World Cup 2014
Cheer on the USA!
Diesel Filling Station is raising money for our Atlanta Public Schools' programs
 
The US national team has qualified for the Round of 16! The big game will be Tuesday afternoon at 4pm as the USA takes on Belgium.
 
Join us at our USA World Cup HQ at Diesel Filling Station in Virginia-Highland for our viewing party.  Thus far during the tournament, we have raised over $3,000 for our programs at Atlanta Public Schools locations.  
 
We will be raffling off a US national team jersey on Tuesday, along with selling limited edition World Cup jerseys.  You can also support the organization by drinking Bud Light draft.  $1 from every pint and $4 from every pitcher will be donated to our programs at the end of the tournament.  The Bud Light special is active throughout the tournament, so join us at Diesel for any of the upcoming World Cup knockout matches.  
 
Thanks to everyone at Diesel Filling Station and Budweiser for their support of Soccer in the Streets!
Head coach Steve DeCou and the Georgia Gwinnett College men’s soccer team released the team’s 2014 fall schedule, highlighted by seven home contests in Lawrenceville and another showdown with 2013 NAIA championship finalist Auburn Montgomery.
The Grizzlies, the defending Association of Independent Institutions champions, will look to build on their first NAIA national tournament appearance last fall.
“Our 2014 schedule will be a great test for our program,” DeCou said. “We continue to face teams that will challenge us, while adding several new opponents to our schedule. The goal is to prepare our team for another postseason run as we look to take that next step.
“We expect to challenge once again for the A.I.I. championship and after earning a taste of the national tournament last year, the goal is to build further on that success.”
This season, the Grizzlies have 18 games slated against top competition from around the NAIA, with eight first-time opponents.
The campaign kicks off Aug. 29 with a neutral site game against Lyon (Ark.) in Lebanon, Tenn. The Grizzlies then take on host Cumberland (Tenn.) on Aug. 30.
The team returns to Lawrenceville for its first home game Sept. 3 against Truett-McConnell at 7 p.m.
Seven games will be played at home at the Grizzly Soccer Complex in Lawrenceville. GGC has won 14 of 19 games on campus over two seasons.
The Grizzlies have six in-state foes on the schedule, including NCAA Division II opponent Shorter on Sept. 27. Meanwhile, GGC will face five teams from the state of Tennessee and three from Alabama to highlight the southeastern schedule.
The Grizzlies have two games in August, seven in September, six in October and three in November leading into postseason play.
Senior Day is slated for Nov. 8, against Bob Jones (S.C.) in the regular-season finale.
Georgia Gwinnett will look to defend its A.I.I. title this fall, as the four-team championship will be held at Ashford University in Clinton, Iowa, Nov. 14-15. The Grizzlies defeated then-No. 3 Ashford in last year’s A.I.I. final in reaching the program’s first top-10 ranking.
The 2014 NAIA national championships begin Nov. 22 with final site action taking place Dec. 1-6 in Delray Beach, Fla. Last year, the Grizzlies qualified for their first national tournament in the team’s very first year of postseason eligibility.

