2015 Week 14 Report

More double weeks in Week 14, but things lighten up next week.  Lots of guys in action, but none of them scored a goal.  At least their teams were winning… except for two that came in a head-to-head.  Here’s how it all went down:

DC UNITED  W 3-1  Chicago Fire;  L 1-2 @ Toronto FC  •  Last Wednesday, DC smoked the Fire with Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] absent from the gameday XVIII.  It was the same deal for him on Saturday, as DC fell victim to the hottest player in the league, TFC’s Sebastian Giovinco.

MONTREAL IMPACT  W 2-1  Vancouver Whitecaps;  W 2-1  @ Columbus Crew SC  •  Last Wednesday, the Impact and Whitecaps engaged in some seriously entertaining attacking soccer.  Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] made only three saves, but had to organize his guys to defend against 11 corners and he also have three other crosses that he had to deal with.  Bush had three more saves on Saturday in Columbus, and the Crew SC took ten corners, but les Bleu got their pair in the second half to earn their first away win in 25 MLS matches.  Not a typo.

TORONTO FC  W 2-1  DC United  •  Justin Morrow [Shaker Heights/St. Ignatius] didn’t have any diving headers in his team’s win, but he started and played 90 and continued his strong work at the back for the Reds.

COLUMBUS CREW SC  L 0-3  @ Philadelphia Union;  L 1-2  Montreal Impact  •  Two games played, two eggs laid.  Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] subbed on for the final 25 minutes against the Union and for the final 22 minutes against Montreal.  Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] was the backup goalie in both.

NEW YORK CITY FC  W 2-1  @ Philadelphia Union  •  No Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] in the gameday XVIII for the City, as they came back from 1-0 down to get the three points.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  L 0-1  Vancouver Whitecaps  •  Trailing after a 33rd-minute goal from the visitors, the Galaxy looked for, but could not find an answer.  Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] subbed on for the final 34 minutes.

PORTLAND TIMBERS  W 2-0  New England Revolution  •  Look who has won three straight, including two over Eastern Conference contenders.  Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] started and played 90.  He put a couple shots on goal and drew four fouls – that’s more like it!  Michael Nanchoff [North Royalton/Walsh Jesuit] was not in the gameday XVIII.

Next Week’s Matches
~ Saturday, 13 June
NYCFC  v  MONTREAL, 7pm
COLUMBUS  v  LOS ANGELES, 730pm
~ Sunday, 14 June
OCSC  v  DC, 7pm – live on Fox Sports 1

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Here’s how the fellas did in their NASL and USL PRO games this past weekend:

PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS  D 1-1  Saint Louis FC  •  Mike Green [Strongsville/Strongsville] started and played 90.  Pittsburgh is currently 4-3-4 on the season in the Eastern Conference.  It’ll be a two-match week for them, as they’ll host DC United in the 4th Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday and then travel to North Carolina to play the Charlotte Independence at 7pm on Saturday.

OTTAWA FURY  D 0-0  @ Jacksonville Armada FC  •  Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] started and played 90 minutes before subbing out.  The Fury has ten points from nine matches, which puts them in eighth place.  They’ll wrap up the spring season at San Antonio on Saturday night with a 730pm match against the Scorpions.

ATLANTA SILVERBACKS  L 0-1  v San Antonio Scorpions  •  Matt Horth [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] subbed in for the final 17 minutes, but could not make or score the equalizer.  The Silverbacks have eight points from nine matches, which puts them in eleventh place.  They’ll wrap up the spring season at the Tampa Bay Rowdies for a 730pm contest.

INDY ELEVEN  W 2-1  @ Fort Lauderdale Strikers  •  Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] started and played 90 as the Eleven grabbed three big points on the road.  They have climbed to seventh place, with ten points from nine games.  They’ll wrap up the spring season with a visit from FC Edmonton for a 730pm kickoff on Saturday.

PHOTO CREDIT:  Craig Mitchelldyer

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

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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

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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 11 Report

My creativity tank is nearly dry, so I can’t even muster up something witty for the intro paragraph.  I apologize.  Here’s how things went this past week for our guys:

TORONTO FC  W 3-2  v MONTREAL IMPACT, ACC Semifinal, leg 2  •  While TFC won the match, it was the Impact that advanced to the ACC Final, thanks to the away goals tiebreaker after the aggregate score was knotted at 3-3.  The Reds thought they had it in the bag until a late strike from Dominic Oduro sent les Bleus to   Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] started and played 89 minutes before subbing out for TFC and Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] was the backup goalkeeper for Montreal.

DC UNITED  W 2-1  v Orlando City SC  •  DC continued its roll at home with this victory – now 18 straight undefeated in all competitions.  Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] was an unused sub.

MONTREAL IMPACT  W 4-1  v Real Salt Lake  •  Bush was in net for a very strong performance by Montreal, who will hope they’re starting to get on a roll.  He made five saves on the night.

TORONTO FC  D 1-1  @ New England Revolution  •  Morrow started at right back and played 90 as the Reds picked up an impressive point on the road.

PORTLAND TIMBERS  L 1-3  @ Houston Dynamo  •  Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] started and played 76 minutes before subbing out.  This match certainly wasn’t one for the ages, but the home side finished when it counted most and took the three points.

COLUMBUS CREW SC  L 0-2  @ San Jose Earthquakes  •  While the result wasn’t ideal, one positive is that for the first time all season, Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] was the backup goalie for the Crew SC.  Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] did not make the trip out west.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  L 0-4  @ Orlando City SC  •  Ouch.  Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] is still coming back from sports hernia surgery.

DC UNITED  L 0-1  v Philadelphia Union  •  The home team scored the game’s only goal in final seconds to earn the points and end the visitors’ eight-match unbeaten run.  Korb started and played 90 in the weekend nightcap.

Next Week’s Games
Friday, 22 May
~ COLUMBUS  v  Chicago, 8pm – live on UDN
~ LOS ANGELES  v  Houston, 1030pm – live on UDN
Saturday, 23 May
~ TORONTO  v  PORTLAND, 5pm
~ New England  v  DC UNITED, 730pm
~ MONTREAL  v  FC Dallas, 8pm
~ Real Salt Lake  v  NYCFC, 10pm

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Here’s the report on our NASL and USL-PRO guys:

INDY ELEVEN  L 1-3  v Minnesota United FC  •  Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] returned to the starting lineup at left back for the first time since early April, and he played all 90 minutes in this match.  Next Saturday, Indy travels way up northeast, as they’ll visit the Fury for a 3pm kickoff.

OTTAWA FURY  •  Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] and his mates enjoyed a bye week.  As mentioned above, they’ll host Indy next Saturday at 3pm.

ATLANTA SILVERBACKS  D 1-1  @ Jacksonville Armada FC  •  Matt Horth [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] subbed on as a forward in the 78th minute, but is still searching for his first goal for Atlanta this season.  Just like Indy, the ‘Backs will also have to bust out their passports for a trip north of the border, when they play FC Edmonton at 4pm.

PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS  D 1-1  v Richmond Kickers  •  Michael Green [Strongsville/Strongsville] started at right back and played 77 minutes, as the ‘Hounds now have played to three 1-1 draws in their nine matches this season.  It’ll be a busy week for Pittsburgh, as they have a 2nd Round Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup home tie with the West Virginia Chaos on Wednesday for a 7pm kickoff, followed by a trip to Richmond for a 7pm game on Saturday night.

2015 Week 10 Report

We got five 90’s this week, seven if you include the NASL/USL PRO guys.  That’s not too bad.  Unfortch, only two of the boys’ teams were able to get a victory – one came at the expense of another.  That’s not too good.  Here’s how it all went down this past weekend:

MONTREAL IMPACT  L 1-2  PORTLAND TIMBERS  •  Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] started and played all 90 for Portland, yet continues searching for that elusive first goal of the season.  I don’t think he’d have traded a goal for the road victory, though.  He was fouled four times, which goes with the territory – he’s at his best when he’s dribbling at defenders, causing them to lunge in late/early/high/low.  Evan Bush [Concord Township/Lake Catholic] started and played all 90 in net for the Impact, stopping seven of the nine shots he faced.

DC UNITED  D 1-1  Sporting Kansas City  •  Did you forget that KC has moved to the Western Conference?  I did.  What would have been a pretty serious top-of-the-table Eastern Conference slugfest a year ago is now a pretty serious middle-of-the-overall-table slugfest this season.  Saturday evening, DC scored first, KC equalized and the teams split the points in a good game on a nice day in our nation’s capital.  Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] started at right back and played all 90.

