Friday, October 31, 2014

Eastern Conference Semifinal Preview

Columbus Crew vs New England Revolution

Two of the league's hottest teams will face off tomorrow when the Crew take on the Revs. Columbus has won eight of their last eleven and two of three against the Revs on the year, while the Revs have nine wins in their last twelve and just one loss since adding Jermaine Jones into the fold. To make things even more intriguing, that loss came against Columbus on September 20th.

Players to Watch:

For Columbus: Federico Higuain. Higuain tied for the club lead with 11 goals this season including the game winner in their 1-0 win over New England last month. While his brother Gonzalo is the more famous Higuain, don't discount Federico's ability to impact the MLS postseason.

For New England: Lee Nguyen. Nguyen led the league in Game Winning Goals with 9, was the league's highest scoring American with 18 finishes, and has 10 goals in his last 11 matches as well as 5 goals in his last 4. As Nguyen goes, so go the Revs.

Prediction:

New England advances. I'm loving Ethan Finlay and the exciting Columbus attack, but Jermaine Jones and Lee Nguyen are firing on all cylinders right now.

New York Red Bulls vs DC United

DC United is the only American club left in the Champions League this year, and they'll be back again next season thanks to winning the Eastern Conference regular season title. DC tied for the league lead in fewest goals allowed thanks to keeper Bill Hamid, and despite all of New York's weapons, DC scored only three fewer goals on the year. In three matches this season, New York managed just one goal against Hamid, and New York's Big Three of Thierry Henry, Bradley Wright-Phillips and Tim Cahill was shutout.

Players to Watch:

For New York: Thierry Henry. The veteran Frenchman can do it all, and while this was Bradley Wright-Phillips' year, Henry is equally important, if not more so, to their success. Case in point, it was Henry's pass that set up BWP's equalizer against Sporting in the Knockout Round.

For DC: Eddie Johnson. Johnson had a relatively quiet season with just 7 goals, but he's scored in two of the last three games, scored twice in last year's postseason, and has two goals in this year's Champions League. An accomplished finisher with big game experience, Johnson has the potential to be a difference maker in this series.

Prediction:

DC advances. I think there are too many question marks and a lack of consistency for the Red Bulls. They've yet to solve Bill Hamid and DC didn't win the Eastern Conference by accident.

Western Conference Semifinal Preview

Real Salt Lake vs Los Angeles

MLS powers RSL and the LA Galaxy face off in a rematch of the 2009 MLS Cup Finals. This is one of the more evenly matched rivalries in MLS as the three matches this year were split down the middle with a pair of 1-0 games and a 1-1 draw. LA's high-powered trinity of Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan and breakout performer Gyasi Zardes will have a tough task ahead of them trying to score goals against U.S. National Team keeper Nick Rimando, but no team gave up fewer goals this season than the Galaxy so don't expect a high scoring series.

Players to Watch:

For LA: Gyasi Zardes. After a run that saw Zardes score 13 goals in 16 games, the 23 year-old homegrown talent has cooled off getting shut out in his last four matches, which not surprisingly correlated to just one Galaxy win. If LA is going to have a chance against RSL, they'll need Zardes to produce. He did have the game winner in their last match against Real Salt Lake in July.

For Real Salt Lake: Alvaro Saborio. Saborio missed almost four months of the season, and the World Cup, with a fractured foot, but he's back now. He's scored twice in six matches since returning and has eight goals in just sixteen games on the season.

Prediction:

Los Angeles advances. It's going to be close, but I don't see Landon Donvoan's farewell tour ending here.

FC Dallas vs Seattle Sounders

Seattle has already claimed a double this year taking the U.S. Open Cup and the Supporter's Shield and their first hurdle in clinching a third piece of hardware this season will be FC Dallas. Seattle took two of three matches between the two teams this year, but Dallas did hand them a 3-1 defeat in September. Dallas needed a late penalty to advance to the semis edging out the Whitecaps 2-1.

Players to Watch:

For Dallas: Tesho Akindele. After going two and a half months between goals, Akindele scored the opener against Vancouver in the Knockout Round. If he can be a complement to Blas Perez up top and make the Dallas attack more potent, it will make for a much more competitive series.

For Seattle: Marco Pappa. The Guatemalan midfielder was the hero in the season finale against LA and has a knack for scoring goals on the big stage. Used effectively as a starter and a substitute, he's a terrific sidekick for stars Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey.

Prediction:

Seattle advances. The Sounders have too many weapons and they're hungry for a Championship.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Boyd Scores in German Cup

Terrence Boyd scored his first goal since joining RB Leipzig of the 2. Bundesliga in a 3-1 German Cup win over DFB Pokal. Boyd, who came up with Hertha BSC and Borussia Dortmund's youth clubs, spent the past two seasons in Austria. He signed with Leipzig in June and debuted this month.




Boyd has appeared in 13 games for the U.S. Men's National Team, but is still looking for his first international goal.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Knockout Round Preview

Vancouver Whitecaps at FC Dallas

The MLS playoffs kick off tomorrow night with a showdown between Vancouver and Dallas. The Whitecaps haven't allowed a goal in the month of October including a 2-0 win over Dallas in Vancouver on October 4th. Dallas meanwhile has split its last six with 3 wins and 3 losses. Dallas has the more potent offense led by Blas Perez and Fabian Castillo, but Vancouver's defense anchored by Costa Rica's Kendall Waston and David Ousted, the league leader in shutouts, has been one of the league's best.

Players to Watch:

For Dallas: Blas Perez. The Panamanian striker led Dallas with 11 goals this season including both goals in Dallas's 2-1 win over Vancouver on September 13th and a third goal against Vancouver in a 2-2 draw in July. He also led the club with 6 assists.

For Vancouver: Mauro Rosales. Acquired in a midseason trade from Chivas USA, Rosales, has hit double digit assists in three of his four MLS seasons. Rosales assisted on both of Vancouver's goals in their win over Dallas on October 4th.

Prediction:

Vancouver 1 Dallas 0 - Vancouver has the momentum while Dallas has been inconsistent. Ousted makes it 5 shutouts in a row while the offense does just enough.

Sporting Kansas City at New York Red Bulls

The Defending Champs are on the ropes. Banged up and burned out, Sporting has won just three times in their last thirteen matches. They also got themselves knocked out of the Champions League last week, and they haven't beaten New York this year, most recently falling 2-0 on Sunday night. They have the star power and the experience, but New York has Bradley Wright-Phillips and a rested Thierry Henry.

Players to Watch:

For New York: Bradley Wright-Phillips scored 27 goals this season and scored at least one in all three matches against Sporting this year. With a banged up back line, stopping BWP doesn't sound promising.

For Sporting: Dom Dwyer came out of nowhere to finish second in MLS with 22 goals this year, but only one of those came against the Red Bulls. Dwyer is one of the few healthy bodies for Sporting right now, but he'll need help if his struggling club is going to defend their title

Prediction:

New York 3 Sporting KC 1 - All things being equal I think Sporting is the better team, but they've undergone a brutal stretch of games and I don't know that they're healthy enough to contend with BWP and Henry right now.

Monday, October 27, 2014

MLS Conference Realignment Coming

So if you didn't already hear, Chivas USA is going away after this season which means next year we'll have a 20 team league with the additions of Orlando City FC and New York FC. Here's what the new conference alignment looks like:

EAST

Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew, DC United, Montreal Impact, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, New York City FC, Orlando City FC, Philadelphia Union, Toronto FC

WEST

Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Sporting Kansas City, LA Galaxy, Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders, Vancouver Whitecaps FC

So in essence, the Western Conference traded away Chivas USA for Defending MLS Champs Sporting Kansas City, and the Houston Dynamo while the East adds expansion clubs New York City FC and Orlando City FC. So next year in the West, three of the following clubs won't make the postseason: Dallas, Houston, Sporting KC, LA, Portland, Real Salt Lake, Seattle and Vancouver. BRUTAL.

But hey, maybe Toronto will finally make the postseason!

ESPN Article on Chivas USA


Wambach Nets Four in U.S. Rout

The Legend of Abby Wambach continued this weekend as she scored four more goals and added an assist in the CONCACAF Women's Championship capping off a perfect tournament for the U.S. Women. Carli Lloyd added a goal and a pair of assists as the U.S. steamrolled overmatched Costa Rica 6-0.

For the tournament, the U.S. outscored their opponents 21-0 in five matches getting 7 goals from Wambach and 5 more from Lloyd who was named the tournament's best player. Seven other Americans scored at least one goal. Here are the match highlights:


Mexico defeated Trinidad and Tobago 4-2 in extra time behind a pair of late goals from Charlyn Corral to take third place in the tournament and clinch the region's final World Cup berth.

Weekly Recap

Pretty exciting final week of the season as we saw the Supporter's Shield decided not by American icons Clint Dempsey or Landon Donovan, nor by MVP candidates Obafemi Martins or Robbie Keane. Instead Guatemalan International Marco Pappa came off the bench to score two goals and secure the double for the Sounders. We also saw Italian veteran Marco Di Vaio cap off his career with one final goal, Bradley Wright-Phillips tie the league's single season scoring record with 2 goals against Sporting KC, Lee Nguyen add to his MVP campaign with his 18th goal of the season and 9th game winner, and yet another Toronto FC campaign end in disappointment. But the week's biggest disappointment has to belong to the Portland Timbers. Not only were they eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions League with a 3-1 loss to Olimpia, they also watched Vancouver get a late winner from Kendall "Elementary My Dear" Waston to clinch the final playoff spot for the Whitecaps leaving Portland on the outside looking in. For the rest of us though, there are playoffs to look forward to!

Fantasy Soccer - Week 33

59 points this week and a successful Top 10 finish. We'll try and do better next year...

GK - Nick Rimando - Real Salt Lake - 7 pts
DEF - Akira Kaji - Chivas USA - 10 pts
DEF -  David Horst - Houston Dynamo - 3 pts
DEF - Lawrence Olum - Sporting KC - 2 pts
MID - Lee Nguyen - New England Revs (C) - 18 pts
MID - Gyasi Zardes - LA Galaxy - 2 pts
MID - Landon Donovan - LA Galaxy - 2 pts
MID - Fabian Castillo - FC Dallas - 1 pt
MID - Ethan Finlay - Columbus Crew - 3 pts
FWD - Felix Borja - Chivas USA - 9 pts
FWD - Dom Dwyer - Sporting KC - 2 pts

Top Scorers - Final 10/27/14

Top 10 Leading Scorers

1. Bradley Wright-Phillips (England) - New York Red Bulls - 27


2. Dom Dwyer (England) - Sporting KC) - 22
3. Robbie Keane (Ireland) - LA Galaxy - 19
4. Lee Nguyen (USA) - New England Revolution - 18
5. Obafemi Martins (Nigeria) - Seattle Sounders - 17
6. Gyasi Zardes (USA) - LA Galaxy - 16
7. Clint Dempsey (USA) - Seattle Sounders - 15
7. Erick Torres (Mexico) - Chivas USA - 15
9. Chris Wondolowski (USA) - San Jose Earthquakes - 14
10. Joao Plata (Ecuador) - Real Salt Lake - 13

Top 10 Leading American Scorers

1. Lee Nguyen (USA) - New England Revolution - 18
2. Gyasi Zardes (USA) - LA Galaxy - 16
3. Clint Dempsey (USA) - Seattle Sounders - 15
4. Chris Wondolowski (USA) - San Jose Earthquakes - 14
5. Ethan Finlay (USA) - Columbus Crew - 11
5. Luis Silva (USA) - DC United - 11
7. Landon Donovan (USA) - LA Galaxy - 10
7. Will Bruin (USA) - Houston Dynamo - 10
9. Lamar Neagle (USA) - Seattle Sounders - 9
10. Quincy Amarikwa (USA) - Chicago Fire - 8
10. Justin Meram (USA) - Columbus Crew - 8
10. Conor Casey (USA) - Philadelphia Union - 8
10. Jack McInerney (USA) - Montreal Impact - 8

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Herculez!

2010 World Cup veteran Herculez Gomez, the only player to win both the MLS Cup and the Mexican Premier League Championship, tallied another goal for Tigres giving them a 2-0 lead over rival Monterrey in their match last night. The lead wouldn't hold though as Monterrey rallied to end the match in a 2-2 tie. Gomez, now 32, is on loan from Tijuana - Greg Garza and Joe Corona's club. Here are the match highlights, if you want to see Gomez's goal, skip to the 2:00 mark.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Pappa No Stranger to Scoring Big Goals

With a pair of goals off the bench today, Guatemalan Marco Pappa ensured the Supporter's Shield would go to the Seattle Sounders. While a tie would've been enough to clinch it for Seattle, Pappa made sure there wouldn't be any doubt. If the name's familiar, you may remember his goal against the U.S. during World Cup Qualifying.


Americans in the UEFA Champions League

Another quiet round for the Americans as once again, only Sacha Kljestan dressed, and he wasn't called upon in Anderlecht's 2-1 loss to Arsenal.

David Yelldell - GK - Bayer Leverkusen - Yelldell took his typical back seat to Bernd Leno and Dario Kresic as Leverkusen defeated Zenit St Petersburg 2-0.

Sacha Kljestan - MF - Anderlecht - Kljestan dressed, but once again went unused, this time getting passed up in favor of Leander Dendoncker and Matías Suárez. Anderlecht squandered a 1-0 lead over Arsenal giving up goals in the 89th and 91st minutes to fall 2-1.

Joe Gyau - MF - Borussia Dortmund - Gyau injured his knee in the U.S.'s match against Ecuador on October 10th and is out until January. Dortmund won without him 4-0 over Galatasaray.

Friday, October 24, 2014

U.S. Women World Cup Bound

With a 3-0 win over rival Mexico, the U.S. Women have punched their ticket to the 2015 World Cup in Canada. Carli Lloyd led the offense with a pair of goals in the first half while Christen Press added an insurance goal in the second. The U.S. will now take on Costa Rica who edged Trinidad and Tobago in the other semifinal in penalties. The tournament final will be held on Sunday at PPL Park, the home of the Philadelphia Union.

Here's highlights of the goals:

CCL Goal Scorers

Here are your goal scorers at the end of Group Play in the Champions League by club. América leads all teams with 19 goals led by Martín Zúñiga's 5. Zúñiga is matched only by Saprissa's Ariel Rodríguez. Marco Di Vaio leads the MLS contingent with 4 goals for the Impact while DC United's Eddie Johnson is the only American in the tournament with more than one goal.

#1 DC United

Eddie Johnson (USA) - 2
Fabián Espíndola (Argentina) - 2
Conor Shanosky (USA) - 1
Chris Pontius (USA) - 1

#2 América

Martín Zúñiga (Mexico) - 5
Oribe Peralta (Mexico) - 3
Luis Gabriel Rey (Colombia) - 3

Emilio Sánchez (Mexico) - 2

Gil Burón (Mexico) - 2

Moisés Velasco (Mexico) - 1
Michael Arroyo (Ecuador) - 1
Ventura Alvarado (USA) - 1

Gonzalo Díaz (Argentina) - 1

CONCACAF Champions League - Match Day 6 - Round 1 Wrap-Up

The final eight spots are set with Olimpia, América, Alajuelense and Saprissa all clinching their groups. They'll join DC United, Pachuca, the Montreal Impact and Herediano in the quarterfinals. Costa Rica has the most teams advancing with three while Mexico has two, the U.S. and Canada each have one and Honduras has one. Here's the seeding and match-ups for the next round:

(1) DC United vs (8) Alajuelense
(2) America vs (7) Saprissa
(3) Herediano vs (6) Olimpia
(4) Montreal Impact vs (5) Pachuca

Here's a rundown of the final matches of the group stage:

TUESDAY

DC United 1 Tauro FC 0

A fluke header by Conor Shanosky, who hasn't played in a regular season game this year and has logged all of 5 appearances in 5 seasons with the club, helped DC United complete a sweep of Group 4 to clinch the top seed in the Champions League Quarterfinals. With the group already clinched, DC rested the majority of its starters with only defender Chris Korb, who came on late as a substitute tallying double digit regular season starts this year. Joe Willis made 3 saves in net to earn the shutout as DC ended up the only team in group play to win all four of their matches.


Jose Torres' Free Kick Goal Sends Tigres Through to Copa Mexico Semifinals

Jose Torres' left-footed free kick goal gave Tigres all they needed to knock off Toluca in the Copa Mexico Quarterfinals as they advanced on the strength of a 2-0 win. Torres, who turns 27 next week, was a member of the 2010 U.S. World Cup Squad and has appeared in 26 matches for the United States.


Thursday, October 23, 2014

She Kicks Like a Girl

And boom goes the dynamite! I know we posted this with the highlights yesterday, but this one deserves a second look. Hats off to Meghan Klingenberg. Not a bad way to score your first international goal.


Najar Scores Vs Arsenal

Former MLS Rookie of the Year Andy Najar nearly provided Anderlecht with a huge upset over Arsenal yesterday when his goal gave them a 1-0 lead in the 71st minute. But Arsenal would not be denied equalizing in the 89th minute and then stealing the match in the 91st. Najar spent three seasons with DC United before moving to Belgium to play alongside American Sacha Kljestan at Anderlecht.


 

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

U.S Women Clinch Group - Advance to Semifinals

Abby Wambach scored 2 more goals, while Carli Lloyd, Meghan Klingenberg, Christen Press and Morgan Brian all scored 1 as the U.S. routed Haiti 6-0 to finish a perfect 3-0 atop Group A in the first round of the 2014 CONCACAF Women's Championship. The U.S. now advances to the semifinals where they'll face Mexico on Friday. Costa Rica, the winner of Group B, will take on Trinidad & Tobago in the other semifinal match. Klingenberg's goal was the first of her international career. Lloyd and Press each added assists. Here are the highlights:

Top Scorers - 10/21/14

Top 10 Leading Scorers

1. Bradley Wright-Phillips (England) - New York Red Bulls - 25
2. Dom Dwyer (England) - Sporting KC) - 22
3. Robbie Keane (Ireland) - LA Galaxy - 19
4. Obafemi Martins (Nigeria) - Seattle Sounders - 17
4. Lee Nguyen (USA) - New England Revolution - 17
6. Gyasi Zardes (USA) - LA Galaxy - 16
7. Clint Dempsey (USA) - Seattle Sounders - 15
7. Erick Torres (Mexico) - Chivas USA - 15
9. Chris Wondolowski (USA) - San Jose Earthquakes - 14
10. Joao Plata (Ecuador) - Real Salt Lake - 13

Top 10 Leading American Scorers

1. Lee Nguyen (USA) - New England Revolution - 17
2. Gyasi Zardes (USA) - LA Galaxy - 16
3. Clint Dempsey (USA) - Seattle Sounders - 15
4. Chris Wondolowski (USA) - San Jose Earthquakes - 14
5. Ethan Finlay (USA) - Columbus Crew - 11
5. Luis Silva (USA) - DC United - 11
7. Landon Donovan (USA) - LA Galaxy - 10
7. Will Bruin (USA) - Houston Dynamo - 10
9. Lamar Neagle (USA) - Seattle Sounders - 9
10. Quincy Amarikwa (USA) - Chicago Fire - 8
10. Justin Meram (USA) - Columbus Crew - 8
10. Conor Casey (USA) - Philadelphia Union - 8
10. Jack McInerney (USA) - Montreal Impact - 8

Fantasy Soccer - Week 32

67 points this week, moving on up! Into 7th place out of 125 among the Round 30 guys.

