2016 – The March Report

I realize that month-old news isn’t exactly “news,” but since this blog only aspires to be timely when it’s the summer and I’m able to bang out the posts on Mondays, you’ll forgive me doing a first-month-of-the-season report.  Below, you’ll find a few statements about each team’s results in March, along with links to the pertinent game reports, as you have in the past, followed by a few words and some stats, if they played.

EVAN BUSH [Montreal Impact]  •  Bush played all 270 minutes in the Impact’s three contests, which resulted in two wins and one loss.  He made a total of 14 saves – eight of them in a 3-2 win over Vancouver – and he authored a 3-0 shut out of the Red Bulls.

CHRIS KORB [DC United]  •  Not a lot to report in March, as Korb continues to recover from the ACL injury he suffered late last season.  DC went 0-2-3 in March, got bumped out of the CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals by Mexican club Querétaro, and scored two goals while allowing nine.

JUSTIN MORROW & JOSH WILLIAMS [Toronto FC]  •  TFC earned four points in March, after a 1-1-1 string of results.  While Morrow started and played all of that trio of contests, Williams was an unused sub in a 2-0 victory over the Red Bulls, came on for the final minute of a 2-2 draw at NYCFC, and he started and played 86 minutes in a 1-0 loss at Sporting KC.

DARLINGTON NAGBE & BEN ZEMANSKI [Portland Timbers]  •  Like the Reds, Portland went 1-1-1 to start the season.  Nagbe started and played all of those games, while Zemanski was an unused sub in them.  Above and beyond that, Nagbe was named to the US Men’s National Team roster for two World Cup Qualifiers with Guatemala.  On 25 March in a 0-2 loss at Guatemala City, Nagbe subbed on at halftime for an ineffective Mix Diskerud and played the rest of the game.  Four days later in Columbus, he was an unused sub in the 4-0 win.

BRAD STUVER [Columbus Crew SC]  •  Not much to write about from a Stuver perspective here.  As the Crew took two points from its four games despite generally outplaying its opposition, Stuver was Steve Clark’s backup goalkeeper.  Too bad you don’t get points for possession.

The 2015 Postseason/ 2016 Preseason Report

I started writing this post back in December, and in a way, it’s good that I didn’t finish it until now, because it took until just recently for some things to get settled.  This post takes a look back at the boys’ 2015 seasons with their MLS teams and attempts to take a glance into the crystal ball to see what 2016 has in store for them.

EVAN BUSH  •  39 appearances/starts, 13 shutouts, 122 saves, 1.23 gaa  •  What a solid season Bush turned in for Montreal.  With the starting gig finally and deservedly his, the only thing that was disappointing for Impact fans was the manner win which the Crew SC knocked them out of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals (not Bush’s fault).  There should be no reason for a downturn in Bush’s performances, if les Bleues can answer some of last year’s defensive questions, that’ll show in his statistics as well as the team’s W-L-D line.  2016 should be a big year for Bush.

CHRIS KORB •  17 appearances, 15 starts, 2 assists, 1 yellow card  •  After starting 30 games in 2013 for DC United, Korb has started a total of 32 in the past two seasons combined.  Having his 2015 end with a mid-August ACL tear cut short a string of nine very dependable performances from the United right back.  I think it’s clear that Head Coach Ben Olsen likes what a healthy Korb brings to the table.  Once he’s back and fully fit, it’ll be interesting to see if he’s been passed on the depth chart by the younger guys who’ll have been filling in for him.

JUSTIN MORROW  •  35 appearances, 34 starts, 2 goals, 2 assists, 1 yellow card, 1 red card  •  It might seem odd to make a judgement that Morrow had a very good season when you look at the fact TFC allowed 56 goals.  Look, not all of them were scored coming down the other team’s right side.  Plus, he started more games than any of our other guys besides Nagbe and Bush – and their totals were bolstered by the deep playoff run and the CCL run, respectively – which means he must’ve been doing something right amid all the chaos once the ball turned over.  Granted, the red card in the Crew’s home opener was kind of b.s., so his disciplinary records looks a lot better with a bit of revisionist history.  The TFC brass brought in some new backline players because that obviously needs to improve.  But look for Morrow to hold down his job as one of the league’s best outside backs in 2016.  If the Reds can tighten things up at the back, he’ll return to his All-Star status from a few years back.

DARLINGTON NAGBE  •  40 appearances/starts, 5 goals, 5 assists, 2 Team of the Weeks, 1 Player of the Week  •  The guy’s team won the league and he played 90 minutes in 28 of those games, so I feel safe asserting that he had the best season of all of our fellas in 2015.  Let’s not forget he got his United States citizenship and debuted for the National Team, too.  He and the wife had a second child, too.  Maybe the only way Nagbe could make 2016 better than 2015 would be to win another MLS Cup, score a few more goals and then to turn in some strong showings with the USMNT at this summer’s Copa Centenario.  Add in a goal against Brazil in the Final?  Don’t want to get greedy.  It’s definitely reasonable to expect more of the same from Nagbe in 2016 at the club level.  Who can tell if he has done enough to become a new regular call-up for Jurgen Klinsmann with the Stars & Stripes?  I have tickets to the World Cup Qualifier in Columbus against Guatemala in March and I’ll be crossing my fingers that he gets to play a part in it.

MICHAEL NANCHOFF  •  5 appearances, (2 goals, 2 assists with T2 in 6 games)  •  This was a little bit of an up and down season for Nanchoff, who subbed on in the season opener and then suffered a sports hernia injury that required surgery. When he got back fit, he was an unused sub seven times, made 32 minutes’ worth of sub appearances across four games and was not in the team for the other games.  He was cut by the Timbers after the season ended and is now a member of the NASL’s Tampa Bay Rowdies.  This should be a good move for Nanchoff, who needs and wants what every player wants – a good run of games where he can show his abilities to score and create goals.

BEN SPEAS  •  8 appearances, 3 starts  •  2015 had to be frustrating for Speas because not only did he appear in very few first team games for the Crew, but he didn’t get loaned out to help his game grow.  I don’t mean to insinuate that he’s not a better player now than he was before the season began, but it just had to be tough bouncing between the subs bench and not being in the team.  With his skill set, he was maybe the only guy on the roster who could serve as Pipa Higuaín’s deputy, and he started three of the eight games in which he appeared this season.  It wasn’t a total shocker that his contract option was not picked up.  This past week, he signed with the other MUFC – Minnesota United FC of the NASL – and I’d be willing to bet that this season, given consistent playing time, we’ll see everything that Speas has to offer.

BRAD STUVER  •  3 appearances/starts, 9 saves, 4 goals allowed, 1.33 gaa  •  The life of a backup keeper has to be a mixed blessing.  You train your @$$ off so that if the starter ever gets injured you can be ready to get in there and not embarrass yourself of your team, but if that starter stays healthy and the team is doing well, you know you’re never going to play.  Last season, Stuver did so well that the Crew loaned out and then released former OSU keeper and Home Grown GK Matt Lampson, the incumbent back-up.  So what’s next for Stuver in 2016?  Will he supplant Steve Clark as the Black & Gold’s #1?  That’s the kind of future I can’t predict, but I know Stuver will continue to work hard to be ready for whenever the time may come for him to be out there with the first team.

KENNEY WALKER  •  15 appearances, 10 starts, 3 assists, 1 yellow card  •  After getting released/cut by the Galaxy at season’s end, Walker was the first of our “free agents” [a general term… they weren’t technically free agents in the eyes of the League] to find a new home – and it’s a brand-spanking new home, expansion side FC Cincinnati of the USL.  For the entirety of Walker’s time in LA, on top of persevering through a couple of injuries and surgeries, he had been playing behind some big names with big price tags, so over those four years he spent the time on loan or getting spot starts or sub appearances or taking free kicks and corners in all kinds of CONCACAF Champions League and US Open Cup contests.  When he played, he played well and in this upcoming season, I think we can expect good things from him.  Wouldn’t a 4th Round USOC match with the Crew be tasty this year?

JOSH WILLIAMS  •  18 appearances/starts, yellow card  •  Talk about an up-and-down season!  After 2014 ended, Williams was traded to expansion New York City FC, he started their first two games of the season and then fell out of favor (three starts in the next eight games) and then got injured (out 13 games with an adductor strain) and then got traded to Toronto FC and started the final 13 games of the season.  As TFC’s leaky defense was what led to its early exit from the playoffs, team management brought in some new defenders to help shore things up (only two teams allowed more goals than TFC’s 56).  Williams has to be penciled in as one of the starters.  If Sebastian Giovinco has a 2016 that rivals 2015 and if Jozy Altidore has a 2016 that is the opposite of 2015, an improved goals against line could lead to big things for the Reds.

BEN ZEMANSKI  •  If I were giving him a grade for this season, it really couldn’t be anything other than an incomplete because of his injury that robbed him of any playing time this season.  It certainly wasn’t Zemanski’s fault he tore his ACL going in for a 50-50 ball in the 2015 preseason finale.  He was back and fully fit at the end of the Timbers’ run to the MLS title and he is re-signed for the 2016 season.  Based on 2014, it’s clear that he has a role to play in Head Coach Caleb Porter’s system, so best case scenario would be a return to that.  Will Johnson is gone and Portland will always need a ball-winner at d-mid, so we’ll see how things go for him.  His coach and teammates trust him and he has the ability to do the work.  Whether he deputizes for Diego Chará or plays with him or instead of him, we’ll have to wait and see.

PHOTO CREDITS:  Nagbe/Debby von Wincklemann; others/team websites

2015 Playoffs – MLS Cup Report

If you’re a follower of this blog, that means you’re a fan of the league, which means you probably watched the game on Sunday.  Maybe you were there, like I was.  Assuming all of that, you know the score and how things went, so here are details from our Cleveland-centric point-of-view.

MLS Cup XX
COLUMBUS CREW SC  1-2  PORTLAND TIMBERS FC  •  @ MAPFRE Stadium
Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] was the backup goalie for the Black and Gold and Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] did not dress.  On the winning side, Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] started and played all 90.  Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] and Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] did not dress for the game.

Here are four thoughts I had while at the game and/or watching the game again once I got home and/or in the days following the game:

1.  Someone who doesn’t really know soccer might say that “Nagbe really didn’t do anything during the game.”  In truth he did a LOT.  We all know that stats don’t always tell the story in soccer, and when you look the fact he only took one shot, and he only attempted 37 passes – out of Portland’s 312 total – that’s not a lot for a guy with his ability to change a game.  But it was pretty clear that his role on the day was more about trying to keep Justin Meram quiet and he did such a good job of it that Meram was subbed out in the 78th minute.  The vision of him chasing down the fresh-legged Cedric Mabwati – who had a ten-yard head start – late in the second half to beat him to a through ball and win possession.  I’m not sure Nagbe gets enough credit for the work he does defensively, and his work was incredibly important and nearly perfect on Sunday.  That’s sometimes harder to notice than the goals he creates.
2. Our seats were in the corner of MAPFRE Stadium, just above the tunnel.  The Timbers who didn’t dress for the game were in a tent up above us on the concourse.  You should have seen those guys laughing and celebrating and partying after that first goal went in.  Several of them had a look on their face that said, “OMG! We are going to win this game!”  That’s something I’ll never forget.
3. I’m going to take off my objective journalist hat for a second here…  It’s been over-discussed that the assistant ref made a mistake and should’ve called that ball out that began the Timbers’ second goal.  It’s also been over-discussed that “you don’t stop playing until the whistle,” and that the Crew made a bunch of errors from that point (Tchani stopped playing and didn’t chase Nagbe, Francis had taken a knock and didn’t close down the cross from Melano, Wallace went right by Afful to head home, some jerks in the Nordecke threw stuff onto the field).  As a Crew fan, it’s hard to stomach “giving the title” to Portland like that on two horrible errors.  It was hard to watch the team that we all loved to watch all season when they were at their attacking best, find itself lacking in ideas and unable to break down the Timbers’ nine-behind-the-ball blockade.  Don’t get me wrong, I coach HS soccer and this past season, we had two teams do that to us and my boys got frustrated and yelled at each other and eventually ended up winning both games, so I know how hard it can be to find a crack in a team that’s so well-disciplined defensively.  Portland led the league with 13 regular-season shutouts for a reason.  My hat is off to them for, as their TIFO put it, coming to Columbus to “do what they say can’t be done.”  (Thank you very much, Jerry Reed.)  And while I’m extremely happy for our three guys who are going to get sized for MLS Cup Championship rings, but at the same time – from this blog’s point-of-view and also from a Crew SC fan point-of-view – I’m soooooooooo bummed for our two who came so close.  
4. A friend of mine who is a Timbers season ticket holder made the trip in for the game.  We met up pregame to chat a bit and one thing he said stood out to me, “I think the wood-work is going to play a role today.  It’s been a part of every big game for us so far on this playoff run.”  Turns out he was right!  In the second half, the Timbers – AND THE CREW – hit Steve Clark’s posts and crossbar at least three times.  The wood-work didn’t decide the outcome of the contest, but it kept it from turning into a blow out.  I dunno… maybe that’s a stretch.

