Connecting with Seattle Soccer Examiner

Now that GOALSeattle soccer news has moved over to Seattle Soccer Examiner, you may want to update your links and connections.

Here is our Twitter Feed: www.Twitter.com/goalseattle. It now lists news as it is posted on the Examiner page.

Here is our Examiner page link: http://www.examiner.com/x-413-Seattle-Soccer-Examiner

Here is our Seattle Soccer Examiner (RSS) news feed: http://www.examiner.com/RSS-413-Seattle-Soccer-Examiner

I can still be reached at goalseattle@gmail.com

Seattle Soccer Examiner

This blog is going on hiatus! What? No-o-o-o-o-o!

However, the same content and full focus on ALL OF PUGET SOUND SOCCER will now be updated daily at the new source, my Seattle Soccer Examiner page!

Please change your bookmarks. This page will remain dormant but online for links, referrals, etc.

You can also get to the Seattle Soccer Examiner the same way you used to get to the GS blog: by clicking 'blog' on the front page of GOALSeattle.com. Please do follow me over there!

www.Examiner.com/Seattle offers me a chance to reach more fans, make a bit of cash, and for you a chance to keep getting insider news and updates about the Sounders, Wolves, Pumas, Tide, Redhawks, Huskies, Falcons, Sounders Women and Synergy.

See you over at the "X."

5-minute primers: MLS Eastern Conference 2009

Sounders kick it at Qwest despite cold snap

It's too cold out for shirts and shorts but that didn't stop Seattle Sounders FC from training at Qwest Field on Monday. The club are back from Argentina and there are only 10 days left before the home opener against New York.

The Sounders wore long pants, jackets and gloves as they went through their drills. SoundersFC.com's Matt Gaschk reports:

(The Sounders practiced) with many new faces on the pitch and several seeing the team for the first time in over two weeks. The most notable player to don the Sounders FC kit for the first time in training camp was midfielder Freddie Ljungberg, who joined the team for the first time after hip surgery in December.

While he spent the majority of the training session doing fitness work along the end lines, his presence was a welcome addition to the Seattle lineup. Though limited to non-contact work, it was imposed by the team and not by Ljungberg’s limitations.

“It feels great. There’s nothing I can’t do, so it’s all good,” Ljungberg said. “I’m so much ahead of schedule that it looks too good to be true. They’re a bit scared that if I do too much I’ll have a setback. There is no pain in anything that I do, which is great, so that’s why they want me to take it step-by-step.”

Wear your Sounders scarf on Fridays!

Every Friday from now until...um, you drop...wear your Sounders scarf to show you support Seattle!

OK, you can wear it more often than that, but especially every Friday to work, on the bus, where ever. This idea is sponsored and endorsed by the Emerald City Supporters, GoSounders.com, Prost Amerika Soccer, Sounder at Heart and the Sounders Fan Insider!

Other news today: Qwest Field will host a 2009 Gold Cup match on July 4th, and it looks like USA may be one of the clubs in town!

Sounders FC have bid to host their play-in match in the US Open Cup in April...and won! So the Sounders will host Real Salt Lake at Starfire. Details here.

Flag contest: Sounders fans already showing 'team spirit' before first kick

We have a winner, in more ways than one...

When Saarhiem was contacted as the winner, he took the GOALSeattle Sounders FC Flag contest for a new spin. "I started this project a month ago and and could not be happier with the results. But with that said, I think it would be best to give the season ticket to the guy who made the Chief Sealth flag (Joe Olson). You see I have two season tickets in the south end already and what I can gather from various message boards he has none. It would be a shame to know that flag #3 is sitting in a living room on game day and not flying proudly in section 122. I would trade down to the jersey knowing that one more die hard SSFC fan was able to stand, sing, and support our Sounders, that would be enough of a prize to me."

Read the entire story over on our Seattle Soccer Examiner page!

MLS preview on Fox; Beckham takes his knocks

Fox Soccer Channel debuted its half-hour Major League Soccer 2009 season preview on Sunday night. The next airing will be Monday March 9 at 5:00 PM Seattle time.

Speaking of previews, Laurie at the Seattle Offside blog is starting a series of "Get to know your Sounders" quiz blogs. Check the first one out here!

Of course the league will be without gate-enhancer David Beckham until August. Several of us think he's a jerk. Prost America Soccer weighs in; Seattle Soccer Examiner slaps Becksy around.

