How hard is this to figure out?
Texas has enough good quality schools to fill up its own conference. It can keep rivalries and begin to form new ones.
Schools need to get along and come up with a balanced solution to television revenues so that teams don't have to travel and crisscross the country to find competition.

The U.S. Women celebrate their 2012 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament title on Sunday.

The U.S. Women's National Team put up some staggering results to win the CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament to open 2012: five wins, five shutouts, 38 goals and of course a berth into the 2012 London Olympics.

Soccer calendars vary by state, primarily due to the local climate. Yet many soccer parents chuckle at the concept of 'Spring' soccer, because the weather can get pretty wild (and cold) some years. Still, the idea of 'Spring' soccer generally meant the bulk of the season was played in... the Spring.

Soccer calendars vary by state, primarily due to the local climate. Yet many soccer parents chuckle at the concept of 'Spring' soccer, because the weather can get pretty wild (and cold) some years. Still, the idea of 'Spring' soccer generally meant the bulk of the season was played in... the Spring.

I'll be the first to admit that I don't watch much college soccer, sorry. There's simply too much out there for me to consume to give a great deal of attention to a version of the sport where the clock runs the wrong direction and there are infinite substitutions. That said, I do try to watch the playoffs and Final Four every year to at least have some idea of the potential names that could be coming to MLS.

Unwatchable college Bowl games are a problem that can only be solved with a tournament that includes them. A plus-one game doesn't address the deep-rooted situation that no one seems to be talking about.

Perhaps only in the nonrevenue-producing universe of collegiate men's soccer would Creighton University, a small Jesuit college in Nebraska, be considered a more desirable destination than the University of North Carolina.
But that is essentially what the highly regarded Elmar Bolowich said when he stunned the soccer community last February with his decision to leave Chapel Hill after 22 years as coach and with the Tar Heels building toward a potential second N.

Later today, NCAA Tournament finalists UNC-Charlotte and North Carolina wil play for the prestigious College Cup. To give us a better glimpse of what occured during the tournament, Brian O'Connell caught up with Revsnet founder and college soccer expert Mike Marshall to discuss this weekend's slate of matches, as well as college soccer at large.

Top prospects and college teams are on display at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala., as the NCAA College Cup gets underway.

Creighton takes on surprising Charlotte (6 p.m., ESPNU/ESPN3.com) to kick off the Final Four. The Bluejays have been one of the top teams in the country all season, relying on the play of senior striker Ethan Finlay and sophomore left back Tyler Polak.

A preview of the final four is here. UCLA-North Carolina airs at 5:30 p.m. live on ESPNU; the Creighton-Charlotte semi is on at 3 p.m.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

By just about any measure, it has been a good year for the UNC-Charlotte 49ers.

The little-known school of the Atlantic-10 dispatched defending champions Akron and scored in the final five minutes against stingy UConn to steamroll their way into the College Cup.

The 2011 College Cup invades Hoover, Alabama this weekend. (Photo via UNC Athletics)

Four schools remain in this year's NCAA men's soccer tournament. The College Cup has three schools that most expected to be here and one that no one saw coming. The tournament's top two seeds remain in UNC and Creighton while pre-season favorite UCLA the 13th seed and unseeded UNC Charlotte hope to spoil the fun.

For our second player profile we look to the midfield, a certain trouble spot for New England in recent years. After catching a little of the College Cup this past weekend, I've got a new midfield crush. We head out west, to perennial powerhouse UCLA, and take a look at their dynamic midfielder, Kelyn Rowe, recently named Pac-12 Player of the Year!

It's still early but the draft boards are heating up. (Getty Images)

For the last few months I've been working on a list of players that could be available for next month's 2012 MLS SuperDraft. Naturally a lot can and will happen between today's post and the draft. Players could stay in school, go elsewhere in the soccer world or just decide to hang their boots up for good.

Connecticut couldn't cling to its late one-goal lead and paid the price for it as Creighton edged the Huskies 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 match on Sunday in Storrs, Ct.

