A special Father’s Day edition of USL Week in Review.

The news came fast and furious this week concerning USL-1 teams. Put on your reading glasses and hang on for the ride.

League News

USL named their First Division Team of the Week – Week #10:

Minnesota’s Brian Cvilikas was the USL First Division Player of the Week. After missing the first six games of the season, Brian Cvilikas has slowly worked his way back into the lineup and made just his second start an eventful one as he helped guide the winless Thunder to their first victory of the campaign with a two-goal outing. The brace was his second of the week as he also struck for two in Minnesota’s come-from-behind US Open Cup victory over Nebraska’s 402. After falling behind, Cvilikas tallied the equalizer and later scored what proved to be the game-winner in the 3-2 decision. Cvilikas also scored in Tuesday evening’s game against the Chicago Fire PDL team, bringing his tally to 5 goals in 3 games and 8 days.

Pos   Name   Team   Highlights
G Nic Platter Minnesota Seven saves in 2-0 win over Carolina (This is the 2nd week in a row that Platter gets the honor)
D David Hayes Portland Led team in two road draws
D Wes Knight Vancouver Two assists in 3-2 win over Miami
D Cristian Arrieta Puerto Rico Two goals in 4-1 win over Austin
D Matt Bobo Charleston Led team in 1-1 draw versus Portland
M Pato Aguilera Cleveland Two assists in 3-0 win over Rochester
M Jonathan Steele Puerto Rico Goal in 4-1 win over Austin
M Godfrey Tenoff Cleveland Goal in 3-0 win over Rochester
F Diego Serna Miami Goal in 2-0 win over Austin
F Brian Cvilikas Minnesota Two goals in 2-0 win over Carolina
F Charles Gbeke Vancouver Two goals in 3-2 win over Miami (NOTE: Gbeke makes team of the week even though he was red carded out of the game for arguing with his own teammate defender Wesley Charles and is suspended for two games from the league and fined by the Vancouver Whitecaps)

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USL-1 Goal of the Week
Austin Aztex midfielder Jean Alexandre stunned Puerto Rico in first half stoppage time with an unexpected blast from 40 yards out that soared just over Bill Gaudette’s reach and under the bar.

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USL Review Video — Week 10

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USL on Fox – 2009 Schedule
Don’t forget to check to see all the scheduled USL games on Fox Soccer Channel.

USL Breakaway on FSC – Episode 2
Hosted by the USL First Division’s Cleveland City Stars, the second edition of USL Breakaway debuted on Fox Soccer Channel last Friday, June 19, and will continue to air over the next month. The episode featured interviews with Real Maryland Monarchs General Manager David Noyes and Washington Freedom Assistant Coach Win Puffer. The 30-minute show highlights the promotion of Cleveland to USL-1 and the addition of the Portland Timbers U23 into the Premier Development League.

Episode 2 of USL Breakaway will re-air on Saturday, June 27 at 12:30 pm ET, Friday, July 3 at 6:00 pm ET, Saturday July 4 at 8:00 pm ET and Sat July 11 at 5:00 pm ET. Check your local listings.

Next Week: The Puerto Rico Islanders visit the Charleston Battery in a special Thursday night match. It will also be the final contest of three straight matches between the two clubs over the span of one week.

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Betsy McAdams remembered
Charleston Battery Chief Operating Officer Betsy McAdams passed away Thursday morning after a courageous battle with brain cancer. Betsy was an original employee of the Charleston Battery since its inception in 1993. The Charleston Battery will observe a moment of silence before next Thursday’s match with the Puerto Rico Islanders in her honor.

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Carolina to host international friendly
The RailHawks announced this week that Panama and Honduras will square off in a pre-Gold Cup friendly on Sunday, June 28, at 5 p.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.

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Montreal to face River Plate at Saputo Stadium
The legendary Argentine club Atlético River Plate will play a friendly with the Impact, Tuesday, August 4, at Saputo Stadium. Personally, I think I would rather see River Plate play a friendly than some of the EPL or Championship teams that come from England. I think the Montreal fans are in for a treat and I would get those tickets early.  Other  international friendlies at Saputo Stadia this summer are:

INTERNATIONAL GAMES IN MONTREAL 
* Saturday, June 27 – Haitian National Team VS Syrian National Team – Saputo Stadium – 3:30 pm
* Wednesday, July 1 – Haitian National Team VS Impact – Saputo Stadium – 7:30 pm
* Wednesday, July 8 – Syrian National Team VS Impact – Saputo Stadium – 7:30 pm
* Saturday, July 25 (Champions Trophy) – EA Guingamp VS FC Girondins de Bordeaux – Olympic Stadium – 3 pm
* Tuesday, July 28 – FC Girondins de Bordeaux VS Impact – Saputo Stadium – 7:30 pm
* Tuesday, August 4 – CA River Plate VS Impact – Saputo Stadium – 7:30 pm

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US Open Cup news

2nd Round Action

From coast to coast it was a big night for many teams in Round II of the US Open Cup on Tuesday evening. The shock of the evening was the Carolina RailHawks of USL-1, who were ousted from the tournament by a USL-2 team, Wilmington Hammerheads,  who will now move on to face the Chicago Fire in Wilmington, N.C.

Some of the other matchups in the third round are also intriguing. The Ocean City Barons, who are a PDL team, will play DC United at the Maryland Soccerplex. Ocean City becomes only the sixth amateur team to ever upset back-to-back professional clubs.

The Austin Aztex will now play a derby-type game with the Houston Dynamo. That game will be played at Nelson Field in Austin and is sure to be a good one.

Perhaps the most interesting matchup of all will be the Portland Timbers game vs the Seattle Sounders at Portland’s PGE Park, a place the Sounders are very familiar with. I’m sure the Timbers Army will be out in force. Watch out Sounders!

Ocean City Barons (PDL) 1, Real Maryland Monarchs (USL-2) 0, after extra time
7 p.m.| Carey Stadium; Ocean City, N.J.
Winner plays: D.C. United

Wilmington Hammerheads (USL-2) 3, Carolina RailHawks (USL-1) 3, WH 4-2 PKs

7 p.m.| WakeMed Soccer Park; Cary, N.C.
Winner plays: Chicago Fire

Rochester Rhinos (USL-1) 2, Cleveland City Stars (USL-1) 1, after extra time

7 p.m.| Marina Auto Stadium; Rochester, N.Y.
Winner plays: Columbus Crew

Harrisburg City Islanders (USL-2) 0, Western Mass. Pioneers (USL-2) 0, HC 4-3 PKs

7:05 p.m.| Skyline Sports Complex; Harrisburg, Pa.
Winner plays: New England Revolution

Charleston Battery (USL-1) 1, Miami F.C. (USL-1) 0

8 p.m.| Tropical Park; Miami, Fla.
Winner plays: Chivas USA

Minnesota Thunder (USL-1) 4, Chicago Fire (PDL) 0
8:05 p.m.| National Sports Center; Blaine, Minn.
Winner plays: Kansas City Wizards

Austin Aztex (USL-1) 2, El Paso Patriots (PDL) 0

8:30 p.m.| Nelson Field; Austin, Texas
Winner plays: Houston Dynamo

Portland Timbers (USL-1) 3, Sonoma County Sol (USASA – NPSL) 0

10 p.m.| Santa Rosa High School; Santa Rosa, Calif.
Winner plays: Seattle Sounders F.C.

Scoring leaders after 2-rounds

3rd Round Action June 30, 2009

Harrisburg City Islanders (USL-2) at New England Revolution (MLS)
Veterans Stadium – New Britain, CT | 7 p.m.

Ocean City Barons (PDL) at D.C. United (MLS)
Maryland Soccerplex – Boyds, MD | 7:30 p.m.

Chicago Fire (MLS) at Wilmington Hammerheads (USL-2)
Legion Stadium – Wilmington, NC | 7 p.m.

Chivas USA (MLS) at Charleston Battery (USL-1)
Blackbaud Stadium – Charleston, SC | 7:30 p.m.

