades — including two all-state nominations and an invitation to the Nike 50 camp — and many suitors at the college level.

Yet she can be found every morning at 8 at Nebraska Soccer Field on the pitch with her fellow Cornhuskers.

And she’s tired of telling them why.

“I knew I didn’t want to stay home. I knew home,” Stevens said. “I wanted to be one of those few who got out of there.”

“I get this question all the time,” she said. “But really, I loved this place from day one — it’s like a family here. I can’t explain — but I couldn’t have gone anywhere else.”

Stevens, a redshirt freshman, was one of the more heralded recruits in recent Nebraska seasons — so good, in fact, she was able to play for the West Coast F.C. of the Women’s Premier Soccer League in the summer of 2009.

“Emma’s a phenomenally gifted keeper,” said Marty Everding, interim keeper coach. “She’s a delight to work with, so professional, and she may be the best goalie with the ball at her feet Nebraska has ever had.”

The best news for Nebraska’s fans: Stevens is the backup.

For now.

“This certainly isn’t a closed door,” Everding said. “The starting job could fluctuate on a game-by-game or week-by-week basis.”

But right now, senior Tara Macdonald is NU’s starting goalie.

Her path to the Huskers is less likely than Stevens’. Hailing from Austin, Texas, Macdonald faced Nebraska as a member of the Oklahoma Sooners in her first Big 12 Conference game.

But an OU coaching upheaval and her recruiter’s subsequent defection to NU led to Macdonald heading to Lincoln.

“It was weird coming here,” she said. “I was playing against Nebraska, and now I’m playing for them.”

“It’s all red and white, I guess,” she laughs. “Just different shades, really.”

Macdonald, who has been nursing a wrist injury — her latest ailment of many in her college career — took over for Stevens in the second game of the season after Stevens was red-carded early in the first half.

Macdonald has been strong in net, allowing just one goal, as Nebraska has won all four of her appearances by a combined 11-1 tally, including a 3-1 road win against a tough Indiana team on Saturday.

Her performance led to her winning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors last week.

“I credit that almost entirely to our defense,” Macdonald said. “There were games I don’t think I even needed to make a save.”

While the competition is fierce, it’s also extremely cordial.

“Right now, Tara is goalie, and I’m entirely behind it,” Stevens said.

“She’s been great in net for us. We both want the best for each other; the best for the team.”

As Nebraska prepares for this weekend’s Sun Devil Desert Classic in Tempe, Ariz., the team may not know who will be in the net. But they know one thing for sure: Whoever it is will have earned it.

“This competition is great for the team,” Everding said. “Emma brings out the best in Tara, and Tara in Emma. We have two competent keepers. That works for us.”

With senior goalkeeper and team captain Phil Tuttle already sidelined with an injury, Brovsky’s ankle sprain left the Irish (0-1-1) to fight without its two leaders as Brovsky watched the remainder of the match on crutches. The two seniors’ injuries also leave leadership gaps on the field, which Clark said the team will need while the two seniors recover.

“We’ve got on-pitch leaders now, and you need that,” Clark said. “Jeb and Phil can provide that off-the-field guidance, but during the game we’ll look to [forward] Steven Perry, [defender] Greg Klazura and [midfielder] Andrew Luttrell, who are all seniors.”

Beyond his trio of healthy seniors, Clark stressed that the younger players on his squad will be counted on to step up as the season progresses.

“You don’t need to be a senior to lead and set an example,” Clark said. “When I was a young lad coming up with Aberdeen FC in the Scottish Premier League, one of our best captains was 21 years old when he led us to the Scottish Cup title. You don’t need an armband to be a leader. Players like [junior defender] Aaron Maund and [junior midfielder] Chris Sutton can take on that responsibility.”

The Irish attack, led by Brovsky, scored eight goals in the team’s three preseason scrimmages but failed to find the back of the net over the weekend against UCLA and Cal. Against Cal, the Irish created 28 shot opportunities to the Golden Bears’ 16, but despite the advantage, were unable to grab a victory. With or without Brovsky, one of the team’s top goal-scoring threats, Clark is looking for a team-wide scoring approach to lessen the load on his strikers.

“These [scoring] droughts happen sometimes in soccer. This weekend our opponents’ [scoring] was very good,” Clark said. “Goalkeepers and strikers are always on edge, because if you make a mistake or fail to produce you are blamed. But all 10 outfield players can score. We don’t want to be too reckless, but we look for anyone to score. Our center backs are often coming forward. We want to share that responsibility.”

As the team prepares to host the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament this weekend, Brovsky is steadily rehabbing his injury and the team is optimistic that they will have his leadership and scoring ability back in the lineup soon.

“He turned his ankle, and the therapists have been doing three rehab sessions a day with him,” Clark said. “The trainers feel like Jeb’s getting there, but we won’t evaluate him until Thursday. Hopefully he can be in the lineup on Friday, but we just don’t know.”

With or without Brovsky, the Irish will look to record their first win of the season Friday at 7:30 p.m. against Drake at Alumni Stadium.

In each of this season’s three games, the Belles have started off strong but failed to follow through in the second half. In the team’s opening game of the UW-Oshkosh Women’s Soccer Invitational against Carthage Saturday, the Belles battled through a back-and-forth first half to go into the break scoreless on both sides. The second period was a different story as Carthage went on a three goal scoring stretch.

The Belles gave a similar performance Sunday against the host Titans. After going into the half at 1-1, Saint Mary’s gave up three more goals and only scored once to end defeated 4-2.

“We’re disappointed we didn’t keep the scores a little closer over the weekend,” Belles coach Michael Joyce said. “We are still giving up some soft goals, ones I think we can avoid.”

The Belles will face a challenging opponent in Illinois Wesleyan today. Reversing the trend they’ve shown early in the season will be difficult against the 3-0 Titans, whose program has repeatedly been ranked in the top-25 in recent years.

But Joyce said he thinks the team is close to where it needs to be.

“We’ve had some great scoring opportunities,” Joyce said. “Our possession and attitude on the field has greatly improved.”

Despite solid play from junior goalie Kristen Nelson, a new addition to the team this season, the Belles must also shore up a defense that has given up a conference-high eleven goals, he said Joyce said he has a more developed game plan in place though it has yet to be tested in a game.

“We’ll look to limit our mistakes, especially in the back,” he said, “If we can keep the score-line close we’ll give ourselves a shot at the win.”

Saint Mary’s will continue to look to Nelson in goal and veteran players sophomore Ashley Morfin and senior Corissa Hart to help along a talented group of freshmen. Defender Anna Stollhans and midfielder Ellie Jacques are two such players. Each has had strong performances so far this year and will be looked at to step up even more if the Belles are to advance in the MIAA, which Joyce feels they are in position to do.

“I have a lot of confidence in the players who’ve had the bulk of the minutes so far,” Joyce said. “They just need time to grow and develop.”

The Belles will face the No. 15 Titans at 5 p.m. today at Saint Mary’s.

In Friday’s regular season opener, the Wolfpack and Sacramento State were tied together at three goals apiece after 90 minutes. The Pack struck first on a goal by sophomore Michael Smith in the eighth minute.

Sacramento State tied it up five minutes later, and the scoreboard read 1-1 at the half. The Hornets opened the second half scoring less than two minutes after halftime, but senior Chris Zuerner assisted Akil DeFreitas on the fellow senior’s first goal of 2010 to tie the game once again, this time at 2-2. State took a 3-2 lead on a goal by senior Tyler Lassiter in the 79th minute, but overtime was forced with less than four minutes remaining on a goal by the Hornets’ Chris Bettencourt.

In the first overtime, neither team scored, forcing a second overtime. Early in overtime No. 2, Zuerner passed to DeFreitas, who set up Smith for the win and the sophomore’s second goal of the afternoon.

Sunday’s showdown against No. 20 Louisville saw the Pack force overtime for the second time in as many games. But unlike Friday, when coach George Tarantini and Co. pulled out a high-scoring victory, State ended up on the wrong end of a low-scoring affair Sunday, falling 2-1 in overtime to the Cardinals.

Louisville opened the scoring on a header in the 19th minute for the only goal of the first half. Just a minute after taking a break, State tied the game on a cross from freshman Mamadou Kansaye to Alan Reiter.

Reiter’s goal was the last score of regulation, and the Cardinals handed the Wolfpack its first loss with a sudden-death game-winner less than three minutes into overtime.

Friday night, N.C. State held the Pittsburgh Panthers to just five shots in a 4-0 victory at Dail Soccer Stadium. Ariela Schreibeis, Kara Blosser, Tanya Cain, and Jennie Krauser scored second half goals following a defensive first half of play that only saw three shots between both teams.

Schreibeis, a freshman from Laramie, Wyoming, broke the scoreless tie in the 58th minute with an unassisted tally. It would only take 5:07 for State to pick up two more goals, both coming from experienced points leaders from a year ago. Cain, a junior forward from Pinebluff, is one of those leaders who the Wolfpack counted on a season ago. After contributing 11 points and finishing 2009 as her team’s third leading points getter, Cain said she felt relieved to finally break through for her first goal of 2010.

“I can’t remember the last time I scored in-season,” Cain said. “It feels like it was this time last year. Hopefully it’s one of many.”

Cain became the 10th different goal scorer for the Pack this season, which is a contrast from last year’s squad, which finished its campaign with just eight different players finding the net.

“We’re playing a lot of different formations,” Cain said. “We have more offensive people this year and I think we are just hungrier for the goals.”

Along with a Blosser header that found the back of the net just moments before Cain scored, star freshman Jennie Krauser also got on the board in the 86th minute to make it 4-0. The win over a quality Big East opponent gave the Pack plenty of momentum heading into Sunday’s afternoon contest.

And it didn’t take very much time for State to take control against the Loyola Greyhounds, as Cain scored her second goal in as many games just 9:40 into the contest. Kristina Argiroff piled on by scoring her third and fourth markers of the season on a pair of Krauser assists.

But for State, the afternoon belonged to Nadia Aboulhosn, who closed out the 6-0 victory with three goals scored in a span of less than seven minutes.

“It felt really great,” Aboulhosn said. “I felt like I was in a rut and I still need to improve, but it gave me a boost. Everybody set me up perfect for all of them.”

With the team set to travel to Greenville to take on the ECU Pirates Friday, Aboulhosn said the team’s talented group of freshmen will look up to the upperclassmen.

“They make it so easy,” Alboulhosn said. “They’ve all contributed immediately already and all we have to do is keep encouraging them. We just need to keep going, keep everybody going with this momentum we have and I think we can continue to do a lot of things if we are able to stay consistent.”

Despite a successful opening to the season, coach Springthorpe said he understands how difficult it is to take a young team on the road and continue the momentum.

“That’s the bad part about playing your first six games at home,” Springthorpe said. “Now you have to go on the road and you haven’t experienced that before. We have a lot of freshmen, and we’ll see how we handle it. It’ll be something new and different for a lot of the players on our team.”

For Springthorpe, last year’s 2-5-1 road record was a disappointment that will hopefully be corrected in his second year.

“We have to win when we go on the road,” Springthorpe said. “If we don’t win, the record just isn’t going to match what we want it to be and what our goals are.”

State will head back home to face Florida International following the team’s trip to ECU. The start time against the Golden Panthers is set for 1 p.m. from Dail Soccer Stadium.

Senior captain and team president Dale Dexter has taken control of the practice. He set up boundary markers for a keep away drill and  his voice can be heard alongside the other captains, shouting out things like “keep the ball down” or “talk to the person you’re passing the ball to.”

“(The team) is kind of run by everyone,” Dexter said. “I’m not really like a coach, but I handle the financing and scheduling more.”

The lack of an actual coach isn’t hurting the club’s recent success, as they are looking to improve on their 8-2-2 record from the 2009 season. The team also finished seventh of 45 in the final rankings of Midwest schools in the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association and made their first regional championship tournament appearance.

“We’re actually one of the few club teams left without a coach that’s paid for the position. What we’re able to accomplish with that considered is pretty impressive,” Dexter said.

The lack of a coach can hurt with game plans for other teams, but on a club sports level, low finances or lack of equipment for game tapes makes more conventional coaching techniques irrelevant.

“It’s all about the resources we have,” Dexter said. “Honestly since I’ve been here, a lot of the teams have been at the same skill level. We can judge by (our opponents’) records and other teams they’ve played against to see how good they can be.”

Fourteen players are returning from last year’s roster, including goalkeeper Aric Bekaert. The club feels that the junior’s presence will be a strength for the ’Cats.

Graduate student and midfield Joe Gillespie said it’s good to have a seasoned goalie this year, as opposed to previous seasons.

“The last three years, we’ve had three different goalies,” Gillespie said. “Now that (Bekaert is) coming back we can work with him more in practice. I feel pretty comfortable about him being in net.”

Gillespie said another strength for the team will be the defense.

“We have the most experience in defense,” Gillespie said. “The last couple years have been the same defense and everyone knows where to move and how each other are going to play.”

The team runs a standard 4-4-2 offensive scheme, where four defenders, four midfielders and two forwards are on the field. The midfielders are then broken up into two smaller groups, as two outer players watch the sidelines while the other two take on either an attacking or defending role over the center of the pitch.

“(The midfielders) are really playing the position, but by putting the title on (the position), we keep them where they’re supposed to be,” Dexter said. “They can rotate too, if one is more fitted to defend against a particular player on another team, then they can do that.”

The 12-game schedule is highlighted by a trip downstate for non-divisional games against Ferris State and Grand Valley on Sept. 25 and 26, and a double header against UW-Stevens Point and UW-Stout on Saturday Oct. 2. The season opener for the team will be against rival Michigan Tech Huskies on Saturday, Sept. 4. The game is scheduled for 3 p.m., but may be delayed depending on the length of the varsity women’s game against Concordia-St. Paul.

Dexter said he’s expecting the game against Tech to be close, even though the Wildcats have always come out on top.

“We’ve never lost to Tech before,” Dexter said. “We come out and give it our all, but we know they will too. Hopefully we get a lot of people to come out and put on a show and beat Tech.”

“We do a lot of conditioning right now, and we’re learning new formations,” said president of women’s club soccer, junior Lana Bannow.

Practicing three to four times a week and traveling almost every weekend, club soccer requires hard work and dedication.

Although club sports might seem like just a fun thing to do in addition to the tough work of a college education, vice president and junior Kayla Knoll said they require a lot of time, effort and money as well.

“Commitment is huge, because with nobody wanting to come to the U.P. due to the distance, it’s that much more traveling and dedication every weekend,” Knoll said.

One thing that makes clubs a lot different from varsity sports is that athletes must pay to play. The women’s club team pays $200 for the season. This fee covers things like uniforms, hotels on road trips and referees for the games.

With club soccer not being funded directly by the school, Knoll said it makes things difficult for players to continue year after year.

“We lost players to money, commitment and time,” she said.

Even though the team is very competitive, Knoll said it is about having fun at the same time. As with any sport played, championships are great to win and records are fun to break, but the memories the teammates share are what will last forever.

“I love hanging out with the girls, doing everything together on the weekends and just playing soccer,” Knoll said.

With only one week of practice under their belts, Robbins said the athletes are still trying to get a feel for how they play together on the field.

“I’m looking forward to seeing where everyone fits best and what groups of girls really work well together on the field. Chemistry is what makes plays happen,” Robbins said.

Last year the team had a winning record at 6-4 overall (5-1 Great Lakes Division, Women’s Midwest Athletic Conference) and qualified for regional playoffs, only to be cut short by weather conditions.

Along with new formations, the ‘Cats also have some new faces in the roster. Bannow said more than 10 freshmen are expected to join the team.

“This year we have a whole new team and also a whole new squad, so I think we have a chance to compete with the bigger teams,” Bannow said.

Sophomore Kelly Robbins said she is looking forward to working with the new roster.

“We pretty much started over with girls, and I’m really excited to see how we mesh,” she said.

Bannow said some of the teams the Wildcats will face within their challenging lineup are Ohio State U., Bowling Green, Marquette U., DePaul U. and their Upper Peninsula rival, Michigan Tech.

“I’m really looking forward to playing Marquette University because they’ve always been a really dominant team, and they’ve always beat us,” Bannow said.

The team is looking forward to the season and can’t wait to kick it off on Saturday, Sept. 4, at 3 p.m. against the University of Illinois-Chicago Flames at the outdoor fields. On Sunday, Sept. 5, the ’Cats will square off against Michigan Tech Huskies at the same time and location.

While American sports fans typically watch the Olympics basketball team win countless gold medals, they do not usually tune in to see soccer star Landon Donovan score a game-winning goal in the final seconds to help his team advance past pool play.

While soccer may be a sport that is nationally loved in several other countries, few Americans have soccer at the top of their lists. For example, this year’s Super Bowl was watched by more than 106 million viewers, while the MLS Cup was seen by a mere 1 million viewers.

The one resounding question that keeps coming up after the World Cup is a simple one – do Americans care more about soccer now? Or did they just love watching this year’s World Cup?

“The World Cup definitely raises awareness, as far as soccer is concerned, in the U.S., where the sport is not quite as popular as it is in other countries,” senior midfielder Chris Zuerner said. “By people seeing how great the World Cup was, and soccer as a whole, I think that will definitely inspire people to come out and see us play and increase attendance.”

The Wolfpack certainly hopes students who are soccer fans will come out and support the team when it opens the season Friday night at the Duke/Nike Classic in Durham. State opens the season against Sacramento State University, a team ranked no. 28 in preseason polls.

“The Duke Tournament is a special event, and I hope that in general there will be more fans, not just from N.C. State, but also Triangle fans hopefully coming out to see a good game,” Zuerner said. “It’s a great game and to see it played at a high level is such a privilege. We hope we can bring that to the field this weekend.”

Zuerner has proven so far this season that he is ready to lead the Pack from the midfield position. He started in all 22 games last year and is the team’s top returning scorer. He finished with four goals and five assists on the season. State is a much younger and more inexperienced team compared to last year’s, but with a freshman class ranked No. 19 coming in, coach George Tarantini said he hopes fans come out to watch his team play.

“What’s terrific is that the World Cup showed fans a way they can participate, much like in football, soccer requires participation from the crowd,” Tarantini said. “I saw a vuvuzela in the crowd the other day, and it showed me that fans watched the World Cup. We love for people to come out to watch us, but we feel like we need to put on a show for them and keep attracting them to come.”

Any fans who felt excitement from the World Cup might want to make the trip out to the Duke/Nike Tournament this weekend. The Pack will be taking on the Sacramento State Hornets on Friday, but will also play Louisville, ranked No. 20 in the NSCAA poll and No. 24 by CollegeSoccerNews.com, Sunday.

“We are excited to play this weekend. The men have worked very hard for this season to start,” Tarantini said. “The Hornets are a very talented and quick team who will be coming to the Triangle looking to win. The Duke Tournament is a great showcase for what we will do the rest of the year, and we feel very optimistic about our possibilities.”

“It’s a team that if we go after them more in the first quarter we might score a goal,” Sooner head coach Nicole Nelson said. “It was off our mistakes that they scored that goal.”

Both teams battled through the heat and tight defenses during the first quarter of the game. The Cowgirls held an 11-6 shot advantage before halftime, but the Sooners cranked up the intensity as the quarter wound down.

In the second quarter, the Sooners saw four corner kicks compared to just one in the first. Even though lightening threatened to end the game, OU stepped up in the quarter, according to Nelson.

“That’s the 19th team in the country and our girls came out here on the first game of the season in a Bedlam game and played well,” Nelson said. “We’re going to take from this and learn from it.”

Sooner sophomore forward Dria Hampton took a corner kick in the 87th minute but could not connect. Forwards Caitlin Mooney and Whitney Palmer also saw chances on goal during the game, but couldn’t find a way to score. The Sooners will have to fix their inability to come together on offense in order to compete against later opponents.

The Sooners will face the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in their second away game of the season at 7:35 p.m. Friday in Tulsa.

The Northern Illinois U. men’s soccer program has a history of acting similarly and has holstered top overseas recruits, which includes Huskie Hall of Famer Johan Bergseth from Norway.

The mix of players with different soccer backgrounds gives head coach Eric Luzzi and the Huskies a better chance for a stronger outcome.

“I think the biggest thing is they come from a day-in and day-out soccer culture, so they just understand the game at a different level than most American kids,” Luzzi said. “I think when you add the athleticism and physical commitment of our American guys, sprinkle in a few guys who have a really good idea about how to play soccer, you have a chance to have a pretty good team.”

NIU stands in the middle of the conference when it comes to luring in foreign athletes.

The Huskies currently have six on their roster with Hartwick and Buffalo seizing over 10 each, while Akron and Western Michigan have less than five.

The popular belief here in the U.S., mainly due to many Major League Soccer teams bringing over big names from Europe and south of the border, is that the European and other international players come to develop the American game into something better, but that’s just half the truth.

Freshman and Scotland native James Stevenson has been a Huskie for almost a month and has figured out the differences and difficulties of the game we call soccer so that he may progress as well.

“The boys are bigger physically, stronger, more athletic and the transition play is a lot quicker as well,” Stevenson said. “The speed of play is almost twice as fast.”

Stevenson was a member of the Scottish Schoolboys’ National Team and with Alloa Athletic FC’s U19 team back home and had a bit of an idea as to what the game across the pond would bring.

