The MLS trade window opens up tomorrow, and already rumors are swirling around regarding moves that will likely be confirmed in the next few days. Many of those trades have involved the Portland Timbers. One of those potential trades also involved Sporting KC. The rumor tonight out of Portland is that Sporting KC will trade reserve wingback, Michael Harrington to Portland for allocation money. After the trade was mentioned on Twitter, Sporting KC forward Teal Bunbury tweeted "All the best to my brother @mikeymomoney2 in Portland. Gonna miss you my man. Know you're gonna do big things there."
That tweet has since been deleted by Bunbury though. The KC Star has posted an article regarding the rumor and has contacted Harrington regarding the rumor. Harrington's response though was that he hadn't heard anything regarding the rumor. Thad has gotten a comment from the team that they have no confirmation of the trade at this time either.
I expect that Harrington is being traded, while having a player on the bench like Harrington is a luxury, it's an expensive one as he's counting $125,000 against the cap. Harrington has to want to get more playing time himself though, he can't be enjoying being on the bench. I think Harrington is likely going to be traded to Portland, the announcement will just come tomorrow or in the next week or so after the trade window as reopened.
Sunday, December 02, 2012
Saturday, December 01, 2012
Comets Drop Third Straight
After starting the season 4-0, the Comets are now finding themselves only 1 gave over .500 after dropping a 24-17 decision in Rochester tonight. The game started bright enough for the Comets as some great movement early on saw the Comets grab a 2-0 lead as Stefan Stokic finished the play by laying the ball into the middle for Will John who one timed the ball in. The Lancers fought back though. Andy Tiedt tried to play a low cross into the middle of the box, but it got knocked into the air. Tiedt followed the play and headed the ball over Boris Pardo, who got his second straight start and into the net making it 2-2. Shortly after that the Lancers took the lead as Doug Miller picked up a loose ball from Bryan Harris and while he appeared to shove Harris down no call was made and Miller beat Pardo to start what was a big night for him. Late on in the half the Comets though first leveled the score then took the lead. On the power play first, Vahid Assadpour found Leo Gibson just inside the 3 point line. Gibson took a touch, turning and fired home to tie the game. With only 5 second left in the quarter the Comets grabbed the lead. From about the same spot he set up Gibson, Assadpour this time decided to shoot and from outside the yellow line scored to make it 7-4.
Into the second quarter the Lancers came out firing. Miller got in behind Harris on a through ball and beat Pardo to get the Lancers within 1. Then shortly after that, Miller finished his hattrick on the power play. After turning Gibson inside out, Miller fired a shot on goal that deflected off Ryan Junge and into the net to give the Lancers the lead again at 8-7. The Comets looked to equalize but it wasn't until late in the quarter off a restart. Two Comets ran over the ball before John struck it into the corner of the net to make it 9-8 with 3 and a half minutes left in the half. That lead didn't last to the break though as Stokic got caught in possession at midfield leading to a 2v1 for Rochester that Miller finished for his 4th of the game to make it 10-9.
As the second half started the Comets got another quick power play opportunity. It took most of the power play, but with 1 second left the Comets retook the lead. Gibson made it 11-10 as he fired a ball on goal that went through the legs of Rochester's keeper. The rest of the quarter belonged to the Lancers though. Shortly after that power play, the Comets got a blue card themselves to Stefan St Louis and then while he was still in the box, Gibson picked up a blue card as well. In a 5v3 situation the Lancers took time finding an open man, Miller again, and he curled a ball into the far post to make it 12-11. The Lancers were still on the power play and made the Comets pay as Stephen Basso deflected a Bryan Knapp shot into the net to make it 14-11. The Lancers kept attacking though as late in the quarter Mauricio Salles got in on the scoring as he received a ball laid back into the middle of the box to make it 16-11. Then Miller completed the double hattrick on a break away beating Pardo over his left shoulder to make it 18-11.
The Comets tried to get back into the game in the 4th and got an early goal as Byron Alvarez headed a ball off the glass, but Milan Ivanovic followed the shot and volleyed it home. Shortly after that though the Lancers restored their 7 point lead through Pedro Franco. Franco received the ball down the side and caught Pardo cheating for a cross, instead shooting near post and Pardo could only get a hand on it. Around the midpoint of the quarter the Comets got as close as 3 points. First on the power play a shot by John Sosa went off the glass but Gibson was there to volley in the rebound to make it 20-15. Then a minute later Assadpour got a second goal as his cross for Gibson was deflected into the Lancers' net. That was as close as the Comets got though at 20-17. Tiedt picked up a second goal of the night as the Comets couldn't clear their end and Tiedt with the 3rd crack at it for the Lancers finally finished. As the Comets pushed with the 6th attacker, the Lancers still played forward with high pressure on the 6th attacker. On a counter, the Lancers made it 24-17, Jeremy Ortiz put a shot off the post but followed his rebound and beat Pardo. The Comets will now head home for a game next week against Chicago.
Into the second quarter the Lancers came out firing. Miller got in behind Harris on a through ball and beat Pardo to get the Lancers within 1. Then shortly after that, Miller finished his hattrick on the power play. After turning Gibson inside out, Miller fired a shot on goal that deflected off Ryan Junge and into the net to give the Lancers the lead again at 8-7. The Comets looked to equalize but it wasn't until late in the quarter off a restart. Two Comets ran over the ball before John struck it into the corner of the net to make it 9-8 with 3 and a half minutes left in the half. That lead didn't last to the break though as Stokic got caught in possession at midfield leading to a 2v1 for Rochester that Miller finished for his 4th of the game to make it 10-9.
As the second half started the Comets got another quick power play opportunity. It took most of the power play, but with 1 second left the Comets retook the lead. Gibson made it 11-10 as he fired a ball on goal that went through the legs of Rochester's keeper. The rest of the quarter belonged to the Lancers though. Shortly after that power play, the Comets got a blue card themselves to Stefan St Louis and then while he was still in the box, Gibson picked up a blue card as well. In a 5v3 situation the Lancers took time finding an open man, Miller again, and he curled a ball into the far post to make it 12-11. The Lancers were still on the power play and made the Comets pay as Stephen Basso deflected a Bryan Knapp shot into the net to make it 14-11. The Lancers kept attacking though as late in the quarter Mauricio Salles got in on the scoring as he received a ball laid back into the middle of the box to make it 16-11. Then Miller completed the double hattrick on a break away beating Pardo over his left shoulder to make it 18-11.
The Comets tried to get back into the game in the 4th and got an early goal as Byron Alvarez headed a ball off the glass, but Milan Ivanovic followed the shot and volleyed it home. Shortly after that though the Lancers restored their 7 point lead through Pedro Franco. Franco received the ball down the side and caught Pardo cheating for a cross, instead shooting near post and Pardo could only get a hand on it. Around the midpoint of the quarter the Comets got as close as 3 points. First on the power play a shot by John Sosa went off the glass but Gibson was there to volley in the rebound to make it 20-15. Then a minute later Assadpour got a second goal as his cross for Gibson was deflected into the Lancers' net. That was as close as the Comets got though at 20-17. Tiedt picked up a second goal of the night as the Comets couldn't clear their end and Tiedt with the 3rd crack at it for the Lancers finally finished. As the Comets pushed with the 6th attacker, the Lancers still played forward with high pressure on the 6th attacker. On a counter, the Lancers made it 24-17, Jeremy Ortiz put a shot off the post but followed his rebound and beat Pardo. The Comets will now head home for a game next week against Chicago.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Comets Fall to Syracuse
The last matchup between these two teams saw the Comets win 17-10 in a game that was never really in doubt. The Silver Knights were determined not to let the Comets walk over them again and came out firing all night. The Comets were unable to solve the pressure and fall 13-7 for their first road loss of the season.
Although the Comets maintained most of the possession throughout the first part of the game, the Silver Knights weathered the storm. They sat back to pick their opportunities, finally converting with six minutes left in the quarter with a Slavisa Ubiparapovic goal. The Comets answered with twenty seconds left in the quarter. After a collision in front of the goal, Byron Alvarez was able to corral the ball and bury it in the back of the net.
The Silver Knights extinguished any momentum the Comets might have had twelve seconds into the second quarter. Dan Stevens collected a pass from Neto to put Syracuse up 4-2. Two minutes later the Comets tied it again when Will John scored off a restart from John Sosa. As the half wound down, the Silver Knights upped the pressure on the Comets defense. Neto and Ubiparapovic scored within 30 seconds of each other and suddenly the Comets went into the halftime break down 9-4.
The Comets had their chances in the second half. Leo Gibson and Vahid Assadpour connected 58 seconds into the quarter to put the team within two points of Syracuse. However, any chance they had after that seemed to sail high or go just wide of the goal. Goalkeeper Boris Pardo, making his season debut, made a great save in the fourth minute of the quarter, only to watch it bounce off his defender and into the goal. Newly acquired midfielder, Bryan Perez, scored his first goal as a Silver Knight in the fourth quarter and the home team walked away with the win, 13-7.
The Comets do not have time to dwell on this loss as they face the Rochester Lancers tomorrow night at 6:00pm central. This is the first matchup between these two teams this season. The team then returns home for Military Appreciation Day on December 9th against the Chicago Soul.
Although the Comets maintained most of the possession throughout the first part of the game, the Silver Knights weathered the storm. They sat back to pick their opportunities, finally converting with six minutes left in the quarter with a Slavisa Ubiparapovic goal. The Comets answered with twenty seconds left in the quarter. After a collision in front of the goal, Byron Alvarez was able to corral the ball and bury it in the back of the net.
The Silver Knights extinguished any momentum the Comets might have had twelve seconds into the second quarter. Dan Stevens collected a pass from Neto to put Syracuse up 4-2. Two minutes later the Comets tied it again when Will John scored off a restart from John Sosa. As the half wound down, the Silver Knights upped the pressure on the Comets defense. Neto and Ubiparapovic scored within 30 seconds of each other and suddenly the Comets went into the halftime break down 9-4.
The Comets had their chances in the second half. Leo Gibson and Vahid Assadpour connected 58 seconds into the quarter to put the team within two points of Syracuse. However, any chance they had after that seemed to sail high or go just wide of the goal. Goalkeeper Boris Pardo, making his season debut, made a great save in the fourth minute of the quarter, only to watch it bounce off his defender and into the goal. Newly acquired midfielder, Bryan Perez, scored his first goal as a Silver Knight in the fourth quarter and the home team walked away with the win, 13-7.
The Comets do not have time to dwell on this loss as they face the Rochester Lancers tomorrow night at 6:00pm central. This is the first matchup between these two teams this season. The team then returns home for Military Appreciation Day on December 9th against the Chicago Soul.
FC Kansas City Logo Unveiled
While there's been no announcement on the coaching staff that we thought would be announced today, FC Kansas City did get their website up as well as their logo.
My initial reaction is that the logo is fairly generic. There's nothing that overly stands out from the logo to really draw you in. I saw a few people make comments about it being made in MS Paint or the logo of a local youth club, not a professional women's team. As a whole though it is simple, which is more than I can say for many soccer logos, so it does have that going for itself.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
News on Juniors, Sporting, Comets, and FCKC
First, this week's podcast is up for your listening pleasure, Thad and I discuss Roger Espinoza, Sporting's end of season awards, Aurelien Collin, the State of the League address, MLS Cup, the Comets, and FC KC. Enjoy on Posterous and iTunes.
College Cup
Starting tomorrow night, the College Cup quarterfinals kick off with 9th seed North Carolina hosting 16th seed Indiana. This starts a weekend of games that will get us to the final four held next weekend in Alabama. There's the potential of a future Sporting player or two on the field for the teams playing. There's also two teams still alive that have former Sporting Juniors players on their roster. One of those games takes place on Saturday the 1st. San Diego travels to play 3rd seeded Georgetown in their quarterfinal match up. Christian Duke is the former Sporting Junior on the roster. The Toreros are the only unseeded team still remaining in the tournament and have knocked off two seeded teams to get this far. First beating 6th seed UCLA two weeks ago 5-2, and then beating 11th seeded Tulsa 2-1. Duke has played all but 5 minutes for the Toreros in their run.
The other Juniors team still alive is Creighton, which boasts two former Juniors players in Eric De Julio and Chris Tuso. The 12th seeded Blue Jays beat Washington in the tournaments second round and then pulled off a big upset in the 3rd round, beating 5th seeded Akron (who had been ranked number 1 in the polls before the tournament) on penalty kicks behind a great performance from Jeff Gal. The Blue Jays will look to score another upset on Sunday when they take on 4th seeded Connecticut. Neither De Julio or Tuso have played a part so far in the Blue Jays tournament run. The final quarterfinal match up is on Saturday and features 2nd seeded Maryland hosting 10th seeded Louisville.
MLS MVP Vote
Today MLS announced their MVP and in a surprise to no one, it was Chris Wondolowski. It wasn't even close as Wondolowski won in a complete landslide taking 91.23% of the club vote, 96.97% of media vote, and 70.83% of player vote. Sporting's Graham Zusi finished 3rd in the voting, picking up 3.51% of the club vote, 0% of the media vote, and 3.13% of the player vote. Thierry Henry finished second with 0% of the club vote, 3.03% of the media vote, and 11.46% of the player vote.
Comets Add Another Forward
Ahead of a trip to upstate New York for games this weekend against Syracuse and Rochster, the Comets announced the signing of forward Stefan St. Louis. From Trinidad and Tobago, St. Louis is available for selection this weekend. To make room on the roster, the Comets did waive Danish forward, Kevin Jorgensen, who just was not getting the hang of the indoor game while trying to transition from futsal.
FC Kansas City Set to Announce Coaching Staff
In an interview with Equalizer Soccer, FCKC owner, Brian Budzinski stated that the team will be announcing their coaching staff on Friday. The team continues to move forward at a quick pace ahead of the start of the 2013 season. Also in the interview Budzinski states that venue selection is still a little ways off, but that the sites the team is looking at are all over 5,000 seats.
College Cup
Starting tomorrow night, the College Cup quarterfinals kick off with 9th seed North Carolina hosting 16th seed Indiana. This starts a weekend of games that will get us to the final four held next weekend in Alabama. There's the potential of a future Sporting player or two on the field for the teams playing. There's also two teams still alive that have former Sporting Juniors players on their roster. One of those games takes place on Saturday the 1st. San Diego travels to play 3rd seeded Georgetown in their quarterfinal match up. Christian Duke is the former Sporting Junior on the roster. The Toreros are the only unseeded team still remaining in the tournament and have knocked off two seeded teams to get this far. First beating 6th seed UCLA two weeks ago 5-2, and then beating 11th seeded Tulsa 2-1. Duke has played all but 5 minutes for the Toreros in their run.
The other Juniors team still alive is Creighton, which boasts two former Juniors players in Eric De Julio and Chris Tuso. The 12th seeded Blue Jays beat Washington in the tournaments second round and then pulled off a big upset in the 3rd round, beating 5th seeded Akron (who had been ranked number 1 in the polls before the tournament) on penalty kicks behind a great performance from Jeff Gal. The Blue Jays will look to score another upset on Sunday when they take on 4th seeded Connecticut. Neither De Julio or Tuso have played a part so far in the Blue Jays tournament run. The final quarterfinal match up is on Saturday and features 2nd seeded Maryland hosting 10th seeded Louisville.
MLS MVP Vote
Today MLS announced their MVP and in a surprise to no one, it was Chris Wondolowski. It wasn't even close as Wondolowski won in a complete landslide taking 91.23% of the club vote, 96.97% of media vote, and 70.83% of player vote. Sporting's Graham Zusi finished 3rd in the voting, picking up 3.51% of the club vote, 0% of the media vote, and 3.13% of the player vote. Thierry Henry finished second with 0% of the club vote, 3.03% of the media vote, and 11.46% of the player vote.
