BC Soccer News, Tuesday, December 13, 2016

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC & MLS NEWS

Whitecaps FC reveal protected list for Tuesday’s expansion draft – Whitecaps FC
Vancouver Whitecaps FC revealed on Monday the 11 protected players, seven automatically protected Homegrown players, and 13 players from the 2016 roster who are available for selection in the MLS Expansion Draft.

Techera, Edgar among unprotected Whitecaps as expansion draft looms – The Province
For the teams not picking players, the MLS expansion draft is an exercise in calculated risk.

Watch the 2016 MLS Expansion Draft on Tuesday at 11 am PT – MLS
Ten MLS players from a pool of 259 will hear their name called out on Tuesday by either Atlanta United FC and Minnesota United FC in the 2016 MLS Expansion Draft as both clubs look to continue building their rosters ahead of their debut seasons.

List of players available for MLS Expansion Draft unveiled – SBI
The MLS Expansion Draft is looming, and it is now clear exactly which players Atlanta United and Minnesota United will be able to choose from in Tuesday’s draft.

MLS Expansion Draft: Players worth a look – Soccer America
Atlanta United has already signed 14 players for its 2017 launch, while expansion partner Minnesota United has just three players, all defenders, under contract, so they go into Tuesday’s Expansion Draft with different needs. Each team gets to pick five players. There are not a lot of quality forwards left unprotected but lots of other players whom Atlanta United and Minnesota United will take a hard look at.

10 players who should be picked in Tuesday’s Expansion Draft – MLS
The former Chicago Fire midfielder is probably not an option for Atlanta, who have Miguel Almiron, Hector Villalba and Andrew Carleton on the roster, but he could be a piece to build on for Minnesota. He struggled a bit this season with Montreal, registering just 2 goals and 3 assists in 27 games, but he has shown to be a consistent chance creator in the past.

Unprotected Scouting of the Expansion Draft – Fifty Five One
The clock is ticking: at noon on Monday, Minnesota United got their hands on the lists of unprotected players from around MLS for Tuesday’s Expansion Draft. The technical staff has been conducting mock drafts for weeks and will likely complete a dozen more before the real thing on Tuesday.

Atlanta United FC open minded about the Expansion Draft – Prost Amerika
The front office of Atlanta United FC is busy at work preparing for the 2016 Expansion Draft to be held at 11:00AM PT on Tuesday, December 13, 2016.  The rules of the draft allow both Atlanta United and Minnesota United FC to select five players each from the existing 20 Major League Soccer teams, as part of the league expansion.

Ryan Meara Signs Multi-Year Deal with Red Bulls – Empire of Soccer
The New York Red Bulls have re-signed goalkeeper Ryan Meara to a multi-year contract that will keep the third longest tenured player on the team in red and white.

From the Pigeon Loft: How to make the best of the worst possible final – AFTN
Saturday night I was sitting in Doolins amongst some Southsider friends enjoying a rare off season meet up for beer, the official business of our group’s AGM, and the MLS Cup Final.

What to know before thousands of Sounders fans pack downtown for parade – KIRO
The Seattle Sounders and fans will celebrate the team’s first-ever MLS Cup win with a victory march and rally in downtown Seattle on Tuesday.

MLS Cup breaks new ground for Canadian TV viewership – the11.ca
TSN announced that the game, which saw the Sounders park the bus and hold on for a penalty-kick triumph over the Reds, drew 1.5 million viewers nationwide in both English and French. That broke the record of 1.4 million for the second leg of the Eastern Conference final.

Minnesota United brave elements for stadium groundbreaking ceremony – MLS
On Monday, Minnesota United held their ceremonial groundbreaking for their upcoming soccer-specific stadium. MLS Commissioner Don Garber was on hand as media, fans, and team officials braved the frigid 9-degree Minnesota winter for the beginning of the stadium-building process.

Soccer stadium’s look tweaked, but construction start still uncertain – Pioneer Press
New renderings show Minnesota United’s future stadium in the St. Paul Midway will be even less boxy and lower than previous depictions, but a firm start date for major construction remains up in the air.

Complete list of MLS Free Agents for 2017 season – MLS
A total of 37 MLS players are eligible for Free Agency for the 2017 season. Starting at 5 pm ET on Tuesday, Dec. 13, Free Agents may engage in negotiations with MLS clubs outside of their previous club.

