MIAMI FC-LATEST NEWS

[Frank Cunha]

MIAMI FC’S STARTING MIDFIELDER ERIC VASQUEZ SCHEDULED TO RETURN IN 4 TO 6 WEEKS



Starting Goalkeeper Chris Doyle out indefinitely



Miami, May 4, 2007 – Two Miami FC’s starters are out for tomorrow’s game against the Montreal Impact at 8 PM at Tropical Park.



Eric Vasquez sustained two hairline fractures in his right ankle in Miami FC’s 3-2 home win against the Seattle Sounders on April 27, 2007. The injury occurred with less than a minute to play in the game when a Seattle player tackled Miami FC’s midfielder from behind. Vasquez is currently undergoing treatment.



“I feel 100% confident in Marcelo Coutinho’s (Miami FC’s trainer) treatment,” said Vasquez. “I hope to return within a month.”



Dr. Pieter Hommen, Miami FC’s Team Physician, of Mercy Hospital’s Orthopaedic Institute, declared: “We need to be conservative and make sure that Eric is fully recovered before having him on the field again. He’s a very dedicated player who wants to be back soon. We’ll re-assess his situation next week.”



The situation of Miami FC’s goalkeeper Chris Doyle is little more complicated. Doyle is still battling a lingering injury to the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) of his left knee, sustained last year during an away game against the Rochester Raging Rhinos. Doyle missed half of last season and is out indefinitely this season.



In the meantime Doyle says, “I’m fully committed to team and wish them all the success they deserve.”



In Doyle’s absence, goalkeepers Gabard Fenelon, Pat Hannigan, and Kristian Gonzalez will be sharing duties in goal. For Vasquez’s position, Chiquinho de Assis, Miami FC’s Head Coach, is still analyzing his options and has not announced his decision.

“This is a big blow,” said Miami FC Head Coach Chiquinho de Assis. “Eric is without a doubt one of our best players and has been playing really well alongside Zinho. His absence on the field is a huge loss. We’ve been dealing with Doyle’s situation since last year and we wish hill all the best and a speedy recovery. I still hope we’ll have him back before the end of the season

[Frank Cunha]

MIAMI FC WILL PLAY FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER AT THE ORANGE BOWL





Miami, May 10th, 2007 – Miami FC announced today that the team will play for the first time ever at the traditional Orange Bowl stadium on May 18 and May 20, 2007, against the Minnesota Thunder (Friday, 8 PM) and the Atlanta Silverbacks (Sunday, 6 PM), respectively. The match against the Thunder will be broadcast live nationwide by Fox Soccer Channel and, as usual, by USL Live as well.



“I really liked this idea. It can be very good for our players to play in a world-class stadium, which has accommodated world champions and championship occasions. The Orange Bowl has hosted a number of national and international soccer tournaments throughout the years, and it was just natural that the only professional soccer team in the region would play there, eventually,” said Chiquinho de Assis, Miami FC’s Head Coach.



For your information, members of the press shall go to the fourth floor. For those without a press credential (the ones used at Tropical Park will be valid for Miami FC’s games at the Orange Bowl as well), accreditation will take place at the south side of the stadium. Parking is free for media members at the main entrance.



Before those games, Miami FC will kick-off its series of away games with a 7:30 PM match next Saturday, May 12th, against the Charleston Battery at Blackbaud Stadium. The contest will be the first meeting between the two teams since Miami FC defeated the Battery (2-0) in the USL First Division regular season in August of 2006.

[Frank Cunha]

Miami host Thunder Friday on FSC
Miami to make debut at Orange Bowl – 8:00 pm ET

The Minnesota Thunder and Miami FC meet for only the third time Friday night on Fox Soccer Channel live at 8:00 pm ET at the Orange Bowl in Miami. Although the history is brief, both matches proved memorable in Miami’s debut season last year. [+]

[ohhh_yeah]

i have to say that the pa announcer is absolute rubbish...

he needs to stop screaming into the mic for no reason...

[Frank Cunha]

Miami FC made a successful debut at the Orange Bowl Friday night defeating the Minnesota Thunder 1-0 in a hard-fought match




Miami, May 18, 2007 - Looking to change his team’s fortunes, Miami FC Head Coach Chiquinho de Assis introduced some new faces into the starting lineup, most notably Gerghiny Obas and Julio Cesar. The move paid dividends right away as Miami FC put the Minnesota Thunder under pressure immediately. In the 11th minute, a Walter Ramirez cross found the head of Zinho who powerfully nodded the ball towards goal. Thunder goalkeeper Joe Warren made the stop, however.



