November 9, 2007 6:05 PM

Notes: Seattle joins MLS, Metro women advance, more

Major League Soccer has granted an expansion franchise to Seattle that will begin play at Qwest Field in 2009 and will be owned in part by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

“I can confirm that commissioner Don Garber is going to travel to Seattle for an announcement Tuesday of the expansion of Major League Soccer for the future into the Seattle market,” Dan Courtemanche, MLS senior vice president for marketing and communications, said Friday.

Gary Wright, a spokesman for First and Goal Inc., the subsidiary that operates Qwest Field for Allen’s Vulcan Inc., said Allen will be one of the team’s owners.

Adrian Hanauer, owner of the Seattle Sounders, confirmed Friday night that he and Joe Roth, a Hollywood mogul, will be the other owners of the new team.

“(It’s) been a lot of hard work, but something the city deserves,” Hanauer said.

Roth will own the majority share.

Vulcan spokesman Michael Nank confirmed the new MLS team, which has been rumored for months, will begin play in Qwest Field during the ’09 MLS season.

Nank pointed out that the $430 million stadium, which has a playing surface of synthetic Field Turf and opened in 2002, was specifically designed for football and soccer. The dual use was one of the selling points made to secure $300 million in public money that funded the stadium’s construction. The Sounders play many of their games in the 67,000-seat facility.

The reborn Sounders have been one of the top franchises in the United Soccer Leagues, winning four league championships in the past 12 years — including in 2005 and again this past season.

Hanauer would not comment on whether the Sounders would continue to operate in the USL after the new MLS team arrives, saying there will be more on that at Tuesday’s news conference.

ROADRUNNERS ADVANCE: The Metropolitan State College women's soccer team advanced to the NCAA tournament's round of 32 with a 1-0 victory Friday over West Texas A&M in overtime. Following a Justine Montoya corner kick in the second OT period, Metro's Katie Kilbey pounced on a loose ball and sent it to Becca Mays, who put it in for the winning goal. With the win, Metro State improves to 16-4-1, while West Texas A&M's season ended at 13-7-1. The Roadrunners face No. 2-seed Incarnate Word at noon Sunday in the second round at the Auraria soccer fields. Tickets are $7 for adults, $3 for students with ID and $1 for children ages 3-12. Read more about Friday's game here.

COBI OUT OF CLEATS: New Los Angeles Galaxy coach Ruud Gullit introduced Cobi Jones as an assistant coach on Friday. Jones retired following this season after spending his entire MLS career in Los Angeles.

U.S. ROSTER FOR MANDELA CUP: Jozy Altidore, the New York Red Bulls’ 18-year-old scoring sensation, was selected Friday to be on the U.S. roster for the Americans’ Nov. 17 exhibition game at South Africa. Altidore, who turned 18 on Tuesday, was eighth in Major League Soccer with nine goals this season. He was the only player picked who hasn’t played for the national team before. The roster:
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton)
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Dan Califf (Aalborg), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege)
Midfielders: Freddy Adu (Benfica), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (Heerenveen), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Eddie Lewis (Derby)
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)

ENGLAND CALLS UP BECKHAM: David Beckham, the former England captain, was recalled for the team’s final qualifier as it seeks to secure a spot at next year’s European Championship. Beckham, who missed recent games with a knee injury, was named to a 26-man squad for Friday's exhibition against Austria and the Nov. 21 qualifier against Croatia, England’s Football Association said in a statement. England may fail to reach the European Championship for the first time since 1984 even if it beats Croatia, which leads its seven-team group. Two teams from each division advance to the tournament in June. Croatia needs only a draw in one of its final two matches, and Russia can clinch a spot by beating Israel and Andorra.

(Sources: The Associate Press, Metropolitan State College, Bloomberg News)

Posted by George Tanner at 6:05 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack