Articles of the Week

So here's a new idea I had today. I'm going to try out a weekly post where I just post some of the best articles from around the soccer world, plus the ones that I just liked. So here we go:

http://www.thefreebeermovement.com/2011/05/better-know-supporters-group-screaming.html
-The Free Beer Movement has been doing this weekly series called "Better Know A Supporter's Group," which you should check out. This week's is on the Screaming Eagles of DC United. I recommend you read the whole series.

http://www.noquartersoccer.com/2011/04/2011-southern-derby-cup-by-jim-gregory.html
http://www.noquartersoccer.com/2011/05/new-banner.html
http://www.noquartersoccer.com/2011/05/charleston-to-play-portsmouth.html
-Three from No Quarter. Always quality.

http://theshinguardian.com/2011/05/02/the-moment-genesis-of-a-salute/
-The Shin Guardian released a great piece called, "The Moment: Genesis of a Salute," about the salute to Charlie Davies at the USMNT's World Cup Qualifier against Costa Rica in 2009, just days after Davies was in car accident. Here's a picture:

http://www.yanksarecoming.com/bradley-faces-tough-gold-cup-choices-in-next-two-weeks

-Good article on the USA's prospective 2011 Gold Cup Roster.

Alrighty, just a quick little thing that I'll try to make a weekly series.

If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com. Also follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/scsoccerblog.

Battery-Railhawks Draw, Davies is Back, and the USMNT is Serious

Yesterday the Battery traveled up to Cary, North Carolina for a preseason friendly, at Wakemed Soccer Park against the NASL's Carolina Railhawks.

The game would end in a 0-0 draw. Neither team threatened very much, and the Railhawks would "dominate" (well as you could in this game anyway) the possession in the offensive third. The lack of attacking is typical in these preseason games, and I would take this result with a grain of salt.

Last night Charlie Davies made his debut for DC United against the Columbus Crew, in a game at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

Davies would enter in the 56th minute, as a sub in the second half for Joseph Ngwenya. In the 63rd minute he would get his chance to make this debut one to remember.

Chris Pontius was pulled down in the box, and Davies would step up to take this PK for United. He buried it to the bottom right.  He wasn't done. Not by a long shot.

In the 77th minute Davies collected a long ball and ran past the Columbus keeper to put his total for the day up to two.

In an emotional post game interview, Davies said:

"This has been like a storybook tonight. I don’t think you could write this stuff. You can’t make this up, and once the whistle blew I was so relieved that we had won. I looked at the fans and that’s when the emotion hit me. I thought to myself, look at the support, look at how much people wanted me to succeed. To score two goals on my debut after a year and a half out, it’s honestly amazing. I knew I was ready, and I knew that I wanted the opportunity, but it feels great to seize the moment. To survive the [car] accident and still be able to play soccer, it seems like there is a reason why it happened and this goes to show that with faith and belief that you can achieve the impossible. Tonight it feels like I achieved the impossible."

This was Davies first game for a first team squad since the car accident that he was in, in 2009.

It is rumored that the United States Men's Team will be playing a scrimmage against world champions, Spain in Foxboro, Massachusetts on June 4th, 2011.

This match would be the last game before the CONCACAF Gold Cup that the United States is hosting in the summer of 2011.

If this match is played, it will be the last in a line up of tough teams that the US has faced since the World Cup. Some of the highlights are Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, and Paraguay.

The US is really getting serious in these friendlies. We haven't been seeing too many match ups against the top teams in the world for the United States, and this line up of teams coming to the US, could get more people interested in the team, and get them more media coverage. When you play teams that are this well recognized, there are no negatives.

The USMNT will be playing Argentina on March 26th at the New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey, and Paraguay on the 29th at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee.

If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com.

Charleston Battery: US Open Cup, Charlie Davies Visiting Charleston, and More

Besides the upcoming USL Pro season, the Battery have the Carolina Challenge Cup in early March, a pair of mid-season matches against local colleges in mid-March, and now the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup to play.

Today it was announced that the Battery's first round match in the US Open Cup will be against a team that qualifies for the tournament from the  USASA (United States Adult Soccer Association). The Battery will play at home on June 14th against one of these teams. The tournament will consist of 40 teams; 8 from the MLS (6 automatic bids, and 2 for the winners of a 10 team playoff), the 11 U.S. based USL Pro teams, 9 from the PDL, and 12 from the USASA. Seattle Sounders FC will be the returning champs and are going for their 3rd straight US Open Cup championship.