Tony Cascio broke a scoreless tie in the 82nd minute to put UConn up late, but moments later, Giuseppe Gentile leveled it in the 85th minute, forcing the match into two overtimes.

Two tickets have been punched to the College Cup.

Top seeded North Carolina and 13th seeded UCLA advanced to College Cup 2011 with victories on Saturday and will face one another in on Friday, Dec. 9th at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala.

The final two spots in the final four will be decided on Sunday when third-seeded Connecticut face Charlotte and second-seeded Creighton take on South Florida.

After pounding ACC tournament champion Florida State 3-0 on Friday night in the first semifinal of the College Cup, Stanford has a chance to play once again for the national title. The Cardinal advanced to soccer's version of the Final Four by completing its third straight unbeaten season, a feat that parallels the great University of North Carolina teams with Mia Hamm in the early 1990s.

Manchester City will face Liverpool in the League Cup semi-finals, as Cardiff City take on fellow Championship outfit Crystal Palace.
Liverpool beat Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night to secure their path through to the final four, while Roberto Mancini's side was 1-0 victors against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

- On the Men's side of this years NCAA Division I Championship Tournament JMU is the lone Virginia school left in the field of 16 after shuting out Wake Forest 2-0 in second round play. (Read More)
Up next for the No. 14 Dukes is a third round match against No. 3 Connecticut on November 27.

Two Wisconsin natives are off to the NCAA Division II women's soccer Final Four.

Senior defender Kelli Bahr (Middleton) and seventh-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State qualified for the national semifinals for the first time, slipping past No. 21 Tampa 2-1 on its home field Sunday afternoon in Savannah, Ga.

Taylor SchisslerEclipse Select Communications
CHICAGO -- Eclipse Select Soccer Club U-17 defender Taylor Schissler found everything she wanted in Ohio State University's women's soccer program.
The New Lenox, Ill., resident and Lincoln-Way Central junior announced her commitment to play for the Buckeyes starting in 2013, and she joins a Big Ten Conference program that created some national attention last year in advancing to the NCAA Tournament's Final Four.

Kasey Keller Makes Final Four For Save of Year

Thank you internet.

Oh, Troy Perkins is in there too. What evs

Fina Round Voting For Goal Of Year

More evidence to fuel the "Cascadia soccer rules the internet" theory. All four goals by Cascadia players. Both games between Seattle and Vancouver feature a finalist - Fredy Montero there and Eric Hassli here. Darlington Nagbe's juggling long range shot makes the cut.

By DAVID GUBALA

For a few of Europe's international powers, the European Championship qualifying process didn't go as planned, but there's still a shot to reach next summer's finals.

The final round of Euro 2012 qualifiers gets underway on Friday, starting with the first legs of the home-and-away playoff series.

Today the MLS Cup finalists will be decided and two teams will earn humble silverware with a conference championship. Sporting Kansas City and the Houston Dynamo will square off to decide the East while the LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake square off to decide the West. For the first time in what seems like ages, teams from the east and west are playing in their respective conference championships.

Here at the WNT Blog we admit we don't know nuthin' about dancin', but we thought that Hope Solo's Samba on last Monday on Dancing with the Stars was awfully impressive and perhaps her best performance of the competition. (Hey, apparently Hope Sambas better than she Rumbas). We do know that Maks' Werewolf/Wolverine beard was certainly a highlight as well.

Jose Mourinho and Andre Villas-Boas are both nominated finalists for the FIFA Coach of the Year along with eight other coaches from around the World. Mourinho the 2010 winner, snapped Real Madrid's run of 18 years without a Copa del Ray and took the club to the final four of the Champions League, while Villas-Boas won a treble with Porto taking home the Portuguese League, the Portuguese Cup

The quarterfinal round of the Danish Cup was drawn on Friday, giving the respective teams of Brad Rusin and Conor O'Brien a relatively straightforward path to the final four.

