Soccer

New York filmmaker Jeffrey C. Bell faced one not-so-little problem while working on his documentary about the Sons of Ben, the hard-core Philadelphia Union supporters group: He needed $20,000 to keep production going. Bell turned to Internet crowd-funding, asking friends, sports-lovers, film fans, and total strangers to donate so he could tell the tale of an unlikely band of soccer heroes. It happened that many people were willing to do exactly that. As of Monday night, with hours left in a 35-day campaign, Bell had surged past his goal, raising $22,451.

The Week in Soccer   Arsenal at Queens Park Rangers   12:30 p.m. Saturday (Fox Soccer Channel) The Gunners need a win to hold on to a spot in next year's Champions League. London rivals QPR are already relegated.   Willem II Tilburg at Ajax Amsterdam 6:30 a.m. Sunday (ESPN3.com) Ajax can clinch the Dutch championship with a win. But, though Willem II is in last place, the Tricolores defense is tough on the road, while their offense, lead by Luxembourg's Aurelien Joachim, is ranked second in the league in away games.

While so many top high school juniors are trying to impress college recruiters, Lenape's Courtney Norton has known her destination for some time. A trend in college athletics is to attempt to get oral commitments from recruits as early as possible. Norton thought Rutgers was a great fit, so in August she told the Scarlet Knights soccer program that she would be coming - in the fall of 2014. With the pressure of having to make a decision long gone, Norton has worked on her game, playing at an extremely high level.

WE'VE ALL HEARD of Renaissance Men. How about the teenaged version? Say hello to Harry Taggart and feel free to give him a round of applause. Aside from being a three-sport stalwart at Julia Masterman High, the 6-foot, 180-pound senior is bound for Penn, is planning to learn Spanish well enough to eventually study abroad for a year/semester and, get this, is already a mover/shaker in a T-shirt company that's making major strides. This is the sports section, so first be advised that Taggart, while bouncing from third base to centerfield to shortstop Thursday, went 2-for-3 with a plunking, one RBI and two runs scored as the visiting Blue Dragons topped Franklin Towne Charter, 7-3, in a Public A contest played in windy conditions at a playground on the doorstep of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge.

United States women's team midfielder Carli Lloyd will be sidelined six to eight weeks after the former Delran star suffered a broken bone in her left shoulder during the Algarve Cup in Portugal. The U.S. Soccer Federation initially called the injury minor, but announced Tuesday that an MRI exam showed the fracture. Lloyd was injured last Wednesday against Iceland and missed matches against China and Sweden. She also will miss Wednesday's cup final against Germany in Faro, Portugal.