D.C. United Trying To Get Back To The Playoffs But Challenges Await

One of the most successful MLS teams of all time, D.C. United hasn’t even been to the playoffs the past two seasons. It won’t be any easier for them in 2010 as some key players left the club. Gone are former MLS MVP Christian Gomez, 2009 team leading scorer Luciano Emilio, midfield maestro Fred, and 12 season D.C. United veteran Ben Olsen. There is also a new head coach, as Curt Onalfo replaces the fired Tom Soehn. How can the team possibly cope? D.C. still boasts striker and MLS all-time leading goal scorer Jamie Moreno. The Bolivian International has scored 131 goals in 11 seasons in MLS, and is also fourth all-time in assists with 102. He’s had a good preseason and if he stays healthy and fresh he could wreck havoc on a lot of opposing defenses. Supporting the elder statesman of the club are two players that were nominated for the 2009 Rookie of the Year award, Chris Pontius and Rodney Wallace. Pontius is a versatile player who can either slot in as the second forward or in the midfield. He also showed extreme poise last year scoring some extremely important goals, including putting one in the net against the Los Angeles Galaxy in his MLS ...

Will Roster Changes Make Chicago Fire Better or Worse in 2010?

For the third straight season, and the fourth out of five years, the Chicago Fire made the semifinals in the MLS playoffs. Apparently, that wasn’t enough for management. The Fire had a surprising roster turnover heading into the 2010 season. Chicago let go of head coach Dennis Hamlett and brought in Carlos de los Cobos, the former head coach of the El Salvador National Team. Forward Chris Rolfe and left fullback Gonzalo Segares left for Europe, and designated player Cuauhtemoc Blanco went home to Mexico. The most surprising move, however, was the release of goalkeeper Jon Busch just days before the start of the season. Busch was the 2008 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and started all 30 regular season games for the Fire the past two seasons. He matched a team record with 10 shutouts both years. Busch has stated he felt “blindsided by the whole scenario.” Instead, the Fire will turn the spot over to 24-year-old Andrew Dykstra. An undrafted free agent signee last year, Dykstra has yet to start an MLS regular season game. Dykstra now has pressure coming at him from a number of angles. Not only does he need to get over the nerves of his first start in the league, he has the ...

Houston Dynamo Lose Lots of Talent, Still Plugging Away

The two-time MLS Champion Houston Dynamo have lost an incredible amount of talent going into the 2010 season and will be put to the test this season if they wish to continue to be an elite team in MLS. Stu Holden, a star midfielder in the making for both the Dynamo and the United States National Team, transferred to English Premier League side Bolton. US International teammate Ricardo Clark transferred to Eintracht Frankfurt of the German Bundesliga. Also, captain and veteran defender Wade Barrett retired. Throw in forward and leading goal scorer Brian Ching, who could very well miss time playing with the US team in the World Cup, and the Dynamo look to be in trouble. But Head Coach Dominic Kinnear has put a system in place over the years and gets players that fit that system, so he will make sure that his guys are prepared for the start of the season and anything else that may come along the way. Obviously, a lot of the pressure will go on the shoulders of the veteran Ching. Even though he missed 11 games because of injury last season he still led the team with eight goals. Ching is a very good target forward. He ...

Columbus Crew Gunning For Third Straight Supporters’ Shield

The Columbus Crew is a veteran squad that has been atop the tables the past few years and are looking to stay there. The Crew won their second consecutive Supporters' Shield last season—the team with the most points at the end of the regular season—even with a brand new head coach, as Robert Warzycha replaced Sigi Schmid who went to the Seattle Sounders. This season they return nearly their entire starting 11 from 2009, minus forward Alejandro Moreno, who was selected by the Philadelphia Union in the expansion draft. Former league MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto will lead the charge. The Argentine is a lethal weapon in the attack as both a finisher and distributor. His contributions are invaluable. In 2009 he led the Crew in goals scored, with 12. The midfield is young and talented. Robbie Rogers is a good talent on the flank with good pace. He had his moments last year where he struggled and did not get on the field, but he is an asset and is currently on the bubble for a spot on this summer's World Cup roster. Eddie Gaven will play on the other side of the midfield and has continually improved ...

Seattle Sounders Outclass Young Philadelphia Union, Win 2-0

The Seattle Sounders proved to the expansion Philadelphia Union that Philly still has a long way to go before they can match Seattle’s success. The Sounders completely outplayed and outclassed the inexperienced Philadelphia side en route to a 2-0 victory. Philadelphia displayed their youth and seemed to be disjointed as a team. The starting lineup featured two rookies— five players making their MLS debut— and the starters’ total average age was 24-years-old. Two more rookies came on as late second-half substitutes. This youth movement was quite a bold move by Union Head Coach Peter Nowak, putting these young players in the pressure-filled environment of a packed house of over 32,000 at Seattle’s Qwest Field. The nerves showed as Philadelphia struggled in the first half with possessing the ball and came in with some bad challenges defensively that resulted five yellow cards total, four in the first half. Two of those went to rookie Toni Stahl, who was thus given a red card and ejected. The Union was forced to play a man down. Seattle’s veteran squad, despite the physical play, kept calm and stayed cool. They did not join in on the card party, and seized control of the match from the get-go.  Brad Evans scored ...

