Stories Of the Day: Retroactive

Before Chelsea was unveiled as the MLS All-Star opponent, the topic of the day appeared to be retroactive punishments…

Out of England: The referee saw the foul, therefore, according to FIFA and the England FA no punishment could be handed out to Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli for a nasty studs-up challenge on Alex Song of Arsenal this weekend. "Retrospective action can only be taken in scenarios where none of the Match Officials saw the players coming together.”

In the U.S. of A: In Major League Soccer, however, New England’s Shalrie Joseph got more than his game-issued yellow card for his tackle from behind on FC Dallas’ Ricardo Villar. The league suspended the Revolution captain one game in addition to the levy of a fine. 

The retroactive punishment situation is becoming an increasingly discussed topic. Whether or not a ball crosses the line in any given league match is nothing in comparison to a grizzly tackle that takes a player out of the lineup for weeks, if not months at a time. It is still amazing that in this modern time of the sport when we all know that perceptions can greatly vary based on the angle in which you are viewing an incident, that FIFA has not amended this rule to give leagues more latitude in assessing penalties for match behavior.

And as frustrated as some fans may be, let me tell you that it can be just as bad for league officials who have their hands tied. As a long-time league administrator at USL, there were countless times when things occurred off the ball that we could not do anything about either due to lack of evidence or because of the laws of the game. Worse yet were red cards that could not be rescinded. There were almost always at least one or two cases each year in which a foul was either not as bad as the referee though or completely feigned by the player being fouled. But unless the player received the red card out of mistaken identity, there was nothing you could do.

LD Update: Player signings plentiful

Cuevas honored by USL: Charleston Battery midfielder Jose Cuevas was named the USL Pro Player of the Week today for his two goals in a 2-1 win at Richmond.

Harrisburg keeps veteran pair: With a couple weeks still remaining before the City Islanders open the season, the club announced rookie Andrew Welker was returning along with fifth-year Islander Brian Omibiji. Drew Yates and eighth-year Dustin Bixler are back for 2012 after suffering ACL tears during the season last year.

PDL Signing Day: It seemed like a signing day for the PDL with numerous clubs making announcements. The Ottawa Fury unveiled a number of locals for the 2012 roster. Ocean City added a group of All-Americans. Ocala (Fla.) announced that Brooklyn’s Ghanian-born Anthony Asante will be heading south for the summer. 
   
Pali lands Nikki Washington again: The Pali Blues are loading up once again, adding Nikki Washington, who boasts a U20 World Championship, two NCAA titles and a W-League championship on her resume. She joins recent veteran players Sarah Huffman and Liz Bogus, who were also signed recently.

Lower Division Five Stars

Five Stars of the Week

1 - Stefan Smith – F – Antigua Barracuda: The striker hit the post in a 1-0 loss Friday in a weekend split against Pittsburgh. On Sunday he was fouled in the box for a penalty (missed by Peter Byers) and went on to score the second and third goals to push the lead to three for a 3-1 win.

2 - Jose Cuevas – M – Charleston Battery: Scored both goals in the club’s 2-1 road victory over the Richmond Kickers in a contest of two clubs kicking off their 20th seasons.

3 - Ray Burse – G – Carolina RailHawks: Made excellent saves on the road to blank the defending champion Minnesota Stars in a scoreless draw in first game under new coach Colin Clarke.

4 - Stanley Nyazamba – M – Richmond Kickers: Nearly set up two goals on dangerous chances before scoring equalizer himself in2-1 loss to Charleston.

5 - Pat Hannigan – G – San Antonio Scorpions: Made good saves, five stops total, in expansion club’s scoreless draw on the road in Atlanta.

Five Stars for the Season

First Five: 1 Stefan Smith, 2 Jose Cuevas, 3 Ray Burse, 4 Stanley Nyazamba, 5 Pat Hannigan… The next Five: 6 John Wilson (D, Charleston), 7 Matthew Delicate (F, Richmond), 8 (Scott Lorenz (M, Fort Lauderdale), 9 Nicholas Addlery (F, Puerto Rico), 10 Danilo Turcios (M, Atlanta)

About Five Stars:
WEEK: The top five professional lower division performers in the North American Soccer League and USL Pro.
SEASON: The top five professional lower division performers cumulatively for the year in the NASL and USL Pro. The list is updated weekly.

Stories Of the Day: Henry Player of the Week, Cooper helps roll eggs at White House

It was a fairly quiet day - on this side of the Atlantic, anyway…

Henry Does It Again: With teammate Kenny Cooper and Chris Wondolowski also scoring twice this week, you would have thought French great Thierry Henry would have had a more difficult task in taking Player of the Week honors again. Not so much. He also had an assist in the 4-1 win at Columbus, two other great chances and the finishes on his two strikes were effortless and perfectly executed. That all led to a history-making third consecutive selection, a first in the league’s 17-year history. It also marked only the 10th time that a team had a player honored three straight times.

When I was selecting my vote, it was a difficult choice. I was leaning toward the Red Bull hero again, but went with Chivas USA midfielder Ryan Smith. Trailing 1-0 in Portland, he came on at halftime and provided perfect crosses on both strikes as the LA club rallied for a surprise win on the road that catapulted them above the Timbers and their Home Depot Center rivals in the Western table.

White House Easter Egg Roll: Cooper was invited to the White House with teammate Stephen Keel; the Philadelphia Union’s Danny Califf, Brian Carroll, Zac MacMath; and DC United’s Stephen King, Robbie Russell and Ben Olsen. They helped volunteers and employees from the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition lead youngsters through a simple dribbling course as part of the event’s “Eggtivity Area,” designed to remind participants and their parents of the simple joys of movement and play. Elsewhere on the South Lawn, a live music stage pulsated with sound, renowned poet Maya Angelou read books at a storytelling area and celebrity chefs like Andrew Zimmern and Marcus Samuelsson showed how to cook up healthy dishes.

Cooper spent part of his childhood in Maryland, but never got to visit the iconic building on Pennsylvania Avenue. On Monday, he looked out across the South Lawn and panorama of the National Mall beyond it, and said he gratified by the opportunity to grow the game in such an illustrious locale.

“There’s obviously a lot of kids out here that seem to enjoy the game,” he told MLSsoccer.com between autograph and photo requests from young fans, and even a few Easter Egg Roll staffers. "So it’s fun to see that. Being passionate about the game myself, it’s fun to share that passion with other people. I actually grew up in Baltimore, and even growing up here, I never had an opportunity to come out to the White House South Lawn. It’s definitely something I’ll cherish for a long time and it’s also fun to interact with the kids out here.”

LD Update: St Louis Soccer Hall and Preseason friendlies

Club America Coming to Laredo: A week after a very early preseason contest against the Houston Dynamo first team that finished 5-0 to the MLS club, the Laredo Heat of the PDL announced a preseason friendly against a team that is a bit more of a peer, Club America’s U20 side. The match is set for April 24 at the Texas A&M International University Soccer Complex. Expected to be with the visiting side Mexican U20 goalkeeper Carlos Aurelio Lopez and a handful of other players that have played on Mexican youth national teams and have made appearances with the first team. Club America has dominated Mexico’s U20 flight with three straight league titles and currently are second.

Glavin Going into St Louis Soccer Hall: It is perhaps a little overdue, but the owner and head coach of the PDL St Louis Lions, Tony Glavin, was announced as a member of the upcoming Class of 2012 for the St Louis Soccer Hall of Fame. The ceremony will be held September 27. Glavin’s American career began in the NASL with the Philadelphia Fury, but became a St Louis fixture starting in 1980 when he joined the MISL St Louis Steamers.

“I moved to St Louis in 1980 for five months to play for the St. Louis Steamers and I have been here ever since. I love it, it is now my home. I didn’t know too much about the indoor game or St. Louis at the time, but I wanted to keep playing throughout the offseason.” said Glavin “After three months in St. Louis the Steamers offered me a long-term contract and I jumped at the opportunity to stay in St. Louis.”

Glavin scored 157 goals in 150 appearances with the Steamers from 1980 to 1985. He was a three-time MISL All-Star, the 1982 MISL League MVP and the third MVP in the 1981 MISL All-Star Game.

Between 1985 and 1988 Glavin served as an Assistant Coach and Head Coach for the St. Louis Steamers. At the end of the 1988 season, Glavin was hired by the Kansas City Comets to serve as a Player/Coach where he appeared in 29 games. Glavin later went on to coach the Dayton Dynamo of the NPSL in 1990-91 the season. Glavin enjoyed a stellar professional career and had so much more to contribute in the game, so he started his own local youth club in St. Louis.

In 1994 the Tony Glavin Soccer Club was founded in Cottleville, Mo. in St. Charles County. In 2006, Glavin saw a need for another level of soccer in St Louis and he founded the St. Louis Lions. The Lions are the highest-level amateur team in St. Louis, playing in the PDL. The team is comprised of college players between the ages of 18 and 23.

W-League Preseason Under Way: It was not the first game of the preseason for the W-League – LA Strikers defeated Loyola Marymount University 2-1 recently – but the Seattle Sounders are certainly the most talked about team heading into the 2012 campaign due to the five US Women’s National Team stars on the roster. Monday night they cruised to a 5-0 victory against Seattle Pacific University. 

NASL Weekly Honors: The second division league announced its weekly honors, announcing former MLS stiker Andy Herron (Fort Lauderdale Strikers) as the Offensive Player of the Week and ex-MLS netminder Ray Burse (Carolina RailHawks) as the Defensive Player of the Week.   

Stefan Smith gives Antigua split

Stefan Smith scored twice Sunday to guide Antigua Barracuda to a 3-1 victory against the visiting Pittsburgh Riverhounds, giving the club a split in the two-game series on the weekend after falling 1-0 Friday. Things initially looked like a repeat of the opener with Peter Byers failed on a penalty kick, this time missing wide instead of seeing Hunter Gilstrap make a stop. The penalty was created when Smith was down in the box. The disappointment was erased in the 31st, however, when Quinton Griffith struck a free kick past Gilstrap. Two minutes before the break Smith doubled the advantage; and with nine minute left in the contest he ensured the outcome with his second off a breakaway on excellent work on the wing from Byers. With two minutes remaining, Mike Green spoiled James Molvin’s shutout.

LD Update: Match Night Recap from Opening Weekend

Following last night’s opener in Antigua, action across the Lower Divisions got into full swing Saturday night for USL Pro (Div. 3) and North American Soccer League (Div. 2).

Offense was hard to find on the first night of action for the second-year NASL with only two goals across the four matches with Fort Lauderdale and Puerto Rico registering 1-0 home victories. The league saw just as many red cards, however both the Strikers and Islanders managed to score despite playing a man down.

Three games into the four on the weekend in USL Pro, none of the home clubs have been able to celebrate a victory. And for the second consecutive evening, a winning goalkeeper stopped a penalty kick.