The MLS Reserves

Off The Bench Episode 77: Guest Daryl Shore (Ft. Lauderdale Strikers), USMNT roster picks and graduation ceremonies

2013-05-17T10:12:00.003-04:00

Pedro Gomes and Luke Lohr give some gut reactions to the latest USMNT roster. Head coach of the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers Daryl Shore joins us to talk about the NASL season, US Open Cup draw and league formats. Pedro Gomes graduated from grad school and we are a cursed show. Give us a listen and maybe a share; get Off The Bench.

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David Beckham has retired and the legend has perhaps the most incredible career of any player in soccer. Arguably Beckham is more recognizable than even Pele. Congratulations to him and we thank him for growing the game in Major League Soccer and the rest of the world.

USL Pro Spotlight Week 8: US Open Cup's "Battle of the Bay"

2013-05-16T13:30:00.000-04:00

Article By: Pedro Gomes

This week’s USL Pro Spotlight will switch it’s field of view away from USL Pro league action and instead focus on the USL Pro clubs in US Open Cup competition. The First Round of the competition is in the books and a few of the USL Pro clubs have already seen action. For the most part, the clubs did fairly well with the exception of expansion franchise, Phoenix FC, who were handed defeated by their bitter USL PDL rivals, FC Tucson. It was a tough pill to swallow especially when you throw in the off-field wager the two clubs partook in.

Despite the one blemish, USL Pro clubs did fairly well recording victories by VSI Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh Riverhounds, and the Dayton Dutch Lions.

A pessimist would say that the victories were not all that impressive however, since only the Dayton Dutch Lions were able to pull out their victory in regulation. Both VSI Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh had to take the game to penalty kicks in order to earn their victory. This is not something incredibly uplifting if you are a supporter of either club, however, Pittsburgh would be playing 3 games in 9 days, which although isn’t an extremely compressed schedule it isn't an easy task for a team with a comparatively smaller roster than say an MLS team and with less than ideal travel arrangements at times.

VSI Tampa Bay, on the other hand, only has 3 competitive matches scheduled for all of May, including the US Open Cup game on the 14th. Although you could argue they may have suffered from too much rest and not enough game sharpness, they still should have put on a more convincing performance.

Looking ahead to next week, USL Pro teams will be front and center in the Open Cup. There will be 11 of 13 possible clubs competing in the Second Round of the Tournament. Only Phoenix FC and Antigua Barracudas will not feature. Antigua not part of the competition because they take part in the Caribbean Club Championship for their domestic cup and Phoenix FC lost to FC Tucson, as previously mentioned.

For the most part USL Pro clubs will be facing off against Amateur competition and "easier" opponents with the exception of VSI Tampa Bay who will host NASL 2012 Champions, Tampa Bay Rowdies. This will be the most interesting game to keep an eye on for a few reasons.

Mauricio Salles during Open Cup Match versus Orlando City U-23. Photo Credit: Mark Sims and Scott Miller

First, the two clubs will be battling for bragging rights within the same city. Since VSI Tampa Bay is another USL Pro expansion franchise this season, they do not have a long rich history to look back on to like the Rowdies do. They also do not have two championships like the Rowdies do. They earned their first in the old iteration of NASL in 1975 and they racked up another last season in NASL’s latest incarnation. You can bet that VSI Tampa Bay will look to make a splash in the Tampa Bay soccer scene with their US Open Cup matchup in order to garner some attention and respect at home.

In addition, the “Battle of the Bay” will not only offer bragging rights within Tampa Bay but between professional soccer leagues as well, as it will mark the first match between an NASL and USL Pro club in the 2013 US Open Cup. The irony of the situation is that neither team actually plays in Tampa Bay (Since it's a body of water :D ) or the city of Tampa proper, as the Rowdies call Al Lang Stadium home in St. Petersburg and VSI ply their trade in Plant City Stadium, just East of Tampa in Plant City. However, you could say that it still is a “Battle for the Bay” as one team hails from the Western Shore and another from its Eastern side.

And lastly, many pundits and fans have wondered where NASL and USL Pro currently stack up as far as level of competition in North America is concerned and this will be the first competitive situation that will put that discussion to the test.

So mark your calendars Florida soccer fans, May 21 at 7:30 PM Eastern Time will mark a very special night in the lower division soccer landscape.

For a full schedule of all the US Open Cup Second Round action head on over to Thecup.us

MLS Weekly: Week 11

2013-05-15T08:07:00.003-04:00

Article by Leanne Elston

The Games
Three that Matter

Sporting Kansas City 0-1 Seattle Sounders

A 1-0 win for the Sounders at Sporting Park was the first of two important wins for them in this round (the second being a 4-0 home win against the San Jose Earthquakes). Djimi Traoré scored in the 94th minute to steal the three points for the visiting Sounders in a heated game that featured back-up goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann being ejected from the Seattle bench. Traoré’s goal came after Aurélien Collin whiffed his clearance on a long throw-in, thus allowing Traoré to smash in the game-winner from close range. For the Sounders, three road points against a very good SKC team are big, and those points, coupled with the rout against the Quakes at the weekend, indicate that the team may be back on a winning path.

Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 LA Galaxy

A brace from Russell Teibert spurred the ‘Caps to get out of their winless funk with a 3-1 home win over the Galaxy. The game remained scoreless until the 63rd minute, when Teibert fired a left-footed strike into the bottom left corner. The goal was Teibert’s first in MLS, and he got himself another in the 76th minute, burying a set-up from Gershon Koffie. Gyasi Zardes scored his first MLS goal ten minutes later for LA, heading in a cross from Jose Villarreal, but a goal from Darren Mattocks in stoppage time sealed the win for the home side. For Vancouver, these were three big points over a conference rival to grab them their first win in seven games.

Houston Dynamo 0-1 Sporting Kansas City

Sporting Kansas City broke the Dynamo’s 36-game home unbeaten streak on Sunday thanks to a goal from Aurélien Collin. Collin headed a long throw-in from Seth Sinovic past keeper Tally Hall in the 73rd minute, and despite Houston’s best efforts to equalize, the lone goal was enough to end the Dynamo’s record run. The game’s last fifteen minutes saw a slew of efforts from Houston to get a goal, but this time, it wasn’t meant to be. SKC and the Dynamo now sit second and third in the Eastern Conference with 20 points each, and don’t be surprised if we see this match-up again later in the season during playoffs (though we’ll also see it again in two weeks).

The Stories

Don't Push the Kid

During the Portland Timbers’ 3-0 win over Chivas USA, Chivas defender Mario de Luna pushed a ball kid who refused to give him the ball after the referee signaled for a Timbers throw-in. De Luna received a yellow card for his trouble and could likely face additional punishment from the MLS Disciplinary Committee.

Chivas USA have acquired Gabriel Farfan from the Philadelphia Union in exchange for a 2014 SuperDraft first-round pick and allocation money. Chivas currently sit in last place in the Western Conference.

LISTEN: Luke Lohr and Pedro Gomes debate the ball kid, the results and more.

The Tables

FC Dallas On Top
East

New York Red Bulls (6-4-3)
Houston Dynamo (6-3-2)
Sporting Kansas City (6-4-2)
Montreal Impact (6-2-2)
Philadelphia Union (4-3-3)
Columbus Crew (3-4-3)
New England Revolution (2-4-4)
Chicago Fire (2-6-1)
Toronto FC (1-5-4)
DC United (1-8-1)

West

FC Dallas (7-1-3)
Portland Timbers (4-1-6)
Real Salt Lake (5-5-2)
Colorado Rapids (4-4-3)
LA Galaxy (4-3-2)
San Jose Earthquakes (3-4-5)
Vancouver Whitecaps (3-4-3)
Seattle Sounders (3-3-3)
Chivas USA (3-5-2)

The Look Ahead

The Philadelphia Union host the LA Galaxy on Wednesday night, then the weekend starts off with the Columbus Crew visiting Toronto. The Timbers travel to Vancouver, the Fire to Philadelphia, and the Revs head to Houston. Meanwhile, Seattle welcome Dallas as the Quakes and the Rapids face off in San Jose. On Sunday, New York host the Galaxy, while SKC visit DC, and finally RSL visit Chivas.

The Player of the Week

Will Bruin. The forward continued his penchant for dismantling DC United in the Dynamo’s 4-0 win. Bruin scored two and assisted his team’s two other goals of the game.

Off The Bench Episode 76: Guest Mike Anhaeuser (Charleston Battery), Ball Boy Incidents, Portland Timbers and FC Dallas

2013-05-13T16:20:00.001-04:00

In this episode Luke Lohr and Pedro Gomes debate what a ball-boy (ball person) means to a team and how players should or shouldn't react to them. FC Dallas and the Portland Timbers are showing serious class and DC United just isn't. Head Coach of the Charleston Battery Mike Anhaeuser steps in to talk about his team's 5 game winning streak. That and some NASL to boot. Kick it.

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Simon Borg breaks down the ball boy incident we were referring to and several other controversial plays. What do you think?

USL Pro Spotlight Week 7: Where Have The Good Times Gone?

2013-05-09T11:26:00.000-04:00

Article By: Pedro Gomes

Last week’s Spotlight focused on the two remaining undefeated teams in the league, the Richmond Kickers and the Charlotte Eagles. This week we will be focusing on a different type of “0” in the standings, the “0”under the wins columns. Currently there are three teams who have yet to record a win in the 2013 season, the Antigua Barracuda’s, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, and the Rochester Rhinos. Instead of talking about each of the club’s search for a win this season, this week’s Spotlight will focus on the tough season the Rhinos have encountered so far.

A quick peek at the league standings will show you that the Rhinos are sitting in second to last place with a lonely 1 point and a record of 0-5-1. But if you look a bit farther to right you will notice an interesting little fact. The Rhinos have played only 1 game at home so far and 5 games away. A little bit more analysis will show that 4 of those away games came in back to back matchdays. Meaning, they played a game on a Friday or a Saturday and then traveled again for a game the next day; a unique challenge teams in USL Pro face.

This becomes even more interesting when you juxtapose it with Orlando City’s schedule so far this season, who are leading the league with 16 points out of 7 games. Orlando City has yet to face a back to back match schedule and have had a fairly balanced home and away schedule with 4 games at home and only 3 games away. Even more interesting is that Orlando is undefeated at Home and has a very average 1-1-1 record away from home.

This isn’t to say that Rochester has been playing well so far and that the results just haven’t gone their way. They have an abysmal -13 goal differential on the season. This is something that needs to be addressed if they expect to get any results from here on out. It looks as though they may have begun to turn this around this past weekend as they put on a much better defensive display in their Home Opener against the Harrisburg City Islanders and only gave up 1 goal but they failed to score and ended up losing the match 1-0.

The goals will be even harder to come by from here on out as Forward, Matt Luzunaris, suffered a terrible leg break in the match against Harrisburg in a collision with the City Islanders goalkeeper on a goal scoring opportunity. Luzunaris finished last USL Pro season with 9 goals in 18 appearances for Orlando City and was brought in during the off-season to bolster the Rhinos attack. They will have to find another way to pick up the goals and add to their depressing 3 goal tally for the year.

To make matters worse the Rhinos will hit the road again this weekend and travel to Legion Stadium to take on the Wilmington Hamerheads. The good news is that the Hammerheads haven’t exactly gotten off to a great start either, currently just two spots ahead of Rochester in the standings and sitting on 3 points with a 1-3-0 record. Friday night will give the Rhinos a chance to jump a couple of spots in the standings and get some momentum if they manage to pull off a victory. It will definitely be a game to keep an eye on.

Upcoming USL Pro Schedule:

Thu, May 9, 2013
141	7:00 PM	Phoenix FC Wolves	at	Pittsburgh Riverhounds	Highmark Stadium
Fri, May 10, 2013
142	7:00 PM	Antigua Barracuda FC	at	Harrisburg City Islanders	Skyline Sports Complex
143	7:30 PM	Rochester Rhinos	at	Wilmington Hammerheads	Legion Stadium
Sat, May 11, 2013
144	7:00 PM	Antigua Barracuda FC	at	Richmond Kickers	City Stadium
146	7:30 PM	Wilmington Hammerheads	at	Charleston Battery	Blackbaud Stadium
145	7:30 PM	Phoenix FC Wolves	at	Dayton Dutch Lions	Beavercreek High School
Sun, May 12, 2013
147	7:00 PM	Orlando City	at	Seattle Sounders FC Reserves	Cheney Stadium
Tue, May 14, 2013
148	7:00 PM	Charleston Battery	at	Charlotte Eagles	Queens University Stadium

Listen here for an interview with Rochester Rhinos Head Coach, Jesse Myers, on Off The Bench

Off The Bench Episode 74: One Card, Two Card, MLS Red Card, Yellow Card; NASL & USL Roundup

2013-05-08T10:47:00.000-04:00

Luke Lohr and Pedro Gomes are back to talk about the weekend action for MLS. Referee decisions are the heavy talking point, as is the rise of Sporting KC. NASL graced us with three draws, but some great individual plays and USL PRO gives us goals. Off The Bench, because it's the right price.

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All these cards prompted Simon Borg over at MLSSoccer.com to take a look at several referee decisions. This is a fun one.

MLS Weekly: Week 10

2013-05-07T14:58:00.001-04:00

Article By Leanne Elston

Credit: USA Today Sports

The Games

I hope you're fired up for this week's MLS Weekly, because these guys were!

Columbus Crew 0-1 New York Red Bulls

The New York Red Bulls claimed top spot in the Eastern Conference with a narrow away victory over the Columbus Crew, thanks in large part to a standout performance from goalkeeper Luis Robles. The Crew had the chance to pull ahead in the 72nd minute when Eddie Gaven drew a penalty after a Brandon Barklage tackle in the box. Federico Higuaín stepped up to take the penalty, but Robles dived right to save the effort. Tim Cahill then stole the three points for the Red Bulls in the 80th minute, heading in a rebound after Andy Gruenebaum saved a shot from Jonny Steele. It wasn’t an especially pretty win for New York, but a win against a good Columbus team on the road is big, and an in-form Cahill is a nice Cahill to have indeed.
San Jose Earthquakes 2-2 Montreal Impact

The San Jose Earthquakes once again salvaged a point late as they tied the Montreal Impact 2-2 in stoppage time. Montreal, one of the season’s best teams so far, pulled ahead of the Quakes 2-0 at Buck Shaw through a brace from Justin Mapp. Mapp opened the scoring in the 24th minute with a blast from outside the box, then doubled the visitors’ lead in the 47th minute with an easy tap-in set up by Andrew Wenger. Of course, it’s impossible to count out the Quakes these days, and Adam Jahn pulled one back for his side after 59 minutes with a left-footed shot from inside the eighteen. Then, one minute into stoppage time, Sam Cronin fired one in to bring the score level and ensure that the Impact didn’t leave with all three points. The draw still leaves the Quakes in the bottom half of the Western Conference, but Montreal sit in fourth in the East with a few games in hand.

Los Angeles Galaxy 0-1 Houston Dynamo

In this rematch of last season’s MLS Cup final, the Houston Dynamo came away with a well-earned win, beating the Galaxy at the Home Depot Center. Like the Crew against New York, LA looked certain to go up in the 25th minute after Jose Villarreal won a penalty. However, Landon Donovan ended up missing his second penalty kick of the season as Tally Hall saved the weak attempt. Andrew Driver scored the game-winner for the Dynamo in the 56th minute, striking a cut-back from Giles Barnes first time past keeper Carlo Cudicini. Houston, who generally struggle on the road, played well even without suspended captain Brad Davis, and although the Galaxy lost, they did get an encouraging performance from rookie defender Greg Cochrane.

