Saturday, February 28, 2015

Gallardo's Hat Trick Leads U.S. U-17s to 5-0 Over Cuba

Joe Gallardo (Monterrey) scored three times while Alex Zendejas (FC Dallas) and Hugo Arellano (LA Galaxy) each scored once as the U.S. U-17s cruised to a 5-0 win over Cuba in their opening match of the CONCACAF U-17 Tournament. The win gives the U.S. an early lead atop Group A. They'll face Trinidad and Tobago on Monday.


In other Group A action Guatemala defeated Trinidad and Tobago 4-1 behind a pair of goals from Diego Raymundo and Honduras defeated Jamaica 2-0.

Friday, February 27, 2015

Looking at the Lineups

Let's look at the Starting XIs used by both Montreal and DC United in their Champions League quarterfinal matches this week:

MONTREAL

GK - Evan Bush (USA) - 13 starts in 2014 (2-6-5), 3 shutouts
D - Bakary Soumaré (Mali) - 1st season w/ Montreal, 106 career MLS starts, 12 CAPs for Mali
D - Donny Toia (USA) - 1st season w/ Montreal, 24 starts for Chivas USA in 2014
D - Laurent Ciman (Belgium) - 1st season w/ Montreal, 9 CAPs for Belgium
D - Victor Cabrera (Argentina) - 1st season w/ Montreal, on loan from River Plate
M - Dilly Duka (USA) - split 2014 w/ Montreal and Chicago, 3 goals in 14 games for Impact in 2014
M - Ignacio Piatti (Argentina) - 4 goals in 6 games for Impact in 2014, Designated Player
M - Justin Mapp (USA) - 298 career MLS apps, 20 starts for Impact in 2014, 8 CAPs for USA
M - Marco Donadel (Italy) - 1st season w/ Montreal, Over 200 Apps in Serie A
M - Nigel Reo-Coker (England) - 1st season w/ Montreal, split 2014 w/ Vancouver and Chivas USA
F - Dominic Oduro (Ghana) - 1st season w/ Montreal, 48 goals in 252 MLS Apps, 1 CAP for Ghana

Notes: As you can see there was a lot of roster turnover this offseason as only 7 starters are in their first season with the Impact... The Impact currently only have one designated player on their roster (Piatti)... Team Captain Patrice Bernier was an unused substitute in this match. Bernier is one of six Canadians on the Montreal roster, none of whom started... Rookie striker Cameron Porter, taken with the 45th pick in this year's SuperDraft, appeared as a substitute.

DC United

GK - Andrew Dykstra (USA) - 4 starts in 2014 (3-0-1), 2 shutouts
D - Bobby Boswell (USA) - Team Captain, 34 starts for DC United in 2014, 3 CAPs for USA
D - Sean Franklin (USA) - 28 starts for DC United in 2014, 1 CAP for USA
D - Steve Birnbaum (USA) - 21 starts as a rookie for DC United in 2014, 1 CAP for USA
D - Taylor Kemp (USA) - 12 starts for DC United in 2014
M - Chris Rolfe (USA) - 20 starts for DC United in 2014, 6 goals, 6 assists, 10 CAPs for USA
M - Davy Arnaud (USA) - 30 starts for DC United in 2014, 7 CAPs and 1 goal for USA
M- Nick DeLeon (USA) - 31 starts for DC United in 2014, 2 goals, 5 assists
M - Perry Kitchen (USA) - 31 starts for DC United in 2014, 5 goals, 4 assists, 1 CAP for USA
F - Chris Pontius (USA) - Limited to 6 games and 3 starts for DC United in 2014, 28 career goals
F - Fabián Espíndola (Argentina) - Career-highs w/ 11 goals and 9 assists for DC United in 2014

Notes: DC United was without their second and third leading scorers from 2014 (Luis Silva and Eddie Johnson). Silva is rehabbing a hamstring injury while Johnson is dealing with an undisclosed medical issue... Bill Hamid, the reigning MLS Goalkeeper of the year also missed the match due to an injury picked up during the preseason... All 11 starters for DC United were with the club in 2014 while all three reserves, Jairo Arrieta, Michael Farfan and Miguel Aguilar, are new to the club. Aguilar, who was born in Mexico before attending the University of San Francisco, was the 17th overall pick in this year's SuperDraft.

United Throttled by Alajuelense

America's last hope for the 2015 Champions League is on life support after DC United was blown out by Costa Rica's Alajuelense 5-2 last night. With reigning MLS goalkeeper of the year Bill Hamid on the sidelines with an injury, DC United's Andrew Dykstra was not up to the task to replace him surrendering five goals while making just four saves. To add insult to injury, after U.S. National Teamer Steve Birnbaum pulled DC United to within two goals in the 88th minute, United's defense broke down yet again conceding a devastating goal in the 90th minute to push the lead back to three. DC United now needs at least a 3-0 win at home in the second leg to advance which will be a tall task to say the least. Fabian Espindola had a goal and an assist in a losing effort to lead DC United's offense.


Here's a look at the Champions League schedule for Leg 2:

3/3 - Pachuca at Montreal Impact, Score tied 2-2
3/4 - Saprissa at America, America leads 3-0
3/4 - Alajuelense at DC United, Alajuelense leads 5-2
3/5 - Olimpia at Herediano, Score tied 1-1

Thursday, February 26, 2015

CONCACAF U-17 Tourney Ready to Kick Off

The 2015 CONCACAF U-17 Tournament kicks off tomorrow in Honduras. Like the U-20 tournament last month, the tournament features two groups of six, with the top 3 teams in each group advancing to the playoff round. The winners of each group automatically qualify for the U-17 World Cup this summer while the winners of the two playoff games advance as well. Group A is comprised of Honduras, Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, Jamaica and the U.S. while Group B is made up of Canada, Costa Rica, Haiti, Panama, Saint Lucia and tournament favorites Mexico. Here's a look at the U.S.'s schedule:

2/27 - vs Cuba
3/2 - vs Trinidad and Tobago
3/5 - vs Guatemala
3/8 - vs Honduras
3/11 - vs Jamaica

Canada, Honduras, Panama and Mexico were the top four teams the last time the tournament took place (2013) with Mexico defeating Panama 2-1 in the final.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Special Dilaver-y!

The Montreal Impact got a pair of goals from Dilaver "Dilly" Duka (whom you may remember from our Best Names in MLS post last year) and nearly pulled off a stunning upset of Pachuca in Estadio Hidalgo last night. Duka's goals put the Impact up 2-0 with a little over half an hour to play before Pachuca rallied to end the match in a 2-2 draw. While the draw was disappointing, it still leaves the Impact in a great position. With their 2 away goals, Montreal can now advance with either a 0-0 or a 1-1 draw in the second leg next week. The series heads to Montreal for its conclusion on March 3rd.


In other Champions League action Olimpia drew 1-1 with Herediano last night. Tonight Saprissa takes on Cruz Azul while DC United faces off against Alajuelense tomorrow.


Monday, February 23, 2015

Weekly Top Tens - 2/23/15

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE LEADING SCORERS

1) Diego Costa (Spain) - Chelsea - 17
1) Sergio Agüero (Argentina) - Manchester City - 17
3) Charlie Austin (England) - Queens Park Rangers - 14
3) Harry Kane (England) - Tottenham Hotspur - 14
5) Alexis Sánchez (Chile) - Arsenal - 12
6) Robin van Persie (Netherlands) - Manchester United - 10
6) Saido Berahino (England) - West Bromwich Albion - 10
6) Papiss Demba Cissé (Senegal) - Newcastle United - 10
9) Christian Eriksen (Denmark) - Tottenham Hotspur - 9
9) Diafra Sakho (Senegal) - West Ham United - 9
9) David Silva (Spain) - Manchester City - 9
9) Wilfried Bony (Ivory Coast) - Manchester City - 9
9) Dany Ings (England) - Burnley - 9
9) Eden Hazard (Belgium) - Chelsea - 9

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Superman and the SoccerSmith Q&A, Episode 6

Welcome to Episode 6 of Superman and the SoccerSmith's 4-4-2 Soccer Q&A. Better late than never! Here we go!

MLS

1) Superman (SM): In your opinion, are the Galaxy the favorites to win the west, and ultimately the cup, or can someone else de-throne Bruce Arena's squad?

SoccerSmith (SS): First, let’s note that LA didn’t win the West last year, Seattle did. And Seattle did so despite missing Clint Dempsey and DeAndre Yedlin for the World Cup while LA was with Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan and Gyasi Zardes all year. Seattle’s since lost Yedlin, and LA essentially traded Donovan for Steven Gerrard, but I think Seattle has to enter the season as the regular season favorite. If we’re talking MLS Cup, I think LA gets the edge because Seattle has yet to translate regular season accolades into postseason success while LA obviously has. That said, there are a lot of teams that will be a threat this year so I’d venture that it’s going to be pretty wide open. 