GK - Nick Rimando - Real Salt Lake - 9 pts
DEF - Heath Pearce - Montreal Impact - (-1) pts
DEF -  David Horst - Houston Dynamo - 3 pts
DEF - Lawrence Olum - Sporting KC - 1 pt
MID - Lee Nguyen - New England Revs (C) - 24 pts
MID - Gyasi Zardes - LA Galaxy - 2 pts
MID - Landon Donovan - LA Galaxy - 4 pts
MID - Fabian Castillo - FC Dallas - 3 pts
MID - Ethan Finlay - Columbus Crew - 14 pts
FWD - Joao Plata - Real Salt Lake - 1 pts
FWD - Dom Dwyer - Sporting KC - 7 pts

Weekly Recap

RESULTS

THURSDAY

New England 2 Houston 1

FRIDAY

Real Salt Lake 0 Portland 0

SATURDAY

Montreal 1 Toronto 1
FC Dallas 1 Colorado 0
Philadelphia 2 Sporting KC 1
DC United 2 Chicago 1
Vancouver 0 San Jose 0

SUNDAY

Columbus 3 New York 1
Seattle 2 Los Angeles 2

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Who is Greg Garza?

By request from one the blog's favorites, Superman Cory, here's a rundown on what you need to know about U.S. left back Greg Garza. Yes, he's not an MLS product, but if you're a loyal follower of the blog, we give you what you want.

Garza's a 23 year-old left back who plays in Mexico for Club Tijuana alongside fellow National Team hopefuls Joe Corona and Paul Arriola. He started his professional career in Portugal with Estoril, but made just four appearances for them before coming back to North America. He's seen his role with the Xolos increase in each of his four seasons entrenching himself as their starting left back. His performance south of the border has garnered some attention from Jurgen Klinsman and he's recorded his first three CAPs for the U.S. appearing in all three post-World Cup matches, while starting the two most recent ones. 

Saturday, October 18, 2014

U.S. Women Blast Guatemala 5-0

Another win for the U.S. women as they cruised to a 5-0 win over Guatemala and are now on the verge of advancing to the next round of the 2014 CONCACAF Women's Championship. Tobin Heath led the offense with a pair of goals while Carli Lloyd, Whitney Engen and Megan Rapinoe all chipped in with one apiece. The U.S. now needs just a draw in DC against Haiti on Monday to clinch the top spot in their group. Here are the highlights:




The U.S. women have now ripped off 5 straight wins and are unbeaten in their last 11 matches.

Friday, October 17, 2014

Highlights of USWNT vs Trinidad & Tobago

It wasn't convincing Wednesday night, but three points is three points. Abby Wambach's 171st career goal for the U.S. - let that number sink in for a while - was the difference in the match as the U.S. edged Trinidad & Tobago 1-0. Alex Morgan provided the assist by drawing keeper Kimika Forbes, who had been otherwise unbeatable, out of position giving Wambach the clear header. Here's the highlights.




The U.S. takes on Guatemala tonight as the 2014 CONCACAF Women's Championship continues.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

On a Silver Plata

Two goals for diminutive Ecuadorian striker Joao Plata on Monday vs El Salvador. These were the first two international goals for the 5'2" Plata who is in the midst of his best MLS season with 13 goals for Real Salt Lake. Ecuador won the match 5-1.




Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Fantasy Soccer - Week 31

65 points this week! Into 24th place out of 125 among the Round 30 guys.

GK - Stefan Frei - Seattle Sounders - 3 pts
DEF - Nick Hagglund - Toronto FC - 6 pts
DEF -  David Horst - Houston Dynamo - 13 pts
DEF - Lawrence Olum - Sporting KC - 7 pts
MID - Lee Nguyen - New England Revs - 8 pts
MID - Gyasi Zardes - LA Galaxy - 2 pts
MID - Brad Davis - Houston Dynamo (C) - 10 pts
MID - Lamar Neagle - Seattle Sounders - 3 pts
MID - Ethan Finlay - Columbus Crew - 7 pts
FWD - Quincy Amarikwa - Chicago Fire - 1 pt
FWD - Dom Dwyer - Sporting KC - 5 pts

Jozy's Back

It wasn't the result we were looking for, but great to see Jozy Altidore find the back of the net again. That makes 24 in his U.S. career which ties him for 5th all-time  with Joe-Max Moore.


Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Top Scorers - 10/14/14

Top 10 Leading Scorers

1. Bradley Wright-Phillips (England) - New York Red Bulls - 25
2. Dom Dwyer (England) - Sporting KC) - 21
3. Robbie Keane (Ireland) - LA Galaxy - 19
4. Obafemi Martins (Nigeria) - Seattle Sounders - 17
5. Gyasi Zardes (USA) - LA Galaxy - 16
6. Lee Nguyen (USA) - New England Revolution - 15
6. Erick Torres (Mexico) - Chivas USA - 15
8. Clint Dempsey (USA) - Seattle Sounders - 14
8. Chris Wondolowski (USA) - San Jose Earthquakes - 14
10. Joao Plata (Ecuador) - Real Salt Lake - 13