The Stories

In case you somehow missed it, make sure you check out the video of eight-year-old Atticus and his team the Green Machine playing the Portland Timbers.

Robbie Rogers trained with the LA Galaxy last week and could be returning to MLS sometime soon. The Chicago Fire currently own his rights, but Rogers has stated he wants to play elsewhere in the league.

Speaking of coming back to MLS, Kei Kamara is rejoining Sporting Kansas City after spending the last four months on loan with Norwich City in the English Premier League. Kamara will be available for selection for Wednesday’s match against the Seattle Sounders.

Finally, the 2013 MLS player salaries have been released and are always worth a good perusal. Who’s a bargain for your team and who’s making more than perhaps they should be?

The Tables

East
New York Red Bulls (5-4-2)
Sporting Kansas City (5-3-2)
Houston Dynamo (5-2-2)
Montreal Impact (5-1-2)
Columbus Crew (3-3-3)
Philadelphia Union (3-3-3)
New England Revolution (2-3-3)
Chicago Fire (2-5-1)
Toronto FC (1-4-4)
DC United (1-6-1)

West
FC Dallas (6-1-2)
LA Galaxy (4-2-2)
Real Salt Lake (4-4-2)
Portland Timbers (3-1-5)
Colorado Rapids (3-4-3)
Chivas USA (3-4-2)
San Jose Earthquakes (2-3-5)
Vancouver Whitecaps (2-4-3)
Seattle Sounders (1-3-3)

The Look Ahead

We’ve got a full slate of games coming up with both Wednesday and the weekend packed. On Wednesday, DC United host Houston, while New York host Montreal and the New England Revolution host Real Salt Lake. Plus, catch SKC at home against Seattle, Portland on the road to Dallas, and San Jose at home against Toronto. Over the weekend, the Philadelphia Union travel to Chicago as RSL head to Montreal, and Seattle take on the Quakes as the Galaxy visit Vancouver. The Revs face New York, while Columbus host Colorado and Dallas welcome DC. Finally, Chivas head up to Portland and SKC travel to Houston.

The Player of the Week

Graham Zusi. In Sporting Kansas City’s 4-0 rout against Chivas on Sunday, Zusi assisted a Claudio Bieler goal and notched one for himself. He continues to be one of MLS’ best players.

Off The Bench Episode 73: Guest Colin Clarke (Carolina RailHawks), Timbers Make a Wish and Miami Expansion

2013-05-03T08:13:00.003-04:00

Pedro Gomes remains on the bench this show and Luke flies solo. Luke talks MLS, Canadian Championships and expansion to Miami. Colin Clarke, head coach of the Carolina RailHawks joins in to talk about the acquisition of Enzo Martinez (on-loan from RSL) and how he manages his players young and old. Off The Bench is coming at you.

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Here's the "Anatomy of a Goal" video discussing the importance of a player rising to the occasion and becoming clutch. Check it out:

USL Pro Spotlight Week 6: And Then There Were Two

2013-05-02T13:23:00.000-04:00

Article By: Pedro Gomes

Just one day after appearing on “Off The Bench”, Coach Bill Becher and his Harrisburg City Islanders, took the field at home against the Charleston Battery to defend their perfect 3-0-0 record. However, the City Islanders went on to lose the match 2-1 and notch their first loss of the 2013 season. Although Coach Becher couldn’t get the Off The Bench bump to propel him to victory, there are still two USL Pro teams who are still sitting on an undefeated season.

The Richmond Kickers currently have a 2-0-1 record and are sitting in 7th place in the USL Pro standings. They have beaten both the Charleston Battery and the Rochester Rhinos by an impressive 4-1 score line so far this season and opened their season with a 0-0 draw with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. That is an impressive goal differential for any team to open a season with.

The Charlotte Eagles are the other undefeated team still standing in USL Pro. The Eagles have a 2-0-2 record and are currently sitting one spot above the Richmond Kickers. In their 2013 campaign the Eagles have defeated the Antigua Barracudas and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds both by a score of 2-0. Their two draws were against Rochester and Orlando by a score line of 0-0 and 1-1 respectively. The Eagles have also racked up an impressive goal differential so far this season.

The question remains, how long can these clubs stay undefeated? Well, that answer may come sooner than later. The Kickers will travel to the Wilmington Hammerheads on Friday evening (730PM Eastern) to put their undefeated record to the test. If the Kickers can pull off a result against the Hamerheads, then the stage will be set for a dramatic showdown of the “undefeateds” Saturday night (7PM Eastern) as the Charlotte Eagles travel to City Stadium to face the Kickers at home. This will definitely be a game to keep an eye on.

Don’t forget you can catch all the action streamed live to your device on USL Live.

The Weekend’s USL Pro Schedule:

132	7:00 PM	Charleston Battery	at	Dayton Dutch Lions	Beavercreek High School
134	7:30 PM	Richmond Kickers	at	Wilmington Hammerheads	Legion Stadium
135	8:00 PM	Antigua Barracuda FC	at	VSI Tampa Bay FC	Plant City Stadium
133	10:30 PM	Pittsburgh Riverhounds	at	Phoenix FC Wolves	Sun Devil Soccer Stadium
Sat, May 4, 2013
136	7:00 PM	Charlotte Eagles	at	Richmond Kickers	City Stadium
137	7:05 PM	Harrisburg City Islanders	at	Rochester Rhinos	Sahlen's Stadium
138	7:30 PM	Antigua Barracuda FC	at	Orlando City	Florida Citrus Bowl
Sun, May 5, 2013
139	7:00 PM	Pittsburgh Riverhounds	at	Los Angeles Blues	Cal State Fullerton Titan Stadium

MLS Weekly: Week 9

2013-04-30T23:43:00.002-04:00

Article by Leanne Elston

With a slew of great games to choose from, this week we’re going with a theme for the recap. Three teams asserted power with their wins this weekend and made it clear that we should be paying serious attention to them (in case we weren’t already).

The Games

Toronto FC 1-2 New York Red Bulls

Against the Red Bulls, Toronto gave up yet another late goal, which this time meant a loss instead of a draw. It took until the 38th minute for either side to find a goal, but Tim Cahill’s opener came off a Roy Miller cross that Thierry Henry dummied perfectly, allowing Cahill the easy finish. Toronto got the equalizer in the 83rd minute when Red Bulls keeper Luis Robles was caught out of his net after a Toronto free kick; Jonathan Osorio capitalized off the mistake with a sweet finish from just outside the box to tie things up. However, New York snatched their three points in the 89th minute as Cahill headed in an Henry cross. For Toronto, the late goal was another punch to the gut for a team that is now winless in their last six games. For New York, the win was important for a team that has big aspirations but has struggled in the past to find a rhythm.

Sporting Kansas City 2-3 Portland Timbers

The Timbers made a big statement with their come-from-behind away win over Sporting Kansas City. Chance Myers got SKC off to a dream start with a goal in the first minute, but Portland answered with an equalizer from Ryan Johnson in the 24th. Minutes later, though, Myers bagged a brace, giving SKC the lead again with a tap-in goal. The Timbers wasted little time in finding another equalizer through Darlington Nagbe, and the match remained locked at 2-2 until the 58th minute. That was when Diego Chara slid a ball through to Rodney Wallace, who in turn slipped a goal past Jimmy Nielsen. The game featured plenty of back-and-forth play, and SKC pushed for another goal, but ultimately the Timbers came out of Sporting Park with a huge three points.

