BC Soccer News, Monday, March 6, 2017

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC & MLS NEWS

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER

 VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC  0  PHILADELPHIA UNION  0

MATCHDAY #1

SUNDAY, MARCH 5, 2017

BC PLACE, VANCOUVER, BC

MLS PHOTOS: Vancouver Whitecaps FC 0 Philadelphia Union 0, March 5, 2017 – BC Soccer Web
Exclusive Photos for BC Soccer Web by Bill Currie.

Whitecaps 0 Union 0: Even Davies can’t rescue MLS opener – The Province
The concept that Vancouver Whitecaps teen Alphonso Davies is worth the price of admission was severely tested Sunday when the MLS team played its season-opener.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 0, Philadelphia Union 0 | 2017 MLS Match Recap – MLS
The final game of the season’s opening week ended without any goals. Despite both teams pressing in the second half, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC and the Philadelphia Union battled to a scoreless draw Sunday night at BC Place.

‘Caps, Union draw in MLS season opener – Whitecaps FC
Three days after making history in the CONCACAF Champions League, Vancouver Whitecaps FC played to a scoreless draw with Philadelphia Union on Sunday night in their Major League Soccer regular season opener at BC Place.

Whitecaps rue missed chances in MLS season debut – Sportsnet
It was, in the words of Philadelphia Union coach Jim Curtin, “maybe not the most beautiful game of soccer.” The Vancouver Whitecaps opened their Major League Soccer regular season on Sunday at BC Place with a scoreless draw against the Union.

Report and Reaction: Whitecaps can’t break Union in disappointing MLS opener – AFTN
Vancouver Whitecaps were frozen off the scoresheet by Philadelphia Union as the 2017 MLS season kicked off with a lacklustre scoreless draw that saw both sides muster only six shots on target between them and only one of those came from the ‘Caps.

Takeaways from the Union’s season opener draw at Vancouver – Philadelphia Union
Head Coach Jim Curtin praised the Vancouver attack leading up to the match, and the Union back line rose to the occasion. The Union held the Whitecaps scoreless in the draw, maintain poise under pressure and making life difficult for the Vancouver attack.

Whitecaps’ Christian Dean thrilled to be playing after a year away with injury – Lethbridge Herald
The match ended in a draw. But returning to the pitch was a victory for Vancouver Whitecaps defender Christian Dean.

Whitecaps versus Union: What did we learn? – Soccer Shorts
Mostly we learned that the world is a strange and terrible place and that although we may try to avoid staring into the void there will be times when the void stares straight into us with it’s unblinking and uncaring gaze.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC announce three-year rights extension with TSN Radio – Whitecaps FC
Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced on Saturday that TSN Radio Vancouver will continue to be home to the ‘Caps for the next three seasons.

MLS Weekend Rewind: Week 1 – SBI
With the first slate of matches in the new MLS season completed, both expansion teams found themselves on the losing ends of their first ever matches, though in markedly differing styles.

MLS Week 1 Recap: Expansion Sides Stumble – Empire of Soccer
Major League Soccer’s two new United teams — Atlanta and Minnesota — offered the bookend games to the league’s 2017 opening weekend, with both expansion clubs showing glimpses of promise but with both coming up short after 90 minutes. Elsewhere, some teams looked ready for the regular season, others not so much.

Godoy gives Quakes opening day win over Montreal – Prost Amerika
The San Jose Earthquakes opened their 2017 campaign with a convincing 1-0 victory at home against Montreal Impact thanks to a first half goal from Anibal Godoy. San Jose controlled much of the match with high pressure from new signing Marco Ureña and forced Montreal into a number of mistakes.

Real Salt Lake 0 – 0 Toronto FC – Northern Starting XI
Toronto FC opened up their 2017 MLS season at Rio Tinto Stadium in front of 19, 519 at Sandy, Utah with a scoreless result against Real Salt Lake.

Minnesota United FC’s Debut Spoiled by the Portland Timbers 5-1 – Fifty Five One
In a way, it doesn’t matter what the score was tonight in Portland. Minnesota was played off the pitch by a superior squad, that’s true. It’s the multiple other watch parties around the Twin Cities and around the state bringing in new fans and giving a space for long time fans to celebrate the culmination of years of support in a state not necessarily known as a soccer hotbed.