COLUMBUS CREW SC  W 3-2  SeattleSounders  •  This was a very good win for Columbus, who has scored ten goals in its last three home matches.  No room in the gameday 18 for Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] or for Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg].  That’s five straight NRITGD18 for Speasy and nine in a row for Stuver.  If you’re wondering what the Crew SC’s backup backup goalkeeper has been doing all season, you can listen to his visit with the Inside Crew SC podcast.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  L 1-2  @ FC Dallas  •  While Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] has been out injured and recovering from sports hernia surgery, the Galaxy have blooded some of its stable of young talent.  None of them play his position, exactly, but it’s gotta be tough for him to see them out there contributing.  Two goals in the final 13 minutes gave the points to the home side.

TORONTO FC  L 1-2  Houston Dynamo  •  I’m sure TFC would’ve preferred a win to kick off their slate of home matches this season.  That probably goes without typing.  A penalty kick and a counterattack goal put an end to the Reds’ two-game winning streak and bummed out all the Torontonians (?) who were enjoying their refurbished BMO Field.  Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] started at right back and played all 90 – and he registered a shot on goal.

NEW YORK CITY FC  L 1-2  @ New York Red Bulls  •  On a personal level, it’s gotta’ be neat for Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] to be a part of all these firsts with his expansion side NYCFC.  No doubt it’d have been a lot more memorable if starting in the first match in club history back in March had resulted in a win for his team.  Same goes for this past Sunday’s first-ever NYC derby match.  Against the Red Bulls, he started at right back and played all 90.  It was good to see him back in the lineup, but it wasn’t – and hasn’t been – fun to watch the team work in fits and starts.

Next Week’s Games
Wednesday, 13 May
~ TORONTO  v  MONTREAL, ACC Semifinal, leg 2, 730pm
~ DC UNITED  v  Orlando City SC, 8pm – live on ESPN2
Friday, 15 May
~ NYCFC  v  Chicago, 7pm – live on UDN
Saturday, 16 May
~ MONTREAL  v  RSL, 4pm
~ New England  v  TORONTO, 730pm
~ Houston  v  PORTLAND, 830pm
~ San Jose  v  COLUMBUS, 1030pm
Sunday, 17 May
~ Orlando City  v  LOS ANGELES, 5pm – live on ESPN2
~ Philadelphia  v  DC, 7pm – live on Fox Sports 1

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It was so-so times, bad times for our NASL & USL PRO dudes.  Four road games, four losses, three guys played, two of them got max minutes.  Here are the stories:

OTTAWA FURY  D 0-0  @ Tampa Bay Rowdies  •   Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] started and played all 90.  The Fury’s anemic offensive woes continue, as their four goals scored in six matches is a league low, however they’ve only been shut out three times this calendar year.  Next week is a visit from the Indy Eleven for a 3pm Saturday kickoff.

INDY ELEVEN  L 0-1  @ Jacksonville Armada FC  •  Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] was an unused sub.  Like Ottawa, the Eleven won’t have fond memories of this particular trip to Florida, as they were shut out for the first time this campaign and had an overall nine-match unbeaten string cut.  Next week is a visit from Minnesota United FC for a 730pm Saturday kickoff.

ATLANTA SILVERBACKS  L 0-1  @ Minnesota United FC  •  Matt Horth [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] started up top and played 76 minutes, still searching for his first goal of the year.  The ‘Backs fell for the first time in 2015 and allowed a goal for the first time in 230 minutes.  Next week is a trip to Jacksonville for a 730pm Saturday kickoff.

PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS  L 1-3  @ Charleston Battery  •  Michael Green [Strongsville/Strongsville] started and played all 90.  The ‘Hounds lost their second straight road match, but have yet to be shut out in 2015.  Next week is a visit from the Richmond Kickers for a 7pm kickoff.

PHOTO CREDIT:  Montreal Impact Facebook page

2015 Week 9 Report

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PHOTO CREDIT:  Geoff Burke/USA Today Sports

2015 Week 8 Report

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2015 Week 7 Report

Slim Pickens

It was slim pickin’s again for our boys.  If you total up all of our MLS, NASL and USL PRO guys, they earned only four 90-minute shifts out of a possible twelve this weekend.  Dude!  This is getting old, as is the losing for two of the teams.  Here’s who the full-shift men were and how their teams did this past weekend:

NEW YORK CITY FC  D 1-1  v Philadelphia Union  •  On Thursday night in the Bronx, Josh Williams [Copley/Copley] started and played all 90.  A late goal from the visitors left both teams with a point, rueing missed chances throughout.

