Soccer is a Kick in the Grass Podcasts

Our special guest was the owner of the Rochester Lancers, "Soccer Sam" Fantauzzo, who went over the MASL 1 schedule of the Lancers, including the opening match against the MetroStars of Canada on November 22 in St. Catherines and the home opener the 29th vs Utica City.

Dick Howard reviewed the weekend's matches in the Premiership and the Montreal's Canadian Championship win over Toronto FC, plus he previewed the UEFA Champions League Week 2, the Copa Libertadores semi-finals and matches upcoming in Europe and MLS this weekend.

Michael Lewis of www.frontrowsoccer.com talked about the final matches of 2019 for the Champion US Women's National Team and for head coach Jill Ellis, the weekend's matches in MLS and the final weekend of the MLS regular season that will decide the playoff teams and seedings.

Our special guest was Rochester Lancers coach Doug Miller, who talked about the move of the Lancers to MASL-1 and what that means for the pre-season tryouts and building the roster, plus the latest news on the newly rebuilt Glacier Ridge Sports Park.

Dick Howard gave his thoughts on the FIFA Awards ceremony, the Toronto/Montreal Canadian Championship series and the results from the UEFA Champions League, the Premiership and Serie A.

Michael Lewis of www.frontrowsoccer.com talked about Rochester’s Abby Wambach being inducted into the US Soccer Hall of Fame, USWNT coach Jill Ellis and star Megan Rapinoe winning FIFA awards and the playoff race in MLS for the NY Red Bulls and NYCFC.

Our special guest was the owner of the Rochester Lancers, Salvatore "Soccer Sam" Fantauzzo, who gave all of the details on the return of the Lancers to the top flight of arena soccer in the US, MASL1, this coming season.

Dick Howard was live from Victoria, BC and talked about the Canadian Premiership matches he saw with Pacific FC (based in Victoria) and previewed the start of the UEFA Champions League with thoughts on each group and the favorites to advance.

Michael Lewis of www.frontrowsoccer.com talked about the sale of the Chicago Fire and their return to Soldier Field, the hot streak of NYCFC continuing and the stellar play of the North Carolina Courage over the past 10 days.

Our special guest was the play-by-play voice of the LA Galaxy, Joe Tutino, who spoke on the "El Traffico" derby with LAFC, Rochester's Dave Sarachan (former Galaxy associate coach), the differences between MLS and the old NASL, David Beckham's influence in growing MLS around the world and his memories of the Lancers all-time leading scorer, Mike Stojanovic when he played for the San Diego Sockers.

Dick Howard was live from Victoria, BC and talked about the Canadian Premiership upcoming matches for Pacific FC (based in Victoria), Canada's 6-0 win over Cuba at BMO Field and the latest Euro 2020 qualifying matches.

Michael Lewis of www.frontrowsoccer.com talked about the resignation of the CEO of US Soccer, Dan Flynn, the US Men facing Uruguay on Tuesday, the critical NWSL match between host Portland and the NC Courage on Wednesday and NYCFC going top of the MLS Eastern Conference.

Our special guests were Rochester Lady Lancers and Monroe Community College women’s coach Sal Galvano, who talked about the upcoming season for the Lady Tribunes and the new players on the squad, and Rochester Lancers legend Nelson Cupello, who reminisced about the 1977 NASL semi-final series between the Lancers and the Cosmos featuring Pele, Chinaglia and Beckenbauer in which Nelson played in the 2^nd leg at Giants Stadium in front of over 73,000 fans.

Dick Howard reviewed the Toronto/Montreal MLS match won by the Reds 2-1, the start of the Serie A, the latest matches in the English Premiership season and the strong showing by (Hamilton) Forge FC in the Canadian Premier League and the CONCACAF Champions League qualification.

Michael Lewis of www.frontrowsoccer.com talked about the 2 upcoming friendlies for the US Women’s National Team against Portugal and the US Men’s rivalry match with Mexico on September 6, the addition of St. Louis to MLS, the “El Traffico” LA derby between LAFC and the LA Galaxy that ended 3-3 and the US Open Cup final between Atlanta United and Minnesota United on Tuesday.

Our special guest co-host was Rochester soccer and piano playing legend Dan "Knuckles" Sullivan. Our special guest was Rochester Lancers legend George Gibbs, who spoke on his upcoming book on his soccer career, living and playing soccer in Mexico and some of his memories of playing in the NASL for the Lancers and Toronto.

Dick Howard reviewed the start of the English Premiership season and the first leg of the Canadian Championships semi-finals, and also previewed the start of La Liga and the Bundesliga and the UEFA Super Cup between Liverpool and Chelsea on Wednesday in Istanbul.

Michael Lewis of www.frontrowsoccer.com talked about Earnie Stewart being named the US Soccer Sporting Director and Kate Markgraf becoming the first GM of US Women's Soccer, the all-time record attendance being set in the NWSL for the match between host Portland and the NC Courage, the Courage hosting the International Champions Cup this weekend, Orange County SC of the USL Championship signing of 14 year old Francis Jacobs, the youngest male pro in US history, Mike Petke being fired by Real Salt Lake, Atlanta's Josef Martinez scoring in his record 10th straight MLS match and Atlanta hosting Club America in the Copa Campeones.

Our special guest co-host was Rochester soccer and piano playing legend Dan "Knuckles" Sullivan. Our scheduled guest, Rochester Lancers legend George Gibbs, will be on next week's show.

Dick Howard previewed the start of the English Premiership season, including discussing the new teams in the league, the top contenders and the rule changes, most notably VAR, plus Dick gave predictions on the semi-finals of the Canadian Championships starting this week.

Michael Lewis reviewed the NPSL final between the host NY Cosmos and Miami FC, won by Miami 3-1, the resignation of USWNT coach Jill Ellis and who might replace her, the latest results from MLS and previewed the US Open Cup semi-finals taking place this week.

Our special guest was Rochester Lancers player/coach Doug Miller who gave his final thoughts on the team's outdoor season, talked about the upcoming indoor MASL2 season and gave an update on the rebuilding of the Glacier Ridge Sports Park.

Dick Howard reviewed the quarterfinals of the Canadian Championships and the wins by Toronto FC and Montreal over the weekend and also previewed the start of the Scottish Premiership and the lower divisions of English pro soccer.

Michael Lewis previewed the NPSL final between the host NY Cosmos and Miami FC, talked about the state of disarray within Division 3 soccer in the US, gave his predictions on the MLS All-Star game this Wednesday with MLS' best facing Atletico Madrid and this weekend's big matches in MLS and also discussed the World Champion US Women facing Ireland at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

Our special guest was Rochester Lancers forward Austin Gerber who talked about the Lancers run in the NPSL playoffs beating Ann Arbor over a 48 hour period and losing 6-4 to Cleveland SC in extra time, plus his plans for coming back from his shoulder injury and playing indoors for the Lancers in January.

Dick Howard reviewed the final of the African Cup of Nations won by Algeria, the latest friendlies being played in the US, the hot rumors in the transfer market including Gareth Bale possibly playing in China for 1MM pounds/week and the second leg of the Canadian Championships taking place this week.

Michael Lewis reviewed the Cosmos making the NPSL Final 4, NY Red Bulls splitting their MLS matches this week, NYCFC winning on the road against Colorado and the upcoming international friendlies in the New York City area this week.

Our special guest was the GM of the Rochester Lancers, Mark Mandell, who spoke about the team's incredible 4-4 draw with Erie on Saturday and Tuesday's NPSL playoff match against AFC Ann Arbor

Dick Howard talked about the African Cup of Nations, the latest big money transfers in Europe, Peter Crouch retiring, Toronto FC beating Montreal Saturday and facing NY Red Bulls and Houston at home this weekend and the latest results in the Canadian Championships.

Joe and Andrew discussed the hot topic of "equal pay" for the US Women's Soccer team and the US Men being the de facto away team when facing Mexico in the US. The two teams will meet at Met Life Stadium on September 6th in a friendly.

Our special guest was the owner of the Rochester Lancers, Salvatore "Soccer Sam" Fantauzzo, who spoke on the final home matches for the Men and Lady Lancers, raising over $2600 for Camp Good Days and Special Times and what the future holds for the Lancers.

