The Big Ten Network has launched the "BTN Soccer Report," weekly web shows dedicated to discussing men's and women's soccer.
Kevin Egan and Aron Hyde, the goalkeeper coach for Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire, are the hosts of the quick-hit episodes.
This week's shows act as season previews – the women's conference schedule starts Saturday with the University of Wisconsin playing host to Penn State at the McClimon Complex, while the Big Ten men's schedule kicks off next Friday.
In this week's men's report, Hyde singles out coach John Trask's Badgers as a team on the rise.
The Marquette women's soccer team will be on the road for the third round of the NCAA tournament, but the 12th-ranked Golden Eagles always have a fan with them.
LittleNugget, a blue-and-gold-clad gnome, has a reserved spot on the Golden Eagles' sideline. He's been with the team for about five years and attends every game and team function, Marquette coach Markus Roeders explained in an e-mail.
Players change the direction LittleNugget faces at halftime and overtime, when necessary. He always faces the goal the Golden Eagles are attacking. "He likes to watch us score," Roeders wrote.
On Sunday, LittleNugget got to see junior goalkeeper Natalie Kulla's terrific save on a penalty kick that kept Marquette's season alive.
Now it's off to warmer climes and a matchup at No. 11 Florida State in Tallahassee – kind of like his cousin, the Travelocity Roaming Gnome.
Many fans arriving at the McClimon Complex entrance Friday night experienced something that doesn't normally happen at University of Wisconsin soccer matches: They had to wait in line to get in.
The 20th-ranked Badgers drew 984 fans to their season opener, a 1-0 loss to No. 3 UCLA as part of the Wisconsin Tournament. That's more than double UW's average attendance from last season (476) and is believed to be the best turnout for a regular-season women's game at McClimon since 2004 – 1,038 attended the Badgers' first-round NCAA tournament game against Arizona State last fall.
It also marked the debut, or what I think was the debut, of a student section group for soccer games.
Called Buckingham's Palace, a clever name combining Bucky Badger's full first name and the English connection to the sport, the group stood for all 90 minutes, sang songs, chanted players' names and heckled UCLA players – while some of their antics straddled the line of good taste, as would be expected, only one song was a red card offense in my book.
There were approximately eight people in the group at the start of the match, but their numbers doubled as the match went on. While that's still a small number, they provided vocal student support that hasn't been seen at UW matches in recent years.
One member mentioned that the group has a Facebook page, but I wasn't able to find it – if anyone can provide a link, please do. It would be great if the fledgling group continues to grow and Buckingham's Palace can become a presence at UW men's games, too.
Here they are during "Jump Around" just before the second half Friday night:
Perhaps the most notorious player in women's college soccer history could return to action this weekend in Milwaukee.
New Mexico senior defender Elizabeth Lambert, who made worldwide headlines last fall after a series of dirty plays during a match against Brigham Young – the most memorable being yanking an opponent down by her ponytail – has been reinstated after serving a two-game suspension.
The Lobos (2-0) play UW-Milwaukee on Friday night and Marquette on Sunday afternoon in the Milwaukee Cup at the Valley Fields. During a news conference Tuesday, New Mexico coach Kit Vela wouldn't confirm whether Lambert would play in either of the matches.
School officials haven't allowed Lambert to speak to the media, with the exception of an interview with the New York Times a few weeks after the incident last November. In case you've forgotten about Lambert's infamous actions, here's the video.
Top Drawer Soccer released its latest Players to Watch lists for the Class of 2011, and three Wisconsin players made the Web site's recruiting rankings.
Defender David Caban (Kenosha Tremper/Chicago Fire) is 10th in the boys rankings, while forward James Weber (Hartford/Cedarburg SC) is 34th.
On the girls side, defender Amy Kauffung (Hartland Arrowhead/FC Milwaukee), who has verbally committed to UW-Milwaukee, is 41st.
With an eye toward finances and the potential to create a "festival-type atmosphere" at a "true soccer event," the NCAA's Division I Championships/Sport Management Cabinet is considering holding the men's and women's College Cup championships at the same site in 2011.
Currently, the College Cups – the final three games of the Division I tournaments – are at different sites on consecutive weekends, with the women's semifinals and final first on the calendar. However, the Division II and III tournaments hold their men's and women's championships at the same site.
There are some concerns about the impact inclement weather could have on such an event, tentatively scheduled for the second weekend in December. Another potential issue concerns the impact of changing the women's schedule.
The NCAA report indicates that if a combined College Cup event is approved, it likely would be on a trial basis for 2011.
Admittedly, there's not a ton of soccer action in this video, but I still found it interesting.
It's from a California-based Web site called The Final Third and highlights a small-sided pickup game last month in Beverly Hills, and includes former Madison Memorial standout Leah Tapscott.
Tapscott, who played at Stanford and has won back-to-back USL W-League titles with the Pali Blues the past two years, was hoping to be chosen in last Friday's Women's Professional Soccer draft, but wasn't selected. Last year, she was one of the final cuts by Bay Area WPS team FC Gold Pride.
Also playing in the "Ultimate Guys vs. Girls Pickup Game" were Chicago Red Stars midfielder Brittany Klein and Chris Harrison, host of the TV show "The Bachelor."
• This might be old news, but it was news to me: Former UW standout Kara Kabellis served as an assistant coach for NCAA Division II Lewis (Ill.) last fall – she also is pursuing her master's degree in counseling and guidance. The Flyers were 5-9-2 overall and 4-8-1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
UW-Platteville freshman Anna Strasser (Lodi), who earned All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors this fall, is featured in the latest "Pioneer Profiles" on the school's Web site.
Strasser had a team-high 11 goals for the Pioneers (8-10-2 overall, 2-5-1 WIAC), the fourth-highest total for a season in program history, and finished the year with 25 points. She ranked third in the WIAC in goals and goals per game, fourth in points and points per game and fifth in game-winning goals (three).
The pairings are set for the NCAA Women's College Cup, with three No. 1 seeds and a No. 2 seed advancing to the Final Four in College Station, Texas.
Stanford (24-0), the overall top seed in the 64-team field, will play UCLA (21-2-1) in the first semifinal at 4:30 p.m. Friday on ESPN2 and ESPNU. The Cardinal beat the Bruins 2-0 earlier this season in a Pacific-10 Conference match.
The second semifinal pits defending national champion North Carolina (21-3-1) against Notre Dame (21-3-1), which got past top-seeded Florida State in the Elite Eight. The Tar Heels, led by senior forward Casey Nogueira – who played at Cedarburg High School as a freshman – and Fighting Irish play at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
UW lost to Notre Dame 3-0 and Stanford 6-0, accounting for two of its six losses on the season. The Cardinal advanced with a 3-1 win over Boston College, which eliminated the Badgers 1-0 in the Sweet 16.
The Marquette women's soccer team will be on the road for the third round of the NCAA tournament, but the 12th-ranked Golden Eagles always have a fan with them.