Tony Taylor and Caleb Patterson-Sewell both made their first division debuts in the starting
lineups for Estoril and Setubal respectively, though neither could notch a win on the opening
weekend.
While the U.S. senior national team was busy getting a result in Slovenia, the U.S. Under-23
side training in Germany played to a draw and lost in a pair of friendlies against Bayer Leverkusen
reserve and youth sides.
A few days after topping VfL Bochum's reserve team and drawing against Azerbaijan's U-21 side,
the U-23s jumped out to a lead on a team comprised of Leverkusen's reserves and U-23s but settled
for a 1-1 draw.
For the Revs, it's all about wins from here on out. The time for adjusting and fixing mistakes
is over. The time for producing results is now. Sitting in 8th place in the Eastern Conference
standings with 23 points, the New England Revolution basically need to go on a late-season tear if
they want to keep their playoff dreams alive.
The third round of the 2012 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup saw eight of the 16 participating Major
League Soccer teams sent packing by lower-division sides (a record for number, obviously, but not
percentage, as half of the field of eight crashed out in 2004′s fourth round). This has led to
the usual sturm und drang on the internet, with some fans claiming the results are proof
of everything from parity to the necessity of promotion and relegation to the existence of
Bigfoot.
I don't need much of a primer for this game. I know most of you feel the same way I do about
Seattle. To say I want the Fire to kick them all around the pitch tonight would be an
understatement. Not to mention pay them back for the US Open Cup Final loss last year in Seattle.
Our Men in Red will certainly have multiple motivating factors to choose from tonight.
Looks like it could be a long year for Peter Nowak. (Getty Images)
I know folks like myself and other writers out there didn't make this one easy going into the
season. We all kept saying the Eastern Conference was the weaker side and how it would struggle
against the West.
After two weeks of the new season, that statement rings true.
Real Salt Lake almost had an unprecedented season in 2011, but the promising year ended sourly
after the team fell short on two big occasions.
RSL was unable to finish off dream runs in the MLS playoffs and CONCACAF Champions league,
losing to the Los Angeles Galaxy in the Western Conference Final and falling to Monterrey in
heartbreaking fashion in the Champions League final.
Old reliable: Underrated Todd Dunivant, as Dane Richards and the New York Red Bulls would
testify, has been among the chief reasons for the Galaxy's smothering defense this season (Photo by
Getty Images).
The telecast from a sold-out Home Depot Center in Carson is set to start at 6 p.
New England Revolution and the Columbus Crew met in the Revs last home game of what has been a
miserable season. New England comes into this match with a record of 5-15-12 while Columbus is
12-12-8.
While the Revs are playing for pride, a win for Columbus puts them in the playoffs.
At this time last week, positives were taken from a losing performance. The Union had played
well, just not well enough. Despite controlling the match against DC United, the visitors had
stolen a late goal, and three points, at PPL Park.
The New England Revolution will take the rainy Gillette Stadium pitch tonight looking for their
first win of the 2012 season against an Eastern Conference opponent. The Fire come into this game
with a record of 5-4-3 and a road record of 2-3-1. Both clubs are still feeling the burn of being
eliminated from the US Open Cup tournament on Tuesday, both by lower division sides, and will
surely be hungry for three points to help ease the pain.
This being a bye week, we're all searching for stuff to talk about. The topic du jour seems to
be the Seattle Sounders' depth, or perceived lack there of. It's been debated here in the comments
sections, but got a little bit more of my interest because of stuff that has been said over at
MLSsoccer.
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.
Philadelphia Union manager Peter Nowak can prove Sunday just how good a manager he really
is.
It will happen when the starting lineup is announced.
Outsiders may think Nowak's a potential coach of the year, but those who follow the Union
closely know he's been a better executive than a chooser of starting lineups.
The winless Union head into Saturday's match against the Vancouver Whitecaps with only two goals
to their name. While much attention has been directed at the team's on-field issues in recent
weeks, it is impossible to ignore the impending return of Sebastien Le Toux.
When the franchise's leading light was transferred north of the border, all eyes turned to the
schedule and this early season showdown with the Whitecaps.
After the Philadelphia Union gave away the lead to draw with Houston at PPL Park on August 6, we
posted an article that, among other topics, looking at the consistency question. The question
wasn't so much consistency on the field—little did we know that the Union were in the beginnings
of an eight game winless streak.
