She was one juke move ahead, two steps faster, and three tactical concepts beyond anyone else on the pitch. The 17-year-old knifed between two defenders, broke one way and froze the keeper. The ball hit the back of the net. I couldn't tell from my vantage point if she'd broken a sweat.

It was 1998. I was covering the Washington state youth soccer tournament. The team I followed would finish fourth, partially on the strength of the superlative goalie that opposing player had just made look like a garden gnome. "Damn," I said to the guy next to me, the grizzled old sportswriter with salt-and-pepper beard. He told me she was in the Olympic Development Program.

"Not surprised. That's some kind of striker."

He just laughed. "No. She's in the ODP as a goalie. She's even better at that."

It was a decade ago that I watched Hope Solo, the topic of Jim Souhan's column today, play soccer. Since then, she's made a lot of saves, made a lot of waves, and made a lot of people angry.

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Liverpool hosts Chelsea on Tuesday. Most troubling for the hosts is the questionable status of midfield talisman Steven Gerrard. He was ruled out against Fulham on Saturday owing to a neck injury, but is expected back in the lineup for tomorrow's showdown. Will Gerrard be fully fit? Chelsea has more significant woes. Midfield dynamo Michael Essien is suspended owing to yellow-card accumulation, while Michael Ballack (hamstring) and Didier Drogba (knee) are banged up. Liverpool is looking to dump the Blues from the semifinals for the third time in four years. In six Champions League encounters all time between the clubs, a miserly three goals have been scored. Expect nothing different this time around. A single goal should make the difference. Who will it be? Fernando Torres.

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Apparently math is not among my stronger skill sets. I inadvertently included eight teams in the first set of MLS picks, leaving just six squads to sort through. MLS returns to ESPN tonight with a double header featuring New England-Chicago and Los Angeles-San Jose. Here it goes:

6. Real Salt Lake No team is more difficult to figure at this early point than Real Salt Lake. After three odious seasons, the squad was significantly overhauled in the offseason and features just two players over age 30. Jason Kreis's club should prove deep and talented along the backline. Last year's Argentine signing Matias Mantilla will be joined by Colombian Jamison Olave and a pair of Americans with European seasoning, Ian Joy and Nat Borchers. The team also features two of the league's most talented young defensive-minded midfielders in Kyle Beckerman and Nathan Sturgis. If Salt Lake's kiddie corps of strikers (Yura Movsisyan, Robbie Findley, and Fabian Espindola) can regularly put the ball in the back of the net, they should prove one of the league's biggest surprises.

5. Kansas City Wizards Eddie Johnson is out. The enigmatic American striker found the net 15 times for last year's squad, but has moved on to help Fulham and its cadre of yanks flounder towards relegation in the EPL. In his place the Wizards brought on South Americans Ivan Trujillo and Claudio "El Piojo" Lopez. The latter is a 33-year-old alum of the Argentine national team who's played with Valencia and Lazio. Both strikers scored in their debuts on Saturday against D.C. I think it's fair to say that K.C. fans will not miss EJ. Midfield playmaker Carlos Marinelli showed flashes of brilliance last year and should be poised for a breakout year. Jimmy "The Groin" Conrad will have the considerable task of holding together a re-tooled backline that could frequently feature a pair of rookies in (highly touted) Chance Meyers and Jonathan Leathers. More >>

Major League Soccer's 13th season got underway last weekend. I was in Kansas City to watch the Wizards methodically dispatch last season's Supporters' Shield winners D.C. United 2-0. With San Jose rejoining the league following a two-year absence, there are now 14 teams. The offseason didn't bring any Beckham-esque signings, but rather a steady influx of quality players from around the globe. Among the significant signings: Argentines Marcelo Gallardo (D.C.) and Claudio Lopez (K.C.), and Mexican defender Duilio Davino (Dallas). But the transfer window doesn't close for another two weeks and several teams that have promised to bring in fresh talent (New York and Toronto most notably) are still likely to announce acquisitions. This lack of complete information will not dissuade me from making (undoubtedly flawed) projections for how the teams will stack up. Here's my take on the bottom half of the table:

14. Toronto F.C. The worst team in the league last year did almost nothing to bolster their roster. Seemingly every day during the winter months there was a fresh name linked to Toronto (Kiki Musampa, Amado Guevara, Victor Danilo Pacheco), but the team never managed to put pen to paper. Budding U.S. national team star Maurice Edu will be counted on to keep Toronto from repeating last year's disastrous 6-17-7 campaign. But barring any significant signings rookie coach John Carver and the league's best fans will endure another brutal season.

13. San Jose Earthquakes This re-constituted club will undoubtedly play the most boring brand of futbol in the league. Their roster features about as much attacking prowess as the Iraqi army. If Frank Yallop can get them to stand up it will be something of a coaching miracle. But Yallop's sideline prowess and a solid defense, led by goalkeeper Joe Cannon and outside back Ramiro Corrales, should keep scorelines (if not their overall record) respectable for the Earthquakes.

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U.S. faces Canada tonight with Olympic birth at stake

The U.S. is yet to deliver a convincing performance in Olympic qualifying. The team staggered to a 1-1- draw against Cuba, then added 1-0 victories over CONCACAF minnows Panama and Honduras. Even more troubling the Americans scored just one goal from the run of play during those three matches. But the squad's lack of dynamic, attacking soccer will be irrelevant if they can knock off Canada tonight (8 p.m. CST, Fox Soccer Channel) in Nashville and claim a spot in Beijing. The other semifinal will feature Guatemala and Honduras (5:00, FSC)

The Canucks advanced by crushing Guatemala 5-0, in the process (hilariously) eliminating Mexico. So the Americans will be a facing a border rival this evening, but it won't be the one that everyone anticipated. Midfielders Freddy Adu and Stuart Holden (pictured above) have been the most impressive attacking players for the U.S., while Chad Barrett and Eddie Gaven have been notably poor. The former has displayed feet of stone, while the latter seems to lack sufficient mettle for international competition. Jonathan Spector, who lately has been starting for West Ham in the EPL, has joined the squad in Music City to bolster the defense. He'll likely be paired with the promising Michael Orozco in central defense.

Folks in the Twin Cities will be gathering to watch the match at the Sweetwater. Join us.

The U.S. men's Olympic qualifying campaign got off to a dismal start last night in Tampa. The Americans could only manage a 1-1 tie against a lowly Cuban side. The yanks dominated the opening quarter of an hour, culminating in a 13th minute goal by Freddy Adu--easily the best player on the pitch.

But then the game seemed to run completely off the rails for the U.S. squad. The midfield collapsed, Jozy Altidore got beaten to a pulp, and the Cubans netted the inevitable equalizer just before halftime.

The second half was painful to watch. The Americans dominated possession, but seemed to lack any clue how to unlock the bunkered defense. Robbie Findley blew a wide-open breakaway with a brutal attempt at finishing. The Cubans meanwhile spent most of the half lying on the grass writhing in faux agony.

Let's hope tomorrow's performance against Panama is a little more impressive.

The U.S. will face Cuba tomorrow at 7 p.m. CST in Tampa. Panama and Honduras are also in the group. All games will be televised on Fox Soccer Channel. The U-23 squad will be fighting for two CONCACAF births in Beijing. The U.S. and Mexico are prohibitive favorites, but four years ago the Americans failed to qualify. Playing on their home soil, it would be humiliating if they again fail to make the cut.

The U.S. squad should be dynamic and dangerous. Jozy Altidore and Freddy Adu will likely pace the attack, with Maurice Edu wearing the captain's armband and patrolling the midfield. Chris Seitz will almost certainly get the call in net. Other intriguing players to keep an eye on are Michael Orozco, a defender who plays with San Luis in the Mexican top flight, and Charlie Davies, a forward who suits up for Hammarby in Sweden.

Folks will be gathering in the Twin Cities at the Sweetwater to watch tomorrow's match. Join us.

Philadelphia will be joining Major League Soccer in 2010. An anouncement is slated for next week. This is great news for the Sons of Ben, the not-yet-existent team's supporters group that basically willed the franchise into existence. The Guardian's Steven Wells has a hilarious little piece on their jackassery.

Champions League action returns tomorrow
This week's matches should be riveting: Arsenal v. Milan, Roma v. Real Madrid, Celtic v. Barcelona, Liverpool v. Inter. And those are just the games that can be seen on ESPN over the next two days. Gabriele Marcotti has a nice primer on the round of sixteen over at SI. Barcelona's lethal striker Samuel Eto'o might see some action after missing recent matches with a thigh injury. That means Frank Rijkaard could have his full complement of offensive weapons available for the first time since August. Real Madrid magician Robinho is likely out owing to a torn stomach muscle. Rafa Benitez might need another deep run in Europe to keep his job at Liverpool after Saturday's hilarious home defeat to lower division Barnsley in the FA Cup.

Likewise Arsenal will be looking to make amends for the team's humiliating 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Manchester United. I'd barely tucked into my hashbrowns at The Local on Saturday before Nani, Anderson, Rooney and company had run the visitors off the field. Sir Alex Ferguson's side will try to keep the good times rolling at Lyon on Wednesday. Here's the highlights from the Manchester pasting:

Ghana has been walking a tightrope through the African Cup of Nations. The home squad, among the favorites to win it all, has never looked particularly convincing. They needed a late crackerjack volley from Suley Muntari in the opening match to secure three points against Guinea. Then they went a goal down to Nigeria in the quarterfinals before rallying courtesy of a Junior Agogo gamewinner. (Don't miss this touching Agogo marriage proposal. Cribbed from du nord.)

Today the string ran out. The Black Stars fell to Cameroon, 1-0, on the strength of an Alain Nkong goal. The former Colorado Rapids striker was making just his second international appearance for the Indomitable Lions.

Cameroon will take on the winner of today's other semifinal in Sunday's championship match. Egypt currently holds a 3-1 lead over Ivory Coast with less than 30 minutes to play.

UPDATE: Egypt romps over the Elephants, 4-1.