Real Salt Lake 0-2 Los Angeles Galaxy

Missing Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan, Todd Dunivant, and Carlo Cudicini, the LA Galaxy still managed to grab a 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake at the Rio Tinto. Mike Magee nodded home his sixth goal of the season in the sixth minute thanks to free kick service from Juninho. Then, in the 13th minute, rookie Charlie Rugg fired in a goal from close-range after a ball from Hector Jiménez found him in the box. RSL struggled to break down the Galaxy defense though they enjoyed the majority of possession; LA keeper Brian Rowe, making his professional debut, proved up to the task of saving RSL’s efforts. Like the Red Bulls and Timbers, the Galaxy sent a message of intent this weekend.

The Stories

It’s worth mentioning some of the weekend’s other results, particularly since they involved plenty of goals. Vancouver and Dallas battled out a 2-2 draw at BC Place, while the Columbus Crew handily beat DC United 3-0, and the Quakes invoked Goonie magic to salvage a late 2-2 draw away to Chivas. Plus, the New England Revolution got an important 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Union. The season so far hasn’t been especially heavy on goals, but this weekend certainly was.

Columbus’ game against DC featured some unexpected pyrotechnics as Crew Stadium’s scoreboard caught fire before the start of the match. The fire department put out the fire and supporters were moved to other sections of the stands.

The Tables

East

Montreal Impact (5-1-1)

New York Red Bulls (4-4-2)

Houston Dynamo (4-2-2)

Sporting Kansas City (4-3-2)

Columbus Crew (3-2-3)

Philadelphia Union (3-3-2)

New England Revolution (2-3-2)

Chicago Fire (2-5-1)

Toronto FC (1-3-4)

DC United (1-6-1)

West

FC Dallas (6-1-2)

Los Angeles Galaxy (4-1-2)

Portland Timbers (3-1-4)

Chivas USA (3-3-2)

Real Salt Lake (3-4-2)

San Jose Earthquakes (2-3-4)

Vancouver Whitecaps (2-3-3)

Colorado Rapids (2-4-3)

Seattle Sounders (1-3-2)

The Look Ahead

The Revs travel to Portland for a tough test against the Timbers, while New York head to a hopefully fire-free Columbus. The Union host the Sounders and the Quakes host the Impact as Toronto visit Colorado. Meanwhile, Real Salt Lake and Vancouver will duke it out at Rio Tinto, Kansas City welcome Chivas, and the Dynamo face the Galaxy at the HDC.

The Player of the Week

Tim Cahill. His brace got New York the win, and the DP was due for a goal (his last was in August 2012). He’s making the big bucks to be a game-changer, and against Toronto he certainly was.

Off The Bench Episode 72: Guest Bill Becher (Harrisburg City), MLS On Loan and NASL talking points

2013-04-30T23:37:00.003-04:00

Pedro Gomes and Luke Lohr continue their discussions on Major League Soccer's results and latest talking points. Philadelphia Union affiliate Harrisburg City is 3-0 in USL PRO and Head Coach Bill Becher checks in to talk about the team's recent success. Off The Bench, it'll get you playing.

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The goalscorers get a lot of love but how about the goalkeepers. Check out these highlights of some great stops in MLS Week 9:

Off The Bench Episode 71: MLS Expansion, Player Rights and NASL Branding

2013-04-26T13:30:00.001-04:00

Pedro Gomes and Luke Lohr have a heated debate on the single-entity structure of Major League Soccer, player rights and the expansion of both NASL and MLS. What do we think of NASL's newest team name and would Cavalry FC benefit from a relationship with DC United. MLS20, NY2 and Orlando City all come up. Off The Bench, because even the subs need a voice.

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Off The Bench was linked in a recent edition of XI Quarterly discussing the do's and don'ts of podcasting. Check it out here.

What have the boys at MLSSoccer.com been up to lately? Well they put together the top 5 hairstyles in MLS. Yup.

USL Pro Spotlight Week 5 - Antigua Barracuda FC “Traveling Band”

2013-04-25T10:51:00.000-04:00

Article By: Pedro Gomes

At the start of any professional soccer season many fans, players, and coaching staffs eagerly await the release of the upcoming match schedule. It is a time for everyone involved to begin the tedious process of planning, whether it be tactically, motivationally, or logistically for many supporters. Although most of the teams across the United States professional scene were able to conduct these vital preparations without much hubbub, there was one team in USL Pro who unfortunately did not have the opportunity to do so. That team was the Barracudas from Antigua and Barbuda.

When the 2013 USL Pro schedule was announced many fans of the Barracudas were happy to see their club listed as part of the participating franchises. However, upon further inspection they would notice that the club would play each of its 26 matches on the road. As any soccer fan, player, or coach knows, road games are tough. Well, the Barracudas will have nothing but road games. Now that’s even tougher.

Many people who are new to USL Pro and to the Barracudas may be wondering why would a team be scheduled to play all of its games on the road. Quite simply it boils down to money. The club does not average enough attendance to maintain a balanced ledger and travel to and from the tiny Caribbean nation is not cheap.

Although financial difficulties are not a new concept for the Barracudas who have struggled since their inception, there has been renewed hope that the club could find the 1.6 million East Caribbean Dollars (Roughly 600K USD) it takes to fund the team for a full USL Pro season. So far it seems as though they have found enough investors and money to get the team up and running, at least for the time being and they have been able to sign roughly 20 players total.

As if dealing with their financial uncertainty in the off-season as well as facing a 26 game road schedule wasn’t enough, they also lost one of their most talented players to the Charleston Battery, Quinton Griffith. Many US fans may remember Griffith for not only the stellar performances he put on against the US in World Cup Qualifying but also for his outlandish hair style and extremely “unique” selection of wardrobe (He likes the short shorts). The Barracudas have surely missed this talented 20 year old causing havoc up and down opposing sidelines.

Quinton Griffith and his Unique Style

So far 2013 has not been kind to the Barracudas who have gone 0-0-3 and have lost each game by no less than 2 goals and have yet to find the back of the net themselves. Although the club may not have had an ideal start to the season, the purpose of this week’s spotlight is to shed a little light on the unique challenges they have had to face and provide some context to their poor record. Any team facing financial uncertainty just days prior to the start of the season and having little to no time to have organized practices with a full squad are likely to have the same difficult start to a season.

The future of the Barracudas is still very uncertain as they continue to try and scrape together funding to continue their 2013 campaign and beyond, and whether you are a supporter of the team or not there is one additional reason to at least hope they can pull it together. That reason is for the improvement of the Antigua and Barbuda National Team.

The Barracudas are almost entirely composed of A&B Internationals and the improvement of the national team during the last round of Qualifying can largely be attributed to the players being a part of a professional club system. The day-in day-out experience of the Barracudas had a positive effect on the national team as many US fans will remember from that hard fought 2-1 “Squeaker” down in Antigua. So the uncertain future of the Barracudas should extend past the desire to maintain another club in USL Pro but also to anyone who wishes to see an increased competitive level in CONCACAF. Along with the competitive positive the Barracudas bring there is also that opportunity the club offers to the youth of the nation.

The Club is currently off competing in the Caribbean Football Championship and will get back to USL Pro action on Friday May 3rd, against VSI Tampa Bay. This is definitely a story to keep an eye on for any Soccer fan in North America.

For a good profile on The Antigua Barracudas visit The Reckless Challenge

MLS Defenders in the Attack

2013-04-24T15:33:00.000-04:00

Check out Matt Doyle breaking down one of the best aspects of the modern game: defenders in the attack. He does so and gives a pretty cool shout out. Enjoy it.

