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 2 Report

While two of our teams rested, only three of our fellas whose teams played this past weekend got any playing time – one in each match.  Here’s how it all went down:

COLUMBUS CREW SC  W 2-0  TORONTO FC  •  The last time Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] played against the Crew in Columbus on their home opener, he scored the San Jose Earthquakes’ only goal in a 1-1 draw.  On Saturday, his controversial sending-off just before halftime made a bit easier for the hosts to break the game open after the interval, and they sent their black and gold fans home happy.  The victory gives the Crew SC an early lead in this season’s Trillium Cup battle.  Neither of our guys was in the gameday XVIII for the Crew SC, but both Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] and Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] were up early on Sunday morning for the Reserve Team’s game with the University of Michigan.  Speas started as the attacking mid and scored the third goal in the 3-1 victory, and Stuver was the backup goalie to Matt Lampson.

NEW YORK CITY FC  W 2-0  New England Revolution  •  Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] started at right back and had an extremely busy 79-minute shift against some of the best attacking talent in the Eastern Conference.  He picked up a yellow card in the 57th minute, but other than that, he acquitted himself well.  A shutout win in the club’s inaugural home opener?  Not too shabby!

PORTLAND TIMBERS  D 2-2  LOS ANGELES GALAXY  •  Let’s hope a disturbing trend from last season it’s back for a sequel.  The Timbers scored first, then allowed an equalizer before going ahead in the game’s final minute, only to let two points slip away on a stoppage-time goal from the defending MLS Cup champs.  It was Darlington Nagbe’s [Lakewood/St. Edward] assist to Fanendo Adi that put PTFC up 2-1.  Throughout the match, he was the Nagbe that everyone wants him to be/knows he can be, creating issues for the Galaxy throughout.  Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] was not in the gameday team for Portland and neither was Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] for LA – a week after starting their home opener.  Hmmm…

Next Weekend’s Games
Wednesday, 18 March
–  MONTREAL  v  Alajuelense, CONCACAF Champions League Semifinal, leg one, 8pm, Fox Sports 2
Saturday, 21 March
–  New England  v  MONTREAL, 3pm
–  Colorado  v  NEW YORK CITY FC, 4pm
–  Sporting Kansas City  v PORTLAND, 830pm
–  LOS ANGELES  v  Houston, 1030pm
Sunday, 22 March
–  New York Red Bulls  v  DC UNITED, 5pm – ESPN2

What’s been going on with our not-so-MLS guys?  Here’s an update:

INDY ELEVEN  •  The Eleven won’t start their NASL season for another couple weeks, so it’s been trainings and scrimmages since they got back from Arizona.  They lost to Indiana University 2-1 in a 9v9 scrimmage (6 March), defeated new USL club St. Louis FC 2-0 (11 March) and tied with the University of Dayton last Sunday 1-1.  Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] played the second half against Dayton, subbed on in the 28th minute against St. Louis FC and got the second half at IU.  In other good news, we have another member of our club now playing with Indy.  Judson McKinney [Cuyahoga Falls/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] signed with the Eleven at the beginning of March after spending the past couple years in the USL and MISL and he got a half of playing time in each of the aforementioned scrimmages, putting in shifts at outside back.  Next Saturday, they’ll scrimmage USL PRO side, Louisville City FC.

OTTAWA FURY  •  After a couple weeks of training, the Fury finally got to kick some other guys instead of their teammates when they went to Ontario to scrimmage TFC II on 6 March.  Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] played the first half of the 3-2 victory.  A week later, he started and played 59 minutes of a 1-1 draw against the Rochester Rhinos of USL PRO.  On 20 March, they’ll scrimmage FC Montreal, the Impact’s USL PRO team.

PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS  •  The USL PRO Riverhounds have been scrimmaging against college teams for the past two weeks.  I haven’t been able to dig up super-detailed information on lineups and whatnot regarding those contests, but from various tweets I’ve seen, Mike Green [Strongsville/Strongsville] has played in all of those games, but not all of all of those games.

PHOTO CREDIT:  Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers

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 25 Report

Let’s get straight to it – sorry for no preview post this week… it was an insanely busy one for this blogger.  Here are the stories on how our boys’ teams did this weekend:

MONTREAL IMPACT  W 2-1  v  DC UNITED

Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] was the backup keeper for the Impact in this match, while Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] started at right back for DC and played the entire match.  Of Montreal’s 11 wins on the season, nine of them have been by one goal, but that’s all it takes.  As they turn their attentions to this week’s CONCACAF Champions League match in Costa Rica, the Impact are now in third place in the Eastern Conference with 38 points from 23 matches.  DC is last, with 13 from 24.  MONTREAL’S NEXT MATCH:  CCL Group 5 match @ Heredia, Wednesday, 20 August, 10pm   DC’S NEXT MATCH:  v Toronto FC, Saturday, 24 August, 7pm

COLUMBUS CREW  W 2-0  v Toronto FC  

The Crew got a second consecutive two-goal performance from DP Federico Higuaín and relied on very steady defense to bring the Trillium Cup back to where it belongs (for the fifth time in six years).  Don’t count the Crew out of the playoffs just yet – they’re lurking in eighth place in the East on 29 points, just seven off the pace.  A few more wins coupled with some losses from the teams above them would be delightful, but time is running out.  Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] started at right back and played all 90.  Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was an unused sub.  Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] was not in the gameday roster of 18.  NEXT MATCH:  @ Real Salt Lake, Saturday, 24 August, 930pm

PORTLAND TIMBERS  W 2-1  v FC Dallas

All the goals in this one were sandwiched together around the 30th minute, as the Timbers scored (26″), conceded (28″) and then got their winner (33″).  And that winner came off the right foot of the club’s all-time leading scorer, Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward].  Nagbe played up front all game.  Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] started as a holding mid and played all match, picking up a yellow card in the first half.  Portland is currently third in the Western Conference with 38 from 23 matches.  In case you missed it, the Timbers had a little promotional giveaway two weeks ago – big Darlington Nagbe heads that they encouraged everyone to take out into the community so that they could snap photos of him doing cool/funny/random things.  You can also download the image from their website and play along here at home.  So feel free to join in the fun!  NEXT MATCH: v Real Salt Lake, Wednesday, 21 August, 11pm

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES  W 1-0  v Sporting Kansas City

When he was needed the most, last year’s league MVP, Chris Wondolowski, popped up at the right time – specifically in the 58th minute to head home a cross from the right to give the Quakes the goal they needed to provide them with three big points.  Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] came on as a sub for the final nine minutes to help close out the win.  San Jose is now seventh in the West with 33 points from 25 matches, and they’re only six points out of the playoffs.  NEXT MATCH:  @ FC Dallas, Saturday, 24 August, 9pm

PHOTO CREDIT:  thecrew.com (Williams) & David Blair/Portland Timbers (Nagbe)

Week Twenty-Two Preview

Here are this week’s previews in chrono order, as always:

Saturday

COLUMBUS  @ Toronto FC, 2pm – Fox Sports Ohio  

The Trillium Cup fires up again this weekend when the Crew heads north, holding a one-game advantage by virtue of a 1-0 win in Toronto back in May.  Here is the match preview from mlssoccer.com and also the match preview from thecrew.com.

DC UNITED  v New England Revolution, 7pm

The Revolution has allowed the fewest goals in the league this season, so DC will have to work extra hard if it’s going to put an end to its four-game winless streak.  In addition to Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] on the DC backline, one other Cleveland link is Chris Penso [Dover], who will be the 4th official for this match.  Here is the match preview from mlssoccer.com and also the Tale of the Tape from dcunited.com.

