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Indoor Soccer Registration Deadline November 2

IROQUOIS – While the days are growing shorter and colder, there is still plenty of soccer to be played in South Dundas.

South Dundas United FC's indoor soccer (futsal) league registration is open with a registration deadline of November 2.

The 13-week indoor program consists of a two-week pre-season training, nine-week regular season, and two-week playoff.

Running from November 27, 2024 to March 5, 2025, the club has expanded to two nights a week.

"Last year was the first year for our leagues and we saw that for older players, playing half-court games was too compact," said SDUFC President Phil Blancher. "This year, all the games except U6 and U9 will be full court, providing more space for players."

Increasing the size of space for games meant expanding to a second night, and it means the club is able to open up registration to the same age range as its outdoor players.

Currently registration is open to any player born between 2006 and 2020.

Blancher said the program expansion is part of the club's five year plan to grow the sport for all ages in the community.

"Especially in the winter, finding activities for kids without having to travel out of the community is difficult," he explained. "Being able to offer this at the gym in Seaway makes it convenient for those interested here, and central for many of those from outside of South Dundas who already take part in our programming."

In 2023-24, the indoor soccer program attracted 85 players across the U9, U12 and U15 age groups. Registration is below last year's numbers, but does not close until November 2.

"I think the warmer weather we've had for most of the fall hasn't helped. People are still thinking of outdoor activities."In line with its 2024 Summer and Fall outdoor programs, SDUFC is maintaining its player registration fee at $50 per player, and there are no residency restrictions. In fact, 30 per cent of the club's 500 players (across all programs) are from outside of South Dundas, with over 20 per cent of the players from Edwardsburgh-Cardinal.

"We're an inclusive and affordable soccer club. Working with corporate sponsors and keeping expenses as low as we can, our volunteers work hard to keep the cost to families as affordable as possible."

Blancher said one of the benefits of soccer is how little equipment a player needs to play.

"All you need for indoor is a pair of running shows, some shin guards, shorts and socks," he explained. "Players interested in playing goalkeeper may want kneepads like what is used in volleyball, and goalie gloves – Those are not super expensive."

SDUFC's indoor program is based on a South American variant of soccer called Futsal. Sanctioned by FIFA, the game is played on a court similar in size to a basketball court, with five players per side (four players plus a goalkeeper.) Teams are intentionally smaller, with no more than 10 players per team. The game is played with a weighted ball so that it does not travel as high or far as a conventional soccer ball. The goals are smaller two, measuring about one-and-a-half the size of a hockey net.

"Futsal is the game that many of the past and current global soccer players grew up playing," said Blancher, who took an interest in Futsal about five years ago. "Pelé, Maradona, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, they all grew up playing this in their youth before moving on to the grass soccer pitch."

Futsal provides greater emphasis on ball control, passing, foot work, maintaining possession, and creativity.

"You could see a measurable improvement in skill and confidence in the player that played last winter, when they were in soccer this summer and fall," Blancher added.

This is the third year for the indoor soccer program. The club received funding from 100 Women Who Care About South Dundas in 2022 to purchase the equipment for its pilot project at Morrisburg Public School.

That pilot expanded in 2023-24 with the launch of three leagues out of Seaway DHS in Iroquois, one night a week. This year, it's grown to two nights per week starting at the end of November.

The club's registration deadline is this Saturday, November 2. Player registration is online via its website: www.Southdundasunited.Ca

Former Maryland Men's Soccer Standout Zack Steffen Back On National Team Radar

When Zack Steffen last played a full season in Major League Soccer, he was a different person.

The Coatesville, Pa., native and University of Maryland graduate was 23 and coming off a career-defining 2018 season with the Columbus Crew. He was an All-Star and won Goalkeeper of the Year thanks in part to a 525-minute shutout streak, one of the longest in MLS history.

During that time, he earned his first caps with the U.S. Men's national team, going on to solidify himself as the country's No. 1 goalkeeper thanks to a stellar performance in the 2019 Gold Cup.