Nifty combination play between Sean Fraser, Julio Cesar and Luchi Gonzalez in the 24th minute led to Gonzalez being hacked down by a Thunder defender just outside the box. Zinho stepped up to take the kick and struck the ball well. His left-footed bender went over the wall and looked like it was headed for the upper right corner. The Brazilian playmaker did not quite texture the ball enough as it sailed just a smidgen high and wide of the goal.



The Brazilian would not stop there, however. In the 40th minute a great individual display of dribbling moves saw Zinho cut by three defenders before unleashing two yard shot. Warren was again up for the challenge as he scooped up the low shot from the turf.



Two minutes later, it looked like Minnesota would take the lead. A shot from inside the box had Miami FC goalkeeper Pat Hannigan beat but a recovering Cristiano Dias was able to sweep the ball clear of the goalmouth.



Both teams headed into the locker room for halftime scoreless.



In the 51st minute, Miami FC won a corner kick which would prove to be a game-changing event. Gonzalez drove the corner kick in and JP Rodrigues flicked it on towards the back post where an unmarked Zinho finished the play by heading the ball into the open net.



Miami FC substitute Nico Mosquera almost doubled the score in the 80th minute finding himself behind the defense in a one-on-one foot race to the ball the Warren. Mosquera stretched and beat Warren to the ball but the shot was not enough to get around the visiting goalkeeper.



Miami FC did well to kill off the game dominating possession in the final 10 minutes plus stoppage time. Pat Hannigan was stellar in goal on the night keeping the cleansheet for the homeside.



Miami FC moves to 2-3 on the season and must turnaround quickly as its next match is Sunday, May 20 at 6:00pm at the Orange Bowl.

[Frank Cunha]

Miami FC kept a perfect record at the Orange Bowl Sunday evening, knocking off the second place Atlanta Silverbacks 2-1 in a dramatic comeback victory



Atlanta got on the board first in the 5th minute with a goal from Omar Jarun. His header off of a corner kick was too powerful for Miami FC goalkeeper Pat Hannigan to react.



In the 12th minute, Luchi Gonzalez won Miami FC a corner kick on the left side. He struck the following corner kick through the 18-yard box where a Silverbacks player attempted to head it clear. The initial clearance was more of a deflection, however, as the ball raced towards the opposite touchline. Zinho, determined to get a scoring opportunity on the play, chased down the loose ball and sent another driven cross into the penalty area. This time, an Atlanta defender powerfully headed the ball up and out of the danger area. Miami FC’s John Pulido gathered the clearance neatly and let loose a 30 yard volley that Atlanta goalkeeper Felipe Quintero was able to corral.



Nacho Calcagno came close in the 34th minute. A well executed wall pass with Zinho freed Nacho inside the box but his left-footed blast whistled wide of the far post.



Shortly after, an Atlanta midfielder tested Hannigan from distance, volleying a rainbow shot from 30 yards out in the 36th minute. The ball looked to have Hannigan beat dipping under the cross bar. Hannigan, however, was able to punch the ball over the goal with an acrobatic diving save.



In the 42nd minute, the Silverbacks won a free kick five yards outside the Miami FC penalty box. Atlanta’s Angel Rivillo sent the ensuing shot high of the frame. Two minutes later, Miami FC won a similar free kick and Gonzalez produced a similar result.



The first half ended with Atlanta holding a 1-0 advantage.



Miami FC came out of the locker room determined to get a result at home and leveled the score in the 51st minute. Zinho dribbled the ball up the middle of the field and found himself without a defender within 5 yards of him. He had a go from 30 yards, striking the ball past the goalkeeper and into the far lower corner.



In the 61st minute, Miami FC took the lead through a great team effort. A string of passes in the offensive half found Gonzalez free along the right touchline. He dribbled inside before pushing the ball towards the endline for an overlapping Stephane Guillaume. Guillaume caught up with the ambitious pass and pounded the ball low across the face of the goal. Sean Fraser beat his defender to the ball and stretch horizontally to redirect the ball into the back of the net.



Sean Cameron pushed a shot from 25 yards just wide of the goal in the 87th minute. The final three minutes saw the Silverbacks pick up the pressure sending the ball into the box every chance they had but the Miami FC rearguard was up to the challenge as the team went on to win its second match in three days.



Miami FC next plays May 25th at the Montreal Impact.

[Frank Cunha]

Three Miami FC players on USL-1’s Team of the Week



United Soccer Leagues announced three Miami FC players to the USL First Division Team of the Week for the fifth week of the season. Goalkeeper Pat Hannigan, defender JP Rodrigues and midfielder Zinho received the honor after leading Miami FC to two victories over the weekend, playing at the Orange Bowl.



Hannigan was stellar in both matches allowing only one goal against in total. On Friday night, Miami FC’s goalkeeper preserved the shutout against the Minnesota Thunder despite going down twice with what looked to be game-ending injuries. He fought through the injuries and rebounded quickly for Sunday’s match against the Atlanta Silverbacks. Hannigan was again on form as he made 4 saves to help earn Miami FC the valuable victory.