“I knew coming into a Division I program was going to be tough,” Stevenson said. “I think I underestimated the fitness side of it, but I’m just glad to pass it myself because I struggled with it first.”

With the American players and international players helping each other with the poorer parts of their game, both Luzzi and Stevenson hope that the two different types of style can come together for a winning combination.

“It brings a good mix and match because technically Europeans like to pass the ball when Americans can run all day,” Stevenson said. “When I go back to Europe and play, hopefully I’ll be a bit bigger so I can bring the technical game and physical game together at the same time.”

Entering her third year as the head coach of Northern Illinois U. head women’s soccer, Carrie Barker continues on her quest to build a tradition at NIU. Barker looks to get the team back to where they were in 2008 when the Huskies went 9-6-5 and received a birth in the MAC Tournament. In 2009, the goals were hard to come by as NIU finished with a 5-11-3 record. It will be a young team in 2010, with 12 freshmen on the roster.

“Our freshmen give us the opportunity to build for the future,” Barker said. “We have really liked the work they’ve put in so far, and I’m excited to see them develop and progress as the year goes on.”

Since the future of the program is dependent on the development of the young blood, Barker realizes the importance of the veteran leaders on her team.

“We have a lot of juniors and seniors that have been great about showing the younger players what is going to be expected of them,” Barker said. “They have set the tone, and I can’t express how important their leadership has been to the progression of this team and program.”

Senior defender Mo Smunt made it clear that the freshmen are not the storyline on what she believes will be a competitive team.

“[The freshmen] are not really a big deal,” Smunt said. “The younger girls have been great in the preseason, and we really feel like they can help us in our goal to improve on last year.”

Perhaps the biggest challenge the Huskies will face this year will be replacing goalkeeper Lindsey Curnock. The cornerstone of the Huskies for the past four years, Curnock finished with 29 career shutouts, a MAC record.

Barker hasn’t named the successor to Curnock, opting instead to wait until the season opener to reveal her starter.

“We’re not going to give that up just yet,” Barker said. “But we have four girls right now that can do the job. It is one of the deepest positions we have, and it’s a good position to be in as a coach to choose from them.”

The Huskies kick off the 2010 campaign today at 5 p.m. against Creighton at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex. The Bluejays went 13-6-2 last year and return the goaltending tandem of Alicia Montgomery and Katie Jo Swanson that set a school record for goals against average in 2009.

After demolishing Montana 7-0 on Friday, the Lobos continued with a convincing 3-0 win against Nebraska on Sunday at the UNM Soccer Complex.

“These past two games — we have been very good at putting away our chances against some good teams,” head coach Kit Vela said.

The Lobos followed up their Friday shutout victory Sunday against Nebraska with good composure in front of the goal.

The first half against Nebraska was evenly matched, with both teams feeling each other out, until forward Stephanie Rowe chipped the keeper from 20 yards in the 39th minute.

Midfielder Rachel Fields gave the Lobos some insurance in the 64th minute by scoring from inside the box, before Jennifer Williams scored the third goal of the game.

Williams’ goal was a gift from Nebraska goalkeeper Emma Stevens, as Williams shot the ball from 40 yards out and scored in the wide-open Cornhusker net.

“In the past two games, we have had eight different players score,” Williams said. “We have had a good variety so far.”
After coming off a single season record of 13 shutouts last season, Lobo goalkeeper Kelli Cornell added another to her tally with eight saves, including a crucial save off a Nebraska free kick early in the second half.

“We have a really good goalie back there,” Fields said. “It makes everyone a lot more comfortable knowing we have her in goal.”

It also makes the Lobos comfortable knowing hardly anyone expects them to be a top-flight contender this year. UNM finished last season 13-5-3, and are currently picked to finish fifth in the Mountain West Conference. The Lobos ended last season in a tie for third place.

“We don’t really pay attention to the polls. All the coaches just vote to vote,” Vela said. “No one really knows what the other teams have in store for the season.”

Except for UNM, of course.

UNM is slated to play 11 of its regular season games away from home. But after having eight players already score 10 goals so far this season, UNM appears to have a level of depth not seen in past rosters.

“It helps a lot to have that kind of depth,” Fields said. “We have good people on and off the bench, and every person brings a different element to the team, which is helpful.”

The Lobos, 12-7-1 last year, were once again picked to win the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular-season conference title.

“This team just continues to get better every practice,” Fishbein said. “They are all unified and play as a collective group, something we have not always done.”

The Lobos have already started the season strong with a 3-2 victory over No. 7 Tulsa in a preseason match Aug. 20. The team continued the force and toppled Missouri State 1-0 in another preseason match up, UNM has one more exhibition game at home against Fort Lewis this Friday before the season at-home opener against Saint Louis on Sept. 1.

Last season, the Lobos lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Portland, 2-1, in a heart-crushing overtime battle.

Despite the disappointing finish to the 2010 season, midfielder Michael Green said the Lobos have recharged their batteries this offseason.

Green, a returning junior and key team leader, said UNM is a cohesive unit this year, a cohesiveness that should serve the Lobos well if they make another appearance in the NCAA tournament.

“We are all committed to the goals we have set for this season, and we have the players that can definitely achieve them,” Green said.

Standing in the way is yet another tough nonconference season, with games against perennial powers UC Santa Barbara and St. Louis, as well as an interesting rematch against Portland on Sept. 12.

Senior Ryan Farquharson said the Lobos still need to improve their focus on the road. Last year, UNM finished 5-4-1 in games away from the UNM Soccer Complex.

This year, UNM’s speed bumps on the road include Dartmouth, conference rival U. Denver, Air Force, Sacramento State, San Jose State U. and UNLV.

Farquharson said winning the MPSF regular season title is more contingent on how UNM does on the road than at home.

“We are ready for the challenge and everyone here is ready to play as a team,” Farquharson said. “We have players with enthusiasm for the game and players with experience in crucial positions.”

*UNM vs. Fort Lewis
Friday
7 p.m.
Lobo Soccer Complex *

“Over these past few years, I have watched him develop into a really good player and person,” head coach Jeremy Fishbein said.

A graduate of Sandia High School, Reed was a 2005 NSCAA All-American and the New Mexico Player of the Year twice. He was also an Adidas ESP participant, an honor given to the best 150 high school seniors in the country.

After being a standout at Sandia, Reed said it was easy for him to pick UNM after Fishbein came calling.

“It is really exciting to stay at home and play in front of your home crowd every home game and play for your home University,” Reed said.

However, Reed’s career at UNM started with an injury. Reed blew out his knee early in the 2006 season. The injury led to season-crushing surgery during his freshman year.

Still recovering in 2007, Reed was only able to start one game but saw action for 17 games and received his first individual award as a Lobo when he was placed on the All-Academic Mountain Pacific Sports Federation team.

In 2008, Reed had a breakout season, starting 19 games for the Lobos in midfield. His hard work led him to receive his second All-Academic Mountain Pacific Sports Federation award and landed him on the All-MPSF honorable mention conference team.

Because of his experience and talent in 2009, Fishbein started Reed at defense for the first time in his Lobo career.

“He is a very versatile player, so he can play almost anywhere on the field,” Fishbein said.

On defense, Reed shined, playing pinpoint balls to start attacks and stopping opposing attackers to lead the Lobos to five shutouts, a number that he hopes to improve this season.

Reed scored his first career Lobo goal in a 2-1 victory over Denver last season and added three assists to his career tally.

Not only is Reed a leader on the field with his success and hard work, he is also a role model in the classroom.

Reed has earned three All-Academic Mountain Pacific Sports Federation awards.

Reed will be the only returning defensive starter for the Lobos this season after three of the starting defenders from last year graduated, placing the leadership role on his shoulders.

“The team this season has a different mentality,” Reed said. “We are a really hard working team, and we all really play for each other.”

Considered a humble player, Fishbein said Reed plays for the success of the team and his attitude and work ethic is carrying over to everyone this season.

“It is great to have a player like him on the team,” Fishbein said. “He does all the right things and works to make the team better.”

The match was physical and closely contested from start to finish. Within the first five minutes of the match, sophomore midfielder Kara Blosser picked up a yellow card on a collision with Texas goalie Alexa Gaul as both players attempted to make a play on a 50-50 ball. Senior forward Kara Baldy picked up another yellow card at the 12-minute mark.

“For me, the one yellow that Kara Blosser got against the goalkeeper, that was a 50-50 ball that the referee thought was a foul,” coach Steve Springthorpe said. “I thought we played hard. We tackled the ball and did all of the things that we needed to do. And that’s college soccer for you. That’s how we’re [going to] have to play. “

State’s first half was also characterized by missed scoring opportunities. The Pack attempted five shots on goal, but could not put any points on the board. Of those five shots, Gaul had to make the save on just two of them. The Longhorns also struggled to break through offensively, as State only allowed one shot on goal.

“Their goalie made amazing saves,” junior goalie Kim Kern said. “She was very good. She helped keep them in the game in the first half. “

In the second half, both teams began to create more opportunities on the offensive side of the ball. Texas forward Gabby Zarnegar opened the scoring in the 49th minute on a shot from the right side of the net.

Pack freshman Jennie Krauser scored her first career goal 10 minutes later on a put-back of a shot from Blosser.

“Kara Blosser struck a shot, I ran there, followed it and put a foot on it,” Krauser said. “Coach [Springthorpe] always says, ‘Follow the shot, follow the shot, because you never know when the keeper might drop the ball,’ and she did.”

But in the 77th minute, Longhorn Leah Fortune connected on a shot to the lower right corner of the net. State was not able to strike back, leaving the final score at 2-1, Texas.

Springthorpe said he was pleased with how his team performed defensively, despite the two goals in the second half. He said Texas came with a better strategy that made the difference in the outcome of the game.

“It was more of what they were starting to do,” Springthorpe said. “We only gave up four or five shots and only two or three on goal. That’s not a bad effort from a back line. I was pretty happy with what they did.”

Springthorpe also took a risk by starting three freshmen in the first match of the season. He said they responded well to the pressure.

“We lined up the players we thought would give us the best chance for success in this game,” Springthorpe said. “And for the most part I thought they did well. There’s youth out there for sure with these younger players and it sometimes makes a difference.”

It was not only the start of a new season, but also the first game for Matthew Mott, who made his head coaching debut after being an assistant coach at Auburn (1999-2005) and Texas (2006-2009).

“It’s (a big win) for us,” Mott said. “With all the change that’s gone on with a new team and new coaches, to get a win right off the bat is big for our program. (It’s big) to really get (our players) to believe and buy into everything we’re doing.”

Mott was not the only new face to make an impact in the Rebels’ first game of the season. Freshmen Mandy McCalla and Erin Emerson, who played on the same club team in metro Atlanta, also impressed in their Ole Miss debut.

McCalla missed just wide of the post in the ninth minute and again in the 59th minute. Emerson nearly doubled the Ole Miss lead in the closing seconds of the game, but was denied by a diving save from MTSU’s keeper.

“(The freshmen) played really well, especially for their first college game,” Mott said. “They were all over the place.”

Freshmen Ally Nikolaus, A’Shanae Monroe, and Lindsey Walter also saw their first college action in Friday night’s game.

On a free kick in the 64th minute, senior preseason All-SEC midfielder Taylor Cunningham nearly scored the game’s first goal, but her shot hit off the crossbar.

Jordan, who had a game-high three shots on goal, finished her opportunity in the 71st minute, but it was the offensive buildup from the back and a timely run from Breathitt that created the scoring chance for the Rebels.

“(The play) came from midfield,” Jordan said. “(My teammates) got the ball out wide to Kelsey (Breathitt). Erin (Emerson) made a great near post run to drag the defense out and give me a gap. And I just kept it low on my shot.”

Ole Miss dominated possession and continued to put pressure on MTSU’s defense after halftime, out-shooting the Blue Raiders 12-2 and earning four corners in the second half.

Junior keeper Alley Ronaldi came up big for Ole Miss in the first half, making three key diving saves on MTSU breakaways.

“Middle Tennessee State is a good team,” Mott said. “They score a lot of goals. So for us to keep them off the board was something we’re real happy about it. I think Alley Ronaldi played really well for us. (She) made a couple of huge breakaway saves.”

“Right now, this time of the season, you’re not the sharpest you’re going to be in the next couple of months,” Mott said. “So we’ll take a 1-0 win and move on.”

Ole Miss returns to action next weekend with games against Western Kentucky on Friday night and UAB on Sunday afternoon.

You hardly, if ever, think about women’s sports, let alone women’s soccer. But here at U. Central Florida maybe it’s time to start thinking about them.

Let’s take a step back before you laugh and rip this paper to shreds.

The team is starting this season ranked 25th in and has been ranked in each of the past three seasons.

They have upset the likes of fourth-ranked Florida State and 10th-ranked Duke, battled with perennial powerhouse No. 1 North Carolina and the Mexican National team, and even have soared to as high as No. 8 in the polls, earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and captured the Conference USA regular season title.

Also, UCF is the most successful team in the state of Florida reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament three consecutive seasons, and has made 14 appearances in the postseason overall.

Impressed yet? I am, but in case you aren’t, wrap your head around this.
UCF head coach Amanda Cromwell was named the C-USA Coach of the Year, and Nikki Moore, Aline Reis, Becca Thomas and Courtney Whidden were named to the All C-USA First Team.

Moore, Thomas and Whidden have moved on, but Reis comes back and starts her junior campaign as the C-USA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year voted by the conference’s coaches.

Through two seasons, Reis — who has experience for the Brazilian National Team — has averaged giving up only 1.12 goals per-game, and she was a member of the All-American team in 2008.

Bianca Joswiak joined Reis as members of  the 2010 Conference USA Women’s Soccer Preseason Team.

I can sit here and rattle off more stats, but I think you get the point. It’s time to acknowledge these ladies.

They have not walked around campus with big egos or boasted their resumes, they just go quietly through their daily routines, so quietly in fact most people don’t recognize them. I guess you can consider this “a call to arms” if you will, but it is something that needs to be done.

Last year attendance was up, but nowhere near the attendance these ladies deserve. When you have a ranked team, every game should be a max-capacity crowd. Tickets are free, so you can’t argue on price, the games on are weekdays, so they don’t interfere with football, and it’s on campus, so they aren’t far away.

That pretty much thwarts all your excuses.

The Knights have a schedule this year that includes a season opener with No. 11 Florida — yes the Florida Gators we all love to hate — matchups against 2009 NCAA tournament qualifiers San Diego State and Harvard, and UCF will host the C-USA tournament.

If you can get fired up and all patriotic for a World Cup game, do the same for UCF.

You’re a student at UCF, so when there is a UCF game, it should have the same feel as a World Cup match.

UCF is Team USA — or whatever country you root for — when it comes to teams on this campus. So get out of your bed, get off your XBox 360, get rowdy and get out to the pitch.

So it’s time to break out the vuvuzelas and airhorns, paint your face and jump on the soccer bandwagon. So let’s pack the stadium and cheer on our soccer team, or as I consider them: The Quiet Queens of our campus.

After a scoreless first half, the Demon Deacons scored twice in the second half. Wake Forest forward Katie Stengel scored on a through ball up the middle of the WVU defense. Midfielder Bianca D’Agostino added a second goal off a penalty kick.

“Today was another step in preparing this team for the start of the season,” said coach Nikki Izzo-Brown in a release. “We again saw some areas where we need to improve before Friday’s season opener.”

The Mountaineers open the 2010 season at home on Friday, Aug. 20, against Penn State at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

Junior forward Lindsey Goad found the net in the 29th minute, and the Lady Toppers held the host Bulldogs scoreless throughout the second half in a 1-0 win.

The win followed a 1-1 exhibition tie against Memphis Friday at the Western Kentucky U. Soccer Complex. Sunday marked the Lady Toppers’ final tuneup before they begin the regular season Friday at Tennessee.

Western coach Jason Neidell rotated 25 players in during the game, and the Lady Toppers still managed to out-shoot Butler 15-5.

Official statistics were not taken at the Butler Bowl, which had a power outage Sunday.

They played four 20-minute periods, starting with starters vs. bench. In the first period you could see the tension as the starters held onto their spots and were challenged by their backups. Starters outshot the bench and dominated the field but the score was 0-0 after 20 minutes of play.

In the next three periods coach Jennifer Rockwood mixed the starters and bench players on each team and none failed to disappoint. Whether it was Auna Janis-Doria’s fancy footwork, Kyleigh Royall pulling a ball out of the air, a slide tackle by Hallie Keenan or Shumway’s diving header, the players kept the fans on the edge of their seats.

The match ended with the blue jerseys winning 4-0 on goals from Carlee Payne, Jennie Marshall and Shumway.

Freshman goalkeeper Katherine Snyder was a standout player Thursday with several impressive saves and a commanding presence in goal.

“I’m just thankful to be able to train with these amazing keepers and hope to make it to their level,” Snyder said after the game.  “I have learned over the years that you can’t focus on the goals, because that is when they get back at you and score again.  You need to look fearless and seem invincible out there.”

Rockwood was pleased with the performance and chemistry of the girls.

“These exhibition games are important and I was very impressed with our play tonight,” she said.

Asked if she will give the team a day off before the Saturday alumni match she replied, “I’m not giving them a two-a-day tomorrow (Friday).  We will practice in the afternoon so they are not getting the day off.”

Saturday’s exhibition game against alumni players starts at 7 p.m. on the South field.

“I am just looking forward to playing on a full field, having all our fans and playing in a great environment,” junior midfielder Nicole Ernst said.

For the scrimmage the players will be separated into two teams, Ernst said. One team wears blue jerseys while the other wears white. Coach Jennifer Rockwood has the teams play different lineups to get them comfortable playing against various formations. One side will play a 4-4-2 and the other team will play a 4-3-3.

Junior forward Jennie Marshall said she is looking forward to the game because she wants to see if the team is able to play a 4-3-3 formation. This was last year’s scheme.

The scrimmage and alumni games are also the first opportunities the women’s team has to see how it will play in its upcoming season.

Marshall said the players on the women’s team push each other to be their best and to come out strong and improve their soccer skills.

“This team is really positive,” Marshall said. “Everyone has a general belief that we can make it to the final four. If any team can do it, it is this one. As long as all of us believe we can, we will do it.”

The team began two-a-day practices last week to prepare for its upcoming games and season, according to a news release. After the scrimmages this weekend, the team will travel to California to play Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton next weekend.

The blue and white scrimmage will be played on Brigham Young U.’s South Stadium Field at 7 p.m. on Thursday. The exhibition alumni game will be played on BYU’s South Stadium Field at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Both games have free admission.

For the Cougar women’s soccer schedule, go to byucougars.com.

The release of the preseason polls and the start of exhibition games mean soccer’s arrival is just days away.

On Wednesday, the Big 12 released its preseason poll, as determined by the coaches who aren’t allowed to vote for their own team or players. Texas was selected to finish fifth in the 11-team conference. Last year, Texas finished the season with a 9-9-3 record and finished sixth in the conference. The Longhorns would go on to win their first game of the Big 12 tournament 1-0 over Colorado in double overtime. Texas would fall rival Texas A&M for the second time in three matches in the semifinals and miss the NCAA tournament.

Texas A&M was selected as the favorite to win the league.

The Longhorns’ lone representative on the All-Big 12 Conference team was senior defender and 2010 captain Erica Campanelli, who is receiving the honor for the second straight year.

Last year, Campanelli started all 21 matches and played in every minute of every match.

Texas will play LSU on Saturday in an exhibition match at Mike A. Myers Track and Soccer Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

The regular season opens Aug. 20 against NC State in Raleigh, N.C.

That would be due to the frenzy-inducing, week-and-a-half presence of soccer powerhouse Real Madrid on the UCLA campus as part of its preseason tour.

As the team’s most widely recognized player, Cristiano Ronaldo almost single-handedly turned the usually serene campus into a soccer-crazed hotspot. Screaming women pushed and shoved their way through the crowds, just to catch a glimpse of the popular Portugese midfielder, whose fame has transcended the soccer world into pop culture.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people crowded Wilson Plaza each day, hoping to score an autograph or a picture with their favorite players. Adult soccer fanatics instantly reverted back to their youth, deliriously shouting and chasing after the golf carts transporting the players and coaches from the training field to the locker rooms at the Student Activities Center.

The majority of the crowd was made up of non-UCLA students, as die-hard Real Madrid fans made the journey to Westwood for the unique opportunity to see one of soccer’s premier clubs up close and personal.

The back entrance to the building was equally packed with fans, who strategically claimed any inch of space they could find behind the barricades as their own in order to get a better chance of snagging an autograph from players as they exited through the double doors.

Jordan Headley, a third-year student from the University of San Diego, was living in Marina Del Rey this summer when she heard news of Real Madrid’s arrival.

“I spent collectively around six hours on the first day, just hanging out on campus, to get a few decent pictures of Ronaldo and hopefully a signature,” Headley said. “I’m not a big soccer fan, but I’m a huge Cristiano Ronaldo fan.”

For Headley, the many hours spent standing and waiting to see the world’s highest-paid soccer player were not in vain.

“It met my expectations and then some,” she said. “I definitely was not expecting to be that close to the players, and to have Ronaldo smile and wave at me was an unbelievable experience.”

