Who's Adding Who - Houston Dynamo

In:

M Christian Lucatero (8/18/15 - Homegrown) - The 2013 Dynamo Academy Player of the Year and the Academy's 2014 Players' Player of the Year, Lucatero was committed to Oregon State before signing a professional contract with the Dynamo. Lucatero has been a part of camps for both the U.S. and Mexican U-18 squads in the past year.
M Cristian Maidana (12/7/15 - trade from Philadelphia) - In two seasons with the Union, Maidana notched 26 assists including 15 in 2015. With plenty of attacking options in Giles Barnes, Will Bruin and Cubo Torres, Maidana should have no problem reaching double digit assists for a third straight season and should help improve an attack that was limited to just 42 goals in 2015.
M Andrew Wenger (12/7/15 - trade from Philadelphia) - The first overall pick in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft joins his third MLS club in five seasons. His best season came in 2014, split between Montreal and Philadelphia, when he tallied 7 goals and 4 assists in 32 matches. He has 13 goals and 9 assists in 105 career appearances, 59 starts.
GK Calle Brown (12/17/15 - free) - Brown, 23, spent the 2015 season with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the USL. He made 13 starts and recorded 5 shutouts while posting a 1.14 GAA. Standing 6'5", Brown spent his college career at the University of Virginia and was the 2014 College Cup Most Valuable Defensive Player.
D Bradley Bourgeois (12/23/15 - Homegrown) - The 2011 Dynamo Academy Players' Player of the Year, Bourgeois joins the Dynamo after being a 4-year letter winner with Tulsa. The Golden Hurricanes' Defensive Player of the Year for the past three seasons, he led Tulsa to the 2014 and 2015 American Athletic Conference Tournament Championship and was the 2015 American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
D Jalil Anibaba (1/11/16 - free) - The 27 year-old Anibaba gets set to join his fourth MLS team in four years (his fifth if you count his momentary stint with Orlando City following last year's expansion draft). Anibaba, depite appearing just 16 matches in 2015, set a career-high with four assists with Sporting Kansas City. In total he has five goals and ten assists in 128 career appearances for the Chicago Fire, Seattle Sounders and Sporting.
D Sebastien Ibeagha (1/26/16 - free) - The former Duke Blue Devil is a prior member of the Dynamo Academy. After college, Ibeagha pursued a career in Europe that saw him make stops in Denmark and Iceland before returning to the U.S. this offseason. Ibeagha will add further depth to Houston's central defender pool.
D Agus (1/27/16 - free) - A left-footed central defender, Agustín Íñiguez - or Agus - spent early parts of his career with Real Madrid's "B" side and most recently played with Albacete Balompié in Spain's second division. With the exception of a season with Orduspor in Turkey, his entire pro career has been in Spain.
M David Rocha (1/27/16 - free) - Rocha captained Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona the past two seasons while helping them earn a promotion to Spain's second division. A central midfielder, the 30 year-old Rocha has spent his entire professional career to this point in Spain.

Out:

GK Michael Lisch (11/30/15 - option declined)
D AJ Cochran (11/30/15 - option declined)
D Jermaine Taylor (11/30/15 - option declined) - Portland Timbers
M Luis Garrido (11/30/15 - option declined)
M Alex López (11/30/15 - option declined)
M Nathan Sturgis (11/30/15 - option declined)
F Chandler Hoffman (11/30/15 - option declined) - Louisville City (USL)
D Kofi Sarkodie (11/30/15 - out of contract)
M Brad Davis (1/7/15 - traded to Sporting KC) - Sporting Kansas City

Making Moves

1. Jeff Larentowicz signs with LA Galaxy - The versatile veteran Larentowicz marks LA's second big addition (goalkeeper Dan Kennedy being the first) in an offseason in which they've watched two of their regulars (Omar Gonzalez and Juninho) depart for Liga MX. The Ginja Ninja will begin his 12th MLS season as one of only 30 field players with over 300 career appearances and he ranks 17th all-time among field players with 26,139 minutes played. Now 32, Larentowicz is coming off back-to-back six goal seasons for the Chicago Fire, but it remains to be seen where he'll fit into the mix with LA who almost certainly isn't done setting their roster for 2016.

2. Brad Davis traded to Sporting Kansas City - Only two players in MLS history have more assists than Brad Davis's 122. They are Landon Donovan (136) and Steve Ralston (135). And now, for the first time in over a decade, the Missouri native won't be suiting up as a member of the Houston Dynamo. Instead he returns "home" following a trade to Sporting Kansas City in exchange for draft picks. Davis, who has six double digit assist seasons in the past seven years, likely became expendable following Houston's recent deal with the Philadelphia Union that brought in both Cristian Maidana and Andrew Wenger. Now the former U.S. National Teamer and World Cup veteran finds himself on a deep and talented roster that is poised to make a deep Champions League run in 2016. In addition to trading for Davis, Sporting Kansas City has also brought in veterans Lawrence Olum and Justin Mapp, while returning almost their entire roster from 2015.

3. Simon Dawkins signs with San Jose Earthquakes - After spending the past three years in England playing for Aston Villa and Derby County, Simon Dawkins returns to MLS and the San Jose Earthquakes. The Tottenham Hotspur Academy alum was loaned to San Jose for the 2011 and 2012 seasons during which he scored 14 goals out of the midfield and helped the Quakes to the 2012 Supporters Shield. The Jamaican International, who just turned 28 last month, becomes the fourth designated player under contract with San Jose joining Chris Wondolowski, Innocent and Matías Pérez García, but speculation is the Quakes will use the additional cash the league provided to buy down García's DP contract. Dawkins now gives the Quakes yet another offensive weapon as the league's third weakest attack in 2015 continues to make big strides towards a hopefully stronger 2016.

