Soccer is a Kick in the Grass Archive

Our special guest was the head coach of the University of Rochester Men's Soccer team, Chris Apple, as the Yellowjackets compete in their first ever soccer final four this weekend. Coach Apple talked about the sectionals being moved to Rochester due to snow, finally beating perennial power Messiah to reach the last 4 and their opponents on Friday in the semi-finals, Tufts University.

Dick Howard returned from St. Kitts where he saw the Canadian Men beat St. Kitts 1-0. Dick reported on the postponed Copa Libertadores final second leg between Boca Juniors and River Plate due to fan violence and the week's matches in the UEFA Champions League.

Michael Lewis talked about the MLS Conference final between Atlanta and the NY Red Bulls won by Atlanta 3-0 and if the Red Bulls have a chance to erase the deficit on Thursday night at Red Bull Arena. We also discussed the US Men losing 1-0 to Italy in Rochester's Dave Sarachan's last match in charge of the US and the US U-20 Men winning the CONCACAF tournament 2-0 over Mexico and if Tab Ramos may be a candidate for US Senior Men's Coach

Our special guests were:

- Former MCC Men's Soccer Coach and a Rochester Lancers Wall of Famer Nelson Cupello. Nelson talked about leaving the position he has held for the last 28 season, what he will be doing for MCC now and his plans for the future. Nelson also gave an update on his son Tim, who coaches D1 UC-Riverside and made their first ever appearance in the NCAA tournament this past weekend.

- Rochester Lancers General Manager Mark Mandell who review the Lancers 2 outdoor team losing in the 3rd round of the US Open Cup qualifying and the latest on the return of the indoor Lancers this January at the Dome Arena.

Michael Lewis talked about the US Men's national team playing Italy on Tuesday and who should be the next coach of the side and gave a preview of the MLS Conference finals. With Dick Howard away, Andrew and Joe provided the international update with more on the US/Italy match and the final groups stage matches in the UEFA Nations League.

Our special guests were:

- Rochester Lancers men's outdoor coach Doug Miller who talked about the press conference on Tuesday for the returning indoor Lancers and the US Open Cup qualifying match for Lancers 2 this coming Sunday.

- MCC Lady Tribunes (and Rochester Lady Lancers) coach Sal Galvano live from the NJCAA national tournament in Foley, Alabama. Sal previewed the Tribunes matches on Tuesday and Wednesday in group play and the players to watch for MCC.

Dick Howard reviewed the big top of the table matches this past week in European leagues, the UEFA Champions League and the 1st leg of the Copa Libertadores between River Plate and Boca Juniors and also previewed the important international fixtures coming this week.

Michael Lewis (a new inductee into the Long Island Soccer Football Hall of Fame) gave his onsite report of the NY Red Bulls advancing to play Atlanta United in the MLS East Final and talked about the US Women's National Team winning their 500th match last week, the US Men playing England Thursday at Wembley, the US U17 Women starting play in the World Cup and the US U20 Men starting the second group stage in the CONCACAF tournament.

Our special guest was the owner of the Rochester Lancers, “Soccer Sam” Fantauzzo, who talked about the return of the Lancers to the indoor MASL (2) starting in January, 2019 at the Dome Arena in Henrietta.

Dick Howard talked about the important matches this past weekend in Europe, the critical round 4 matches in the UEFA Champions League and the classico between River Plate and Boca Juniors of Argentina for the Copa Libertadores championship.

Michael Lewis reviewed the 1^st leg of the MLS Conference semi-finals and the USL conference finals and discussed the matches taken place in the CONCACAF Men’s U-20 Championships. Andrew and Joe also reviewed the local Rochester college teams that qualified for the NCAA Men’s and Women’s soccer tournaments.

Our special guest was the Chairman of the Board of the original NASL Rochester Lancers, Charlie Schiano, who discussed his memories of the NASL 50th Anniversary Reunion and the opening of the new US Soccer Hall of Fame, plus shared a previously unknown story about Pele and what the NASL teams had to do when he came to town.

