U.S. midfielder Michelle Akers joined one of soccer's most exclusive clubs today at Lockhart Stadium, scoring her 100th career goal as the USA defeated Portugal, 6-0, in its second match of 1999 on the road to the Women's World Cup this summer. Akers joins three other players in the Century Club and is the fourth leading scorer in the history of international soccer behind teammate Mia Hamm (103), and Italians Carolina Morace (105) and world record holder Elisabetta Vignotto (108). Akers' historic goal came in the 40th minute when Tiffeny Milbrett spun a corner kick into the middle of the …

The fourth annual Umbro Select College All-Star Classic will take place Feb. 5-6 at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., as 96 of the nation's top seniors join 33 all-stars from the USL. Two games will be played each night, with the women competing on Feb.. 5 and the men on Feb. 6. Here are the rosters for the women's games on Feb. 5: Division I Women vs. Division II, III & NAIA Women (To be played Feb. 5 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., kickoff at 6:00 p.m., ET.) DIVISION I WOMEN Goalkeepers -- Meredith Flaherty (Florida), Stacey Nagle (Seton Hall). …

Adam Miller Davison, Mich. I was curious if MLS has merchandise sales figures for each club? Just wondering who's on top and so on -- I know the other sports always release their sales lists each year and wondered where soccer is at in terms of sales. Ridge Mahoney: A good question, Adam. There are no such figures available, although informally, the league says the top-selling club for merchandise is, not surprisingly, D.C. United. But I look for the Fire to do well this season -- especially since it's replica jerseys will finally be available. As a league, MLS sold …

The fourth annual Umbro Select College All-Star Classic will take place Feb. 5-6 at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., as 96 of the nation's top seniors join 33 all-stars from the USL. Two games will be played each night, with the women competing on Feb.. 5 and the men on Feb. 6. Here are the rosters for the men's games on Feb. 6: Division I Men vs. Division II, III & NAIA Men (To be played Feb. 6 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., kickoff at 6:00 p.m., ET.) DIVISION I MEN Goalkeepers -- Scott Vallow (Bowling Green), Jim Welch (Marquette). …

The U.S. men's U-20s fell 3-0 to Portugal in each team's final match of the 25th Copa de Atlantico tournament in Spain's Canary Islands. The USA concluded the tournament with a 1-2 record after defeating Denamark, 1-0, and losing by the same margin to Spain. The U.S. team will return to the States Jan. 30, and will regroup in Jacksonville, Fla., on Feb. 7 before embarking on a foreign tour that will take the squad to Seville, Spain. During the Spain tour, head coach Sigi Schmid's squad is scheduled to play matches against Spainsh club teams Real Betis and Sevilla …

The Milwaukee Rampage has signed former Columbus Crew defender Ricardo Iribarren for the 1999 season. "I think a lot of credit has to go to this organization," said Milwaukee coach Carlos "Cacho" Cordoba. "It takes a great effort to bring that type of player here from MLS. It shows what kind of commitment the owners have to the fans here." Iribarren played for Argentine clubs Estudiantes de la Plata and Belgrano before joining the Crew in 1996, when he appeared in 16 games. After sitting out 1997 with visa problems, he rejoined Columbus in 1998, starting 22 games and scoring …

U.S. women's national team coach Tony DiCicco has announced the 20-player roster for the Jan. 30 match against Portugal in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The game kicks off at 2:00 p.m. (ET) and will be shown live on ESPN. The USA defeated Portugal, 7-0, on Jan. 27 in a closed-door match at the U.S. team's training facility in Orlando, Fla. as Michelle Akers scored her 99th career international goal -- she will be shooting to become just the fourth player in history to score 100 goals this weekend. "Every match is valuable to us on the road to the Women's World …

Two of American soccer's most recognizable players will play for a new team in 1999, as World Cup veterans and three-time MLS All-Stars Alexi Lalas and Tony Meola of the MetroStars have been traded to the Kansas City Wizards for midfielder Mark Chung and goalkeeper Mike Ammann. In another MLS trade, D.C. United acquired Argentine defender/midfielder Diego Sonora in a three-way deal involving the MetroStars and the San Jose Clash. As part of the trade, San Jose receives D.C. United's first-round selection in the 1999 MLS Supplemental Draft (No. 11 overall) and United's second-round selection in the 1999 MLS College …