Season in Review: Houston Dynamo

Record: 11-14-9, 42 pts, 8th Place Western Conference
Goals For: 42
Goals Against: 49

Team Leaders

Goals: Will Bruin - 11
Assists: Brad Davis - 10
Shutouts: Tyler Deric - 7
All-Stars: DaMarcus Beasley

Year in Review

It was a tough year for the Dynamo as they missed the playoffs for a second consecutive season. Giles Barnes, a year after scoring a team-high 11 goals, endured a 13-match scoring drought midseason, Cubo Torres failed to score on the heels of his 15-goal season with Chivas USA in 2014, and injuries derailed the seasons of rookies Rob Lovejoy and Taylor Hunter, as well as veteran Jermaine Taylor. Meanwhile, the Dynamo's aging veteran core - DaMarcus Beasley (33), Ricardo Clark (32), Brad Davis (33) - while still productive, is now another year older with another season of miles on their legs. But while there are certainly question marks going forward, not everything was a disaster in 2015. Tyler Deric won four Save-of-the-Week honors in his first full year in net after the departure of Tally Hall, Beasley made the All-Star team, Davis notched his seventh double-digit assist season, Clark doubled his career-high with 8 goals, Will Bruin scored double digit goals for the third time in four years, and youngsters Mauro Manotas, Zach Steinberger, Lovejoy, and Rasheed Olabiyi all logged playing time. But Houston never won more than two games in a row at any point in the season and their longest unbeaten streak was just 3 matches.

What's Next?

With Giles Barnes, Cubo Torres and Will Bruin (if he re-signs), the Dynamo have proven goal scorers, but Barnes and Torres in particular will have to do more than they did in 2015. Clark and Davis were both solid in 2015, but they won't continue on forever, and at some point replacments will need to be groomed. Rumors of Davis's departure have already started swirling, but it's too early to tell if those hold water. Torres and Beasley are currently holding down Designated Player spots on the Dynamo roster which means Houston could go out and get another piece. I'd expect a midfielder or a defender. The Dynamo defense was solid if not spectacular in 2015 with Beasley, David Horst, Raúl Rodríguez and Jermaine Taylor/Sheanon Williams holding down the backline. Still, depth was an issue as there were times this year when midfielder Boniek García was forced to play in the back due to injuries. The Dynamo aren't that far removed from back-to-back Finals runs, but they'll need to make some adjustments if they want to end the playoff drought in 2016.

2012 Olympic Qualifying - Where Are They Now?

As the U.S. U-23s get set to take on Honduras tomorrow with a spot in the 2016 Olympics on the line, I thought it would be fun to look back at the ill-fated U.S. squad from 2012 and see where they are now:

Bill Hamid - Now in his sixth MLS season, Hamid continues to man the pipes in DC with 138 regular season starts under his belt to go along with 37 shutouts. After a dismal 2013 that saw him post a record of 2-17-6 in 25 starts, Hamid bounced back to win the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award in 2014. Now 24, Hamid has 2 CAPs for the USMNT.

MLS Weekly Recap, Week 23

Here's this week's recap:

Johan Venegas made his Montreal Impact debut, but the Costa Rican International was not enough to propel the Impact to a victory over their Eastern Conference rivals. Lloyd Sam equalized early in the second half and then the Impact fought to preserve a draw after Laurent Ciman's ejection in the 79th minute... Sebastian Giovinco's hat trick was more than enough for Toronto FC to dispatch Orlando City despite playing without Michael Bradley. Orlando's Cyle Larin was held scoreless after scoring five goals in his previous two matches... Adam Kwarasey earned his league leading 10th shutout as the Timbers earned their 10th win of the season in a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Fire. Fanendo Adi scored the only goal of the match, his 10th of the season... Michael Bradley returned to the Toronto lineup on Saturday, and while he scored his third goal of the season, the Reds were no match for Sporting Kansas City as Sporting got another goal and an assist from Benny Feilhaber... Tranquillo Barnetta made his first start for the Union, but defense was the story between Orlando City and Philadelphia as the two sides played to a 0-0 draw... DC United was outshot by Montreal 25-1, but thanks to the return of Bill Hamid, DC United somehow pulled out a 1-0 victory. Hamid made eight saves in the match... DaMarcus Beasley's first MLS goal since 2003 helped propel the Houston Dynamo to a 2-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes. San Jose played a man down for the final 30 minutes after rookie Fatai Alashe picked up his second yellow card of the match... Kei Kamara scored twice in the second half as Columbus rallied from a 1-0 deficit to defeat the Colorado Rapids 2-1... Vancouver matched DC United at 13 wins with a 4-0 rout of Real Salt Lake. Jeff Attinella allowed 4 more goals as Real Salt Lake has been outscored 10-4 in their last two MLS matches... Giovani dos Santos's MLS debut was a huge success as the Mexican striker tallied a goal and an assist in just 69 minutes of play and the Galaxy defeated the Sounders 3-1 despite falling behind in the opening minute. Seattle, who played the match without Clint Dempsey or Obafemi Martins, also lost Chad Barrett to an injury minutes into the match and has lost five in a row and 8 of 9... The Red Bulls swept the subway series with New York City FC thanks to a 2-0 win on Sunday night highlighted by goals Bradley Wright-Phillips and Felipe. City is now 0-2-0 in the Frank Lampard era.

RESULTS

TUESDAY

Real Salt Lake 1 Municipal (Guatemala) 0 - CCL, Group G
Querétaro (Mexico) 2 San Francisco (Panama) 0 - CCL, Group C
Santos Laguna (Mexico) 4 W Connection FC (Trinidad & Tobago) - CCL, Group A

WEDNESDAY

New York Red Bulls 1 Montreal Impact 1
Toronto FC 4 Orlando City SC 1
Vancouver Whitecaps 1 Seattle Sounders 1 - CCL, Group F
Club América (Mexico) 4 Motagua (Honduras) 0 - CCL, Group E
Árabe Unido (Panama) 3 Montego Bay United (Jamaica) 0 - CCL, Group H

THURSDAY

LA Galaxy 5 Central FC (Trinidad and Tobago) 1 - CCL, Group D
Herediano (Costa Rica) 3 Isidro Metapán (El Salvador) 0 - CCL, Group B

FRIDAY

Portland Timbers 1 Chicago Fire 0

SATURDAY

Sporting Kansas City 3 Toronto FC 1
Philadelphia Union 0 Orlando City SC 0
DC United 1 Montreal Impact 0
Houston Dynamo 2 San Jose Earthquakes 1
Columbus Crew 2 Colorado Rapids 1
Vancouver Whitecaps 4 Real Salt Lake 0

SUNDAY

LA Galaxy 3 Seattle Sounders 1
New York Red Bulls 2 New York City FC 0

NOTABLE GOALS

Joao Plata (Real Salt Lake) - Joao Plata scored less than two minutes into Real Salt Lake's Champions League Opener against Municipal (Guatemala) and that was all they'd need as they hung on for the 1-0 win for three big points on the road.

Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto FC) - Playing without Michael Bradley or Jozy Alitdore, Sebastian Giovinco stole the show in Toronto's 4-1 win over Orlando City. Giovinco scored three times, his second hat trick and fourth multi-goal effort of the season, and the Italian international now has 16 goals on the year.

Tim Parker (Vancouver) - Parker, the 13th overall pick in this year's draft, scored the opening goal in Vancouver's Champions League showdown with the Seattle Sounders. The 6'2" center back has made 5 regular season starts for the Caps this year.

Alan Gordon (LA Galaxy) - Alan Gordon started LA's Champions League Opener and delivered a goal and an assist in just 57 minutes against Central F.C. (Trinidad and Tobago).

Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy) - Zardes had a big week as he had a goal and an assist in LA's Champions League win on Thursday and then turned around to score again against Seattle on Sunday. Zardes has five goals for the Galaxy this season.

Giovani dos Santos (LA Galaxy) - Gio dos Santos has put the rest of the league on notice scoring and assisting off the bench in his Galaxy debut against Central and then producing the same results as a starter in LA's 3-1 win over Seattle.

Ignacio Maganto (LA Galaxy) - LA's top pick in this year's draft at #21 started their Champions League opener and produced the final goal in a 5-1 rout.

Fanendo Adi (Portland) - The 24 year-old Adi reached double digit goals with his game winner against Chicago on Friday night. Adi scored nine goals in his debut season a year ago.

Benny Feilhaber (Sporting KC) - Feilhaber's sensational season continued this week as he notched yet another goal and an assist in Sporting's 3-1 win over Toronto. Feilhaber has the same amount of goals in 21 matches this year that he scored in 87 matches over the previous three seasons (8).

Michael Bradley (Toronto FC) - Bradley returned to the Toronto lineup for the first time since June 27th, and while he scored his career-high third goal, Toronto came up short in a 3-1 loss to Sporting Kansas City.

Krisztián Németh (Sporting KC) - The Hungarian Hammer scored for the first time in over a month as Sporting cruised to a 3-1 win over Toronto FC. Németh has eight goals on the season.

Chris Rolfe (DC United) - Rolfe, now 32 years old, tied his career high for goals in a season when he scored the game winner in DC's 1-0 win over Montreal. Rolfe's only other nine-goal season came in 2008 with the Chicago Fire, but more remarkable was the fact that United was outshot 25-1 and still managed a win.

DaMarcus Beasley (Houston) - Run DMB scored his first MLS goal since 2003 when he was a 21 year-old member of the Chicago Fire. He now has 15 goals in his MLS career which dates back to 2000, and this one helped the Dynamo to a 2-1 win over San Jose.

Kei Kamara (Columbus) - Kamara scored twice in the Crew's 2-1 win over Colorado helping him retain the league's scoring lead with 17 goals in 24 matches. In his previous 48 MLS matches, Kamara scored just 18 goals. Kamara's next goal will be the 70th of his MLS career.

Octavio Rivero (Vancouver) - Rivero knocked in an early penalty helping set the tone early as Vancouver routed Real Salt Lake 4-0 on Saturday night. Rivero has nine goals on the season including four game winners.

Pa-Modou Kah (Vancouver) - After scoring one goal in his first 58 MLS matches, Kah now has three in his last two after tallying in Vancouver's 4-0 rout of Real Salt Lake.

Cristian Techera (Vancouver) - The 23 year-old Techera picked up his first MLS brace in Vancouver's 4-0 win over RSL. Techera now has 4 goals and 3 assists in his first MLS season.

Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy) - Keane made it goals in back-to-back matches and also added an assist in LA's 3-1 win over Seattle. The Galaxy now have four wins in their last five matches with Keane tallying eight goals during that stretch.

Bradley Wright-Phillips (NYRB) - BWP made it double-digit goals in back-to-back seasons after netting the game winner against New York City FC on Sunday night. Wright-Phillips has scored four goals in three matches against City this season, all Red Bulls wins.

SHUTOUTS BY:

Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake) - Rimando made three saves in Real Salt Lake's 1-0 Champions League win over Municipal (Guatemala).

Adam Kwarasey (Portland) - The league leader in shutouts became the first keeper to double digit clean sheets in 2015. The former Ghanaian National Team goalie has back-to-back shutouts for the Timbers.

Tally Hall (Orlando City) - Hall made four saves and earned his first shutout since June 24th as Orlando City played Philadelphia to a scoreless draw. Hall has four shutouts in 14 starts this season. He had a career high 12 shutouts with the Dynamo in 2012.

John McCarthy (Philadelphia) - McCarthy earned the first shutout of his career in Philadelphia's 0-0 draw with Orlando City. McCarthy made just one save while making the seventh start of his first MLS season.

Bill Hamid (DC United) - Hamid returned to action for the first time since the end of June and turned in an 8-save effort that helped United overcome a 25-1 shots disadvantage and turn it into three points.

David Ousted (Vancouver) - Ousted made it back-to-back shutouts and three straight wins for the Caps as they soundly beat Real Salt Lake on Saturday night. Ousted has nine shutouts on the year and leads the league with 13 wins.

Luis Robles (NYRB) - Robles equaled last season's shutout total by picking up his sixth of the year in New York's 2-0 win over their crosstown rivals. Robles has 25 shutouts in his MLS career.

MLS Homegrowns Draw with Club América's U-20s 1-1, Lose in Shootout

San Jose's Tommy Thompson scored the opening goal as MLS's Homegrown Team played Club América's U-20s to a 1-1 draw in the Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game before falling 5-4 in a six round shootout. 19 year-old Houston midfielder Memo Rodriguez assisted on the Thompson goal. Last year's Homegrown game against the Portland Timbers U-23s ended in a 0-0 draw. Here's a rundown of all the MLS participants in this year's game. Starters are noted in bold:

GK

Jesse Gonzalez - FC Dallas - Age 20 - Has not appeared in an MLS match this season
Matt Lampson - Columbus Crew - Age 25 - Has not appeared in an MLS match this season

DEF

Erik Palmer-Brown - Sporting Kansas City - Age 18 - 3 appearances, 2 starts
Justen Glad - Real Salt Lake - Age 18 - 4 starts
Shane O'Neill - Colorado Rapids - Age 21 - 4 appearances, 3 starts
Tyler Turner - Orlando City SC - Age 19 - 4 appearances, 2 starts
Jalen Robinson - DC United - Age 21 - Has not appeared in an MLS match this season
Oscar Sorto - LA Galaxy - Age 20 - 3 starts

MID

Dillon Serna - Colorado Rapids - Age 21 - 10 appearances, 4 starts, 2 goals
Memo Rodriguez - Houston Dynamo - Age 19 - Has not appeared in an MLS match this season
Russell Teibert - Vancouver Whitecaps - Age 22 - 16 appearances, 10 starts, 1 assist
Sean Davis - New York Red Bulls - Age 22 - 6 appearances, 3 starts, 1 assist
Alejandro Zendejas - FC Dallas - Age 17 - 6 appearances, 1 start
Ben Swanson - Columbus Crew - Age 18 - Has not appeared in an MLS match this season
Jay Chapman - Toronto FC - Age 21 - 7 appearances, 1 start
Zach Pfeffer - Philadelphia Union - Age 20 - 19 appearances, 9 starts, 2 goals, 1 assist

FWD

Bradford Jamieson - LA Galaxy - Age 18 - 7 appearances, 6 starts, 1 goal
Tommy Thompson - San Jose Earthquakes - Age 19 - 11 appearances, 4 starts
Anthony Jackson-Hamel - Montreal Impact - Age 21 - 5 appearances
Coy Craft - FC Dallas - Age 18 - 1 appearance
Harry Shipp - Chicago Fire - Age 23 - 20 starts, 2 goals, 5 assists

Trade Tracker

Following this week's trade between Philadelphia and Houston, we've now seen six trades over the past month that have moved players around (I'm going to assume you're not interested in trades that only deal with money). In case you haven't been following, here's a quick trade recap:

6/26/15

San Jose trades Ty Harden to Chicago for Quincy Amarikwa. Amarikwa gives the Quakes another goal scoring threat to go alongside Chris Wondolowski and we already saw the impact he can have when he scored twice against the Galaxy on July 17th. Harden had only made one start for the Quakes this year, ironically against the Fire, and scored his first career MLS goal and added his first career MLS assist in a 2-1 win.

7/14/15

Houston trades Corey Ashe to Orlando City for allocation money and a 2017 2nd round draft pick. Ashe gives Orlando City some much needed depth in the back after getting squeezed out of the rotation in Houston. After making 20 starts for the Dynamo in 2014, Ashe had yet to appear in an MLS match this season. Ashe had been with Houston since his MLS debut in 2007.

7/16/15

Montreal trades Bakary Soumaré to FC Dallas in exchange for Kyle Bekker. The Canadian-born Bekker returns to Canada where he spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons with Toronto FC. He saw only limited playing time in Dallas appearing in 8 matches and making a pair of starts during the regular season. Soumaré was the driver in this deal as he'd become unhappy with his role in Montreal after factoring in their Champions League run this spring.

DC United trades Luis Silva to Real Salt Lake in exchange for Álvaro Saborío. In easily the biggest trade so far this season, United sends Silva, who tied for the team lead in scoring last season, to Real Salt Lake for RSL's all-time leading scorer. Silva had not returned to form for DC after suffering an injury at the end of last season scoring just once and making just four starts this year. Sabo, meanwhile, was having a down year by his standards scoring just three times in 14 appearances. He leaves RSL with 63 goals over parts of six seasons, and should be fresh after not seeing much action for Costa Rica during the Gold Cup.

7/20/15

Sporting Kansas City trades Servando Carrasco to Orlando City for Amobi Okugo. Carrasco, who is perhaps most famous for being married to USWNT star Alex Morgan, had seen his playing time diminish in Sporting's 4-3-3 where Benny Feilhaber, Haitian newcomer Soni Mustivar and Honduran Roger Espinoza had absorbed most of the minutes. He gives Orlando much needed depth as in more than a few occasions this season, City has struggled to put an 18-man squad together. In Okugo, Sporting gets some more experience on their back line where they had been starting a pair of rookies, Saad Abdul-Salaam and Amadou Dia.

7/23/15

Philadelphia Union trades Sheanon Williams and an international roster spot to Houston for allocation money. Williams, who had been with Philadelphia since 2010, saw his playing time diminish with the emergence of Raymon Gaddis and became expendable. Jermaine Taylor's injury in the Gold Cup leaves a gap at the back for the Dynamo that Williams should be able to help fill.

Gold Cup Semifinals

Jamaica 2 USA 1

I'm still a bit gutted by this result. Despite holding a 20-10 advantage in shots, and owning nearly 60% of the possession, the U.S. lost 2-1 to the Jamaicans and will miss their first Gold Cup Final since 2003. Ironically, it was Jamaica's MLS contingent that did the damage as Darren Mattocks (Vancouver) and Giles Barnes (Houston) scored the goals while Kemar Lawrence (New York Red Bulls) picked up an assist. The tournament isn't over for the U.S. just yet though as they have a chance at redemption in the third place game against Panama. The U.S. drew with Panama 1-1 in the opening round. Jamaica, meanwhile, will gear up for their first ever Gold Cup Final. Their previous best finish was fourth place in 1998.

Mexico 2 Panama 1

For the second match in a row, Mexico was the beneficiary of a late (and controversial) penalty, this time allowing them to score the equalizer deep into stoppage time and then later the game winner in the first half of extra time. Despite playing a man down from the 25th minute on, Panama kept Mexico off the board and even took the lead in the 57th minute on a goal by Román Torres. But a questionable handball call against Torres paved the way for Mexico to once again advance to the Finals. Mexico now gets ready to take on Jamaica after going 120 minutes in back-to-back matches, as they seek their third Gold Cup win since 2009.

