The FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 Qualifiers are underway in Europe with the earliest preliminary matches played in Vilnius, Lithuania and Ta’Qali, Malta this Thursday, April 4th. Eight teams divided into two groups will play three matches each over the next six days,with the top two teams from each group advancing to Europe’s 42-team qualifying group stage that begins in September 2013.

The eight teams competing in Europe’s preliminary phase are Albania, Latvia, Luxembourg and Malta in one group (based in Malta) and Faroe Islands, Georgia, Lithuania and Montenegro in the other group (based in Lithuania). Following this preliminary phase, the European draw for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 will take place on Tuesday, April 16, 2013.

Also over the next six days, a number of national teams will compete during the reserved dates for women’s international football on FIFA’s coordinated match calendar. Of note, Canada will play France on April 4th and England on April 7th while former FIFA Women’s World Cup champions Germany and USA will face each other on April 5th.

ISN will be reviewing these great titles in the very near future.  Stay tuned to www.isnsoccer.com for more information.  

The New England Revolution has signed 18-year-old Diego Fagundez, the team’s first-ever Homegrown player, to a multiple-year contract extension. Further terms of the deal are not being released.

“We’re pleased that Diego has made the commitment to remain in New England,” Revolution General Manager Michael Burns said. “While he’s only 18, we believe he has a very bright future with our club and in Major League Soccer.”

Fagundez became the third-youngest player (15 years, 273 days) to sign an MLS contract when he inked a Homegrown deal with the Revolution on November 15, 2010. The Leominster, Mass., product came to the Revs’ first team through the Revolution Academy following a stellar two-year career with the Revs’ Under-16 team. Fagundez was born in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Fagundez made his MLS debut on Aug. 6, 2011, when he came on as a substitute against Chivas USA at Gillette Stadium. He later scored his first career goal in that game, becoming the second-youngest player to score a goal in MLS history (16 years, 173 days).

Since debuting in 2011, Fagundez has made 27 appearances (including 11 starts). He has scored four goals and added three assists. In 2012, he made 20 appearances – including eight starts – scoring two goals and adding two assists.

Bria Dixon, a senior forward at Cary High School (Cary, N.C.) and Tyler Brazell, a junior midfielder at Brookland-Cayce High School (Cayce, S.C.) have been selected as the NSCAA/TopDrawerSoccer.com High School Players of the Week.

Dixon was crucial in Cary’s last three victories. The senior forward scored a goal in a 2-0 victory over Fuquay-Varina High School, both goals in a 2-0 victory over Middle Creek High School, and capped off her week by tallying a goal and an assist in a 5-0 rout of Garner High School.

Cary High is coming off back-to-back playoff appearances and Dixon is playing a pivotal role in leading her team to a 4-0-1 record this season. Dixon has signed a letter of intent to play for Virginia Tech University in the fall.

Brazell tied Brookland-Cayce’s single-game assists record with five in a 10-0 trashing of county rival Batesburg-Leesville. Brazell also scored two goals in the season opener. Last season the junior midfielder registered 18 points with five goals and eight assists.  

Nicole Newton, a senior midfielder at Episcopal High School (Baton Rouge, La.) and Dan Glascock a senior midfielder at Acalanes High School (Lafayette, Calif.) have been selected as the NSCAA High School Players of the Week.

Newton scored five goals in her first two playoff games, leading her team to consecutive 8-0 victories. The three-time All-State midfielder finished the regular season with 36 goals and 19 assists. Newton committed to Birmingham-Southern College (Birmingham, Ala.) last week.

Glascock capped off an undefeated season with the Acalanes Dons by winning a third consecutive Diablo Foothill Athletic League (DFAL) Championship. The senior midfielder scored a goal and produced four assists in his last three games.

Glascock was also named the DFAL Player of the Year and will begin the sectional round of the playoffs tonight. The Acalanes Dons are ranked as the top seed in the North Coast Section (NFS) Division II region.

Other male finalists included Mason Wilson from St. Thomas High School (Houston, Texas) and Lumi Kaba from Robert E. Lee High School (Tyler, Texas).

The NSCAA High School Player of the Week program is designed to highlight the future stars of the game. Anyone can nominate a player, however only players whose coach is a current NSCAA member are eligible for selection. Honorees will be announced on Wednesdays.

 The Columbus Crew and its charitable arm, the Crew Soccer Foundation, today unveiled plans for the inaugural Kirk Urso Memorial Match.

The Black & Gold will play a preseason exhibition game against the University of North Carolina on February 24, with all proceeds benefitting the Crew Soccer Foundation’s Kirk Urso Memorial Fund. The Urso Fund was launched in late 2012 to support heart health research and programming in memory of the Crew midfielder who passed away at the age of 22 from a congenital heart defect last August.

“When we announced the Kirk Urso Memorial Fund it was intended to honor Kirk’s legacy by funding research initiatives focused on congenital heart defects and sudden cardiac death in youth,” said Crew President and General Manager Mark McCullers. “The inaugural Urso Memorial Match provides a valuable opportunity to once again draw attention to this goal and garner support through the sport of soccer. Both the Crew and University of North Carolina are humbled to be involved with the match, and we look forward to raising awareness and driving proceeds for the Urso Fund.”

Urso was originally selected by the Crew in the first round (No.10 overall) in the 2012 Supplemental Draft, and appeared in six games (five starts) with one assist last season before being sidelined by injury. He was a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he made four consecutive NCAA Men’s College Cup Final Four appearances and captained the team to the 2011 NCAA National Championship. Urso was admired for his unwavering work ethic and steadfast character both on and off the field.

“Working with the Columbus Crew to support the Kirk Urso Memorial Fund is an honor. We at the University of North Carolina love Kirk and his family and hope to be involved for many years to come,” said University of North Carolina Head Coach Carlos Somoano. “UNC and the Columbus Crew were dear to Kirk and hopefully the teams he loved, through the game he loved, will raise dollars, awareness and intentions for the Memorial Fund.”

The match pits the Crew against Urso’s college alma mater at Macpherson Stadium in Browns Summit, N.C. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 on game day (the student price on game day will remain $10). Standard seating and lawn seating are both available, with all tickets serving as general admission. Tickets can be purchased by calling (336) 669-0841 or by visiting TheCrew.com/UrsoFund, with donations for the Urso Fund accepted via the same URL. Additionally, there will be auction items at the match benefitting the Urso Fund, including: 2013 Columbus Crew team-signed items, UNC men’s basketball tickets, a signed ball from U.S. Women’s National Team legend Mia Hamm and more.

The Urso Memorial Match caps the Black & Gold’s preseason camp following an 18-day trip to Orlando, Fla. for the Disney Pro Classic. The Crew begins the 2013 MLS regular season on March 2 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. against Chivas USA.

Seattle Sounders FC has signed defender DeAndre Yedlin, the club announced today. Per Major League Soccer and club policy, terms were not disclosed. Yedlin is the first Homegrown Player signed by Sounders FC in franchise history.

“We are thrilled to sign DeAndre as our first Homegrown Player,” said Owner and General Manager Adrian Hanauer. “Darren Sawatzky and Dick McCormick deserve much of the credit, as they have developed a top academy program for Sounders FC. Hopefully DeAndre is the first of many local players who will come through our system and wear the rave green at the professional level.”

Yedlin, 19, played for the University of Akron the past two seasons after graduating from the Sounders FC Academy system following the 2010-11 season. Yedlin, a Seattle native who attended O’Dea High School, was honored on the All-MAC First Team in his two seasons with the Zips and was named a College Soccer News Freshman All-American in 2011.

“It’s amazing to start my professional career in a place where I started playing soccer in the first place,” said Yedlin. “I’m excited to be able to perform in front of all the fans. It’s the best place to play in the United States-one of the best in the world I think. It’s very exciting for me.”

Yedlin appeared in all 45 games for Akron over the past two seasons, making 41 starts. He finished his collegiate career with 12 assists, including six assists last season, ranking third on the team. The right back served four assists during a five-match stretch in 2012 and recorded four game-winning assists in his freshman season.

Prior to his collegiate career, Yedlin was a starter for Seattle’s O’Dea High School and the Sounders FC Academy team. He led O’Dea to three Washington State championships in 2005, 2008 and 2009. Yedlin was invited to the U.S. Soccer U18 Men’s National training camp and the 2010 SuperElite International Showcase. He participated on the ODP state team from 2006-09 and was named to the USSDA 93 Academy Select Team in 2009 and 2010. Yedlin was ranked seventh in the nation among all 2011 recruits by Top Drawer Soccer and was ranked 12^th by College Soccer News.

The Canadian Soccer Association has announced that Brendon McAdam is the 2012 Canadian Para Soccer Player of the Year. McAdam was honoured by selection from the Canada Para Soccer coaching staff.

“Brendon played a very strong role in our entire 2012 year,” said Canadian Para Soccer coach Drew Ferguson. “He provides leadership on the field with fierce work rate and commitment.”

The 22-year old midfielder from Victoria, BC is in his third year with the Canadian Para Soccer program. In June, he helped Canada win the 7-a-side Tournament in Spain with a perfect record of four wins in four matches. McAdam scored four goals, including a hat trick in the final against host Catalonia.

McAdam is the first-ever winner of the Canadian Para Soccer Player of the Year award. The introduction of the award coincides with the 20th year of the Canada Soccer Player Awards as well as the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Soccer Association.

“Topping of his year with a hat trick - all in the first half and all with his head - is feat at any level of international soccer. Brendon is a very deserving selection for the first Canadian Para Soccer Player of the Year.”

The Canadian Para Soccer announcement was made on December 7. In the coming week, the Canadian Soccer Association will announce the Canadian U-17 Players of the Year on December 9, the Canadian U-20 Players of the Year on December 10, and the BMO Canadian Players of the Year on December 11 (female) and December 12 (male).

The U.S. Men’s National Team came from behind twice to earn a 2-2 draw against No. 9-ranked Russia in Wednesday’s international friendly match at Kuban Stadium.

Second-half substitute Mix Diskerud, playing in his third match with the U.S. senior team, scored the game-tying goal nearly three minutes into second-half stoppage time. Midfielder Michael Bradley also contributed a 76th-minute equalizer to tie the score at 1-1 and goalkeeper Tim Howard made six saves, several of the spectacular variety.

The USA finishes the 2012 campaign with a 9-2-3 record and a .750 winning percentage, which matches the all-time record for the top winning percentage of the modern era that was set in 2005 when the team went 13-3-4.

“We saw a very entertaining game,” said U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. “Russia proved why they are one of the best teams in Europe, and we wanted to see how good we are against such a strong team. The way our team fought back twice after being down a goal was great and it showed a lot of character. This is a young team, and a team that is growing. We are pleased with the game overall, and to score in the last minute was great.”

Diskerud’s game-tying goal came in the waning seconds of stoppage time after Michael Bradley sent a long ball toward the penalty area from just in front of the midfield line near the left sideline. Russia defender Sergei Ignashevich tried to clear, but his header bounced to the top of the penalty box where Diskerud struck a first-time shot that clipped a Russian defender and looped over the stranded goalkeeper into the net.

Russia has not allowed a goal during 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying.

Russia got on the board in just the ninth minute, making the USA pay for an early mistake when a Danny Williams short free kick was intercepted by Russia’s Alexander Kerzhakov, who rushed toward goal before dishing with the outside of his right foot to Fedor Smolov who was making a run into the right side of the penalty area. Smolov easily rolled his uncontested shot past Howard and inside the near post from 12 yards out for the 1-0 lead.

Smolov’s Russia senior team debut was short-lived as he was injured on the play and was soon replaced by Maxim Grigoriev in the 11th minute.

The U.S. overcame a short outing from central defender Carlos Bocanegra whose 110th career appearance came to an abrupt halt when he strained his left hamstring in the 15th minute. Clarence Goodson replaced the U.S. captain with Howard donning the armband.

Bradley’s equalizer, which came in the 76th minute, was a superb volley that showed both skill and power. Two second-half substitutes combined to create the goal as midfielder Maurice Edu chipped a pass to the forward line into Juan Agudelo who was making a run toward the top of the box. Agudelo headed the ball back to Bradley, who smashed his 20-yard volley off the lower part of the left post and in for his 11th career international goal and second of 2012.

Russia retook the lead in the 84th minute through a Roman Shirokov penalty kick. Goodson picked up a yellow card for fouling Russia’s Artem Dzyuba in the penalty box and Shirokov converted for a 2-1 lead.

Diskerud’s goal was the USA’s second stoppage-time score of the year. The other stoppage-time tally was Ricardo Clark’s 97th-minute goal to open 2012 with a 1-0 victory against Venezuela on Jan. 21.

The U.S. will now look ahead to the resumption of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying when the Hexagonal kicks off Feb. 6, 2013, on the road against Honduras. The USA is competing to qualify for its seventh straight FIFA World Cup.

Following yesterday’s announcement from CONMEBOL that the 2016 Copa America will be held in the United States and include the participation of six national teams from CONCACAF, Confederation officials confirmed today that they are conducting talks on this matter and further negotiations are required before a final agreement has been reached.

“Even though playing the 2016 Copa America in the CONCACAF region with our teams and those from CONMEBOL would be a wonderful experience for all fans, we are still in the midst of talks and negotiations between all parties involved in this decision,” said CONCACAF General Secretary, Enrique Sanz. “This is an idea we are hoping to materialize but we are still evaluating and discussing before it becomes official but the intention is definitely there.”

In July, CONCACAF President, Jeffrey Webb, met with Executive Committee members of CONMEBOL in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to explore the potential for collaborative opportunities between the two confederations. Among the items discussed was the staging of a special Copa America in 2016 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of CONMEBOL that would involve CONCACAF’s partnership and participation.