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

2015 Week 20 Report

It was a small MLS schedule, but a full NASL and USL schedule for our fellas.  Look up top for the MLS guys, down below for the others.

PORTLAND TIMBERS  L 0-3  @ Philadelphia Union  •  This result ended Philly’s winless streak against Portland (0-3-2 all-time).  Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] subbed on and played the final seven minutes of the match. Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] did not play, nor did he make the trip, as he recovers from a shoulder injury.

MONTREAL IMPACT  W 3-0  COLUMBUS CREW SC  •  What were the takeaways from this one?  The Impact picked up just its second win in its past six games and Crew SC’s up-and-down season continued (6 wins, 7 losses, 6 draws) with yet another non-win on the road.  Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] made five saves in the shutout, his third of the season.  He’s now fifth in the league in saves with 61.  Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] and Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] were both unused subs for Crew SC.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  W 2-1  Club América  •  Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] played the second half at holding mid.  If you haven’t seen the highlights, do check them out to watch Robbie Keane’s goal.  It’s something else.

NEW YORK CITY FC  D 4-4  TORONTO FC  •  Much like last weekend’s NYCFC match, the DP’s in this one did not disappoint… well, except for when David Villa and Sebastian Giovinco each missed penalty kicks for their respective teams, I guess.  But the little Italian scored a hat trick in nine minutes and the little – but comparatively larger – Spaniard added two goals of his own.  Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] is still out injured.  Justin Morrow [Shaker Heights/St. Ignatius] played all 90 at right back for TFC and picked up a yellow card late in the match for a foul.

Next Week’s Matches:
~ Wednesday, 15 July
Chicago  v  COLUMBUS, 830pm
~ Friday, 17 July
LOS ANGELES  v  San Jose, 11pm – live on UniMas
~ Saturday, 18 July
Philadelphia  v  TORONTO, 4pm
Sporting KC  v  MONTREAL, 830pm
Dallas  v  DC, 9pm
PORTLAND  v  Vancouver, 1030pm
~ Sunday, 19 July
COLUMBUS  v  Chicago, 5pm – live on ESPN2

---

ATLANTA SILVERBACKS  W 1-0  v Jacksonville Armada FC  –  Matt Horth [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] subbed on in the 83rd minute of Atlanta’s first home victory of this calendar year.  Next up for the ‘Backs is a trip to Fort Lauderdale for a 730pm kickoff on Saturday night.

CHARLOTTE INDEPENDENCE  L 0-1  @ Louisville City FC  –  Jack Thompson [Hudson/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] subbed on and played 28 minutes.  Next up for the Independence is a trip to league-leaders Rochester for a 705pm on Saturday.

INDY ELEVEN  W 2-1  v Carolina RailHawks  –  Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] started at left back and assisted on the Eleven’s first goal – please see the highlights for the simple cross to header tally.  Judson McKinney [Cuyahoga Falls/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was an unused sub.  Next up for Indy is a trip to Ottawa for a 3pm Saturday tilt.

OTTAWA FURY  D 1-1  @ Minnesota United FC  –  Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] started as usual, but went off injured in the 43rd minute.  If that guy didn’t have bad luck with injuries, he wouldn’t have no luck at all.  Despite the loss of their midfield maestro, the Fury was able to fight back from down 1-0 to get the road draw with a PK in the 75th minute.

PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS  W 2-0  @ TFC II; L 2-4  v FC Montreal  –  Mike Green [Strongsville/Strongsville] started and played 90 minutes, but I’m not exactly sure at which position.  As you should know, the first player listed is the goalkeeper, then the defenders are sometimes separated from him by a semi-colon or a dash, same for the mids and the forwards.  Well, Green is the second name listed.  Was he a forward/striker last Wednesday up in Ontario?  Can’t tell.  On Saturday, up the road a piece at FC Montreal, he subbed on in the 86th minute for the third guy listed.  So… outside mid?  Third forward?  Again, I’m unsure.  Anyways, Pittsburgh is now fifth in the Eastern Conference on 25 points (7-6-4) and will host Louisville City FC on Saturday at 7pm.

 

2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup 5th Round Report

And then there was one.  We came into this week with five of our fellas’ teams still alive in the country’s oldest knockout competition.  Three of them lost and the last one to play in this round won.  Here are the stories:

DC UNITED  L 1-2  @ Philadelphia Union  •  You’d have bet that quite a few of the home fans in attendance at PPL Park for this contest were fearing the worst when their Union were down a goal on the scoreboard and a man on the team sheet when these two teams went into the locker room at halftime.  But the fiesty Philadelphias fought back and got two goals before time and live to fight another day.  Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] was an unused sub for DC.

