After two games of group play in SuperLiga, D.C. United's Group B remains very close. With only Club América officially knocked out, D.C., Houston and Monarcas Morelia are still vying for the top two spots in the group, and the opportunity to advance to the next round.
Though Club América can longer advance, they still play a large role in the shaping of the group. If they manage to hold Morelia to a tie, it would prevent Monarcas (currently in third plae with two points) from moving on, giving D.C. and Houston (four points each) a free pass to the next round, regardless of the outcome of their match.
Should Monarcas win, however, they would move on with the winner of the Houston vs. D.C. match. SuperLiga rules outline that if Houston and United tie, and Monarcas wins (in which case all three teams would have five points), the advancing teams would first be decided by the result of head-to-head competitions between the clubs, and then by goal differentials. If a tie still exists, it goes to the teams with the most goals-for.
In Group A the situation is similar. All four teams have a possibility of moving on: CD Guadalajara leads with four points and will advance with a draw; the LA Galaxy and FC Dallas follow with three points and two points, respectively, and the winner of that match would advance; CF Pachuca have only a single point, but should they defeat the group leader, they would leapfrog to second place and move on to the knockout stage. If the latter occurs and the MLS teams draw, the tie-breaker rules would apply for Pachuca, Los Angeles and Guadalajara, who would all be tied with four points.
The game schedule for the final round of group play is as follows:
Tuesday, July 31:
LA Galaxy @ FC Dallas (8 p.m. ET)
CF Pachuca v. CD Guadalajara (10 p.m. ET)
Wednesday, August 1:
D.C. United @ Houston Dynamo (8 p.m. ET)
Monarcas Morelia @ Club America (10 p.m. ET)
All games can be seen live on TeleFutura, MLSnet.com and at the tournamen's official website, SuperLiga2007.com.
Hollywood United Charity Match
On Oct. 20, D.C. United will honor club legend Marco 'El Diablo' Etcheverry with a tribute match prior to the first team game at 7:30 p.m. ET. Etcheverry and numerous teammates from the United '97 MLS Cup championship team will take on Hollywood United. The LA-based club recently provided a list of the players who will take part in the historic game.
Anthony LaPaglia (Start of "Without a Trace")
David Vaudreuil (D.C. United '97)
Ian Carrington (HUFC)
Frank LeBouef (Chelsea, France World Cup '98)
Vinny Jones ("Wimbledon," "Snatch," "X-Men")
Richard Gough (Scotland, Everton, Kansas City Wizards)
Jimmy Jean Louis (TV Show "Heroes")
Carlos Valderrama (Columbia, Tampa Bay Mutiny)
Tab Ramos (Metrostars, US Men's National Team)
Alex Pineda Chacon (Honduras, Miami Fusion)
Mauricio Cienfuegos (Los Angeles Galaxy, El Salvador)
Ramon Ramirez (Mexico, Chivas)
Alexi Lalas (US Men's National Team, Los Angeles Galaxy)
Eric Wynalda (US Men's National Team, Los Angeles Galaxy)
Derk Droze (New England Revolution)
Etcheverry will also name a few additional players to the team, which will be announced at a later date. Tickets to the double-header are available here >
Barefooted Jamil
D.C. United forward Jamil Walker recently launched BarefootBaller.com - a website dedicated to "aid in the soccer development of players, coaches, and parents using the experiences and advice of professional players and coaches."
Although the site is still under construction, it has intentions of containing video demonstrations and interviews by professional players, daily practice plans, coaching articles and tips, recruiting advice, fun games, trivia and quizzes, information for parents and many other features. Keep an eye out for more at BarefootBaller.com.
Unstoppable Super-Y teams
The D.C. United U-13, U-14, U-16 and U-20 boys teams taking part in the Super-Y League have already qualified for Nationals, a few weeks before the end of the regular season.
"This is a spectacular feat," says Judah Cooks, coach of the undefeated U-16 boys team. "We're very proud of all of our teams."
Cooks has led each of the three teams he has coached to undefeated seasons over the last three years, first with the U-17 boys in 2005, followed by the U-13 team last year.
