BC Soccer News, Weekend, January 20-22, 2017

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC & MLS NEWS

‘Caps for Canada: Four WFC players named to Canada’s 18-man roster versus Bermuda – Whitecaps FC
Vancouver Whitecaps FC confirmed on Thursday that defender Marcel de Jong, and midfielders Marco Bustos and Ben McKendry, as well as Whitecaps FC 2 goalkeeper Sean Melvin, have been named to the Canadian senior men’s national team’s 18-man roster for an upcoming friendly versus Bermuda.

Whitecaps veteran Marcel de Jong on verge of Canada soccer milestone – The Province
Marcel de Jong could earn his 50th cap for Canada this weekend when the Canadian men play Bermuda in a friendly.

The LA Galaxy Sign Portuguese Midfielder João Pedro – MLS Multiplex
The L.A. Galaxy have signed 23-year-old Portuguese midfielder João Pedro, who was purchased as a Special Discovery Player through Target Allocation Money.

LAFC reportedly eyeing Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez for 2018 season – MLS
Could the Los Angeles derby in 2018 feature a showdown between Mexican national team stars? According to a report from Spanish sports outlet AS, 2018 MLS expansion side LAFC are eyeing Bayer Leverkusen forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez for the club’s inaugural season.

MLS Expansion: Tuesday is key day for stadium projects – Soccer America
The good news for backers of an MLS expansion team in St. Louis seeking public funding of a soccer stadium is that the proposal to get a measure on the ballot for an April referendum isn’t dead.

Report: Detroit ownership group will meet Jan. 31 expansion bid deadline – MLS
Detroit’s MLS expansion bid, backed by the owners of two NBA teams, appears headed for submission to the league by the Jan. 31 deadline.

Tim Howard is getting a pass from the media after his comments about foreign-born players – Stars & Stripes FC
The media is giving Tim Howard a pass on his comments about foreign-born American players and it should be more critical of him in the coverage of the story.

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BC SOCCER NEWS

Wallace joins UNBC women’s soccer – UNBC
The South Okanagan region has become a pipeline to the University of Northern British Columbia women’s soccer program. Today, that pipeline produced again, as midfielder Kyra Wallace has committed to join the Timberwolves for the 2017-2018 season.

Whitecaps FC Girls Elite BC REX players called to Canada women’s national team – Whitecaps FC
Canada Soccer announced on Thursday that two players from the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite BC Soccer REX program have been called up to an upcoming women’s national team camp. 16-year-old Ashley Cathro (Victoria, BC) and 15-year-old Jordyn Huitema (Chilliwack, BC) are the two youngest players on the roster. They join former Whitecaps FC players Desiree Scott and Christine Sinclair.

TOFC Goalkeeper Invited to REX Program Evaluation – TOFC
Thompson Okanagan FC Goalkeeper Liesl Milovick of the 2003 Girls has been invited for a week long training period in the Whitecaps FC Girls Elite REX program January 16-20. Liesl has been invited based on feedback and performance levels within the BCSPL and the BC Soccer High Performance Program. This training period will give Whitecaps REX Staff an opportunity to further track her progress.

VIDEO: Campus Corner: UBC’s Chad Bush excels as student-athlete – Canada West
UBC Thunderbirds goaltender Chad Bush has excelled on the field and in the classroom since moving to Vancouver and is also part of Canada West’s involvement in the Bell Let’s Talk student initiative.

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.

Tickets now on sale for Canada Soccer Women’s National Team celebration match 4 February in Vancouver – CSA
Individual tickets to the Canada v Mexico Women’s National Team Bronze Medal celebration match on 4 February 2017 in Vancouver are now on sale to the public. Complete ticket information can be found at CanadaSoccer.com/Tickets.

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.

BC Soccer Assoc. Delivery of Coach Mandate – BCSA
IMPORTANT:  If you are coaching in the ages U6-U12 you are required to complete the age appropriate course(s) even if you have a higher level of certification (ie. Soccer for Life, B pretest, C License, B License or A License). In order to enable our membership to deliver on the coaching mandate, BC Soccer Assoc. will be scheduling Learning Facilitator training sessions to assist organizations to have qualified individuals to deliver in-club coach certification courses to their coaches.

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 starts Panama trip with 1:0 win in U-20 friendly – CSA
Canada kicked off their two-match Men’s U-20 International Friendly series with an away 1:0 victory over host Panama on Thursday 19 January. The two sides continue the series on Saturday as part of both nations’ preparations for the 2017 CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Championship.

Hundal Scores Only Goal in Canada U20 Victory – USL
Toronto FC II’s Shaan Hundal had the only goal as the Canada Men’s U20 National Team took a 1-0 victory against Panama on Thursday night in the first of two exhibitions between the sides in preparation for next month’s 2017 CONCACAF U20 Championship in Costa Rica.

Coach John Herdman looks to survey new wave of women’s soccer talent – Montreal Gazette
The Canadian women’s soccer team takes its first step into the new quadrennial on Friday at a camp in Los Angeles where players ranging from 15-year-old Jordyn Huitema to 33-year-old captain Christine Sinclair will take the field.

Levasseur & Sanderson Called Up to Canadian National Team Camp – Memphis U.
Memphis Tigers Marie Levasseur and Valerie Sanderson have been called up to camp for the full Canadian Women’s National Team. The team will convene in Los Angeles, Calif. for the first training camp of 2017 on January 20.

Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team to play Olympic Champion Germany in April – CSA
As Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team gear up for the Bronze Medal Celebration Match against Mexico in Vancouver 4 February, Canada Soccer is already planning for its next match, announcing the team will play Olympic gold medalist Germany in Erfurt, Germany on 9 April 2017.

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2017 NASL Season Set To Kick Off On March 25 – NASL
The NASL announced today the format for the 2017 season, which will kick off on Saturday, March 25. Each NASL club will compete in a 16-game Spring Season, followed by a 16-game Fall Season, hosting eight home games in each.

Rowdies Add Attacking Threat Darwin Jones – Tampa Bay Rowdies
The Tampa Bay Rowdies added a young attacker Friday, announcing the signing of forward Darwin Jones, pending league and federation approval. Per club and league policy, further contract details were not disclosed.

‘Let’s stop fighting’: NASL shifts tone after surviving near collapse – Four Four Two
Checks and balances, pragmatism: Interim commissioner Rishi Sehgal tells FourFourTwo about the league’s plans to move forward.

USL Top 10: International Players – USL
Check out 10 of the best goals scored by the USL’s finest imports in 2016.

Alex Morgan Wins 2016 CONCACAF Female Player of Year – MLS Multiplex
Alex Morgan wins the 2016 CONCACAF Female Player of the Year Award. A look at her competition and the other award winners.

Sky Blue FC adds Daphne Corboz, a Manchester City star – Empire of Soccer
Two years after drafting her, Sky Blue FC is finally getting to bring Daphne Corboz back to New Jersey.

Westfield W-League Round 13 preview – W-League
All the squad news for what promises to be a gripping penultimate round in the Westfield W-League, highlighted by the Fox Sports / ABC TV match between Western Sydney Wanderers and Canberra United.

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WORLD SOCCER NEWS

Premier League previews: News, predictions, analysis – Week 22 – NBC Sports
Week 22 of the Premier League is here and it is all getting rather tense at both ends of the table.

Roma crushes Sampdoria to reach Coppa Italia quarterfinals – Sportsnet
Roma is on course to face city rival Lazio in the Italian Cup semifinals after easing past Sampdoria 4-0 in the round of 16 on Thursday.

AFCON wrap: Senegal clinches first knockout round slot – NBC Sports
Senegal has advanced to the knockout rounds of the Africa Cup of Nations, leaving three teams to work for the second Group B slot come the final day.

Barcelona, Atletico Madrid victorious in Copa del Rey quarters – Sportsnet
Barcelona’s 10-year winless run at Real Sociedad is finally over after a 1-0 win in a first-leg quarterfinal of the Copa del Rey on Thursday.

Rampant Monaco wary of Lorient – Ligue 1
AS Monaco are in rampant form but the principality club are mindful of the fact they have not won at home to FC Lorient in either of the last two seasons as the sides prepare to meet at the Stade Louis II on Sunday.

Sydney FC extend their A-League lead to eight points in Adelaide win – The Guardian
Two goals in two minutes have kept Sydney FC’s undefeated juggernaut rolling, with Alex Brosque and Milos Ninkovic lifting the A-League leaders to a 2-0 victory over Adelaide. The Sky Blues struggled early on Friday night at a slippery Allianz Stadium and were left frustrated by a wrongly disallowed Filip Holosko goal.

Bundesliga break isn’t what it used to be – Soccer America
Of the major European leagues, Germany’s Bundesliga has the longest winter break — a little more than four weeks — but it isn’t what it used to be. Thirty years ago, the Bundesliga took 11 weeks off.

Germany launches bid as favourite to host Euro 2024 – Sportsnet
The German soccer federation has formally launched a bid to host the 2024 European Championship.

‘We are evaluating an offer’ – Conte admits Begovic could leave Chelsea – SN
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte could reluctantly allow goalkeeper Asmir Begovic to leave the club during the January transfer window.

Tottenham’s stunning new stadium taking shape – NBC Sports
Over the past few months Tottenham Hotspur’s new 61,000 stadium adjacent to their current White Hart Lane home seems to have been rising another 10 meters into the sky on a weekly basis.

Beating the drop: what the Premier League’s bottom four must do to avoid relegation – The Guardian
Crystal Palace need to spend, Marco Silva must keep Robert Snodgrass at Hull City, Sunderland have to hang on to Jermain Defoe and Swansea City badly require a centre-half

Copa Centroamericana: Honduras is first to advance – Soccer America
The top four teams in the six-team tournament will advance to the Gold Cup and the fifth-place team will face Haiti in a playoff for the 12th and final berth in the tournament.

Belgian court awards Diarra €6m, ruling FIFA and KBVB twisted law to stop him from working – Inside World Football
In a potential landmark ruling that could have far-reaching consequences, a Belgian court has found FIFA and the Belgian FA (KBVB) jointly guilty of obstructing former Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra’s transfer to Charleroi in 2015 and has ordered them to pay him  €6 million.

British worker dies at World Cup stadium in Qatar –  SN
A worker has died at one of the 2022 World Cup venues in Qatar, tournament organizers have confirmed.

East Timor punished for changing birth certificates to hire Brazilian players – BBC Sport
Birth and baptism certificates were doctored by football chiefs in a tiny southeast Asian country to allow a dozen Brazilians to play for them.

Are crumb-rubber fields safe? Report of blood cancer for soccer players led to investigation – Seattle Times
A Washington State Department of Health investigation has found that artificial, crumb-rubber fields are not causing increased rates of cancer in local soccer players, officials announced Wednesday.