Tom ShenkDo you think the MLS/USSF has done its best in identifying young talent? It seems the future of the pro league and national team rests squarely on the shoulders of those running Project 2010. I am concerned that not enough is being done to find the prospects which are out there. There are many young players in New York City who exist outside of the USSF mainstream, but whom I think could be quality professional players. Carlos Queiroz seems to have grasped that nugget of truth rather quickly. Those in the soccer community who worship the almighty dollar might …

POINTS PER GAME Player (Team) GP G A P PPG 1. Kelly Smith (Seton Hall) 15 22 7 51 3.40 2. Danielle Fotopoulos (Florida) 16 23 7 53 3.31 3. Kim Engesser (Nebraska) 16 21 5 47 2.94 4. Jenny Heft (Notre Dame) 17 22 4 48 2.82 5. Marit Foss (Jacksonville) 17 15 17 47 2.76 6. M.F. Monroe (Connecticut) 17 15 16 46 2.71 7. Jessica Powers (Creighton) 17 17 11 45 2.65 8. Keri Sarver (Maryland) 14 15 7 37 2.64 9. Shauna Rhobock (BYU) 16 17 7 41 2.56 10. Nikki Thole (Missouri) …

Oct. 30 in Chicago Chicago 2 Columbus 1 (OT). Goals: Podbrozny (pen.) 45, Klopas (Razov) 99; John (Warzycha) 53. Chicago -- Thornton, Kubik (Keller, 14, Ibsen 77), Brown, Okaroh, Armas, Marsch, Kotschau (Klopas, 91), Podbrozny, Nowak, Wolff, Razov. Columbus -- Sommer, Clark, Dooley, Iribarren, Smith, Warzycha (Farrell, 78), Williams, Maisonneuve (Yeagley, 67), Elcock, John, McBride. Yellow cards: Chicago -- Keller 17, Okaroh 60, Brown 69; Columbus -- Sommer 43, Maisonneuve 60, Elcock 61. Referee: Arturo Angeles. Referee's Assistants: Michael Kennedy, Alberto Echeverria. Att.: 18,615.

U.S. men's national team head coach Bruce Arena has named MLS head coaches Bob Bradley and Ivo Wortmann as his assistant coaches for the USA's Nov. 6 showdown with Australia at Spartan Stadium in San Jose. In addition to Bradley and Wortmann, Milutin Soskic, who has been with the Federation since 1993, will continue in his role as the team's goalkeeper coach for the match. The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. (PT) and marks the USA's first game since the 1998 World Cup in France. Bradley, of course, led the expansion Chicago Fire to an unlikely MLS championship in …

POINTS PER GAME Player (Team) GP G A P PPG 1. Nesa Stefanovic (Jacksonville) 15 17 11 45 3.00 2. Andrew Mittendorf (Lehigh) 15 21 2 44 2.93 3. Bole Acimovic (Jacksonville) 16 19 8 46 2.88 4. Wojtek Krakowiak (Clemson) 16 19 7 45 2.81 5. John Wolyniec (Fordham) 17 19 9 47 2.76 6. Siggi Eyjolfsson (UNC Greensboro) 16 16 11 43 2.69 7. Richie Moller (Towson) 15 19 2 40 2.67 8. Heikki Ritvanen (Central Fla.) 15 18 3 39 2.60 9. Craig Wicken (Rider) 16 16 7 39 2.44 10. Kevin Alvero (South …

While new U.S. coach Bruce Arena has one eye on the 2002 World Cup, Australia coach Raul Blanco has an eye on the 2000 Olympics in Australia. Following Australia's surprise loss to New Zealand in the final of the Oceania Nations' Cup that eliminated it from this winter's Confederations Cup, Blanco named an experimental team dominated by U-23 players to face the United States in San Jose Nov. 6. A few well-known players are in the squad: Defender Alex Tobin will serve as captain. Mark Viduka, the striker Glasgow Celtic just bought from Croatia Zagreb, should start up front with …

U.S. women's national team head coach Tony DiCicco has named the first 13 women who will make up the 26-player residency camp beginning in early January, 1999 in Orlando, Fla. at the Lake Sylvan Park training facility. Of the 13 players named, 11 are veterans of the 1996 Olympic gold medalists, including all-time scoring leader Mia Hamm and all-time caps leader Kristine Lilly. In addition, DiCicco named defenders Christie Pearce and Kate Sobrero. "This is the core group of players that over the past two years have established themselves as deserving of a spot in residency camp," said DiCicco. "The …

For the second consecutive year, several Project-40 players will travel overseas during Major League Soccer's offseason to train with top European soccer clubs during a four-to-six-week stint. This invaluable experience will be followed by a U.S. Pro-40 Select tour of England to culminate the international experience. Defenders Scott Vermillion (Kansas City) and Tim Sahaydak (unassigned) will train with English First Division club Sunderland, while forward Eric Quill (Tampa Bay) and midfielder Esmundo Rodriguez (San Jose) will join Glasgow Rangers of the Scottish Premier Division and keeper Matt Napoleon (Miami) and defenders Brian Dunseth (New England) and Chad McCarty (Tampa Bay) …