Dick Howard returned and talked about the tragic death of Leicester City Chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the sacking of Real Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui, Manchester City beating host Spurs and NFL-Lined Wembley 1-0 to go top of the premiership and Toronto FC winning their final match 4-1 over Atlanta to previent them from winning the Supporter’s Shield.

Michael Lewis gave his preview of the MLS Playoffs, including the chances for the Supporter’s Shield winners, NY Red Bulls to finally win MLS Cup, the chances for NYCFC to advance, and also NY Red Bulls 2 upsetting USL top seed FC Cincinnati in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

We discussed the NASL 50th Anniversary Reunion and the opening of the new US Soccer Hall of Fame with Michael Lewis from www.frontrowsoccer.com, who attended the events with show host Joe Sirianni and show founder Charlie Schiano, the owner of the NASL Rochester Lancers. Michael reported from Texas on the reunion, meeting with MLS commissioner Don Garber (a Hall of Fame inductee), the NASL legends match and seeing old friends from the NASL days. Michael also reported on the final matches of the CONCACAF Women's Championship (held in Frisco, TX) where the US, Canada and Jamaica qualified for France 2019 and also the final weekend of matches in MLS, including all of the playoff ramifications.

Joe Sirianni also gave his initial thoughts on the NASL reunion and will talk more about the weekend on our next show, along with Charlie Schiano coming on as our special guest, plus the return of Dick Howard from his time in the UK.

We also broke the news that the Rochester Lancers 2 will host the 3rd Qualifying Round match in the 2019 US Open Cup on Sunday, November 18 at 5 pm at Roberts Wesleyan College against World Class Premier Elite FC (Md.), with the winner going into next year's USOC main draw.

Our special guest was Salvatore "Soccer Sam" Fantauzzo, who gave us the latest information on the indoor Rochester Lancers, the season ticket package for all 3 Lancers teams (indoor, outdoor and ladies), the rebranding of the Rochester River Dogz to Rochester Lancers 2 and the Lancers 2 US Open Cup match on Sunday at Roberts Wesleyan College at 3 pm.
 

Michael Lewis reported live from Frisco, Texas, the site of the CONCACAF Women's Final 4, the US Soccer Hall of Fame Ceremony and the NASL 50th Anniversary reunion. Michael talked about the NASL reunion this weekend, US and Canada playing for the title, the historic 3rd place match between Panama and Jamaica which will see one of them make the Women's World Cup for the first time, the US Men facing Peru on Tuesday and the potential sale of the Columbus Crew to the owners of the Cleveland Browns that would keep the team in Columbus.
 

With Dick Howard away, Andrew and Joe talked about the UEFA Nations League competition and matches this past weekend, the important European league contests this weekend, Usain Bolt making an immediate impact on the soccer pitch for the Central Coast Mariners of the Australian A-League and the matchups on the USL playoffs that start this weekend.

Special guests:

• One of the heads of the NASL 50th anniversary celebration and an archivist for the new US Soccer Hall of Fame Jim Trecker, who spoke about the many new and exciting exhibits at the new HOF that is opening in Frisco, Texas next weekend, the 5 inductees going into the HOF and the latest on the NASL 50th anniversary celebration also taking place in Frisco next weekend.
• The founder of Chili Little Guy Soccer, the first youth soccer program in the US, and a member of the Rochester Lancers Wall of Fame, Ed Merante, who spoke on how Little Guy soccer started in the late 60's, the addition of girls and children with special needs into the program, taking teams to Agropoli, Italy and hosting international youth tournaments in Chili and how the program grew over the years in Chili and around Monroe country to where over 30,000 kids play youth soccer today.

Michael Lewis gave a live report on the CONCACAF Women's Championship, the huge success of the US Women so far in the tournament, the Men's National Team facing Columbia on Thursday and the tight race for the MLS Supporters Shield between the NY Red Bulls and Atlanta.

With Dick Howard away, Andrew and Joe talked about the indoor Lancers coming back to play in 2019, the passing of original Lancer Luis Fernando and the retirement of former England and Chelsea captain John Terry from active competition.