The following are the divisional alignments for the A-League, USISL D3 Pro League and the USISL Premier League for 1998. A-League EASTERN CONFERENCE Northeast Division -- Connecticut Wolves, Long Island Rough Riders, Montreal Impact, Rochester Raging Rhinos, Staten Island Vipers, Toronto Lynx, Worcester Wildfire. Atlantic Division -- Atlanta Ruckus, Charleston Battery, Hampton Roads Mariners, Hershey Wildcats, Jacksonville Cyclones, Raleigh Flyers, Richmond Kickers. WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division -- Albuquerque Geckos, Cincinnati Riverhawks, El Paso Patriots, Milwaukee Rampage, Minnesota Thunder, Nashville Metros, New Orleans Storm. Pacific Division -- California Jaguars, Orange County Zodiac, San Diego Flash, San Francisco Bay Seals, Seattle Sounders, …

Here are the results of the first round of the 1998 MLS Collegiate Draft: Note: The MetroStars traded defender Brian Bliss to Kansas City for the No. 8 pick in the college draft.. New York/New Jersey also dealt Braeden Cloutier to San Jose for the No. 15 pick in the college draft (the third pick of the second round). Pick/Team Selection Position College 1. Miami Fusion Leo Cullen Defender Maryland 2. Chicago Fire Rich Kotschau Defender George Mason 3. San Jose Clash Ben Parry Defender UNC Charlotte 4. Kansas City Wizards (from MetroStars) Chris Klein Midfielder Indiana …

The following are tentative team affiliations between MLS clubs and teams in the A-League (Division II) and USISL D3 Pro League (Division III) for 1998: Chicago Fire A-League Affiliates: Milwaukee Rampage, Minnesota Thunder. D3 Pro Affiliates: Chicago Stingers, Indiana Blast, Rockford Raptors. Colorado Rapids A-League Affiliates: El Paso Patriots, Seattle Sounders. D3 Pro Affiliates: Arizona Sahuaros, Tulsa Roughnecks. Columbus Crew A-League: Affiliates: Cincinnati Riverhawks, Rochester Raging Rhinos. D3 Pro Affiliates: Cleveland Caps, Delaware Wizards, Reading Rage. Dallas Burn A-League Affiliates: Atlanta Ruckus, New Orleans Storm D3 Pro Affiliates: Austin Lone Stars, Texas Toros, Houston Hurricanes, San Antonio Pumas. D.C. United …

Chris Johnson W. Springfield, Mass. I am upset that Brad Friedel is getting ZERO playing time at Liverpool. Why did Liverpool spend a million pounds just to scare David James into playing well? Friedel deserves a fair chance to show his ability in Europe and Liverpool is jerking him around. Why? Ridge Mahoney: Only Liverpool manager Roy Evans can explain why Friedel isn't playing, Chris, but David James has played very well the past month, and with Liverpool winning -- aside from its elimination from the third round in the FA Cup -- he's …

Here are the team rosters for the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup: Group 1 Brazil Goalkeepers -- Carlos Germano (Vasco de Gama), Taffarel (Atletico Minero). Defenders -- Cesar (Portuguesa), Goncalves (Botafogo), Junior (Palmeiras), Junior Bainano (Flamengo), Russo (Vitoria), Silvinho (Corinthians), Ze Maria (Parma, Italy). Midfielders -- Denilson (Sao Paulo), Doriva (Porto, Portugal), Flavio Conceicao (Deportivo Coruna, Spain), Marcos Assuncao (Santos), Mauro Silva (Deportivo Coruna, Spain), Sergio Manoel (Gremio), Zinho (Palmeiras). Forwards -- Donizete (Vasco Da Gama), Edmundo (Fiorentina, Italy), Elber (Bayern Munich, Germany), Romario (Flamengo). El Salvador Goalkeepers -- Luis Ricardo Mora (Alianza), Alvaro Alfaro Sanchez (L.A. Firpo). Defenders -- Reynaldo …

The following players will be participating in the 1998 MLS Player Combine: Goalkeepers -- David Allred (Raleigh Flyers, A-League), Jon Busch (Carolina Dynamo, A-League), Scott Hileman (Edmonton Drillers, NPSL), Russell Payne (New Orleans Storm, A-League), Phil Wellington (Jacksonville, Cyclones, A-League). Defenders -- Maher Atta (Carolina Dynamo, A-League), David Banks (Buffalo Blizzard, NPSL), C.J. Brown (San Francisco Bay Seals, A-League), Chris Fox (Buffalo Blizzard, NPSL), Sal Leanti (Long Island Rough Riders, A-League), Elifas Levi (Bajera, Brazil), Rodney Rambo (Univ. of Portland), Dave Reichardt (Monterrey La Raza, CISL), Steve Rullo (California Jaguars, A-League), Tim Weaver (San Francisco Bay Seals, A-League). Midfielders -- …

Note: all times eastern. GROUP 1 Date Matchup Venue Kickoff (ET) Feb. 1 El Salvador vs. Guatemala LA Coliseum 5:00 p.m. Feb. 3 Brazil vs. Jamaica Orange Bowl 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5 Brazil vs. Guatemala Orange Bowl 7:30 p.m. Feb. 6 El Salvador vs. Jamaica LA Coliseum 11:00 p.m. Feb. 8 Guatemala vs. Jamaica LA Coliseum 5:00 p.m. Feb. 8 El Salvador vs. Brazil LA Coliseum 7:00 p.m. GROUP 2 Date Matchup Venue Kickoff (ET) Feb. 1 Honduras vs. Trinidad & Tobago Oakland Coliseum 5:00 p.m. Feb. 4 Mexico vs. Trinidad & Tobago …

The San Jose Clash has traded midfielder Dominic Kinnear to the Tampa Bay Mutiny for midfielder Martin Vasquez. Vasquez, 34, had four goals and three assists for the Mutiny in 1997. He had five goals and six assists in the inaugural MLS campaign, and he played in the first MLS All-Star game. Prior to joining MLS, he spent eight seasons playing in Mexico. He has made seven appearances for the U.S. national team since obtaining American citizenship, and is currently recovering from surgery to repair a knee injury suffered while training with the national team in Florida. He is expected …

The Kansas City Wizards have been allocated Bosnian midfielder Refik Sabanadzovic from Major League Soccer. Sabanadzovic, who can play both in defense and in midfield, was a starting member of the Yugoslavian national team that competed at Italia '90. That squad reached the quarterfinals before losing to Argentina on penalty kicks. He has played for top-level teams in both Yugoslavia and Greece, most recently with Olympiakos Piraeus in the Greek First Division. Olympiakos won the league title in 1996. "What more can you say about a player that has played in the Champions League and the World Cup, " said …

1991 Group A TEAM GP W T L GF GA P Honduras 3 2 1 0 10 3 5 Mexico 3 2 1 0 8 3 5 Canada 3 1 0 2 6 9 2 Jamaica 3 0 0 3 3 12 0 Results June 28 -- Honduras 4, Canada 2; Mexico 4, Jamaica 1; June 30 -- Honduras 5, Jamaica 0; Mexico 3, Canada 1. July 3 -- Canada 3, Jamaica 2; Mexico 1, Honduras 1. Group B TEAM GP W T L GF GA P USA 3 3 0 0 8 …

Features U.S. Downs Makeshift Swedes In Snoozer By Jeff Rusnak Soccer Linked Iran and United States Long Ago By Doug Cress Reality Bites For Reggae Boyz In Brazil Lothar Osiander Lands Assistant Job In Tampa By Bill Ward The Pulse Of Soccer -- An Overview By Paul Kennedy The Economics Of American Professionals By Doug Cress College Soccer Comes To 'Crossroads' By Poul Swain U.S. Soccer: Candidates' Platform Columns Soccer Talk -- Midnight nears for Met Oval By Paul Gardner From The Field -- U.S. players win off the field By Marianne Bhonslay Departments

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U.S. national team goalkeeper Juergen Sommer has been acquired from Queens Park Rangers of the English First Division and will join the Columbus Crew for the 1998 season. "Juergen is an excellent addition to our club," said Columbus GM Jamey Rootes. "He will help us to continue our tradition of world-class goalkeeping and solid defense." Sommer, who won a national championship with Indiana in 1988 and was the 1990 Collegiate Goalkeeper of the Year, joined English club Luton after graduating from IU. He was a member of the 1994 World Cup team, and he became the first American keeper to …

To avoid the congestion of games in August and September that irritated MLS teams in 1997, U.S. Soccer has scheduled the U.S. Open Cup to begin several weeks earlier and assigned specific dates. Setting simply a range of dates last year allowed the cup to fall behind schedule and called on MLS teams to play during the playoff race. U.S. Soccer worked with the USISL and MLS to coordinate schedule and took advantage of MLS's light schedule during the World Cup. 1998 U.S. Open Cup June 10-14 -- first round. June 24-28 -- second round. July 7-9 -- third round. …

The United States will arrive in France June 5 to begin final preparations for the '98 World Cup. The American team will stay at the chateau de Pizay, in the Beaujolais section of Rhone-Alpes region of France, before leaving for Paris June 13. Its opener is June 15 against Germany at the Parc des Princes. The U.S. returns to the chateau de Pizay, located 25 miles outside Lyons in the town of Belleville, following the Germany game to prepare for the Iran game June 21 in Lyons. The Rhone-Alpes region -- home of former French soccer federation president Jean Fournet-Fayard …

In a blockbuster trade, Mexican national team goalkeeper Jorge Campos was dealt to the Chicago Fire on Jan. 27. The Fire receives Campos and midfielder Chris Armas from the Los Angeles Galaxy. In return, the Galaxy welcomes back a pair of players it lost in the MLS expansion draft, Danny Pena and Kevin Hartman, as well as an allocated player to be named later. "We're excited to get a player of Jorge's caliber," said Fire head coach Bob Bradley. "I know how important a player like Campos is to our fans, and his international experience will be a tremendous asset …