2014 Week Seven Report

Before we get into which of our guys did what and whether their teams won, lost or drew, let’s talk about the Cleveland guy who easily had the most interesting day on Saturday.  It wasn’t a player or coach, it was referee Sorin Stoica, who was in the middle for the Chicago Fire v New England Revolution match.  Not only did he call two penalty kicks – one for each team – but the second PK was saved by the Revs’ keeper in stoppage time to preserve the 1-1 tie.  Stoica called 35 fouls in the match, dealt three yellow cards to the Revs and handed out one red card a piece.  According to his MLS career averages over the previous 19 matches he has officiated, he calls 27.9 fouls and gives 4.4 yellows, and he had issued seven red cards and called nine penalties.  On the broadcast, NBC Sports Network commentator John Strong said that in the last 13 overall matches Stoica had officiated in all competitions, he had issued 13 red cards.  Now, is that a lot or does that reflect on the teams and players he saw in those games?  Anyone can make anything out of statistics, but I watched about 80% of that CHI-NE game and I really don’t think the cards were that questionable… but I’m sure the Fire fans disagree.

Okay, so here’s how it went down for our guys this past weekend:

MONTREAL IMPACT  L 0-4  @ Sporting Kansas City  •  Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] was the unused backup goalie in this one.  Ouch.  Getting 4-0’ed hurts, but maybe it hurts more on the road, since you have the long plane ride home.  And the goals were preventable, if you ask this coach.  NEXT UP:  v Philadelphia Union, Saturday, 26 April, 4pm

COLUMBUS CREW  D 1-1  v DC UNITED  •  Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] started at right back – on the lineup sheet only, as he spent most of the second half  operating as a de facto right wing while the Crew attempted to fight back from 1-0 down – and played 90.  The Black and Yellow did get their equalizer in the 90th minute-plus, with ten men, nonetheless, on a curling poke from Hector Jiménez.  It looked a bit like Justin Meram’s winner at Seattle a few weeks back.  Arguably as impressive as the winning strike was the work of Crew midfielder Wil Trapp, who chased down Fabian Espíndola to win the ball and then began the counterattack that led to the goal.  Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was not in the team for this contest.  For the visitors it was yet another contest with no Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] who continues on the road back from knee surgery.  NEXT UP FOR COLUMBUS:  v New York Red Bulls, Saturday, 26 April, 730pm    NEXT UP FOR DC:  v FC Dallas, Saturday, 26 April, 7pm

PORTLAND TIMBERS  L 0-1  @ Real Salt Lake  •  Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] started as one of the forwards and played all 90.  Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] saw his first playing time of the 2014 season and he did well, running at the RSL defense all throughout his 13 minutes after coming on in the 77th.  But it wasn’t enough to keep Portland Head Coach Caleb Porter winless against RSL in six matches.  Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was an unused sub.  NEXT UP:  @ Houston Dynamo, Sunday, 27 April, 3pm – Unimás

TORONTO FC  L 1-2  @ FC Dallas  •  Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] started and played all 90 as TFC falls to 3-3-0 on the season.  NEXT UP:  v New England, Saturday, 3 May, 1pm

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  D 2-2  @ Vancouver Whitecaps  •  Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] was an unused sub as the hosts put in a better performance and fought harder than they did a week before in losing 1-0 in Los Angeles.  The Caps twice erased one-goal deficits to earn their share of the points.  NEXT UP:  @ Colorado Rapids, Saturday, 3 May, 9pm

And now, for the not-so-MLS Report

OTTAWA FURY  L 1-2  v Minnesota United FC  •  The Fury drops to 0-2 in their inaugural season after Saturday’s loss in their home opener.  Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] was not a part of the gameday roster of 18.  NEXT UP:  v FC Edmonton, Wednesday, 23 April, 730pm

INDY ELEVEN  D 1-1  v Tampa Bay Rowdies  •  The Eleven drew their second straight game to start off their inaugural NASL season and Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] started at left back and played all 90.  NEXT UP:  @ Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Saturday, 26 April, 730pm