COLUMBUS CREW SC  L 0-2  @ Orlando City SC  •  Too much heat and humidity and too much Kaká put an end to the Crew SC’s USOC dreams on Tuesday night in Orlando.  Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] started in the playmaker slot and went 65 minutes before subbing out.  Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] got the call between the pipes for Columbus.  He made four saves and besides the goals allowed (no goalie anywhere could’ve stopped the second one), put in a solid 90-minute shift.  It’s a shame he’s played so well in his last two starts but both resulted in losses.

CHARLOTTE INDEPENDENCE  L 1-3  @ Chicago Fire  •  Despite scoring first, it was the USL side that fell by the wayside on Chicago’s South Side (kind of), thanks to two goals from a former MLS MVP and one from a Ghanaian.  Jack Thompson [Hudson/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was an unused sub for the Independence.

PORTLAND TIMBERS  L 0-2  @ Real Salt Lake  •  Two second-half goals from the hosts bumped the Timbers out of the Cup.  Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] subbed on in the second half and got 16 minutes of time.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  W 1-0  @ San Jose Earthquakes  •  Our guy Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] got the game-winning assist on a beauty of a pass to Jose Villarreal.  Walker started as a holding mid and played 69 minutes before subbing out.  No doubt this win must’ve been just a little bit sweeter after the loss the ‘Quakes handed to LA on the weekend.  The Galaxy moves on to the USOC Quarterfinals, where they’ll play at Real Salt Lake on 14 July at 10pm

PHOTO CREDIT:  Reinhold Matay/USA Today Sports

2015 Week 17 Report

I’ve got the time to sit and write the posts, so I might as well split up the games from this week.  Here’s how our fellas’ teams did last night:

TORONTO FC  W 3-1  MONTREAL IMPACT  •  Justin Morrow [Shaker Heights/St. Ignatius] started at right back for TFC and played 90.  He’s mentioned by name in the game recap when you click the link.  Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] made five saves for the Impact.  TFC took 20 shots and seven were errant, but by varying distances, so Bush for sure had a busy night.  The Reds’ Designated Players each scored a goal and two of them got assists.  I guess that’s why those dudes are “designated.”

COLUMBUS CREW SC  W 2-1  New England  •  34 seconds was all it took for the Crew to fall behind 1-0 to the second-place team in the Eastern Conference.  About 200 seconds later, the home side leveled the score through the league’s top scorer.  He got another goal in the second half to earn the Black and Gold the three points (with a little help from great team defense all over the field).  Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] and Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] were unused subs.

DC UNITED  W 1-0  @ Chicago Fire  •  The visitors showed why they’re on top of the conference by grinding out this road win, sealed with a rip to the top corner 17 minutes from time.  Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] didn’t make the trip.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  W 5-0  PORTLAND TIMBERS  •  Wow!  Robbie Keane is back and the Galaxy can not be stopped by conventional means.  So much for the Timbers’ 455-minute string of not having been scored upon.  Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] started and, as is his custom as the league’s most-fouled player, took three knocks during his 60 minutes on the field.  The final hack sent him to the sideline to get some medical attention, and probably hastened his premature departure from the match.  Portland will want him feeling much better this weekend when it hosts Seatttle.  In a neat bit of Cleveland synchrony, the Timbers’ Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] and the Galaxy’s Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] both subbed in on the same stoppage in the 74th minute.

This Weekend’s Matches:
~ Saturday, 27 June
TFC  v  DC, 5pm
Philadelphia  v  MONTREAL, 7pm
Real Salt Lake  v  COLUMBUS, 10pm
San Jose  v  LOS ANGELES, 1030pm
~ Sunday, 28 June
NYCFC  v  NYRB, 5pm – live on ESPN2
PORTLAND  v  Seattle, 730pm – live on Fox Sports 1

PHOTO CREDIT:  Robert Mara

2015 Week 13 Report

These next couple weeks, there are a ton of games on the slate for our guys.  Three teams doubled up this past week, and looking ahead, a load of international friendlies, MLS contests and US Open Cup 3rd and 4th Round ties will keep everyone busy and hopefully get all of our fellow who are fit a bunch of playing time.  Here’s what went on last week:

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  W 1-0  Real Salt Lake  •  LA got an early PK and did the rest with a solid effort to grind out the win.  Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] subbed on for the final eight minutes to help kill off the game.

PORTLAND TIMBERS  W 1-0  DC UNITED  •  Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] played 90 for the hosts and kept the DC defenders on their toes all night long, but for the first time all season, did not draw a foul.  Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] played 90 for DC.

TORONTO FC  W 3-1  San Jose Earthquakes  •  And the winner is… Justin Morrow [Shaker Heights/St. Ignatius]!!  Winner of what, you ask?  Could be photo of the season, don’t you think?  That IS a fantastic pic, but that’s not I mean.  He’s the first of our men to score a goal in a league match this season!  His 27th minute diving header was truly a thing of beauty.  Textbook.  Yes, he did his usual start-at-left-back-and-play-90 thing, but his team got the win, which was icing on the cake.  No surprise here, but he even made the Team of the Week.  If you’re looking for more video of Morrow, here’s a piece that the TFC folks put together on his visit to an elementary school in Toronto.  Again, what a photo!!