MLSers in Action

Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders/USA) - Started, 90 mins
Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders/USA) - Started, 90 mins, 7 shots
Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy/USA) - Started, 90 mins, 2 shots
Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake/USA) - Started, 67 mins, yellow card
Michael Bradley (Toronto FC/USA) - Started, 90 mins, 4 shots, 1 goal
Alan Gordon (LA Galaxy/USA) - Sub, 17 mins, 1 shot
Kemar Lawrence (New York Red Bulls/Jamaica) - Started, 90 mins, 1 shot, 1 assist
Giles Barnes (Houston Dynamo/Jamaica) - Started, 85 mins, 2 shots, 1 goal
Darren Mattocks (Vancouver Whitecaps/Jamaica) - Started, 57 mins, 1 shot, 1 goal
Je-Vaughn Watson (FC Dallas/Jamaica) - Started, 90 mins, 1 shot
Jaime Penedo (LA Galaxy/Panama) - Started, 120 mins, 3 saves, 2 goals allowed

MLS SuperDraft Rookie Watch, Week 20

Taylor Hunter made his MLS debut this week in Houston's 2-0 loss to Real Salt Lake, and Cyle Larin picked up a straight red to highlight Week 20 for the 2015 SuperDraft Class. Elsewhere, Matt Polster made two more starts for Chicago and Sporting KC once again started the tandem of Saad Abdul-Salaam and Amadou Dia along their back line. Here's a rundown of all the action:

US Open Cup

21 - Ignacio Maganto - LA Galaxy - Started, 45 mins

Regular Season

1 - Cyle Larin - Orlando City - Started vs NYRB, 32 mins, 1 shot, red card
4 - Fatai Alashe - San Jose - Started vs LA, 90 mins, 1 shot
7 - Matt Polster - Chicago - Started vs Columbus, 90 mins
7 - Matt Polster - Chicago - Started vs Columbus, 90 mins
10 - Connor Hallisey - Sporting KC - Appeared as sub vs Montreal, 27 mins
12 - Saad Abdul-Salaam - Sporting KC - Started vs Montreal, 90 mins, 1 shot
13 - Tim Parker - Vancouver - Started vs Portland, 90 mins, yellow card
16 - Cristian Roldan - Seattle - Started vs Colorado, 90 mins, 2 shots
17 - Miguel Aguilar - DC United - Appeared as sub vs Dallas, 45 mins, 1 shot
20 - Amadou Dia - Sporting KC - Started vs Montreal, 90 mins
21 - Ignacio Maganto - LA Galaxy - Appeared as sub vs San Jose, 8 mins
49 - Taylor Hunter - Houston - Started vs Real Salt Lake, 90 mins

Gold Cup Quarterfinals, Day 1

So as luck would have it, I actually got to attend both of today's quarterfinal matches, so before we get to our normal Gold Cup rundown, here's my thoughts on each of the two games:

USA 6 CUBA 0

In honor of the U.S.'s six goals, here are six things:



1) Cuba was badly overmatched in this one. I don't know if the defections have taken a toll, but Cuba never really looked threatening at any point in the match. It was so bad, that I had one of my college teammates posit that our Division III collegiate team could've given Cuba a run for its money. While I'm not sure that's a fair statement, it does capture how bad the U.S. made the Cubans look. It didn't help that there wasn't really a Cuban contingent to cheer them on either. Maybe the next Gold Cup will be different.

2) It was only one game, but the U.S. didn't really appear to miss Jozy Altidore at all. Yes, it helps when you're playing against the Cubans, but Aron Johannsson looked more than capable alongside Clint Dempsey in his 90 minute shift. The U.S. didn't even need to bring on its veteran reserve strikers, Alan Gordon and Chris Wondolowski. Fun fact, when the two played together for San Jose in 2012, they combined for 40 goals and 14 assists.

3) DeAndre Yedlin's speed makes him unbelievably dangerous every time he gets the ball, and it was all the more evident against a team like Cuba. I just wish his services were a little more dangerous. If he develops that part of his game, look out world. The one thing that really struck me as interesting was that when Yedlin came into the game, Gyasi Zardes slid over to left mid/wing while Alejandro Bedoya held down left back. I'm not really sure what the driver behind that move was since Yedlin can defend, but nevertheless, there we were. That said, I do not expect we'll see Bedoya patrolling the back line moving forward.

4) I'm not sure I like Joe Corona in the holding midfielder role, but that does beg the question: Since Kyle Beckerman is no spring chicken, who are we grooming to take over that role? Perry Kitchen? Wil Trapp? Alfredo Morales just went home, Tim Ream is almost 30... I dunno. I don't want to say he's irreplaceable or anything, because we obviously did fine after Becks left the game, but I am curious as to what our long term plan is in the central midfield.

5) So our back four certainly wasn't exposed against Cuba, but I still think they're the team's weak link. I'm pretty comfortable with Fabian Johnson on the left side, but the other three spots are all pretty suspect. I wouldn't go as far as to say that we're playing guys who don't belong on the international stage, but they currently aren't one of our strengths. And I'll be honest, I know Timmy Chandler had a nifty assist on the opening goal, but I think the team plays better with Brad Evans back there. And I couldn't begin to tell you which pairing of center backs we should be starting. It wouldn't have mattered against Cuba, but I guarantee it will come up in the semifinals and potentially the finals assuming we can get that far.

6) It's hard to believe that that was Clint Dempsey's first hat trick with the U.S. It's the fourth time a U.S. player has picked up a hat trick during the Gold Cup, with Chris Wondolowski (2013), Landon Donovan (2003) and Brian McBride (2002) owning the other three. Dempsey's now just 10 goals away from tying Landon Donovan for the all-time U.S. lead at 57, and his six goals lead all players in the tournament.

Jamaica 1 Haiti 0



I've got to tell you, I was really impressed with Haiti tonight. No, they didn't win, and they're at least a solid striker away from really being competitive in CONCACAF, but they were a lot of fun to watch. They're fast, they attack, they take players on, and their fans were amazing. Drums and horns and chanting for the whole 90 minutes. It was awesome to experience. Unfortunately, they just lacked creativity and vision in the final third and despite outshooting Jamaica 28-12 and attempting 17 corners while controlling over 60% of the possession, they just weren't particularly dangerous. Jamaica's back four and back-up keeper Ryan Thompson were up to the task. As far as Jamaica goes, I never realized what a beast Giles Barnes is. He definitely plays bigger than his 5'11" listing suggests, and it was his rocket from no angle that was the difference in the match. I like the U.S.'s chances against Jamaica moving forward, but they'll have to contain Barnes if they hope to advance.