The fact that Real Madrid’s arrival in Los Angeles coincided with finals week for summer school didn’t deter third-year physiological science student Tamara Casas from going to see her favorite team.

“I sacrificed three hours of studying for my last final to camp outside the Student Activities Center, but it was totally worth it because we got to see a lot of the players,” she said. “There were so many people there, and I was happy that they all shared the same love that I have for my team.”

With so many people camped out for hours just to get a chance to interact with their soccer idols, the players who stuck around to sign autographs before heading to the locker room gained the most respect from the fans.

“I was surprised to see the patience and class that some of these players have,” Casas said. “Kaka, Pepe, Marcelo, Juanfran (Juan Francisco Moreno) and many others took time out of their day to sign autographs and take pictures, sometimes for more than 30 minutes. They definitely earned my respect.”

Some fans of the Spanish squad were willing to sacrifice more than just time for a better inside look at the elite team.

On Tuesday, the L.A. Galaxy Foundation offered a one-time chance for fans to sit in on Real Madrid’s usually secretive practices.

The catch? There was a $50 entrance fee, with the money going to the foundation’s charity.

Fourth-year physiological science student Ana Florea was hesitant about the deal at first, but quickly gave in and took full advantage of the opportunity.

“I thought, when else am I going to get this chance to see them practice so close?” she said. “I also managed to yell loud enough to make Ronaldo and (Iker) Casillas wave back and then sign my vuvuzela. … After they did that, I went nuts.”

For Florea, the experience was well worth the price, seeing as how she had been able to watch some of the World Cup’s biggest stars practice at the very same field she passes by on a daily basis.

“I was really excited to see the players and felt so lucky that I got to see them practice firsthand,” she said. “After I got the autographs, I started shaking uncontrollably so I guess I was star-struck. I mean, these guys were just playing in the World Cup.”

The star-studded club recently finished its California tour with a 3-2 win over the Galaxy on Saturday. Held at the Rose Bowl, the highly-anticipated match tallied 89,134 in attendance, a near sell-out game.

The Galaxy stunned the crowd during the first half, taking a 2-0 lead into the locker room. In the second half, Real Madrid regained control of the game with two goals from Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain and the eventual game-winner from Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso.

The atmosphere at the Rose Bowl remained electric throughout the entire game, as thousands of light bulbs flashed in unison and shrieks of joy roared around the stadium every time Ronaldo touched the ball.

Casas attended the match and made sure that practice wasn’t the last time she got to see the team she adores.

“I was really excited about going to the game,” Casas said. “I was willing to pay any price to see my favorite team play live.”

The assistant director of UCLA Recreation, Steve Najera, had the opportunity to work with Real Madrid while it used the campus facilities, and the fact that he was a soccer supporter made the experience that much sweeter.

“It’s been a great experience because I am a huge soccer fan and I got to interact with the players, their training staff and the coaches,” Najera said. “I mean, it’s hard work and it’s tiring putting in a lot of hours, but it’s definitely been an enjoyable experience.”

Real Madrid’s stay in Los Angeles not only helped spike local interest in soccer – something that many felt would quickly disappear after the World Cup – but it may have increased the recognition of UCLA as well.

“UCLA is already one of the most popular universities in the nation, but events like this just help to showcase how many things can be experienced at this campus,” Casas said. “The fact that prospective students on tours got to see the type of events that we are able to be a part of just makes them more inclined to choose UCLA over other universities.”

As a member of the Penn State women’s soccer team, goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher was a part of 33 shutouts.

During her ninth start for the Boston Breakers on Aug. 4, Naeher recorded her first professional shutout against the Atlanta Beat.

Naeher was taken 11th overall in the 2010 Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) Draft by Boston. Playing with high-level competition has always been a goal of Naeher’s.

“It’s obviously a passion of mine and something that I’ve been working hard for, for a long, long time,” Naeher said. “And, to finally be able to step on the field as a professional athlete is a dream come true. It’s exciting and makes me want to keep working hard to get better and better and to continue to grow.”

Naeher has started ten games this season and maintains a 1.08 goals against average, putting her ahead of players such as Atlanta Beat goalkeeper Hope Solo, who started for the United States Olympic team and won a gold medal in the 2008 Beijing games.

While the transition from college to the professional ranks is not always easy, Naeher has established herself as a solid starter in WPS.

“The most difficult thing is just adjusting to the speed of play and the level of talent that every person in the league possesses,” Naeher said. “Everything is just a half second faster and everybody is just a step quicker and that is probably the biggest adjustment that I have had to make.”

During Naeher’s run as goalkeeper, the Breakers have a record of 6-3 and are currently riding a three-game winning streak. Boston is currently third in the standings.

“Every game is competitive and every game is close and just another step that we need to take to get ourselves into an even better playoff position,” Naeher said.

While Boston attempts to improve its league standing, Naeher’s strong play has already gained Breakers’ coach Tony DiCicco’s attention. DiCicco, who won the World Cup as the head coach of the 1999 U.S. women’s team, said Naeher has been making a lot of solid plays while also experiencing some mistakes that will help her grow as a player.

“She has the ability to make the special save,” DiCicco said. “She has great athleticism, really good range and right now she is doing a very, very good job for us in goal. She is helping us win games.”

While Naeher possesses great physical talents, DiCicco believes her personality also helps play into her role as goalkeeper.

DiCicco noted that Naeher is well liked and has a calm about her that transcends to the position of goalkeeper. He said that she is not a high strung person and that is a good quality to have as a goalkeeper.

While Naeher just recently became a starter and was not a 2010 WPS All-Star, her coach believes that being named to the team in future years is a good possibility.

If the Breakers continue to experience success this year and do well in the playoffs, DiCicco believes that Naeher should be in the running for Rookie of the Year.

DiCicco added that Naeher could transition her performance in WPS to the international level.

“Probably the next step for her is to get back on the women’s national team and make a run for the 2011 World Cup and the 2012 Olympics,” DiCicco said. “I think that she is very capable of doing that as well.”

In 2002, when the United States had a miracle run to the World Cup quarterfinals, my answer would have been, “No.” When Real Salt Lake played to a sold-out crowd against Real Madrid, and then promised the exhibition match would be the first of many, I still couldn’t answer, “Yes.”

My answer was the same when David Beckham came to Los Angeles and Cuauhtémoc Blanco went to Chicago. And when Thierry Henry announced earlier this month he signed with the New York Red Bulls, my answer to those questions was, “Hell no!”

But watching the All-Star game last night and watching my beloved Real all season, I can finally answer the “Yes” I’ve been dreaming of saying since I fell in love with the beautiful game.

To some, the United States didn’t live up to its expectations last month in South Africa, falling flat in the first knockout round. And yet, I’m more confident than ever soccer has arrived in the United States.

In soccer, it is the passion of the fans and the triumph of teams such as Real last season, that give me the reassurance I need in U.S. soccer.

Walking across campus this week, I saw as many soccer jerseys as I did baseball hats or National Baseball Assoication jerseys. That fans are just as likely to sport a Real jersey as a Bees cap tells me people finally care about soccer here, and I am content with that.

When the Designated Player Rule was introduced to Major League Soccer, allowing teams such as Galaxy to sign major contracts such as Beckham, I was worried the league would be doomed to a fate similar to that of the NBA, just a few dominant teams and a $20-million contract the norm. And when Beckham came, that fate seemed inevitable.

Major League Soccer is coming into its own without the ritzy big names and fat contracts. In a way, it’s become an antithesis to the money and bureaucracy of the leagues overseas and even the NBA and MLB.

Real Salt Lake in particular has proved that.

Last year, Real Salt Lake captured the MLS Championship and did so without an international superstar headlining the team’s starting lineup. Despite other teams securing more international players, Real Salt Lake remains a dominant force in the Western Conference and a likely contender for the Cup once again.

Then two weeks ago, four players from Real Salt Lake, Javier Morales, Kyle Beckerman, Jamison Olave, and Nick Rimando, made the All-Star roster. Of the four, only Beckerman has made an appearance for the national team.

To me, the All-Star roster speaks more about American soccer than the World Cup or Henry can. The roster features players who are coming into their own rather than internationally known players past their prime. These players, such as Rimando, are coming into their own within the MLS, proving the league doesn’t need the glory of the Premier League or the buzz of vuvuzelas to be successful.

Perhaps it’s that lack of big money and names that tells me soccer is here. Without all the glory of the big leagues, average MLS game attendance will reach 18,000 a game this year, 1,000 more than the NBA. That accomplishment alone speaks more than the number of soccer jerseys in my closet can.

Another issue that I’ve had is what I like to call “innate skill,” or “instinct”–in Spanish we call it “olfato” (i.e. David Villa might not be the greatest physical specimen, but the man has “olfato goleador”–just like Brazilian Ronaldo). I’m assuming for this experiment that each player developed the same instincts that they did for their sport in soccer–i.e. Kevin Garnet is a great defender in the NBA, has great defensive instincts, and thus becomes a great defensive soccer player. Same with Dwight Howard.

Finally, this is my thought experiment, so I’ll damn well set whatever the hell parameters I want.

Team USA (4-4-2), Coach Mike D’Antoni/Joe Torre. Tough choice on the coach, though I’m leaning toward D’Antoni, simply because the type of basketball he produces is so beautiful (and so much like soccer). Had to include Mr. Torre on the list though because he’s a strong presence in the locker room, calming, and very tactically smart–plus, he’s a champion. Hard choice.

GK: Dwight Howard, C Orlando Magic. I honestly don’t think this is much of a question. The man has a massive vertical jump, is quick on his feet, and covers a huge amount of the goal. Plus, he’s one of the best defenders in the NBA. What’s not to love?

RB: Chris Johnson, RB Tennessee Titans. The man is fast. REALLY fast. And with tons of padding on. Plus, he’s a football player, so he must be tough. He’d be more in the Maicon style attacking back, though.

RCB: Darrelle Revis, CB, NY Jets. No real argument on this one either, I don’t think, as the man has incredible defensive sense, plus an incredibly tough physique. He has this sort of Fabio Cannavarro-esque ability to completely shut down the best guy on the other team. Revis vs. CR7, anyone?

LCB: Kevin Garnett, F, Boston Celtics. I’m talking KG in his prime–running his ass off on every play, smashing his head into things to motivate himself, you know, classic, 2004 KG. He’d be an awesome defender, and a presence on the back line in the air. Plus, he could come forward to be a threat from corners.

LB: Chris Paul, G, New Orleans Hornets. Every great defense needs one enforcer and one scrappy, fast small dude–think Roberto Carlos circa 1999 as a good analogy to what CP3 would be as a soccer player.

RW: Landon Donovan/Clint Dempsey. Yeah, these guys are class acts, and fully deserve to be on this team.

RCM: Dwyane Wade, G/F Miami Heat. Dwyane is more of a finesse player with a powerful streak to him–he’d make a sick midfield combination with Rajon Rondo, kind of like pairing Kaká with Andrés Iniesta. I see Wade more as Kaká than Xavi, for example.

LCM: Rajon Rondo, G, Boston Celtics. Think about this: Andrés Iniests, minus the hair, change skin color, add a green head band. Perfect. I imagine that Rondo could be a flashy passing Iniesta or Xabi Alonso style center mid.

LM: Kevin Durant, F, OKC Thunder. Perfect match. Could cut inside as a righty a la Robben for Holland, but would have a NASTY shot and probably be able to swing in a fantastic cross or two. Plus, he always seems to be getting better…

CF: LeBron James, F, Miami Heat. Listen, I know LBJ’s an incredible athletic talent, with an essentially unparalleled ability to score. But I put him at CF because I feel like he’d flourish more in the setting up, feeding, and maybe putting in a rebound part of the game. I don’t know, something about second-fiddle…

ST: Kobe Bryant, G/F LA Lakers. The man is a killer, simple as that, and when the game is on the line, you want him to have the ball (unless it’s game 7 of the 2010 NBA finals…). That notwithstanding, Kobe gets my pick over LBJ as someone who I’d be genuinely frightened to have opposing me on a soccer field–think Ronaldo circa 2000.

SUBS:
Reggi Bush, RB, New Orleans Saints: CM/CF. Fast, smart, killer instinct–a great burst of energy off the bench.
Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis Colts: CM/CB. Distributive center midfielder–not so much for the athletic ability, but for the head. Could be a Zidane-style creative CM–also, NFL QB’s are very smart athletes.
John Wall, G, Washington Wizards: LM/RM. Fast, young, motivated–Aaron Lennon/Mesut Özil of the USA.
Ron Artest, F LA Lakers. Yeah. The man can defend, no question about it–and that’s about all he can do, other than be completely out of his mind, and run into the stands to melee with drunken fans. But you gotta admit, the dude would be terrifying to run towards, and could bring some Beckenbauer/Lúcio type flair if he ever ran forward.

The Wizards established themselves early when team captain Davy Anraud made a run behind United’s defense and was met by a pass from teammate Kei Makara for the game’s first goal in the 11th minute. The Wizards, enthused by the energetic home crowd, kept pressuring United and did not let up the intensity.

In the 39th minute, United’s Ryan Giggs sent a through ball between the Wizards’ back line defenders to forward Dimitar Berbatov for what would had been the equalizing goal, but Berbatov was taken out by Wizards defender Jimmy Conrad. The referee wasted no time showing Conrad a red card. The result of the foul was a game-tying goal scored by Berbatov on the penalty kick.

The crowd saw nothing wrong with the foul and pelted the referee with boos for his decision to eject Conrad.

Those boos quickly switched to cheers when Wizards forward Kamara scored the go-ahead goal and put Kansas City up 2-1. It seems the Wizards were given a break for Conrad’s ejection when replays showed the ball may not have crossed the goal line.

The Wizards had only 10 men to United’s 11 world-class players, but it didn’t affect the outcome of the game — thanks in large part to the Wizard’s substitute goal keeper Eric Kronberg, who denied any United player who tried to spoil the Wizards’ historical night. Kronberg’s brilliant performance held off any last push United made at tying the game.

The final whistle blew and it was official: Major League Soccer’s Kansas City Wizards, currently fifth in the Eastern Conference, handed Manchester United its first loss on its North American tour.

United’s legendary head coach Alex Ferguson said in a news release he was very impressed by the Wizards’ athletic play and saw great potential for years to come in the Midwest.

“When we came here the last time, it wasn’t nearly as big as it is today,” Ferguson said. “So there is a general improvement, but there are big strides to make. I think 10 years from now you’ll see better results.”

Anticipation and questions are rising and will continue to do so over the course of the next few weeks, during which Bradley is scheduled to meet with Sunil Gulati, president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, to discuss his future with the U.S. national team.

This upcoming meeting will not be the first for Bradley and Gulati, as they had an initial meeting shortly after the U.S. lost to Ghana 2-1 in the Round of 16. According to the Associated Press, Bradley said that he had “a very good first conversation” with Gulati.

“I would simply say that we need time,” Bradley said. “Time to talk. Time to think a little bit.”

Bradley was hired in 2006 after Bruce Arena was fired for failing to advance out of the group in the 2006 World Cup. Bradley, who was initially hired as an interim head coach but received the full-time position, coached the team to the top of Group C – something the U.S. has not done since 1930.

Bradley also coached the Americans to a 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup championship and second place finishes in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2009 Gold Cup.

Despite being Group C winners, many, including Gulati, expressed disappointment in the team’s performance.

DePaul men’s soccer coach Craig Blazer said that, although Gulati publicly recognized that Bradley did a good job, the team “failed to capitalize on the momentum and success of TV exposure that we’re getting. There’s this very pro-soccer culture that is out there for the first time ever, but we didn’t quite capture as much of it as we could have.”

According to Blazer, Bradley’s future will depend on what direction U.S. Soccer wants to go, specifically whether they are looking to be successful in the next World Cup or successful eight years from now.

“Bob has been a very successful coach at college and MLS [Major League Soccer] levels,” Blazer said. “I thought he was a successful coach as the U.S. World Cup coach.”

If Bradley’s contract, which expires at the end of the year, is not renewed, the hiring of the next coach would have to depend on what U.S. Soccer has in mind. One coach always in the rumor mill is Juergen Klinsmann.

Klinsmann, who lives in California, won the 1990 World Cup with Germany and coached the Germans to a third place finish in 2006. He was interviewed after Arena was fired in 2006, but withdrew from consideration after MLS refused to guarantee access to players for the 2007 Gold Cup and Copa America tournaments.

According to ESPN, Klinsmann would not say whether he would be interested in taking over the U.S. team, but did say he hoped Bradley kept the position for a long time, something that Bradley seems to want.

“It sounds like Bob wants to stay on as head coach. It’ll be interesting to see the future of Bob and of U.S. Soccer,” Blazer said.

One thing is for sure: the U.S. soccer team will need to increase the number of quality players on their roster.

“We’re going to have a new generation of young players,” said Blazer, who credited the MLS and U.S. Soccer Academy with providing more quality opportunities for these young men.

The team will also have to look at the development of the players who did not make the 2010 team and the young players who did to determine the potential strength of their roster. Some of these young players include Maurice Edu, Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore, according to Blazer.

“Bob’s done a good job of cultivating a winning mentality and creating a winning culture in his players, but at the end of it, he is limited by the resource of quality players,” Blazer said. “We do have more players playing in MLS, but is that going to be enough? We still need to get more players playing in Europe or more players playing at a high level. That’s going to be the challenge of any coach.”

The first installation of “Americans Abroad” comes from Angelo Marino, a Senior Airman in the United States Air Force currently stationed at Volkel Air Base in Uden, the Netherlands.

I arrived in Holland in October of 2008. I used to hate the sport of “football,” or as commonly known to Americans as soccer. I never understood where the excitement came from when guys ran around to kick a ball on a field that seemed too big. The final scores of the games seemed too low and I didn’t believe the game was physical enough. All of these presumptions were quickly turned around when I attended my first UEFA football match in Eindhoven to watch the locals’ favorite team: PSV.

Having only been in Holland for less than a month, I realized it was time to open my mind to the local culture. I paid for my ticket, which had to be purchased by somebody with a club membership due to a rising number of hooligans attending games. Upon arrival at our seats I realized how crazy said hooligans can actually be. The opposing team’s fans were all contained in one section, which was lined by bulletproof glass topped by a large net to prevent local fans from throwing things at the “enemy.” Not only was their section lined with bulletproof glass, the bullet proof glass was lined on both sides with hundreds of security guards. This was the first time that I realized that this was not only a sport. This was a way of life.

Fast forward to early Summer 2010. The World Cup is in full swing. The Dutch houses are decorated with orange plastic flags running from fences to trees and light poles to houses. Everything is orange, even on days when the Oranje are not playing. Come game day there is an over-flow of orange. Everybody is wearing orange: orange shirts, orange jumpsuits, orange wigs—even orange full-body lion costumes. The cafes are packed. The beer is flowing. In larger cities, the centers of town, called centrums, are closed off with huge JumboTrons set up for the game. The fans even take vacation days off work if they are unlucky enough to work for a company that decides to stay open on Holland World Cup game days. If the game starts at 4 p.m., the bars are packed at noon.

After the United States and Italia were eliminated from the tournament, I felt obligated to start cheering for the country in which I am stationed. On game days I wore my orange polo shirt to the bar and drank beer with the locals. I never thought I would say this, but I have actually started to like football.

I was at the local bar when Holland upset Brazil in the quarter finals. I not only was there, I was chanting with the fans and toasting my glass. I felt as if I had been a fan all of my life. That is just how it is when you live almost anywhere except the United States. This way of life consumes everybody that is surrounded by it.

July 11, 2010 was arguably one of the biggest days in Holland football history. They had made it to the finals two times before 2010 and had never come through with a championship; however, there was a special feeling in the air. One Dutch electricity company was even offering one year of free electricity for each household if the Oranje took home the 18-carat gold World Cup Trophy.

I myself was in the centrum of Eindhoven wearing the same orange polo, new orange sunglasses and drinking beer with the locals. This time however there would be no huge celebrations, no partying all night, and no free electricity for the Dutch households. Instead there were tear-filled men, women, and children after Holland’s 1-0, extra time defeat against Spain.  There were angry shouts at the JumboTron and beer glasses being thrown. Three trips to the World Stage with the same result: an anti-climatic second place.

Now the Oranje must wait four more years for another chance at the championship. Of course the Euro Championships are only two years away, but not even that will fill the void left in the hearts of millions of Dutch citizens.

Instead, U.S. goalkeeper Bryane Heaberlin saw that Haitian goalie Alexandra Coby had fallen to her knees after the final whistle and started crying.

Heaberlin went toward Coby, and the two shared a hug. The rest of the U.S. team followed suit, and both teams embraced in a group hug, crying as the emotion of the moment got to them.

For Coby and the Haitian team, only two months earlier an earthquake of a 7.0 magnitude struck their nation and left each player homeless and uncertain about their futures.

At many points in our everyday life, we complain how difficult and hard it is, but after sitting down and talking to a couple of players from Haiti, it puts things in perspective. Life is the most difficult when you hit rock bottom.

For this team, playing soccer was the first step in recovering from the catastrophe that struck their home and way of life.

Haiti head coach Gaspard D’Alexis told me that it was the beautiful game that gave each player hope and optimism.

“Soccer gave them courage to get up,” D’Alexis said. “That was the first step, get up and play soccer, get up and go to school, these are steps that give you hope.”

