San Jose Earthquake Defense Bends But Does Not Break, Seattle Sounders Edged 1-0

The San Jose Earthquakes have improved mightily this season through outstanding defense.  Today on the Xbox pitch of Qwest Field before 35,953 onlookers, the visitors scored once early in the contest and made the goal stand up for a 1-0 win over Seattle Sounders FC. The San Jose improvement has been meteoric.  Last season the defense was porous as the Northern California team yielded an MLS high of 50 goals.  With today’s victory San Jose sits in second place in the Western Conference behind only the high flying L.A. Galaxy. The San Jose surge has resulted in four straight triumphs, all via the shutout route.  The loss marked the only time that the Sounders have dropped two straight contests at home.  They remain winless this season against Western opponents going into their next league competition next Saturday at Colorado. The win put the Earthquakes at 5-2-1 with 16 points.  The loss moved the Sounders under the five hundred mark to 3-4-3 and 12 points. Chris Wondolowski came into the action as San Jose’s hot point producer with four goals.  In the 11th minute Bobby Convey served a ball headed by Brandon McDonald and Bobby Burling that reached Wondolowski.  His left-footed boot rolled just inside ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Boca Juniors: A Sunday Afternoon Tango

West Long Beach is a football hotbed, and for a reason. My neighborhood is known for having a strong devotion to Chivas Guadelajara, Club America, Pumas UNAM, Atlas, and other mainstays in the Primera Division de Mexico. I see high school students don these jerseys, juggling replica Jabulanis while chatting about classes, relationships, and football. However, there are others in my neighborhood who follow the clubs in Argentina. When you think of Argentine football, the two biggest clubs that come to mind are River Plate and Boca Juniors. Sure, there are other well known teams like Independiente, Estudiantes de la Plata, Newell's Old Boys, Racing, Lanus, San Lorenzo, and those sides, but it's the Superclasico power duo of Boca and River that have drawn the most attention. On Sunday at 5:00 p.m. PT, Roberto Pompei's Xeneizes will tangle—er, tango with Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy at the grassy dance floor known as the Home Depot Center. No introduction is necessary on what makes Boca Juniors a club worth celebrating/scorning in Argentina. Boca have tallied up 23 Argentine Primera Division crowns, six Copa Libertadores, four Recopas Sudamericanas, three world club titles (Intercontinental Cup), two Copas Sudamericanas, ...

Joe Vide: An Athlete Worth Supporting

Supporter is a title used proudly by fans throughout the world.  Athletes thrill and frustrate us with their actions and achievements on the field of play.  Many supporters like to create a hierarchy of support.  "I am hardcore", and "I support through thick and thin" are mantras we all proudly repeat throughout our life.   There may not be an athlete on earth today more deserving of your support than Joe Vide.  When you strip away the titles and jerseys that divide us, it is true that sports fans have a common theme.  We appreciate and take enjoyment from the games we love.   Vide is a former MLS star who has gone head to head with world greats such as David Beckham.  Vide now faces his most difficult opponent.  Diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Vide has had the plug pulled by a medical insurance company, and turns to the soccer world for support that could save his life.   As a supporter, it is a thrill to know we contribute to success on the field, roaring our team on to a goal or creating a hostile environment for the opposition.  In the case of Joe Vide, you have the chance to offer support that is ...

MLS Expansion, Building off Recent Sucsess Part Two

This is Part 2 of my little MLS Expansion slide shows. In the first one I pointed out a few cities/states that should be represented in the MLS. Now, I don't mean all of these cities should be included in the MLS, that would just be over-expansion but I do think the MLS must grow and this points out the 'Pros-Cons' of each possible city. Previously I wrote about Florida, Atlanta, St. Louis and Montreal. This time I will add a few others. Some you often hear about, others my personal idea.Begin Slideshow

MLS Expansion: Building off Recent Sucsess Part One

The MLS, despite some struggles is here to stay. The league has grown stronger and popularity is growing. Recently expansion has been very successful and the MLS is looking to do this in the future and this is how I think it should go if the MLS wants to grow and stay on the coarse the going. This is #1, I will make a #2 with other cities that could and should have MLS franchises. Begin Slideshow

Beast of the East: Crew Take Top Spot With 3-1 Road Win

New York Red Bulls 1 Columbus Crew 3   Harrison, N.J. – No Schelotto, no Rogers, no Marshall, no problem. The Columbus Crew shrugged off the absence of their three World Cup stars to produce a 3-1 win at Red Bull Arena.    The Red Bulls started well and for half an hour this was a tense affair, both teams giving away little. The midfield units went toe to toe in a game of much possession and only sporadic penetration. The opening goal came in the 35th minute, when the movement of Eddie Gaven allowed him to be wide open in front of goal, converting a Frankie Hejduk cross with a smart header past Bouna Coundoul.   The Red Bulls were stung by the goal and quickly carved out an opening in retaliation, only for Ubiparipovic to strike the post. In the 39th minute, Columbus struck a huge blow by taking a somewhat against the run of play 2-0 lead. A Gaven corner found a wide open Andy Iro, who powered a header into the net to send the travelling Crew fans into raptures.   The Red Bulls came out after half time and responded well to the 2 goal deficit. The home side pressured further ...