DAYTON DUTCH LIONS  W 3-1  v Harrisburg Islanders  •  Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] was not a part of the Lions’ second victory of the season.  Earlier in the week, the Lions scrimmaged with the University of Dayton Men’s team and drew 0-0.  I couldn’t find any info on that game, besides the score, but hopefully Stuver got some time in that one.  NEXT UP:  v Richmond Kickers, Saturday, 26 April, 730pm

PHOTO CREDIT:  www.zimbio.com

2013 – Week Nine Report

Our guys’ teams scored a total of 12 goals on Saturday, and two were scored by our fellas.  Here’s how everyone did this weekend:

DC UNITED

Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] played 90 at right back on Sunday for DC as their rough patch continued with a 3-0 loss at Columbus.  With the score tied 1-1 in the first half, DC had a goal called back by the ref, Cleveland’s own Sorin Stoica, for a push in the box on Perry Kitchen.  Everyone in white (the visitors did not wear their usual black uniforms on Saturday night), disagreed with the call, but that didn’t change the ref’s mind.  From there, the Crew added two more goals before the interval and rode out the second half for the win.    NEXT WEEK: no game

COLUMBUS CREW

The start of Saturday night’s Columbus-DC United game was delayed for almost an hour after a fire in the speaker system in the Crew Stadium score board.  And after the Columbus Fire Department put out those flames, they turned their attentions to the… I can’t go through with it.  It’s a lame joke/pun to make a comment about the Crew’s victory and the goals, etc.  I just can’t finish it.  But here you can check out the “highlights” of the fire.  Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] played all 90 at right back scored the Crew’s second goal of the game en route to the 3-0 win over DC United.  Williams’ third goal of the year came off a corner kick, and while he didn’t exactly hammer it into the net, he got just enough of it to send it over the line and in.  Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was an unused sub.  Kyle Hyland [Bay/Bay] was idle again.    NEXT WEEK: v New York Red Bulls, Saturday, 4 May, 4pm (NBC Sports Network)

PORTLAND TIMBERS

If you check it out in time, you’ll see that the Timbers are front page news (on mlssoccer.com)!    They were also named the Team of the Week by soccerbyives.net.  The Timbers won a game on Saturday night that last year, they surely would have lost.  After conceding a goal to Sporting Kansas City after only 40 second had ticked off the clock in what has quickly become one of the toughest places in the league to be the visiting team, these 2013 Timbers fought back to level the score.  They they did it again.  Then they got a third goal in the 58th minute and their defense held firm to see out the 3-2 win.  For sure that wouldn’t have happened in 2012.  It probably would have turned into a 5-0 loss.  Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] started as one of the offensive mids and scored the Timbers’ second goal, which required some nifty footwork, since the pass was slightly behind/underneath him.  The goal, the tenth of his MLS career, came in his 60th career start.  Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] played his recently usual role, subbing in for the final 18 minutes to play some mid, disturb the opponents’ attack and fly all over the place with his fresh legs.  He picked up a yellow card for a nice foul.  Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] did not make the gameday travel roster of 18.    NEXT WEEK: v New England Revolution, Saturday, 4 May, 1030pm

SAN JOSE

Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius].  He started and played all 90 at right back as the Quakes kind of did it again.  They scored first, gave up two and then got their winner in the 76th minute, so it wasn’t late late, but it wasn’t early either.  These days, getting a 2-2 draw at Chivas USA doesn’t leave the visiting team with the same feeling that it once would have.  A good point for San Jose, to be sure.    NEXT WEEK: v Montreal Impact, Saturday, 4 May, 4pm

MONTREAL

Montreal stayed on top of the Eastern Conference after defeating Chicago at home on Saturday 2-0.  Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] was the backup keeper, but did not play.  Look for him back between the sticks on Wednesday for the return leg of the Amway Canadian Championship, as the Impact will look to turn around a 2-0 loss in Toronto last week.  Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] is not yet ready for game action and was not a part of the gameday roster.    NEXT WEEK: v Toronto FC, Wednesday, 1 May, 730pm – Amway Canadian Championship, leg 2; @ San Jose Earthquakes, Saturday, 4 May, 4pm