For a week and a half, the Haitian squad was able to spend time at the Walt Disney World Resort. From going to the theme parks to participating in the Disney Cup Tournament. Heaberlin was able to start a foundation and raise money to help the Haiti team.

The Haitian side returns to Haiti on Sunday and at that moment it is uncertain what lies ahead for them.

“I have been saying all week long, if nothing happens after [the Disney Cup], it could be even worse,” D’Alexis said. “We have to do something to help them immediately when they go back.”

Talking to the players, I could see it in their eyes how emotionally damaged they were from the earthquake.

Before the earthquake, Haiti was the poorest country in the Americas and one of the least developed nations in the world.

Six months later, the  country has to literally rebuild piece by piece.

The sad part of this story is that these girls have a tough journey ahead. They return to their lives in a country that has been destroyed.

There are two lessons that were reaffirmed for me after talking to these players.

My freshman year English professor said, “Every day above ground is a good day.”

This is true and is a thought escapes us when we don’t stop to look around.

The second lesson is how important sports are.

Sports have many facets in life. It can be a bonding moment between father and son or bring a family and friends together during the World Cup. It can bring communities together during football games and allow you to meet new  people.

Speaking with U. Central Florida midfielder Andrea Rodrigues, soccer is the bond that she shares with her father. Through playing the game, they have built a connection that otherwise may have been missed.

Most importantly, sports can bring hope to people, a nation, and a world.

For the Haitian side, soccer gave them courage when all else was lost. It gave them the first step in putting the pieces to their lives back together.

The recently concluded FIFA World Cup demonstrated, once again, that soccer is the world’s favorite sport, which makes me wonder why the Americans have not caught on to the global love for the game. Sports are extremely popular in the U.S. — just count the number of cable channels devoted to professional athletics. But the most popular sports in this country are football, baseball and basketball. So if Americans like sports, and soccer is the most popular sport in the world, then why does it never resonate with the American people?

One possible explanation is capitalism. Soccer is not a strong, consumer-driven sport, unlike football or baseball.

Soccer games are very continual and have fewer mid-game pauses than baseball or football. The mostly uninterrupted play means there are few opportunities for commercial breaks, which means less blatant messages informing viewers to spend, spend, spend.

Take two of America’s favorite sports: baseball and football. They both have multiple breaks within the game for commercials. In baseball, the innings switch from top to bottom, and football seems to stop about every two minutes for some call or injury. Even basketball, which has a fluidity similar to soccer, is divided into quarters — and don’t even get me started on time-outs.

Soccer, on the other hand, has only one commercial-worthy break at halftime. Perhaps the lack of a consumer undertone is why Americans, or at least the deep-pocketed American sponsors, are not obsessed with soccer.

Coverage of the World Cup, for example, focused on the actual games instead of subjecting viewers to ten minutes of commercials for every fifteen minutes of play. In contrast, the Super Bowl commercials are a spectacle on their own, sometimes igniting as much discussion and anticipation as the football game.

The countless polls asking viewers to vote for the best and worst commercials expose the real reason Super Bowl Sunday is such an event.

Most of the advertisements do not even relate to football. According to the official Super Bowl Commercial website, Google’s “Parisian Love” won the best commercial for 2010. In the ad, the Google home page translates certain phrases and searches for jobs and cafes in Paris, sending the message that Google can supply the information that you need for your future. Perhaps this association with corporate American football explains France’s poor performance at the World Cup. I call it the “curse of the commercial.”

Conversely, Adidas is one of the official sponsors of the World Cup. The American sportswear company is commissioned during each World Cup to produce a new soccer ball used during the tournament and subsequently sold worldwide. Clearly, the Adidas advertisements are much more germane to the game of soccer and to the event as a whole.

Another explanation for America’s aversion to soccer is Marc Thiessan’s tounge-in-cheek suggestion that soccer is a socialist sport. Thiessan, a former speech writer for President Bush, wrote in a blog post that soccer is socialist because players can’t use their hands, and “‘No hands’ is a rule only a European statist could love.”

Although capitalism does not appear to be giving rise to socialism (unless you ask a Tea Partier), the tables are slowly turning in the sports world. When the United States faced Ghana last month, there were 19.4 million American viewers, a higher rating than the NBA finals. Socialist or not, Americans might be on their way to catching up to the rest of the world and finally embracing soccer.

Since the beginning of June, nearly every conversation I’ve had in South Africa has been about one of two things—the paperwork I’m doing in the HIV clinic where I work, or the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The breakdown of the evening news is as follows: 15 minutes on the World Cup, five minutes on business, five minutes on other sports, and five minutes on the weather. In South Africa this summer, there is no other news. The World Cup is that big, and no matches have been bigger than the trio played by Bafana Bafana, South Africa’s beloved national team.

The men of Bafana Bafana had the tallest of orders ahead of them—defy all reasonable expectations and advance to the knockout round against the likes of international powers Uruguay, Mexico, and France. Were they able to do it? Not quite, but by beating France and drawing with Mexico, they sure did come close. But for me, and for thousands of South Africans everywhere, the moment I will remember most is that instant where anything seemed possible.

In the tournament’s opening match, Bafana Bafana squared off with Mexico—a team which, on paper, it didn’t stand an ice cube’s chance in hell of beating. The Mexicans dominated the first half of play, and I thought South Africa was lucky to escape the first half with a 0-0 scoreline.

But near the beginning of the second half, everything changed. Siphiwe Tshabalala streaked up the left side of the pitch, and suddenly everyone in the room was on their feet. One strike and the ball crossed in front of the goalie, landing squarely in the top right corner of the net. A beautiful goal, I thought to myself. And then everyone in the hospital foyer, where I was watching the game with the staff and inpatients, went mad. There was screaming, jumping, and hugging. Nurses ran around grabbing their yellow jerseys and dancing. Even my summer roommate, who admits she had never before been excited about an athletic contest, was into it. We opened the doors and heard the chorus of dozens of vuvuselas echoing off the hills, united behind this little team that could.

Although Bafana Bafana is out of contention for the title, the sense of unity in South Africa hasn’t dissipated. The country, carrying the burden of the whole continent on its shoulders, is determined to put on the best show possible. As Ghana makes its run through the knockout rounds, commentators have now taken to calling this “Africa’s World Cup,” and even I, a staunch American supporter, will be hard-pressed not to support the Black Star in the quarterfinals—even after they ousted my squad on Saturday night in overtime.

In South Africa, more than anywhere else I’ve ever been, sport is bringing people together. You can hear it in the vuvuselas that ring out from children’s soccer games and from taxi windows. Now, with the world cup completed, there has been more excitement for other soccer teams around the world, but nothing can compare to the sheer elation of South Africans when that first goal hit the back of the net.

Spain 1, Netherlands 0 (A.E.T)

After more than 98 hours of World Cup fever, it took extra time to settle a tense final. Spain lifted the World Cup for the first time in history, marking the end of the month-long soccer spectacle. The game had many subplots, with both teams known for very different styles of soccer. Spain was labeled to be the more glamorous side and was known for controlling possession while waiting for the right pass to score a beautiful goal.

It was the Dutch who invented this style of soccer in the 1970s, calling it “Total Football.” Ironically, the Dutch played a much more aggressive brand of soccer throughout the tournament and were far from the glamorous side on a cold Sunday night in Johannesburg.

The Netherlands piled up more than nine yellow cards throughout the night, forcing the Dutch to play with 10 men for the final minutes of the game. The tackles were flying in heavy from the start with defensive midfielders Nigel De Jong and Mark Van Bommel both making strong tackles in the first half. There was a total of 14 yellow cards in the game, a record for a World Cup final. This just showed how much each team wanted the game — emotions were flying as Spain dominated possession through the first 45 minutes. The Spainiards’ best chance of the first half came when Sergio Ramos’ header off Xavi’s cross was saved by the Dutch keeper. Both teams ended the half looking very nervous about the occasion with the game still scoreless.

In the second half, the Netherlands came alive and nearly took an unexpected lead when Wesley Sneijder put Arjen Robben through on goal with a pinpoint pass. Robben ran at pace toward the goal, but his finish was low and the Spanish keeper, Iker Casillas, managed to get a foot to the ball. It was a glorious opportunity for Robben, one of the stars of the tournament, to put his team up.

Minutes later, Spain nearly went ahead when Jesús Navas crossed a low, hard ball that fell to David Villa. His shot, though, was blocked by a last-ditch tackle from John Heitinga. Spain had another chance to break the goalless tension when defender Ramos had a free header go flying over the bar. Robben had another chance for the Netherlands when he was put through on goal late, but Casillas stopped him once again.

In extra time, the Netherlands had a player sent off when Heitinga, already on a yellow, was adjudged to have fouled Andrés Iniesta on his way to goal. The result was a second yellow for the Dutch defender.

Heitinga’s mistake would turn out to be fatal, as in the 116th minute Cesc Fábregas saw Iniesta onside and free behind the Dutch defense and played a ball for him to volley home from close range.

The goal brought cheers to the streets of Madrid and Barcelona and became the game-winner, as tournament-favorite Spain lived up to expectations and lifted the FIFA World Cup for the first time.

We’re witnessing quite a few firsts in this year’s World Cup — the first time an African nation has hosted the World Cup and the first time two European teams will face off in a final held outside Europe. Most importantly, whether it is Spain or the Netherlands who hoists the trophy at the end of the match, it will mark a first-time victory for the winning nation.

It seems improbable that two of Europe’s finest teams — filled with talent that is normally scattered across top-flight league teams — have yet to get their hands on a World Cup trophy. Both teams have worked extremely hard to get to this point, and either one could walk away with a victory that would be wholly overdue.

But despite the historical significance of this year’s tournament, I’m going into the weekend’s last two games feeling surprisingly underwhelmed.

Maybe I’m just bitter that the United States lived up to its reputation of “most likely to disappoint” yet again, or maybe I’m just not ready to face the rest of Summer term without streaming World Cup games in class.

Either way, I’m preparing for the momentous final with a sense that I was not given the show I was promised.

The buildup to this year’s tournament in the States was bigger than I have ever seen — I set my hopes too high. I was met with a handful of mediocre games, a side of some really dreadful soccer and, perhaps, only a dash of brilliance.

The flair came from places I didn’t expect, and was lacking in any team historically known for its “Latin American” style of play. Countries like Brazil struggled in the opening group stages (scoreless at halftime against North Korea?). Germany, on the other hand, usually renowned for dagger-like long-range strikes and disciplined formation, dazzled crowds and surprised competition with its lethal counter attacks and unpredictable midfield buildups.

And so much for all the talk about the dreaded Jabulani ball and its legendary swerving capabilities. It took more than half of the month-long tournament for Japan to finally capitalize off of a free kick, in a 3-1 win against Denmark in its final group-stage game.

To add insult to injury, highly-ranked teams exited this year’s tournament too soon and did so in laughable fashion. France checked out early on its own terms by refusing to practice, and teams like Italy and England, bolstered by so much hope and expectation, were, in the end, just average teams from soccer-crazed countries.

If you, like me, were hoping for the drama of the 2006 World Cup -— a repeat of Zidane’s infamous headbutt or even any of the wildness of the “Battle of Nuremburg” round of 16 match between Portugal and the Netherlands (which saw a staggering 12 yellow cards and four red cards) -— then you have been truly disappointed. This year’s most heated altercation wasn’t even on the field, but near the benches at halftime between Argentina and Mexico in the quarterfinals. For a good part of the incident, in fact, it appeared that Argentina was just arguing within its own team.

The most striking disappointments, perhaps, have been the individual failures. Portugal’s Christiano Ronaldo scored only one goal this tournament, a shot against North Korea which TV replays later showed should have been called offside, and his former Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney hardly scared any of the competition. Argentina’s Lionel Messi was not allowed a single inch of space to work his magic, and other heroes like the Ivory Coast’s Didier Drogba and France’s Franck Ribery hardly mustered performances worthy of their respective league teams.

But despite these faults and disappointing performances, at the end of this competition, we’re going to want to remember the impressive plays and pretty set ups that brought some teams victory and others anguish — we’re going to miss this when it’s over. We’ll recall Landon Donovan’s game-saving goal in stoppage time against Algeria and Ghana’s inspiring run to the quarterfinals while all the weight of Africa’s hopes rested on its shoulders.

This Sunday’s final still has the potential to be filled with excitement. While the Netherlands has cruised through this World Cup with a winning streak and has outscored Spain two-to-one, the Spaniards are the reigning European champions who defeated tournament-favorite Germany. (Note: the Spain-Germany game also marked a perfect record for oracle Paul the Octopus, who correctly called every Germany game in the tournament.)

Whatever the result, we can rest assured that any lingering frustration at the end of the match will be droned away by the vuvuzelas.

Those who have pledged hope that through the petition, a campaign titled “The Game is in US” and the work of the website gousabid.com, the United States will be able to host another World Cup in the near future.

The U.S. hosted the 1994 event and snagged an attendance record of 3,587,538 as well as an average match attendance just shy of 70,000.

On May 14, the plan for another U.S. World Cup went into motion as the U.S. Soccer Federation officially made its bid to FIFA to host either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.
Supporters hope that another World Cup will spark more U.S. soccer momentum, like the 1994 one inspired the creation of U.S. professional league Major League Soccer. U.S. Bid Commitee member and actor Morgan Freeman agrees.

“As (Nelson) Mandela said once, ‘Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, the power to unite people that little else has,’” Freeman said in a press release. “I have seen the power that sport, and in particular soccer, can have on individuals around the world, and that is why I am so honored to represent and support the United States through the conclusion of this noble effort to bring the tournament back to our country.”

However, the Americans are up against some staunch competition as England, Russia, Portugal and Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands have also placed bids for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Australia, Qatar, Japan and South Korea have also placed bids for the 2022 event.

Since formalizing the World Cup bid, many famous and influential Americans have begun supporting the USSF.

Some of these include former President Bill Clinton, President and CEO of AEG Tim Leiweke, boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya, comedian Drew Carey, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Washington Post CEO Katharine Weymouth. Most recently, actors Brad Pitt and Freeman joined the cause.

Pitt, who supports many charities and philanthropic organizations worldwide, said he was honored to be involved with a sport that is viewed and appreciated around the world.

“Soccer is a truly global sport, and the opportunity to join the effort to have the U.S. host the world’s greatest sporting event again is a great honor,” Pitt said. “FIFA has set a world standard for using sport as a tool for positive social change, and I’m proud to be associated with a United States World Cup Bid that has so ardently adhered to the principles established by FIFA.”

The U.S. bid also includes 18 candidates for host cities, many of which who were involved in the 1994 World Cup. This includes Indianapolis, along with Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville Tenn., New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa and Washington, D.C.

The U.S. bid also has another force behind it: Fox Soccer Channel joined as “an official partner in support of the organization’s efforts to bring the FIFA World Cup to the United States in 2018 or 2022,” U.S. Soccer announced June 28.

“The challenge and privilege of hosting a FIFA World Cup is enormous, as we are seeing here in South Africa,” said Sunil Gulati, chairman of the USA Bid Committee and president of U.S. Soccer. “The same can be said for the bidding process.

Corporate support is an important component to a successful bid, and now we’re very fortunate to count Fox Soccer Channel as a friend and official partner of our endeavor to bring the FIFA World Cup to the United States in 2018 or 2022.”

Fox Soccer Channel is one of the leading channels for soccer programming in the United States and Canada and reached a deal last year with the UEFA Champions league to broadcast matches on Fox Soccer Channel. ESPN previously had the broadcasting rights to the Champions League.

With the addition of the Fox channel, the U.S. bid has strengthened, but the USSF will have to wait out the bidding process to determine if the campaign is successful.
FIFA will announce the host bid winners December 2, 2010. Until then, the USSF remains optimistic.

“We would be honored to play host to the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup,” the U.S. bid website said, “for the fan, for the Game, for the World.”

That sense of pride contributed to U.S. News and World Report recently naming IU as the top college in the country for soccer fans.

Yeagley was quick to point out that this honor would not be possible without the support of the student body and fans across the state.

“We feel that we have the best fans in the country, and we have a long history of success within our program,” Yeagley said. “It’s nice to be recognized and have our fans recognized for all of the great support that they’ve given over the years.”

Senior midfielder Daniel Kelly responded to the ranking with a sense of confidence.
“Honestly, it’s not really surprising,” Kelly said. “In the past, we’ve always had fans come to the games, and they’ve always supported. Our fans are always supportive, and they want to see the players do well and succeed and see the program succeed.”

An additional factor contributing to Indiana’s spot at the top of the list also resulted in the men’s team past successes on the soccer field: family.

When Yeagley leads the Hoosiers this season, he’ll be standing on a field named after someone he knows intimately and who has greatly contributed to the national prominence that IU enjoys as a top soccer school — his father.

Jerry Yeagley led IU to six of its seven national titles during his career from 1973 to 2003, and the University honored him by naming the field at Bill Armstrong Stadium after him in 2004.

The sense of unity and outward support from the University continues to help draw recruits to Bloomington.

“Family is really big at Indiana University, and that’s the main reason why our fan base is so huge and supportive of the team,” Kelly said.

IU was bestowed with the honor based on fan support and the seven national championships the University has captured.

Also honored were University of Maryland, Messiah College, University of North Carolina, University of Notre Dame, Seattle University, Stanford University, UCLA and University of Virginia, all schools with soccer legacies. However, Yeagley, who played at IU under his father and was a four-time All-American, acknowledges that wasn’t always the case at IU.

“My father often said that he couldn’t buy a soccer ball when he first got to Bloomington in 1963,” Yeagley said. “I know that my father and all the players over the years take a lot of pride in the growth of the program.”

The tradition continues as the team grooms for the season opener, when IU welcomes Xavier to Bloomington in late August.

“We bring other top teams from coast to coast to IU, and our fans appreciate that,” Yeagley said. “We’ve done that in the past, and we’ll continue to do that in the future.”

This semi-final had all the makings of a final. Spain were the pre-tournament favorites to win it all, but the team’s performances had been sub-par, leaving many doubting that they had the mettle to win the whole thing. Germany came into the tournament with a very young squad that was largely unproven.

Their performances to reach the semis, however, left many thinking that Germany was going to win it all. They dismantled both England and Argentina to get here, putting up four goals in each contest.

The first half of the semi-final was very lackluster, as neither side wanted to make the crucial mistake that could decide the game. Germany had only one shot attempt in the first half, yet they were more impressive in attack in the final ten minutes of the first.  Spain had a couple shots on target, but neither challenged Schalke keeper Manny Neur.

The second half started out very similar to first, but the tempo picked up in the 60th minute on both ends. Germany’s forward Miroslav Klose and midfielder Toni Kroos had a few good chances, but neither was able to open up the scoring.

Finally, in the 73rd minute, Spanish captain Carlos Puyol scored on a header. The Barcelona defender was one of the least likely to score on the pitch, but the captain stepped up for his biggest goal ever.

In the final 20 minutes, Spain looked more likely to score again than Germany. The Spanish defense was able to stay compact and did not allow a chance for a German equalizer.

And for the first time since 1978, the Netherlands has reached the World Cup final. The Dutch defeated Uruguay 3-2 in one semi-final to get to the final game in Johannesburg.

Thanks to a 40-yard screamer from left back Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, the Netherlands opened the scoring about midway through the first half. The defender could hardly believe it himself, scoring one of the finest strikes of World Cup 2010.

The Dutch looked in complete control until the 41^st minute, when Uruguayan star forward Diego Forlan connected on a free kick just outside the Netherland’s penalty box, evening things up right at halftime.

Uruguay did a nice job of containing the potent Dutch offense for much of the second half, but finally conceded in the 70th minute. The second half’s first goal came in controversial circumstances, as it appeared an offside could have been called against the Netherlands.

Welsey Sneijder found the net with a left-footed shot on the edge of the penalty box. It appeared the strike might have deflected off of Robin Van Persie who was offside, but further replay showed it was a proper non-call.

Just a few minutes later in the 73rd, the Dutch struck again. Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt found space on the left flank, and his cross was met by winger Arjen Robben. The Dutch players could sense the final, they just had to protect their net in the last 20 minutes of the contest.

Uruguay stopped Dutch hearts for a moment, as Uruguayan midfielder Alvaro Pereira scored in stoppage time to make the game 3-2.  It was only for a moment, though, as the sound of the officials whistle two minutes later signified victory for the Netherlands.

Spain 1, Germany 0
A hard-fought encounter in Durban, South Africa, saw Spain reach the World Cup final for the first time in team history. The Spanish broke down an organized German defense in the 73rd minute and held on to a one-goal lead and will meet the Netherlands in the World Cup final.

Both teams were forced into making changes to their lineups as Germany had its young star Thomas Müller suspended and Spain benched out-of-form striker Fernando Torres. The game began with both teams making a nervous start, passing the ball around midfield and unable to find the finishing ball. It was Spain that first found its rhythm late in the first half and began to dominate possession, making short, quick passes and not allowing the Germans to gain control of the match. Spain had its chances, such as when David Villa’s outstretched effort was barely saved by Manuel Neuer, but couldn’t capitalize, and both teams went into the break looking worse for wear.

