Soccer Watch
By Nick Barbaro, Fri., Oct. 24, 2014
The Texas Longhorns lost to TCU, 3-1 on Friday, then beat Arkansas-Little Rock 2-0 on Monday. They're at Oklahoma and Baylor this weekend, before finishing the regular season hosting Oklahoma State on Halloween night... St. Edward's men and women are both on the road this weekend, as well; they'll both end their regular seasons at home Nov. 1 & 3.
The U.S. Women swept through their first-round group in Women's World Cup qualifying; they're on to the continental semifinal against Mexico on Friday in Philadelphia (Fox Sports 1 at 6:30pm), with the winner getting an automatic spot in next summer's WWC in Canada. The tournament final is at 5pm Sunday, Oct. 26 (again on Fox Sports 1).
Major League Soccer is down to the last weekend of the regular season: Seattle-LA (1:30pm Saturday, NBC) will decide the Supporters Shield trophy for the team with the best regular-season record; playoffs begin next week.
Tuesday was a big night for Central American clubs in the CONCACAF Champions League, as Costa Ricans Alajuelense knocked out Mexico's Cruz Azul, and Honduras' Olimpia ousted Portland... And it was a night of big scores in the European Champions League, as Chelsea beat Slovenians Maribor, 6-0, Shakhtar Donetsk trounced BATE Borisov 7-0, and Bayern Munich destroyed Roma, 7-1, in the Italian capital.
Orlando City, which will begin play in MLS next season, broke ground on its $110 million soccer stadium last Thursday night, drawing thousands of fans for the ceremony that began with a march to the stadium site in downtown Orlando. "In less than 18 months," said Orlando City president Phil Rawlins, "we'll be playing here on this site in our own home, so it is for real!" The 20,000-seat stadium will be ready by 2016; Orlando will continue to play at the Citrus Bowl in 2015.
