By FRANCO PANIZO

In Week 7 the Rochester Rhinos were forced to settle for their first draw of the season. In Week 8, they suffered their first loss.

The Rhinos were defeated by the Harrisburg City Islanders, 1-0, on Friday night at Skyline Sports Complex courtesy of a second-half goal from Morgan Langley.

Toronto FC manager Aron Winter believes his club will make the playoffs. Really.

"We're making the playoffs," he firmly told reporters after Tuesday's training session.

Winter's proclamation comes after Toronto FC have fallen to 0-6-0, are a loss away from matching the worst start in league history and have a bout at Rio Tinto Stadium with Real Salt Lake on the horizon.

Photo by Orlando City SC

By FRANCO PANIZO

Orlando City SC returned to the Citrus Bowl for their first official match since winning the USL Pro Championship this past weekend, and they gave their fans something to cheer about.

Former New York Red Bulls midfielder John Rooney stole the show, scoring two goals and assisting on another to set the tone for the Lions' 4-1 rout of the Wilmington Hammerheads at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla.

The Houston Dynamo are in a bit of a personnel crisis with suspensions and injuries taking their toll on the club's roster, but the club augmented its defensive options on Friday with the signing of a young Mexican left back.

Houston acquired Oscar Recio on loan from Monterrey, a move that frees starting left back Corey Ashe to slide up to the midfield with Brad Davis nursing a calf injury.

Andrew Dykstra loaned to Charleston Battery for two games Goalkeeper will return to the Black-and-Red next Wednesday
Washington, D.C. (April 13, 2012) – D.C. United announced today that goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra has been loaned to USL PRO side Charleston Battery for two games.

Photo by Jose L. Argueta/ISIphotos.com

By AVI CREDITOR

WASHINGTON -- Joe Willis was well aware of the early-season opportunity that could come knocking at his door, and now that moment has arrived.

With starting goalkeeper Bill Hamid slated to miss D.

Last week we launched a new video series called, A Minute With, that featured D.C. United midfielder Danny Cruz (click to see episode 1). The series focuses on players who are from Virginia and have gone on to succeed at the next level be it college, professional, or international.

Last week we launched a new video series called, A Minute With, that featured D.C. United midfielder Danny Cruz (click to see episode 1). The series focuses on players who are from Virginia and have gone on to succeed at the next level be it college, professional, or international.

D.C. United Press Release:
D.C. United signs goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra 26-year-old a native of Woodbridge, Va.
Washington, D.C. (February 27, 2012) – D.C. United announced today that the club has signed goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra. The 26-year-old netminder joins the Black-and-Red having completed preseason camps in Florida and Arizona.

D.C. United Press Release:
D.C. United signs goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra 26-year-old a native of Woodbridge, Va.
Washington, D.C. (February 27, 2012) – D.C. United announced today that the club has signed goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra. The 26-year-old netminder joins the Black-and-Red having completed preseason camps in Florida and Arizona.

Almost across the line. United can add 6 more players before the roster spots fill up, and must add at least two to the salary budget roster by compliance day in order to fulfill the MLS roster regulations. Of course, it's impossible to tell (from the outside) just how much room remains under the cap, but I think it's fairly safe to say that we'll be adding two of the four remaining trialists and not pulling any surprise rabbits from Kasper-Payne's hat.

DC United could find itself without goalkeeper Bill Hamid quite a bit in 2012 as the U.S. national team netminder and potential Olympian stands poised to have a busy year. With that in mind, DC added a veteran goalkeeper to help provide some cover.

DC signed former Chicago Fire goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra on Monday.

Chicago Fire take on D.C. United at 4:00 PM CST and yes, this game will be video streamed. The video link will be here during the match. This is the opener of the 2012 Carolina Challenge Cup. Games versus the Columbus Crew and Charleston Battery will follow on February 29 and March 3 respectively.

Camp update from dcunited.com...

There have been no changes to the roster that trained earlier this the week in DC. Trialists Ryan Richter, Seth C'deBaca, Alfredo Martins, Andrew Dykstra, and Guilherme Alves da Costa, along with un-signed Supplemental Draft Pick Lance Rozeboom, all accompanied the team to Charleston on Wednesday.

...but nothing concrete to scratch it with (via dcunited.com)...

He's only been with the team three days, but Brazilian trialist Guilherme continues to impress.
United spent much of Wednesday's session doing 3-v-2 and 2-v-1 attacking exercises. On consecutive turns, the Botafogo player slammed a close-range effort past Andrew Dykstra and then curled a shot from distance around Joe Willis' 6-foot-5 frame.

It's been a while since we reset the roster, mostly because United have been (relatively) quiet on the signing front. The big news, of course, was getting De Rosario's contract sorted out and extended, but there are a few items to address, so let's go ahead and do a pre-Coffee Pot Cup reset, shall we?

It's been a while since we reset the roster, mostly because United have been (relatively) quiet on the signing front. The big news, of course, was getting De Rosario's contract sorted out and extended, but there are a few items to address, so let's go ahead and do a pre-Coffee Pot Cup reset, shall we?

Photo by Jose L. Argueta/ISIphotos.com

By AVI CREDITOR

The majority of D.C. United's offseason roster questions have not fully been answered, and as the club's preseason got underway with the first day of training on Wednesday, it is clear that there is plenty to be done before the team takes its final shape.

The last time D.C. United came to Toyota Park was on October 16, 2010. It was Brian McBride's last home game and it turned out to be C.J. Brown's last home game too. 306 days is a long time but it feels even longer ago, more distant. The lineup for that game was Andrew Dykstra; Steve Kinney, Wilman Conde, Kwame Watson-Siriboe, Deris Umanzor; Bratislav Ristic, Logan Pause, Peter Lowry, Marco Pappa; Brian McBride, Patrick Nyarko.

Former Fire goalkeeper Andrew DykstraFor once in the Carolina Challenge Cup, the Chicago Fire did not have to deal with a man disadvantage situation during Saturday's finale of the tournament. But despite numerous chances on the offensive end, Chicago came up empty as the Fire played the host Charleston Battery to a scoreless draw at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, S.

Chicago Fire vs. Charleston Battery: LIVE STREAM 6:15pm CT

Tune in tonight at as the Chicago Fire take on former goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra and the Charleston Battery in their last match of the Carolina Challenge Cup and their last match of the preseason. Team writer Jeff Crandall and Battery president Andrew Bell, who announced the last match against Toronto FC, will be making the live calls again tonight at 6:15pm CT on Chicago-Fire.

For a team hoping to get a look at its offensive options heading into the 2011 Major League Soccer season, the continual red cards are not helping the Chicago Fire's cause.
Uruguayan forward Diego Chaves was ejected in the 37th minute and the Fire fell to D.C. United, 1-0, on Wednesday at the Carolina Challenge Cup at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, S.

The Fire have announced the release of last season's opening day goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra. The acquisition of Jon Conway via trade on draft day led to some speculation that the Fire would keep three 'keepers on the roster in order to make one available for reserve league action while the other competed for the back up spot to Sean Johnson.