Ppl Park

PPL Park in Chester will host the Big East men's soccer championship on Friday and Sunday. The tournament was moved from Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., where it had been held the previous two years. The semifinals are Friday at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., with both matches televised on CBS Sports Network. All four teams to reach the semifinals are from the Blue Division. Georgetown, the No. 2 seed, will face Marquette, the No. 4 seed, in the first game, before the No. 3 seed, Notre Dame, matches up against top-seeded Connecticut.

The U.S. women's soccer team will play China in an exhibition May 27 at PPL Park in Chester, in preparation for the London Olympics. "We are pleased to welcome back the U.S. women's national team to PPL Park," said Nick Sakiewicz, CEO and operating partner of Keystone Sports and Entertainment. "This is the third time that we have hosted a U.S. Soccer match and we are proud to be one of the final stops for the [women] before they head off to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

There is little time for sentimentality in sports, with players coming and going all the time. But a Major League Soccer homecoming on Saturday - when Danny Califf and Toronto FC face the Union at PPL Park - should prompt some emotion. Califf was the team's first captain, and as a central defender was vital in the Union's earning a playoff berth in 2011, their second season. He was well-liked in the community and a face of the franchise. Califf fell out of favor with former team manager Peter Nowak, which didn't exactly put him in select company, and he was traded in May to Chivas USA. Now he is with Toronto and, after missing last week's 2-2 draw with FC Dallas with the flu, is eagerly anticipating a return to PPL Park.

The tentative pool and corresponding match schedules were released yesterday in advance of the USA Sevens Collegiate Rugby championship. The event, to be held Saturday and Sunday, June 4 and 5, at PPL Park in Chester, features 16 men's clubs and eight women's teams, each vying to become a national champion. Of local interest, Temple and Penn State both have teams in the men's and women's divisions. On the men's side, the Owls will play three games on the opening day. They will play Arizona at 12:10 p.m., then take on Texas at 3:16 p.m. and close out against Oklahoma at 7:30 p.m. Penn State's men will open the event against Louisiana State at 9:58 a.m. The Nittany Lions will then play Ohio State at 12:54 p.m. and close with California at 4:06 p.m. Competition for the first day of the women's tournament will be at Drexel's Vidas Field.

PRINCETON - Carli Lloyd has enjoyed her recent New Jersey homecoming, and the soccer star is looking forward to the conclusion of her return to the area when the U.S. women's national team meets China in Sunday's 7 p.m. international friendly at PPL Park in Chester. This will be the national team's second-to-last match in the States before beginning play in the Olympics with a July 25 opener against France in Glasgow, Scotland. The final domestic game will be June 30 against Canada in Sandy, Utah.

Call it a true sign of respect that Major League Soccer teams are coming to PPL Park in Chester playing as much not to lose as they are to win against the Union. Look at Wednesday's scoreless draw with visiting Sporting Kansas City. Actually, there wasn't much sporting about K.C.'s attack. Kansas City had trouble stringing more than a few passes together, and its decision-making in tight spaces often resulted in turnovers. The passing was sloppy, the marking was less than airtight, and yet Sporting escaped with one point in a game the Union totally dominated.

In an announcement that offered little suspense but plenty of excitement, officials said Tuesday that the Union will host the 2012 Major League Soccer All-Star Game on July 25 at PPL Park in Chester. The official word came during a news conference at City Hall that included Mayor Nutter, MLS commissioner Don Garber, Union CEO and operating partner Nick Sakiewicz, Chester Mayor John Linder, and several members of the team's Sons of Ben fan club. The 8 p.m. game will feature the MLS all-stars and an international team to be determined.

After a shaky start on the defensive end, a confident U.S. women's national soccer team continued its unbeaten streak against China with a 4-1 win in front of a sellout crowd of 18,573 at PPL Park in Chester on Sunday night. Heading into the international friendly, the United States had gone 13-0-3 against the Chinese dating from March 2003. On Sunday, forward Alex Morgan led the Americans with two goals. Morgan has scored in eight games for Pia Sundhage's squad since Jan. 20 and has a team-leading 14 goals in 2012.

It is interesting that two sides that wanted a split need to be working together. When the Union visit the Chicago Fire on Saturday for a Major League Soccer game, it's likely that Bakary Soumare will play center back in only his second start for the Union since being acquired last year. The first start was forgettable. Soumare was not moving well after a knee injury last season, and the Union lost to the Fire, 3-1, at PPL Park on Aug. 12. Soumare showed in that game that he wasn't ready to hit the field.

Rugby teams from local colleges gathered in Rittenhouse Square on Tuesday, closing off parts of 18th and Walnut Streets to promote the 2013 USA Sevens Collegiate Rugby Championship at PPL Park in Chester on June 1 and 2. Players from Temple, St. Joseph's, Delaware and Penn explained proper tackling, ball movement, how scrums work, and some of the rules governing the game. "Basically, it's a demonstration to get people acquainted to what rugby is," said Hawks junior wing Eric Jackman, a graduate of St. Joseph's Prep.