Photo via nbcolympics.com

U.S. Soccer never makes it easy on the fans, does it?

Just a few days ago, our Men’s National Team put together a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde performance in a World Cup qualifier against Jamaica, where they came out roaring in the first half with multiple heart-stopping opportunities, only to slow down and look worn down and undisciplined for the majority of the second half. They managed to hang on for a 1-0 win, but not without questions of where did that first half go.

Today’s U.S. Women’s National Team’s performance in a friendly versus Australia was exactly the opposite, but not in the way you might think. The third match of the Olympic Gold medalists’ Fan Tribute Tour didn’t start out with anything that resembled their triumph over Japan in July. It certainly wasn’t a first half performance that gave the fans cause to celebrate. Maybe you can chalk it up to rust from a few weeks off after such a rigorous training schedule through the Olympics, but the U.S.A did not look like a shell of themselves in the opening 45 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

Instead, the U.S. looked sluggish and out of sync, dinking short passes without much precision throughout the midfield, unable to maintain possession long enough to take advantage of Alex Morgan’s speed and Abby Wambach’s strength up top. Meanwhile, Australia was the team dominating the run of play, stringing together passes long enough to keep the U.S. defense on their heels early on. Defensive breakdowns led to near heart attack-inducing moments, courtesy of forward Sarah Walsh, who pounced on a failed U.S. attempt to clear the ball in the penalty area and ripped a shot from close range that went over the crossbar. The Matildas continued to pressure the U.S. by picking off errant passes, and soon afterward Walsh slipped past the defense and beat Hope Solo, only to have her surefire shot bang off the bottom corner of the right post. » Continue reading “U.S. Women Write a Tale of Two Halves in Comeback Win vs Australia”

Rapinoe’s goal celebration included a Happy Birthday message to injured teammate Ali Krieger. Photo via iamoruny.tumblr.com/

The road to gold continues for the U.S. Women’s National Team, as they defeated Colombia 3-0 today, securing their spot in the Olympic quarterfinals with 6 points in Group E.

Megan Rapinoe shined once again with a goal and an assist and Abby Wambach tallied her 140th career goal and 6th in Olympic play, surpassing Mia Hamm as the all-time leader in U.S. Olympic goals. Carli Lloyd started in place of the injured Shannon Boxx and added the third and final blow, her second of the tournament.

It wasn’t as much of a cakewalk as the final score appears, however, at least for the first two-thirds of the match. Colombia, making their first appearance in the Olympic Games, were still carrying resentment from their 3-0 loss to the U.S. in the group stage of the 2011 Women’s World Cup and wanted revenge.

As the U.S. dominated the run of play, the game began to get physical and chippy and the referee didn’t seem to want to get involved. Things boiled over shortly before the end of the first half, when Colombia’s Lady Andrade took Wambach down with a punch to the face just outside Colombia’s penalty area. As Wambach lay on the pitch holding her hands over her face, the ref let the game play on and issued no penalty, apparently having not seen the incident. Wambach eventually got up, with bruising clearly under her right eye. Later, Andrade said it was an accident, but nobody who saw the replay will believe that. » Continue reading “USA Clinches Quarterfinal Berth With Win Over Colombia”

U.S.A’s Alex Morgan gets ready for the London Olympics. Photo via www.gotceleb.com

The Opening Ceremonies aren’t until Friday, but the action on the pitch kicked off Wednesday with the group stage of the women’s football tournament. Here are the highlights from today’s matches:

Group G:

The defending gold medalists from the United States rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to France to grab three points in a 4-2 win. Abby Wambach scored a header off a corner kick in the 19th minute for her 139th international goal, Alex Morgan tallied two for her 28th and 29th, and Carli Lloyd added one off the bench for the game-winner in the 66th minute. The game was not without losses, however, as Olympic veteran Shannon Boxx suffered a hamstring injury in the 17th minute, which will most likely keep her out for the remainder of the Games.