Michael Lewis was on live from Lyon, France and spoke on the semi-finals of the Women's World Cup, including the gamesmanship between the US and England and the surprise semi-final between Holland and the US, plus the US Men reaching the semi-finals of the Gold Cup and long time referee Gino D'Ippolito being inducted into the NIOSA Hall of Fame on August 3.

Dick Howard talked about US International and Toronto FC star Jozy Altidore possibly being transferred to a Chinese team for $10MM, Women's World Cup, Canada's Men losing to Haiti in the Gold Cup quarterfinals and the success of the Caribbean teams in the tournament, the lack of goals and excitement in the Copa America and the play so far in the African Cup of Nations. reviewed Canada's 1-0 loss to Sweden in the World Cup and the Men's team making the knockout stage of the Gold Cup.

Our special guests were Rochester Lancers' head coach Doug Miller, who spoke on the team's 1-0 over Syracuse to put them in 1st place in the #NPSL Midwest Conference and the match on Sunday against Erie, Lady Lancers POTM from Sunday's 7-1 win over Worcester, Dori Rizzo, who talked about Sunday's match against New England and playing at Mercy HS where Abby Wambach played, and Lancers founder and Wall of Famer Rudy Lepore, who spoke on some key moments in Lancers history.

Michael Lewis was on live from Reims, France and spoke on the US Women's 2-1 win over Spain in the World Cup, the Quarterfinal match against France on Friday and the Men winning twice in the Gold Cup. Dick Howard reviewed Canada's 1-0 loss to Sweden in the World Cup and the Men's team making the knockout stage of the Gold Cup.

We celebrated our record 25th anniversary on the air with special guests 2019 US Soccer Hall of Famer Abby Wambach, former US National Team coach Dave Sarachan of North Carolina FC, Rochester Lancers and Rochester Rhinos Hall of Famer Pat Ercoli, current Lancers owner "Soccer Sam" Fantauzzo, award winning journalist Jeff DiVeronica and show sponsors Tony D'Aiuto and Bernie Iacovangelo.

Our guest host was the visionary who founded this show in 1994 and saved pro soccer in the US in 1970 by moving the Rochester Lancers and Washington Darts into the NASL, the former Chairman of the Board of the original Rochester Lancers, Charlie Schiano.

Our special guests were Rochester Lancers defender Wyatt Scott, who spoke on the team’s 1-0 win and clean sheet vs Pittsburgh on Sunday, and Lady Lancers midfielder Elysia Masters, who talked about the team’s 2-2 draw with Connecticut and the “golazo” she scored at the end of the 1^st half.

Michael Lewis from Front Row Soccer spoke to us live from Reims, France where he is covering the Women’s World Cup and gave his thoughts on the US facing Thailand on Tuesday, the tournament so far and the US Men’s losing twice in their preparation for the Gold Cup.

Dick Howard reviewed Canada’s 1-0 win over Cameroon in the World Cup and spoke about the Canadian Men opening the Gold Cup Saturday against Martinique.

We previewed the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup with Andrew Battisti, Dick Howard and Michael Lewis (who will cover the tournament in person in France), including a preview of each group and pick as to who will advance and be crowned champion.

Dick also reviewed the UEFA Champions League and Europa League finals and speculated who will be the next coach of Chelsea.

Joe Sirianni gave his thoughts on the Rochester Lancers and the lower than expected attendance for the matches so far this season at Aquinas High School.

Our special guest was the head coach of the Rochester Lady Lancers, Sal Galvano, who talked about the team's 1-1 draw with Syracuse and the unusual 3 hour and 10 minute length of the match, the new players on the team and the upcoming road trip playing 2 matches in 18 hours.

Dick Howard talked about Manchester City winning the domestic treble, Bayern Munich winning their 6th straight Bundesliga, the last weekend of Serie A, Juventus Coach Massimiliano Allegri leaving after 5 straight titles and the Canadian Women's National Team drawing 20K fans for a 3-0 win over Mexico in Toronto.