The next post will deal with MLS and NASL and USL free agency and where our boys stand.  Then we’ll do some season-review posts just before Christmas.  It’s crazy, but preseason training will be upon us before we know it.

D-Nag’s USMNT Adventure

In the week or so prior to the MLS Conference Finals, there was an International break and, unless you’ve been hiding under a rock you already know that, Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] got his first call-up to the United States Men’s National Team by Head Coach Jurgen Klinsmann.  Nagbe played in both of the games the team played during the break, which were the first two matches on the road to qualify for the 2018 World Cup that will be held in Russia.

USMNT  W 6-1  St. Vincent & The Grenadines  •  Nagbe subbed on for Fabian Johnson for the final 22 minutes and played decently.  In my ratings system, he earned a 5.5 out of ten.  Not bad for his debut.  He kept the ball moving and made a couple dangerous passes.  He even took a corner.  All-in-all, a good start to his international career.

USMNT  D 0-0  @ Trinidad & Tobago  •  Nagbe got another 22-minute sub gig, this time in Port-of-Spain, coming on for defender Tim Ream, but playing an attacking/right midfield role.  He made less of an impact on this game than he did on Friday night, but that was partly due to the better quality of opponent.  Still, he did well and made some nice runs and did good work defensively to help keep T&T of the scoreboard.  I gave him another 5.5 out of ten.

I’m sure he’ll have worked out any jitters he had from representing his country for the first time.  Hopefully, he did enough to convince Klinsi to call him back into the team for the next pair of Qualifiers in March.  He looked good out there, and is our first National Team player since Justin Morrow got a January call back in 2013.

2015 Playoffs – Conference Finals Report

Wow… what a set of Conference Finals these were.  Not only because we had horses in each race, but I can’t recall a better, more exciting pair of pairs of games.  Yes, a pair of pairs.  Best thing is – we end up with our dream scenario… the maximum number of Clevelanders involved in the 2015 MLS Cup!!!  (Now if only all five of them could get to play in the game somehow…)

Stuver is top left in green… obviously.

EASTERN CONFERENCE
#2 COLUMBUS CREW SC  v  #1 New York Red Bulls  •  CCSC advance 2-1 aggregate
*  Leg 1  @ MAPFRE Stadium –  W 2-0  •  Leg 2  @ Red Bull Arena –  L 0-1  *
Which was more important, getting that second goal in the final few minutes of the home leg or keeping the Red Bulls scoreless in that contest?  We wouldn’t find out the answer until the dying moments of the away leg, but the answer was… BOTH!  While this series lacked the goals of its counterpart, it was no less exciting.  The Crew SC got a goal nine seconds into the series and another moments before “halftime” and surrendered a goal late in the “second half” before one final heart-attack-of-a-ball-off-the-post with seconds left to play, before emerging victorious.  Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] was the backup goalie in both contests, as usual, and Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] did not dress for either one.

Nagbe is hidden behind the guy behind Diego Valeri (kissing the trophy) and Nanchoff is second from right edge

WESTERN CONFERENCE
#3 PORTLAND TIMBERS  v  #1 FC Dallas  •  PTFC advance 5-3 aggregate
*  Leg 1  @ Providence Park –  W 3-1  •  Leg 2  @ Toyota Stadium –  D 2-2  *
The Timbers really were in control of this series from start to finish, despite a few nervy moments in the second half of the second game, but an impressive bit of skill provided the final margin.  Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] played all of both legs and took 12 corner kicks and suffered eight fouls, for whatever that’s worth.  Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] was an unused sub in both matches.  Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] is still out injured, recovering from a torn ACL in the preseason.

