Matt Hedges
Matthew James Hedges (born April 1, 1990) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center-back for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC. Hedges has been one of the better defenders in MLS since 2014, landing on the MLS Best XI in 2015 and 2016, and winning the MLS Defender of the Year award in 2016. Career College and amateur Hedges was born in New York but grew up in Carmel, Indiana. He attended Carmel High School ( Carmel, Indiana), where he was a member of the 2006 Greyhounds soccer team that went undefeated, and won both the IHSAA Boys' Soccer State Championship and the NSCAA National Championship. He played college soccer at Butler University between 2008 and 2010, and at the University of North Carolina in 2011. During his time at Butler, Hedges was named to the NSCAA All-America Second Team as a junior, and he was also named Horizon League Defender of the Year in both his junior and sophomore years. After transferring to North Carolina, he was nam ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
FC Dallas
FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the league. The club was founded in 1995 as the Dallas Burn before adopting its current name in 2004. Since 2005, Dallas have played in the DFW area's northern suburbs at the 20,500-capacity soccer-specific stadium, soccer-specific Toyota Stadium (Texas), Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas; home games in the club's early years were played at the Cotton Bowl (stadium), Cotton Bowl. The team is owned by the Hunt Sports Group led by brothers Clark Hunt and Dan Hunt, who is the team's president. The Hunt family also owns the National Football League, NFL's Kansas City Chiefs and part of the Chicago Bulls. FC Dallas in 2016 Major League Soccer season, 2016 won their first Supporters' Shield. In 2010 MLS Cup, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
College Soccer
College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingdom also has an university league. The institutions typically hire full-time professional coaches and staff, although the student athletes are mostly amateur and are not paid. History The first ''de facto'' college football game held in the U.S. in 1869 between Rutgers University and Princeton was contested, at Rutgers captain John W. Leggett's request, with rules mixing soccer and rugby and loosely based on those of the Football Association in London, England.Best of the 1870s: The definin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
MLS Cup Playoffs
The MLS Cup Playoffs is the annual postseason elimination tournament of Major League Soccer. The final match of the tournament is the MLS Cup, the league's championship game. Under the current format adopted for the 2019 season, 14 teams qualify for the tournament based on regular-season point totals—the seven highest-placed teams from each the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. Audi is the title sponsor of this tournament. Awarding a championship through a postseason tournament differs from most other soccer leagues around the world, where the team with the most points at the end of the season is deemed champion. MLS awards the regular-season champions with the Supporters' Shield, and the winner must be a U.S.-based team in order to earn a direct berth in the CONCACAF Champions League, the continental tournament. Playoff system Since 2019 (but excluding 2020), the top seven teams from the Eastern Conference and top seven teams from the Western Conference qua ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Captain (association Football)
The team captain of an association football team, sometimes known as the skipper, is a team member chosen to be the on-pitch leader of the team; they are often one of the older or more experienced members of the squad, or a player that can heavily influence a game or has good leadership qualities. The team captain is usually identified by the wearing of an armband. Responsibilities The only official responsibility of a captain specified by the Laws of the Game is to participate in the coin toss prior to kick-off (for choice of ends or to have kick-off) and prior to a penalty shootout. Contrary to what is sometimes said, captains have no special authority under the Laws to challenge a decision by the referee. However, referees may talk to the captain of a side about the side's general behaviour when necessary. At an award-giving ceremony after a fixture like a cup competition final, the captain usually leads the team up to collect their medals. Any trophy won by a team will ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Michel Garbini Pereira
Michel Garbini Pereira (born 9 June 1981), commonly known as Michel, is a Brazilian footballer. Career Club Michel began his career at Atlético Mineiro, before moving to Belgian Pro League side Standard Liège in 2004. After two seasons, Michel returned to Brazil and signed with Campeonato Brasileiro Série A outfit Atlético Paranaense. Subsequently, he played for Náutico and Vila Nova. In 2010, Michel moved to Superleague Greece club Aris, where he immediately established himself as a regular in the team. In the 2010–11 season, he played in almost all of the matches for Aris, including all twelve Europa League games. After impressing as a trialist during preseason training camp, Michel signed for Major League Soccer club FC Dallas on 19 February 2013. During his time with the club, he became known as a threat on set pieces with his left foot. He scored his first MLS goal directly from a corner kick during a 4–2 loss at Seattle Sounders FC on 18 May 2013. Although he ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Sporting Kansas City
Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and practice facilities are located in Kansas City, Kansas, near Children's Mercy Park. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS), having returned in 2015 after spending ten seasons in the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Sporting KC began play in 1996 as a charter team in the league, then known as the Kansas City Wiz. The team was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1995. Since moving across the state line, they have been the only major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, major professional sports league franchise to play their home games in Kansas. Starting in 1997, the franchise was known as the Kansas City Wizards. The te ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inaugural season. The club is owned by Robert Kraft, who also owns the New England Patriots along with his son, Jonathan Kraft. The name "Revolution" refers to the New England region's significant involvement in the American Revolution that took place from 1775 to 1783. New England plays their home matches at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, located 21 miles (34 km) southwest of downtown Boston. The club played their home games at the adjacent and now-demolished Foxboro Stadium, from 1996 until 2001. The Revs are the only original MLS team to have every league game in their history televised. The Revolution won their first major trophy in the 2007 U.S. Open Cup. The following year, they w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
2012 MLS SuperDraft
The 2012 MLS SuperDraft was the thirteenth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 12, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. (ET). The draft was reduced from three rounds to two with the 19 MLS clubs selecting a total of 38 players. The expansion Montreal Impact had the first overall selection. Changes from 2011 * As an expansion club, Montreal received the first pick in the SuperDraft. * The SuperDraft was contracted from three rounds to two rounds, making it the shortest SuperDraft in terms of rounds. Selection order The official selection order was set by Major League Soccer on October 21, 2011: # 2012 expansion team Montreal Impact received the first selection; # The eight clubs which did not qualify for the playoffs received picks #2 through #9 (in reverse order of season points); # The two clubs eliminated in the Wild Card round of playoffs received picks #10 and #11 (in reverse order of season points); # The four clubs eliminated in the Conferen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
USL Premier Development League
USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league features 113 teams for 2022, split into sixteen regional divisions across four conferences. USL League Two is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Ventura County Fusion are the current champions, having defeated Long Island Rough Riders 2–1 in the 2022 USL League Two Championship game on August 6, 2022. Competition format USL League Two is divided into 4 conferences (Eastern, Central, Southern, and Western), comprising 16 divisions. The league season runs from May through July, with the playoffs decided through July and August. All teams play a regular season schedule of 14 games, seven home and seven away, within their division. Playoffs The USL2 playoffs see division winners and each conference's best second-place finisher ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
2011 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship
The 2011 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament was a single-elimination tournament involving 48 teams to determine the champion of the 2011 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The 53rd edition of the tournament began on November 17, 2011 and culminated with the North Carolina Tar Heels defeating the Charlotte 49ers The Charlotte 49ers are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 49ers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a ..., 1–0, in the final on December 13 at Regions Park in Hoover, Alabama. While the tournament resulted in few upsets, most national soccer headlines were made behind Charlotte's run to the final. The 49ers entered the tournament through an at-large bid, and were not seeded. Despite that, they were able to defeat defending champions, the 2011 Akron Zips men's soccer team, Akron Zips, 1–0, in the third round, and then ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I. ACC football teams compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The ACC sponsors competition in twenty-five sports with many of its member institutions held in high regard nationally. Current members of the conference are Boston College, Clemson University, Duke University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Florida State University, North Carolina State University, Syracuse University, the University of Louisville, the University of Miami, the University of North Carolina, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Virginia, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and Wake Forest University. ACC teams and athletes have claimed dozens of national ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Horizon League
The Horizon League is an 11-school collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, whose members are located in and near the Great Lakes region. The Horizon League founded in 1979 as the Midwestern City Conference. The conference changed its name to Midwestern Collegiate Conference in 1985 and then the Horizon League in 2001. The conference started with a membership of six teams and has fluctuated in size with 24 different schools as members at different times. The League currently has 11 members. Its most recent membership changes occurred on July 1, 2022 with the departure of the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) to the Missouri Valley Conference. The Horizon League does not sponsor football. History Foundation In May 1978, DePaul University hosted a meeting with representatives from Bradley, Dayton, Detroit, Illinois State, Loyola–Chicago, Air Force, and Xavier who all agreed in principle that a new athletic confere ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |