• by Tyler Walter, writing from Richmond, VA

1. Maryland (Last Week, 1)
2. Connecticut (2)
3. Creighton (4)
4. Akron (3)
5. Louisville (6)
6. Indiana (8)
7. North Carolina (9)
8. UC Irvine (5)
9. UCF (1)
10. Boston College (10)
11. Old Dominion (12)
12. New Mexico (20)
13. Charlotte (17)
14. Penn State (13)
15. UC Santa Barbara (7)
16. West Virginia (16)
17. Coastal Carolina (19)
18. UAB (NR)
19. Notre Dame (25)
20. St. John’s (24)
21. East Tennessee State (NR)
22. Furman (NR)
23. Northern Illinois (18)
24. South Florida (15)
25. Bradley (21)

Dropped out of rankings: No. 14 Virginia, No. 22 VCU, No. 23 Brown

On The Bubble: Kentucky, Iona, Georgetown, Santa Clara, Virginia, Washington, Ohio State, Colgate, Cal State Fullerton, Memphis

In The Scope: VCU, Penn, Wake Forest, College of Charleston, Monmouth, Bucknell, Delaware, William & Mary, SMU,

photo by Tim Bounds

• by Tyler Walter, writing from Richmond, VA

1. Maryland
2. Connecticut
3. Akron
4. Creighton
5. UC Irvine
6. Louisville
7. UC Santa Barbara
8. Indiana
9. North Carolina
10. Central Florida
11. Boston College
12. Old Dominion
13. Penn State
14. Virginia
15. South Florida
16. West Virginia
17. Charlotte
18. Northern Illinois
19. Coastal Carolina
20. New Mexico
21. Bradley
22. Virginia Commonwealth
23. Brown
24. St. John’s
25. Notre Dame

On The Bubble: Washington, William & Mary, UCLA, Brown, SMU, East Tennessee State, Furman, Monmouth, Georgetown, Iona

In The Scope: Xavier, California, Colgate, Kentucky, UAB, Cal State Fullerton, Santa Clara, Michigan, Drake, Wright State,

photo by Stephen Yeargin

• by Joe Curtis, writing from Pembroke Pines, FL

The USMNT fell to Belgium today 1-0. At the end of this game, and others, US supporters tend to repeat one phrase: "the result doesn't matter". Not only do the results not matter, they do not matter until World Cup Qualifying, the FIFA World Cup, or any other major tournament. My opinion is that this is a false statement. I believe that what fans mean to say is that the game does not matter, which is true. Today's friendly against Belgium, as well as other friendlies, don't matter in the sense that there is nothing to gain or lose. Winning today’s game did not mean that the U.S. won a trophy, or qualified for the World Cup. Losing didn't mean that we failed to achieve one of those. The game itself may not matter or mean anything, but the result matters.

The fundamental goal of a game is to win. That game can be monopoly, FIFA 11, a pick-up soccer game, or a Premier League game. The goal of every game is always to win. Wins, Draws, and Loses are measurements. They measure whether you did enough or didn't do enough to win. It can be argued that the result of today's game did not matter because it is a trial and error process in order to get ready for World Cup Qualifying. In this process there will be failures, which will ultimately lead to success. But how can you decide whether a game was a failure or success without looking at the results? In my opinion, you can't.

Let's pretend we are watching a U.S. friendly. In this friendly we are playing the Netherlands, the #1 team in the world. This game doesn't mean anything because we are not gaining anything by winning or losing anything by losing. In this game Jurgen Klinsmann decided to start a new midfielder, his name is Joe Curtis. This is Joe's first international game, and Coach Klinsmann wants to see what he can do. Joe goes on to score three and assist one leading the United States to a 4-0 victory over the Netherlands. U.S. supporters would probably react to this result feeling that it was a big step forward. As a result of the game Joe's future looks bright, and he is seen as a player that can help the team win when it "counts". Now let's pretend Joe didn't score three goals, and instead had two turnovers that resulted in goals. The result of this game was a 2-0 Netherlands victory. U.S. supporters would probably react to his performance by saying that he was not national team material, and could not contribute to the team. Looking at the two extremes, winning and losing, as a result of Joe's performance the result of the game was important in judging whether or not Joe should be a regular on the team. The game itself did not matter, but the result did.

Looking at the team as a whole, the result is also important. The United States may play an almost perfect game. Distributed the ball well, had plenty of scoring chances, but in the end they were unable to score. This continues for two or three games, and still no goals. The team may be playing well but at the end of the game the team with the most goals wins. The results of these games shows that the current tactics are not working and changes need to be made in order to score. If you are unable to score in friendlies, you most likely are not going to be able to score when the game "matters". Problems that you face in friendlies are going to be the same problems faced in non-friendlies.

A game cannot be evaluated solely based on performance and not the result. Win or lose there will always be positives and negatives, but without a result it is almost impossible to really judge if a team is successful or not. If you were to watch a game without a score, different people will have different opinions. One may see all the negatives and call it a failure. Another may see the positives and call it a success. The result is the deciding factor, because there will always be positives and negatives. The result shows whether or not that team was able to overcome the negatives or challenges. The ability to overcome challenges shows that the team is ready. If a team continues to fail to overcome challenges then more changes need to be made. Only with the result can this be judged.

I find it hard to believe that the final score of friendlies do not matter. As we get closer and closer to World Cup qualifying and the U.S. is still performing below expectation I think those who feel that way will have a different opinion. Life is all about results. A game is no different. The game may not mean anything to you because there is nothing to gain or lose, but the result of each and every game matters.

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Unite and Strengthen

[photo by Isak Aronsson]

• by Andrew Orlando, writing from East Lansing, MI

In the summer of 2006 the whole world was eagerly awaiting the 18th ever FIFA World Cup. Except for me. I laughed at my friends who played soccer. Some even made the trip to Germany to see the World Cup, and I laughed at them even harder. I, like many other Americans, did not consider soccer a real sport. Soccer was a game for children and/or wimps, but not men. Little did I know, by the end of that summer I would form a love for the game and a respect for its players.

That summer my cousins from Florida visited. This inevitably meant an entire week spent with my whole family. Most of my cousins were soccer fans, and some even played soccer. We watched much of the World Cup, held a FIFA 2005 tournament on my PlayStation 2 and even played several soccer games of our own. This opened my eyes to the world of soccer. The different players, teams, styles of play, and the intricacies of the game were all unknown to me until this point. In support of my family heritage I watched all of Italy’s matches that summer. And on July 9, 2006 Italy beat France in penalty kicks to win the 2006 World Cup. My Italian pride was as strong as my newfound love for soccer, an infectious game.

Spurred on by the excitement surrounding the World Cup, I decided I would try out for the high school soccer team. This decision came the day before tryouts began. Though I recently formed what would eventually become a deep love of the sport, my original intent was to merely use soccer. My plan was to join the soccer team to stay in shape for basketball, my true love at the time. I had no real hopes or expectations for success. I knew Mason had a storied soccer program (claiming three state titles to our name) and that rising amongst the ranks would be hard to do against the quality players Mason produced. But I tried out anyway, looking to have fun and stay in shape.

When my dad dropped my off at the soccer field, Mr. Gillengerten was there to great me. G, as he was often called, was the middle school shop teacher. I already knew he coached soccer so it was not altogether surprising to see him there. G, though not a teapot, was a short and stout man. He had dark hair, fairly tan skin (undoubtedly from the hours spent in the sun with the soccer team) and wore Versace glasses. His face was weathered and war-tested while his eyes were alive with fire. The “fire in his eyes” was the fire of an extreme competitor. I would later find that it was hardly a figurative fire at all. G spent most, if not every, pre-game and half time speech glorifying what it meant to play with Bulldog Heart. Bulldog Heart was more than a clever play on words incorporating our school’s mascot in a catchy saying. It was the idea that soccer should be played the way a bulldog fights.

When a bulldog fights he struggles and scraps with anybody willing to go. No matter the size, speed or ability of the opponent. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the fight, a bulldog will always give 150 percent. And if that’s not good enough a bulldog gives 180 percent if he has to. He does anything and everything to win. And once a bulldog has you in his jaw, he clamps down and never, ever, lets go. That’s what G taught his players. To a bulldog everything is a fight, and to a Mason Bulldog every game is a battle.

