The San Jose Earthquakes have clinched the first berth in the 2012 MLS Cup Playoffs.
San Jose clinched today after Chivas USA dropped a 2-1 decision at Seattle.
Four clubs out of the nine-team Western Conference will be unable to match or overtake San Jose
in regular season points, thus assuring the Earthquakes' position as one of five teams from their
conference to make the playoffs.
Between the weird scheduling of the match on a Thursday night, the questionable officiating,
depleted rosters, and the rather languid play, last night's match between the Houston Dynamo and
Real Salt Lake took the "beautiful" out of the beautiful game. Until the final seconds of the
match, it appeared that the score would stay at 0-0 and the Dynamo would have to wait until
September 29th to finally pick up their first MLS home win since August 3rd, but then Macoumba
Kandji was fouled in the box and Colin Clark converted giving the Dynamo a 1-0 win and breaking
their 4 match streak of not winning an MLS match.
Beating the current version of FC Dallas isn't easy. They have enough quality in all phases of
play that on a normal day they are tough when healthy. In near 100 degree heat they gain another
advantage. Still, there are opportunities. Dallas is fairly weak defending open play crosses which
should bode well for a Sounders team that has a rested and ready Adam Johansson and Mauro
Rosales.
It's early in the stretch run of a season that MLS puts forth as a marathon. In a season where
Seattle fell short of two trophies already (Open Cup, 11/12 CCL) they still are capable of two more
major trophies as well as the Cascadia Cup. Travel concerns essentially end in September, unless
the Sounders are on the road for the MLS Cup Final, which is travel that any fan, supporter,
player, coach or front office personnel would love to be forced upon them.
The statistics say that Dallas is a bad team. On paper they are not really "in" the competition
for a MLS Cup Playoffs spot. This is one of the cases where those systems can not accurately
reflect how good FC Dallas is. They've recently gotten David Ferreira and George John back. In
their last ten games they have 17 points to Seattle's 18.
Another year, another winless August for the Philadelphia Union. But unlike 2011, the team didn't
have a fast start to rest upon, and now they sit at a point where the MLS Cup Playoffs are a fading
image. On Wednesday ...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com for the rest of the story.
Seattle's last two losses in all competitions are to the San Jose Earthquakes and Sporting
Kansas City. In some ways it is fitting that these are the only two teams ahead of the Sounders in
the SB Nation MLS Power Rankings. Seattle is as high as it has been since week 11. The votes they
receive are primarily for 2 or 3 with two at 4 and one at 5.
Saturday's 7:30 PM match between the aspiring Seattle Sounders and struggling Goats features one
of the hottest teams in MLS and a team that is bewildering. Despite several name brand players on
offense Chivas USA has 9 fewer goals than the next worst in the league. If it wasn't for Dan
Kennedy and the strong defense there would be no chance for the other SoCal team to make the MLS
Cup Playoffs.
There have been stories of Marco Pappa joining Dutch side SC Heerenveen. There have been stories
of Marco Pappa joining EPL club Wigan in the winter. It turns out the full story is a mix of the
two. Pappa will join SC Heerenveen at the conclusion of the 2012 MLS Regular Season.
The Dutch league should suit Pappa better than the EPL so this is a very good move.
MLS has just announced the new system of tiebreakers for the playoffs this season. Although MLS
is trying to encourage "attacking play" as they put it, our very own Nick Fedora (among many
incensed fans) are not liking the system as it seems to make defense all but irrelevant. This will
definitely be a hot topic in the coming days as the playoffs inch closer.
Saturday's match at Colorado will be the final meeting between the Sounders and the Rapids. KONG
6/16 will broadcast the match with typical Spanish language and radio coverage as well. The two
sides are nearly completely opposite in form. Where the Colorado Rapids have lost five straight
(OK, they beat Swansea), the Seattle Sounders are in a stretch of four unbeaten, though with only
one win.
The Chicago Fire have added some punch to their attack, signing a Designated Player from Europe
that is joining the club after spending the last three seasons in Belgium.
The Fire announced Tuesday that they signed Dutch forward Sherjill MacDonald from Belgian Pro
League side Germinal Beerschot AC.
New Dynamo DP is having an easier than expected transition from the Honduran League to MLS. He
has already help set up a goal and has played "well on both sides of the ball" in three 90 minute
shifts. (MLS Soccer)
Jonathon and Eddie discuss the upcoming home stand, players returning from injury, and DC
United.
Knockout tournaments can kind of suck. One poor performance and the club you support is gone.
There's a certain pressure on them that can overwhelm. They are like playoffs, but longer and with
a smaller payoff at the end. The Seattle Sounders don't struggle in knockouts. They are 16-0-1 in
the Open Cup, 1-1-0 in Champions League Knockouts and even 1-4-1 in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
Tomorrow the Portland Timbers take on the Seattle Sounders in what promises to be one of the
premier matches of the regular MLS season. But I don't really need to tell you all this. As a
Portland Timbers fan this stuff is ingrained within you from the very day you decide to done the
green and white.