Atlanta’s Best Sports Bars for World Cup Soccer


FIFA_World_Cup_2010_Slovenia_USAEven if you aren’t a huge fan of soccer, I challenge you to just watch one game of the World Cup and you’ll be hooked! The US plays Germany tomorrow and to use the words of one of my friends–It would be unpatriotic not to watch. So when game day comes around, consider checking out some of these places.
Olde Blind Dog Irish Pub- Be transported to Ireland at this very unique restaurant. Irish fare and big screen TVs–That’s all you need, right? They also have really great beer specials while the game is on. For $4.50 enjoy Guinness, Smithwicks, or Harp and also get entered into a raffle to win 2 tickets to see Liverpool vs. AC Milan at the Guinness International Champions Cup in Charlotte! They have locations in both Brookhaven and Milton, GA.
For more info visit: www.oldeblinddog.com
The Republic Social House- The great thing about this place is that it is never too crowded. There is both indoor and outdoor rooftop patio seating and let’s not forget about the TVs all over–Perfect for watching the game. Oddly, there is one TV in the corner that lags behind all the other TVs so just make sure you aren’t sitting near that one. When you are being seated, just ask the hostess not to be seated there unless you want to be watching everything 10 seconds behind everyone else in the bar. How does $3.50 Yuengling sound for a bar deal? Pretty good to me!
For more information visit: www.therepublicsocialhouse.com 
Fado Irish Pub- This is Atlanta’s World Cup Headquarters for the serious soccer fans! They are hosting a 1 Million dollar bracket challenge. The person with a perfect bracket–who perfectly predicts the outcome of every game–will go home a millionaire. They also have special game day menus and $5 Heineken draft and $4 Heineken & Heineken Light bottles all day, every day throughout tournament!
For more information visit: www.fadoirishpub.com
Get out you red, white, blue and get ready to chant “U.S.A!”.
Source: http://2girlsandaweekend.com
ATLANTA — 
Atlanta soccer fans jammed into local bars and restaurants Thursday to watch the US World Cup match. They left with a mix of disappointment and hope for the second round.

From Little 5 Points to Dunwoody, at every bar and restaurant with big-screen TVs, it was standing room only. There was a two-hour wait at the Perimeter Taco Mac just to get in the door. At northeast Atlanta’s Brewhouse Pub, the crowds spilled on to the sidewalk.
Some fans said they've always loved the sport but others admitted to Channel 2’s Diana Davis they've only recently started watching.

In the sea of red, white and blue, Davis found one fan for Germany’s soccer team. Don Jennings said that he fell in love with the sport living overseas.

“No timeouts and I mean you’re constantly moving up and down the field. It’s so fast,” Jennings said.
Germany beat the U.S. 1-0 Thursday to win Group G, but the Americans held onto second place when Portugal defeated Ghana 2-1 in a game played simultaneously.
The Germans, three-time World Cup champions, finished with seven points, while the U.S. had four after allowing a 95th-minute goal against Portugal on Sunday in a 2-2 draw.
Portugal also had four, but the Americans advanced from the so-called "Group of Death" because their goal difference was even and the Portuguese were minus three.
The crowds and the outcome raises hopes for soccer's future in Georgia.  Atlanta gets its own Major League Soccer franchise in 2017.
The expansion team, owned by Arthur Blank, will share the new downtown stadium with Blanks’ other team, the Falcons.

James Bradely, the co-president the American Outlaws, a booster group for the U.S. soccer team, is betting on Atlanta’s Major League Soccer team’s success.

“What he’s [Arthur Blank] been able to do for the Falcons and turn them around, I’m 100 percent confident he will be able to make soccer work in this town. He's not going to have to try very hard. There's already a lot of fans here,” Bradley said.

But will Atlanta pro soccer succeed where other non-traditional southern sports like ice hockey have failed?

The World cup comes just once every four years. Fans crowding and screaming for Thursday match told Davis they’re hooked.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Thank you for making Atlanta Soccerfest the biggest World Cup viewing party in the Southeast!
 
Some estimates had the crowd in Brookhaven Park last Sunday at 20,000 soccer fans! We estimate between 15,000 and 17,000 people joined us throughout the day... but who's counting?

Click here to watch news coverage from the huge event on the Brookhaven Post website.

You can also click here to view the crowd's reaction after Team USA scored its first goal.

We would like to thank all of our sponsors, without which none of our success would have been possible. Special thanks needs to be given to our biggest sponsors: Atlanta MLS, Kevin Aycock Homes, Town Dentistry in Brookhaven, Dragon Goal, and Ernst & Partners.

Finally, a big thank you to the city of Brookhaven for hosting us and working with our staff and volunteers to make Atlanta Soccerfest 2014 such a memorable event. There were no police incidents and our family-friendly festival proved that soccer is here to stay in the South.

Go USA!

 
John Ernst
Executive Committee
Atlanta Soccerfest 2014
COMMERCE CITY, CO (WXIA) – Despite losing three players to red cards, the Atlanta Silverbacks remained alive in the US Open Cup tournament, defeating Major League Soccer's Colorado Rapids 2-1 Tuesday night.
In the 62nd minute, two Silverbacks, Kwadwo Poku and Jaime Chavez, along with Colorado's Marc Burch were red carded due to a fight on the field. In the 65th minute, Atlanta's Borfor Carr was tossed for using foul and abusive language. The red cards left the Silverbacks playing for quite awhile with only eight men, but still left them holding their lead.
Before the fracas, Chavez picked up both of Atlanta's goals on the evening, in the 22nd minute and after the half, in the 58th minute. Colorado answered with one goal on a place kick from Dillon Powers in the 75th minute.
Tuesday's win marks the second for the Silverbacks over Major League Soccer opponents, after winning their first against Real Salt Lake two weeks ago in the fourth round. The Silverbacks will next head to the quarterfinals of the tournament to face the winner of this week's match between two more MLS opponents – the Chicago Fire and the Columbus Crew. The winner of that match will come to Atlanta to take on the Silverbacks on July 8 or 9.
The Silverbacks are one of only two NASL teams remaining in this year's US Open Cup tournament. The Carolina RailHawks downed the LA Galaxy, 1-0 Tuesday afternoon.
The prestigious Lamar Hunt US Open Cup tournament has been held each year since 1914, and features 80 teams from 11 different soccer leagues across the nation.
Georgia Soccer team performing community service in Baton Rouge

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -

Baton Rouge is drawing in crowds of soccer players for the Youth National Championship. Six teams are coming from one soccer academy in Georgia.
The GSA 01 Premier Team has goals on and off the soccer field. They're working with a Baton Rouge Prevention Education Program called "I Care" and are reading to students at an elementary school in Baton Rouge.
The assistant manager is hoping his players can help make a difference.
"Not only just being read to, but being able to see older kids in academics as well. So they can foster and get the sense that older kids have been where they are now and education is key for everything," said GSA Assistant Manager Keith Toney.
The GSA players are not only talented athletes, but gifted students as well. They say they're excited to get involved in the Baton Rouge community – and the city is just as excited to have them here.

Lady Silverbacks sign former Cobb standout to one-day contract 
Erin Holt has brain trauma and partial paralysis. 

By Daniel Wilco - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 


More passion than sense. 
Its what got John Latham into the business. And after he and Bobby Glustrom bought the Atlanta Silverbacks soccer team in 1998, it fueled another decision to add a womens team a year later. For a businessman, it didnt make a whole lot of sense. 

Lady Silverbacks sign former Cobb standout to one-day contract photo 
Erin Holt with former college teammate and current Silverback Morgan Mitchell. 

You have to have a love for this, Latham said. Its certainly not the preferred business model, I can assure you that. 

On Saturday, the Lady Silverbacks played their final home game of the 2014 season in front of a crowd of fans who just managed to outnumber the players. 

As the first members of the crowd filtered into the stadium that rose up on either side of her, Erin Holt kicked around on the pitch, waiting for the clock to show zeroes across the board game time. 


She had just signed a contract with the Silverbacks minutes ago and received her jersey moments later: a gleaming white shirt with her number, 25, right below four black letters HOLT. She was still beaming. 

Atlanta forward Morgan Mitchell jogged over to give Holt a hug. Mitchell and Holt had been teammates at Armstrong Atlantic StateUniversity in Savannah for three years, Holt being one year Mitchells elder. 

But the embrace was short Mitchell had to go. As the forward ran into the tunnel at Silverbacks Park to prepare for the game, Holt sat in her wheelchair and returned to kicking a ball around with her mom. 

As long as the ball found its way to Holts right foot, she could send it back. But occasionally it wandered too far and the game was paused as someone else retrieved it. 

On Halloween night in 2013, Holt was hit by a pick-up truck being driven by a drunk driver. She wasnt expected to live 48 hours

But as she had always done on the soccer field, Holt fought. 

For six weeks, she was in a coma. When she awoke, she was left with serious brain trauma and the left side of her body was paralyzed. 

Saturday, the girl who grew up on a pitch returned to one for the first time since being hospitalized. She was presented with a one-day contract by her hometown team and recognized as the honorary 12th starter for the match. 

