Photo: Nick Waters

Philadelphia Union

Porfirio Lopez describes what he will bring to the Union: "Having a winning mentality is the most important thing in soccer. I'm going to try to bring my experiences and positive attitude into the group. Without a doubt, winning championships is the priority.

The Union confirmed on Wednesday through the team's Twitter account that Zac MacMath is joined in preseason training by Chase Harrison, who had temporarily joined the club late last season when Faryd Mondragon and Thorne Holder were both out with injuries before the club declined the option to sign him in November to make him available for the Re-Entry Draft.

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Feb 2, 2012) US Soccer Players -- The ballot for the National Soccer Hall of Fame's Class of 2012 was released earlier this week, with two of the nominees presenting themselves as obvious choices. Claudio Reyna and Tony Meola should have no problem getting the requisite number of votes to make them first ballot Hall of Famers.

Today, US Soccer came out with their list of candidates available for selection to the US Soccer Hall of Fame. On that list are two current coaches of Sporting KC. Head coach and technical director, Peter Vermes is on the list again, as is assistant coach, Kerry Zavagnin, in his first year of eligibility.

Today, US Soccer came out with their list of candidates available for selection to the US Soccer Hall of Fame. On that list are two current coaches of Sporting KC. Head coach and technical director, Peter Vermes is on the list again, as is assistant coach, Kerry Zavagnin, in his first year of eligibility.

Continuing the stat updating for you tonight, it's time to update the 10,000 minute club.
In league play one new player joined the 10,000 minute club, as Michael Harrington became the 12th player for Kansas City, Davy Arnaud also jumped up 1 spot on the list moving ahead of Jimmy Conrad.

Another new stat for you today regarding Sporting KC. And it's another single season stat. Here's a list of the top ten single season appearances and starts.
Top ten appearances in league play in a single season.
1. CJ Sapong - 34 - 2011
2. Preki - 32 - 1996
2. Mark Chung - 32 - 1996
2.

Continuing with the statistical updating that I've been doing, here's another new stat that I hadn't previously done. Here are the top 10 single season minutes for players throughout the team's history. As I mentioned a few times late in the year this year, Matt Besler ended up tied for the 3rd most minutes played in league play in team history.

The 2011 Missouri Athletic Club announced this years Hermann Trophy Semifinalists on December 4th.
On the women's semifinalist list where University of Virginia Freshman Morgan Brian well as Mallory Schaffer, Midfielder from William & Mary.
Only one player made the men's list for a Virginia school - Junior Forward Yannick Smith of Old Dominion.

Their Words I am happy that when I look back on my career, I have zero regrets. I would like to thank all the fans in Portland and all the other cities I was lucky enough to play in for everything they have done in supporting me and my teammates. Portland Timbers defender Kevin Goldwaite announces his retirement.

STARTERS
I know I'm not on their radar and definitely not hot enough to make the grade, but it is this bearded Midwestern boy's dream of someday knowing the fine women of Kickette!
dN
John Harkes has been replaced by Taylor Twellman as they TV commentator at ESPN for USA and MLS games.

On the latest edition of the Major League Soccer Talk Podcast : This Week in US Soccer, your host Chris Riordan is joined by legendary USMNT, Metrostars and Wizards Goalkeeper, Tony Meola. In partnership with Allstate, (we've all seen the ...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com for the rest of the story.

On the latest edtion of the Major League Soccer Talk Podcast : This Week in US Soccer, your host Chris Riordan is joined by legendary USMNT, Metrostars and Wizards Goalkeeper, Tony Meola. In partnership with Allstate, (we've all seen the ...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com for the rest of the story.

This is it folks! All the drama and tears and cheers have led us to the end of MLS playoffs. Most fans are left rueing squandered chances, bad decisions, and a lack of that intangible but often referenced "heart", but a few lucky fans get to experience the true excitement of their team in a MLS Cup. It's something you can only really feel when your team could win it all.

Sporting KC's +10 goal difference is only the second time in team history their goal difference has been in double digits positively.
Matt Besler ended the season playing 2,880 minutes in league play, tied for the 3rd most in team history for a single season with Preki in 1996 and Bo Oshoniyi in 2005.

Here is all the news and notes to get you ready for USA-Ecuador. Allow us to select some highlights ...

• Tim Howard and Carlos Bocanegra are the only two players to have started all four matches since head coach Jurgen Klinsmann began. Brek Shea has started three and entered as a sub once (against Mexico), while Agudelo has come on as a substitute in all four.

U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann his first win at the helm of the United States as a Clint Dempsey goal was all that the US needed to beat Honduras in rainy Miami.

Tim Howard earned Budweiser Man of the Match honors, posting six saves en route to his 37th victory. With the win, Howard moves into a second-place tie with fellow New Jersey native Tony Meola on the USA's all-time win list for goalkeepers.

Yes I'm late, but there were lots of good stats from last night's game. The biggest of all was Davy Arnaud tying the club record for league appearances at 237, but Kei Kamara also had plenty of milestones as well.
Davy Arnaud made his 237th appearance in league play for KC, tying Kerry Zavagnin for the most appearances in team history.

Here are some stats from last night's game against Real Salt Lake.
In the 51st minute, Michael Harrington moved past Diego Gutierrez and into 12th place for the most minutes played in Wizards history, Harrington finished the game with 12,285 mintues played.
Harrington also made his 156 appearance in all competitions for KC, tying him with Tony Meola for 11th place on that list.

Por snedecor
Nadie de los que lo vivimos podremos olvidar (voluntariamente al menos) dónde estábamos ni qué estábamos haciendo aquel fatídico 11 de septiembre de 2001. El deporte en general, y el fútbol en particular, tampoco. Para la historia quedará que, mientras el horror se iba apoderando de todo el planeta, incapaz de apartar su mirada de aquellos dos colosos reducidos a polvo y escombros, a un cementerio de más de tres mil almas, la UEFA decidió que los partidos de Champions de aquel martes se disputaran con normalidad, sin más atención a lo sucedido que un protocolario y vergonzoso minuto de silencio.

August is finally over. Let's review what happened:

The Union started out with a loss to Colorado. PSP/KYW talked to Alexi Lalas about the dissonance between self-assurance and consistently incorrect predictions. Ed summed up the Union-Chicago tie well: U.G.L.Y. When PSP spoke with John Hackworth, he gave us some insight on how the team was dealing with the rough patch and how the coaches were trying to improve the performances.

Article republished on businessofsoccer.com

Yesterday in West Philadelphia, former U.S. Men's National Team Goalkeeper Tony Meola and former Mexican National Team Goalkeeper Adolfo Rios surprised the players of the West Philadelphia Hurricanes Youth Team. Partnered with the official insurance sponsor of the U.

Union

Four days remain until the close of the transfer window...

The Union will host its first Supporters Summit on Wednesday, August 17 with Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz, Peter Nowak, Faryd Mondragón and MLS Commissioner Don Garber answering questions. If, as Sakiewicz said, "hearing from a wider audience than usual" is the reason for the summit, the fact that only registered members of the Sons of Be will be allowed to attend is rather mystifying, particularly if topics for discussion will include "the Union's style of play, the League schedule, game-day experience, ticketing, stadium expansion, single table alignment and playoff structure.

With the rain pouring down in buckets, the boys and girls of the West Philadelphia Hurricanes Youth Soccer Club probably thought practice would be called for the day. Yet, when they arrived at the Shepard Recreation Center at 57th Street and Haverford Avenue for an impromptu indoor training session, they received an unexpected surprise.

With the rain pouring down in buckets, the boys and girls of the West Philadelphia Hurricanes Youth Soccer Club probably thought practice would be called for the day. Yet, when they arrived at the Shepard Recreation Center at 57th Street and Haverford Avenue for an impromptu indoor training session, they received an unexpected surprise.

FC Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman was voted the MLS Player of the Month for July by the North American Soccer Reporters.

Hartman started six games and recorded four shutouts as the club went 3-1-2 during the month of July.

The 15-year MLS veteran joined FC Dallas in 2010, and is enjoying a stellar second season at the club.