MLSers in Action

MLSers combined for six goals in the first two quarterfinal matches. Here's a rundown of all the action:

Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy/USA) - Started, 90 mins, 2 shots, 1 goal
Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy/USA) - Started, 90 mins, 4 shots, 1 goal
Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake/USA) - Started, 45 mins
Michael Bradley (Toronto FC/USA) - Started, 90 mins, 3 shots, 3 assists
Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders/USA) - Started, 90 mins, 5 shots, 3 goals
Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders/USA) - Sub, 45 mins
Kemar Lawrence (New York Red Bulls/Jamaica) - Started, 90 mins, 1 shot
Giles Barnes (Houston Dynamo/Jamaica) - Started, 89 mins, 3 shots, 1 goal

MLS Weekly Recap, Week 19

Here's this week's recap:

Ricardo Clark and Will Bruin both scored as the Dynamo defeated the Wondo-less Quakes 2-0. Nigerian midfielder Rasheed Olabiyi made his MLS debut when he came on as a second half substitute... Bradley Wright-Phillips bagged two goals and an assist in the game's opening 12 minutes as the Red Bulls routed the Revolution 4-1. For the Revs it was their fifth straight loss and they've won just once since May 2nd... Vincent Nogueira scored a pair of goals and midfielder Cristian Maidana added three assists as the Union throttled the Timbers 3-0. Brian Sylvestre earned the shutout in net for the Union who dealt the Timbers their first loss with Will Johnson in the starting lineup. They had been 5-0 in his five previous starts... Playing without Cyle Larin (Gold Cup) or Kaká (red card suspension), Orlando City struggled to generate any offense as they fell to Dan Kennedy and FC Dallas 2-0. The win was Dallas's third straight and they haven't conceded a goal in three straight matches... Dominic Oduro scored twice and Marco Donadel tallied his first MLS goal as Montreal pulled off a 3-0 upset over the Columbus Crew. Kei Kamara, the league's leading scorer, attempted five shots, but failed to put any on frame... Jason Johnson scored the only goal of the match in stoppage time as the Fire surprised the Seattle Sounders 1-0. Homegrown player Patrick Doody made his MLS debut and went a full 90 minutes at left back in the win while Mike Magee made his first start of the season... Colorado scored three times after the 80th minute including twice in stoppage time to shock Real Salt Lake 3-1. Sebastián Jaime scored for the third straight match for RSL, but was also ejected in the 84th minute setting up the Rapids' win... Sebastian Giovinco and David Villa put on quite a show combing for 5 goals and an assist in a wild 4-4 tie between New York City FC and Toronto FC... Defender Kevin Ellis scored the only goal of the match as Sporting Kansas City, despite starting a pair of rookies in defense, shutout Vancouver 1-0.

US Open Cup Quarterfinal Match-Ups Set

We'll cover this week's matches later, but here's a look at the Quarterfinal Pairings for this year's US Open Cup. Matches will be played the 21st and 22nd of July:

East Regional: New York Red Bulls vs Philadelphia Union

In an Eastern Conference showdown, the Red Bulls will face off against last year's tournament runner-up, the Philadelphia Union. The Union knocked off the Red Bulls in their only match-up so far this season, 2-0 on May 24th behind goals by Vincent Nogueira and C.J. Sapong. While the Red Bulls have beaten up on the likes of the Atlanta Silverbacks and New York Cosmos, outscoring the two NASL sides 7-1, the Union have had a much tougher route to the quarterfinals. After playing the Rochester Rhinos to a 0-0 draw and defeating them in a shootout, they turned around and upset DC United scoring a pair of goals after going down to 10 men when Sapong was sent off 24 minutes in for a hard foul. Cristian Maidana assisted on both of the Union's goals in the win.

South Regional: Orlando City SC vs Chicago Fire

Two teams headed in opposite directions will face off when Orlando City takes on the Chicago Fire in the Southern Regional. The Fire have won just once in their last nine league matches and have dropped their last four including a 3-2 decision against Orlando on June 6th thanks to a pair of own goals by Adaílton. Orlando, on the other hand, is 4-1-2 in their last seven matches and Carlos Rivas is tied for the tournament lead in goals scored with four.

Central Regional: Houston Dynamo vs Sporting Kansas City

Dom Dwyer exploded for four goals in Sporting's 6-2 rout of FC Dallas in the 5th Round, more than making up for their lackluster performance against Saint Louis FC in their tournament opener. Houston, meanwhile, has yet to concede a goal in the tournament with Joe Willis posting back-to-back shutout wins over the Austin Aztex and Colorado Rapids. In their only meeting this year, the two clubs played to a wild 4-4 draw.

Western Regional: Real Salt Lake vs LA Galaxy

The Galaxy shut out the Wondo-less Quakes 1-0 thanks to an early goal from Jose Villarreal, winning without Gyasi Zardes, Omar Gonzalez, Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard or Jaime Penedo. Real Salt Lake reached the quarterfinals by shocking the Portland Timbers 2-0 as Portland suffered a letdown following a pair of emotional wins over the Seattle Sounders. Real Salt Lake has been shut out twice by the Galaxy so far this season. The two clubs played to a 0-0 draw on May 6th and the Galaxy rode a Juninho PK to a 1-0 win on May 27th.