Comets Add Another Forward
Ahead of a trip to upstate New York for games this weekend against Syracuse and Rochster, the Comets announced the signing of forward Stefan St. Louis. From Trinidad and Tobago, St. Louis is available for selection this weekend. To make room on the roster, the Comets did waive Danish forward, Kevin Jorgensen, who just was not getting the hang of the indoor game while trying to transition from futsal.
FC Kansas City Set to Announce Coaching Staff
In an interview with Equalizer Soccer, FCKC owner, Brian Budzinski stated that the team will be announcing their coaching staff on Friday. The team continues to move forward at a quick pace ahead of the start of the 2013 season. Also in the interview Budzinski states that venue selection is still a little ways off, but that the sites the team is looking at are all over 5,000 seats.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Former SKC Wizards Update
Another week of former Wizards updates. Lots of news outside of games for former Wizards. Along with Roger Espinoza set to join the list of former Wizards, a number of former players are set to go into the reentry draft after being released from their MLS clubs. Shavar Thomas and Tyson Wahl were already going to be entering that, and 3 more players today joined that list. Will Hesmer, Khari Stephenson, and Kevin Hartman were all let go by their clubs. Stephenson and Hesmer were not overly surprising. Stephenson hadn't seen a lot of time for San Jose this year, while Hesmer was injured all last year and Andy Gruenebaum stepped up and proved to be a solid starter. Hartman though was surprising, but does give Dallas cap room to play with now. The other news regarding former Wizards is that Yura Movsisyan is being linked with a move to Spartak Moscow. Movsisyan has denied the rumors, but Movsisyan could possibly be on the move this winter. In other former Wizard news, Jamar Beasley has moved to Syracuse today, being traded by the Wichita Wings. Here's the rest of this week's update.
Active without a club or unknown
Stephane Auvray
Chris Brunt
Eloy Colombano
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Pablo Escobar
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Tom Gray
Willy Guadarrama
Kevin Hartman
Zoltan Hercegfalvi
Will Hesmer
Santiago Hirsig
Aaron Hohlbein
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Ryan McMahen
Anthony Noriega
Sergei Raad
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Khari Stephenson
Shavar Thomas
Ivan Trujillo
Tyson Wahl
Diego Walsh
Lance Watson
MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Offseason.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Offseason.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Chivas - Offseason.
Scott Sealy - Dallas - Offseason.
Ryan Smith - Chivas - Offseason.
NASL
Jose Burciaga - Atlanta - Offseason
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Offseason
Scott Lorenz - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Offseason
Luke Sassano - Carolina - Offseason
USL
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Offseason
Akeem Priestley - Dayton - Offseason
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason
John Wilson - Charleston - Offseason
PDL
Michael Kraus - FC Tucson - Offseason
NPSL
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Flash - Offseason
Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Syracuse Silver Knights - Played in Wichita's 15-8 loss to Baltimore.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Scored a goal in Baltimore's 15-8 win over Wichita. Played in Baltimore's 12-4 win over Missouri.
Will John - Comets - Played in Missouri's 12-4 loss to Baltimore.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Did not play in Missouri's 12-4 loss to Baltimore.
Craig Rocastle - Comets - Played in Missouri's 12-4 loss to Baltimore.
Paul Wright - San Diego - Did not play in San Diego's 14-4 win over Mexico.
International
Vicente Arze - R. Charleroi S.C. - Belgium - Did not dress in Charleroi's 1-0 loss to Club Brugge. Did not dress in Charleroi's 2-2 (4-2) PK loss to Zulte-Waregem in the cup.
Omar Bravo - Cruz Azul - Mexico - No game this week.
Sunil Chhetri - Sporting Clube de Portugal B - Portugal - Tied Feirense 2-2.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - No game this week.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - No gmae this week.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - No game this week.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Scored a goal in Harbour View's 1-1 draw with Tivoli Gardens.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Did not dress in Bahia's 1-1 draw with Nautico.
Mike Jones - FC Hjorring - Denmark - Did not dress in Hjorring's 5-0 win over Fyn.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - Started and played 90 minutes in Triaspol's 1-1 draw with Costuleni. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Tiraspol's 1-0 win over Academia UTM.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Started and played 68 minutes in San Martin's 2-0 win over Sport Huancayo.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Did not play in Krasnodar's 3-2 loss to Lokomotiv Moscow.
Michal Mravec - FC Emmen - Netherlands - Did not dress in Emmen's 3-2 loss to Volendam.
Pablo Punyed - Fjolnir - Iceland - Offseason
Milos Stojcev - FC Akzhayik - Kazakhstan - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes, picking up a red card in stoppage time of Munster's 1-0 loss to Babelsberg.
Active without a club or unknown
Stephane Auvray
Chris Brunt
Eloy Colombano
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Pablo Escobar
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Tom Gray
Willy Guadarrama
Kevin Hartman
Zoltan Hercegfalvi
Will Hesmer
Santiago Hirsig
Aaron Hohlbein
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Ryan McMahen
Anthony Noriega
Sergei Raad
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Khari Stephenson
Shavar Thomas
Ivan Trujillo
Tyson Wahl
Diego Walsh
Lance Watson
MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Offseason.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Offseason.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Chivas - Offseason.
Scott Sealy - Dallas - Offseason.
Ryan Smith - Chivas - Offseason.
NASL
Jose Burciaga - Atlanta - Offseason
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Offseason
Scott Lorenz - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Offseason
Luke Sassano - Carolina - Offseason
USL
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Offseason
Akeem Priestley - Dayton - Offseason
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason
John Wilson - Charleston - Offseason
PDL
Michael Kraus - FC Tucson - Offseason
NPSL
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Flash - Offseason
Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Syracuse Silver Knights - Played in Wichita's 15-8 loss to Baltimore.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Scored a goal in Baltimore's 15-8 win over Wichita. Played in Baltimore's 12-4 win over Missouri.
Will John - Comets - Played in Missouri's 12-4 loss to Baltimore.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Did not play in Missouri's 12-4 loss to Baltimore.
Craig Rocastle - Comets - Played in Missouri's 12-4 loss to Baltimore.
Paul Wright - San Diego - Did not play in San Diego's 14-4 win over Mexico.
International
Vicente Arze - R. Charleroi S.C. - Belgium - Did not dress in Charleroi's 1-0 loss to Club Brugge. Did not dress in Charleroi's 2-2 (4-2) PK loss to Zulte-Waregem in the cup.
Omar Bravo - Cruz Azul - Mexico - No game this week.
Sunil Chhetri - Sporting Clube de Portugal B - Portugal - Tied Feirense 2-2.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - No game this week.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - No gmae this week.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - No game this week.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Scored a goal in Harbour View's 1-1 draw with Tivoli Gardens.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Did not dress in Bahia's 1-1 draw with Nautico.
Mike Jones - FC Hjorring - Denmark - Did not dress in Hjorring's 5-0 win over Fyn.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - Started and played 90 minutes in Triaspol's 1-1 draw with Costuleni. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Tiraspol's 1-0 win over Academia UTM.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Started and played 68 minutes in San Martin's 2-0 win over Sport Huancayo.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Did not play in Krasnodar's 3-2 loss to Lokomotiv Moscow.
Michal Mravec - FC Emmen - Netherlands - Did not dress in Emmen's 3-2 loss to Volendam.
Pablo Punyed - Fjolnir - Iceland - Offseason
Milos Stojcev - FC Akzhayik - Kazakhstan - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes, picking up a red card in stoppage time of Munster's 1-0 loss to Babelsberg.
Nielsen Named Goalkeeper of the Year
After the Best XI were announced on Monday, this award was pretty much a given, but today, Jimmy Nielsen was named MLS' Goalkeeper of the Year in a landslide victory. The player being touted as his biggest Michael Gspurning finished a distant third, much to the surprise I'm sure of Sigi Schmid who was calling for him to be named the goalkeeper of the year earlier this year. In fact even runner up, Dan Kennedy finished far behind Nielsen in the voting. Nielsen finished with 49.12% of the vote from clubs, Kennedy and Gspurning both finished with 12.28 percent of the vote. In the media vote it was even further, Nielsen finished with 70.77% of the vote while second place Kennedy had 3.08% and Gspurning finished with 4.61%. Fifth place Andy Gruenebaum was the closest of the top 5 with 9.23%. In player vote Nielsen again won easily getting 26.44% of the vote compared to Kennedy's 14.94% and Gspurning's 11.49%.
