2015 Season Kick Off Preview + CCL Report

PHEW!!!! In the very first minute of extra time, the MLS Players Union and the league’s owners agreed to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement late on Wednesday, thereby averting a strike and allowing this weekend’s game to proceed as planned. My favorite quote regarding this agreement came from the Twitter-sphere,

I know from years of watching my dad negotiate union deals and CBAs that if both sides aren’t fully happy with outcome, it’s a good deal.

— Jonah Freedman (@jonahfreedman) March 5, 2015

Only history will truly allow us to evaluate the quality of the deal, but there can be no doubt that the timing of it all can only be viewed as positive – no games were missed.  With that bit of business behind us, we can look forward to our guys’ contests and we can also talk about what DC and Montreal did in their CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal second leg matches this past week. Let’s get to the report/preview:

MONTREAL IMPACT  •  Carrying two precious away goals and a  2-2 aggregate score after its first leg match with Pachuca, Montreal fought and fought and fought for 79 minutes on Tuesday, only to allow a penalty kick goal to give los Tuzos a 3-2 advantage.  But in the dying minutes of extra time, rookie Cameron Porter controlled a bomb of a pass from Callum Mallace before poking it through Pachuca goalie Conejo Pérez’s legs to level the score at 1-1 and send the Impact into the semifinals (3-3 aggregate, away goals tiebreaker) – making them just the second (or third, depending how you look at it) MLS team to advance so far into the competition.  Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] was marvelous in goal for the home side, making two saves and dealing cleanly with any ball that got to him (minus the penalty).  Next up for the Impact will be a home-and-away with Costa Rican club Alajuelense (see below) next month.

DC UNITED  •  In a deep hole after the away leg, having lost 5-2 in Costa Rica a week ago and needing a 3-0 win to see them meet Montreal in the CCL semifinals, the best DC could do was beat Alajuelense 2-1 last night, which sent the Ticos on with the 6-4 aggregate win.  Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] got the start at left back for the hosts, on a horrible, freezing rainy night in our nation’s capital on Wednesday.  DC was up 1-0 at halftime, thanks to a goal from Costa Rican Jairo Arrieta, which created more hope for them to possibly turn things all the way around, but a late goal from the visitors wrapped things up for them, despite a consolation penalty kick from Fabián Espíndola.

Here is this weekend’s schedule of games (for our guys’ teams only):
FRIDAY, 7 MARCH
– LOS ANGELES  v  Chicago, 1030pm, UniMás [If you’d like to watch this game, but can’t understand Spanish, you’re in luck.  Hit this link for tips on how to adjust your SAP option on your TV.]
SATURDAY, 8 MARCH
– DC UNITED  v  MONTREAL, 3pm
– Vancouver  v  TORONTO FC, 6pm
– Houston  v  COLUMBUS, 8pm
– PORTLAND  v  Real Salt Lake, 1030pm
SUNDAY, 9 MARCH
– Orlando City  v  NEW YORK CITY FC, 5pm, ESPN2

PHOTO CREDIT:  Paul Chaisson

Hmmm… what if?

I think Ohio would do pretty well if there were some sort of Inter-State Tournament. Check out this article from mlssoccer.com’s Jonah Freedman.

Which US states produce the best pros? If there was a tournament, who would win? Check out the rosters: http://t.co/8zrKSIRDXu

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 22, 2013