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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.