NEWS RELEASE SOCCER AMERICA FANZONERETURNS TO RICHMOND KICKER'S TEEN TOURNEY ENHANCES 4th ANNUAL FESTIVAL RICHMOND, VA -- October 28, 1998 -- Soccer America FanZone, the interactive family soccer festival presented by Ukrop's and First Market Bank, returns with an expanded schedule of activities to the Richmond Centre December 10-12. The fourth annual event, held in conjunction with the NCAA Men's Soccer Championships, is designed to allow the entire Richmond-area population--beyond just ticketholders to the Semi-Finals and National Championship Game--to participate in college soccer's biggest weekend, hosted by the University of Richmond. 15,000 youth players, fans and family …

Every week during the MLS season, Soccer America's MLS Weekly Report features game summaries and player ratings. Here is SA managing editor Paul Kennedy's explanation of the our player ratings: Ratings are done on a scale of 1-10. 10 is high. 1 is low. Here's the basic evaluation: 10 world class (rarely given -- Kasey Keller got a 10 against Brazil) 9 extraordinary (again only a few a year) 8 excellent 7 very good 6 good 5 average 4 poor 3 very poor 2 horrible (rarely given) 1 no business showing face again (I can't remember us having ever given …

As it has done since the first season, Soccer America rated the performance of each MLS player on a scale of 1-10 (1-low; 10-high) during the regular season. Polish midfielder Peter Nowak led all players with an average rating of 6.63, the highest in MLS history. He was the cog in the Fire machine that won 11 straight midway through the regular season. Not surprisingly, Chicago struggled when he was injured. The Fire finished with a 20-12 record but was just 4-4 when Nowak was out of the lineup. Here is a look at the top performers this season: Note: …

Tournament host Nigeria and Ghana both won semifinal matches at the African Women's Soccer Championships on Oct. 27 to earn the continent's two berths to the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. Nigeria's Super Falcons defeated rival Cameroon, 6-0, while Ghana downed DR Congo, 4-1, in a match that saw the Black Queens score three goals in overtime. The Super Falcons and the Black Queens will meet in the championship game on Saturday to determine the African champion, but with the semifinal triumphs, each booked its tickets to USA '99. Nigeria's historical dominance has held to form -- the team has …

WOMEN'S NCAA DIVISION III Mid Atlantic Region 1 TCNJ 13-2-1 DH Rowan 4-1 2 Richard Stockton 14-2-1 DA Widener 3-0, DA Jersey City (Forfeit) 3 Gettysburg 13-2-1 DH Dickinson 2-0, DA Haverford 1-0, TH Oneonta 0-0 4 Johns Hopkins 11-2-1 DA NYU 5-1, DA Catholic 1-0, DH Swarthmore 2-0 5 Messiah 14-2-1 DA Susquehanna 4-0, DH Widener 2-0 6 Salisbury 12-5-0 DH Lynchburg 4-2, DA Goucher 4-0, DH Widener 5-0 7 Elizabethtown 9-7-1 DA Moravian 3-1 8 Rowan 8-6-1 LA TCNJ 1-4 9 St. Mary's (Md.) 11-3-1 DA Va. Wesleyan 1-0 10 Haverford 8-5-2 D Ursinus 2-0, LH Gettysburg 0-1 …

WOMENÆS NAIA Pacific Northwest Region 1 Simon Fraser 11-2-1 DA Western Baptist 2-1 2 George Fox 13-3-2 DH Pacific (Ore.) 2-0 3 Concordia (Ore.) 13-4-0 DA Western Baptist 1-0, DH Northwest Nazarene 5-0, DH Albertson 10-0 4 Seattle 10-5-3 LH Whitman 0-1, DH Whitworth 3-0 5 Puget Sound 10-6-2 DN Whitworth 2-0, LN Whitman 0-1 Far West Region 1 Azusa Pacific 16-0-0 DH MasterÆs 10-0, DH Hope International 15-0 2 Westmont 11-2-1 DA Hope International 8-0, DA US International 3-0 3 Southern California Coll. 9-4-2 DH Biola 2-0, LH Concordia 0-1 4 US International 9-5-1 LH Westmont 0-3 5 …

FEATURES On This Day The Better Team Won By Ridge Mahoney The Making Of The Champions By Ridge Mahoney The Downfall Of D.C. United By Paul Kennedy Time For Arenaball By Duncan Irving MLS '98 Ratings Leaders By Allen Hopkins and Paul Kennedy Lippi Rediscovers His Juventus Owen Shows The Full Spectrum Of His Talent COLUMNS Soccer Talk -- Commitment to attacking soccer broken By Paul Gardner From the Field -- MLS still needs personalities By Marianne Bhonslay Short Passes By Lynn Berling-Manuel DEPARTMENTS

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• MLS Roundup
• MLS Scoreboard
• Around the Country
• American Scoreboard
• Men's College Scene
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