Columnist Nick Green has written 100 Percent Soccer
since 2005. A
native of England, he began writing about soccer in
the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat
in the stands for one in
the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home
Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas
USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer.
Married to a long-suffering soccer widow, he has a cat
named Pele.Sunday Soccer: World Cup Draw, Bruins Win & Becks in Oz
The U.S. learned today that it opens qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in June against the winner of the Barbados-Dominican Republic game after the draw in South Africa.
Meanwhile, with fewer than two minutes remaining in UCLA's NCAA Tournament opener against New Mexico Saturday, Palos Verdes Estates' Kyle Nakazawa scored a dramatic winner from a 20-yard free kick to send the Bruins through to the next round, 1-0 .
“It was an unbelievable way to finish the game,” Nakazawa said of his third goal of the season. “When I first lined it up, I didn’t see an angle, but then I found a little hole and thought I could bend it in. I couldn’t have hit it any better. It was one of the greatest feelings I have had in my college career.”
UCLA (9-8-3) faces Santa Clara on Wednesday at Buck Shaw Stadium. Last month when the teams met the Broncos won 2-1 in overtime, scoring both goals while the Bruins were down a man.
“It would be great to get revenge on Santa Clara,” UCLA Coach Jorge Salcedo said. “Santa Clara has been a very successful team this year, and in the game we played up there earlier in the year, we played well enough to win. They don’t play the most attractive soccer, but they’re effective, and our team will be ready for the battle.”
Meanwhile, the Galaxy have arrived in Australia where the familiar scenes of Beckhammania are playing out and Landon Donovan is called just "another Galaxy player."