There couldn't be a stronger signal that the state of women's soccer in America is in flux than to have Hope Solo and Sydney Leroux join the Seattle Sounders Women. With WPS faltering, WPSL forming a limited elite division and adding a team in Issaquah, it was already clear that there would be some change.

Photo: Earl Gardner/Daniel Gajdamowicz

This might sound familiar.

Going into opening day, Philadelphia Union's presumptive starting goalkeeper is a former University of Maryland All-American, U.S. youth international and top five draft pick. He was coached by Union goalkeeper coach Rob Vartughian in college and apprenticed to a top veteran goalkeeper in the pros.

One thing American soccer fans, especially MLS fans, obsess over is attendance statistics. In the general public we are a minority "niche" sport, casual Americans don't care, steeped in foreign-ness and all things immigrant. Never mind that high school participation has not seen a decrease since it was first tracked and soccer is the number 5 sport in high school for boys and girls (the girls are soon to take #4 away from softball).

Juventus will be facing Milan tomorrow in the Coppa Italia and unfortunately for both teams, they will not be getting a taste of the Ibrahimedic. He slapped (or rather 'nudged') Napoli's Salvatore Aronica in the face on Sunday something you shouldn't be surprised about, given Ibra's track record and is expected to serve a three-match ban.

Juventus will be facing Milan tomorrow in the Coppa Italia and unfortunately for both teams, they will not be getting a taste of the Ibrahimedic. He slapped (or rather 'nudged') Napoli's Salvatore Aronica in the face on Sunday something you shouldn't be surprised about, given Ibra's track record and is expected to serve a three-match ban.

By AVI CREDITOR

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Montreal Impact made Duke centerback Andrew Wenger the first selection in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft, taking the versatile, U.S. Under-23 defender with its first-ever draft pick.

Wenger, the 2011 MAC Hermann Trophy winner, is the reigning ACC Offensive Player of the Year, a year after he captured the conference's Defensive Player of the Year honors.

As Seattle Sounders FC's Academy enters its winter break to rest and recharge they stand in strong in the standings. The U-18s are first in the Northwest Division and seventh by PPM among teams with 10+ games. At the U-16 level the team is dominating tied for first by PPM with 10+ games and in first in the division.

Should they be playing up?

Oh how everyone talks as if they know what "development" is, and how to do it. Sigh ...

Let's talk a little bit about "playing up" and whether it helps or not.

This weekend our U11′s are going to play in a U12 tournament. This isn't the first time competing up either.

Our story is not unique nor is it amazing but it really is indicative of how the Timbers have continued to be a big part of the Portland community. I asked my Dad to relate his thoughts and memories of the Timbers in the 70's and I will explain how his involvement shaped my family and our love for Soccer and the Timbers.

Photo courtesy of Duke athletics

The quest for college soccer's top individual award has been narrowed to three competitors.

Duke's Andrew Wenger, North Carolina's Billy Schuler and Creighton's Ethan Finlay were named finalists for the Hermann Trophy, emerging from a list of 15 semifinalists that was released earlier in the week.

The football world is still trying, and failing, to come to terms with the loss of a legend.

The shocking news on the sudden death of Wales manager Gary Speed brought the country to a stand-still. Since the announcement there has been an endless amount of tributes for the 42 year old husband and father, showing just how much he meant to not only football, but the UK itself.

Jay Heaps is set to be named the Revs 6th head coach, according to reports. (Photo by Art Donahue/artdonahue.com)

According to the Boston Globe, Massachusetts native and former New England Revolution defender Jay Heaps is set to be named the Revolution's sixth head coach on Tuesday. Heaps, who in 2009 retired from playing after 11 years in Major League Soccer, his final nine with the Revs, will replace Steve Nicol who was relieved of his coaching duties after New England missed out on the postseason for the second consecutive season this year.

Jason Davis wrote an article about the lack of ethnic diversity among management in the English Premier League, and how it related to 'the Rooney Rule' in the National Football League (NFL) here in the US.
England's Premier League finds itself working through a difficult equation when it comes to race and coaching at the professional level.

By Jason Davis - WASHINGTON, DC (Sep 23, 2011) US Soccer Players -- England's Premier League finds itself working through a difficult equation when it comes to race and coaching at the professional level. On one side are the vast numbers of minorities playing the sport at all levels, including 25% or more at the professional level.

- Jason Davis
As one of those interminable people constantly worried about the popularity of soccer in the United States, I should be thrilled that Fox is giving the sport a run on their flagship over-the-air behemoth of a network starting this Sunday. Manchester United and Chelsea will be shown, on tape delay, right smack in the middle of the usual National Football League window.

It's time to accept that this is who Philadelphia Union is right now:

They're good enough to beat bad teams, draw mediocre teams, and lose to good ones.

The Union have won one game in the last two months and just two in the last three months. Their record since June 1: 2 wins, 4 losses and 8 draws.

By CALEB SONNELAND

Sergio Aguero is already beginning to look good for his money.

Despite reportedly not being 100% fit, Aguero came in as a second-half substitute for Manchester City and notched two goals and an assist in a 4-0 rout of Swansea.

Aguero replaced Nigel de Jong three minutes after the hosts were put 1-0 thanks to Edin Dzeko in the 57th, and it took only eight minutes to mark his debut with a goal — a cool finish following a low Micah Richards cross at the far post.

If you live in Southern California and want a chance to play a soccer at the professional level then this is your opportunity. The newest professional sports team in Southern California, the Anaheim Bolts, will be hosting their second open tryouts at the ArenaSoccer Park of Orange.
The Anaheim Bolts 2011 Open Tryouts provides an opportunity for players to showcase their talent to the coaching staff of the newest professional indoor soccer team, The Anaheim Bolts.

We have several recently turned 20 year-olds from our first ever boys team that have true professional-level quality. Years ago, I predicted with 100% certainty that one kid in particular would go all the way. I actually have standing bets with people on this (most notable are $500 on one, and a lobster dinner every month for a whole year with another).

It is rare to see a 20-year-old centerback do well on the professional level, and it's tough to remember many doing well in Major League Soccer, but D.C. United rookie Ethan White has been an exception to that rule, growing into a quality central defense option for the Eastern Conference club.

Former University of Michigan striker Soony Saad was the leading goal scorer in college soccer in 2010, and that track record was enough to lead Major League Soccer to sign him to a contract over the weekend.

Saad completed a deal with MLS and now the 18-year-old Michigan native will be made available in a weighted lottery on Tuesday.

As the Women's World Cup is about to begin, the international governing organization for soccer launched a new initiative aimed at inspiring women and girls all over the world to participate in the game.

Featuring some of the stars of this summer's FIFA Women's World Cup™ in Germany, "Live Your Goals" will target the next generation of women's soccer players around the globe.

I love to go to the beach and build a castle, a sand castle. But despite all the oohs and aahs from passers by I know that in the arvo someone will have come by and stamped on my creation.
Nothing permanent.
And such is football in Australia - it seems to me.
How many times have we heard Manchester United are coming, or in recent times Celtic, Juventus or Beckham.

Two days ago the Brotherly Game followed a trail of tweets by former Kansas City and USMNT striker Herculez Gomez about hanging out with a group of Americans in Pachuca, Mexico. Included in the group was former Philadelphia Union center defender Michael Orozco Fiscal, whose professional status was a mystery until today.

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.

Six league matches without a loss? Not too shabby. The Dynamo's demolition of DC United on Friday continued Houston's hot streak and kept them near the top of the Eastern Conference, right where I'm sure they feel they belong.

Will Bruin was the man on Friday, scoring his first career MLS hat trick and wowing the crowd with his "dancing bear" celebration with teammates Brad Davis.

It is obviously challenging for a player to move from the youth ranks to the professional level, and where there are more examples of this happening now in Major League Soccer than ever before, there is certainly ups and downs with this process.
Steven Goff of the Washington Post writes of the challenges that young phenom Andy Najar is facing in his second season with DC United.

High Ladder To Climb is a new feature for the Brotherly Game. Current Atlanta Silverbacks (NASL) defender Tyler Ruthven gives readers insight into the life of a player in America's lower tier leagues. His updates will be about his continued quest to make it to MLS. Follow him as he details his day-to-day trials and tribulations based on the life he is able to live through the constraints of his job - and paycheck.

The sound you hear is the sobbing of some European soccer fans in the US who have grown up watching games from Europe on TV and see promotion and relegation battles as the greatest thing ever. Because today in an interview with the Associated Press Sports Editor, MLS president Mark Abbott said in no uncertain terms that promotion and relegation isn't happen, at least for the foreseeable future.

By Tony Edwards – SAN JOSE, CA (Mar 31, 2011) US Soccer Players -- One day you're on the fringes of a team in the Bundesliga after having success as a member of the Under-17 US National Team. You're playing in a huge stadium in front of demanding fans. Then the next summer you're playing in a men's league outside Seattle and taking college courses.

The fourth version of the Portland Timbers takes the field as one of 2 MLS expansion sides for 2011. Along with Pacific Northwest neighbors Vancouver Whitecaps will be looking to mimic the extraordinary success of arch-rivals Seattle Sounders, whose 30,000+ average crowds have set a very high bar.

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – The Fredericksburg Area Soccer Association, which recently unveiled the addition of franchises in both the United Soccer League's Premier Development League and W-League, is very pleased to announce an agreement with The University of Mary Washington to use their outstanding facility for all USL home games.

Glenn Davis seems to think so. Read the link to his blog from the MLS Combine, as well as an excerpt of it below.

Some might believe that the University of Akron could be re-shaping how we see the game of college soccer. Others may not be so quick to support this theory but one thing is for sure, Zips coach Caleb Porter is definetly clear on the philosophical way his team will play the game and is stirring the pot directly and indirectly with his peers.

Think you have what it takes to be a Professional Soccer player?

The Strikers announced that they will be hosting their sixth annual open tryouts (Their first as the Strikers) for aspiring soccer players over a two-day span from January 22th to the 23rd at Fort Lauderdale Stadium, home of South Florida's only men's professional soccer team.