MLS Wrap: Portland vs. Seattle and the Rest of the Weekend’s Top Matches

The third weekend of MLS offers "Rivalry Day," the first-ever matchday dedicated specifically to the regional rivalries sprinkled throughout the league.Starting with the New York Red Bulls hosting D.C. United for an Atlantic Cup clash and finishing on Sunday with the SuperClasico between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA, the weekend is full of appetizing matches. Arguably, the main event comes in the form of a Cascadia Cup clash between longtime foes, the Seattle Sounders and the Portland Timbers.  The Sounders are coming off an impressive 3-1 victory over Mexican side, Tigres UANL, in the CONCACAF Champions League.  The Timbers' last game was a loss at home at the hands of the Montreal Impact, 2-1.It should be a glorious weekend for the many supporters and passionate fans that make MLS tick.We start with the Red Bulls welcoming their neighbors to the south, D.C United.Begin Slideshow

DeAndre Yedlin, US Youngsters Shine in CONCACAF Champions League Play

In an exciting week of CONCACAF Champions League matches, Seattle Sounders FC and the Los Angeles Galaxy were able to best their opponents and advance to the semifinal round of the tournament. Having two teams represent MLS this far into the tournament is a great achievement for the league and has never been done since the competition was reformatted in 2008.Both the Galaxy and Sounders couldn't have made it this far if it weren't for key contributions from some of the team's youngsters. Seattle had the help of newly signed Homegrown player DeAndre Yedlin, while LA's own Homegrown products, Jose Villarreal and Jack McBean played huge roles for the Galaxy.Yedlin and the Sounders had to overcome and 1-0 loss to Tigres UANL from the first leg of the quarterfinals in order to advance.The second leg did not start well for Seattle even though they were playing in the safe confines of CenturyLink Field. Tigres added to their aggregate lead in the 23rd minute with a goal from Elias Hernandez, but just before halftime, Tigres' Manuel Viniegra received his second yellow card of the match and was sent off.Seattle pulled off the miraculous comeback and scored three goals in the second half, while ...

Seattle Sounders FC vs. Portland Timbers FC: Live Blog, Updates and Analysis

Seattle Sounders FC vs. Portland Timbers FC– CenturyLink Field, Seattle.SEA 1, POR 1Johnson, 13'; Wallace, 90'Full Time Report:The Seattle Sounders jumped to an early lead through striker Eddie Johnson. Steve Zakuani streaked down the left flank, launched a low cross into the penalty area, and the American striker tapped the ball home from just outside the six-yard box in the 13th minute.Portland began to settle and come into the game about 25 minutes in. They had chances through set-pieces and crosses but were unable to convert.The second half played out with Portland dominating the possession. They worked the ball around but found it difficult to break through a stoic Seattle defense. Finally, in the 90th minute, the Timbers broke though on an Rodney Wallace header. Andrew Jean-Baptiste put a hopeful ball into the box, and Wallace was there to head it home. Portland will be buzzing on the way back to Oregon. Seattle will feel as though they clutched defeat from the jaws of victory. Lineups:Seattle: Gspurning; Yedlin, Traore, Hurtado, Burch; Martinez, Rose, Alonso, Zakuani; Ochoa, Johnson; Subs: Hahnemann, Gonzalez, Scott, Caskey, Rosales, Carrasco, Martins Portland: Ricketts; Zemanski, Jean-Baptiste, Silvestre, Harrington; Chara, Jewsbury, W. Johnson-C; Valeri, R. Johnson, Nagbe;Subs: Kocic, Miller, Tucker-Gangnes, Wallace, Alhassan, Piquonne, ValenciaSubstitues:Seattle:61':Mauro Rosales for Samuel ...

U.S. Soccer: Tony Meola Talks Allstate Work, MLS Rivalry Week and U.S. Tactics

Tony Meola is a U.S. soccer legend—no question about it.  The New Jersey native was the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. national team's 1994 World Cup run and played many years thereafter in Major League Soccer for the MetroStars, the Kansas City Wizards and the New York Red Bulls.One of the best athletes in the University of Virginia's history, Meola played his college soccer for former U.S. national team head coach and curent L.A. Galaxy head coach, Bruce Arena.Meola's pure athleticism and fearlessness were key aspects in his success as a professional goalkeeper.  His presence for U.S. soccer was a critical part of the growth of the game in this country.  Along with the rest of his teammates during the 1994 World Cup, Meola and company set the stage for the start of MLS.Still involved in the game, Meola has teamed up with Allstate to bring his knowledge and legend to lucky groups of youth soccer players.  Currently visiting Seattle ahead of the Sounders' rivalry match with the Portland Timbers, Meola, alongside Allstate representatives, surprised some players on Seattle United.Meola dropped in on a practice session and provided a special “Good Hands® F.C." soccer clinic for the team.  Meola was in ...

Why the New York Red Bulls vs. D.C. United Is MLS Match to Watch This Weekend

This Saturday, Major League Soccer has scheduled its first-ever “Rivalry Week.” The day will feature seven of the league’s top rivalry games starting at 12:30 p.m. ET with the New York Red Bulls vs. D.C. United match and concluding with the Portland Timbers vs. Seattle Sounders match at 8 p.m. ET with five other games sandwiched in between. The center-piece of this day-long soccer fiesta will be “The Breakaway”, a two and half hour show that MLS is deeming as their version of the NFL’s “Red Zone” show. “The Breakaway” will run concurrently through four of the mid-day matchups. While there are many tantalizing matchups on the docket for Saturday, particularly the game between Seattle and Portland, the Red Bulls-D.C. United game is definitely the one not to miss. Here’s why.   Mike Petke v. Ben Olsen One of the best storylines coming out of the New York-D.C. game is the coaching matchup between former teammates Mike Petke and Ben Olsen. Petke and Olsen played together for parts of three seasons with D.C. United, winning the MLS Cup in 2004 together.Although Olsen struggled a bit in his first full season as D.C. United manager in 2011 with the team going ...