MLS Weekly: Week 8

2013-04-24T10:00:00.003-04:00

Article by Leanne Elston

The Games

Los Angeles Galaxy 2-0 Sporting Kansas City

In a clash of the titans, the Galaxy put away two goals to defeat Sporting Kansas City, who couldn’t find a goal of their own against the reigning MLS Cup champions. Landon Donovan showed that his fitness isn’t an issue after his soccer sabbatical as he notched an assist and a goal. In the 27th minute, Marcelo Sarvas tapped in a perfect pass from Donovan, giving the Galaxy the lead. LA looked dangerous all night, particularly on the counter attack, while SKC struggled to trouble their hosts. The 74th minute saw Robbie Keane unselfishly get the ball to Donovan, who scored to make it 2-0 and finish off a thrilling night of soccer.

DC United 2-3 Philadelphia Union

Jack McInerney continued his goal-scoring streak with a brace against DC United that bolstered the Union to a 3-2 victory at RFK Stadium. Philadelphia got going early as McInerney received a through ball from Conor Casey and fired it past Bill Hamid in the 7th minute. Just four minutes later, Casey beat Hamid from the top of the box, making it 2-0 and looking like a long afternoon for DC. Perry Kitchen halved the Union’s deficit in the 17th minute, smashing in a shot from inside the 18, but a 26th strike from McInerney proved to be the game winner. DC came within one again just on the other side of halftime when Lionard Pajoy headed in a cross, but in the end Philly came away with the points.

San Jose Earthquakes 1-1 Portland Timbers

Adam Jahn pulled out some Goonie tricks to salvage a point for the Quakes after Diego Valeri had put the Timbers up in this rematch of last week’s battle. The game stayed scoreless until the 58th minute, when Valeri cleaned up a deflected Ryan Johnson shot and gave his team the lead. However, as things are never quite over until they’re over in San Jose, 84th minute sub Jahn made sure the visitors didn’t get to leave with all three points. Jahn beat Donovan Ricketts in stoppage time with a left-footed shot from inside the box, and Portland had to settle for the draw instead of a higher spot in the conference.

The Stories

The Seattle Sounders finally grabbed their first win of the season, beating the Colorado Rapids 1-0 on the road with a goal from Obafemi Martins. Meanwhile, Toronto failed once more to hold onto a lead as they allowed a very late goal against Houston in what ended as a 1-1 draw.

MLS had its first midweek match of the season with Sporting Kansas City taking on the New York Red Bulls. An early header from Aurélien Collin gave SKC the 1-0 away win. The game also featured a red card for New York’s Juninho, who kicked a ball at SKC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen for time wasting. The Red Bulls bounced back from the loss with a 4-1 rout over the New England Revolution at the weekend.

The Tables

East

Sporting Kansas City (4-2-2)
Houston Dynamo (4-2-1)
Montreal Impact (4-1-1)
New York Red Bulls (3-4-2)
Philadelphia Union (3-2-2)
Columbus Crew (2-2-3)
Chicago Fire (2-4-1)
Toronto FC (1-2-4)
New England Revolution (1-3-2)
DC United (1-5-1)

West

FC Dallas (6-1-1)
LA Galaxy (3-1-2)
Real Salt Lake (3-3-2)
Chivas USA (3-3-1)
Portland Timbers (2-1-4)
San Jose Earthquakes (2-3-3)
Vancouver Whitecaps (2-3-2)
Colorado Rapids (2-4-2)
Seattle Sounders (1-3-2)

The Look Ahead

The Red Bulls travel to Toronto, while the Fire head to Montreal and Dallas visit Vancouver. The Columbus Crew host DC United and the Revs host the Union in a couple more all-East match-ups. The Timbers face Sporting Kansas City at Sporting Park, Real Salt Lake host the LA Galaxy at Rio Tinto, the Quakes travel to take on Chivas USA, and finally, Colorado become the next team to try to break Houston’s home unbeaten run.

The Player of the Week

Jack McInerney. The 20-year-old’s brace against DC United makes him the league’s leading goalscorer right now with six goals, and those goals are vital for a Philadelphia team still finding its way.

Off The Bench Episode 70 - Guest Adam Henckler (The Scoring Third), MLS "Reserve Teams", USLPRO, NASL

2013-04-24T09:57:00.001-04:00

Today we talked MLS action: Who had the best weekend? We also discuss MLS "Reserve Teams" in USL Pro and what those should look like as well as round-up the action in USL and NASL and are joined by The Scoring Third's Adam Henckler to talk about Orlando City and it's MLs and Soccer Specfic Stadium aspirations. Sit back, Relax, and Take it all in! Off The Bench is LIVE!

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Thank you for listening. If you haven't already, check out this video put together by MLSSoccer.com on the past weekend's top performers. Adios!

Rising Star: RSL's Olmes Garcia quietly does it right

2013-04-22T13:08:00.002-04:00

Article by Anders Aarhus

Landon Donovan and Jack McInerney stole the headlines over the weekend and deservedly so as both put in man-of-the-match performances for their respective teams. But lost in the glitz of LA’s marquee matchup and Jack Mac’s two goals was the strong play of another young striker out in Utah.

Real Salt Lake’s busy offseason to clear cap space was well publicized. Among the salary cap casualties was forward Fabian Espindola, who joined the club in 2007 and eventually formed a very effective partnership with superstar Alvaro Saborio. But with Espindola suiting up for New York this season, a new strike partner for Sabo was surely high on the priorities list for general manager Garth Lagerway and head coach Jason Kreis.

Robbie Findley, who was part of the RSL team that won the 2009 MLS Cup, was expected to step in and fill the void, but with only one goal in five games he has yet to find his best form. Instead Kreis has turned to a player who’s relatively unknown: Olmes Garcia.

Acquired from Deportes Quindio where he scored seven goals in 47 games, the 20-year-old forward came to Utah as a result of the tireless scouting and player evaluation that RSL is famous for. Garcia found playing time hard to come by early on in this year, but performed well in reserve matches and against Dallas, registering a shot on goal with his first touch in a competitive game after being subbed on. But the Columbian really announced his ability to the league in last week’s draw with Vancouver.

In the 66th minute, Garcia ran down an unassuming clearance from Lovel Palmer and managed to outmuscle Vancouver’s Andy O’Brien to win possession. After laying off the ball to Javier Morales, Garcia floated to the top of the area, got the ball back, turned, and hit a wicked, curling shot that beat Joe Cannon before finding the upper 90. It was a stunning goal and a play that showed off all of the striker’s best attributes.

Kreis rewarded his young forward’s breakthrough with a start in Saturday’s game against Chivas USA. Garcia was in good form again, holding up the ball, linking well with Saborio and moving into the space left by the Goats’ three-man defense. In the sixth minute, he picked up a ball from Saborio, cut between two Goat defenders and launched a shot that Dan Kennedy could only watch as it clanged off the crossbar. Garcia also helped set up the only goal of the night, playing Saborio into the box before the Costa Rican sent in a cross for Javier Morales to head home.

RSL will hope Garcia’s form persists and his presence continues to free up space for Saborio and Morales to wreak havoc on defenses. Despite what it lost, Salt Lake is still a legitimate contender and arguably the deepest team in the league. Another goal threat only improves the chances of a deep playoff run.

Taking into account RSL’s penchant for developing young talent, Garcia looks like a potential star in the making. Kreis and Lagerwey have once again unearthed a gem that RSL fans will hopefully be cheering for years to come.

Off The Bench Episode 69: Guest Brian Haynes (Atlanta Silverbacks)

2013-04-19T11:07:00.001-04:00

In this episode Luke and Pedro reflect on why the Red Bulls fail to assert their dominance and note that Sporting KC just might win the east. Brian Haynes of the Atlanta Silverbacks joins the show to talk the upcoming season, his relationship with Eric Wynalda and why Eddie Johnson (USMNT, SEA) is so important to him.

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Check out this video from MLSSoccer.com highlight the masters of set pieces. Crazy cool stuff.