As her mother held up Holts jersey in admiration before the game, Holt muttered a Thank you. It was the most shed spoken all night. 

The social butterfly who awed Mitchell in college is now restricted to a few words here and there, all delivered only after a Herculean effort. Her brain stem was damaged in the accident, and fine motor skills, such as talking, have become major ordeals. 

The standout soccer star who earned Mitchells admiration in college is now in a wheelchair, though she can stand with assistance. 

In the Armstrong record book, however, Holts name stands out all by itself. She ranks seventh all time in matches played, 10th in points, ninth in goals and 10th in assists. She was also named to the 2010 Peach Belt All-Tournament Team and the Presidential Honor Roll. 

But the former Walton High School standout forward who tallied 12 goals in her career at Armstrong has different goals now. 

To be able to walk on her own. To be able to transfer to and from her wheelchair. To not require constant supervision. 

Things are looking up. Holt has started to initiate conversation herself at times. Her speech has been improving. 

Sometimes recovery from this type of injury can take a year. Sometimes five. Some dont ever fully recover. Its a long road ahead and the Holts need all the help they can get. 

Helping hand 

The Atlanta Lady Silverbacks dont appear to be the obvious organization to help. They dont even have enough money for themselves. 

Lets just say its not self-funding, Latham said of his club. 

The semi-professional team is essentially funded as a charitable donation from its owner. 

The team played only four home games this season. Yet, 50 percent of all proceeds from Saturday nights game were donated to Holts family to help pay for medical bills. A collection jar gathered additional funds. 

Ben Holt, Erins father, expressed his gratitude numerous times before halftime. He previously estimated the total cost of his familys future medical bills at $5 million. 

When Silverbacks coach Chris Adams, who had faced Holt and her Armstrong Pirates as a coach for North Georgia, pitched the fundraiser idea to Latham months ago, the owner was immediately on board. 

It was a no-brainer, Latham said. 

At the end of the game a 2-0 loss to the Charlotte Lady Eagles that dropped the Silverbacks to 1-6-0 for the season the players started to drift toward their bench. 

Ben Holt wheeled his daughter toward them. Mitchell saw her old teammate, broke from the pack and crouched down next to her friend. Another Silverbacks player joined her. 

Soon, Lady Eagles and Lady Silverbacks, some hand in hand, some with their arms slung over each others shoulders, formed a tight circle around Erin Holt. 

They began to pray, asking for a speedy and full recovery for Holt. Bowed heads couldnt hide the red eyes. 

The circle dissipated and the players were immediately mobbed by young girls pining for autographs. Through the mayhem, Charlotte coach Lee Horton managed to find Adams and stuck out his hand. Adams returned the gesture, but was surprised when he found cash in Hortons palm. 

Horton whispered into Adams ear, the two embraced, and Adams made his way to a man on the sideline carrying a jar. The man held a sign asking for donations for the Holt family. Adams tucked the bill into the the jar. 

There was a bigger picture than soccer tonight, Adams said. Weve had a challenging season from a competitive standpoint, but what you also realize is theres more to life than soccer. 

More passion than sense, Latham said. Thats his model. 

Sometimes you can have a whole lot of both.

Silverbacks Headed for the Rocky Mountains, Visiting The Colorado Rapids on Tuesday in the U.S. Open Cup Fifth Round

The Atlanta Silverbacks will look to claim their second straight win over a Major League Soccer Team on Tuesday night when they travel to Denver to take on the Colorado Rapids. The Silverbacks earned their spot in the fifth round of the U.S. Open Cup by topping MLS side Real Salt Lake, 2-1, at Atlanta Silverbacks Park last Saturday.

The Rapids roster features a pair of former Silverbacks players, defender Chris Klute and goalkeeper Joe Nasco, setting up a reunion of sorts at Dick's Sporting Goods Parkthis Tuesday. The game will kick off at 9 p.m. ET (7 p.m. local time), and information on a live stream will be passed along to fans once its finalized.  
Brookhaven Park - Sunday, June 22, 2014
View this email in your browser
Atlanta Soccerfest is tomorrow.