What is the difference between a dive and a flop? In part two of our series ("Fall of the Superman") PF will discuss the art of the dive, which we defined as any airborne maneuvers employed by a player (such as Emmanuel Eboue's tongue extension in the Champions League Final four years ago). The ensuing "flop" is the second movement to this ballet whereas the magic of flight is ruptured by contact with earth.

The draw for the UEFA EURO 2012 play-offs took place in Krakow, Poland on Thursday. The four home and away series to be decided on goal aggregate will determine the final four qualifiers for next summer's sixteen team European championships in Poland and Ukraine. Including among the draws is Croatia meeting Turkey in rematches of [.

James Grossi covers MLS with a focus on the Eastern Conference for TSG

The Preamble

MVP candidate Dominic Oduro has le....wait Dominic Oduro! Yes, MVP candidate Dominic Oduro has led the Fire to the cusp of the playoffs....

A cursory glance at the MLS standings could give the impression that there is an imbalance of power between the Western and Eastern Conferences.

The Player of the Round (and still to be announced Player of Tournament) is voted on by mostly the same group that votes for MLS' Player of Week/Month awards. Today TheCup.US announced that Seattle Sounders defensive midfielder Osvaldo Alonso was the Player of the Round for the US Open Cup Final.

Alonso was challenged for the award by teammates Fredy Montero and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado.

Three Key Matches In Final Round Of Euro 2012 Qualifying - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

After more than a year of matches, the group stage of UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying is down to its final two matchdays. Co-hosts Poland and Ukraine, reigning European and world champions Spain, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands are all set for next summer's tournament, but by Tuesday evening, we'll know who the other six automatic qualifiers are, along with the eight sides who'll duke it out in two-legged playoffs in November for the final four spots.

Photo by Tony Quinn/ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

The University of Maryland's overtime loss to Michigan in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals last season was a shocking upset, and although it ended the Terps' hopes of a national title, good has come from it.

The beauty of the Cup competition lives on in the RHB Singapore Cup as the "Final Four" - Etoile FC, Home United, Albirex Niigata (Singapore) and Hougang United fought till the very end to see the emerging of the Protectors and the White Swans for the 19th November date at JBS.
Fred Mendy (pictured above right) scored against his old team to send HUFC to the finalIn both first leg fixtures of the "Final Four" saw both the Stars and White Swans agonizingly forgo their lead in the dying moments of those matches to see their respective opponents - Home United and Hougang United crawled back to level terms to square off the encounter.

The 2011 Richmond Kickers had quite a year to remember with a run to the final four in the U.S. Open Cup (only non-MLS team) and a trip to the USL PRO Championship Game in the American Division Final.
Two members of the Kickers where also recognized by the USL for their great seasons as Head Coach Leigh Cowlishaw was a finalist for Coach of the Year and defender William Yomby was a finalist for Defender of the Year.

The University of Colorado piled up eight goals in two matches, notched two shutouts and claimed ownership of the inaugural Colorado Cup on Sunday.

The Buffaloes (2-0-0) handed the Northern Colorado Bears (0-2-0) a 3-0 loss on Sunday afternoon at Prentup Field in Boulder to claim the cup. The win at home came after CU shredded Colorado College 5-0 at the University of Denver's CIBER Field on Friday.

Josh Gatt should be in Molde's starting eleven as they try to progress to the final four of the Norwegian Cup while Mikkel Diskerud and Stabaek look to continue their upwards trend with a fourth straight win.

Milwaukee Bavarians midfielder Amilcar Herrera (Milwaukee Riverside) earned a spot on the National Premier Soccer League National Championships Best 11.

The Marquette player missed several late-season matches because of plantar fasciitis in his foot, but returned to the lineup for the Midwest Division champions for last week's NPSL Final Four in Madison, Ala.

We may be nearly three years away from the kickoff of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil but the first major step towards determining who will take part occurred in Rio de Janeiro with the preliminary draw for World Cup qualifying on Saturday.

The United States, which gets a buy until the third round of CONCACAF qualifying, was drawn into Group A along with Jamaica and the winners of Group E and Group F from round two.