SM: While I agree with you on the West being wide open this season, I seriously think it's the Galaxy's to lose. Steven Gerrard, even at his "advanced age," is still a world-class player with a real European pedigree and this really looks to be Zardes' breakout season. Seattle played tremendously and didn't have Dempsey and Yedlin for a period last summer, but now they don't have Yedlin at all and I'm not certain they've adequately replaced him. I think it'll be a tight race, but ultimately so long as they stay consistent, LA has the best chance at winning both the West and the Cup in my opinion. 

Friday, February 20, 2015

Miguel Ibarra On Display

Jump to about the 4:15 mark of the below clip and just watch the run Miguel Ibarra makes against the Seattle Sounders in Thursday's exhibition match.



Yeah, it's an exhibition, i.e. a glorified scrimmage, but you have to love what this kid does both with and without the ball. Not hard to see what Jurgen Klinsmann sees in him. It's just a shame he isn't doing this in a better league than the NASL.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Weekly Top Tens - 2/17/15

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE LEADING SCORERS

1) Diego Costa (Spain) - Chelsea - 17
2) Sergio Agüero (Argentina) - Manchester City - 16
3) Charlie Austin (England) - Queens Park Rangers - 13
3) Harry Kane (England) - Tottenham Hotspur - 13
5) Alexis Sánchez (Chile) - Arsenal - 12
6) Robin van Persie (Netherlands) - Manchester United - 10
6) Saido Berahino (England) - West Bromwich Albion - 10
6) Papiss Demba Cissé (Senegal) - Newcastle United - 10
9) Christian Eriksen (Denmark) - Tottenham Hotspur - 9
9) Wilfried Bony (Ivory Coast) - Swansea City - 9
9) Dany Ings (England) - Burnley - 9
9) Eden Hazard (Belgium) - Chelsea - 9

Saturday, February 14, 2015

New Beginnings

Bobby Wood seems to be making the best of his new surroundings bagging his first brace in the 2. Bundesliga with new club Erzgebirge Aue. Wood's two goals led Aue to a 3-2 win over Fortuna Dusseldorf bringing them clear of the relegation zone. Wood scored just three goals in parts of five seasons with 1860 Munich.



U.S. Women Get First Win of Year Versus England, 1-0

Alex Morgan's 50th career goal was all the U.S. needed as they held off #6 England 1-0 in a friendly in Milton Keynes on Friday. The 25 year old Morgan becomes the 10th U.S. women's player to reach 50 goals, but still has a ways to go before she catches Mia Hamm (158) or teammate Abby Wambach (177).


Next up for the U.S. Women is the Algarve Cup in March. The U.S. opens the tournament against Norway on the 4th.

Superman and the SoccerSmith Q&A, Episode 5

Welcome to Episode 5 of Superman and the SoccerSmith's 4-4-2 Soccer Q&A. Better late than never! Here we go!

MLS

1. SoccerSmith (SS) - Tim Cahill's marriage with the New York Red Bulls has drawn to a mutual conclusion with the Aussie Captain headed to China after signing a contract with Shanghai Shenhua. Looking back on his three seasons in the Big Apple, would you call his time in MLS a hit or a miss?

Superman (SM) - Is mixed bag an option? 14 goals in 62 appearances isn't exactly lighting it up for a forward, especially one who was getting designated player money. Having said that, he's never been anything but complimentary to the club, the fans, and the league and is regarded as have helped to grow the sport and the league in this country, so there's that. At the end of the day, however, I think it comes down to production and he didn't produce near enough for the level of play expected from him.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Favorable Draw for U.S. U-20s

The U.S. U-20s will have a favorable draw in the 2015 World Cup as they will face New Zealand, Ukraine and Myanmar (or Laos if you're old school). This is a far cry from the 2013 tournament that pitted the U.S. against France (the eventual champions), Spain and Ghana (third place finishers). Needless to say the U.S. fared poorly going 0-2-1 and getting outscored 9-3 in 3 matches. Ironically, their one draw came against the French, while Ghana and Spain both enjoyed 4-1 wins against them. Anyhow, this time they should fare better as they get New Zealand (the host nation who didn't need to qualify), Myanmar (who 99% of Americans couldn't find on a map) and the Ukraine who needed a 94th minute goal to defeat England and advance to the UEFA U-19 Championship where they finished third in their group of four. The U.S. will open play against Myanmar on May 30th.