Top 10 Leading American Scorers

1. Gyasi Zardes (USA) - LA Galaxy - 16
2. Lee Nguyen (USA) - New England Revolution - 15
3. Clint Dempsey (USA) - Seattle Sounders - 14
3. Chris Wondolowski (USA) - San Jose Earthquakes - 14
5. Luis Silva (USA) - DC United - 11
6. Landon Donovan (USA) - LA Galaxy - 10
6. Ethan Finlay (USA) - Columbus Crew - 10
6. Will Bruin (USA) - Houston Dynamo - 10
8. Lamar Neagle (USA) - Seattle Sounders - 8
8. Quincy Amarikwa (USA) - Chicago Fire - 8
8. Justin Meram (USA) - Columbus Crew - 8
8. Conor Casey (USA) - Philadelphia Union - 8
8. Jack McInerney (USA) - Montreal Impact - 8

Weekly Recap

We're a little behind this week, so here's the abbreviated recap:

RESULTS

WEDNESDAY

Houston 1 Toronto FC 0

Portland 3 San Jose 0

FRIDAY

Sporting KC 2 Chicago 0

Vancouver 1 Seattle 0

Monday, October 13, 2014

Iceland Stuns Netherlands



So generally we focus on MLS or the U.S. Men's National Team, but when a team like Iceland, who has never made it to a World Cup or European Championship, stuns a team like the Netherlands, it warrants some commentary.

 

Cubo Torres Gets His First Goal for Mexico

Everything coming up Chivas USA right now. In the past week, Chivas USA defeated Real Salt Lake 1-0, Colorado 2-1, and now Erick "Cubo" Torres has scored his first goal for Mexico's Senior National Team, a game winner against Panama. Almost makes you forget the fact that between July 12th and October 5th, they went 0-11-1 during a 12 game stretch and were shutout 9 times.


Sunday, October 12, 2014

The 20-Assist Club

Landon Donovan currently sits at 19 assists with 3 games left in the regular season. One more would give him 20 (trust me, I went to MIT). Just how big of a deal is that? Well in the league's history it's happened exactly once, way back in 2000. Some guy named Carlos Valderrama playing for a team that doesn't exist any more. Donovan hasn't gone 3 games without an assist since July. Valderrama had a league record 26 assists for the Tampa Bay Mutiny during the 2000 season.


Saborio, Keane Pace MLS in Busy Week of International Duty

Lots of MLSers in action this week for International duty, and a few even found the back of the net. Here's some highlights:


 

Álvaro Saborío (Real Salt Lake) gave Costa Rica an early 1-0 lead over Oman with a headed goal off of a corner kick. For Saborío, it was the 33rd time he'd scored for Costa Rica, good for the 3rd most all time. He's also the sixth most capped player for the Costa Ricans with 94 career appearances.




Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy) set a EURO tournament record with the fastest hat trick in tournament history when he scored his third goal against Gibraltar in the 18th minute. He also became the all-time leader in goals during Euro Qualifying as he increased his tally up to 21 for his native Ireland. Ireland won the match 7-0.


Saturday, October 11, 2014

David Villa Scores in Australia

Spanish International and New York City FC Striker David Villa kicked off his loan with Melbourne City FC of the Australian A League by netting an equalizer against Sydney FC. Villa, who didn't start, was on the field only about 15 minutes before scoring. In addition to Villa, Melbourne City also has former English Premier Leaguer Damien Duff.


Friday, October 10, 2014

Diskerud's Goal vs Ecuador



Landon Donovan with the assist to the assist to the assist. Count it!

After the World Cup - Goalkeepers

So I thought it'd be interesting to see how the U.S. roster is performing post-Brazil. Let's start with the goalies:

Tim Howard - Everton - Howard continues to be Everton's starting keeper appearing in 10 games between the Premier League, Carling Cup and Europa League. He has just one shutout (against West Bromwich), and Everton has won just twice. His most impressive performance came during one of those wins when he made 12 saves against VfL Wolfsburg (Germany) in a 4-1 Europa League win. The Toffees currently lead Group H of the Europa League by 2 points.

Brad Guzan - Aston Villa - Guzan has started all seven of Villa's Premier League matches and has them in 10th place with a record of 3-3-1. Villa is actually in the midst of a 3-game losing streak after picking up 10 points in their first four matches. While Guzan has conceded 8 goals to powerhouses Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester City, it hasn't all been on him as his club has been held scoreless each match. Guzan has three shutouts already this season against Stoke City, Newcastle and Liverpool. He also started the USA's 1-0 win over the Czech Republic making one save in the opening 45 minutes.

Nick Rimando - Real Salt Lake - Rimando has started 14 of a possible 15 games for RSL posting a record of 7-4-3 with a pair of shutouts, the second of which came against DC United and broke Kevin Hartman's all-time record of 112. Rimando also started the MLS All-Star game against Bayern Munich and spelled Guzan in the win over the Czech Republic.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

10 MVP Candidates

With the 2014 regular season winding down, let's take a look at 10 players who could make a case for the league MVP in no particular order:

1) Robbie Keane - Striker - LA Galaxy - Keane is third in the league in scoring, but the two players with more goals than he has have combined for 12 fewer assists. Keane has been a part of 33 goals in 28 games meaning he's accounted for half of LA's goals this season. More importantly, he has 5 game winning goals, and 6 game winning assists, meaning he's directly contributed to 11 of LA's 17 wins. Now 34, Keane is in the midst of his best season, and has the Galaxy on the brink of a Supporter's Shield.