The Battery have had success in the US Open Cup (see the 2008 tournament), as well as against MLS teams. Last year the Battery got to the quarterfinals, with wins over the USASA's Capital Area Soccer League Elite (CASL Elite), the USSF D2's Carolina Railhawks (who happen to share a stadium), and the MLS' Chicago Fire on PK's, before losing to the Columbus Crew. The two games against the CASL Elite and Carolina Railhawks were played at Blackbaud Stadium while the two games against Major League Soccer teams were played away.

The US Open Cup is my favorite part about soccer in the United States, due to its similarity to the FA Cup, and I'm excited as always to the see the Battery playing in this great tournament. Hopefully we'll see good first and second round match-ups so we can face an MLS side in the round of 16 like last year. The Carolina Challenge Cup could give us a look to future matches in the US Open Cup. Toronto FC can't play in the US Open Cup because, well they're a Canadian team. DC United and Chicago Fire are not automatic qualifiers for the Cup, but are playing for 2 of the berths, and with the addition of Charlie Davies, DC should have no problem qualifying.

Speaking of Charlie Davies, we're gonna be seeing him in the Carolina Challenge Cup! A couple of days ago it became official that Davies will be playing for United next year. I can't begin to explain how excited I am about DC signing Davies. Though having USMNT players playing against the best over in Europe is great, it's also nice to be able to see them play here in the US, and when they're coming to Charleston, that quadruples the excitement.

On the women's side, the Central SC Cobras have been very busy. This Saturday, the Cobras will be holding an open tryout from 9:00-4:00 at North Springs Park in Columbia. Good luck to all that will be trying out, and hopefully in a while they'll be competing for a W-League championship. They also have been releasing videos on a YouTube page called OPP2434. Make sure to check that out as well as this page where they are selling shirts, and keep giving support to the Cobras as they make the transition into the W-League.

Also check out this article on The Shin Guardian. The article talks about the possibility of an MLS expansion team in the Southeast.

If you have any questions or if you need to contact me, you can e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com.

Good News For the US National Team

A lot of news has been flowing in since Monday, the end of the transfer window. The USMNT has had many players make moves, and have had a couple other pieces of good news come in that I'll cover.

First off; transfers. Many big moves this weekend for players on the US team. Turkey is getting its fair share of American internationals, with Jozy Altidore going to last year's Turkish champion: Bursaspor, and Freddy Adu going to second division, Rizespor. Altidore, who is on loan from La Liga's Villareal, is making a good move. I say this because the best way for Altidore to improve, is obviously experience, which he just wasn't getting at Villareal where he only appeared twice this year. Adu, who is on loan from Benfica of Portugal, will definitely be getting a lot of playing time, and though his shot with the US team is slim now with new players Agudelo and Bunbury, I'm always glad to see an American playing overseas.

The third big move was Michael Bradley's move from Borussia Mönchengladbach of Germany, to Aston Villa of the English Premier League. How great of a move is this? Any way of getting American's to one of the biggest leagues in the world, I'll take and Bradley's move is no exception. The English Premier League fits Bradley's box-to-box midfielder style well. Bradley had this to say about his move:

"Everyone can see that Aston Villa is a big club, a fantastic club, with tradition and great supporters. Over the past few years Villa have made big strides and are trying to challenge at the very top of the Premier League. I am excited to be part of that and I am excited to be here."

A pair of players, Robbie Findley and Eddie Johnson, both made moves to Championship sides. Findley finalized his move to Nottingham Forest and his signed for 2 and a half years. He picked up a thigh injury in training, that could sideline him for up to three months. This is just devastating. Findley has finally made his move to Europe, and this is a terrible start to his European career. Johnson moved from Fulham to last place, Preston North End. Though the team is in last, Johnson should get more playing time, which he wasn't getting any of at Fulham.

Also, Charlie Davies of France's Sochaux, is making a move back to the MLS. He is training with DC United after playing this season with the reserves at Sochaux. This is a good move that will be getting Charlie many minutes, and I'm excited to see him back in the United States, but I hate that he didn't get a chance this season with Sochaux. He deserved a little more than what he got, and, not to hate on the MLS, but the talent in Europe is much better and we want our players playing against the best. This is not official yet. Since the MLS transfer window is open until April 15th, Charlie can make a move later. The only problem that could happen is that the MLS only accepts transfers of players that can be bought outright.

And finally the biggest piece of news, for me anyway. As ya'll may not know, Seattle Sounders FC is my MLS club. Long story. The news being about the Sounders crafty midfielder, Steve Zakuani is considering playing for the US team. How great is that? Zakuani is one of the best players in the MLS. Though he played for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, his home country, he only played in friendlies. This means that he can still play for the US since friendlies are not considered official by FIFA in the sense of player's teams. This is big news for the USMNT.

Well that's all I've got for today. If you have any questions or need to contact me, you can by e-mailing me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com.