The F.A. Takes On Racism

If any sport is multicultural and multilingual around the world it is soccer. And as baseball in the United States finally integrated more than 50 years ago (which was many years too late), so too have soccer teams in Europeans countries that were previously predominantly white integrated. Which unfortunately has led to overt racism among fans and other players.

FIFA embarked on a campaign five years ago to eliminate racism, although its efforts have been questioned by some. Now, England seems to have taken the effort to a new level by filing criminal charges against the captain of the national team and Chelsea, alleging that he made a racial slur towards Anton Ferdinand of Queens Park Rangers during a league match in October. And while the Crown Prosecution Service was going to criminal court, the Football Association suspended Luis Suarez of Liverpool for racist remarks made to Patrice Evra of Manchester United.

The story is reported in today's New York Times by Jere Longman. While fighting racism in any form is a laudable and necessary goal, I question the wisdom of criminalizing on-field behavior, as opposed to taking steps within the sport as was the case with Suarez.

Can the WPS be saved?

I hope I'm wrong, but things do not look good for the women's professional game in this county.

Fourteen months ago, Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), announced that the Western New York franchise would give it eight teams in 2011 - this after it had lost L.A. Sol and St. Louis Athletica. But in October 2010 the league champion FC Gold Pride, a West Coast team, announced it was shutting down and a month later the Chicago Red Stars folded.

U.S. Soccer by-laws require professional leagues to have six teams but it granted WPS a waiver in 2011. Then a month ago, in a terse two-sentence press release, the league announced the termination of the MagicJack franchise, leaving five teams, all on the East Coast. (The owner of that team has sued WPS.)

Now, as reported by Jack Bell in today's New York Times, , U.S. Soccer gave WPS 15 days to secure a sixth team for 2012 before deciding whether to extend the waiver. If another franchise is not found, it seems certain the league will lose its certification as a D-1 level professional league. Jack Cummings, one of the league's founders, said the damage caused by decertification would be "irreparable.

Sudden death - season over for HMHS girls

Nov,. 15, 2011 -- The end took your breath away.

One moment the Haddonfield girls were battling evenly for a spot in Saturday's state final at TCNJ. In the next, Robbinsville's Christine Levering took a perfect pass from Erin Sutphen on the right and put the shot where coaches hope all their players will shoot - low and into the left corner beyond the reach of Haddonfield keeper Kellie Riley 3:16 into the first OT.

Golden goal. Game over, season over and in the case of many seniors, soccer career over.

The girls probably didn't think of it this way when it ended, but it was quite a season for Haddonfield. A 24-2 slate with the two losses coming to Group 4 state champion Lenape in the South Jersey Coaches Cup final and Group 2 runner-up Robbinsville in the state semi-final is nothing to be ashamed of.

Haddonfield took an early lead in the game at Bishop Eustace on Maddie Kiep's header off a corner from Kylie Kirk in the 8th minute, then had two more chances in the next five minutes but failed to build the lead. Levering tied the score seven minutes into the second half and the momentum swung to the Ravens. Other than a shot by Kirk with 21:40 left that Robbinsville defender Mollie O'Kane cleared off the line, Robbinsville had the better of the play and did not win in regulation largely due to the stellar play of Kellie Riley in the Haddonfield goal.

So Haddonfield went home for the year and Robbinsville advanced to the final at The College of New Jersey, where it lost, 2-1 to Ramsey - on a golden goal.

HMHS Suffers First Loss in Coaches Cup Final

The Lenape girls showed why they are ranked #1 in South Jersey with a 4-1 win over second-ranked and previously unbeaten Haddonfield in the Coaches Tournament final at Eastern High School yesterday.

Despite general domination by the Indians, the game was closer than the score indicates and a different bounce here or there could have created a different result.

Although Lenape controlled play in the first 10-15 minutes, the Bulldogs had a golden chance in the 20th minute but couldn't knock a loose ball into the net when it was still 0-0. Less than two minutes later Rachelle Ross knocked home a rebound to put Lenape up, 1-0 and with 14:35 until intermission Katie Rigby drilled one into the left side of the goal to make it 2-0.

With 7:48 left in the half, Katie Johnson headed a corner kick from the right side over the bar and less than three minutes later Haddonfield could not score on a corner kick from the left that was placed right in front of the goal.

Haddonfield narrowed the gap to 2-1 with 26:30 left when Lauren Roberts scored off a trademark long throw-in from Olivia Blaber. But Courtney Kovac's goal in the 60th minute, which seemed to roll off Kellie Riley's outstretched fingertips, restored the two-goal cushion. The Indians sealed the win 10 minutes later when Emmy Duffy scored.

"Sometimes we have good games and today we had an excellent game," Rigby told Marc Narducci of the Inquirer after the game. No argument from that assessment here. Lenape, now 20-2-1, deserved to win, but Haddonfield showed why they merit their high rankling.

