Only weeks ago, it appeared that area fans of women's soccer would be without a team to cheer for in 2012.

Now, they'll have a choice between two.

On Tuesday, Aztec MA (formerly Boston Aztec) announced that it will join the newly-formed WPSL Elite League. Although the team is the latest team to join the Elite League, it is, by no means, a stranger to WPSL.

Will Brittney Griner be the first female to make an NBA roster next season? She would have to declare for the draft. She's only a Junior at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
The suggestion of her making it to the 'Association' has been asked before, but the topic deserves a refresh.

Ian Barker, who spent nine seasons as an assistant in the University of Wisconsin men's program, resigned as the coach at Macalester (Minn.) on Tuesday to become the director of coaching education for the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Barker was on assistant on coach Jim Launder's staff at UW from 1989 to '97, helping the Badgers earn four NCAA tournament berths – including the 1995 national championship.

Coming off a season in which he was rated one of the NCAA's best propsects while he helped lead North Carolina to a national championship, Billy Schuler has plenty of reasons to feel accomplished.

Duke standout Andrew Wenger and Stanford senior Teresa Noyola were named winners of the Hermann Trophy on Saturday in recognition of being the top players in Division I NCAA soccer.

Wenger, who signed a Generation Adidas contract after a stellar junior year at Duke, led the ACC with 17 goals and eight assists.

The New Year is upon us and 2012 is shaping up to be another exciting and eventful year in the American soccer scene, but before we dive into a full schedule of big events, it is time to think about the year we just completed.

What will you remember about 2011? It surely varies from fan to fan, region to region, but there was plenty for fans from every corner of the United States to remember.

By Pat McStay
Virginia Beach has already produced talented Futbolr's: Corey Ashe, Angela Hucles, Wade Barrett, Evan Newton, and Steve Jolly to name a few. Eric Bird might be well on his way into this category. He has been a winner at every level of soccer so far in his career and plans on joining UVA's rich history of accolades by the time he graduates.

On Saturday night, Kelyn Rowe put on his cheerleading hat as he watched the UCLA Women's Volleyball Team compete for the NCAA Championship against Illinois. OK, it wasn't actually a hat, but he was following the entire game, even during his interview with Zarek Valentin for an upcoming podcast. (Zarek gave his blessing, and even asked a couple questions .

Eclipse Select Communications
CHICAGO -- Eclipse Select Soccer Club alumna and Lee University sophomore midfielder Leah Fortune (West Chicago, Ill./Wheaton Academy) was named to the NAIA Women's All-America First Team, which was announced last week by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Featured image courtesy of UNC/Jeffrey A. Camarati

NCAA College Cup

University of North Carolina defeated UNC Charlotte 1–0 on Sunday to win the College Cup. Ben Spea's goal was a cracker.

Soccer America's Paul Gardner has an interesting take on the final.

Philadelphia Union

UNC's win prompted a funny Twitter exchange that began with a tweet from UNC product Sheanon Williams:

Williams: "Want to congratulate @UNCmenssoccer.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

The National Championship is headed back to North Carolina in one way or another.

It was a long yet dramatic night in Hoover, Alabama as both UNC and Charlotte booked their place in the final with the help of penalty kicks. Charlotte was never able to break down Creighton's record-breaking defense but were vastly superior in the penalty kick shootout that followed a dull 0-0 draw.

Sounders U16 Academy Profiled By ESPN High School

Focus on defense, attacking from the back and then this quote from Jalen Markey about the upcoming game against the Vancouver Whitecaps

They're like our rival, even though they're new to the Academy. We want to get the win to show that we're the best team in the Northwest," Markey said.

Dr. Jay Martin and his Ohio Wesleyan team went on an amazing journey this season, which culminated with a National Championship on Sunday.
The story to get there was amazing, and a tremendous tribute to Martin's ability to keep his players focused on the process and to not get distracted when adversity struck during the week leading to the Final.