DC UNITED  D 1-1  v Houston Dynamo  •  Chris Korb [Gates Mills/University School] was an unused sub as these two teams traded goals either side of halftime to split the points in our Nation’s Capital.

COLUMBUS CREW SC  W 3-0  v Orlando City SC  •  Neither Ben Speas [Stow/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] nor Brad Stuver [Twinsburg/Twinsburg] were in Head Coach Gregg Berhalter’s gameday XVIII for the Crew SC’s biggest win of the season on Saturday night.  The Black and Gold seem to have developed a special ability during their home games to defeat teams that have a guy red-carded in the first half.

TORONTO FC  L 2-3  @ FC Dallas  •  Justin Morrow [Cleveland/St. Ignatius] started and played 90 as one of the center backs.  TFC was down on the mat before the game was even a half-an-hour old, trailing 3-0 before a weather delay of more than three hours interrupted everyone’s evening.  Once play resumed, a pair of Sebastian Giovinco goals in the game’s final ten minutes made the scoreline look respectable, but could not save the Reds from their fourth straight loss.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY  W 2-1  v Sporting Kansas City  •  A late goal for LA made the points theirs, but Kenney Walker [Wickliffe/Wickliffe] was not in the team for the fifth straight contest as he recovers from abdominal surgery.

PORTLAND TIMBERS  W 1-0  @ NYCFC  •  Darlington Nagbe [Lakewood/St. Edward] started as an  attacker (a pretty basic positional description, given the moving around he does during the game) and played all 90.  It was his penetrating dribble that essentially created the game’s only goal, though he didn’t get an assist for it.  On mlssoccer.com, he did get credit for four “key passes,” which are explained on the link here.  Call it what you will, but it’s a fact that he made his mark on the game when his team needed him most, and as a result, he was named to the MLS Team of the Week.  For NYCFC, Williams was not in the gameday group of 18.

Next Weekend’s Games
Wednesday, 22 April
~ Club América  v  MONTREAL IMPACT, 9pm – CONCACAF Champions League Final, Leg 1, live on Fox Sports 1
Friday, 24 April
~ Chicago  v  NYCFC, 8pm – live on UDN
Saturday, 25 April
~ COLUMBUS  v  Philadelphia, 730pm
~ Vancouver  v DC, 1030pm
Sunday, 26 April
~ NYRB  v  LA, 5pm – live on ESPN2
~ Orlando City  v  TORONTO FC, 7pm – live on Fox Sports 1
~ Seattle  v  PORTLAND, 930pm – live on Fox Sports 1

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And now for the non-MLS guys’ news:

PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS  D 1-1  v Louisville City SC  •  A stoppage time goal from the visitors kept Pittsburgh from getting its second home win of the season.  Michael Green [Strongsville/Strongsville] started at outside back and played 90 minutes.  The Hounds host Toronto FC II on Saturday at 7pm.

INDY ELEVEN  W 2-1  v San Antonio Scorpions  •  If you haven’t seen the Eleven’s game-winner from Sergio Peña, be sure to watch it in the score link.  ¡Es un bombazo!  It made for a pretty sweet way to steal three points on the road.  Kyle Hyland [Bay Village/Bay] was an unused sub.  Up next is a visit from the Carolina RailHawks on Saturday for a 730pm match.

OTTAWA FURY  W 1-0  v  Minnesota United FC  •  The Fury got its first win of the season, but Sinisa Ubiparipovic [Mentor/Mentor] was an unused sub.  Ottawa has two games this week – on Wednesday, it hosts FC Edmonton at 7pm in the first leg of the teams’ Amway Canadian Championship clash, and then on Saturday, it hosts the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers at 3pm.

ATLANTA SILVERBACKS  W 2-1  @ Carolina RailHawks  •  Undefeated Atlanta picked up its first win of the season with a pair of second-half goals on the road.  Matt Horth [Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy] started up top and played 55 minutes before subbing out.  The Silverbacks host the Cosmos next Saturday night at 730pm.

PHOTO CREDIT: Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports