1.
Fresno, California
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Fresno (/ˈfrɛznoʊ/ FREZ-no is a city in California, United States, and the county seat of Fresno County. It covers about 112 square miles in the center of the San Joaquin Valley, named for the abundant ash trees lining the San Joaquin River, Fresno was founded in 1872 as a railway station of the Central Pacific Railroad before it was incorporated in 1885. The population of Fresno proper soared in the half of the 20th century. It was here in Fresno in 1958 that Bank of America first launched the BankAmericard credit card, Fresno is near the geographical center of California. It lies approximately 220 miles northeast of Los Angeles,170 miles south of the capital, Sacramento. Yosemite National Park is about 60 miles to the north, Kings Canyon National Park is 60 miles to the east, the county of Fresno was formed in 1856 after the California Gold Rush. It was named for the abundant ash trees lining the San Joaquin River, Millerton, then on the banks of the free-flowing San Joaquin River and close to Fort Miller, became the county seat after becoming a focal point for settlers. Other early county settlements included Firebaughs Ferry, Scottsburg and Elkhorn Springs, the San Joaquin River flooded on December 24,1867, inundating Millerton. Flooding also destroyed the town of Scottsburg on the nearby Kings River that winter, rebuilt on higher ground, Scottsburg was renamed Centerville. In 1867, Anthony McQeen Easterby purchased land bounded by the present Chestnut, Belmont, Clovis and California avenues, unable to grow wheat for lack of water, he hired sheep man Moses J. Church in 1871 to create an irrigation system. Building new canals and purchasing existing ditches, Church then formed the Fresno Canal and Irrigation Company, in 1872, the Central Pacific Railroad established a station near Easterbys—by now a hugely productive wheat farm—for its new Southern Pacific line. Soon there was a store around the station and the store grew the town of Fresno Station, many Millerton residents, drawn by the convenience of the railroad and worried about flooding, moved to the new community. Fresno became a city in 1885. By 1931 the Fresno Traction Company operated 47 streetcars over 49 miles of track, in 1877, William Helm made Fresno his home with a five-acre tract of land at the corner of Fresno and R streets. Helm was the largest individual sheep grower in Fresno County, in carrying his wool to market at Stockton, he used three wagons, each drawn by ten mules, and spent twelve days in making the round trip. Two years after the station was established, county residents voted to move the county seat from Millerton to Fresno, when the Friant Dam was completed in 1944, the site of Millerton became inundated by the waters of Millerton Lake. In extreme droughts, when the reservoir shrinks, ruins of the county seat can still be observed. In the nineteenth century, with so much wooden construction and in the absence of sophisticated firefighting resources, fires often ravaged American frontier towns, the greatest of Fresnos early-day fires, in 1882, destroyed an entire block of the city
2.
Defender (association football)
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In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposing team from scoring goals. There are four types of defenders, centre-back, sweeper, full-back, the centre-back and full-back positions are essential in most modern formations. The sweeper and wing-back roles are more specialised for certain formations, a centre-back defends in the area directly in front of the goal, and tries to prevent opposing players, particularly centre-forwards, from scoring. Centre-backs accomplish this by blocking shots, tackling, intercepting passes, contesting headers, with the ball, centre-backs are generally expected to make long and pinpoint passes to their teammates, or to kick unaimed long balls down the field. For example, a clearance is a long unaimed kick intended to move the ball as far as possible from the defenders goal, during normal play, centre-backs are unlikely to score goals. In this case, other defenders or midfielders will temporarily move into the centre-back positions, in the modern game, most teams employ two or three centre-backs in front of the goalkeeper. The 4–2–3–1, 4–3–3, and 4–4–2 formations all use two centre-backs, the sweeper is a more versatile centre-back who sweeps up the ball if an opponent manages to breach the defensive line. This position is more fluid than that of other defenders who man-mark their designated opponents. Because of this, it is referred to as libero. For example, the system of play, used in Italian football in the 1960s. The more modern libero possesses the qualities of the typical libero while being able to expose the opposition during counterattacks. The Fundell-libero has become popular in recent time with the sweeper transitioning to the most advanced forward in an attack. This variation on the position requires great pace and fitness, while rarely seen in professional football, the position has been extensively used in lower leagues. Modern libero sit behind centre-backs as a sweeper before charging through the team to join in the attack, some sweepers move forward and distribute the ball up-field, while others intercept passes and get the ball off the opposition without needing to hurl themselves into tackles. If the sweeper does move up the field to distribute the ball, they will need to make a speedy recovery, in modern football, its usage has been fairly restricted, with few clubs in the biggest leagues using the position. Though it is used in modern football, it remains a highly respected. A recent and successful use of the sweeper was made by Otto Rehhagel, Greeces manager, Rehhagel utilized Traianos Dellas as Greeces sweeper to great success, as Greece surprisingly became European champions. The full-backs take up the wide positions and traditionally stayed in defence at all times
3.
Washington Huskies
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Washington Huskies is the nickname of the University of Washingtons athletic teams. The school is a member of the Pac-12 Conference, the athletic program is made up of 9 mens sports and 11 womens sports. Recently added was the Husky Track located just north of the Husky Ballpark, the golf teams home course is at the Washington National Golf Club in Auburn. UW students, sports teams, and alumni are called Huskies, the husky was selected as the school mascot by student committee in 1923. It replaced the Sun Dodger, a reference to the local weather that was quickly dropped in favor of something more tangible. The school colors of purple and gold were adopted in 1892 by student vote, the University of Washington sponsors teams in ten mens and twelve womens NCAA sanctioned sports, ‡ = Mens rowing/crew is sanctioned by the Intercollegiate Rowing Association, not by the NCAA. # =The Indoor track & field teams compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, * = Beach volleyball is a fully sanctioned NCAA sport which had its first national championship in the spring of 2016. The development of the Husky Athletic Village begins with the construction of the new Husky Stadium. Along with new facilities, a plan has been created outlining future and existing space for projects, open space, plantings, parking, as well as a general concept for street. All existing and future projects will be set up in a village-type atmosphere, the University football teams first game was in 1889. From 1907 to 1917, Washington football teams were unbeaten in 64 consecutive games, during this period, Washington won 40 games in a row under coach Gil Dobie, currently the second longest winning streak in NCAA Division I-A history. In 1916, Dobie finished his coaching career at Washington with an undefeated 58-0-3 record. The 1925 team posted a record but lost to Alabama 21-20 in the Rose Bowl. The 1960 team finished 10-1, under coach Jim Owens, coach Owens served from 1957 to 1974. Don James became head coach in 1975 and transformed the team into a national power while compiling a 153-57-2 record, James first successful year was in 1977 with the team quarterbacked by Warren Moon culminating in a 27-20 victory over Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Washington and Michigan played again in the Rose Bowl in 1981 resulting in a Michigan win 23-11, the next year, the Huskies returned to the Rose Bowl and defeated Iowa 28-0, the last Rose Bowl shutout and the only shutout in the past half century. Senior running back, Jacque Robinson won the MVP award and was the first player to win MVP awards for both the Orange and Rose Bowls, the 1991 team is considered to be the best Washington Husky football team and among the best in college football history. In 2000, Washington finished with an 11-1 record, and won its seventh Rose Bowl under the leadership of Marques Tuiasosopo, in 2009, under first-year head coach Steve Sarkisian, the Huskies snapped a 15-game losing streak with a 42-23 victory over Idaho
4.
Yakima Reds
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Yakima Reds was an American soccer team based in Yakima, Washington, United States. Founded in 1995, the played in the USL Premier Development League. The franchise folded at the end of the 2010 season and left the league thereafter, the team played its home games at Marquette Stadium. The teams colors were red and white,1996 was better for the Reds, missing out on playoffs on goal difference, finishing third behind Everett Bigfoot and the San Fernando Valley Golden Eagles. 1998 was the best season yet in Yakimas history,1999 was disappointing for Yakima as they suffered a turnaround in form and finished a lowly 5th in the table behind champions Willamette Valley Firebirds. Things turned around superbly in 2000, however, as Yakima ran away to take their first ever Northwest Division title, six points clear of second place Spokane Shadow. The playoff were a success, a 2–0 win over Spokane took them to the Conference championship game. To add to the honors, Nate Nelson was named PDL Defender of the Year. After the exploits of the year,2001 was disappointing for the Reds, as they finished 5th of six in the Northwest Division behind champions Calgary Storm. The 2001 season was the catalyst for a decline in Yakimas form. 2002 was worse as they finished bottom of their division. Yakima were better in 2003, but still missed out on the playoffs, a 5–1 thumping of Calgary Storm Prospects was the highlight of the year, and they eventually finished the season in third place. The year ended with Yakima fourth of four in the Northwest, the 2005 season was not much better for Yakima, although at least the win tally increased to four, all their wins came at home, twice against Abbotsford Rangers and twice against Spokane Shadow. Jared Auckland and Santa Maria Rivera-Valdovinos were the top scorers. There was more of the same in 2006, although with the expansion of the division Yakima did enjoy a few more wins, however, inconsistency remained the Reds main problem, and their inability to string together a run of winning results was frustrating. However, their two star goal scorers, Cameron Mertens and Christopher Sardon, did net an impressive 16 goals between them, a testament to Yakimas improved fortunes in front of goal, however, Yakimas fortunes took a turn for the worse in 2007. The team won just three games and scored just 21 goals all season, and eventually finished a full 29 points adrift of divisional champions BYU Cougars, only Puerto Rican striker José García offered any striking potency, leading the goal scorers list with 3 for the season. 2008 saw great excitement with the return to Yakima of one of its most famous sons, Jake Sagare, who was to lead the Reds lineup all year
5.
