Galaxy is deadly on quick strikes HOW THEY BEAT YOU: Cobi Jones uses his terrifying speed on both wings to unhinge defenses and open up space for front-line mates Luis Hernandez and Sasha Victorine. The Galaxy can be deadly on quick strikes and counterattacks. Victorine often lingers in the goalmouth awaiting opportunities to poach, while Hernandez likes to get the ball and run at defenders or time his run into the box to arrive just as the ball does. Midfielders Pete Vagenas and Simon Elliott do far more than fetch water for Mauricio Cienfuegos. Vagenas gets …

G KERRY THOMPSON (Ohio State) (1) Six saves in 4-1 win over Creighton, shutout in 1-0 win over Southwest Missouri State D MATT DOMINICK (Georgia State) (1) Helped unbeaten GSU to OT wins over Atlantic Sun foes Mercer and Campbell D MICHAEL NELSON (Loyola, Md.) (1) Scored off corner kick to give Greyhounds first win over Maryland in nine years D BRIAN ROBERTS (Yale) (1) MVP of Yale/Fila Classic for 3-0 Elis M ALEX HERNANDEZ (UNLV) (1) Had hat trick in Rebels' 6-1 win over Connecticut M ANTTI PELTONEN (Kentucky) (1) Finnish junior had gamewinners against Western Michigan and Northern …

G VANESSA SCOTTO (Pennsylvania) (1) Shut out George Mason and William & Mary, making 10 saves to hold Tribe scoreless for first time since '98 in 0-0 tie D MIKEL CASEY (Charlotte) (1) Box clearance creates decisive goal in 2-1 win vs. Davidson, goal and assist in 4-0 romp over Houston, keyed defense that limited Tulane to four shots in 1-0 win D FAY DELEON (San Diego State) (1) Played role in all three goals in 3-2 win over Cal State Fullerton, with looping 45-yarder to score first goal, long-ball assist and 60-yard run to create OT winner; free-kick goal …

(Through Sept. 23) POINTS PER GAME Player, School Class GP G A P PPG 1 Luchi Gonzalez, SMU Sr. 6 10 5 25 4.167 2 John Barry Nusum, Furman Sr. 4 6 3 15 3.75 3 Byron Carmichael, Marshall Jr. 5 9 0 18 3.6 4 Attila Vendegh, Old Dominion So. 6 10 1 21 3.5 5 Dipsy Selolwane, St. Louis Sr. 4 6 1 13 3.25 6 Chris Norbet, Davidson Sr. 6 8 2 18 3.0 - Dennis King, Ill.-Chicago So. 4 6 0 12 3.0 8 Larry Scheller, UMKC Sr. 5 7 0 14 2.8 …

9/24 ... TEAM (RECORD) ... 9/17 ... 9/10 1 SMU (6-0-0) 1 1 9/27 at TCU. 2 Virginia (5-0-1) 2 2 9/26 William & Mary, 9/30 at N.C. State. 3 St. John's (4-0-0) 3 3 9/26 Rutgers, 9/29 Villanova. 4 Furman (4-0-0) 4 4 9/25 at College of Charleston, 9/28 VCU, 9/30 Cal Poly. 5 Saint Louis (4-0-0) 8 8 9/26 SW MIssouri State. 6 Washington (4-1-0) 10 10 9/26 Johns Hopkins, 9/28 UNLV, 9/30 Air Force. 7 Indiana (4-2-0) 11 11 9/28 Penn State. 8 South Florida (6-0-0) 14 15 9/25 at Florida Atlantic, 9/29 at Louisville. 9 Stanford …

Fire employs extensive arsenal of firepower HOW THEY BEAT YOU: The arsenal of weapons is extensive. Hristo Stoitchkov, Peter Nowak, Dema Kovalenko, DaMarcus Beasley, Ante Razov and Eric Wynalda can all apply the coup de grace. Kovalenko and Nowak are very tough to knock off the ball and can seldom be stopped by a single challenger. StoitchkovÆs incredible service over distance often catches defenders napping. He can float the ball wherever the defense isnÆt. Without him, more of the burden falls on Nowak and Kovalenko. Beasley got his first two goals of the season in the 3-1 …

Harkes and Maisonneuve spark attacks HOW THEY BEAT YOU: MLSÆs hardest-working team ù or so says its slogan ù didnÆt always work that hard or that smart until former head coach Tom Fitzgerald got the ax. Replacement Greg Andrulis has released the brilliance of John Wilmar Perez and Jeff Cunningham and harnessed the savvy of John Harkes and the reborn class of Brian Maisonneuve. Both Harkes and Maisonneuve have sparked attacks with their quick distribution, but they can also keep the ball until something opens up. No longer does this team quit when it loses possession. …