NEW YORK CITY FC  D 1-1  Houston Dynamo  •  No Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] for NYCFC, as the two teams traded first-half goals on that tiny, little Yankee Stadium pitch.

DC UNITED  W 2-1  Philadelphia Union  •  Helluva bounce-back from DC, who got a late goal and a come-from-behind win three days after a cross-country trip and a loss.  Korb didn’t start, but he subbed in to play the final 17 minutes.

COLUMBUS CREW SC  D 2-2  Orlando City FC  •  Goal up, man down, level, goal up, give up a late one for a point.  That’s the quick version of the Crew SC’s trip to Orlando.  Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] was the backup keeper and Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was an unused sub.

MONTREAL IMPACT  L 0-3  @ Chicago Fire  •  It’s never easy playing at Chicago, as Montreal found out last Saturday night.  Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] made eight saves and was under pressure from start-to-finish.

PORTLAND TIMBERS  W 2-1  @ Colorado Rapids  •  All road wins are sweet, but this one tasted just a little bit better than some others.  Nagbe played 57 minutes before subbing out with Portland up 1-0.  The two teams amazingly traded goals after the scoreboard showed 90:00 and the Timbers got the last one.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  D 2-2  @ New England Revolution  •  All the goals came in the first half, with the Revs’ pair sandwiched around the Galaxy’s.  Walker was an unused sub.

Next Week’s Games
Wednesday, 3 June
~ DC v Chicago, 730pm
~ Philadelphia v COLUMBUS, 730pm
~ MONTREAL v Vancouver, 8pm
Saturday, 6 June
~ Philadelphia v NYCFC, 7pm
~ DC v TFC, 7pm
~ COLUMBUS v MONTREAL, 730pm
~ LA v Vancouver, 1030pm
~ PORTLAND v New England, 1030pm

---

Our NASL and USL PRO guys were busy in the Open Cup this past week.

ATLANTA SILVERBACKS  W 2-1  @ FC Chattanooga  •  Matt Horth [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was an unused sub while his team came back from a late goal to win the tie in extra time on Wednesday, 27 May.  The ‘Backs advance to play at the New York Red Bulls in the 4th Round.  They have the NASL bye week this round.

INDY ELEVEN  L 0-2  Louisville City FC  •  Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay]

started at left back and played all 120 minutes, as it took extra time for the new USL PRO club to knock off its northern NASL neighbors.  Could this be the beginning of a tasy I-65 derby?  Three days later, Hyland put in a performance that earned him NASL Player of the Week honors after a 2-2 draw with the visiting Tampa Bay Rowdies.  His goal at the death – the first of his professional career – rescued a point for Indy, and also put him on the NASL Team of the Week.  He played about 100 minutes in that match, which were spread out over about four hours, thanks to a bad weather delay in the middle of the proceedings.  Next up for the Eleven is a Saturday trip to Fort Lauderdale for a 730pm kickoff with the Strikers.

PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS  W 1-0  Tampa Bay Rowdies  •  Mike Green [Strongsville/Strongsville] started at right back and played all 90+ of this victory that sees the ‘Hounds advance to a 4th Round tie against DC United.  On the weekend, Pittsburgh won its Keystone Derby match by the unbelievable scoreline of 6-5.  That is not a typo.  Green started at right back, but subbed out in the 58th minute with Pittsburgh trailing 4-2.  Obviously, he missed out on a lot of the fireworks, but he did have a great seat for it on the bench.  Next up for the ‘Hounds is a Saturday visit from Saint Louis FC and a 730pm kickoff with the new USL PRO side.

OTTAWA FURY  D 0-0  FC Edmonton  •  Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] started and played 73 minutes before subbing out of this match, which earned the Fury an important away point.  Next up for Ottawa is a a Sunday trip to Jacksonville to take on the Armada FC in a 4pm start.

PORTLAND TIMBERS 2  W 3-1  @ Tulsa Roughnecks FC  •  Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] started, played all 90 and score a pair of goals in T2’s road win.  If getting match fitness and working on sharpening his technical abilities while still clawing his way back into the “varsity” 18 is the challenge, he seems to be rising it nicely.

PHOTO CREDIT:  (Morrow) The Canadian Press, (Hyland) indyeleven.com/Matt Schlotzhauer

2015 Week 12 Report

Long story short, it was a Draw-Win-Win/Loss-Draw-Win-Loss kind of weekend. Here’s how our fellas and their respective teams did:

COLUMBUS CREW SC  D 2-2  v Chicago Fire  •  On a night when the Crew SC were the superior team for most of the game, the plucky little Fire huffed and puffed and scraped out a road draw, getting their second goal in the final minute of the match.  Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] subbed on for the 87th minute and Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] was the backup keeper.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  W 1-0  v Houston Dynamo  •  Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] has returned from injury and is now full fit, but he got upstaged by Robbie Keane’s return from injury in which he created the Galaxy’s final-minute game-winning goal.  Walker was an unused sub on the night, but with two matches this upcoming week, we could see him get some minutes.

