20Jun/110
Cosmos Copa NYC 2011: Covering the Game from El Salavador’s Sidelines
The Cosmos Copa NYC 2011 officially kicked off this past Father's Day weekend as 22 Copa Teams battled to qualify for the final eight slots at the Parade Grounds, and at the College of Staten Island.After two grueling and intensive days of combative, competitive soccer, Kosovo, Trinidad & Tobago, Ivory Coast, Croatia, Senegal, El Salvador, Colombia, and Italy emerged as your victors, who will continue with their quest of becoming your Cosmos Copa NYC 2011 champions.They will now be competing against the eight 2011 NYC Elite Teams, who had already qualified due to last year's advancement to the Quarterfinal Round of NYC's World Cup. Leading the way for the 2011 NYC Elite Teams is none other than defending champions, Poland.Team Poland is without a shadow of a doubt one of the most dangerous team in the tournament. Masters of set plays, this is the team you don't want taking corner kicks, free kicks, and especially penalty kicks. They're also a good physical and transitional team that possesses deceptive speed, a la Jerry Rice.Following Poland is last year's runner-up, Jamaica.From the number of times I've seen them play, this is a team that is determined to win this ...20Jun/110
Portland Timbers Robbed by Overmatched New York Red Bulls
I'm going to have a heart attack watching the Timbers.For the second time in two weeks, they played their best soccer of the season—only to lose their composure in stoppage time.Last week it was a heart-wrenching loss to Colorado on the last play in injury time. This time it was a handball in their box by Rodney Wallace that led to a PK for the New York Red Bulls, and a tie.The fact is that the Timbers outplayed what many consider to be the best team in the MLS.In the first half they went down 0-1 in the 4th minute. Thierry Henry worked with Dwayne De Rosario on a 1-2-3 that ended with Austin De Luz putting it in the net.Although down, the Timbers kept their composure and displayed something they'd been lacking all season - patience. They worked the ball in the backfield and waited for openings and lines to show up in the mid-field and forward runs. They didn't have a great look at goal in the first half, but they dominated possession and showed poise.In the second half, they flat-out exploded.In the 47th minute, Jack Jewsbury nailed a line drive into goal to tie it a 1-1. ...20Jun/110
Los Angeles Galaxy vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Revenge Tour at Buck Shaw
Depending on the United States's performance against Panama in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals, either one—Donovan or both Donovans—will be available for Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy against a team they struggled to get a result against last year, the San Jose Earthquakes.Not that it really mattered in their last match; both Donovans—midfielder Landon Donovan and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts—and David Beckham were not needed in the Galaxy's 3-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday."It is a team game," Arena reminded reporters on Saturday. "If you are missing players, you are missing players it is all a part of it. We have missed Landon Donovan for about seven games this year, if you use that as an excuse, you are not putting yourself in a position to win any games."The good news for the Galaxy is that regardless of what happens Wednesday, Ricketts will be reporting back to work for this important encounter on the campus of Santa Clara University this Saturday.Los Angeles came into the match with a nine-game unbeaten streak and a 9-2-7 record (34 points), good for the best record in the league, although second-place FC Dallas have two games in hand and can be even ...20Jun/110
2011 MLS Power Rankings: Week 14
So Bob Bradley's hopes of managing the USA Men's National Team for the long haul have increased with their breakthrough victory over Jamaica in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals.Fair enough.Meanwhile, the 2011 Major League Soccer season rolls along, and the Los Angeles Galaxy have returned to the top of the 2011 MLS Power Rankings with their first win in the month of June.We got some movers. We got some shakers. We got it all. Here's this week's MLS Power Rankings.Begin Slideshow20Jun/110
New York Red Bulls Rally to Tie the Portland Timbers 3-3 on Father’s Day
The New York Red Bulls overcame a two-goal deficit and a sellout crowd of 18,627 to tie the Portland Timbers 3-3 at the JELD-WEN Field on Father's Day. As a result of Sunday night's tie, the 5-2-8 Red Bulls now own sole possession of the Eastern Conference.Playing their first match of a four-game road trip, the New York Red Bulls temporarily silenced the Portland Timbers crowd when Austin da Luz registered a goal in the fifth minute of the Sunday's bizarre soccer match. Despite Portland's attempts to equalize the game, the Red Bulls played a solid first half where the scored concluded with a 1-0 Red Bull advantage.Desperately needing to end their three-game losing streak, the 5-6-3 Portland Timbers minus their suspended coach John Spencer roared back furiously as they overcame their one-goal deficit with two quick goals of their own.Portand's rally started in the 48th minute in the second half when Timbers' Jack Jewsbury rocketed a blast past Red Bulls GK Greg Sutton to level the match, 1-1.A minute later, Jewsbury played a pivotal role when he passed the ball to teammate Eric Brunner off a free kick who in turn headed to ball toward Kevin Goldthwaite who clearly ...20Jun/110
Gold Cup 2011: Mexico Continues to Dominate as They Advance to the Semifinals
East Rutherford, NJ - Mexico needed two second-half goals to rally from a one-goal deficit to defeat Guatemala 2-1 on Saturday night. With the victory, Mexico will face Honduras on Wednesday, June 22nd at the Reliant Stadium in Houston.For the first half, Mexico stunned the majority of the Pro-Mexico crowd of 78,807, when they allowed Guatemala to jump to a 1-0 lead thanks to Carlos Ruiz's goal in the fifth minute of match. Ruiz, who seconds earlier accepted a long "Hail Mary" pass from teammate Elias Enoc Vasquez, closed the deal when he defeated Mexican defender Hector Monreno and GK Alfredo Talavera for the score.With the goal, Guatemala continued to aggressively attack Mexico for the remainder of the first half where they tried to make the most of their opportunity to upset El Tri. While Mexico may have possessed an 11-6 shots on goal advantage, they appeared lethargic as Guatemala continued to press the ball for a second net. If the first half was the opportunity where Guatemala punched this year's Gold Cup "Big Man on Campus" in the mouth, then it's sad to report that they were unable to mount another critical punch in the second half.Before Guatemala could muster ...19Jun/110
Gold Cup 2011: Honduras Wins over Costa Rica to Advance
In a match similar to a pitcher's duel in baseball, Honduras goalkeeper Noel Valladares and Costa Rica's goalkeeper Keylor Navas gave us a goalkeepers classic.As a result Honduras eliminated Costa Rica from the Gold Cup when "Los Catrachos" won 4-2 in penalty kicks.Despite allowing a goal in the second half, both goalkeepers played well enough to give their teams the opportunity to win. After 90 minutes of soccer, the score ended 1-1. Both valiantly played well for an additional 30 minutes (two 15-minutes halves), but the score remained 1-1.It was in the penalty kicks where Honduras was finally able to secure a win. Their kickers converted all four attempts, opposed to Costa Rica's two successful conversions.As a result, Honduras advanced to the semifinals. They will now face Mexico, who had rallied to win 2-1 over Guatemala at Reliant Stadium in Houston on Wednesday, June 22nd.Honduras' victory marked the third time that they have won over Costa Rica at the Gold Cup. Los Catrachos previously won in the 1991 semifinals and the 2005 quarterfinals.However, Honduras was very fortunate that they were able to advance on Saturday.They clearly dominated the first half and moved the ball well, appearing to be the ...19Jun/110
Los Angeles Galaxy’s Depth Dooms Colorado Rapids in 3-1 Victory
The power of redemption can be a wonderful, powerful thing, especially when a city of 3.7 million people with a passion for sport are asking for production on a consistent basis.Case in point: the Los Angeles Galaxy's Chad Barrett and Juninho.Both players broke their slump on Saturday as they helped Bruce Arena's club to a comprehensive 3-1 victory over Gary Smith's Colorado Rapids on Saturday night at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo.Midfielder David Beckham was unavailable due to back issues. The two Donovans—team captain/midfielder Landon Donovan and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts—were still with their national teams and will be meeting on opposite sidelines later today in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup Quarterfinals at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.And the Galaxy still won their first game in the month of June. Hello.In a league like Major League Soccer, production from the depth of any team will be critical to its chances of winning some hardware at the end of the year.They did get a little insurance from some bad luck, with Chris Birchall's cross attempt in the 25th minute finding the foot of the Rapids' Drew Moor, who proceeded to score an own goal. That's just inexcusable defending, but ...19Jun/110
Real Salt Lake vs. D.C. United: Referee Scores Both Goals in a 1-1 Draw
Normally, I am not one to complain about a referee's decision. I am not one to get upset, yell, scream and swear from the sidelines, or blame the referee for the outcome of a game. As a coach, I teach my young players to respect the call and play on, no matter how bad it is.Every once in a while, however, a game comes along where all of my coaching philosophy goes out the window, and the referee gets the blame.On Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium in Utah, Major League Soccer referee Terry Vaughn did what no referee should do and greatly influenced the outcome of a match between D.C. United and Real Salt Lake.Thanks to two horrible calls that penalty kicks were awarded on, the two teams played to a 1-1 draw.Following nearly a half where the two teams battled for possession and both had a few scoring chances, Vaughn awarded the first penalty kick to Real Salt Lake.In the 38th minute, Real Salt Lake was on the attack and was moving into the box from the side near the endline. As midfielder Kyle Beckerman faked a cross to move around the defender, United player Clyde Simms went for ...18Jun/110