USL Pro Spotlight: Week 4

2013-04-18T08:50:00.003-04:00

Article By: Pedro Gomes

This week’s spotlight is all about stadiums, Soccer Specific Stadiums to be exact. This past week The Pittsburgh Riverhounds opened up their new Soccer Specific Stadium, Highmark Stadium against the Harrisburgh City Islanders in front of a sold-out crowd. Although the Riverhounds lost the game 2-1, it was still a memorable night as they christened their brand-new downtown Pittsburgh stadium.

So in honor of USL Pro’s newest Soccer Specific Stadium, I thought I would put together an article profiling the other Soccer Specific Stadiums already in the league. I contacted club officials at each of the clubs and found out some pretty interesting information about each of the them. Let us take a closer look at the other Soccer Specific Stadiums in USL Pro.

Blackbaud Stadium (Charleston Battery)

Opened: April 1999
Maximum capacity: 5,117 for soccer
Number of suites: 4 (Each decorated and named after Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Manchester United)
Largest soccer crowd: 5,634 for US Women’s National Team match against Mexico in 2002. US won 7-0.
Expansion up to: Possible expansion up to 10,000, if it was closed off on the ends with bleachers.
Any MLS expansion possibility: No real MLS expansion plans
Any other residents: Primarily the Batter, however, occasionally it’s USSF development academy team holds matches in the stadium
Was it a privately, public or public-privately funded: Private
How much did it cost: 6 Million Dollars
Who were some key individuals behind the stadium project: Team owner since its inception, Tony Dakker.
Are there any plans to refurbish or expand current stadium: No current plans to expand however they have added several new features over the years including; a practice field located immediately behind the main stadium complex, solar panels and geothermal HVAC.
Field surface: Natural grass. It is a specialized sports turf using two types of seed for Summer and Winter months. Interesting fact is that the surface has never been re-laid. They are still working on the original turn that was laid back in 1999. Bravo to great maintenance work and South Carolina weather.
Dedicated supporters section, How big? Yes. It is home to “The Regiment” - Section E 10 – space for 250 supporters.
Are there any interesting features on or in the stadium grounds that set it apart from others: It was the first SSS in the modern era of the United States. Yes, you read that right. It was opened about 2 weeks before Columbus Crew Stadium, something the Battery feel very proud of and rightfully so.

Another interesting note was that the first victory in the stadium was recorded against the Atlanta Silverbacks, now of NASL.

However, the crown jewel of the stadium is located on the 2nd floor. There you will find the Members Only 3 Lions Club, an English-style soccer pub open on game day to members which has a unique collection of soccer memorabilia. The collection was amassed by principal owner Tony Bakker, many of the items have been recently donated by players. You can find such items as: Signed Jerseys by David Beckham, Pele, and even the Jersey worn by Gary Lineker on his last appearance for England in 1992. It is essentially both a shrine to Soccer worldwide and in a sorts a museum as well.

For even more info on the 3 Lions Club check out a great piece by Steven Goff (@Soccerinsider) from 2011.

Sahlen Stadium (Rochester Rhinos)

When was it built: 2006
What is its capacity: 13,000 normally for Rhinos matches
Number of suites: 14
Largest crowd: Abby first match at Sahlem stadium between the Western NY Flash and magicJack in the old WPSL. However, Abby Wambach, a Rochester native, did not appear in the game due to a foot injury.
Any other residents: Western NY Flash (National Women’s Soccer League), Rochester Rattlers (Major League Lacrosse), Section V football October through Nov.
Expansion up to: Capable of bringing in extra bleachers for a total 15,000 for special events. The stadium is also capable of a full build-out that could accommodate up to 21 or 22 thousand, however, this would be a significant construction project but the footprint could support it.
Any MLS expansion capability: Yes could fit the requirement for MLS stadium size. Club is happy where it is but would consider the jump if good opportunity arose.
Was it a privately, public or public-privately funded: Combination of both.
How much did it cost: Roughly about 35 million. Originally about 32 million but have since added 14 suites for about 2 million dollars and brand-new locker room facilities for half a million in 2011.
Who were some key individuals in the stadium construction project: Steve Rossi, Chris Economides, Steve Donner, and Pat Ercoli.
Are there any plans to refurbish or expand current stadium: None currently
Field surface: Artificial Turf.
Is there a dedicated supporters group and section: You can typically find "The Rhino Pit" near section 121
Are there any interesting features on or in the stadium grounds that set it apart from others:
Sahlem Stadium is a unique multi-sport and multi-event venue. Sahlem Stadium, along with a number of MLS stadiums, is part of the Stadium Alliance to get concerts and other entertainment events at the stadium. It has great potential to gain exposure for the stadium and it’s teams as well as generate revenue for the stadium when it is not in use for Soccer games.

Highmark Stadium (Pittsburgh Riverhounds)

When was it built: April 2013 (Minor comestic work is still in progress)
What is its capacity: 4,000 . There are 3,400 seats along with about 400 standing room only
Number of Suites: 15 suites with seating for 12
Largest Crowd: 3923, Saturday April 13a Sell- out crowd for stadium opener
Any other residents: Pittsburgh Passion (Women's Football Alliance). They will play a total of 4 games at Highmark. There are also 3 local colleges that will use the stadium for Soccer, Lacrosse and Rugby. In addition, 6 different local High Schools will use the field for Soccer and Lacrosse
Expansion Potential: 3 phases:

1st Phase - is making the supporters section a permanent grandstand and adding more seating to that area of the stadium which could add about another 2,000 seats. That would bring total capacity to about 6,000 (Expected to take place following this season)
2nd Phase - is wrapping corners of stadium with more seating near the East End. This could add about another 1,000. (Based upon demand)
3rd Phase would involve a second tier of seating over the current grandstand. This would require substantial coordination with the city because it would require building over a nearby roadway. This could bring stadium theoretically to slightly over 10,000 (Based upon demand)

Was it a privately, public or public-privately funded:Privately

How much did it cost: 12 million

Who were some key individuals behind the stadium project: Jason Kutney, Riverhounds CEO and Midfielder, and a silent business partner

Are there any plans to refurbish or expand current stadium: Phase 1 definitely planned Phase 2 will be based upon demand

Field Surface: Artifical Turf which is FIFA 2 star certified. Highest turf to entice a big European club friendly

Dedicated Supporters Section? How big: The "Steel Army" occupies a section with a capacity of 502 seats near the East End

Are there any interesting features on or in the stadium grounds that set it apart from others:
Home to arguably the best downtown city skyline in the nation. The stadium has fantastic sightlines to downtown Pittsburgh. There is a Bar and Bistro that is located on field level with great indoor and outdoor seating complete with glass walls in order to take full advantage of the play on the field as well as the view behind it. In addition, the Jumbotron is a top quality technology filled screen capable of offering tie-ins to in stadium cameras as well as offering the fans in attendance instant replays for action on the field.

Outside of the stadium is the cultural epi-center of Pittburgh. Highmark is located in Station Square, a vibrant cultural area complete with great dining, nightlife and entertainment. There are plenty of nearby colleges to keep the area alive with energy. This is just the type of crowd and energy that has made so many MLS markets a success.

For another good read on Pittsburgh's Highmark Stadium, check out Jason Davis' article on USSoccerplayers.com

Is Casey Townsend the Answer for DC United?

2013-04-18T07:46:00.002-04:00

Article by Anders Aarhus

It’s no secret DC United is desperate for goals. Picked by many as a Supporters Shield and MLS Cup contender before the season, Ben Olsen’s team is currently last in the Eastern Conference with four points from six games and only two goals scored.

Lionard Pajoy isn’t getting it done. On-loan striker Rafael had a sensational goal against Columbus but has since struggled. Carlos Ruiz has a good track record in MLS but he’s barely seen the field this season and at 33 staying fit for an entire campaign seems unlikely.

