By Paul Kennedy, Managing Editor Soccer America MagazineLIBERIAN ELECTION Mr. George goes to MonroviaWith less than two months to go before elections, former soccer superstar George WeahÆs bid to become Liberian president was in danger of being derailed by opponents.Electoral officials were considering a petition to disqualify Weah on the grounds that he holds French citizenship. The Liberian-born Weah took out French citizenship while playing in France - which his opponents argued meant he had renounced his Liberian citizenship since the West African country doesnÆt allow dual citizenship.''What they are saying is a joke,'' the 38-year-old Weah told Reuters. ''I …

1 Indiana (19-4-1)9/2 Wake Forest (IU adidas/Credit Union Classic)9/4 SMU (IU adidas/Credit Union Classic)2 UCLA (14-4-2)9/2 Santa Clara (Fullerton Diadora Classic)9/4 Maryland.3 Duke (18-6-0)9/1 Long Island.9/3 Saint Louis.4 Maryland (17-6-2)9/2 at Cal State Fullerton (Fullerton Diadora Classic)9/4 at UCLA.5 Connecticut (12-8-3)9/2 St. PeterÆs (UConn adidas Classic).9/4 Hartwick (UConn adidas Classic).6 UNC Greensboro (19-3-1)9/1 UNC Wilmington (UNC Greensboro/Davidson Classic)7 New Mexico (17-1-2)9/2 Penn State (Ohio State Classic).9/4 at Ohio State (Ohio State Classic)8 SMU (16-4-1)9/2 Notre Dame (IU adidas/Credit Union Classic).9/4 Indiana (IU adidas/Credit Union Classic).9 UC Santa Barbara (21-3-1)9/2 California (UCSB adidas Classic).9/4 Virginia (UCSB adidas Classic).10 St. JohnÆs (12-6-4)9/2 …

Aug. 31#4 Portland 6 (Rapinoe 5, Sinclair 10, 16, 31, 51, 62) Oregon 0.James Madison 0 #5 Virginia (Quinn 83).Sept. 1#6 Penn State 5 (Krieger 11, 30, Weimer 65, Aden-Buie 75, Daus 89) Loyola (Md.) 0.Pittsburgh 2 (Kritch 22, 71) #17 West Virginia 1 (Kanela pen. 21).#19 Florida State 7 (Kuralay 5, 27, Van de Ven 14, Ranck 52, Trotter 56, 61, Ferreri 68) Jacksonville(Aussie Olympian Sel Kuralay adds 2 assists.)RANK/TEAM (RECORD) LAST WEEK1 North Carolina (2-0-0) 19/2 - Davidson (Carolina Nike Classic)9/4 - Yale (Carolina Nike Classic)2 Notre Dame (2-0-0) 29/2 - Florida (Inn at Saint Mary's Notre Dame …

The USA (15 points) hosts Mexico (16) Sept. 3 in Columbus, Ohio in World Cup qualifying. They have opened up big leads in the Hexagonal after only six games, setting the stage for one or both of the teams to qualify on Saturday. USA USA will qualify for the finals if: 1, USA beats Mexico. 2, USA ties Mexico AND Panama beats or ties Costa Rica AND Trinidad & Tobago beats or ties Guatemala. MEXICO Mexico will qualify if: 1, Mexico beats USA. 2. Mexico ties USA 3. Mexico loses to USA AND Panama beats Costa Rica. 4. …

MLS Preview (Aug. 31)Wednesday, Aug. 31, 7:30 pm ET/5:30 pm MT/4:30 pm PTD.C. UNITED (11-8-5, 38 pts) vs. REAL SALT LAKE (5-14-4, 19 pts)TV: FSN-RM.Direct TV: DirecTV - 790; Dish Net - 464; In Demand.Key Players Out: D.C. United - FW Alecko Eskandarian (concussion), DF David Stokes (ankle sprain), DF Kenny Arena (first metatarsal), MF Dema Kovalenko (red card suspension), FW Santino Quaranta (National Team Duty - USA); Real Salt Lake - DF Rustin Pierce (R hamstring strain), MF Chris Brown (L hamstring strain), DF Gustavo Cabrera (National Team Duty - Guatemala), MF Nikolas Besagno (National Team Duty - U-17 …

GOALKEEPERBrandi Daniels (Towson), Soph. (1)Makes a career-high tying 13 saves, including stop on point-blank shot in overtime, as Tigers battle then-ranked Maryland to 0-0 tie.DEFENDERSKasey Moore (Texas), Fr. (1)Starts in middle of Longhorn defense that posts a pair of shutouts and scores the game-winner against Auburn.Becky Sauerbrunn (Virginia), Soph. (1)Anchors Cavalier defense that posts 2 shutouts, allowing 0 shots against Rhode Island and 4 shots against then-No. 15 West Virginia. MIDFIELDERSKristen Edmonds (Rutgers), Fr. (1)Scores game-winning goal and adds 2 assists in 6-0 victory over Temple, scores both goals in 2-0 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson.Katy Lindenmuth (Wisconsin), Sr. (1)Scores both …

Kerri Hanks (Notre Dame), Fr.Sets Irish record for goals in back-to-back games with hat trick against New Hampshire (11-1) and 4 goals against Vermont (6-0).

It cost Malcolm Glazer more than $1 billion to take over Manchester United. Another American, Dmitry Piterman, spent $5 million a year ago to acquire Spanish club Alaves, which he guided to La Liga promotion. Alaves kicked off the 2005-06 season last Saturday by tying defending champion Barcelona, 0-0. Piterman, a U.S. citizen who considers himself ''Born in Russia, Made in America,'' immigrated to New York from Odessa at age 15 in 1979. While a track & field star at UC Berkeley he began accumulating a fortune in San Francisco area real estate. He still maintains a residence in …

The U.S. Under-16 boys national team traveled to Bristol, England, to participate in the Pepsi International Tournament, where it will face England, Italy and Portugal in the round-robin tournament. With U-17 head coach John Hackworth preparing the U.S. for the U-17 World Championship, assistants Raul Diaz Arce and Brian Maisonneuve will direct the 18-player team during the tournament. The U-16s will be looking for their second title in a month as they just returned from Japan, where they won the Toyota International Tournament.U.S. U-16 Roster:Goalkeepers -- Brandyn Bumpas (Denver, Colo.), Josh Lambo (Middletown, Wisc.); Defenders -- Mykell Bates (Roseville, Calif.), …

Real Salt Lake, the league's second-lowest scoring team, has acquired Liberian-born forward Melvin Tarley of USL First Division club Minnesota Thunder.The 22-year-old has scored six goals against MLS teams during the Thunder's run to the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup. He scored twice in a 4-2 win over Real Salt Lake and four in a 4-1 win over Colorado. Defender Matt Behncke was waived to make room for Tarley.Only Columbus, with 21 goals, has hit the net less often than Salt Lake, which has 23 goals in 23 games.

RANK/TEAM (RECORD) LAST WEEK 1 North Carolina (2-0-0) 1 9/2 - Davidson (Carolina Nike Classic) 9/4 - Yale (Carolina Nike Classic) 2 Notre Dame (2-0-0) 2 9/2 - Florida (Inn at Saint Mary's Notre Dame Classic) 9/4 - Maryland (Inn at Saint Mary's Notre Dame Classic) 3 UCLA (2-0-0) 3 9/2 - Princeton (Miami Tournament) 9/4 -- Florida Atlantic (Miami Tournament) 4 Portland (1-0-0) 4 9/2 - San Diego State (Husky/Nike Invitational) 9/4 - Pacific (Husky/Nike Invitational) 5 Virginia (2-0-0) 5 8/31 …

For the most part, the top-ranked teams had an easy time on the opening weekend of the women's college season. Freshmen overshadowed the big-name seniors as Kerri Hanks (7 goals for Notre Dame), Kara Lang (hat trick for UCLA against USD) and Megan Rapinoe (2 goals for Portland against Stanford) were brilliant in their college debuts. Moving into the Top 25 are Florida State, Marquette, Wisconsin and Pepperdine. Soccer America Women's Top 25 The following is the Soccer America …

Winners: CLAUDIO REYNA scored the equalizer in Manchester City's 2-1 win over Portsmouth by hammering home a rebound for the Blues, whose unbeaten streak was extended to 12 games. Its three wins and a tie this season put Man City in second place. BRIAN McBRIDE scored the winner in Fulham's 1-0 win over Everton by nicely slotting home a low cross. It was his second EPL goal in four games this season for the 1-2-1 (win-loss-tie) Cottagers. Back from injury, DaMARCUS BEASLEY made his first Dutch Eredivise appearance of the season as a late sub and …

Aug. 26Montreal 1 (Sebrango 90) Virginia Beach 0.Seattle 2 (Sakuda 11, Whitfield 36) Puerto Rico 2 (Salles pen 34, 74). Aug. 27Charleston 1 (Lubezky 88) Portland 0.Vancouver 2 (Jordan 55, 71) Puerto Rico 0. Aug. 28Montreal 2 (Biello 15, Gervais 65) Rochester 0.Minnesota 2 (Paye 48, 51) Richmond 0.Toronto 1 (Francois 43) Virginia Beach 1 (Fenger 83).Atlanta 1 (Hayes 74) Portland 2 (Antoniuk 29, pen 52). USL Second DivisionFinalAug. 27 in Ludlow, MA Western Mass 2 (McFarlane 43, Fernandes 46) Charlotte 2 (Coggins 1, Meek 90).(Charlotte wins 5-4 on penalties.)

(All times ET unless noted. Consult your regular television listings guides for availability in your area. Schedules are subject to change.) WEDNESDAY, Aug. 31 FOX SPORTS EN ESPANOL Copa Sudamericana TRUJILLANOS-ATL. NACIONAL (delay), 2 am. Recopa Sudamericana 2005, 2nd Leg ONCE CALDAS-BOCA JUNIORS (live), 8:30 pm. Mexican Primera A COYOTES DE SONORA-TAMPICO MADERO (live), 11:30 pm. THURSDAY, Sept. 1 FOX SPORTS EN ESPANOL Copa Sudamericana CORINTHIANS-GOIAS (delay), 2:30 am. Copa Sudamericana CRUZEIRO-JUVENTUDE (live), 6 pm. Copa Sudamericana SAO PAULO-INTERNACIONAL-RS (live), 8:30 pm. FRIDAY, Sept. 2 FOX SOCCER CHANNEL USL First Division TORONTO-VANCOUVER (live), 8 …