This was Germany’s third semifinal in the past decade, but Die Mannschaft fielded one of its youngest teams ever. The Germans were the second-youngest side at this year’s World Cup, and this inexperience showed as an intelligent Spanish team, filled with players from top clubs such as Barcelona and Real Madrid, stopped the Germans from ever getting control of the game. The short passing and quick movements of the Spaniards made them pre-tournament favorites for many, and Spain attacked the German goal with Xavi pulling the strings in midfield. Against the run of play, though, the Germans nearly took the lead before substitute Toni Kroos had his volley saved by Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas after a good German attack.

The breakthrough eventually came, but it was for Spain — and not in typical fashion. After managing to win a corner in the 73rd minute, Xavi produced a perfect in-swinging ball for Carles Puyol to jump unmarked and hammer home a header from inside the box. The Spanish team celebrated an important goal that put it in front with less than 20 minutes remaining in the game.

The Germans looked for a response but were limited to shots from outside the box as Spain held on for an epic semifinal win. It will now face the Netherlands on Sunday to determine who will be the 2010 World Cup champion.

Improved coaching? Recruiting better players? Lessening distractions?

Either way, former Indiana U. standout and current member of the New England Revolution Kevin Alston hopes he’ll occupy a roster spot on the American team should it qualify for the 2014 World Cup.

“I’m definitely striving to play in a World Cup, and I hope I’m given that opportunity,” Alston said. “All I can really do is stay ready on my part and do what I need to do to put myself in the best position to perform.”

Alston has already participated in international competition, playing in the 2007 Pan Am Games with current Hoosier and former teammate Daniel Kelly. Their teamwork on the field was bolstered by a sense of friendship and camaraderie that manifested itself as the team gelled between games.

“It was a lot of good guys getting together, and it was a lot of fun,” Kelly said. “We learned a lot about each other.”

The learning process for Kelly included getting to know Alston’s likeable and multifaceted personality.

“Kevin likes to be a jokester,” Kelly said. “He has fun off the field, but when it comes to playing on the field, he’s serious. He’s just a good guy to be around.”

Alston’s professional career was preceded by a standout three-year run in Bloomington, where he helped the Hoosiers regain some of the national prominence the team enjoyed through much of the quarter century before Alston’s arrival.

IU won the Big Ten conference championship after Alston’s freshman season in 2006, and Alston went on to appear in 64 games in his career.

During his time in Bloomington, Alston was twice an All-Big Ten selection while helping to lead the team to a winning record and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament in each of his three seasons.

Alston left IU in 2008 after his junior season to pursue his dream of playing professionally for a Major League Soccer team. A year later, he was drafted by the New England Revolution with the 10th overall pick of the MLS SuperDraft.

Alston’s swift rise to the professional ranks fits right in with the pace of the game itself, which was the biggest adjustment he had to make after being drafted into the MLS, he said.

“The college game is pretty physical, but it doesn’t compare to the professional level because everyone is fit and strong and technically good,” Alston said. “The play is better all around, and it’s a lot quicker and there’s more pressure. Everything is elevated.”

In addition to adapting to the pace of the game, Alston has quickly learned that being a professional means more than just adjusting to changes on the field.

“It’s such a long season that you don’t realize all the little things really matter in the end,” Alston said. “It’s taking care of your body and stretching, hydrating yourself, recovering fast and doing all the things you have to do to make sure that you stay on the field and make it to the end of the season.”

With these tactics, Alston continues to hold up the reputation of a great defender that he cultivated while playing at Indiana.

“He’s one of the best defenders I’ve ever played with,” Kelly said. “He’s reliable, and he can play both sides of the ball really well.”

While Alston looks ahead to possibly playing for the United States in the 2014 World Cup, he continues to stay focused on his current role as an outside backer for the Revolution, constantly working and refusing to become stagnant even after realizing his dream.

“I think I’m still making progress and picking up off of last season,” Alston said. “I’m working on things day in and day out and trying to improve in all aspects.”

When the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) was beaten in extra time by the Black Stars of Ghana in the round of sixteen, the expectation that a United States team could win the 2010 World Cup was lost.

American interest in the sport of soccer at the international level may only stay at the level of passing flirtation post-World Cup, but the expectation for the USMNT to do well at the FIFA’s flagship tournament will remain. That expectation did not always exist.

Americans suspended, if only for the last three weeks, their ideas of exactly what the word “football” means, embracing the idea that the game we call soccer is as big as the holy trinity of sports (basketball, baseball, and football) in the vast majority of other countries. But really, the sport is bigger.

No other sport allows for physical expression and the creative juices of eleven individuals to be manifested in such a beautiful and fluent manner as the game of soccer.

Nearly 200 countries compete over the course of a year to qualify for 31 spots (the 32nd spot is reserved for the host country that does not have to go through qualification) in one of six continental governing bodies of soccer.

For the USMNT, this governing body is Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football, or CONCACAF, which is also home to Mexico and Honduras, who both made this year’s World Cup, but also Costa Rica, Canada, Guatemala, Haiti and Panama who aren’t all your preverbal pushovers either.

It is so arduous and taxing a task, for a national team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, that countries rejoice as if they had won the World Cup, upon learning that they had earned an invitation to the exclusive 32 team party.

And make no mistake, the World Cup is the one party for which everyone wants an engraved invitation. But, what makes it and outstanding event, is its exclusive nature of winners. You don’t even need all of your fingers to count how many countries have one the World Cup in its 80 years of existence.

Since the World Cup was first organized, only seven countries have actually won the tournament and with the exception of France, the other six countries have won FIFA World Cup Trophy multiple times, with Brazil currently leading the rest of the world with five. After this 2010 group stage was finished; five of those seven countries had made it to the knockout round in South Africa.

The USMNT on the other hand, has only made it to the knockout stage three times in its soccer history, including its most recent defeat to a technically sound and savvy Ghanaian side.

Though, the USMNT has finished as high as third place in the World Cup. That third place finish came in 1930, the first year the World Cup was ever contested and the field was literally half of what it is today, at 16 teams. The next significant victory for the USMNT didn’t come for 20 years, when it upset England, the inventors of soccer, in a 1-0 win.

The unprecedented win in 1950 was so unheralded in the United States that the St. Louis Dispatch was the only major American newspaper of note to publish an article on the group stage match. The 1950 USMNT went on to finish third in their group and did not qualify for the knockout round.

The USMNT would not qualify for another World Cup until 1990, in which it was again ousted in the group stages. The team did make the round of 16 in 1994 when the United States was the host country, but failed to deliver in France 1998.

The breakthrough occurred in the dually hosted Japan/South Korea World Cup in 2002, when the USMNT reached the quarterfinals finishing a spectacular eighth and that placing was sweetened with a win over rival, Mexico, in the second round.

In 2006, the USMNT returned to its France 1998 form. By all accounts, the team underperformed, not even reaching the second round in a dismal showing.

Twenty years ago, no such expectation existed and USMNT fans had no grounds to think its national team could contend for a World Cup other than fanatical belief and pride in their country.

In 2002, the USMNT effectively put the world on notice as a team that could play the beautiful game and play it well. In 2009, at the Confederations Cup, the USMNT proved again the talent and work ethic within the borders of the United States was enough to beat a Spanish side that was and is ranked as FIFA’s No. 1 national team in the world.

Now after winning a group, they shared with England and consistently showing heart, discipline and resolve, the hallmarks of American patriotism, there was an expectation that the USMNT could not only beat Ghana, but return to the level of brilliance it had shown in 2002. The USMNT did lose that match, the expectation that they will do well in the future remains, not out of blind faith, but out of tangible and statistically solid evidence.

No, they did not win the World Cup, but the fact that national team players, coaches and fans expect it to happen, shows just how far this country has come in its view and understanding of the game of soccer.

Netherlands 3, Uruguay 2

In a stunning FIFA World Cup semi-final encounter, a strong Netherlands team squeezed past tournament underdog Uruguay to reach the World Cup finals for the first time in more than 30 years. It was a hard-fought encounter between two teams who had exceeded expectations in the tournament by reaching the semifinals.

The game started with the Dutch who controlled possession to produce a wonder goal. In the 18th minute, Giovanni van Bronckhorst collected an easy pass and unleashed a powerful drive 30 yards from goal that arrowed into the top corner, leaving the Uruguayan keeper with no chance to block it. The goal was arguably the best so far of the tournament and gave Netherlands an early goal advantage.

That would not be the end of the first half’s action as Uruguay would equalize the score before halftime. Diego Forlán beat a defender, found himself in space outside the box and fired a curling shot past the Netherlands goalkeeper to give his team hope before the break.

The second half produced more exciting soccer as Forlán’s free kick was stopped by the Dutch goalkeeper. The Uruguayans had control of the game for a short period in the second half but were unable to capitalize on their chances. It was Netherlands who took control midway through the second half and on 70 minutes, Wesley Sneijder had his shot deflected past the outstretched arms of the Uruguayan goalkeeper. With the majority of fans in Cape Town supporting the Dutch, the stadium erupted in cheers as the Dutch saw a chance to reach the finals. Three minutes later, Netherlands doubled their advantage when a precise cross from Dirk Kuyt found a player making a run into the box. The player was Dutch star Arjen Robben, who made no mistake as his header hit the inside of the post and gave Netherlands a 3-1 advantage.

Uruguay managed to make it an exciting finish when a good play allowed Maximilliano Pereira to produce a curled shot past the Dutch goalkeeper. Uruguay continued to attack and pressure the Netherlands’ defense, but the Dutch held on to their one-goal advantage and will now face the winner of Spain and Germany to lift the World Cup on Sunday.

Four teams are left standing, and only one will be crowned soccer champion of the world.

The path to glory has been a daunting one for the remaining countries.

While Germany has made it look easy, talent-loaded Spain squeaked into the semis with a lackluster victory against Paraguay, and the Netherlands had to pull off a come-from-behind victory over top-ranked Brazil to advance.

And in what will undoubtedly go down as one of the most chaotic finishes in World Cup history, Uruguay defeated Ghana in penalty kicks to advance to the semifinals.

Many people are calling the Uruguay win undeserved and illegitimate. New Orleans        Jesters head coach Kenny Farrell agreed and said Ghana deserved to win the game.

“Uruguay is very lucky,” Farrell said. “There is nothing you can do about it now, but Ghana won the game. If they wouldn’t have missed the penalty, Ghana would have won it, and I don’t think Uruguay deserve to make it any further based on that. It really is a disgrace.”

With the large number of close games thus far in the World Cup, Farrell said all the teams have impressed him in their abilities to overcome challenges.

“Management on the field is extremely important, and all of the teams have shown great management,” Farrell said. “All of these teams have shown that they are able to stay level-headed and keep playing the game despite adversity.”

Although the old “defense wins championships” adage normally applies to American football, Farrell believes it describes this World Cup perfectly.

“[Uruguay] have not had a lot of goals scored on them. That seems to be a trend with the teams that have made it this far,” Farrell said. “The flare teams like Brazil and Argentina have been beaten, and it seems to be an indicator in this World Cup that organized, disciplined defenses are putting teams through.”

Some of the best defense in the tournament has been played by Germany.  Many students, like computer science junior Michael Kline, believe the Germans have been the most impressive team thus far.

“Their speed and their youth has been surprising,” Kline said. “I don’t think many people thought they would come out and perform the way they are. It will be tough for them to reach the finals, but I think they can do it.”

Farrell agreed and said the team has meshed and plays well as a whole unit.

“Germany has been extremely good on the counterattack,” he said. “They get the first goal, and they play very comfortably and very organized, and the chemistry is excellent.”

The consensus seems to have the Netherlands advancing to the finals, but there are discrepancies when arguing who the Dutch may play. While Germany has looked the strongest, Farrell said Spain’s high talent level may be too much for the Germans.

“This is a very tough one to call, but I would give the edge to Spain,” Farrell said. “I think man-to-man across the field they’re more experienced. They have more World Class players than any of the teams left in the tournament, and I think they’ll go on to win the World Cup.”

Some University students, like Kline, agree that Spain will advance but see a different          outcome in the final.

“The Netherlands will get past Uruguay and Spain will beat the Germans,” Kline said. “In the finals I think the Netherlands will beat Spain, 2-1.”

Others disagree. Jamie Dismukes, physics junior, believes history will repeat itself and the Germans will once again take home the honors.

“I think Germany is going to win it all,” Dismukes said. “They have looked the strongest so far, and let’s face it … they’re Germany.”

Waitzman, a Northwestern graduate student, co-authored “Quantifying the Performance of Individual Players in a Team Activity” with McCormick professor Luís Amaral. The results of the paper help put into perspective a sport that often doesn’t bank upon hard data.

“For baseball, someone’s going to have 15 different ways of calculating how likely it is for someone to get a hit or on base and do something really good for their team when they get up to bat. No one really has a way of doing that for soccer,” Waitzman said. “It’s just who people get excited about when they watch or who has the biggest contract.”

Waitzman said the group uses the software as a way of examining existing data rather than predicting it.

“We’re not going to say we have the best way to bet a million bucks on the outcome of the World Cup, but I think it is a good formula for a sport like soccer where you don’t have a lot of data to go off of.”

The software was first created to analyze the 2008 European Cup tournament through quantitative measures like the number of passes made between teammates, Waitzman said. As well, the group analyzed and mapped out results based on players’ shooting information, according to a press release from the NU NewsCenter.

“One can get a better sense of individual contributions by analyzing how they interact with the team through the quantifiable measures available,” Waitzman said in an e-mail.

“This certainly constitutes a rough-cut view of the nuanced interactions between people, but gets us a lot closer to understanding how groups of people work together.”

The group’s findings, though, did reveal that many of soccer’s most elite and recognized players weren’t necessarily the most valuable players in terms of contributions for their team.

“How the numbers work out in the paper, the two players we actually pinned as the two best performers in the (Euro 2008 tournament were) Xavi Hernández and Sergio Ramos, and they’re both on the Spanish team,” Waitzman said. “Not too many people knew that either (player) did an exemplary job.”

The study’s results opened up a debate: salary discrepancies. With soccer celebrities like England’s David Beckham and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo becoming more well-known for their time off the field, how can hefty paychecks be rewarded to the players who aren’t as popular?

“I think there’s going to be some lack of correlation between how people are doing and the salaries they’re getting paid, but I think for Sergio Ramos and his agents, (the analysis) is a good quantitative measure for them to be able to go into negotiations and say, ‘This guy’s really doing a good job for the team. You can see from the number of goals and assists that they’re really contributing to the team’s effort and you should pay them more money,’” Waitzman said.

For soccer fans like Eddie Siegel, though, ticket sales may be a more accurate method of determining salaries for these big-time players.

“You don’t pay a bunch of money for a ticket to see no-name players, and you’re not necessarily a fan of a team because of a couple of backup players,” the Weinberg senior said.

Siegel, the director of education for the NU Sports and Business Research Club, said that despite the analysis, ultimately the popular players are the ones who bring in the most financial success.

“These big name players bring so much revenue to the clubs, and that’s why you have them on your team. You think they’re overpaid, but they’re giving the most action for their team,” Siegel said. “If you want to sell tickets, you need the Wayne Rooneys and the Ronaldinhos.”

Many of the same soccer stars Waitzman and members of the group analyzed are participating in the World Cup that’s currently taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa. Even though the paper used analysis from the 2008 Euro Cup, World Cup fans are in luck—statistics on any individual player and analysis of all of the World Cup matches can be found on the Amaral group’s website at amaral.northwestern.edu.

Enter: Robbie Findley, the 24-year-old Oregon State U alum who scored 28 goals and earned All Pac-10 honors in each of his four seasons in Corvallis (2003-2006). Findley was selected to the USA 23-man roster on May 26, and on June 12, USA coach Bob Bradley anointed Findley, who competed with Herculez Gomez and Edson Buddle for the spot, one of his two starting strikers in South Africa.

Findley went on to start against England, Slovenia and Ghana, but failed to impress. He was subbed out in each of the three contests, twice at halftime.

In the 1-1 draw against England, Findley found himself continually pushed around and simply overmatched by the Three Lions defense. Findley earned the start due to his ability to wreak havoc with his speed, but his speed didn’t provide any quality chances. The one chance Findley did get came on a one-on-one breakaway early in the second half, but the speedster was out-muscled by England’s Jamie Carragher and fell to the ground, losing control of the ball.

In the improbable, ultra-exciting 2-2 draw against Slovenia, Findley once again had little impact on the outcome. On one sequence, Findley played a beautiful ball into the box, setting up a brilliant chance for teammate Clint Dempsey, but Dempsey was unable to cash in. The only other thing Findley did was pick up a yellow card on a phantom handball in the 40th minute. It was Findley’s second yellow card of the tournament – he picked up one against England as well – which forced him, by rule, to miss the USA’s final group stage game against Algeria, a game that the U.S. won on a Landon Donovan goal in the 92nd minute. In the first United States knockout game, a round-of-16 contest against Ghana, Findley was once again called upon to start.

In soccer, a few seconds can change everything. In a matter of seconds in the game against Ghana, Findley almost went from a player who had done nothing in the tournament to a national hero. With Ghana leading 1-0 in the 35th minute, Findley was the recipient of a gift-wrapped chance. Following a Ghana turnover and a perfect through-ball, Findley found himself with the ball and nothing but a few yards of turf separating him and the goalie. But Findley scuffed the turf on his right-footed attempt, and grounded the ball right into the chest of the goalie. It was Findley’s only shot of the tournament, and easily the Americans’ best chance of the first half. Findley was once again subbed out at half, and the U.S. went on the lose 2-1 in extra time.

Findley, who will be 28 at the time of the next World Cup (2014 in Brazil), has a long road ahead of him if he wants another opportunity on the World Cup stage. The Phoenix, Ariz. native is currently a striker for Real Salt Lake of the MLS, but will need to exceed internationally as well as in the MLS if he wants to make a name for himself. Altidore, 20, and Davies, 24, figure to still be key contributors in 2014. Buddle, 29, and Gomez, 28, may have made their final World Cup appearances, but a new crop of talent should be ready to challenge Findley for a spot on the 2014 team.

After three weeks of watching the 2010 World Cup, it’s hard to believe that after today, only eight out of the 32 countries in South Africa remain.

Unfortunately for U.S. fans, the American team was sent home after its dismal second-round loss to Ghana, 2-1. Many had semifinal hopes for the U.S. team after it was given a dream draw with no powerhouse European or South American sides. In fact, the United States may not get such a good opportunity to advance to the semifinals for a very long time.

Even though I was rooting for the United States, I can’t really say I’m fully disappointed or that I didn’t expect this to happen. As I sat in a crowded room filled with silence for 10 minutes following the loss, the only emotion I could muster was frustration — frustration that a team filled with professional soccer players could make so many simple mistakes and execute the game so poorly.

Truthfully, the United States couldn’t have exited the World Cup in a more fitting fashion, as the loss to Ghana showed the few strengths of the team and exposed all of its weaknesses.

The game opened with the United States once again giving away an early goal in the fifth minute of the match. This was a trend for the American team at the World Cup as the squad also gave up a goal in the fourth minute against England and 13th minute against Slovenia. Giving up a goal that early never puts you in a good situation and allowed Ghana to sit back and defend.

Perhaps more upsetting than giving up an early goal was the way the goal was scored.

Ricardo Clark took one too many touches in the midfield, gave the ball away and was punished. Although Clark’s mistake was the most costly, giveaways like this happened too frequently for the United States throughout the World Cup.

The midfielders were unable to hold possession. Maurice Edu gave the ball away countless times in the games against Slovenia and Algeria, while golden boy Landon Donovan had a fair number of simple miscues.

Another issue that caused problems for the United States was the lack of movement off the ball when the team had possession.

Instead of running off the ball and opening the passing game, the U.S. players seemed content to stand around and wait for the ball to be played to their feet.

This was never more apparent than in the first half of the Ghana match. Unable to break down the speedy and more athletic Ghanaians one-on-one, the United States resorted to passing balls backwards and sideways around the penalty area and seemed too content to wait for lackluster crosses to head into the goal.

The United States needed to make more runs off the ball and play quick passes into space. The Germans are the masters of this strategy and use it to perfection to create scoring opportunities (go watch the first 35 minutes of their 4-1 demolition of England if you want to see beautiful soccer).

It also looked like the legs of the U.S. players were asleep during the first half (maybe due to a lullaby of vuvuzelas) and the United States had very few quality attacking chances. In the second half, the team seemed to wake up and began making overlapping runs to open up scoring opportunities.

The United States was able to show its “heart and resiliency” (an ESPN-coined euphemism for sufficient ability) by scoring an equalizer early in the second half. The team continued to press and had opportunities to win the game late in the half, but couldn’t find the back of the net.

Extra time was probably one of the least-exciting displays of soccer I have ever seen. After conceding an early goal off a defensive miscue and a spectacular Ghanaian finish just a few minutes into the first extra time period (what a shocker), the United States resorted back to playing hopeless long balls over the top of the Ghanaian defense.

This “kick and run” style soccer coupled with tired legs and flopping Ghanaian players made for 30 minutes of soccer that looked like a low-level high school soccer match instead of an international World Cup match-up.

Still, there are some positives that will come out of the U.S. loss. I think that having soccer play a larger role in the United States’ consciousness is a good thing even if the interest is rooted more in patriotism than pure love of the sport.

So, it’s back to the status quo for U.S. soccer fans. We can return to fully supporting our surrogate countries.

