Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Top Scorers - 9/30/14

Top 10 Leading Scorers

1. Bradley Wright-Phillips (England) - New York Red Bulls - 24
2. Dom Dwyer (England) - Sporting KC) - 20
3. Robbie Keane (Ireland) - LA Galaxy - 17
4. Gyasi Zardes (USA) - LA Galaxy - 16
5. Obafemi Martins (Nigeria) - Seattle Sounders - 15
5. Erick Torres (Mexico) - Chivas USA - 14
7. Clint Dempsey (USA) - Seattle Sounders - 13
7. Joao Plata (Ecuador) - Real Salt Lake - 13
7. Lee Nguyen (USA) - New England Revolution - 13
7. Chris Wondolowski (USA) - San Jose Earthquakes - 13

Top 10 Leading American Scorers

1. Gyasi Zardes (USA) - LA Galaxy - 16
2. Clint Dempsey (USA) - Seattle Sounders - 13
2. Lee Nguyen (USA) - New England Revolution - 13
2. Chris Wondolowski (USA) - San Jose Earthquakes - 13
5. Luis Silva (USA) - DC United - 11
6. Landon Donovan (USA) - LA Galaxy - 10
6. Will Bruin (USA) - Houston Dynamo - 10
8. Lamar Neagle (USA) - Seattle Sounders - 8
8. Ethan Finlay (USA) - Columbus Crew - 8
8. Quincy Amarikwa (USA) - Chicago Fire - 8
8. Conor Casey (USA) - Philadelphia Union - 8
8. Jack McInerney (USA) - Montreal Impact - 8

Monday, September 29, 2014

Donovan Ties Ralston's Record - MLS Weekly Recap

WEDNESDAY

FC DALLAS 3 SEATTLE 1

David Texeira, making just his 5th start of the year, and first since May, scored twice to propel Dallas to a big 3-1 win over the Seattle Sounders. Texeira scored in the match's opening 10 minutes, but Seattle eventually equalized through a long-range blast by Lamar Neagle. Texeira then put Dallas up for good in the 78th minute and Blas Perez added an insurance goal for Dallas in the closing minutes to put the game out of reach. Prior to Wednesday, Texeira hadn't scored a goal since April. Andres Escobar assisted on both of Texeira's goals. 

FRIDAY

NEW ENGLAND 3 SPORTING KC 2

This whole Jermaine Jones to MLS venture is really paying off for the Revs. After New England blew a 2 goal lead in a 3 minute span in the second half, Jones rescued them with a long range strike that found the back of the net and propelled the Revs to yet another win. Since his signing, the Revs have won 5 of 6 games with Jones contributing a goal and three assists. New England is now in second place in the Eastern Conference. Dom Dwyer added his 20th goal of the season in a losing effort for Sporting.

Martins, Morales, Donovan Reach Milestone

This weekend, Seattle's Obafemi Martins, Vancouver's Pedro Morales and LA's Landon Donovan all reached double digit goals and assists on the year making them just the 2nd, 3rd and 4th players to reach the milestone this season (Robbie Keane was the first). This milestone has been a surprisingly hard one to reach over the years with only 28 individuals reaching it since the league's inception in 1996. For Donovan and Keane, it marks the second time in their careers with Keane accomplishing the feat last year and Donovan doing it way back in 2005. Preki and Jaime Moreno are the only players in league history to accomplish the feat more than twice, both of them doing in 4 times. What makes this year even more unique is that it marks only the second time in the league's history that more than three players accomplished the feat in the same season. You have to go all the way back to 1998 to find the only other instance of this happening. Here's a list of all the players in MLS history to notch at least 10 goals and 10 helpers in a single season.