“Sons of Ben: The Movie” now available on Netflix – Philadelphia Union
Big home entertainment news for Union fans broke over the weekend with the addition of “Sons of Ben: The Movie” to the Netflix lineup. Originally debuting in 2015, the film tells the story of the Union supporters’ group from the very beginning and how their passion and determination helped drive the birth of Philadelphia Union.

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BC SOCCER NEWS

BC Soccer Assoc. Wants all Individuals Involved in Soccer to #Respectall – BCSA
#respectall campaign aimed to highlight amazing sportsmanship throughout BC while eliminating poor behavior on the field, sidelines and in the boardroom.

Whitecaps FC and BCIT Community Captains: Sean Choi – Whitecaps FC
Whitecaps FC and BCIT are proud to present the Community Captains scholarship program. Sean Choi is one of five deserving high school students who have been awarded a $1,000 RESP to put towards their post-secondary education, as well as a Whitecaps FC matchday experience and in-stadium recognition for their achievement.

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. Releases their 2015-2016 Year in Review – BCSA
After another successful year of soccer in British Columbia, BC Soccer Assoc. is pleased to release their 2015-2016 Year in Review.  The creation of the BC Soccer Club Charter Program, delivery of a FIFA Live Your Goals Festival, along with the numerous Grassroots Festivals across the province and Coach Education highlight some of the major successes this past year.

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

Canadian international Kadeisha Buchanan earns another soccer award – Montreal Gazette
Canadian international defender Kadeisha Buchanan, who led West Virginia to the NCAA women’s soccer tournament final, has been named the TopDrawerSoccer.com Player of the Year.

Semi-pro Canadian Soccer League a hotspot of match-fixing – Toronto Star
These accusations of Canadian sports corruption are not about TFC but rather a small, obscure soccer league based in southern Ontario — the Canadian Soccer League, a little league that punches above its weight when it comes to controversy. (Editor’s note: the CSL operates outside of FIFA and is not affiliated in any way with the OSA or Canadian Soccer Association. The article also has a factual error where it states that the CSL is the 3rd ranked league in Canada. The CSL does not have any spot in the Canadian Soccer pyramid).

LTPD Survey – National Grassroots – CSA
The Canadian Soccer Association is conducting a nationwide survey of grassroots soccer on the topic of Long Term Player Development.

Saskatoon teams take top spots in three divisions at SISCO soccer tournament – Star-Phoenix
Three Saskatoon teams found success and took home the gold medal at the Xtratime Sports Soccer Locker SISCO boys’ soccer tournament on the weekend.

2016 Allstate Canadian National Teams Good Hands® Award Announced – CSA
Maxime Crépeau’s incredible save against the USA in an international friendly on February 5 has been voted the 2016 Allstate Canadian National Teams Good Hands® Award. The award, which recognizes the top save by a Canadian National Team goalkeeper during international play, was chosen by fans during the online voting period which ran from December 6th through 11th. Allstate will present Maxime Crépeau with the Good Hands® Award trophy at a 2017 National Team home match.

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SF Deltas Team News: First Players Announced – Medium
We’re actively building our roster and recently signed our first players: Canadian national team defender Nana Attakora, Brazilian winger Jackson Henrique Gonçalves Pereira (known as “Jackson”) and French goalkeeper Romuald Peiser. All three are veterans of North American soccer and have signed on for the Deltas 2017 inaugural season.

Cole, Vingaard and Collins set to Return for 2017 Rowdies Season – Tampa Bay Rowdies
The Tampa Bay Rowdies have officially confirmed three more members of the 2017 roster, which will make its debut in the United Soccer League, with Joe Cole, Martin Vingaard and Neill Collins all remaining under contract with the club, pending league and USSF approval. Per club and league policy, further contract details were not disclosed.

USL continues to expand the brand – Medium
USL appear to have agreed a deal with ESPN to increase ESPN’s coverage of the league next year. As you can see from the image below, taken at the USL-PDL meeting last week, this also suggests additional “games of the week” will be shown on ESPN3 and ESPN U.

Are the New York Cosmos dead again, or waiting for another resurrection?  – The Guardian
The club that brought Pelé and Raúl to America have shed their staff and players. So why does their chairman insist the team has a future?

Cosmos landlord pushes for eviction to recover more than $55K in arrears for team’s Long Island offices – Big Apple Soccer
The Cosmos may have ceased operations and released all of their players, but their creditors apparently are not about to go away. The North American Soccer League team been summoned into court to pay back rent in excess of $50,000 for their Long Island offices in Garden City, N.Y.