That brings KC's awards total to 6 with Nielsen's goalkeeper of the year joining Matt Besler's defender of the year, and Nielsen and Besler being named to the Best XI with Aurelien Collin and Graham Zusi. KC also had Kei Kamara finish runner up in Humanitarian of the Year and Peter Vermes finishing runner up on the Coach of the Year ballot. The last award for KC is Zusi up against Chris Wondolowski and Thierry Henry for MVP.
That brings KC's awards total to 6 with Nielsen's goalkeeper of the year joining Matt Besler's defender of the year, and Nielsen and Besler being named to the Best XI with Aurelien Collin and Graham Zusi. KC also had Kei Kamara finish runner up in Humanitarian of the Year and Peter Vermes finishing runner up on the Coach of the Year ballot. The last award for KC is Zusi up against Chris Wondolowski and Thierry Henry for MVP.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Vermes and Collin News
Some news tonight involving Sporting KC's head coach Peter Vermes and central defender Aurelien Collin.
First KC's head coach. Today MLS announced the coach of the year award winner. Vermes finished second in the voting, but in a very distant second to winner Frank Yallop of the San Jose Earthquakes. Yallop finished with 74.14% of the club vote, 63.83% of the media vote, and 58.06% of the player vote. Compared to Vermes who finished with 10.34% of club vote, 10.61% of media vote, and 6.45% of player vote. Not incredibly surprising for that, Yallop took San Jose from not making the playoffs last year to the Supporters' Shield winner this year. While Vermes had a strong season, it couldn't really compete with Yallop's.
As for Sporting's French center back, it's good news. Collin announced the following on Twitter today:
More good news for KC as they have another open international spot with Collin having gotten his green card. Combine this with the release of Neven Markovic, and Sporting now have only 3 internationals on their roster, Korede Aiyegbusi, Peterson Joseph, and Oriol Rosell. Leaving Sporting with 5 open international spots (the spot that Sporting traded to San Jose for Bobby Convey was only for one year). With KC looking for a goal scorer have a number of international spots open isn't a bad thing.
First KC's head coach. Today MLS announced the coach of the year award winner. Vermes finished second in the voting, but in a very distant second to winner Frank Yallop of the San Jose Earthquakes. Yallop finished with 74.14% of the club vote, 63.83% of the media vote, and 58.06% of the player vote. Compared to Vermes who finished with 10.34% of club vote, 10.61% of media vote, and 6.45% of player vote. Not incredibly surprising for that, Yallop took San Jose from not making the playoffs last year to the Supporters' Shield winner this year. While Vermes had a strong season, it couldn't really compete with Yallop's.
As for Sporting's French center back, it's good news. Collin announced the following on Twitter today:
I have finally received at home my green card thank u very much for the hard work ofVersfeld & Hugo immigration services. Hello USA lol
— Aurelien COLLIN (@ampC2) November 27, 2012
More good news for KC as they have another open international spot with Collin having gotten his green card. Combine this with the release of Neven Markovic, and Sporting now have only 3 internationals on their roster, Korede Aiyegbusi, Peterson Joseph, and Oriol Rosell. Leaving Sporting with 5 open international spots (the spot that Sporting traded to San Jose for Bobby Convey was only for one year). With KC looking for a goal scorer have a number of international spots open isn't a bad thing.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Four Sporting Players Named to Best XI
Today during the State of the League address, Don Garber announced this year's Best XI team as voted on by teams, media, and players. Sporting KC ended up leading the way in players selected for the team with 4. San Jose and LA each had 2, while New York, DC, and Seattle all had 1. KC's four consisted of KC's goalkeeper of the year finalist, Jimmy Nielsen, their two defender of the year nominees, Matt Besler and Aurelien Collin, and MVP finalist Graham Zusi.
Nielsen's selection likely means that he's also been selected as goalkeeper of the year this year. Nielsen played every minute this season for KC in league play. And played all but 90 minutes in all competitions, only missing KC's 3-2 win over Orlando in the US Open Cup. Nielsen had 15 shutouts, one short of a league and team record. He also set team records for non-shootout wins with 18 and goals against average with .79
Besler coming off winning defender of the year played in 31 of KC's 34 league games and plenty of Nielsen's stats can be seen as a helping hand for Nielsen as well. Collin is like Besler in that regard, while Collin helped to anchor the back like for 29 games this year.
Zusi led MLS in assists this year with 15 and added in 5 goals to his total as well. Zusi also established himself as a regular call up for the national team this year as well. A very strong season for Zusi.
The rest of the roster saw Victor Bernardez and Chris Wondolowski from San Jose, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane from LA, Thierry Henry from New York, Chris Pontius from DC, and Osvaldo Alonso from Seattle.
Nielsen's selection likely means that he's also been selected as goalkeeper of the year this year. Nielsen played every minute this season for KC in league play. And played all but 90 minutes in all competitions, only missing KC's 3-2 win over Orlando in the US Open Cup. Nielsen had 15 shutouts, one short of a league and team record. He also set team records for non-shootout wins with 18 and goals against average with .79
Besler coming off winning defender of the year played in 31 of KC's 34 league games and plenty of Nielsen's stats can be seen as a helping hand for Nielsen as well. Collin is like Besler in that regard, while Collin helped to anchor the back like for 29 games this year.
Zusi led MLS in assists this year with 15 and added in 5 goals to his total as well. Zusi also established himself as a regular call up for the national team this year as well. A very strong season for Zusi.
The rest of the roster saw Victor Bernardez and Chris Wondolowski from San Jose, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane from LA, Thierry Henry from New York, Chris Pontius from DC, and Osvaldo Alonso from Seattle.
Espinoza Headed to Wigan
Word earlier tonight from Grant Wahl on Twitter is that Roger Espinoza is one step closer to leaving Kansas City for England and Wigan Athletic. Wahl posted that Espinoza is on his way to England for a physical with the Greater Manchester club. The news is confirmed by his agent in this article from Honduran sports site, Diez. Comments from Robb Heineman and Peter Vermes confirm the departure of Espinoza from Kansas City. For those that don't know, the physical is usually the last step in the process before signing a contract with a club. With Espinoza on a free he can sign at any time, but will not be eligible to play until the January transfer window opens up.
This move was coming, especially after his solid performance in the Olympics. He was already a target of teams abroad before hand, but his play in the London games catapulted him into the eyes of English teams more so. It'll certainly be a sad moment for lots of KC fans who have gone from calling him "Roger the Red" and "Red Card Roger" after he picked up two red cards in back to back appearances to seeing him as one of the most important pieces of the team. One thing is that since Espinoza is leaving on a free and Sporting KC made a "bona fide" offer on him, KC will retain his MLS rights should he return to the league in the future.
Espinoza is set to become the third former KC player to play for an English Premier League side, joining Richard Gough and Eddie Johnson. He'll be only the second (after Johnson) to not start his career outside the US.
Espinoza will finish his Sporting KC career having scored 2 goals, and 11 assists in league play (he added another assist in all competitions). He played in 130 games in all competitions for KC, good for a tie for 16th all time with Jose Burciaga and Uche Okafor. Of those 106 of them were starts, good for 18th all time. In league play he finished with 113 appearances, good for 18th and 93 starts, tying him with Mark Chung for 20th. Espinoza finished with 8,250 minutes in league play and 9,602 in all competitions, good for 19th on that list. He'll finish his KC career with 4 red cards in league play, 5 in all competitions tying him with Davy Arnaud on both lists behind Nick Garcia.
Espinoza also leaves KC as the most capped foreign international while playing with KC. He finishes his KC career with 25 caps and 3 goals for his national team while playing for KC. Only Josh Wolff, Jimmy Conrad, and Preki appeared more for their national team while representing Kansas City.
This move was coming, especially after his solid performance in the Olympics. He was already a target of teams abroad before hand, but his play in the London games catapulted him into the eyes of English teams more so. It'll certainly be a sad moment for lots of KC fans who have gone from calling him "Roger the Red" and "Red Card Roger" after he picked up two red cards in back to back appearances to seeing him as one of the most important pieces of the team. One thing is that since Espinoza is leaving on a free and Sporting KC made a "bona fide" offer on him, KC will retain his MLS rights should he return to the league in the future.
Espinoza is set to become the third former KC player to play for an English Premier League side, joining Richard Gough and Eddie Johnson. He'll be only the second (after Johnson) to not start his career outside the US.
Espinoza will finish his Sporting KC career having scored 2 goals, and 11 assists in league play (he added another assist in all competitions). He played in 130 games in all competitions for KC, good for a tie for 16th all time with Jose Burciaga and Uche Okafor. Of those 106 of them were starts, good for 18th all time. In league play he finished with 113 appearances, good for 18th and 93 starts, tying him with Mark Chung for 20th. Espinoza finished with 8,250 minutes in league play and 9,602 in all competitions, good for 19th on that list. He'll finish his KC career with 4 red cards in league play, 5 in all competitions tying him with Davy Arnaud on both lists behind Nick Garcia.
Espinoza also leaves KC as the most capped foreign international while playing with KC. He finishes his KC career with 25 caps and 3 goals for his national team while playing for KC. Only Josh Wolff, Jimmy Conrad, and Preki appeared more for their national team while representing Kansas City.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Vermes' Subbing Policy
As the season ran on, there were plenty of comments from KC fans that lamented the lack of subbing that was done by Peter Vermes in games. Fans felt that the lack of substitutions led to tired legs that were unable to help carry the team through the playoffs. This was especially true considering Kansas City had touted the depth that the team had early in the season as one of the advantages of the squad.
With that in mind I took a look at the subbing done by Vermes throughout the season. And overall there were a few things that stood out in regards to his strategy.
During the season in all competitions, KC made 100 of a possible 123 substitutions in their 41 games, averaging 2.44 per game. The average substitution taking place just after the 73rd.
The first thing I looked at was KC's subbing before and after the US Open Cup final. For me this felt like the tipping point of the subbing, it seemed like KC subbed less after the final. With the extra competition going on, one would expect a bit more subbing when KC had the other competition that they were also dealing with. After the final against the Seattle Sounders I expected a drop off in the number of subs with less competitions. On the other hand you could think it would stay close, especially with KC clinching a playoff spot early. Overall, before the US Open Cup final Sporting KC played 27 games in all competitions, making 73 subs for an average of 2.7 subs per game. I also looked at the average time that subs were made. Before the Open Cup final, the average sub was just before the 71st minute. I also looked at the first sub the team made each game before the final and it was just after the 57th minute. When I took out the first half subs (injury subs) that jumped to just after the 64th minute. After the Open Cup, Sporting played 13 games in the league and playoffs. The subbing dropped fairly dramatically, KC averaged only 1.92 subs per game after the final, with the average sub being made closer to the 79th minute. Looking at KC's first sub of each game, it averaged just after the 68th minute, but once again, removing the injury subs in the first half the first sub is around the 77th minute.
I also took a look at the subbing after forward Teal Bunbury got injured since him and CJ Sapong were subbed for one another quite regularly during the season. After the Bunbury injury, KC's subbing fell to 1.9 subs per game with the subs coming just before the 80th minute, as a not much different than KC's subbing before the USOC Final. The average first sub around the 75th minute.
The next thing I looked at was Sporting's subbing in wins, losses and draws. One might expect in losses that you'd see more subs as KC tried to change things up to affect the result of the game. This one turned out to be true, in KC's 23 wins in all competitions, KC made an average of 2.43 subs per game, usually just after the 72nd minute. In their 10 draws in all competitions, KC averaged a few less, 2.2 per game but those subs were later, close to the 88th minute for the average sub. My original premise held true for losses, as KC averaged 2.75 subs per game in games they lost. The subs also came earlier than in wins or draws, the subs coming before the 62nd minute.
The final thing I looked at was subbing at home vs on the road. I figured that we'd see more subbing on the road, and later, especially with KC's road record as KC would look to keep a result. What I found didn't live up to that. While KC did average more subs on the road it wasn't a lot more, averaging 2.63 compared to 2.27 at home. Timing wise it wasn't much different either as subs in away games was just before the 74th minute while for home games it was just before the 73rd.
Overall you definitely see a difference in Vermes' substitution strategy after the US Open Cup, using less subs and substituting later. We also see more, and earlier substitutions in games that KC ended up losing vs wins and draws. While KC didn't use a lot of subs, that leads to another question, and that's whether KC really had the depth that could really make changes? Injuries to Teal Bunbury, Jacob Peterson, and Bobby Convey limited their times and left KC with fewer options on the bench. Offensively, Soony Saad and Dom Dwyer played limited minutes and neither scored a league goal, while Saad had 2 in the US Open Cup. In the midfield, Peterson Joseph was probably the most offensive minded midfielder on the bench and his minutes were limited as well. Looking back on it it doesn't appear that KC had the depth they claimed to have. The depth, or the use of the depth is going to have to improve greatly next year when KC participates in the CONCACAF Champions' League.
With that in mind I took a look at the subbing done by Vermes throughout the season. And overall there were a few things that stood out in regards to his strategy.
During the season in all competitions, KC made 100 of a possible 123 substitutions in their 41 games, averaging 2.44 per game. The average substitution taking place just after the 73rd.
The first thing I looked at was KC's subbing before and after the US Open Cup final. For me this felt like the tipping point of the subbing, it seemed like KC subbed less after the final. With the extra competition going on, one would expect a bit more subbing when KC had the other competition that they were also dealing with. After the final against the Seattle Sounders I expected a drop off in the number of subs with less competitions. On the other hand you could think it would stay close, especially with KC clinching a playoff spot early. Overall, before the US Open Cup final Sporting KC played 27 games in all competitions, making 73 subs for an average of 2.7 subs per game. I also looked at the average time that subs were made. Before the Open Cup final, the average sub was just before the 71st minute. I also looked at the first sub the team made each game before the final and it was just after the 57th minute. When I took out the first half subs (injury subs) that jumped to just after the 64th minute. After the Open Cup, Sporting played 13 games in the league and playoffs. The subbing dropped fairly dramatically, KC averaged only 1.92 subs per game after the final, with the average sub being made closer to the 79th minute. Looking at KC's first sub of each game, it averaged just after the 68th minute, but once again, removing the injury subs in the first half the first sub is around the 77th minute.
I also took a look at the subbing after forward Teal Bunbury got injured since him and CJ Sapong were subbed for one another quite regularly during the season. After the Bunbury injury, KC's subbing fell to 1.9 subs per game with the subs coming just before the 80th minute, as a not much different than KC's subbing before the USOC Final. The average first sub around the 75th minute.
The next thing I looked at was Sporting's subbing in wins, losses and draws. One might expect in losses that you'd see more subs as KC tried to change things up to affect the result of the game. This one turned out to be true, in KC's 23 wins in all competitions, KC made an average of 2.43 subs per game, usually just after the 72nd minute. In their 10 draws in all competitions, KC averaged a few less, 2.2 per game but those subs were later, close to the 88th minute for the average sub. My original premise held true for losses, as KC averaged 2.75 subs per game in games they lost. The subs also came earlier than in wins or draws, the subs coming before the 62nd minute.
The final thing I looked at was subbing at home vs on the road. I figured that we'd see more subbing on the road, and later, especially with KC's road record as KC would look to keep a result. What I found didn't live up to that. While KC did average more subs on the road it wasn't a lot more, averaging 2.63 compared to 2.27 at home. Timing wise it wasn't much different either as subs in away games was just before the 74th minute while for home games it was just before the 73rd.
