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It was dj vu from a year between the Sockers and the Chihuahua Savage in the Major Arena Soccer League Western Conference Finals.

For the second straight year, both teams won games home at their home venue in the first two games of the series, setting up a Knockout Game at Pechanga Arena to determine who advanced to the Ron Newman Cup finals.

It was a back and forth affair for the first 14 minutes of the 15-minute knockout game. The Sockers had a couple opportunities to score as time in regulation ticked down. Midfielder Leonardo de Oliveira had an opportunity to score but was deflected by the Savage goalkeeper, Berna Valdovinos.

As a result, the game went into a 10-minute overtime period, where the first goal scored on either side was going to send that team to the title.

Chihuahua forward Jaime Alejandro Romero was able to get the ball past Sockers goalkeeper Boris Pardo to the upper left portion of the net three minutes into the sudden-death period. The goal ended the Sockers season and their quest for a third straight title.

The knockout game is never easy, said Sockers forward Tavoy Morgan. You dont want to be the ones who get knocked off. Unfortunately, they came, they (did) what theyre supposed to do.

Sockers defender Guerrero Pino added that the Savage came out with a different mentality in theknockout game.

It was it was a hard game, Pino said. I mean, Chihuahua was the second team in the league throughout the season. They came out, they came out stronger on the on the mini-game and they deserved the win. I mean, theres nothing we can say about it.

We just have to prepare better for a better season next year and go from there.

Fridays heartbreaking loss came after the Sockers took down the Savage 6-2 in game two of the series to even the series and force the knockout.

The Sockers had put the game out of reach in the first game of the day as multiple players had the opportunity to get involved in the offense as 10 players recorded at least a point via a goal oran assist. Leading the Sockers was forward Tavoy Morgan and defender Mitchell Cardenas, whoeach recorded a goal and an assist.

Pardo recorded 13 saves in Game 2 and another three in the knockout.

Link:
Sockers' season ends with 'Knockout Game' loss to Chihuahua in ... - The San Diego Union-Tribune

April 21, 2023 - Major League Soccer (MLS) - Club de Foot Montreal News Release

MONTREAL - Following Tuesday night's Canadian Championship win over Vaughan SC, CF Montral will resume its MLS campaign by hosting the New York Red Bulls this Saturday at 7:30pm EDT at Stade Saputo (Apple MLS Season Pass, BPM Sports, TSN 690).

Montreal's home record against the Red Bulls stands at 7-2-2 with a +12 goal differential. In 2022, the two clubs managed to each steal a road win from the other. On April 9, Montreal won 2-1 at Red Bull Arena, while on August 31 at Stade Saputo, the Bleu-blanc-noir were shut out 1-0 following a lone-goal match-winner from Scottish midfielder Lewis Morgan.

For the home side, midfielder Victor Wanyama, rested on Tuesday against Vaughan, is only two games shy of reaching the milestone of 100 games played with Montreal in all competitions. Since signing with the Club in 2020, he has played in 87 MLS regular season games, three playoff games, one Canadian Championship game, six Concacaf Champions League games and one MLS is Back knockout game. In four meetings against the Red Bulls, Wanyama has one goal and one assist.

Meanwhile, defender Rudy Camacho is just 82 minutes away from reaching the 10,000-minute plateau in MLS regular season play. He will become the fifth outfield player in Club history to reach that mark. He has so far played 114 games since joining in 2018.

As for the opponents, they have also had a rocky start to the season with a 1-2-5 record after eight games. Sitting in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, the Red Bulls collected their only win on March 18 in a 2-1 win over the Columbus Crew. Dante Vanzeir scored the winning goal late in the game. Since that result, the team has a -1 goal differential, but has managed to score in three of those four games.

Discuss this story on the Major League Soccer message board...

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

The rest is here:
CF Montral Returns to MLS Action on Saturday against the New ... - OurSports Central

Jake White Gallo Images

Vodacom Bulls coach Jake White has called Irish powerhous Leinster the envy of every club in world as he marvelled about their depth and dominance of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.

White said the fact that Leinsters Director of Rugby Leo Cullen could head home with some of his coaching staff and players to prepare for next weekends Heineken Cup semifinal against Toulouse was testament to the depth and success of their systems.

And these were envied worldwide, White added.

The Bulls named an unchanged side from the one that beat Zebre last weekend for their clash with the unbeaten URC log leaders, even though they know it is a second-string Leinster side as an entire match squad sits back in Dublin.

I take a lot out of that. Thats where all clubs are trying to get to. Imagine if we could go through a season where you are unbeaten. You can take some of your main players back, take your director of rugby home and still feel confident that youre going to get a result, White said.

There is no way they are going to put up the white flag, you saw what happened last week. Thats what all clubs are trying to do. Every club in the world is trying to get to where Leinster are right now.

With 30 odd internationals, an academy system that is really working well. Its definitely the envy of every franchise. Every club side in the world would love to be Leinster.

White added that he wanted to get the continuity going, especially as the Bulls need to win the game as they still need to secure their qualification for next seasons Champions Cup and want to keep the momentum they took out of the Zebre game into the playoffs in two weeks time.

Were also getting to the stage now where we are getting to the back end of the competition and the stage now when we want to keep that continuity going. We have a lot of guys - like Johan Goosen - who have just come back from injury. Marcell Coetzee will join us soon. Nizaam Carr wasnt in the mix this week but he will join us next week.

Hopefully everyone that we have in our club now will be available to play in these knockout games. This is no different. It is a knockout game and we need to win it to make sure we stay in Europe.

The Bulls need to win the game to ensure they are still in the Champions Cup and could make their own playoff role a bit easier with a solid victory.

Vodacom Bulls: Kurt-Lee Arendse; Canan Moodie, Stedman Gans, Harold Vorster, David Kriel; Johan Goosen, Embrose Papier; Elrigh Louw, Cyle Brink, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje (captain), Ruan Vermaak, Mornay Smith, Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp.

Replacements: Bismarck du Plessis, Dylan Smith, Francois Klopper, Janko Swanepoel, WJ Steenkamp, Keagan Johannes, Chris Smith, Cornal Hendricks

Continue reading here:
Leinster the envy of every club in the world - Jake - SuperSport

AC Milan held on at the Maradona to book their place in the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 2006-07 after a 2-1 aggregate victory.

Ismael Bennacers goal in the first leg gave Milan something to defend in Naples and they made it a two-goal advantage as Olivier Giroud converted Rafael Leaos feed, and though Victor Osimhen scored late on it would prove to be a mere consolation.

Below are the best stats from the game, via the official website

Olivier Giroud has now been involved in seven goals in the 2022-23 Champions League (five goals, two assists), setting a new personal best in the competition (six in 2020-21 with Chelsea and in 2012-13 with Arsenal).

Milan have reached the Champions League semi-final for the first time since 2006-07. They join Juventus as the Italian team with the most number of appearances at this stage of the competition (seven). If you include the previous European Cup it totals 14.

Only Paolo Maldini against Liverpool in the 2005 final (36y 333d) has scored for Milan in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League at an older age than Olivier Giroud this evening (36y 200d).

Before tonight, Milan had never fielded the same starting eleven in a first and second leg tie against the same opponent in a knockout game in the Champions League/European Cup.

Read the original:
Evergreen Giroud and a club first: All the key stats from Milans draw against Napoli - Yardbarker

Photo Courtesy of Leikwaivion Davis, Truth and Service Players waiting to catch a rebound.

An excited crowd of students filled the Burr gymnasium seats last Wednesday night to show support for their fellow Bison in the midst of Springfest for UGSAs annual Truth and Service basketball game. With music playing and the crowd engaging activities, Howards school spirit was in full effect.

The game also included a Procter and Gamble (P&G) Stem leaders $10,000 scholarship prize for top diverse students in STEM focused curriculum who will bring new perspectives to P&G. The prize was awarded to Trevor Jones, a junior engineering major.

Students played for the Truth team, blue jersey, versus Service team, white jersey. In the first quarter, both teams came out strong on both the offensive and defensive end. The biggest play of the night occurred in the first quarter, as Service player Zach Royster took a fast break to the hoop and flushed an electrifying one-handed dunk on two opposing defenders.

People in the stands stood to their feet to show support in awe with the score after the first quarter, 20-17 with Service in the lead. During the transition into the second quarter, fellow Bison competed in a competitive lay up relay race. Students from the crowd cheered the students on as they ran across the court to see who hit the free throw first.

Midway through the second quarter, the Service team began separating. The team hit deep threes and played solid defense making it difficult for the Truth team to find a rhythm. Turnovers also hurt the Truth team all night.

The halftime show featured a basketball knockout game with students in the crowd being chosen to participate.

Zach Royster, a freshman finance major and a player for team Service, talked about how he felt after the play of the night.

It felt great to be on that side of the interaction. When I went to the games this year as a fan, I would be someone supporting and rooting from the stands whenever there was an electrifying play, Royster said,Being on the receiving end of that support is on another level and just gives you that boost of confidence while playing.

In the second half, it was the same story. The Truth team struggled to produce offensively and was overwhelmed by the Service teams offensive prowess. The Service team exposed gaps in the paint with slashing plays and created turnover after turnover for the Truth team. At the end of the third quarter, the final score was 74-55 with the Service team in the lead.

One player for the Truth team stood out every chance he got the ball. Ahmaz Atias, a senior computer science major, found ways to score effortlessly for the Truth team and ended the game scoring 24 points. From getting to the free throw line to knocking down contested three-pointers, Ahmaz was dominating on the court.

I was trying to do everything possible. I know it was just a game for fun but I hate losing so I was down with doing whatever to win, Ahmaz said. It was a great experience and all for a great cause. I would have been better if we came out with the win but its all good.

The fourth quarter was much of the same, as team Service tumbled over team Truth with a score 90-68. Both teams shook hands at the end of the game with LB Towns Jr. taking home the title as the most valuable player.

The game didnt disappoint with the crowd being engaged every minute. Students were able to come support their fellow Bison during Springfest and come together for this annual gem on campus.

Gabe Sebhatu, a sophomore political science major , shared his experience coming to the game and his favorite moment of the night.

I thought the game was entertaining. It was cool to see both teams were evenly matched so it made it more interesting to watch, Sebhatu said,My favorite moment in the game was probably during halftime when they started to play a knockout game, he added.

Copy edited by Jasper Smith

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Howard University Holds Annual Truth and Service Game - The Hilltop Online