Henry's first MLS goal helps N.Y. beat San Jose

Soccer Betting Lines

08/28/2010 - Harrison, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thierry Henry scored his first goal in Major League Soccer and Dane Richards had a goal and an assist, leading Red Bull New York to a 2-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday at Red Bull Arena.

Richards scored the opener in first-half stoppage time, then assisted as Henry scored his first goal since joining New York in July. Henry had two assists in his MLS debut on July 31, but failed to score in his first five matches.

After missing a few chances throughout the game, including hitting the post in the first half, Henry finally ended his scoring drought when he settled a pass from Richards and fired into the right side of the net from eight yards out.

New York (11-7-4) improved to 3-1-2 since Henry joined the club, and closed to within four points of Columbus for first place in Eastern Conference. The Crew tied FC Dallas, 0-0, on Saturday.

San Jose (8-7-5), which shut out the Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0 last week, had its two-game winning streak snapped.

San Jose had a chance to take control of the match early when top scorer Chris Wondolowski ran onto a rebound, but N.Y. goalie Bouna Coundoul pushed the 12- yard shot off target.

Henry had a similar chance in the 12th when a rebound fell to him in the area, but San Jose defender Tim Ward cleared the 10-yard shot off the line.

Henry turned provider a few minutes later when he put Juan Pablo Angel through on the left side of the area, but the Red Bulls' leading scorer failed to find the net from a tight angle as S.J. goalie Jon Busch made the stop.

Angel returned the favor in the 21st, holding the ball on the left side of the area before finding Henry at the top of the area. Henry curled his shot around Busch, but it hit the right post as he again failed to net his first MLS goal.

Cornell Glen had San Jose's only other good first-half chance in the 25th off a pass from Wondolowski, but fired wide right off an open look from the left.

Marquez forced a save from Busch from the corner of the area late in the half, but New York got the opener minutes later in stoppage time from Richards.

Joel Lindpere played the ball down just outside the area to Richards, who took the ball through traffic, got a lucky deflection off San Jose's Bobby Burling, cut around Busch and rolled the ball into an empty net.

Henry just missed his first goal minutes into the second half when he flicked a ball on target with his back to the goal, but Busch dove to knock the chance down. Angel should have converted the rebound, but somehow hit the right post from just a few yards with the net open.

Henry created a scoring chance for himself four minutes later in the 53rd, as he lifted the ball off the ground to set up a turning shot that Busch touched over the bar.

Marquez unleashed a blast that bounced just wide of the left post as New York continued to pile on the pressure, but San Jose responded with two quick shots that could have easily tied the match.

Arturo Alvarez fired just over the bar in the 60th, and Glen missed wide left seconds later.

New York finally found its second goal a few minutes later, as Henry settled a cross from Richards and hammered in his first MLS goal. Richards hit a one-hop cross from the right that Henry settled near the penalty spot, then fired low past Busch to leave the Earthquakes goalie no chance.

Glen just missed trimming the deficit in half in the 66th, as he lifted a shot over the bar from close range. San Jose failed to put New York under pressure over the final 25 minutes, as Coundoul finished with two saves for his eighth shutout.

New York visits Real Salt Lake on Sept. 4 for its next MLS match, and San Jose visits the Houston Dynamo on Sept. 5.

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NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

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