Columbus Crew (MLS) at Rochester Rhinos (USL-1)
Marina Auto Stadium – Rochester, NY | 7 p.m.

Kansas City Wizards (MLS) at Minnesota Thunder (USL-1)
National Sports Center – Blaine, MN | 8:05 p.m.

3rd Round Action JULY 1, 2009

Houston Dynamo (MLS) at Austin Aztex (USL-1)
Nelson Field – Austin, TX | 8:30 p.m.

Seattle Sounders F.C. (MLS) at Portland Timbers (USL-1)
PGE Park – Portland, OR | 10 p.m.

You can track the third round of the US Open Cup here.

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Why the US Open Cup should be bigger
From the Oregonian, a nice article explaining why people should care about the competition. Now the next article needs to be about how US Soccer does not promote it properly.

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Sustainability kick at Swangard Stadium
The Vancouver Whitecaps have an interesting article on how the stadium and team are working towards sustainability, introducing new ideas to be less wasteful. The program is called GreenZone Sustainability Kick. “Our objective, as with all of our Zero Waste Challenge initiatives, is to get people to shift from disposable to sustainable behaviour,” said Metro Vancouver Waste Management Committee Chair Marvin Hunt. “The most frequent question we get about reducing waste is ‘how’? We’re working with the Whitecaps and the City of Burnaby to provide the means for fans to source-separate the recyclables and compostables left from their game-time snacks.”

Great job Vancouver!

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PDL teams in the Pacific Northwest
The Seattle Examiner takes a look at the great attendance some PDL teams in the Pacific Northwest are having. Particularly the Kitsap Pumas and the Victoria Highlanders.

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Kitsap Pumas
Speaking of the Kitsap Pumas, I wrote a story about a young man from Minnesota named Max Lipset and his journey to the Pacific Northwest with the Kitsap organization. The life of a PDL player trying to make it pro is not an easy task. Max told me that this area of the country is on fire for soccer and you probably can’t find a better place to live if you’re a soccer supporter.

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Infighting for Whitecaps
Vancouver’s Wesley Charles and Charles Gbeke are handed 2-game suspensions for infighting. This was some crazy stuff. I also have the video if you’ve not yet seen it. The team also fined both players and they missed an important match on Saturday vs. Montreal which ended up being a bigger game than anyone suspected it might be. Keep reading for details.

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Battery streak ends in Puerto Rico
The Charleston Battery’s season-opening 12-game unbeaten streak came to an end Thursday night at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium after a stoppage time goal lifted the Puerto Rico Islanders to a 1-0 victory. Despite the loss, Charleston (6-1-6, 24 points) remains in first place in the USL First Division.

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Toronto FC Trounces Montreal – Steals Nutrilite Championship from Vancouver
In a bizarre game, the Montreal Impact lost on Thursday to Toronto FC 6-1.  All Montreal had to do was keep Toronto from scoring 4 goals to allow their sister USL-1 team, Vancouver Whitecaps, the championship and to represent Canada for the CONCACAF Champions League. Instead, Montreal management played a team of second stringers that the MLS team pounced on. As you can imagine, fans in Montreal and Vancouver were not happy.

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Montréal Ultras Call To Mobilize and Protest 1st Half of Saturday Home Game
The Montreal supporters, (Ultras) were so unhappy about the apparent disregard for the game played on Thursday that they issued a statement saying if the team only put in half an effort they were only going to put in half an effort. They boycotted the first half of the game and then marched in together in the second half. IMS with the story.

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Sporting Madness with another version of the story of 3 Canadian professional teams.
A tale of 3 cities.

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The Next Game In Town
William Smith of BigAppleSoccer.com interviewed FC New York’s owner, Doug Petersen and asks him about his vision of soccer in New York.

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If St. Louis enters the men’s pro soccer market, it could be the USL
The Telegraph.com with the story and interview of Jeff Cooper.

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Aztex Stadium news anyone?
Burnt Orange Report with ahhhhh…. a report.

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Phil Rawlins talks about the stadium issue.
The Aztex site did their own Q & A with owner Phil Rawlins and he sets the record straight on what is truth and what is myth.

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Musa Otieno captained Kenya to a critical World Cup Qualifying win Saturday 
But Kartik Krishnaiyer from Major League Soccer Talk says the insistence on the American leagues, MLS and USL to play through international breaks meant Otieno was not available for his club side Cleveland City who lost twice at home in three days to Miami FC.

RESULTS THIS PAST WEEK:

Thur, June 18, 2009

7:00 pm Miami FC Blues 2-1  Cleveland City Stars @ Middlefield Cheese Stadium (Bedford) – Game Report – Box Scores
Scoring Summary:
CLE: Joshua Boateng (Leo Gibson) 20
MIA: Leo Inacio Nunes 58
MIA: Alen Marcina (Paolo Araujo) 61
Attendance: 1177

8:00 pm Charleston Battery  0-1  Puerto Rico Islanders @ Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium – Game Report – Box Scores
Scoring Summary:
PR: John Krause 90
Attendance: 2019

Fri, June 19, 2009

(Fox Soccer Channel)
11:00 pm Minnesota Thunder  1-5  Portland Timbers @ PGE Park – Game Report – Box Scores
Scoring Summary:
POR: George Josten (Brian Farber) 4
POR: Takayuki Suzuki (George Josten) 32
MIN: Ricardo Sanchez 38
POR: David Hayes (penalty) 64
POR: Mandjou Keita (David Hayes) 88
POR: Scot Thompson (Josh Cameron) 90
Ejections
MIN: Julius James 62, Andres Arango 86, Melvin Tarley 90
Attendance: 8111
8:30 pm Carolina RailHawks  1-1   Austin Aztex @ Nelson Field – Game Report – Box Scores
Scoring Summary:
CAR: Jamie Watson (Daniel Paladini) 17
AUS: Eddie Johnson (Michael Callahan) 55
Attendance: 2629

Sat, June 20, 2009

1:35 pm Vancouver Whitecaps  1-2  Montreal Impact @ Saputo Stadium – Game Report – Box Scores
Scoring Summary:
MON: Rocco Placentino (Roberto Brown) 34
MON: Roberto Brown (Rocco Placentino) 39
VAN: Marlon James (Vicente Arze) 63
Attendance: 12287

7:00 pm Miami FC Blues  1-0  Cleveland City Stars @ Middlefield Cheese Stadium (Bedford) – Game Report – Box Scores
Scoring Summary:
MIA: Paolo Araujo 17

8:00 pm Charleston Battery 0-1  Puerto Rico Islanders @ Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium – Game Report – Box Scores
Scoring Summary:
PR: Nicholas Addlery (Fabrice Noel) 54
Attendance: 3198

Sunday, June 21, 2009

7:00 pm Rochester Rhinos  2-0 Austin Aztex @ Nelson Field – Game Report – Box Scores
Scoring Summary:
ROC: Kwame Sarkodie (John Ball) 21
ROC: Brent Sancho (John Ball) 87
Attendance: 3114

IIMS~IMS~IMS~IMS~IMS

GAMES THIS COMING WEEK:

Games times are listed EST. Games all available on USL Live except Friday night game available on Fox Soccer Channel.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

7:00 pm Vancouver Whitecaps  at Cleveland City Stars @ Middlefield Cheese Stadium (Bedford)

7:45 pm Miami FC at Montreal Impact @ Saputo Stadium

Thur, June 25, 2009
(Fox Soccer Channel)

8:00 pm Puerto Rico Islanders at Charleston Battery @ Blackbaud Stadium

Sat, June 27, 2009

7:00 pm Austin Aztex at Cleveland City Stars @ Middlefield Cheese Stadium (Bedford)

7:00 pm Puerto Rico Islanders at  Carolina RailHawks @ WakeMed Soccer Park

8:35 pm Rochester Rhinos  at Minnesota Thunder @ National Sport Center

Sunday, June 28, 2009

8:00 pm Montreal Impact  at Portland Timbers @ PGE Park