LOS ANGELES

Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] was not in the gameday 18 for the Galaxy’s 2-0 win at Real Salt Lake, but he did go 90 as one of the central mids in Sunday’s Reserve League contest, a 1-0 win for the home side.  Next Sunday will be the game to watch (or DVR, at least, given the time of kickoff) as it’s a rematch of last year’s MLS Cup.    NEXT WEEK: v Houston Dynamo, Sunday, 5 May, 11pm (ESPN2)

* PHOTO CREDIT: (Korb) Nick Wass/AP Photo; (Nagbe) Peter G. Aiken/USA Today Sports

2013 – Week Eight Report

It was a typical weekend for our “standard six” – the players who, to this point in the season, have played a whole bunch.  Their teams went 0-2-2, including one head-to-head.  Here’s how everyone did this weekend:  

DC UNITED

Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] played 90 at right back on Sunday for DC as they lost a tough one at home, 3-2 to Philadelphia.  The Union attack was bolstered by two goals from Jack McInerney, the hottest striker in the league and the guy Korb is defending in the photo at right.  One bright side is that DC scored as many goals against the Union as they had in the previous six games.  Not-so-bright side is that DC is still rooted to the Eastern Conference cellar with four points from seven matches.   NEXT WEEK: @ Columbus Crew, Saturday, 27 April, 730pm (Fox Sports Ohio)

COLUMBUS CREW

Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] played all 90 at right back and Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] started at attacking mid and played the first 65 minutes of the Crew’s 1-0 loss at Chicago on Saturday night.  Nothing ever comes easy in the Windy City for the Crew and they got out played for a good portion of this match.  It could have been a bigger loss if not for the stellar play of goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum.  Well, unless it’s a playoff game, Columbus won’t have to go back there until next season.  Kyle Hyland [Bay/Bay] was idle over the weekend as he was not in the travel team to Chicago and the Crew Reserve team did not have a game.  NEXT WEEK: v DC United, Saturday, 27 April, 730pm (Fox Sports Ohio)

PORTLAND TIMBERS

Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] started as an attacking mid in the away leg of a home-and-away  with San Jose on Sunday night, which ended as a 1-1 draw.  He played 86 minutes as one of the forwards before giving way for Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy], who tucked in as another midfielder, as Head Coach Caleb Porter looked to kill off the game and sneak out of town with a 1-0 win.  But a late goal from the hosts split the points.  Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] did not make the gameday roster of 18.  The Timbers reserves don’t have another game scheduled until 18 May, but maybe he’ll get his first team debut sometime between then and now.  Portland is the only team in the league without a road loss and the Timbers’ next contest will require some serious ballin’ if that’s going to remain a fact.   NEXT WEEK: @ Sporting Kansas City, Saturday, 27 April, 830pm

SAN JOSE

Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius].  He started and played all 90 at right back as the Quakes rolled out their motto from 2012 – “Goonies Never Die” – in order to get a late, late game-tying goal to end things 1-1 at home vs. Portland.  An Adam Jahn goal did the trick in the 92nd minute, spoiling what had been a fantastic performance by the Timbers’ keeper Donovan Ricketts.  Morrow came close to putting the boys in black on the board in the middle of the first half as he ripped a shot just over the bar from outside the box.  NEXT WEEK: @ Chivas USA, Saturday, 27 April, 1030pm

MONTREAL

The Impact was idle this weekend, but on Wednesday, they begin their quest to be the Kings of Canada.  The four-team tournament known as the Amway Canadian Championship gets underway this week and the best part of it – from our point of view – is the fact that Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] will get the start in net for Montreal.  He’s the man for as long as the Impact are alive, which is great for him to know going in and means he’ll get at least the two games against Toronto FC.  Ideally, if Montreal advances, he’ll also get the two final legs against the winner of Vancouver Whitecaps and FC Edmonton.  Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] is still waiting to make his 2013 Impact debut.  As the team has six games in the next 18 days, once he’s fit, he could/should get a look.     NEXT WEEK: @ Toronto FC, Wednesday, 24 April, 730pm – Amway Canadian Championship, leg 1; v Chicago Fire, Saturday, 27 April, 4pm