2) Landon Donovan - Midfielder - LA Galaxy - Perhaps the sentimental favorite as Donovan enters the twilight of his professional career, Captain America is enjoying one of his most productive seasons. Donovan became the league's all-time leading scorer with 144 goals and distributor with 136 assists this year surpassing Jeff Cunningham and Steve Ralston respectively. His 19 assists are a career high and he's been at his best during LA's current 10-game unbeaten streak scoring 6 and assisting on 12 while LA is 8-0-2.

3) Obafemi Martins - Striker - Seattle Sounders - The Nigerian born striker leads Seattle in goals (17) and assists (10) as he has paired nicely with Clint Dempsey while propelling Seattle to a league-high 19 wins. Martins has been especially hot lately scoring 9 times in Seattle's last 8 games including four 2-goal games.

Vote for Tesho

This is awesome. And in case you're wondering, that's 3-year starter Matt Hedges co-starring in the video clips.



Monday, October 6, 2014

Fantasy Soccer - Week 30

So, I got my feet wet with the Fantasy Soccer thing this past week. Finished with 60 points, good for 46th among the 125 players who joined this round on mlssoccer.com. Not great, but not horrible. And hey, overall I'm in 31,789th place. Nowhere to go but up! Here's a look at my roster:

STARTERS (60)

GK - Nick Rimando - Real Salt Lake - 9 pts
DEF - Nick Hagglund - Toronto FC - 3 pts
DEF - Zach Loyd - FC Dallas - 2 pts
DEF - Lawrence Olum - Sporting KC - 7 pts
DEF - Heath Pearce - Chivas USA - 8 pts
MID - Landon Donovan (C) - LA Galaxy - 14 pts
MID - Lee Nguyen - New England Revs - 6 pts
MID - Gyasi Zardes - LA Galaxy - 3 pts
FWD - Quincy Amarikwa - Chicago Fire - 5 pts
FWD - Dom Dwyer - Sporting KC - 1 pt
FWD - Joao Plata - Real Salt Lake - 2 pts

Miguel Ibarra - What You Need to Know

Today Miguel Ibarra, a midfielder with Minnesota United of the North American Soccer League (NASL), became the first lower division player to be added to the U.S. National Team camp since 2005. For a lot of folks, this comes as quite a surprise given the plethora of talent we have scattered across North America and Europe. But Jurgen Klinsmann, who brought Stanford striker Jordan Morris to the Czech Republic for the U.S.'s most recent friendly, doesn't appear to be limiting his search for the best combination of players. So, what do you need to know about Miguel Ibarra? Here are the highlights:

*Ibarra played collegiately for Taft Community College in 2008 and 2009 before transferring to UC-Irvine for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Ibarra won the Co-Offensive Player of the year for the Big West Conference in 2011 in addition to being named first team All Conference.

*Ibarra was actually drafted into MLS as the 27th overall pick in the 2012 SuperDraft by the Portland Timbers. Portland opted to pass on him though and he signed with Minnesota in March of 2012. Of the players drafted after him, only Philadelphia backup striker Antoine Hoppenot could be considered to have had any significant success in MLS (7 goals in 67 matches).

*As a rookie in 2012, Ibarra helped lead Minnesota to the Soccer Bowl where they fell in a shootout to the Tampa Bay Rowdies. He followed that up in 2013 with a Best XI performance, and now in 2014, has broken out with career highs in goals (8) and assists (5) in 21 matches. Minnesota clinched the 2014 NASL Spring Season title, and hold a 4 point lead atop the table in the Fall Season. Minnesota is in the midst of a 4-game winning streak during which Ibarra has scored 4 goals.

*Ibarra has already received some buzz in the MLS with speculation that expansion clubs Orlando City and New York City FC will try to acquire him before the start of next season.


Sunday, October 5, 2014

MLS All-Time Assist Leaders

With an assist an Robbie Keane's second goal of the night on Saturday, Landon Donovan moved ahead of Steve Ralston and into sole possession of first place on the all-time assist list for MLS. Here's a look at your top 10 with active players in bold:

1) Landon Donovan (2001-2014) - 136 assists in 331 games
2) Steve Ralston (1996-2010) - 135 assists in 378 games
3) Carlos Valderrama (1996-2002) - 114 assists in 175 games
4) Predrag "Preki" Radosavljevic (1996-2005) - 112 assists in 242 games
5) Brad Davis (2002-2014) - 111 assists in 334 games
6) Jaime Moreno (1996-2010) - 102 assists in 340 games
7) Marco Etcheverry (1996-2003) - 101 assists in 191 games
8) Cobi Jones (1996-2007) - 91 assists in 306 games
9) Any Williams (1998-2011) - 86 assists in 332 games
10) Chris Henderson (1996-2006) - 80 assists in 317 games
10) Mauricio Cienfuegos (1996-2003) - 80 assists in 206 games