Sounders FC falls 2-1 in Houston to open 2017 MLS season – Sounders FC
Sounders FC opened the 2017 MLS campaign Saturday evening with a 2-1 loss to the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium. Clint Dempsey scored the lone goal for Seattle in his first competitive appearance since last August, but it wasn’t enough to overcome two first-half Dynamo strikes from Erick Torres and Romell Quioto.

MLS Counterattack: Goals at a premium for Canadian clubs – Sportsnet
Two hundred and seventy minutes, and not a single goal between the three Canadian teams during the opening weekend of the MLS regular season—although, to be fair, they combined to concede only one goal.

Cyle Larin delivers goal, memorable all-around game in Orlando City opener – MLS
While Cyle Larin got the all-important goal in Orlando City SC’s momentous opening-day victory in their new stadium, it was his – and the team’s – defensive prowess that earned most plaudits from head coach Jason Kreis.

Kaka’s hamstring injury could be serious, says Orlando coach Jason Kreis – MLS
Jason Kreis gave a rueful half-smile as he digested the bittersweet nature of Orlando City SC’s 1-0 season-opening victory over New York City FC in the post-game press conference.

Video shows deputy being attacked after Orlando City soccer match – WPTV
A witness said a New York City FC fan got into an argument with an Orlando City fan. The deputy attempting to calm the situation but quickly found himself as the target.

Atlanta United have announced their arrival to MLS with an odd new ritual – Four Four Two
MLS’s newest club have decided to include a strange post-match ritual for every home game.

The Sheer Insanity of the Official MLS Style Guide – Fifty Five One
The official MLS style guide is up on the league’s website. This gives more pliable media members the league’s official line on what is and is not acceptable when referring to the teams in the league. MLS has always been famous among soccer fans for insane league-mandated nonsense (see: TAM and GAM, the discovery mechanism, not announcing any allocation money details of trades before 2017, etc.). But when it comes to nonsense, this could be the absolute pinnacle.

PHOTOS: Whitecaps FC 2 NY Red Bulls 0, CONCACAF Champions League QF, March 2, 2017 – BC Soccer Web
Exclusive Photos for BC Soccer Web by Bill Currie.

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BC SOCCER NEWS

VISL Results – March 3-5 – VISL
An exciting weekend across all divisions on the VISL this past weekend. We are fortunate as we are probably the only Men’s League in the Province to get the majority of our scheduled games in.

T-Birds fall to Whitecaps FC2 in frigid friendly – UBC
The UBC Thunderbirds were back in action for a friendly against Whitecaps FC2 on a pitch that both teams call home during the regular season, as the Caps downed the ‘Birds 2-0 at Thunderbird Stadium. UBC Head Coach Mike Mosher dressed the majority of his roster for the upcoming year, and thought his team matched up well.

KYSA Women’s Indoor Finals Results – KYSA
The finals of the Women’s Indoor Soccer League were held last evening (March 05) at the Kamloops Soccer Dome.

BC Soccer Assoc. Scholarships – BCSA
BC Soccer is proud to award scholarships every year to players and referees proceeding on to post-secondary education. The Scholarships are presented at a special Scholarship Celebration at a Whitecaps FC match in June/July each year. Applications must be received by the British Columbia Soccer Association Office by March 31st.

REVIEW: The Miracle Mile. Stories of the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games – BC BookLook
Author Jason Beck is curator of the BC Sports Hall of Fame in BC Place Stadium, Vancouver, and convenor two years ago of an excellent exhibition about the 1954 Games. In his first book, he proves to be a meticulous researcher, a compelling story-teller, and a crafty realist who knows how to hook his readers. Watch how, two pages into the book, he uses filmic technique to evoke the arriving athletes’ youthful buzz and give period colouring and costuming, but then smartly moves his camera in to introduce his stars.

TSS Rovers launch website & 2017 Season Ticket Campaign – TSS Rovers
TSS FC Rovers play their inaugural season in the PDL at iconic Swangard Stadium. Season Tickets are $70 for Adults, $49 for U12 Youth.

Becoming a BC Soccer Referee – BCSA
Whether you are an experienced referee new to British Columbia or if you are new to the discipline of refereeing BC Soccer Assoc. has a clinic and a pathway for you.  The minimum age to become a referee is 12 years old (small sided) and 14 years old (11-a-side). Please enjoy the short video showcasing some Referee programs that BC Soccer offers and continue below for more on how to become a referee in BC!