Fresno Fuego
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Fresno Fuego is an American soccer team based in Fresno, California, United States. Founded in 2003, the plays in the Premier Development League. The club drew a home attendance of 3,951 in 2016, including league matches, divisional playoffs. The team plays its games at Chukchansi Park, where they have played since 2006. The teams colors are red, white and black, the club enjoys a successful cross-promotional partnership with the Fresno Grizzlies AAA baseball team, which was the first of its kind in the PDL. Fresnos home form was superb during their first season, losing just one game – a 3–2 turnaround to California Gold – the entire year, the playoffs were a disappointment, after defeating Northwest champions Spokane Shadow, Fresno fell to Blue Star in the conference final. This time, however, Fuego took the title after wins over Cascade Surge. However, progress on the national stage eluded them, a 3–0 defeat to central conference champs Boulder Rapids Reserve ending their dreams of the PDL title, nevertheless, two straight trips to the playoffs was impressive for a 2-year franchise. 2005 saw expansion in the Southwest, and Fresno suffered a little, despite opening strongly with 3 wins in their first 4 games, a mid-season slump saw them drop points against the Southern California Seahorses, California Gold and BYU Cougars. Veteran Edgardo Contreras and new signing Amaury Nunes were the top marksmen, knocking in 8 goals each, while Brazilian Fabricio Codeceira was a midfield dynamo, once again, Fresnos playoff campaign was a short one, falling to Orange County Blue Star in the first game. 2006 was more still for Fuego. Secondly, even more expansion in the raised the level of competition considerably. 2007 saw a change in fortunes for the Fuego. On-field, the team stuttered slightly in the month of the season. By mid-season, however, Fuego were burning up their opposition, Camposs send-off was a disappointing one, with Fresno losing, 4–1, at home to Ventura County Fusion in his farewell game, and it was almost as though Campos impending departure was affecting Fuego. They suffered another 4–1 home loss in July, this time to the San Fernando Valley Quakes, the final regular season game, away at San Fernando Valley Quakes, was a winner-take-all game for the divisional title. The Quakes won it, 2–1, to take the championship and their first round game was a rematch against Northwest Conference champions Tacoma Tide, however, without Camposs firepower, Fresno were toothless in attack, and eventually fell, 3–0. Despite leaving mid-season, Pablo Campos was still Fuegos top scorer with 14 goals, Fresno suffered one of their worst seasons in several years in 2009
6.