JP Rodrigues was solid defensively for Miami FC in the matches against the Minnesota Thunder and Atlanta Silverbacks. His leadership and organization of the backline was essential in shutting out the Thunder and earning the win against the Silverbacks.



Zinho scored two goals on the weekend, staking his claim for Team of the Week. On Friday night, Zinho scored the game-winner on a header and on Sunday his thirty-yard bomb tied the match 1-1 and gave Miami FC the momentum it would need to orchestrate the come-from-behind victory.



USL First Division Team of the Week




Pos
Name
Team
Highlights




G
Pat Hannigan
Miami
Seven saves, 1 goal allowed in two wins


D
Frankie Sanfilippo
Carolina
Led team in 1-0 win over Charleston


D
JP Rodrigues
Miami
Led team to pair of wins


D
Mauricio Vincello
Montreal
Led team in 2-0 win over Seattle


M
Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar
Seattle
Assist in 1-1 draw against Rochester


M
Brian Farber
Minnesota
Goal, assist in 2-1 win at Puerto Rico


M
Zinho
Miami
Two goals in pair of wins


M
Jay Alberts
Vancouver
Goal, assist in 3-1 win over Rochester


F
Melvin Tarley
Puerto Rico
Two goals in pair of losses

*
F
Eduardo Sebrango
Vancouver
Three goals in pair of wins


F
Rafique Hassim
Atlanta
Two goals in 3-2 win at Puerto Rico




*Player of the Week



More pictures available upon request.





Marcos Ommati

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[Frank Cunha]

Miami FC Hits the Road after Holding its Own at Home



Friday’s game against Montreal Impact

will be televised live by Fox Soccer Channel



Miami FC will play without its 3 Haitian players



Miami, May 23, 2007 - Miami FC won both games at the Orange Bowl last weekend defeating the Minnesota Thunder 1-0 and the Atlanta Silverbacks 2-1. The victory puts Miami FC into 4th place with a record of 3-3. Miami hopes to use this momentum to continue to climb atop the United Soccer Leagues standings.



“Being able to gain 6 points was important for overall team moral. To accomplish that in two games is not easy. It was a huge step in the right direction,” commented Miami FC President Aaron Davidson after the victory. “Considering the number of home games it was important to win at home with a front loaded home schedule.”



The Orange Bowl was the largest stage many of the young Miami FC players had ever played on, but for one it was just another walk in the park. Zinho, a world cup champion, seemed at home scoring a goal in each of the wins. His performance is spectacular coming off less than 48 hours rest running on 39 year old legs.



The rest of the Miami FC players seemed to raise their level of play to the level of the historic Orange Bowl. A sense of urgency and focus could be sensed from everyone in attendance. The second half of the Sunday night’s game may prove to be the turning point of the season.



Miami FC players, Zinho, JP Rodrigues, and Pat Hannigan, were named to the USL Team of the Week. JP Rodrigues defended extremely well in both wins, and goalkeeper Pat Hannigan recorded his first shutout of the season.



Miami FC hits the road this weekend playing two very difficult opponents. They start the weekend Friday night in Montreal. The game will be broadcast live on the Fox Soccer Channel. The Impact are 3-0-2 on the season with one of the victories coming against Miami FC.



Miami FC will be without its three Haitian players this weekend. Jamil Jean-Jacques, Gabard Fenelon, and Stephane Guillaume joined their countrymen to play for their national team.



Montreal’s goalkeeper Matt Jordan recorded his second shutout of the season in the Impact’s latest victory against the Seattle Sounders 2 to 0. Team captain Mauro Biello injured his right leg, and he will miss the next two weeks.



Miami FC then will face the Rochester Raging Rhinos Sunday at 6 pm. Rochester will be playing their first home game after a five game road trip. They lost their last match 3-1 to the Vancouver Whitecaps.



The Raging Rhinos are led by Johnny Menyongar. Menyoungar has four goals and an assist on the season.

[Frank Cunha]

Miami FC to play El Paso Patriots in First Round of Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Tournament



Miami, May 31, 2007— Miami FC begins first round action of the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Tournament Tuesday, June 12, at 7:30 pm playing at Patriots Stadium in El Paso, Texas. Miami FC is set to play the El Paso Patriots of the Premier Division League (PDL). The tournament features 40 teams ranging from professional USL-1 and MLS to amateur teams.



El Paso qualified for the tournament after a 2-2 draw against the DFW Tornadoes. El Paso is 3-2-2 on the season. All of the Patriots players hail from both El Paso, Texas, and Mexico. They are led by forward Victor Omar Mora-Gomez who has two goals and one assist on the season.