No Donovan, No Buddle, No Problems for Los Angeles Galaxy Against FC Dallas

Landon Donovan? We don't need no stinkin' Landon Donovan! Edson Buddle? We don't need stinkin' Edson Buddle! Though their presence would have made the Los Angeles Galaxy's 1-0 victory over FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park on Thursday a bit nicer, it was not needed for Bruce Arena's club, who are unbeaten at 8-0-2 (26 points) and consolidate their hold on Major League Soccer and the MLS Western Conference. Who would have thought that Mike Magee's patience would result in a goal in the 17th minute that would see G's earn some humble revenge for the 6-3 shellacking last season? Early in the season, Magee's finishing has seen him squash every chance he had to get on the score sheet for the year. Leave it to a blown assignment early by the Hoops backline to allow Chris Klein and Tristan Bowen succeed in scoring a textbook connection to Magee, who made no mistake in tapping it past FC Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman. Kudos to Donovan Ricketts for his efforts in the 58th minute. A chance by Jeff Cunningham to equalize was stymied by the Jamaican international. You're not going to get one past the Big ...

Los Angeles Galaxy-FC Dallas: A Play-By-Play (and Other Miscellany)

T-180 minutes to kickoff: Today marks the first time that the Galaxy play Thursday night football in Major League Soccer, and it's on the road against FC Dallas at Frisco, Texas's very own Pizza Hut Park, known by many as "The Oven."T-170: A little info on "The Oven." The 21,193-seat complex got the name because of the summer climate during afternoon matches and the stadium's location below sea level. Add the enthusiasm of supporters' groups such as the Inferno and FCD Nation, La Raza Latina, and El Matador, and you have the ingredients for a rather appetizing unique home field advantage (no pun intended). Pizza Hut's corporate headquarters are located in nearby Addison, a suburb of Dallas. No surprise that they bought the rights to the name from its former moniker, the [exhaustive] Frisco Soccer & Entertainment Complex. T-160: FC Dallas was one of the original MLS teams that kicked off the inaugural 1996 season, playing at the Cotton Bowl for their first six seasons. As the Dallas Burn, they earned a U.S. Open Cup in 1997. However, the Burn were not one of the best teams in the league, and it was not until 2005 that they tasted glory again. ...

Frank Yallop’s Coaching Has San Jose Earthquakes Vastly Improved

Last season the San Jose Earthquakes had the dubious distinction of giving up a league high 50 goals. The improvement has been so vast that San Jose visits Seattle for a Sunday match against the Sounders in a four way tie for second in the MLS West with 13 points. Credit much of this surge to the coaching of Frank Yallop. As a player he performed 52 times for the Canadian National Team. As a coach prior to assuming the reins of expansionist San Jose last year he had stints coaching the Canadian National Team from 2004-06 and the Los Angeles Galaxy from 2006-07. Begin Slideshow

Seattle Sounders FC To Face Central American Team in CONCACAF Champions League

With the Seattle Sounders FC already playing two attractive friendlies with Boca Juniors and Celtic visiting the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field, there is more of the same type of international activity slated to begin at the end of July. The Sounders will face a yet-to-be-determined Central American team in the Preliminary Round of the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League. The pairings were determined by a draw held Wednesday at the CONCACAF offices in New York. The first leg of the Preliminary Round will be July 27-29 with the second leg a week later. The winners advance to the six-round Group Stage, which will begin August 17-19. Sounders FC will play its home match on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field. Competition dates and ticket information will be announced soon. "Champions League is the most important tournament in our region," said General Manager Adrian Hanauer. "As we assessed opportunities to make this a prominent event, Qwest Field became the logical choice." Winners of the Preliminary Round series will advance to the Group Stage, which begins August 17-19. If Sounders FC advances to the Group Stage, it would join Monterrey (Mexico), Saprissa (Costa Rica) and either Tauro (Panama) or Marathon (Honduras) in Group C. Seattle earned a berth ...