USA, Revs and Burpo Offer a New Perspective

I would typically sum up a US Men’s National Team game with a glass half-full vs. half-empty review.  Often, I’ll offer thoughts on New England Revolution games as well, focusing on what went right or wrong.  However, this time I’ll be taking a different direction. Today, it’s all about perspective, both soccer-wise and otherwise. For the US game, fans could talk about how José Torres was a revelation.  Or how Clint Dempsey can at times appear to coast along, but still come up with a clutch goal out of nowhere.  Or how the rust of inactivity was so thick on some of our players that they appeared not to see each other in midfield for the first 45 minutes.  Or how Robbie Findley, however imperfect, might just belong on this team. But that isn’t what I am focused on. The United States vs. Turkey game was a tale of two halves.  To keep it simple, from the US perspective the first half was a complete mess.  The second half was pretty good.   At the end of the first half, fans are left wondering how badly the USA will be abused by England on July 12th in our first World Cup game. At the end of the second half, fans are ...

Casey Goal Nets 1-0 Colorado Rapids Triumph Over Seattle Sounders

Sometimes a pre-match discussion scenario forecasts what will happen on the field and this was one of those occasions as Colorado Rapids scored a 1-0 victory over the Seattle Sounders. Prior to Saturday night’s MLS matchup between the host Rapids and the visiting Sounders, an observation was made about forward Conor Casey that highlighted how the game was ultimately decided. To paraphrase a famous saying, “Hell hath no fury like a prospective World Cup player scorned.” Casey, a former Portland University flash named “Freshman of the Year”, had 2000 Olympic Games experience and was hopeful of landing on this year’s U.S. World Cup team.  Forecasters said that the sturdy, broad-shouldered Casey would have increasing motivation to show his worth as a star player in the upcoming MLS match against the Sounders. In addition to the motivation factor, the warning was conveyed that here was a player due to reach the scoreboard.  Casey has scored three goals this season, but all were on penalty kicks.  It was the unfortunate destiny of the Emerald City squad to be in the path of a seemingly inevitable result, that of a key scorer finally producing a goal. In a tug of war before a sellout crowd of 18,116 at ...

This is the Los Angeles Galaxy: A.J. De La Garza

This is Part 11 in a series of articles on the players that make up the 2010 Los Angeles Galaxy. A.J. De La Garza is a player who is used to success. It flows through his veins, every time he juggles a ball during training, pumps his fists in celebration, or frustrates his foes when they go in for the attack. Don't let his 1.75 meter frame fool you. As a right back, this Los Angeles Galaxy defender has been critical in marking his opposition with speed, toughness, and dispossessing ability. Football flows through De La Garza's veins. It's been that way ever since he was brought to the world. Adolph Joseph De La Garza was born on November 4, 1987 in Bryans Road, Maryland. It's a small town of just less than 5,000, located near a unassuming city the locals call Washington D.C. Just in proximity to Bryans Road is the Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center. Working side-by-side with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, the Naval Surface Warfare Center is where the likes of explosive warheads and propellants and propulsion systems for guns, missiles, rockets, and ejector ...

This Is The Los Angeles Galaxy: Omar Gonzalez

This is Part 10 in a series of articles on the players who make up the 2010 Los Angeles Galaxy. In our modern day and age, the dictionary will define the idiom known as "the diamond in the rough" as "One having exceptionally good qualities or the potential for greatness but lacking polish and refinement." Los Angeles Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez is an example of a diamond in the rough. A recipient of the 2009 MLS Rookie of the Year Award, Gonzalez stands at an imposing 1.96 meters and has proven to be a stalwart in the G's back line with Todd Dunivant, Gregg Berhalter and A.J. De La Garza. However, Gonzalez has yet to harness the skills needed conduct-wise to up his game to new heights. At the age of 21, he has plenty of time to improve his game in ways never imagined. Omar Gonzalez was born on Oct. 11, 1988 in Dallas, Texas. The son of Adrian and Maria Gonzalez, Omar holds a Mexican passport to go with dual citizenship, thus averting the troubles of crossing the border into states like Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas. Like a number of places in the ...

Bankrobbers: LA Galaxy’s Michael Stephens, Tristan Bowen Mug Columbus Crew

It can be argued that the Los Angeles Galaxy's young guns earned their stripes into the massive zone that is Columbus Crew Stadium. Or that match official Michael Kennedy robbed the home side of a chance to snatch the momentum back. Or that the Crew's chances to do so early and often were all denied by some stingy defending that we have seen all year from the G's. Feel free to make up your own conclusions. But keep this in mind: Bruce Arena's Galaxy got their revenge from last year's demise at Crew Stadium to defeat Robert Warzycha's club, 2-0. To add insult to injury—that was Bruce Arena's 100th win as an MLS coach. In all honesty, it should have been 2-1 to the Galaxy, with a great strike fifteen minutes from time inside LA's defen. But when you draw the offsides flag late, in the 75th minute, it really amounts to pure nothingness. As for Los Angeles, well, the best scoring chances they had came from a rookie in Michael Stephens and a budding youth academy product in Tristan Bowen (pictured). Stephens, a UCLA grad, opened his scoring account in the 10th ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Columbus Crew: A Play-By-Play (and Other Miscellany)

T-180 minutes to kickoff: Before the Home Depot Center was born out of nothingness next to California State University, Dominguez Hills, there was Columbus Crew Stadium.Erected on May 15, 1999, Crew Stadium boasts a seating capacity of 20,455, with extended seating to accommodate up to 30,000 spectators. Crew Stadium, located on 1 Black And Gold Boulevard, was not the very first soccer-specific facility (that honor belongs to the Charleston Battery's Blackbaud Stadium opened a month earlier), but it was the one that opened up the floodgates. It set a precedent whose seismic aftershocks are felt to this day.God bless that Lamar Hunt. A wealthy oil billionaire who willed a dynasty of success to his family and the Hunt Sports Group, he decided that 1998 was the year the Crew would move out of Ohio Stadium into their own footballing paradise.Now don't get me wrong; Ohio Stadium is a great sporting place in its own right. But it's the wrong code, and it was never popular with team or its fans.T-170: So Crew Stadium was created. Blessed with a FIFA-regulation 115 x 75 yard pitch, it is built on the Ohio Expo Center and State Fairgrounds and took 274 days to ...

New York Red Bulls Starters Struggle While Reserves Flourish

After a disastrous 2009 season and another offseason of whole-sale roster and staff changes, the New York Red Bulls finally seemed liked a franchise ready to turn things around. The team opened a brand new stadium and opened the season with a 5-1 record, sitting atop the Eastern Conference standings. However the past may have caught up on the Red Bulls. They have lost their last three league games and have been outscored 8-1. There has been a lack of goal scoring, strong defending, and overall enthusiasm and heart. The reserves meanwhile have watched their collective stock skyrocket. Because of a schedule loaded with league games, U.S. Open Cup games, and friendlies with international clubs, head coach Hans Backe decided to use his bench in the Open Cup and friendlies. So far he has seen incredible results. In non-league games since the start of the season the Red Bulls have four wins and zero losses and have outscored the competition 11-2. The “Baby Bulls”, as they are being called, have been impressive winning three games to qualify for the Open Cup and beating Italian giants Juventus. Opposing teams have also used mostly starters against them, making the performances even more impressive. Finally given significant ...

Seattle Sounders’ Sigi Schmid Takes Glossy Record Into Colorado

Seattle Sounders FC hopes to reverse its seasonal Western Conference fortunes by scoring victory No. 1 against the Colorado Rapids in a 6 p.m. Pacific Time matchup at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. The Sounders hope that some of the Sigi Schmid coaching magic will furnish them with an edge over the Rapids.  An MLS legend at Columbus Crew prior to taking the Seattle job, Sigi Schmid has carved out an impressive record against the Colorado team. Schmid’s lofty slate stands at 15-9-7 against the Rapids.  In his last 12 meetings against Colorado, his mark is even more impressive with one lone loss and an overall record of 5-1-6. This encounter, the first Saturday night game of the year for the Rapids, will find the home club looking for its initial win over the Sounders since the Emerald City contingent joined the MLS. Last season, the Sounders notched a 2-2 tie with Colorado at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.  One month later, Seattle shut out its opponent 3-0 at the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field in the second of two meetings ever between the two teams. Both clubs were in action last Wednesday night with Seattle enjoying a much better result.  Seattle blanked international Argentine power Boca ...

Frank Lampard Says He Would Consider Playing in MLS at End of Career

In a recent interview with ESPN Soccernet, 31-year-old Chelsea and England midfielder Frank Lampard said that he would not rule out playing in MLS just like David Beckham did around the age of 36. Lampard was quoted as saying, "I'd like to go and play in America when I'm 36 or 35 but you can't take away someone's right to go and play where they want." With the introduction of Thierry Henry to MLS soon happening, it proves that Beckham's move was a success to get players over to MLS, but now it needs to happen with teams in smaller markets like Columbus and Salt Lake. Hopefully, these aging stars coming over will not just look at New York and Los Angeles to play but actually look to go to some of the quality teams in cities they probably have never even been to. Now this is a statement way in advance of the time frame in which this would actually happen, but it is a good conversation starter for MLS fans trying to figure out what international star will make his way across the pond next.Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Red Bulls Qualify for US Open Cup, Beat Colorado 3-0

John Wolyniec leads the Baby Bulls into the US Open Cup round of 16 with a brace. New head coach Hans Backe once again went with the reserves for the US Open Cup qualifying match against the visiting Colorado Rapids last night. And that decision certainly paid its dividends. The Red Bulls were organized on defense and in midfield, thanks to strong performances from Sinisa Ubiparipovic, who could fight for a chance to see some playing time in MLS, and goalkeeper Greg Sutton, who kept a clean sheet for the second time in two cup matches. Right from the onset, the "Baby Bulls" played aggressively, and tried to play balls out wide to wingers Jeremy Hall and Irving Garcia, or play centrally and over the top to the strike partnership of Conor Chinn and John Wolyniec. The Red Bulls attacking nature finally came to fruition in the 11th minute. Ubiparipovic dribbled through the middle of the field towards goal, and got past one defender before laying off a pass to his right to the feet of the quick Garcia. From there Garcia fired a low pass across the face of goal, where it met the outstretched leg of John Wolyniec, and went into the back ...