2015 Week 18 Report

While the good people of Cleveland (especially Put-In-Bay, where I am for most of this summer) got soaked by a freshwater hurricane on Saturday, the league carried on in other parts of the country.  Jeez!!!  Here’s how our fellas did this weekend:

TORONTO FC  D 0-0  DC UNITED  •  Off to the east and across the lakes, the weather wasn’t much better, and it showed in the result.  The highlights aren’t must-see TV, but if you’re hard-core, you’ll check them out.  Our two guys both played 90 at right back for their respective teams – Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] for DC and Justin Morrow [Shaker Heights/St. Ignatius] for TFC.  Korb did pick up a yellow card for a second-half foul.

MONTREAL IMPACT  D 2-2  @ Philadelphia Union  •  Further east and south, the weather in Philly was no less awful than in Toronto, but there were a couple ejections to keep everyone warm – one for each team.  Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] made two saves in the match for the visitors.

COLUMBUS CREW SC  D 2-2  @ Real Salt Lake  •  Getting a point on the road isn’t a thing to be taken lightly, especially when you basically give two goals away and then fight back twice to get even.  The point was just the Black and Gold’s fourth away from home on the season.  Interestingly, this was the fourth time this season that the Crew played against a team that finished the match with 10 men.  Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] was the backup goalie for the Crew.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  L 1-3  @ San Jose Earthquakes  •  The league folks were touting this weekend as Rivalry Week.  I’m not so sure about the ferocity of the other matchups this weekend, but the Caliclásico never disappoints.  LA got an early lead on the road before SJ answered with three after the break.  Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] was an unused sub for the Galaxy.

NEW YORK CITY FC  L 1-3  New York Red Bulls  •  The newest rivalry in the league is turning out to be pretty decent on the field.  NYCFC scored early and then NYRB scored three to steal the points.  No Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] for NYCFC, as he’s still out injured.

PORTLAND TIMBERS  W 4-1  Seattle Sounders  •  Our fella Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] opened the scoring in this installation of the Cascadia Cup rivalry and he added an assist on the game-winning goal as the Timbers jumped up to third place in the Western Conference.  It was a fantastic 80-minute shift for D-Nags.  Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] was an unused sub.

In the middle of this upcoming week, we’ll have a bunch of our fellas in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinal (they call it the 5th Round) action.  Then we’ll have a full slate of games for the holiday weekend.  Here’s a look at Next Week’s Matches:

~ Tuesday, 30 June * USOC Quarterfinals *
DC @ Philly, 7pm
COLUMBUS @ Orlando City, 730pm
Chicago Fire v CHARLOTTE INDEPENDENCE, 830pm
~ Wednesday, 1 July * USOC Quarterfinals *
PORTLAND @ RSL, 10pm
LA @ San Jose, 1030pm
~ Saturday, 4 July
COLUMBUS  v  New York Red Bulls, 730pm
MONTREAL  v  NYCFC, 8pm
LA  v  TFC, 1030pm
~ Sunday, 5 July
PORTLAND  v  San Jose, 5pm – live on ESPN2

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And now for our USL guys:

PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS  L 0-1  @ Rochester Rhinos  •  Mike Green [Strongsville/Strongsville] started at outside mid and played 74 minutes before subbing out on a rainy, windy, awful night in Western New York.  Next Saturday, the ‘Hounds will host NYRB II at 730pm.

CHARLOTTE INDEPENDENCE  D 0-0  Richmond Kickers  •  Jack Thompson [Hudson/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was an unused sub as the two teams only were able to play 45 minutes of soccer before severe thunderstorms brought an early end to the proceedings.

PHOTO CREDIT:  Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers

2015 Week 9 Report

It was another bummer of a week, both in terms of the guys getting P.T. and in terms of the guys’ teams winning.  Here’s how our fellas did last week:

MONTREAL IMPACT  L 2-4  Club América  •  As you probably know by now, the Impact got thumped by their Mexican visitors, just as so many MLS teams have before them.  Nursing the hope created by a 1-1 draw in the away leg last week, and buoyed further by a 1-0 halftime lead (2-1 aggregate), the roof fell in after the break.  Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] was suspended on a well-documented yellow card accumulation and that was obviously a disappointment for both the player and for his teammates.  Finishing as the 2014-15 CCL runners-up is nothing to shake a stick at.  And maybe Bush was the best goalkeeper in the tournament.  I didn’t watch every game to be able to make that assertion, but he certainly played a major role in Montreal going as far as it did.  I’m sure the best is yet to come from him.  Now les Bleus can return their attentions to their MLS responsibilities and to defending their Amway Canadian Championship crown.

TORONTO FC  W 1-0  @ Philadelphia Union  •  I guess if you’re going to go on a seven-game road trip to start the season, a three-game winning streak just before you head back home isn’t too shabby, is it?  Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] moved back to the flank and played 90 as an outside back in the victory.  The Reds have just one more road game before they can return to the friendly confines of BMO Stadium – they’ll have the first leg of its ACC semifinal series at Montreal on Wednesday.

DC UNITED  W 2-0  COLUMBUS CREW  •  Who’s playing better right now, DC or New England?  Tough to say, but last Saturday night, the red-hot hosts let their visitors know their undefeated April didn’t impress them too much.  DC got goals in both halves to take care of the Crew SC and continue a 16-match unbeaten streak at RFK Stadium, across all competitions.  Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] started at left back for DC and played all 90.  Neither Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] nor Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] were in the travel team to our Nation’s capital.  One more bit of news – I had no idea that this was actually a thing, but Korb was awarded the Hustler of the Week Award by hustlebelt.com as a reward for his efforts in this contest.  Interesting.  You never know what you’ll find on the internet!

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  D 1-1  Colorado Rapids  •  The Rapids scored in the first half and the Galaxy answered late to split the points.  Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] is still out injured.

PORTLAND TIMBERS  D 0-0  Vancouver Whitecaps  •  Welllllllll… it was another 90 minutes played for Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward], another team-high in fouls suffered (3) and corner kicks taken (tie-4 with Diego Valeri), as Portland basically dominated its Cascadia Cup rivals from start to finish, but… a simple fact is that he hit the right post (his right/keeper’s left) with a penalty kick in the 31st minute could’ve done him a world of good and given the Timbers all the points.  Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] and Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] are both still out injured.

NEW YORK CITY FC  L 1-3  Seattle Sounders  •  Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] is back and healthy and was an unused sub on Sunday evening in The Bronx.  He got a good look at Seattle’s attackers schooling his teammates, too.

Next Weekend’s Games
Wednesday, 6 May
~ MONTREAL  v  TORONTO FC, Amway Canadian Championship Semifinal, leg 1, 730pm
~ Real Salt Lake  v  LOS ANGELES, 930pm
Saturday, 9 May
~ MONTREAL  v  PORTLAND, 4pm
~ DC UNITED  v  Sporting Kansas City, 7pm
~ COLUMBUS  v  Seattle, 730pm
~ FC Dallas  v  LOS ANGELES, 830pm
Sunday, 10 May
~ TORONTO FC  v  Houston, 5pm – live on ESPN2
~ New York Red Bulls  v  NEW YORK CITY, 7pm – live on Fox Sports 1

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And now for the not-so-MLS guys’ report:

OTTAWA FURY  •  Last Wednesday, the Fury fell to FC Edmonton last Wednesday in the second leg of the teams’ Amway Canadian Championship preliminary round series by a score of 3-1, which gave the Eddies a 6-2 aggregate victory.  Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] started as one of the attacking mids and played all 90.  Back in NASL action on Saturday, the Fury lost 1-0 at the first-place New York Cosmos (one of their eight different home fields).  Ubiparipovic subbed on in the 61st minute, but couldn’t help save the visitors from suffering their first shutout of the season.  Next up for Ottawa is a 3pm visit from the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday.

INDY ELEVEN  •  There’s an odd number of teams in the NASL, which means one team gets a bye each weekend.  Indy’s turn was last weekend, so Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] and the Eleven will be back at it on Saturday when they head to Jacksonville to check out the brand-new Armada’s digs for a 730pm kickoff.

ATLANTA SILVERBACKS  •  The ‘Backs are still undefeated this season (1-4-0, 7 pts.) after a 0-0 draw at Fort Lauderdale.  That’s good enough to see them in 3rd place – tied with the Strikers – after Matt Horth [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] subbed on in the 78th minute.  Atlanta will travel to Minnesota United FC for a 8pm match on Saturday.

PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS  •  The ‘Hounds fell to NYRB II 3-2 last weekend and Michael Green [Strongsville/Strongsville] played all 90 at one of the outside back spots.  Pittsburgh returns to action this Saturday at the Charleston Battery for a 730pm kickoff.