Gus Johnson: 4 Reasons Why He Should Call MLS Games

Gus Johnson. It's a name more closely associated with the NFL and March Madness, but Fox Sports wants Johnson to be the lead announcer for the 2018 World Cup.The idea came from Fox Sports president Eric Shanks in October 2011. FIFA had just awarded the 2018 and 2022 broadcast rights to Fox, and as Richard Dietsch of SI.com wrote, "Shanks wanted to do something bold with his soccer coverage."We're now almost 18 months into this process and Johnson has already had some pretty high-profile matches to call, including Real Madrid vs. Manchester United in the Champions League. Johnson is also scheduled to call the FA Cup final on May 11, as well as the Champions League final on May 25. He will be on site for both.With all that in mind, here are four reasons why Johnson should be calling MLS games.Begin Slideshow

Major League Soccer: Why Soccer in America Has Nowhere to Go but Up

Soccer in America has been a roller coaster ride in recent decades.In 1994, the FIFA World Cup was held in the United States. US Soccer president Sunil Gulati tried to bring it back in 2022, but the tournament was awarded to Qatar.The explosion of EA Sports' FIFA video game franchise has helped propel the sport into the lives of millions of younger fans who would have otherwise been unexposed.The Internet has been immense in helping the sport grow stateside.Twitter has made the players of the US Men's National Team instantly accessible. Youtube has been fantastic in showing the brilliance of Lionel Messi and Ronaldo.The problem with soccer in America is not that the sport is not liked. It's that the domestic league is viewed as inferior and looked down upon by many fans in the country.I am not one to suggest that the likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are not miles ahead of the Los Angeles Galaxy in terms of quality. But I do believe the Reading, Celta Vigo and TSG Hoffenheim would have trouble beating an average MLS side.The MLS is one of the most competitive leagues in the world. The gap between the top ...

LA Galaxy Sink Herediano to Secure a Spot in CONCACAF Semifinals

The Los Angeles Galaxy secured a 4-1 victory over Costa Rican side Herediano to secure a spot in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions League.This is the first time in the club's history that they have made it to this stage of the tournament.The atmosphere at the Home Depot Center was marvelous throughout the night. The visitors brought a sizable amount of support, but the home fans' enthusiasm dominated the entire 90 minutes.Omar Gonzalez opened the scoring for the Galaxy on a set piece that came after Bruce Arena's side bossed the early minutes.Similar to their season opener against the Chicago Fire, Robbie Keane and his colleagues found a way to control possession without letting the visitors ever truly threaten.Gonzalez, Keane, Jack McBean and Jose Villarreal would all put the ball in the net by the time the night was over. The outstanding play of Villarreal, who held the ball up well and took his chance marvelously, was one of the many positives to take from the match. Galaxy goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini seemed much more relaxed than he did against Chicago. His command of the penalty area was improved and it appears as though the relationship between him and his defenders is going to ...

San Jose Earthquakes vs. New York Red Bulls: What We Learned

They're back!The Earthquakes got back to their 2012 form in a 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls.They obviously needed a game to work out the rust. They lost the season opener 2-0 to Real Salt Lake one week prior. However, they had their never-say-die attitude back in full swing on Sunday. The Quakes looked sharp early with a couple quick chances being swept away by the Red Bulls defense. However, it was New York who got the scoring started. Eric Alexander scored off a Thierry Henry cross in the 16th minute. There weren't a lot of opportunities for either side until late in the game. In the 83rd minute, rookie substitute Adam Jahn put a Sam Cronin cross into the back of the net. Cronin received a through ball from captain Ramiro Corrales and sent a left-footed cross across the goal for the outstretched foot of Jahn.The Earthquakes weren't finished yet. Chris Wondolowski scored on a penalty kick in the 90th minute to secure the victory for San Jose. The penalty was set up by a headed effort from Jahn that bounced off the arm of Red Bulls defender Roy Miller in the box. Wondo's first attempt was saved by keeper ...

CONCACAF Champions League: Quarterfinal Second Leg for MLS and USMNT (Updated)

Three Major League Soccer teams and several U.S. Men's National Team players engage in moral combat for the second legs of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals this week.All of the MLS teams enter the second leg with everything to play for.Seattle Sounders FC and USMNT forward Eddie Johnson host USMNT midfielder Jose Tores' Tigres de la UANL.  Tigres won the first leg at home 1-0. Without an away goal, the Sounders need to win while not conceding an away goal.  If Tigres score, the away-goals rule put the Sounders in the position of needing to win by at least two goals. Coming home to one of the best home crowds in MLS will boost the Sounders' confidence.USMNT midfielder Brad Davis scored the lone goal in the Houston Dynamo's 1-0 first-leg win over Santos Laguna and USMNT forward Hercules Gomez. The Dynamo possess the opposite circumstance of the Sounders, any away goal puts the pressure on Santos to win by more than one on their home pasture. MLS teams typically struggle in Liga MX climes, however, so the Dynamo will need something special to keep their first-leg margin.The LA Galaxy still miss USMNT superstar Landon Donovan, but USMNT halfback Omar Gonzalez ...