G grew up in northern Michigan and played hockey as a youth, not soccer. His coaching career and 30 year affair with the game began when he got a teaching job in Mason, MI. Once settled into his new town G began coaching his daughter’s youth soccer team. Obviously he fell in love with the game because he singlehandedly brought soccer to Mason. G is the originator of Mason High School’s soccer program, founding it in 1982. G used hockey strategies as his template for soccer formations, and hockey toughness as his standard for players.
I quickly learned that G strived to instill this toughness in all of his players. During tryouts, the first week of the season, G introduced me to a drill known simply as “War Games”.

“Everybody form a circle there at midfield,” G commanded. We hastily followed his orders. “Ok, everybody get a ball at their feet.”

Once everyone had a ball G explained the rules and objectives of the drill. “Alright. Ya know, I’ve been coaching for over 20 years now and I’ve used this drill every year. It’s called ‘War Games’ and if this doesn’t get fire shooting outta your shorts, ya know, if you can’t find your Bulldog Heart,” as he pounded on his chest. G always beat on his chest at the mention of Bulldog Heart.

“Then I guess I better get you a shirt that has a big pink ‘P’ on it instead. And I think you all know what that means,” Some of us laughed at this. Others didn’t dare make a sound, out of fearful anticipation.

“The rules are simple: I call out three names. The first is on offense, his job is to get free from the defense, receive a pass at his feet from any of his teammates on the outside oft the circle, and pass it back. As simple as that. The other two are on defense. Their job is, well, stop him. That means by any means necessary. The only restrictions are if you take a guy down you can’t hold him down, you gotta let him get up. Let him try to fight through you again. And nothin’ below the belt. If Walker here’s trying to receive a pass he’s gonna have a Hell of a time if Bobby’s grabbin’ his Johnny, ya know what I mean? So none of that. And you guys on the outside you be on your toes cause the guy on offense is gonna wanna kill you if he’s workin’ his tail of to get free and you can’t even get him the ball. And I wouldn’t blame him. Okay, so that’s the rules, are any questions?” Nobody dared ask a question. “Alright lets get started, you’ll each get about a minute, minute and a half in there.”

[photo by conniiely]

And the “Games” would ensue. The defenders took no mercy on the man on offense. 60 to 90 seconds were spent in Hell for the offensive player as he struggled and fought for every inch of space to receive a ball. War Games could possibly be best described in this way: close your eyes and imagine a two versus one fight. Now the only difference between the fight you just imagined and War Games is that War Games is a soccer drill, not a street fight. To passers-by War Games must have looked like an organized brawl, with spectators circled around and an adult supervisor looking on. And instead of this school sponsored coach, hired to be in charge of these boys, breaking up the fight he hollered and spouted off words of encouragement. No doubt a bizarre sight. Chasing, tripping, pulling, pushing, grabbing, full on tackling all occurred during War Games. All for the sake of G’s effort to transform the boys he coached into soccer players, a transformation into men.

War Games simulated the all too real battles that happen on the soccer field every game. Through my four-year involvement with high school soccer, one of which at the varsity level, I have seen any and all of the tricks players used in War Games, employed in a game setting as well. And anyone that witnesses such things, whether in practice, game, or in any other form of soccer, would be hard pressed to continue believing soccer is a sport for wimps. G joked about having a pink ‘P’ ready for anyone who couldn’t handle War Games. And while many Americans believe that all soccer players wear that ‘P’, the truth is, anybody that earned the pink ‘P’ from coach Gillengerten is not a real soccer player.

[photo by Gregory Melle]

• by Andrew Orlando, writing from East Lansing, MI

Soccer in America is somewhat of a rarity. Aside from the few with knowledge about the game, most American heads are filled with misinformation about soccer. By simply searching the web, browsing American media and researching the facts, one can see the many misrepresentations of soccer and soccer culture in American society. Upon taking a closer look at various representations of soccer in America, one might find many messages about soccer culture, both manifest and latent.

The first area it is necessary to bring attention to is soccer’s representation online. Soccer seems to carry many negative connotations on the web. When one types the words “soccer is” into google, of the first 10 results, four of them are as follows; number one, “soccer is gay;” number six, “soccer is stupid;” number eight, “soccer is boring;” and number nine, “soccer is not a sport.”

More specifically there are several websites that promote an anti-soccer agenda. An example of this is soccersucks.net, a website well worth a closer look.

At first glance (especially by someone not familiar with the game of soccer) this website might seem somewhat credible, albeit over the top at times. Average readers might take some of the misinformation as factual, since it is presented as such. The author of the site attempts to organize logical arguments against soccer and its popularity.

One specific argument the author makes revolves around the idea that soccer is not in fact a sport. This is based on the definition of a sport as, “a physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively,”

[photo by Ole Olson]

The author claims that, “Soccer is not a physical activity, because it does not use the entirety of the body. It could be considered a physical activity by an amputee who lost both arms. Until soccer finally tests a person's upper torso, it is not a physical activity,”.

A casual Internet browser, lacking general soccer knowledge might stumble upon the site and see at is a trustworthy source of information. Its manifest appearance is to inform the world of how to most accurately feel towards soccer.

However, beyond the initially perceived intent of this website lies a more hidden purpose. The website’s real motive is to operate as a smear campaign against soccer much like politicians use. And like many politicians this website tries to ruin soccer’s image through any means necessary.

Soccersucks.net uses exaggerated and sometimes completely made up facts to support their claims An example of the totally false statements the site makes would be the author’s claim that the United States won the World Cup in 1991 and 1999.

The World Cup has been played, however, every four years starting in 1930 (expect for 1942 and 1946 due to World War II). Thus, if one were to do the math, at one World Cup every four years, you would see there was no World Cup in either of those years.

If an individual were to come across the website without the knowledge and/or ability to separate the website’s fact from fiction they would be susceptible to believe many of the slanderous lies told on the site.

Soccer also has an interesting relationship with the media. Newspaper, radio and television companies spend enormous amounts of money on their coverage of sports in the United States. Among the media’s sports covered regularly, soccer is conspicuously absent.

Every four years from early June to mid July one can find the FIFA World Cup being televised on ESPN. Outside of this time, soccer is relatively unseen in the American media. There are occasional Major League Soccer games but they are sporadic and hard to come by.

One might assume this lack of coverage soccer receives is due to the lack of soccer being played for the media to show. Instinctively, without thinking more critically, it would appear that soccer just is not prevalent enough to cover consistently. As Americans we value fairness and justice and feel compelled to give the media the benefit of the doubt that they are not purposefully cutting out soccer from their programming.

[photo by Drew Douglas]

Soccer’s lack of face-time in the media might say something completely different to a young child that devotedly watches SportsCenter. Imagine a young 5th grade boy that wakes up and eats breakfast everyday before school. And while he eats breakfast he watches TV. His morning show of choice? SportsCenter. And every day he is bombarded with sports.

This bombardment includes basketball, football, baseball, hockey and occasionally NASCAR. But it also includes one critical element. He is bombarded with a lack of soccer.

One might consider, what affect does this lack of soccer coverage have on such a child? Or, for that matter, anyone that lacks any practical knowledge about soccer? The effect is that ESPN perpetuates an American ideal that soccer is a lesser sport. Their lack of coverage might say to a young child aspiring to play sports, “basketball, football, baseball and hockey. Those are good options. But soccer? What is soccer? Its hardly ever on TV, it must be inferior to the other sports. And why would you want to play an inferior sport?”

By not covering soccer as much as other major sports ESPN, inadvertently or purposefully, discourage children from seriously pursuing soccer past elementary school days.

Soccer is also the topic in other areas of American society. “Nutrition and Football; The FIFA/FMARC Consensus on Sports Nutrition” is a compilation book of scholarly studies. The books entire focus is soccer and nutrition (as the title so aptly suggests).

The book discusses the nutritional and training habits and needs of top-level soccer players through a compilation of many scientific studies. One study discussed in the book involves the need for a soccer player to have a high-carbohydrate diet.

The study had two groups; one ate a low-carbohydrate diet and the other a high-carbohydrate diet. Within each group, they were further spilt into two groups. The first group took part in 10 minutes of exercise while the other exercised for 30 minutes.