PHOTO CREDIT:  Geoff Burke/USA Today Sports

2015 Week 8 Report

Four team scored four goals this past Saturday, but only one of them has anything to do with this blog.  Two of our fellas’ teams got nice road wins, one earned a solid point somewhere in the swamps of Jersey and the two remaining clubs were a bit unlucky in their narrow losses.  Here’s how it all went down for our guys’ teams this past weekend:

NEW YORK CITY FC  L 0-1  @ Chicago Fire  •  Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] was not in the gameday XVIII last Friday night, as he continues his return to full health after getting knocked down by viral pericarditis.  Even if he’d been in the game, not even J-Will could’ve prevented his own goalkeeper’s error that caused/spawned/led to the Fire’s goal.

COLUMBUS CREW  W 4-1  v Philadelphia Union  •  On a fantastic night for the Crew SC, Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] watched it from the stands, as he was not in the team on the night.

DC UNITED  W 2-1  @ Vancouver Whitecaps  •  Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] got the start at right back and played all 90 in this big road win for DC (against a furious ten-man opponent), which moved them to the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  D 1-1  @ New York Red Bulls  •  Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] continues recovering from groin surgery back in mid-March.  A first-half goal for the road side was not enough to see the Galaxy through to all three points.

TORONTO FC  W 2-0  @ Orlando City SC  •  Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] returned to outside back for this match after two starts in the middle and the Reds won.  Coincidence?  It’s probably too early to make a connection, but the visitors played their best and most complete match since their season opener and got their rewards down in Orlando.

PORTLAND TIMBERS  L 0-1  @ Seattle Sounders  •  Two  games into their 2015 Cascadia Cup race, the Timbers are on the bottom of the standings with nada sino la mala suerte to show for their efforts.  Did you see the lucky goal Seattle scored last night?  Maybe Portland was the better team in its two losses to so far, but that’s obviously not worth goals or wins.  Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] started as an attacking mid and was again, the most fouled player on the field, as he was hacked to the turf five times by Sounders players.

Next Weekend’s Games
Wednesday, 29 April
~ MONTREAL  v  Club América, 8pm – live on Fox Sports 2
Saturday, 2 May
~ Philadelphia  v  TORONTO FC, 4pm
~ DC UNITED  v  COLUMBUS, 7pm
~ LOS ANGELES  v Colorado, 1030pm
~ PORTLAND  v  Vancouver, 1030pm
Sunday, 3 May
~ NEW YORK CITY  v  Seattle, 7pm – live on Fox Sports 1

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And now the not-so-MLS guys news from this past weekend:

OTTAWA FURY  L 1-3  v FC Edmonton, Amway Canadian Championship leg 1;  L 1-3  v Fort Lauderdale Strikers  •  Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] made  his return to the TD Place turf last week, as he played in both of Ottawa’s games.  Last Wednesday, he started and played 69 minutes before exiting.  The Fury gave themselves a lot of work to do if they’re going to advance to the next round of the ACC.  Saturday night, he subbed on in the 57th minute and created the Fury’s lone goal, scored by Rafael Alves.  On Wednesday, Ottawa travels to Edmonton to take on the Eddies at 10pm in leg 2 of their ACC tie, and then they play at the New York Cosmos on Saturday night at 7pm.

INDY ELEVEN  D 1-1  v Carolina RailHawks  •  Indy remains undefeated on the season with six points from four games, which puts them fourth in the NASL.  Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] was an unused sub while El Once and the Hawks split the points, Indy’s third draw on the season.  The Nap Town boys will have a week off before returning to action in Jacksonville on 9 May against NASL new boys the Armada FC at 7pm.

ATLANTA SILVERBACKS  D 0-0  v New York Cosmos  •  Just like Indy, the Silverbacks are also undefeated and are also 1-0-3 on the year after their scoreless stalemate with the Cosmos.  Matt Horth [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] subbed on up top in the 85th minute.  Atlanta’s next match is this Saturday at Fort Lauderdale at 730pm.

PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS  W 5-1  v Toronto FC II  •  Michael Green [Strongsville/Strongsville] started at outside back and played all 90, as the home side made it eight points from five games played this season.  After giving up an early goal to the young Reds, the Riverhounds ripped off five straight to take the match.  Their 13 goals lead the USL PRO Division’s Eastern Conference and Pittsburgh’s next match is next Saturday at New York Red Bulls II at 2pm.

