Against the odds, four Premier Development League (PDL) sides came through victorious in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup, defeating professional opposition on Tuesday evening.
FC Tucson outlasted the NASL's San Antonio Scorpions on the road on penalty kicks, winning 4-3 after the score was level at 2-2 following regulation and extra time.
Boy things look real interesting for the 16 MLS clubs in the 100th edition of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Several clubs could open up on the road thanks to today's draw for the third round pairings.
MLS could have 11 of its 16 clubs start out on the road should certain clubs win in the second round.
I'm going to go ahead and say it, the loans from MLS to USL are working. For some they are working far better than we could have imagined. Case and point with Sporting KC loanee Dom Dwyer who scored again over the weekend for Orlando City.
The goal also came against some MLS players as Orlando was taking on the Seattle Sounders Reserves.
Listen to Virginia Cavalry FC Director of Soccer Opporations, Mark Simpson on Pitch Pass. He discusses his new team and role. Mark was an assistant coach at D.C. United and an MLS Cup-winning goalkeeper for the Black-and-Red.
click to listen: Pitch Pass Bonus Episode: Mark Simpson
So far, Sporting KC's Dom Dwyer has the USL-Pro league wrapped around his finger. He can literally do no wrong at the moment for Orlando City SC. Dwyer scored three more goals in a 7-2 route for Orlando over the weekend against Antigua.
Dwyer is now the clear frontrunner for the USL PRO golden boot with eight goals in seven games played.
I have an article published in this month's issue of Stadium Journey magazine (though I didn't write about stadiums, oddly enough). Thanks to a recommendation from my man Josh Hakala (whose excellent TheCup.us you should visit, especially this time of year), they asked me to write about the pros and cons of promotion and relegation (a topic I may have mentioned before) for their all-soccer issue.
Editor's Note: Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but It bends toward justice”. Sometimes we American soccer fans get wrapped up in the day-to-day, Monday morning quarterbacking (or centerbacking), knee-jerk reactions and miss out on the big picture.
You want quality minutes for your young players? Well for several MLS clubs the loans to the USL-Pro sides are starting to pay off in a positive way.
Over the last week three players found the back of the net during their loan spells with one player doing it in multiple games. Sporting KC forward Dom Dwyer scored three goals this past week for Orlando City SC.
Thought Trail: Sheikhs, Queens, and a new home for MLS in NYC?
Eric: The details have been hidden in the shadows, but it comes as no real surprise to see the NYTimes reporting that Man City owner and Qatari Sheikh Mansour eager to stretch his empire of influence in the world of football to America.
Today we talked MLS action: Who had the best weekend? We also discuss MLS "Reserve Teams" in USL Pro and what those should look like as well as round-up the action in USL and NASL and are joined by The Scoring Third's Adam Henckler to talk about Orlando City and it's MLs and Soccer Specfic Stadium aspirations.
Two more MLS players on loan found the back of the net this past weekend.
Sporting KC's Yann Songo'o scored a goal in a 3-2 win for Orlando City SC over the LA Blues. Elsewhere, Philadelphia Union loaneeCristhian Hernandez scored a goal and grabbed an assist in a 2-1 win over the Colorado Rapids reserves.
The MLS-USL partnership is starting to take shape here. In the first week of play for most USL-Pro squads, several MLS players got to see their first real action of the year on loan.
For a couple guys it was a big weekend. D.C. United's Casey Townsend scored two goals for USL side Richmond while Sporting KC's Dom Dwyer scored a goal for Orlando City.
It's not just Major League Soccer clubs that are opening soccer-specific stadiums anymore.
The San Jose Scorpions will open up their new stadium, named Toyota Field, when they host the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday night in NASL week two action. The 8,000 seat facility is across the street from their former stadium, and it's expandable to 18,000 seats if the club ever makes the jump to MLS.
After starting the season in a slump, midfielder Keith Savage's 90th minute strike lifted the Tampa Bay Rowdies to a 3-2 victory against Minnesota United FC on Saturday afternoon at the Metrodome during North American Soccer League action.
The Rowdies now sit with 11 points, tied in first place, after the Carolina RailHawks failed to record a victory against the Atlanta Silverbacks later that day.
With his five goals on the season, forward Brian Shriver looks to lead the Carolina RailHawks when they visit the Atlanta Silverbacks at Atlanta Silverbacks Park on Saturday in North American Soccer League action.
The RailHawks, who sit three points clear atop the NASL table, are entering this weekend's play after mauling the San Antonio Scorpions, 5-2, last week.
Brian Shriver's brace for the Carolina RailHawks insured them a 5-2 victory on Saturday against the San Antonio Scorpions and a three point clearance atop the NASL table.
FC Edmonton continued their recent fine form of the season, beating the Atlanta Silverbacks on Sunday night, 3-0, at Clark Stadium.
In a match between the North American Soccer League's two first-place teams, Minnesota United FC host the Carolina RailHawks on Saturday, and the outcome will determine who takes the top spot early on this season.
The RailHawks, who had a bye-week in week four, look to continue their solid performance which has seen them remain unbeaten along with United.
If we learned anything in NASL this past weekend, it's that you can never count the Atlanta Silverbacks out.
The Silverbacks were down 3-1 in the first half after Luke Mulholland scored in the 24th and 44th minute for the Rowdies, but a second-half surge lead Atlanta to one of the biggest NASL comebacks in recent memory as Pedro Mendes scored a pair of goals to help lead a 4-3 comeback victory.
The Atlanta Silverbacks will look to go 2-0 against the NASL's two Florida teams when they go into St. Petersburg to face-off against the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
The Silverbacks opened up their season last week at home, defeating the Strikers from Ft.
The Fire have announced that forward Kellen Gulley has been loaned to the NASL's Atlanta Silverbacks. The move gives Gulley, the Fire's second Homegrown Player signing an opportunity to earn more playing time than he otherwise would via Fire Reserve and first team matches. While he's yet to distinguish himself against MLS competition in training he stands more of a chance to develop if he can find some success in the second division NASL.
Minnesota United FC claimed top of the table on Saturday despite drawing 2-2 against the Carolina RailHawks, which saw United lose a 2-1 lead late in the game.
RailHawks' Jordan Graye opened up the deadlock, heading-in a high cross in the 40th minute.
The Tampa Bay Rowdies took a 2-1 win against Ft. Lauderdale to open up the first-of-two Florida Derbies this season. The win, which not only secured Tampa a shared first-place spot in the NASL table, proved to be a pivotal bounce back after collapsing against Atlanta last week after leading 3-1 for much of the game.
One of the North American Soccer League's marquee rivalries will be renewed on Saturday when the Ft. Lauderdale play host to the Tampa Bay Rowdies at Lockhart Stadium for the first of two Florida Derbies this season.
The Strikers have yet to win this season in the NASL, losing two straight matches on the road where they conceded five goal.
It's always refreshing to see the tables turned. While English football clubs have been coming over to the United States to play pre-season friendlies for, off and on, a few decades, it's seldom that US teams conduct their own tours of England. One exception was in 1980 when NASL's Tampa Bay Rowdies conducted a tour in the autumn of 1980.
Cavalry FC's inaugural SoccerFest will be held on June 29 and 30 on the fields at Morven Park in Leesburg.
Operated in conjunction with our partner Brotman|Winter|Fried, an experienced organizer of such events, SoccerFest will consist of special Cavalry FC games, contests, competitions, giveaways and prizes – and soccer matches.
On the heels of announcing its name and receiving approval to move forward with the stadium, the Ashburn-based Virginia Cavalry FC have officially unveiled its primary logo on the team's Facebookand Twitter pages today. With the North American Soccer League (NASL) set for its league-wide opening kick this weekend, Virginia Cavalry FC is set for its inaugural season in 2014.
Lost in the shuffle of this huge deal for New York FC are the Cosmos, who have now gone from hoping to one day be the city's second team to hoping against hope that one day in the distance future the league assumes a pro/rel structure. Pipe dreams. It seems only appropriate now to look back on my piece from last year on the Cosmos' strange history and how now they must enjoy life in the second
NASL Director of Communications and Public Relations Kartik Krishnaiyer will be leaving his position with the American soccer league this month to take a more active role in several exciting developments from EPL Talk, which will be revealed in more detail this summer.
San Antonio were hoping to start life in their new home with a win, Tampa Bay decided to spoil that.
The Scorpions opened up their home season in their new soccer-specific stadium on Saturday, but it was the Rowdies who took the victory at Toyota Field in front of 8,100 fans in attendance.
Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh is one-third of a trio of exciting developments for American soccer that launch this weekend. Two of the three are examples of the sport putting down roots, while the other tries to prove that something can grow on land that's produced a thin harvest in two previous tries.
On the eve of the latest installment of the D.C. United-New York Red Bulls rivalry The SBI Show talks to a player who was a key figure in the series in the past, a New Jersey native who enjoyed his share of success against his hometown team.
Alecko Eskandarian enjoyed a very successful career before concussions forced him to step away from the game at an early age.
The 2013 NASL season kicked off this past Saturday with plenty of fanfare but a lack of goals.
The current seven-team spring schedule was highlighted at the weekend with a 1-1 draw between the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and FC Edmonton in Lockhart Stadium.
The Fire have piled a little more pressure on themselves going into the April 7 contest against the New York Red Bulls by dropping a 1-0 decision to second division side Minnesota United FC. Frank Klopas used many of his regulars to begin the match but Minnesota was able to stay level at the half. Maicon Santos struck the cross bar in the 17th minute to give Chicago it's best scoring opportunity early on.
