Noted:
*The Galaxy play their final preseason game (otherwise known as the “Will David Beckham return from AC Milan lottery?) March 14 in Tempe, Ariz., against the Chicago Fire, the club announced today. The Galaxy opens their season in Carson March 22 against D. C. United.
The game is part of an effort to locate an MLS team in the area, according to the press release:
The PHX Soccer Clasico is the first major event for Phoenix Soccer Development. Founded in 2007, PHX Soccer Development seeks to promote professional soccer in the Valley with the ultimate goal of having an MLS club based locally.
* Landon Donovan has scored two more goals for Bayern Munich.
*Three members of the Los Angeles Sol, the local franchise in the new Women’s Professional Soccer league, have been selected as members of the USA’s Under-23 Women’s National Team when it travels to Europe for matches against Norway Feb. 4 and England two days later in La Manga, Spain.
From the Sol press release:
Sol goalkeeper Val Henderson, selected in the fifth round of last week’s 2009 WPS Draft from UCLA, enters the trip with 14 caps at the U-23 level, the most of any of the 18 players on the U.S. roster. She will be joined by two recent draftees, forward Katie Larkin, taken by the Sol in the third round from BYU, who is currently on seven caps and first-round selection, midfielder Brittany Bock (Notre Dame), in search of her first cap with the U-23’s.
Also on the roster: uncapped Stanford forward Christen Press of Palos Verdes Estates and Portland goalkeeper Kelsey Davis of Thousand Oaks..
Eleven of the 18-player roster are with pro clubs, a record.
The Sol begins its season noon March 29 at the HDC against the Washington Freedom.
*My apologies to Cal State Dominguez Hills Coach Joe Flanagan for neglecting to mention earlier as I caught up that he had been named on Monday the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Division II Coach of the Year.
He coached CSUDH to its second national title this year.
“It’s not only a tribute to our team that performed well on the field, but also a tremendous honor for our staff,” Flanagan said.. “It’s definitely a ‘we’ award. It’s not about me, it’s about us.
“In 2000, I was along for the ride, but now, after 8 years of battling and trying to get back to this promised land, I appreciate it a lot more knowing what it takes to get here.”
*Lastly, Fontana’s Maurice Edu provides a little perspective on what he and fellow American DaMarcus Beasley face at Glasgow Rangers here.