MLS SuperDraft Rookie Watch, Week 17

Busy week for the rookies as Joseph Greenspan (Colorado), Andy Craven (Seattle) and Boyd Okwuonu (Real Salt Lake) all made their MLS debuts. In other action Cyle Larin scored goal number six, Manolo Sanchez ripped off five shots in just nine minutes of action for the Red Bulls and Fatai Alashe turned in a strong 90-minute shift in San Jose's big win over the LA Galaxy.  Here's a rundown of all the action:

1 - Cyle Larin - Orlando City - Started vs Colorado, 69 mins, 3 shots, 1 goal
4 - Fatai Alashe - San Jose - Started vs LA, 90 mins
12 - Saad Abdul-Salaam - Sporting KC - Appeared as sub vs Colorado, 12 mins
13 - Tim Parker - Vancouver - Started vs New England, 90 mins
16 - Cristian Roldan - Seattle - Started vs Philadelphia, 90 mins 
16 - Cristian Roldan - Seattle - Appeared as sub vs Portland, 21 mins
17 - Miguel Aguilar - DC United - Started vs Chicago, 90 mins, 1 shot
17 - Miguel Aguilar - DC United - Appeared as sub vs Toronto, 32 mins, yellow card
20 - Amadou Dia - Sporting KC - Appeared as sub vs Colorado, 1 min
26 - Joseph Greenspan - Colorado - Started vs Orlando City, 90 mins 
26 - Joseph Greenspan - Colorado - Started vs Sporting KC, 90 mins, yellow card
27 - Boyd Okwuonu - Real Salt Lake - Appeared as sub vs Columbus, 10 mins
36 - Rob Lovejoy - Houston - Started vs FC Dallas, 29 mins, 1 shot
40 - Oniel Fisher - Seattle - Started vs Philadelphia, 90 mins
48 - Andy Craven - Seattle - Appeared as sub vs Portland, 30 mins
79 - Manolo Sanchez - New York Red Bulls - Appeared as sub vs Real Salt Lake, 3 mins, 3 shots
79 - Manolo Sanchez - New York Red Bulls - Appeared as sub vs NYCFC, 6 mins, 2 shots

US Open Cup Recap - Round 4, Day 2

Columbus Crew 3 Richmond Kickers 1

Appearing for the Crew for the first time this year, 6'7" striker Adam Bedell scored a pair of goals and Ethan Finlay added another as the Crew defeated the Kickers 3-1.

DC United 3 Pittsburgh Riverhounds 1 (a.e.t.)

Facundo Coria's first DC United goal wasn't enough by itself as United needed 30 extra minutes to knock off the Riverhounds. Kofi Opare netted the game winner while Nick DeLeon added an insurance goal.

New York Cosmos 2 New York City FC 2, Cosmos win 4-3 in Shootout

City wasted a pair of goals by Kwadwo Poku and blew a 2-0 lead on their way to elimination. Cosmos strike Lucky Mkosana scored in the 90th minute to tie the game and Patrick Mullins missed saw his attempt to win the shootout saved by Jimmy Maurer, the 4th overall pick in the 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft. Shay Facey then missed his attempt from the spot and Hunter Gorskie buried the game winner. The Cosmos have now knocked off MLS clubs from New York in consecutive tournaments.

Orlando City SC 4 Charleston Battery 4, Orlando wins 8-7 in Shootout

Orlando City rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to force extra time and then blew a 4-2 lead in extra time and needed a 10-round shootout to sneak past the Battery. Carlos Rivas made three penalty kicks during the match, but ironically missed during the shootout. Danny Mwanga scored the winning kick.

Charlotte Independence 1 New England Revolution 0

The Revs were the first MLS team to fall to a lower division side as they dropped a 1-0 decision to Charlotte. The Revs did not start Charlie Davies, Lee Nguyen, Juan Agudelo or Teal Bunbury and the offense struggled as a result.

Houston Dynamo 2 Austin Aztex 0

Despite using a lineup comprised mostly of back-ups, Houston scored on either side of halftime and knocked off Austin 2-0. Joe Willis, formerly a backup to Bill Hamid in DC, picked up the shutout in net for the Dynamo while Ricardo Clark added the insurance goal in second half stoppage time.

LA Galaxy 6 PSA Elite 1

LA actually trailed briefly against underdogs PSA Elite before blowing the game wide open. Robbie Keane scored three times, while Gyasi Zardes and Sebastian Lletget each had one apiece.

Gold Cup Snubs in MLS

Here's five MLS-based players who didn't make Jürgen Klinsmann's provisional Gold Cup roster that have a right to feel snubbed:

1) Benny Feilhaber - Feilhaber is in the midst of his best MLS season with 5 goals and a league-leading 7 assists while starting every game for Sporting Kansas City. Feilhaber has been more or less a non-factor since the 2010 World Cup Cycle appearing in just 3 matches for the U.S. since 2010. Replaces: Brad Davis.

2) Ethan Finlay - Like Feilhaber, Finlay also has seven assists this season tying his career high set in 2014. Finlay has either scored or assisted on 45% of Columbus's goals this season. Despite an 11-goal season in 2014, Finlay has yet to appear in a match for the United States. Replaces: DaMarcus Beasley.

3) Will Bruin - Bruin's been one of the hottest players in MLS lately. The only American with more goals in MLS this season is Chris Wondolowski, but unlike Wondo, Bruin hasn't been doing his damage at the penalty spot. In fact, Bruin leads all Americans in goals from the run of play with 7. That's more than Clint Dempsey and more than Jozy Altidore if you're keeping track. Replaces: Chris Wondolowski.

4) Charlie Davies - This one might be a bit of a reach, but I really like what Charlie Davies brings to the table. He's not the player he was before the accident, but hasn't his play in last year's postseason and in the early part of this season earned him something? Replaces: Alan Gordon.

5) Clint Irwin - Irwin is tied for the lead in shutouts among American keepers in MLS with Nick Rimando and he has a better goals against average than the U.S.'s #2 keeper does. Irwin's save percentage trails only Stefan Frei and Bill Hamid among keepers with at least ten starts this season. Replaces: William Yarbrough.

