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Show WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1999 THE SUN Sports j VINCENTS VIEW What Will It Take For America To Embrace Soccer? I By Stephen Sports Editor MENS SOCCER Fight Brings Early End to Ugly Game By Ashleigh Millgate Sports Editor ashleightS infowest.com Dixie College mens soccer game against Southern Nevada ended abruptly when a fight broke out between the two teams. One of Dixies top strikers, Seth Klingonsmith, was dribbling the ball towards the goal, when a Southern Nevada player intentionally tripped him. Klingonsmiths d brother, Isaac Klingonsmith, charged at to avenge his brothers attacker. The move sparked an intense battle between the two sides. Coaches and substitutes ran onto the field to join in the mayhem. The referees best efforts could not stop the fight, so they stopped the game instead. The game was marred by repeated unsportsmanlike maneuvers. The majority of the cheap shots were dished out by Southern Nevada. They repeatedly elbowed, tripped, as well as they constantly screamed profanities at the Rebels. Dixie, for the most part, remained calm, until they reached the boiling point in the second half. Seth Klingonsmith scored Dixies only goal in the first half. Tyler Johnson dribbled down into the left corner of the field, just before he went out of bounds, Johnson made a spectacular cross into the center of the field. Klingonsmith headed the cross into the back of the net for Dixies lone goal. Southern Nevada led 1 at the time of the incident. The game will be considered a draw for the two teams. Goalie Mike Goodman had another stellar game in front of the net. He had numerous saves helping to keep the Rebels in the game before the fight. Isaac Klingonsmith also bailed the Rebels out at his defender position. He was able to get in the way of Southern Nevadas attackers and force them to take bad shots. Johnson was all over the place in the game, igniting the Rebel offense. The Rebels will play Southern Utah University on Friday and Utah Valley State College on Saturday. Both games will be played at the Encampment Mall. Hopefully, this time their opponents will come to play and not to fight. top-spee- 2-- Vincent stvincent77hotmail.com This past weekend, 1 had the opportunity to go watch my first two pro soccer games. My first time watching pro soccer was to be a special night as it was the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals. In other words, the champions cup is a tournament for all winners of the different pro leagues throughout North America, Latin America, and the Carribean. I love soccer. Probably more than life itself. Although I have seen many games on television, I hadnt been able to attend a pro soccer game, mainly because Ive lived most of my life in Southern Utah. The only two years that I wasnt here, however, I was in England where 1 gained a great love for soccer. But circumstances prevented me from attending any pro games (which is a great shame because some of the greatest club teams, Manchester United and the greatest of all Arsenal, play in England), so when I heard about the CONCACAF Champions Cup being played in Las Vegas, I jumped at the chance. As it turned out, it was the best $2 1 that 1 ever spent. I was there with my brother-in-laGreg Rogers, and his brother, Brian. Both of whom lived in France for a couple years, which accounts for why they too love the beautiful game. We got front row seats behind the goal. The vast majority of fans in our section and in the were there to watch Mexican stadium, for that matter League superpower Necaxa. When Necaxa played, they got rowdy it was the coolest thing that 1 have ever seen. The fans blew long plastic horns that resemble the one the angel on top of Mormon temples trumps. They chanted, they sang, etc. The best, however, was when the Necaxa substitutes warmed up during the second half. They all screamed at them, urging them to stop, so they could take their picture. While their fans were enjoying themselves in the stands, the Necaxa team was having a fun time embarrassing D.C. United has some players who have played in United, world cups Marco Etcheverry, Eddie Pope, and Jeff Agoos, but they spent most of the night being outwitted by the crafty Mexican side. The earlier game that night featured the Chicago Fire and Alajuela, which is from Costa Rica. The Costa Ricans werent as loud as the Mexican fans, but they were into just the same. Some Fire fans made some noise, but Alajuela would have the last laugh winning on penalty kicks You couldnt beat it: top level soccer with some of the best players in the world. A great atmosphere in which to watch the game. All for the bargain of $21 for two games in a champions cup tournament. And the attendance for the two games: a measly 8,163. Even with two American teams in the semis of a presti- 3-- 5-- gious tournament played on U.S. soil, the majority of the fans were from Mexico and Costa Rica. Why is soccer so unpopular in this country? Its one of the greatest team sports, and most Americans have played soccer. Photo by Stephen Vincent Why is it that at Dixie D.C Uniteds Marco Etcheverry and Ben College we have two Olsen set up a play Friday in Las Vegas. nationally ranked teams, football and womens soccer, but the football team gets around 5,000 people to their games and the soccer team gets only a handful of fans? It probably has a lot to do with our culture: football is, of course, the number one spectator sport, but that doesnt mean there isnt room for an exciting sport like soccer in our country. I do know a few people who really love soccer, most notably Stan Hollywood Horlacher, a member of the WB. But besides Hollywood and a few others, there are few others who have a deep appreciation for the real football. I think that the U.S. will embrace soccer as it grows more dominant. American athletes dominate many sports, but soccer is still struggling, at least as far as the mens team is concerned. The U.S. womens soccer team was able to capture the imagination of America this season. The team played to crowds of 90,000 all chanting and screaming, as they won the World Cup. Mia Hamm is a household name now among U.S. sports fans. The mens team has shown promise, at times. They played very well in the 1994 World Cup, but they followed that up with a highly disappointing performance in the same tourney in 1998. Bruce Arena, the new coach of the mens team, however; seems to have America starting back on a successful track. The key to soccers popularity, however, lies with the womens team. If they continue to win championships , then American fans will start to give soccer the love it deserves. But until that happens, I will have to reserve all my deep insights into pro soccer for my conversations with Hollywood. NOTE: The womens soccer team has just two home games left-- - Oct. 16 against Utah Valley and Oct. 30 versus Ricks. The mens soccer team plays two games this weekend at The Encampment Mall with Southern Utah and UVSC, athletes make sure you attend and give these the support they deserve. high-qualit- y Classifieds KITCHEN FOOD STORAGE PAINTBALL 1090 E. Tabemacie 10 OFF HIKE CAMP ARMY jfr 673-04- 37 any purchase with this coupon Expires Oct 31, 1999 Office assistant: Good communication skills, computer data input, auto cad drafting, take-of- f helpful. Send resume to: P.O. Box 849 St. George, UT 84771 To purchase a classified ad, call The Sun All classifieds are $4.50 per insertion up at (435) 652-781- 8. to 25 words. 1 |