Recently in Women's Premier Soccer League Category

Southern California now has two women's soccer national champions.

A day after Pali Blues won the W-League title, Rolling Hills Estates-based Ajax America Women took their first Women's Premier Soccer League crown Sunday night with a 3-1 come-from-behind victory over the Arizona Rush.

It was the team's first WPSL title since 2001.

"Its been a long time coming," said Coach Brian Boswell, who saw his team make three straight trips to the Final Four (2006-08). "We're real happy with this one. Over the last couple of [Final Fours], we've been the bridesmaid and it feels good to be the winner. We're just a great team... it doesn't matter who's out there. We just play very well as a team. We play well for each other - more than any superstars."

Game details and video.

The Arizona perspective.

Earlier: more on the Pali Blues' title.

The day after the Pacific Palisades-based Pali Blues won the W-League title Rolling Hills Estates-based Ajax America Women will attempt to repeat the feat tonight in the Women's Premier Soccer League championship game in Sacramento.

Ajax America crushed the Madison (Wisconsin) Lady Blues Saturday to advance to tonight's final against the Arizona Rush.

Zach Thornton has landed in Chicago and Jesse Marsch looks pretty happy to see his former Fire teammate (and an experienced goalkeeper). Do we assume Thornton plays today? I think we do.

Two who won't play a part in today's Chivas USA-Chicago Fire game (5:30 p.m. live on Fox Soccer Channel) are Preki (at least on the bench-he's suspended) and Blanco. (ditto). Also absent: Sacha Kljestan (Olympics).

But Maykel Galindo and long-lost Alecko Eskandarian are probable.

Chivas USA, playing their first MLS game in a month, is 6-6-4 and fourth in the Western Conference; Chicago is 7-5-5 and third in the Eastern Conference.

Chicago haven't lost in five games, but that includes four draws; Chivas USA beat the Fire 2-0 at Home Depot Center in June.

Phil Collin has a game preview.

Also:
*Cameroon beat the U.S. Men's Olympic Team 2-0 early this morning our time on a penalty kick. It was the last game for the U.S. before the Olympics.

*Brad Guzan wasn't the only Southern California goalkeeper on the move this week. Loyola Marymount goalkeeper Patrick Lane signed a pro contract with Belgian club Cercle Bruges.

*Southern California could have two women's teams crowned national champions this weekend. Rolling Hills Estates-based Ajax America Women is in Sacramento for the Women's Premier Soccer League's Final Four.

The Sacramento Bee used the occasion to provide an update on the Women's Professional Soccer league, but managed to get the wrong name (and city) for Ajax.

Over in the W-League, the unbeaten Pali Blues play the Indiana Lionesses (how many of those do they have in Indiana?) in Virginia Beach, Va., for the championship. The game is on at 8 tonight on Fox Soccer Channel.

Mark your calendar. Set your TiVo. Here's your soccer week in Southern California.

Sunday:
*Real So Cal Boys Under-16 Team lost 2-0 to Dallas Texans Red at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships.

*Also, the Galaxy Reserves drew 2-2 with Dallas through goals by Alan Gordon and Bryan Jordan.

Today:
*Chivas USA midfielder Jorge "Sueno" Flores played 90 minutes in the U.S. Under-20 National Team loss to hosts Northern Ireland in the Milk Cup. Next on Wednesday: Wales.

Tuesday:
*SuperLiga resumes tonight with the Houston Dynamo and Pachuca clashing at 7 on Telefutura in the first semifinal; Wednesday it's Atlante-New England.

No LA teams involved now that Chivas USA is out so why am I mentioning this? See Tuesday's column.

Wednesday;
*Brad Guzan, Sacha Kljestan and the rest of the U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team plays at 2:30 a.m. our time against the Ivory Coast in the ING Cup, a warm-up for the Olympics.

Thursday:
*The W-League Pali Blues play at the Washington Freedom in the semifinals; in the other game the FC Indiana Lionesses play the Seattle Sounders. The final is Saturday.

Saturday:
*Chivas USA (6-6-4) visits Chicago (7-5-5) and Cuauhtémoc Blanco. Chivas USA is two points behind Real Salt Lake for the Western Conference lead.

*Rolling Hills Estates-based Ajax America Women play in the Women's Premier League Final Four as the Pacific champion against Arizona (Big Sky), New England (East) and the winner today of the match between Midwest champion MYSC Lady Blues and Sunshine Conference champion Brevard County Cocoa Expos for the final berth.

Ajax beat West Coast FC 2-0 Sunday to qualify.

Sunday:
The Galaxy plays at San Jose at noon on Telefutura.

There isn't any.

Well, not much.

The closest top class local games today are in the Women's Premier Soccer League regional playoffs at Esperanza High in Anaheim.

Today's playoff schedule:
5:30 p.m. West Coast FC v Sonoma County FC Sol.
7:30 p.m. California Storm v Ajax America Women.

The Galaxy report rookie central defender Sean Franklin returned to training Friday with the full squad for the first time since injuring his knee July 10 against Chivas USA. His status for Sunday's clash against Dallas in Texas will be decided today.

And Aston Villa of the EPL now have two American goalkeepers named Brad, as expected. Chivas USA's Brad Guzan (who has his crucial work permit hearing Friday) is joined at the Birmingham club by Brad Friedel.

Chivas USA moves into a new era this evening without star goalkeeper Brad Guzan in their SuperLiga opener at 7 against Pachuca (live on TeleFutura).

Said Coach Preki of the culmination (hopefully) of the drawn out trade:

"I won't say it's a relief because now we've got to see what we have with the other young goalkeepers we have. It's going to be a challenge."

I'll blog from the game as usual.

Of course, Guzan still has to get a work permit and if you believe The People, an English tabloid, there could be other complications, as well. By the way, the copy editor who came up with that headline has way too much time on his hands.

Speaking of American goalkeepers in England, Guzan said he has employed the consulting services of Everton's Tim Howard:

"Timmy's been awesome about the entire process going back to January when things didn't work out. We've had some little discussions here and there, nothing too serious, but he's helped me in maturing into a good professional and hopefully I'll be able to continue the success of American goalkeepers."

Santos Laguna and the New England Revolution kick off their SuperLiga encounter at 5 p.m. on TeleFutura today, while CD Guadalajara turned out the D.C. United lights ( and Jaime Moreno actually missed a penalty kick) Saturday. The Houston Dynamo pounded Atlante, 4-0, in the other game.

In MLS games Saturday, Palos Verdes' John Thorrington scored a late winner for the Fire to break Chicago's five-game losing streak and Real Salt Lake answered the question: How bad is the Western Conference? Salt Lake sits in first place after beating Sigi Schmid's Columbus Crew, 2-0.

The U.S. women will seek revenge against Brazil today for their World Cup loss in the first of two games between the nations before the Olympics. Kick off is at 1 p.m. on ESPN.

Hermosa Beach resident Abby Wambach is one goal shy of her 100th international strike going into the game.

How significant is that?

As U.S. Soccer points out:

At 99 career goals in 125 games, Wambach's prolific scoring rate - the best goals-to-game ratio in U.S. history in fact - puts her just one away from joining four other U.S. players in the 100 Goal Club. Mia Hamm (158), Kristine Lilly (129), Michelle Akers (105) and Tiffeny Milbrett (100) are four of eight players in the history of women's soccer to score 100 or more international goals. Wambach scored her first-ever goal in 2002 against Finland and since then has averaged a goal every 90 minutes she has played for the WNT.

Wambach sounds, well, amazed by the feat, too:

"I've been thinking about it, because I knew everyone would be asking me about it. I think it's amazing the impact that it's had on myself and maybe my team. I've seen a lot of countries and met a lot of people and I think about the amount of joy every single goal has brought not only to my life but also my teammates lives. I also just think about the company I'm in. I'm getting compared to Michelle Akers. I sort of don't want to even be compared to her because it's a bit surreal. She's just up there in my book in terms of how dominant she was."

In the PDL Saturday it was:
Los Angeles Legends 0 San Francisco Seals 2
San Fernando Valley Quakes 4 Fresno Fuego 1
Bakersfield Brigade 1 Orange County Blue Star 3
San Jose Frogs 1 Southern California Seahorses 3

Today there's a doubleheader at Buena High in Ventura for the last home game of the Fusion season, with the W-League Ventura County Fusion kicking off at 4 p.m against the Real Colorado Cougars, while their male counterparts in the PDL play at 6 p.m. against Orange County Blue Star.

In WPSL games today:
Claremont Stars v Ajax America Women at 5:30 p.m. at Claremont High
SD United v Los Angeles Rampage at 4 p.m. at Valhalla High

In the WPSL Saturday:
San Diego WFC SeaLions 1 Claremont Stars 0
West Coast FC 2 SD United 1

The second edition of SuperLiga begins today with a 5 p.m. game on TeleFutura between CD Guadalajara and D.C. United.

The Houston Dynamo-Atlante game follows at 7 p.m. on the same channel.

The MLS Players Union is apparently not pleased with that alleged $1 million in SuperLiga prize money figure the league throws around.

Which might explain statements like this from New England's Matt Reis: "We're somewhat looking forward to the upcoming games."

Still, Pachuca midfielder Gabriel Caballero (left) and Chivas USA midfielder Paulo Nagamura look pretty happy with the cash though.

Pachuca and Chivas USA - likely without goalkeeper Brad Guzan - play Sunday at Home Depot Center.

In USL games locally, the W-League Pali Blues, having already clinched the Western Conference, pounded Real Colorado 6-0 Thursday.

The Los Angeles Legends play Real Colorado today at 5 p.m. in Chino Hills. Admission is free.

In the PDL Friday, the San Fernando Valley Quakes beat the Legends' male counterparts
3-1.

In other PDL games Friday it was:
San Jose Frogs 0 Orange County Blue Star 1
Ventura County Fusion 4 Lancaster Rattlers 0

Today's local games:
Bakersfield Brigade at Orange County Blue Star 5 p.m. Concordia University.
San Jose Frogs at Southern California Seahorses 7 p.m. La Mirada High.

Lastly, the U.S. Soccer Development Academy finals began today at Home Depot Center. Details and a game schedule is here.

Tied for first place in the Western Conference, the Galaxy and Chivas USA resume hostilities 8 p.m. Thursday on ESPN2 before the Red & White play Sunday in their opening SuperLiga game against last year's winner Pachuca. (That game is live at 7 p.m. on TeleFutura). I'll have a preview of the tournament in Tuesday's column.

Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan talks about the derby at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN.com.

On Friday the two teams' reserve squads face off at 10 a.m. on University Field #1. The Galaxy reserves are currently winless so far this season.

On Saturday at Home Depot Center, 16 elite teams aged 15-18 will begin competing in the 2008 Development Academy Finals. The final eight round-robin games will be aired on ESPNU and ESPN2 July 18-19.

LAFC is the local representative in the Under 15/16 and Under-17/18 divisions.

On Saturday and Sunday, the Under-20 Galaxy Rios host Lancaster and Riverside respectively, the bottom two teams in the league, at Home Depot Center (both games kick-off at 5 p.m. on Field #5). With two wins the Rios (which currently sit third in the standings) could win the league, depending on the results of other games.

The Rios beat the Bakersfield Brigade over the weekend to move to 4-2-1.

And catching up on the rest of the weekend:
*The Galaxy made the New England Revolution's Adam Cristman look good: he was named MLS Player of the Week Monday by the North American Soccer Reporters after his two-goal effort led his team to a 2-1 victory over the Galaxy.

*In the W-League Sunday, the Seattle Sounders beat the Los Angeles Legends 4-2, although the first-year Pali Blues wrapped up the Western Conference title earlier in the weekend.

*In the PDL Sunday, it was the Southern California Seahorses 2 Los Angeles Legends 2 and Lancaster Rattlers 1 San Jose Frogs 4.

Standings.

*Scores in the WPSL Saturday:
Ajax America Women 4 Sonoma County FC Sol 0
Los Angeles Rampage 0 California Storm 0
West Coast FC 5 FC Sacramento Pride 0
Claremont Stars 3 Walnut Creek Power 3

*And Sunday:
Ajax America Women 3 California Storm 2
Los Angeles Rampage 10 FC Sacramento Pride 0
West Coast FC 8 Walnut Creek Power 0
Claremont Stars 1 Sonoma County FC Sol 2

Standings.

Needed a deep breath after the weekend (and spent the day writing Tuesday's column), so late blogging.

Chivas USA is one of 16 teams participating in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup at 7 p.m. Tuesday playing a game in Seattle against the Sounders you can see here. Chivas USA lost at this stage of the competition last year to Seattle.

Long Beach State sophomore-to-be Janet Mendez of Palmdale helped Mexico qualify for the Under-20 World Cup in Chile in November, starting and playing 72 minutes as Mexico beat Costa Rica 3-2 on penalty kicks over the weekend.

In the PDL Saturday it was:
Fresno Fuego 1 Los Angeles Legends O
Southern California Seahorses 1 Bakersfield Brigade
Lancaster Rattlers 1 Ventura County Fusion 1

Standings

W-League:
Fort Collins Force 1 Los Angeles Legends 1 (Saturday)
Fort Collins Force 0 Pali Blues 2 (Tonight)

Standings

Also this weekend (from the edited Galaxy press release):

In a top of the table clash with the Ventura County Fusion, the Galaxy Rios Under-20's lost 2-0 on Sunday afternoon at Home Depot Center. The Fusion scored twice inside the final 20 minutes to move into a tie for first place in the league with Bakersfield.

Standings

WPSL
San Diego WFC SeaLions 0 Ajax America Women 3
West Coast FC 2 Los Angeles Rampage 0

Standings

If you're already waiting on the long weekend, note the Galaxy play Independence Day in Carson against the aptly-named New England Revolution.

Chivas USA play Saturday night against the San Jose Earthquakes.

This is an excellent Sunday read on the trials of minor league soccer team the San Fernando Valley Quakes and its owner.

The Quakes play at 7:05 p.m. today at Calabasas High.

In Barbados, the U.S. Men's National Team is trying to stay focused on the task at hand. The game is at noon on ESPN Classic (opposite the 11:30 a.m. Spain-Italy Euro 2008 quarterfinal on ESPN one should note).

This weekend's World Cup qualifying so far.

In other PDL games, the Ventura County Fusion beat the Fresno Fuego Saturday (and Friday).

Other PDL scores:
San Francisco Seals 2 Los Angeles Legends 3
Orange County Blue Star 2 Lancaster Rattlers 4
San Francisco Seals 2 Southern California Seahorses 0
Lancaster Rattlers 2 Bakersfield Brigade 1

W-League:
Ventura County Fusion 0 Fort Collins Force 2

WPSL
Ajax America Women 1 West Coast FC 3
Claremont Stars 0 Los Angeles Rampage 3

Hot soccer, hot weather.

Two of the best teams in MLS, the Galaxy - who sit in first in the West - and second place Columbus in the East clash Saturday at Home Depot Center. I'll have a complete preview of the game Saturday.

Things are heating up for local PDL teams, too, as the season hits the halfway mark, while in a case of bad timing the Ventura County Fusion leave the cool air of coastal Ventura for the steamier Conejo Valley for their game tonight against the San Jose Frogs.

In other PDL games in the Los Angeles area this weekend:
On Friday - Orange County Blue Star at Lancaster Rattlers at 7 p.m. at Pete Knight High.
San Francisco Seals at Los Angeles Legends at 7:30 p.m. at A.P.U. Cougar Stadium.

Saturday - San Francisco Seals at Southern California Seahorses at 7 p.m. at La Mirada High.

Sunday - Orange County Blue Star at San Fernando Valley Quakes at 7:05 p.m. at Calabasas High.

In the WPSL Saturday - Ajax America Women v West Coast FC at noon at Nansen Field in Rolling Hills Estates.
Claremont Stars v Los Angeles Rampage 5: 30 p.m. at Claremont High.

Sunday - Los Angeles Rampage v Ajax America Women at 5:30 p.m. at Granada Hills.

Finally, former U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team coach John Ellinger has resurfaced at Dallas after leaving Real Salt Lake.

