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Espindola Makes the Most of Very Little

The Sounders FC fell at home to Real Salt Lake on Saturday May 12th. This ended their five game winning streak. They were coming off of a busy schedule and it showed. Neither team had many chances, although the Sounders maintained the majority of possession. Real’s back three proved impenetrable and were able to shut down on corners and aerial crosses into the box. The only goal came in the 51st minute: Fabian Espindola received a pretty through ball from Luis Gil and was able to smack it past Bryan Meredith. Other than the goal, Salt Lake did not have many opportunities. Seattle now gets the week off to prepare for next Saturday’s match against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Osvaldo Alonso, depsite being listed as questionable, played the whole match like a brick wall. He played aggressively and intelligently.

Real’s defender, Chris Wingert, left the game with a left hamstring injury in the 25 minute.

They was some slight rough housing going on between the teams. Fredy Montero was flagrantly hassled from behind several times before retaliating giving Real a free kick just before the half ended.

Espindola played a fantastic match and turned lemons into a goal. His style reminds me of Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimović: crafty, fast, accurate, and pony-tailed.

Alvaro Fernandez was substituted in for David Estrada in the 58th minute. He did his best to outsmart defenders on the outside, but his crosses did not create the opportunities the Sounders needed. His imagination is exactly what Seattle deserves, but he often misjudges his kicks and is unable to realize his ambitions. Eddie Johnson received a comical yellow in the second half after he took the ball from the keeper’s hands.

The final ten minutes consisted of a bounty of free kicks and corners for Seattle. They were all defended well. Seattle walked away with nothing to show for their effort.

AFC Cleveland Lands a Stunning Draw at Home

A stoppage time goal by English defender Ruairidh Winters gave AFC Cleveland a 2-2 draw with Greater Binghamton FC (0-0-1) in their first ever home match.

“Obviously we are delighted with the end result,” AFC Cleveland manager Andy Hoggarth stated. “The boys battled all the way until the end.”

The visitors scored in the 30th and 40th minutes, giving Cleveland a 2-0 deficit at halftime. It wasn’t to say that there was a shortage of opportunities for the home team as Michael Matlock, Yianni Sarris, and Vinny Bell led a barrage of shots against the Binghamton defense.

The second half was more of the same as the visitors began to pull away. But a handball in the box gave Cleveland a chance to attempt a penalty kick, which Tyler Johnston converted in the 83rd.

“You have to give a lot of credit to Tyler Johnston,” Hoggarth stated. “It took a lot of guts for him to step up and slot the penalty home.”

This was followed by the equalizer from Winters in extra time as Cleveland (0-0-2) claimed its second draw in as many days.

“We went down in a hole and dug ourselves out,” AFC Cleveland goalkeeper Ben Yabrow stated. “It shows the character of the team.”

AFC Cleveland returns to Byers Field on Friday, May 18 to face the visiting FC Buffalo with a 7:00 pm kickoff.

Match Photos

AFC Cleveland Land Draw on the Road

A goal by Case Western Reserve striker Vinny Bell was enough to earn AFC Cleveland a 1-1 draw with Detroit City FC Saturday night. It was Cleveland’s first ever regular season match and first ever road match.

Detroit opened the scoring with a goal in the 11th minute by Stefan St. Louis. Bell’s strike in the 34th brought things even at 1-1.

Cleveland goalkeeper Ben Yabrow was called upon several times to deny the home team’s attack, landing two spectacular saves in 1 v 1 situations.

“To come away with a point was great,” AFC Cleveland head coach Andy Hoggarth stated. “We were nice and strong in the air; we created good opportunities.”

Cleveland has little time to rest as they face the visiting Greater Binghamton FC on Mother’s Day at Byers Field in Parma. It is the first home game in franchise history.

Crew Back on Track with Home Win

A 2-1 win by Columbus over FC Dallas was a welcome site to the Crew who had been inept on offense the past two matches.

In the 67th minute Justin Meram finally ended the Crew’s offensive woes. A few minutes later Sebastian Miranda followed suit and put in a rocket of a header from outside the box.

Before that it had been almost 2 ½ games worth of playing time since the Crew’s last goal. The Dallas defense took a blow when Zach Lloyd picked up his second yellow card of the match in the 62nd minute giving Columbus the man advantage. Fatigue also played a factor as the tired Dallas strikers could not put together any semblance of an attack after the half.

Going into half time the Crew looked lost. Fabian Castillo scored the first goal of the match for Dallas when midfielder Tony Tchani let him by. In the 22nd minute Tchani was guarding Castillo on the left sideline but stopped when the ball teetered on the out of bounds line, opening the door for Dallas’ first goal in over 200 minutes as well.

The substitution of Meram late in the first half seemed to give the team the spark they needed. The win was the first for the Crew in 5 games and 3rd of the season.

“We needed something with the slide we’re in,” Crew defender Josh Williams said.

Despite the win injures continue to be a huge problem. In the 44th minute forward Ethan Finlay went down with concussion-like symptoms after an elbow by Andrew Jacobson. It wasn’t the only elbow thrown as the two teams played rough all night. The injury to Finlay is the 12th on the roster and leaves the Crew very weak in the long run at striker.

When asked about the offensive struggles of the team, Crew striker Justin Meram responded, “We needed something; finally we got that monkey off our shoulders.”

Next up the Crew head out west to face first place San Jose in the first of a two game road trip.

California Storm Will Return to WPSL Action with Familiar Names: Chastain, Sissi and Wagner

The California Storm will feature several big names in women’s soccer when they return to Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) action for the 2012 season. Rejoining the Storm will be former U.S. Women’s National Team members Brandi Chastain and Aly Wagner and former Brazil Women’s National Team member Sissi. Stanford standouts Teresa Noyola and Lindsay Taylor will also be back on the team, along with several other Storm veterans.

Over the years Storm, one of the founding members of the WPSL, has helped to develop a number of successful women’s players, including Chastain and Julie Foudy. Head Coach Jerry Zanelli, who is also Commissioner of the WPSL, is particularly proud of his role in helping Chastain return to form after being cut early in her career with the National Team. The talented defender and sometime-midfielder had started her career as a forward, but was edged out from the team at that position. Zanelli helped to remake Chastain as a defender, and the rest was history.

Chastain is perhaps best remembered for her bra-baring celebration after scoring the game-winning penalty kick in a shootout between the USA and China in the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup final. What is often forgotten is that she played 192 international matches with the National Team, scoring 30 goals in the process. Chastain scored her first international goal – one of five in the match – in a 12-0 win against Mexico during a 1991 CONCACAF qualifying match for the Women’s World Cup.

Perhaps Chastain’s determination and drive were best displayed during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta when she played every minute of every U.S. match. Even after she suffered a serious knee injury in the semifinal match against Norway, Chastain continued on the field to help the American women to the gold medal.

“We are very pleased to have Brandi returning to the Storm for 2012,” said Zanelli. “She has contributed her talent to the Storm for many years and has scored numerous goals for us.”

Chastain will not be the only player with international experience on the team. Wagner, who graced the National Team from 1998 to 2008, will join the Storm as an attacking midfielder. She appeared in 131 international matches and scored a total of 21 goals. She was also the first player chosen in the inaugural Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA) draft in 2003, picked by the San Diego Spirit. She was later traded to the Boston Breakers. In 2009 Wagner played for the Los Angeles Sol of Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS).

A third member with international credentials is former Brazil star Sissi, who spent several years playing for the Storm before moving to FC Gold Pride of the WPS in 2009. At the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup Sissi scored seven goals and was the co-recipient of the Golden Boot Award with China’s Sun Wen. Prior to joining Storm in 2004, Sissi played for the WUSA San Jose CyberRays.

“Sissi is an outstanding player who is a former Brazilian National Team member,” said Zanelli, “and as Co-Captain has led the Storm to multiple victories. FIFA acknowledged Sissi as being one of the fifteen best women soccer players to ever play the game.”

The Storm will also have the services of talented Stanford players Noyola, Taylor and Rachel Quon, who helped lead the Cardinal to the NCAA Division 1 Championship. Noyola was named NCAA Player of the Year and is currently part of the Mexican Women’s National Team. She was also a top pick in the 2012 WPS Draft, although the suspension ended her hopes of playing in the league. Taylor was named a Stanford All-American player and is now on the U.S. U-23 Women’s National Team along with Quon. Both Noyola and Taylor have been with Storm since their high school days.

“I’m very proud of Teresa,” said Zanelli. “She loves to learn; she’ll soak up any information that’s around. She got to play alongside of Sissi, which helped her to learn. I used to call her “Little Sissi,” but I talked to her about a week before the WPS Draft and told her “You’re no longer Little Sissi, you’re Big T.”
Returning to Storm from playing in the WPS are Allison Falk and Tracy Hamm.

Falk, another Stanford graduate, spent the 2008 season with Storm before moving to the Los Angeles Sol in 2009 and the Philadelphia Independence in 2010. The talented defender scored the first goal in WPS history, on March 29, 2009, on an assist from Aya Miyama. She also scored the Independence’s first WPS goal in 2010.

A standout for the California Golden Bears, Hamm returned to her alma mater as an assistant coach in 2009. As a player she led the team in scoring as a freshman and was a three-time All-Pac 10 Academic Honorable Mention. Hamm was drafted originally by FC Gold Pride in 2009 and later played with Atlanta Beat. After graduating in 2006 she played with Storm until moving on to the WPS.

Storm will also welcome back veteran players Maureen Whitney, Katie McCoy, Felicia Novoa, Leah Larot, Katie Oakes and Rachel Mercik for the 2012 season. Looking to the future, the team will add several current collegiate athletes from the region. Joining Storm from UC Berkeley will be Emily Kruger, Kaitlin Fitz Patrick, Amanda Glass and Kory Lament. Saint Mary’s will contribute Caroline Kreuz and Vicki Shimkus, while Kortney Agdeppa will join from UOP. Finally, Santa Rosa Junior College will provide Cara Curtin and Lauren Curtin to the Storm family.

California Storm finished the 2011 season with a 5-4-1 (W-L-T) record in the WPSL Pacific-North Conference. The Storm will open the 2012 season hosting the San Diego SeaLions, who finished 8-1-1 in the Pacific-South Conference, on Saturday, May 19, at 7:00 p.m. Conference action begins on Saturday, May 26, when Bay Area Breeze visit Storm’s home field at Folsom High School.