Houston Dynamo
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The Houston Dynamo is an American professional soccer club based in Houston, Texas. The franchise competes in Major League Soccer, as a member of the Western Conference, the Dynamo had first played their home games at Robertson Stadium on the University of Houston campus until 2011. Since 2012, the Dynamo plays their matches in their. The teams head coach is Wilmer Cabrera, the club would then be an expansion team of the league, which began play in 2006. The Dynamo is owned by Gabriel Brener, Jake Silverstein, Ben Guill, Houston Dynamos domestic success consists of winning the 2006 and 2007 MLS Cups being in their first two seasons. In 2008, Houston became the first American club to secure a point on Mexican soil in the CONCACAF Champions League era during the 2008-2017 format of the tornament. Houston returned to the soccer scene with two clubs, both operating from 1978-80, the Houston Hurricane, and the Houston Summit. Professional soccer returned to Houston again from 1984-91 with the Dynamos, who competed in the United Soccer League, the Hotshots was the last professional soccer franchise in Houston before todays Dynamo, operating from 1994-2000 in the Continental Indoor Soccer League and the World Indoor Soccer League. Houston did not field a team from 2000 to 2005. Houston Texans Chief Development Officer Steve Patterson spearheaded efforts to host a USA vs, Mexico friendly in May 2003, a rematch of the two nations historic round of 16 encounter at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, as the first soccer match at Reliant Stadium. The 69,582 attendance set a new record for a match in Texas. This is the market theyve got their sights set on and this is a market that weve got investor interest, weve got sponsor interest, weve got media interest. This is a market thats going to be terrific for us and we will have a team in Houston in due time. The question is whether we have one as early as 2006 as part of a move, well get a team here, theres no doubt in our mind. On December 15,2005, Major League Soccer announced the relocation of the San Jose franchise, along with all players and coaches under contract, the Earthquakes name, colors and competition records were retained by the league for a possible expansion team. According to MLS, AEG had invested more than $20 million in the Earthquakes since purchasing the team in 2003, AEG had previously considered Houston as a site to relocate to and entered positive discussions about finding a soccer stadium in Houston. A ceremony was held outside Houston City Hall on December 16,2005 to officially announce the franchises arrival, in an immediate effort to plant roots in the community, AEG president and CEO Tim Leiweke announced former Houston Oilers quarterback Oliver Luck as the teams president and general manager. The Dynamo played their first MLS league game on April 2,2006 at Robertson Stadium in front of a crowd of 25,462, the Dynamo beat the Colorado Rapids 5–2, with Brian Ching scoring four goals, with all four assisted by Dwayne De Rosario
7.
Austin Aztex FC
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For the current United Soccer League club, see Austin Aztex. Austin Aztex FC was an American professional soccer team based in Austin, Texas, founded in 2008, the team played in the USL First Division, and in the USL Division of the USSF D2 Pro League, the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. In October 2010, the Aztex were relocated to Orlando, Florida, the team was resurrected in 2011 by minority owner David Markley as the Austin Aztex, which began play in the USL Premier Development League in 2012 and moved to United Soccer League in 2014. The team played its games at Nelson Field, and House Park in Austin. The teams colors were red and white and their head coach was Englishman and former Everton midfielder Adrian Heath. The club was owned by English-born Austin businessman Phil Rawlins, originally from the UK, Rawlins serves on the board of English Premier League club Stoke City. Austin and Stoke had a partnership which included sharing training information and players. Immediately after announcing their intention to join USL1, the Aztex purchased the 2008 USL PDL expansion side Austin Stampede, wolfgang Suhnholz was named coach of the U23 team, which commenced play in 2008. On August 8,2008, the Aztex announced 2008 PDL Goalkeeper of the Year and former Austin Aztex U23 player, Miguel Gallardo, Gallardo is signed with the team through 2011. The Aztex began their season as a professional team by playing 4 MLS teams in preseason exhibition matches. The first three games were held in Austin at Nelson Field while the fourth MLS match was in Rio Tinto Stadium on the MLS opening weekend, a fifth exhibition match was scheduled against the CONCACAF semi-finalist Puerto Rico Islanders in between their home and away series against Cruz Azul. On May 19,2010, Austin played the Tampa Bay Rowdies in front of 6,051 fans, on October 22,2010, an article was published that indicated that the team was likely to move to Orlando, Florida, for the 2011 season. This was confirmed on October 25, as the team became Orlando City SC Note, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality
8.
