MLS Cup Finalists Set & More
It's Red Bull New York verses Columbus Crew at 12:30 p.m. Sunday at MLS Cup in Carson.
Juan Carlos Osorio has done what Bruce Arena couldn't in New York. Former Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid has done what his former employer failed to do. And Juan Pablo Angel and Guillermo Barros Schelotto have outshined David Beckham in MLS.
No doubt MLS is just glad it's not a Columbus-Salt Lake final; the two smallest markets contesting the championship of the most lightly regarded major sports league would have spelled marketing disaster.
Instead we have clear favorites against an erratic underdog, small town America against urban heavyweight and plenty of story lines.
Western Conference Final highlights:
Saturday's College Scores
*USC beat BYU 2-1 Saturday afternoon on penalty kicks. USC plays either UCLA or San Diego in the NCAA Tournament third round.
*Cal State Dominguez Hills beat Cal State L.A. 4-0 to win the 2008 NCAA West Region title Saturday in Carson. The Toros host a quarterfinal match-up next Saturday against Midwestern State, a 5-0 winner Saturday over Fort Lewis.
Complete game story here.
*The UCLA men beat San Diego State 6-1 Saturday extending their unbeaten streak to eight games. Junior forward David Estrada scored two goals and added an assist, while junior midfielder Michael Stephens tied the school record with four assists.
Notable: The six goals scored were the most by a Bruin team since a 7-1 NCAA quarterfinal win in 2002 over Penn State.
Quotable: "I'm very pleased with how strong we finished the regular season," said UCLA head coach Jorge Salcedo. "We possessed the ball really well, defended well and scored goals, and we look forward to continuing that in the postseason."
About 100 Percent Soccer
Sportswriter Nick Green has written the 100 Percent Soccer column since 2005 for the Daily News, Daily Breeze and other Los Angeles area newspapers. The blog of the same name began in 2007. 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 and is married to a long-suffering soccer widow. Join Nick on FaceBook and follow him on Twitter.
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