Michael Lewis reviewed the US Women beating New Zealand 5-0, the US Beach soccer team qualifying for the World Cup, the US U-20 Men starting the World Cup this week, Chris Wondolowski becoming the all-time leading scorer in MLS and famous German side FC St. Pauli visiting the Cosmos and FC Buffalo this week.

We announced the 2019 inductees into the Rochester Lancers Wall of Fame: original Lancer Nelson Bergamo, player/coach who starred for Juventus Adolfo Gori, Times-Union reporter and editor Gary Jacobson and 1977 keeper Jack Brand. Our special guest was Lancers coach Doug Miller who previewed the season opener against FC Buffalo on May 19.

Dick Howard reviewed the EPL final week and the UEFA Champions League semifinals and gave his memories of Jack Brand, his GK teammate with the Toronto Metros in 1974.

Michael Lewis talked about Gary Jacobson, reviewed the US Women's National Team beating South Africa 3-0 and the US U-17 Men qualifying for the World Cup.

The show was a tribute for the late Davie Thomson, a Scottish-born player who was a member of the 1970 NASL Champion Rochester Lancers and passed away on April 30. Our special guest was the captain of the 1970 Lancers, Davie's roommate with the Lancers and fellow Scotsman Charlie Mitchell who gave stories about Davie and his love of soccer and music.

Dick Howard was friends with Davie for over 50 years and shared his memories, including how Davie was youth teammates with Sir Alex Ferguson and whom Alex thought was one of the finest youth players Scotland ever had. Dick also talked about Man City beating Leicester City to get them closer to the EPL title and previewed the second legs of the UEFA Champions League and Europa League semi-finals.

Michael Lewis shared stories about Davie from his upcoming book on the Lancers and gave his thoughts on the US Women's National Team selections for the 2019 World Cup and the omission of McCall Zerboni from the squad.

Our special guest was the producer of the upcoming documentary "The NASL Project", Rachel Viollet, the daughter of former NASL coach and Manchester United and Stoke City star Dennis Viollet. Rachel talked about how the project started, the content of the film and some favorite memories of the NASL and the importance of the Rochester Lancers in NASL history. For more information on the project, click here or search for "NASL Documentary" on Facebook.

Michael Lewis has a double sized US Soccer report with memories of the 40th anniversary of the NASL players strike and commentary of the NYCFC 3-3 draw with Minnesota and the Red Bulls 2-2 draw with Sporting KC.

Our special guest was Rochester Lancers MASL2 and NPSL coach Doug Miller, who reflected on the indoor season, gave us the latest on Glacier Ridge Sports Park and talked about the upcoming outdoor season, including the Lancers combine on Saturday the 13^th.

Dick Howard talked about Chelsea’s 2-0 win over West Ham, Everton’s 1-0 result against Arsenal, the FA Cup semi-finals, Bayern’s big 5-0 win against Dortmund and Barca’s beating Atletico Madrid 2-0 and also previewed the UEFA Champions League semi-finals and the start of the new Canadian Premier League on April 27.

Michael Lewis reviewed the USWNT’s wins over Australia and Belgium and Monterrey easily winning 5-0 over Sporting KC in the CONCACAF Champions League, previewed the start of the NWSL season and gave his thoughts on Inter Milan suing MLS and Inter Miami over the “Inter” name and Chicago potentially rebranding as Chicago City FC.

Our special guests were Rochester Lancers owner “Soccer” Sam Fantauzzo and 3^rd place match winning goal scorer Jeremy Ortiz, who talked about the MASL2 Final 4, this past Rochester Lancers indoor season and what is coming up for next year’s team.

Dick Howard talked about Toronto FC’s big 4-0 win over NYCFC, the big Bundesliga match this Saturday between Bayern/Munich and Borussia Dortmund, the battle for 1^st and for 3^rd-6^th in the EPL, the other important matches in Europe this weekend and the US Men’s National Team facing Canada in the CONCACAF Nations League.

Michael Lewis previewed the US women facing Australia on Thursday with 13 former WNY Flash players across both teams, the North Carolina Courage hosting the International Women’s Champions Cup in August and the losses for both New York City MLS teams this past weekend.