Portland Timbers
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The Portland Timbers are an American professional soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The club was founded in 2009, when the city of Portland was awarded a berth to Major League Soccer. The team is own by Merritt Paulson who acquired the then USL Pro team in 2007, the club is the fourth soccer franchise based in Portland to share the legacy of the Timbers name, which originated with the original team, in the North American Soccer League in 1975. In 2013, the Timbers finished the Western Conference, during the regular season, the franchise won the Western Conference Finals in the playoffs, and their first major trophy, the MLS Cup in 2015. Soccer in Portland, Oregon can be traced to the soccer team, in 1985, F. C. Portland had established and was a charter club in the Western Soccer Alliance League and competed until folding in 1990. There would be no soccer club in the city until 2001, the USL pro club finished with the best record in the league in both the 2004 and 2009 regular seasons. The group included former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Meritt Paulsons father, the biggest issue for the city of Portland at that time was that due to league concerns about seating configuration, field surface and scheduling, obtaining an MLS club would require a new stadium. MLS was in support of the proposal, wanting to continue to expand the number of owners in the league, the announcement occurred during the first and second round games of the 2009 NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Tournament that were held in Portland. The announcement noted that the team would retain the Portland Timbers name, former forward and Colorado Rapids assistant coach John Spencer was named the first head coach of the Timbers on August 10,2010. It was also announced former head coach Gavin Wilkinson of the USL-1/USSF D-2 Timbers, was promoted as the general manager/technical director of the team. The Timbers signed five players before the MLS Expansion Draft on November 24,2010, three were part of the Timbers D-2 Pro League squad in 2010, one was signed from D-2 Pro League team Austin Aztex and one was acquired via trade with New York Red Bulls. On November 24,2010, the Timbers, along with the other 2011 expansion team, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, participated in an MLS Expansion Draft, immediately after the Expansion Draft, the Timbers announced the trade of their first pick, from FC Dallas to D. C. The Timbers and Whitecaps also participated in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft on January 13,2011 with the Whitecaps having the first pick, Vancouver surprised some by selecting youngster Omar Salgado and Portland swiftly selected Akron midfielder/forward Darlington Nagbe. The Timbers played their first MLS game on March 19,2011, against reigning MLS champions Colorado Rapids, the first goal in the Timbers MLS era was scored by Kenny Cooper. In their first season, Portland Timbers were in 6th place in the Western Conference, on July 9,2012, John Spencer was fired after a 0–3 loss to Real Salt Lake. He was replaced by Caleb Porter who was head coach of the United States U-23 team. Gavin Wilkinson took over on a basis for the rest season. The Timbers finished 2012 with the 3rd worst record in the league and was 8th out of 9th in the Western Conference, under new head coach Caleb Porter, the Portland Timbers achieved success in the 2013 MLS regular season
9.
D.C. United
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United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D. C. The club competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer, the franchise began play in 1996 as one of the ten charter clubs of the league. The club was one of the most successful clubs in the years of MLS. United holds the joint MLS record for most Supporters Shields, has four MLS Cups and it is also the first club to win both the MLS Supporters Shield and MLS Cup consecutively. United has competed in both the CONCACAF Champions League and its predecessor, the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the club won the 1998 CONCACAF Champions Cup, making them one of only two MLS teams to ever win a CONCACAF tournament. Subsequently, United won the now-defunct Copa Interamericana in 1998 against Vasco da Gama of Brazil and this is the only intercontinental title won by an MLS club. The teams home field is the 45, 596-seat Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, owned by the District of Columbia, the team is owned by the consortium D. C. The teams head coach is former long-time starting midfielder Ben Olsen, players such as Jaime Moreno, Marco Etcheverry, and Eddie Pope are among the teams most successful stars. Uniteds fan base includes four supporters clubs, the clubs official nickname is the Black-and-Red and home uniforms are black and white with accents of red. The teams name alludes to the United appellation commonly found in the names of teams in the United Kingdom. Prior to the 1994 FIFA World Cup, the United States Soccer Federation fulfilled its promise to FIFA by aiding in the foundation of a new professional league. On June 15,1994, Major League Soccer selected Washington, D. C. out of twenty-two applicants to host one of the first seven teams, the teams name was chosen as a reflection of the names of European clubs, such as Manchester United or Leeds United. United played in the inaugural match against the San Jose Clash in Spartan Stadium in San Jose. In the leagues early years, D. C. was the most successful of all the teams in MLS, D. C. repeated its MLS Cup victory in 1997 against the Colorado Rapids, in front of a home crowd at RFK Stadium. The team also experienced success in CONCACAF competitions, winning both the Champions Cup and the Interamerican Cup in 1998. In October 1998, Arena left the team to coach the U. S. mens national team, arenas departure marked the beginning of a downturn in the teams fortunes. While the club won the MLS Cup in 1999 under coach Thomas Rongen, lackluster results in 2000 and 2001 led to Rongens departure. The team did not, however, fare much better under Hudson, the clubs first season under Nowak was marred by injuries in the early going, and some players were known to have complained about Nowaks methods
