Informational/Did You Know

In three weeks, the USMNT begins its World Cup campaign in Qatar. Much is still to be decided for the final roster — especially at the goalkeeper position.

During the September international break (with Zack Steffen omitted as a precautionary measure as he recovered from injury), Matt Turner started against Japan and Saudi Arabia. Turner had a strong showing against Japan, and was arguably the top American performer that day, before having little to do in a dull match versus the Saudis in Spain.

There is nothing wrong with watching a soccer game alone, but hear us out: why don't you throw an unforgettable party? Sure, there will be people asking you what an offside is or suggesting that soccer goals need to be bigger to have more enticing scoreboards, but that shouldn’t stop you from celebrating this event that occurs once every four years. 

In 1862, a group known as the Oneida Football Club gathered at Boston Common for a historic function: the first recorded soccer match on American soil. Their match, which predated the formation of the English Football Association by a year, was a sign of things to come for soccer in the region.

The Northeastern United States became a hotbed for American soccer in the early 1900s, and the game thrived among the communities of European immigrants that populated the burgeoning industrial centers of the eastern seaboard.