Road trips and altered training schedules mean that this week’s Center Line Soccer podcast does without interviews or special guests, but we’ve still got Jay Hipps, Robert Jonas, and Giovanni Albanese Jr. with wrap-ups of this week’s action for FC Gold Pride and the San Jose Earthquakes and previews of the matches that will take place on Sunday. Continue reading
Becky Edwards, far right, celebrates her late equalizer with FC Gold Pride teammates Ali Riley, Marta, and Rachel Buehler. Photo: Howard C. Smith, isiphotos.com
In front of 3,412 fans at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, N.J., the league-leading FC Gold Pride (14-3-5, 47 points) scored a last-second goal to put a major dent in defending champion Sky Blue FC’s (7-10-5, 26 points) playoff chances. Trailing 1-0 in extra time, the Pride’s Becky Edwards beat Meghann Burke to force a 1-1 result on Wednesday night. Continue reading
Lionel Messi opened his 2010-11 account on Sunday against Racing Santander. Photo: Back Page Images, isiphotos.com
After scoring a sensational 34 goals in La Liga last season, it took Lionel Messi just three minutes to get off the mark this time around. The little Argentine — along with World Cup winners Andres Iniesta and David Villa — hit the back of the net in Barcelona’s 3-0 win away to Racing Santander. Meanwhile, Real Madrid could only draw 0-0 at Real Mallorca in Jose Mourinho’s first competitive match in charge of the whites.
New York's Dane Richards dribbles past San Jose goalkeeper Jon Busch en route to scoring his side's first goal. Photo: Howard C. Smith, isiphotos.com
Behind a solid offensive attack led by goal scorers Dane Richards and Thierry Henry, the New York Red Bulls defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 at Red Bull Arena. The Earthquakes had their chances, recording 15 shots, but the fact that only two were put on goal left them ruing their missed opportunities.
“I thought we had a pretty good performance tonight, but we did not finish the chances when we had them,” said San Jose head coach Frank Yallop. “They are a good team, especially going forward and you have to give them credit for finishing their opportunities. We had four or five solid chances and on another night we finish those. We were a bit unfortunate not to get something out of the game.” Continue reading
The Quakes take on the newly star-studded New York Red Bulls on Saturday as they make their first trip to Red Bull Arena, their gorgeous new stadium that opened earlier this year. Join Center Line Soccer’s Jay Hipps, Robert Jonas, and Giovanni Albanese Jr. as we take a look at last week’s action and preview Saturday’s match for both the Earthquakes and newly-crowned WPS regular season champions, FC Gold Pride. Photo: Red Bull Arena by Howard C. Smith, isiphotos.com Continue reading
Despite the presence of players such as Pelé and Carlos Alberto, seen above at a 2006 Red Bulls pre-game ceremony, the NASL was not the high-water mark for American soccer, contends Center Line columnist Pete Ratajczak. Photo: Howard C. Smith, isiphotos.com
The rise of the Red Bulls from laughingstock to MLS’ Most Glamorous Franchise has had soccer scribes from coast to coast comparing the current league, usually unfavorably, to the glory days of the NASL Cosmos. I’m here to tell you that nostalgia isn’t what it used to be; there’s never been a better time to be a soccer fan in the U.S. than right now. Continue reading
Barca boss Pep Guardiola has added Spain star David Villa to the roster at Barcelona, but new Real Madrid manager José Mourinho has made six major signings at Real Madrid. Which side will come out on top in La Liga? Photo: Chris Brunskill, isiphotos.com.
(We’d like to welcome Andy May to Center Line Soccer. Andy is a journalist based in Madrid and will keep an eye on La Liga for us, as well as other European leagues that catch his eye. Today, he gives us a preview of the new season in Spain, which gets underway this weekend. — Editor)
Last season in La Liga, Barcelona and Real Madrid bagged an incredible 195 points between them, out of a possible 228. You can see why some people claim Spain’s top division is an “exhibition league,” a league which will only be won by the country’s top two teams. The upcoming 2010/2011 season will be all about which side — Real or Barca — drops the fewest number of points. Continue reading
Marta celebrates FC Gold Pride's first goal of the match, scored past a diving Jillian Loyden off a cross from Ali Riley. Photo: Tracy Allen, isiphotos.com
In an up-and-down affair with lots of playoff implications, Women’s Professional Soccer’s league leading FC Gold Pride (13-3-4, 43 points) broke out of its three-game goalless slump to beat the sixth-place Chicago Red Stars (5-11-6, 21 points), 3-2, at Toyota Park on Sunday night. The win, coupled with losses by second-place Philadelphia and third-place Boston, guarantees the Pride the WPS regular season championship and a berth in the WPS Championship match, which they will host on Sept. 26.
“We went from finishing at the bottom last season to being on top, so we are ecstatic,” said Albertin Montoya, FCGP head coach. “Coming back strong in our second season and finishing in first means a lot to the entire organization. I want the team to really enjoy this moment because they earned it, but we also need to keep in the back of our minds what happened to last year’s regular season championship team in the finals.” Continue reading
Goal scorer Chris Wondolowski enjoys accolades from the fans following the Earthquakes' 1-0 win over the L.A. Galaxy on Saturday. Photo: Joe Nuxoll, centerlinesoccer.com.
Center Line Soccer’s complete coverage includes a photo gallery and post-game interviews with the head coaches and key players from both sides (below).
Santa Clara — The resurgent San Jose Earthquakes thrilled an overflow crowd at Buck Shaw Stadium Saturday, riding a Chris Wondolowski goal and some solid goalkeeping by Jon Busch to a 1-0 win over the L.A. Galaxy.
San Jose’s second straight 1-0 decision at home, both thanks to goals by Wondolowski, gives them back to back wins for the first time since May 8, and lifts them ahead of Toronto in the race for the last playoff spot. Continue reading
The San Jose Earthquakes defeated bitter rivals LA Galaxy 1-0 on August 21, 2010 in Santa Clara, CA. Photo gallery by Joe Nuxoll. Continue reading