The Bulldogs face West Deptford Monday in the state play-offs.

Coaches Cup: We'll Have to Wait a Week

High school fans anxious to see the highly-anticipated match between top-seeded Lenape, a Group 4 school, and second-seeded Group 2 Haddonfield in the finals of the girls South Jersey Coaches Tournament, will have to wait a week. It was scheduled for tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. at Eastern, but the weatherman seems pretty certain that we're going to have miserable weather all day. Plenty of rain and maybe even some snow.

I was critical of Rowan a few weeks back for postponing its game with Stockton because it might snow. But this decision makes sense. From everything I have read and heard, this is not a case of might, but rather, when and how much? It's supposed to be gone by Sunday.

1 v 2

It's the dream of any tournament committee: the first seed plays the second seed in the final. And it's a reality in this Saturday's final of the South Jersey Coaches Cup (officially the Coaches Tournament) when undefeated #2 Haddonfield (18-0) will face top-seeded Lenape at 4 p.m. at Eastern H.S.

Haddonfield made a goal by Kylie Kirk in the 4th minute stand up the rest of the way as it downed a disciplined Paul VI team, 1-0 at Eastern. "There was a mess in front of the net, and I just got the ball in the net," Kirk told the Inquirer. Both teams were missing players with injuries but it didn't show as both went all out for 80 minutes.

The Bulldogs were unable to build momentum off Kirk's early goal and neither team had a realistic threat the rest of the first half. But Paul VI started to dominate midway through the second half and several times it looked as though the Eagles would equalize, only to see a good shot veer wide or be saved by Kellie Riley. “That was as gutsy a performance as I’ve ever seen us have,” said Coach Glenn Gess. “I’m very proud of these kids.”

Top-ranked Lenape advanced to the final by way of a 3-1 win over Timber Creek, paced by two goals from Rachelle Ross.

Welcome, Soren

Scott beat me to it on his blog, but Coach P says welcome to his second grandson, Soren Andrew Partenheimer Chesla, born October 11, 2011 at 12:16 a.m. local time in St. Paul, MN.

And I Thought Forecasts of Snow Made People Crazy

Anyone who has lived in the Philadelphia region for a winter knows how insane people get when it might snow. If a TV weather forecaster hints at the white stuff, that's all people talk about for a week. Tonight, a college game was apparently postponed because it might RAIN! The sad part, for me at least, was that I didn't find out until I arrived at the field. My wife had a meeting tonight, so it was a perfect time to shoot down Rte. 55 to Glassboro to see my five former Xtreme girls play for Rowan University against Stockton. Even better, Rowan coach Scott Leacott and Stockton coach Nick Juengert are friends whom I have not see in awhile. And I looked forward to seeing the parents of the girls. I should have known it wasn't going to be my day when I was driving north on I-295 from Woodbury after a deposition and noticed southbound trafic - on the route I would be taking from home to Glassboro - at a standstill. KYW told me of an overturned tractor trailer where I-295 and Rte 42 come together - just above where I would get on Rte. 55 . After getting changed at home, I detoured over to Rte. 130 south towards 47, only to find 130 backed up in Brooklawn. And of course once on 47 I was behind a guy going no more than 5 mph below the speed limit at any given time. After nearly an hour on the road, I reached the Rte. 322 exit of Rte. 55 for Rowan and figured I would just about make the start of the game, only to find traffic on Rte 322 backed up. I finally pulled into the parking lot by the Rowan soccer stadium 5 minutes after start time, only to find it empty. The school's athletic website tonight says the game was postponed due to "inclement weather" meaning someone thought it might rain. Which it did not while I was there. I don't know if it rained in Camden, either, but less than 20 miles north of Glassboro, the TCNJ women played at Rutgers-Camden (and won, 4-0). The Rowan-Stockton game has been changed until tomorrow night, but I heard it might be windy.

UEFA Tries to Level the Field

Jeré Longman reports in today's New York Times that there is an effort to level the financial playing field in Europe.

Alarmed that more than than half of Europe’s 650 top soccer clubs are reporting operating losses, the governing body of European soccer, UEFA, has instituted a plan known as "Financial Fair Play," in which clubs are permitted to spend only what they take in from soccer revenue. This is intended to eliminate mega-rich owners from pumping their own millions (or billions) into a team - to the detriment of the competition. Such is the case, Longman reports, with England's Manchester City, owned by Sheik Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan, a member of the royal family of the emirate of Abu Dhabi who has

The plan will phase in over two years and is not without its critics. So we'll have to wait to see if it works.

World Cup: Arrggggh!!!

All the cliches of coaching came true in yesterday's World Cup final:

"That's why they roll the ball out there."

"Let a lesser team hang around long enough they believe they can beat you."

"You've got to put the ball in the back of the net to win."

The United States let Japan hang around too long in yesterday's World Cup final and it cost them the title they had dreamed of and had been favored to win. Japan may not have been the better side, but they clearly deserved to win.