The first round of the Open Cup feature professional teams versus amateur teams. The winners of the first round meet in the second round. Those who survive the second round meet one of eight MLS teams in the third round. The teams play each round in a single elimination format.



The last two undefeated teams in the tournament will play Tuesday, October 2, for the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Championship. The winners of the tournament receive $100,000 and the Dewar Cup. The amateur team to advance the farthest receives $10,000.



The following list highlights the changes made for the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Tournament:



• The total number of teams participating in the Tournament proper has been lowered from 42 to 40, with participation by Division changing as follows: Division I (MLS) from 12 to 8; Division II (USL1) from 8 to 9; and Division III (USL2) from 6 to 7. The number of places (16) allocated to the Amateur Division remains unchanged (8 to PDL and 8 to USASA qualifiers).

• The Tournament bracketing has been restructured to allow the competition to be completed in six rounds rather than eight. All Division II, Division III and Amateur Division teams will enter in the

First Round, with the eight Division I clubs entering in the Third Round.

• The method for determining First Round pairings for 2007 has changed from a geographic model to a blind draw within each of four geographic groupings.

*Tomorrow Miami FC faces the Rochester Rhinos, at 8 PM, at Tropical Park Stadium.

[Frank Cunha]

Miami and Puerto Rico tie 2-2



Late afternoon showers cleared right before the start of tonight match with Miami FC hosting the Puerto Rico Islanders at Tropical Park Stadium. Both teams play a very similar style game that values ball control.



Luchi Gonzales had an early chance punched away by the Islanders goalkeeper which led to a 30 yard shot by Zinho that just missed wide. Less than two minutes later, Luchi had a second break away which was broken up by a penalty by the goalkeeper. The penalty was taken and made by Eric Vasquez putting Miami FC up1-0 early in the game.

Puerto Rico countered with a shot by Hoah Delgado which went wide right. The Islanders continued to put pressure on Miami FC early in the game trying to find the equalizer.



The Islanders ability to keep possession in Miami FC’s side of the field led Melvin Tarley scoring the tying goal with his head in the 21st minute.



In the 28th minute Miami FC midfielder Vasquez stole the ball crossing it to forward Gonzalez who controlled the ball inside the box before crossing the ball across the goal. Gonzalez’s ball was unable to find any strikers.



The 34th minute may have been one of Miami FC’s prettiest goals of the season with a beautiful assist by Zinho who crossed the ball to Gonzalez. Luchi put the Miami FC up 2-1.



Less than a minute later the Islanders countered with a goal of their own by Jorge Ramirez evening the match once again at 2-2.

Miami FC countered with a through ball to Gonzalez whose shot on goal was saved by the Islanders keeper. The Blues continued to put pressure on Puerto Rico forcing a penalty shot from 30 yards. Vasquez’s free kick almost found the corner of the net, but a great save was made by the Puerto Rico keeper.


Just before the half Pat Hannigan and the Miami FC were able to survive a flurry of Puerto Rico attempts, so both teams entered the half tied 2-2.



Second half started with both teams showing the same intensity they had in the first. Zinho got things started by controlling the ball and creating an opportunity that went off a couple of Miami FC players and hit the crossbar.



A goal by Puerto Rico in the 64th minute was called back because of an offside. Both teams started to settle into the second half with most of the possession dominated in the middle of the field. Miami FC and Puerto Rico tried to pick up the tempo by making multiple substitutions.



Miami FC forward Nico Mosquera penetrated the defense in the 84th minute almost scoring a goal. The last ten minutes of the game saw both teams taking chances to find the go-ahead goal.

Puerto Rico applied late pressure with a scoring chance in the last minute of the game saved by Hannigan.



At the beginning of the three minute stoppage time a rough foul by Puerto Rico led to a small pushing match between a couple of players from each team. The game ended tonight with the score tied 2-2.



Miami FC and Puerto Rico will get a second chance to claim victory Saturday night at Tropical Park starting at 8 pm.

[Intru]

After a embarrassing lost in the first Round of the US Open Cup to a amature team and last weekends disappointing results against Puerto Rico, Miami comes out with a lack luster tie this weekend against Minnesota 1-1.

Weather: Hot, 80 Attendance: 3781

Summary:
MIN: Aaron Paye (Terry Alvino) 25
MIA: Luchi Gonzalez (Eric Vasquez) 39

Cautions
MIA: Sean Fraser 29, Jamil Jean-Jacques 89
MIN: Kevin Friedland 26, Jonathan Greenfield 30, Aaron Paye 33

Referees: Hidajet Tica, Kristine Lamm, Soner Dogan, Matt Tiano

[Marcelo]

Thanks for all this news Frank i am a big fan of Miami.

[Daniel24]

Does anybody know a link where I can find livescores for the USL games?