The largest World Cup viewing-party in the Southeast takes place at Brookhaven Park as the US plays Portugal! Click here to watch local news coverage of the event
 

The games that will be shown on the big screens include:
  • 12:00 PM: Russia vs. Belgium
  • 3:00 PM: South Korea vs. Algeria
  • 6:00 PM: USA vs. Portugal
What do you need to know for Soccerfest? 

1. Take MARTA. The Brookhaven stop is 3 blocks from the park. There will also be a shuttle if you need it.
2. Get there early and stake out a good spot!
3. Small umbrellas are OK but nothing that blocks the view of the folks in back of you please.
4. I know it's the "Dog Park" but no doggies are allowed, even in USMNT jerseys.
5. Coolers are allowed and will be searched, but no alcohol can be brought into the park.
6. Come hungry and thirsty we've got a great lineup of concessions & beer. 


See you tomorrow!

John Ernst
Executive Committee
Atlanta Soccerfest 2014

P.S. Thank you to our 2014 Atlanta Soccerfest sponsors!
A week after the Georgia boys' all-stars claimed a 2-1 win over Tennessee at Chattanooga's Finley Stadium, the girls from the Peach State will head there on Friday to try and complete the sweep in the 9th Annual Tennessee-Georgia Girls' All-Star Soccer Classic.
Kick-off is slated for 4 p.m. prior to the Chattanooga FC Women's game against Alabama FC at 7:30.
Tennessee has won seven of the previous eight matches and has won four matches in a row, including last season's 5-2 win at Finley. The lone win for Georgia came in 2008 (4-3) at Harmon Field in Dalton.
Here are the rosters for this year's Classic:
TENNESSEE ALL-STARS
Shelby Batch - Chattanooga Christian
Kendra Jolly - Chattanooga Christian
Allie Vannoy - Chattanooga Christian
Callie Baker - Cleveland
Kendall Hamilton - Cleveland
Alex Buccelli - East Hamilton
Ali Fugatt - East Hamilton
Abbi Harr - GPS
Marshall Rustand - GPS
Olivia Rowell - Grace Academy
Sydney Miller - McMinn Central
Nicole Watson - McMinn Central
Taylor Young -McMinn Central
Mackenzie Nadeau - Notre Dame
Miranda Smith - Soddy-Daisy
Head Coach - Jim Schermerhorn (Notre Dame)
GEORGIA ALL-STARS
Blake Chagon - Adairsville
Cherish Lowery - Adairsville
Mallary Hedden - Cass
Dina Stagg - Dade County
Hayleigh Smith - East Jackson
Sage Kafsky - Fannin County
Madeline Tipton - Fannin County
Citlaly Fonseca - Gordon Central
Ashley Hagenbaug - Gordon Central
Shelby Mullinax - Heritage
Amanda Burnett - LaFayette
Sierra Hendrix - LaFayette
Shelby Narmore - LaFayette
Ashlee Huynh - Northwest Whitfield
Maria Zumeta - Northwest Whitfield
Lucy Lansing - Rome
Head Coach - Stacey Dunfee (Heritage)
Staff Writer-Atlanta Business Chronicle
To capitalize on World Cup mania, an Atlanta-based mobile startup has launched an app that can measure and fine-tune the air pressure in a soccer ball.
Egos Ventures, the developers behind photography app Cycloramic, has launched BallTune.
Soccer enthusiasts know that having a ball with the perfect pressure can make a large difference during matches.
BallTune indicates the level of inflation of each ball and enables players to tune it accordingly to their game, providing information on how the amount of air will affect their performance. With this app, players will be able to personalize the ball’s pressure depending on their play style or field condition, according to a statement.
BallTune uses the bouncing characteristics of a soccer ball to compute its pressure (PSI and BAR), without the need for a gauge. Drop the ball, with the phone in your other hand, and the app will record sound and video from the ball’s bounce. BallTune analyzes sound, video, and frequency of the bounce to determine the air pressure of the ball.
The app features 5 pressure zones: over-inflated, power, accuracy, control and under-inflated.
With a ball inflated to the “power” level, maximum velocity to the ball can be achieved. A ball inflated to the “accuracy” level will work best for putting bends or spins on kicks. The “control” range will work best for precise passing on smaller fields and harder surfaces. An under-inflated ball will be ideal for heading practice and play in very confined areas, while an over-inflated ball is much harder to control and can cause head injuries.
Future versions of BallTune will be able to measure pressure in basketballs, volleyballs, and tennis balls.
BallTune is available on iOS and Android for $0.99
Urvaksh Karkaria covers Technology.
The 'other' football is silent at UGA and in SEC

BY SETH EMERSON

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Georgia has a women’s soccer team, but the Bulldogs, along with all but two members of the SEC, do not have an intercollegiate men’s soccer team.
JOHN KELLEY — University of Georgia





ATHENS -- The question comes up every so often, especially this time of year, to Steve Holeman, the head coach of the Georgia women’s soccer team. He runs a summer soccer camp at Georgia, and a boy camper will ask if he can come play soccer for the Bulldogs.

Holeman has to shake his head. The men’s soccer program is nonexistent. Oh, there’s a club team, but if players want a scholarship they will have to go somewhere else.

And if they want to play men’s soccer under an SEC banner, well, forget it. The conference that rules American college football doesn’t sponsor a men’s version of the football that rules the globe.

The World Cup begins this week, and the state of American soccer is unquestionably better than it was two decades ago: MLS is a respected and viable league with good attendance, and the U.S. is a factor at the World Cup.

But at the college level, especially in the Southeast, men’s soccer is nearly dormant.

“I would like to see men’s soccer in the SEC, for sure. I think it would be phenomenal,” said Holeman, who played on Wake Forest’s men’s soccer team from 1986-89. “I think we have an incredible base of talent on the boys side in the state of Georgia. I think Georgia would immediately become very successful.”

So why is it not even discussed? Title IX, with its requirement for gender equity in college athletics, is most often cited as the culprit. One of its tenets holds that the ratio of athletic scholarships given to males and female must be roughly equivalent to the student body ratio of the school.

Georgia’s student body is 57 percent female. So when football takes up 85 scholarships, that makes it hard to have a bunch of men’s sports; Georgia currently has 11 women’s sports and eight men’s sports.

“As long as the demographics were in that direction it would be very, very difficult to add any male sport,” said Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity, whose school also doesn’t have wrestling or lacrosse.

Then again, men’s soccer is an official sport in the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12, which are governed by the same Title IX statutes. That’s why finances play a role in the South, where soccer is perceived to not have many followers.

Two SEC schools do have men’s soccer teams: South Carolina and Kentucky, which play in Conference USA. In October, the Gamecocks and Wildcats played to a scoreless tie in Lexington, before a listed crowd of 396. When they met in football eight days earlier, the crowd numbered more than 82,000.

That points to the reality of it. If there was enough demand for the sport, college administrators likely would try to come up with the funds to make it work. But rich alumni aren’t exactly beating down McGarity’s door demanding that he come up with the money to sponsor men’s soccer.

“Once the World Cup hits the scene, people get excited about it,” McGarity said. “But it comes and goes so quickly that it’s like other sports that, especially in the Southeast, are not dominant.”

There are only three Division I men’s soccer programs in the state: Mercer, Georgia Southern and Georgia State. There are five more in Division II and six more in Division III.

But soccer supporters in Georgia say there is enough of a demand to sustain more, especially at the two biggest schools. Greg Griffith, the executive director for Georgia Soccer, points to the changing demographics in the Atlanta area: the growing Hispanic minority and refugee communities from Africa and Asia.

There are more than 85,000 registered youth soccer players in Georgia, most of whom (53 percent) are male. Georgia Soccer estimates there are an additional “tens of thousands” in unaffiliated local community leagues.

U.S. National Team member Brad Guzan, the top backup goalie, played at South Carolina. Clint Dempsey, a forward and one of the top Americans, played at Furman, so it’s easy to imagine him suiting up for an SEC program.

“There’s no question that the talent is here,” Griffith said. “We would love for there to be a program at the University of Georgia. I’m even more surprised there isn’t a program at Georgia Tech, seeing as how the ACC is one of the best conferences in the country.”