• Full Aerys Sports recap
• Player Quotes from ussoccer.com
• Video highlights from NBCOlympics.com

» Continue reading “Highlights: 2012 Olympics Kickoff”

Carli Lloyd celebrates her go-ahead goal in the 66th minute.

It’s never easy with the U.S. Women’s National Team, is it?

Down 2-0 in the first 15 minutes, the U.S.A. roared back with four unanswered goals to defeat France and grab 3 precious points in the opening group stage match of their 2012 Olympic campaign. Stunned but not rattled, after France scored twice within two minutes and an injury to central midfielder Shannon Boxx forced an early sub in of Carli Lloyd, the U.S. stuck to their game plan to put together a classic comeback victory, anchored by their patented resilience and never-say-die attitude.

As match commentator and former U.S. National Team star Brandi Chastain said, “The mentality that the U.S. National Team has is superior. They know when they go onto the field what they’re capable of.”

There were the likely heroes in the star front duo of Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan, who combined for three of the U.S.’s four goals. Wambach breathed new life into the U.S. attack when she cut the lead in half at the 18 minute mark on a classic Abby header off a perfect corner kick from Megan Rapinoe. Sound familiar? » Continue reading “U.S. Women Strike Back With Dramatic 4-2 Win Over France”

It was a mixed performance today from the U.S. Women’s National Team in one of their final tune-ups before they jet off to London for the Olympics. The U.S. kicked off the Volvo Winners Cup, a friendly tournament with the top three finishers from last summer’s World Cup, against hosts Sweden at Örjans Vall Stadium in Halmstad, and will finish against the World Cup Champions, Japan, on Monday, June 18.

The U.S. came away with a 3-1 win, but not without some concern. Let’s look at what went right and wrong for the two-time defending gold medal winners.

Alex Morgan and Tobin Heath celebrate Heath's second half goal to put the U.S.A. up 3-1 over Sweden in the Volvo Winners Cup from Halmstad, Sweden.

The Good:

The U.S. scored three goals and mostly held off a strong Swedish attack, led by one of the top strikers in the world, Lotta Schelin, to preserve the win. Abby Wambach put the USA up early with an 8th-minute half volley from about 35 yards out, over the head of Swedish goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl, with a headed assist from Heather O’Reilly. Watch this beauty here:

In the 22nd minute, The Alex Morgan Show arrived. Morgan latched onto a ball that Shannon Boxx had intercepted off a misguided Swedish pass and tapped into the penalty area behind the defense. She muscled off her defender, pulling Lindahl off her line, and provided a perfect strike into an open net for her 25th career goal in 40 appearances.

“Oh my!” indeed.

Morgan nearly had a second goal to close out the first half, but she was just a step too late on a gorgeous cross from Megan Rapinoe that landed just in front of goal, and she skied it over the crossbar.

Tobin Heath came into the match in the second half for Heather O’Reilly and in the 55th minute, took advantage of a disorganized Swedish defense to slip into an open penalty area and head the ball in for the third and final goal.

The Swedish defense looked extremely susceptible early, and it felt like it could be a repeat of the USA’s 4-0 blowout of Sweden in the Algarve Cup third-place match earlier in the year. But their midfield kept them in the game, taking advantage of their opponent’s miscues to win back the bulk of the possession in the second half and minimize the U.S.’s attacking chances.

Hope Solo provided some spectacular saves, including an 18th minute long-distance strike from Schelin that would have tied the game up at 1 apiece, and not a minute later, another from Schelin, crossing in from the left side of the penalty area. For me, Solo wins the Bud Light Woman of the Match, as she had herself in perfect position to cover for a very susceptible back line today.

The Bad:

The central midfield and back line were not up to par today, making Solo’s role especially critical. Heather Mitts started at right back, as Kelley O’Hara was out with a quad injury sustained during training camp, and had much trouble early containing Schelin racing up the left flank. Lauren Cheney started in the midfield in place of Carli Lloyd, and though I thought that Cheney starting alongside Boxx in the middle would provide more of a midfield attacking spark, it wasn’t to be.

