The UT Lady Longhorns finish up their home schedule this weekend, trying to extend a school-record eight-game winning streak against Iowa State (Friday, 7pm) and Kansas (Sunday, 1pm). As well as they’ve played at Myers Stadium, the Horns probably need a good showing – especially against the sixth-ranked Jayhawks – in order to earn an NCAA tournament bid. Their 1-4-1 record on the road won’t impress the selection committee. Interestingly, as we head down the stretch, senior goalkeeper Alex Gagarin (LBJ High) has taken over the starting job for the past four games, after sophomore Dana Hall started the first 11.
Major League Soccer playoffs kick off this weekend; the conference semifinals are two-game, home-and-away series, played this weekend and next.
Eastern Conference: D.C. United (2) at NY/NJ MetroStars (3); Sat., 6:30pm
Columbus Crew (1) at New England Revolution (4); Sat., 6:30pm
Western Conference: L.A. Galaxy (2) at Colorado Rapids (3); Fri., 8:30pm
Kansas City Wizards (1) at San Jose Earthquakes (4); Sun., 4pm, ESPN2 – ESPN’s game of the week should be a good one. The defending champion ‘Quakes struggled to grab the last playoff spot on the last game of the season; now they’ll try to ride Landon Donovan to an upset over Josh Wolff and a Wizards team that held the league’s best record for almost the whole year.
Results from WC Qualifying and Euro Champs League: U.S., Mexico, Guatemala advance; glory for Milan, France; Brit, Roman woe; see “Soccer Watch Online” for details. – Nick Barbaro
This article appears in October 22 • 2004.