Another week of Sporting KC Wizards updates. As mentioned yesterday, 8 former players are up for the US Soccer Hall of Fame. Coming up soon, Stephane Auvray will figure out his new team in India when the new premier league holds it draft for "lesser known" and Indian players. Also, Neal Kitson is on the move, joining Northampton Town of the Football League 2. Here's the rest of this week's update.
Active without a club or unknown
Stephane Auvray
Chris Brunt
Doug DeMartin
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Santiago Hirsig
Eddie Johnson
Mike Jones
Michael Kraus
Jonathan Leathers
Scott Lorenz
Amir Lowry
Rauwshan McKenzie
Ryan McMahen
Michal Mravec
Anthony Noriega
Ryan Pore
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Scott Sealy
Milos Stojcev
Ivan Trujillo
Lance Watson
MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Season is over.
Adam Cristman - LA - Season is over.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Season is over.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Season is over.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Season is over.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Season is over.
Chris Konopka - MLS Pool keeper - Season is over.
Kurt Morsink - DC - Season is over.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Season is over.
Shavar Thomas - Montreal - Season is over.
Tyson Wahl - Montreal - Season is over.
Josh Wolff - DC - Season is over.
NASL
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Season is over.
Aaron Hohlbein - Fort Lauderdale - Season is over.
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Season is over.
USL
Stephen Armstrong - Charleston - Out of season.
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Out of season.
Tom Gray - Pittsburgh - Out of season.
Akeem Priestley - LA - Out of season.
Yomby William - Richmond - Out of season.
John Wilson - Charleston - Out of season.
PDL
Byron Carmichael - Ocean City - Out of season.
Sergei Raad - FC Jax Destroyers - Out of season.
NPSL
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Flash - Out of season.
Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Wichita Wings - Scored a goal in Wichita's 16-13 loss to Milwaukee.
Nick Garcia - Kansas Magic - Did not play in the games for the Magic.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Played in Baltimore's 18-10 win over Norfolk. Played in Baltimore's 8-7 win over Rochester. Had an assist in Baltimore's 26-4 win over Norfolk.
Mike Jones - Illinois Piasa - Had an assist in Illinois' 12-3 win over Ohio.
JT Murray - Louisville Lightning - Did not play in Louisville's 7-6 win over Missouri.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Did not have a game this week.
Yomby William - Norfolk SharX - Played in Norfolk's 18-10 loss to Baltimore. Played in Norfolk's 17-8 loss to Rochester. Played in Norfolk's 26-4 loss to Baltimore.
Paul Wright - Anaheim Bolts - Hah a goal and an assist in Anaheim's 10-5 loss to San Diego. Did not play in Anaheim's 17-3 win over Arizona.
International
Vicente Arze - Diosgyor - Hungary - On winter break
Omar Bravo - Cruz Azul - Mexico - Started and played 66 minutes in Cruz Azul's 2-2 draw with Atlante.
Sunil Chhetri - Mohun Bagan - India - Did not play in Mohun Bagan's 3-1 win over Chirag United. Started and played 57 minutes in Mohun's 2-0 win over Arrows.
Eloy Colombano - Defensores de Cambaceres - Argentina - Lost 2-1 to UAI Urquiza.
Pablo Escobar - Deportivo Cali - Colombia - Did not play for Deportivo Cali.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - Came off the bench and played 7 minutes in North East Stars 3-2 win over Police FC.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - Dressed but did not play in Santos' 3-1 win over Tijuana.
Zoltan Hercegfalvi - Honved - Hungary - On winter break.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Tied Humble Lions 0-0.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Defeated Serrano BA 3-1. Beat Feirense 3-2.
Will John - Vinogradar - Croatia - on winter break.
Neal Kitson - Northampton Town - England - Did not play in Northampton Town's 1-0 loss to Torquay United.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - on winter break.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Season is over.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - On winter break.
Craig Rocastle - Thrasyvoulos Fylis FC - Greece - Played 90 minutes in Thrasyvoulos' 2-1 win over Pierkios.
Matt Taylor - SC Paderborn 07 - Germany - Next game 2/3.
Diego Walsh - TOT SC - Thailand - Defeated BEC Tero Sasana 3-2.
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Vermes, Zavagnin, and Six Other Former Wizards Up for Hall of Fame
Today, US Soccer came out with their list of candidates available for selection to the US Soccer Hall of Fame. On that list are two current coaches of Sporting KC. Head coach and technical director, Peter Vermes is on the list again, as is assistant coach, Kerry Zavagnin, in his first year of eligibility. Vermes is in the final year on the "player ballot", should he not be elected to the Hall of Fame this year, he will move to the veteran ballot next year.
Vermes and Zavagnin are joined by five other former Wizards players on the players ballot, and one other is available on the veterans ballot. Two other former Wizards are like Zavagnin and in their first year of eligibility. Joining Zavagnin is Jose Burciaga Jr. and Tony Meola in their first year of eligibility. The other 3 former Wizards players available are Mike Burns, Chris Henderson, and Roy Lassiter. Burns, like Vermes is in his final year of being eligible for election on the player's ballot. Should he not be elected, he'll join Vermes and Mike Sorber on the veterans ballot. Sorber joined the veterans ballot a few years ago.
Of the former Wizards players up for election, I think Meola is probably the leading candidate to get elected on this ballot. Meola was the starter for the US in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups and has 100 caps for the US national team.
Vermes and Zavagnin are joined by five other former Wizards players on the players ballot, and one other is available on the veterans ballot. Two other former Wizards are like Zavagnin and in their first year of eligibility. Joining Zavagnin is Jose Burciaga Jr. and Tony Meola in their first year of eligibility. The other 3 former Wizards players available are Mike Burns, Chris Henderson, and Roy Lassiter. Burns, like Vermes is in his final year of being eligible for election on the player's ballot. Should he not be elected, he'll join Vermes and Mike Sorber on the veterans ballot. Sorber joined the veterans ballot a few years ago.
Of the former Wizards players up for election, I think Meola is probably the leading candidate to get elected on this ballot. Meola was the starter for the US in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups and has 100 caps for the US national team.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Sassano Re-Signed
It's been rumored and speculated on since he pulled out of the re-entry draft, but today, Sporting KC finally made it official. Luke Sassano has signed a new contract with Sporting KC. Sassano had played in 9 league games last year in a season that was cut short by some injuries. Sassano had not had his contract picked up and had gone into the re-entry draft. But before the first stage of the re-entry draft took place, Sassano disappeared from the list, prompting the re-signing speculation. Finally it was made official today, so Sassano will return for his second season in Kansas City.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Three Trialists Heading to Arizona
Three of Sporting KC's trialists are heading to Arizona with the Sporting KC team. Goalkeepers Steve Spangler and Scott Angevine will be joined by former Michigan State midfielder, Cyrus Saydee in Arizona. The team departs tomorrow.
Sadly for Irving Garcia, Matt Kuhn, Myron Samuel, and Kevin Struck the attempts to make the Sporting KC roster end after a few days.
It's interesting that KC is taking two goalkeepers with them to Arizona as trialists. With Jimmy Nielsen signing a new contract in the offseason, and Jon Kempin being an off-budget home-grown player, Spangler and Angevine are battling for a roster spot against Eric Kronberg. In reality I see that as an extremely difficult uphill battle for both of them to make this roster.
Saydee is the third trialist making the trip, he's still fairly young, but like Spangler and Angevine, he still has a big uphill challenge to make the roster.
No mention has been made of the teams draft picks yet, so one would assume that they are all headed down to Arizona. No mention was made of Shawn Singh or Pablo Punyed who were both not at training today. So we'll see what's going on soon enough.
Sadly for Irving Garcia, Matt Kuhn, Myron Samuel, and Kevin Struck the attempts to make the Sporting KC roster end after a few days.
It's interesting that KC is taking two goalkeepers with them to Arizona as trialists. With Jimmy Nielsen signing a new contract in the offseason, and Jon Kempin being an off-budget home-grown player, Spangler and Angevine are battling for a roster spot against Eric Kronberg. In reality I see that as an extremely difficult uphill battle for both of them to make this roster.
Saydee is the third trialist making the trip, he's still fairly young, but like Spangler and Angevine, he still has a big uphill challenge to make the roster.
No mention has been made of the teams draft picks yet, so one would assume that they are all headed down to Arizona. No mention was made of Shawn Singh or Pablo Punyed who were both not at training today. So we'll see what's going on soon enough.
Training Thoughts
Today was Sporting KC's last training session in Kansas City before heading off to Arizona for a few weeks. A fairly light session for the most part, that involved two teams scrimmaging, and a third team working off to the side.
First game:
Orange team - Nielsen, Collin, Olum, Harrington, Warzycha, Thomas, Aiyegbusi, Dwyer, Kamara
Blue team - Kronberg, Myers, Cesar, Besler, Sinovic, Sassano, Joseph, Convey, Saad
Neutral - Zavagnin
Only one goal in this one, a Joseph Peterson and Luke Sassano worked a very nice 1-2 together finishing with Joseph flicking the ball past Nielsen and into the net. Shortly after that though, Joseph went off with an injury that he was icing later.
Second Game
Blue team - Kempin, Myers, Cesar, Besler, Sinovic, Sassano, Convey, Saad
Green team - Sangler, Strunk, Hedrick, Antonijevic, Miller, Kuhn, Saydee, Garcia, Ellis
Neutral - Warzycha
This game ended 1-1. The green team, full of trialists certainly came out the hungrier of the two teams to start, really pushing the blue team. The green team got rewarded with a goal as Konrad Warzycha played a 1-2 with Matt Kuhn and Warzycha buried his shot past Kempin. The goal seemed to wake the blue team up as much of the rest of the game was controlled by them. Warzycha got their goal as well finishing off a cross from Soony Saad. Later on, Kevin Ellis suffered what appeared to be a sprained ankle as he went for a long cross. Ellis went down and seemed to be in a lot of pain, but was helped off and left with ice on his ankle.
Third game
Orange team - Nielsen, Collin, Olum, Harrington, Warzycha, Thomas, Aiyegbusi, Dwyer, Kamara
Green team - Angevine, Strunk, Hedrick, Antonijevic, Miller, Kuhn, Saydee, Garcia, Saad
Neutral - Zavagnin
This game ended 0-0 with Saad forcing a good save out of Jimmy Nielsen at the end of the game to keep it scoreless. The orange team though was the better of play throughout this one. Saydee had to clear one chance off the line for the green team, but other than that both teams struggled to create real opportunities during this game.
Jacob Peterson, Roger Espinoza, and Paulo Nagamura were all running on the side of the field. Birahim Diop and Daneil Cyrus are both taking care of family issues (although rumors abound that Diop is going to go to Colombia to join Octavio Zambrano).
So who was impressive during the short scrimmages this morning?
The player that impressed me the most today was Konrad Warzycha. He looked incredibly comfortable on the ball. In the second game where he was on offense only he showed a good ability at being able to settle the game and pick out players on his team. Both of his finishes were well taken as well.
Matt Besler continues to step his game up. I thought he was at a different level last year, but just in the training today it seems like he's taken it to another level. Yes it was only a practice, but Besler looked intense out on the field. He also did a very good job of getting forward (although I doubt he'll be doing a ton of that in real games).
Really other than that it was hard to pick out guys who really stood out. The games were short field (they played between the 15's on the Chiefs practice field). But overall compared to last year when I attended the same practice, the level of the practice was a totally different level than it was last year. There seems to be a different level of intensity going on this year. More focus and more centered on certain things. That could come from the fact that Peter Vermes and players have driven home this week, that they've all come in, in better shape and better prepared. That means that Vermes doesn't have to spend as much time on certain things and instead can build quicker.
Finally some quick thoughts on the trialists and draft picks. Remember that these are based on just my one training session of viewing.
Scott Angevine - Goalkeeper that is trialing with the team. He's going to have trouble making the team I think though, but based off his tweets is heading to Arizona with the team.
Stefan Antonijevic - The kid is definitely big. He plays simple which is good for a defender, but the biggest thing that stood out to me was when he got shouldered off the ball by Soony Saad.
Dom Dwyer - Lots of movement teamed with Kei Kamara on his team, didn't get a ton of touches in either game though.
Cyrpian Hedrick - Hedrick did a decent job for the green team in the center of defense, did well with his distribution.
Irving Garcia - The guy was active on the field with a lot of movement off the ball, but really didn't do a whole lot when he did get the ball.
Matt Kuhn - Not going to say a lot here to avoid bias claims, (although I may be more harsh on him since I've seen him play a lot more). Kuhn had some decent play, did a good job of on Warzycha's goal for the green team. Did well getting his head up and with his passing, but could be a step quicker with decision making.
Kyle Miller - Partnered well with Kuhn in the midfield for the green team, did well getting forward and hanging back when needing to.
Pablo Punyed - Wasn't there, hasn't been there all week apparently. Looking at options overseas it appears.
Myron Samuel - Was not out there today. Didn't get any confirmation, but it seems he may already be gone.
Cyrus Saydee - The guy is small like his bio shows, Aiyegbusi size. He did a decent job down the wing, but his size is going to work against him.
Shawn Singh - Didn't realize until I was typing this up, but I didn't see KC's first round supplemental draft pick today.
Steve Spangler - Didn't make any mistakes in goal, nothing he really could have done on the goal he allowed, but he has his work cut out for him trying to make this team with KC already having 3 goalkeepers on the roster. The team isn't going to get rid of Jimmy Nielsen or Jon Kempin, so Spangler is going to have to beat out Kronberg to make this team, and I don't see it.
Kevin Struck - In these short games it's easier for the backs to get forward, and Struck did a good job of getting forward when he could.