MLS Weekly Recap - Week 11

Talk about your crazy weeks. The last seven days featured the Montreal Impact pulling off another improbable tournament victory as they scored a late goal to knock off heavily favored Toronto FC on the away goals tiebreaker in the Canadian Championship semifinals. They also watched Edmonton FC play the Whitecaps to a 1-1 tie in the other semifinal which means with a little luck, the Impact could face a lower-tier opponent in their quest to return to the Champions League. In other action, top picks Cyle Larin and Khiry Shelton combined for 3 goals with Larin's OCSC throttling the defending champion Galaxy 4-0 and Shelton's City rallying from a 2-0 deficit against the Chicago Fire despite being a man down. RSL's Nick Rimando let in 4 goals as the Impact won for the first time this season, and Bill Hamid was out-dueled by Philadelphia's Brian Sylvestre as the Union won for just the second time, 1-0. Here's a rundown of all the action:

RESULTS

WEDNESDAY

Toronto FC 3 Montreal Impact 2 (Canadian Championship Semifinals, Leg 2), Montreal Wins 2-0 on Away Goals Tie-Breaker
Vancouver Whitecaps 1 FC Edmonton 1 (Canadian Championship Semifinals, Leg 1)
DC United 2 Orlando City SC 1

FRIDAY

New York City FC 2 Chicago Fire 2
FC Dallas 0 New York Red Bulls 0

SATURDAY

Montreal Impact 4 Real Salt Lake 1
Seattle Sounders 2 Vancouver Whitecaps 0
New England Revolution 1 Toronto FC 1
Houston Dynamo 3 Portland Timbers 1
San Jose Earthquakes 2 Columbus Crew 0

SUNDAY

Orlando City SC 4 LA Galaxy 0
Philadelphia Union 1 DC United 0

MLS Weekly Recap - Week 10

Lots of action in MLS this week with midweek matches, the start of the Canadian Championship Semifinals, and the first official match between the Red Bulls and NYCFC. We saw Orlando rally from a 2-goal deficit behind rookie Cyle Larin to come back and tie the Revs, we saw Kei Kamara and Clint Dempsey go goal-for-goal as the Crew narrowly defeated the Sounders 3-2, and we saw the Rapids pick up their league-leading 7th draw of the season. Meanwhile, Montreal is still winless in MLS, Toronto lost their home opener against Houston, Diego Valeri returned to the Timbers' starting lineup, and the Philadelphia Union are still terrible despite starting their third different goalkeeper. Here's a rundown of all the action:

RESULTS

TUESDAY

San Jose Earthquakes 1 Houston Dynamo 0

WEDNESDAY

Montreal Impact 1 Toronto FC 0 (Canadian Championship Semifinals, Leg 1)
LA Galaxy 0 Real Salt Lake 0

FRIDAY

New England Revolution 2 Orlando City SC 2
San Jose Earthquakes 1 Colorado Rapids 1

SATURDAY

Real Salt Lake 2 Chicago Fire 1
Portland Timbers 2 Montreal Impact 1
DC United 1 Sporting Kansas City 1
Vancouver Whitecaps 3 Philadelphia Union 0
Columbus Crew 3 Seattle Sounders 2
FC Dallas 2 LA Galaxy 1

SUNDAY

Houston Dynamo 2 Toronto FC 1
New York Red Bulls 2 New York City FC 1

MLS Weekly Recap, Week 6

What a week. It started with Montreal's historic clinching of a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League Finals. How rare is that? It's the first appearance ever for a Canadian club, and the first appearance for an MLS side since Real Salt Lake in 2011. Meanwhile, in regular season action, Colorado scored their first four goals of the season against FC Dallas, the Union pulled off their first win of the year thanks to a stoppage time goal against NYCFC, San Jose stunned red hot Vancouver 1-0, Jermaine Jones returned to New England's lineup, the Galaxy got their first win in over a month, and both the Red Bulls and Real Salt Lake remained unbeaten. Here's a rundown of all the week's action:

RESULTS

TUESDAY

Alajuelense (Costa Rica) 4 Montreal Impact 2 - Champions League Semis, Leg 2, 4-4 aggregate, Montreal advances on away goals tiebreaker (2-0)

WEDNESDAY

Vancouver Whitecaps 2 Columbus Crew 2

FRIDAY

Colorado Rapids 4 FC Dallas 0

SATURDAY

New England Revolution 0 Columbus Crew 0
Philadelphia Union 2 New York City FC 1
New York Red Bulls 2 DC United 2
Houston Dynamo 3 Montreal Impact 0
Sporting Kansas City 0 Real Salt Lake 0
San Jose Earthquakes 1 Vancouver Whitecaps 0

SUNDAY

Orlando City SC 2 Portland Timbers 0
LA Galaxy 1 Seattle Sounders 0

SuperDraft Rookie Watch, Week 4

Week 4 featured some more rookies making their debuts as Montreal's Romario Williams, Houston's Zach Steinberger, Toronto's Clément Simonin and Seattle's Oniel Fisher all saw the pitch for the first time in 2015. In addition to that, Orlando's Cyle Larin scored his first goal for Canada in a 3-0 win over Puerto Rico and San Jose's Fatai Alashe delivered an exclamation point in the US U-23s 5-2 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Matt Polster made his third straight start for the Fire and leads all draftees in minutes played with 266 through 4 matches. Here's the rundown of everyone who got in on the action:

1 - Cyle Larin - Orlando City - Scored for Canada vs Puerto Rico
3 - Romario Williams - Montreal - Appeared as sub versus OCSC, 6 mins
4 - Fatai Alashe - San Jose - Scored for US U-23s vs Bosnia
7 - Matt Polster - Chicago - Started vs Philadelphia, 90 mins, 1 shot
8 - Zach Steinberger - Houston - Appeared as sub versus Colorado, 21 mins, 1 shot
9 - Clément Simonin - Toronto FC - Started vs RSL, 90 mins, 1 shot, Yellow Card
16 - Cristian Roldan - Seattle - Started vs FC Dallas, 61 mins
36 - Rob Lovejoy - Houston - Started vs Colorado, 59 mins, 2 shots
40 - Oniel Fisher - Seattle - Appeared as sub versus FC Dallas, 4 mins
67 - Dominique Badji - Colorado - Appeared as sub versus Houston, 13 mins

And here are our rookie rankings through March 31st:

1. Fatai Alashe (San Jose)
2. Khiry Shelton (NYCFC)
3. Matt Polster (Chicago)
4. Axel Sjöberg (Colorado)
5. Dominique Badji (Colorado)

Dynamo Forward Scores Twice for Chivas Guadalajara

Houston striker Erick "Cubo" Torres helped Chivas Guadalajara picked up three huge points in Liga MX action this weekend when he scored twice in the match's last 20 minutes to give them a 2-1 win over Puebla. The 22 year-old Mexican international led Chivas USA in scoring last year with 15 goals including goals in six consecutive matches in June and July. After Chivas USA disbanded following the 2014 season, Torres was signed by the Houston Dynamo to a designated player deal in December.