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.

Being a professional has less to do with getting paid, and more to do with the proper attitude and approach. The adjustment for young professionals making a jump to the next level from college normally starts with how quickly they can apply that approach, and adapt to those demands.
Craig Merz of MLSsoccer.

The Rapids made a trade late today, sending an international roster spot and our 2nd round pick in the 2014 draft to Vancouver for allocation money. I'm guessing the signing of Castrillon is imminent. The Rapids now have 3 open international spots and 3 filled ones.
Colorado also invited two players from their open tryouts earlier this week into training camp with the team.

Yesterday, Tweed Thornton and I had the opportunity to speak with Chicago Fire head coach Frank Klopas. It was an excellent chance to ask some questions that we had been wondering about and had been hearing from other Chicago Fire fans. It was also a chance to get to know the man who will be starting his first full season as head coach in March.

The North Shore United Under-17 girls team closed the Disney Soccer Showcase in winning form.

The Cedarburg-based club doubled up North Carolina's NC Fusion Elite 4-2 on Monday in Orlando, Fla., to finish 1-2-0 in the Showcase Red Division of the elite tournament.

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.

A bit earlier, I was sent a birdie email suggesting Hammarby were the ones about to sign former North Carolina forward Billy Schuler. Then minutes ago, suddenly, everybody and their mother over in Sweden started reporting this.Gregg Berhalter 1, MLS 0? Nothing from the club yet.- Greg Seltzer

Stories of loud and obnoxious soccer parents are not hard to come by. We've all encountered them, though in my experience they're not as widespread as the media would lead you to believe. When you do encounter them, it's usually a couple of parents being loud and/or obnoxious while the other parents behave (and often try to get as far away from the loud ones as possible).

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.

One player who spent his summer playing soccer in Wisconsin is now a national champion.

Carlos McCrary came off the bench and played 11 minutes as third-ranked North Carolina tipped No. 14 Charlotte 1-0 in the NCAA Division I men's final Sunday in Hoover, Ala.

McCrary, a National Premier Soccer League All-Star after scoring five goals and adding two assists for the Madison 56ers last summer, was on the field for the lone goal of the match – an impressive curling, left-footed shot by Ben Speas from 25 yards out in the 65th minute.

The Tarheels of North Carolina finally got over the hump and won the NCAA National Title Sunday with their 1-0 win over Charlotte. The number 1 seeded team didn't play... Read more »

Ben Speas scored the only goal in North Carolina's 1-0 win in the College Cup final against Charlotte on Dec. 11.
Youth National Team veteran Ben Speas, who played for the U-17, U-18 and U-20 Men's National Teams, scored the winning goal to help North Carolina beat Charlotte in the NCAA Division I Championship.

Once again the College Cup is upon us. While this game has little to do with MLS as a whole, it's nice to see the current top crop of NCAA soccer prospects, especially since many of them are probably looking at MLS as an entry to playing professionally. A few are probably already signed up for Generation Adidas as well.

Blushing Rose: UCLA midfielder Andy Rose missed UCLA's first penalty kick in a shootout Friday and North Carolina marched into the College Cup final Sunday (AP Photo). *It was a noble effort, but after twice taking the lead against top-ranked North Carolina Friday UCLA lost their nerve and the semifinal,

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.

Matt Leinart just can't catch a break. After sitting on the bench for two years, the former Heisman Trophy winner out of USC was finally starting a game in the NFL again. However, in the first half of the game between the Houston Texans and the Jacksonville Jaguars, Matt Leinart hurt his shoulder and was ruled out.

*Long Beach State's best-ever season has ended after a loss to Duke Friday in North Carolina.

*The UCLA men remain alive in the thid round of the NCAA Tournament, however, and host Rutgers Sunday at Drake Stadium.

A trio of Wisconsin women's teams continue play in the NCAA tournament on Friday.

City rivals Marquette and UW-Milwaukee are both in North Carolina for second-round Division I matches – and they'll hope to be playing in the third round on Sunday. UW-Whitewater, meanwhile, plays in the third round of the Division III tournament Friday, shooting to advance to the national quarterfinals on Saturday.

The All-ACC Men's Soccer Team and 2011 ACC All-Freshmen Men's Soccer Team have been announced and the University of Virginia is well represented.
Junior forward Will Bates is the lone Virginia player named to the All-ACC First Team. The All-ACC Second Team includes Bates' teammates Brian Ownby and Brian Span.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Brian Span (So., Somers, N.Y.) scored the golden goal with 20 seconds remaining in double overtime to propel the fourth-seeded Virginia men's soccer team to a 4-3 victory over fifth-seeded Wake Forest Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the 2011 ACC Tournament at Klöckner Stadium.

The way things are shaking out for Creighton, it would appear that the Bluejays are well on their way to a top seed in the NCAA men's soccer tournament.

After finishing the regular season as Missouri Valley Conference co-champions, the Bluejays, who are a perfect 9-0 at home this season, are set to host the league's tournament this week.

After greatly enjoying my last NASL match in Fort Lauderdale, I was happy to follow the Strikers' surprisingly making it to the final of the NASL championship after defeating the huge favourites of Puerto Rico Islanders in the semifinal. The other finalists were also an upset, namely the Minnesota Stars, who defeated the North Carolina Railhawks, who had been the best team in the season.

U.S. Soccer, in conjunction with NIKE and the U.S. Soccer Foundation, has selected 151 participants for the 2011-12 Development Academy Scholarship program. The awards provide need-based aid to full-time players participating in the Development Academy program.
Of 78 clubs in the Academy, 50 have participants in the Scholarship Program's fourth year.

Perhaps No. 2 ranked North Carolina was looking ahead to Friday's showdown against No. 3 ranked Maryland heading into Monday night's visit to tiny Davidson College. Whether it was distraction, or just a special team effort by an underdog, the Wildcats took full advantage to knock out one of the country's top teams.

There were 22 players selected ahead of Michael Farfan in the 2011 MLS Draft. For the second straight week, the Philadelphia Union midfielder/defender showed many of those teams that passed on him just what a mistake they made.

Farfan's brilliant game-winning goal against D.

Brave New Media's Damian Petrou traveled with the Stars to Cary, North Carolina last Saturday for the team's dramatic win against the RailHawks which secured a NASL playoff spot. Come along for the ride and watch the behind the scenes footage of the players and coaches as they prepare, play and then celebrate after their final regular [.

Here is a list of some of this weekends college soccer action in Virginia:

• Men's Soccer Heads to High Point on Saturday
• #1 Terps Trek to Virginia Tech Saturday
• Lady Flames to Visit Nation's Capital
• Virginia Men's Soccer Battles No. 4 North Carolina at 7 p.m. Friday
• Radford Men battle Elon Saturday
• Tribe Women's Soccer to Host Pair of CAA Matches this Weekend

Jack Coleman will be a big part of the Hoosier's season this year. (Photo via USSoccer.com)

With each year that the MLS academy system is around, college teams will get a little richer for a couple years. That is certainly the case this season as several college teams are blessed with loads of talent from the MLS academy system.

Three players from Wisconsin teams were named to the National Premier Soccer League All-Star team, which is set to play three matches over the next week.

Hartford's Anthony Santaga (Green Bay Notre Dame) and North Carolina's Carlos McCrary, both midfielders from the Madison 56ers, and Mountain State defender Pedashoo Deneus from Eau Claire Aris FC are part of the 21-player roster.

As the U-15/16 teams conclude group play on Thursday, here is a look at how teams can seal a place in Saturday's championship matches. The LA Galaxy play Seattle Sounders FC at 3 p.m. CT in a winner-take all affair. In group 2, PA Classics and North Carolina Fusion are in control of thier own destinies when they meet at 6 p.

The older age group has kicked off and now it's the younger group's turn. All eight U-15/16 Development Academy Finals Week participants have checked in at Marquette University and are ready to go on their own quest for a championship. Get the lowdown on each team at ussoccer.com.
U-15/16 Schedule
Time (CT) Match
2 p.

The U-17/18 age group wrap up their Development Academy Playoff games today, sending the top team from each of the eight groups to Milwaukee, Wis., for Finals Week.Below are the possible advancement scenarios for the eight groups:
Group 1
· Pateadores advances with a win OR draw against Empire United
· Winner of North Carolina Fusion/D.

The Academy players are excited to watch tonight's Gold Cup final between the USA and Mexico. We asked some teams who they thought would win and while most agreed that Mexico would put up a good fight, the consensus was that the USA would win the title. The majority of players predicted a score of 2-1 in favor of the U.

The Madison 56ers came out firing Saturday night against Eau Claire Aris FC, and never really stopped.

From a blast by UW-Green Bay midfielder Anthony Santaga (Green Bay Notre Dame) in the opening seconds to a goal by North Carolina's Carlos McCrary in second-half stoppage time, it was an all-around impressive display.

A modest one, courtesy of the Associated Press:

CARY, N.C. (AP) -- The U.S. men's national team will be trying to follow a well-traveled path to more World Cup success in a few years.

Four years ago, the Americans won the Gold Cup to earn an automatic bid to the 2009
Confederations Cup.

Michael Farfan was one of the more dangerous attacking players in all of college soccer in his final season at North Carolina, and even though he slipped to the second round in the MLS SuperDraft, he's proving some of his doubters wrong with his play on the professional level.

The U.S. team arrived in North Carolina yesterday and we have to report that people down here are just plain nice. Usually most folks do their best to take care of the U.S. WNT, but everyone we've encountered so far here in Cary, N.C. has shown the team some excellent southern hospitality, which is much appreciated.

By Mark Berman
BLACKSBURG -- During her Virginia Tech soccer career, Kelsey Billups was part of three teams that advanced to the NCAA tournament.
As a junior, she helped the Hokies knock off No. 1 North Carolina.
As a senior last fall, she shared the team lead in goals.

One of Jay-Z's 99 problems could be with the NBA. Tim Frank, a spokesman for the NBA, has confirmed that Jay-Z is under investigation for visiting players of the Kentucky basketball team in the locker room after the team beat North Carolina. Why is this an issue? Jay-Z is a minority owner of the New Jersey Nets and owners aren't allowed to have contact with college basketball players during the season.

Indi Cowie a 16-year-old soccer phenom from North Carolina can freestyle with the best. "The family garage is her laboratory," notes the New York Times Magazine. "There are times when there's an enormous bang and I wake up at 5 in the morning thinking there's an intruder in the house," says Indi's father, Logan Cowie.