PHOTO CREDIT:  Nagbe – Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers; Ubiparipovic – Ottawa Fury Facebook Page

2015 Week 4 Report

Yeah, not much to report here.  If you saw the tweets last Saturday, just one of our guys got a starting assignment and only one other got playing time.  Jeez!  Our guys don’t get no love.  No regard.  No esteem, either.  And even though NYCFC didn’t play this weekend, our Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] can’t seem to catch a break.  He’s currently sidelined by an inflammation of the liquid sack that surrounds the heart – viral pericarditis.  Seems like it’s a serious, yet manageable thing.  Here’s how it went down for everyone elses last weekend:

PORTLAND TIMBERS  L 1-2  @ Vancouver Whitecaps  •  Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] started as an attacking mid and played all 90.  He didn’t get credit for an assist on the Timbers’ lone score of the night, but his delightful through ball did make it all possible.  Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] and Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] were/are both unavailable to play as they recover from their respective surgeries (sports hernia for Nano, torn ACL for Ben).  The win gives the Whitecaps an early advantage in the race for the 2015 Cascadia Cup.  They’ve won it the last two years, but there’s a long way to go before they can make it three.

COLUMBUS CREW  L 1-2  v New York Red Bulls  •  Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] subbed in for the final 26 minutes of this match, with the two teams tied at 1-1.

MONTREAL IMPACT  D 2-2  v Orlando City SC  •  After starting the Impact’s first five competitive matches of 2015, it was time for a break, so Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] sat this one out.

DC UNITED  W 1-0  v LOS ANGELES GALAXY  •  Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] was an unused sub for DC last Saturday, while Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] was not in the gameday XVIII for the visitors.

TORONTO FC  L 1-2  @ Real Salt Lake  •  Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] was unavailable for this match, as he sat out suspended from the red card he was given at Columbus on 14 March.

Next Weekend’s Games
Friday, 3 April
~ Orlando City  v  DC UNITED, 7pm
Saturday, 4 April
~ Chicago  v  TORONTO FC, 3pm
~ PORTLAND  v  FC Dallas, 10pm
~ Vancouver  v  LOS ANGELES, 1030pm

PHOTO CREDIT:  Anne-Marie Sorvin/USA Today Sports

2014 Week Twenty-Four Report

Everyone has fewer than ten games left in their seasons, so each contest is now super-important.  Three points lost are three points gained by a conference foe, and a draw is maybe not as good as it is bad… depending on others’ results.  It was a big week with a lot of our boys’ teams moving around the standings a little bit.  All that being said, only three of our MLS guys got and tick.  Here’s what went down last weekend:

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  W 4-1  v DC UNITED  •  A mid-week clash between two traditional rivals saw no action for either of our boys, but plenty of goals and attacking verve from the home side.  Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] was not in the travel squad thanks to a still-dodgy hammy and Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] was not in the Galaxy XVIII because… well… I can’t seem to be able to dig up anything that has happened to him.  Maybe the other guys at his spot – and there are a few – are just in better form at the moment.  Since getting smoked by the Crew in the middle of last month, the Galaxy have won four straight by a combined score of 13-4.

TORONTO FC  L 0-3  v New England Revolution  •  This loss cost TFC boss Ryan Nelsen his job, which was a weird thing, especially since the Reds were and are in a playoff spot.  Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] was not available after tearing a hamstring last weekend.

MONTREAL IMPACT  W 2-0  v COLUMBUS CREW  •  Well, I’m honestly very happy for Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic], who authored his second shutout in three games, but I was certainly not happy that night as a Crew fan.  Not when an opportunity to cement a playoff spot went wasted.  Bush played well, making five saves along the way.  Truly, he deserved it.  Especially after all the goalfests the Impact’s porous defense has permitted during his four other starts (12 goals allowed).  Nevertheless, Montreal is still in the basement and the Crew are still in the basement of the playoff berths, clinging onto 5th place by the narrowest of margins (a 1-point lead over Philly, who have a game in hand as of last weekend).  Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] subbed in at mid for the final 14 minutes.

PORTLAND TIMBERS  W 3-0  @ Vancouver Whitecaps  •  They’re all must-win games now, but last Sunday’s was a mustn’t-lose match for the Timbers.  Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] picked an ideal time to turn in one of his best performances of the season.  He played all 90 and created the Timbers’ final goal of the game with this mazy dribble.  Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was an unused sub and Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] was not in the team.

DC UNITED  W 2-0  v New York Red Bulls  •  Nice bounce-back, DC.  Very nice.  No Korb, though.  Performances like that will win you the Atlantic Cup every year… which they did by winning the match and despite the fact the two teams will play again in less than a fortnight.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  W 3-0  @ Chivas USA  •  Galaxy still rollin’ on.  Not a Walker in sight.  Did you see this goal from Robbie Keane?  If not, it is most definitely worth watching.  Pretty sweet stuff from the Irishman.

UP NEXT
Philadelphia  v  TORONTO FC, Wednesday, 3 September, 730pm
LOS ANGELES  v  Colorado, Friday, 5 September, 1030pm – Univisión Deportes
TORONTO  v  Philadelphia, Saturday, 6 September, 2pm
Houston  v  MONTREAL, 830pm
Vancouver  v  DC UNITED, 10pm
COLUMBUS  v  Chivas USA, Sunday, 7 September, 3pm – UniMás
PORTLAND  v San Jose, 445pm – ESPN

 

The non-MLS Report
INDY ELEVEN  D 2-2  v New York Cosmos  •  The Eleven snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat with a 90th minute tally last Saturday night.  Making the win all the more exciting is the fact the Cosmos held a 2-0 lead at the 60-minute mark.  Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] started and played all 90 at left back.  The draw puts Indy in the NASL’s ninth place with eight points.  NEXT UP:  @ Atlanta Silverbacks, Saturday, 6 September, 730pm

OTTAWA FURY  L 0-2  v Tampa Bay Rowdies  •  The Fury surrendered both goals in the first half en route to its fifth loss of the fall season.  Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] started at offensive mid and played the first half before being subbed out.  Ottawa is now last in the league with five points from eight games.  NEXT UP:  v Carolina RailHawks, Sunday, 7 September, 3pm

WILMINGTON HAMMERHEADS  L 1-3  v Orlando City SC;  D 0-0  v Sacramento Republic FC  •  Brad Stuver [Twinburg/Twinsburg] played all of both matches, as the Hammerheads continue their push towards the USL-PRO playoffs.  He made seven saves against OC and two more against Sac FC.  Wilmington has three matches remaining in the regular season and can lock up a playoff berth by earning at least four points from those matches.  NEXT UP:  v Orlando City, Wednesday, 3 September, 730pm;  @ Dayton Dutch Lions, Friday, 5 September, 7pm;  @ Rochester Rhinos, Sunday, 7 Sepetmber, 405pm

PHOTO CREDIT:  Anne-Marie Sorvin/USA Today

2014 Week Twenty-Three Report

The late summer weather heats up and the goals start pouring in from all sides, I guess.  Take a peek down below.  If your preference is a 0-0 stalemate, you came to the wrong place.  In addition to the goals, injuries to our guys seem to be the order of the day.  Here’s how it all went down for our guys last week:

PORTLAND TIMBERS  W 4-1  @ Alpha United, CONCACAF Champions League group 5  •  On Tuesday night in Guyana, the Timbers ran out easy winners in their first-ever CCL contest with two goals in each half.  Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] and Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] (seen below, on the right, post-game) were both starters, playing 90 and 82 minutes, respectively.  

DC UNITED  W 1-0  v Waterhouse FC, CCL group 3  •  No Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] in this one.  He’s still out injured.  But without him, DC got off to an ideal start in CCL group play.

MONTREAL IMPACT   W 3-2  @ CD FAS, CCL group 4  •  Up two goals, then tied.  Down a man, then up a goal.  There’s never a dull moment when Montreal plays FAS, and this match was representative of that statement to the fullest.  Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] was in goal and he’ll probably remember this match for a long time, feeling very glad to get out of El Salvador with the three points.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  W 4-3  @ Colorado Rapids  •  This game wrapped up our Wednesday night portion of the program with a ton of goals, but no Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe].

MONTREAL IMPACT  L 2-4  v New York Red Bulls  •  Bush started and again got shelled.  Again.  He made three saves and without him, the hapless Impact could’ve really gotten hammered.  How hapless?  Montreal was winning 1-0 at halftime.  Granted, the Red Bulls are tough to beat at home, but…

TORONTO FC  D 2-2  v Chicago Fire  •  Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] started  at left back, as per usual, but he subbed out in the 58th minute with an apparent hamstring injury.  We’ll keep you updated on the status of that as news becomes available.  But before he left, Morrow’s cross way back in the third minute was turned into an own goal by Fire defender Bakary Soumare.

COLUMBUS CREW  W 3-0  v Houston Dynamo  •  Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was an unused sub as the Crew continued its strong form of late, as the Black and Gold have now moved into a tie with TFC for third place in the Eastern Conference on 33 points (though those guys have two games in hand on Columbus).

DC UNITED  W 3-0  @ Sporting Kansas City  •  The injured Korb was not in the XVIII again as DC put it to the Eastern Conference leaders and got a bit closer to overtaking them.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  W 2-0  v Vancouver Whitecaps  •  Two first-half goals were enough to carry the Galaxy to victory over the Caps.  No Walker in the team for the second straight match.

PORTLAND TIMBERS  L 2-4  v Seattle Sounders  •  If you didn’t watch this match, played live on ESPN2 because you were on a walk with your kids and then feeding them dinner while watching the Simpsons marathon on FXX, and just looked at the stats, you’d notice that they don’t support the final scoreline.  But the visitors were up 3-0 after 70 minutes and showed the form that has taken them to the top of the Western Conference and Supporters’ Shield standings.  Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] started as a mid and played 80 minutes.  Zemanski was an unused sub and Nanchoff was not in the gameday XVIII.

NON-MLS REPORT
INDY ELEVEN  L 2-4  v OTTAWA FURY  •  Our only two fellas in the NASL were set to face off for the first time since the Spring Season, but gnarly weather rolled through central Indiana in the early evening and pushed back kickoff to nearly 10pm.  After the visitors went ahead in the second half, the home side equalized in the 84th minute, and just as the Indy fans were set to go home content with the point, Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] scored two minutes later to earn Ottawa its first victory of the Fall Season.  Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] started at left back and played the entire match for Indy, and in one more link to Cleveland, the referee was Chris Penso of Dover.

WILMINGTON HAMMERHEADS  W 2-1  @ Orange County Blues FC;  D 3-3  @ LA Galaxy II  •  Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] started both and played every minute, making three saves against the Galaxy Jr. and one more against the Blues.  The Saturday night win was the Hammerheads’ first in four matches since Stuver joined the club and the four points earned helped them climb to within a point of the playoffs.

PHOTO CREDIT:  Portland Timbers Facebook page

2014 Week Thirteen Report

Trillium Cup.  Cascadia Cup.  Two losses.  A draw.  Three wins.  Six guys played.  Three guys did not play.  Here’s how things went down for our fellas and their teams this past weekend.

COLUMBUS CREW L 2-3  @ TORONTO FC  •  Seriously, Sorin Stoica?  I know that a “journalist” like myself should be fair and unbiased and objective, but this Crew fan can’t keep quiet about TFC’s first goal, which came from the spot after a really lame call for a penalty kick after a Tyson Wahl “foul” on Jermain DeFoe, who should really be embarrassed for going down so easily.  Stoica, our Clevelander in the middle, was the one who bought DeFoe’s act and in the end, the Black and Gold Nation will feel that things should’ve ended in a 2-2 draw and they’d still be alive in hopes of retaining the 2014 Trillium Cup that they won last year.  Anyhoo,  Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] remains undefeated in his career when playing against the Crew (2 wins, 2 draws) after starting at left back and playing all 90 on Saturday.  For the Crew, Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] started and played 90 at right back and Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] got his first action of the season, subbing in for the final 29 minutes as a midfielder.  Speas even picked up an assist on the Crew’s second goal, whipping in the corner kick that Agustín Viana headed home.  Up next for TFC:  Amway Canadian Championship Final, leg 2 @ Montreal Impact, Wednesday, 4 June, 730pm    Up next for CLB:  v Real Salt Lake, Wednesday, 4 June, 730pm; @ DC United, Saturday, 7 June, 630pm

DC UNITED  W 1-0  v Sporting Kansas City  •  DC has as many shutouts this season as it had in all of the 2013 season after Saturday’s blanking of Sporting KC.  Including this one, Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] has started and played 90 in three of those shutouts.  Coincidence?  Nope.  Direct correlation.  Next up:  v Columbus Crew, Saturday, 7 June, 630pm

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  D 1-1  @ Chicago Fire  •  Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] started and played 90  as a holding mid for the Galaxy, who earned a point in the heat in Chicago on Sunday.  Next up:  v Chivas USA, Sunday, 8 June, 8pm

MONTREAL IMPACT  W 2-0  v New England Revolution  •  Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] was the unused backup goalkeeper in this one, but he’ll be back in net on Wednesday as the Impact attempt to defend their ACC title at home against TFC.  It was a good win for the Impact, who broke the Revs’ 5-match winning streak en route to their first shutout of the season.  Next up:  Amway Canadian Championship Final, leg 2 v Toronto FC, Wednesday, 4 June, 730pm

PORTLAND TIMBERS  L 3-4  v Vancouver Whitecaps  •  It was another Cascadia Cup goalfest on Sunday, when the Caps were able to outscore the Timbers in the Rose City.  After leading 1-0 early, Portland gave up four straight, and then got two more back before it was over.  Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] started as a forward and played 90.  Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] was an unused sub.  Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was not in the gameday 18.  Next up:  v Real Salt Lake, Saturday, 7 June, 10pm

And now for the not-so-MLS news:

INDY ELEVEN  L 1-2  v San Antonio Scorpions  •  Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] started and played 90 as the Eleven were minutes away from their first win of the season, when the visitors grabbed their winner.  Next up: @ Atlanta Silverbacks, Saturday, 7 June, 730pm