The results were reported as follows, “Muscle glycogen were reduced by at least 50% in the low-carbohydrate trial, and were associated with a dramatic reduction in the work performed in both exercise protocols,”.

[photo via TheDailySportsHerald]

The more obvious meaning of this study is that soccer burns a lot of carbohydrates due to the amount of running involved. And since soccer burns carbohydrates, a soccer player would need to replace them more frequently.

What this study really speaks to, however, is the amount of physical and mental toughness it takes to fight through the very fatiguing nature of soccer. The fact that a soccer player requires above average carbohydrate intake to perform best is a testament to soccer players’ ability to work and push their bodies to an extraordinary a high level.

Regardless of the level of play, soccer is often misrepresented throughout all of American society. Though not always blatantly, multiple messages are sent when soccer is discussed in any space. The many different representations of soccer in America can range from appearing informational to somewhat supportive.

Spaces like the Internet and the popular media reflect the most common and popular of American beliefs. That is most likely the reason for anti-soccer messages being far more prevalent than pro-soccer messages.

It is only in the scholarly arena where a more balance view of soccer can be found. Sports journals, such as “Nutrition and Football,” recognize soccer’s validity as a sport. Scientific fact is provided to support the effort and toughness required of soccer players.

So if one conducted a critical analysis of soccer representation in American society, they would find an overall misunderstanding of soccer. The only accurate image of soccer in America can be found, ironically, in the solemn facts of science. Perhaps these findings are reflective of American Society in general.

Teófilo "Nene" Cubillas, George Best and Maurice Whittle

• by Joe Curtis, writing from Ft. Lauderdale, FL

The big story in the American soccer world these days is the re-emergence of the New York Cosmos. The Cosmos were arguably the greatest soccer club America has ever seen. Pelé, Giorgio Chinaglia, Carlos Alberto, and Franz Beckenbauer were some of the stars that made up the Cosmic line-up. Lets be honest, the Cosmos were a dream team and the city of New York had Cosmo fever in the late 70s. The team drew an American record crowd for a soccer game of 77,691 during a play-off game in 1977. The team they played that day has something in common with the Cosmos; besides the fact that they played against each other in the 1980 NASL Soccer Bowl, that team is also re-emerging. That team was/is the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

The Cosmos may have had Pelé, but from 1978 to 1979 the Strikers had Manchester United legend George Best; yes I said George Best. Pelé named George Best as one of the 125 best living footballers in his 2004 FIFA 100 List. The Strikers had two more players included in Pelé's FIFA 100 list: Teófilo "Nene" Cubillas and Gerd Müller. Cubillas was the second highest goal scorer in the 1978 World Cup, leading Peru to the second round. Teófilo brought South American flair to South Florida, and helped revolutionize the Strikers attack. Gerd Müller held the all-time goal-scoring record in the FIFA World Cup with a 14-goal total. This record stood for 32 years until Ronaldo broke it in the 2006 World Cup. Müller scored 365 goals in 427 games for Bayern Munich, which just happens to be more than Teófilo Cubillas scored in his whole career.

Those three were great, but there is one more player left to mention. The legendary Ray Hudson. Hudson began his career with Newcastle United and joined the Strikers in 1977. Hudson, nicknamed "Rocky", has a special place in the hearts of South Florida soccer fans. Out of the "Big Four" Hudson was the only one that followed the team when they relocated to Minnesota in 1984, and then back to Fort Lauderdale in 1988. Rocky wore the Red and Yellow more than any other player in Strikers history. In 2001 he was named the Head Coach of the Miami Fusion, the only MLS team that has ever called South Florida home. The Fusion actually played their home games at Lockhart Stadium, home of the Strikers. It is pretty obvious why Ray is so special. Today Hudson is a commentator for GOL TV, which is based out of - you guessed it - South Florida. Miami to be exact.

Fast forward 29 years from the glory days of the Strikers and you find yourself at the beginning of a new story. This story begins with a team whose colors were not Red and Yellow, but Blue and ugh, Blue. The team is Miami FC and from 2006 - 2009 they called Tropical Park Stadium in Miami-Dade County home. However, The team eventually realized that in South Florida all roads lead to Lockhart Stadium and in 2010 they relocated and began playing all of their home games at the former home of the Strikers. Now we have a team that claims to be from Miami, playing 45 minutes away from Miami. A bit odd. Miami FC was struggling to become accepted in the soccer community. I'll be honest, even I wasn't interested in Miami FC. Then it all changed.

Last August the New York Cosmos announced that the legendary club would be making a push to become the second MLS franchise in New York. Personally, this was very exciting. After the excitement of the World Cup in South Africa to now see that the New York Cosmos were making a comeback helped make the future of soccer in the United States look very bright. The league is getting better, the players are getting better, and now some of the rich history of US soccer would be coming back with the re-birth of the Cosmos. Two months later Traffic Sports, the management company that owns the team, stated that they were going to incorporate the Strikers ethos in 2011. This could not have come at a better time. Now South Florida's team is on their way back, and they would be playing in the "re-emerging" North American Soccer League.

On February 17th, 2011 it was revealed that Miami FC would be renamed the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. It was official, the Strikers were back and unlike the Cosmos the Strikers actually have a team. Some big moves were made in the weeks leading up to the opening game of the season. The first being an exhibition game against the New York Red Bulls of MLS. Around 2,000 showed up for the free exhibition. It will probably be the only time that someone will have the chance to watch Thierry Henry, who played 90 minutes, for free! It was at this game that the Strikers won my heart. I became a "Striker Liker". Not that I wasn't before, but there was no emotional connection that made them MY team. The other moves the Strikers made were the signings of midfielder Eduardo Coudet and defender Cristian Arrieta. Both played for the Philadelphia Union of MLS last season. These two signings, at least for me, showed that Traffic Sports meant business and wanted to make the Strikers a title contender this season. This threw wood in the fire that was the excitement for the new season.

Last night the New Strikers played their "innagural" game against FC Edmonton in front of a record crowd of 6,402. It was exactly 34 years since the Strikers' innagural game in 1977. The atmosphere at the game was amazing. It is pretty safe to say that it impressed everyone.

"The guys have been waiting seven weeks to get this game under our belt. Having the Strikers name back and the legacy we have to live up, adds excitement. At the same time our players are looking to a new mark for the Strikers name, and start a new beginning for the new Fort Lauderdale Strikers,” said Strikers Head Coach Daryl Shore.

The team fed off the energy from the crowd in the first half. Eduardo Coudet had two nice chances on goal, but the Edmonton goalkeeper played the game of his life."Sir Martyn" Lancaster put the Strikers up 1-0 in the 47th when he scored on a set piece by Eduardo Coudet. That was the nicest part of the second half for the Strikers, who played very sloppy for the rest of the game. In the 53rd minute FC Edmonton responded with a Shaun Saiko "goalaso" from outside the box. The second Edmonton goal was the result of a weird series of events. The linesman failed to call a foul, then Toni Stahl tripped leaving Daniel Antoniuk the open lane towards goal. The Strikers started to string passes together towards the end, but were unable to score an equalizer.

The first page in the new chapter of Strikers history may have have not been a victory, but it was definitely a positive one. The Strikers host the Minnesota Stars this Friday, April 15th at 8:30pm. If the turnout is as good as the first game it would be huge for the growth of soccer in South Florida. Hopefully the fan base will continue to grow. Of course, winning games helps and the Strikers have a whole season to make it happen. Vamos Strikers!

Chad Johnson aka. Chad Ochocinco aka. Esteban Ochocinco has been given the chance to live his dream of playing soccer. Sporting Kansas City has invited the NFL Wide Receiver a four-day tryout, beginning on Tuesday. "Due to the NFL lockout, I'm excited to be able to follow my childhood dream of playing for a Major League Soccer team," Ochocinco said.

Ochocinco was in Spain this January and met Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and the "Special One" Jose Mourinho. He also met other superstars like Kaka, David Villa, and Andres Iniesta


"We're always searching for players who can help our team and bringing in new talent," Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes said. "We know that Chad is an exceptional athlete and that he loves the sport of soccer, and he did play a lot when he was younger. We're excited to see how his skills will translate once he arrives next week and begins training with our team."


Chad is no stranger to kicking a ball. He kicked the extra point, and then kicked off in a game against the Patriots. He also said that he uses a soccer bowl to warm-up before games.