Photo by Jason Staples

Ever since I bought the tickets in April, I had been looking forward to July 27th. Besides seeing Manchester United already in Boston, I knew this experience was going to be simply insane. Having the opportunity to see the champions of England go up against America's elite was something I knew that I would cherish.

Major League Soccer's Mid-summer classic went off in Harrison on Wednesday night before a (mostly) packed house at Red Bull Arena. We thought we would offer some random business observations on the pre-game festivities and the match itself. Prior to the game, the MLS sponsors were out in force, with an entire section of the stadium grounds devoted to the major MLS sponsors.

By Cesar Diaz – NEW YORK, NY (Jul 27, 2011) US Soccer Players – It's not often a soccer writer gets the opportunity to speak with two World Cup goalkeepers with days of each other. A sponsor provided the opportunity, with Allstate making current United States goalkeeper Tim Howard and former US keeper Tony Meola available as part of their ‘Protection Is Our Game' advertising campaign.

The Union raised a lot of eyebrows by taking Maryland goalie Zac MacMath fifth overall, passing on big-time defensive prospects like AJ Soares and Kofi Sarkodie, and turning a blind eye to strikers CJ Sapong and Will Bruin.

The Union see MacMath as their future: A future US international number one who can take over games and save shots that even very-good-goalies can only dream of stopping.

I hate DC. It has nothing to do with politics. My hatred started in 1996, and I can pinpoint it to a precise moment on October 2, 1996. The four regular season games were intense, and a rivalry had begun to emerge. The joy of shootout victory, courtesy of eleventh-shooter Peter Vermes (DC protested he shot out of sequence) will always remain a most cherished memory, when victory there seemed our rightful legacy, carried over from a decade's absence of soccer at the Swamp.

Some stats from last night's game.
Kei Kamara made his 50th appearance in all competitions for Kansas City. He's the 46th player to hit that mark for KC.
Michael Harrington made his 126th league appearance for KC, breaking his tie with Tony Meola for 11th place on that list.
The win was Jimmy Nielsen's 13th in league play for KC, breaking his tie wtih Garth Lagerwey for 5th on that list for KC.

With international soccer, there's a sense of national pride that warps everything, repurposes it in the hue of national flag, and makes everyone go crazy. Not that we really needed another reason to think we're proud, but now our soccer team doesn't suck, so we can spend an afternoon getting drunk on Bud and thoughts that we're the best.

Not a lot of stats from this Wednesday's game in Philadelphia, but here are your stats.
Michael Harrington made his 142nd appearance in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Francisco Gomez for 14th place on that list.
It was also Harrington's 125th league appearance, tying him with Tony Meola for 11th on that list.

In the 19th minute, Michael Harrington hit the 10,000 minute mark for Sporting KC. He finished the game with 10,071 minutes played. He's the 12th player to hit that mark.
Harrington also made his 141st appearance in all competitions for KC tying him with Francisco Gomez for 14th place on that list.

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Editor's Note: Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mr Clint Dempsey. Your scorpion kick attempt on Wednesday night brought us back to a piece we did nearly two years ago. Much less than seven degrees of separation brought us to the infamous "scorpion kicker" Rene Higuita.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Twitter | Furl | Newsvine

Editor's Note: Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mr Clint Dempsey. Your scorpion kick attempt on Wednesday night brought us back to a piece we did nearly two years ago. Much less than seven degrees of separation brought us to the infamous "scorpion kicker" Rene Higuita.

The U.S. won its fourth Gold Cup title in 2007.
Most of all the facts that you need to know about the U.S. history in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

• The U.S. has won the CONCACAF Gold Cup four times, second only to Mexico who has five titles. The U.S. titles have come in 1991, 2002, 2005 and 2007.

Photo: Courtesy Philadelphia Union

Union

Who needs a happy thought for a Monday morning?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Peter Nowak on the Union's 1–1 draw with Colorado: "We were a little disappointed not to get three points. But you cannot be too greedy coming here.

Briana Scurry & Tony Meola: Two of the best goalkeepers in U.S. history interview each other.

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As a kid I wanted to do anything but play in goal. But I was the tallest kid on the team, and the kid's dad who coached the team thought that made the most sense. I don't remember ever encountering a goalkeeping coach, just being forced into the big clown gloves.