Tuesday, July 2, 2008

TAMPA, FL – World Cup Qualifying was at the forefront of the international game this past month on the men’s side with the women involved in the Peace Queen Cup in Korea on the senior side and in CONCACAF U-20 World Cup qualifying on the youth front.

WORLD CUP QUALIFYING – CONCACAF & BEYOND

Quite a few current and former USL players saw action in the Second Round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers. Most players in action were representing the US, Canada, Puerto Rico and Bermuda – the federations home to USL clubs.

Ten former USL players saw action for the American squad as they drubbed Caribbean entry Barbados 9-0 on aggregate. Brian Ching and Eddie Johnson were among the scorers with Carlos Bocanegra, Heath Pearce and Freddy Adu registering an assist each. On the other side of the pitch, Real Maryland’s Daryl Ferguson and New Hampshire’s Rommelle Burgess missed time with their club to represent Barbados in the herculean task of playing the US.

Similarly to the US, Canada cruised to the next phase with a 7-1 aggregate victory over St Vincent and the Grenadines. Nine current and former USL players dotted the Canadian lineups and provided a majority of the goals. Former star Toronto Lynx and Montreal Impact forward Ali Gerba tallied twice in the 3-0 first leg on the road. In the second leg, Gerba added two more to his tally with another former Lynx striker Dwayne De Rosario, who also played for Richmond, tallying the other two in a 4-1 victory. Vancouver defender Adrian Cann, sold to a Danish club after the series, was also in the lineup.

Puerto Rico boasted 14 current and former USL players with numerous current players hailing from various levels of the USL pyramid. Unfortunately, the Caribbean side drew one of the top teams in the confederation and fell behind in the first leg 4-0 at Honduras. They rebounded at home to post a 2-2 draw on goals from former Chris Megaloudis, who has played for several New York PDL clubs, and long-time Islanders striker Petter Villegas. Charlotte netminder Terrence Boss was in goal and only five players are current members of the Islanders USL-1 side.

Bermuda nearly pulled off the shock result of the round after stunning the region with a 2-1 victory on the road against 2006 World Cup participant Trinidad & Tobago. Thirteen players with USL experience, including a dozen from the home Bermuda Hogges side, helped guide the Caribbean side to the initial victory with long-time USL-1 veteran John Barry Nusum providing both strikes. On the other side of the coin, former USL-1 star Stern John tallied the lone strike for T&T in the opening leg and helped lead the team in their rally on the road to advance to the next round. With former Carolina Dynamo and current Puerto Rico Islander Osei Telesford on defense, the Soca Warriors blanked Bermuda and tallied the two needed goals for a 3-2 aggregate victory in the series. Another former Dynamo star Darryl Roberts netted the series equalizer and Stern John the deciding tally. Former Indiana Invader and Michigan Buck Stephan David came in late in both games.

Other USL players in action were former Charleston Battery player Omar Daley and current Kalamazoo Outrage player Troy Mellanson. Daley helped guide Jamaica past Bahamas 13-0, scoring once, and Mellanson was subbed into both Antigua games as they fell 8-3 on aggregate to Cuba.

Outside of CONCACAF, a pair of USL players were in African World Cup qualifying over the past month for Uganda. Rochester’s Tenywa Bonseu and former Wilmington Hammerhead David Obua have guided Uganda to a tie for second at 2-1-1 through four of six group qualifying games. Bonseu played in their 1-0 win over Niger, giving him caps now in three consecutive qualifying campaigns. Obua has started all four qualifiers and has played nearly every minute with the exception of stoppage time of their 3-1 win over Angola. The remaining matches are in September and October with the 12 group winners and the top eight runners-up advance to the next round of African qualifying.

MEN’S INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES – US & CANADA

The US and Canada played a handful of warm-up friendlies prior to their qualifying series. Canada played to a 2-2 draw against Panama June 4 with nine USLers in the line-up. The US fell 1-0 in Spain to the eventual Euro 2008 champions with six USL alum seeing action June 4. The Americans returned home to face Argentina four days later in a scoreless draw in which six USLers again played.

PEACE QUEEN CUP

Regular participants in the South Korean tournament, the US won the title in convincing fashion with a sweep of their group on a 5-1 goal aggregate and a 1-0 championship game victory over regional rival Canada, who also swept their three group games, but had a greater 10-1 disparity in scoring aggregate. All 20 Canadians were from the W-League and 12 of the Americans had USL experience. US opponent Australia, who tallied the lone opposing goal, fielded three W-League alum in Cheryl Salisbury, Collette McCallum and Caitlin Munoz.

Former Rochester W-Leaguer Abby Wambach netted three of the six US goals with former Boston Renegade and Hampton Roads Piranha Angela Hucles tallying the championship strike against Canada. W-Leaguers Heather O’Reilly and Carli Lloyd had assists.

US WOMEN SET FOR OLYMPICS

Following the Peace Queen Cup, coach Pia Sundhage wasted little time naming her 18-player squad for the Olympics coming up in August in China. Nine former W-League players were named to the list with three more on the four-player alternates list.

W-League players Olympic bound: Shannon Boxx, Tobin Heath, Angela Hucles, Carli Lloyd, Heather Mitts, Heather O’Reilly, Christie Rampone, Lindsay Tarpley, Abby Wambach – Alternates: Ali Krieger, Briana Scurry, Kacey White

CONCACAF WOMEN’S U-20 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

A week after the senior side fell to the US, the Canadian U-20 Women knocked off the regional power in the final of the CONCACAF U-20 World Cup qualifying tournament held in Mexico. Comprised completely of W-League players, Canada swept its four-team group with a 9-1 goal aggregate and posted a 2-1 win over Mexico in the Semifinal to qualify for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. The US, with seven W-Leaguers, matched Canada’s sweep, outscoring their opposition 16-0, and defeated Costa Rico 4-0 in the Semifinal to qualify for the World Cup. Vancouver Whitecap Karla Schacher scored unassisted in stoppage time of the first half of the final and the Canadian defense, led by Whitecaps netminder Erin McNulty held on for the victory over the United States.

UPCOMING WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES

As the US and Canadian Women prepare for the Olympics, the two teams will play a number of friendlies. The US is currently in Norway for a pair of games on July 2 and 5 before returning home to face Brazil July 13 and 16. Brazil will also square off against Canada in a meeting on July 10.