TORONTO FC  W 1-0  v PORTLAND TIMBERS  •  It wasn’t exactly some sort of mini version of The Holy War, but it was Justin Morrow‘s team [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] getting the better of Darlington Nagbe‘s team [Lakewood/St. Edward] for the third game running.  TFC won 3-2 last year and Morrow’s San Jose won 2-1 back in late July of 2013.  Both men played all of this match, which was settled by TFC’s little Italian DP.  BTW, Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] is back and fully recovered from his sports hernia surgery and he’s been turning out for the Timbers 2 of USL PRO recently and looking lively and good.  Should just be a matter of time before he’s back in the first team.

DC UNITED  D 1-1  @ New England Revolution  •  Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] started at right back and played 65 minutes, subbing out with his team down 1-0 on the scoreboard, but up two men on the field.  DC’s equalizer would come 15 minutes after Korb’s departure and it was a well-stolen point by the Black and Red.

MONTREAL IMPACT  W 2-1  v FC Dallas  •  Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] was back in net for the Impact and he sure was busy, making seven important saves, like THIS ONE, punching away three dangerous balls and catching two crosses.  FCD took 14 corners in the match and didn’t technically score off any of them.  Despite all he did do on the night, Bush will be replaying the visitors’ goal in his head (how about a little help, other defenders?) – which began from an illegally-placed corner kick, BTW.  Much easier to get away with when you’re in the left corner, no doubt.

NEW YORK CITY FC  L 0-2  @ Real Salt Lake  •  Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] was not in the travel team for this loss and has been out for the past two weeks after suffering an adductor injury.

Next Week’s Matches
Wednedsay, 27 May
~ LOS ANGELES  v  Real Salt Lake, 1030pm
~ PORTLAND  v  DC UNITED, 1030pm
Saturday, 30 May
~ TORONTO FC  v  San Jose, 5pm
~ NYCFC  v  Houston, 7pm
~ DC UNITED  v  Philadelphia, 7pm
~ Orlando City  v  COLUMBUS, 730pm
~ Chicago  v  MONTREAL, 830pm
~ Colorado  v  PORTLAND, 9pm
Sunday, 31 May
~ New England  v  LOS ANGELES, 7pm – live on Fox Sports 1

---

And now the NASL and USL-PRO guys’ report:

PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS  •  On Saturday night, the Hounds beat Richmond 2-1 to pick up some huge away points.  Mike Green [Strongsville/Strongsville] subbed on for the final 29 minutes for the Hounds, who gave the Kickers their first home loss of the season to improve to 3-3-3 on the season.  Earlier in the week, Pittsburgh hosted the USL PDL’s West Virginia Chaos in a US Open Cup 2nd Round tie the resulted in a Riverhounds 3-0 victory.  Green started at right back as usual and played all 90.  Coming up will be another two-match week for Pittsburgh.  On Wednesday, they’ll continue their run in the USOC 3rd Round when they take on NASL side Tampa Bay Rowdies on Wednesday at home at 7pm.  On Saturday, it’ll be a return to USL PRO action with leg two of the Keystone Derby when the Harrisburg City Islanders visit for a 7pm kickoff.

ATLANTA SILVERBACKS  L 2-4  @ FC Edmonton  •  The two teams played more than 40 scoreless minutes before the hosts got their first goal, then one each in the 54th and 66th minutes gave them a comfy lead they wouldn’t relinquish.  Matt Horth [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] started up top and subbed out once the score went to 3-0.  This Wednesday, the Silverbacks enter the USOC with a 3rd Round trip north a bit to play the NPSL’s Chatanooga FC at 730pm.  This weekend is Atlanta’s NASL bye and they currently sit on eight points from eight matches in the Spring Season.

OTTAWA FURY  W 1-0  v INDY ELEVEN  •  Our two guys in this game both played all of it, with Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] and the Fury coming out on top of Kyle Hyland’s [Bay Village/Bay] Eleven.  It’s obviously great to see these two fully fit, starting and contributing to their teams’ efforts.  If you click on the link above (Fury website) and watch the highlights, you can see the two come together just prior to the goal.  The Fury has eight points from seven NASL matches, while the Eleven has six from seven.  Up next for Ottawa is a visit from FC Edmonton for a 7pm Friday night kickoff.  Indy will take on USL PRO’s Louisville City FC in the USOC 3rd Round on Wednesday night for a 730pm kickoff, and they’ll welcome Tampa Bay on Saturday night for a 730pm game.

