The Colorado Rapids relieved Coach Glenn "Mooch" Myernick of his coaching duties, it was announced by General Manager Dan Counce Nov. 30. Myernick coached the Rapids to the playoffs in each of his four seasons with the team beginning in 1997 when he led the team to the MLS Cup. In each season following the 2-1 defeat to D.C. United in 1997, the Rapids have not made it past the first round of the playoffs. "The Colorado Rapids would like to thank Glenn Myernick for his service to the club," said Dan Counce. "However, we felt that it was time …

Coach April Heinrichs has announced her roster for the U.S. womenÆs second of three ôGlory Tourö games. Missing from the roster for the Dec. 10 match against Mexico at Robertson Stadium in Houston are three players from the 2000 Olympic roster: goalkeeper Briana Scurry (family commitments), defender Danielle Slaton (soon to undergo minor knee surgery) and defender Joy Fawcett (pregnant with her third child, due sometime next June) Fawcett plans to continue playing internationally as well as for her WUSA club, the San Diego Spirit, perhaps joining the team in time for the end of the inaugural season. U.S. coach …

Youth market is on leagueÆs radar screen for 2001 One of Don GarberÆs drawbacks is he isnÆt steeped in soccer lore. In 2001, heÆs out to prove that same trait is one of his strengths. He danced on both sides of the fence last month at ticket meetings in Dallas when he delivered a speech that was sobering and inspiring, encouraging and humbling. The result was part therapy session, part revivalist rally. He admitted the task of turning MLS into a successful enterprise is far more difficult than heÆd ever imagined before he took the job. He …

This article supplements information found in Soccer America's Up Front on page 5 of the Dec. 11, 2000 issue of Soccer America Magazine. Group A Saturday, 11 November, Vosloorus South Africa (1) 3 Reunion 0 Goals: 1-0 Veronica Phewa 33; 2-0 Desiree Ellis 55; 3-0 Martha Malaku 69 South Africa: Delisile Mbatha, Portia Modise (Makhosane Zungu 83), Evah Mokwape (Anna Modingoane 44), Ana Monate (Hilda Lekalakala 54), Sibongile Khumalo, Luthili Makhosi, Desiree Ellis, Joanne Solomon, Maud Khumalo, Martha Malaku, Veronica Phewa. Reunion: Carole Keita, Lise May Ouledi, Tania Nice, Laurianne Boyer, Kelly Bello, Marie Therese Fanovana, Cathy Chateauroux (Claure Lebon …

The final path on the road to the South Korea-Japan 2002 World Cup wonÆt be easy for the USA. The field will be far tougher this time than it was four years ago. Trinidad & Tobago and Honduras should be much stronger opponents than Canada and El Salvador were four years ago. The fifth U.S. opponent in the Hexagonal, from which three teams qualify for the World Cup finals, will be the winner of the Jan. 6 playoff between Guatemala and Costa Rica. Honduras QUALIFYING. HondurasÆ second place behind Panama in the preliminary round in Central America was …

Empire Soccer LP, the parent company of MLS's MetroStars, is scheduled to unveil detailed plans for a 2002 expansion team in the metropolitan New York area, a stadium for the new expansion team and a new stadium for the Metros. The announcements will take place on Dec. 5 at a news conference in New York City. In a meeting with MetroStars beat reporters yesterday, Metros GM Nick Sakiewicz stated that the two stadiums would seat approximately 25,000 fans and cost around $40 million-$60 million. Empire Soccer hopes to start construction of the new stadiums by September 2001. Construction of the …

Unexpected national team return allows veteran to end U.S. career on a positive note Tab Ramos did not even have his own bio in the 2000 U.S. Soccer media guide. It seems a mistake now, but despite having 81 caps and almost 20 years of service to the federation, Ramos had not played a single U.S. match in 1999 and didn't appear to be on Bruce Arena's radar. It was no mistake, however, that Ramos played all 90 minutes in Barbados, a game the guileful midfielder later declared his last in a national team jersey. "This …

Update on Americans in Europe Croatia Erik Kuster, Cakonec (D1) started (62 min.) at Zagreb (0-3) Denmark Will Orben, Viborg (SL) DNP at FC Midtjylland (5-3) England Ian Feuer, Wimbledon (D1) DNP at Norwich (2-1) Brad Friedel, Blackburn (D1) started (90 min.) vs. Gillingham (1-2) Marcus Hahnemann, Fulham (D1) DNP vs. Grimsby (2-1) Eddie Lewis, Fulham (D1) DNP vs. Grimsby (2-1) Brian McBride, Preston North End (D1) DNP at West Bromwich (1-3) Joe-Max Moore, Everton (PL) DNP vs. Chelsea (2-1) Ben Olsen, Nottingham Forest (D1) started (90 min.) vs. Tranmere Rovers (3-1) France David Regis, Metz (D1) …

Martin Luther King, Jr. once said the truest test of a personÆs character was the reaction to adversity. The U.S. men were handed a fair dose of adversity in the semifinal round of the CONCACAF 2002 World Cup qualifiers. At times they reacted childishly, at other times they excelled. Qualifying CONCACAF games are scrappy and hotly contested. Away fans are usually hostile, fields are bumpy, antics are commonplace. YouÆre not playing against teams, youÆre playing against nations. Head Coach Bruce Arena once said, ôThatÆs the problem. You donÆt get much of a chance to actually play soccer.ö …

The decision to condense the remainder of this year's Costa Rican league season to allow for preparations for the World Cup playoff between the Ticos and Guatemala has forced D.C. United to cancel its two-week trip to Costa Rica. The trip was intended to prepare United for the CONCACAF Champions Cup in January. This closed the windows of scheduling opportunity for the Costa Rican teams to play in exhibition matches with United. Faced with the prospect of only being able to play a couple of matches at most rather than four exhibitions as originally planned, United head coach Thomas Rongen …

The following players are on the initial list of players who have been invited to attend the WUSA combine Dec. 4-9 in Florida: PLAYER POS. HT. WT. HOMETOWN TEAM Barr, Emmy D/M 5-8 140 Granite Bay, CA Santa Clara/Sacramento Storm Bartlett, Dana GK 5-5 160 Paso Robles, CA California State/Odyssey Bartling, Sherice F/M 5-5 129 San Diego, CA San Diego/San Diego WFC Baruth, Katie M 5-2 110 Aurora, CO Texas/Colorado Rush Baumgardt, Justi M 5-8 135 Federal Way, WA Portland/California Sacramento Baxter, Erin D 5-8 142 Littleton, CO Florida/Cherry Creek Lightning Bell, Christina D/F/M 5-8.5 135 Santa Rosa, CA …

The Colorado Rapids have signed rookie goalkeeper Adin Brown to a multi-year contract extension. Brown was selected with the Rapids' first round draft pick (3rd overall) in the 2000 MLS SuperDraft. Brown, 22, started in 13 games for the Rapids last season earning a record of 4-7-1 and a 2.04 goals against average before a string of injuries sidelined him from the end of June. The nagging injuries subsequently caused Brown to miss the 2000 Summer Olympics, where he was slated to be the starting goalkeeper for the United States. Brown's play with the U.S. U-23s drew interest from European …

Nov. 25 at San Diego, Calif. San Diego 0 Creighton 3 Nov. 25 at Dallas, Texas SMU 3 Kentucky 1 Nov. 25 at Seattle, Wash. Washington 1 Indiana 2 Nov. 25 at Stanford, Calif. Stanford 6 Illinois-Chicago 0 Nov. 26 at Providence, R.I. Brown 1 Duke 0 Nov. 26 at Chapel Hill, N.C. North Carolina 3 Rhode Island 1 Nov. 26 at Charlottesville, Va. Virginia 2 St. John's 1 Nov. 26 at Clemson, S.C. Clemson 1 UConn 2

Brad Friedel was the victim of teammate John CurtisÆ back pass, giving Gillingham the gamewinner on an own goal and ending BlackburnÆs eight-game unbeaten streak. Ben Olsen was the only other American who saw action Nov. 25 in England. Brad Friedel, Blackburn (D1) started (90 min.) vs. Gillingham (1-2) Ben Olsen, Nottingham Forest (D1) started (90 min.) vs. Tranmere Rovers (3-1) Joe-Max Moore, Everton (PL) DNP vs. Chelsea (2-1) Ian Feuer, Wimbledon (D1) DNP vs. Norwich City (2-1) Marcus Hahnemann, Fulham (D1) DNP vs. Grimsby Town (2-1) Eddie Lewis, Fulham (D1) DNP vs. Grimsby Town (2-1) Brian McBride, Preston North …

Results and Schedule: Nov. 25 at San Diego, Calif. San Diego 0 Creighton (20-3) 3 Nov. 25 at Dallas, Texas SMU 3 Kentucky 1 Nov. 25 at Seattle, Wash. Washington 1 Indiana 2 Nov. 25 at Stanford, Calif. Stanford 6 Illinois-Chicago 0 Nov. 26 at Providence, R.I. Duke (15-5) Brown (12-5-1) Nov. 26 at Chapel Hill, N.C. Rhode Island (17-5-1) North Carolina (20-2) Nov. 26 at Charlottesville, Va. St. John's (14-4-2) Virginia (16-5-1) Nov. 26 at Clemson, S.C. UConn (16-3-2) Clemson (14-3-2)