As Ben Olsen recently alluded to, United may look for striker help in the summer transfer window, but the answer to the goal scoring woes may already be on the roster.
Multiple reports have confirmed that second-year striker Casey Townsend was training with the first team today after spending the beginning of the season on loan with the Richmond Kickers. Townsend was highly touted when he was drafted by Chivas USA last year, but had somewhat of a disappointing rookie season tallying just one goal and two assists in 17 games (10 starts). With the Kickers, however, Townsend has been on fire, scoring multiple times throughout the preseason before bagging a brace against Charleston on Saturday.

Here’s what Olsen had to say about his young striker via Soccer By Ives:

“Casey is a guy that we could choose to pull back for good,” coach Ben Olsen said. “We haven’t scored a lot of goals, so we’re always looking for guys that are in form, and he certainly looks to be progressing pretty good with that group. We know he could score goals, so nothing is off the table.”

Sounds like a vote of confidence to me. With the success Bright Dike had for Portland last year after a prolific loan spell in the third division, it’s not hard to imagine Townsend replicating that success. It’s still early in the season and MLS’ forgiving playoff format means DC is far from being out of the title picture. But some needs to start banging in the goals for United to start moving back up the table.

MLS Weekly: Week 7

2013-04-18T07:44:00.000-04:00

Article by Leanne Elston

This weekend wasn’t a high-scoring one, but Dallas, New York, and Portland made important statements with their wins in Week 7 matches. Each conference got a bit rattled by the results as the Galaxy's good form was checked by FC Dallas and the Red Bulls pulled out an away win against rival DC United. Will Johnson helped to lead the Portland Timbers to a staunch win over San Jose. Here's what you need to know after Week 7 of MLS action.

The Games

FC Dallas 1-0 LA Galaxy

Once more leaving it late, Dallas defeated the previously unbeaten LA Galaxy with an 87th minute header that solidified their place as first in the West. The match was scoreless through the first half, but things began to heat up in the 60th minute when Galaxy defender Leonardo was shown a red card for a foul on Blas Pérez in the box. Kenny Cooper took the resulting penalty, but his attempt was saved. LA were given a penalty of their own just minutes later after a foul on Jose Villarreal in the box, but Landon Donovan’s effort was also saved and the match stayed 0-0. Finally, George John broke the deadlock with only minutes left to play as he headed in a rebound and made it 1-0 for Dallas, though his celebration was marred by a gash to the head courtesy of a beer bottle thrown onto the pitch from one of his own fans.

DC United 0-2 New York Red Bulls

The Red Bulls put in a comprehensive shift against rivals DC United on Saturday and showed themselves as a team that might finally be clicking. Away at RFK Stadium, New York bagged the game with two first half goals. Thierry Henry hit a low shot that beat keeper Bill Hamid, and soon after Jámison Olave capitalized on a rebound, making it 2-0 for the visitors. DC struggled to create all night and failed to really threaten offensively, highlighting early season problems for the team that finished second in the East last year.

Portland Timbers 1-0 San Jose Earthquakes

Though not the game with the prettiest soccer, this one pushed the Timbers into third place in the conference and marked another stop on the way towards improvement over disappointing past seasons. Will Johnson made the difference in the 77th minute with a beautiful free kick that curled into the inside post and left the Quakes unable to respond after a night of few chances. Things had already gone south for San Jose in the 67th minute when Alan Gordon earned a second yellow for catching Mikaël Silvestre with an elbow to the face, and being down to ten men did the Quakes no favors as Portland continued the offensive pressure they’d been applying throughout the match.

The Stories

A 0-0 draw between the Seattle Sounders and New England Revolution means the Sounders still have yet to win this season, and a 2-1 win for the Houston Dynamo over the Chicago Fire means Houston are now unbeaten at home in an MLS record of 35 games.

San Jose, RSL, and Seattle finished in the top three spots in the Western Conference last season, and currently they’re occupying the bottom three. Dallas, though, are sitting six points clear at the top, and have we mentioned lately that this is the league of parity?

Alan Gordon could be seen using a homophobic slur during the Portland-San Jose match and has earned a three match ban for his trouble (in addition to the one match ban for his red card). Gordon has issued an apology for his language.

The Tables

East

Montreal Impact (4-1-1)
Houston Dynamo (4-2-0)
Sporting Kansas City (3-1-2)
Columbus Crew (2-1-3)
New York Red Bulls (2-3-2)
Philadelphia Union (2-2-2)
Toronto FC (1-2-3)
New England Revolution (1-2-2)
Chicago Fire (1-4-1)
DC United (1-4-1)

West

FC Dallas (5-1-1)
Chivas USA (3-2-1)
Portland Timbers (2-1-3)
LA Galaxy (2-1-2)
Vancouver Whitecaps (2-2-2)
Colorado Rapids (2-3-2)
Real Salt Lake (2-3-2)
San Jose Earthquakes (2-3-2)
Seattle Sounders (0-3-2)

The Look Ahead
Houston travel to Toronto, while Seattle head to Colorado in search of that elusive first win. New York and Dallas host New England and Vancouver respectively, and Columbus face Chicago away. RSL host Chivas, LA host Kansas City, and finally on Sunday Philadelphia visit DC and San Jose and Portland meet again, this time at Buck Shaw.

The Player of the Week

Will Johnson. Dude’s on fire. He played a great game in Portland’s midfield and scored a gorgeous goal to get his team the three points.

Off The Bench Episode 68: Guests Casey Townsend (DCU/Richmond), Dennis Chin (Orlando City SC)

2013-04-16T23:30:00.001-04:00

In this episode Luke and Pedro bring light to the top stories from the past weekend of North American soccer action. Conversations of MLS results, attitudes and new stadiums continue. Casey Townsend of DC United joins the show to talk about his on-loan efforts for USLPRO side Richmond Kickers and Dennis Chin of Orlando City SC joins to discuss his plans for this season as well. Get Off The Bench.

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Thanks for listening guys. Here's your reward.

USL Spotlight Week 3

2013-04-09T15:02:00.000-04:00

Article By: Pedro Gomes

USL Spotlight took a week hiatus last week as the fingers behind the keyboard of the project went on a whirlwind tour of the South showcasing his newborn daughter to the in-laws. Needless to say there was some difficulty finding time and a quite spot to put together a good article for the week. However, I am home again and the spotlight has been repositioned on USL Pro for the second USL Spotlight article on MLSReserves.com.

Much like the article from Week 1, this week’s spotlight is on another historic moment for USL. It is focusing on the first inter-league matchup between an MLS Reserve and a USL Pro side in a competitive fixture that counts toward both league’s standings. It was the first competitive fixture between MLS and USL Pro as part of the new groundbreaking player development partnerships the two leagues forged this off-season. The other side of the partnership was an agreement to send MLS players on loan down to a USL Pro side with a club that the MLS side has entered into a developmental affiliation with. You can find more details here.

The matchup this past weekend took place between the Portland Timbers Reserves and USL Pro’s other new franchise, VSI Tampa Bay. This was Tampa Bay’s second match in its early history as they battled the LA Blues in Week 2, which also held a couple of historic moments for the club. Along with earning their first win in franchise history, Midfielder, Antonio”Netinho” Neto scored the club’s first ever goal.

However, VSI Tampa Bay’s second match would not prove as successful. They would go on to lose the match by a score of 2-1 as Portland’s Antonio “El Trencito” Valencia scored the winning goal for the Timber’s in the 81’. You can find a complete match recap here or full match stats here.

Tampa Bay will have to wait until Saturday June 1 to enact their revenge as the two teams will do battle for the second and final time in Tampa Bay as part of the Home and Away two-leg competition.