Whether our parents were born there, we’ve studied abroad there or we just like their uniforms, we can go back to watching soccer the real American way — by supporting foreign teams.

These are wise words from an even wiser man. In this day and age, though, our senses can be leveraged and extended with the help of technology. Today, in the context of sporting events, these technologies are utilized by almost all professional leagues.

Tennis, American football, basketball, baseball — all of these sports use the either readily available video recording and motion sensor technologies in order to better aid the referees and judges in their pursuit of administering fair conduct in sport. And with most of these leagues being multi-million, and in some cases multi-billion dollar industries, the few thousand dollars they might invest in extra referees and/or technology to ensure exactness in referee calls is relatively miniscule.

Why then, as has become painfully highlighted by the 2010 World Cup Championship, has the International Federation of Association Football, or FIFA (the acronym makes sense in French), continued to strictly adhere to its policy of not using goal referees or various goal-line technologies to better promote accuracy of its calls?

Sepp Blatter, FIFA’s long-time president, has said on numerous occasions that the federation’s decision not to implement technology into the sport is due to its attempt to preserve the “universality” of the sport of association football. By “universality” FIFA means “that the game must be played in the same way no matter where you are in the world.”

This is a rather silly and arcane ideal for FIFA to attempt to adhere to. No one is calling for rules that aren’t globally uniform, simply more efficient and effective ways of determining the validity of goals. And with the numerous, and obviously wrong, calls we’ve seen already in this year’s World Cup, these demands don’t seem too unreasonable.

Yet FIFA contends “Fans love to debate any given incident in a game. It is part of the human nature of our sport.” While debating is one thing, the calls that have recently been made to the disappointment of England, Mexico, and the United States have equated not to a close call, but simply bad and inaccurate officiating.

Aside from this “universality” excuse, FIFA also points its finger at costs as a reason not to implement goal refs or equivalent technology. In a recent statement, FIFA said, “So you know, by not putting goal referees behind each net, we save upwards of $500 per game. We stand by our decision.”

Okay, $500 a game, let’s put this into context. For this 2010 World Cup FIFA has projected roughly $3.2 billion in revenues. Out of that, there are roughly $1.2 billion in costs related to operating the event. This leaves an estimated $2 billion to be retained by the Federation; and they’re worried about an extra $500?

There’s virtually no chance that FIFA would make any changes in their goal-line policies during this World Cup, and the federation has consistently voiced their dislike of video replays in order to determine goal validity. But I think it’s very plausible, especially with the numerous errors and disappointing officiating that has been witnessed this year that FIFA will seriously consider using goal judges in the 2014 World Cup.

Human goal judges help to keep this “universality” quality Mr. Blatter is attempting to preserve, and from their statement on costs of the judges, it is a fairly economical alternative to goal-line technologies. In the end, to preserve its credibility, preserve its good conscience and to be truthful, FIFA will ultimately have to come to its senses and address this situation.

Netherlands 2, Slovakia 1
The Netherlands, having eased into the Round of 16, had star winger Arjen Robben back in the starting lineup and were favorites against minnows Slovakia. The Slovakian team, though, was just happy to be there and felt comfortable being regarded as underdogs after their brilliant escape from the group stage at the expense of Italy.

For years, the Dutch have been noted for free flowing. With two of the most creative players in Robben and Wesley Sneijder, the Dutch had no shortage of ammunition on attack. The Slovaks, though, came out strong with multiple shots on goal. Their approach was much more direct compared to the Dutch, who were looking for the perfect pass. To the Slovaks’ disappointment, that perfect pass came from Sneijder in the 18th minute when he played a long ball to Robben outside the box, who cut inside onto his favored left foot and shot a low drive into the bottom corner.

The Dutch continued to attack in the second half as Robben had a curling effort saved by the fingertips of the Slovakian keeper, Jan Mucha. Mark van Bommel almost doubled his team’s lead when his shot off a cross was also saved by the Slovakian keeper.

But Slovakia almost pulled off an amazing comeback when Robert Vittek was put clean-through on goal after bad defending from the Dutch. His shot was right at the keeper and was easily saved. Minutes later, the Dutch caught the Slovakian defense napping on a free kick that put Dirk Kuyt past the Slovakian keeper for him to pass for to Sneijder to finish into an open net.

Brazil 3, Chile 0
The Round of 16 brought an exciting matchup between Chile and Brazil, two teams that play with an aggressive and wide-open style. Despite Brazil being the favorite, its South American neighbor started just as strongly with both teams taking multiple shots on goal.

Brazil took the lead in the 34th minute on a corner kick from Maicon Douglas Sisenando. Juan Silveira dos Santos rose above the Chilean defense and headed Maicon’s corner into the back of the net.

Four minutes later, Brazil scored again. The goal came after Chile sent men forward, but caught on a Brazilian fast break down the right, Róbson “Robinho” de Souza made a pass to Ricardo “Kaká” Leite in the middle, who played a first-time ball to an onside Luís Fabiano, who rounded the keeper to finish. Brazil went into the break having never lost a World Cup game when up by two goals.

The second half brought more attacking, and it took only 15 minutes for Brazil to break down the Chilean defense again. Jose Ramirez Barreto collected the ball in the Chilean midfield and burst into space — his run sliced open the defense as he made a perfect pass for Robinho to curl past the diving keeper.

The score ensured a place for Brazil in the next round despite resistance from an exciting and brave Chile. Brazil and the Netherlands will play one another in the quarterfinals for a place in the semifinals.

I’m not one for moral victories, particularly on a stage as exceptional as the World Cup, where the pain of what could have been lingers for four years.

I’m also not one for moral defeats, if such a thing exists.

Yet, in the past two days, I believe I have seen both.

I first thought it patronizing to say that the U.S. team and its fans can be proud of the performance in the 2-1 extra-time loss to Ghana — as if that’s a consolation for losing a game that will haunt the players’ dreams for months. Coming within one break from a winnable quarterfinal game and the uncharted territory of a looming semifinal, only to fall short.

Then, I awoke this morning with my England jersey still on from the night before.

I won’t bother with what could have been if Frank Lampard’s shot would have been rightly given as a goal. It doesn’t matter; England didn’t come close to deserving a win.

Instead, the so-called “golden generation” of Lampard, Steven Gerrard, David Beckham and John Terry most likely ended its era with the meekest of whimpers, chasing the shadows of a younger, faster and better German team.

The ironies were plentiful, most coming with Lampard’s no-goal, an eerie parallel to England’s greatest moment, beating West Germany in the World Cup final in 1966 on the back of a similar goal. To this day, it’s unclear whether Geoff Hurst’s shot cleared the goal line.

There is no doubt, however, about the failure of this English generation, which will now hand off the baton to an increasingly thin crop of new talent. Perhaps the only thing more disconcerting than Sunday’s game is a brief look at the future. With one of the oldest teams in the tournament and such little young talent established in the top teams of the Premier League, who will make the Three Lions roar again?

As disappointing as Terry, Lampard and Gareth Barry may have been, who can take their place?

A friend of mine whom I consoled a day before offered me the same benefit Sunday morning. He asked me if Fabio Cappello, England’s highly respected, highly paid coach will stay on after this national embarrassment.

I told him I no longer believe it matters. Coaches can’t pass, mark or shoot, and more increasingly, it seems that neither can their players.

While the sun seems to be setting on England’s reign as a serious contender on the world stage, it is perhaps rising across the Atlantic Ocean, on a country suddenly awakened to the joys and pains of football.

Landon Donovan may not quite be a household name, but he has come as close as any American footballer to sporting immortality. The country celebrated with him as he scored the vital goal against Algeria and held its collective breath as his penalty against Ghana caromed in off the post.

He is the golden child of American football, but he is also only the beginning. While this is the best team the U.S. has fielded in a World Cup, this is merely a transition into what they could be. They showed flashes of brilliance against Ghana and against Brazil and Spain a year ago.

Only a handful of these players will be around in U.S. colors come Brazil 2014, but they have set the United States on the right path — a path toward consistency, toward success, toward glory — the path England seems to have lost.

The men allowed an early goal Saturday against Ghana and found a bit of magic to tie the game. But in the end, the United States’ World Cup stint was ended by the African nation for the second consecutive Cup.

At first, it looked like the U.S. could come back once more and end the game before it went into an extra 30 minutes of play. However, another Ghanian goal in the first few minutes of extra time was just too much, and the tired American side could not muster up another epic comeback — something that had become its game plan during the World Cup.

“Obviously, we are disappointed,” U.S. striker Landon Donovan said. “It’s a tough lesson to learn when you don’t get a chance to redeem yourself. I guess the warning signs were there — getting scored on early — and it came back to bite us, finally.”

Though the Americans attempted several desperation shots into the net as time dwindled, their lackluster overtime play eventually allowed Ghana to pull a 2-1
victory.

“The finality of it is brutal,” Donovan said. “You realize how much you’ve put into it, not only for the last four years, but your whole life. There’s no guarantee there’s another opportunity at that.”

U.S. keeper Tim Howard echoed Donovan’s sentiments.

“The second one (Ghana scored) was definitely hit hard,” Howard said. “They took their goals well. They didn’t have many opportunities.”

However, one opportunity was enough. Just three minutes into overtime, Ghana forward Asamoah Gyan got on the end of a long ball misjudged by U.S. defenders Jay Demerit and Carlos Bocanegra.

Gyan shot with such force and voracity that Howard had no chance to stop the ball as it zipped over his head and into the back of the net.

“When you have sharp forwards that sit on your shoulder, they wait for balls like that,” Demerit said. “For defenders, we have to worry about the ball in front and the ball behind, and sometimes you get caught in two minds or you just get caught in the space and have to react. They were able to react a little bit quicker than us and showed good strength and a good finish.”

Allowing the early overtime goal continued a U.S. trend, as they gave up a score quickly in regulation as well. The  early goal marked the third time in four games that the Americans gave up a goal within the first 15 minutes.

“Too often, right after the whistle blows we get hit, and if you do that enough times you’ll pay for it,” Howard said. “We have had the good fortune of not paying for it before, but we did today.”

That moment happened in the fifth minute. After a turnover by Clark at midfield, Ghana midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng dribbled toward the goal before unleashing a low strike toward the near post.

Howard was expecting Boateng to go far post and was not able to parry the ball away in time as it slipped by him to give Ghana the early 1-0 lead.

“I kind of got the ball stuck in my feet,” Clark said. “I think they played it in the midfield, and I got caught in my decision making and didn’t react fast enough. The guy stole the ball, and it’s unfortunate because it led to a goal.”

Ghana kept up the momentum in the first half and looked set to score more. However, the score stayed 1-0 as the teams went into halftime.

As norm in this World Cup, a different and more motivated U.S. team took the field for the second half, finally tying on a penalty kick from Donovan.

The striker converted the penalty with a shot off the right post, turning the momentum to the United States — who was unable to find the goal again.
“We tried to push and push, and I don’t know if we just didn’t have anything left because we’d been pushing so much the entire tournament,” Bocanegra said. “Just didn’t go our way today.”

The win puts Ghana the in the quarterfinals, the furthest the team has ever gone.
“We had to fight to the last second, and we gave our all,” Ghana midfielder Andre Ayew said. “We fought for the continent and for Ghana. We hope the whole African nation is proud. Everything is possible.”

Being the only African nation to make the final 16 gave the Ghana team a great sense of pride and helped propel the men during play.

“Me and my colleagues were very disappointed that no African team is with us,” Ayew said. “We have to fight not only for ourselves, but for all the other teams. Yes, we feel we have Africa behind us, and that’s giving us energy to fight more.”
The U.S. men now end their promising run through the 2010 World Cup.

“There’s always disappointment when things like this happen, when great tournaments like this come to an end,” Demerit said. “That’s natural. But it’s a really special time for U.S. soccer at the moment, and I think it’s a big responsibility for the players to show that and to appreciate that. Today is a day that, even when disappointment is probably at its highest, is the time to show the most appreciation.”

But the Americans said they feel they can hold their heads high as they leave South Africa, having proved to the world that they can play with the best of the best and will not give up until the final whistle is blown.

“It’s a good group,” Howard said. “We’ve talked about that for four years. … It’s a good bunch of guys who never give up, and that’s not a cliche. We’ve proven that time and again.”

Still, others’ attitudes toward the game are as hostile as ever, with many of these mindsets stemming from negative qualities in our citizenry — often exaggerated stereotypes. One particular soccer-hater is Tom Powers, a sports columnist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press in Minnesota. He wrote a piece stating he would not watch the Cup simply because he hates all soccer fans.

There would be nothing wrong with his dislike of soccer if he wrote a respectful opinion with substantial reasons for his lack of interest in the sport. Instead, he delivered a poorly argued and confrontational column projecting an attitude of superiority to the world’s soccer-loving majority.

The first example jumps out in his opening paragraph, in which he writes: “The World Cup of soccer begins Friday in Johannesburg, South Africa, and you will watch it on TV, and you will like it or else you will be labeled a cretin.” Where are these legions of soccer purists who accost every person that doesn’t enjoy the game? He claims that one cannot legitimately dislike soccer without being accused of being too stupid to understand it. Powers does not realize that the reason fans have a problem with his outspoken opposition to the sport is not merely because he doesn’t like it, but because the arguments he makes are intolerant and uninformed.

It’s true that the argument about “understanding it” is sometimes unfairly used in a dismissive way by some soccer fans — just as it is used by fans of American football and baseball — but Powers actually does not seem to comprehend the tactical side of soccer.

A second example of his ignorance was demonstrated when he talked about soccer at the youth level, writing that it is “a pleasant enough diversion … when the players are unskilled enough to create many surprises.” It is doubtful whether Powers has watched many professional soccer matches if he thinks that only unskilled players are surprising. That’s like saying watching a 6-year-old fall over swinging at a tee-ball is more interesting than seeing a major-league outfielder make a diving catch.

Finally, Powers wrote that if you say you don’t like soccer, “… your intelligence may be questioned, you may even be labeled a racist.” If he has ever been treated this way by a soccer fan, it is most likely not because of his distaste for soccer but because of a similar anti-soccer editorial he wrote in 2006 about the last World Cup. (In that column, he claimed the Department of Homeland Security should “monitor the city-by-city television ratings of this month’s World Cup soccer tournament,” saying that high ratings “likely signal a concentrated pocket of illegals. No one who actually is from here cares about the most over-hyped, mind-numbingly boring event in the world.”) Powers blatantly stated in this column that the only people who like soccer are immigrants, illegal at that, and the reason they like the sport is because they are too stupid to realize how boring it is.

Ultimately, the legions of soccer fans across the world don’t care what Powers thinks, and they will enjoy the tournament with or without him. As the Brits have exemplified, not everyone needs to like “soccer,” but at least fans and non-fans can have a mutual respect for one another’s opinions. And maybe in 2014, when the next World Cup begins in Brazil, our country will have progressed enough that we won’t need to listen to insults such as the ones coming from Powers’ pen.

Just like in 2006, Ghana put a four-year hold on the United States run at a World Cup title.

Ghana 2, U.S. 1.

America’s hopes? Let down.

It’s dream turned nightmare.

But with America receiving the boot from the world’s most renowned tournament, we turn our attention to the positives.

The United States finally has an appreciation to soccer.

More importantly, I became a fan of the game.

Whether it be the coaches’ son, Michael Bradley, coming up with a clutch goal or the rightly dubbed “miracle on grass” with Landon Donovan’s extra-time strike against Algeria to keep the U.S. alive, these games were memorable.

Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Carlos Bocanegra and Tim Howard became household names, and Donovan rules supreme in the sports world, at least until the other football starts.

They made America relevant in the world picture and showed the bridge between the U.S., the world and the game of soccer has finally been closed.

Ultimately, they brought men, women and children together not for their race, religion or home-state team, but rather for the red, white and blue.

Saturday’s game wasn’t dictated by referees or disallowed goals, it was lost the right way — with pride, passion and endurance. Ghana had the talent, the luck and a home-field advantage. The U.S. had hope and drive, but they were plagued once again by an early goal that proved the difference in the game.

The mistakes of past matches came back to bite them.

Soccer could be better, though, and adopting some American philosophies would help gauge U.S. interest.

A multi-million dollar sport that is practically a religion to countries outside of the U.S. should have no reason for not adopting instant replay, and Americans saw the worst of that this World Cup. The human eye can only see so much.

What about stoppage time or a better system for all the tie games?

All in all, the roots have set in and the foundation was laid.

I don’t expect Americans to go running out to soccer fields or children to be born to the sound of vuvuzelas.

American football still, and almost always will, reign supreme in this country.

But there were a couple more children born named Landon the past two weeks, and bars were filled with stars and stripes.

For me, it’s admittance.

The time to finally concede there actually is something to this primitive sport.

The time to recognize that the names Ronaldo, Kaka, Wayne Rooney and Donovan should be mentioned on the same playing field as LeBron James, Alex Rodriguez and Peyton Manning.

I may not understand the entirety of the game, see the value and soul that it spreads across nations or even care how the rest of the World Cup finishes out, but I will admit I’ve become a fan.

Americans are finally getting all the buzz surrounding soccer.

And that’s not just the sound of the vuvuzelas.

United States 1, Algeria 0

In a pulsating match full of chances, emotion and ecstasy, the U.S. soccer team made fans wait until the 91st minute for the decisive goal. The U.S. needed a win or a draw against Algeria, depending on England’s result in the other group game, if it was to qualify.

The U.S. team, hit by a controversial disallowed goal in the last game, went out with passion and attacked the Algerian goal throughout the game.

On an excellent attack, Clint Dempsey’s goal in the 21st minute was wrongly disallowed for being offsides, a horrible moment of deja vu for the Americans.

That wasn’t the end of the drama, though, as the news that England was winning came in at halftime, which meant that if the U.S. tied it would be out of the World Cup. American coach Bob Bradley made changes, fielding a more offensive lineup looking for the winning goal.

The entire second half was a back-and-forth affair with each team looking for a goal. Clint Dempsey thought he had scored (again) in the 57th minute, but after hitting the post, he failed to convert his rebound into an open goal. With time slipping away, Michael Bradley almost scored in the 79th minute when he bent a free kick around the Algerian wall, but the keeper made an powerful stop.

Time was running out for the U.S. team, and a handful of great chances were missed as it looked more and more like the referees had robbed the U.S. of a place in the last 16 minutes after two wrongly disallowed goals in each of its past two games. There were just four minutes of World Cup football left for the United States if the scores in both games stayed the same.

Then, in one of the most dramatic moments in the history of American soccer, U.S. keeper Tim Howard made a save from an Algerian header to quickly release Landon Donovan down the right side. Donovan streaked up the field with his electric pace and passed to Jozy Altidore, who raced toward the penalty area and then crossed to Dempsey, whose shot the Algerian keeper couldn’t hold onto. The rebound fell kindly to Donovan, who finished into the bottom corner, sending the U.S. team into celebration and guaranteeing it a place in the next round and the top spot in its group for the first time in 80 years.

England 1, Slovenia 0

England produced the win it needed against Slovenia thanks to a Jermain Defoe goal that sent the Brits through to the next round.

England dominated much of the possession, and its goal came in the first half after James Milner’s cross was volleyed into the goal by a splitting Defoe.

The goal was Defoe’s first on the international stage and justified his first start in the tournament. England continued to control the game in the second half as Wayne Rooney found himself alone in the box — only to hit the post with his shot.

The miss would not be decisive in terms of the final result as England held on to win by one goal. However, the missed opportunity did mean that England would finish second in Group C because the U.S. scored more goals in the first round.

Throughout the game against Algeria, Team USA created chance after chance but somehow could not find the back of the net. However, with very little time remaining, the thought that Team USA would not be moving on was slowly becoming a reality.

Landon Donovan refused to let that happen.

The leader of the squad slotted a rebound in the 91st minute of the match, sending USA fans into pure jubilation.

“I’ve been through a lot in the last four years,” Donovan said. “I’m so glad it culminated this way. When you try to do things the right way, it’s good to get rewarded.”

The dramatic goal occurred after the Americans attacked offensively for the entirety of the match, keeping the Algerian keeper, Rais M’Bohli, busy with 18 shots and five shots directly on goal.

“These guys never give up, and they showed that again today,” USA coach Bob Bradley said. “I was worried because we could have gone away empty-handed, but my players decided otherwise and never stopped believing. We’re proud to finish first in the group on five points, and we’re already prepared to go further.”

Algeria was content to defend and catch the United States by surprise on the counterattack, as they put up 17 of their own shots.

However, the United States controlled possession for a majority of the game and found itself with plenty of offensive chances.

Prior to the game, the United States knew its best chance to move on to the knockout stages of the World Cup was to beat Algeria in its final match of the group stage.

But it seemed as if the soccer gods had it in for the Stars and Stripes, as they had two chances go off the post and numerous chances that flew over or went wide of the net or were saved by M’Bohli.

In just the sixth minute, it seemed as if the Americans would start down one score early, when Algerian forward Rafik Djebbour ran onto a long ball from the defense and hammered a shot that came right back off the crossbar.

But from then on, it was the Americans who had the offensive chances.

In the 20th minute, Clint Dempsey scored a goal from a cross into an open net, but he was ruled offsides by the assistant referee. Replays later showed he was onside.