First game:
Orange team - Nielsen, Collin, Olum, Harrington, Warzycha, Thomas, Aiyegbusi, Dwyer, Kamara
Blue team - Kronberg, Myers, Cesar, Besler, Sinovic, Sassano, Joseph, Convey, Saad
Neutral - Zavagnin
Only one goal in this one, a Joseph Peterson and Luke Sassano worked a very nice 1-2 together finishing with Joseph flicking the ball past Nielsen and into the net. Shortly after that though, Joseph went off with an injury that he was icing later.
Second Game
Blue team - Kempin, Myers, Cesar, Besler, Sinovic, Sassano, Convey, Saad
Green team - Sangler, Strunk, Hedrick, Antonijevic, Miller, Kuhn, Saydee, Garcia, Ellis
Neutral - Warzycha
This game ended 1-1. The green team, full of trialists certainly came out the hungrier of the two teams to start, really pushing the blue team. The green team got rewarded with a goal as Konrad Warzycha played a 1-2 with Matt Kuhn and Warzycha buried his shot past Kempin. The goal seemed to wake the blue team up as much of the rest of the game was controlled by them. Warzycha got their goal as well finishing off a cross from Soony Saad. Later on, Kevin Ellis suffered what appeared to be a sprained ankle as he went for a long cross. Ellis went down and seemed to be in a lot of pain, but was helped off and left with ice on his ankle.
Third game
Orange team - Nielsen, Collin, Olum, Harrington, Warzycha, Thomas, Aiyegbusi, Dwyer, Kamara
Green team - Angevine, Strunk, Hedrick, Antonijevic, Miller, Kuhn, Saydee, Garcia, Saad
Neutral - Zavagnin
This game ended 0-0 with Saad forcing a good save out of Jimmy Nielsen at the end of the game to keep it scoreless. The orange team though was the better of play throughout this one. Saydee had to clear one chance off the line for the green team, but other than that both teams struggled to create real opportunities during this game.
Jacob Peterson, Roger Espinoza, and Paulo Nagamura were all running on the side of the field. Birahim Diop and Daneil Cyrus are both taking care of family issues (although rumors abound that Diop is going to go to Colombia to join Octavio Zambrano).
So who was impressive during the short scrimmages this morning?
The player that impressed me the most today was Konrad Warzycha. He looked incredibly comfortable on the ball. In the second game where he was on offense only he showed a good ability at being able to settle the game and pick out players on his team. Both of his finishes were well taken as well.
Matt Besler continues to step his game up. I thought he was at a different level last year, but just in the training today it seems like he's taken it to another level. Yes it was only a practice, but Besler looked intense out on the field. He also did a very good job of getting forward (although I doubt he'll be doing a ton of that in real games).
Really other than that it was hard to pick out guys who really stood out. The games were short field (they played between the 15's on the Chiefs practice field). But overall compared to last year when I attended the same practice, the level of the practice was a totally different level than it was last year. There seems to be a different level of intensity going on this year. More focus and more centered on certain things. That could come from the fact that Peter Vermes and players have driven home this week, that they've all come in, in better shape and better prepared. That means that Vermes doesn't have to spend as much time on certain things and instead can build quicker.
Finally some quick thoughts on the trialists and draft picks. Remember that these are based on just my one training session of viewing.
Scott Angevine - Goalkeeper that is trialing with the team. He's going to have trouble making the team I think though, but based off his tweets is heading to Arizona with the team.
Stefan Antonijevic - The kid is definitely big. He plays simple which is good for a defender, but the biggest thing that stood out to me was when he got shouldered off the ball by Soony Saad.
Dom Dwyer - Lots of movement teamed with Kei Kamara on his team, didn't get a ton of touches in either game though.
Cyrpian Hedrick - Hedrick did a decent job for the green team in the center of defense, did well with his distribution.
Irving Garcia - The guy was active on the field with a lot of movement off the ball, but really didn't do a whole lot when he did get the ball.
Matt Kuhn - Not going to say a lot here to avoid bias claims, (although I may be more harsh on him since I've seen him play a lot more). Kuhn had some decent play, did a good job of on Warzycha's goal for the green team. Did well getting his head up and with his passing, but could be a step quicker with decision making.
Kyle Miller - Partnered well with Kuhn in the midfield for the green team, did well getting forward and hanging back when needing to.
Pablo Punyed - Wasn't there, hasn't been there all week apparently. Looking at options overseas it appears.
Myron Samuel - Was not out there today. Didn't get any confirmation, but it seems he may already be gone.
Cyrus Saydee - The guy is small like his bio shows, Aiyegbusi size. He did a decent job down the wing, but his size is going to work against him.
Shawn Singh - Didn't realize until I was typing this up, but I didn't see KC's first round supplemental draft pick today.
Steve Spangler - Didn't make any mistakes in goal, nothing he really could have done on the goal he allowed, but he has his work cut out for him trying to make this team with KC already having 3 goalkeepers on the roster. The team isn't going to get rid of Jimmy Nielsen or Jon Kempin, so Spangler is going to have to beat out Kronberg to make this team, and I don't see it.
Kevin Struck - In these short games it's easier for the backs to get forward, and Struck did a good job of getting forward when he could.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Sporting KC News to End Your Week
No major news out today, but here are some quick hits news wise for you on your Friday.
Sporting KC vs LA game time changed
Sporting KC's match up with LA on April 7th at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park has changed times and stations. Yesterday the team announced that the game would now kick off 1 hour earlier at 3pm Central time. The move in start time is to facilitate a station move for the game, as instead of being on ESPN2, the game will be on the mothership, ESPN. It's been a long time since KC has had a game, let alone hosted one. I honestly can't quite remember when there last was one.
Collin closing in on green card
Good news for KC on the front of potentially signing more internationals. Aurelien Collin posted today on Twitter after practice that he was headed to meet with his lawyer to discuss his green card. While the part about becoming an American citizen is a ways away, the good news in Sporting KC terms is that KC will free up at least one international spot. With the spots currently full Collin getting his green card would be a boost. With Jimmy Nielsen and possibly Korede Aiyegbusi also working on their cards' KC could have plenty of international space available.
Sporting KC International News
The next few bits of news are related to Sporting KC players and their potential national team aspirations. The first has to do with Roger Espinoza, while the last two, courtesy of The Daily Wiz have to do with Lawrence Olum, and supplemental draft pick, Pablo Punyed.
Not surprisingly, Espinoza left off Honduras camp roster
With Sporting KC currently in preseason camp, this news isn't surprising, but Roger Espinoza was left off the camp roster ahead of Honduras' February friendlies. Honduras' coach named a roster today for the camp that includes the man who put the dagger in KC's 2011 season Carlo Costly. Espinoza will obviously stay with KC as they continue preseason.
Olum heading to Kenya in February?
Alex over at The Daily Wiz today posted a comment and a video link about KC's Lawrence Olum heading to Kenya in February. The timing of the trip to Kenya would seem odd considering the fact that KC will be right in the middle of preseason, but Olum has wanted to represent his country for a while at this point and this may be the best chance for Olum to appear for the Kenyan national team. Kenya is scheduled to have two matches on the 23rd and the 29th against Egypt and Togo, and one would assume that Olum would hope to make his international debut and become the 32nd player to appear for their full national team while a member of Sporting KC. Still the timing of the trip is just a bit odd being in the middle of preseason.
