SoccerBlogs

It happened on August 23 of 2011. A team of mainly reserves (this isn't hyperbole) went down to Monterrey, Mexico and pulled off a 1-nil win. That Seattle Sounders side faced a fairly standard Rayados lineup. They won. It was an upset, but the stakes were not high. It damaged the mystique, but was not an advancement in a knockout stage.

Osvaldo Alonso's lasting memory of the 2012 U.S. Open Cup may not be a great one, but he can at least take solace in being named the "Player of the Tournament" by theCup.US. Alonso was one of three Seattle Sounders players not to convert his attempt in the decisive penalty shootout, but he was undeniably a major reason they were even there to begin with.

Back before the first ever Seattle Sounders FC match in 2009, it was fairly clear who the veteran leaders would be -- Kasey Keller, Nate Jaqua, Tyrone Marshall and Peter Vagenas. Each had long careers and, except for Keller, those careers were primarily in MLS. Just three seasons later, none of those players are on the roster.

One of the factors in yesterday's trade that got little notice was that the Seattle Sounders shipped out two more American players in Mike Fucito and Lamar Neagle. Of course they got an American in return in Eddie Johnson, but, in addition to that transaction, the list of Americans the Sounders have lost this offseason is substantial.

Odds aren't in favor of Nate Jaqua appearing in a New England Revolution uniform in 2012, according to his representative.

New England Soccer Today initially learned on Monday that Jaqua, a Revs Stage 2 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft pick, isn't likely to sign with the team.

Nate Jaqua struggled in his final two seasons in Seattle, but the 6'3" striker could look to revive his career in New England.

The Bent Musket has learned today that former USA international forward Nate Jaqua, who was selected by the New England Revolution in the Re-Entry Draft this offseason, is currently evaluating his options for the next stage of his career, according to team sources. Those options include retirement.

With neither of Seattle Sounders FC's MLS SuperDraft picks being from Generation Adidas nor pre-signed seniors or internationals the two players are going to have to fight to make the tight roster. A roster than may get even tighter before they report as General Manager Adrian Hanauer said during today's conference call there are "other deals that are possibly pending or getting close.

Revolution right back Kevin Alston keeps a close eye on Galaxy midfielder Miguel Lopez (Photo: Chris Aduama/aduama.com).

Heads down. Hands on hips. That was the unofficial pose of the Revolution defense in 2011.

After giving away goals at a philanthropic rate (58, the second-most in MLS last season) it's not a stretch to say that the biggest task head coach Jay Heaps faces this offseason is improving his team's porous D.

The New England Revolution selected two players in today's MLS Re-Entry draft, forward Nate Jaqua from the Seattle Sounders and defensive midfielder Clyde Simms from DC United. These players, in addition to the acquisition of defender Danleigh Borman from Toronto FC in last Monday's first stage of the re-entry draft, total the Revs' additions to three new players thus far this off-season.

Head coach Jay Heaps potentially added two pieces to his team on Monday afternoon as the New England Revolution selected Nate Jaqua and Clyde Simms in Stage 2 of the 2011 Major League Soccer Re-Entry Draft. The Revs now control the MLS rights to each player and the league will extend contract offers to both within the next seven days.

Marc Burch (left) was the first player selected in stage two of the Re-Entry Draft. (Getty Images)

The second stage of the 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft came and went with a flurry of picks from the defending MLS Cup champions, LA Galaxy.

LA needed depth for the possibly 50ish games that they will play next year with the Champions League knock-out stage in the spring, followed by the 2012/13 group stage in the fall.

Seattle Sounders FC clearly wanted one player in today's Re-Entry Draft Stage Two when they made a last minute trade with the Vancouver Whitecaps for the number one pick. Moments later they selected MLS veteran and former D.C. United player Marc Burch. Burch's 2011 salary is reported to be 97.5k, but is subject to renegotiation per the RED rules.

The Sounders have lost more players this season than any previous MLS off-season. That's without the official losses of Pat Noonan and Nate Jaqua who could still be drafted in Stage Two of the Re-Entry Draft on Monday. But there have been three retirements, the odd departure of Miguel Montano with basically no compensation, the expansion draft loss of James Riley and the trade of Tyson Wahl for allocation money have Seattle with plenty of openings.

Outside of Fredy Montero getting another long run of 75% or more of available minutes the Seattle Sounders FC have no clear favorite as to which of their remaining three forwards will get the most playing time. The declined options of Nate Jaqua and Pat Noonan do open minutes for the remaining three most used forward.

Eddie Johnson and Fredy Montero are both scoring now. They each have an assist in 2012. What they don't have yet is that partnership, the very partnership that was the reason for the trade. A partnership is about more than each scoring. Several of Montero's "other forwards" did that. A partnership is what Nate Jaqua and Fredy had in 2009 when their interplay showed potency and baffled defenses.

Here it is, the last leg of the positional preview. I finally manage to get around to talking about the forwards. There are several issues with trying to evaluate the forwards. The last road pre season game, the one I expected to have the closest thing to the starting eleven that we were going to get, never happened.

Perhaps it is the remnants of the last two seasons that has Revolution supporters feeling incredibly negative about the franchise's off-season moves. With news of players reneging on deals, choosing to sign in different countries, being defined as unnecessary to the organization, or threatening retirement, it is easy to let surprisingly positive moves get whitewashed in negativity.

Amid the controversy surrounding the Jose Moreno fiasco, an interesting piece of news came to light on Thursday. After he was waived - rather surprisingly - by DC United on February 3rd, second-year forward Blake Brettschneider tweeted today that he would be joining the New England Revolution for a trial on Sunday.

Tyler Polak could fill the Revs need at left back. (Photo Credit: Andy Mead / MLSsoccer.com)

With the 2012 MLS SuperDraft now in the books, the writers at New England Soccer Today handed out their grades for the New England Revolution's 2012 draft performance. The Revs selected UCLA midfielder Kelyn Rowe with the third overall pick and Creighton defender Tyler Polak with the 22nd overall pick.

The holidays are upon us and I'm beginning to think that I won't be getting anything from my Revs Christmas wishlist this year. While other teams are signing international players and brand new soccer stadiums are being built, Revs fans are settling for some stocking stuffers this year--and I guess a little coal, too.

An anemic New England Revolution offense started to turn around towards the end of the 2011 season thanks to some late additions, but new head coach Jay Heaps might not get the chance to build upon that improvement in 2012.

Jay Heaps may have to replace Rajko Lekic and other key players from the 2011 squad.

The Chicago Fire selected former New England Revolution striker Kheli Dube with the 8th Pick in the Second Round of the MLS Re-Entry Draft. Dube would leave the New England Revolution, the only MLS club he has ever known, if the two sides can reach a deal in the next 7 days. In four seasons the Zimbabwean compiled 14 goals and 8 assists in 72 appearances.

Even for the most faithful Seattle Sounders supporters among us, this has been a bit of a rough off-season. The numbers fairly illustrate why: Nine players that were part of the team during the final game of the season are no longer here. Those players represent more than 14,000 minutes of all-competition playing time or about 29 percent of the total minutes played by the team.

With the Sounders playing so many games every year there are players that get a chance that would not on other teams, or just as subs. This year that man is Sammy Ochoa. He has six starts and one sub appearance in non-league matches in 2012. In those games he's banged in six goals and earned an assist.

Set to begin another salary cap-governed year in Major League Soccer, one would expect a bit of turnover for every team. After only two full seasons of existence, 54 players have graced the Philadelphia Union roster (55 if you include Danny Cepero's one-game emergency goalkeeping bench stint), and only 5 remain of the original cast.