Everyone who reads Soccer America on a regular basis has probably heard of the Bosman ruling, the case involving the obscure Belgian player who won free agency for players within the European Community. Less well known is the case of Ousmane Dabo and Mickael Silvestre, two young French players who challenged a French law that required them to sign their first professional contracts with Rennes, the pro club they joined as stagiaires, literally interns, for salaries fixed at $24,000 a year, plus bonuses. Dabo and Silvestre rejected the offer and instead signed with Inter Milan for many times what they …

Here is the schedule for the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup, to be held July 24-Aug. 4 in Mexico. First Round Group A July 25 -- Bolivia vs. Egypt, Mexico vs. Saudi Arabia in Mexico City. July 27 -- Saudi Arabia vs. Bolivia, Mexico vs. Egypt in Mexico City. July 29 -- Egypt vs. Saudi Arabia, Mexico vs. Bolivia in Mexico City. Group B July 24 -- Brazil vs. Germany, USA vs. New Zealand in Guadalajara. July 28 -- Germany vs. New Zealand, USA vs. Brazil in Guadalajara. July 30 -- USA vs. Germany, Brazil vs. New Zealand in Guadalajara. Semifinals …

A 39th-minute goal by Pablo Counego lifted Spain to a 1-0 win over the U.S. U-20 national team on Jan. 26 in the Copa de Atlantico tournament being held in Spain's Canary Islands. The USA, with a 1-1 record, will face Portugal on Jan. 28 in the third-place match. The U.S. returns home on Jan. 30 and will regroup in Florida Feb. 5 to prepare for a tour of Spain Feb. 9-20. Jan. 26 in the Canary Islands Spain 1 USA 0. Goal: Counego 39. Spain -- Aguado, Lojo, Bermajo, Garcas, Albendea (Leseca, 76), Lopez, Nevarro, Counego, Marcos (Lombardaro, 70), …

D.C. United announced today that it will select former University of Virginia midfielder Jason Moore with the first overall pick in the 1999 MLS college draft. Moore, 20, declared himself eligible for the MLS draft in December after playing 46 games in his two-year career at UVa. He helped the Cavaliers to the NCAA final in 1997 and to the quarterfinals in 1998. "Jason has tremendous work ethic and is technically very gifted, which is something you don't often see," said D.C. United coach Thomas Rongen. "He shows you a lot on the ball, yet he's also willing to do …

U.S. coach Bruce Arena has named his 20-man roster for the Feb. 6 friendly against Germany. For the first time in U.S. Soccer history, the USA's top two men's teams -- the men's national team and U-23 national team -- will play a marquee doubleheader against their counterparts from Germany. The USA-Germany senior national team game will take place at Jacksonville's Alltel Stadium on Feb. 6 at 1 p.m. ET (live on ABC), followed by the U-23 match at 3:45 p.m. ET. Playing off a successful training 10-day training camp in January as well as a promising match in Bolivia …

The Tampa Bay Mutiny solidified their goalkeeper position with the acquisition of United States U-23 national team goalkeeper Andy Kirk, who arrived from the San Jose Clash in exchange for a second round draft pick in the 2000 MLS college draft. Kirk, who made five spectacular saves against the Mutiny in a 2-1 Clash loss at Houlihan's Stadium on Sept. 3, is expected to join Tampa Bay soon. A member of MLS's Project-40, Kirk will join fellow newcomer Scott Garlick to form the Mutiny's goalkeeping tandem for the 1999 MLS season and beyond. "Like Scott, Andy is highly regarded and …

Midfielder Michelle Akers scored the 99th goal of her international career and forward Kristine Lilly scored the first hat-trick of her career as the U.S. women's national team opened its 1999 season with a bang, dominating Portugal in a 7-0 closed-door victory at the Seminole County Training Center, home of the USA's residency camp. The match marked the beginning of the USA's five-month march to the Women's World Cup this summer. Akers scored her goal in the 41st minute, setting up a possible historic 100th score this Saturday at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale as the USA meets Portugal again. …