We also paid tribute to the nephew of host Joe Sirianni, Michael Sirianni, a long time Rochester soccer player and coach, who passed way last week at age 60.

Our special guests were Rochester Lancers keeper and leading scorer Boomer Steigelman, who talked about the team's 4-3 OT win over host and defending MASL2 Champions Chicago last Thursday, the strategy used to get the victory and the team's preparation for the MASL2 semi-final match against Juarez and what the team needs to do to slow down the Crows 10 goals/match offense.

Dick Howard talked about the weekend's Euro 2020 qualifiers, including CR7's injury and England exploding for 10 goals in 2 matches, the debutantes in the 2019 African Cup of Nations, the full 16 team lineup for the 2019 Gold Cup and the Juventus Women (with former WNY Flash player Ashley Nick) drawing 39K for a league match over the weekend.

Michael Lewis discussed the US Men beating Ecuador 1-0 on Thursday and the match on Tuesday against Chile, the NY Red Bulls losing at home to Orlando and the upcoming MLS matches this weekend.

Our special guest was Rochester Lancers captain Gary Boughton, who talked about the preparations for the MASL2 Eastern Division playoff match on Thursday against defending champions and host Chicago, the current health of the team, Doug Miller playing on Thursday and what the Lancers need to do to win.

Dick Howard talked about Toronto FC beating New England Sunday in their home opener, the VAR controversy in the FA Cup, the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, the latest European results and the upcoming national team matches this week.

Michael Lewis previewed the US Men facing Ecuador on Thursday, the MLS teams crashing out of the CONCACAF Champions League, the NY Red Bulls winning 401 over San Jose and FC Cincinnati selling out their home opener and winning 3-0 over Portland.

Our special guest was Rochester Lancers keeper "The American Dream" Mark Sotile, who talked about the team winning against Detroit on Friday to make the MASL2 playoffs, being in goal for the Lancers win on Saturday against Muskegon and next Thursday's Eastern final at defending champions Chicago.

Michael Lewis gave his thoughts on the US Women's National Team filing a gender equality lawsuit against US Soccer, the inspirational halftime talk by McCall Zerboni in the US/Brazil match last Tuesday and the passing of NASL Toronto Metros and Seattle Sounders GM Jack Daley.

Dick Howard talked about Real Madrid re-signing Zinedine Zidane as their manager, Real crashing out of the UEFA Champions League with PSG, Roma and Dortmund, the 2nd leg UCL Round of 16 matches this week and Toronto FC opening their home schedule Sunday night against New England.

Our special guest was Rochester Lancers owner "Soccer" Sam Fantauzzo, who talked about the big match at home on Friday against Detroit where the winner will make the playoffs, the potential East Conference final against Chicago on March 24 and the MASL2 Final 4 in Ontario, CA.

Dick Howard talked about Toronto FC winning their 1st MLS match of 2019 at Philadelphia and the signing of Spaniard Álex Pozuelo as a new DP, Man City moving to 1st in the EPL, the thrilling top of the table Serie A match with Juventus beating host Napoli 2-1, Barcelona sweeping Real Madrid at home and the 2nd leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 matches this week.

Michael Lewis gave his thoughts on the US Women struggling with 2 draws in the She Believes Cup and Tuesday's last match against Brazil and the 1st leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals featuring 4 MLS teams.

Our special guest was Rochester Lancers striker Michael Cunningham, who spoke on the past weekend's matches, a 17-4 win over Muskegon and a tough 7-5 loss to the defending MASL2 champions Chicago this weekend, and the critical home match against Detroit on March 8, which could decide a playoff spot.

Dick Howard talked about Toronto FC losing their CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16 match to CAI of Panama and the return leg on Tuesday at BMO Field, the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 1st leg matches, the Carabao Cup final won on PK's nu Man City over Chelsea after a 0-0 draw, the big derby matches in England, Italy and Spain this week, including 2 meetings between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Michael Lewis previewed the She Believes Cup featuring the women's National Teams of the US, Japan, England and Brazil, the US Men's U-20 draw for the World Cup in Poland, the CONCACAF Champions League second leg matches for NY Red Bulls and Atlanta and the start of the MLS season this weekend.