WEEKLY WRAP: 7.17 Thru 7.23.2017: Competitive Matches Smothered by Friendlies

So many friendlies that people are forgetting the competitive matches being played. We had some goals in these games, and with 3Liga and a couple of 2Liga games on the docket it was good to see Joe Gyau get on the board. Lawrence Smith continues to be a top scorer, even though he is a defender, Christian Eissele scored again and JC Mack still splitting the pipes in Iceland. Goalkeepers had a mixed week, but Tim Murray kept a clean sheet in Finland, and Will Dieterich got another win under his belt. In Friendlies, well, Ryan Malone had himself a week, scoring 4 goals, and of course everyone is talking about Christian Pulisic's goal that drew the game with Bochum, and the 2 Assist game against AC Milan. To finish up, Scott Parker and Jon-Paul Pittman both scored winning goals for their clubs, while Alfredo Morales and Joel Sonora both scored as well

Enough prattle ...on to the lists

 The short list here ( (f) denotes friendly match) .......... 

GOALS
Ryan Malone (3) - Germany  (f)
Christian Eissele - Finland
Lawrence Smith - Finland
JC Mack - Iceland
Alfredo Morales - Germany (f)
Scott Parker - Germany (f) 
Jon-Paul Pittman - England (f)
Christian Pulisic - Germany (f)
Joe Gyau - Germany
Ryan Malone - Germany (f)
Joel Sonora - Germany (f)

ASSISTS
Christian Pulisic (2) - Germany (f)
Weston McKennie - Germany (f)
Terrence Boyd - Germany (f)

SHUT OUT
Tim Murray - Finland

......the longer, comprehensive list......

MONDAY

Will Daniels (58) as Grindavik fail to keep pace with Valur in Iceland's Pepsideilid with a bad loss at Fjolnir (who were tied bottom of the league) 4 - 0. Valur now top, Grindavik 2nd (3 pts behind) and Stjarnan 3rd (6 pts behind Valur)

In Friendlies Today;

Kevin Lankford stared for Heidenheim as they draw 1 - 1 with Liberec of Czechoslovakia

John Brooks went 62 minutes in Wolfsburg's 0 - 1 win over Rostock

Joel Sonora started, went 70 as Stuttgart reserves beat CfR Pforzheim 2 - 0

TUESDAY

Benedict Laverty was on the bench today for Augsburg II opener in Germany's Regionalliga (Bayern), losing 1 - 2 at home to Garching, not the best way to get the season going

In Friendlies Today;

Christian Pulisic (74) as Dortmund met AC Milan in the International Champions Cup in Guangzhou China. Dortmund took the early lead and played to a 1 - 3 win over the Italian giants. Christian had a stellar game, 2 Assists, and caused a bring down in the box leading to a PK - so he was involved in all 3 of Dortmund's goals
* This series involves Dortmund, Arsenal, Lyon, Bayern, Inter and AC Milan

Jerome Kiesewetter and Justin Kinjo both started on the bench as Dusseldorf visited Brno in Czechoslovakia winning 0 - 1

Jordan Siebatcheu started for Reims as they hosted Red Star in France. Both teams scored, ending 1 - 1

Andrew Wooten and Ken Gipson started for Sandhausen as they took on Danny Williams (who started on the bench) and Huddersfield in a match that ended 3 - 2 in favor of Sandhausen

Ryan Malone Scored 3 times for Lokomotive Leipzig today in a lop-sided 1 - 16 win at SV Zoschen in Germany

Masami Okada started for Babelsberg in friendly, at home to Union Berlin losing 0 - 3. Evidently the gap between Regionalliga and 2Liga is pretty wide

Niall Mason started for Doncaster, in England, as they hosted Derby in a friendly that ended in a 1 - 1 draw

WEDNESDAY

Felix De Bona (90), Etchu Tabe (90) as Ekenas hosted Honka and GK Tim Murray - who gets the Shut Out - in a goalless draw in Finland's Ykkonen

Christian Eissele (90) Scored Jaro's only goal in a 1 - 1 home draw with KPV also in Finland's Ykkonen

Jossimer Sanchez (90 + yellow) Chris Corcoran (15) Lawrence Smith (90 + yellow) and GBK were held to a 2 - 2 draw by PK-37 with Lawrence Smith Scoring a PK for GBK.

In the Europa League Qualifiers, Brian Span (90) and Mariehamn were thoroughly beaten 6 - 0 (9 - 0 agg) by Poland''s Legia and are out of the competition

In Friendlies Today;

Weston McKennie and Haji Wright played the first half of Schalke's match with Besitkas of Turkey winning 3 - 2 with Weston getting an Assist on the first Schalke goal

Caleb Stanko started for Freiburg as they win 2 - 0 over Turkey's Konyaspor

Jordan Siebatcheu played in the 2nd half of Reims 0 - 3 home defeat by Belgium's Charleroi

Bobby Wood came in for the 2nd half for Hamburg as they traveled to Kiel and face off with GK Kenneth Kronholm losing 5 - 3 - and evidently not looking very good in their loss

James Murphy was on the bench for Sheffield Wednesday's friendly with Portuguese side Portimonense with Wednesday getting the 0 - 1 win

THURSDAY

Nebiyou Perry was on the bench for AIK Stockholm as they won their Europa League Qualifier 2 - 0 (2 - 0 on Agg) over Zeljeznicar of Bosnia, to progress to the next round

GK Alex Horwath and Brann bow out of the Europa League falling 0 - 2 (1 - 2 on Agg) to Ruzomberok of Slovakia

Dion Acoff (21) as Valur fall 3 - 2 in Slovakia to Domzale in their Europa League match, leaving the competition with a 5 - 3 Agg.

GK Danny Rogers was the backup keeper for Aberdeen as they traveled to Siroki Brijeg in Bosnia, winning 0 - 2 (1 - 2 Agg) and advancing to the next round

Aaron Schoenfeld (75) as M. Tel Aviv visited KR in Iceland winning the match 0 - 2 (1 - 5 Agg) and advancing to the next round

In Iceland GK Will Dieterich started his 2nd match since moving to Haukar as they hosted Fram in Inkasso-deildin winning 3 - 2. Harrison Hanley was on the bench for this one. Haukar have now moved up to 5th

In Friendlies Today;

Fabian Johnson played the first half as M'Gladbach draw 1 - 1 with England Championship side Leeds Utd.

Tim Ream played the 2nd half as Fulham traveled cross-town to West Ham, falling 2 - 1 in their friendly

Shaq Moore got the start for Levante's senior. squad as they played at La Nucia, winning 0 - 5 in Spain

FRIDAY

In Germany, Robbie Kristo (16) came off the bench for Osnabruck as they traveled to Karlsruher in both teams 3Liga season opener. Osnabruck took a first half 2 goal lead before Karlsruher hit back twice in the 2nd half to hold on for a 2 - 2 draw

In Friendlies Today:

Weston McKennie played the first half, and Haji Wright came on in the 2nd half as Schalke faced off with Italy's Inter. in a 1 - 1 draw.

Kouami Dalmeida, and Javan Torre both started for FSV Frankfurt as they traveled to Aachen and won 0 - 1

GK Ethan Horvath (90) as Club Brugge fall 0 - 2 against visitors Athletic Bilbao

Jordan Siebatcheu started for Reims as they visited Valenciennes in a friendly that ended goalless in France

Gboly Ariyibi started for MK Dons as they hosted Coventry, losing 0 - 2, in a friendly in England

SATURDAY

Eric Ortega (73) as Rochedale fall 3 - 0 at Peninsula Power in Australia's Brisbane Premier League. I guess if you are going to get beat at all, its better to be the closest team to you. Rochedale still lead the division, but Peninsula are now just 2 points behind.