The poor luck continued when a tough toe-poke shot by Dempsey was saved by M’Bohli in the 35th minute, and just one minute later Jozy Altidore missed a wide-open net.

The offensive mishaps by the United States didn’t stop there, as several players missed open net chances. In the 57th minute Dempsey hit the post and missed hitting the rebound into a half-open net. Then, Edson Buddle missed a header.

As the game crept toward the 80-minute mark, the team seemed to go into desperation mode, and both sides began to exert more energy after every ball and every opportunity.

Team USA seemed to get the perfect chance in the 80th minute, when it was granted a free kick close to the goal. However, the chance was wasted, as Michael Bradley drilled the ball right at the keeper.

Shot after shot for the USA squad seemed to just barely miss, and eventually it seemed as if it had used up all of its offensive opportunities as the clock winded into the allotted extra four minutes.

Tempers also flared as the time waned, and with what has become custom in this World Cup, several cards were handed out. The United States finished the game with two yellow cards, bringing their total to six over three games. Algeria finished with four yellows, and one red card in the final few minutes of the game. However, the penalties would not stop the USA squad from attempting to put away the Algerians.

With the clock ticking into the final three minutes, the USA squad turned it around and took advantage of a four-on-two counterattack situation.

Donovan played a ball to Altidore, who attempted to score. Keeper M’Bohli was able to get at least a hand on it, but Donovan was quicker, as he followed the play and tapped in the winner.

Donovan, arguably the face of the U.S. Men’s National Team, fittingly hit in the winning goal. Donovan now has four career World Cup goals and is the third USA player to score in multiple World Cups (current player Dempsey and former player Brian McBride are the others). Donovan has solidified himself as a legend within the U.S. squad, as he leads many of the offensive all-time categories.

However, Donovan was not completely satisfied with having to wait so long to score.
“Of course, we should have and could have scored earlier, which would have spared us that dramatic ending,” Donovan said. “In the end, though, it’s a good thing that it happened that way, so quickly. I didn’t even have time to think what I was going to do. Being in the right place and putting the ball in the net just came naturally.”

When I signed on to spend my summer outside of Durban, South Africa, I knew that soccer would be a major part of my experience. Even as an American who, before arriving in South Africa at the end of May, could count the number of international soccer players I could name on two hands, I could appreciate that the first-ever World Cup on African soil would be a big deal. I just didn’t know how big.

The country has been absolutely overcome with World Cup fever, and I decided I didn’t want to miss out. So last Saturday, a friend and I decided to shell out the big bucks and get tickets to one of the Durban-hosted matches—the group-play contest between the Netherlands and Japan.

I’ve been to big sports games before, both at Harvard and for my hometown pro teams. I had thought that the atmosphere at the 2004 ALCS game between the Red Sox and Yankees I attended would be hard to top. But the World Cup was an experience that was totally and completely unique. I had never seen so many supporters dressed in such elaborate costumes—Japanese fans in full traditional garb, banging on drums, and a group of a dozen Dutch supporters decked out in orange flight attendant outfits, complete with orange platform boots for the ladies. From the pre-match ceremony to the final whistle, the stadium never stopped buzzing with the sounds of cheers and vuvuzelas. There were flags everywhere—and not just Dutch and Japanese flags. One proclaimed “Forever England,” which I thought a bold move considering England’s dreadful performance in a 0-0 draw with Algeria the night before, and there was also a Swedish flag hanging below the second section. Sweden didn’t qualify for the tournament, but it can take solace in the fact that it’s still got some incredibly proud supporters.

The game ended with a 1-0 win for the Netherlands—a victory that made the Dutch the second team to guarantee its spot in the round of 16. My friend and I had been hoping for a goalfest, and even though we didn’t get it, it was a game that was engrossing all the way through. Never again will I knock soccer as a dull game based on its lack of scoring. And though the game seemed too short after the weeks of buildup and the money spent on the ticket, it was worth every penny.

Though I won’t be in the stadium for any more matches, South Africa is still an incredible place to be this month. Vuvuzelas play throughout the countryside all day, every day, and every Bafana Bafana match is an excuse for the country to take a three-hour break and watch some soccer. It’s been extraordinary to watch this country come together in pride over hosting such a major international event, and I can’t wait to be a part of it as the knockout rounds unfold.

It’s a display of national pride with few comparisons in Germany. Nationalstolz, as it’s timidly called here, was once as taboo as the phrase, “Arbeit macht frei.” Every four years there exists an exception to Germany’s tentativeness toward all things patriotic: the World Cup.

It’s almost a cliché to say that when Germany played host to the tournament in 2006 a resurgence of national pride energized the country. Germans were once again proud to be Germans. Though it fell short of a perfect fairy tale ending à la the Brothers Grimm, a third place finish was nothing to be ashamed of.

I was lucky enough to be in Germany that summer as a member of my high school German class. Of the 11 days we spent traveling the country, the day Germany beat Poland remains my most memorable.

Even the small country town we were in erupted with excitement once the referee blew the final whistle. Car horns blared as drivers sped along the narrow streets. Spontaneous bursts of “Olé, Olé, Olé” echoed from the half-timbered houses. The local pub even offered free drinks.

If I hadn’t known any better, I might have thought Germany had just won the championship game. It was only the second match.

You can imagine the excitement I felt after realizing that I’d be back in Germany four years later for another World Cup. So what if the tournament is played 5,000 miles away in South Africa? Fussball fever runs much higher here than it ever will in the United States, especially during the World Cup.

The storyline was surprisingly familiar. Once again I’d be watching Germany’s second game after a convincing first-round victory. Serbia, like Poland, was an undermanned and overmatched opponent.

I watched the game with nine Germans, all but one of whom donned a German soccer jersey. Six German flags hung throughout the room, and two of the men wore them as capes. Four years later, Nationalstolz was once again at a fever pitch.

Encouraged by German analysts and their predictions of an easy German victory — not to mention the general fervor in the room — I could hardly wait for the post-game celebrations to begin.

They never came. Serbia upset Germany, 1-0. After a moment of grief, German pride is once again running high in anticipation of today’s must-win match against Ghana.

Americans need not understand injury time and offsides to relate to such exaggerated displays of patriotism. Yet despite their affinity for all things red, white and blue, many Americans fail to recognize the larger meaning of “futball.”

Luckily winning is also a part of American culture. I wonder how many United States victories it’ll take for Americans to finally catch on.

In a tournament in which goals are harder to find than a responsible oil company in the Gulf of Mexico, I’ve seen world superpowers repeatedly trip over missed opportunities and laughable mismatches.

I first noticed when Italy and Paraguay played to a 1-1 draw on June 14. The next day, a completely unknown North Korea side made No. 1-ranked Brazil fight for a 2-1 victory. The day after that, hell froze over, and Switzerland defeated mighty Spain, 1-0.

The upsets haven’t stopped. Germany, England, and Italy have all struggled to find positive results in the group stage, and much has been made of France’s implosion.

To me, this doesn’t suggest the best teams in the world are playing under par (although France certainly has through its first two games). Instead, it seems to me that international soccer has developed a level of parity that is light years ahead of any domestic sports organization.

Take a look at the four major North American sports leagues. The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers have combined to win 52 percent of the NBA Finals. The Montréal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Detroit Red Wings have won 51 percent of NHL-era Stanley Cups. The New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland A’s, and Boston Red Sox have won 50 percent of MLB World Series. The Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, and San Francisco 49ers hold 36 percent of the NFL’s Super Bowl titles.

Across the pond, only four of the 44 teams to compete in the Premier League — Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and (inexplicably) Blackburn Rovers — have won the title in the league’s 20 years of existence. Man-U leads with a whopping 11 titles.

Yeah, that’s fair.

I’m not saying that upstart Switzerland will run through everyone and win the World Cup, but hey — it beat No. 2 Spain. Tiny New Zealand, the island nation famous for having more sheep than people, held defending Cup champion Italy to its second consecutive 1-1 draw on June 20.

Teams from Paraguay (population: 6 million, about the size of Rio de Janeiro), Uruguay (3.5 million, Madrid), and Slovenia (2 million, Houston) have all turned in strong results through the first two games of group play and have legitimate chances to advance to the knockout stage.

While I fully expect a team such as Brazil or Italy will eventually be crowned World Cup champion (the two have won the trophy in 47 percent of the 19 tournaments), I also predict a few more shocking results in the weeks to come. Whether we see Greece triumph over Argentina, Slovakia beat Italy, or France actually score a goal, something else is going to happen to blow the collective minds of the soccer world.

The World Cup has a long history of major upsets — my favorite will always be Senegal’s 1-0 win over defending champion France in 2002 — and ESPN has been harping on and on about how “One Game Changes Everything.” The slogan began grinding my gears months before the tournament even started, but it’s true.

In the world of international soccer, anything can — and will — happen.

Members of Florida State’s soccer team are proving that.

In preparation for the start of the 2010 fall season, a handful of players from FSU continue to gain valuable experience at the international level by competing with their respective national teams.

Four members of the Seminoles were called in to camp with the U.S. U-20 National team in Carson, Calif., as the team continues to prepare for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

Toni Pressley, Tiffany McCarty, Casey Short and Kelsey Wys attended camp on the West Coast and during their time, the U.S. faced off against Ajax, a women’s club team, as well as the U.S. U-18 National team.

The U-20 squad also discovered the opposition they’ll face in the upcoming World Cup beginning in July in Germany. The U.S. squad was drawn into Group D along with Ghana, Switzerland and Korea Republic.

The Red, White and Blue will open the tournament Wednesday, July 14, against Ghana, continue their group play with a game against Switzerland on July 17 and then wrap up play against Korea Republic on July 21.

In continuing preparation for the tournament, U.S. head coach Jill Ellis held three more training camps before heading to Germany. The U.S. team trained at The Home Depot Center in Carson as well as at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., in mid-May. In their travels across the Atlantic the U.S. continued to train, doing so in some pre-World Cup exhibitions in Bielefeld, Germany, which will host the USA’s final group match this summer.

The U.S. fell in both contests—first to Japan, 2-1 after a late-game winner and then 3-1 against a dominant German team that was out in front 2-0 within just 17 minutes of opening the game.

Sophomore Tori Huster was called in to camp with the U-23 National team for the first time in her career. Camp was held at Oregon State University in late April, as Huster was part of a 24-player pool. During her week of training, the U-23 National team faced off against Oregon State and the University of Portland. Huster got the start in both matches and played all 90 minutes against Portland.

Internationals Ines Jaurena and newcomer Tuija Hyyrynen were away from their FSU teammates while competing oversees for their home countries.

Jaurena participated with the French U-19 squad in the UEFA Championships. The team went 2-0-1 in route to finishing in first place as Jaurena played in all three games for her country.

Hyyrynen, meanwhile, represented her country of Finland with the Full National team as they are attempting to qualify for the Women’s World Cup that will take place in the summer of 2011. Hyyrynen played in all four qualifying games, including the most recent game against Italy.

Going into the game, both teams had undefeated records in qualifying and it stayed that way after the two fought to a 1-1 draw. The tie put Italy in first place with 16 points and Finland close behind with 13 points.

“We touch the ball with our feet only,” he said. “So why don’t you call it football? I do not understand you Americans.”

It’s a story we read every four years: Americans just don’t get the beautiful game. The World Cup, the undisputed Greatest Sporting Event on Earth, is the benchmark by which the rest of the world counts time.

In every shop and cafe in Italy, you’ll find a now-yellowing newspaper clipping of Fabio Cannavaro holding up the World Cup trophy. The image is ubiquitous.

It is Italy.

The Venetian was right, in a way. We don’t feel the same way about World Cup as much of the rest of the world does. We don’t stop our lives for it. It won’t heal us.

Since the collapse of the Greek economy, the rest of Europe has been waiting for the proverbial axe to drop again.

The uncertainty makes people tense; it wears on their faces when they read the paper in the morning.

Soccer, though, gives them hope. Tucked in between the headlines proclaiming bad news is a bright present: palettes of stickers, each a mugshot of every participant, from starter to scrub, in the World Cup. Every morning, children wake up all over the continent and rush to get their hands on the newest set. There’s something new to hope for in that paper even if its packaging bears bad news.

The rest of the world says that Americans can’t possibly feel the fervor of the World Cup. Maybe not. That feeling of hope, though?

That we understand.

—-

The tiny island of Murano, a 10-minute water bus ride from Venice, is like the inside of a kaleidoscope. The streets are lined with row upon row of glass shops, each straining under the weight of gaudy chandeliers. In the back rooms, the smell of sawdust and heat coat the air thick. You can pay a fee to watch molten sand molded into glass figurines.

Posted in the corner of one of these workrooms is an old newspaper clipping.

From it, a gang of young men look back with big, dewy Italian eyes. Some look solemn, others fresh off a hearty laugh.

They were the Murano club soccer team.

“Just kids,” reflects the storeroom manager with a gesture toward their photo.

The kids are grown now, the picture 30 years old. Some may labor on Murano, others perhaps moved away.

In cubicles and suits or glass shops and aprons, they all sometimes close their eyes and remember. That moment when they tugged on their jerseys for the first time; the first goal they scored; the drinks on the house that flowed and flowed and flowed after that first victory.

They were 20. Life was more than a never-ending succession of bills.

Then, the world caught up with them. The owner disbanded the team shortly after he began funding it, choosing instead to start what would become a more successful Venetian team.

But, for just a moment, the town of Murano was united behind a group of boys who, like glassmakers, made something pure and beautiful out of nothing.

—-

The World Cup looks the same wherever you are in Europe. The headlines and photos change from country to country, but the full metros of people reading the sports page don’t. Street vendors hawk 10 euro knockoff jerseys in every language. If France wins the World Cup, French electronic stores will practically give away flat screen TVs. If Spain wins, a major bank is offering to slash mortgage rates by a full percent.

When I was in Rome, I saw a six-year-old in a Spain jersey holding the hand of his father, also attired in the furious red of Espana. The boy looked up in wonder at the Colosseum and asked his father what this glorious human creation was. The father told him that long, long ago, Romans made castles and stadiums. Now, people from all over the world came to see the ruins. It was wonderful, yes, but not foreign.

“Exactamente como Espana,” his father said. Exactly like Spain, another country of ruins.

The two blots of crimson, hand in hand, curved down an ancient aisle in the blinding white sunshine, marveling at how big the world can be, and how familiar.

On Wednesday, the boy and his father will watch Spain launch its World Cup campaign. As their team weaves its way across the pitch, closer to triumph or defeat, they’ll shout “Vamos,” urging their squad on.

Across the border, over the seas, in the far corners of the world, an echo resounds.

Forza.

Allez.

Go.

But if you tell people that you “love” sports, then I suggest you start turning on some matches. After all, it’s hard to be a “sports nut” if you claim to hate the world’s most popular game.

Right now, we’ve got the World Cup. And everybody – yes, everybody – should watch. I mean, this event comes once every four years. Remember the person you were in 2006? Neither do I.

Plus, standard American criticisms of soccer are bogus. U.S. sports fans deride soccer for a variety of different reasons, but the complaints are more indicative of their impatience than the game’s deficiencies.

1) There’s not enough scoring: I’m sorry, but grow up. This is an acceptable argument from an elementary schooler, not anybody that claims to be sports-knowledgeable.

“But Jim Rome makes this argument,” you say.

Exactly.

2) The game is too slow: In the NBA, each team is entitled to six timeouts in regulation play, with three more in overtime. Add 10 TV timeouts over the span of the game. Substitutions are unlimited.

In soccer, the clock never stops after the first whistle, and the game only pauses for a foul or when the ball is kicked out of bounds. Teams are limited to three substitutions per game with no re-entry for the substituted player.

A 90-minute soccer game usually takes no more than 100 to complete. A 48-minute basketball game often takes more than three hours to finish.

I’m sorry. Did you say that soccer is slow?

3) Soccer players are wimps: Part of this argument is reasonable. Diving – embellishing a foul that may or may not have occurred – has entrenched itself into the game. It’s a problem that plagues soccer. Americans hate it and label players “wusses”, “wimps” or other less-than endearing nicknames.

Now consider that an average midfielder in professional soccer runs about 10 kilometers per game if they play all 90 minutes. Tell me the last time you ever saw Vince Carter or Amar’e Stoudemire dive on the floor for a loose ball or break into a sprint. I sure as hell can’t remember.

Do you want to learn more about certain countries’ culture? Then watch international soccer.

German soccer is much like a BMW: Perfectly engineered, structurally sound and powerful.

Brazilian soccer is like their native Samba music: Light-hearted and aesthetically beautiful.

Italian soccer is like, well, everything Italian: Very, very dramatic.

Author Grant Farred wrote that “soccer is a game that makes political conflicts accessible.”

The soccer pitch is an international medium. A country’s importance is not determined by real GDP or military firepower. There is merely a ball, two goals and 90 minutes to properly represent your nation.

It is an opportunity for downtrodden nations to rediscover hope through competition.

Unknown players are offered the opportunity to shine on the world’s greatest stage and permanently etch themselves into their country’s lore.

I’m not telling you to dust off the old American flag sweatpants and discover your most nationalist tendencies. (Leave that behavior to the Arizona state legislature.)

I am saying that despite its lack of American popularity, you’re not a true sports fan unless you make some attempt to embrace the World Cup.

England’s Robert Green became an American hero on Saturday in what may have been the biggest mistake of his career.

After going down 1-0 in the fourth minute of the United States’ match against England, the United States fought hard to make a comeback. In the 40th minute, Clint Dempsey of the U.S. shot the ball straight at the hands of Green from 25 yards out. Green bent over to pick up the ball on a routine save and let it slip through his fingers and into the back of the net.

“It’s done; it happened,” Green told BBC Radio Five Live. “It’s not something you can allow to affect yourself. In the next 50 minutes, I felt confident, I felt fine. I’ve been in this situation before and it’s about holding your head up high, facing you guys [the media] and taking the flak which is going to come. That’s just life.”

Dempsey was a little surprised such an easy shot slipped by the hands of Green.

“These balls move so much, if you just hit them on goal, you’ll have a chance,” Dempsey said in a news interview. “It’s one of those goals you always say, ‘Why can’t I get one like that?’ And I’m happy to have scored in both World Cups I’ve participated in.”

The U.S. remained optimistic and was able to continue playing well despite the early English goal.

“I was pretty annoyed because the marking was a little too lax, particularly for the beginning of a game when you’re supposed to be really up for it,” said U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard in a post-match press conference. “But at that point, you can’t really dwell on it because you still have 90 some minutes to play. So, it deflated us a little bit but we quickly responded.”

Although the English had twice as many corner kicks and shots on goal than the Americans, the U.S. team was able to keep England from running away with the game by controlling Wayne Rooney, considered to be one of England’s most threatening players. The U.S. allowed  him few opportunities to take shots on goal.

“It was a good team effort defensively,” United States coach Bob Bradley said, according to ussoccer.com. “Rooney is such a mobile player, the way he moves around takes a good level of concentration. I thought in the first half there were still some times when our back line was a little bit out of synch, but I thought that got better in the second half.”

The U.S. will now move on to play Slovenia on Friday at 8 a.m.  Slovenia is currently  atop the Group C standings after defeating Algeria 1-0. The U.S. and England are tied for second with one point and Algeria is in fourth with zero points. If the U.S. defeats Slovenia the team will have a very good chance to make it to the second round.  After a tough battle with the English, the U.S. will look to bounce back and be ready for Slovenia.

“This definitely was a tough game; the second game is going to be even harder,” U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu said, according to ussoccer.com. “I think it’s important for us to use our momentum from this game and to push it towards the next two games. It’s going to be very difficult, even more difficult as the tournament goes on and the results get more crucial.”

Offered by a home security store in one of the poshest malls in the country — located one floor below a Louis Vuitton store, where a purse costs as much as a BMW, and directly across from a Nike store prominently featuring the latest FIFA World Cup apparel — the display provided a not-so-subtle reminder of the violence that wracks South Africa to some of the wealthiest consumers in the country.

“It seems like an attempt for publicity,” said Kamel Pattordeen of Durban, who said he’s visited the mall several times and never noticed it.

An employee of the store said they didn’t sell as many of the vests because of the high price, and those they had sold were mostly purchased by security contractors. When asked if there was a permit required to purchase such a vest, he said there wasn’t; anyone could buy a vest.

Buildings and homes are surrounded by concrete fences, many of which have electrified barbed wire on top to prevent people from jumping over them. Private security guards armed with guns provide additional protection to patrons in the most expensive restaurants and stores. The goal isn’t to welcome people in; rather they’re attempting to keep people out. It’s as if they designed the city center to be a collection from “Fortresses of Solitude” instead of a community.

In prime time on South African Broadcasting Corporation, the state broadcaster, a public affairs officer with the national police was on a talk show geared toward women, giving tips on how to avoid being attacked on the way home from work. One of her suggestions was to pick a different route home every day if possible. Making your schedule less predictable, she said, was a good way to reduce your chances of being attacked.

As part of a series of exercises to ready Johannesburg for the World Cup, the police locked the major thoroughfares to and from Sandton, downtown and Soccer City. Police helicopters were in the skies and armored police carriers drove through the streets. Commuter cars and vans were stopped at checkpoints and searched. Police said they were practicing these procedures as ways to help keep visiting tourists safe.

