| COLUMN: Embele Awipi: Guadeloupe joins Gold Cup soccer crowd
Thus, the region's biennial soccer showcase is the biggest international competition the "Gwada Boys" compete in. Being France-lite, however, does have perks. Except for Canada, Guadeloupe uses more European-based players than any other Gold Cup squad. Many players with Guadeloupe roots have been featured on the French national team. With a population of over 400,000, Guadeloupe is arguably the world's most prolific producer of soccer talent. Unlike the rest of the Caribbean where cricket or baseball rule, soccer is Guadeloupe's most popular sport. Yet despite a semifinal run in the tournament two years ago, Guadeloupe remains the mystery team out of their preliminary group. Naturally, most of the crowd was wearing Mexican gear, with a few Panamanian and Nicaraguan flags scattered.
Dallas Texans rally at US Youth Soccer Championships
After letting the NWAL Strikers score in the first few minutes, the Texans came back to win, 5-1, on the first day of the US Youth Soccer Region III Championships at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco. Midfielder Alina Garciaméndez scored the first two goals for the Texans. The Texans didn't let the Strikers – the Arkansas state champions – get a shot off in the second half. "When I don't touch the ball, my team is doing their job," Texans goalkeeper Brittany Jagger said. The 91 Red team is one of three Dallas Texans girls teams that won a state championship, joining the 92 (under-17) and 93 (under-16) Red teams. All three won US Youth Soccer national championships last year. "We've learned you don't talk about winning national championships," Higginbotham said.
Sports talk: River Valley Soccer Clubs struggle to score in
In case you missed it, the River Valley Soccer Club (RVSC) Rapids struggled on the pitch in the under-17 boys division at the U.S. Youth Soccer Association Region 1 tournament at Barboursville (W.Va.) City Park. The RVSC Shock did the same in the under-19 girls division. Last Friday, in the opening day of round robin play, the Stephen Rose-coached Rapids were blanked 2-0 by Kirkwood SC Nemesis of Delaware. Rose, incidentally, played his prep soccer at Marietta High and collegiately at Walsh University in Canton. He's now an assistant soccer coach at Marietta College. The following day, July 4, the Rapids took it on the chin again, dropping a 5-0 decision to Lower Merion Velez of Pennsylvania. In that match, the team played a man down midway through the first half after a red-card ejection.
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