The United States and Honduras, both already having qualified for Sydney 2000 by virtue of their semifinal wins, over Guatemala and Mexico, respectively, met in the TFC (Concacaf) final April 30 in Hershey, Pa.. The Hondurans prevailed, 2-1. The scoring sequences: 12th Minute: A corner kick from left side, the ball goes long to John O'Brien, who eludes defenders to send a cross back through the penalty area to Califf on the far side of the goal area. Califf's first-touch header goes to Wolff in front of the goal at the six-yard line, who finishes with a one-touch header. U.S. …

The U.S. under-17 boy's national team fell to Scotland on penalty kicks, 3-0, to finish sixth at the Ballymena Tournament in Northern Ireland on April 29. The U.S. U-17s out-shot Scotland 14-1 during the course of the 0-0 game. Earlier, the USA beat Northern Ireland (1-0) and the Netherlands (3-0) but fell to Austria (0-3) to finish tied with Northern Ireland in second place in group play. The U.S. then beat England before rounding out the tournament against Scotland. The U.S. U-17s were led by Ed Johnson (Palm Coast, Fla.) who finished the tournament with four goals. Ballymena Tournament Fifth-Place …

Meola: 'We have so many things' After missing most of the 1999 season because of a knee injury, keeper Tony Meola has helped Kansas City get off to a 3-0-1 start. SOCCER AMERICA: Was there any point during your time with the Metros you felt the team was headed in the right direction? TONY MEOLA: That first year. That was a good team, and we got into the playoffs. Breaking up that team was a big mistake, and then after that it was rebuild and rebuild, and you can't win that way. SA: Any new coach …

The U.S. men's national team's road to the 2002 World Cup in Japan and Korea began to map itself out today with the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying semifinal round draw conducted this afternoon at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. As one of three seeds in the CONCACAF region (also known as the Football Confederation), the United States was originally placed in Group E in December. In today's draw, the USA was joined in its four-team group by Costa Rica and the eventual winners of both Caribbean Zone 1 and Interzone Round 2. Caribbean Zone 1 will be represented by the …

Within 10 minutes, the U.S. U-23s established their superiority over Guatemala, taking a 2-0 lead that would lead to a 4-0 win and a ticket to the Olympic tournament. John O'Brien opened the scoring just 44 seconds into the match with a 20-yard rocket. (1-0) In the eighth minute, Josh Wolff finished off a rebound from a Chris Albright shot. (2-0) Landon Donovan, making his first appearance in the tournament, scored the third goal of the first half in the 22nd minute on an assist from Wolff. (3-0) Donovan added his second goal in the closing minutes of the second …

The U.S. under-17 boys team beat England on penalty kicks, 5-3, and will now play the winner of the Netherlands-Scotland match in the fifth-place game of the Ballymena Tournament in Northern Ireland. The United States had tied England, 2-2, on two goals from Ed Johnson. The USA had finished second in their group. The week-long tournament featured 12 teams from around the world, with each team being placed in one of three groups. In group action, the USA defeated Northern Ireland, 1-0, and the Netherlands, 3-0, but lost to Austria, 3-0. The top three teams from each group advance to …

Joseph Ramos Providence, R.I. What does it take to become a professional soccer player? Mike Woitalla: Your question reminds me of the old joke: A tourist is walking down a New York street and stops a man to ask, ôExcuse me. Could you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?ö ôSure,ö says the man. ôPractice, practice, practice.ö Seriously, Joseph, any player who wants to reach the highest level will require a lot of dedication, talent and a bit of luck. IÆm not sure how old you are, but in general I would always advise players to work hard on …

Tony DiCicco will run the soccer side of the Women's United Soccer Association, at least until a permanent boss is found. The proposed women's professional league named the former U.S. women's national team coach as its acting commissioner and named Lee Berke its acting president. Berke had been the senior vice president of marketing for SFX Entertainment and The Marquee Group, which developed the U.S. women's indoor victory tour last fall. DiCicco and Berke had been working as consultants for the WUSA. Meanwhile, the WUSA retained Spencer Stuart, Inc., the global executive search firm, to search for a commissioner as …