Punyed to Represent El Salvador U23 team?
There are some rumors out of El Salvador, that supplemental draft pick, Pablo Punyed could be looking to potentially join Teal Bunbury and Daneil Cyrus in Olympic qualifying. Rumor out of El Salvador is that the St. John's product participated in some tryouts down there for the national team in preparation for Olympic qualifying. El Salvador has been grouped with the US, Canada, and Cuba in a group that will play in Nashville.
Sporting KC vs LA game time changed
Sporting KC's match up with LA on April 7th at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park has changed times and stations. Yesterday the team announced that the game would now kick off 1 hour earlier at 3pm Central time. The move in start time is to facilitate a station move for the game, as instead of being on ESPN2, the game will be on the mothership, ESPN. It's been a long time since KC has had a game, let alone hosted one. I honestly can't quite remember when there last was one.
Collin closing in on green card
Good news for KC on the front of potentially signing more internationals. Aurelien Collin posted today on Twitter after practice that he was headed to meet with his lawyer to discuss his green card. While the part about becoming an American citizen is a ways away, the good news in Sporting KC terms is that KC will free up at least one international spot. With the spots currently full Collin getting his green card would be a boost. With Jimmy Nielsen and possibly Korede Aiyegbusi also working on their cards' KC could have plenty of international space available.
Sporting KC International News
The next few bits of news are related to Sporting KC players and their potential national team aspirations. The first has to do with Roger Espinoza, while the last two, courtesy of The Daily Wiz have to do with Lawrence Olum, and supplemental draft pick, Pablo Punyed.
Not surprisingly, Espinoza left off Honduras camp roster
With Sporting KC currently in preseason camp, this news isn't surprising, but Roger Espinoza was left off the camp roster ahead of Honduras' February friendlies. Honduras' coach named a roster today for the camp that includes the man who put the dagger in KC's 2011 season Carlo Costly. Espinoza will obviously stay with KC as they continue preseason.
Olum heading to Kenya in February?
Alex over at The Daily Wiz today posted a comment and a video link about KC's Lawrence Olum heading to Kenya in February. The timing of the trip to Kenya would seem odd considering the fact that KC will be right in the middle of preseason, but Olum has wanted to represent his country for a while at this point and this may be the best chance for Olum to appear for the Kenyan national team. Kenya is scheduled to have two matches on the 23rd and the 29th against Egypt and Togo, and one would assume that Olum would hope to make his international debut and become the 32nd player to appear for their full national team while a member of Sporting KC. Still the timing of the trip is just a bit odd being in the middle of preseason.
Punyed to Represent El Salvador U23 team?
There are some rumors out of El Salvador, that supplemental draft pick, Pablo Punyed could be looking to potentially join Teal Bunbury and Daneil Cyrus in Olympic qualifying. Rumor out of El Salvador is that the St. John's product participated in some tryouts down there for the national team in preparation for Olympic qualifying. El Salvador has been grouped with the US, Canada, and Cuba in a group that will play in Nashville.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Sporting KC and the PDL
Tonight I was watching Metro Sports Zone on Metro Sports, watching a feature that was being done on Kyle Miller and Matt Kuhn and their attempts to become the 5th and 6th local players on Sporting KC's current roster. It struck a thought in my head that I'd been thinking about yesterday after an announcement from the Seattle Sounders. Yesterday, the Seattle Sounders announced that they'd reached a partnership with the Tacoma Tide that sees the Tide become the Sounders FC U-23.
The Sounders become the 5th MLS team to get a team in the PDL, joining Chicago, Portland, Vancouver, and DC. Orlando City of the USL-Pro division also has a U-23 team in the PDL. The idea of a PDL team I think is a really good idea for MLS sides. Especially with the academies becoming more and more important. Players that played in the academy but aren't quite ready to make the jump up to the first team could play on the PDL team while in college to improve their play and potentially be a later academy signing similar to Kevin Ellis, who was signed after 2 years at Barton Community College. A place for those guys to play is certainly a good thing, especially if the players know there is a linked connection between the PDL team and the MLS squad.
Some people will say that the idea of having a PDL team hasn't worked out too well for the Fire though. There were 11 players from the Chicago Fire Premier that were selected in the MLS SuperDraft in Kansas City, and the Fire didn't get the rights to those players. The main reason for that was because academy signing requirements require the player to have to have been in the academy before they enter college. Most of the Fire Premier players only joined the team AFTER they entered college, hence why they couldn't be signed by the Fire. But I think we're going to see more and more players that attend college for a year or two and continue to play with their MLS academy teammates in the summer with the teams U23 teams in the PDL.
Kansas City does have a local PDL team themselves, the Kansas City Brass. The Brass have been around since 1997, one year less than Sporting KC has been. The Brass and the Wizards have a good working relationship, the team has drafted a lot of players that have spent time with the Brass while they were in college. In fact, the past two coaches for the Brass, Jefferson and Lincoln Roblee have both assisted Peter Vermes and the Sporting KC staff at times, including during the open tryouts the past few years. The two teams also play quite often during the summer as a way for some of the reserves a chance to play.
So it's not like the two teams are at odds with each other, they have a very good working relationship. But there is something to be said about making it an official relationship between the two teams, to give a good continued path from the Juniors to the first team with a stop in between for those that may not be quite ready to step from the Juniors directly to the first team. I've seen lots of local KC players go to places like Des Moines for the summer to play with the Menace instead of staying in KC. The goal should be to keep all the best KC players, especially those tied in with the Juniors academy in town where they can be watched and coached by the Sporting KC staff.
The Sounders become the 5th MLS team to get a team in the PDL, joining Chicago, Portland, Vancouver, and DC. Orlando City of the USL-Pro division also has a U-23 team in the PDL. The idea of a PDL team I think is a really good idea for MLS sides. Especially with the academies becoming more and more important. Players that played in the academy but aren't quite ready to make the jump up to the first team could play on the PDL team while in college to improve their play and potentially be a later academy signing similar to Kevin Ellis, who was signed after 2 years at Barton Community College. A place for those guys to play is certainly a good thing, especially if the players know there is a linked connection between the PDL team and the MLS squad.
Some people will say that the idea of having a PDL team hasn't worked out too well for the Fire though. There were 11 players from the Chicago Fire Premier that were selected in the MLS SuperDraft in Kansas City, and the Fire didn't get the rights to those players. The main reason for that was because academy signing requirements require the player to have to have been in the academy before they enter college. Most of the Fire Premier players only joined the team AFTER they entered college, hence why they couldn't be signed by the Fire. But I think we're going to see more and more players that attend college for a year or two and continue to play with their MLS academy teammates in the summer with the teams U23 teams in the PDL.