Next Season Sports continues its profiling of Sounders FC players. This time out it is a look at speedy midfielder Sanna Nyassi.

A change of 'Heart?' No, not Beckham. Dave Clark, who also gives a sneak snip of the new fan magazine "Soccer Seattle." It will be good despite the name.

Big announcements ahead for Kitsap Pumas

The Kitsap Pumas professional soccer club is in for a big, busy spring. The club is preparing for their first-ever league match May 2nd in Spokane against the Spokane Spiders. It will inaugurate their debut season in the Premier Development League (PDL) of the United Soccer Leagues (USL). The Pumas have yet to announce any player signings, but rumblings are growing that soon we'll have some names to report on.

The Pumas are developing a connection with scouts and contacts in Great Britain. We've been told that as many as twelve player contracts may have already been issued, and that at least one local player has signed. Some of the contracts are out for players from the UK. The Pumas are high on a 20-year old Scottish midfielder who trained in the Rangers system. They also have their eye on a sturdy 21-year old English goalkeeper who went through the Wigan Athletic system. We've also heard that Kitsap have talked with a 21-year old English 'beach soccer' star. The names await the club announcement(s).

Last week Pumas' owner Robin Waite attended a Bremerton School District meeting in which he talked about his ideas for building a soccer stadium on land where East Bremerton High School once stood. The BSD gave Waite permission to study the idea more closely.

"I think what's intriguing about it is that it's a very valuable piece of property and we don't make a penny from it," board member Pat Jones told the Kitsap Sun.

Waite's idea "is definitely worth exploring, especially for free."

Waite later appeared in the Kitsap Sun to clarify the use of the land further: “The soccer stadium would be the driving force behind the complex,” he wrote. “There would still be room for an arena especially if there was shared parking.”

Kitsap will be revealing their chosen 'club crest' in the next few weeks, too. Fans were invited to submit crest / logo ideas to the club website in a recent contest. (See a few submitted designs here). The 'crest' is an important part of club tradition in the world of soccer. It becomes the 'coat of arms' clubs go to battle with. The Pumas' crest will use the official club colors of blue, gold, black and white.

The Pumas have already chosen their 2009 uniform provider and style. The 'kits' will be made by Puma, of course, and the shirt will be white with blue hoops. The graphic above gives a representation with possible combinations.

For more on the Pumas visit www.KitsapSoccerClub.com

Sounders FC Match Highlights Spring Slate For Washinton Huskies Men's Soccer

SEATTLE - (courtesy of GoHuskies.com) Washington men's soccer kicked off its 2009 spring season this week, an exhibition slate that is highlighted by two home matches at Husky Soccer Field and a tilt with Seattle Sounders FC at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila on April 21.

The Huskies began the spring campaign on Friday, March 6, hosting the University of British Columbia at Husky Soccer Field. (Result not yet reported)

Washington will then play the bulk of its schedule in April, starting with a trip to Portland to face the rival Pilots on Saturday, April 4, at 2 p.m. at Merlo Field. UW will return to Montlake to host Seattle University at Husky Soccer Field on Friday, April 10, at 6 p.m.

UW will battle Seattle's new Major League Soccer side on Tuesday, April 21 at the Starfire Sports Complex. The match will start at 10 a.m.

The Huskies will wrap their spring schedule traveling to Spokane to face Gonzaga on Saturday, April 25 at 2 p.m., before facing Seattle Pacific at Interbay Stadium on Friday, May 1, at 7 p.m.

Washington is coming off a 2008 season during which it posted an 8-8-2 overall record and finished in a tie for fourth in the Pac-10 standings with a 3-5-2 league record.

See the complete 2009 Washington Men's Soccer Spring Schedule

Photo: UW's rising star at forward, Brent Richards. (Rick Morrison, GOALSeattle.com)

Washington Governor Gregoire: "I have Sounders FC season tickets"

Prost Amerika Soccer talks with Washington State Governer Chris Gregoire in an interview published this week. Gregoire is a fan of soccer.

"By bringing the world’s most watched sport here, we are putting Seattle and Washington in the spotlight for the world to see what we all already know. The great state of Washington offers an array of unique attractions and natural beauty. Our hope is that those who come from out of town to see a MLS game will return over and over again, and spend money here to stimulate the economy. My husband, Mike and I have season tickets."

Read the entire interview, covering a range of topics, here.