*The Ventura County Fusion’s first-ever U.S. Cup appearance was short – they lost to the Arizona Sahuaros Tuesday night up the coast.

I couldn’t resist posting this if only because these are the only pictures I’m likely to see of an England captain (that’s the late great Bobby Moore, for those who don’t know) hoisting the World Cup trophy (ahem) this year: Life.com has just posted these “never-before seen photos” of England’s lone World Cup win when they hosted the tournament in 1966.

The photos are by award-winning photographer Art Rickerby. Former Galaxy exec in training Alexi Lalas provides the text.

Check out the rest of the posted photos here.

And actually this Life.com World Cup-themed gallery was even better. (Ahem ahem).

*Random World Cup fact: DirecTV is airing “more than 50 matches with Portuguese commentary on ESPN Deportes, and offering alternate audio feeds for the ESPN games on DirecTV channel 210-1 in Arabic, German, Japanese, Korean and Portuguese (although not all languages are available for each game).

*Fox Soccer Channel will air the July 10 Club Amrica and Cruz Azul friendly at the Rose Bowl. More info on the game is here.

* Loyola Marymount assistant coach Michael Erush (and former player) has been named Director of Player Development for the Orange County Blue Star of the Premier Development League and this summer will coach the U.S. team at the Maccabi Games in Australia. The Maccabi Games are “a celebration of Jewish Unity, Culture, and Heritage through world athletic competition.”

From the LMU press release:

Erush, who will be entering his fourth season as LMU assistant coach this fall, was head coach of the Hollywood Hitmen of the Premier Development League, leading them to a first-place finish and Southwest Division championship in the team’s inaugural season. This summer, he has returned to the top of the standings with the Blue Star, who are based out of Irvine and currently lead the division with a 6-0-3 record through June 14. Orange County finished eighth in the division in 2009.

UCLA and U.S. Under-20 Coach Jill Ellis and Bruin striker Sydney Leroux, named the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Golden Shoe and Golden Ball winner, lead a 20-player squad in an eight-team regional qualifying tournament in Guatemala for the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup set for Germany.

The opening U.S. game against Jamaica can be seen live at 2:30 p.m. Thursday on Fox Soccer Channel or streaming (free) here (registration required). It’s the first time CONCACAF or any regional confederation has offered free live coverage of a youth tournament online.

Leroux, who had 23 goals for the Bruins last season, scored five goals in the U-20 World Cup, earning her the Golden Ball as tournament MVP and the Golden Shoe as top scorer. Leroux is the most capped player at the U-20 level on the qualifying roster, with a dozen goals in 16 games.

Also on the squad is Bruin midfielder Zakiya Bywaters.

More on the team and tournament here.

The U.S. also plays Trinidad & Tobago Saturday and Mexico Monday at the same time.

Three nations will qualify for the World Cup.

Gavin, meet (MLS Commish Don) Garber. (Photo by Jose Argueta/MLS).

The midfielder from Kentucky had five goals and three assists for the Zips last season.

He was the 10th overall pick in today’s draft.

More info on Gavin is here.

In addition, the Philadelphia Union took UCLA freshman midfielder Amobi Okugo with the sixth pick overall and former UCLA Coach Sigi Schmid plucked Bruin forward David Estrada for his Seattle Sounders with the 11th overall pick.

The No. 1 pick: 6-foot-2 Danny Mwanga, 18, who scored 14 goals and had two assists in 18 games for Oregon State last season and was named Pac-10 Player of the Year.

Tweeted Galaxy striker Alecko Eskandarian: “Congrats and welcome to the #1 Pick Club, Mr. Danny Mwanga. U will love playing for Peter Nowak.”

Updated: In addition, Chivas USA defender Ante Jazic was among 17 players selected for a Canadian National team camp that begins Monday and ends Feb. 1 in Florida. Canada plays Jamaica in a friendly Jan. 31.

The basics:

*UCLA’s season is over.

*At 10 a.m. today in the NCAA final on ESPN2, it’s Stanford and striker Christen Press of Palos Verdes Estates against North Carolina and Rolling Hills Estates’ Whitney Engen. Game preview.

The No. 15-ranked Toros lost 1-0 to No. 3-ranked Grand Valley State in the NCAA Division II title game today in Tampa, Fla.

Game story.

Stanford’s Christen Press celebrates her game-winning goal Friday in overtime against UCLA. (AP Photo)

Christen Press scored in overtime Friday to send unbeaten Stanford through to the College Cup final Sunday after beating UCLA, 2-1.

The Cardinal and Press will face North Carolina and Rolling Hills Estates’ Whitney Engen. The Tar Heels disposed of Notre Dame Friday

The game kicks off at 10 a.m. on ESPN2.

Game previews:

*The Cal State Dominguez Hills women takes on top-ranked West Florida (22-0) today in an NCAA Division II semifinal game at the University of Tampa.

*The UCLA women play Stanford Friday with a place in the final of the College Cup on the line.

*The UCLA men are gearing up for Wake Forest Saturday.

Goalkeeper Brian Perk also made two big second half saves in the 2-1 come from behind win Sunday at Drake Stadium.

Notable: The game was a rematch of the 2006 NCAA Championship – won by UC Santa Barbara.

Quotable:

“We have a pretty big core of seniors on our team, and it was in the back of our heads tonight,” said playmaker Kyle Nakazawa. “It is a bit of redemption … with a way better ending.”

Next: No. 6 seed UCLA (12-3-4) faces No. 3 seed Wake Forest (16-3-3) Saturday in Winston-Salem.

Game story.

More here.

The 2-1 overtime loss this afternoon means victor Sacramento State, making their first tournament appearance, plays UCLA at 5 p.m. Sunday at Drake Stadium (in a game masterfully scheduled against the Galaxy’s MLS Cup appearance).

In a good omen for next season, however, LMU will return 14 of the 19 players who suited up in the NCAA Tournament game.

Game details here.

From the Sac State press release:

Sacramento State heads into the match with the Bruins, who are 10-3-4 and ranked No. 8 in the latest NSCAA/Adidas coaches poll, riding a 10 match unbeaten streak. Sacramento State is 8-0-2 since a 2-1 loss at San Jose State on October 8. In the last NSCAA Far West region poll, published Nov. 10, UCLA was ranked third, while the Hornets were ranked eighth.

Winners of the Pac-10 title for the second straight year, UCLA is making its 27th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, having won the national title four times (1985, 1990, 1997, and 2002). They have advanced to the College Cup 12 times, with their most recent trip coming in 2006. The Bruins were members of the MPSF along with the Hornets from 1992-1999, and posted a perfect 4-0-0 record against Sacramento State. The last meeting between the two clubs came in 1998 at Hornet Soccer Field, a 3-0 victory for UCLA.