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NCAA men’s soccer tournament announced for Division 1

By Nicholas MendolaNov 14, 2016, 2:31 PM EST
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The bracket for the NCAA men’s soccer tournament was unveiled Monday, and Maryland is the No. 1 seed.

Thirty-two teams play first round matches for the right to play at a seeded team in the second round.

The NCAA tries to restrict travel for the first few rounds, which leads to a non-scientific bracket. There are outliers, as Colgate has to travel to UCLA and New Mexico to Portland.

[ MORE: USMNT-Costa Rica preview ]

There is no secondary postseason tournament in D1 soccer, with 48 of the 206 men’s D-1 teams off to the tournament.

Here’s how the tournament begins:

Providence/Delaware winner at (1) Maryland
Creighton/Tulsa winner at (16) Kentucky

South Florida/Florida Gulf Coast winner at (9) North Carolina
Dartmouth/St. Francis Brooklyn winner at (8) Syracuse

Cal State Northridge/Pacific winner at (5) Stanford
Vermont/Rider winner at (12) Virginia

Loyola Chicago/Illinois-Chicago winner at (13) Notre Dame
UCLA/Colgate winner at (4) Louisville

South Carolina/Mercer winner at (3) Clemson
Boston College/Fordham winner at (14) Albany

New Mexico/Portland winner at (11) Washington
San Diego State/UNLV winner at (6) Denver

Akron/Villanova winner at (7) Indiana
Virginia Tech/East Tennessee St winner at (10) Charlotte

Michigan State/SIU Edwardsville winner at (15) Butler
Coastal Carolina/Radford winner at (2) Wake Forest

Social media reacts to Pochettino’s shock firing

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By Joe Prince-WrightNov 19, 2019, 3:12 PM EST
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Mauricio Pochettino has been sacked by Tottenham Hotspur after he spent over five years in charge.

The Argentine coach has seen his Spurs side slump in recent months as they stumbled through the latter months of last season despite a miraculous run to the UEFA Champions League final as they lost to Liverpool in Madrid.

Pochettino’s side currently sit 14th in the Premier League table after three wins from their opening 12 games of the season and with so many players seemingly ready to leave this summer (Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, Christian Eriksen and Danny Rose to name a few) all was not well behind-the-scenes.

But nobody expected this so early in the season and so soon after Tottenham moved into their new home and big spending was promised.

Here’s a look at some of the reaction on social media to the shock firing of Pochettino.

Mauricio Pochettino fired at Tottenham Hotspur

By Kyle BonnNov 19, 2019, 2:46 PM EST
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In a shocking turn of events during the international break, Mauricio Pochettino has been sacked as Tottenham Hotspur manager.

The club sits 14th in the Premier League table, without a win in its last five league games.

“We were extremely reluctant to make this change and it is not a decision the Board has taken lightly, nor in haste,” the club said in its official statement. Regrettably domestic results at the end of last season and beginning of this season have been extremely disappointing.

“It falls to the Board to make the difficult decisions – this one made more so given the many memorable moments we have had with Mauricio and his coaching staff – but we do so in the Club’s best interests. Mauricio and his coaching staff will always be part of our history. I have the utmost admiration for the manner in which he dealt with the difficult times away from a home ground whilst we built the new stadium and for the warmth and positivity he brought to us. I should like to thank him and his coaching staff for all they have contributed. They will always be welcome here. We have a talented squad. We need to re-energize and look to deliver a positive season for our supporters.”

Reports had suggested over the past few days that his position was becoming more and more untenable, but there was no indication that a change was this imminent. The Telegraph reported Monday that Pochettino was set to meet with Daniel Levy during the international break about the direction of the club, and they suggested the game against West Ham United this weekend could be “make or break” for the Argentine.

Pochettino had been with the club since joining in 2014. They reached the Champions League final last season, losing to Liverpool.

Maradona resigns as manager of Gimnasia

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By Kyle BonnNov 19, 2019, 12:47 PM EST
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Diego Maradona has resigned as boss of top-flight Argentine club Gimnasia, the club president told domestic media on Tuesday.

According to Argentine journalist Juan Pablo Varsky, Gimnasia president Gabriel Pellegrino told Radio La Red on Tuesday that Maradona had stepped down as boss with just three matches to go in the league season. The 59-year-old has reportedly been disillusioned that Pellegrino will not be running for another term as club president and has thus decided to end his tenure early.

Maradona’s contract was set to run through the end of the league season, which concludes December 8. The election for club president takes place this coming Saturday.

Maradona has only been in charge of the club since early September, and while he lost his first three matches in charge, he has since won three of the last five. The club sits 22nd in the 24-team league table.

 

Pellegrino has been in charge of the club since 2016, with elections taking place every three years.

The legendary former player has previously managed Liga MX side Dorados de Sinaloa, UAE club Fujairah, and the Argentina national team.

LA Galaxy extend Pavon loan another year

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By Kyle BonnNov 19, 2019, 12:33 PM EST
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The LA Galaxy announced on Monday that star attacker Cristian Pavon will remain with the club next season, extending his loan through the 2020 MLS campaign after agreeing to a deal with his parent club Boca Juniors.

The 23-year-old Argentinian made a splash when arriving to the Galaxy in early August, helping push the club to an appearance in the quarterfinals of the MLS Cup Playoffs. He scored three goals and assisted eight more in 11 regular season matches, plus another goal in the playoffs.

Pavon’s arrival was of the utmost importance for the Galaxy as they looked to make up for a sub-par defense that conceded goals in waves. His presence will be even more critical next season as the Galaxy are without goal hawk Zlatan Ibrahimovic who left the club this offseason.

Terms of the extension were not released, but it was confirmed that Pavon will occupy a Designated Player slot for the upcoming season, alongside fellow DP Jonathan dos Santos. Romain Alessandrini was the third DP on the club, but his contract expires this offseason and no resolution to that has yet been announced.

Pavon was a regular for Argentina during the 2018 World Cup but has not been a regular since, missing from the 2019 Copa America squad and not among the players for the current international break. He has 11 international caps in total, yet to score a goal.