Longhorns Opener Friday; International Results; WC Around the Corner

The UT Lady Longhorns open their season this Friday with a No. 9 national ranking, and even higher aspirations. It's a veteran team, with four senior starters, plus four juniors who are three-year starters on defense (Stephanie Logterman, Kasey Moore, Jill Gilbeau, and goalie Dianne Pfenninger). On top of that, this is supposed to be one of Coach Chris Petrucelli's best recruiting classes. The Horns used eight newcomers – six freshmen and their two transfers – in a scoreless exhibition game at New Mexico Friday, as veterans Jill Gilbeau, Caitlin Kennedy, and Leslie Imber missed the trip.

The Horns host TCU at Myers Stadium, 7pm Friday, Aug 31 (coupon for $3 admission here). The Horned Toadettes should be a pretty good test; they return eight starters from last year, plus a couple of veterans back from seasonlong injuries, and they haven't allowed a goal in two games thus far. But a sterner test will come two days later in Houston, as the Horns take on third-ranked UCLA.

The St. Edwards men open their conference season at home against Incarnate Word, Sunday, Sept. 2, 1pm. The women are on the road against Stephen F. Austin.

The U.S. finally won a game at the U-17 World Cup, beating Belgium, 2-0, on Sunday in Korea. That was enough to give them second place in their group, and a Round of 16 match Thursday against Group F winner Germany, whom they beat 3-1 in a tune-up in Germany barely a month ago. The quarterfinals are Saturday-Sunday, semis mid-week, and the final next Sunday, Sept. 9 (the day before the WWC kicks off across the Yellow Sea).

The Champions League qualifying rounds ended this Wednesday, with Liverpool, Arsenal, Lazio, both Glasgow teams, and pretty much all the other favorites advancing to the group stage. One major casualty: Ajax Amsterdam, upset 3-1 on aggregate by Slavia Prague. Celtic survived Spartak Moscow on a penalty-kick shootout. Full results below.

Champions League
Third Round Qualifying
Winners advance to Group Stage

Lazio over Dinamo Bucuresti
Rangers over Red Star Belgrade
Liverpool over Toulouse
Benfica over FC Copenhagen
Valencia over Elfsborg
Glasgow Celtic over Spartak Moscow
Rosenborg over Tampere United
Steaua Bucuresti over BATE Borisov
Fenerbahce over Anderlecht
Dynamo Kiev over FK Sarajevo
Besiktas over Zurich
Slavia Prague over Ajax Amsterdam
Shakhtar Donetsk over SV Salzburg
Werder Bremen over Dinamo Zagreb
Arsenal over Sparta Prague

FC Sevilla and AEK Athens – postponed until Monday, Sept. 3

The first international trophy of the season is up for grabs this Friday, as Champions League winner AC Milan faces UEFA Cup holder Sevilla in Monaco for the UEFA Super Cup (1:30pm Aug. 31, live on FSC).

The U.S. Women arrived in China Tuesday for the 2007 Women's World Cup, after ending their warm-up campaign with a 4-0 romp over Finland, which included a 38-2 shot advantage. The WWC kicks off Sept. 10; full schedule and more are here.

Believe it or not, the 2010 World Cup is already under way as well. On the first day of qualifying Saturday – with kickoff in South Africa still some two years and 10 months away – it was Fiji over Tuvalu, 16-0.