win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hock

TUKWILA, Wash. -- As he walked off the practice field recently, Brian Schmetzer was greeted in a manner usually reserved for players.The Seattle Sounders coach was pulled aside to sign a poster board, asked to pose for a cellphone picture with a fan and finally chased down to autograph -- of all things -- a shoe.Ive still got another four hours of work, Schmetzer cracked with a grin as he walked away.Schmetzer is a popular guy these days after leading a remarkable turnaround that has landed Seattle in Saturdays MLS title game at Toronto with a chance to add a major piece of hardware missing from the clubs trophy case.Its been a stunning climb, from the depths of the Western Conference standings in July when Schmetzer took over following the dismissal of Sigi Schmid, to the Sounders position now.It always has the opportunity to get better, starting with we put ourselves in the position to have the opportunity to win an MLS Cup, said Schmetzer, a Seattle native who had the interim tag removed from his title in early November. Im proud of that. But hopefully, well all be around here for a few more years and well continue to build on those opportunities to create the moments to create the chances to win more.Schmetzer, 54, is entwined with Seattles soccer history. A star player in previous generations of Seattle soccer franchises. A coach with earlier incarnations of the Sounders at lower levels of American soccer. An assistant coach for the first 7 + years of the MLS franchise. And now the man in charge of leading a remarkable midseason turnaround that has Seattle on the cusp of an unlikely first league championship and the biggest soccer moment in the citys history with the sport.I think because of the story of our year you might have some traction there, Schmetzer said. But I think there have been some big moments. Winning the Supporters Shield in (2014), that team was really good. Again its kind of by era. The championships we won in (2005) and (2007) were pretty big for that moment in time. The (1995) team for their moment, the Soccer Bowl appearance in (1982). Its all kind of relative to the era that were kind of playing in. But this one is pretty big.When Schmetzer inherited the lead role on an interim basis in late July, the Sounders were on pace for their worst season in club history. A season that began with promise highlighted by the signing of young American star Jordan Morris had devolved to the point that Schmid, the winningest coach in MLS history, was cast aside.Even though he sat next to Schmid for the entirety of his tenure with Seattle, Schmetzers voice in the locker room became fresh and new. It was respected, in part because Schmetzer gave ownership to his players.Hes given us the team in a way, goalkeeper Stefan Frei said. Some players may not even realize this but its a huge sign of respect that a coach shows the players when he kind of does that. When he says, `Im the chaperone but this is your guys team. I will guide you the best that I can but you guys will make the decisions. You guys will be the ones going to battle. For me its a huge sign of respect he shows the players and I think when players get that feeling they immediately want to repay that respect.He also remained the same person that even the longest-tenured Sounders have come to know. Schmetzer is an original just as much as Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso and Zach Scott -- the only players who have been with Seattle every season since its MLS debut in 2009.A guy who was fiery even from our first training session (in 2009), Evans said. He in was our faces, making sure everything was sharp, quick and to the point. In saying that nothing has changed really. Hes still in your ear, in the back of your mind saying, `faster, quicker, and thats good to keep the guys on their toes. Hes done that since day one. Custom Jeff Bagwell Jersey . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records. Wholesale Custom Astros Shirts . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. http://www.customastrosjersey.com/ .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament. Authentic Custom Astros Jersey . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. Cheap Custom Astros Jersey . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. FRANKFURT, Germany -- United States international Julian Green scored in his first official start as title holder Bayern Munich eased to a 3-1 win over Augsburg to reach the third round of the German Cup on Wednesday.Greens first goal in a competition match for Bayern came in the 42nd minute with a header off a cross by Thomas Mueller.The 21-year-old American winger played in the previous German Cup round, coming off the bench in a 5-0 win over Carl-Zeiss Jena. Green has been in coach Carlo Ancelottis squad several times this season but this was his first start.Green became the youngest American to score a World Cup goal in a loss to Belgium at the 2014 tournament in Brazil. His club career at Bayern stalled, however. He made a Champions League appearance in 2013, before being sent to Hamburger SV on loan. He rarely played there and returned to Bayern. He made another Champions League appearance at Dinamo Zagreb last season but did not see any Bundesliga action.However, Green made headlines by scoring a hat trick against Inter Milan in a pre-season tour of the United States, then scored in back-to-back matches for the United States against Cuba and New Zealand.Ancelotti left many of his regulars on the bench against Augsburg and Green got his chance.Another player made a comeback with defender Holger Badstuber coming off the bench late in the match. Badstuber had not played since an ankle injury in February.Bayern, an 18-time German Cup winner, went ahead through Philipp Lahm in the second minute and David Alaba completed the victory in injury time.Ji Dong-won had cut Augusburgs deficit with fine angled shot above Manuel Neuers arms into the roof of the net in the 69th.Both teams missed penalties, with Mueller shooting high for Bayern and Neuer saving the spot-kick taken by Koo Ja-cheol.Heres a look at other matches Wednesday:---BORUSSIA DORTMUND 1, UNION BERLIN 1, 3-0 in penalty shootoutDortmunds veteran goalkeeper RRoman Weidenfeller stopped the first two shots in the shootout and Berlins third spot-kick bounced off the crossbar.dddddddddddd Ousman Dembele, Matthis Ginter and Mario Goetze all converted for Dortmund.An own goal by Michael Parensen had given Dortmund the lead in 44th, but Steven Skrzybski equalized for the second-division team in the 81st. Dortmund played with a reshuffled lineup because of numerous injuries and rotation.---COLOGNE 2, HOFFENHEIM 1In a match between two surprise teams in this seasons Bundesliga, Anthony Modeste scored early in extra time to give Cologne victory over his former club.Hoffenheim, undefeated in the Bundesliga, went ahead in the eighth through Benjamin Huebner, before Marcel Risse fired Cologne level with a free kick.Hoffenheim found the net with the last kick of the match, but the strike was ruled offside.---SCHALKE 3, NUREMBERG 2Yevhen Konoplyanka scored two goals for Schalke, which let slip a 3-0 lead.Klaas-Jan Huntelaar also scored for Schalke, before the second-division team netted twice after the break and made it a tense finale.Schalke has now won five straight games in all competitions, following a poor start to the season.---OTHER MATCHESMainz and Darmstadt joined the exodus of Bundesliga teams from the German Cup, losing to lower-tier opposition in the second round.Darmstadt lost at fourth-tier Astoria Walldorf 1-0, while Mainz went down 2-1 at second-division Greuther Fuerth.Germany striker Mario Gomez scored a second-half winner as Wolfsburg edged second-division Heidenheim 1-0 for interim coach Valerien Ismaels first win.Hannover thrashed Fortuna Duesseldorf 6-1 after scoring five goals inside the first 34 minutes of the match between two second-division teams.Bayer Leverkusen and Freiburg, two other Bundesliga teams, were eliminated on Tuesday. 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