Kene Eze was in the squad for North Geelong as they got thumped 1 - 5 at home by 4th place Green Gully in Australia's NPL (Victoria). With only 9 points from 23 games -its bye bye North Geelong, for sure

Tyler Fischer started on the bench for Avondale as they suffered a 1 - 3 loss to Bentleigh also in Australia's NPL (Victoria) With 2 losses and 2 draws in their last 4 they have now slipped to 7th place (on GD) and out of the play-offs picture (maybe) - they do have a game or two over some of the teams above them

Austin Dunker was in the squad for Logan Lightning as they won 2 - 1 over Souths United in the Brisbane Premier League in Australia, where he picked up a yellow card

In Germany's 3Liga, Isaiah Young came off the bench for Bremen II as they beat Unterhaching 3 - 0 to win their opening match of the season

Also in 3Liga, Royal Fennell (90) wore the Captains arm-band as Hallescher draw 4 - 4 with Paderborn, in what must have been an exciting game for the fans. Hallescher took the early lead, then found themselves down 1 - 4 before fighting back to the draw

Brian Span (33) as Mariehamn battled to a 1 - 1 draw in Finland's Veikkausliiga against visitors HIFK. Mariehamn have now dropped to 5th place after 3 straight draws

Perry Kitchen (90) in Randers 0 - 3 loss to FC Copenhagen in Denmark's Superliga
This was Perry's 2nd start for his new team (both League games) as Randers struggle early in the season

Etch Tabe (90), Felix De Bona (90) as Ekenas traveled to Gnistan and won 1 - 2 to continue their revival - Ekenas has not lost in their last 5 games (3W / 2D) in Finland's Ykkonen

Also in Ykkonen, Christian Eissele (90) as Jaro can't seem to stop their skid, losing 0 - 2 at home to TPS Turku...that's 4 losses and a draw in their last 5.

In Finland Kakkonen (Group B) Jacob Bushue left the game after 17 minutes (?Injury?) as BK-46 lost at home 2 - 3 to Peimari United, and gave up the top spot in the league

In Kakkonen (Group C) Ian Garrett came off the bench for 2nd place VIFK at minute 64 in a goalless draw at home to bottom club OTP

Jordan Rouse (90) as TP-47 visited Villiketut in Kakkonen (Group C) winning 0 - 2. TP-47 are now in 3rd place, but quite a ways off the lead

In Germany Oberliga (Bayern Nord) Julian Ceesay went 90 as DJK Gebenbach won 2 - 0 over Großbardorf, giving them the share of the league lead (with 3 other teams - early days)

JC Mack (90) Scored Selfoss opening goal to give them the lead over Akureyri in the first half. The 2nd half was not good for Selfoss as they gave up a late ET goal and fall 2 - 3 in Iceland's Inkasso-deildin. That's JC's 5th goal of the season

Mason Robertson (90) and Peterhead got thumped by Scottish Championship side Dunfermline 5 - 1 in the Scottish Bet-Fred Cup (Group B)

Romain Gall (1) got on the pitch, just, as Sundsvall visited Halmstad in Sweden's Allsvenskan and fought to a 2 - 2 draw, which pulls them a little further away from the red zone

In Sweden's Allsvenskan, Sirius and GK Josh Wicks (90) hosted Hacken with their unbeaten streak on the line (5 games across all competition) they managed that, but with a draw, which opens opportunities for teams following them in the table, while halting their progress, and handing the chance of a clear division between 2nd and 3rd.

Tanner Sica (90) as Tindastoll fall 2 - 3 at home to Fjardabyggd in Iceland Division 2. Tindastoll hanging on by their finger-nails above the red zone

Shawn Barry (90) got his first start for Korona in Poland's Ekstraklasa, visiting Legia and getting a good 1 - 1 draw

In Friendlies Today;

Desevio Payne came on in the 2nd half for Excelsior as they traveled to GA Eagles in the Netherlands, winning 0 - 2

Alfredo Morales 60th minute Goal, hammered the nail in the coffin for Ingolstadt as they beat French side Nantes 2 - 0

Aron Johannsson started for Bremen as they visited St. Pauli in a friendly in Germany, St. Pauli won this one 2 - 1

John Brooks (62) started for Wolfsburg as they traveled to Dresden for a friendly in Germany, with Wolfsburg winning 3 - 4

Stuttgart's Julian Green and Heidenheim's Kevin Lankford both joined the game in the 2nd half as the 2Liga side got the better of the Bundesliga side in a 2 - 1 win for Heidenheim

DeAndre Yedlin played the 2nd half in today's friendly at Preston which ended in a 1 - 1 draw

Danny Williams started for Huddersfield as they took on La Liga newcomers Girona in a closed-door match that Huddersfield won 1 - 0

Scott Parker Scored for Augsburg as they visited Ulm in another all German friendly that Augsburg won 2 - 3 - on Scott's 85th minute winning goal

Kyle Scott came off the bench in the 77th minute for Chelsea as they beat Arsenal 3 - 0 in Beijing China

Shaq Moore (60) in Levante's 0 - 1 loss at home to Almeria in Spain

Jon-Paul Pittman (64) Scored the winning Goal for Torquay as they faced off with Weymouth capturing a 0 - 1 victory in a friendly in England

Russell Canouse (20) came off the bench with 20 minutes left as Bochum took a 2 goal lead over Christian Pulisic and Dortmund. Looking good huh! - Nope 2 goals in 2 minutes put paid to the win for Bochum, with Christian Pulisic Scoring the tieing goal in the 86th minute in an exciting game that ended in a 2 - 2 draw

Terence Boyd (46) started and McKinzie Gaines joined in the 2nd half as Darmstadt played Fulham to a 2 - 2 draw, Boyd provided an Assist of sorts with a 'trick' corner kick that ended up as a headed goal. Tim Ream went the whole 90 for Fulham who only made 4 changes during the game

Sebastien Des Pres was on the bench for Blackpool as they visited Salford in a friendly in England that Blackpool won 3 - 4

Jerome Kiesewetter played the 2nd half for Dusseldorf as they lose 0 - 2 to France's Charleroi

Caleb Stanko off the bench at 38 minutes for Freiberg as they won 1 - 0 over Netherlands Feyenoord

James Murphy, was on the bench for Sheffield Wednesday as they drew 0 - 0 at Vitoria Setubal in Portugal

SUNDAY

Dylan Williams started for Launceston as they won 1 - 3 at Kingsborough in Australia's NPL (Tasmania)

After a draw and a win in consecutive games for his new club, Aalborg relegated GK Mike Lansing to the bench for today's game against Sonderjyske in Denmark's Superliga, and they lost 1 - 4

Joe Gyau (90) was the only American from Sonnenhof's trio of yanks to make the cut for today's Home (and Season) opener in Germany's 3Liga. But that was OK...Joe Scored their 2nd and winning goal, over Magdeburg, and they went on to win 4 - 1

Andrew Stadler (30) Alex De John (15) as Dalkurd traveled to IK Frej in Sweden's Superettan and won 0 - 3. Dalkurd are now in 2nd place in the league, 5 points ahead of their closest challenger

Mix Diskerud (90) as Goteborg hosted Brendan Hines-Ike and Orebro in Sweden's Allsvenskan. Goteborg had a 2 goal lead going into the last 10 minutes, then gave up 2 PK's and the game ended in a 2 - 2 draw. Orebro are now 3 points ahead of Goteborg 

Devante Parker came off the bench (72) for St Polten in Austria's Tipico Bundesliga as they traveled to Sturm Graz in both teams season opener. St Polten blew a 2 goal lead, then gave up a 90+ PK, losing the game 3 - 2. 

Ismar Tandir started for Sloboda in the season opener in the Bosnian Premier League as their first game was away from home at Široki Brijeg, the Bosnian representative in the Europa League recently knocked out by Aberdeen, the result may have been a little expected as Sloboda fall 2 - 0. You get the idea from (loosely) translating their web, that Ismar did pretty good for the first game of the season.

Will Daniels (32) came off the bench at 58 minutes, but by then Grotta was down 3 - 0 to Stjarnan and it didn't get any better, as the awful skid continues for Grotta losing this one 5 - 0. Stjarnan moves into 2nd place and surprisingly Grotta holds on to 3rd, surviving right now on their early season form.

In Friendlies Today;

Mael Corboz played for Duisburg as they fall 3 - 0 in a shortened (they only played 45) match to Aston Villa.

Mael Corboz later played for Duisburg as they beat Malaga 1 - 0 (also a 45 minute game)

Lokomotive Leipzig and Ryan Malone, who started and Scored the matches opening goal, hosted Giles Phillips and Niko Hamalainen, both who started, and QPR in a friendly that ended 3 - 2 in favor of Leipzig. That's 4 goals in 2 games for Ryan - all be it pre-season

Fabian Johnson played the 2nd half as M'Gladbach played host to Nurnberg, losing 1 - 2 in this all German friendly

Ken Gipson started for Sandhausen as they hosted Leverkusen - Sandhausen won 3 - 2

GK Danny Rogers started for Aberdeen as they traveled to Brechin an won 1 - 4 in an all Scottish affair

Joel Sonora Scored in a Stuttgart reserves game that they won 6 - 0 over SV Reutlingen

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WEEKLY WRAP: 7.3 through 7.9.2017: The Kids Are Alright & 14 Goals, 3 Assists & 5 Shut Outs

 I have dropped some pieces on goal-keepers, on groups of players in different countries and now US young guns - who were front and center this weekend. As we are in the throws of training games, preseason and also the lower leagues are playing or kicking off their seasons, this is the time of the young, hopeful players, not only from the USA but everywhere. For the USA read on.

Haji Wright celebrates

This past week saw the perceived promise of the future of US Soccer on display around the world and it really gives reason to get excited. Remember that these games are more often than not big vs small with scores in double figures,and are primers for the season. Also some players that I would have in this group have not started playing yet; Joshua Perez in Italy, Timothy Weah in France and Shaq Moore in Spain come to mind.

McKinzie Gaines Scores

The elder's Luca de la Torre at Fulham, Lyndon Gooch at Sunderland, Brendan Hines-Ike at Orebro in Sweden, Matt Miazga at Chelsea and Emerson Hyndman at Bournemouth all fall under the title of elders, some have played for the senior USMNT already and represent the next wave

Weston McKennie battles

The true youngsters, McKinzie Gaines at Darmstadt, Haji Wright and Weston McKennie at Schalke, Maki Tall at Tours in France have all been 'bumped' up to their teams senior squads for this coming season and all of them have responded with goals and assists, with some regularity during this early preseason. Andrija Novakovich, has been loaned for the season to Telstar in the Netherlands, while Matthew Olosunde at Manchester United, Antonee Robinson at Everton, Isaiah Thomas at Wolfsburg all have new long-term contracts while Jonathan Klinsmann and Danny Barbir are both currently without teams  Eric Palmer-Brown is playing at Sporting KC. If you keep going further, Nick Taitague, the now lone Schalke U19 and Kyle Scott at Chelsea may  break out this coming season...the list just goes on (in a good way)

Then finally there is Christian Pulisic - who doesn't really fit in the category's as a true youngster and an elder he fits both - nuf said!

So take Dr Who's TARDIS, say 5 years into the future (maybe a little more) - and conjure up your line-up for the USMNT. You can't help but feel good and a little excited.

Note here: I probably left some players off the list - If you wish, use the comment segment and let every one know...group them 1. Elders 2. True Youngsters - there are quite a few up and comings that I left off the list because, well IMHO, they have mush to prove still.

Next Week is the start of Germany's Regionaliiga and Oberliga seasons so lot's to track in next weekends wrap

OK the short list

GOALS

Gregory Conrad - Iceland

Jalon Brown - Australia

Aaron Schoenfeld - Israel

Jacob Bushue - Finland

Joe Gyau - Germany (f)

Maki Tall - France (f)

McKinzie Gaines - Germany (f)

Ian Garrett - Finland

Brendan Hines-Ike - Sweden
Luca de la Torre - England (f)

Haji Wright (4) - Germany (f)

ASSIST
Weston McKennie (2) - Germany (f)
Haji Wright - Germany (f)

SHUT OUT
Kenneth Kronholm - Germany (f)
Ethan Horvath - Belgium (f)
Paul Blanchette - Finland 
Josh Wicks - Sweden
Zac Lubin - Sweden

and the longer, more comprehensive list below.......

MONDAY
No Games

TUESDAY

Gregory Conrad Scored the tieing Goal for Afturelding in Iceland's Division 2 as they traveled to Vidar. Gregory went the full 90 minutes and picked up a yellow in ET in this away draw

Tanner Sica went 90, picked up a yellow as Tindastoll visited Volsungur in Iceland Division 2, losing this one 2 - 1

WEDNESDAY

Jalon Brown Scored (yet again) for Valentine as they win 3 - 2 over Newcastle Jets in Australia's NPL (NNSW) That's 11 goals in 8 games !!!

In a Friendly, Ken Gipson started (1st half) and Andrew Wooten started on the bench for Sandhausen as they win 2 - 1 over Luzern of Switzerland

Luca De La Torre started for Fulham in a Friendly against Piast of Poland winning 0 - 1 on a PK

GK Kenneth Kronholm got the Shut Out as Kiel faced off in a Friendly with Ukraine's Shakhtar in a goalless draw

GK Ethan Horvath gets the Shut Out as Club Brugge plays a Friendly at Oleksandriya in Ukraine, winning 0 - 3

THURSDAY

Aaron Schoenfeld (90) Scored, opening his Europa League account as M.Tel Aviv win 0 - 3 at Albania's Tirana. The aggregate for this match-up was 5 - 0 in M.Tel Aviv's favor.

Sarajevo and Nermin Crnkic (90) did not make it through to the next round of the Europa League, winning today's game 2 - 1, but losing the series 3 - 4 on aggregate, following ET and a PK shoot-out

Kyrian Nwabueze went 90 and picked up a yellow as Shirak traveled to Slovakia's Gorica carrying a 2 goal deficit, and for a short while it looked like they might pull off a surprise, unfortunately, it was just to much to ask. Shirak managed a respectable 2 - 2 draw today, but fall 4 - 2 on aggregate

Oh my, Grotta and GK Will Dieterich are just going through the worst time right now, visiting Kopavogur in Iceland's Inkasso-deildin and losing 2 - 0 and now firmly at the bottom of the table with just 5 points from 10 games

Speaking of Iceland, Dion Acoff (90) and Valur won their Europa League tie with Latvia's Ventspils 1 - 0 and will move on to the next round. Valur had a slight advantage going into today's match with a 0 - 0 away draw in the first leg, today's win gave them a 1 - 0 aggregate.

FRIDAY

Brian Span (79) as Mariehamn held on for a 2 - 2 draw at home with Ilves in Finland's Veikkausliiga. Dropped points for Mariehamn, who are fighting for a Europa League spot next season. HJK are well out in front (UCL Spot) and 6 teams are within 4 points of each other for the 2 EL spots, so dropped points - not good

Jacob Bushue (90) Scored BK-46 2nd goal from the spot, giving his team the 2 - 0 win over EsPa in Finland's Kakkonen (Group B). BK-46 who have not lost in their last 5 are now top of the division. Mitchel Lopez went 86 minutes and contributed to the teams performance.

