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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 Week 22 Report
Lots of goals this weekend in our boys’ games. You know the old adage about the weather heating up and the scoring going up. Makes sense. Here’s what our fellas’ teams did this past Saturday and Sunday:
COLUMBUS CREW SC D 3-3 TORONTO FC • If I’m truly being fair and balanced, I’d want all of our head-to-head matches to end as draws with our boys scoring lots of goals… or 0-0 if it’s the two keepers facing off. But I’ve been a Crew SC fan since 1996, so this one was disappointing, to say the least. With the Black & Gold up 3-0 just moments into the second half, things were looking good. But… yeah. Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] was the backup keeper for Columbus and Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was not in the gameday XVIII. For the Reds, Justin Morrow [Shaker Heights/St. Ignatius] did his usual 90 minutes at right back.
MONTREAL IMPACT W 1-0 Seattle Sounders • Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] started and played all 90 minutes, but turned in a completely clean stat line. No saves, no punches, no shots faced… nada. That doesn’t mean he just sat back there and ate a sandwich while his teammates did the rest, but it does reflect upon a solid team shutout.
LOS ANGELES GALAXY L 0-3 @ Houston Dynamo • It seems like Houston is just a tough place for LA to play. The Galaxy’s all-time record there is 3-6-2 now, and the boys in orange have scored 16 goals in those contests. Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] started as holding mid and played 71 minutes.
PORTLAND TIMBERS L 1-4 @ FC Dallas • The Timbers can’t always beat Dallas and Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] can’t always score against them. Though recent history has favored the PTFC gang, this Saturday night contest proved that there are few absolutes in MLS. Nagbe started as an attacking mid and played 78 minutes.
NEW YORK CITY FC W 5-3 Orlando City • If you hate defensive stalemates, this match was for you. Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] didn’t get in the team.
DC UNITED W 3-2 Philadelphia Union • Down 2-0 after four minutes, the home side came all the way back and got their winner with 11 minutes to go. Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] played all 90 and served up two assists to help earn him a spot on the Team of the Week. If two dimes from an outside back won’t do that, I’m not sure what will. Be sure to check out the highlights.
Next Week’s Matches
~ Saturday, 1 August
NYCFC v Montreal, 2pm
DC v RSL, 7pm
New England v TFC, 730pm
OCSC v COLUMBUS, 730pm
Colorado v LOS ANGELES, 1030pm
~ Sunday, 2 August
San Jose v PORTLAND, 5pm
Here’s what was up with our non-MLS guys last week:
OTTAWA FURY W 2-1 Atlanta Silverbacks; W 2-1 Carolina RailHawks • Well, look who’s all alone atop the NASL Fall Season table! Two wins in a week by the same scoreline made it a reality for the worst-to-first bunch. Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] subbed on in the 69th minute against Atlanta to help provide some spark as the Fury looked to break a 1-1 tie. On Sunday, he was an unused sub. Next up for Ottawa is a Sunday afternoon match at FC Edmonton.
PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS L 3-4 @ Harrisburg City Islanders • Versatility is a good thing when you’re an athlete, don’t you think? A week after playing almost all 90 as a forward, Mike Green [Strongsville/Strongsville] returned to right back for this thriller. Three matches between these two teams have given their fans a total of 25 goals! It took three goals in the final 20 minutes in order for the ten-man home side to get their first taste of victory in those Keystone Derby contests. Next up for Pitt is a Saturday night visit from the Wilmington Hammerheads and a 7pm kickoff.
CHARLOTTE INDEPENDENCE W 2-0 FC Montreal • A goal in each half on Friday night did the deal for Charlotte, as Jack Thompson [Hudson/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] subbed on for the final two minutes of this win. Next up for the ‘Pendence is a visit from unbeaten and league-leading Rochester on Saturday for a 7pm kick.
INDY ELEVEN D 1-1 New York Cosmos • These two teams had as many players ejected as they did goals in an eventful draw – their third 1-1 tie in as many meetings this year. Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] started at left back and played all 90. Judson McKinney [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was an unused sub. Next up for the Eleven is a Saturday night visit from Atlanta and a 730pm kickoff.
ATLANTA SILVERBACKS W 3-1 FC Edmonton • The Silverbacks put the midweek loss behind them on a sunny Sunday afternoon in the land of peaches, when the home side had the run of play and did all its scoring after the halftime interval. Matt Horth [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was not in the team for either match this week.
2015 Week 19 Report
We had two head-to-heads over the USA Birthday Weekend, a weekend that two of our guys will want to put in their rearview mirror ASAP. Check out the highlights to see what I mean. Here’s how it all went down:
DC UNITED L 0-1 @ Seattle Sounders • 
A late goal for the home side sent the visitors flying back across the country lamenting missed chances and the poorly-dealt-with corner kick that led to their demise. Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] played all 90 at right back for DC.
COLUMBUS CREW SC W 2-1 New York Red Bulls • A goal in each half gave the Black and Gold all three points. Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] and Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] were unused subs for Crew SC.
MONTREAL IMPACT L 1-2 NEW YORK CITY FC • The visitors’ Designated Player, David Villa, scored twice to give his team all three points. The second goal came on a free kick that went past Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] and just inside his left-hand post. Bush made one save in the loss for Montreal. Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] is still out with an adductor strain.
LOS ANGELES GALAXY W 4-0 TORONTO FC • And yet again, the reigning MLS Champs pounded their opponent on their home turf. Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] subbed on for the final four minutes of the victory for his Galaxy. Justin Morrow [Shaker Heights/St. Ignatius] played 90 at right back for TFC.
PORTLAND TIMBERS W 1-0 San Jose Earthquakes • PTFC got a late, late goal from Jack Jewsbury that was a bit of a goof – he literally closed his eyes, stuck his foot out and hoped for the best – to earn all three points. Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] played 84 minutes of this contest before subbing out. He’s still not 100% after a shoulder injury he suffered the week before at Los Angeles. Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] was an unused sub.
Next Weekend’s Matches:
~ Saturday, 11 July
Philadelphia v PORTLAND, 7pm
MONTREAL v COLUMBUS, 8pm
LOS ANGELES v Club América, 11pm – International Champions Cup, live on Fox Sports 1 (or 2)
~ Sunday, 12 July
NYCFC v TFC, 3pm – live on ESPN2
NASL’s Fall Season got underway this past weekend and the USL campaign kept on rolling. Here’s what those dudes were up to in their games:
ATLANTA SILVERBACKS L 1-2 @ Tampa Bay Rowdies – Matt Horth [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] started up top and played all 90 as these two teams traded own goals. Next up for the ATL is its home opener against Jacksonville Armada FC, Saturday at 730pm.
CHARLOTTE INDEPENDENCE L 2-1 v St. Louis FC – Jack Thompson [Hudson/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] subbed on at halftime. Next up for Charlotte is a trip to Louisville to for a 730pm contest next Saturday.
INDY ELEVEN D 0-0 v Monarcas Morelia; D 1-1 @ New York Cosmos – Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] subbed on in the 59th minute of the Eleven’s international friendly against Liga MX club Monarcas. He started at left back and played all 90 of the draw at the Cosmos. Judson McKinney [Cuyahoga Falls/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] played the second half against the Mexicans and was an unused sub at New York. Next up for Indy is a 730pm Saturday visit from the Carolina RailHawks.
OTTAWA FURY W 2-0 Jacksonville Armada FC – Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] started at attacking mid and subbed out after 86 minutes. Next up for the Fury is a visit from Minnesota United FC on Saturday at 730pm.
PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS W 3-0 v NYRB II – Mike Green [Strongsville/Strongsville] started at right back and played all 90. The ‘Hounds have two games next week, starting with a Wednesday trip to Canada to play TFC II at 8, followed by Saturday’s home game against other Canadians when FC Montreal shows up at 4pm.
PHOTO CREDIT – mlssoccer.com
2015 Week 15 Report
Just three MLS games last weekend, but every US team has a US Open Cup tie this Tuesday or Wednesday, so there’ll be a bigger report to come. Here’s how our head-to-heads went this past weekend:
NEW YORK CITY FC W 3-1 MONTREAL IMPACT • If you’ve been following the league since 1996 like I have, you know that at some point in the season, every team gets hot. NYCFC is now hot. This victory, accomplished without the injured Josh Williams (adductor strain) [Copley/Copley] in the gameday XVIII, is their second in a row. For Montreal, Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] made eight saves in the loss.
COLUMBUS CREW SC D 1-1 LOS ANGELES GALAXY • LA scored in the first half and Crew SC scored in the second to earn both teams a point. Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] subbed on in the final minute for Crew SC and Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] subbed on nine minutes earlier for the Galaxy. Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] was the Crew’s backup keeper.
DC UNITED L 0-1 @ Orlando City SC • It took three tries (and a dive?), but the purple new boys finally defeated DC last Sunday night in the wicked heat and humidity of Central Florida (did you hear about the water breaks in each half?). Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] started at right back for DC and played 90 minutes.
This Week’s Games
~ Tuesday, 16 June ~ Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup 4th Round
New York Red Bulls v ATLANTA SILVERBACKS, 730pm
Seattle v PORTLAND, 1030pm
~ Wednesday, 17 June~ Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup 4th Round
PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS v DC UNITED, 7pm
Richmond Kickers v COLUMBUS, 7pm
NYCFC v New York Cosmos, 730pm
LA v PSA Elite, 1030pm
~ Saturday, 20 June
TFC v NYCFC, 7pm
MONTREAL v OCSC, 8pm
LA v Philly, 1030pm
~ Sunday, 21 June
DC v New England, 5pm – live on ESPN 2
The NASL wrapped up its Spring Season last weekend and here’s how things went for our fellas’ teams:
ATLANTA SILVERBACKS L 0-3 @ Tampa Bay Rowdies • Matt Horth [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] started and played all 90 as the ‘Backs ended up last in the league with only eight points from their ten matches.
OTTAWA FURY D 0-0 @ San Antonio Scorpions • Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] started and played 90 as an attacking mid. The Fury finished their season with five straight shutouts and an un-scored-upon streak of 526 minutes! The only bad part of the streak was that it didn’t feature many wins – 11 points from ten games, good for ninth place.
INDY ELEVEN W 3-0 v FC Edmonton • Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] started and played all 90 at left back as the Eleven put together its most complete performance of the season to wrap up things on a high note. They’re in fifth place, with 13 points from their ten matches. Indy will play an international exhibition match against Mexican club Monarcas Morelia on Sunday, 28 June at 130pm.
Our USL club was in action too:
PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS L 1-2 @ Charlotte Independence • Mike Green [Strongsville/Strongsville] started and played 90 in this loss, but the Riverhounds still find themselves with 16 points from 12 matches, good for fourth in the Eastern Conference.
2015 Week 3 Report
Given that our boys’ games this weekend featured so few goals and, well, so few of our boys, we’re going to highlight the mid-week CONCACAF Champions League Semifinal to start off.
MONTREAL IMPACT W 2-0 v Alajuelense, CCL Semifinal, Leg 1 • Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] had a great seat for (maybe) 
the Impact’s most historic result ever. The ten guys in front of him kept him pretty clean, too, as he only needed to make one save. He has now allowed only six goals in seven CCL matches during this 2014-15 competition. Getting two first-half goals and the victory were obviously crucial for the Impact, but so was not allowing an away goal to Alajuelense. Both DC United and Cruz Azul can attest to what their conquerors are capable of down in Costa Rica, so it’s going to require maximum effort and another incredible performance for Montreal on Tuesday, 7 April for them to become the first-ever MLS team to advance to the CCL Final.
Here’s how it all went down in MLS action this past weekend:
MONTREAL IMPACT D 0-0 @ New England Revolution • Bush played all of this match, making four saves to earn his second shutout in four days. Overshadowing the result (grinding out a point with ten men on the road) was the first-half knee injury to Montreal’s rookie sensation and hero of their CCL quarterfinal victory over Pachuca, Cameron Porter. Just last week, they lost veteran attacking talent Justin Mapp to a shoulder injury. Not that there’s ever a good time for injuries, but with the looming return leg of the CCL semis – not to mention the regular season contests – this isn’t good.
NEW YORK CITY FC D 0-0 @ Colorado Rapids • Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] was not in the gameday roster of 18. This match just wasn’t that exciting, I’m sorry to say. However, the guy who ostensibly replaced Williams in the lineup – Manchester City flunkee Shay Facey got himself red-carded (two yellows), so that should bring Williams back into the lineup next weekend. One other thing worth noting – the ref for this match was Clevelander Sorin Stoica. We’ve talked before on this blog about his… penchant? tendency? proclivity?… his history of giving out la pena máxima as we say in Spanish, when he’s the man in the middle. I’m not saying Facey didn’t deserve it – he sure did – but it does seem like Stoica gives out a lot of reds.
PORTLAND TIMBERS D 0-0 @ Sporting Kansas City • Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] played all 90 as an attacking mid. Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] was not in the gameday roster of 18. It wasn’t the kind of open game that Portland wants to play, but getting a point in KC is always good.
LOS ANGELES GALAXY D 1-1 v Houston Dynamo • Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] was not in the gameday roster of 18. Both goals were scored in the first half and brought to a close one of the lowest-scoring Saturdays in league history – a total of three goals were scored in a total of five games.
DC UNITED L 0-2 @ New York Red Bulls • Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] started at left back and played 70 minutes, as the Red Bulls started off the 2015 Atlantic Cup chase on the right foot.
Next Weekend’s Games
Saturday, 28 March
~ MONTREAL v Orlando, 4pm
~ NEW YORK CITY FC v Sporting Kansas City, 7pm
~ DC UNITED v LOS ANGELES, 7pm
~ COLUMBUS v New York Red Bulls, 730pm
~ Vancouver v PORTLAND, 8pm
Sunday, 29 March
~ Real Salt Lake v TORONTO FC, 7pm – Fox Sports 1
PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Chiasson/CP
2015 Week 2 Report
While two of our teams rested, only three of our fellas whose teams played this past weekend got any playing time – one in each match. Here’s how it all went down:
COLUMBUS CREW SC W 2-0 TORONTO FC • The last time Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] played against the Crew in Columbus on their home opener, he scored the San Jose Earthquakes’ only goal in a 1-1 draw. On Saturday, his controversial sending-off just before halftime made a bit easier for the hosts to break the game open after the interval, and they sent their black and gold fans home happy. The victory gives the Crew SC an early lead in this season’s Trillium Cup battle. Neither of our guys was in the gameday XVIII for the Crew SC, but both Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] and Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] were up early on Sunday morning for the Reserve Team’s game with the University of Michigan. Speas started as the attacking mid and scored the third goal in the 3-1 victory, and Stuver was the backup goalie to Matt Lampson.
NEW YORK CITY FC W 2-0 New England Revolution • Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] started at right back and had an extremely busy 79-minute shift against some of the best attacking talent in the Eastern Conference. He picked up a yellow card in the 57th minute, but other than that, he acquitted himself well. A shutout win in the club’s inaugural home opener? Not too shabby!
PORTLAND TIMBERS D 2-2 LOS ANGELES GALAXY • Let’s 
hope a disturbing trend from last season it’s back for a sequel. The Timbers scored first, then allowed an equalizer before going ahead in the game’s final minute, only to let two points slip away on a stoppage-time goal from the defending MLS Cup champs. It was Darlington Nagbe’s [Lakewood/St. Edward] assist to Fanendo Adi that put PTFC up 2-1. Throughout the match, he was the Nagbe that everyone wants him to be/knows he can be, creating issues for the Galaxy throughout. Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] was not in the gameday team for Portland and neither was Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] for LA – a week after starting their home opener. Hmmm…
Next Weekend’s Games
Wednesday, 18 March
– MONTREAL v Alajuelense, CONCACAF Champions League Semifinal, leg one, 8pm, Fox Sports 2
Saturday, 21 March
– New England v MONTREAL, 3pm
– Colorado v NEW YORK CITY FC, 4pm
– Sporting Kansas City v PORTLAND, 830pm
– LOS ANGELES v Houston, 1030pm
Sunday, 22 March
– New York Red Bulls v DC UNITED, 5pm – ESPN2
What’s been going on with our not-so-MLS guys? Here’s an update:
INDY ELEVEN • The Eleven won’t start their NASL season for another couple weeks, so it’s been trainings and scrimmages since they got back from Arizona. They lost to Indiana University 2-1 in a 9v9 scrimmage (6 March), defeated new USL club St. Louis FC 2-0 (11 March) and tied with the University of Dayton last Sunday 1-1. Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] played the second half against Dayton, subbed on in the 28th minute against St. Louis FC and got the second half at IU. In other good news, we have another member of our club now playing with Indy. Judson McKinney [Cuyahoga Falls/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] signed with the Eleven at the beginning of March after spending the past couple years in the USL and MISL and he got a half of playing time in each of the aforementioned scrimmages, putting in shifts at outside back. Next Saturday, they’ll scrimmage USL PRO side, Louisville City FC.
OTTAWA FURY • After a couple weeks of training, the Fury finally got to kick some other guys instead of their teammates when they went to Ontario to scrimmage TFC II on 6 March. Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] played the first half of the 3-2 victory. A week later, he started and played 59 minutes of a 1-1 draw against the Rochester Rhinos of USL PRO. On 20 March, they’ll scrimmage FC Montreal, the Impact’s USL PRO team.
PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS • The USL PRO Riverhounds have been scrimmaging against college teams for the past two weeks. I haven’t been able to dig up super-detailed information on lineups and whatnot regarding those contests, but from various tweets I’ve seen, Mike Green [Strongsville/Strongsville] has played in all of those games, but not all of all of those games.
PHOTO CREDIT: Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers
The Non-MLS Report for (most of) August
Yep. It’s been a while. But let’s get caught up real quick. Here’s what our fellas in the NASL and USL-PRO have been up to since August began:
INDY ELEVEN
L 2-4 v Atlanta Silverbacks (2 Aug)
D 0-0 v Ft. Lauderdale Strikers (6 Aug)
L 0-2 @ San Antonio Scorpions (9 Aug)
L 1-5 @ Minnesota United FC (16 Aug)
Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] was an unused sub against Atlanta but then returned to his normal starting gig at left back for the Strikers and Scorpions matches. In the Minnesota United match, he started at left back and subbed out in the 67th minute. The Eleven is currently eighth in the NASL with seven points from seven matches. UP NEXT: v Ottawa Fury, Saturday, 23 August, 730pm
OTTAWA FURY FC
L 1-2 v Minnesota United FC (2 Aug)
L 1-2 v Ft. Lauderdale Strikers (9 Aug)
D 0-0 v San Antonio Scorpions (16 Aug)
Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] 
started and played 90 in the loss to Minnesota, scoring the Fury’s only goal and picking up a yellow card in the 61st minute. He started as one of the center mids and played 90 against both the Strikers and Scorpions. The Fury is currently last in the ten-team league, with just two points from six matches. UP NEXT: @ Indy Eleven, Saturday, 23 August, 730pm
WILMINGTON HAMMERHEADS FC
L 1-2 v Dayton Dutch Lions (9 Aug)
L 0-1 @ New York Red Bulls Reserves (15 Aug)
L 0-2 @ Sacramento Republic FC (20 Aug)
Since being loaned to the Hammerheads of USL-PRO for the remainder of the season, Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] has yet to win a match or shut out an opponent, but we know that’s not all his fault. The important thing is that for the first time in his professional career, he’s getting a steady run of games and playing time. He started and played all of those matches. UP NEXT: @ Orange County Blues, Saturday, 23 August, 10pm; @ LA Galaxy II, Sunday, 24 August, 3pm
2014 Week Twenty-Two Report
There was much to celebrate this past weekend.
MONTREAL IMPACT W 1-0 v Chicago Fire • Well, it took until his fourth start this season (and sixth overall), but finally, the Impact played good enough team defense to earn Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] his first career MLS shutout. He played all 90 and made just two saves in the win. The Impact are still bottom of the league with 17 points from 23 games.
COLUMBUS CREW W 4-1 v LOS ANGELES GALAXY • 
Okay, without looking it up, name the last one of our boys to score a goal in an MLS game this season. The answer is at the bottom of this blog, but know that Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] is now the most recent one to get a goal after he netted the Crew’s third last Saturday. And he didn’t waste any time adding to the Crew’s lead, finding the net one minute after he subbed in. Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] is still on the DL, recovering from surgery. The Galaxy’s Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] did not make the trip. The Crew now sits fourth in the East on 30 points. The Galaxy is fourth in the West with 37 points.
PORTLAND TIMBERS D 1-1 @ New England • Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] mad his return from a knee sprain by subbing on with 37 minutes left. Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was an unused sub. Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] did not make the trip to Foxboro. Portland is sixth in the West, just two points out of the playoffs.
TORONTO FC L 1-4 @ Sporting Kansas City • Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] started and played all 90 of this smackdown, which showed how wide of a gulf exists – besides the ten points in the standings – that exist between the Eastern Conference’s first- and third-place teams. TFC has 32 points from 22 games, eight points behind the second place team.
DC UNITED W 4-2 v Colorado Rapids • In the Sunday evening matchup, it was the home side who turned a 1-1 match at halftime, into a bit of a rout by the time it ended. Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] was not a part of it, as he recovers from a hammy. DC is second in the East with 40 points, two behind Sporting and with one game in hand.
NEXT WEEK:
– Tuesday, 19 August –
PORTLAND @ Alpha United, CCL group 5, 8pm
– Wednesday, 20 August –
DC UNITED v Waterhouse FC, CCL group 4, 7pm
LOS ANGELES @ Colorado, 9pm
MONTREAL @ FAS, CCL group 3, 9pm
– Saturday, 23 August –
MONTREAL v New York, 7pm
TORONTO FC v Chicago, 7pm
COLUMBUS v Houston, 730pm
DC UNITED @ Sporting KC, 830pm
LOS ANGELES v Vancouver, 1030pm
– Sunday, 24 August –
PORTLAND v Seattle, Sunday, 24 August, 5pm – ESPN2
** TRIVIA ANSWER ** This one really tested how much you follow the league and our guys. Speas’ goal is the first from our bunch this season. Shocking, I know. You’d have bet that Darlington Nagbe or maybe even Josh Williams already had one this season, but you’d lose that bet.
PHOTO CREDIT: Kirby Hines/Columbus Crew
2014 Week Twelve non-MLS Report
INDY ELEVEN D 1-1 @ New York Cosmos • Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] started and played all 90 as the Eleven picked up its first road point of the season. Indy is currently last in the 10-team NASL, with three points from seven matches. Next up: Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, 3rd Round v Dayton Dutch Lions, Wednesday, 28 May, 730pm; v San Antonio Scorpions, Saturday, 31 May, 730pm
OTTAWA FURY L 2-3 v San Antonio Scorpions • Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] scored his first goal of the season to give the Fury a 2-1 lead in the 80th minute, but… the roof fell in over the final ten minutes and his team ended up with a tough loss. Ubiparipovic was named Ottawa’s Player of the Week, but I bet he’d rather have gotten the win. Ottawa is currently eighth in the NASL, with seven points from seven matches. Next up: FC Edmonton, Saturday, 31 May, 7pm
DAYTON DUTCH LIONS L 1-2 v Sacramento Republic FC • Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] started in goal and played all 90, making two saves in the loss. Dayton is currently 11th out of 14 teams in USL PRO, with eight points from nine matches. Next up: Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, 3rd Round @ Indy Eleven, Wednesday, 28 May, 730pm; v Rochester Rhinos, Sunday, 1 June, 7pm
2014 Week Twelve Report
While this was a big weekend for our guys’ teams, next week will be much bigger and important. However, each of our reports is as important as the next. As such, here’s the report on how everyone did last weekend:
COLUMBUS CREW W 2-0 v Chicago Fire • The boys in Black and Gold got back on track by shutting out Chicago for the first time this season. Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] subbed on for the last 16 minutes, as Head Coach Gregg Berhalter started the more offensive-minded Hector Jiménez in Williams’ usual right back spot. Then, he brought on #3 to help protect the 2-0 lead. Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was an unused sub. Next up: @ Toronto FC, Saturday, 31 May, 5pm
PORTLAND TIMBERS W 2-1 @ New York Red Bulls • The Timbers scored their third and fourth road goals of the season in order to beat the Red Bulls on Sunday. Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] and Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] both started in midfield slots and played all 90. Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] was an unused sub. Next up: @ Chivas USA, Wednesday, 28 May, 1030pm; v Vancouver Whitecaps, Sunday, 1 June, 9pm
MONTREAL IMPACT L 1-4 @ Colorado Rapids • Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] was an unused sub as the home side ended a three game winless streak, by handing the Impact its fourth loss this month in all competitions. Next up: Amway Canadian Championship Final, leg two @ Toronto FC, Wednesday, 28 May, 7pm; v New England Revolution, Saturday, 31 May, 7pm
LOS ANGELES GALAXY W 2-1 v FC Dallas; W 4-1 v Philadelphia Union • The Galaxy played two games last week and guess who started them both? Yep! 
Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] broke a long string of DNP-CD’s (not counting time missed through injury) that dated back to the 2012 season, when he went 90 against FC Dallas on Wednesday and then he played 64 more minutes at D-mid as the Galaxy rolled over Philly on Saturday. Oh yeah, in the Union game, Landon Donovan became the league’s all-time leading goalscorer. Walker was pretty active, too, if you look at the Opta Stats Chalkboard and only highlight his work for both contests. Of course, in his position, that probably should be the case. Let’s hope the string of starts continues! Next up: @ Chicago Fire, Sunday, 1 June, 4pm
TORONTO FC D 2-2 @ Sporting Kansas City • Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] started at left back and played all 90 as the Reds earned a well-deserved point on the road at the Eastern Conference’s second place team’s home. Next up: Amway Canadian Championship Final, leg one v Montreal Impact, Wednesday, 28 May, 7pm; v Columbus Crew, Saturday, 31 May, 5pm
PHOTO CREDIT: LA Galaxy Facebook page
Major League Soccer Players from Cleveland 