The reason why this has been singled out for this week’s spotlight article is because of both its historic nature and the understanding of the benefit the two leagues will have due to this new partnership. Here are a few points to consider:

Supporters of both VSI Tampa Bay and the Portland Timbers were able to catch the action on USL Live – USL’s live online streaming service they offer to all of their matches this season

The Portland Timber’s reserve players got an opportunity to see competitive minutes against a team that was hungry for a victory

VSI Tampa Bay players have not only the opportunity to play competitive minutes in front of an audience of potential suitors from MLS but also test themselves against “better opposition”

Tampa Bay also got an opportunity to play in a top class facility such as, JELD-WEN field

These are just a few quick benefits of this new partnership. Gone are the days of MLS Reserve teams mostly playing in front of sparse crowds, receiving practically no coverage, and playing in games with arguably less competitive motivation. Supporters of both teams now have an opportunity to view matches that have a new sense of importance and grandeur, as both teams compete for a number of different motivational reasons.

Are you hungry for more? Check out the other upcoming matchups between the two leagues in the months of April and May below:

Sat April 20 9PM: Harrisburg City Islanders at Colorado Reserves

Mon April 22 9PM: Phoenix FC Wolves at Real Salt Lake Reserves

Tue May 7 TBD: Los Angeles Blues at Los Angeles Galaxy

Sun May 10 5PM: Orlando City at Seattle Sounders FC Reserves

Sun May 19 TBD: Charleston Battery at Houston Dynamo Reserves

Don’t forget that four MLS teams formed a affiliations with USL Pro clubs and have on average 4 players from their team on loan to the USL Pro club and you can watch all of those USL Pro games live on uslnation.com . Many of the players loaned to USL Pro clubs are expected to see significant minutes. Those affiliations are:

The Columbus Crew and The Dayton Dutch Lions

DC United and The Richmond Kickers

New England Revolution and The Rochester Rhinos

Sporting Kansas City and Orlando City SC

That is all for this week stayed tuned for next week’s spotlight here on MLSReserves.com

Western Conference Weekly: Week 5

2013-04-03T08:08:00.004-04:00

Article by Leanne Elston

The Games

Toronto FC 2-2 LA Galaxy

After scoring first and then falling behind, the LA Galaxy salvaged a late point against Toronto FC thanks to a stoppage time goal from Jose Villarreal. Mike Magee put the visitors ahead with his fifth goal of the season in the 16th minute, assisted well by Marcelo Sarvas. However, in the 29th minute, a poor back pass from Leonardo caused Carlo Cudicini to come off his line, and Robert Earnshaw was there to punish the mistake. Toronto’s second goal came in the 78th minute from Jonathan Osorio and it looked like the home side would get three points, but a scissor kick from Jose Villarreal in the last minutes of the game turned this one into a draw instead. Also notable in this match: Landon Donovan returned to MLS after his sabbatical, entering in the 60th minute for Jack McBean.

New England Revolution 0-1 FC Dallas

Dallas continued their great start to the season on Saturday with an away win over the New England Revolution, though their lone goal took them until the 87th minute. Both sides enjoyed bouts of possession, but Dallas created the majority of the chances. They struggled to capitalize on those chances, however, until the 63rd minute, when Kenny Cooper thought he had given his team the lead. Unfortunately for Dallas, the goal was not awarded due to an incorrect offside call. Blas Pérez finally did give the visitors the lead with three minutes left to play, heading in a ball from David Ferreira.

Colorado Rapids 2-2 Portland Timbers

Four goals made this all-west match up a fun one, but the Rapids and Timbers ended up having to share the points. Dillon Powers started off the scoring in the 18th minute with a rocket of a goal from 20 yards out; it was his first MLS goal. The score remained 1-0 to the Rapids at halftime, and shortly into the second half, Tony Cascio drew a penalty that Hendry Thomas converted to make it 2-0 for Colorado. Portland, though, weren’t to stay down. Will Johnson headed home a cross from close range to get his team back into the game in the 55th minute, and about 15 minutes later, it was the Timbers’ turn for a PK. Will Johnson took the penalty and tied things up, and neither side could grab a winner in the last 20 minutes.

Houston Dynamo 2-0 San Jose Earthquakes

The Quakes became the latest side to try and fail to break the Houston Dynamo’s unbeaten streak at BBVA Compass Stadium, falling 2-0 on Saturday. The Dynamo looked the better of the two teams from the start, and first-half goals from Will Bruin and Giles Barnes were plenty to seal the win. One positive for San Jose was the return from injury of Alan Gordon, but the Quakes attack was lacking nonetheless. Chris Wondolowski had a chance to cut Houston’s lead in half in the 68th minute, but somehow the ball skipped through his legs in front of goal. Otherwise, the visitors’ chances were few.

Real Salt Lake 2-1 Seattle Sounders

Real Salt Lake turned in a dominant performance against the Seattle Sounders at Rio Tinto, leaving the visiting side with zero wins to start 2013. Robbie Findley gave RSL the lead within 10 minutes, but the striker had to exit the game not long after due to injury and was replaced by Joao Plata. Luis Gil’s diving header made it 2-0 for RSL on 35 minutes, and Seattle entered halftime down and without much to show for themselves. They improved in the second half, and in the 57th minute Brad Evans cut RSL’s lead with a left-footed shot that was only the Sounders’ second of the season. Seattle couldn’t muster an equalizer, though, and RSL grabbed all three points.

Chivas USA 2-1 Vancouver Whitecaps

Chivas USA capped off the month of March with a win over the Vancouver Whitecaps at the Home Depot Center, making their new coach look better and better. Carlos Álvarez’s cross in the 11th minute deflected off of defender Jun Marques Davidson and into the net, giving Chivas the lead. The Whitecaps applied plenty of pressure for the rest of the half, pushing hard for an equalizer, but Chivas held on. Juan Agudelo had to leave the game in the 34th minute due to injury, a real loss for the Goats, but his team still managed to get another goal. Eric Ávila scored a gorgeous volley in the 55th minute, effectively sealing the win. The ‘Caps did grab a goal in the 64th minute when Kenny Miller cleaned up Dan Kennedy’s save on an Erik Hurtado effort, but despite their work to salvage a point from the match, Chivas came away victorious.

The Stories

The Seattle Sounders and LA Galaxy both play CONCACAF Champions League semifinal fixtures this week, as they host Santos Laguna and Monterrey respectively.

The Colorado Rapids and San Jose Earthquakes continue to deal with troublesome injury lists that have left them both lacking in the first month of the season, though Quakes coach Frank Yallop has said that Steven Lenhart will be on the gameday roster this coming weekend.

That Landon Donovan guy is back. He almost scored right after entering the match against Toronto -- how long before he notches his first MLS goal of the season?

The Table

FC Dallas (4-1-0)

Chivas USA (3-1-1)

LA Galaxy (2-0-2)

Real Salt Lake (2-2-1)

San Jose Earthquakes (2-2-1)

Vancouver Whitecaps (2-2-0)

Portland Timbers (0-1-3)

Colorado Rapids (0-3-2)

Seattle Sounders (0-3-1)

The Look Ahead

Dallas are on the road next week as they travel to BMO Field to face Toronto. Colorado and RSL will duke out another Rocky Mountain Cup battle in Denver, while Portland host the Houston Dynamo and San Jose host the Vancouver Whitecaps.

The Player of the Week

Will Johnson. A brace for the Timbers man makes this a relatively easy choice; his goals meant that Portland came out of Colorado with one point instead of zero.

Off The Bench Episode 64: Guest Odeen Domingo (Phoenix FC Beat), UMNT vs. Mexico and NASL is gearing to go

2013-03-29T01:25:00.000-04:00

The US Men's National Team is certainly stealing the spotlight of this episode after a dramatic point in Mexico. The draw gave Luke and Pedro plenty of talking points, none more than the impressive play of the back line. Guest Odeen Domingo joins the show to talk about his efforts as the Phoenix FC beat writer. NASL is just around the corner and what happens if Orlando doesn't make MLS?

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