MLS wants a Detroit expansion team, but Detroit City FC fans want them to get lost – SB Nation
MLS came calling and sparked a heated debate between a homegrown soccer mob and big money investors over who owns Detroit soccer.

Kerr continues to lead Perth Glory in W-League play – Empire of Soccer
Sam Kerr and the Perth Glory continue to roll as the 2016 season winds down. Kerr scored the game-winner to lead her Australian Westfield W-League team to a 1-0 win over Sydney FC over the weekend. The victory was Perth’s second straight win and puts them just two points from the top spot with 3-1-1 record for 10 points.  Perth Glory is  fourth on the Westfield W-League table, equal on points with third-place Canberra United and just two behind leaders Melbourne City and Sydney.

Carli Lloyd talks about the shock of instant fame: “I’m still the same person” – Excelle
Carli Lloyd knows how to prepare herself for a game, even the biggest of games. Even the 2015 World Cup final. On that remarkable day, she did what she always did on game days. Don’t stay in bed too long, but don’t get up too early. Eat, stretch, go for a run, get a massage, have lunch, maybe take a walk later in the day.

United Women’s Soccer announces four-team expansion – Excelle
Detroit Sun FC, FC Indiana, Fort Wayne United FC and Grand Rapids FC will join the 11-team league next summer. According to the release, league management is still looking to add one to two more teams to form a Midwest Conference. There are already existing East and West conferences.

Liverpool Ladies sign Casey Stoney ahead of FA WSL 1 season – Sky Sports
Former England captain Casey Stoney has joined two-time champions Liverpool Ladies ahead of the FA WS1 season.

Gender quotas a welcome start, says camogie chief – Irish Examiner
The announcement by Minister for Sport Patrick O’Donovan yesterday that sports bodies will have State funding cut unless at least 30% of their board members are female was broadly welcomed yesterday.

FA gets house in order with two women to join board – The Telegraph
The Football Association was on Monday night in the process of adding two women to its board in an attempt to stave off Government sanctions after being branded full of “elderly white men” by five of its most senior former leaders.

The rise and fall of Umeå IK, Europe’s first giant of women’s football – These Football Times
It was supposed to be the calm before the storm. But then an actual snowstorm covered the Swedish town of Umeå with a massive amount of snow during the night. It was the day before the last game of the season and the players of the two-time domestic cup champions, Umeå IK, had to start their training session by removing the snow from the pitch themselves using scrapers from their shower.

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WORLD SOCCER NEWS

Cristiano Ronaldo wins Ballon d’Or for the fourth time – The Guardian
Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Ballon d’Or award for the fourth time, capping a season in which his Portugal side won Euro 2016 and his club, Real Madrid, took the Champions League.

Sergio Ramos calls for Real Madrid focus in Club World Cup semifinal – ESPN FC
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has said his team must be fully focused to avoid embarrassment in Thursday’s FIFA Club World Cup semifinal against Mexican side Club America.

Radja Nainggolan strikes to give Roma the edge as Juventus’s closest challengers – The Guardian
It was billed as the battle between Juve’s nearest rivals and while Roma defeated Milan, Saturday’s trip to Turin will be a truer test of their credentials.

Wolfsburg part ways with Allofs – SN
Wolfsburg have parted company with sporting director Klaus Allofs following the club’s disappointing start to the 2016-17 campaign.

Riyad Mahrez named BBC African Footballer of the Year – Vavel
Leicester City’s Algerian superstar has beaten off Premier League competition to claim this year’s prestigious award.

AFC Champions League 2017 draw concluded – AFC
Recently crowned winners Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors learned their Group Stage opponents for the 2017 edition of the AFC Champions League on Tuesday following the competition’s official draw in Kuala Lumpur.

Stanford defeats Wake Forest in penalties to repeat as NCAA Champions – SBI
For the second season running, the Stanford Cardinal are on top of the college soccer world. After a full scoreless match, the Cardinal emerged victorious for the second consecutive season, claiming a 5-4 penalty shootout victory over Wake Forest to win Sunday’s College Cup final.

Referees share first impressions from VAR trial in Japan – FIFA
For those who have kept a close eye on the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, it may not be apparent that FIFA’s first-ever live trial with Video Assistant Referees (VARs) is taking place.