The Timbers advance to MLS Cup for the first time and Crew SC will play for its second league title.  Back in July, Portland beat Columbus 2-1 at MAPFRE Stadium, but that isn’t going to matter on Sunday.

The Belated NASL End-of-Season Report

I could hide behind the fact that the blog IS called MLS Cleveland and just skip this post, but it’s been a crazy month and I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t finish what I started, which would be the complete NASL report.  So here goes:

OTTAWA FURY FC  •  What a run the Fury went on!  The second-year group can be extremely proud of being both Fall Season Champions and the beaten NASL Finalists.  To get there, they won at San Antonio 1-0; blasted Jacksonville 3-1 to clinch the Fall Crown; and they finished the regular season with the 1-1 draw with Atlanta and riding a 12-match unbeaten streak.  Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] was fantastic in San Antonio, playing 87 minutes before subbing out.  He played 87 more brilliant minutes at Jacksonville and a) drew the foul that led to the Fury’s first goal, b) scored a brilliant chip that earned him Goal of the Week nomination and c) got himself on the NASL Team of the Week, for the fifth time this season.  In the season finale, he rested and the Noir et Rouge (did I do that right?) finished the Fall with 45 points out of 20 games – and 56 out of 30, good for second place overall.

Since the Fury won the Fall Season, they got a pass straight into the Playoff Semifinals, and there, they knocked out Minnesota United 2-1 in extra time.  Ubiparipovic played all 120 minutes and assisted on Tommy Heinemann’s eventual game-winner in the 108th minute.  

The NASL Final, played at one of the New York Cosmos six different home stadia – ended with New York winning 3-2, but the Fury had a man sent off in the 68th minute with the score 1-1.  They fought valiantly, but ran out of time.  Ubiparipovic played 72 minutes before being subbed out.  It was at that point that the Cosmos went up 2-1 and Fury Head Coach Marc Dos Santos threw on fresh-legged attackers to see if they couldn’t dig the team out of its hole.  The scoreline went to 3-1 New York and Ottawa made it 3-2 in the final moments of the game, but that was all she wrote.

ATLANTA SILVERBACKS  •  The Silverbacks got two of nine points in their three final games.  It was 0-0 v Tampa Bay, 0-1 @ Minnesota Utd., and a 1-1 v Ottawa.  They finished sixth in the fall (25 from 20) and eighth overall (33 from 30).  Matt Horth [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] came on in the 87th minute against Tampa Bay, played the entire second half at (the other) MUFC and he was not in the team for the Ottawa match.

INDY ELEVEN  •  The Boys in Blue won two of their final three games of the season, 3-1 against Minnesota United FC and 2-1 against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Despite losing the season finale 3-1 at the Carolina RailHawks, those six points out of nine did help Indy climb out of the NASL basement by one point.  Indy finished with 20 total points from 20 fall games, and 33 from 30, all told.  Neither Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] nor Judson McKinney [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] suited up for the two victories, as they were out injured – Hyland with an adductor strain and McKinney with a sprained ankle – McKinney was an unused sub at Carolina.

The next NASL-related post will detail these fellas’ seasons and their stats, as well as a prognosis/prediction for them as they look towards 2016.

PHOTO CREDITS:  ottawafuryfc.com

2015 Playoffs – Conference Semifinals Report

From our perspective, we got the best possible outcome from the two conference semis.  Maybe not from the playing time p.o.v., but Crew SC does have two of our guys on its roster and the Timbers have three, while Montreal only have one (same for DC), so there you go.  Here are the details:

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
#2 COLUMBUS CREW SC  v  #3 MONTREAL IMPACT
– Leg 1 @ Stade Saputo  –  L 1-2 •  Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] didn’t have that much to do while helping Montreal jump out to an early advantage in the series, though it was Crew SC that jumped out in front with an invaluable away goal.  Bush made two saves on the night.  Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] was the backup goalie for Crew SC and Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was not in the team.
– Leg 2 @ MAPFRE Stadium  –  W 3-1  •  As Crew SC needed to win by two clear goals to advance, this one was shaping up to be a track meet, and Bush was a lot busier in the return leg in Columbus.  Both goalies were constantly under assault, as the two teams ripped off a combined total of 44 shots, with a whopping 20 of them on target.  Bush’s numbers were six saves, four punches and two corners caught in the 130 minutes that it took to settle things.  Same deal for Stuver and Speas.  At the end of regulation, the score was 2-1 Crew SC, which sent the contest into overtime.  Six minutes into the second overtime period, Kei Kamara sent the Black and Gold fans (including me) home happy with the game-winner/series-ender that pushed Columbus into the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2008.

