High School

After the U.S. women’s national team won its fourth Women’s World Cup this summer they spent most of their celebratory parades and interviews discussing the gender pay gap. Women across the nation earn 79 cents for every $1 men earn and for the USWNT and female athletes everywhere, this is not acceptable. Not only did the USWNT start campaigning for its equal pay movement, but they have influenced other athletes both male and female, as well as younger generations to take a stand and help make a difference. 

Youth soccer in America is changing. Over the past few years, U.S. soccer has moved to profoundly address the exclusivity of high-level grass roots play. Talented footballers at the high school age can get offered to play for a program known as a Development Academy (DA). Both Major League Soccer and other youth clubs all over the U.S. have Development Academy teams, from the high school age all the way down to U-12. 

An assistant referee and a player were taken to the hospital after a wooden light pole was knocked over by heavy winds, crashing onto the field during a high school soccer match on Saturday in Clarksville, Arkansas. 

The referee sustained two broken bones in his leg while the player had superficial wounds to his head and legs, according to KFSM. Neither injury was considered life-threatening. 

We’re going to be real here: Unless you live in Minnesota and are tuned in to the youth soccer scene, you probably don’t pay any attention to Minnesota high school soccer.

Fortunately, we here at The18 have eyes on every soccer game everywhere (seriously, when you’re playing your little brother in the back yard, we’re watching; it’s creepy). 

So today we get to bring you a stunning highlight from the Minnesota high school soccer Class A championship game — and with good reason.

There were moments in the Manchester City vs West Ham match when Arsene Wenger might have considered breaking out the champagne like the 1972 Dolphins to celebrate another season in which his Invincibles remained the only unbeaten side in English Premier League history. But as always seemed inevitable, Manchester City found another late goal to equal the English top flight record with a 13th straight victory on Sunday at the Etihad.