Your next five active assist leaders are:

12) Dwayne De Rosario (2001-2014) - 77 assists in 340 games
19) Justin Mapp (2002-2014) - 65 assists in 297 games
19) Javier Morales (2007-2014) - 65 assists in 183 games
22) Brian Mullan (2001-2014) - 58 assists in 323 games
31) Kyle Beckerman (2000-2014) - 46 assists in 350 games

Another Record for Donovan As Galaxy Win Again - MLS Weekly Recap

THURSDAY

Chicago 1 Philadelphia 1

The Fire set an MLS record with their 17th draw of the season with a dramatic stoppage-time equalizer against the Philadelphia Union. Amobi Okugo's 88th minute goal seemed a sure bet to send the Philadelphia faithful home happy, but Robert Earnshaw had other plans. The Fire's super-sub capitalized on a turnover by Philadelphia keeper Rais Mbolhi to set a new MLS record for parity. Earnshaw now has 3 goals in just 174 minutes of playing time.

FRIDAY

DC United 0 Sporting Kansas City 0

United clinched a playoff berth, becoming the first Eastern Conference club to do so this season, thanks to another shutout from Bill Hamid. Hamid has now posted back-to-back clean sheets, and five in his last eight matches. Unfortunately for DC, he was matched by Sporting's Andy Gruenebaum who made a season-high seven saves in posting his second consecutive shutout as well.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Americans in the UEFA Champion's League

Quiet round for the Americans as of the now three players on Champions League rosters, only Sacha Kljestan dressed, and he wasn't called upon in Anderlecht's 3-0 loss to Joe Gyau's Borussia Dortmund.

David Yelldell - GK - Bayer Leverkusen - Yelldell again took a back seat to Leno and Kresic as Leverkusen defeated Benfica 3-1. Yelldell hasn't appeared in a competitive match since July of 2011 when he conceded 4 goals to Dynamo Dresden in a 4-3 loss in the German Cup (DFB-Pokal). He last dressed in May for a league match against Bremen.

Sacha Kljestan - MF - Anderlecht - Kljestan dressed, but was passed up in favor of strikers Frank Acheampong (Ghana, Age 20), Gohi Bi Zoro Cyriac (Ivory Coast, Age 24) and Nathan Kabasele (Belgium, Age 20).

Joe Gyau - MF - Borussia Dortmund - The 22 year-old Gyau dressed for four Bundesliga matches in September making his debut as a substitute in the 73rd minute on the 24th against Stuttgart. He has yet to dress for a Champions League match.

MLS Players Who Have Scored in a World Cup Game

There are currently eight active players in MLS who have scored in a World Cup match. The league will add to that list next year when David Villa and Kaká join with expansion clubs New York City and Orlando. Frank Lampard will join the league next year as well, but his goal against Germany didn't count thanks to some quality officiating. Here's a rundown of the goal scorers and some of their goals.

The Americans

Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy/USA 2010, 2002 (5)
-06/14/2002 vs Poland
-06/17/2002 vs Mexico
-06/18/2010 vs Slovenia
-06/23/2010 vs Algeria
-06/26/2010 vs Ghana

 



Clint Dempsey, Seattle Sounders/USA 2014, 2010, 2006 (4)
-06/22/2006 vs Ghana
-06/12/2010 vs England
-06/16/2014 vs Ghana
-06/22/2014 vs Portugal




Michael Bradley, Toronto FC/USA 2010 (1)
-06/18/2010 vs Slovenia

 



Jermaine Jones, New England Revolution/USA 2014 (1)
-06/22/2014 vs Portugal




The Europeans

Thierry Henry, New York Red Bulls/France - 2006, 1998 (6)
-06/12/1998 vs South Africa
-06/18/1998 vs Saudi Arabia (2)
-06/18/2006 vs South Korea
-06/23/2006 vs Togo
-07/01/2006 vs Brazil

 



Robbie Keane, LA Galaxy/Ireland - 2002 (3)
-06/05/2002 vs Germany
-06/11/2002 vs Saudi Arabia
-06/16/2002 vs Spain



Jermain Defoe, Toronto FC/England 2010 (1)
-06/23/2010 vs Slovenia

 



The Aussie

Tim Cahill, New York Red Bulls/Australia 2014, 2010, 2006 (4)
-06/12/2006 vs Japan (2)
-06/23/2010 vs Serbia
-06/13/2014 vs Chile
-06/18/2014 vs Netherlands

 



The Future

David Villa, New York City FC/Spain 2014, 2010, 2006 (9)
-06/13/2006 vs Ukraine (2)
-06/27/2006 vs France
-06/21/2010 vs Honduras (2)
-06/25/2010 vs Chile
-06/29/2010 vs Portugal
-07/03/2010 vs Paraguay
-06/23/2014 vs Australia




Kaká, Orlando City/Brazil 2006 (1)
-06/13/2006 vs Croatia





Frank Lampard, New York City FC/England - 2010 (0?)