Round three of the 2012 Cascadia Cup contest between sees the Seattle Sounders head down south
to face the struggling Portland Timbers. In the mini-league standing no team yet stands out as a
leader with the two previous matches ending in draws. The Whitecaps sit in first with two points.
For the Timbers this is probably their only chance at a Cup.
With disappointment piling up in MLS play like unnecessary similes in my PUT articles, the
Philadelphia Union's road to the playoffs grows longer and more winding by the matchday. Speaking
of the song that ended with the Beatles breaking up, what happened to the Union's Fab Four (Le
Toux, Mondragon, Califf, and Paul the Stray Ferret)?
Article by Nate Sulat
If history is any indication, the Montreal Impact is facing an uphill climb in its first MLS
season.
With the exception of the Seattle Sounders – who made the MLS Cup playoffs and won the US Open
Cup in 2009 – the seven teams that have entered the league since 2005 are a combined 48-121-53 in
their maiden campaigns.
Even including results in non-MLS competition Seattle's record against the LA Galaxy is not good
enough for Sounders fans. There is no other team that can clearly be argued as better than the one
here. Both have three major trophies in the past three years, but LA's are more significant. They
are roughly equal in CCL play.
By Tony Edwards - San Jose, CA (Apr 26, 2012) US Soccer Players -- In Thursday's edition, Tony asks
about examines player confidence in Toronto, wonders when David Ferreira will be back for FC
Dallas, and sees an unexpected entry in the MLS Castrol Index rankings. Who's going to the MLS Cup
Playoffs?
Tomorrow night, our Dynaroadmen keep their early tour going with a visit to the CenturyLink
painted-over runway to face the Seattle Sounders at 9 p.m. Central (God's Own Timezone). The match
will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network (check your cable provider for channel number). It can
also be heard in the Houston area on KPRC 950 AM and in Spanish on La Ranchera 850 AM.
One of the shames of the unbalanced schedule is that teams that were developing a strong
on-field rivalry are now split apart. Houston Dynamo v Seattle Sounders FC matches birthed zombie
Jaqua, the Dynamo were the first team to beat Seattle in the MLS Cup Playoffs and only the LA
Galaxy have played Seattle more in the MLS era.
Over the last couple of days, various sources have releases the amount of viewers for the
opening weekend of Major League Soccer. In Canada, the news was great. According to a press
release from TSN, the combined Canadian viewing audience (RDS and TSN) exceed 540k on average.Â
That is a great number for the opening match.
-76:00 I (sidereal) will be liveblogging tonight's event as well as the game, assuming
I'm able to see it over the hordes of partying Sounders faithful. What's the general consensus on
liveblog formats? New stuff at the top? Bottom? (Never mind. We'll do it in comments)
This season could wind up with a lot of "biggest games of the year," to get to the next one the
Seattle Sounders FC must advance tonight and match a task that only one other MLS side has ever
done in CONCACAF Champions League/Cup Knockout Round play.
The tiered system is dead, kind of. SBNation.com/soccer's MLS power rankings now require each
writer to rank the teams from 1-19 and then they will be lumped into tiers based on the overall
vote. This is essentially flipping the system of previous years, but the results are quite similar.
Overall the Seattle Sounders are ranked a clear 2nd, in tier one with the LA Galaxy (first) and
Real Salt Lake (third).
After three straight seasons of playoff disappointment, the Seatte Sounders are back for 2012,
and it could be their most important season in franchise history.
The Sounders' narrow loss in the Western Conference Semfinals of the 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs left
a bitter, yet familiar, taste in the mouths of its devoted fans.
Sitting just a few days before the regular season begins, we must start taking into account that
minus some last minute roster tweaking the team is all but set until at least the Summer Window.
This is the team that Jay Heaps will lead into battle for a good portion of the season. Ultimately,
what are the goals we are looking at for this club to complete?
Preseason? We're talking about preseason here? Yes we are. After all, only so much can be taken
away from a 2-1 win over a fourth division side. And while beating Boston College a few times is
nice, it is still only beating a college team. The beginning of the FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup is
the first opportunity to see the Revolution compete against MLS competition.
Sporting Kansas City will hold open tryouts for prospective players on Saturday, June 9 and
Sunday, June 10 at the team's Sporting Club Training Center in Swope Park, the club announced
Tuesday. The tryouts are open to players who are 18 years of age and older, and are among
the first 300 registrants.
United States National Team player Chris Wondolowski has signed a new deal with the San Jose
Earthquakes. "I'm grateful to the organization for giving me a new contract for a second straight
year and look forward to helping the Earthquakes get back to the MLS Cup Playoffs," Wondolowski
said. "I think we have a great team heading into this season and I know I'm looking forward to that
home opener on March 10th against New.
The New England Revolution are facing the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park on Saturday night.
Bridgeview is definitely not a favored environment for the Revs to try and break their six-game
winless streak, but nevertheless they must try. Chicago is sitting pretty in fourth place with a
game in hand on the teams above them, and will be looking at this fixture as an easy three points
at home.
years ago there was some big news in association football.
World War I was finally finished and in England, official competitive football was allowed to
resume (between 1914 to 1919 the FA Cup and League Cup were suspended due to the war with regional
competitions taking place in their stead).
