MLS Players on Loan for 2016

Bernardo Añor - Sporting Kansas City - Loaned to Minnesota United FC (NASL) - Minnesota United features several former MLSers including Danny Cruz, Ben Speas, Kristian Nicht (the keeper Montreal brought in for last year's Champions League Final) and their captain Aaron Pitchkolan. They are famous for recently developing USMNT midfielder Miguel Ibarra and also boast the 2014 NASL player of the year in striker Christian Ramirez. Añor started his MLS career in 2011 and had a career year in 2014 with the Columbus Crew when he scored six goals. He logged just 483 minutes with Sporting Kansas City in 2015.

Erik Palmer-Brown - Sporting Kansas City - Loaned to FC Porto (Portugal) - Just 18 years old, Palmer-Brown has already been around a while having signed his first professional contract in 2013. Palmer-Brown played in a career high 7 matches with Sporting KC in 2015. He has yet to appear in a match for Porto.

Jimmy Ockford - Seattle Sounders - Loaned to New York Cosmos (NASL) - A second round pick in 2014, Ockford, now 23, has appeared in just one regular season match for the Sounders (a start against Philadelphia last June) in his brief career. He returns to the Cosmos where he also spent the 2014 season to play alongside the likes of Jairo Arrieta, Adam Moffat, Hunter Freeman, Danny Szetela and Carlos Mendes.

Leandro Barrera - San Jose Earthquakes - Loaned to Club Atlético San Martín (Argentina) - San Martín finished 17th out of 30 teams in the Primera División in 2015. Barrera, 24, appeared in only six matches (1 start) for San Jose in 2015. He spent his first MLS season (2014) with Chivas USA for whom he made 24 starts scoring a goal and adding two assists.

Sebastian Saucedo - Real Salt Lake - Loaned to Veracruz (Liga MX) - The 19 year-old Saucedo has appeared for both the U.S. and Mexico's youth international squads and was loaned to Veracruz in January. To date, Saucedo has appeared twice as a substitute, once against América and once against Puebla. Saucedo made nine appearances during his debut season in MLS, logging 168 total minutes.

Michael Lahoud - Philadelphia Union - Loaned to New York Cosmos (NASL) - Lahoud will join Seattle's Jimmy Ockford on the Cosmos after spending the seven seasons in MLS with Chivas USA and most recently, the Philadelphia Union. The 29 year-old Sierra Leonean made 14 starts for the Union in 2015 and has two goals and eight assists in 122 career MLS appearances.

Romario Williams - Montreal Impact - Loaned to Charleston Battery (USL) - Williams, the third overall pick in the 2015 SuperDraft, made just two appearances for the Impact during the 2015 regular season. He joins the Battery who were winners of the 2015 Southern Derby, but whose last true hardware came when they won the USL League Championship in 2012.

Juan Ramírez - Colorado Rapids - Loaned to Almería (Spain) - Signed to a young designated player contract in 2015, Ramírez scored a goal and added three assists during his debut season with the Rapids. He will play on loan in Spain's second division with Almería for a period of six months. According to Almería's Wikipedia page, Ramírez has currently logged four appearances during the regular season. The club currently sits in 19th place.

Who's Adding Who - Montreal Impact

In:

D Kyle Fisher (1/14/16 - SuperDraft) - The 2015 ACC Defensive Player of the Year helped lead Clemson to the College Cup Final against Stanford. Taken with the 14th overall pick in the 2016 SuperDraft, Fisher ends his four year career at Clemson as a First-Team All-ACC Selection, Top Drawer Soccer Postseason Best XI First Team Selection, NSCAA First Team All-American, and MAC Hermann Trophy Award Semifinalist.
M Lucas Ontivero (1/18/16 - loan from Galatasaray) - There aren't a lot of big name clubs that loan its players to MLS so the fact that Ontivero comes to Montreal on loan from Galatasaray (the Turkish giants) is a big deal. The 21 year-old Argentine winger is looked at as a dynamic attacker who can play on either side, and previously participated in youth programs for Real Madrid, AC Milan and Tottenham Hotspur before turning pro.

Out:

M Justin Mapp (11/16/15 - out of contract) - Sporting Kansas City
M Dilly Duka (11/16/15 - out of contract)
F Kenny Cooper (12/7/15 - option declined)
M Nigel Reo-Coker (1/22/16 - mutual contract termination)

Making Moves

Clint Irwin Traded to Toronto FC - 2015 was a rough year defensively for Toronto FC. A leaky back line and the combination of Joe Bendik and Chris Konopka in goal surrendered a league-worst 58 goals and recorded only five shutouts. Now, in Irwin, Toronto has an All-Star caliber netminder who allowed just 38 goals in 31 starts while posting 8 shutouts for lowly Colorado. The addition of Irwin pairs well with the acquisitions of veteran defenders Drew Moor and Steven Beitashour, as Toronto FC looks to build on their first ever postseason appearance.

Yura Movsisyan Loaned to Real Salt Lake - Yura Movsisyan, an Armenian International, returns to Major League Soccer where he started his professional career. Movsisyan spent parts of two seasons with the Kansas City Wizards before being traded to Real Salt Lake in late 2007 where he eventually helped his new club win the 2009 MLS Cup. The 2012-13 Russian Premier League co-Top Scorer, Movsisyan - who's only 28 - looks to add some firepower to an attack that scored the second fewest goals in MLS in 2015.

Lucas Ontivero Loaned to Montreal - There aren't a lot of big name clubs that loan its players to MLS so the fact that Ontivero comes to Montreal on loan from Galatasaray (the Turkish giants) is a big deal. The 21 year-old Argentine winger is looked at as a dynamic attacker who can play on either side, and previously participated in youth programs for Real Madrid, AC Milan and Tottenham Hotspur before turning pro.

U.S. U-23s Throttled in Loss to Brazil, 5-1

An early 1-0 lead quickly became a distant memory as the U.S. U-23s found themselves on the wrong end of a rout in Brazil. The two teams went into halftime tied at one goal apiece before the floodgates opened up and Brazil wound up winning 5-1. The U.S. were outscored 7-2 in their two game series with the Brazilians. It was a disappointing trip for the U.S. as they get ready for next year's two-game series with Colombia to determine the final spot in the 2016 Olympics. Colombia split two games with Brazil earlier this year in the South American Youth Football Championship, dropping their first match 2-1, before beating them 3-0. Here's a look at how MLS was represented in the Starting XI of today's defeat:

Starters vs Brazil

Dave Romney - LA Galaxy
Eric Miller - Montreal Impact
Dillon Serna - Colorado Rapids
Matt Polster - Chicago Fire
Khiry Shelton - New York City FC

U-23s Drop Opener in Brazil, 2-1

The U.S. U-23s dropped the first of two friendlies scheduled with Brazil, 2-1 on Wednesday. Jerome Kiesewetter, who scored 4 goals during Olympic Qualifying, converted a penalty kick for the U.S.'s only goal after they'd already fallen behind 2-0. Of the 11 U.S. starters, four weren't a part of the group that participated in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (John Brooks, Eric Miller, Julian Green, Khiry Shelton), and a fifth (goalkeeper Charlie Horton) was on the U.S. roster, but didn't appear in any matches. Here's a look at how MLS was represented in the Starting XI.
 
Starters vs Brazil
 
Boyd Okwuonu - Real Salt Lake
Eric Miller - Montreal Impact
Fatai Alashe - San Jose Earthquakes
Matt Polster - Chicago Fire
Khiry Shelton - New York City FC

Final Thoughts on the Conference Semifinals

Wow, what a Sunday! All four games were highly contested and just made for some really exciting soccer. In no particular order, here's a bunch of my observations from an action-packed day:

1) Of the four conference semifinal winners, the Red Bulls are the only ones who won both legs of their respective match-up.

2) Substitutes on Sunday accounted for 2 goals (Tesho Akindele, Walker Zimmerman) and 4 assists (Marco Pappa, Blas Pérez, Gonzalo Verón, Cedrick).

3) Every player to come off the bench for FC Dallas on Sunday (Tesho Akindele, Walker Zimmerman, Blas Pérez) notched either a goal or an assist. Akindele and Zimmerman also both scored PKs during the shootout. During the regular season, Akindele (goal) scored just once in fourteen appearances as a substitute, Zimmerman (goal) did not log a goal or an assist during the entire regular season, and Pérez (assist) did not log a goal or an assist in nine appearances as a substitute.

Playoff Match-Ups (Conference Semifinals)

EAST

Columbus Crew (2) vs Montreal Impact (3)

2015 Meetings

6/6/16 - Montreal Impact 2 Columbus Crew 1
7/11/15 - Montreal Impact 3 Columbus Crew 0

Playoff Match-Ups (Knockout Round)

EAST

Montreal Impact (3) vs Toronto FC (6)

2015 Meetings

5/6/15 - Montreal Impact 1 Toronto FC 0 (Canadian Championship)
5/13/15 - Toronto FC 3 Montreal Impact 2 (Canadian Championship)
6/24/15 - Toronto FC 3 Montreal Impact 1
8/29/15 - Toronto FC 2 Montreal Impact 1
10/25/15 - Montreal Impact 2 Toronto FC 1

Recapping the Canadian Championship

For the first time in franchise history, the Vancouver Whitecaps are the winners of the Canadian Championship, and as a result, they'll be headed back to the CONCACAF Champions League next year. Here's a quick recap of the tournament in case you missed it as well as a little bit on the tournament's history:

Preliminary Round

FC Edmonton 3 Ottawa Fury FC 1
FC Edmonton 3 Ottawa Fury FC 1, FC Edmonton wins 6-2

Semifinals

Montreal Impact 1 Toronto FC 0
Toronto FC 3 Montreal Impact 2, Tie 3-3 - Montreal wins 2-0 on away goals tiebreaker

Goals for TOR: Jozy Altidore (1), Benoît Cheyrou (1), Sebastian Giovinco (1)
Goals for MON: Jack McInerney (1), Kenny Cooper (1), Dominic Oduro (1)

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1 FC Edmonton 1
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 FC Edmonton 1, Vancouver wins 3-2

Goals for VAN: Gershon Koffie (1), Pedro Morales (1), Matías Laba (1)

Finals

Vancouver Whitecaps 2 Montreal Impact 2
Vancouver Whitecaps 2 Montreal Impact 0, Vancouver wins 4-2

Goals for VAN: Darren Mattocks (1), Pedro Morales (2), Octavio Rivero (1), Tim Parker (1)
Goals for MON: Laurent Ciman (1), Anthony Jackson-Hamel (1)

*Pedro Morales was the only MLS player to score multiple goals, but the tournament's Golden Boot went to Edmonton's Tomi Amoebi, who scored twice against Ottawa and then twice against Vancouver.

*The Canadian Championship has been in existence since 2008, but has only been played in its current format since 2011. Regardless of format, the Championship had previously been won only by Montreal and Toronto. Vancouver was the runner-up every year from 2009-2013. Toronto has won the Championship four times and Montreal three.

*Vancouver was knocked out of last year's tournament in the semifinals by Toronto when they lost on penalty kicks.

Canadian Championship Leg 1 Highlights

Lots of excitement in the first leg between Vancouver and Montreal as Vancouver took a 2-0 lead only to have Montreal rally for a draw in the game's closing minutes. The second leg will be played on August 26th in Vancouver. Here's the highlights:

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.

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.

MLS Weekly Recap - Week 14

Lots to talk about this week, so here we go! The Montreal Impact picked up two wins this week knocking off Canadian rivals Vancouver AND the Columbus Crew. Just like that, they're back to .500... The Portland Timbers have won three straight matches for the first time in franchise history. Fanendo Adi came off the bench to score twice in the last ten minutes against New England... Will Bruin scored two more goals for the Dynamo who scored 4 times in the second half to defeat the Red Bulls... New York City FC won for just the second time this season snapping a winless streak that dates back to March 15th... In a battle of two of the West's best, Seattle was downed by Sporting KC 1-0 thanks to a Benny Feilhaber penalty kick. Seattle played the match without Clint Dempsey OR Obafemi Martins... Adaílton became the first player in MLS history to score two own goals in the same game as the Fire lost twice this week and gave up six goals in the process... Playing without Michael Bradley and with Jozy Altidore on limited minutes due to a hamstring injury, Sebastian Giovinco scored twice and led the Reds to a 2-1 win over DC United.

Here's a rundown of all the action:

RESULTS

WEDNESDAY

DC United 3 Chicago Fire 1
Philadelphia Union 3 Columbus Crew 0
Montreal Impact 2 Vancouver Whitecaps 1

FRIDAY

Houston Dynamo 4 New York Red Bulls 2
United States 4 Netherlands 3

SATURDAY

New York City FC 2 Philadelphia Union 1
Toronto FC 2 DC United 1
Montreal Impact 2 Columbus Crew 1
Sporting Kansas City 1 Seattle Sounders 0
Orlando City SC 3 Chicago Fire 2
Vancouver Whitecaps 1 LA Galaxy 0
Portland Timbers 2 New England Revolution 0

SUNDAY

Colorado Rapids 0 Real Salt Lake 0
FC Dallas 0 San Jose Earthquakes 0

MLS Weekly Recap - Week 12

Lots to talk about this week, here we go: The Vancouver Whitecaps have a date with the Montreal Impact in the Canadian Championship Finals after Matías Laba scored 7 minutes into stoppage time to help the knock off Edmonton FC. The first leg of the finals begins on August 12th... Sporting Kansas City, playing short-handed after multiple injuries, stunned the New England Revolution 4-2 and then held on for a 0-0 draw in Seattle... Robbie Keane returned to action for the LA Galaxy coming off the bench to assist on Alan Gordon's dramatic game winner... A week after blowing a 2-0 lead with a man advantage against NYCFC, the Fire rallied from 2 goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw with the Columbus Crew... The Montreal Impact are suddenly red hot as they picked up a second straight win, this one on the road against FC Dallas. Ignacio Piatti, Montreal's only designated player, had a goal and an assist... Portland moved one step closer to getting Will Johnson back as the Canadian international and their team captain dressed for the match against Montreal although he didn't see the field. Unfortunately, Diego Valeri left the match with another injury... Joao Plata made his 2015 debut for Real Salt Lake as a late substitute. Plata scored 13 goals for RSL last season... Colorado's Kevin Doyle, a teammate of Robbie Keane's on the Irish National Team, made his MLS debut this weekend as the Rapids knocked off the Whitecaps 1-0... The Philadelphia Union, who looked like easily the worst team in the league for much of the first 2+ months of the season have now posted back-to-back shutout wins over DC United and the New York Red Bulls... And last, but not least, Chris Wondolowski became just the 9th player in MLS history to reach the 100  goal plateau when he buried a penalty kick against Orlando City on Sunday night. Here's a rundown of all the action:

RESULTS

WEDNESDAY

Sporting Kansas City 4 New England Revolution 2
Vancouver Whitecaps 2 FC Edmonton 1 (Canadian Championship Semifinals, Leg 2), Vancouver wins series 3-2

FRIDAY

Columbus Crew 2 Chicago Fire 2
LA Galaxy 1 Houston Dynamo 0

SATURDAY

Toronto FC 1 Portland Timbers 0
New England Revolution 1 DC United 1
Montreal Impact 2 FC Dallas 1
Colorado Rapids 1 Vancouver Whitecaps 0
Seattle Sounders 0 Sporting Kansas City 0
Real Salt Lake 2 New York City FC 0

SUNDAY

Philadelphia Union 2 New York Red Bulls 0
San Jose Earthquakes 1 Orlando City SC 1

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

Final Thoughts on the 2014-15 CCL

1. We can win this thing! Montreal made it to the CCL Final and led both legs against Mexico's Club América despite playing with arguably their fourth string goalie and with multiple starters (Justin Mapp, Víctor Cabrera, Hassoun Camara, Cameron Porter) out with injuries. Despite everything, they were one half away from bringing home a championship before the walls came crashing down. This is an Impact team that won only 6 games out of 34 last season in MLS and remains winless in 2015. This isn't a team that's going to be confused with the Sounders or the Revs or the Galaxy, and yet THEY almost won the Champions League. I hope other teams are paying attention at what happens if you actually try to win this tournament because we're long overdue for brining home a title.

2. The Impact did all this with one Designated Player. Ignacio Piatti is the only designated player on the Impact's roster right now (they have two empty DP roster slots). Piatti scored the goal in the opener and assisted on both Impact goals tonight. Just think if Montreal had two more guys like him that they could've put onto the field. Maybe then you aren't starting Nigel Reo-Coker out of position in a CCL Final. I understand it's often an issue of money, but if you have the option to bring in high-priced talent, ESPECIALLY knowing you had the Champions League ahead of you, I think you're foolish not to if you want to be taken seriously as a franchise. Look at what Canadian counterparts Vancouver and Toronto have done. The Caps' Octavio Rivero is tied for the league lead with five goals while Toronto's Jozy Altidore has four and his teammate Sebastian Giovinco is an unreal talent. Big name players are often difference makers, and with the Montreal roster thinned out due to injuries, the Impact just didn't have the depth or talent to stay with their Mexican counterparts.

3. As an MLS Fan, I'm proud of these guys. I mean how could you not be? Despite the wheels coming off in the second half, they kept fighting, even grabbing a late goal. In the end it didn't make a difference, but it was great to see an MLS club go out there and claw and scratch for every inch in this tournament. They knocked out Pachuca, the New York Red Bulls and Alajuelense, and had to put a good scare into América tonight. In a tournament where we saw three MLS clubs (Sporting KC, Portland and the Red Bulls) fail to make it out of group play, and DC United's defense go to pieces in Central America, it was great to see somebody represent the league well. Great job, Montreal, you've gained a fan.

CCL Finals, Leg 2 Starting XIs

Let's breakdown the lineups for Leg 1 real quick:

For Club América:

Starters

GK - Moisés Muñoz - Started First Leg, 1 Save
D - Ventura Alvarado - Did not dress for First Leg, 3 CAPS for USMNT
D - Miguel Samudio - Started First Leg
D - Pablo Aguilar - Started First Leg
D - Paul Aguilar - Started First Leg
M - José Guerrero - Appeared as a sub in First Leg
M - Osvaldo Martínez - Started First Leg
M - Rubens Sambueza - Started First Leg, 1 Assist
M - Darwin Quintero - Started First Leg at Forward
F - Darío Benedetto - Started First Leg
F - Oribe Peralta - Appeared as a sub in First Leg, 1 Goal

Who's In Goal for Montreal???

So here we are with the Montreal Impact playing in one of the most significant matches in MLS history, only they're about to trot out a goalie who has never appeared in an MLS match. First stringer Evan Bush received a questionable yellow late in first leg that will cause him to be suspended for the second leg, so he's out. Second stringer Eric Kronberg is cup-tied to Sporting Kansas City and hasn't been eligible to play for Montreal in the tournament this year so he's out. Third stringer Maxime Crépeau may be the keeper of the future, but he hasn't been healthy so him getting the call seems unlikely. So that leaves two players currently on loan to Montreal: John Smits and Kristian Nicht. So who are these guys and does Montreal have a snowball's chance in Mexico to bring the title to MLS?

JOHN SMITS

Smits' story is an interesting one as he was the goalie for FC Edmonton, the team that nearly ended Montreal's historic run before it ever started. Now 26, Smits has spent the last three seasons with FC Edmonton in the NASL (the second tier of US Soccer, one below MLS). In 2014 he was named the Golden Glove Winner (goalkeeper of the year) in the NASL. Smits has served as a back-up for Bush in the tournament, but hasn't played.

KRISTIAN NICHT

Of the two rent-a-keepers, Nicht is the more experienced boasting a 16 year professional career and is now 33. He's played professionally in Germany and Norway before coming to the U.S. and eventually settling in with Indy Eleven. Once upon a time he was the Bundesliga 2 Goalkeeper of the Year in 2006 and started 17 Bundesliga matches during the 2006-2007 campaign for Alemannia Aachen. He was the 2012 USL PRO League (Third Tier of US Soccer) Goalkeeper of the Year after posting 11 shutouts with the Rochester Rhinos, and last year he started every game for Indy Eleven and was a part of the squad that took the Columbus Crew to extra time before falling 2-1 in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup. Nicht also backed up Bush earlier on in the tournament during separate loans, and spent the 2015 presseason with the Impact in Mexico, which likely makes him the front runner for a starting spot.

Kickoff is tomorrow night at 8 pm. We'll see who the Impact trot out between the pipes. Either way, Go Impact!

Montreal Impact CCL Stats Through Leg 1

Montreal CCL Stats

Current Roster

Evan Bush - 9 starts, 28 saves, 3 shutouts, 11 Goals Allowed
Dilly Duka - 9 starts, 2 goals
Calum Mallace - 8 appearances, 4 starts, 1 assist
Ignacio Piatti - 7 starts, 2 goals, 2 assists
Andrés Romero - 6 appearances, 5 starts, 2 goals, 1 assist
Patrice Bernier - 6 appearances, 2 starts, 1 assist
Maxim Tissot - 6 appearances
Dominic Oduro - 5 starts, 4 assists
Víctor Cabrera - 4 starts, 1 goal, 1 assist
Nigel Reo-Coker - 5 starts
Bakary Soumaré - 5 starts
Donny Toia - 5 starts, 1 assist
Laurent Ciman - 5 starts
Hassoun Camara - 5 appearances, 4 starts
Jack McInerney - 4 appearances, 2 starts, 2 goal
Marco Donadel - 3 starts, 1 assist
Justin Mapp - 3 starts
Cameron Porter - 3 appearances, 1 start, 1 goal
Wandrille Lefèvre - 3 appearances, 1 start
Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé - 2 appearances, 1 start
Eric Miller - 2 appearances, 1 start
Anthony Jackson-Hamel - 1 appearance