 

2015 Week 1 Report

The 20th season of Major League Soccer kicked off this weekend with some very entertaining games, and from our perspective, in the best possible way – all of our field playing guys got in and contributed to their teams’ efforts.  Of the eight who played, six of them started and played all 90 minutes!  Here’s how everyone did this weekend:

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  W 2-0  v Chicago Fire  •  Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] got the start as one of two central mids and he played 63 minutes before subbing out for Baggio Husidic.  The match was tied 0-0 at the time, but there’s no clear line to be drawn from his removal and the goals coming afterwards.  He did a fine job of moving the ball around and harrassing any visitors in possession when they got near him.

DC UNITED  W 1-0  v  MONTREAL IMPACT  •  Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] started at left back and played all 90 for DC.  As usual, the stats won’t show the good work he put in, helping blunt Dilly Duka’s influence on the game.  He even got a front-row seat for Justin Mapp’s horrific elbow dislocation towards the end of the second half.  The Impact’s Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] made two saves in his 90 minutes in goal, and was only beaten by a 1-v-1 50-50 ball with Jairo Arrieta in no-man’s land.  He dealt with everything else cleanly and comfortably.

TORONTO FC  W 3-1  @ Vancouver Whitecaps •  Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] wins the prize  as our first guy to register an assist in 2015, as his cross from the left side of the box was struck home by Robbie Findley to give TFC a 2-1 lead in the 59th minute.  He made the MLS Team of the Week for his performance, which you’d think should involve a bonus of some kind.  Maybe he gets a supporters’ scarf or some free Tim Horton’s donuts.  I’ll investigate and see what I can dig up.

COLUMBUS CREW SC  L 0-1  @ Houston Dynamo  •  Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] subbed on in the 80th minute as the Crew pressed unsuccessfully to tie the game.  He put in two corner kicks, one of which Kei Kamara probably would like to have back again.  Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] was not in the gameday 18 for this contest.

PORTLAND TIMBERS  D 0-0  v Real Salt Lake  •  The most important number in this match was 41.  That’s how many fouls the two teams combined to commit.  It’s a wonder the ref’s whistle was still working at the end.  Another crazy number was 10.  That’s how many corner kicks the Timbers’ Jack Jewsbury took, compared to RSL’s zero.  Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] started and played all 90 and Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] subbed on with four minutes left.  Nanchoff had a shot on goal in the dying seconds that would have won it, but RSL’s Chris Shuler cleared it away to preserve the draw.

NEW YORK CITY FC  D 1-1  @ Orlando City SC  •  Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] became the answer to a trivia question by starting at right back for NYC last Sunday.  (Can you name the only Northeast Ohioan to start in NYCFC’s first game ever?)  He played all 90, making the CLE a perfect 3-for-3 on outside back playing time in week one.

It’s a much lighter schedule next weekend, as five of the teams we care about will be in action – four of them in a pair of head-to-heads.  We’ll be at the Trillium Cup clash down at MAPFRE Stadium, living tweeting the events.  Can’t wait!!
Next weekend’s contests:
Saturday
– COLUMBUS  v  TORONTO, 730pm  [Here’s a nice little story on the Cup from mlssoccer.com]
Sunday
– NEW YORK CITY  v New England, 5pm, ESPN
– PORTLAND  v  LOS ANGELES, 7pm, Fox Sports 1

PHOTO CREDIT:  Jimmy Jeong/The Canadian Press

First post in 2.5 months…

Jeez!!  Yeah, I’m sure that you, my loyal readers, were wondering WTH happened to me.  Not that you care, but blah blah blah wife and kids, holidays, real job getting in the way, I got FIFA and a PlayStation for Christmas and I’m trying to win various leagues, blah blah blah…  So here I am again and I need to figure out where to start.  We’ve got a bit of 2014 playoffs and postseason bits to talk about, as well as getting into some 2015 pre-preseason news and notes, and finally my predictions for our guys for the upcoming campaign.  That really could be three separate posts – and that doesn’t even take into account our NASL duo.  Bottom line is: keep reading this space and paying attention to the tweets.  There’ll be a bunch of upcoming posts.  Okay, I’ll end the stream-of-consciousness and get down to business on a guy-by-guy basis:

Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic]  •  After taking over as the starter  in July, not only did Bush impress the Impact brass enough to get a new contract at the end of the season, but they also let incumbent GK Troy Perkins sign with Seattle as a free agent.  He finished the year with a record of 2-6-5 in 13 starts, recorded three shutouts and made 52 saves, which doesn’t sound great, but remember that Montreal was the league’s worst team in 2014.  Bush became a more consistent, decisive and reliable goalkeeper down the stretch, and if the ten guys in front of him can turn things around, the Impact can get out of the Eastern Conference cellar.

Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School]  •  A regular season that didn’t
end the way that DC United wanted quickly switched into an offseason that Korb wanted, as he survived exposure in the Expansion Draft and had his services retained by the Black and Red.  2014 started with Korb on the shelf, but he ended the year 19 games played/15 starts – 0 goals-3 assists-3 points), which is a solid season that had to feel a whole lot better, despite how it ended, than 2013’s slog.  Will he lock down a starting spot at outside back for Ben Olsen in 2015?  Time will tell, but he’s certainly reliable enough to be given a look during training camp.

Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius]  •  2014 started so promisingly for  TFC and but then the season turned into quite a drama/sitcom/roller coaster ride, ending with the Reds out of the playoffs again.   Morrow, who put together a 31/31 – 0-3-3 season, will hope for a more consistent season from the group in 2015, and just like last year, there’s a buzz around the new DP signings they’ve brought in.  They know what they’ll get out of their left back – solid marking with a little offense thrown in.  Any team that aspires to play free-flowing, attacking soccer would be more than happy to have an outside back like Morrow (and also Korb) on its roster.

Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward]  •  In 2013, the Timbers reached the Western Conference Semifinals after a 14-win regular  season and Nagbe contributed nine goals and four assists.  In 2014, Portland didn’t reach the playoffs and #6 scored once (in the regular season finale, no less) and added seven assists.  There’ll be no doubt that everyone in Stump Town will be looking to erase last season from their memory banks with a return to the postseason and a run at the Cup.  It wasn’t for lack of effort that the team fell short of its goals, but some changes in personnel were made during the offseason and a renewed commitment to the cause should help get 2015 underway on the right foot.  That should be enough to see a rise in Nagbe’s numbers and the team’s points – and possibly the return of his name to the mixer for a USMNT callup.  [Or not.  We all know Klinsmann hates MLS.]

Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit]  •  As the 2014 season ended,  so did Nanchoff‘s contract with Portland, but they picked up the option and he’ll be back in 2015.  He was left unprotected in the Expansion Draft, but nobody stole him, so fans in the Rose City can look forward to more from the crafty lefty.  Though he played in just three MLS matches, he was an unused substitute in 18 more, and a guy doesn’t make the gameday 18 just by looking good in the uniform – not for Head Coach Caleb Porter, at least.  It was in the Timbers’ CONCACAF and US Open Cup matches where Nanchoff showed what his capabilities are.  Let’s hope the league gets to see them this season.

Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy]  •  Is there any shame  in being Federico Higuaín’s understudy?  Not as long as you get a few shifts at right or left wing, from time-to-time.  Speas‘ statline in 2014 read 14/8 – 1-3-5 and you can add in both of the USOC matches he played, getting an assist in each.  He’s a valuable player for the Crew to have, versatile enough to fill a couple different roles and solid enough to hold his own when he starts.  It seems that how he’s used by Head Coach Gregg Berhalter will depend on the opponent, injuries within the team and in-game situation.  [Huh.  I guess that could said for a few other guys as well…]  They guy creates offense and can serve in a mean corner or free kick, and those are skills that Speas will love to show off to the Crew Stadium faithful in 2015.

Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg]  •  Going into 2014, what Stuver needed  most was meaningful playing time, and while he did not get it in net for the Crew, he did get it while on two different loan spells, first with the Dayton Dutch Lions and then with Wilmington Hammerheads FC, both of the USL Pro Division.  These two loan spells were sandwiched around a little clean-up ankle surgery.  He got into two USOC matches with the Lions and then had an 11-game run with the Hammerheads (highlighted by three shutouts and one USL Pro Team of the Week honor) that saw them get into the playoffs.  Looking ahead to 2015, he’ll still have two keepers ahead of him in the pecking order in Columbus, but the gap between Stuver and Steve Clark’s backup, Matt Lampson, has narrowed.  As long as he continues to grow as a professional, he’ll only be an injury away from some serious playing time in the Black and Gold.

Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe]  •  Ho hum.  Another season completed, another MLS Cup title for Walker and his Los Angeles Galaxy teammates, another trip to the White House to meet President Obama. (See him there, second from the far right side of the photo?)  I’m not one of those “MLS-is-fixed” conspiracy guys, but I do know that it is always better for the teams in the league’s biggest cities to be doing well.  You can’t help but marvel at a repeat champion in any sport.  Even though Walker didn’t play a minute of playoff soccer last season, it’s been said before that his role in training sessions, helping push the starting central midfielders to stay sharp, can not be underestimated.  He was an unused sub in the final and will be back again in 2015 to build on 2014’s eight games played with four starts (in MLS games; add on 2 and 1, respectively, in US Open Cup matches).

Josh Williams [Copley/Copley]  •  If you follow us on Twitter,  you know by now that the Columbus Crew traded Williams to New York City FC just before the Expansion Draft back in November.  After a 2014 in which Williams missed half the season recovering from surgery to alleviate a blood clot issue (14/13 – 0-1-1), Crew Head Coach Gregg Berhalter knew that he couldn’t protect him and that he’d be taken for sure in the draft, so he did the best thing he could for his team, which was deal Williams for some allocation money.  This move hurts the Crew (especially if you hate Man City like I do), as it would any team that parts with a starter.  Helluva pickup by NYCFC.  If you project out his numbers, he should be good for 25+ starts, a couple goals and maybe an assist or two.  Too bad they won’t come in Black and Gold.

Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy]  •  Much like his  two Timbers teammates, it was all quiet on the Zemanski front this offseason.  As a reward for a 2014 in which he went 13/7 – 0-0-0 (stats don’t tell his value to the team) he team protected him in the Expansion Draft, picked up his option and he’s under contract for 2015.  No news is good news, as Zemanski comes into camp knowing his role under coach Caleb Porter: play in the middle of the park; if Portland has the ball, keep it moving; if the opponent has the ball, go get it from them.  There’s a lot of mutual respect there, so we can look forward to another solid campaign from #21.

The next post will focus on our two NASL dudes, while the subsequent post will focus more on the all of our fellas’ teams’ preseason efforts, which are well underway by this point in February.

* PHOTO CREDIT DISCLAIMER *  I’ll admit it – I got lazy.  Most of these pics came from team websites, but a few came from Google searches.  I’m not including credits in this and only in this post, but I promise to include them in all future posts.  Promise!!  I appreciate all you hardworking photogs out there do and how hard it is to do it.  I won’t disrespect your efforts again by not thanking you formally in this space.

2014 Week Twenty-Eight Report

Okay, I’m sort of getting hung up on the numbers here.  I’m calling this Week 28 – which it was, based on how many calendar weeks it’s been since the season began.  However, most MLS teams have four games remaining in a 34 match schedule.  So should I be calling this Week 30 instead?  Whatever.  I’ll remain consistent with my numbering.  And speaking of consistent… I’d love to celebrate all of our teams winning their matches this week, but two of the victories came at the expense of another fella’s club.  Nevertheless, we haven’t had all W’s this year to date!  Here’s how it all went down since the last post:

MID-WEEK CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MATCHES
PORTLAND TIMBERS  W 6-0  v Alpha United  •  On Tuesday night, this match featured a cracking  strike from Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit].  He started and played all of it, contributing two assists to the effort, as well.  Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] also started and played 90, and he got the assist on Nano’s goal.  Check out the highlights to see all the fun.  The Timbers will need to win or draw with Olimpia in the final Group 5 match at the end of October in order to advance to the CCL Quarters.

DC UNITED  W 2-0  v FC Tauro  •  Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] started and played the first 45 minutes of this Group 4 match, a win that enabled DC to clinch a berth in the next round of CCL Quarterfinals.

TORONTO FC  W 3-2  v PORTLAND TIMBERS  •  The Timbers were up 2-0 after 16 minutes, but the Reds chipped away, goal-by-goal, until they earned the three points. Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] started and played 90.  Zemanski was an unused sub.  Nanchoff did not make the trip.  This win did not help the Crew improve its chances of remaining above the Eastern Conference playoff line.

DC UNITED  W 1-0  v Philadelphia  •  Start – check.  Play all 90 – check.  DC win – check.  Game-winning assist – bonus check!  Just another day at the office for Korb.  This win helped the Crew.

COLUMBUS CREW  W 2-0  v MONTREAL IMPACT  •  The Crew turned the table on the Impact from the teams’ last meeting, and against the same Montreal goalie, too.  Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] was back between the pipes, and he made two saves, but this time his team let him down.  For the home side, Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was an unused sub in this match.  This win helped the Crew jump up to the 4th spot in the Eastern Conference playoff ladder.  In other Crew news, Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] is back!  Kind of!!  He turned out for the Crew this past Tuesday when the team scrimmaged the Indy Eleven at the Crew’s training facility in Obetz.  So it would seem that the surgery was a success and now he’s working on getting his touch all set and on recovering his match fitness.  Speas started and played a good bit of the scrimmage.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  W 4-0  v New York Red Bulls  •  Nobody in their right minds wants to face the Galaxy at the StubHub Center right now.  No playing time for Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] on the night, as he was an unused substitute.  This win helped the Crew.

UP NEXT
Friday, 3 October
– DC  v  Sporting Kansas City, 8pm – NBC Sports Network
Saturday, 4 October
– New England Revolution  v  COLUMBUS, 730pm
– LOS ANGELES  v  TORONTO FC, 1030pm
– San Jose  v  PORTLAND, 11pm
Sunday, 5 October
– Chicago  v  MONTREAL, 5pm

NASL REPORT
OTTAWA FURY  L 2-3  v Minnesota United FC  •  Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] started at center mid and played all 90, as the Fury dropped some valuable points after going up one, down two, then level in the 55th minute before… the visitors got their winner with two minutes left.  Despite the loss, there are two games this next week for the Fury and with them, an opportunity to pick up six points and jump over some teams in the table.  Ottawa is eighth with 12 points from 12 games and six left.  Up next: v Atlanta Silverbacks, Wednesday, 7pm; @ San Antonio Scorpions, Saturday, 830pm

INDY ELEVEN  L 0-1  v Carolina RailHawks  •  Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] was back in the Eleven starting lineup, but this time as left mid.  He put in a 59-minute shift before subbing out.  The loss keeps Indy in ninth place in the league, with 12 points from 11 matches remaining and five matches remaining.  They’ve not been eliminated from playoff contention, but it’d probably take at least 12 points from those games to get them in.  Additionally, Hyland played in the scrimmage with the Crew, which Indy won 2-1.  Up next: @ New York Cosmos, Saturday, 8pm

PHOTO CREDIT:  Craig Mitchelldyer/CONCACAF

2014 Week Twenty-Six Report

This past weekend in MLS action, our boys’ teams took a trip to Draw City!  Only two of the games didn’t result in a tie ballgame… and those were both losses, by the way.  However, in CONCACAF Champions League action, it was a different story.  Three games, three wins for our fellas!  Nice!!  Here’s how it all went down:

MONTREAL IMPACT  D 2-2  v LOS ANGELES GALAXY  •  Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] started and played all of this match, which ended the Galaxy’s steam-rolling run
 through the league on a five-game winning streak.  No Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] in the Galaxy travel team for this one.

DC UNITED  L 0-1  @ New York Red Bulls  •  No Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] on the night, still out with a groin strain.

MONTREAL IMPACT  L 1-2  @ New England Revolution  •  No doubt with an eye towards the mid-week CONCACAF Champions League contest with New York looming, Bush was given the night off.

COLUMBUS CREW  D 2-2 @ Houston Dynamo  •  Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was an unused sub.  Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] is out recovering from surgery.

TORONTO FC  D 1-1  @ Chicago Fire  •  Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] was back from the hamstring injury that had kept him out of action since early August.  If you’re any kind of fan of the league, you’ve already seen the video of the TFC goal that was disallowed at the end of this match.  In case you haven’t seen it yet, here it is.  Terrible call.  Unreal.

PORTLAND TIMBERS  D 2-2  @ Colorado Rapids  •  Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] started and played 85 minutes as the Timbers let two points slip away at home.  Again.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  D 1-1  @ San Jose Earthquakes  •  Walker made the subs’ bench for this match, his first appearance in nearly a month!

DC UNITED  W 2-1   @ Waterhouse FC – CCL group 3  •  No Korb.  DC is currently second in the group behind Waterhouse with two games in hand.

PORTLAND TIMBERS  W 4-2  v CD Olimpia – CCL group 5  •  Nagbe subbed in with 27 minutes left.  Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] started at wide mid and played all 90.  Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was an unused sub.  Portland is currently second in the group behind Olimpia with a game in hand.

MONTREAL IMPACT  W 1-0  v New York Red Bulls – CCL group 4  •  Bush shut out NYRB in a big match that puts the Impact on top of the group.  NYRB has a game in hand right now, so the Canadian “champions” are going to want to keep winning in order to stay there.

UP NEXT:
PORTLAND  v  Vancouver, Saturday, 20 September, 5pm – NBC Sports Network
COLUMBUS  v  New England, 730pm
MONTREAL  v  San Jose, 730pm
Chicago  v  DC UNITED, 830pm
LOS ANGELES  v  FC Dallas, 1030pm
TORONTO FC  v  Chivas USA, Sunday, 21 September, 3pm – UniMás
PORTLAND  v  Alpha United, CCL group 5, Tuesday, 23 September, 10pm – Fox Sports 1
DC UNITED  v  Tauro FC, CCL group 3, Wednesday, 24 September, 8pm – Fox Sports 2

Non-MLS Report
WILMINGTON HAMMERHEADS  L 1-4  @ Sacramento Republic FC – USL PRO Playoffs  •  All things must come to an end, and in the California capital, so did both Wilmington’s stay in the playoffs and the loan spell of Columbus Crew goalie Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] with the Hammerheads.  The visitors fought fiercely to keep their season going, but in the end, the Republic were/was just too much.  Stuver made six saves in the match and over the course of his time in teal (or is it considered more of a sky blue?), he’ll hope his body of work was enough to impress the Crew brass as they look towards next year.

INDY ELEVEN  D 1-1  v FC Edmonton  •  No Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] in this match, as he’s still dealing with a groin tear from the previous week., but the point was much-needed for the Eleven in order to keep their faint playoff hopes alive.  Indy is tied with Ottawa on points, but has played one fewer game, so they’re technically ninth.  

OTTAWA FURY  W 2-0  v Tampa Bay Rowdies  •  The Fury snagged three huge points with this win, as Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] scored Ottawa’s second goal during his 20 minute-shift after subbing in at center mid.  He now has four goals and three assists on the season for the NASL’s eighth-place team.

PHOTO CREDIT:  Bush/cbc.ca; Ubiparipovic/Ottawa Fury