OTTAWA FURY  W 1-0  v FC Edmonton  •  Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] started and played 90 as a center mid.  He and his teammates had to wait until the dying moments of the match to get their winner.  Next up:  @ New York Cosmos, Sunday, 8 June, 5pm

DAYTON DUTCH LIONS  L 0-1  v Rochester Rhinos  •  Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] was not listed as being a part of the gameday 18 on Sunday for the loss to the Rhinos.  Next up:  @ Orange County Blues, Saturday, 7 June, 10pm

PHOTO CREDITS:  Morrow/Nathan Denette, Canadian Press; Walker/Matt Marton, USA Today Sports

2014 Week Five Report

A pair of our boys’ rivalry trophy competitions fired up this past weekend, as the Crew and Timbers got into their respective battles with two of their most hated foes.  Elsewhere, it was interconference fun.  Here’s what went down last week for the Clevelanders in MLS:

COLUMBUS CREW  L 0-2  v TORONTO FC  •  For the second year in a row, Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] returned to his home state and helped sink his  home state team, but this year it was with a different team than last year.  Morrow started at left back and played all 90, and his assist created TFC’s second goal.  The loss was the Crew’s first in four matches to start the season, and Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] started at right back, but subbed out in the 67th minute as the Crew trailed 1-0 and threw on more attackers in an attempt to get back in the game.  Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was not in the gameday XVIII for Columbus.  The Reds’ victory gives them a leg up in the race for the 2014 Trillium Cup, which the next meeting between the two teams coming in Toronto at the end of May.  NEXT UP FOR COLUMBUS:  @ San Jose, Sunday, 13 April, 3pm – match televised live on UniMás    NEXT UP FOR TFC:  v Colorado Rapids, Saturday, 12 April, 4pm

MONTREAL IMPACT  D 2-2  v New York Red Bulls  •  In this match between two winless Eastern Division teams, Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] was the backup goalie for the Impact, who led early and then fell behind 2-1 before equalizing in the 59th minute.  The following day, Bush started and played all of the teams’ Reserve League match, which Montreal won 4-1.  He was only beaten by a NYRB penalty kick in the second half.  NEXT UP:  v Chicago Fire, Saturday, 12 April, 4pm

DC UNITED  W 2-0  v New England Revolution  •  No Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] for DC in this one, as he’s on the shelf recovering from knee surgery.  NEXT UP:  v New York Red Bulls, Saturday, 12 April, 7pm

PORTLAND TIMBERS  D 4-4  v Seattle Sounders  •  Each Cascadia Cup clash is  memorable for a different reason and this one will be remembered for more than just the eight goals.  Portland surrendered a seemingly comfortable 4-2 second-half lead to end up with the draw, and the Sounders’ U.S. National Team Captain, Clint Dempsey, scored three times to keep his team in it.  Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] started and looked very dangerous throughout the first half, before subbing out injured in the 85th minute, with Portland leading 4-2.  He subbed out on a corner kick and from it, Seattle got to 4-3.  Two minutes later, his replacement, Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] clattered into a Sounders attacker to create the penalty kick that made it 4-4.  Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] was not a part of Portland’s gameday 18 for this match.  NEXT UP: v Chivas USA, Saturday, 12 April, 1030pm

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  W 3-0  @ Chivas USA  •  Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] got the call up to the varsity for this edition of the CaliClásico, but he did not see any action.  NEXT UP:  v Vancouver Whitecaps, Saturday, 12 April, 1030pm

And now for some not-so-MLS news:

INDY ELEVEN – lost 3-1 to the Chicago Fire on 1 April and then defeated the Indiana University Men’s team 3-1 on 5 April.  Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] started at left back against both opponents and played all of both matches.  The Eleven’s inaugural season in the North American Soccer League kicks off this weekend when they host the Carolina RailHawks at 730pm.

OTTAWA FURY – Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] and his team, one of the other NASL debutants for the 2014 season, recently completed their preseason training in Florida with a 2-1 victory over Floridians FC on 5 April.  They open league play on Saturday with a trip to the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers.

DAYTON DUTCH LIONS – The Lions, the USL PRO affiliate of the Columbus Crew, picked up a win on Friday, 4 April at the Charlotte Eagles by a score of 1-0.  Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] was not in the gameday roster for this match.  On 1 April, the Lions had a scrimmage with the University of Cincinnati Men’s team and drew 2-2, but I had a tough time finding details on this match and could not discern whether Stuver got time in net for that one.  Their next match will be Friday night, 11 April when they host the Rochester Rhinos.

2013 – Week 33 Report

Once again, I’m confused by the weeks.  Each team plays 34 games and gets two “off” weeks, but this is the Week 33 Report and the regular season ends in two weeks.  I don’t know.  I could change my number again, if it actually mattered.  Anyways, here’s how things went since our last report:

Wednesday, 9 October

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES  W 1-0 v Colorado Rapids

In case you hadn’t noticed, Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] hasn’t been the Quakes starting left back for quite some time now.  Since the middle of the season, he’s been in and out of the starting lineup, and of late, he’s been a super sub.  Last week, against Colorado, Morrow came on in the 87th minute for Shea Salinas.  NEXT UP:  @ Los Angeles Galaxy, Sunday, 20 October, 9pm – ESPN

Saturday, 12 October

MONTREAL IMPACT  L 0-1 @ New England Revolution

Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] was the backup goalie for this one, another tough loss for the Impact, who find themselves fourth in the Eastern Conference with three games left to play.  NEXT UP:  @ Los Angeles Galaxy, Wednesday, 16 October, 1030pm; v Philadelphia Union, Saturday, 19 October, 2pm

DC UNITED  D 1-1 v Philadelphia Union

Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] started at right back and played all 90.  While DC has 22 losses on the year, this one may feel a bit like the 23rd since the game-tying goal from Philly came in the final minute of the contest.  NEXT UP:  @ Sporting Kansas City, Friday, 18 October, 8pm – NBCSN

Sunday, 13 October

PORTLAND TIMBERS  W 1-0 v Seattle Sounders  

Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] started up top as one of three forwards.  Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] subbed on in the 67th minute for Trencito Valencia.  Zemanski also started and captained the Timbers Reserves on Monday during their match with the Sounders JV.  He played the first half and then subbed out.  Seattle won that game 4-1.  The main event win on Sunday evening allows Portland to climb a) to the top of the Western Conference standings with 53 points and two games remaining; and b) over Seattle in the 2013 Cascadia Cup standings (though Vancouver won the cup, Portland came in 2nd).  Double the fun!!  NEXT UP: v Real Salt Lake, Saturday, 19 October, 1030pm

No game last week

COLUMBUS CREW    NEXT UP:  @ New England Revolution, Saturday, 19 October, 730pm

PHOTO CREDIT: Portland Timbers staff

2013 – Week 32 Report

Four of our guys, who play for two of our teams, got time this weekend.  As the season winds down, there are still important matches to be played for all of our fellas, despite the fact it appears only two of their teams will make the playoffs.  Here’s how things went down this weekend:

COLUMBUS CREW  L 0-1 v Sporting Kansas City

Both of our fellas got into the same match for the Crew for the first time since an August loss at Real Salt Lake.  Alas, it wasn’t enough.  Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] subbed in for the final nineteen minutes and Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] got in for the last eight.  Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] was not in the 18.  The loss keeps the Crew on the outside looking in on the playoff race, as it pretty much all but killed any hopes they had of making it to the postseason.  If the Crew can win these last two contests with New England and get some help from others, it could happen, but…  NEXT MATCH: @ New England Revolution, Saturday, 19 October, 730pm

DC UNITED  L 0-3 v Chicago Fire

Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] was not in the gameday 18 for this one.  Not much to say about it, other than the fact this match, which was played two days after the US Open Cup Final didn’t do the newly-crowned champions any favors.  NEXT MATCH:  v Philadelphia Union, Saturday, 12 October, 7pm

MONTREAL IMPACT  L 0-1 @ Houston Dynamo

Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] was the backup goalie for this loss, which flipped the two teams in the standings.  Houston is now third and Montreal is fourth in the Eastern Conference.  NEXT MATCH: v New England Revolution, Saturday, 12 October, 230pm

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES  —

No match for Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] and the Earthquakes this weekend.  NEXT MATCH: v Colorado Rapids, Wednesday, 9 October, 1030pm

PORTLAND TIMBERS  D 2-2 @ Vancouver Whitecaps  

Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] started up top and added one more to his highlight reel of sweet goals with this bomb.  It was 1-0 Portland for a while, but then the most fantastic three minutes of the entire MLS season broke out and it was a 2-2 match.  You’ve gotta’ see these highlights.  After that, Nagbe got tackled and stayed down with some right knee pain and subbed out for Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] in the 83rd minute.  The draw is the third straight this season between these two squads, further muddling the Cascadia Cup standings.  Portland can’t win the Cup this season, but they could play the role of spoiler if they win their… NEXT MATCH:  v Seattle Sounders, Sunday, 13 October, 8pm – ESPN