The United States Soccer Federation announced on Friday its end of year awards, with the highest honors of Male Athlete of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year going to US nationals Clint Dempsey and Abby Wambach. Young Male Athlete of the Year and Young Female Athlete of the Year, which can only be [.

FC Milwaukee was rated as the country's 19th-best club for girls soccer in 2011, according to Soccer America's annual rankings.

This is the ninth year the magazine has compiled rankings, with the number of clubs rated varying from year to year. The only other time FC Milwaukee – or any Wisconsin club – has made the list was in 2009, when the Nationals ranked 36th out of 40.

Notre Dame recruit Patrick Hodan (Milwaukee Marquette) and UW-Green Bay recruit Cheenuj Shong (Milwaukee Ronald Reagan) scored Tuesday as FC Milwaukee's Under-17/18 team closed the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Winter Showcase with its first victory of the 2011-12 season, a 2-1 win over New Jersey's NJSA 04 in Lakewood Ranch, Fla.

FC Milwaukee opens the 2011-12 season in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy this weekend with a pair of matches in St. Louis.

The Nationals' Under-17/18 and Under-15/16 teams will play their counterparts from St. Louis Scott Gallagher-Metro on Saturday and St. Louis Scott Gallagher-Missouri on Sunday in their lone league games of the fall.

A team new to the league.

A team with a backbone of experienced veterans, but also a team with a commitment to young players, led by a coach who wasn't afraid to put those young players in key positions to perform in important games.

A team with a tough, hard-nosed style of play backed by a dominating defense and keeper.

Elite Clubs National League play resumes this weekend for FC Milwaukee, with the club's five teams headed east for matches against the Michigan Hawks and Vardar on Saturday and Sunday.

The Nationals' Under-18 team is off to a 1-0-2 start in the first season of the ECNL Midwest Conference, while the Under-17s are 1-2-0, the Under-16s are 0-2-1 and the Under-15s are 0-3-0, all in Flight B of the competition.

Here they are;
South Bracket
THUSC Sodium
Eastside United FC Arsenal
OSSA 95 Blue
FC Portland 1995G Navy
Boise Nationals
FC Nova
North Bracket
Eastside FC Red
VUSA Timbers
Greater Renton FC
NW Nationals
Spokane Shadow
River City
At first glance it looks like OR vs WA but then Boise Nationals and FC Nova are in the South.

FC Milwaukee strike partners Sarah Hagen (Appleton North) and Laurie Nosbusch (Mequon Homestead) earned Women's Premier Soccer League plaudits again.

UW-Milwaukee's Hagen was named to the All-WPSL first team and Nosbusch, a standout at the University of Wisconsin, was a second-team selection, the second straight season the Nationals' forwards were so honored.

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.

Four players from national champion FC Milwaukee earned spots on the girls Under-18 Best XI for their performances at the recent U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships in Phoenix.

Forwards Cara Walls (Wauwatosa East) and Mady Vicker (Whitefish Bay), defender Valerie Gonyo (Waukesha Catholic Memorial) and goalkeeper Monica Gonyo (Waukesha Catholic Memorial) all were chosen for the honor team after helping the Nationals become the first Wisconsin team to win a USYS national title.

Stephen Strasburg's return from Tommy John surgery began on Sunday afternoon in Hagerstown, Maryland. That's where he made his first minor league rehab start after undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery.

In the Class A game, Stephen Strasburg looked about as good as the Washington National could have hoped.

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.

Needing a win or draw in its pool play finale to earn a spot in the national championship game, the FC Milwaukee Under-18 girls team left no doubt.

Cara Walls (Wauwatosa East) scored in the 13th minute and Justine Hovden (Lake Geneva Badger) and Mady Vicker (Whitefish Bay) added goals in a 10-minute span in the second half as the Nationals cruised past FC Stars of Massachusetts 3-0 Friday morning at the Reach 11 Complex in Phoenix.

The FC Milwaukee Under-18 girls team is one win away from playing for a national championship.

Cara Walls (Wauwatosa East), who will start her career at the University of Wisconsin in a few weeks, scored in the 76th minute as the Nationals slipped past Florida's Team Boca 1-0 Thursday morning at the U.

Kelsey Loupee scored in the 68th minute and goalkeeper Molly Polletto came up with several big saves as Colorado Rush Nike blanked FC Milwaukee 1-0 in an Under-18 girls opener Wednesday morning at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships at the Reach 11 Complex in Phoenix.

FC Milwaukee finished the Elite Clubs National League season tied for 31st out of the 52 member clubs.

The league, which wrapped up the 2010-11 season with the ECNL Nationals Championships last weekend in Aurora, Colo., compiles an overall club ranking by combining clubs' results and finishes in each of the four age groups: Under-15 through Under-18.

Featured Image: Paul Rudderow

Part one left off at the start the Second World War. Part two picks up with the first friendly in Philadelphia after the war, beginning with Liverpool's tour of the States in 1946.

Friendlies in Philadelphia following the Second World War: 1946-1960

The 1946-1947 Liverpool FC starting XI

The first international club team to travel the US after the Second World War was Liverpool FC, who toured the US from May 11 until June 12 of 1946.

Chicago Red Stars Communications
DUBLIN, Ohio -- The Chicago Red Stars captured the Midwest crown on Sunday with another convincing victory, posting a 4-0 win over Midwest-North Division rival FC Milwaukee Nationals to advance to the quarterfinals of this year's Women's Premier Soccer League playoffs.

The third time wasn't the charm for FC Milwaukee.

The Nationals were hoping to avenge both of their regular-season losses in the Women's Premier Soccer League Midwest Conference final against the Chicago Red Stars on Sunday afternoon in Dublin, Ohio.

But the Red Stars continued their dominating run, scoring twice in an early 11-minute span and adding two late goals in a 4-0 victory over defending conference champion FC Milwaukee that sends them within one win of playing the WPSL Final Four on their home field.

FC Milwaukee won in a familiar fashion Saturday afternoon, and got the matchup it has wanted for the Women's Premier Soccer League Midwest Conference final.

UW-Milwaukee forward Sarah Hagen (Appleton North) scored her 13th goal of the season in the 37th minute, and the Nationals held off South Division champion Ohio Premier 1-0 in a conference semifinal in steamy Dublin, Ohio.

FC Milwaukee's strike partnership of UW-Milwaukee's Sarah Hagen (Appleton North) and the University of Wisconsin's Laurie Nosbusch (Mequon Homestead) couldn't be in much better form heading into the Women's Premier Soccer League Midwest Conference playoffs.

Hagen had her second hat trick in three games and Nosbusch added two goals and two assists as the Nationals closed out the regular season with a 5-0 victory over the Madison 56ers in a North Division finale Wednesday night in Germantown.

FC Milwaukee's Under-18 girls team will have early wake-up calls at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships later this month in Phoenix.

The Nationals will play all three of their round-robin matches at 8 a.m. local time (9 a.m. Central) at the Reach 11 Sports Complex. The early kickoffs are necessary to avoid what likely will be extremely hot afternoon temperatures – the average high for Phoenix in July is 107 degrees.

Red Stars Amanda Cinalli (L) and Shayla MutzChicago Red Stars Communications
LISLE, Ill. -- The Chicago Red Stars posted their most dominant offensive performance of the season, defeating Minnesota Kings FC, 9-0, on Sunday to clinch the Midwest-North Division title in Women's Premier Soccer League play at the Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex.

Julie Ewing -- Chicago Red StarsChicago Red Stars Communications
LISLE, Ill. -- The Chicago Red Stars moved into first place in the Women's Premier Soccer League's Midwest-North Division with a 5-0 victory over the Iowa Rush on Saturday at the Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex.

Nearly 24 hours after watching the Chicago Red Stars shred his team for four unanswered goals in a match that likely determined the Women's Premier Soccer League Midwest Conference North Division title, FC Milwaukee coach Christian Lavers was still irked by the performance.

"We were terrible.

Three FC Milwaukee girls teams will head to the Elite Clubs National League National Championships later this month in Aurora, Colo., with all three playing for placement spots between fifth and 24th in their respective Challenge B divisions.

But the Nationals were very close to having teams play for a national championship and a promotion spot.

No Wisconsin team has ever won a title at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships, which started in 1935.

Thanks the opportunistic Justine Hovden, the FC Milwaukee Under-18 girls team has an opportunity to end that streak.

Hovden scored twice in a 15-minute span, with both goals coming off rebounds, as the Nationals posted a 3-1 victory over Mockingbird Premier (Kent.

Mary Luba snapped a tie in the 87th minute as the FC Milwaukee Under-18 girls team rallied past Kansas' KCFC Intensity 2-1 Tuesday morning to advance to the U.S. Youth Soccer Region II Championship at the USA Soccer Complex in Appleton.

The Nationals fell behind just two minutes into the semifinal match, but Jacie Jermier – a former McFarland High School standout – equalized in the 63rd.

The girls divisions of the Wisconsin State Championships will have a different look next fall and spring.

FC Milwaukee, which has won more than 70 percent of the girls State Cup titles over the past seven years, no longer will field teams in state competition in the Under-14 through Under-18 age groups.

The Central FC Select Under-15 girls team scored 18 goals in its four matches at the U.S. Youth Soccer Region II Presidents Cup over the weekend in South Bend, Ind., but just missed out on advancing to nationals.

The Stevens Point-area team won all three of its group matches, then lost to KC Fusion Cummings 4-3 in the final Sunday.

Red Stars F Michele WeissenhoferThe Chicago Red Stars earned their first Women's Premier Soccer League victory with a 2-0 blanking of FC Milwaukee Nationals on Thursday.
Vanessa DiBernardo tallied a first-half goal for Chicago (1-1-0), and Shayla Mutz was credited with a second-half goal. Milwaukee (3-1-1) suffered its first loss of the season in WPSL Midwest - North play.

In a span of eight days, FC Milwaukee played nearly half of its Women's Premier Soccer League schedule.

The Nationals are 3-0-1 in that span after beating the Iowa Rush 2-1 on Saturday night and getting past Minnesota Kings FC 1-0 on Sunday in Midwest Conference North Division matches played in Germantown.

FC Milwaukee's Development Academy teams wrap up their seasons Wednesday afternoon at home against the Chicago Sockers.

The Under-17/18 match kicks off at 12:45 p.m., with the Under-15/16 game at 2:45 p.m. at the FC Milwaukee fields in Germantown. Neither Nationals team will advance to the Central Conference playoffs.

Sarah Hagen (Appleton North) and FC Milwaukee picked up right where they left off last summer.

The UW-Milwaukee standout forward had a hat trick as the Nationals thumped the Iowa Rush 4-0 Sunday in a Women's Premier Soccer League Midwest Conference North Division opener in Ankeny, Iowa.

The Women's Premier Soccer League Midwest Conference has been pretty good recently – the division has sent teams to the national semifinals twice in the past three years, including the FC Milwaukee Nationals last season.

Now the conference is getting even stronger.

The Chicago Red Stars, who withdrew from Women's Professional Soccer and have hopes of returning to the country's top league next year, are one of two new teams in the North Division of the WPSL Midwest.

My mate Haresh has been doing some wonderful looking into match fixing allegations involving Malaysian nationals. The response from the Malaysian FA responsible for looking into these matters? The guy who apparently heads the Vetting, Monitoring and Transparency Committee denied he actually had that job!

My mate Haresh has been writing a bit about the involvement of Malaysian and Singapore nationals involved in match fixing around the world. FIFA is trying to take action while it appears the Malaysian Football Association has its head in the sand. Check out the first part here.
Malaysian football continues to be plagued by rumours of match fixing itself but the FA, in their own detached way, say they have heard nothing.

FC Milwaukee midfielder Lindsey Holmes and defender Brittany Von Rueden were named to the Elite Clubs National League Under-17 All-Event Team for last month's San Antonio Event.

Holmes and Von Rueden were among 11 players selected for the all-event team for the Nationals (6-3-3), who are seventh in the 26-team Flight B with one event left in the regular season.

The FC Milwaukee Under-14 boys team tied two of its group matches this week at the 32nd annual Dallas Cup.

The Nationals opened Group G on Sunday with a 3-1 loss to Milan FC Rossoneri from Hilmar, Calif., then played 1-1 draws with Lonestars Pre-USSF Academy of Austin, Texas, on Monday and Mana from Monterrey, Mexico, on Wednesday.

FC Milwaukee's Under-14 team is headed to the Dallas Cup, one of the nation's most prestigious boys soccer tournaments.

The Nationals take on Milan FC Rossoneri from Hilmar, Calif., in its Bracket G opener on Sunday, then face Lonestars Pre-USSF Academy from Austin, Texas, on Monday and Mana from Monterrey, Mexico, on Wednesday at the 32nd annual tournament.