Rampone held the center and made some tough plays to drive Sweden’s attackers off the ball, and Becky Sauerbrunn filled in nicely for the captain in the second half, but for the most part, the defense was caught out of position and was forced to play catch up to clear away the ball before Sweden had a chance to strike. Lotta Schelin’s 35th minute goal was well-deserved, especially after earlier chances where she was stymied by Solo, but she really got the better of Rachel Buehler on the play.

The U.S. started quickly in the second half, catching Sweden off guard, and Rapinoe nearly headed in a third goal in the opening seconds, but it went off the crossbar.

After Heath’s goal ten minutes in, they slowed down and couldn’t maintain possession through the midfield to give their attackers anything to work with. The back line had difficulty providing solid service forward that wasn’t easily intercepted by the Swedish midfield, and the USA found themselves unable to play the possession game, one of the trademarks of their game.

It really wasn’t until the final minutes of the match that the U.S. was able to build up pressure on a tired Swedish defense again. A long-range shot from Carli Lloyd, who subbed in for Boxx after halftime, threatened to give them a cherry on top but Lindahl was just able to get a hand on it for the save. Cheney finally got involved in the attack as the clock hit 90 minutes, but her strike from the center of the penalty area just went over the crossbar.

The Ugly

In about the 50th minute, technical difficulties from Universal Sports Network, caused a blackout and fans watching missed nearly five minutes of the match. Thankfully, they were able to resolve the issues just in time for us to catch Heath’s header, but I’ll be looking forward to NBC’s broadcast of USA-Canada in their Olympics sendoff match on June 30.

Commentator Christian Miles wasn’t exactly having a great day either. In addition to the classic “Megan Rampone” and “Rampinoe”, he attributed the Tobin Heath goal to “who else but lucky 13, Alex Morgan.” Only when the replay was shown, with Heath’s #17 clearly in front of the camera did Miles correct himself, admitting that the ponytail threw him off. Ouch.

We hope that Universal Sports and Miles improve the broadcast for Monday’s match against Japan, who the U.S. have yet to beat since falling in penalty kicks in the Women’s World Cup Final. The match will air live on universalsports.com at 7:00am ET, and re-air on television (for DirectTV and DISH Network customers) at 10:00am ET.

What did you think of the U.S. WNT’s performance today? Comment here or drop us a tweet at @AerysSoccer.

I’m mixing up today’s DKA a little bit. Instead of running through highlights from around the leagues, I’m going to concentrate on just three stories that really caught my eye in the last couple days.

As a soccer fan, what I love about the sport is how it appears to break down barriers and unite people all across the world. We have small countries like Antigua and Barbuda playing the United States to qualify for the 2014 World Cup. We had an African nation host the World Cup for the first time in 2010. We saw the women’s national team of Japan knock out Germany, Sweden and the mighty U.S.A. on the world’s biggest stage in women’s soccer, claiming the World Cup title by defeating a team that they never had before. But for all the ways that soccer seems to breed unity across nations, there’s also a dark side to the sport, that of its inequality across gender, race and class lines.

If we had a Friday Fail feature like our counterparts over at The Pulse, FIFA would hands-down get our nod this week. That might not be very surprising, but what you’re about to read … well, it’s just mindboggling. The governing body for  world soccer has already been accused of corruption within its ranks, and criticized for its slow response to investigation. So President Sepp Blatter set up the Independent Governance Committee, consisting of eight members, to investigate. The committee nominated four women as investigators, only to be told by FIFA officials that women would not be allowed to participate:

Alexandra Wrage, an IGC member, said she was told at the lunch the nomination of any female candidates was “entirely unacceptable.”

Ms. Wrage told the Financial Times: “They sat down next to me, two senior Fifa  executives. They said, ‘you are pushing too hard, leave this for another time.  You’ve made a lot of progress, you should be content.’ It was so clear-cut, it  was expressly stated.”

Ms. Wrage, who advises companies on anti-bribery compliance, declined to  reveal the identity of the officials who, she said, had created an atmosphere of “unapologetic chauvinism.”

She added: “I was gobsmacked. We were making progress in this environment. I  guess you have to admire their candour.”

I’m not sure that I admire their candour. In fact, I despise it. And it does nothing to help FIFA and its image around the world — it only creates another black eye on the face of the world’s most popular sport.

U.S. central midfielder Shannon Boxx is one of only two players of color on the Olympic roster.

Another story that caught my attention this week was an ESPNW feature by Tom Farrey on the inequality across gender and class lines within women’s college and professional soccer in the U.S. Farrey discusses the lack of color in the professional ranks, pointing out that only two members of the current national team squad named to the Olympics, veteran Shannon Boxx and rookie Sydney Leroux, are biracial.

But it’s the socioeconomic gap in women’s soccer development that Farrey really highlights, where the majority of those scouted for college scholarships and the youth national teams have had the benefit of parents who can afford to send them to private clubs or learn from professional coaches. Anthony DiCicco, son of former U.S. WNT coach Tony DiCicco, discussed the disparity and how it’s affected U.S. women’s soccer on the national stage:

It’s a system, he argues, that misses many of the best athletes. U.S. Soccer provides no scholarship funds to train promising, underprivileged girls, as it does with boys. Nor, of course, do NCAA universities, the chief beneficiaries of a system that develops talent at no cost to them. So the burden falls to the clubs, which are underwritten by parents and must cater to those with the means to pay. Some clubs might waive or discount the fees of a talented teenager, but it’s cherry-picking at best.

And yet, that doesn’t stop the underprivileged from dreaming. Eleven-year old African-American Wayneshia “Treece” Daily from College Station, Texas, said that not seeing anyone of her color on the national team made her want to play. Thirteen year old Mexican-American Maria Parrales of South Central Los Angeles, who has never heard of WPS or even Marta, the five-time FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year, dreams of playing professionally.

How can we make women’s soccer more equal and help these girls to realize their dream? Dianne Koller, director of the Center for Sport and the Law at the University of Baltimore, has an idea:

“I don’t think we should get rid of Title IX, but we do need Congress to say that making sports accessible to all kids is important,” Koller says. “We need to define what education-based sports should look like, that it should be based on a participation model and on health and wellness. Right now, we just let athletic directors and coaches draw up programs as they see fit.”

The final article I want to highlight today comes from ESPN’s coverage of Euro 2012, where reports of racism toward black players and security personel in the stadiums have been surfacing:

Racism marred the Netherlands’ preparations for its opening match Saturday against Denmark after spectators made monkey noises at players during a squad practice in Krakow, Poland, which was attended by 25,000 people.

This coming in a country where three million people died in a religious and ethnic genocide. Where are the history books hiding?

But it’s not only Polish fans:

The reported incidents came in the second match of Euro 2012, which kicked off Friday amid concerns of potential racist situations involving fans in co-host nations Poland and Ukraine.

However, Russia’s fans are under scrutiny after UEFA linked up with FARE to appoint a 31-member team of expert anti-discrimination spotters.

Two monitors, mingling with fans of each team at a match, will work to identify offensive banners, chants and behavior in stadiums, and report to UEFA within 24 hours.

UEFA has pledged zero tolerance of discrimination at the three-week tournament.

I certainly hope UEFA acts swiftly and harshly. People like that don’t deserve to be fans of the beautiful game.

Wake up footballers!  It’s Wednesday, aka “Hump Day”, so grab your cup o’ Joe and get all the latest soccer headlines right here.

Some truly spectacular news from the Barcelona camp: Magical Messi is at it again.  Read on to find out how he continues to pile on the evidence as to why he may be the greatest (and youngest) player of all time. Today’s news also includes a tablespoon of Champions League, an exciting teaspoon of news from the US Women, a dash of MLS, a sprinkle of La Liga and a pinch of EPL.  So read on, have your fill and Happy Hump Day!

Lionel Messi

Surely Madrid and AC Milan fans will grumble, but it is almost inarguable that Lionel Messi is the greatest footballer on the planet and possibly ever.  The Barcelona striker, who almost looks like a one-man team, can score at will and we’ve never seen anything quite like it.  In just one match — yesterday’s Champions League game against AC Milan — Messi alone created three goals, scored two, tied a 50-year old European Cup record, became the youngest man to hit the 50-goal mark in Champions League and was responsible for a win that propelled Barcelona to the Champions League semifinals.  Wow!

 Champions League

Benefica prepare themselves to battle Chelsea in a second leg tie at Stamford Bridge today that will send one of the teams on to the Champions League semifinals. Tune in to the match today on Fox Soccer Channel at 2:45pm ET.

Also at 2:45pm ET today, catch Apoel Nicosia, who will meet up with Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabéu in the final match to determine the fourth and final team to make it to the semifinal CL round.

US Women’s National Team

In a three-team exhibition Kirin Cup tournament, the US Women’s National Team powered past Brazil 3 -0 with goals by  Carli Lloyd, Shannon Boxx and Amy Rodriguez.  While the US are ranked No 1, Brazil, ranked No. 4,  played without their five-time FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year Marta.  Japan was the third team in the tournament and are ranked No. 4.

Major League Soccer

Don’t miss tonight’s match-up as Real Salt Lake host the Montreal Impact at 9pm.

  La Liga

Barcelona have announced that their former striker, Samuel Eto’o has withdrawn a lawsuit asking for $4 million in unpaid dues from his transfer to AC Milan in 2010.  I guess we can all rest easy now knowing this has finally been put to bed…

English Premier League

Frustration and awe are two words that come to mind when I think of Mario Balotelli.  I am sure Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini can add many more to my list.  The tumultuous relationship between manager and striker continues to brew but Mancini claims the Italian maverick has great potential and his behavior will become more professional as he matures.  Ok Roberto, but you’ve been saying that for two years now….

U.S. central midfielder Shannon Boxx scored for the U.S. in their 3-0 win over Brazil in the Kirin Challenge Cup. Photo via ussoccer.com

It wasn’t the nail-biting, penalty shootout thriller that defined the last meeting between the U.S.A. and Brazil in the World Cup quarterfinals, and that’s perfectly fine by me. After struggling to maintain possession and rhythm in the opening match of the Kirin Challege Cup against Japan Sunday, the U.S. Women’s National Team had no trouble finding the right touch or the back of the net Tuesday afternoon in a 3-0 victory over their Brazilian foes.

Despite windy and rainy conditions that forced the teams to move up their match by four hours, from 8 p.m. to 4 local time in Japan, the U.S. dominated the match in all facets of the game. Brazil was missing their leading scorer and five-time FIFA World Player of the Year, Marta, but it was the Brazilian defense that was mostly missing.

Abby Wambach nearly opened the scoring in the first minute, when she had a golden opportunity in front of an open net in the center of the penalty box, but she just knocked the ball off the cross bar. Still, it was clear from those opening minutes that the U.S. was the superior team in this matchup. Carli Lloyd put them on the board in the 18th minute off a free kick, courtesy of a foul on Wambach. Rampone served the ball into the box, where it deflected off Rachel Buehler’s foot and in front of Lloyd, who put it away.

Set pieces were the U.S.A’s lucky charm in the match, as Shannon Boxx followed Lloyd with a header off a free kick serviced by Lauren Cheney toward the far post just minutes later. It was Boxx’s first goal in over a year, and a particularly ecstatic moment, given the recent revelation that Boxx was diagosed with lupus in 2007.

Brazil nearly cut the lead in half in the 30th minute when Cristiane headed in a goal, but it was disallowed and ruled that the ball had crossed the end line and out of bounds before Formiga served it into the box for Cristiane.

In the second half, U.S. coach Pia Sundhage began subbing in players to give bench players a look before the Olympic roster is whittled down from 24 to 18. Megan Rapinoe, who did not play in the match against Japan, entered for the start of the second half in place of Heather O’ReillY, and Becky Sauerbrunn replaced captain Christie Rampone in the defense. Tobin Heath came in for Lloyd in the 62nd minute, Amy Rodriguez for Alex Morgan in the 71st and Heather Mitts for Kelley O’Hara in the 83rd. Notably absent in both matches was forward Sydney Leroux, who scored five goals in one match in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifiers, but has had a minimal role since.

In the 81st minute, Rodriguez was fouled, setting up yet another free kick opportunity for the U.S., and put the game away with the third and final goal:

Rodriguez replaced Morgan in the 71st minute and her speed menaced Brazil’s backs for the rest of the way. In the 83rd minute Rodriguez was dragged down by Daiane as she tried to burst past the defensive line and the Americans were awarded a free kick, which led to the clinching third goal.

Cheney sent the long free kick into the penalty box where Wambach brought it down with her chest. The ball bounced off Wambach, hit off a defender and rolled into the path of Rodriguez, who smashed a nine-yard shot off another defender with the deflection ending up in the right side of the net.

At halftime, ESPN commentators Tony DiCicco and Monica Gonzalez discussed Sundhage’s tough choices  setting  the Olympic roster, so let’s take a look at these battles and who might get left off.

GOALKEEPERS (3): 18-Nicole Barnhart, 21-Ashlyn Harris, 1-Hope Solo

The U.S. will likely only go with two goalkeepers, and Barnhart has the edge over Harris as Solo’s backup, so that’s down to 23.

DEFENDERS (9): 19-Rachel Buehler, 14-Stephanie Cox, 22-Whitney Engen, 23-Meghan Klingenberg, 6-Amy LePeilbet, 2-Heather Mitts, 5-Kelley O’Hara, 3-Christie Rampone, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn

Engen and Klingenberg are clearly going to be off, as they’ve had little playing time. That leaves Cox, Mitts, O’Hara and Sauerbrunn. Replacing right-back Ali Krieger, who tore her ACL in Olympic Qualifying, is not an easy task, but O’Hara has stepped up considerably in the last few months on the left side of the defense, moving LePeilbet over to the right. Sauerbrunn and Cox proved themselves as a worthy backups in the World Cup as well, and Rampone has confidence in Sauerbrunn. That leaves Heather Mitts off. 20.

MIDFIELDERS (7): 7-Shannon Boxx, 17-Tobin Heath, 16-Lori Lindsey, 10-Carli Lloyd, 9-Heather O’Reilly, 15-Megan Rapinoe, 8-Amy Rodriguez

The starting core of O’Reilly, Boxx, and Lloyd are set, and Lauren Cheney, though listed as forward will play in the midfield, so that leaves three backups. Rapinoe should make the roster, given how big she came up in the World Cup, and she had another strong performance today, nearly scoring. Lori Lindsey could be a wild card, but she’s a smart player and makes good decisions that will help the team maintain possession in the midfield. DiCicco and Gonzalez said it would come down to Heath and Rodriguez, but Pia has tended to be conservative, and go with experience. Amy has the versatility of playing both wing and forward, as well as speed needed late in matches. I’m leaning toward A-Rod staying and Heath off the roster. 19.

FORWARDS (4): 12-Lauren Cheney, 11-Sydney Leroux, 13-Alex Morgan, 20-Abby Wambach

And we’re down to 1. Will Leroux make the cut? DiCicco indicated that Pia thinks highly of Leroux, and she clearly has worked well when paired up front with Morgan. But in the Olympics, I don’t think that Sundhage will be taking Wambach out early, and Leroux and Wambach haven’t teamed up as well together. My guess is that, with Morgan firmly entrenched in a starting role, Leroux gets left off. Gonzalez said she’d take Leroux over Rodriguez, but I disagree. If there was any doubt in Sundhage’s mind about A-Rod, it should have been put to rest by her performance in her twenty minutes of today’s match.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know what you think.

The U.S. next faces China at PPL Park in Chester, PA on Sunday, May 27. Tickets go on sale Friday.

Italian and New York soccer legend Giorgio Chinaglia passed away today at the age of 65.

It’s been a busy weekend in the soccer world, and it’s not over yet. Today’s news runs the gamut from shocking to hilarious, sad to inspiring.

We’ve got an MLS roundup for you of all the action in this fourth week of the season, including several stunners in the Western Conference. A couple MLS teams revealed new alternate kits this week – one an homage to the past and the other a nod to the future. In more somber news, today we heard about the passing of an international soccer legend, Giorgio Chinaglia, at the age of 65.  And we learned about an illness that one U.S. Women’s National Team member has battled and kept secret for the last 10 years.

Giorgio Chinaglia

Sad news broke today for both Italian and American soccer fans with the passing of Giorgio Chinaglia, a legend with the Italian club Lazio and the North American Soccer League’s New York Cosmos, from “complications due to a heart attack.” Chinaglia was the NASL’s leading scorer with 242 goals, and remained involved with the club after its 2010 reincarnation. Here’s a terrific video montage of his career. R.I.P, Giorgio.

English Premier League

Aston Villa midfielder Stiliyan Petrov is about to begin treatment for leukemia, but isn’t letting that discourage him. Petrov is taking inspiration from Fabrice Muamba, and has received incredible support from teammates and around the league.

Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina was booted from his team’s match against Newcastle United today, over a controversial call that he headbutted an opposing player. Reina could miss the club’s FA Cup semifinal vs Everton if the three game suspension stands. Newcastle won the match 2-0.

Major League Soccer

There were quite a few stunners in the Western Conference yesterday. On a rainy night in L.A., MLS Champions L.A. Galaxy couldn’t get anything going at home against the New England Revolution, who put up two goals inside the first 15 minutes, then added the dagger in the 65th minute to win 3-1.  Meanwhile, in Portland, the Timbers came back from halftime deficit to lead 2-1 by the 60th minute, only to let it slip away to Real Salt Lake for a 3-2 loss. You can see all the goals here. And finally, the San Jose Earthquakes defeated the Sounders in Seattle 1-0 behind a Chris Wondolowski converted penalty kick.

Meanwhile, in the Eastern Conference, it wasn’t so crazy. DC United and the New York Red Bulls rolled at home with United defeating Dallas 4-1 and New York cruising past  Montreal 5-2 behind a Thierry Henry hat trick. The Philadelphia Union are still winless after a scoreless tie with the Vancouver Whitecaps, and the Chicago Fire, who are undefeated (that’s not an April Fool’s joke) put their record on the line tonight against the Rapids.

FC Dallas revealed a new alternate jersey called the “Century Kit,” and it’s the first sleeveless jersey in MLS. The rationale behind a basketball jersey look on the soccer pitch?

“We wanted to be bold,” said FC Dallas president and CEO Doug Quinn. “This new jersey is exactly that and will help our players stay cool during the summer. It’s the best of both worlds.”

But Dallas isn’t the only one making a bold statement with their alternate kits in MLS, as the Portland TImbers are honoring the club’s history with a retro-style, environmentally-conscious new jersey:

 The Portland Timbers and adidas… unveiled the team’s official third uniform design for the 2012 season. The retro-inspired jersey is produced from 100 percent recycled materials and was designed and manufactured in Portland.

U.S. Women’s National Team

The U.S.A faced Japan today for the third time in the last nine months in the opening match of the Women’s Kirin Challenge Cup. The U.S. hoped to avenge losses to Japan in the World Cup Final and Algarve Cup, but managed only a 1-1 draw, struggling to maintain possession throughout much of the match. In case you weren’t up early enough to watch, we’ve got a full recap. You can also view highlights and post-game quotes from Pia Sundhage and the players, courtesy of ussoccer.com.

During halftime of the match, ESPN aired a piece about U.S. midfielder Shannon Boxx that shocked many with the news that in 2002 Boxx was diagoned with Sjögren’s Syndrome, and in 2007, lupus. Not wanting coaches or teammates to use this against her, Boxx kept her diagnois a secret for the better part of the last 10 years. Despite her illness, Boxx has hardly slowed down, maintaining her position as a stalwart, dependable presence in the U.S. central midfield through three World Cups and is heading into her second Olympics this year.