Kansas City does have a local PDL team themselves, the Kansas City Brass. The Brass have been around since 1997, one year less than Sporting KC has been. The Brass and the Wizards have a good working relationship, the team has drafted a lot of players that have spent time with the Brass while they were in college. In fact, the past two coaches for the Brass, Jefferson and Lincoln Roblee have both assisted Peter Vermes and the Sporting KC staff at times, including during the open tryouts the past few years. The two teams also play quite often during the summer as a way for some of the reserves a chance to play.
So it's not like the two teams are at odds with each other, they have a very good working relationship. But there is something to be said about making it an official relationship between the two teams, to give a good continued path from the Juniors to the first team with a stop in between for those that may not be quite ready to step from the Juniors directly to the first team. I've seen lots of local KC players go to places like Des Moines for the summer to play with the Menace instead of staying in KC. The goal should be to keep all the best KC players, especially those tied in with the Juniors academy in town where they can be watched and coached by the Sporting KC staff.
Former SKC Wizards Update
A day late due to the Comets game last night, but here is this week's former SKC Wizards update. In news this week, Shavar Thomas has a new team, having signed for the expansion Montreal Impact. Here's the rest of this week's update.
Active without a club or unknown
Stephane Auvray
Chris Brunt
Doug DeMartin
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Santiago Hirsig
Eddie Johnson
Mike Jones
Michael Kraus
Jonathan Leathers
Scott Lorenz
Amir Lowry
Rauwshan McKenzie
Ryan McMahen
Michal Mravec
Anthony Noriega
Ryan Pore
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Scott Sealy
Milos Stojcev
Ivan Trujillo
Lance Watson
MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Season is over.
Adam Cristman - LA - Season is over.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Season is over.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Season is over.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Season is over.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Season is over.
Chris Konopka - MLS Pool keeper - Season is over.
Kurt Morsink - DC - Season is over.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Season is over.
Shavar Thomas - Montreal - Season is over.
Tyson Wahl - Montreal - Season is over.
Josh Wolff - DC - Season is over.
NASL
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Season is over.
Aaron Hohlbein - Fort Lauderdale - Season is over.
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Season is over.
USL
Stephen Armstrong - Charleston - Out of season.
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Out of season.
Tom Gray - Pittsburgh - Out of season.
Neal Kitson - Rochester - Out of season.
Akeem Priestley - LA - Out of season.
Yomby William - Richmond - Out of season.
John Wilson - Charleston - Out of season.
PDL
Byron Carmichael - Ocean City - Out of season.
Sergei Raad - FC Jax Destroyers - Out of season.
NPSL
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Flash - Out of season.
Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Wichita Wings - Scored 2 goals in the Wings 18-16 win over Milwaukee. Had a goal and an assist in the Wings 9-6 loss to Milwaukee.
Nick Garcia - Kansas Magic - Did not play in the Magic's 6-5 win over Cinncinati.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Scored a goal in Baltimore's 18-2 win over Norfolk.
JT Murray - Louisville Lightning - Did not play in Louisville's 7-4 win over Illinois. Did not play in Louisville's 9-7 win over Ohio.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Did not play in the Comets 14-6 win over Norfolk. Did not play in the Comets 33-12 win over Syracuse.
Yomby William - Norfolk SharX - Played in Norfolk's 18-2 loss to Baltimore. Played in the Sharx 14-6 loss to the Comets.
Paul Wright - Anaheim Bolts - Did not have a game this week.
International
Vicente Arze - Diosgyor - Hungary - On winter break
Omar Bravo - Cruz Azul - Mexico - Started and played 76 minutes in Cruz Azul's 1-1 draw wiht Pachuca.
Sunil Chhetri - Mohun Bagan - India - Did not play in Bagan's 2-1 loss to Sporting Clube de Goa. Did not play in Bagan's 2-1 loss to Prayag United.
Eloy Colombano - Defensores de Cambaceres - Argentina - Next game 2-1.
Pablo Escobar - Deportivo Cali - Colombia - Did not play for Deportivo Cali.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - Did not play in North East Stars 1-1 draw with Defense Force.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 15 minutes in Santos' 1-0 win over Jaguares.
Zoltan Hercegfalvi - Honved - Hungary - On winter break.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Scored a goal in Harbour View's 2-0 win over Sporting Central.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Lost 1-0 to Bahia De Feira. Defeated Juazeirense 2-0.
Will John - Vinogradar - Croatia - on winter break.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - on winter break.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Season is over.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - On winter break.
Craig Rocastle - Thrasyvoulos Fylis FC - Greece - Started and played 90 minutes in Thrasyvoulos' 1-0 win over Vyzas. Started and played 90 minutes in Thrasyvoulos 1-0 loss to Veria.
Matt Taylor - SC Paderborn 07 - Germany - On winter break.
Diego Walsh - TOT SC - Thailand - Defeated Samut Songkhram 1-0.
Active without a club or unknown
Stephane Auvray
Chris Brunt
Doug DeMartin
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Willy Guadarrama
Santiago Hirsig
Eddie Johnson
Mike Jones
Michael Kraus
Jonathan Leathers
Scott Lorenz
Amir Lowry
Rauwshan McKenzie
Ryan McMahen
Michal Mravec
Anthony Noriega
Ryan Pore
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Scott Sealy
Milos Stojcev
Ivan Trujillo
Lance Watson
MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Season is over.
Adam Cristman - LA - Season is over.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Season is over.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Season is over.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Season is over.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Season is over.
Chris Konopka - MLS Pool keeper - Season is over.
Kurt Morsink - DC - Season is over.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Season is over.
Shavar Thomas - Montreal - Season is over.
Tyson Wahl - Montreal - Season is over.
Josh Wolff - DC - Season is over.
NASL
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Season is over.
Aaron Hohlbein - Fort Lauderdale - Season is over.
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Season is over.
USL
Stephen Armstrong - Charleston - Out of season.
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Out of season.
Tom Gray - Pittsburgh - Out of season.
Neal Kitson - Rochester - Out of season.
Akeem Priestley - LA - Out of season.
Yomby William - Richmond - Out of season.
John Wilson - Charleston - Out of season.
PDL
Byron Carmichael - Ocean City - Out of season.
Sergei Raad - FC Jax Destroyers - Out of season.
NPSL
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Flash - Out of season.
Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Wichita Wings - Scored 2 goals in the Wings 18-16 win over Milwaukee. Had a goal and an assist in the Wings 9-6 loss to Milwaukee.
Nick Garcia - Kansas Magic - Did not play in the Magic's 6-5 win over Cinncinati.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Scored a goal in Baltimore's 18-2 win over Norfolk.
JT Murray - Louisville Lightning - Did not play in Louisville's 7-4 win over Illinois. Did not play in Louisville's 9-7 win over Ohio.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Did not play in the Comets 14-6 win over Norfolk. Did not play in the Comets 33-12 win over Syracuse.
Yomby William - Norfolk SharX - Played in Norfolk's 18-2 loss to Baltimore. Played in the Sharx 14-6 loss to the Comets.
Paul Wright - Anaheim Bolts - Did not have a game this week.