Here are Soccer AmericaÆs player ratings for MLS playoff games played Sept. 20, 22 and 23. SA Report Cards: 1 (low) to 10 (high) Sept. 20 Chicago 2 Dallas 0. Goals: Bocanegra (Wynalda) 40, Whitfield (Nowak) 98+. Chicago (3-5-2) -- Zach Thornton (6); C.J. Brown (5), Carlos Bocanegra (6), Diego Gutierrez (5); Chris Armas (6), Jesse Marsch (5), David Vaudreuil (4), Dema Kovalenko (4), Peter Nowak (5); Ante Razov (5), Eric Wynalda (4). Subs: Evan Whitfield (6) for Wynalda 66, Sergi Daniv (NR) for Kovalenko 96+. Yellow Cards: Razov 14, Bocanegra 28, Gutierrez 55, Daniv 97+. Dallas (4-4-2) -- Matt …

Quarterfinals Sept. 23 in Port of Spain France 2 (Sinama Pongolle 38, Le Tallec 40) Brazil 1 (Alberoni 70). Nigeria 5 (Opabunmi 24, 69, 79, Mohammed 81, Temile 85) Australia 1 (Engele 86). Sept. 24 in Malabar Argentina 2 (Rodriguez 38, Fanari 96) Mali 1 (D.Diarra 35) (OT). Burkina Faso 2 (Gorogo 56, Sanou 84) Costa Rica 0. Group A Sept. 13 in Port of Spain Trinidad & Tobago 1 (Blackman 57) Croatia 2 (Krancjar 43, 65). Sept. 14 in Port of Spain Brazil 1 (Anderson Costa 76) Australia 0. Sept. 16 in Port of Spain Trinidad & Tobago 0 …

Several U.S. players had standout performances for their clubs in Europe this past weekend and John O'Brien returned to action for Ajax. Goalkeeper Brad Friedel's sparkling performance for Blackburn shut out Everton, defender Tony Sanneh scored a decisive goal in Nuremberg's victory over FC Cologne and Cory Gibbs had an assist in St. Pauli's tie at Borussia Monchengladbach. England Brad Friedel, Blackburn (PL) Started (90 min.) vs. Everton (1-0). Friedel saved a penalty kick and two dangerous set-piece headers from Scotsman Duncan Ferguson and pushed a close-range bid from Joe-Max Moore off the post late in the match to preserve …

9/24 ... TEAM (RECORD) ... 9/17 ... 9/10 1 SMU (6-0-0) 1 1 2 Virginia (5-0-1) 2 2 3 St. John's (4-0-0) 3 3 4 Furman (4-0-0) 4 4 5 Saint Louis (4-0-0) 8 8 6 Washington (4-1-0) 10 10 7 Indiana (4-2-0) 11 11 8 South Florida (6-0-0) 14 15 9 Stanford (4-0-0) 9 9 10 Penn State (3-1-0) 15 16 11 UCLA (3-2-1) 7 7 12 San Diego (4-1-0) 6 6 13 North Carolina (4-2-0) 13 14 14 South Carolina (4-1-0) 17 18 15 Georgia State (4-0-0) 18 19 16 Ohio State (6-0-1) nr nr 17 Clemson (4-2-0) …

Fusion passing makes scoring look easy HOW THEY BEAT YOU: The attack can come from buildups or quick strikes. The lineup is teeming with good passers, and their flank play may be the best in MLS. The crossing is unusually accurate, and their passing riddles defenses. The player receiving the final pass is often so wide-open the finish is just a matter of beating the keeper, if heÆs still in the picture. Miami probably leads MLS in tap-ins, but Diego Serna, Preki and Jim Rooney can all strike from outside the box as well. Alex Pineda Chacon …

Donovan and Lagos are keys up front HOW THEY BEAT YOU: The Earthquakes very seldom beat themselves. The central core ù defenders Troy Dayak and Jeff Agoos and midfielders Richard Mulrooney and Ronnie Ekelund ù is nearly impenetrable. They always seem to have numbers back. Landon Donovan and Manny Lagos are the key figures in attack. Donovan brings a breath of magic to a team steeped in solid fundamentals. He sees the seams his teammates sometimes miss. Whether he plays attacking mid or second forward isnÆt nearly as important as just having him on the field. …

Quarterfinals Sept. 23 in Port of Spain France 2 (Sinama Pongolle 38, Le Tallec 40) Brazil 1 (Alberoni 70). Nigeria 5 (Opabunmi 24, 69, 79, Mohammed 81, Temile 85) Australia 1 (Engele 86). Group A Sept. 13 in Port of Spain Trinidad & Tobago 1 (Blackman 57) Croatia 2 (Krancjar 43, 65). Sept. 14 in Port of Spain Brazil 1 (Anderson Costa 76) Australia 0. Sept. 16 in Port of Spain Trinidad & Tobago 0 Australia 1 (Auguis 56). Sept. 16 in Port of Spain Brazil 3 (Bruno 7, Leandro 57, Caetano 77) Croatia 1 (Prijic 6). Sept. 19 in …

There was plenty of movement within Soccer America's Top 20 this week, with Stanford (from No. 8 to No. 5), Texas A&M (No. 12 to No. 7), California (No. 13 to No. 8) and Florida State (No. 17 to No. 13), among others, jumping up the rankings following impressive weeks. A&M made its leap despite falling to No. 3 Portland, 2-1, at the Nike Husky Classic in Seattle. The Pilots needed a late Christine Sinclair strike to pull out the victory. A&M topped host Washington and routed visiting Tulane in its other games last week. Washington, which also tied BYU …