England will win against France. Why am I so sure? Well, many disingenuous soccer sites make
predictions based on starting lineups, the form and presence of star players, and a recent results.
Here at Futfanatico, we solidly base our predictions on centuries old naval and cavalry warfare
history. And archers.
Mario Balotelli's latest indiscretion is no laughing matter | Richard
Williams
Colourful and crazy as ever, the Manchester City striker is in hot water again after his red
card at Anfield A great game for English football," Charlie Adam said afterwards. Not, however, a
great game of English football, at least in the sense of one typifying national
characteristics.
The Rapids played their first friendly of the preseason today against the Ventura County Fusion at
Oxnard College in California. The game was a scoreless draw and with no coverage its hard to draw
much of anything from the result, but here are the starting lineups for each half (* denotes
trialist):
1st Half:
Cascio - Amarikwa - AkpanThompson - Nane - LaBauexFreeman - Marshall - Palguta - Zapata*Ceus
2nd Half:
Angulo* - Archer* - ArmstrongThompson - Nane - Guido*Huazo* - Marshall - Palguta - AbabioJoyce
Obviously this was a game for some of the reserves to try to make their mark in competing for a
starting spot.
Tomorrow night the Rapids play their final group stage game of the Champions League in Torreon,
Mexico against Santos Laguna. With a win Colorado will clinch 2nd place in the group and a spot in
the quarterfinals. With an extremely unlikely 4 goal win they will win the group. A draw or loss
does not eliminate them, but it leaves their fate in the hands of Real Espana and Isidro Metapan
who play on Thursday.
As I mentioned in my earlier Hat Trick post, we will have a gamethread on HTIOT going for the
USMNT match tonight. The US will look to carry over the momentum from their win at the death vs.
Venezuela into tonight's match. I am pretty excited to see how the USA will look tonight against an
up-and-coming Panama side.
The U-23 back line had its guts ripped out yesterday in a 4-0 win to the Nats. Goals came from
Chris Wondolowski, Benny Feilhaber, Teal Bunbury and Graham Zusi. SKC represent. Here were your
starting lineups. Currently hunting around for a highlight vid. Will update as it comes. - Will
Parchman
Landon Donovan and Brad Friedel's highly-anticipated match-up is finally here.
The two Americans are both in their respective team's starting lineups, as is Tim Howard, for
Tottenham's home game against Everton (2:45 p.m., Fox Soccer Channel). Donovan will look to help
the Toffees upset the Spurs in his third game back while also attempting to silence one his most
recent critics in Friedel in the process.
Cherundolo is one of three players on the U.S. roster who is the captain of his club
team
Here's all the news and notes you need to get prepped for the USA's first match against France
since 1979, and the first ever in the famed Stade de France. A few to get you started ..
Here is all the news and notes to get you ready for USA-Ecuador. Allow us to select some highlights
...
Tim Howard and Carlos Bocanegra are the only two players to have started all four matches since
head coach Jurgen Klinsmann began. Brek Shea has started three and entered as a sub once (against
Mexico), while Agudelo has come on as a substitute in all four.
Saturday's match in Quebec will be the opener of Stade Saputo's MLS era. The Montreal Impact are
in many ways similar to the Sounders, not just because of the players, but the number of
connections they maintained to their USL & A-League past. They haven't been awful this year. The
3-7-3 record this year isn't in the horrid levels that most expansion teams experience.
Tonight is going to be a very special night indeed for Fire fans. Not only do we get to see the
Men in Red continue their recent form of improving play, but CJ Brown gets inducted into the Ring
of Fire tonight. The Fire legend certainly deserves such a highly regarded honor. How great will it
be to see his name, number, and jersey every time you go to Toyota Park now?
Here are some responses this week to the posting I made regarding Sporting KC's success vs the KC
Royals struggles.
Anonymous
I brought a friend to the Real Salt Lake game...he said that it was the best game day atmosphere he
had ever been to and that he wanted to come back on Cinco De Mayo.
Today is a great day to be a Fire fan. Although Chris Rolfe won't be able to make his debut
today, the game will be on NBC Sports, and it is certainly a match that we can get 3 points out of.
However, the Men in Red can't afford to overlook Toronto either. Although winless, they will no
doubt be in desperation mode.