International
Vicente Arze - Diosgyor - Hungary - On winter break
Omar Bravo - Cruz Azul - Mexico - Started and played 76 minutes in Cruz Azul's 1-1 draw wiht Pachuca.
Sunil Chhetri - Mohun Bagan - India - Did not play in Bagan's 2-1 loss to Sporting Clube de Goa. Did not play in Bagan's 2-1 loss to Prayag United.
Eloy Colombano - Defensores de Cambaceres - Argentina - Next game 2-1.
Pablo Escobar - Deportivo Cali - Colombia - Did not play for Deportivo Cali.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - Did not play in North East Stars 1-1 draw with Defense Force.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 15 minutes in Santos' 1-0 win over Jaguares.
Zoltan Hercegfalvi - Honved - Hungary - On winter break.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Scored a goal in Harbour View's 2-0 win over Sporting Central.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Lost 1-0 to Bahia De Feira. Defeated Juazeirense 2-0.
Will John - Vinogradar - Croatia - on winter break.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - on winter break.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Season is over.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - On winter break.
Craig Rocastle - Thrasyvoulos Fylis FC - Greece - Started and played 90 minutes in Thrasyvoulos' 1-0 win over Vyzas. Started and played 90 minutes in Thrasyvoulos 1-0 loss to Veria.
Matt Taylor - SC Paderborn 07 - Germany - On winter break.
Diego Walsh - TOT SC - Thailand - Defeated Samut Songkhram 1-0.
Kris Boyd Linked with Move to KC
Silly season continues to go on around the world, and today Sporting KC was named in the silliness. Sky Sports is reporting that the "Kansas City Wizards" are interested in Scottish international striker, Kris Boyd. The 28 year old striker was most recently with Eskisehirsqor in Turkey, where he recently had his contract canceled. He's also recently played with Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest. He was a prolific goal scorer for Rangers but since leaving the Glasgow club his scoring record has gone down.
Rumors on a Boyd move to the US started a week or two ago when he was linked with a move to the Houston Dynamo. The Dynamo apparently brought Boyd into town for 3 days. The two teams couldn't reach a deal though. In fact according in the news that Boyd would not being joining the Dynamo, the release said that Boyd "would not be plying his trade in MLS this season."
That comment would certainly seem to kill the Sky Sports rumor right there from the aspect that Boyd isn't going to play in MLS. To add to the quick killing of this rumor in my mind would be MLS' discovery process. Since Boyd has already been with the Dynamo, one would assume that the Dynamo have the discovery claim on Boyd. But I'm not sure how the discovery process changes with a designated player. If KC were though, that would fly in the face of Robb Heineman's tweet the other night, about the team not having a DP this window. Meaning KC would have to work out a deal with the Dynamo most likely to get Boyd's MLS rights. And I just totally don't see it happening. I just don't see Boyd as a move that KC would be making right now.
Rumors on a Boyd move to the US started a week or two ago when he was linked with a move to the Houston Dynamo. The Dynamo apparently brought Boyd into town for 3 days. The two teams couldn't reach a deal though. In fact according in the news that Boyd would not being joining the Dynamo, the release said that Boyd "would not be plying his trade in MLS this season."
That comment would certainly seem to kill the Sky Sports rumor right there from the aspect that Boyd isn't going to play in MLS. To add to the quick killing of this rumor in my mind would be MLS' discovery process. Since Boyd has already been with the Dynamo, one would assume that the Dynamo have the discovery claim on Boyd. But I'm not sure how the discovery process changes with a designated player. If KC were though, that would fly in the face of Robb Heineman's tweet the other night, about the team not having a DP this window. Meaning KC would have to work out a deal with the Dynamo most likely to get Boyd's MLS rights. And I just totally don't see it happening. I just don't see Boyd as a move that KC would be making right now.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Zusi Goal Leads US Over Panama
The US "Camp Cupcake" roster closed out their camp down in Panama today with a 1-0 win thanks to a goal by Sporting KC midfielder, Graham Zusi. Like the game on Saturday against Venezuela, both Zusi and Teal Bunbury started for the United States, while CJ Sapong found himself starting on the bench. The US got a good start, as Zusi finished off a chance in the 8th minute to give the US a 1-0 lead. Zach Loyd played the ball into the box, where Bunbury had overrun the ball. The ball hit the back of Bunbury's heal and fell right into the path of Zusi who one timed his shot past the keeper and into the net for his first international goal.
After the goal it became somewhat of the Nick Rimando show as the US defense struggled for long periods of time in the first half and Rimando had to come up with some big saves to preserve the USA's 1-0 lead. The US did have 1 other great chance those as Jermaine Jones fired in a blast from long range that the Panamanian keeper had to just knock into the air. Chris Wondolowski closed in on the rebound but somehow the keeper recovered in time to knock the ball away before it crossed the line. But the first half man of the match was easily Rimando who came to the US' rescue numerous times.
Things got worse for the US in the second half as they tried to weather the Panama attack as Geoff Cameron received a red card for denying a goal scoring opportunity for Panama. The Panamanian went down a little easy, but welcome to CONCACAF refereeing Jurgen Klinsmann. In the second half it wasn't so much that Sean Johnson, who came on for Rimando, had to come up big, but Blais Perez missed some good chances for Panama to tie the game.
For the Sporting KC players, besides the goal, Zusi had a strong game and was one of the bright spots for the US, especially in the first half, he made way in the 66th minute for a more defensive minded player in Brad Evans. Bunbury in his second start struggled once again, especially with his first touch. He's been playing himself off the national team radar it would seem with this play. Bunbury made way for teammate Sapong in the 76th minute. Sapong once again didn't have much opportunity to do much, especially as a lone forward for a team down to 10 men. Sapong though did a decent job of trying to hold up the ball when he got the opportunity to, but his chances were hurt by the fact that the US was playing with 10 men. Those 3 will now return to KC, but according to Peter Vermes earlier today, those 3 will not be at training until the team leaves for Arizona.
After the goal it became somewhat of the Nick Rimando show as the US defense struggled for long periods of time in the first half and Rimando had to come up with some big saves to preserve the USA's 1-0 lead. The US did have 1 other great chance those as Jermaine Jones fired in a blast from long range that the Panamanian keeper had to just knock into the air. Chris Wondolowski closed in on the rebound but somehow the keeper recovered in time to knock the ball away before it crossed the line. But the first half man of the match was easily Rimando who came to the US' rescue numerous times.
Things got worse for the US in the second half as they tried to weather the Panama attack as Geoff Cameron received a red card for denying a goal scoring opportunity for Panama. The Panamanian went down a little easy, but welcome to CONCACAF refereeing Jurgen Klinsmann. In the second half it wasn't so much that Sean Johnson, who came on for Rimando, had to come up big, but Blais Perez missed some good chances for Panama to tie the game.
For the Sporting KC players, besides the goal, Zusi had a strong game and was one of the bright spots for the US, especially in the first half, he made way in the 66th minute for a more defensive minded player in Brad Evans. Bunbury in his second start struggled once again, especially with his first touch. He's been playing himself off the national team radar it would seem with this play. Bunbury made way for teammate Sapong in the 76th minute. Sapong once again didn't have much opportunity to do much, especially as a lone forward for a team down to 10 men. Sapong though did a decent job of trying to hold up the ball when he got the opportunity to, but his chances were hurt by the fact that the US was playing with 10 men. Those 3 will now return to KC, but according to Peter Vermes earlier today, those 3 will not be at training until the team leaves for Arizona.
Record Setting Night as Comets Rout Silver Knights
It was a big night for the Missouri Comets as they set multiple records at the Independence Events Center in their 33-12 rout over the Syracuse Silver Knights. They set a team record for the largest margin of victory since the teams rebirth, with 21. They tied a league record with 3 players recording a hattrick (Byron Alvarez, Geison, and Vahid Assadpour). They set a record for the most points this season so far, the largest margin of victory this season, and with the Knights 12 points the teams set a record for the most combined points this season.
The Comets got the night started off on the right foot as Leo Gibson collected a rebound from a shot by Ryan Junge and fired a 3 pointer into the far corner that Eric Reed in the Knights net didn't see until very late. The 3 point goal put the Comets up less than a minute into the game. Just after 5 minutes into the game, the Knights got as close as they were ever going to get the rest of the night when Daniel Stevens turned in a shot past Danny Waltman to make it 3-2. From there the first quarter was all down hill for the Knights. The Comets controlled the game after the goal, but struggled to find a shot to really test Reed in net. About the midway point in the quarter the Comets restored their 3 point lead though. John Sosa fed Assadpour down the left hand side, his first shot was saved by Reed, the second shot Assadpour fired off Reed and the ball rolled into the net. Assadpour was given the credit for the goal though and the Comets were up 5-2.
Things got worse for the visitors about 20 seconds later, as Waltman collected a shot by the Knights and played a quick outlet to Bato Radoncic, who had gotten in behind the Knights defense. One v one with the goalkeeper, Radoncic fired his shot low into the corner to make it 7-2. A minute and a half later things continued to go worse for the Knights. Tiguinho got his first assist of the night as his shot was spilled by Reed right into the path of Alvarez who just had to tap the ball over the line to increase the Comets lead to 9-2. They still weren't done in the first quarter though as Tiguinho got on the board, although once again likely an own goal, as Tiguinho beat his man down the side and fired a shot off the wall that hit a Knight's defender and went into the net to make it 11-2 with less than a minute left in the first quarter.
The second quarter started much the same way the first ended, with the Comets controlling possession, and under 2 minutes into the quarter it was 13-2. Tiguinho played another ball into the box and it looked as if it was another own goal, but in the end Geison ended up getting the last touch, putting the ball away. The Knights got themselves back on the board just under 5 minutes into the quarter as the Knights finally got some good passing and Cory Elenio found Alex Megson at the back post unmarked for a tap in to make the lead 9.
The Knights continued to push to get back into the game and looked to have a good opportunity as Brian Harris went to the box just past the half way point in the quarter for holding. In the end though the power play back fired on the Knights. The Comets killed the penalty and right out of the box, Harris was fed by Assadpour. Reed came well off his line, but Harris did well to round the keeper and then walked the ball into the net to make it 15-4. Before the half ended, the Knights once again cut into the lead, as Elenio fed Andriy Budnyy on a 2v1 break and Budnyy beat Waltman. Still the Knights struggled to get back into the game, and even another penalty for too many men on the field for the Comets, the Knights struggled on the power play.
The Comets didn't take their foot off the pedal in the second half either. Just over 6 minutes into the half, Tiguinho led a 3v3 break as the Comets countered. Tiguinho danced around his man and then fed the ball to Assadpour. Assadpour's initial shot was saved but once again Reed didn't hold the shot and Assadpour buried the rebound. And immediately after that goal to make it 17-6, the Comets were right back down the field and Radoncic fed Geison for his second of the game to make it 19-6 as the Comets continued to punish the Knights on the counter.
At this point you really started to almost feel sorry for the Knights. And if the next goal for the Comets just made it worse. Harris started the play with a shot from 3 point range that hit Megson in the groin area. With Megson hobbled, Harris was able to collect the rebound, cut past him and feed Alvarez who buried his shot to make it 21-6. Two minutes after Alvarez's second goal, Alvarez finished off his hattrick, and as was the theme all night it came as the Comets got in behind the Knights defense. Alvarez was played behind by Gibson. Alvarez, 1v1 with the keeper made no mistake making it 23-6. The Knights thought they salvaged a little bit of pride when Nelson Santana found net to make it 23-8, but before the 3rd quarter ended, the Comets got 1 more goal, again on the counter as Tiguinho led a 3v1 break. Tiguinho fed Geison who slotted the ball past Reed to complete his hattrick.
In the fourth quarter the Comets seemed content to sit back and continue to hit on the counter as they had started to do in the 3rd quarter. Just over a minute into the quarter, Stevens got his second goal of the game making it 23-10. A little over a minute after that goal though, the Comets had restored their lead off a restart. Tiguinho fed Geison who finished his 4th goal of the game to make it 27-10. Before 6 minutes were gone in the fourth, Assadpour completed his hattrick off an assist from Radoncic. As the Comets continued to sit back, the Knights were their own worst enemies as they missed 3 or 4 chances that should have been put away, but I think the mental factor of being down that much had thrown the Knights off their game as they just couldn't find the net. Before the quarter timeout, the Comets hit the 30 point mark, as Tiguinho beat Reed again to make it 31-10. The Comets had one more goal in them just past the 8 minute mark in the quarter as Harris bundled home his second of the night off a pass from Alvarez. The Knights continued to struggle to finish good chances, one of those actually led to their final goal as a miss on a wide open net by Megson had the ball fall to Elenio who headed in from a tight angle to give the final score of 33-12.
For those that don't want to track all there, here are the Comets stats from tonight.
Tiguinho - 2 goals 5 assists (9 points)
Geison - 4 goals (8 points)
Vahid Assadpour - 3 goals 1 assist (7 points)
Byron Alvarez - 3 goals 1 assist (7 points)
Brian Harris - 2 goals 1 assist (5 points)
Bato Radoncic - 1 goal 3 assists (5 points)
Leo Gibson - 1 goal (3 pointer) 1 assist (4 points)
Ryan Junge - 1 assist (1 point)
John Sosa - 1 assist (1 point)
Danny Waltman - 1 assist (1 point)
The Comets got the night started off on the right foot as Leo Gibson collected a rebound from a shot by Ryan Junge and fired a 3 pointer into the far corner that Eric Reed in the Knights net didn't see until very late. The 3 point goal put the Comets up less than a minute into the game. Just after 5 minutes into the game, the Knights got as close as they were ever going to get the rest of the night when Daniel Stevens turned in a shot past Danny Waltman to make it 3-2. From there the first quarter was all down hill for the Knights. The Comets controlled the game after the goal, but struggled to find a shot to really test Reed in net. About the midway point in the quarter the Comets restored their 3 point lead though. John Sosa fed Assadpour down the left hand side, his first shot was saved by Reed, the second shot Assadpour fired off Reed and the ball rolled into the net. Assadpour was given the credit for the goal though and the Comets were up 5-2.
Things got worse for the visitors about 20 seconds later, as Waltman collected a shot by the Knights and played a quick outlet to Bato Radoncic, who had gotten in behind the Knights defense. One v one with the goalkeeper, Radoncic fired his shot low into the corner to make it 7-2. A minute and a half later things continued to go worse for the Knights. Tiguinho got his first assist of the night as his shot was spilled by Reed right into the path of Alvarez who just had to tap the ball over the line to increase the Comets lead to 9-2. They still weren't done in the first quarter though as Tiguinho got on the board, although once again likely an own goal, as Tiguinho beat his man down the side and fired a shot off the wall that hit a Knight's defender and went into the net to make it 11-2 with less than a minute left in the first quarter.
The second quarter started much the same way the first ended, with the Comets controlling possession, and under 2 minutes into the quarter it was 13-2. Tiguinho played another ball into the box and it looked as if it was another own goal, but in the end Geison ended up getting the last touch, putting the ball away. The Knights got themselves back on the board just under 5 minutes into the quarter as the Knights finally got some good passing and Cory Elenio found Alex Megson at the back post unmarked for a tap in to make the lead 9.
The Knights continued to push to get back into the game and looked to have a good opportunity as Brian Harris went to the box just past the half way point in the quarter for holding. In the end though the power play back fired on the Knights. The Comets killed the penalty and right out of the box, Harris was fed by Assadpour. Reed came well off his line, but Harris did well to round the keeper and then walked the ball into the net to make it 15-4. Before the half ended, the Knights once again cut into the lead, as Elenio fed Andriy Budnyy on a 2v1 break and Budnyy beat Waltman. Still the Knights struggled to get back into the game, and even another penalty for too many men on the field for the Comets, the Knights struggled on the power play.
The Comets didn't take their foot off the pedal in the second half either. Just over 6 minutes into the half, Tiguinho led a 3v3 break as the Comets countered. Tiguinho danced around his man and then fed the ball to Assadpour. Assadpour's initial shot was saved but once again Reed didn't hold the shot and Assadpour buried the rebound. And immediately after that goal to make it 17-6, the Comets were right back down the field and Radoncic fed Geison for his second of the game to make it 19-6 as the Comets continued to punish the Knights on the counter.
At this point you really started to almost feel sorry for the Knights. And if the next goal for the Comets just made it worse. Harris started the play with a shot from 3 point range that hit Megson in the groin area. With Megson hobbled, Harris was able to collect the rebound, cut past him and feed Alvarez who buried his shot to make it 21-6. Two minutes after Alvarez's second goal, Alvarez finished off his hattrick, and as was the theme all night it came as the Comets got in behind the Knights defense. Alvarez was played behind by Gibson. Alvarez, 1v1 with the keeper made no mistake making it 23-6. The Knights thought they salvaged a little bit of pride when Nelson Santana found net to make it 23-8, but before the 3rd quarter ended, the Comets got 1 more goal, again on the counter as Tiguinho led a 3v1 break. Tiguinho fed Geison who slotted the ball past Reed to complete his hattrick.
In the fourth quarter the Comets seemed content to sit back and continue to hit on the counter as they had started to do in the 3rd quarter. Just over a minute into the quarter, Stevens got his second goal of the game making it 23-10. A little over a minute after that goal though, the Comets had restored their lead off a restart. Tiguinho fed Geison who finished his 4th goal of the game to make it 27-10. Before 6 minutes were gone in the fourth, Assadpour completed his hattrick off an assist from Radoncic. As the Comets continued to sit back, the Knights were their own worst enemies as they missed 3 or 4 chances that should have been put away, but I think the mental factor of being down that much had thrown the Knights off their game as they just couldn't find the net. Before the quarter timeout, the Comets hit the 30 point mark, as Tiguinho beat Reed again to make it 31-10. The Comets had one more goal in them just past the 8 minute mark in the quarter as Harris bundled home his second of the night off a pass from Alvarez. The Knights continued to struggle to finish good chances, one of those actually led to their final goal as a miss on a wide open net by Megson had the ball fall to Elenio who headed in from a tight angle to give the final score of 33-12.
For those that don't want to track all there, here are the Comets stats from tonight.
Tiguinho - 2 goals 5 assists (9 points)
Geison - 4 goals (8 points)
Vahid Assadpour - 3 goals 1 assist (7 points)
Byron Alvarez - 3 goals 1 assist (7 points)
Brian Harris - 2 goals 1 assist (5 points)
Bato Radoncic - 1 goal 3 assists (5 points)
Leo Gibson - 1 goal (3 pointer) 1 assist (4 points)
Ryan Junge - 1 assist (1 point)
John Sosa - 1 assist (1 point)
Danny Waltman - 1 assist (1 point)
Comets vs Silver Knights PBP
Here's tonight's play by play for the Comets and Silver Knights game. Fair warning, I may mention tonight's US-Panama game for a moment or two as well.
No DP Likely This Window
Late last night, once again Robb Heineman brought us news via Twitter. This time pertaining to the potential designated player that KC was looking to sign. And that news doesn't appear to be good news. Heineman says that "unless something dramatic happens in the next two days, we will not be announcing a DP in this window."
It all seems pretty cut and dry right there, KC's plans for bringing in a DP seem to have fallen through. It's not incredibly surprising based on an earlier tweet where Heineman was commiserating an injury in Spain. The assumption is that the injury was to the Spanish DP that KC had on their radar and were looking to sign.
It's certainly a blow to fans, who had been anticipating this big move for much of the offseason, but unfortunately now KC has to go in another direction. I'm sure that Peter Vermes had plans to build the team in place that did not include the DP, but it's still a blow to the team, because it's fairly hard to replace a DP level talent. But then again there are no guarantees that the DP would have fit into the league, that he would produce on the level you expect from a designated player. It's still a blow though to the team's development of the roster heading into this season. The roster though right now looks pretty good as a whole, one or two depth moves right now and the team should be in good shape. And if things don't turn out well, KC could still be working towards a summer transfer window move.
It all seems pretty cut and dry right there, KC's plans for bringing in a DP seem to have fallen through. It's not incredibly surprising based on an earlier tweet where Heineman was commiserating an injury in Spain. The assumption is that the injury was to the Spanish DP that KC had on their radar and were looking to sign.
It's certainly a blow to fans, who had been anticipating this big move for much of the offseason, but unfortunately now KC has to go in another direction. I'm sure that Peter Vermes had plans to build the team in place that did not include the DP, but it's still a blow to the team, because it's fairly hard to replace a DP level talent. But then again there are no guarantees that the DP would have fit into the league, that he would produce on the level you expect from a designated player. It's still a blow though to the team's development of the roster heading into this season. The roster though right now looks pretty good as a whole, one or two depth moves right now and the team should be in good shape. And if things don't turn out well, KC could still be working towards a summer transfer window move.
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