Champions choose WUSA ù with or without approval As U.S. Soccer officials work feverishly behind the scenes to broker some sort of agreement between the primary entities competing to helm a Division I professional women's soccer league, the country's most celebrated players ù those who stand to benefit most greatly from next year's expected start-up ù are beginning to flex their muscle. The process to determine which group is given the reins to a pro league remains in its early stages, but the 20 members of the United States' winning 1999 Women's World Cup squad insist the decision …

The United StatesÆ trip to Moscow resulted in a 2-0 friendly game loss to Russia on a pair of second-half goals. The USA outshot the host country, 14-8. April 26 at Dynamo Stadium in Moscow Russia 2 United States 0. Goals: Titov 63, Karpin 92+. USA -- Keller, Hejduk (West, 88), Fraser, Berhalter, Regis, Jones, Reyna, Sanneh, Armas (Deering, 46), Lewis (Kreis, 74), McBride. Russia -- Nigmatullin, Khlestov, Solomatin, Demenko, Khokhlov (Onopko, 46), Titov, Karpin, Alenichev (Tikhonov, 46), Smertin, Semak (Panov, 60), Beschastnykh. Misconduct Summary: Russia -- Smertin (caution) 32. USA -- Sanneh (caution) 39, Hejduk (caution) 84. Att.: n/a.

SUMMARY April 25 in Hershey, Pa. USA 0 Canada 0. USA -- Howard, Cherundolo, Dunseth, McCarty (Califf, 72), Corrales, Thorrington, Vagenas (Winters, 64), O'Brien, Olsen, Casey, Albright (Wolff, 64). Canada -- Franks, Skinner, McKenna, Clarke, McCauley (cameorn, 65), Hastings, Bent, Aristodemo (Bernier, 88), Kindel, DeRosario, Stalteri. Red cards: USA -- Dunseth 45; Canada -- Kindel 45. Referee: Neftali Recinos (El Salvador). Att.: 5,798. HIGHLIGHTS 1st Minute: Canada kicks off. 1st Minute: Canada twice called for fouls in the left side of midfield. 4th Minute: Canada's Kindel offsides, attacking up the left wing. 5th Minute: Canada called …

Soccer America MagazineÆs MLS Team of the Week from games played April 19 & 22. Goalkeeper Kevin Hartman (1) Los Angeles Defenders Marcelo Balboa (2) Colorado Peter Vermes (1) Kansas City Jamie Clark (1) San Jose Midfielders Matt McKeon (1) Kansas City Richard Mulrooney (1) San Jose Dario Brose (1) San Jose Danny Pena (1) Los Angeles Forwards Miklos Molnar (1) Kansas City Ronald Cerritos (1) San Jose Abdul Thompson Conteh (1) San Jose ò In parentheses is the number of times a player has been named to the Team of the Week.

Stadium options and personnel changes will set future course A month into the 2000 season, the Fire finally got a chance to play at home, and in beating Miami 1-0 on April 15 it shut down its opponent with a rigid defense. The Fire captured the double in 1998 with a stifling defense and opportunistic attack. To challenge for the crown in 2000, it must meld the best of the past with the brightest aspects of its present, for its future is uncertain. The contract of Coach Bob Bradley expires at the end of the season, and …

Opening Comments by MLS Executive Vice President Ivan Gazidis "Once again I have no comment with respect to where we are with the signing of a Mexican player for Los Angeles. Those talks are still progressing on a number of different fronts. We are also announcing the signing of what I consider to be one of the most exciting young American players in Major League Soccer, Clint Mathis [Los Angeles Galaxy], to a new multi-year contract. We are delighted that Clint has decided to make his future with us, and we look forward to his development in MLS for years …

Player of the Week Honduran native Saul Martinez made a big first impression for his new club and earned the A-LeagueÆs Player of the Week award in the process, netting a pair of late goals to give the Hampton Roads Mariners a 2-0 victory over Richmond in their season opener. With both teams battling through a scoreless game, the former Miami Fusion forward struck for the eventual gamewinner in the 80th minute. He added an insurance tally four minutes later to secure the Mariners victory. The win puts Hampton Roads at the top of Group 6 in A-League Open Cup …