Stay cool.

Chivas USA learned its group opponents in the CONCACAF Champions League today (providing it gets by Panama's Tauro FC first).

From the (edited) Chivas USA press release:

The winner of the Chivas USA vs. Tauro F.C. pairing will play Santos Laguna of Mexico, either Municipal or Deportivo Jalapa of Guatemala, and the winner of the preliminary round matchup between LD Alajuelense of Costa Rica and the Puerto Rico Islanders of the USL First Division in Group D.

Chivas USA also learned today it will travel to Panama City for the first leg of the home-and-home series against FC Tauro Aug. 26 and then will host Tauro one week later, on Sept. 2, at a Los Angeles location to be determined.

Full details here.

Over in Galaxyland, backup goalkeeper Josh Wicks, who has yet to start an MLS game, went under the knife today in Santa Monica for left knee surgery. The San Bernadino native is out 4-6 weeks. Vito Higgens will deputize.

Edson Buddle was named MLS Player of the Week today for his three goals Saturday against San Jose.

Meanwhile, David Beckham was in Long Beach Sunday for a special event.

The U.S. women face Brazil in the second game of the Peace Cup in Korea tonight, which kicks off at 10 o'clock our time.

The U.S. beat Australia 2-1 in the first game, which began at 10 p.m. Saturday our time.

Three teams from Southern California are participating in the U.S. Youth Soccer 2008 Region IV Championships, which started today in Hawaii.

Local teams playing are the Real So Cal (Calabasas) Under-14 and Under-17 girls, Under-16 L.A. Rampage Blue Premier (Granada Hills) and the DMS11 (pasadena) Under-18 Boys.

From the U.S. Youth Soccer Press Release:

The teams will be among the more than 248 top boys and girls U.S. Youth Soccer teams from 14 (Western) state associations competing for the regional title.

A little weekend catch-up with results from the PDL Saturday:
San Fernando Valley Quakes 2 San Francisco Seals 1
Fresno Fuego 3 Orange County Blue Star 0
Ventura County Fusion 0 Bakersfield Brigade 2

On Sunday:
San Fernando Valley Quakes 2 San Jose Frogs 0
Southern California Seahorses 0 San Francisco Seals 0

In the W-League Sunday:
Vancouver Whitecaps 0 Pali Blues 4

In the WPSL Saturday:
Ajax America Women 3 San Diego WFC SeaLions 1
Los Angeles Rampage 0 West Coast FC 2

On Sunday:
Ajax America Women 3 Claremont Stars 0
Los Angeles Rampage 1 SD United 2

Finally, trivia time: U.S. Soccer unveiled a memorial this weekend at Home Depot Center to which former U.S. Soccer president?

Answer Tuesday morning.

Very quickly this morning:
*With the Galaxy on the road against intrastate rivals the San Jose Earthquakes Saturday (7 p.m. live on Fox Soccer Channel), Chivas USA takes center stage locally with a game against Real Salt Lake at Home Depot Center.

A preview from the official Chivas USA blog is here.

Chivas USA, still seeking to draw fans, has a ticket deal for the game.

*Meanwhile, CONCACAF begins World Cup qualifying this weekend and in addition to the U.S.-Barbados game at Home Depot Center Sunday (plenty of tickets are still available) there's a full slate of action.

Mexico's game against Belize airs at 1:30 p.m. on KVEA.

*In the WPSL there are four local games this weekend with Ajax America Women meeting the San Diego WFC SeaLions at noon Saturday at Nansen Field in Rolling Hills Estates and the Claremont Stars at home at 2 p.m. Sunday.

The Los Angeles Rampage also host a pair of games: West Coast FC at 7. p.m. Saturday in Granada Hills and SD United at 6 p.m. Sunday.

*In the W-League former U.S. Women's National Team star Tiffeny Milbrett and the Vancouver Whitecaps visit the Ventura County Fusion tonight.

The Whitecaps also play the Pali Blues 1 p.m. Sunday at Palisades High School.

*Lastly, in the PDL Saturday, the Fresno Fuego visit Orange County Blue Star at 5 p.m. at Concordia University.