 

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Weekly Top Tens 2/10/15

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE LEADING SCORERS

1) Diego Costa (Spain) - Chelsea - 17
2) Sergio Agüero (Argentina) - Manchester City - 14
3) Charlie Austin (England) - Queens Park Rangers - 13
4Alexis Sánchez (Chile) - Arsenal - 12
4) Harry Kane (England) - Tottenham Hotspur - 12
6) Christian Eriksen (Denmark) - Tottenham Hotspur - 9
6) Robin van Persie (Netherlands) - Manchester United - 9
6) Wilfried Bony (Ivory Coast) - Swansea City - 9
6) Saido Berahino (England) - West Bromwich Albion - 9
6) Papiss Demba Cissé (Senegal) - Newcastle United - 9
6) Eden Hazard (Belgium) - Chelsea - 9

Sunday, February 8, 2015

USA-Panama Highlights - 2/8/15

More on this game to follow, but here are the highlights of Bradley and Dempsey's goals from the U.S.'s 2-0 Win.


Friday, February 6, 2015

Johannsson Scores Again... Hurt Again...



U.S. National Team striker Aron Johannsson scored again yesterday delivering AZ a 1-0 victory over Ajax Amsterdam. Unfortunately his availability this weekend is now in doubt due to a bum ankle. Johannsson has four goals on the year and has scored in back-to-back appearances.

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Superman and the SoccerSmith Q&A, Episode 4

Welcome to Episode 4 of Superman and the SoccerSmith's 4-4-2 Soccer Q&A. Let's get right to it this week!

MLS
 

1. SoccerSmith (SS) - Who will have a bigger impact in MLS this season: Edson Buddle or Dwayne DeRosario?

Superman (SM) - Well this is a tricky one considering that technically neither one of them has a team right now. That being said, Edson Buddle is currently in camp with LA and is also 33 years old while DeRo is not in anyone's camp and is 36, which is old, even by MLS standards. Buddle scored 42 goals in 87 appearances with the LA Galaxy in his time there from 07-10. While I don't see him regaining that type of form again, I do think there could be a place for him to play the wily old vet alongside a young and talented forward who could benefit from his experience.

SS - I don't know how much Zardes stands to benefit from Buddle's experience considering he already plays alongside Robbie Keane, but I think you're right (at this point) that Buddle will have the bigger impact this season. That said, I'll be shocked if DeRo doesn't end up somewhere by the start of the season. He just scored a pair of goals for Canada, and while one was a PK, the other wasn't, so he can obviously still play. If I'm Montreal or Vancouver and I'm headed to the Champions League, I'd give the Canadian international a shot just to add depth and experience and a championship pedigree to my roster. But we'll see. Silence on the line for DeRo right now. As far as Buddle goes, if he can stick with the Galaxy, he'll give them more depth up top which is ideal for another club with Champions League aspirations. You also have to figure that both Keane and Zardes stand to miss time for International Duty, and Buddle is a proven commodity that could probably provide the occasional start alongside Alan Gordon. You can't have too many options, and if Buddle is willing to accept a reduced role, I think he could be a nice find for LA.



Monday, February 2, 2015

Sacha Kljestan's USA Hat Trick

In honor of Sacha Kljestan's return to MLS, here's a look back at one fateful January evening at the Home Depot Center in 2009 when Kljestan found the back of the net 3 times against Sweden in a friendly. Kljestan converted a free kick and a penalty kick before finishing a pass from Brian Ching for number  three. Kljestan has scored just one other goal for the USMNT in his career, but has logged 46 CAPs and appeared in at least one national team match every year since 2007.

Weekly Top Tens - 2/2/15

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE LEADING SCORERS

1) Diego Costa (Spain) - Chelsea - 17
2) Sergio Agüero (Argentina) - Manchester City - 14
3) Charlie Austin (England) - Queens Park Rangers - 13
4Alexis Sánchez (Chile) - Arsenal - 12
5) Harry Kane (England) - Tottenham Hotspur - 10
6) Christian Eriksen (Denmark) - Tottenham Hotspur - 9
6) Robin van Persie (Netherlands) - Manchester United - 9
6) Wilfried Bony (Ivory Coast) - Swansea City - 9
6) Saido Berahino (England) - West Bromwich Albion - 9
6) Papiss Demba Cissé (Senegal) - Newcastle United - 9

Johannsson Scores for AZ Alkmaar



Aron Johannsson scored his third goal of the season and first of 2015 as he flicked in the opening goal against SC Heracles Almelo yesterday. The 24 year old striker scored 26 goals across all competitions for his Dutch club a year ago.