The Brazilian national championship has made a habit of last day climaxes in recent years and this season's competition is no exception. Corinthians (Played 38, Points 71) won their fifth Brasileiro tonight, their first league title since 2005, following a goalless draw against arch rivals Palmeiras.

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.

(L-R) Rachel Quon, Nicole Lipp, Jessica PriceEclipse Select Communications
CHICAGO -- The NCAA Women's College Cup is all the buzz heading into the weekend in Kennesaw, Ga. Locally, there are Eclipse Select Soccer Club alumni playing for three of the remaining four teams as Stanford faces Florida State and Duke takes on Wake Forest in Friday's semifinal matches for the right to play for a national championship on Sunday.

The NSC Minnesota Stars won the NASL Championship on Saturday, October 29th in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Watch as the team celebrates the national championship by running over to the Dark Cloud supporters who made the trip to South Florida and singing Oasis song, Wonderwall, which has now become a theme for this dream season for [.

In the updated BCS standings, the Stanford Cardinal have moved up to No. 4. Boise State, like usual, got screwed and dropped a spot to No. 5, while the top three of LSU, Alabama and Oklahoma State remained the same.

Stanford jumped from No. 6 after beating USC in triple overtime. However, Stanford will need some help to move into the national championship picture.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida - For the second time in Minnesota history a professional soccer team has brought home a national championship. The NSC Minnesota Stars ground out a gutsy 0-0 draw with the Forth Lauderdale Strikers Saturday evening at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The second leg result combined with last weeks 3-1 Stars [.

Stanford, the No. 6 ranked team in the land, had a fight on their hands at USC against the Trojans. But Andrew Luck and the Cardinal kept scratching and clawing until they took home a 56-48 victory in triple overtime.

Luck finished the game 28-for-39 for 302 yards and three touchdown passes.

A number of great college football teams have a right to claim they are the best college football team on the planet. But does any team have a better case than the Oklahoma State Cowboys? Against Baylor on Saturday, they gave the world more evidence.

Shortly after the start of halftime, the score was 42-0.

Undefeated and 8th ranked Kansas State appeared to be a Cinderella candidate down the stretch of the college football season. However, you can scratch that idea. Oklahoma destroyed Kansas State on Saturday and showed why they used to be ranked No. 1 in the nation.

Oklahoma got out to a 14-0 lead before Kansas State scored 17 straight.

Most Spurs fans would be forgiven for knowing little about tomorrow night's opponents Rubin Kazan. In fact, little was known in the footballing world as a whole until they emerged from nowhere to win the national Championship in 2008.

The club was formed back in 1936 and carried on for most of the following decades without making any impact in Soviet football.

Bit of a break since our last update, but Sounders Academy players continue to make their mark as Freshmen across the collegiate soccer landscape. We're now at about the 2/3rds point of the season for most programs, so we're seeing teams starting to make their final push for conference and national tournaments.

Via a really well written Jason Quick piece. I wish he would write Timbers more often. In addition to this stuff, there's some quality stuff on Paulson himself. Great article. Juicy article.

There has been some fairly scary (to me, anyway) financial talk in the past, but Paulson sounds really ambitious in this article:

"We are already looking at three to four guys who will be big, big additions in this offseason.

Internacional and Brazil midfielder Oscar

This weekend, Brazil's national championship reaches round 28. So, with just 11 games to go in the league, it was high time I revealed the six players who have caught my eye this season. This is the fourth Talent Factory (2008, 2009, 2010) and in many ways it's been the hardest to write.

Photo by University of South Florida

By FRANCO PANIZO

When goalkeeper Chris Blais' 2010 season came to a close, it did so a game earlier than he wanted. Blais had helped guide Michigan to an impressive run in the NCAA Championship tournament, one that ended with a semifinals loss to eventual champion Akron.

Tonight's Europa League group game sees PAOK Salonika take on Spurs for the first time and with no history between these sides, how much do we know about our opponents tonight?

PAOK are usually in the shadow of the larger Greek club,s but they have won their national championship on two occasions, the last triumph coming in 1984/85.