Have a great weekend and if you can't make it out to a game, I'll be blogging from both the Chivas USA and U.S. games so check back for more details.

First off, U.S. Coach Bob Bradley today named a 24-player roster for next week's game against Spain that's pretty much the same as the squad for the England game with the addition of recalled Colorado Rapids midfielder Pablo Mastroeni.

The Galaxy jetted off to Toronto today for Saturday's game in Canada (12:30 p.m. Direct Kick).

Chivas USA plays at Home Depot Center Saturday against Rolling Hills' Estates' Robbie Rogers and the Columbus Crew.

More on both games Saturday.

In PDL games locally tonight it's:
San Francisco Seals at Orange County Blue Star 5 p.m. Concordia University.
Fresno Fuego at Ventura County Fusion 7:30 p.m. Buena High.

Saturday:
Los Angeles Legends at Southern California Seahorses 7:30 p.m. La Mirada High.

W-League Saturday
Ventura County Fusion at Pali Blues 7 p.m. Palisades High.

Women's Premier Soccer League Friday
Los Angeles Rampage v Claremont Stars 8 p.m. Granada Hills.
West Coast FC v Ajax America Women 8 p.m. JSerra Catholic High School.

*The U.S. Under-23 National Team plays the Ivory Coast at 9 a.m. today on Fox Soccer Channel from France.

*Fontana's Maurice Edu of Toronto FC has been called into the senior national team for next week's game against England, presumably as a replacement for the injured Benny Feilhaber.

*The Galaxy's Ante Jazic has only just returned from injury, but the defender has been recalled by Canada's National Team for its May 31 game against Brazil in Seattle.

*In other MLS news, former Galaxy midfielders Jovan Kirovski and Kelly Gray have joined the San Jose Earthquakes from the Colorado Rapids, with former Chivas USA reserve goalkeeper Preston Burpo moving in the opposite direction.

*ESPN has announced that Wednesday's UEFA Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea - the first-ever between two English teams - was ESPN2's highest-rated and most-watched UEFA telecast in history.

From the ESPN press release:

The telecast was seen in an average of 798,000 homes (and by 1,097,000 viewers), and received an 0.8 rating. The network's previous UEFA record was the 2006 final, seen in 613,000 homes (and by 770,000 viewers), based on a 0.7 rating.

On ESPN Deportes, the Spanish-language telecast earned a 4.5 Hispanic coverage rating, representing 153,000 Hispanic homes, the highest rating the network has ever received.

ESPN Classic will re-air the telecast as an instant classic at 5 p.m. Saturday.

*Meanwhile, Electronic Arts' UEFA Euro 2008 video game has gone on sale, featuring 52 teams.

From their press release:

A new game mode called Captain Your Country will enable gamers to put themselves on the pitch, earn the captaincy of their team, and truly inspire their country to glory. Gamers will be able to celebrate their success on-field through user-controlled celebrations that will add to the pageantry and atmosphere of the event.

*Cal State Northridge women' soccer has announced the signing of eight high school seniors to letters of intent: sweeper Nicole Cruz and defender Emily Geckle (both Thousand Oaks High); goalkeeper Christina Herrera (Pasadena High); defender Marie Hirsch (Notre Dame High); midfielder Marissa Miller (Righetti High); defender Katie Russ (Canyon High); midfielder Brielle Slepicoff (Saugus High); and midfielder Sinead Vaughan (Royal High).

*Only two local PDL games scheduled this weekend.

At 7:30 tonight the San Fernando Valley Quakes play at Los Angeles Legends.

At 7 p.m. Saturday, it's the Bakersfield Brigade at Southern California Seahorses at La Mirada High.

*The Women's Premier Soccer League begins play locally this weekend.

Games scheduled locally:
Saturday- Ajax America Women- Los Angeles Rampage at noon at Nansen Field in Rolling Hills Estates.
San Diego WFC SeaLions- West Coast FC at 7 p.m. at Cathedral Catholic High in San Juan Capistrano.
Claremont Stars- SD United at 5:30 p.m. at Claremont High School.

*Finally, if you thought MLS officiating was bad, check this out.

Have a great weekend.