We have complete player evaluations for every Portland Timbers player that appeared in their dramatic 2 all draw versus Vancouver on the road, plus a composite rating for the coaches and team. The result extended Portland's unbeaten streak to 10 and left them as the only undefeated MLS club on the road.
The Portland Timbers took their nine match unbeaten streak up to Vancouver, B.C. to face the Whitecaps, who were boasting a home unbeaten run as well. Having never lost in two previous trips to B.C. Place, the Timbers overcame goals from Camilo Sanvezzo and Gershon Koffie plus an ejection to Futty Danso to earn a 2 all draw behind goals from Will Johnson and an 84th minute effort from Jose Valencia.
In the first of three road matches in a row, the Portland Timbers head north to battle their Cascadian rivals from Canada, the Vancouver Whitecaps. Portland carries a nine match unbeaten streak into the May 18 afternoon match, but Vancouver has been playing very solid defense recently plus their offense has been augmented with contributions from some of their younger charges.
Fans of the Seattle Sounders cheer (Flickr Commons)
Just a few weeks into the Major League Soccer season, the state of soccer in Cascadia was not in good shape. The Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps have all fallen on rough times already this season but Saturday's matches involving the three clubs reinvigorated the state of soccer in the Pacific Northwest.
Down to ten men and down a goal on the road, it looked as if the Timbers record unbeaten streak might come to end. But Jose Adolfo Valencia made sure it didn't.
Valencia's goal six minutes from the end, earned Portland (4-1-7, 19 points) a 2-2 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps Saturday at BC Place.
The Seattle Sounders are on a roll, having put together a five-match unbeaten streak to climb out of the Western Conference basement and make their march toward the top of the standings.
Waiting for them at the top is FC Dallas, which is in Seattle tonight to try and keep their own nine-match streak alive.
Walker Zimmerman made his first appearance for FC Dallas Saturday, 113 days after being selected in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft. The Furman product came on as a late sub in the club's 2-1 victory over DC United.
The centerback had sustained a groin injury in the preseason and his recovery had taken longer than originally expected.
The Major League Soccer Disciplinary Committee was busy this week handing out suspensions to four different players around the league.
The Committee announced on Wednesday one-match suspensions to Chivas USA defender Mario de Luna, Vancouver Whitecaps defender Johnny Leveron, Colorado Rapids forward Edson Buddle, and Real Salt Lake defender Kwame Watson-Siriboe.
For all the success Sporting Kansas City have had over the past two years, the Houston Dynamo have been the one riddle the club can't solve.
After being ousted come playoff time by Houston two seasons in a row, Kansas City will travel to BBVA Compass Stadium on Sunday and attempt to get a result against a Dynamo side that, in addition to riding a 36-game home unbeaten streak, just wrapped a 2-0 road trip.
When Matt Pickens fractured his arm in a mid-March match against Real Salt Lake, no one would have imagined the 31-year-old might lose his starting job while recovering. But his replacement, Clint Irwin, might not relinquish the spot after an exceptional run that has seen him shut out opponents in three of his last five matches.
Toronto FC continued to add players on Thursday, signing Israel international defender Tal Ben Haim on loan from Queens Park Rangers.
The Canadian club conceded in the final ten minutes again on Wednesday night in a 2-1 loss to San Jose, forcing Ryan Nelsen to demand some new faces in the team.
Sandy, UT Real Salt Lake was hurting for some goals.
Star forward Alvaro Saborio is out with a quadriceps strain. His replacements, Robbie Findley and Olmes Garcia, were both questionable heading into the match, forcing manager Jason Kreis to play two newcomers in Joao Plata and Devon Sandoval up top
Kreis' gamble paid off as Plata lead RSL to a 2-0 victory over the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber was in Columbus on Thursday to announce the next host of the MLS Business Summit.
At a press conference held at Crew Stadium, Garber and Columbus Crew President and G.M. Marc McCullers jointly announced that Ohio's capital city would be hosting this year's business summit from September 10-12.
One of the bright spots for the LA Galaxy this season has been the play of 18-year-old Jack McBean, who has played in all seven league matches so far this season. But McBean's season has been derailed after suffering a broken collar bone in a collision with Real Salt Lake centerback Nat Borchers.
Vancouver Whitecaps manager Martin Rennie brought on Kekuta Manneh in the 54th minute of Saturday's match against FC Dallas down two goals, in desperate need of a spark.
Manneh provided just that, scoring once and assisting on a second as the Whitecaps tied FC Dallas 2-2.
After FC Dallas went up 2-0 right out of the halftime break, Vancouver head coach Martin Rennie sent on forward Kekuta Manneh in hopes of salvaging the match.
Eighteen minutes into his appearance, the Gambian rookie powered a shot past Raul Fernandez for his first MLS goal.
Starting XI 1.) You have had success at every level of soccer you have played. How excited are you to get a chance to play in the MLS for Vancouver? Ben: "To begin my career with my hometown club in the MLS would be a dream come true." 2.) How frustrating is it to not ... Continue reading »
When it has come to sustained success over the past half decade, no MLS teams have done it better than the Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Salt Lake.
Sure, some recognizable faces have come and gone. But both teams have maintained their accomplished cores and smartly managed the players around them while bolstering their trophy cases.
The Vancouver Whitecaps got two late goals to prevent an embarrassing loss to FC Edmonton in the first leg of the Canadian Championship semifinals. Trailing 2-1 for the majority of the match, Vancouver scored the tying goal in the 84 minute off a Camilo penalty kick.
Editor's note: Each week, the Soccer Perspectives MLS Expert Panel will rank Major League Soccer's 19 teams from best to worst. FC Dallas maintained the top spot this week with a convincing win against the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Galaxy moved [...]
Notable Stats MLS Games: 1 Wins: 1 Draws: 0 Losses: 0 Goals For: 2 Goals Against: 0 Goal Difference: +2 Preview The Whitecaps have never been crowned Voyageurs Cup champions before but they hope that 2013 can be their first. The Caps have only met the Impact in MLS play once back in the 2012 ... Continue reading »
When Vancouver Whitecaps playmaker Daigo Kobayashi was forced to leave Saturday's match vs. the Los Angeles Galaxy in the 14th minute, the Whitecaps looked like their quest to snap a seven-match winless streak was going to be that much tougher.
Little did the Whitecaps or Galaxy know that the player who came on to replace Kobayashi would steal the show and lead the Whitecaps to victory.
Notable Whitecaps Statistics Against LA Games: 6 (One match in 2012 MLS Playoffs) Wins: 0 Draws: 1 Losses: 5 Goals For: 3 Goals Against: 14 Goal Difference: -11 Preview The last time the Caps met the Galaxy was in the first round of the 2012 MLS Playoffs when they lost out 2-1 to LA. Vancouver ... Continue reading »
As is standard operating procedure anytime a player in MLS receives a red card, the league's Disciplinary Committee looked at the elbow FC Dallas midfielder Jackson delivered to Vancouver's Alain Rochat in the 78th minute of a 2-2 draw with the Whitecaps on April 27.
Jackson will already miss Wednesday's game with Portland and according to FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman, the league did consider adding to his suspension but after reviewing the play, decided to let Jackson's one-game ban stand.
Enjoy the highlights of the FC Dallas match at Vancouver.
Scoring Summary: DAL – Own goal (Andy O'Brien) 9 DAL – Matt Hedges 47 VAN – Kekuta Manneh (Tommy Heinemann) 72 VAN – Camilo (Kekuta Manneh) 75
FC Dallas – Raul Fernandez, Jair Benitez, George John (London Woodberry 45), Matt Hedges, Zach Loyd, David Ferreira, Andrew Jacobson (Je-Vaughn Watson 41), Michel, Jackson, Kenny Cooper (Fabian Castillo 76), Blas Perez.
"I think the players really get on well before the game and after the game, but once that whistle starts, it's a war. We had a very strong contest in Dallas. Obviously we had a really strong contest here, but I don't think there is any animosity.
Mynor CAMPOS / FutbolenVancouver.com VANCOUVER, B.C. Los Vancouver Whitecaps consiguieron rescatar el partido que perdían por 2-0 y en apenas 3 minutos lograron un empate 2-2ante el FC Dallas enfrente de 19,967 aficionados en el BC Place de Vancouver. El equipo de Vancouver parece que ha perdido la brújula y no encuentra conseguir llevarse [.
Whitecaps vs FC Dallas, 2013 MLS Round 2. After last weekend's terrible performance against the very same FC Dallas side, the Whitecaps found themselves with another poor result on the road. Following that match, the Caps made their way up to Edmonton to take part in their first match of the 2013 Amway Canadian Championship.
One of the bigger storylines to come out of FC Dallas' 2-0 blanking of Vancouver on Saturday night in Frisco was the fact that Martin Rennie's Whitecaps delivered a truly listless performance, which of course is not meant to take away from a well-deserved three points on FCD's part.
And of course, these same two clubs square off again this weekend, with the return match coming on Saturday evening at BC Place.
The Whitecaps will be hoping to bounce back from a 2-0 defeat to FC Dallas on Saturday, a game in which the Caps had their hands down worst performance of the season. On Wednesday, April 24th, Vancouver will take on NASL side FC Edmonton in the first leg of the 2013 Amway Canadian Championship (ACC).
Memo to Mark Followill: You don't say "With Dante Washington, I'm Mark Followill". The correct protocol is "With THE GREAT Dante Washington, I'm Mark Followill".
I'll excuse it just this once, Mark.
Raúl Fernández v Joe Cannon is quite the goalkeeping matchup. The final score tonight could very well be a negative number.
Happy Thursday, ladies and gentlemen. Today's edition of Freedom Kicks leads with more of what you've come to expect from D.C. United employees and their club website.
Previous matches provide building blocks | D.C. United
"With the right mentality and the right intensity, we can build.
Happy Tuesday, ladies and gentlemen. Your Freedom Kicks are late because I have some kind of demon virus. It turns out I didn't exactly miss anything, since the D.C. United media took Monday off so that they could properly sulk and cry. They'll probably be back to work today and tomorrow. We have literally no United-related links to present to you today, but I hope you'll live.
Mynor CAMPOS / FutbolenVancouver.com VANCOUVER, B.C. –Los Whitecaps lograron su pase a la final de la copa Canadiense Amway al superar 2-0 a Edmonton (5-2 en el global) en partido jugado en el BC Place ante 14,892 aficionados con goles anotados por Corey Herzog y autogol del defensa Shaun Saiko. En el otro partido disputado [.
Mynor CAMPOS de FútbolenVancouver.com relata el partido de semifinal de la Copa Amway entre Vancouver Whitecaps y FC Edmonton. El ganador de esta copa será el representante de Canadá en la Liga de Campeones Concacaf 2013-14. La otra serie es entre Toronto FC y Montreal Impact. Los Vancouver Whitecaps aprovecharon un penal marcado por Camilo [.
Before addressing the article that Toronto Star columnist/hack Cathal Kelly wrote about the Voyageurs Cup I want to first apologize for not posting my customary video blog post game after...
Notable Statistics Games: 5 Wins: 0 Draws: 1 Losses: 4 Goals For: 3 Goals Against: 7 Goal Difference: -4 Preview Both these sides are coming off victories in their previous MLS matches. The Whitecaps are coming off a 3-1 victory over the LA Galaxy, a game that saw a massive improvement over previous results.
