The College Season Is Here....

Another season of American college soccer is upon us. I know we've been quiet here but sometimes work and a huge convention messing up traffic messes up my schedule. As the young kids are going back to campus and starting to kick a ball around a lot of information is compiled into my 'list'. I'll add adidas ESP players, I'll add pre-season All-Americans, I'll add other pre-season awards winners. This is an exciting time of year for me as it represents the run up to the MLS SuperDraft. Stay tuned as we're also adding a new contributor to the site who has a lot of insight into the US Youth National Teams.

Grant Wahl Says What I Was Thinking...

...but am not a good enough writer to communicate. Here you go, I suggest checking it out.

He's right you know. Commentator Marcelo Balboa said during the Dutch telecast something to the effect of "get your yellow card suspension over with now before the quarterfinals" I have to respectfully disagree. I agree with Wahl in that because of the taking the yellow card now as opposed to later mindset the US were missing two of their best players. Two players who would have made a difference in this game.

Sometimes the common view in sports are not right. In this case I would rather have seen Bradley and Adu in the final group game as opposed to sitting it out. Balboa's comments made an incorrect assumption that shouldn't be made, that you're going to advance from the group stage when there is one more game to go.

Heartbreak...

I got up early again to rev up the DVR and watch the US take on Nigeria. The US needed a win or tie against a good Nigerian squad. I'm ready, I'm pumped. What happens next? The worst thing possible, the thing I didn't want to see, heartbreak...

A red card in the 4th minute. Michael Orozco makes a stupid mistake and elbows a Nigerian player while tussling for a ball. No, it wasn't a terribly vicious elbow and perhaps the Nigerian player made a small meal of it by going to ground when other players may have played through the "pain" and fought for the ball, but the damage was done and Michael Orozco got sent off...in the 4th minute. How do you recover from that?

The US certainly tried. Unfortunately late in the first half they gave up a goal and now they went from looking good to move on to depending on the Netherlands losing too. In the second half the US was certainly working hard and as Nigeria sent too many players up field, the young Americans had some quality chances. But it wasn't to be, the Nigerians got a second goal and the game was out of reach. The end of the second half certainly got exciting when the US earned and converted a penalty but they were still one goal down and The Dutch won their game, resurrecting their poor Olympic performance. The US threw bodies forward but couldn't get the tying goal they needed, they are out. Over. Kaput.

It is too bad. This was a good team. Freddy Adu missed his chance to make a mark on American sports leading the US to a medal. He was missed today as you could see, even with an extra man, the Nigerian defense wouldn't have been able to handle him running at them. There were a lot of holes to exploit in that defense.

Stuart Holden impressed for me again. As did late sub Charlie Davies. Benny F. showed he needs to find a starting gig as he was missing passes and rusty. Altidore was taken off after the first half. I think he could have made more of an impact in his first start had there not been a red card forcing formation and game plan changes. Edu and Parkhurst played well. Robbie Rogers was nice at times. Sacha looked better in the last two games then he did in the first. Danny S. was unremarkable. Brad Guzan showed why Aston Villa bought him.

Brian McBride never did it for me. He is 36 and it shows. I don't think his inclusion in the team helped all that much. Imagine if Davies and Altidore could have grown a successful partnership with speed and power. Sure, McHead can bring down a nice trap and contest for crosses but he didn't score a goal and that is what his job comes down to.

It always seems to end this way for the US. I know all countries feel heartbreak during big tournaments but as an American fan I think I feel it more. Now we wait for the next World Cup, the next Youth World Cup...the next.

US Men's Soccer Olympic Update...

I was out of town Sunday morning when the US kicked off their all important Olympic match against Holland. Why do I say 'all important'? Going into the match the US was the only team in the group with three points. Nigeria and Holland had one point based on their draw while Japan had none. Furthermore, this is The Netherlands....the best of the best when it comes to youth national teams. As I clicked on the DVR sunday afternoon I was thinking, "if the US can get a point in this game, they have a chance of qualifying for the next round."

If they can get a point, did you hear me? They almost waltzed out of there with all three points! After the first half I thought to myself, "ok, not too bad. Down one goal. They can tie it up." Freddy Adu was looking more dangerous then he did in the opening match. The Dutch weren't dominating and in fact the US held some decent possession. Meanwhile, the field conditions weren't helping anyone.

As I fast forwarded to the second half I was hoping to see some magic, and I did. In case you missed it, Sacha Kljestan scored one of the nicest goals I've seen from a young Yank. If you catch the highlights, watch where the play starts for Kljestan. Somewhere near midfield if my mind serves. He combines well with Stuart Holden and then again with Freddy Adu when all of a sudden he gets a perfect return pass from Adu and is through to the 18 yard box beating two Dutch defenders. Just when you think the orange shirts will strip the ball from him, Sacha makes a great move and puts a beautiful shot past the helpless Dutch keeper, Kenneth Vermeer.

"Wow!" I'm thinking. That was something not often seen from the Red, White & Blue...that was more on par with the Dutch themselves. At this point it is the 65th minute and I'm on the edge of my couch despite being tired from a weekend camping trip.

The second half saw an improvement from the young Americans and it seemed the Dutch, one of the pre-tournament favorites based on their two recent European U-21 championships, were losing ground and didn't know what to do with the Americans. Within eight minutes I was off the couch as Jozy Altidore put home a Michael Orozco cross for the go ahead goal. Never in my wildest dreams did I think the US would be beating the Dutch 2-1. As the second half dragged on the US kept putting on pressure, forcing the Dutch keeper into some fine saves. By the end of the match the US had put eight shots on goal compared to Holland's four. The US outclassed The Netherlands!