Harrison Hanley did not get off the bench as Haukar traveled to, league leaders, Fylkir in Iceland's Inkasso-deildin and lost 2 - 0

JC Mack (90) and Selfoss battled to a 1 - 1 draw at home to Throttur in Inkasso-deildin in Iceland. Selfoss has drawn their last 2 games and remain in contention, just (they are 6 points behind 2nd place Keflavik)

In a Friendly Germany's Sonnenhof traveled to Austrian team Liefering winning 0 - 2 with a Goal from Joe Gyau in the 11th minute, that went on to be the winner.

With a new contract in hand, and an opportunity to show his worth, Maki Tall played in a friendly in France for the senior squad of Tours and Scored the sole Tours goal in a 2 - 1 defeat by Guingamp. Good showing by Maki

In a Friendly in Germany, Terence Boyd (45) McKinzie Gaines (90) and Darmstadt faced off at Worms, winning 0 - 4 with McKinzie Scoring (again) in the 15th minute (eventual winning goal)

In England, Lyndon Gooch started at forward for Sunderland as they traveled to Bury to play a friendly, which Sunderland won 2 - 3

Caleb Stanko played the 2nd half for Freiburg in a friendly against minnows FV Lörrach-Brombach winning 0 - 8

SATURDAY

Tyler Fischer came off the bench at 67th minute for Avondale as they were held scoreless at home to Hume City in Australia's NPL (Victoria)

Kenny Eze came off the bench at 52 minutes, for North Geelong as they lost their home game to South Melbourne 1 - 5 in Australia's NPL (Victoria) The Geelong Warriors are looking a fair bet for the drop at this point....

Launceston City FC and Dylan Williams were held to a goalless draw by Devonport in Australia's NPL (Tasmania). With only 6 points from 15 matches their future in the NPL looks short for Launceston

GK Daniel Schmidt and Vegalta Sendai continue their skid as they fall 3 - 0 to Kobe in Japan's J-League. That's 3 straight loses for Vegalta

In Finland's Ykkonen, Etchu Tabe (90) Felix De Bona (90) and Ekenas held on for a 1 - 1 home draw with Haka. Ekenas is hovering above the drop zone and need points if they are to survive

Dylan Autran (64) in Mikkeli's 4 - 1 loss at PKKU in Finland's Kakkonen (Group A) Mikkeli is another team sliding down the league rapidly, with 3 straight loses

Mikkelin Kissat (MiKi) and Isaac Kannah were totally dismantled by KTP 0 - 6 in Finland's Kakkonen (Group A)

On Brighter news from Finland's Kakkonen (Group A) GK Paul Blanchette recorded another Shut Out as PEPO played host to Kiffen and won 2 - 0. PEPO in 4th (on GD)

In Finland's Kakkonen (Group C) Ian Garrett (82) Scored VIFK's 2nd Goal as they went on to win 2 - 4 at Narpes Kraft. VIFK have won their last 5 and sit just 1 point out of first place on the table

Tanner Sica (90) was on the losing side in a 0 - 1 home defeat for Tindastoll as the hosted Hugin in Iceland's Division 2. With 2 loses this week Tindastoll need to figure out were the problem's are quickly

In Sweden's Allsvenskan, Brendan Hines-Ike went 90, picked up a yellow and Scored Orebro's only Goal as they fall 3 - 1 to Hammarby, stopping their win streak at 3 games. Orebro are far enough off the bottom to feel safe following their run

GK Josh Wicks (90) gets the Shut Out against his old team 1 - 0, as Sirius were pushed by AFC until they broke through at the 75th minute. The win has Sirius in 3rd place in Allsvenskan in their first season back. AFC has not faired well and will probably be back in Superettan next season

In what is becoming a normal thing, Eric Friedlander spent the match on the bench for Nykopings as they visited Vasteras in Sweden's Division 1 (Norra), losing 3 - 1. Nykopings needs to shore up its defense quickly, if they are to survive the drop

Ryan Masch (74) and Skovde just didn't have enough today as they fall 2 - 3 at home to Kristianstads in Sweden's Division 1 (Sodra). With just 3 points from their last 5 matches Skovde have slipped into the red zone

In a Friendly, GK Mike Lansing remains unbeaten for his new club Aalborg as the Danish side visited Rostock in Germany and earned a 1 - 1 draw

Aaron Jóhannsson started for Bremen in a friendly that was abandoned after young Ajax player, Abdelhak Nouri, collapsed during the game. Our thoughts are with the Abdelhak for a speedy recovery

Fulham looked good for the win after Luca de la Torre Scored their 2nd Goal, giving them a 0 - 2 lead over Czech team Zlin in their Friendly match, then they gave up 2 goals in 3 minutes....and the game ended 2 - 2. Tim Ream also started for Fulham

In, undoubtedly, the most tracked, and fun, friendly of the day, Schalke traveled to minnows, Erkenschwick, winning 1 - 9. Weston McKennie (90) had 2 Assists, and Haji Wright Scored 4 (Four) Goals and an Assist, in his 2nd half appearance. With so much written by others I leave it at this.

Alfredo Morales started for Ingolstadt in their Friendly with Wehen with the hosts Ingolstadt winning 2 - 1

SUNDAY

In a Friendly Lyndon Gooch and Sunderland managed a 2 - 2 draw at Hibernian in Scotland

Julian Green played the 2nd half in a Friendly in Germany, as Stuttgart visited Stuttgart kickers, in a game that ended in a 1 - 1 draw

In Sweden's Division 1 (Sodra) 5th place Ljunskile tried to stop their 3 game skid, and succeeded. GK Zac Lubin gets the Shut Out as Ljungskile traveled to Qviding and won 0 - 1. Zac played 90 and picked up a very late yellow (time wasting maybe?)

In a Friendly, Caleb Stanko played in the 2nd half for Freiburg as they had no difficulty with amateurs Freiburger winning 0 - 8

Christian Eissele came off the bench for the 2nd half as Jaro tried to make up a 1 goal difference at GriFK, but they fall short losing their Finland Ykkonen game 1 - 0. GriFK Daniel Stevens stayed on the bench for this match, which was only their 2nd win of the season. After 2 straight losses Jaro has slipped into a dangerous position 7th place in a 10 team league)

Shawn Barry got his first run out with his new team in Poland, Korona Kielce in a friendly with Greek side AEK. Shawn came off the bench in the 62nd minute in a 0 - 1 loss

Will Daniels (90) and Grindavik got back on their winning ways with a 2 - 1 win over Akureyri in Iceland's Pepsideilid. Grindavik go back to the top of the league, with Valur (the only team that can keep pace with them) and Dion Acoff, playing later today

GK Alex Horwath was the back-up keeper for Brann in Norway's Eliteserien as they traveled to Stabaek, losing this one 2 - 0. Brann are really having trouble lately, and although they sit in 2nd place they are falling further behind leaders Rosenborg, as a number of teams creep closer (Molde are on the same point total, Sarpsborg 1 behind and now Stabaek are just 3 points back) 

Dion Acoff (90) and Valur hosted Stjarnan in Iceland's Pepsidelid with a chance of taking over clear league leadership. Unfortunately Valur fell a little short drawing 1 - 1 at home. So at the end of this week of games Valur & Grindavik share the top spot, with Valur ahead on GD.

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WEEKLY WRAP: 6.26 - 7.2.2017: 17 Goals / 2 Assists/ 1 Shutout - Europa/Scandinavia & Friendlies

Well that was a lively week for our American players....17 goals!!!! ( well with a bunch coming in decidedly one-sided friendlies) But regardless it was a lot more fun tracking the action this week than a few of the past weeks....a few things that stood out to me - Terence Boyd and McKinzie Gaines are just tearing it up for Darmstadt, even if its just pre-season, both have multiple goals and assists. Jalon Brown continues to score and impress in Australia, as does Leon Taylor in Sweden. Andrew Wooten is also of to a good start with his brace.