In the early going it looked as though Team USA was merely adjusting its sights as it pressured a disorganized Japanese defense. Lauren Cheyney, Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe all had near misses in the early going. As the half wore on, time and again fans were asking, "How did that not go in?"

After more chances in the early part of the second half, the first goal finally came in the 69th run on a perfectly executed pass by Megan Rapinoe, who had set up Abby Wambach's miraculous game-tying goal against Brazil, to Alex Morgan, who beat the defender, touched it with her right and fired into the goal with her left. At last USA were on the board and more goals would surely be coming momentarily. Not.

With the cup just nine minutes away, Rachel Buehler could not clear the ball and it went off Ali Krieger who likewise could not get it out of harms way before Ayi Miyami jammed it into the net to tie the game.

It looked like the U.S. would win when Abby Wambach scored on a header shortly before the end of the first OT to make it 2-1. But again Japan, to their credit, refused to let down. Homare Sawa, the leading scorer of the tournament, won a corner kick and deflected a ball off Wambach for the tying goal just three minutes from time.

You knew it wasn't going to be the American's day when keeper Ayumi Kaihori made an unbelievable kick save on Shannon Boxx's opening PK. Carli Lloyd shot high and Tobin Heath's kick was saved by Kaihori. Japan converted two of its first three, so Wambach's tally to start the fourth round was too little too late. (Had Wambach missed the game would have been over.) When Saki Kumagai scored on the next ball, Japan had the cup.

In my view, the U.S. did not play a bad game. They just couldn't score and Japan did not give up. Nothing for the Americans to be ashamed of for sure.

Walk Down Memory Lane #7 - Carli vs. Sweden

When I first met Carli Lloyd, she was in 8th grade, not much over five feet tall and playing for the U-15 Medford Strikers, New Jersey team I had just joined as an assistant to Joe Dadura.

Today Carli is playing for the World Cup. She’s grown to about 5’-8”, wears the USA logo instead of the Medford Strikers or Rutgers University.

We won the State Cup that first year I helped coach, in a shoot-out over defending champs Voorhees. Carli wasn’t the best player on the team, but was very good, with a magic touch on the ball. She did not take one of our five penalty kicks that day in the Spring of 1997, and in fact she was never one of our PK shooters, which went on to be a running joke among us for years. So I was happy to see her make one of the kicks in the dramatic shootout over Brazil.

We had a lot of good times on the Strikers team – two NJ State Cups, a Dallas Cup, a JAGS championship, and many other victories. I watched Carli play a number of games for Rutgers and also saw most of the other team members play at least once in college. Many of us have stayed in touch over the years, at least on Facebook, and had a reunion two years ago, which Carli attended. (See the post from 9/7/09.)

Which brings us to Memory Lane. I knew Carli had played many times for youth national teams and was hoping she’d get a crack at the full national team. She finally made her first appearance against Ukraine on July 10, 2005.

A year later Louise and I went out to Minnesota to visit our daughter, Kirsten. It just so happened the U.S. team had a friendly against Sweden in Blaine, Minnesota and Carli was kind enough to get four tickets for us – in the shade. It was in the mid-90s all day and still about 90 at game time at 5 p.m.

It was, as a good friend described it, a “lump in the throat” moment seeing Carli marching out on the field and standing there during the National Anthem representing her country and the dreams of who knows how many thousands of girls who want to be just like her. To anyone who knows her, she also represented what pure hard work will get you.

The United States won the game in dramatic fashion in the closing seconds and afterwards Carli told me it was the hottest she’d ever been on a field. Since then, Carli has been capped more than 100 times (the Sweden match was her 10th cap), has scored the winning goal in the Olympic gold medal game and played in two World Cups, with hopefully a championship today.

I’ve seen Carli play three other games for the national team and many times on TV. But the first time was the most memorable.

All's Well That Ends Well: U.S. downs Brazil

I thought I was going to write, “We wuz robbed!” by the absolutely atrocious officiating in today’s World Cup quarterfinal between Brazil and the United States. But Abby Wambach’s perfectly timed header off a Megan Rapinoe cross only seconds before what would have been an excruciatingly painful defeat for the U.S. made this a happy story after all.

Things got off to a spectacular start for the Americans when Brazilian defender Daiane misplayed a cross from Shannon Boxx on the left into her own goal.

Things turned ugly in the second half and when Australian referee Jacqui Melksham proved to the world that she should not be officiating a U-10 game in the park, let along a World Cup match. Rachel Buehler was called for a very questionable foul on Marta, the Brazilians extremely skilled and extremely whiny forward in the box in the 65th minute. I thought when I saw the play and when I saw the replays immediately after it that it was not a foul, and when I saw it again a few hours later I still feel that way.

Out came the red card and the U.S. faced the prospect of the tying goal then 25 minutes down a player. But Hope Solo made a brilliant diving save to her left of Cristiane’s PK to preserve the lead and give her team a huge morale boost. But wait. Melksham stepped in again and ordered the kick re-taken for reasons no one knows. Solo said afterwards she was never told where the ref thought she stepped off her line too soon or another U.S. player encroached. Replays showed Solo shuffled her feet on the line but did not appear to step all the way off it. An American player at the top of the screen may have stepped over the 18-yard line a split second before the shot, but at most this appeared to be a “trifling offense” that should never have been called. And Solo earned a yellow card for asking about the call. Marta stepped to the line for the re-take and tied the match.

Despite the player shortage, the Americans hung tough and regulation ended 1-1, although it should have been a 1-0 victory.

Early in the first overtime Marta scored, but replays showed there was a good possibility of offsides.

It seemed to be the end of the USA’s dream as time wound down until Wambach showed why she is one of the greatest women players ever. In the shoot-out, with the U.S. shooting first, Boxx, Lloyd, Wambach and Rapinoe all converted for the U.S., meaning that when Solo made a spectacular save on Daiane’s kick, the USA would win if Alex Krieger scored on her shot. She did and the Americans face France in the semi-final.

Now that the match is over, Jacqui Melsham should hang her head in shame. Or at least FIFA should make sure she never referees at this level again. One could argue that the U.S. lucked out when Lloyd was not given a second yellow card for a hand ball in the second half, or that they missed other chances and maybe Brazil would have tied the game anyway. Maybe – but had the referee made the right call, the U.S. would have had a 1-0 lead and 11 players and it’s a good bet they would have held that lead.

Another aside: many years ago, when Carli Lloyd played for the Medford Strikers team that Joe Dadura and I coached, she was never one of the girls we had shoot PKs in a shootout, including the U15 New Jersey State Cup final. It was a running joke for four years and at a college game Carli let me know that she had made a penalty kick in a game the week before. So it was good to see her not only play the entire 120 minutes in what will go down as one of the best games in American soccer history, but to see her make one of the PKs as well.

World Cup - How Did the Ref Miss This One?

Check this video for yourself and see if you don't think this play from yesterday's Women's World Cup match between Australia and Equatorial Guinea (who?) is not one of the worst non-calls ever:
After a shot by the Matildas' Leena Khamis hit the post in the 15th minute, Guinean defender Bruna (#2) caught the ball inside the 6, held it for a few seconds and casually dropped it. Amazingly there was no call from Hungarian referee Gyoengyi Gaal, who appeared to be about 30 yards away, or from the assistant referees. It boggles the mind to think that not one of three officials could see such a blatant hand ball.

The play was reminiscent of a game five years ago when I coached the U13 Medford Strikers Dynamyte. We were in the second half of a league game against CP United at Ark Road in Medford. The score was tied, 0-0, when one of our girls kicked a ball that bounced over the head of the keeper and towards the goal. One of their defenders, standing just behind the goalline, reached up and swatted the ball out with both hands. Some of our girls said the ball was already over the goalline when this happened. If not, it should have been a red card and a penalty kick.

Like yesterday's World Cup game, neither the referee nor the assistant referees made the call. No one taped the game, but a parent on our team took many still photos and one showed the opposing defender holding her hands to her face in horror, as if realizing what she had done. (I am guessing she thought she was well behind the line when she handled the ball, then realized she was not.)  Which turned out to be nothing in the eyes of the officials. After the game, which ended scoreless, a United parent came up to me and apologized. Why? He wasn't the ref. But it was a nice gesture.  And the opposing coach, showing he had a sense of humor, said to me, "You would have missed the PK."

Missing a call in a kids game is one thing. At the professional level, especially at the World Cup, it is inexcusable. Let's see if we hear from the refs on what they were thinking.

Race to the Cup is On

The opening games of the 2011 Women's World Cup - or Frauen WM (Weltmeisterschaft) as it's called in Germany where it's being played - are in the books and not surprisingly, France and host Germany are atop the standings with 3 points each.

France edged Nigeria, 1-0, on a 56th-minute goal by Marie-Laure Delie. Germany, playing before 73,680, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, in the Berlin Olympic Stadium, downed tougher-than-expected Canada, 2-1.

I watched the Germany-Canada match, in which German used a head ball from 5'-11" Kersten Garefrekes in the 10th minute to take a lead it would never relinquish. But it wasn't as easy as some thought it would be. Canada's Christine Sinclair missed a golden opportunity to even the score when she broke through Germany's central defense but sent the ball over the bar. Celia Okoyinoi Da Mbabi gave the hosts a 2-0 lead three minutes before intermission. Germany had other chances but Canadian keeper, Erin McLeod, was strong in the net.

Germany couldn't break it open and in the 82nd minute Sinclair made things interesting with a goal for Canada - the first score Germany has allowed in World Cup play since the '03 final. But that was it for Canada and Germany had the anticipated three points.