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
#3 PORTLAND TIMBERS  v  #2 Vancouver Whitecaps
– Leg 1 @ Providence Park  –  D 0-0  •  The best thing about the first leg for the Timbers was that they didn’t give up a goal to the Whitecaps.  That meant there was everything to play for a week later up in Canada.  Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] played all 90 in a variety of attacking positions.  Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] was not in the team.
– Leg 2 @ BC Place  –  W 2-0  •  A goal in the 31st minute was all the Timbers really needed to move on the the Western Conference Finals for the first time ever.  Just for good measure, they got a second goal in second-half injury time  Nagbe played 90 in this one, too.  Same deal for Nanchoff.

After the international break this week, the Conference Finals will see Columbus play the New York Red Bulls and Portland face FC Dallas.  Leg 1 will be in Columbus and Portland on 22 November, with Leg 2 taking place the following Sunday at NYRB and FCD, respectively.

PHOTO CREDIT – Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers

DARLINGTON NAGBE GETS A CALL UP TO USMNT!!!!!!

The moment we’ve been waiting for has arrived – Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] has been called up to join the United States Men’s National Team for its two upcoming 2018 World Cup Qualifiers.  The USMNT will play in St. Louis against St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Friday, 13 November and then in Port-of-Spain against Trinidad & Tobago on Tuesday, 17 November.  Nagbe becomes the first of our guys to get called up since Justin Morrow [Shaker Heights/St. Ignatius] got the honor during the January camp back in 2013.

2015 Playoffs – Knockout Round Report

Two of our guys’ teams – three if I were still reporting on the injured Chris Korb’s [Gates Mills/University School] DC United – won their knockout round match this week to advance to Conference Semifinal matchups.  For two others, the offseason has begun.  Here’s how it all went down on Wednesday and Thursday:

#5W LOS ANGELES GALAXY  L 2-3  @ #4W Seattle Sounders  •  Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] was not a part of the Galaxy’s disappointing season-ender, as the visitors pretty much gave their hosts two of the three goals they scored.

#3E MONTREAL IMPACT  W 3-0  #6E TORONTO FC  •  Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] made just two saves in a pretty comfortable win for Montreal over its Canadian conference competitors.  Didier Drogba… yeah… maybe HE should be the league’s MVP instead of Sebastian Giovinco.  Both Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] and Justin Morrow [Shaker Heights/St. Ignatius] did their best in 90-minute stints to keep their Reds alive, but in the end, les Bleu were too hot to handle.  The Impact moves on to face Columbus Crew SC in a two-leg series that’ll be played the next two Sundays.

#3W PORTLAND TIMBERS  D 2-2 (7-6 pk shootout)  #6W Sporting Kansas City  •  Wow.  If you like drama and late goals, go watch this full game on MLS Live.  Not only did both teams score in the overtime to send the match to penalty kicks, but it took 11 rounds of kicks for Portland to advance!!  That’s right – after the first set of five kicks each, it took six more sudden-death rounds to determine a winner!!  WOW!!!  Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] made his kick – in round 8, if you care – after starting and playing the entire match.  Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] was not in the gameday team.  I’m sure folks in the Rose City are going to be talking about this game for a looooooooooooong time!

This Weekend’s Conference Semifinals Schedule
~ Sunday, 1 November
#3W PORTLAND  v  #2W Vancouver, 5pm – live on ESPN
#3E MONTREAL  v  #2E COLUMBUS, 7pm – live on Fox Sports 1

~ Sunday, 8 November
#2W Vancouver  v  #3W PORTLAND, tba
#2E COLUMBUS  v  #3E MONTREAL, tba

PHOTO CREDIT:  Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers

2015 Weeks 33 & 34 Post

Well, the 2015 MLS Regular Season has come to a close and for the first time in the history of this blog, ALL of our boys’ teams are in the Playoffs.  There were several nervous moments over these past two weeks and two teams nearly didn’t make it.  But in the end, it all worked out and I will have lots to write about next weekend after the knockout round has concluded!  Here’s how things went in Weeks 33 and 34 for our fellas: (I refuse to refer to them as the Audi 2015 MLS Playoffs.  It just sounds dumb.  Audi doesn’t sponsor this blog, but if it did – or if it wants to… – then I would refer to them as such.  Audi, you know where to find me.)

