Soccer Watch

The Lady Longhorns split a pair of road games last weekend, beating New Mexico 2-1 (Ashley Foster hit the winner in overtime), then losing 1-0 at Rice. The Horns' national ranking, up from nowhere to No. 8 last week, dropped to 23rd this week. Sic transit gloria. The Horns are back home this weekend for two nonconference games before the Big 12 schedule starts. Nicholls State, 7pm Friday; Cal St. Fullerton, 1pm Sunday. Myers Stadium, $7 (Friday: 4 tickets/$8, kids $1).

Sophomore defender Stephanie Logterman is back with the team after her stint with the youth National Team at the U-20 World Championship in Russia. The U.S. finished fourth there, dropping both the semifinal and third place games in shootouts after 0-0 draws. Tough way to lose.

In Europe, it's getting into the heart of the fall schedule, which means two games a week for many teams and players – regular league games on weekends and cup and international play midweek. Last week it was the national teams, playing for Euro 2008 qualifying, this week it's the first games of the Champions League group stage. For the most part, the home teams held serve, and there was nary an upset (unless you count Lyon dumping Real Madrid – again). It was a great week for English clubs, as Arsenal, Man U, and Chelsea all won, and Liverpool got a draw on the road. Here are the full results:

Group A: Barcelona 5, Levski Sofia 0; Chelsea 2, Werder Bremen 0

Group B: Bayern Munich 4, Spartak Moscow 0; Sporting Lisbon 1, Inter Milan 0

Group C: Galatasaray 0, Bordeaux 0; PSV Eindhoven 0, Liverpool 0

Group D: Olympiakos 2, Valencia 4; Roma 4, Shakhtar Donetsk 0

Group E: Dynamo Kiev 1, Steaua Bucharest 4; Lyon 2, Real Madrid 0

Group F: FC Copenhagen 0, Benfica 0; Manchester United 3, Celtic Glasgow 2

Group G: FC Porto 0, CSKA Moscow 0; Hamburg 1, Arsenal 2

Group H: AC Milan 3, AEK Athens 0; Anderlecht 1, Lille 1