Steve Fisher has turned San Diego State into a basketball school. On Sunday night, the school rewarded their head coach by giving him a four-year contract extension. The new contract will have Steve Fisher working San Diego State's sidelines until he is 70 years old.

Last season, Steve Fisher and San Diego State went 34-3.

Akron players celebrate their National Championship

We have decided to do some detailed game analysis during the college season this fall. We will do our best to cover a couple of games on a weekly basis live out of Southern California as well as some games we see on TV (FSC game of the week) or online video feed.

Akron players celebrate their National Championship

We have decided to do some detailed game analysis during the college season this fall. We will do our best to cover a couple of games on a weekly basis live out of Southern California as well as some games we see on TV (FSC game of the week) or online video feed.

Photo by Tony Quinn/ISIphotos.com

By JOHN BOSCHINI

In many ways, Akron is a victim of its own success.

There was hardly a more dominant team than the Zips last season, amassing a 22-1-2 record with a plus-48 goal differential on their way to Akron's first-ever national championship in any sport.

By Chicago Red Stars and WPSL Communications
Chicago Red Stars forward Michele Weissenhofer (Naperville, Ill.) was named the Women's Premier Soccer League Midwest Co-Player of the Year, and Red Stars Head Coach Rory Dames was named WPSL Midwest Coach of the Year after guiding Chicago to a runner-up finish in the 2011 WPSL National Championship on July 31 at Benedictine University.

The FC Milwaukee Under-18 girls team made Wisconsin soccer history Sunday in Phoenix, becoming the first state team to win a U.S. Youth Soccer national championship.

And in doing so, they also left their mark on the successful club: In the form of a star.

"We talked two nights before the game about what a star means on the logo, and that they had the opportunity to change the logo of the club forever," Nationals coach Christian Lavers said this week, referring to the international symbol of a championship.

The 2011 college football season is almost here. As proof, check below to see the 2011 college football coaches poll. As expected, Oklahoma is No. 1 in the rankings. The top five is rounded out by Alabama, Oregon, LSU and Florida State.

Oklahoma led the way with 42 first place votes, while Alabama had 13.

Julie Ewing -- Chicago Red StarsChicago Red Stars & WPSL Communications
CHICAGO - Chicago Red Stars midfielders Julie Ewing and Kara Kabellis and defender Sammy Scofield were named to the 2011 WPSL All-Championship Team.
Ewing in particular had a standout Championship weekend for Chicago, scoring two of the Red Stars' three goals in the final two matches, including a dramatic 88th-minute tally in the WPSL National Championship to force overtime against the Orange County Waves.

Minnesota had two teams that made it through the US Youth Soccer Region II Midwest Regionals and qualify for the Nationals in Phoenix, Arizona. Both the boys U-16 Minnesota Thunder Elite Academy and the girls U-19 Woodbury Inferno competed in that tournament last week but neither team qualified for the final.

Minnesota had two teams that made it through the US Youth Soccer Region II Midwest Regionals and qualify for the Nationals in Phoenix, Arizona. Both the boys U-16 Minnesota Thunder Elite Academy and the girls U-19 Woodbury Inferno competed in that tournament last week but neither team qualified for the final.

The Red Stars' Julie Ewing (right)
and Orange County's Brittany KleinChicago Red Stars Communications
LISLE, Ill. -- The Chicago Red Stars (11-2-0) and Orange County Waves (13-1-0) provided plenty of drama. In the end, it was Tanya Taylor's 101st-minute goal that proved to be the difference as the Waves won, 2-1, in overtime to earn the 2011 Women's Premier Soccer League National Championship on Sunday at the Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex.

For the first time in the event's history, a Wisconsin team has won a U.S. Youth Soccer national championship.

Cara Walls (Wauwatosa East) scored twice in two minutes in extra time and Mady Vicker (Whitefish Bay) added another insurance goal as FC Milwaukee powered past Colorado Rush Nike 4-2 in the girls Under-18 final to win the Frank Kelly Cup on Sunday morning at the Reach 11 Complex in Phoenix.