COLUMBUS CREW SC  •  After defeating TFC 2-0 last Saturday to wrap up the 2015 Trillium Cup and officially clinch a playoff berth, the Crew needed to win on Decision Day and hope for some help up north to wrap up the second seed in the Eastern Conference.  Columbus took care of what they could, by destroying DC United by a club-record margin of 5-0, and then got a huge favor from Montreal (see below).  Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] was the backup goalie in both and Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was not in either gameday XVIII.  So the SC is the #2-seed in the East and will the higher-seeded knockout round winner in the Conference Semifinals on 1 and 8 November.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  •  After being so hot and so unstoppable back in August and September, the Galaxy have gone just as cold here in October.  Needing two big wins to earn one of the top two spots in the Western Conference and a coveted bye into the Semifinals, LA got blasted 5-2 at home by Portland and then fell to a second-half strike from Dom Dwyer in a 2-1 loss at Sporting Kansas City on Decision Day.  LA dropped all the way to fifth in the standings, which earned them a knockout round matchup at #4 Seattle on 28 October.  Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] did not feature in either contest, but he did make the trip to Guatemala for the mid-week CONCACAF Champions League Group E finale at Comunicaciones, which ended in a 1-1 draw, sending LA to a quarterfinal matchup with Mexican side Santos Laguna.  A win would have given the Galaxy the #1 seed.  Walker was an unused sub that night.

MONTREAL IMPACT  •  The Impact won its final three matches to get into the playoffs, with Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] authoring shutouts in the first and second games in the string.  If Week 33’s 1-0 victory at New England was a hard-fought grinder, then Week 34’s 2-1 win at home against Toronto FC was a bare-knuckle brawl between two teams that have developed a genuine enmity between each other and their fans.  Good thing, though, since the two Canadian teams will play each other in the knockout round on Thursday.  Bush made two saves against the Revs to earn his ninth whitewash of the year, and he pulled off four more saves in the TFC win.  One of those saves was voted MLS Save of the Week.  Which one?  Click here for the video.

PORTLAND TIMBERS  •  Portland got into the playoffs much like Columbus did, but with three very convincing wins that helped it jump over other teams.  The Timbers are the #3 seed in the Western Conference thanks to double victories in Week 33 – a 1-0 win at Real Salt Lake midweek and the aforementioned 5-2 dismantling of LA  – followed by a 4-1 drubbing of Colorado on Decision Day.  Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit], who made his return to first team game action at RSL with a three-minutes-of-injury-time-runaround, was an unused substitute against LA and not in the team for the Rapids game.  Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] was a BIG part of all three wins, but none bigger than his MLS Player of the Week performance against Colorado, when he scored two goals – one on a free kick and the other on a delicate header – and he helped create another.  He played 89 minutes at RSL, 90 at LA – and scored this goal – and 87 minutes this past Sunday.  Portland will now face Sporting Kansas City in the knockout round on Thursday.

TORONTO FC  •  Losing two straight to arguably their biggest rivals was not how TFC wanted to head into the playoffs.  But at least they’re in the postseason, right?  In the 2-1 loss to the Crew, Justin Morrow [Shaker Heights/St. Ignatius] and Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] both started and played all 90.  Same deal in the 2-1 loss to Montreal.

So, all four knockout round playoff games will be televised live on UniMás.  I can’t guarantee a post on Friday, but if you follow on Twitter, I’ll try to link to match reports and highlights of goals, etc.  I’ll be watching these games, for sure.  I hope you will, too!  Here’s the line-up:

Wednesday, 28 October
Seattle  v  LOS ANGELES, 10pm

Thursday, 29 October
MONTREAL  v  TORONTO, 7pm
PORTLAND  v  Sporting KC, 10pm

PHOTO CREDIT:  Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers