Evening Ticker: US ends 2018 World Cup Bid to focus on 2022, NESV takeover of Liverpool complete and more
BY ADAM SERRANO The Unted States World Cup Bid Committee announced that they will be dropping out of the running for the 2018 World Cup. A move that has been long considered a formality with FIFA explicitly stating that they would like the 2018 World Cup to take place in Europe. The United States will...
USSF D-2 Playoff Recap: Whitecaps top Timbers, No. 1 seed falls to Puerto Rico
By JOSE M. ROMERO The last meeting betwen the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps before both teams head to MLS had all the drama you would expect, especially given the fact they were meeting in the playoffs. Each team won at home in their USSF Division 2 playoff series, but the Whitecaps were able to...
Whitecaps roll over Timbers in key USSF D-2 playoff series opener
By JOSE M. ROMERO The Vancouver Whitecaps are loaded with new faces, players who weren't with the club the past two years for its two runs to the USL championship game. They had also failed to beat the Portland Timbers in four regular-season matches in 2010. Neither mattered Thursday night at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby,...
USSF Division 2 Playoff Preview
By TRAVIS CLARK It's been a long season in the USSF Division 2, and soon enough, a second division champion will be crowned. Playoff action begins Wednesday evening, as eight teams vie for the championship. The next few weeks will be a rigorous test of travel adaptability and each club's depth, as the eventual winner...
USSF D-2: A Look Back at Week 26
By TRAVIS CLARK The Austin Aztex had two chances to win both the outright USSF D-2 title last weekend, and both times they came up empty-handed. Playing two games in a three day span isn't easy, and both were on the road. Friday night, the Aztex were beaten handily by the Carolina Railhawks 3-1. The...
Timbers, Whitecaps end one era, look ahead to another
BY JOSE M. ROMERO Oh, those wild and crazy USSF-Division 2 schedule-makers. Their flair for the dramatic brought the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps together for one last regular-season go-round Saturday afternoon north of the border in beautiful Burnaby, B.C. and Swangard Stadium. It's the last time these two storied clubs will meet as lower-division...
USSF D-2: A Look Ahead at Week 26
By TRAVIS CLARK In many ways it's fitting that the Vancouver Whitecaps and Portland Timbers close out the USSF Division 2 season against each other. Apart from their regional rivalry, both teams are making the jump to Major League Soccer in 2011, but have one eye on winning a trophy in the second division before...
SBI USSF Division 2 Power Rankings: Week 25
By TRAVIS CLARK The first and most likely only year of the USSF Division 2 League is coming to a close. Not much is at stake in the final week of the season -- there is a fight at the top for some of the higher seeds, and of course, a race for first in...
USSF D-2: A Look Back at Week 25
By TRAVIS CLARK The NSC Minnesota Stars became the first club to finish their USSF D-2 schedule, going out in style with a 3-1 win over FC Tampa Bay on the road. And while the result wasn't enough for the Stars to climb above the seventh spot in the overall playoff standings, the strong finish...
Timbers turning ground and stones as MLS debut nears
By JOSE M. ROMERO The Portland Timbers have set up a 24/7 webcam through which visitors to the club's web site can watch the renovation of PGE Park. The work began earlier this month, even though the USSF-Division II Timbers are still playing out the final games of their 2010 season. Portland has two regular-season...
USSF D-2: A Look Ahead at Week 25
By TRAVIS CLARK With the eight playoff teams in USSF D-2 now set, determining those first round matches is the only thing left to resolve. Vancouver and Montreal will get one more chance to face off (Friday, 10:30 p.m.) before the Canadian rivalry takes a year off in 2011 as the Whitecaps make the transition...
USSF D-2: Playoff field set
By TRAVIS CLARK With a 4-2 loss Wednesday night to Miami FC, the dim USSF D-2 playoff aspirations of first-year club A.C. St. Louis were finally extinguished. Abe Thompson proved to be too much for the St. Louis defense to handle in Miami, netting a hat trick and seeing Miami to their third straight win...