I met Themba Mlotshwa on a taxi ride from Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport to Sandton. And just like many taxi drivers in the U.S., he was more than willing to talk your ear off.

He was tremendously proud of the fact that South Africa will be playing host to the 2010 World Cup. He pointed out all of the improvements that had been made throughout Johannesburg: the new street signs, the new metro train linking the airport to the city, the repaired and cleaned streets and all the new construction projects that crews were rushing to finish.

He seemed almost nonchalant at the possibility that the train will take away a significant portion of his business. He hopes that new customers looking for tours, brought by increased tourism, will more than cover the difference.

He was sitting in the seat next to me and, being the seatmate everyone dreads, I proceeded to start a conversation.

At 28, Kamel Pattordeen lived through the fall of apartheid and South Africa’s struggle toward integration. Even though he grew up during segregation, Pattordeen said he never really encountered the harshness of the apartheid regime.

He explained that class and socioeconomic status segregated South Africa as much as race did during the apartheid era. Even though he’s Indian instead of white, his parents’ financial means allowed him to attend the better schools and participate more fully in society.

“Money allowed some opportunities,” Pattordeen said.

Still, the fall of apartheid meant dramatic social and economic changes in South Africa. Pattordeen described how blacks and other minorities, who had long been forced to live in separate cities, started to move into previously white-only areas. In response, the whites started to move out of the cities and some even left the country.

The dislocation and relocation of large populations generated economic chaos, high unemployment and surges in violent crime, Pattordeen said. Still, he never considered leaving.

“I’m South African. I’ll never be anything but South African,” Pattordeen said.

In the years since the end of apartheid, Pattordeen said he’s seen significant progress. Large cities that were all but abandoned have started to see significant investment again, such as the new metro line in Johannesburg.

While Pattordeen describes crime as a “significant issue,” he said it has declined as the economy has improved. I pointed out that all three of the major newspapers had given significant play to stories about violence around Johannesburg. He said he felt like the newspapers had overplayed and exaggerated reports of violence.

It was at this point in our conversation when I asked him about the Kevlar vest for sale at the mall. His first response was one of almost incredulity — “Really?!,” with an eyebrow cocked in surprise. I said, “Yeah, there’s a bulletproof vest on sale at the mall in Nelson Mandela Square.”

He looked tense, stressed, maybe even exhausted. A doctor for more than 20 years in South Africa, he had been put in charge of the mammoth task of getting the Western Cape’s public and private hospitals all on the same page — overcoming the significant distrust between the bureaucracies, upgrading facilities and improving staff training. He had only three days left to complete his mission, which started in January 2006.

“I’m quietly confident that all of our systems are in place,” Smith said with an understated assurance.

All that was left, he said, was getting the staff ready for the event. To do that, authorities had been using some of the test matches to put Cape Town’s new stadium and the medical staffs through their paces. Many of the health responders were putting in 20-hour days.

“The staff have probably been stressed more during the test events than they will be during the actual event,” Smith said.

With a budget of 100 million rand at his disposal, about $15 million USD, hospitals in the Western Cape province have been able to purchase everything from much-needed rescue helicopters, to new ambulances, to carts to help ferry patients from hospital helipads to emergency rooms, to new equipment. Smith’s health care unit devised and implemented the Western Cape’s first unified response plan in case of a significant event, such as a soccer riot or terrorist attack. They’ve even built a computer program that allows dispatchers and health care officials to see which hospitals have empty beds and to direct incoming patients.

“[The World Cup] has served as a catalyst for investment,” he said.

But many commentators in South Africa have asked whether South Africa, which faces significant issues of poverty, illiteracy and crime, would have been better spending the 30 billion rand, about $4 billion USD, elsewhere.

“There hasn’t been equipment purchased or systems put in place that are just for the World Cup. I would have a problem sleeping at night if we were spending so much money just for four weeks of football. [The investment] has [a] lasting legacy,” Smith said.

The politics of toilets

The headlines screamed across the front pages of the Cape Town newspapers for three days: The African National Congress Youth League had torn down corrugated metal structures, built by the city of Cape Town, to enclose previously public toilets.

The local leadership of the ANCYL had previously demanded concrete enclosures in the township of Makhaza, accused the city government of racism for building the metal structures instead of concrete ones and threatened to riot and destroy government property until they were built.

For three days the entire city held its breath, wondering if a dispute over building materials fueled by charges of racism would put the proverbial match to the tender box that is race relations in South Africa, with less than three weeks before the World Cup.

The situation was eventually resolved when the African National Congress’s national leadership rebuked the youth league’s leadership for its calls to violence.

Even with the rebuke, the opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, made significant gains in midterm elections against the ANC, running on a platform of anti-corruption, anti-nepotism and the ANC leadership’s inability to control the youth league. Local newspapers attributed the victory, in part, to a backlash against the ANC because of the threats of violence made by the ANCYL.

The road through perdition

Squalor. Deprivation. Abject poverty. Those are the words that can describe the poverty of the shantytowns lining the south side of the N2 Expressway. Only eight lanes of pavement separate them from an airport that has received millions of dollars in investment during the run-up to the World Cup, but they might as well be separated by a rip in the space-time continuum.

The shanties are usually made of just sheet metal and wood. The walls of the corrugated structures aren’t straight; instead, they’re slanted because of shoddy construction. Those with roofs usually have buckling walls because of the extra weight. Windows are covered by colorful cloths or drying laundry instead of glass.

The metal sheds covering once-public toilets, like the kind torn down by the ANCYL in Makhaza, can be seen from the freeway — covered in graffiti.

Kids and adults play games of soccer on the 60 feet of grassy shoulder that separate Land Rovers going 80 mph from their homes. Grown men squat near the expressway, hoping that a contractor will pick them up for day labor.

The government claims it’s making progress in combating the problem. The solution so far has been to build permanent residences near the shantytowns to replace them. New homes, made of brick and mortar, can be seen from the road. But the number of shacks that remain seems daunting.

Just a few miles past the shantytowns, the N2 drops into the heart of Cape Town and eventually terminates onto Western Boulevard.

Along Western Boulevard you can find the cleanest, whitest, sandiest beaches you’ve ever seen; the new stadium for the World Cup; and homes and condo complexes that wouldn’t look out of place in Los Angeles’ ritziest zip codes.

It’s these disparities in wealth that have highlighted the government’s struggle to deliver basic services and generated the anger fueling many of these violent outbreaks.

When South African President Jacob Zuma visited a township outside of Johannesburg, he said he couldn’t believe that people still lived this way. He urged the government — his government — to do more to address the problems and told reporters that improved housing conditions were key to community stability and human dignity. Still, there are almost 3 million without power and a housing backlog of more than 2 million units.

Columbus Crew’s Frankie Hejduk has had ups and downs while cementing himself as one of U.S. soccer’s most accomplished player.

“It came with hard work,” Hejduk said. “I’m a believer that you create your own luck.”

Hejduk’s resume speaks for itself: two World Cup appearances, two Olympic games, part of the German team Bayer Leverkusen that played in the 2002 UEFA Champions League final, five-time Major League Soccer all-star and 2008 MLS champion with the Columbus Crew.

Hejduk, born in La Mesa, Calif., a suburb of San Diego, grew up surfing and playing soccer. He was more passionate about surfing, and many of his friends did go pro in surfing. Despite that, he decided to attend UCLA on a scholarship to play soccer.

His first international cap came in 1996 in El Salvador during a World Cup qualifer. He scored a goal in his international debut.

“Scoring a goal was icing on the cake,” Hejduk said.

Hejduk made his World Cup debut in 1998, playing in the second game of the first round against Iran. That day is something he will remember for the rest of his life, he said.

“Absolutely incredible experience,” Hejduk remembers. “During the National Anthem, thinking of all the past coaches I played for, my family, what they have sacrificed, what I sacrificed, all of that comes together at one moment. I got the chills, teary-eyed. And this is all before the game even starts.”

The summer of 2002 is one that stands out to Hejduk and US soccer fans. That summer in Korea and Japan, the team made an unexpected run all the way to the quarterfinals. To get there, they defeated rival Mexico 2-0 in the round of 16.

“It was for bragging rights. Who was going to step up?” Hejduk said. “We knew we were going to win.”

USA fell to Germany 1-0 in the quarters, a match many felt the US should have won. “The German press told us ‘We got a lot of respect for you guys. We lucked out,’” Hejduk said of the aftermath.

“We were proud of ourselves. We gave everything we had,” Hejduk said.

After that great World Cup run, Hejduk looked forward to another one four years later. Unfortunately, two days after being named to the 2006 World Cup roster, Hejduk tore his ACL.

“Pretty much a buzz kill,” Hejduk said. “A lot of mental stuff you go through when you have those injuries. That’s why you have friends and family to help you get by it.”

Despite not being able to participate, U.S. Soccer paid for Hejduk and his family to go to Germany and be at the World Cup with the team.

“It was a great experience, I got to be a fan,” Hejduk said. “I was able to bring my son. He got to experience the World Cup with me. I got a different perspective and it was simply amazing.”

Hejduk has taken that experience and used it for motivation.

“It actually motivated me to try to make this next World Cup because after 2006 a lot of people wrote me off because I was 32 at the time with a torn ACL,” Hejduk said. “I made it a goal of mine to prove those people wrong.”

The motivation seemed to work, as Hejduk helped team USA qualify for this year’s World Cup and helped lead the Crew to the 2008 MLS Cup.

“Nothing better than picking up that trophy after the 9 years I gave to the MLS,” Hejduk said.

As for U.S. Soccer’s chances in South Africa, Hejduk believes they should make it out of the first round. After that, he feels anything can happen.

“I think on any given day the US can beat any team in the world,” Hejduk said. “I think teams are starting to have a lot more respect for the US.”

UK football players Jacob Lewellen and Marcus Davis; volleyball players Ann Armes and Sarah Rumley; and women’s soccer player Laura Novikoff all made the trip to the Central American country. The trip was made possible through Athletes in Action, an international Christian sports ministry program.

While in Nicaragua, the athletes spent the bulk of their time at an orphanage, participating in games and getting to know some of the kids, an experience that moved Lewellen, a freshman defensive end, the most during his stay in Nicaragua.

“To me, what stood out the most was the fact that these kids are so hurt on the inside, but they put on a smile and cling to the people that come out, and they really attach to them. They show you love and they wear a smile even though they’re hurting,” Lewellen said, “It’s really re-enforcing to yourself to say that you can come back to the states and nothing that we’re experiencing here is as bad as what they’re experiencing (in Nicaragua).

“We should always have a smile on our face for the opportunities we have here … I really saw how it impacted me when I got back and now I look at life a lot differently.”

Like Lewellen, Davis, a junior center  and three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll student, was encouraged the most by the relationships he formed with the kids at the orphanage.

“I would have to say (what that stood out most) was how great it was to connect with the kids. The kids were able to trust and befriend us; they really wanted to be with us,” Davis said. “I think it would have been easy for them to say that these are just more visitors. But instead, they genuinely wanted to be around us.”

Along with the experience, Davis said he made a new friend at the orphanage during his stay.

“I made a pretty good friend down there, a kid by the name of Ayuhendo,” he said. “He showed me a lot about his culture and just the things they do to have fun. It was fun and it was great, I loved hanging out with him. If I could go back and hang out with him and see him again that would be great. And if not, I hope he’s blessed with whatever he’s doing.”

When asked if he would go back to Nicaragua or visit another developing country, Lewellen gave a clear-cut answer: Yes.

“I would definitely go back, and if not to Nicaragua then to any other place,” Lewellen said.  “I got the hunger to see other places in developing areas and to see how they can impact my life as much as I can impact their lives.”

Now, 78 years later, we have another story of a former athlete being pulled from the stands to suit up in a time of need, but this story has gone completely under the radar. And, with just two games left, it’s time that we give tribute to the Twelfth Woman, Aggie goalkeeper Sarah Pierson.

In 2007, the junior was redshirted, and saw limited playing time, five games to be exact. In those five games, the most time Pierson saw in one game was 16 minutes and 40 seconds, in a matchup with Houston Baptist that the Aggies won 6-2.

With the 2009 season approaching, Pierson had a choice to make — fight for time in an already crowded platoon between slated starter Kristin Arnold (who was returning from a knee injury sustained in 2008) and Kelly Dyer, who had started over Pierson in the remaining games of 2008, or try her hand at being just a student.

Pierson chose the latter and walked away from the A&M soccer team.

Fast-forward to 2010. The Aggies, fresh off a trip to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Soccer Championships, come back with experience across the board and players returning from injury. However, a problem emerges for Head Coach G Guerreri and his Aggie soccer team.

Arnold, the starting keeper, had minor surgery to repair her knee, and Dyer had torn her ACL, rendering her incapable of playing in the spring season.

Facing the possibility of playing a field player in goal for the spring, Guerreri made the decision to call Pierson back for the season.

Pierson talked to her parents, and weighed the pros and cons. After deliberation, Pierson agreed to finish the season in net for the Aggies.

In a schedule that looks like the non-conference schedule of college football teams (cupcakes like Stephen F. Austin (10-8-2 in the Southland Conference), SMU (7-11-1) and Houston (4-12-2)), Pierson stepped up admirably, especially considering she had not played in organized soccer in more than a year.

Pierson went 4-1-1 in her games as keeper, in front of a handful of fans for each match, in a season that has no playoffs and no standings. Her efforts, however, aren’t diminished by this fact. Just because the wins and losses had no impact doesn’t mean Pierson stepping up had no impact. By coming back for a few weeks, everyone benefitted.

Guerreri didn’t have to put a field player or Arnold, who had needed knee surgery, in goal. Pierson was able to play the sport she loves in an organized setting, and the fans got an interesting storyline in a spring season usually reserved for doing nothing more than shaking off the rust.

Pierson’s story may not carry the same weight as Gill’s, but her willingness to step in and play, even if she won’t be back (Arnold and Dyer are expected to be ready by the beginning of the 2010 fall season), is admirable.

So, for selflessly stepping in when Aggie sports needed you the most, here’s to you, Sarah Pierson.

Before any men’s soccer game, the same mix of songs play from Jeffrey Field’s speakers at Penn State U., the teams run around in their pre-practice routine and fans scatter about the bleachers.

Jason Yeisley had experienced this ritual countless times before, but this past Saturday, he found a new pre-game scene marked by balloons, drums and streamers in addition to music.

Penn State hadn’t changed anything. In fact, the Lions didn’t even play Saturday. Instead, Yeisley was 1382 miles away in Dallas for his first professional game against Houston. Though not playing, he dressed for FC Dallas’ opening regular-season matchup after a minor left knee sprain sidelined him for two weeks of training camp. But the setback didn’t deter him.

“I owe a lot to the coaching staff,” Yeisley said, “for keeping me around.”

Along with help from a delayed roster compliance — because of the expiring Major League Soccer collective bargaining agreement — FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman said Yeisley won the spot with determination, just like he had after recovering from two season-ending knee injuries suffered during his sophomore and junior years.

Yeisley’s soccer career will no longer be equated with State College, blue-and-white jerseys or schoolwork. The forward signed a contract with FC Dallas for about the league minimum, he said. With the new collective bargaining agreement in place, the developmental minimum stands at $31,250.

The former Nittany Lion, who graduated in December, rents an apartment only a mile away from Pizza Hut Park in Dallas. He lives by himself and admits the new experience, living so far away from State College and his hometown of Allentown, is strange, but he plans on working harder and winning a spot on the FC Dallas first team.

“He helped establish the work ethic,” Hyndman said. “He’s helping some of the veteran players raise their standards.”

Hyndman said Yeisley wouldn’t stop pushing himself during training camp and exhibitions. At one instance, after being fouled and knocked around, the MLS rookie immediately stood up, not complaining to the referees, and refocused on the game.

Hyndman made the decision to keep Yeisley based, in part, on Penn State coach Barry Gorman’s advice. Before drafting Yeisley, Hyndman knew he was getting a quality player in Yeisley because the former Lion developed his game at the hands of Gorman, known as a true teacher of the game.

Gorman doesn’t recall exactly what he said to help convince Hyndman of keeping Yeisley, but he always told the FC Dallas coach of Yeisley’s potential.

“Jason’s one of those guys,” Gorman said, “that says, ‘Never die.’ ”

Gorman talked to Yeisley after the training-camp injury. The former Lion was deep in thought and blamed himself for the injury, noting he was off-balance going into the tackle. But the humble forward refused to blame anything or anyone other than himself — it wasn’t an unfortunate circumstance just something he could have done differently.

“It doesn’t matter what we do,” Hyndman said. “He treats it like it’s a game.”

On the surface, they couldn’t be more different. Geographically, the United States is nearly 8,000 miles from Uganda . Economically, the difference is even vaster. While the United States experiences its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, it pales in comparison to Uganda, where unsteady political guidance and economic mismanagement have left the country among the world’s poorest. More than half the country’s population lives below the economic poverty line.

Despite the differences, at least one commonality exists: a love for the world’s most popular sport. It has created a bond that rises above all social, class and economic differences.

Now, through the International Sport Connection, an organization co-founded by a University of Minnesota NIH postdoctoral fellow and a Ugandan soccer leader, soccer — or football, as it’s known in Uganda — is being used not only to instill on-field skills but wisdom, knowledge and life lessons off the pitch.

Why Uganda?

While Jens Omli was working on a doctoral degree in kinesiology at the University in 2008, he met a woman from Kampala, the capital of Uganda, at a church in Edina.

A football player in her home country, she invited Omli to travel to Uganda. It was there that he met Stone Kyambadde, who led the Wolves football club in Kampala.

“We’ve spoken at length about the power of the ball in bringing people together and the power of sport in connecting people,” Omli said. “Especially connecting children with caring adults and filling the gap where they may not have parents at all or may not have parents that are able to care for their needs.”

Three more visits by Omli to Uganda helped forge a relationship that created the ISC.

Upon completion of his doctorate, Omli worked with his adviser, Diane Wiese-Bjornstal , and received a $212,000 grant from the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to create an exchange of coaches between the United States and Uganda.

“I’m very engaged with [Omli]; we’re a team,” Wiese-Bjornstal said. “He’s the one with the experience, the expertise and the contacts to pull it all together … what I bring is a shared interest in coaching education.”

What do they teach?

Kyambadde, vice president of the Federation of Uganda Football Association, and three other Ugandan youth soccer coaches were chosen by their colleagues to make the ISC’s first trip bringing Ugandans to Minnesota.

They were supposed to arrive last September, but when the grant funds arrived, visa and paperwork issues delayed their arrival until this month.

Led by Omli and Kyambadde, the coaches participated in an eight-day tour and training program that ends Tuesday. They gave presentations both at the University and Macalester College, met with youth programs in Duluth and toured youth and collegiate training facilities.

“One of the things that really thrills me is the opportunity to kind of get people from Uganda and the U.S. together to trade knowledge,” Omli said. “In the U.S., with technical and tactical training, we have a lot to give Uganda, and I think our friends from Uganda have a tremendous amount to give us in terms of using sport for youth and community development.”

A goal of the program is to help Ugandan coaches earn their E Certificate, an entry-level license in the United States for soccer coaches.

“Our first step this year will be to deliver content tailored to the unique needs of Ugandan coaches who don’t have access to the same resources and expertise that we do,” Wiese-Bjornstal said.

The Ugandan coaches also learned from meeting with experts in fields such as physiology, child development and nutrition, Omli said.

“Right now we’ve just been to a psychology class, which has been so good,” Kyambadde said. “Because even though we work on the physical [parts of the game], our players need the mental side in order to be balanced.”

While the Ugandan coaches learn new techniques, they’ve also shared with the Minnesotan contingency their knowledge of the game and how they interact with the youth they coach.

“We’re sharing with them, but they are sharing every bit as much with us,” Wiese-Bjornstal said. “What impresses me is that they are experts in mentoring, which is a piece that is really lacking in U.S. youth sport culture.”

As part of the exchange program, Omli, Wiese-Bjornstal and a group of Minnesota coaches will head to Uganda for 10 days in May.

“We hope to preach a vision that’s so clear that it spreads throughout Uganda and creates a culture of coaching in which coaches would teach, train, manage and mentor young men and women to make a lasting impact. Not just in developing football capacity in Uganda but developing children, families and communities throughout the nation,” Omli said.

On the trip to Uganda, the Minnesotans and Ugandans will be part of what Wiese-Bjornstal calls a “train-by-training” method.

The Minnesota delegation and the four Ugandan coaches will train 160 coaches who represent various regions of Uganda. They in turn will teach their individual communities.

“Kids who’ve been traumatized, who are homeless, the full gamut … the attraction of sport is what brings the kids very naturally to these coaches,” Wiese-Bjornstal said. “Once they get them there, they have all kinds of life lessons that they can teach them.”

What’s next?

The grant is approved for two years, and both sides of the organization intend on doing another round of exchange visits next year.

Wiese-Bjornstal said she hopes to have the Ugandan coaches return in September, and she and the Minnesota contingency hope to follow with a trip to Uganda next January.

Through all the logistics, though, the impact of the program has already been felt by all sides.

“In very clear ways, I’ve seen the power of the ball and the power of sport in bringing people together,” Omli said. “It can be difficult in the U.S. and Uganda to get people to work together, but when they’re joined by the love of the game and the passion for football, people are much more eager, I think, to work together towards a collective game.”