In the nets, Paul Blanchette recovered from a weak performance on Tuesday with another Shut Out on Sunday. Mike Lansing has debuted for Aalborg in Denmark, playing 2 games this week and on the winning side both times, also a shout out to Matt Pyzdrowski with 2 PK saves in 2 games.

In the Europa League it was mixed results, with most teams (with Americans) playing away from home. Shirak lost 2 - 0 at home, hard to recover from that, Valur had a goalless draw away, Sarajevo lost 2 - 1 away - but that away goal could be critical in the return and Tel Aviv won handily at home 2 - 0

So here's the list (short first)

GOALS
Brian Span - Finland
Ian Garrett - Finland
Robbie Kristo (2) - Germany (f)
Felix De Bona - Finland
Lawrence Smith - Finland
Royal Fennell - Germany (f)
Jalon Brown (2) - Australia
Leon Taylor - Sweden
Mitchel Lopez - Finland
Andrew Wooten (2) - Germany (f)
Terence Boyd (2) - Germany (f)
McKinzie Gaines - Germany (f)
Mix Diskerud - Sweden

ASSIST
McKinzie Gaines - Germany
Branden Hines-Ike - Sweden

SHUT OUT
Paul Blanchette - Finland

....and the longer comprehensive list


MONDAY

Alex De John was on the bench and Andrew Stadler got his first minutes (9) for Dalkurd as they had little problems overcoming Norrby in Sweden's Superettan, and made the move to 2nd place in the division

Matt Pyzdrowski (90) saved his 2nd PK min as many games, as Helsingborg traveled
to Varnamo and battled to a 1 - 1 draw in Superettan. Helsingborg now sit in 3rd place, so Americans in 2 of the top 3 teams in this division in Sweden

In Iceland Pepsideilid, Will Daniels went 90 as Grindavik faced off at Breidablik and managed a goalless draw. Grindavik has only lost 1 game and are in 2nd place behind Valur and Dion Acoff by just 2 points

TUESDAY

Brian Span (90 + yellow) Scored Mariehamn's 2nd goal as they went on to beat up Inter Turku 5 - 0 in Finland's Veikkausliiga. Mariehamn has been a little hit and miss so far this season, but they are good enough to hold down the 3rd place (eventual Europa League) spot

Christian Eissele (82) as Jaro beat OPS 2 - 1 in Finland Ykkonen. Jaro are solidly mid-
table after a poor start to the season, but have improved lately with a 2w/2l/1d in their last 5

In Finland Kakkonen (Group A) Dylan Autran started and went the first half as Mikkeli fall 0 - 1 at home to Sudet. Mikkeli are another mid-table team at this point, but the league is tightly contested so they are only 4 points of the lead (4 points between 1 & 7 place)

PEPO lost today dropping them from the top position to 4th, as GK Paul Blanchette allowed 2 goals, at home, to KTP - who are now top, and lost 1 - 2, in Finland's Kakkonen (Group A)

Both Jacob Bushue and Mitchell Lopez got 90 minutes in today as BK-46 traveled to NuPS and won handily, 0 - 4. BK-46 are now in 3rd place - 2 points off the lead, and unbeaten in their last 5

Jossimer Sanchez went 90, picked up a yellow as GBK had to fight back for a 1 - 1 draw with TP-47 in Finland's Kakkonen (Group C) - no shows today Lawrence Smith for GBK, Jordan Rouse for TP-47 the loss of points cost GBK their 3rd place (they drop to 5th) as TP-47 move up to 4th

Timothy Wilson (90 + yellow) as OTP visited Hercules in Finland Kakkonen (Group C) and won a thrilling 2 - 3 match, for their first win of the season. OTP are improving slowly with 1w/3d/1L record over the last 5 matches. They are still bottom, but just 3 points from safety

Ian Garrett played 66 minutes, but importantly, Scored the winning goal as VIFK traveled to PK-37 and won 1 - 2 in Finland Kakkonen (Group C). This was Ian's 2nd appearance for VIFK and his first Goal. VIFK has now won 4 straight and moved into (clear) 2nd place.

In a Friendly in Sweden, Brendan Hines-Ike went 90 as Orebro fall 0 - 1 to Djurgarden

In a Friendly (played in Sweden) Denmark's Aalborg with debutante GK Mike Lansing got the win over Hacken. Always good to start at a new team with a win - nice one Mike

In a friendly played in Lithuania, Mix Diskerud went 90 as Sweden's Goteborg lost 3 - 1 to Zaigiris.

WEDNESDAY

Michael Stewart (90) Will Weber (in 18) and Orebro Syrianska visited Boo FF in Sweden's Division 2 (Sodra Svealand) battling to a goalless draw - Orebro Syrianska are slipping behind in points, down to 6th place with 1W/2D/2L in their last 5 and are looking like a mid-table finish is most probable.

Eric Friedlander stayed on the bench as Nykopings visited IFK Lulea in Sweden's Division 1 (Norra) and won 0 - 2 - this is a big help for Nykopings as they battle to get off the bottom. This win puts them just 3 points from safety

In a Friendly in Germany, Jerome Kiesewetter played the 2nd half in a laugher as Dusseldorf laid a beating on minnows TSV Kresfel Bockum 0 - 14

and if you think that's a whooping! Russell Canouse played the second half in Bochum's 0 - 23 (yup twenty three) win over TuS Querenburg

So whats missing? Goals neither player scored in a combined 37 goals - with little detail available on these 2 matches its hard to say whether they assisted on any. First pre-season matches against tiny teams (mostly amateur) doesn't really say a lot about the winners future though

In another Friendly in Germany, Robbie Kristo came off the bench for the 2nd half and Scored 2 Goals for Osnabruck as they drilled SV Brukteria Dreierwalde 0 - 12

THURSDAY

Kyrian Nwabueze went 74 minutes as Shirak fall at home 0 - 2 to Slovakian's Gorica in the Europa League Qualifications (1st leg) - a bit of an uphill climb now for Shirak

Dion Acoff (90) as Valur traveled to Latvia and met Ventspils in their 1st leg of the Europa League Qualification, battling to a goalless draw - I think that Valur and Dion have the advantage as they host the 2nd leg in Iceland on July 5th

Nermin Crnkic (90) as Sarajevo played their first leg Europa League Qualifier in Moldovia against Zaria Balti, they lost 2 - 1 but will return home, where they have a tremendous record, and also an away goal to help if needed

Aaron Schoenfeld came off the bench at 78' as M.Tel Aviv won their home leg of the Europa League 2 - 0 over Tirana of Albania - good start for Tel Aviv

In Iceland's Inkasso-deildin, GK Will Dieterich (90) and Grotta fall 0 - 1 to Keflavik as things at Grotta just seem to be getting worse after 4 straight losses

FRIDAY

Tyler Fischer started for Avondale as they traveled to Melbourne Knights in the Australian NPL (Victoria) and came away with a 1 - 1 draw. Avondale currently sit in 4th place, and every dropped point is hurting

Christian Eissele (28) and Jaro hosted Etchu Tabe (90) and Felix De Bona (90 + yellow)
and Ekenas in Finland's Ykkonen. Ekenas broke their 3 game losing streak with the 1 - 2 win, with Felix De Bona Scoring Ekenas first goal. Ekenas are out of the red zone (barely)

Jossimer Sanchez (90) and Lawrence Smith (13) traveled to JJK in Finland's Kakkonen (Group C) Lawrence Smith, back from injury, celebrated with an 85th minute Goal, helping GBK win this one 0 - 3 and getting them back on track and into 3rd place

JC Mack (90) as Selfoss held on to a 1 - 1 draw with Fram in Iceland's Inkasso-deildin. Selfoss who started the season well enough are really in an up and down mode right now, they need the points to stay in contention, sitting in 5th place

In Friendlies:

Royal Fennell (90) as Hallescher visited BAK 07 and Scored the first goal for Hallescher as they go on to win 1 - 2

Joe Gyau played the 2nd half in a friendly pitting Sonnenhof against Stuttgart Kickers in a match that ended 2 - 0 in Sonnenhof's favor

SATURDAY

Jalon Brown Scored 2 Goals as Valentine visited Adamstown in Australia's NPL (NNSW) but they still lose 4 - 2 in a blow to their championship run. They are still in 2nd place but now 4 points adrift of the leaders Lambton (I have no information on whether or not Alec Faulkner played today)

Kenny Eze started on the bench for North Geelong as they were thumped at home by league leaders Heidelberg 0 - 4 . North Geelong look doomed to slip into the obscurity of the lower leagues in Australia

GK Daniel Schmidt (90) and Vegalta Sendai had to much on their plate today as an own goal and a 90+ goal sent them down to a home defeat 2 - 3 by G-Osaka in Japan's J-League for their 2nd straight loss

Leon Taylor (90) Scored Bodens only goal in a 1 - 2 home defeat at the hands of Bollnas GIF in Sweden's Division 2 (Norrland). 2 straight loses and Bodens have slipped to 6th and look to be out of contention at this point

Isaac Kannah (90) as MiKi traveled to Kultsu in Finland's Kakkonen (Group A) losing this one 2 - 0

BK-46 had little trouble in Kakkonen (Group B) winning 1 - 5 over SalPa. Jacob Bushue played into ET before being subbed out, and picked up a yellow, while Mitchel Lopez Scored BK-46's 4th goal and played 88'. BK-46 share the top spot, but in this highly contested league only 3 points separate 1 through 6.

Timothy Wilson stayed on the bench today as OTP traveled to KajHa in Finland's Kakkonen (Group C) losing 2 - 1. OTP remain in last place

Tanner Sica (90) as Tindastoll hosted KV in Iceland's Division 2, winning this one 5 - 3. Tindastoll are slowly creeping up the table, with 3 wins and a draw in their last 4, now in 7th

No Romain Gal for Sundsvall today as they hosted Sirius and GK Josh Wicks (Both players are DC United Alum's) Sirius won this one 1 - 2, for their 2nd straight win and move into 3rd place. While Sundsvall slip further down after 4 straight losses in Sweden's Allsvenskan

Ryan Masch (90) as Skovde traveled to Assyriska BK in Sweden's Division 1 (Sodra) and fought to a 1 - 1 draw. Skovde have pulled themselves out of the red zone, but on the strength of 3 draws, against teams below them

Harrison Hanley stayed on the bench as Haukar whooped Leiknir F. 5 - 0 in Iceland Inkasso-deildin

Stefan Antonijevic (90) as Lillestrom win at home 2 - 0 over Strömsgodset in Norway's Eliteserien, that's 4 wins in 5 games for Lillestrom

Gregory Conrad (63) as Afturelding hosted Vestri, winning 1 - 0 in Iceland's Division 2. 2nd straight win pushes them up the table, and into contention, at 5th place

In a Friendly in Denmark, GK Michael Lansing, in his 2nd outing for AaB played the first half and suffered an OG (headed in by his defender) in their match with Vendsyssel, which AaB won eventually 3 - 2 - so technically 2 starts to Mike and 2 wins

In a Friendly in Germany, Alfredo Morales played the whole match in Ingolstadt's 1 - 0 win over Karlsruher

Andrew Wooten started Scored the 2 first half goals giving Sandhausen a 2 - 0 lead at the half against Oberliga side TuS Mechtersheim. As is usual Andrew was replaced for the 2nd half of this friendly in Germany

Maki Tall & Tours played a Friendly in France against a squad from Foot Breizh Académie The first goal (PK) was a result of a foul on Maki. Tours won the match 1 - 2, their first pre-season of the year

In a Friendly in Germany Terrence Boyd (2nd half) had 2 Goals and McKinzie Gaines had a Goal and an Assist (and drew a PK - like last week) as Darmstadt throttled minnows Victoria Griesheim 0 - 8. Its so good to see both American's at Darmstadt starting out this (pre) season so well

In a Friendly, Russell Canouse started for Bochum as they visited Shakhtar in the Ukraine. Bochum lose this one 2 - 0

Perry Kitchen came off the bench at 63' as Hearts played a Friendly at Livingston in Scotland, winning 0 - 1

Masami Okada started today for his new team Babelsberg losing their pre-season opener 1 - 3 to Altona 93 in Germany

SUNDAY

In Finland's Kakkonen (Group C) Ian Garrett went 61 in VIFK's  0 - 2 win at KuFu98. VIFK are clear in 2nd place 1 point off the lead

In Sweden's Allsvenskan, Mix Diskerud (69) Scored the first goal (and eventual winner) for Goteborg as they traveled to Jonkopings. Its been an up and down start to the season (2W, 2L,1D in their last 5) they sit in 9th with 17 points the final Europa League spot is Sirius with 22, so all is not lost if they can turn things a bit more positive

For the 2nd time this week, Eric Friedlander finds himself stuck on the bench as Nykopings win 3 - 1 at home to Assyriska FF in Sweden's Division 1 (Norra). That's 2 straight wins (both this week) for Nykopings who are now just 3 points away from escaping the red zone

In a Friendly in Germany, Robbie Kristo came on in the 2nd half in an unexpected 3 - 0 loss to Wiedenbruck, who play in Regionalliga

In another German Friendly, Alfredo Morales started for Ingolstadt as they beat Oberliga side Eichstatt 4 - 0

Ljunskile and GK Zac Lubin (90) continue their trip in the wrong direction as they fall 0 - 1 at home to Angelholms - 3 straight losses and they are now in 6th place, 11 points off the top.

Brendan Hines-Ike went 90 for Orebro as they win 4 - 2 over #3 Norrkoping in Sweden's Allsvenskan. Brendan was credited with an Assist on the 3rd (and winning) goal. That 3 straight wins for Orebro who have finally woken up. They move to tied 7th (9th on GD)

Brian Span (90) and Mariehamn had a tough task visiting #2 VPS in Finland's Veikkausliiga, and they held up, battling to a goalless draw and a 3rd place spot against a team that had not lost in their last 5, a good point earned

Dylan Autran went 90 for Mikkeli as they hosted GK Paul Blanchette (90) and PEPO in Finland's Kakkonen (Group A) Today was Paul's day, earning another Shut Out as PEPO win this one 0 - 2 moving into tied 3rd (4th on GD) and only 2 points off the top spot

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WEEKEND WRAP: 5-19-2017: Up and Down all over Europe & More

So, its been a very busy weekend with lots to talk about (18 Countries), although if I say 2 goals 1 assist 2 shut outs it doesn't sound like much. Let see........

Maki Tall makes his senior debut and scores, Jordan Siebatcheu scores the goal that gives his team the top spot in their promoted team. Keeper Jeff Gal makes in 7 games undefeated in Sweden....come on guy's a lot happened this weekend. Mael Corboz, Kenneth Kronholm will play in Germany's 2Liga next season and if all goes well Jann George will join them, Weston McKennie and Haji Wright were on the senior squad roster for the first time in Bundesliga Keeper Ethan Horvath will be starting in the UCL for Club Brugge next year....all of this adds to the earlier reported DeAndre Yedlin and Newcastle in the EPL, Aaron Schoenfeld and M.Tel Aviv in Europa League, Dortmund and Christian Pulisic in UCL - there is so much good news for our guys over there....its time to celebrate a great season.

OK here the extremely short version........

GOALS
Jordan Siebatcheu - France
Maki Tall - France

ASSISTS
Geoff Cameron - England

SHUT OUTWill Dieterich - Iceland
Zac Lubin - Sweden
 
........and the longer comprehensive version  (with goals, assists, clean sheets, debut's and  ups and downs

FRIDAY

Brian Span (90) as Mariehamn traveled to HIFK in Finland's Veikkausliiga and grabbed a point in a 1 - 1 draw

Etchu Tabe (90) in Ekenas 0 - 1 loss at home to Honka in Finland's Ykkonen. Ekenas have started the season in the worst possible way - 3 straight loses!!

Jacob Bushue (90) Mitchell Lopez (90 + yellow) in BK-46 0 - 2 win at host FC Jazz in Finland's Kakkonen (Group B). BK-46 get their first win of the season

Timothy Wilson (90) in OTP's 0 - 3 loss at home to league leaders AC Kajaani in Finland's Kakkonen (Group C). OTP only 1 point from 4 games!!

Devonte Small was an unused sub as Reynir traveled to Ægir and grabbed a point in a 2 - 2 draw in Iceland 3rd Division

Jordan Siebatcheu Scored from the spot tieing the game and providing the point that gave Chateauroux the top spot in the French National League. Chateauroux had already grabbed promotion, but its sweet to win the league as well. Congratulations to the team and Jordan on a great season

Meanwhile in France's Ligue 2, USYNT Maki Tall makes his 1st team debut for Tours and Scores 5min after coming in off the bench (54'). Unfortunately it was in a losing effort as Tours lost 3 - 2 at AC Ajaccio. But how great is that, Maki Debut and Goal.

GK Jeff Gal (90) and BK Forward continue their winning way's, remain undefeated after 7 games and lead Sweden's Division 2 (Norra Svealand) following a 2 - 1 over Habo. Jeff has only allowed 4 goals this season.

Kyle Knotek (90) Chad Barson (90) as Linkoping City were held 2 - 2 in Sweden Division 2 (Sodra Svealand) by Kumia. Linkoping retains its lead (for a short while) following the draw, and like BK Forward in the North, they remain undefeated through 7 games.

GK Danny Rogers was the backup keeper for Falkirk as they battled Dundee Utd in their attempt to gain promotion into the Scottish Premier League. The attempt came up short as they fell 1 - 2 on the day and 3 - 4 on agg. Still, an excellent season for Falkirk, and they came so close.

SATURDAY

In Australia NPL (Victoria) Kene Eze (90) as North Geelong defeated Pascoe Vale 1 - 0 on a 90+4 goal. The win gets the Warriors off the bottom of the table

Jalon Brown and Alec Faulkner both started for Valentine Phoenix in Australia's NPL (Northern NSW) as they beat Weston 2 - 1. Valentine are in 3rd place in the table

Kyrian Nwabueze started for Shirak as they won 2 - 3 (nearly gave away a 3 goal lead) against hosts Ararat in the Armenian Premier League

GK Daniel Schmidt (90) and Vegalta Sendai visited Yokohama in Japan's J-League and grabbed an away point in a 1 - 1 draw, which breaks their 2 game losing streak

Last day of the regular season for Germany's 3Liga, Mael Corboz was not in the squad today as Duisburg beat Zwickau 5 - 1 and clinched top spot - 2Liga awaits next season

GK Kenneth Kronholm was the backup keeper today (I am assuming some kind of fitness situation) as Kiel shut-out Royal Fennel and Hallescher in 3Liga. Kiel have gained Promotion to 2Liga next season, while Hallescher will regroup and wonder what happened at the end of the season (only 2 points from their last 5 games) Final 3 - 0

Jann George left the game at 28' (?injury) but Regensburg found a way to win 0 - 1 at Munster and will now face an as yet unnamed opponent in a pro/rel match with a team from 2Liga, after Sunday's games

Another team that was flying high mid-season Sonnenhof ended in 10th place after losing 4 - 1 at Erfurt. GK David Yelldell was the backup keeper for Sonnenhof, Joe Gyau and Mario Rodriguez are both injured and saw little action in the last few weeks. Sonnenhof only managed 2 points from their last 5 games.

Devonte Parker was an unused sub as Mainz II won 4 - 0 over Koln in a game that was for pride at Mainz II as they are relegated to Regionalliga next season. Mainz II surprisingly ended the season undefeated in the last 5 games, only dropping 2 points in that period....if only they had performed like that earlier

No Marc Heider or Robbie Kristo for Osnabruck on their close-out game, which ended goalless. Osnabruck ended in a respectable 6th place, while Paderborn are relegated to Regionalliga

The final relegation team, Shawn Barry (90) and FSV Frankfurt were well beaten by Wehen 4 - 1 - Shawn was given the Captains arm-band for today's game

So 3Liga will look a lot different for us next season - 2 teams (possibly 3) are promoted to 2Liga and 2 teams relegated to Regionalliga - 3 teams remain in 3Liga (assuming that our players remain with their current clubs) to try again next season

Jamil Fearrington (90) as Bronshoj beat Marienlyst 1 - 0 in Denmark's Division 2 (Promotion Group) Neither team had much to play for in this game. Bronshoj face league leaders Thisted next

Kyle Gurrieri (90 + yellow) GK Tony Halterman (90) as Nordvärmland FF fall at Lidkopings FK 5 - 4 in a game that saw them come so close to completing the comeback, in Sweden's Division 2 (Norra Gotaland)

Ismar Tandir started for FK Sloboda as they fall at home to FK Krupa 1 - 3 in the Bosnian Premier League (Championship Group) Sloboda are even with Krupa in 4th place but they both trail Sarajevo by 14 points

Hunter Gorskie was an unused sub as Legnica won 3 - 2 at home to Tychy in Poland's Division 1. Legnica are in 3rd place 2 points behind 2nd place Sosnowiec and promotion with 2 games left to play

Marcus Salandy-Defour came off the bench to replace an injure team-mate in the 24th minute, Anton Peterlin went 90 as B93 fall 1 - 0 at Kolding IF in Denmark's Division 2 (Promotion Group) These two teams are tied in 3rd place and chasing Brabrand for 2nd spot and promotion

Mayowa Alli came off the bench for the final 15 minutes, as Thisted had little trouble as they traveled to Dalum IF in the Denmark Division 2 (Promotion Group) Thisted are 13 points ahead of the pack with only 1 loss in the last 17 games, and promotion looks assured

In Germany's Bundesliga, Christian Pulisic got to play the 2nd half as Dortmund battled Bremen to a 4 - 3 final score. Dortmund end the day 3rd in the table and will play in UCL next season - Congrats to Dortmund and Christian

Timothy Chandler (90) wore the Captains arm-bad as Frankfurt hosted high flying RB Leipzig and held the visitors to a 2 - 2 draw

Bobby Wood, went 90, despite reports he is nursing a sore knee, to help Hamburg survive in Bundesliga - mission accomplished as the home team scored with only 2 minutes left, to win 2 - 1 in a thriller.

John Brooks only lasted the 1st half as Hertha hosted Leverkusen in their attempt to make European football happen next season. Well, Hertha lost big 2 - 6, but ended the season in 6th place, (they were tied with Koln but dropped by GD) and will enter the Europa League in the qualification round, that's what happens when you lose 3 of your last 5

Oh so cool, both USYNT Weston McKennie (13) and Haji Wright (in 18 DNP) got the opportunity to dress for the senior squad at Schalke as they traveled to Ingolstadt and Alfredo Morales, who got 1 minute of playing time, and played to a 1 - 1 draw. Alfredo and Ingolstadt are relegated to 2Liga, Schalke ended up 10th, and will start planning their 2018 season campaign for Bundesliga

Fabian Johnson managed 74 minutes as M'Gladbach hosted Darmstadt in a game that had little meaning in Bundesliga, the game ended 2 - 2. Darmstadt who still had Terrence Boyd out injured are relegated to 2Liga. My personal opinion is that Terrence will not be with Darmstadt next season

Stefan Antonijevic came off the bench in injury time as Lillestrom traveled to League Leaders Rosenborg and battled to a 1 - 1 draw, in Norway's Eliteserien. An excellent result for the visitors who are struggling some, so far, this season

Omar Castro off the bench at 55' in Braunschweig II 1 - 2 loss to Wolfsburg II in Regionalliga (Nord)

Masami Okada (90 + yellow) in Schonberg's 2 - 1 win over Neustralitz in Regionalliga (Nordost)

Charlie Rugg left the field at 20 minutes (?injury) as Pirmasens beat Steinbach 2 - 0 in Regionalliga (Südwest)

Matt Taylor (50) Bryan Gaul (90) as Offenbach fall 2 - 0 at Stuttgart II in Regionalliga (Südwest)

Alassane Kane played the 1st half as Bayern Hof fall 0 - 1 at home to Schalding-Heining in Regionalliga (Bayern)

Oscar Ortiz went 90 in SC Feucht's 0 - 1 home loss to ASV Neumarkt in Oberliga (Bayern Nord)

Fabian Hurzeler (90) as Pipinsreid fight back from a 2 goal deficit to draw 2 - 2 with DJK Vilzing in Oberliga (Bayern Sud)

GK Bakary Sanyang and Pfeddersheim won their final game of the season 2 - 4 at FC Karbach in Oberliga (Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar)

Kevin Olali (90) in Morlautern's 1 - 1 draw at home to Pirmasens II in Oberliga (Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar)

Not a good day for GK Malcolm Little as Haunstein visited Koblenz in Oberliga (Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar) and lost 3 - 0

Eric Lickert (11) for Freiburg II as they beat Balingen 3 - 0 in Oberliga (Baden-Württemberg)

Demarveay Sheron (90) in Karlsruher II 2 - 3 loss at home to SV Spielberg in Oberliga (Baden-Württemberg)

In Iceland Inkasso-deildin, JC Mack (90) and Selfoss lost their first game of the season to GK Will Dieterich (90) and Grotta - Shut Out goes to Will in a 0 - 1 win. Selfoss still shares the lead at the top of the table

Kevin Dzierzawski was an unused sub for Peterhead as they are well beaten 1 - 5 on the day, 2 - 7 on aggregate by Forfar, in the 2nd leg of their relegation battle. Peterhead are relegated to Scotland's League 2 next season, after only 1 season in League 1.

GK Zac Lubin (90) gets the Shut Out as Ljungskile traveled to Husqvana in Sweden Division 1 (Sodra) and managed a goalless draw. This is Zac's 3rd shut out in Ljungskile's first 6 games of the season (4 GA)

Tanner Sica (90) Neil Slooves (90) in Tindastoll's 1 - 3 loss to Njardvik in Iceland Division 2. This was Neil's debut match for Tindastoll

GK Alex Horwath was the backup keeper for Brann as they traveled to Sogndal in Norway's Eliteserien and won 2 - 3 . Brann move into 2nd place on the table after 3 straight wins

Brendan Hines-Ike (90) in Orebro's goalless draw at Halmstad in Sweden's Allsvenskan. Orebro breaks 4 game losing streak with the draw

GK Steve Clark (90) Conor O'Brien (19) as Horsens travels to Esbjerg and comes away with a point in a 1 - 1 draw in Denmark's Superliga (Relegation Play-offs) 1st leg - actually an away draw should give Horsens the advantage at home next week

Aaron Schoenfeld (90) in M.Tel Aviv 0 - 2 loss to B.Jerusalem in Israel's Ligat ha'Al (Championship Group) M.Tel Aviv had already qualified for the Europa League, and held on to 2nd place in the league - Overall, a pretty successful season

Caleb Stanko (45) only got the first half in, as Vaduz fall 2 - 1 on the road, to #3 Lugano (who currently hold the spot as Switzerland's representative in Europa League) a tall order, and although the score looks close the game was not Vaduz goal came in ET

SUNDAY

Bjorn Johnsen (90) Perry Kitchen (in 18 DNP) as Hearts traveled to Celtic, losing 2 - 0 in Scotland's Premier League (Championship Group). Hearts end the season with 4 straight losses, 5th place

In Denmark 1st Division, Sammy Adjai (18) as Naestved are held goalless by league leaders Hobro. With 1 game left, Naestved will be relegated

Chris Thorsheim (90) as Nykobing FC traveled to Skive in Denmark 1st Division and won 2 - 3. The win makes little difference for Nykoping, who are firmly mid-table, but Skive slipped in their effort to gain promotion

GK Mike Lansing was the backup keeper today as Vejle hosted Helsingor, losing 0 - 1 at home to the #3 team

Lawrence Smith (90) Jossimer Sanchez (90) as GBK traveled to KajHa and won 1 - 3. GBK's first win of the season, and a lift off the bottom in Finland's Kakkonen (Group C)

GK Ethan Horvath started and went 90, as Club Brugge hosted Gent and won 2 - 1 - Club Brugge and Ethan will play in the UCL next season. Gent will play in Europa League. (Kenny Saif a US dual who declared for Israel scored Gent's goal)

Shane O'Neill (90 + yellow) as NAC Breda hosted Volendam in the Play-offs in Netherlands. Shane picked up a yellow, but survived the game as Breda win 2 - 0 (4 - 2 on agg) and move on to the next round

GK Josh Wicks (90) and Sirius had a spot of trouble holding visitors Hammarby to a 1 - 1 draw. Sirius slipped to 4th, even though they are undefeated in their last 5 matches

In Germany 2Liga

Russell Canouse was an unused sub as Bochum fall 1 - 3 to St Pauli. Bochum finished 9th

Jerome Kiesewetter (90) as Dusseldorf hosted Aue and won 1 - 0 finishing the season with 2 wins, in 11th place

Kevin Lankford (78) as Heidenheim won 2 - 1 over 1860 Munich on 2 late goals (86 + 90+4) Good job from Heidenheim who finished 6th (1860 in relegation play-off which I believe will be against Jann George and Regensburg)

Julian Green was an unused sub in Stuttgart's 4 - 1 drubbing of Wurzburger take the top spot in the table and are promoted back into the Bundesliga. Julian has spent much of the season on the bench - no word on his future at this point

In the English Premier League, Lyndon Gooch came off the bench at 62' as Sunderland ended their season, and their time in the EPL with a 5 - 1 loss to EPL Champions Chelsea

Cameron Carter-Vickers is still suffering with a knee injury so playing today was out of reach, but Tottenham won with ease as they crushed Hull 1 - 7. Tottenham had already earned their spot in the UCL, hopefully CCV will be a starter next season

GK Brad Guzan can finally put a horrid experience at Middlesbrough behind him (assuming his move to Minnesota is still on) today saw relegated Middlesbrough whooped 3 - 0 at Liverpool (who snagged England's final UCL spot)

Geoff Cameron (90) provided the Assist on Peter Crouch's goal as Stoke won their final game of the season 0 - 1 at Southampton, finishing the season at 13th.

Danijal Brkovic started on the bench as Celik Zenica faced off with Olimpic Sarajevo in Bosnia's Premier League (Relegation Group) and won with ease 4 - 1 . Celik are undefeated in their last 5

Daniel Stevens was an unused sub in GrIFK's defeat at KPV in Finland's Ykkonen. GrIFK only 2 points in their first 4 games

Isaac Kannah (90) in Mikkeli's (MiPK) goalless draw with Lahti, in Finland's Kakkonen (Group A)

Harrison Hanley in his debut for Haukar, came off the bench at 79' helped his team fight back for a 1 - 1 draw with IR in Iceland's Inkasso-Deildin. Haukar are undefeated after 3 matches

GK Kris Devaux, after a run of 4 straight shut outs gave up a 2nd half goal, as Bryne visited Vidar in Norway's Division 2 (Group 2) and managed a 1 - 1 draw on an ET goal, to remain in 3rd place, and undefeated on the season.

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