MONTREAL  v Sporting Kansas City, 730pm

Two Eastern Conference heavyweights square off in this one.  The Impact are winless in their last five, and this would be a huge match for them to break up that streak.  Here is the match preview from mlssoccer.com and also the match preview from impactmontreal.com/en.

PORTLAND  @  SAN JOSE, 1030pm

This match between the Timbers and Earthquakes is one of those “throw out the records” matches.  If I had to predict one thing about this one, it wouldn’t be the score or the winner.  It would be that after it’s all over, Timbers Head Coach Caleb Porter will take issue with the ‘Quakes’ physical style of play.  Too often this season, the hurly-burly has been a significat factor in a San Jose win, loss or draw.  Here is the match preview from mlssoccer.com, the sjearthquakes.com’s Fan Guide and also the match preview from portlandtimbers.com.

2013 – Week Twelve Report

We’re a third of the way through the season and I’ve included the teams’ records/place within their division.  Here’s how the teams did this weekend.

COLUMBUS CREW  •  15 points (4 Wins – 4 Losses – 3 Draws)/6th Eastern Conference

Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] started at right back and went the full 90 in a 1-0 win at Toronto FC.  The win was the Crew’s third away from home on the season, which isn’t bad considering they only have one at home.  This win puts the Crew out in front in the race for the 2013 Trillium Cup, the annual trophy that they play for with TFC.  Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] sat out with an injured hamstring.  Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] was not in the gameday roster of 18 for the main attraction, but he did start at left back for the Crew Reserves and played all 90 minutes of a 3-1 loss to the TFC Reserves.  Hyland got the assist on Bernardo Anor’s goal.    NEXT MATCH: @ New York Red Bulls, Sunday, 26 May, 5pm

PORTLAND TIMBERS  •  19 points (4W – 1L – 7D)/2nd Western Conference  

Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] started at offensive mid, but went off injured in the 34th minute of a 2-2 Cascadia Cup draw with the Whitecaps.  We’ll cross our fingers that it’s nothing serious and that he’s back in the side next weekend.  It wasn’t a brutal take-down from Vancouver defender Young-Pyo Lee, but his ankle did get rolled up pretty good.  Ice, elevate, rest + stim should get him back in no time.  The draw puts both teams on equal footing as the 2013 Cascadia Cup battle heats up.  Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] was an unused sub in the First Team match, but started at center mid and captained the Timbers Reserves to a 1-1 draw with the Whitecaps Reserves on Sunday.  However, he picked up two yellow cards in the final ten minutes of the match and was therefore issued a red card and ejected.  Not sure what that means for him as far as a suspension goes.  He’s most likely not eligible for the next reserve match.  Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] is recovering from a heel bruise and did not travel to Canada with the teams.  He has been on the shelf for the last month after getting dinged in the Timbers Reserves’ match with San Jose back on 15 April.    NEXT MATCH: @ DC United, Saturday, 25 May, 730pm

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES  • 15 points (3W – 4L – 6D)/ 7th Western Conference

Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] started at left back and played all 90 in a 1-1 home draw with Colorado.  As usual, seemingly, the Earthquakes scored last and late to salvage the point.  NEXT MATCH: @ FC Dallas, Saturday, 25 May, 830pm

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  •  17 points (5W – 4L – 2D)/4th Western Conference

Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] was not in the travel team for the Galaxy’s 1-0 loss at New York.  I’m sure they’re not satisfied with going 1-1 on their Philly/NYRB two-fer, but it’s better than 0-2.  NEXT MATCH: v Seattle Sounders, Sunday, 26 May, 11pm – ESPN2

DC UNITED  •  5 points (1W – 8L – 2D)/10th Eastern Conference

Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] started at right back and played all 90 of a 1-1 draw at home with Sporting Kansas City.  Since DC was able to come from 1-0 down in the second half, they’ll take getting just one point.  It’s not much, but it’s a start – and most importantly, it breaks the string of seven consecutive losses.  NEXT GAME: v Portland Timbers, Saturday, 25 May, 730pm

MONTREAL IMPACT  •  20 points (6W – 2L – 2D)/4th Eastern Conference

No game this weekend.  NEXT GAME: v Philadelphia Union, Saturday, 25 May, 7pm

PHOTO CREDIT:  Anne-Marie Sorvin/USA Today Sports

Week Twelve Preview

This week’s preview will feature the respective MLS Power Rankings of each of our boys’ teams, as well as the guys’ individual Castrol Index Rankings, which you’ll see in parenthesis next to the team names and player names, respectively.  Some of our teams and players have been dropping recently, but we do have two boys in the Top 25 of the Castrol!  That’s not too shabby!  So let’s hope that now that the temps are rising across the country, so will these boys’ rankings!  No match for Montreal this weekend.  Reviews are listed in order of gametimes.

Toronto FC  v  COLUMBUS CREW (#13), Saturday, 18 May, 5pm  

After losing two straight at home, the Crew have plummeted from a season-high of #4 in the MLS Power Rankings after Week 4.  They’ll be hoping that this weekend’s Trillium Cup match at Toronto FC on Saturday will help them springboard back up the rankings.  Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] is #23 in the Castrol Rankings to lead the team and Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] is #80 overall, which places him fourth.  Here’s a look ahead from thecrew.com and also the match preview from mlssoccer.com.

Vancouver Whitecaps  v  PORTLAND TIMBERS (#4), Saturday, 18 May, 7pm

Portland, the second-place team in the Western Conference, heads up north to start defense of its 2012 Cascadia Cup crown.  Vancouver, tied for second-bottom in the Western Conference but #14 in the Power Rankings, are coming off its first-ever win over Los Angeles last weekend.  Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] is #22 in the Castrol Rankings and Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] is #292 overall and fifteenth on the team.  Here’s the match preview from mlssoccer.com (with a Timbers bent on it) and the Matchday Preview from portlandtimbers.com

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES (#12)  v  Colorado Rapids, Saturday, 18 May, 1030pm

(**Understatement Warning!!**) The ‘Quakes dropped a disappointing match last week up in Seattle and will look to get their ship headed in the right direction this Saturday with a Western Conference clash.  It seems odd that these two teams are now flipped in terms of their positions this season as compared to last – in fact, they swapped spots in the Power Rankings after last week’s games – but San Jose has been dealing with a variety of injuries and suspensions of  late.  The team should be at full strength when they host Colorado.  Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] is #181 overall in the Castrol Rankings and that puts him twelfth on the team.  Here’s the match preview from mlssoccer.com and the Fan Guide from sjearthquakes.com.

New York Red Bulls  v  LOS ANGELES GALAXY (#7), Sunday, 19 May, 1pm – ESPN2

The sexiest matchup of the weekend gets the national TV audience, and both teams are capable of playing some seriously attractive football when they’re on their game.  Can we hope for another 5-4 thriller like these two teams turned out in David Beckham’s first trip to NYC with the Galaxy back in 2007?  With the attacking talent on both teams, it’s not impossible.  Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] probably won’t be a part of this one, but here’s the match preview from mlssoccer.com and the Three Points feature from lagalaxy.com.

DC UNITED (#19)  v  Sporting Kansas City, Sunday, 19 May, 5pm

DC has lost five games in a row and will look to end that streak at home against a Sporting KC side that has been a little up-and-down recently.  They could be ripe for an upset.  Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] has played steadily throughout the team’s struggles, leading the team in minutes played with 900 and is ranked # 241 in the league and ninth on the team in Castrol Ranking.  Here’s the preview from mlssoccer.com and the Tale of the Tape from dcunited.com.

** PHOTO CREDIT – Columbus Crew

2012 Week 25 Review

It was another Cascadia Cup weekend, CONCACAF Champions League is firing up and our boys are getting a good amount of time and contributing to their teams’ wins… very nice.  This edition is out earlier than recent weeks’ Reviews because we’ve got games tonight!!

• Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] & Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] – Montreal Impact •  Another home match for the Impact; another home win for the Impact.  Ubiparipovic got in for the final five minutes of the 3-0 win against DC United on Saturday.  Bush was the backup keeper.  Both of our guys starred in a 1-0 Reserve League victory over New York on Monday, 21 August.    This week: @ Columbus Crew, Saturday, 1 September, 730pm

• Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] – DC United •  Played 90 in a 4-2 home win over Chicago on Wednesday night.  Three days after yelling at each other on the field after the Union draw, Korb got the assist on Brandon McDonald’s goal, which was United’s third goal on the night.  It’s good to see professionals putting any possible differences aside for the good of the team.  On the weekend, he played 51 minutes of the 3-0 loss at Montreal at right back, getting yanked after the home side went up 2-0.    This week: v New York Red Bulls, Wednesday, 29 August, 730pm – match to be televised live on Galavisión; @ Real Salt Lake, Saturday, 1 September, 9pm

• Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] – San Jose Earthquakes •  One of the signs of a good team is how it rebounds from a tough loss, and the Earthquakes followed up last week’s disappointing 3-1 results at Montreal with a 4-1 hammering of Colorado.  Morrow went the distance at left back.    This week:  v Chivas USA, Saturday, 2 September, 9pm – match to be televised live on NBC Sports Network

• Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] – Portland Timbers •  Has now scored three goals in three straight games, after getting the opening tally in a 2-1 home win over Vancouver that edges the Timbers much closer to winning the 2012 Cascadia Cup.  Nagbe, wearing the blue practice bib in the photo above and holding his slice of wood that all the Timbers’ goalscorers receive after their home games,  started at attacking mid and came off in second-half injury time, but he left his mark on the game, earning Man of the Match honors from mlssoccer.com.  The Timbers now have 7 points from three CC games, while Seattle has four from three and Vancouver has two from four.  If Portland can defeat or tie the Sounders on Saturday, 15 September in the friendly confines of Jeld-Wen, they’ll have the trophy all wrapped up.    This week:  v Colorado Rapids, Friday, 31 August, 1030pm

• Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] – Vancouver Whitecaps •  Was not a part of the 2-1 loss at Portland on Saturday night.    This week:  v Los Angeles Galaxy, Saturday, 1 September, 10pm

• Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] & Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] – Columbus Crew •  HUGE win for the Crew on Wednesday against Toronto FC by the score of 2-1.  Williams went 90 at right back and Speas was not in the 18.  The victory locked up this year’s Trillium Cup, which the Crew had won in the trophy’s first three years of existence before it spent last year residing up north.  On Saturday, Williams played all 90 of a thrilling 4-3 home win against New England.   This week:  @ Philadelphia Union, Wednesday, 29 August, 730pm; v Montreal Impact, Saturday, 1 September, 730pm

• Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] – Los Angeles Galaxy •  Was an unused sub for the Galaxy’s 5-2 win over the Salvadorian side Isidro Metapán to open up Group 5 play in the CONCACAF Champions League.  On Sunday, Walker was an unused sub in the Galaxy’s 2-0 home win over FC Dallas.    This week:  CONCACAF Champions League Group 5 match –  v Puerto Rico Islanders, Thursday, 29 August, 10pm – match to be televised live on Fox Soccer Channel; v Vancouver Whitecaps, Saturday, 1 September, 10pm

• Ben Zemanski [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] – Chivas USA •  For the first time in nine matches, Zemanski did not start for Chivas USA, and he was an unused sub, left to simple warm-up and helplessly observe a 6-2 pounding at home to the Seattle Sounders.  Coincidence?  Possibly.    This week:  @ San Jose Earthquakes, Sunday, 2 September, 9pm – match to be televised live on NBC Sports Network