2014

Robbie Keane - LA Galaxy - 17 Goals, 14 Assists
Obafemi Martins - Seattle Sounders - 15 Goals, 10 Assists
Landon Donovan - LA Galaxy - 10 Goals, 18 Assists
Pedro Morales - Vancouver Whitecaps - 10 Goals, 10 Assists

2013

Diego Valeri - Portland Timbers - 10 Goals, 13 Assists
Robbie Keane - LA Galaxy - 16 Goals, 11 Assists

2012

Thierry Henry - New York Red Bulls - 15 Goals, 12 Assists

Friday, September 26, 2014

CONCACAF Champions League Match Day 5 Results

Big week in the Champions League as 4 of 8 group winners were decided following the results of this  week's matches. Pachuca, Montreal, DC United and Herediano all clinched berths to the quarterfinals while big clubs León and the New York Red Bulls were eliminated from the competition. Here's a rundown of all the week's matches.

TUESDAY

Sporting KC 3 Real Estelí 0

Claudio Bieler scored a pair of goals and Sal Zizzo scored one as Sporting turned in a dominant performance at home to defeat Real Estelí 3-0. Sporting dominated possession holding the ball for nearly 2/3 of the match while outshooting their opponents 17-7. Eric Kronberg made 3 saves to earn the shutout. With the win, Sporting pulls three points ahead of idle Saprissa with next month's showdown in Costa Rica all that remains on the schedule. Sporting defeated Saprissa 3-1 behind a pair of Toni Dovale goals last week.

Portland Timbers 6 Alpha United 0

The Timbers improved to 3-0-0 in the tournament with a decisive 6-0 win over Alpha United. Alpha United finish the tournament with 4 losses and were outscored in their group 17-1. Portland got goals from Jack Jewsbury, Gaston Fernandez, Michael Nanchoff, Fanendo Adi and a pair from defender Norberto Paparatto. Portland has a 3-point lead over Olimpia who they'll face in Honduras next month. When the two sides met in Portland last week, the Timbers upended them 4-2 behind a pair of Maximiliano Urruti goals. Ten different Timbers have accounted for Portland's fourteen goals through their first three matches.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Best Names in MLS

10 More Reasons to Love Major League Soccer:

1. Hunter Jumper (Chicago Fire, Defender). With a name like that, how could he not be destined for greatness?

2. Mamadou "Futty" Danso (Montreal Impact - Defender). The guy is pretty good with his heady too.



3. Dilaver "Dilly" Duka (Montreal Impact - Midfielder). Anyone else know his given name was Dilaver? My money was on Dilbert. Or Dilligan.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Top Scorers - 9/23/14

Top 10 Leading Scorers

1. Bradley Wright-Phillips (England) - New York Red Bulls - 24

 

2. Dom Dwyer (England) - Sporting Kansas City - 19
3. Robbie Keane (Ireland) - LA Galaxy - 15
3. Gyasi Zardes (USA) - LA Galaxy - 15
5. Erick Torres (Mexico) - Chivas USA - 14
6. Obafemi Martins (Nigeria) - Seattle Sounders - 13
6. Joao Plata (Ecuador) - Real Salt Lake - 13
6. Chris Wondolowski (USA) - San Jose Earthquakes - 13
6. Lee Nguyen (USA) - New England Revolution - 13
10. Clint Dempsey (USA) - Seattle Sounders - 12
10. Sebastien Le Toux (France) - Philadelphia Union - 12

MLS Weekly Recap

FRIDAY

Real Salt Lake 5 Colorado 1

RSL made it a sweep of the Rapids this year overcoming an early 1-0 deficit to rout their rivals 5-1. Joao Plata scored his 13th goal to tie the match, and Javier Morales, Chris Schuler and Carlos Salcedo all added goals of their own. Designated Player Sebastián Jaime made his first start for RSL logging 70 minutes up top. Jaime, who is from Argentina, spent the last few years playing in Chile for Unión Española for whom he scored 44 times in 123 games.