TSS FC Rovers Open Tryouts – TSS Rovers
Vancouver’s newest team, TSS FC Rovers, is looking for Canada’s best up and coming players to play for their first squad in 2017. If you are a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant, could possibly play for our national team one day, and meet the age requirment of 23 and under, we want to see you play!

To our Readers: A Choice – BC Soccer Web
Soccer has brought us to the United States many times. It’s a great place with decent people. We especially look forward to our Cascadia trips to Seattle and Portland. They’re incredible cities with wonderful supporters. That’s why it was so disheartening to see chaos and fear take hold in the airports and borders of our neighbours to the south.

FVSL All-Stars to face WFC2 in March – BC Soccer Web
January snow and ice in the Lower Mainland put the brakes on the annual clash between the Fraser Valley Soccer League All-Stars and the best from the VISL this year. That hasn’t stopped the FVSL from planning an ambitious All-Star series in March.

BC Soccer Assoc. is Now Accepting 2016-2017 Awards Nominations – BCSA
We are pleased to inform everyone that BC soccer Assoc. is currently accepting Awards nominations until the submission deadline date of March 31, 2017. Selection of the award recipients is based on many factors including the individual’s commitment, community involvement and willingness to give back to the game. This year any BC Soccer Assoc. member and their affiliate clubs may submit a nomination.

2017 BC Soccer Assoc. is accepting candidates for its Board of Directors – BCSA
BC Soccer Assoc. is accepting candidates for its Board of Directors for terms commencing June, 2017 (following the BC Soccer Annual General Meeting).

Victoria Highlanders 2017 Season Passes now on sale – Highlanders FC
Support local soccer on Vancouver Island. Join the excitement of Highlanders FC PDL Soccer!

PHOTOS: CANADA WEST WOMENS FINAL, UBC 3, TWU 0, NOVEMBER 6, 2016 – BC Soccer Web
Exclusive photos for BC Soccer Web by Bill Currie.

VMSL PHOTOS: Richmond FC Hibs 1, ICSF Columbus FC 0, November 5, 2016 – BC Soccer Web
Exclusive photos for BC Soccer Web by Bill Currie.

MWSL PHOTOS: Van United Primas 0, Fraser Valley Action 2, October 30, 2016 – BC Soccer Web
Exclusive Photos for BC Soccer Web by Bill Currie.

PHOTOS: GNAC Women’s Soccer: SFU 1 Concordia U. (Ore.) 0, October 20, 2016 – BC Soccer Web
Exclusive Photos for BC Soccer Web by Bill Currie.

2016 BC Soccer Provincial Cup Photo Galleries – BC Soccer Web
Westhills Stadium & Goudy Park in Langford hosted the 2016 BC Soccer Adult Provincial Cup Finals. It was a thrilling weekend of soccer on Vancouver Island that saw seven champions crowned. Richmond FC & Surrey Pegasus qualified for the National Championships this Fall in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Both Coquitlam Metro-Ford Masters & Classics sides qualified for the Western Canadian Masters Championships in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In all, it was a clean sweep for teams from the VMSL & MWSL. Monique Lamoureux & Bill Currie from BC Soccer Web were on location that weekend, capturing the all the action.

Free Physiotherapy Clinical Trial for Achilles Pain at UBC – UBC Centre for Hip Health & Mobility
Do you have Achilles pain? Interested in free Physiotherapy? If yes, join our clinical trial to look at the effectiveness of intramuscular stimulation (IMS), a form of acupuncture therapy, in treating Achilles tendon pain.

The BC Soccer Web Guide to Empire Field – BC Soccer Web
Empire Fields and Plateau Sports Park is the lofty and formal name given to Vancouver’s newest addition to the soccer scene. Yet, anyone who’s ever kicked or carried both kinds of footballs around these parts knows the place by heart.

Introducing BC Soccer Web Syndication – BC Soccer Web
You can now add BC Soccer Web news to your website simply by adding our new RSS Feed! Find out more.

Send your Soccer News to BC Soccer Web! – BC Soccer Web
BC Soccer Web is the hub for soccer in British Columbia. We want to share your soccer news with the entire province, and you can help by letting us know! We want your match reports, club news, league standings, and info on upcoming tournaments and clinics. Whether you submit links to existing news on the web, or your own original writing, we want to share it with the soccer community in B.C.

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CANADA SOCCER NEWS

Canada Soccer defeats Russia 2-1 in second Algarve Cup 2017 group stage match – CSA
Canada’s next match is against Algarve Cup hosts Portugal on 6 March at Estadio Algarve.

Red Deer soccer star living the dream in England – CBC
Caolan Lavery, 24, has helped shoot Sheffield United to the top of the table.

Karina LeBlanc, more than just a footballer – FIFA
Since Karina LeBlanc made her international debut for Canada on 21 July 1998, much has changed for both the goalkeeper and women’s football in general. “When I started my career, we would have maybe eight people in the stands,” she recalled in an exclusive interview with FIFA.com, having hung up her gloves after the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada.

Calgary Minor Soccer Association in danger of losing West Soccer Centre, needs new home – Calgary Sun
Calgary’s minor soccer players need to score a new home in case their current one is lost to the city’s utility needs, says the man overseeing hundreds of teams.

BMO Centre in London ready to grow – London Free Press
Only weeks away from a major expansion, an indoor soccer complex in London is about to become one of the largest of its kind in Ontario and among the top three in Canada.

Canada Soccer looking for candidates to serve on the Board of Directors starting May 2017 – CSA
Deadline for application is 4:00 pm ET on Wednesday, 22 March 2017.

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WFC2 Signs Versatile Thoma – USL
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 announced on Friday the addition of defender/midfielder Andy Thoma for the 2017 USL season, pending receipt of his international transfer certificate, and league and federation approval.

With new USL season looming, FC Cincinnati’s new coach has to hit the ground running – WCPO
Alan Koch hasn’t slept much since taking over as FC Cincinnati head coach He simply hasn’t had time.

Cosmos Score Five on Dominican National Team – Empire of Soccer
The New York Cosmos capped their preseason trip to the Dominican Republic with a third straight win — an offensive explosion on Sunday afternoon, dropping five goals on the Dominican Republic national team.

NYRB II poised for repeat success in 2017; Preseason Q&A with John Wolyniec – NYRB
The roster is still forming day-to-day within preseason, but what do you see out of some prospective NYRB II players you’ll have this upcoming season including some academy kids who may be able to make the jump to USL this season?

Rising FC Adds MLS Veteran Watson – USL
Phoenix Rising FC announced on Saturday the club had signed MLS veteran midfielder Matt Watson for the 2017 season. The signing is pending league and federation approval, and per club policy, the terms of the deal are not public.

USL pushing major fees, disregard clubs’ concerns – Black & Yellow Post
As evidenced by many individual announcements, there are clubs in the USL that have signed local TV deals ahead of the 2017 season. This, of course, helps the league gain exposure in those markets as the sport becomes increasingly popular in the United States. However, there is one problem. The problem is the money involved. In order to broadcast these games, teams need the correct equipment to do so. According to an anonymous league source, the league is requiring all teams within the league to pay thousands of dollars.

She Believes Cup: US Crushed in the Final Minutes By England – Prost Amerika
On a frigid Saturday evening at Red Bull Arena, the US Women’s National Team faced England for the second annual She Believes Cup, pitting the top soccer nations in the Women’s sporting world against each other. After having previously claimed victory against Germany, the US sought to continue their winning ways against England who themselves struggled against France. Saturday’s match set a new high-attendance record for the competition at 26,500; a sold-out crowd at Red Bull Arena.

England win over US was long time coming – The Equalizer
If you follow England as close as some supporters do, you will know that Saturday’s historic 1-0 win over U.S. Soccer at Red Bull Arena, in front of 26,500 frozen spectators, was no surprise. England have slowly been progressing and achieving new heights with manager, Mark Sampson. A win over the U.S. in America was due and something England have been working towards for a long time.

USWNT Says goodbye to Christie Rampone – SBI
Before the U.S. Women’s National Team lost 1-0 to England on Saturday, they said goodbye to former captain Christie Rampone, who was honored with a ceremony at Red Bull Arena.

UEFA women’s football role for Nadine Kessler – UEFA
Former Germany midfielder Nadine Kessler has joined UEFA as a women’s football advisor, saying she wants to “further develop the women’s game in all corners of Europe”.

Football Association plans to increase female participation on board to three from 2018-19 – Sky Sports
Three women will be on English football’s most senior board, under new proposals from the Football Association.

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WORLD SOCCER NEWS

Sunday European Rewind: Tottenham beats Everton, Udinese ties Juventus, and more – SBI
Tottenham pulled  to within seven points of English Premier League leaders Chelsea after a 3-2 home win against Everton on Sunday.

Premier League weekend review: Ugly scenes at Old Trafford – Sportsnet
Here’s what happened in the Premier League this weekend, in case you missed it.

Celtic and Rangers to meet in Scottish Cup semi-final – SN
Celtic have been drawn against Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-finals after they beat St Mirren 4-1 in the quarter-finals on Sunday.

Pepe Reina preserves Napoli’s win, tabs club for UCL comeback vs. Real Madrid – Fox Sports
The key moment in this one was late on: Napoli had been coasting until Kevin Strootman pulled a goal back for the host in the 89th minute. Suddenly, Roma was pushing for an unlikely point.

Week 28 review: OM fire with top sides locked – Ligue 1
Marseille were the weekend’s big winners, trumping Lorient 4-1 away to climb to sixth, while the title race remains poised following wins for Monaco, Paris and Nice, as does the race for fourth place after Lyon’s 1-1 draw in Bordeaux.

Liga MX must protect players, Chivas producing and more we learned from Liga MX Round 9 – SN
It wasn’t a great weekend for Liga MX. Between injuries, more spurts of fan violence and a few snoozers of games, there certainly were better weeks.

Osasuna on their way out of La Liga after a miracle too far – The Guardian
Unexpected promotion meant Osasuna were always going to struggle in La Liga this season. Now, with 12 games still to go, that struggle seems over.

Bayer Leverkusen fires Roger Schmidt amid underachieving season – Fox Sports
It had been coming for a while, but when it finally happened it was in some style; Bayer Leverkusen sacked coach Roger Schmidt Sunday morning, after the team lost 6-2 at Borussia Dortmund the previous day.

USA wins its first Concacaf U-20 Championship – Soccer America
The USA, after qualifying for the men’s 2017 U-20 World Cup with 2-1 win over El Salvador on Friday, put the icing on its cake by beating Honduras in the Concacaf U-20 Champions final on Sunday. After 90 minutes of scoreless play, the final went straight into a penalty-kick shootout, in which all five U.S. players converted while Honduras’ Rembrandt Flores  skied his attempt over the crossbar.

US Soccer legislates standing during national anthem – The Equalizer
U.S. Soccer has passed a new rule requiring “all persons representing a Federation national team” to stand respectfully during the playing of the national anthems before any event where the national teams are involved.

U.S. Soccer Introduces Term Limits, Elects Val Ackerman, Adds Fan Vote to National Council – USSF
U.S. Soccer’s membership voted to adopt term limits for the Federation’s elected offices of President, Vice President and members of its Board of Directors, while also awarding U.S. Soccer fan members a National Council vote.

Chelsea’s plans for new 60,000-seater stadium approved by London Mayor Sadiq Khan – The Telegraph
Chelsea’s plans for a new 60,000-capacity stadium at their historic Stamford Bridge home have been approved by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

Malaysia soccer squad barred from travelling to North Korea – North Bay-Nipissing
The Malaysian government has barred the country’s national soccer team from travelling to North Korea for an Asian Cup qualifying match on March 28 because of security concerns. Football Association of Malaysia secretary-general Hamidin Mohamad Amin issued a statement Monday saying that Malaysia’s expulsion of North Korean Ambassador Kang Chol has “made the current situation unsafe for Malaysians to travel to North Korea for the moment.”

Van Basten: Video Assistant Referees are good for football – FIFA
There were some fascinating footballing trends at the most recent FIFA Club World Cup, and the Technical Study Group (TSG) of Japan 2016 has now published its technical report on the tournament along with some key facts and figures. Marco van Basten, FIFA’s Chief Officer for Technical Development, sat down with FIFA.com to give his take on the style of play at the tournament, as well as divulging insights into the changing role of centre forwards and the testing of Video Assistant Referees (VARs) which took place in Japan.

Freddy Adu and the Children of the Beautiful Game – The New Yorker
Back in 2004, in the eighth week of the Major League Soccer season, D.C. United played the Los Angeles Galaxy. The game itself was not particularly important, but many fans in the stadium were hoping to catch a glimpse of D.C. United’s rookie midfielder, Freddy Adu, who was already being touted as the savior of American soccer.