For The Miami FC faithful, this season has gone just about as well as you could’ve hoped. Sure, a longer U.S. Open Cup run would have been welcomed, but this post-season has been a delight for supporters. Coming off the hiatus of the NASL, Miami FC was left with no place to play. In a scramble the organization created Miami FC 2 and entered the NPSL’s Southeast Conference. That last minute addition is now one of the final four teams vying for the NPSL Title.
The House of Soccer event kicked off Friday afternoon in an effort to unite the soccer culture of the Magic City. Located at Mana in Wynwood, the world’s greatest players (american football as well) took the field in a small sided showcase. If that 5-on-5 action wasn’t compelling enough there were four trophies on hand for photo opportunities.
Olympique Lyonnais Féminin will play the North Carolina Courage in the first Women’s International Champions Cup final after the latter bested Manchester City Women 3-0 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
The five-time UEFA Women’s Champions League winners and fifteen-time French first division winners scored three early goals to propel them to a commanding lead over the Citizens.
Lyon forward Eugénie Le Sommer scored just four minutes into the match thanks to an assist by Ada Hegerberg and again in the fourteenth, picking up the ball from a City defender and casually walking it around the English goalkeeper Karen Bardsley before slotting it into the net. Hegerberg made her own contribution to the score sheet two minutes later.
After a period of early domination, Lyon were able to hold on to their clean sheet with a defense that highlighted the difference in quality between the two sides.
Lyon and Manchester City’s women’s sides previously met in two UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-finals, including one last year. On both occasions, Manchester City fell to the eventual Champions League final winners on aggregate goals.
The North Carolina Courage won the first International Champions Cup Women’s Tournament match Thursday night, defeating Paris Saint-Germain Féminines 2-1 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
Fans of Bayern Munich in Miami-Dade County have a lot to be excited about this week. Die Roten are playing at Hard Rock Stadium on Friday night, facing off against Manchester City. But for some of the Bavarian faithful in the Magic City, it’s a long-awaited return appearance.
While the Cityzens have never played in Miami, Bayern Munich has. In 1991, as part of the Miami Cup, Bayern played two matches. On Feb. 1, Bayern and the Colombian National Team (club vs. country friendlies were much more common at the time than they are now) squared off at the Miami Orange Bowl. In a tense matchup, the teams drew 0-0.
Bayern spanks the Yanks
In the team’s second match of the Cup, also at the Orange Bowl, they easily dispatched the U.S. Men’s National Team. The Americans, fresh off their appearance in the 1990 World Cup, fell 4-0.
“The Untied States — basically a collegiate all-star team — played on the of the world’s finest club teams. Bayern Munich has six players from the West German World Cup championship team,” Steve Wyche wrote in the Miami Herald after the game.
“We’re not technically as sophisticated as they are or as tightly knit as a team,” U.S. coach Bob Gansler said after the game. “Those guys have been playing forever; this is just our second game this year.”
Roland Wohlfarth scored twice in 13 minutes before halftime (25′, 38′) to seal the game, but Manfred Schwabl (39′) and Roland Grahammer (76′) also got in on the action.
The Miami Cup would never be held again at the Orange Bowl, replaced by a Joe Robbie Cup in 1994 at then-Joe Robbie Stadium. That tournament would run through intermittently through 2001, never again attracting a European club the size of Bayern Munich. It took more than 25 years for another Miami-based tournament, the International Champions Cup, to bring the club back.
As the 2018 International Champions Cup kicks into high gear, events will be taking place around Miami building up to the games. All of that can be found in our ICC Calendar, which will be updating throughout the week as events take shape.
As with every break in the soccer calendar, the biggest names in the sport tend to visit Miami-Dade County for some rest and relaxation. Until the start of the European club calendar in August, we’ll provide you updates of who was seen where. It’s Miami Soccer Summer Break 2018!
Jesse Lingard visits Miami before Man United comes to town
He was part of England’s semifinal squad at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, so he’s free from club responsibilities for a few more weeks. But that didn’t stop Jesse Lingard from heading to South Beach before the rest of the Manchester United squad comes for the International Champions Cup.
A fire broke out Tuesday night at Melreese Country Club, the proposed site of Fútbol Miami MLS’ stadium development, Miami Freedom Park and Soccer Village.
As of 1 a.m. Wednesday, City of Miami police were unable to confirm the cause of the fire. City of Miami fire rescue officials were still on the scene.
According to the Miami Herald, approximately 40 golf carts were on fire Tuesday evening.
A large fireball was visible from NW. 37th Ave. Flames reached 30 to 40 feet in the sky.
The most significant damage was to the golf course’s carts and the structure used to house the carts. No damage was reported to the main clubhouse building.
It is unknown how this may impact the golf course’s operation on Wednesday. It is unlikely that this will have any long-term impact on the golf course or on the proposed soccer-related development.
Often after a U.S. Open Cup appearance, participating teams suffer from post-Cup swoon. For FC Kendall, who suffered defeat in Round 1 at the hands of Miami United FC, their 2018 spring/summer league performance has been ascendant.
The club has completed an undefeated American Premier Soccer League campaign, capping it off with a 2-0 win over UD Miami FC on Sunday night at Kendall Soccer Park
Second goal of our 2-0 Win vs. UD Miami yesterday. @danigonz10 scores off a great pass from Icaro “Iko.” This was the 6th goal of Dani “Mini” Gonzalez in the @apslofficial 2018 Summer Season. pic.twitter.com/EViznzB8Pq
— FC Kendall (@_FCKendall) July 23, 2018
With the win, the team is now top the league table, five points clear of the nearest competition in South Florida FC. Both South Florida and FC Kendall will now heads into the APSL playoffs with a well-deserved bye. This weekend, Boca Raton FC’s APSL squad will face Heights FC of Deerfield Beach, while UD Miami will play Miami-Dade stalwart Red Force FC this weekend. FC Kendall will play the winner of the second game.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>After 13 exciting weeks, we have our <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Top6?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Top6</a> that will move on to the <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/2018APSLPlayoffs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#2018APSLPlayoffs</a>. <a href=”https://twitter.com/_FCKendall?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@_FCKendall</a> and <a href=”https://twitter.com/southfloridafc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@southfloridafc</a> earn <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Quarterfinals?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Quarterfinals</a> Bye and will await the results of <a href=”https://twitter.com/BocaRatonFC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@BocaRatonFC</a> vs <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/HeightsFC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#HeightsFC</a> and <a href=”https://twitter.com/UDMiamiFCFans?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@UDMiamiFCFans</a> vs <a href=”https://twitter.com/RedForceFC09?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@RedForceFC09</a> this weekend. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/APSLSoccer?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#APSLSoccer</a> <a href=”https://t.co/So581ae5En”>pic.twitter.com/So581ae5En</a></p>— APSL (@apslofficial) <a href=”https://twitter.com/apslofficial/status/1021899601408876544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>July 24, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The APSL season provides both vigorous competition for local players and a path to the U.S. Open Cup, so securing the league title will be of the highest priority for Kendall.
While the name is relatively new, the club is not. Originally Uruguay Kendall FC, the club changed names to FC Kendall last year. The club qualified for the 2018 Open Cup by defeating Nashville United FC last November.
In the words of the great musician Billy Joel, “Oh what a night”. The Miami FC 2 clinched their ticket to the national tournament and took care of business at the BOB. To make things even sweeter, Miami will get to play another match in front of the FC2 faithful. Despite some mid-week heroics, Little Rock was just no match for this professional outfit.