World Soccer

The news has been pretty heavy today, so here’s something a little more lighthearted. Poor FC Magdeburg. The German association football team hadn’t scored in five matches, so their fans wanted to make sure they knew where the goal actually was.

…just to make sure their players still knew where the ball should be kicked, Magdeburg fans brought oversized arrows to a game last weekend.

The also unfurled a banner behind the opposing team’s goal that translated roughly as, “Don’t worry, guys, we’ll show you where the goal is!”

Follow @AerysSoccer on Twitter for more reactions to all the weekend’s soccer news!

Unable to capitalize on their possession advantage through much of the match, the U.S. trailed 1-0 at halftime. In the 28th minute, Sofia Jakobsson sent the ball in from the left side of the box, which appeared to deflect off Christie Rampone’s back and hooked just inside the far post past U.S. goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart, who didn’t have a play on it.

The U.S. was plagued by their oft-seen inability to finish, sending the ball into traffic, over the crossbar, wide of the net, or maddeningly, off the crossbar or post. Abby Wambach squandered a couple of key chances with a header over the bar, after Shannon Boxx headed one perfectly into her off a corner kick, and another off the post on a cross from Heath. Amy Rodriguez had a couple of hard shots on goal, as did Boxx and Carli Lloyd, but for much of the night the team couldn’t put it together on the final touch for anything dangerous.

USWNT's "Super Sub" Alex Morgan. Photo via ussoccer.com

It wasn’t until Alex Morgan came into the match with less than 15 minutes to play that the spark ignited. She just barely missed knocking one in soon after she entered the match when the ball hit – what else? – the post. In the 81st minute, Morgan sent a shot toward goal which was deflected away by the Swedish keeper, but Tobin Heath was there to rebound and knock it in for the equalizer. Morgan took another shot not even a minute later, but the ball was just wide. By the time the clock hit 90 minutes, “Alex Morgan” was trending worldwide on Twitter, despite the game receiving no television coverage, with the only broadcast a webcast on ussoccer.com.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to deny the effect that Alex Morgan has on the team’s ability to finish off opportunities, as many have been calling for her to start up top with Wambach in order to create more speed in the front. As the U.S. begins preparation next month for January’s CONCACAF Olympic qualifiers, Morgan’s role will become one heavily in the spotlight. For now, though, Sundhage insists that coming off the bench late “is the reason why she is so good… It was a small role and she did perfectly well. It will not work for 90 minutes.”

Tobin Heath has also earned herself more playing time with strong performances in the post-World Cup international friendlies, and has the ability to create speed, take on defenders and create mismatches in the midfield. With Shannon Boxx likely to retire after the Olympics, the midfield will need some shaking up in the near future, and Heath could be one to provide that.

Hope Solo did not play, having just finished her run on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, but keeper Nicole Barnhart made some critical saves, including one in stoppage time to prevent a potential winning goal by Sweden. Solo will return for training camp in Los Angeles in December.

The decision by ESPN and Fox Soccer Channel to pass on this match caused much criticism from soccer fans on Twitter. Both networks hold contracts to broadcast U.S. women’s soccer games, but according to a tweet from SI.com’s Grant Wahl, both had “filled [their] quota for the year” and chose not to air it.

While more than 18,000 fans showed up at the stadium in Phoenix to see the U.S. take on one of the top teams in the world, many more were denied the chance to watch due to broadband and streaming issues, including a few soccer journalists.  The webcast was surely better than no coverage, but many of the camera shots were too close up on the ball and the picture quality was far from what many are used to on television. After the increase of interest in women’s soccer since the World Cup, and with the Olympic Games on the horizon, U.S. women’s soccer deserves better from the national media.

The CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament begins January 20, 2012 in Vancouver. The U.S. will face the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Mexico in group play.