LOS ANGELES

Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] was not in the gameday 18 for the Galaxy’s convincing 2-0 win at home against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night.  He should be ready to roll next Sunday, when the LA reserves take on the RSL reserves at 10am PT.    NEXT WEEK: @ Real Salt Lake, Saturday, 27 April, 9pm

* PHOTO CREDIT: (Korb) Nick Wass/AP Photo; (Nagbe) Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports

2013 – Week Seven Report

What a weekend!  It’s always fun when two of our guys go head-to-head, but it’s even more fun  when they end up marking each other.  It’s the MOST fun when that happens, PLUS someone is there to capture those moments on film, e.g. the photo at right of Mr. Morrow and Mr. Nagbe.  Lots of our guys were in action this weekend and their teams ended up going 1-2-3, as in one win-two losses-three draws.  I’m pretty sure that’s never happened before.  Here’s how everyone did this weekend:

DC UNITED

Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] played 90 at right back for DC in a 2-0 loss at home to New York.  With the group of players Head Coach Ben Olsen has at his disposal there in the Nation’s Capital, it just doesn’t make sense that DC is tied for last in the Eastern Conference with four points from six matches.  They’re bound to go on a run and the sooner, the better.   NEXT WEEK: v Philadelphia Union, Sunday, 21 April, 5pm (ESPN2)

COLUMBUS CREW

Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] played all 90 at right back and Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] started at attacking mid and played the first 72 minutes of the Crew’s 1-1 draw at Montreal on Sunday.  The match was originally scheduled for Saturday, but heavy snow up in Quebec forced the change.  Columbus continues its strong start to the season and good work away from home, where the team is 2-1-1.  Kyle Hyland [Bay/Bay] was idle over the weekend as he was not in the travel team to Montreal and the Crew Reserve team did not have a game.  NEXT WEEK: @ Chicago Fire, Saturday, 20 April, 830pm (Fox Sports Ohio)

PORTLAND TIMBERS

Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] started as an attacking mid in the Timbers’ Sunday night 1-0 win against San Jose.  Nagbe really brought it for the first 82 minutes of the match, sliding over from his usual withdrawn forward spot and filling in well for the injured Diego Valeri, before he made way for the fresh legs and game-killing abilities of Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy], who played out the final eight minutes of the match.  Zemanski also started as one of the mids for the Timbers-Earthquakes Reserve match on Monday, alongside former University of Akron teammate Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit].  Zemanski captained the side and played 81 minutes [so as not to exceed a total of 90 minutes played over the course of 24 hours].  Nanchoff scored twice – once in each half – to lead the Timbers JV to a 2-1 victory.  If he keeps that up, he’s going to make team selection difficult for Head Coach Caleb Porter in the near future.   NEXT WEEK: @ San Jose Earthquakes, Sunday, 21 April, 11pm

SAN JOSE

Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius].  He started and played all 90 at right back in the 1-0 loss at Portland.  The Quakes are now one of five Western Conference teams with eight points, but they’re currently at the bottom of that stack because of a -3 goal differential, eighth place out of nine.  NEXT WEEK: v Portland Timbers, Sunday, 21 April, 11pm

MONTREAL

Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] was an unused sub for the Impact’s 1-1 home draw with the Crew on Sunday.  Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] is still recovering from a calf injury and was relegated to being an observer for the home opener at Stade Saputo.    NEXT WEEK: no game

LOS ANGELES

Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] is back in action, having played in the Galaxy Reserves’ 1-1 draw on Sunday with the Seattle JV, but he hasn’t joined the first team yet.    NEXT WEEK: v Sporting Kansas City, Saturday, 20 April, 1030pm (NBC Sports Network

** One more thing to update, Cleveland’s own MLS referee, Sorin Stoica, was in charge of the Philadelphia Union’s home match with Toronto FC.  It ended as a 1-1 draw, and Stoica had a very busy afternoon, especially the final 16 minutes of the match.  During that span, he handed out six cards – one was a second yellow to TFC defender Ashtone Morgan (elbows up on a header = rolling the dice), which meant he had to go bye-bye – and disallowed a goal that at the time would have brought Philly level with the Reds.  I’m surprised his whistle didn’t break, as he called 35 fouls on the two teams!  The second half was a bit of a hackfest as the two teams fought and scratched for the points.  You can check out the full match highlights here.  It’s easy to see why he disallowed the goal, but I’m pretty sure that in the EPL, the goal would have stood.

* PHOTO CREDIT: Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers  [I LOVE this guy’s work!]

2012 Week 14 (15? 16?) Review

Okay, so I guess according to the league, Week 14 was during the international break and Week 15 was last weekend, so officially, these mid-week games count as Week 16 and the weekend is Week 17?  I’ll adjust the titles of my posts accordingly as they relate to the weekend’s games.  Cool?  Cool.  As such, I’m only going to provide updates for the guys whose teams played on Wednesday night.  Oh, and I have a bonus report for you, but you’ll have to scroll all the way down to see it.  🙂

• Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] & Sinisa Ubiparipovic[Mentor/Mentor] – Montreal Impact •  Neither saw time in the Impact’s 2-1 loss at Chivas USA, as both were unused subs.   This week: @ Houston Dynamo, Saturday, 23 June, 730pm

• Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] – San Jose Earthquakes •  Played all 90 at left back in the Earthquakes 2-1 come-from-behind win at Colorado.    This week: @ Real Salt Lake, Saturday, 23 June, 9pm

• Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] – Vancouver Whitecaps •  Was an unused sub in the Whitecaps 1-1 home draw with New York.    This week: @ Los Angeles Galaxy, Saturday, 23 June, 1030pm

• Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] – Los Angeles Galaxy •  3-2 road wins are always great, but they’re just a little sweeter when you’re the Galaxy and you beat Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium.  Unfortunately, Walker was not in the gameday 18 for this one.    This week: @ Real Salt Lake, Wednesday, 20 June, 9pm; v Vancouver, Saturday, 23 June, 1030pm

• Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] – Chivas USA •  Not only did he play all 90 in the rojiblancos‘ come-from-behind 2-1 victory at home against Montreal, but he was named Man of the Match on the Chivas TV broadcast.  Zemanski did a great job of controlling the right side of the field throughout and started many attacks that created chances for his forwards Alejandro Moreno, Juan Pablo Angel and Juan Agudelo.  He even forced Impact ‘keeper Donovan Ricketts to make the only two saves he recorded on the night.    This week: @ FC Dallas, Saturday, 23 June, 9pm – match to be televised live on Galavisión

Don’t forget about our other boys who are in action this Saturday – two of which will be on national TV:

• Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] – DC United •  @ New York Red Bulls, Sunday, 24 June, 7pm – match to be televised live on NBC Sports Network

• Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] – Portland Timbers •  @ Seattle, Sunday, 24 June, 5pm – match to be televised live on ESPN

• Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] & Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] – Columbus Crew •  @ Chicago Fire , Saturday, 23 June, 830pm

Since this is a blog dedicated to the exploits of “guys in MLS who are from the Cleveland area” I guess I can include an MLS referee who is from ’round here, can’t I?  Well, our very own Sorin Stoica was in charge of San Jose’s win at Colorado and called a penalty kick that turned into the deciding goal.  In my opinion – and I am most certainly not a ref – he made a good call and did well throughout the game.  Kept things tidy, allowing the teams to play a good, physical game.  He handed out five cards, and I don’t really have a problem with any of them.  Click here for the highlights of the penalty kick call.