Steffen's eyes were drawn back to Europe after spending the 2015-16 season with SC Freiburg II in Germany. U.S. Goalkeepers before him — Tim Howard, Brad Friedel, Kasey Keller, and others — had ventured away from America with dreams of bigger paydays, stiffer competition and championship glory. Steffen's transfer to Manchester City of the English Premier League in the summer of 2019 for an estimated $7 million was the richest for a goalkeeper in MLS history at the time.

More than five years later, Steffen, 29, has returned to the league that helped launch his career. He signed with Colorado Rapids earlier this year on a three-year deal with the hope of getting first-team minutes and another crack at becoming the national team's top keeper, a job he lost more than two years ago.

"Everything" went into the decision to return to MLS, Steffen said, namely his family whom he left in the states to play abroad. He also became a father last year.

"I am a big family guy and I wanted to be closer to them," he said. "When my family isn't a part of my games, it's not as meaningful. Being in Europe, it gave me time to think about how my community and family matter to me."

Steffen started all but one regular-season game this year and helped the Rapids (15-5-14) secure a playoff berth for the first time since 2021. He ranks in the top 10 in saves (103) and has notched six clean sheets despite facing the sixth-most shots on target (158).

His steady play has also vaulted him back into the national team orbit. He was called up in early October for his first training camp since March 2023, though he didn't make an appearance in two games for new head coach Mauricio Pochettino. Matt Turner, another American who left MLS for English soccer, has been the unquestioned No. 1 for more than three years.

Steffen does not hesitate to express his national team goals. His eyes are set on the World Cup in 2026, co-hosted by the United States. The bitter disappointment of being left off the 2022 Qatar team still sits with him.

"It's easy to say, yes, I want to get back on the national team. That's definitely the goal, World Cup 2026," he said. "But for me, all I can do is focus on today and be the best that I can be for my body and mind and on the field."

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After starring as a youth player at FC Delco outside Philadelphia, Steffen passed on the chance of immediately turn pro to play for Sasho Cirovski at Maryland.

Cirovski was quickly struck by Steffen's skill and presence on the field. He knew he would only get the goalkeeper for a year or two before the pros came calling again.

"The first time you see him, you're immediately impressed with his physical presence," Cirovski said of the 6-foot-3 Steffen. "But then as you watch him and you see the other parts of his game, his organizational skills, his distribution with his feet and his hands and his calming presence in goal, you're like, 'Wow, this is the next big thing in American goalkeeping.'"

That sentiment appeared to come true in 2019 when Steffen nabbed three clean sheets in five games in the Gold Cup, becoming the apparent successor to Howard, who had retired that year.

But after the move to Manchester City Steffen's trajectory didn't go exactly as planned.

When he arrived in England after playing the first half of the MLS season, he was immediately loaned to Fortuna Dusseldorf in the German Bundesliga for the 2019-20 season. He appeared in 17 matches before he got hurt and the campaign was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Upon returning to Manchester for the 2020-21 season, Steffen saw his first action for the team, making the opening day squad against Wolverhampton Wanderers followed by his first start three days later against Bournemouth in the English League Cup third round. A clean sheet in his first UEFA Champions League game came in December 2020.

But his playing time soon dried up, and Steffen was loaned to Middlesboro for 2022-23. He made 42 appearances.

Cirovski knew his former player was destined to play in Europe but what isn't often discussed is how difficult a move to the top European leagues can be.

"In the European leagues, it's seriously transactional. Coaches don't last long. People that brought you in are gone and then you get lost," Cirovski said. "It's much easier to get lost in Europe than it is in the U.S."

Steffen became a victim of that transactional culture, bouncing from loan to loan and rarely seeing the field for City, playing behind star Brazilian keeper Ederson.

Once considered America's first-choice keeper for years to come, Steffen grip on the job continued to loosen partly due to inconsistent playing time and a knee injury while at Middlesboro.

Steffen's last appearance for the USMNT came in March 2022 during World Cup qualifying. That December he wasn't one of the three keepers called up for the tournament in Qatar. Six months later, he was passed over for the 2023 Gold Cup. This summer he again wasn't in the team for the 2024 Copa America tournament.

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Since he arrived in Colorado, Steffen has quickly become a leader among the other veterans like 2022 MLS Defender of the Year Keegan Rosenberry and Danish defender Andreas Maxsø. This isn't a new process for Steffen, he said. Every team he's been on, he's become a leader by getting to know his teammates and pushing them.

"For me, I'm humble, easygoing. I really just focus on showing up the first day and every day, being the best player and teammate I can be," he said. "I push them, and I expect them to push me. Being a leader, it's a really good challenge for me. I've always led the teams I've played for. Being a goalkeeper, seeing everything, being vocal, that's how a goalkeeper should be."

This isn't the first time Colorado has relied on an experienced keeper with international plaudits. Howard played for the Rapids from 2016-2019, making 100 appearances.

Chris Sharpe, the Rapids goalkeeping coach, is a former Colorado player who joined the coaching staff in 2013. In Steffen, he sees a "perfectionist and a workhorse who is addicted to the craft."

"I've been here for a long time and I've been very fortunate to have some very, very good goalkeepers at this football club: Tim Howard, Will Yarbrough, Zac McMath, on and on," Sharpe said. "Zack is very subservient to learning. … He wants his video. He comes in every day with his notebook."

That obsessive work ethic appears to be partly a function of working close to one of the most maniacal perfectionists in modern soccer: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. Since his arrival at the Etihad Stadium in 2016, Guardiola has won six Premier League titles in eight years. Despite the lack of consistent minutes, Steffen soaked up a great deal from his time in proximity to what many call the greatest coach in the game.

"Showing up every day and being intentional with my demeanor and my personality. What do you want to get out of the day? I learned that from City, because those guys were just like machines, class on and off the field. It's amazing to witness," Steffen said. "They are so tight and supportive and such a family. I am trying to bring that into the Rapids."

With the MLS Cup playoffs underway, Steffen's play will be critical to any kind of deep run for the Rapids, who haven't won a playoff series since 2016. Colorado, the seventh seed, dropped the first of a best-of-three series against the second seed Los Angeles Galaxy on Oct. 26, 5-0, in Round 1. Game 2 is Nov. 1.

If Colorado advances to the conference semifinals, it would play a single-elimination match played on Nov. 23 or 24. The weekend prior is an international break, which includes the U.S.'s two-leg CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal matchup against Jamaica. Those would be two more opportunities for Steffen to prove himself at the international level if he's given the opportunity.

Sharpe is quick to predict how he thinks Steffen will do perform for the Rapids and the national team in the coming months.

"What this guy does for us, it's scary. I am telling everyone out there now," he said. "When Zack gets back into that national team, he's going to be pushing Matt [Turner] for that job come the World Cup in 2026."

But first Steffen has business at home to take care of. And his family will be watching.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Colorado Rapids

Tahiti Thrashes Fiji In Beach Soccer

[Source: Oceania Football Confederation / Facebook]

Fiji suffered a tough 10-1 defeat to Tahiti in their second match of the OFC Beach Soccer Men's Nations Cup, in Honiara, Solomon Islands today.

In the first period, Tahiti took control early, scoring four goals as Fiji struggled to find their footing.

The second period saw Tahiti add three more goals to their tally, leaving Fiji further behind.

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[Source: Oceania Football Confederation / Facebook]

Despite the efforts of veterans Tevita Waranivalu and Madhwan Goundar, who tried to set up plays for the younger players, Fiji appeared out of position, and their defense was frequently breached.

Veteran goalkeeper Sanaila Waqanicakau was caught off guard multiple times, as Tahiti applied relentless pressure.

In the third period, 17-year-old Ilisoni Koro came on, making a notable save from a bicycle kick and then stopping a powerful shot shortly after.

[Source: Oceania Football Confederation / Facebook]

However, Tahiti continued their dominance, scoring three more goals—one from a bicycle kick that went over the keeper and two from long-range, sharp-angled shots.

Fiji's only consolation came in the final seconds of the game when France Catarogo scored with a powerful header from distance, placing the ball above the Tahiti keeper.

Tomorrow Fiji faces hosts Solomon Islands at 4pm.

Yesterday they lost 8-6 to Papua New Guinea.

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