MLS: Philadelphia Union Debut with Enthusiasm, but Lose to Seattle Sounders

  On a wet and dreary Seattle night, the Philadelphia Union proudly marched out onto Qwest Field, into the bright, festive, lime green and aqua—clad crowd and into history, as they made their Major League Soccer debut. What followed was a 90 minute game that I'm sure most of them would rather forget. As it turns out, a team comprised almost entirely of teenagers and rookies played exactly like you would expect a team of teenagers and rookies to do. Perhaps we should have seen it coming when the mohawked captain, Danny Califf, picked up the first yellow card of the season all of 42 seconds into the game. The back line seemed incapable of marking the fast and technically efficient Freddie and Freddy combination, the midfield incapable of holding possession and the strikers incapable of posing any serious threat to Sounder goalkeeper (and balding idol), Kasey Keller. The Philadelphia Union will now make MLS history with the first zero win season and will remain firmly rooted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference. That is the pessimists conclusion from the first game and from visiting blogs and comment sections on the Philadelphia Inquirer, this seems to be a fairly common view. But I am eternally an ...

Colorado Rapids Trying to be More than Average

The Colorado Rapids are a competitive team. However, they have epitomized the parity in MLS. They are neither an elite team atop the standings nor are they a cellar dweller. They sit on the fringes of the playoffs each season. Last year, they were in playoff contention but lost their last two games by a total of 5-1 and missed the playoffs by tiebreaker, marking the third straight year Colorado would miss out on the postseason fun. This season they will be out to finish the job. The Rapids boast arguably the league’s best strike force, featuring forwards Omar Cummings and U.S. International Conor Casey. In 2009, Casey scored 16 goals—second most in the league—and had one assist. He does a good job of finding space, getting open, and is a good player in the air. He’s also still in consideration for a spot on this summer’s World Cup squad, so he should be highly motivated. Omar Cummings shined last year, his third in MLS. He once again set career highs in goals (eight) and assists (12)—also setting a Rapids season record and tying for the league lead—and he was named the Rapids team MVP. He complements Casey well with great speed and the two ...

Chivas USA Looking For Offensive Spark

Chivas USA is tired of being the “other team” in Los Angeles at the Home Depot Center. They are also tired of their season ending in the early stages of the playoffs. Three straight first-round playoff exits for Chivas USA—who share their home stadium with Western Conference champion Los Angeles Galaxy—also meant the exit of head coach Preki Radosavljevic. In his place is former assistant coach Martin Vasquez, who will try to transform the team into a more exciting and potent offensive squad. The franchise is known for its stingy defense. Last season, they allowed only 31 goals against. Only two teams let fewer past their keeper (Seattle and Houston, 29) and two teams tied with them (Los Angeles and Columbus). Last year, the unit was lead by 2009 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Zach Thornton and U.S. International defender Jonathan Bornstein. Thornton had a career year in 2009, his 13th in MLS, posting a career low goals against average and leading the league in shutouts—12, a career high—and goals against. Bornstein is a good MLS defender who also likes to push into the attack. However, he may be a bit limited if he starts the season as a center back instead of an outside fullback. What was ...

MLS Kicks Off Today: 2010 May Be the Best Season Ever

Major League Soccer's 15th season officially kicks off tonight when the Seattle Sounders face first year team the Philadelphia Union at Qwest Field in front of a capacity crowd of 35,500 screaming fans. Kickoff is at 9:30 PM ET and it'll be on ESPN 2. Coached by Sigi Schmid, the Sounders were the darlings of the MLS last season as they advanced to the playoffs and had the best attendance and fan support that was noticeable by the entire league. With excellent defense, they finished with a 12-7-11 record and were tied with the Houston Dynamo for first in goals allowed. Led by Freddie Ljungberg and Fredy Montero, this Sounders team has a balance of youth and experience capable of winning the MLS Cup this season. For the Philadelphia Union, this is their inaugural season. Coached by veteran Peter Nowak, the Union will be faced with five young players transitioning and adapting to the level of MLS play. Drafting intelligently, the Union may have a championship team in three years. This is a squad that it's future core may include No. 1 draft pick Danny Mwanga, followed by Amobi Okugo (No. 6 draft pick), Jack McInerney (No. 7), Tony Stahl (No. ...

Seattle Sounders v. Philadelphia Union Kick Off MLS Season Tonight

Tonight marks the beginning of another Major League Soccer season when the Seattle Sounders take on the expansion Philadelphia Union. Seattle’s Quest Field is the toughest stadium to play in and it will be packed and rocking tonight; a real baptism of fire for Peter Nowak and his Union team. Nowak has taken a page out of Seattle coach Sigi Schmid’s playbook from last season in that he has built has team from the back. He has two good goalkeepers in goal, whether it is Chris Seitz and Brad Knighton, and with defenders Danny Califf, Shavar Thomas, Michael Orozco, Jordan Harvey and Dave Myrie, the Union should be solid defensively. And they will need to be. The Union are young; an average age of 23, and they play eight out of their first 10 matches away from home. This season could get ugly quickly in Philadelphia and that is why I expect Nowak to be very defensive minded against the Sounders. Look for the Union to crowd the midfield and frustrate the Sounders and try and take the crowd out of the game. So don’t expect tonight’s game to be a soccer classic. What I ...