SoccerBlogs

By FRANCO PANIZO

The Charleston Battery booked their place in the USL Pro postseason this past weekend, and they did so in convincing fashion.

The Battery clinched a playoff berth and snapped a five-game winless skid by mauling the Rochester Rhinos, 4-0, in their penultimate game of the season on Saturday.

Â

By FRANCO PANIZO

The Charleston Battery's quest to take first place became more difficult this past weekend, as they suffered a pair of surprises losses to the rising Charlotte Eagles.

The Eagles first blanked the Battery, 2-0, on Friday courtesy of two goals in the second half.

The Quarterfinals of the US Open Cup are now set after Tuesday nights 4th round action. Left standing are the Harrisburg City Islanders, Dayton Dutch Lions and the Charlotte Eagles, all of USL PRO. On the MLS side the Philadelphia Union, Sporting KC, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders and Chivas all remain to play one [.

Check out the highlights from Saturday's 3:3 draw with the Charlotte Eagles.

The first win of the 2013 season continus to elude the Rochester Rhinos (0-3-1, 1 point), who recorded a draw and a loss over the weekend.

Matt Horth started up top for the Rhinos against the Charlotte Eaglesin Friday's 0-0 draw. Horth went 81 minutes, while Tyler Polak and Gabe Latiguestarted at left backand on the right side of the midfield, respectively.

By FRANCO PANIZO

The final weekend of almost every regular season has its share of drama, and the USL Pro's season finale was no different as two teams snuck into the playoffs while another saw its postseason hopes vanish.

The Harrisburg City Islanders and the Wilmington Hammerheads booked the final two spots in the postseason and the Charlotte Eagles fell out of sixth place and the playoff picture by losing on Sunday.

By FRANCO PANIZO

The Wilmington Hammerheads took a giant step towards assuring themselves of being in the postseason this past weekend, and they did so by grabbing a pair of results against a team that was expected to beat them.

The Hammerheads went 1-0-1 in their two games in two days against the Charleston Battery, first grabbing a late 2-2 draw on the road on Friday before picking up a 2-1 win at home on Saturday.

RICHMOND, VA – (Wednesday, August 1, 2012) – The Richmond Kickers return to Richmond City Stadium this Friday, August 3 to host Antigua Barracuda FC. Kicking off at 7:00 p.m., Friday's match-up marks one of the Kickers' final four regular season games of the 2012 campaign and will be critical in shaping the USL PRO standings.

By FRANCO PANIZO

Nothing can stop the Charlotte Eagles right now. Not even Mother Nature.

The Eagles extended their winning streak to five games this past Saturday by beating the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, 2-0, on Saturday night amid wet conditions. Devon Grousis scored the winner in the first half for Charlotte, and forward Chris Salvaggione came off the bench and added an insurance goal in stoppage time of a match that extended the Eagles' streak of games without giving up a goal to three.

By FRANCO PANIZO

The Richmond Kickers were seconds away from being held to a scoreless draw against the struggling Charlotte Eagles, but David Bulow came to the rescue in stoppage time.

The Kickers picked up a 1-0 triumph over the Eagles on Saturday night courtesy of Bulow's late-game heroics.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

By THOMAS FLOYD

George John has experienced his fair share of setbacks in the past year. But if the FC Dallas centerback's spirits have been dampened, he isn't showing it.

Last summer, a deal that would have sent John to English side Blackburn Rovers FC fell through.

The Seattle Sounders took another step closer to a potential fourth straight U.S. Open Cup title by knocking off the San Jose Earthquakes in their Open Cup quarterfinal in San Francisco on Tuesday night.

Cordell Cato provided the early goal, scoring in the 19th minute, while the Sounders defense made it stand up with a strong group effort to keep the Earthquakes off the scoreboard.

By KAYLA KNAPP

FULLERTON, Calif.—When Mauricio Salles scored the equalizer in the 89th minute, it seemed that Chivas USA and the Charlotte Eagles were destined for extra time at Titan Stadium on Saturday night.

But five minutes later, in stoppage time, Jose Correa scored his second goal of the night off a free kick from Laurent Courtois, giving the Rojiblancos a 2-1 lead, and the eventual victory in U.

STARTERS

The Kicking + Screening Soccer Film Festival begins in NYC on Wednesday and I am jealous of anyone who can be there! If you are in the area it is a MUST-ATTEND event. Deets.
dN

Copa Libertadores Final 1st Leg tomorrow night! Boca Juniors v Corinthians!

The U.S. Open Cup final four will be determined tonight, with four quarterfinal games taking place across the country.

In Philadelphia, the Union will look to continue building momentum under interim manager John Hackworth against affiliate and upstart USL Pro club Harrisburg City Islanders.

Chivas USA continues its pursuit of its most realistic silverware this season, taking on the minor league Charlotte Eagles in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup. Meet the Eagle in the net tonight. Tickets start at just /090048D47B11BEE4">$10 for tonight's game. Here's more from Chivas USA:

Tuesday night, there are staggered start times of 7:30, 8:30 and 10:30 pm for the US Open Cup quarterfinals matchups. Check the home website at 'thecup.us' to find out where to see live video streams for these games.

The Seattle Sounders, the three-time defending champion has its hands full with the MLS league leader, the San Jose Earthquakes, playing in San Jose.

The road to the U.S. Open Cup title may very well go through Seattle again.

Should the Seattle Sounders defeat the San Jose Earthquakes in Tuesday's Open Cup quarterfinal, the three-time defending tournament champions would host the semifinal match against either Chivas USA or USL Pro's Charlotte Eagles at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash.

Barring a pair of colossal upsets, MLS teams will be hosting both U.S. Open Cup semifinals this year. The Seattle Sounders, Philadelphia Union and San Jose Earthquakes would each be guaranteed to host if they win their quarterfinal matches.

Sporting Kansas City would host only if the Harrisburg City Islanders upset the Philadelphia Union, while Chivas USA is the only MLS team guaranteed to go on the road if they win.

U.S. Soccer has announced the semifinal possible pairings and locations for the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

The remaining eight-team field consists of five MLS teams three-time defending champion Seattle Sounders FC, Chivas USA, the Philadelphia Union, the San Jose Earthquakes and Sporting Kansas City.

I just noticed this seems to be the only stuff I post here anymore. Sorry about that. I really don't have much to say that's over 140 characters most of the time anymore.

Anyway, here are the latest attendance figures for the various leagues, with only a few quick notes because I'm otherwise engaged:

THE MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER G Total Average Seattle Sounders 8 308,698 38,587 Montreal Impact 6 199,600 33,267 Houston Dynamo 4 88,156 22,039 Los Angeles Galaxy 8 176,305 22,038 Portland Timbers 7 143,066 20,438 Sporting KC 7 135,549 19,364 Vancouver Whitecaps 8 152,051 19,006 Toronto FC 6 113,336 18,889 Real Salt Lake 7 129,403 18,486 Philadelphia Union 6 110,439 18,407 New York Red Bulls 6 94,939 15,823 Colorado Rapids 6 91,165 15,194 Chicago Fire 7 100,906 14,415 DC United 9 123,013 13,668 Chivas USA 8 109,239 13,655 Columbus Crew 6 79,314 13,219 FC Dallas 8 105,451 13,181 New England Revolution 7 82,730 11,819 San Jose Earthquakes 7 81,677 11,668 MLS TOTAL 131 2,425,037 18,512 NORTH AMERICAN SOCCER LEAGUE G Total Average San Antonio Scorpions 6 56,757 9,460 Atlanta Silverbacks 6 28,180 4,697 Minnesota Stars FC 4 15,461 3,865 Carolina RailHawks 6 18,610 3,102 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 7 21,491 3,070 Tampa Bay Rowdies 5 15,301 3,060 FC Edmonton 5 7,925 1,585 Puerto Rico Islanders 7 7,812 1,116 NASL TOTAL 46 171,537 3,729 USL PRO G Total Average Orlando City 7 48,844 6,978 Rochester Rhinos 4 26,554 6,639 Wilmington Hammerheads 6 23,966 3,994 Charleston Battery 6 22,367 3,728 Richmond Kickers 5 14,990 2,998 Harrisburg City Islanders 6 7,683 1,281 Antigua Barracuda FC 6 6,400 1,067 Los Angeles Blues 6 5,382 897 Dayton Dutch Lions 4 3,465 866 Charlotte Eagles 6 4,954 826 Pittsburgh Riverhounds 5 4,052 810 USL PRO TOTAL 61 168,657 2,765 PREMIER DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE G Total Average Portland Timbers U-23s 5 18,314 3,663 Des Moines Menace 5 17,963 3,593 Fresno Fuego 4 13,100 3,275 Carolina Dynamo 4 7,535 1,884 Austin Aztex 6 7,863 1,311 West Texas Sockers 5 6,293 1,259 Ventura County Fusion 5 5,687 1,137 Victoria Highlanders FC 5 4,785 957 Western Mass Pioneers 4 3,613 903 Michigan Bucks 3 2,413 804 Forest City London 2 1,550 775 FC Tucson 4 2,718 680 Palmetto FC Bantams 5 3,287 657 Laredo Heat 3 1,962 654 Baltimore Bohemians 3 1,818 606 Kitsap Pumas 2 1,178 589 BYU Cougars 4 2,236 559 Panama City Beach Pirates 2 1,115 558 Mississippi Brilla 4 2,185 546 Thunder Bay Chill 4 2,155 539 WSA Winnipeg 6 3,000 500 Sounders FC U23 5 2,455 491 Long Island Rough Riders 4 1,628 407 CFC Azul 6 2,363 394 Fredericksburg Hotspur 5 1,941 388 Ocean City Nor'easters 3 1,154 385 El Paso Patriots 5 1,908 382 Orlando City U23 3 1,083 361 Worcester Hydra 5 1,799 360 Ocala Stampede 3 1,000 333 St.

KICKERS HOST CHARLOTTE SATURDAY Veteran Goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale Named USL PRO Player of the Week
RICHMOND, VA – (Wednesday, June 6, 2012) – The Richmond Kickers return to City Stadium this Saturday, June 9 to host the Charlotte Eagles at 7 p.m.
The Kickers claimed four points on the road last weekend during a two-game trip to Harrisburg and Rochester.

Â

By FRANCO PANIZO

The U.S. Open Cup has had its share of surprises this year, but mostly MLS teams remain as the tournament heads into its quarterfinals stage.

Still, there is a trio of underdogs from third division USL Pro that remain. And they are hoping to keep their dreams of lifting the Open Cup trophy alive next Tuesday when they go on the road to take on more talented MLS teams.

The USL-PDL Charlotte Eagles continue their run into USOC play with a 2-1 quarterfinal win against the San Antonio Scorpions FC (NASL). Â The match was locked up at the end of regulation but an extra time penalty was the deciding factor that sees Charlotte advance to take on Chivas USA in the next round.

MLS teams will look to avoid becoming upset casualties for a second straight week as the unpredictable U.S. Open Cup continues. Cal FC and Michigan Bucks are the two lowest-tier teams remaining in the tournament, with Cal facing the daunting task of going up against the three-time defending champion Seattle Sounders at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash.

Meaning, go well beyond being an organization that just houses soccer teams. Compliment that by offering a membership with real benefits.

Here's some things to consider:

• Voting rights
• Club hosted parties and activities
• A gym
• Field access
• Multiple sports
• Real city / neighborhood connection / outreach / integration
• Real business partnerships and integration
• Real school connections and integration

We should have a culture formed around being a club member.

Sporting Kansas City didn't have the most pleasant trip to Philadelphia last weekend, suffering a 4-0 defeat. The won't have to wait too long for a chance to exact revenge after securing a place in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals, and a return trip to PPL Park.

C.J. Sapong scored two goals and Graham Zusi added his own tally to lead Sporting KC to a 3-0 U.

Even with last Tuesday's 2-0 loss to the Charlotte Eagles that made FC Dallas' stay in the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the club is currently on their longest break of the season to date. Of course, Dallas doesn't return to the pitch until June 16 at Houston with El Capitan on the line. But in [.