The United States opens Tuesday against North Korea in Dresden, the only venue in the former East Germany.

JAGS Countdown

More on the FIFA controversy and the Women's World Cup in the future. For now what matters in my soccer life is that JAGS is two weeks away.

This means the e-mails and calls from college coaches will start picking up and I'll undoubtedly get e-mails from team parents and coaches asking why we don't list college coaches attending the tournament on our website. I have a form response which explains the several reasons: the list changes daily; some coaches sign up on gotsoccer.com without planning to attend; some coaches register with every intention of attending and their plans change at the last minute for reasons ranging from the weather to spousal edit; some coaches don;t register and then show up. I always tell parents and players to let the schools in which they are interested know they are playing at JAGS (and their other tournaments).

I already messed up by sending out a mass mailing to several hundred college coaches and forgetting to attach the list of hotels I mentioned. I suppose if anyone needs a hotel they'll contact me. Every year I get a few requests for hotel recommendations, some for directions and lots about fields and schedules. But the most unusual request from a college coach was five or six years ago when a coach asked me for a recommendation for a golf course for a late Saturday round. I've never played golf, but fortunately my good buddy and Medford Strikers Xtreme parent George Sierra, is a golf fanatic and was able to help me out. Never heard from the coach how he played that afternoon.

Lionel Messi: Best Ever?

Huge article by one of my favorite soccer writers (Jeré Longman) in today's New York Times about Lionel Messi of Argentina, who plays for Barcelona. The print version takes up the entire front sports page of today's early edition, and a lot of space inside as well. Defintely worth reading.

Different country, same old story

Soccer culture in Brazil is changing, reports the New York Times. The gist of the story is that changes to the country's soccer stadium, including luxury boxes, have caused ticket prices to rise beyond the means of the average fan. Hmmm .... does that sound familiar? Been to an NHL (NFL, NBA, MLB) game lately?

In Brazil, some fans have organized a National Fans Association. Whether it will have an effect remains to be seen.

JAGS: The Early Returns

So last night I sent out e-mails to 277 schools about the JAGS Tournament. I received 15 error messages - a 5.4% rate, which is better than most years. That may mean there is less turnover in the coaching ranks or simply that somehow I found about some coaching changes since 2010 and updated my mailing list before the initial blast.

At any rate, I sent out the first round at 10:42 p.m. and 10 minutes later I had my first registration: my old buddy, Kevin Davies of Centenary College in Hackettstown, NJ, one of the good guys I look forward to seeing once a year at JAGS. I told him he won the prize for being the first college coach registration of the year and he said he'd take the trip to the Bahamas. Sorry, Kevin - the prize is a trip to Paulsboro.

Another Year, Another JAGS

It wasn't really that long ago that we closed down the headquarters tent at Mercer County Park after the 30th Annual JAGS Tournament. But here we are getting ready for the 31st in less than two months.

The first meeting isn't for two weeks, but the planning is underway. I've spent the past few days updating the mailing list for college coaches and am ready to send out the first e-mail blast to 277 college coaches. Statistically, about 5% will be returned because the coach has left the job and I didn't know it.

I'm looking forward to a weekend of good soccer in June and to seeing many friends whom I see on only this occasion each year.

It wasn't long ago that I lamented turning 64. When they roll out the first ball at this year's JAGS, I'll be 65. Time marches on.

Return of the Cosmos?

Sunday's New York Times Magazine has the story of Paul Kelmsley, a Briton who seeks to bring back the New York Cosmos by winning the 20th MLS franchise, supposedly earmarked for the New York Metropolitan area. Kelmsley recently bought the rights to the Cosmos name and now has a staff of 16. For those who weren't born back in the md-70s, the Cosmos were the glamour team of the old North American Soccer League for a few years, playing before huge, often capacity, crowds at the Meadowlands. Reading the article brought back some memories for me of when I covered the team for the Trenton Times in 1977. It was a heady time for a young sportswriter who loved soccer and who was in law school at the time. The locker room after each game was a celebrity hangout - I turned the corner one day and bumped into Mick Jagger, who is not much bigger than I am (about 5'-5"). And of course there was Pele, the world's most famous player, along with Franz Beckenbauer and Giorgio Chinaglia. Pele was quite the gentleman - despite the press of media after each game he patiently and politely answered every question in excellent English. Perhaps my favorite Cosmo, however, was Bob Smith, from Steinert (which also gave us Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito), whom I had gotten to know when he played for the Philadelphia Atoms. Smith was an attacking fullback with good speed and tenacious defensive ability. Over his career he earned 18 caps for the United States and was inducted into the Soccer Hall of Fame. But when I knew him he was a gangly kid from Trenton who made good with the Atoms then went on to live the dream of every youth soccer player when he stepped onto the field with Pele. Whether or not Kelmsley will succeed in resurrecting the Cosmos remains to be seen. The price is said to be about $100 million. But with Pele still acting as a spokesman for the organization, I wouldn't rule out anything. Who knows, maybe this time next year Mick will be back to sing Start Me Up at the home opener.