The win wasn't to be as an ugly foul and free kick let the Dutch back into the match, in the 92nd minute....what a truly heart wrenching moment, seeing the ball skip past Brad Guzan on a free kick that went under the wall. The Dutch got lucky and came back to tie it. Had they lost, they would have been embarased beyond belief and facing almost certain elimination from the Olympics as the Americans moved into the Quarterfinals. However, games end when the whistle goes and aren't won on paper. Take pride American soccer fans. The U-23 team fought hard and well in this game, up against one of the top countries in the footballing world. This also shows what the senior national team will grow to expect once these youngsters mature to the full team...and I can't wait.

Young Kyle Davies Progress

Young American Kyle Davies, who has appeared for the US-17 team, made a move to Southampton a year and half ago. While still not expecting to see much of him this year, he has progressed. He's still 19 and being used as a defender. The club is now listing him with their first team (here).

Boomerang: Nate Jaqua

Not sure how I missed it, but you can all add Nate Jaqua to the Boomerang list. He got an assist over the weekend and should help the Dynamo retake the lead in the West.

Seems like more and more young Americans think MLS is the place to be.

Whet Your Appetite For American Olympic Soccer...

I am going to do my best to recreate the "magic" of the 2002 World Cup by waking up early tomorrow morning to catch the US vs. Japan. No, not 3 am early, but maybe 5:30 so I can start up the DVR and see the entire match before heading to work. We'll see if my ambitions match my ability.

Check out today's US Soccer Studio 90 post. In the section with the MNT Preview you get some highlights of US vs. Cameroon from the ING Tournament held recently in Hong Kong as an Olympic warm up. Is anyone else struck by how good the young Americans look passing the ball. There is one sequence where American defense takes the ball and creates a great counter attack with all one touch passes. This is the kind of beautiful soccer many of us have been waiting our entire lives for.

I hope the Olympians can look as polished against Japan tomorrow morning. If they do it will help make my lack of sleep pay off.

US Men's Olympic Television Schedule...

US Soccer posted the schedules for both Men's and Women's Olympic soccer on NBC. I am happy to report you don't have to get the special NBC Olympic soccer channel to watch all the games, so long as you do have cable.

The US kicks off their Olympic journey Thursday...yes in two days!

Aug. 7 vs. Japan :
- MSNBC 4:55 a.m. ET
- Universal HD 4:55 a.m. ET
- NBC Olympic Soccer Channel 5 a.m. ET

Aug. 10 vs. Netherlands:
- USA Network 7:30 a.m. ET
- NBC Olympic Soccer Channel 7:30 a.m. ET

Aug. 13 vs. Nigeria:
- USA Network 5 a.m. ET
- NBC Olympic Soccer Channel 5 a.m. ET

Let's get ready to rumble!!!

Ohh yeah, Maurice Edu wants to tell you something. It is hot in China. The heat and smog are going to weigh on soccer big time. It is going to be near impossible for these guys to go the full 90 at full strength in these conditions. The games should be interesting.

Introducing: Greg Ricks - Loyola Marymount Lion...

A couple weeks ago I got a somewhat angry email from an American college soccer player asking why he wasn't on my list. I did my best to be diplomatic explaining that monitoring over 1,000 college soccer players takes time and you need to accomplish something like playing at the adidas ESP camp, winning a player of the month award, a All-American honor, etc. to be added to the list. He seemed to accept that and then he accepted my offer to become a FCTP contributor and to tell us about his senior season as he tries to start a career as a professional soccer player.

I'm pleased to introduce you all to Loyola Marymount University senior, Greg Ricks. Greg is going to check in periodically to tell us about being a college soccer player. He's going to tell us the ups and downs of his senior season. He's going to share when he's contacted by a pro scout. He's going to tell us about when they haze the freshman...ohh wait, there is no hazing in college sports.

Everyone, please welcome Greg and say hello. This is a fun addition to FCTP that I have been looking to do since I started the blog. Last year I had a senior player all lined up but it turned out to be too difficult to work writing in with his schedule. I totally understand that. That player in now on the reserve team of one MLS club so hopefully the same will work out for Mr. Ricks. Cheer him on, encourage him to share. Ask him questions. Let's get ready to rumble.

Here is his first piece on what he and the LMU Lions are up to at this point in the pre-season:

***FCTP was notified last night that the NCAA and Loyola Marymount University Soccer Team object to Greg Ricks contributing to FCTP. It is unfortunate that college kids playing a sport can't expand their experiences through participating in a harmless blog. Somehow the NCAA would deem this as me representing Greg and the University feels I have misused Greg's likeness which they own. However, out of respect to those two organizations and Greg's request I am removing the portion of this post that was written by Greg.***

Nyarko Nets His First...

It must be an amazing feeling to be a rookie and score your first career goal. Amazing. Patrick Nyarko got that feeling tonight while playing in his fifth career match. Prior to tonight he hadn't started a game and he had not played more then 65 minutes of professional soccer. That didn't stop him from scoring for the Fire.

It you take yourself back to January you'll remember that Nyarko was getting a lot of press going into the draft and many observers were surprised when he fell in the first round to the Fire. As a Rapids fan I wish we had taken him and if tonight was any indication I'm going to continue to hold that grudge. Only the future will tell if Chicago got a steal grabbing Nyarko with the 7th overall pick but the future looks bring for this kid. His goal tonight was a shot of class, one that goal scorers know how to make. I believe Nyarko will develop into a great goal scorer in MLS. I think we saw that at Virginia Tech. Will MLS GM's rue the day they didn't draft Patrick Nyarko?

If you haven't seen the video, go to www.mlenet.com and check it out. It is worth your time.