SATURDAY

Portland 3 Vancouver 0

Diego Valeri scored a brilliant goal early and Fanendo Adi scored twice in a 5-minute stretch during the second half as Portland shut out Vancouver 3-0. Vancouver entered play holding a one point advantage for the 5th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, but Portland was the better team in Oregon on Saturday and with the win they vault over the Caps and into 5th place. Adi now has 8 goals in this, his first MLS season. Donovan Ricketts made 4 saves to earn his 4th shutout.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Searching for the Next Great American Striker

The last two World Cups the MLS has seen Edson Buddle and Chris Wondolowski sneak onto the U.S. roster and actually see the field in big games. While I wouldn't go as far as to say that either one was the solution to our offensive woes up top, the fact remains that MLS is a viable option for the U.S. National Team when it comes to strikers. So as we begin the cycle for the 2018 World Cup, let's take a look at 5 players in MLS who could conceivably work themselves into the conversation:

1) Gyasi Zardes - LA Galaxy - Age 23

Zardes just turned 23 this month, but he leads all American born players in MLS with 15 goals this season. Zardes has 3 2-goal games this year, enjoyed a stretch where he scored in 4 straight games in July and August, and recently had a stretch of three games where he scored 5 times. His emergence as an offensive weapon alongside Robbie Keane is a big reason the Galaxy have gone 7 straight matches without a loss.


Friday, September 19, 2014

CONCACAF Champions League Match Day 4 Results

Eight more matches in the books with big wins for MLS as DC United, Portland, Montreal and Sporting KC were all victorious. All four clubs now find themselves in the driver's seat of their respective groups meaning it's highly likely that MLS will have four teams in the Round of 8. In other action, América dropped a dime against Puerto Rico Bayamón while Luis Gabriel Rey, Martín Zúñiga and Marvin Ávila all notched hat tricks in their respective matches. Two match days remain in this round of the tournament. 

TUESDAY

DC United 2 Waterhouse 1

DC United needs just one point in their next two matches against Tauro FC to clinch a place in the next round of the Champions League. Fabián Espíndola scored twice, the first on a brilliant individual effort that saw him split three defenders and deftly loft a shot over the outstretched hands of Richard McCallum, and the second a header off a cross from Ghanaian defender Samuel Inkoom, as United defeated Jamaica's Waterhouse FC in Kingston, 2-1. Things got exciting late as DC's Taylor Kemp was sent off in the 70th minute, and Hughan Gray converted the ensuing free kick. But Bill Hamid and the United defense would hold from there though as the U.S. keeper made 6 saves to preserve the victory. DC will host Tauro FC next Wednesday.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Americans in the UEFA Champions League

Only two Americans are on active rosters for the 32 remaining clubs playing in the UEFA Champions League this year. Here's a rundown of how they fared on Match Day 1.

David Yelldell - GK - Bayer Leverkusen - The 32 year-old Yelldell is currently the 3rd string keeper behind Bernd Leno, the youngest GK to play in a Champions League match, and Dario Kresic, a former youth national team keeper in Croatia. A lot's going to have to happen before Yelldell makes an impact for Bayer Leverkusen who he's yet to play for in a league match despite signing with the club back in 2011.

Sacha Kljestan - MF - Anderlecht - Kljestan is in his 5th season with Belgian powerhouse Anderlecht setting a professional career high with 8 goals in league play last year. He scored in the Group Stage of the Champions League in 2013 against Olympiacos (Greece), in the Third Qualifying Round of the Champions League in 2012 against Ekranas (Lithuania), in the Group Stage of the Europa League in 2011 against Lokomotiv Moscow, and in the Third Qualifying Round of the Champions League in 2010 against The New Saints (Wales) in 2010. Kljestan came into the match against Galatasaray Tuesday in the 66th minute up 1-0, but Anderlecht couldn't hang on to the lead yielding a late equalizer to Burak Yilmaz.

Cooper Top Scorer in 2014 U.S. Open Cup

Despite not playing in the U.S. Open Cup Final, Kenny Cooper won the 2014 U.S. Open Cup Golden Boot with 6 goals, 2 more than the next closest goal scorer. Cooper scored twice in the 4th Round against PSA Elite, once in the 5th Round against San Jose, once in the quarterfinals against the Portland Timbers, and twice in the semifinals against the Chicago Fire. With 13 career U.S. Open Cup goals, Cooper is tied for second in the modern era behind only Philadelphia's Sébastien Le Toux who has 14. Other MLS players who finished in the Top 10 in scoring in this year's tournament are:

Fabián Castillo (Colombia) - FC Dallas - 4 Goals
Gastón Fernández (Argentina) - Portland Timbers - 4 Goals
Deshorn Brown (Jamaica) - Colorado Rapids - 3 Goals
Blas Pérez (Panama) - FC Dallas - 3 Goals
Sébastien Le Toux (France) - Philadelphia Union - 3 Goals

Sounders Win 2014 U.S. Open Cup

For the fourth time in six years, the Seattle Sounders are the U.S. Open Cup Champions. This one certainly didn't come easy though. Maurice Edu headed in a free kick in the first half to give Philadelphia an early 1-0 lead, and while Seattle had plenty of opportunities it took a failed clearance to set up their first goal, a header from Chad Barrett. Then Seattle's depth was put on display as Obafemi Martins, in the Top 10 in MLS for both goals and assists this season, Marco Pappa, the winner of the Top Scorer and Best Player Awards at the 2014 Copa Centroamericana and Gonzalo Pineda,  a starter on Mexico's 2006 World Cup squad, all came off the bench for them in the second half. With the score still tied at 1, the match headed into extra time and Martins set up Clint Dempsey's game winner and added an insurance goal of his own to leave no doubt in the match's outcome. With the win, Seattle becomes the first club to clinch a berth in the 2015-16 CONCACAF Champion's League.

 

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Top Scorers - 9/16/14

Top 10 Leading Scorers

1. Bradley Wright-Phillips (England) - New York Red Bulls - 21
2. Dom Dwyer (England) - Sporting Kansas City - 19
3. Gyasi Zardes (USA) - LA Galaxy - 15
4. Robbie Keane (Ireland) - LA Galaxy - 14
4. Erick Torres (Mexico) - Chivas USA - 14
6. Obafemi Martins (Nigeria) - Seattle Sounders - 13
6. Chris Wondolowski (USA) - San Jose Earthquakes - 13
6. Lee Nguyen (USA) - New England Revolution - 13
9. Sebastien Le Toux (France) - Philadelphia Union - 12
9. Joao Plata (Ecuador) - Real Salt Lake - 12

Brek Shea to Birmingham City - MLS Weekly Recap

SHEA OFF TO SOLID START FOR BIRMINGHAM CITY

It wasn't a win, but Brek Shea delivered an assist in his first start for Birmingham City in what ended as a 1-1 draw against Leeds United. Birmingham has just 5 goals in their first 6 league matches and sit in 20th place entering play this afternoon. Shea played 67 minutes and left with his club up 1-0. Fellow American Jonathan Spector saw action as a substitute entering the match in the 79th minute.

MONTREAL 2 LA GALAXY 2

Landon Donovan recorded yet another assist as the Galaxy rallied from a 2-0 deficit to draw with the grieving Impact, 2-2. Montreal defender Karl Ouimette lost his sister to cancer last week, and his club rallied around him early putting themselves in a position to pull off an improbable victory. Marco Di Vaio opened the scoring with his sixth goal of the season while fellow designated player Ignacio Piatti added a second. Piatti now has 4 goals and an assist in his last 3 games. Dilly Duka assisted on both Impact goals. But Gyasi Zardes' 15th goal of the season brought the Galaxy within one and Robbie Keane and Donovan set up Alan Gordon to tie the match just 5 minutes later and that's the way it would end. The 23 year-old Zardes has 5 goals in his last 3 games.

NEW YORK 1 DC UNITED 0

Bill Hamid made 5 saves and nearly bought a point for 10-man United, but England's Lloyd Sam scored in the 90th minute to give New York back-to-back wins for the first time since April. Thierry Henry picked up his 12th assist on the year on the game winner tying a career high for him since coming to MLS in 2010. Henry had 15 goals and 12 assists in 2012.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Top Scorers and Standings

Top 10 Leading Scorers

1. Bradley Wright-Phillips (England) - New York Red Bulls - 21
2. Dom Dwyer (England) - Sporting Kansas City - 18
3. Robbie Keane (Ireland) - LA Galaxy - 14
3. Gyasi Zardes (USA) - LA Galaxy - 14
3. Erick Torres (Mexico) - Chivas USA - 14
6. Obafemi Martins (Nigeria) - Seattle Sounders - 12
6. Chris Wondolowski (USA) - San Jose Earthquakes - 12
6. Lee Nguyen (USA) - New England Revolution - 12
9. Clint Dempsey (USA) - Seattle Sounders - 11
9. Sebastien Le Toux (France) - Philadelphia Union - 11
9. Joao Plata (Ecuador) - Real Salt Lake - 11
9. Jermain Defoe (England) - Toronto FC - 11

USA Wins, Sporting Struggles - Weekly Recap

USA 1 Czech Republic 0

Playing with a largely non-MLS roster, the U.S. began the road to World Cup 2018 with a 1-0 friendly win over the Czech Republic. Alejandro Bedoya scored off a rebound of an effort by Mix Diskerud for the only goal of the match as Brad Guzan and Nick Rimando, the only MLS player on the roster, combined for the shutout.

Philadelphia 1 Toronto FC 0

33 year-old Conor Casey scored the only goal of the match as the Union won their second match in a row defeating Toronto FC 1-0. Joe Bendik made 6 saves in a losing effort for Toronto who lost defender Ashtone Morgan to a red card in the 77th minute. Zac MacMath made 3 saves to earn his 4th shutout, and the 27th in his 4 year career despite being just 23 years old.

New England 3 Sporting KC 1

Sporting lost for the third straight match, conceding three goals each time, as they fell to Jermaine Jones and the Revolution 3-1. Making his first start, Jones' errant header resulted in a Sonny Saad goal to put Sporting up early, but Jones redeemed himself with an assist on Teal Bunbury's equalizer. Then it was the Lee Nguyen show as the club's leading scorer struck twice in the second half to propel New England to a big home win.

Monday, September 1, 2014

Top Scorers and Standings - 9/1/14

Top 10 Leading Scorers

1. Bradley Wright-Phillips (England) - New York Red Bulls - 20
2. Dom Dwyer (England) - Sporting Kansas City - 17
3. Robbie Keane (Ireland) - LA Galaxy - 14
3. Erick Torres (Mexico) - Chivas USA - 14
5. Gyasi Zardes (USA) - LA Galaxy - 12
6. Clint Dempsey (USA) - Seattle Sounders - 11
6. Joao Plata (Ecuador) - Real Salt Lake - 11
6. Sebastien Le Toux (France) - Philadelphia Union - 11
6. Jermain Defoe (England) - Toronto FC - 11
10. Obafemi Martins (Nigeria) - Seattle Sounders - 10
10. Chris Wondolowski (USA) - San Jose Earthquakes - 10
10. Lee Nguyen (USA) - New England Revolution - 10
10. Will Bruin (USA) - Houston Dynamo - 10

Guardians of the Galaxy - MLS Weekly Recap

The Galaxy continued their surge as they snatched 6 points in matches against DC United and Chivas USA outscoring their opponents 7-1 and getting goals from six different players. Landon Donovan finished with a goal and four assists and suddenly the Galaxy find themselves just 2 points behind Seattle on the verge of pulling ahead into first place in the Western Conference. Here's a rundown of all the week's matches.

Los Angeles 4 DC United 1

Landon Donovan and company continued their surge scoring 3 times in the first half against the previously red hot DC United, cruising to a 4-1 win. Even with their leading scorer Robbie Keane unavailable, Landon Donovan continued his solid form delivering an insurance goal and a pair of assists while Alan Gordon, Omar Gonzalez and Baggio Husidic all chipped in with goals as well. Gonzalez's goal was his third this season, a career high, in just 13 matches.