Same Old Story - U.S. Women Win Algarve Cup

The players change but the result is always the same - the U.S. women win the Algarve Cup.

With a 4-2 defeat of Iceland in Faro, Portugal, today the Americans won the tournament for the eight straight year. Happy to say my favorite U.S. player, Carli Lloyd, started the scoring with a left-footed rocket into the upper right corner from just outside the 18 in the 10th minute. Surprisingly, Iceland barreled back to take the lead with goals in the 26th and 28th minutes, only to see Lauren Cheyney score the equalizer in stoppage time when she vollied in a cross from Megan Rapinoe.

Heather O'Reilly scored the game-winner in the 55th minute when she put in a rebound of a shot by Shannon Boxx. Alex Morgan added insurance with three minutes left to play.

Congratulations to Carli on being named Woman of the Match and to the U.S. women for another gold medal in Portugal. Click here for the official U.S. Soccer report on the match.

NCAA Nixes Coed College Cup Weekend

March 9, 2011 -- After two years of study, the NCAA decided not to play the men's and women's Division I College Cups the same weekend afterall. As reported by the NSCAA today, the Men's and Women's Soccer Committees felt it was in the best interest of both genders to play the championships at different sites on different weekends.

The NSCAA applauded the move, and pointed to member surveys that showed little support for a combined mens/women's event, notwithstanding the appeal of a "mega soccer" weekend that might appeal to a broad fan base. Other concerns were the effect of two tournaments rather than one would have on the playing field, especially in bad weather; the effect on conference tournaments; and the possible perception that one gender's tournament had the "marquee" games of the weekend, to the detriment of the other.

While I've always liked "boy-girl" doubleheaders in high school soccer (and basketball), and while I recognize the advantages of a combined event, I tend to agree with the NCAA and the NSCAA that overall it's best to keep the Cups separate.

Union: Doop?

The Philadelphia Union, the team that brings us Bimbo this season, is now advertising doop, described in Jeff Gamage's article in yesterday's Inquirer as an "undefinable word." Gamage called the team's ad campaign promoting doop "high risk high reward." The guess here is that it will be high reward - the Union in its short history has been getting it right when it comes to marketing and promotions. But time will tell.

Trip Down Memory Lane - #8: Beating the State Champs at JAGS in 1998

Our two year reign as state champs, at U15 and U16, had come to an end earlier in the spring of 1998 when we lost an overtime decision to arch rival Cherry Hill Rockets in the first round. (Payback is tough – two years earlier, at U15 - we had beaten the Rockets, former state champions, 3-0 in the first round of the Cup.) JAGS was all we had left to play for this year.

The tournament was at Rider College and I can’t remember who we played and haven’t had time to look it up. We made it through to the final and drew the Wyckoff Torpedoes, who had just a few weeks earlier won the U17 State Cup and were headed to regionals.

Don’t recall much about the game except that it was on one of the back fields at Rider and Lauren Calone, who went on to play at Georgetown, scored our only goal and we held on for a 1-0 win. That night I received an e-mail from Renee Engelhardt, mother of Torpedoes star, Erin Engelhardt (who later played at UVA) congratulating us and saying if Wyckoff had to lose, she was glad it was to us.

NY Times Jinx?

We've all heard of the Sports Illustrated cover jinx - where an athlete or team is celebrated on the cover of the nation's top sports magazine only to see its streak broken, drop our of place, lose its next 10 games or otherwise end whatever was the cause of being on the cover.

Is it possible the New York Times can also jinx teams? Two days after the Times (and Coach P's Soccer Blog) wrote of Manchester United's 24-game Premier League unbeaten streak (15-0-9), the Reds dropped a 2-1 decision to 19th place Wolverhampton. Manchester had problems before the match started when Rio was injured during warm-ups. But they took an early lead on a goal in the 3rd minute only to see the Wolves equalize seven minutes later then collect the game-winner in the 39th minute.

Perhaps if the Times had not played up the streak Man United would have found a way to at least earn a draw. But maybe it's not the Times. Could there be a Coach P's Soccer Blog jinx?

2nd best sports blog on the web

OK, I may be a bit biased, but I happen to think my son Scott, among his many other talents, is a great writer. See, for example, his blog about a cross country trip in 2007. So I was happy to learn he has started a new blog on running. (If you have to ask what running has to do with soccer, you probably aren't reading a soccer blog anyway.)

It has a clever name: "I Thought They Said Rum" and starts off on January 31, 2011 with an account of Scott's fantastic run in the Philadelphia Marathon when he registered a 3:09:44, good enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon. As one who has run seven marathons, I am impressed with anyone who can cover 26.2 miles in any time. As one whose best time in those seven was 3:50 something, running the distance in the time Scott did amazes me. If you think it's easy, try running a mile in 7:15, then doing it 25 more times, and still having to run the length of three soccer fields to finish.

The photo with this post says it all -- the joy of not only finishing a marathon, but of Scott knowing he reached a goal that took months of training, sacrifice and discipline. (If the clock has been in the picture it would have been misleading as a runner's official time is the "chip time" measured from when he crosses the starting line - which may be a minute or more after the gun goes off and the elite runners head out.)

So anyway, after you read Coach P's blog, check out Scott's running blog. And well-done, Scott!

Glory, Glory Man United

In 120 years, only two teams have gone through the English Football League's regular season without a loss. This season, the storied Manchester United side seeks to become #3 to accomplish the feat.

Jere Longman's story in today's New York Times, describes Manchester's efforts and its loyal worldwide fan base. According to Forbes Magazine, at $1.84 billion, the Manchester United franchise is more valuable than the new York Yankees or the Dallas Cowboys.

With 14 games to play, the Red Devils are 15-0-9. If they pull off an undefeated league season, you'll be hearing team song, Glory, Glory Man United alot more.

Trip Down Memory Lane - #9: MSX lose last Cup game in OT

The Medford Strikers Xtreme had existed since U9 in Marlton, and had been in the Strikers organization since U12, when I joined them. But now, at U18, we knew our days were dwindling as we played in the 2008 State Cup. The next loss could be the last game we were together.

After a first round bye, the Xtreme shut out US Parma Azzuri, 3-0 at Rutgers-Newark to advance to the quarter-finals against Manalapan at the TCNJ Soccer Stadium on May 3. Here's the coverage of the game from the MSX website:

Only the Russian Linesman Was Missing as Manalapan Ends MSX Cup Dreams

A strange overtime goal ended the Xtreme’s final State Cup dream last Sunday.

In a dramatic and intense quarterfinal match against the Manalapan Shooting Stars that was eerily reminiscent of one of the great games in soccer history, Brenna Rubino evened the score at 2-2 with a goal just 2:40 from regulation time only to see the Shooting Stars clinch the victory with a goal that appeared to defy the laws of physics.

Forty-two years earlier, in the 1966 World Cup final at London’s Wembley Stadium, Germany came from behind to tie the game, 2-2 in the closing seconds. In the overtime England sent a ball that struck the underside of the crossbar, bounced down and out. The Swiss referee could not tell if the ball completely crossed the goalline, but the Russian linesman ruled it a goal to put England up, 3-2. As Germany pushed everyone forward in an effort to equalize, England scored once again for the 4-2 final.

Like that long-ago Cup final, this match was played in a top venue – The College of New Jersey soccer stadium. And while the crowd for this one was about 100,000 less, the intensity on the pitch was the same.

This was the third straight year these two sides had met in the quarterfinals with MSX winning in a shootout in ’06, and MSS by a 3-2 score last year. But Manalapan apparently forgot to read the memo that said it was Medford’s turn in '08.

Although the Strikers controlled play in the opening minutes, Manalapan drew first blood in the 12^th minute when it scored off a corner kick that the Xtreme failed to clear. Medford had a chance to tie with 15 minutes remaining in the half but the MSS keeper, who played an outstanding game, made a diving grab off a close shot by Marissa DiMarco to preserve the lead. Ten minutes later Barb Previ had a chance but her shot was just wide left and the half ended 1-0.

Just three minutes into the second half Manalapan increased its lead to 2-0 when a player won a ball in the defensive third and went 70 yards for the goal. But DiMarco cut the lead in half a minute later when she looped a ball from a sharp angle on the right just out of the keeper’s reach and into the left side of the goal.

As the clock wound down, the Xtreme put Bridget Claus, a fullback by trade, in goal as a “keeper-sweeper,” akin to pulling the goalie for an extra skater in ice hockey. This enabled Medford to attack with 10 and the strategy paid off. Just as Wolfgang Weber scored for Germany in the waning moments to tie the ’62 game, Rubino did the same for the Xtreme.

Linda Sierra won a ball at midfield, passed off to DiMarco then took a return pass and streaked down the left side. She crossed the ball in front of the goal where Rubino came in from the right and knocked it home less than three minutes from time.

The first 15-minute overtime was scoreless, but it took another great save by the Shooting Stars’ goalie to keep her team in the game. The teams switched sides, and there were thoughts of a shootout as the second extra session reached the halfway point. But suddenly, in the 114^th minute, a Manalapan shot hit under the crossbar, went down and out, just as Geoff Hurst’s shot for England had done in '66. And as in that Cup final, the referee could not make the call but instead relied on his assistant referee (as linesmen are now called) who signaled the goal.

Once again the Xtreme went to Claus as the keeper-sweeper in hopes of another miracle. But this time there was no miracle, and as England did in ’66 at Wembley, Manalapan did in ’08 at TCNJ by scoring an empty net goal to make the final 4-2.

Manalapan goes through to the semi-final against Arsenal Blast, a 2-1 come-from behind winner over ESA Flames. The match will be played May 17 at 3:30 at TCNJ Field #2, with PDA Power facing defending state champion Wall Strikers in the other U18 semi-final.

Congratulations from the Xtreme to Coach O, one of the class acts of the sport, and the Manalapan Shooting Stars on a well-played and hard fought win, and best of luck in the semis.

The disappointment of losing was softened somewhat by the fact that we knew we never gave up and the girls gave it their all for 120 minutes. Was that third goal all the way over the line? Hard to say and just as no one in Germany or England knows for sure if England's third goal really was a goal, we'll never know. All that matters is that the "Russian linesman" said it was, so it was.

We actually played one more game - a meaningless league game at Cranbury played as much for nostalgia as anything. And to show that there's a reason they play the games, before the match started, the MSX and Manalapan coaches watched Arsenal Blast edge ESA Flames, 2-1 in another quarterfinal and agreed that whomever won our game would have an easy win over Arsenl the next week and a trip to the finals. Wrong. As great a team as MSS was, the following week they, too, ended their run with a loss to Arsenal.

Trip Down Memory Lane - #10: Currywurst gegen Weisswurst

After more than 50 years in the sport of soccer, I've had a lot of memories. So I decided to compile my top 10 and will share them with everyone, starting today with #10.

Memory # 10: Watching Hertha Berlin beat Bayern München, 2-1, in the Berlin Olympic Stadium on a frigid December night in 2001.

Kirsten and Scott both lived in Berlin during the 2001-2002 school year, Kirsten teaching on a Fulbright grant and Scott studying on his junior year abroad. Just a little more than two months after the 9/11 attacks, Louise and I flew to Berlin to spend nearly three weeks visiting. We wanted to see a Bundesliga game and what better game than Hertha against Bayern. The match was promoted as Currywurst gegen Weisswurst. Currywurst is a favorite in Berlin while the white sausage known as Weisswurst is a Bavarian specialty found in Munich (München).

Tickets to Bundesliga matches don't go on sale until much closer to the game date than is common in the United States. When the schedule is released at the start of the season the teams may know who they play each weekend, but the exact date and time of a match may not be finalized until later. Kirsten was able to score tickets for this Sunday night match at the historic Olympic Stadium in Berlin. The seats were in the end of the stadium but had a good view of the field. When we arrived some obnoxious fan was in one of our seats and said as a season ticket holder he could sit wherever he wanted. Kirsten was able to convince him to move.

Although Hertha had played in London the previous Thursday and Bayern in South America on Wednesday, the pace of the game was incredible. Petal to the metal for 90 minutes. Although not all the regular starters played, it was still and exciting, fast-paced match.

And you haven't lived until you've heard 50,000 Germans singing Nur Nach Hause, the Hertha theme song, as the Hertha fans did after the victory.

Union's Colombian Connection Arrives

PHILADELPHIA -- The Union added some international defensive experience today when it announced the signing of Colombia internationals, Faryd Mondragón and Carlos Valdés. Mondragón, a goalkeeper, is 39 and has 50 caps. Ironically his last appearance with the national team was at the Union's PPL Park back on Octo. 12. Valdés, a 25-year old defender, has been capped four times.

I went to the Union's press conference at Fado in Center City, but couldn't see anything - it's a great bar, but a terrible venue for a media event. The Union people were in a small room in the front, and those who did not get there in time to sit in there were stuck in a hallway trying to look through a doorway and catch a glimpse of the players. I did hear manager Peter Nowak say the team was not finished upgrading its roster.

Valdés most recently played for Santa Fe, the Colombian Cup winner. Faryd Mondragón, 14 years older, was with FC Cologne in the German Bundesliga the past three seasons. Given his age, one can't help wonder if he is keeping the spot warm for the Union's first round draft pick, Zac MacMath of Maryland.

Here is the story of the Union's latest signings: http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/news/2011/01/union-agree-terms-gk-mondragon-d-valdes

Coaches: Does this lady sound familiar?

I always knew my long-time acquaintance, Terry Sachs, was a good lawyer. Last August I found out she and her husband were Bowdoin parents - their daughter Betsy is a first-year Polar Bear getting ready for her first college lacrosse season. And at lunch last week I found out that Terry is not only a soccer mom, but a club administrator in Chestnut Hill.

We had gotten together to talk about Bowdoin, where my daughter graduated in '01. We spent most of the time swapping soccer stories. And had we both not had hours to bill for our respective firms, we doubtless could have still been talking soccer when happy hour rolled around.

Terry promised to send me a link to a cartoon she promised I would enjoy. I did and so will you. I ask all the coaches reading this how many of the lines uttered by the mother they have heard in their time. Click here to watch.