Overall you definitely see a difference in Vermes' substitution strategy after the US Open Cup, using less subs and substituting later. We also see more, and earlier substitutions in games that KC ended up losing vs wins and draws. While KC didn't use a lot of subs, that leads to another question, and that's whether KC really had the depth that could really make changes? Injuries to Teal Bunbury, Jacob Peterson, and Bobby Convey limited their times and left KC with fewer options on the bench. Offensively, Soony Saad and Dom Dwyer played limited minutes and neither scored a league goal, while Saad had 2 in the US Open Cup. In the midfield, Peterson Joseph was probably the most offensive minded midfielder on the bench and his minutes were limited as well. Looking back on it it doesn't appear that KC had the depth they claimed to have. The depth, or the use of the depth is going to have to improve greatly next year when KC participates in the CONCACAF Champions' League.
Comets Fall to Blast
For the first time this season, the Missouri Comets suffered a loss. This one at the hands of the Baltimore Blast 12-4. The first quarter saw both teams playing some very good defense as neither side was able to find the net. Into the second quarter, the two teams still had trouble breaking down the opposition, but finally in the 9th minute of the second quarter the Blast broke through and the flood gates started to open. In a 3 minute span, the Blast made it 6-0. First Machel Millwood finished off a turning side volley. Then Adriano Dos Santos had a simple finish after Adauto Neto danced past the Missouri defense. The third goal came from Agustino Nunez on another turning side volley that beat Danny Waltman. The Comets went into the half down 6-0.
Early in the second half the Comets finally got on the board through Vahid Assadpour. Off a restart, Assadpour found a hole between the wall and goalkeeper Tony Hernandez to make it 6-2. Overall it was the only foot wrong that Hernandez made all night. The Blast keeper played fantastic all night keeping the Comets out of the net for the most part. Around the midpoint of the half, the Blast restored their 6 point lead through Max Ferdinand. Of a Blast restart, the Comets couldn't clear their lines and Michael Lookingland picked out Ferdinand who made it 8-2. Late in the quarter the Blast made it 10-2 through Nunez. Ferdinand turned Coady Andrews and Waltman inside out before laying the ball off to Nunez who had an easy finish.
Into the fourth quarter the Comets pushed the game, but the Blast struck on the counter just over a minute into the quarter. Lucas Roque played a cross into the middle of the box and Nunez just wanted the ball more than Ryan Junge and Nunez headed it in to make it 12-2. Shortly after that, the Comets brought on Assadpour in the 6th attacker role for the majority of the quarter. The Comets maintained the majority of the possession in the Blast's defensive third, but really struggled to create chances. And when they did create good chances, Hernandez was there to make some very good saves. Just before the 10th minute of the quarter Pat Healey got called for a handball in the box. Byron Alvarez stepped up and buried the PK, but it was as close as the Comets got as the game ended 12-4.
Early in the second half the Comets finally got on the board through Vahid Assadpour. Off a restart, Assadpour found a hole between the wall and goalkeeper Tony Hernandez to make it 6-2. Overall it was the only foot wrong that Hernandez made all night. The Blast keeper played fantastic all night keeping the Comets out of the net for the most part. Around the midpoint of the half, the Blast restored their 6 point lead through Max Ferdinand. Of a Blast restart, the Comets couldn't clear their lines and Michael Lookingland picked out Ferdinand who made it 8-2. Late in the quarter the Blast made it 10-2 through Nunez. Ferdinand turned Coady Andrews and Waltman inside out before laying the ball off to Nunez who had an easy finish.
Into the fourth quarter the Comets pushed the game, but the Blast struck on the counter just over a minute into the quarter. Lucas Roque played a cross into the middle of the box and Nunez just wanted the ball more than Ryan Junge and Nunez headed it in to make it 12-2. Shortly after that, the Comets brought on Assadpour in the 6th attacker role for the majority of the quarter. The Comets maintained the majority of the possession in the Blast's defensive third, but really struggled to create chances. And when they did create good chances, Hernandez was there to make some very good saves. Just before the 10th minute of the quarter Pat Healey got called for a handball in the box. Byron Alvarez stepped up and buried the PK, but it was as close as the Comets got as the game ended 12-4.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Two NCAA Teams with Former Juniors Still Alive
With the second weekend of the men's NCAA Division 1 soccer tournament set to kick off this weekend, 2 teams with former Juniors on their rosters are still alive in the tournament. Christian Duke and San Diego and Eric De Julio and Chris Tuso at Creighton.
Duke and San Diego won their first round match up over Cal State Northridge in extra time after tying 1-1 through regulation. Duke played the entire 103 minutes of the game in defense for the Toreros. In the second round, San Diego faced off against traditional power, UCLA. After a 1-1 first half, the two teams traded goals inside the first 10 minutes of the second half. San Diego then went on to score 3 straight without reply to win 5-2. San Diego advances to the next round where they'll play another seeded team, Tulsa, who beat South Florida 1-0.
As a seeded team, Creighton got a bye into the second round of the tournament facing the University of Washington. Neither De Julio or Tuso played for Creighton in their second round match up against the Huskies as Creighton came away 4-2 winners after it being level 1-1 early in the second half. Like Duke and San Diego, Creighton will likely be underdogs in their game on Sunday when they'll travel to take on the Akron Zips in the third round.
Derek Schrick and SMU went out in the first round of the tournament on penalty kicks to Winthrop. After a late equalizer for Winthrop sent the game to overtime. Schrick though did not play for SMU. Raymond Lee and Alex Sweetin both played for Saint Louis in their match up against Fairleigh Dickinson, but the Billikens fell 2-1 to the Knights as Saint Louis was the second highest seed to fall in the second round.
Good luck to the Juniors in their games this weekend.
Duke and San Diego won their first round match up over Cal State Northridge in extra time after tying 1-1 through regulation. Duke played the entire 103 minutes of the game in defense for the Toreros. In the second round, San Diego faced off against traditional power, UCLA. After a 1-1 first half, the two teams traded goals inside the first 10 minutes of the second half. San Diego then went on to score 3 straight without reply to win 5-2. San Diego advances to the next round where they'll play another seeded team, Tulsa, who beat South Florida 1-0.
As a seeded team, Creighton got a bye into the second round of the tournament facing the University of Washington. Neither De Julio or Tuso played for Creighton in their second round match up against the Huskies as Creighton came away 4-2 winners after it being level 1-1 early in the second half. Like Duke and San Diego, Creighton will likely be underdogs in their game on Sunday when they'll travel to take on the Akron Zips in the third round.
Derek Schrick and SMU went out in the first round of the tournament on penalty kicks to Winthrop. After a late equalizer for Winthrop sent the game to overtime. Schrick though did not play for SMU. Raymond Lee and Alex Sweetin both played for Saint Louis in their match up against Fairleigh Dickinson, but the Billikens fell 2-1 to the Knights as Saint Louis was the second highest seed to fall in the second round.
Good luck to the Juniors in their games this weekend.
Former SKC Wizards Update
Late, but here's your former SKC Wizards update.
Active without a club or unknown
Stephane Auvray
Chris Brunt
Eloy Colombano
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Pablo Escobar
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Tom Gray
Willy Guadarrama
Zoltan Hercegfalvi
Santiago Hirsig
Aaron Hohlbein
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Ryan McMahen
Anthony Noriega
Sergei Raad
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Ivan Trujillo
Diego Walsh
Lance Watson
MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Offseason.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Offseason.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Seattle's 2-1 win over LA.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Chivas - Offseason.
Scott Sealy - Dallas - Offseason.
Ryan Smith - Chivas - Offseason.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Offseason
Shavar Thomas - Montreal - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Colorado - Offseason.
Josh Wolff - DC - Did not dress in DC's 1-1 draw with Houston.
NASL
Jose Burciaga - Atlanta - Offseason
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Offseason
Scott Lorenz - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Offseason
Luke Sassano - Carolina - Offseason
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason
USL
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Offseason
Akeem Priestley - Dayton - Offseason
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason
John Wilson - Charleston - Offseason
PDL
Michael Kraus - FC Tucson - Offseason
NPSL
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Flash - Offseason
Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Wichita Wings - Did not play in the Wings' 8-6 win over Syracuse.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Had an assist in Baltimore's 15-4 win over Milwaukee. Had a goal and an assist in Baltimore's 17-11 win over Rochester.
Will John - Comets - Scored a goal in the Comets 17-10 win over Syracuse.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Did not play in the Comets' 17-10 win over Syracuse.
Craig Rocastle - Comets - Started and played 65 minutes in Grenada's 2-1 win over Guyana. Started and played 90 minutes in Grenada's 2-0 loss to Haiti.
Paul Wright - San Diego - Did not play in San Diego's 18-3 win over Arizona.
International
Vicente Arze - R. Charleroi S.C. - Did not play in Charleroi's 1-1 draw with Mechelen.
Omar Bravo - Cruz Azul - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 20 minutes in Cruz Azul's 3-0 loss to Leon.
Sunil Chhetri - Sporting Clube de Portugal B - Portugal - No game this week.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - No game this week.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - No game this week.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - No game this week.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Tied Montego Bay 0-0. Scored 2 goals in HArbour View's 7-0 win over Savannah.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Did not play in Bahia's 1-0 win over Ponte Preta.
Mike Jones - FC Hjorring - Denmark - Dressed but did not play in Hjorring's 0-0 draw with Vestsjaelland.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - Started and played 90 minutes in Tiraspol's 0-0 draw with Dacia.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Did not dress in San Martin's 2-1 win over Cobresol.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Did not dress in Krasnodar's 3-0 win over Terek Grozny.
Michal Mravec - FC Emmen - Netherlands - Did not dress in Emmen's 2-2 draw with Eindhoven.
Pablo Punyed - Fjolnir - Iceland - Offseason
Milos Stojcev - FC Akzhayik - Kazakhstan - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Munster's 0-0 draw with Unterhaching.
Active without a club or unknown
Stephane Auvray
Chris Brunt
Eloy Colombano
Doug DeMartin
Birahim Diop
Pablo Escobar
Mauro Fuzetti
AJ Godbolt
Tom Gray
Willy Guadarrama
Zoltan Hercegfalvi
Santiago Hirsig
Aaron Hohlbein
Neal Kitson
Jonathan Leathers
Ryan McMahen
Anthony Noriega
Sergei Raad
Ofori Sarkodie
Sam Scales
Ivan Trujillo
Diego Walsh
Lance Watson
MLS
Davy Arnaud - Montreal - Offseason.
Luis Gil - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Kevin Hartman - Dallas - Offseason.
Will Hesmer - Columbus - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Eddie Johnson - Seattle - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Seattle's 2-1 win over LA.
Chris Konopka - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Chivas - Offseason.
Scott Sealy - Dallas - Offseason.
Ryan Smith - Chivas - Offseason.
Khari Stephenson - San Jose - Offseason
Shavar Thomas - Montreal - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Colorado - Offseason.
Josh Wolff - DC - Did not dress in DC's 1-1 draw with Houston.
NASL
Jose Burciaga - Atlanta - Offseason
Kevin Friedland - Minnesota - Offseason
Scott Lorenz - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason
Amir Lowery - Carolina - Offseason
Luke Sassano - Carolina - Offseason
Abe Thompson - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason
USL
Edson Elcock - Richmond - Offseason
Akeem Priestley - Dayton - Offseason
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason
John Wilson - Charleston - Offseason
PDL
Michael Kraus - FC Tucson - Offseason
NPSL
Nelson Pizarro - San Diego Flash - Offseason
Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Wichita Wings - Did not play in the Wings' 8-6 win over Syracuse.
Pat Healey - Baltimore Blast - Had an assist in Baltimore's 15-4 win over Milwaukee. Had a goal and an assist in Baltimore's 17-11 win over Rochester.
Will John - Comets - Scored a goal in the Comets 17-10 win over Syracuse.
Boris Pardo - Comets - Did not play in the Comets' 17-10 win over Syracuse.
Craig Rocastle - Comets - Started and played 65 minutes in Grenada's 2-1 win over Guyana. Started and played 90 minutes in Grenada's 2-0 loss to Haiti.
Paul Wright - San Diego - Did not play in San Diego's 18-3 win over Arizona.
International
Vicente Arze - R. Charleroi S.C. - Did not play in Charleroi's 1-1 draw with Mechelen.
Omar Bravo - Cruz Azul - Mexico - Came off the bench and played 20 minutes in Cruz Azul's 3-0 loss to Leon.
Sunil Chhetri - Sporting Clube de Portugal B - Portugal - No game this week.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - No game this week.
Gary Glasgow - North East Stars - Trinidad - No game this week.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Mexico - No game this week.
Jermaine Hue - Harbour View - Jamaica - Tied Montego Bay 0-0. Scored 2 goals in HArbour View's 7-0 win over Savannah.
Jeferson - Bahia - Brazil - Did not play in Bahia's 1-0 win over Ponte Preta.
Mike Jones - FC Hjorring - Denmark - Dressed but did not play in Hjorring's 0-0 draw with Vestsjaelland.
Igor Kostrov - FC Tiraspol - Moldova - Started and played 90 minutes in Tiraspol's 0-0 draw with Dacia.
Carlos Marinelli - Universidad San Martin - Peru - Did not dress in San Martin's 2-1 win over Cobresol.
Yura Movsisyan - FC Krasnodar - Russia - Did not dress in Krasnodar's 3-0 win over Terek Grozny.
Michal Mravec - FC Emmen - Netherlands - Did not dress in Emmen's 2-2 draw with Eindhoven.
Pablo Punyed - Fjolnir - Iceland - Offseason
Milos Stojcev - FC Akzhayik - Kazakhstan - Offseason.
Matt Taylor - Preußen Münster - Germany - Started and played 90 minutes in Munster's 0-0 draw with Unterhaching.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Let the Rumors of New Players Begin
When Sporting is out of season it seems like there's always more news out there than during the season, specifically with rumors of players coming in or possibly leaving. Today the rumor is of a trialist out of South Africa that is going to be coming to KC. Word is that South African international, Elrio van Heerden is going to come to KC on trial. The 29 year old van Heerden has spent the majority of his career in Europe, playing in Denmark, Belgium, and Turkey before most recently playing with Lamontville Golden Arrows of the South African league. The midfielder has appeared 37 times for his country, scoring 3 goals, including playing in two African Cup of Nations and the Confederations Cup in 2009.
Honestly I'd never heard of this guy before, which is usually par for the course on players that KC is bringing in to trial with the team. Below are some highlights I found online of van Heerden.
Honestly I'd never heard of this guy before, which is usually par for the course on players that KC is bringing in to trial with the team. Below are some highlights I found online of van Heerden.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
FC Kansas City, the New Women's Team in Town
Today US Soccer held their press conference on the new women's league being established in the United States and after the announcement we learned the name of the Kansas City team, FC Kansas City, "The Blues."
Kansas City will be one of 8 teams in the league, the Chicago Red Stars, Boston Breakers, Western New York Flash, DC United women, Sky Blue FC, Portland, and Seattle. The league will kick off this spring. According to a release from the Seattle team, the schedule will apparently be 22 games, playing each team 3 times and 1 more against what would be considered a "rival" so for KC this will probably be Chicago. The season is set to start around the March/April time frame and go into September/October. Many of the rest of the rules of the league are still being ironed out, but the federations and owners wanted to get the word out.
The league is a join venture between the USSF, CSA, and FMF to help build all 3 of the countries' national teams. As part of that, the federations will offer support in regards to some of the salaries. The USSF will cover salaries for up to 24 US players, the Canadians up to 16, and Mexico will pay for at least 12. From listening in on the press conference today, it sounds like the majority of the contracts will not be full time, instead players will likely need offseason or second jobs to help along with their league salaries.
US Soccer will be the ones that will be footing the bill and running the, as yet unnamed, league. Right now the plan is for teams to play in smaller venues, for example, Chicago will not play at Toyota Park and Boston will not play at Harvard. As for the Blues, their hunt for a stadium is apparently down to 4 locations, one of which actually is Livestrong Sporting Park. While the national team drew well there, I'm weary of how a professional women's team will draw there. I have to wonder if locations like UMKC and Park are being considered as well in the process.
Kansas City will be one of 8 teams in the league, the Chicago Red Stars, Boston Breakers, Western New York Flash, DC United women, Sky Blue FC, Portland, and Seattle. The league will kick off this spring. According to a release from the Seattle team, the schedule will apparently be 22 games, playing each team 3 times and 1 more against what would be considered a "rival" so for KC this will probably be Chicago. The season is set to start around the March/April time frame and go into September/October. Many of the rest of the rules of the league are still being ironed out, but the federations and owners wanted to get the word out.
The league is a join venture between the USSF, CSA, and FMF to help build all 3 of the countries' national teams. As part of that, the federations will offer support in regards to some of the salaries. The USSF will cover salaries for up to 24 US players, the Canadians up to 16, and Mexico will pay for at least 12. From listening in on the press conference today, it sounds like the majority of the contracts will not be full time, instead players will likely need offseason or second jobs to help along with their league salaries.
US Soccer will be the ones that will be footing the bill and running the, as yet unnamed, league. Right now the plan is for teams to play in smaller venues, for example, Chicago will not play at Toyota Park and Boston will not play at Harvard. As for the Blues, their hunt for a stadium is apparently down to 4 locations, one of which actually is Livestrong Sporting Park. While the national team drew well there, I'm weary of how a professional women's team will draw there. I have to wonder if locations like UMKC and Park are being considered as well in the process.
Besler Has Options Overseas
The offseason news just keeps getting better for Sporting KC fans. First the assumption that Roger Espinoza is going to be leaving Kansas City in the January window, potentially to the EPL and Wigan Athletic. Now we hear today that Matt Besler has been contacted by European clubs in an interview on Sports Radio 810.
Besler is currently out of contract, joining Roger Espinoza on the list of players without a contract currently, so he would be free to leave MLS without the team getting a transfer for him. Besler potentially leaving would leave a huge hole at centerback for Kansas City. KC has already waived 4 players on the roster that can play center back in Julio Cesar, Cyprian Hedrick, Neven Markovic, and Konrad Warzycha. With Besler out of contract, the only CBs on the roster for next year under contract are Aurelien Collin and Lawrence Olum.
With that in mind, I'd argue that Besler is a bigger loss for the team than Espinoza is. KC's midfield, while it won't be the same without him has the depth to cover for the loss of Espinoza. That's not the case with Besler. Besler's play this year has been good and consistent. His play has made it possible for Collin to be the type of player that he is when he's at his best. The two compliment the other's style of play extremely well, allowing both of them to excell (as evident by the fact that both were finalists for defender of the year this year).
In the end I don't think that Besler is going to be leaving Kansas City. I think he'll get re-signed to a long term deal that will keep him in Kansas City. But it's not a fun picture to paint imagining the starting XI for KC next year not having Espinoza or Besler.
Besler is currently out of contract, joining Roger Espinoza on the list of players without a contract currently, so he would be free to leave MLS without the team getting a transfer for him. Besler potentially leaving would leave a huge hole at centerback for Kansas City. KC has already waived 4 players on the roster that can play center back in Julio Cesar, Cyprian Hedrick, Neven Markovic, and Konrad Warzycha. With Besler out of contract, the only CBs on the roster for next year under contract are Aurelien Collin and Lawrence Olum.
With that in mind, I'd argue that Besler is a bigger loss for the team than Espinoza is. KC's midfield, while it won't be the same without him has the depth to cover for the loss of Espinoza. That's not the case with Besler. Besler's play this year has been good and consistent. His play has made it possible for Collin to be the type of player that he is when he's at his best. The two compliment the other's style of play extremely well, allowing both of them to excell (as evident by the fact that both were finalists for defender of the year this year).
In the end I don't think that Besler is going to be leaving Kansas City. I think he'll get re-signed to a long term deal that will keep him in Kansas City. But it's not a fun picture to paint imagining the starting XI for KC next year not having Espinoza or Besler.
Olum in Camp with Kenya
Lawrence Olum is currently in Africa looking to earn his first cap for the Kenyan national team in the CECAFA Challenge Cup hosted in Uganda. The tournament, which kicks off on Saturday features members of the Council for East and Central African Football Association (CECAFA). The tournament features 12 grouped in 3 groups of 4. Kenya is in Group A with the hosts, Ethiopia, and new country South Sudan. Kenya plays in the tournament opener against Uganda on Saturday. The top 2 teams in each group, plus the 2 best third place teams from the 3 groups advance to the knock out round.
The rest of the article is interesting, but not completely surprising news that's not really worth getting worked up about. Olum says he would be willing to listen to offers from Europe. That's not really surprising, I'd be more disappointed if Olum wasn't interested in bettering his career by potentially moving to Europe. But the wording of Olum's quote, he has no offers on the table for Europe, so I wouldn't be worried about him leaving and putting KC in the position of only having 1 CB (Aurelien Collin) under contract for next year right now.
The rest of the article is interesting, but not completely surprising news that's not really worth getting worked up about. Olum says he would be willing to listen to offers from Europe. That's not really surprising, I'd be more disappointed if Olum wasn't interested in bettering his career by potentially moving to Europe. But the wording of Olum's quote, he has no offers on the table for Europe, so I wouldn't be worried about him leaving and putting KC in the position of only having 1 CB (Aurelien Collin) under contract for next year right now.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Comets Owners to Own New Women's Team
So I didn't have to wait long on my thoughts on connecting the dots, the Star has broken the news that I'd guessed on earlier today, that the Missouri Comets owners will be the owners of the team in the new women's league. The league which is set to kick off in the 2013 season will hold a press conference tomorrow where more details of the league will be announced.
Where the team will play, name, etc. have all not been announced yet, but will likely need to get going soon.
The press conference tomorrow is a joint press conference between the US Soccer federation, Canadian federation, and Mexican federation, which brings up the potential of a league representing 3 federations in CONCACAF.
The ownership will be adding a second team to under their ownership for the second time, as the the group had owned the arena football Command. One concern that people could have right off the bat is the double ownership. They dropped the Command after last season, and there is some history on the other side of the state regarding owning two soccer teams. I would put the current ownership of the Comets above the ownership of Jeff Cooper in St. Louis when it came to AC St. Louis and St. Louis Athletica. So while both teams may not last long term, I have little doubt that there won't be a situation where one team folds mid-season or lives the majority of the season under the cloud of likely closer at season end.
I'll be interested to hear more information regarding the league tomorrow.
Where the team will play, name, etc. have all not been announced yet, but will likely need to get going soon.
The press conference tomorrow is a joint press conference between the US Soccer federation, Canadian federation, and Mexican federation, which brings up the potential of a league representing 3 federations in CONCACAF.
The ownership will be adding a second team to under their ownership for the second time, as the the group had owned the arena football Command. One concern that people could have right off the bat is the double ownership. They dropped the Command after last season, and there is some history on the other side of the state regarding owning two soccer teams. I would put the current ownership of the Comets above the ownership of Jeff Cooper in St. Louis when it came to AC St. Louis and St. Louis Athletica. So while both teams may not last long term, I have little doubt that there won't be a situation where one team folds mid-season or lives the majority of the season under the cloud of likely closer at season end.
I'll be interested to hear more information regarding the league tomorrow.
Connecting Dots
So we're going to play a quick game that might not make sense after all is said and done, but why not. We're going to play connect the dots with information that has come out regarding a new women's league and a potential team in Kansas City.
First, last week came the rumor that the new US women's league that US Soccer was trying to start would involve 8 teams, and one of which would be in Kansas City. The original rumor was that Sporting KC could be involved in the team, but that lasted for a day before Sporting shot down that rumor. Even though Sporting KC was out as potential owners, the rumor of a team in Kansas City still existed.
The second dot came out today in a tweet today from Brian Buzinski, proprietor of the MISL Comets.
That Tweet started speculation that this could potentially be tied in with a women's team.
The last dot to connect came later today when it was announced that US Soccer announced that they'd scheduled a press conference for tomorrow at 12pm central time. The press conference is to "make a major announcement regarding US women's league." The press conference will apparently include the Canadian AND Mexican federation in the announcement. Canada wasn't so surprising in a new US women's league, the fact that the Mexican league is involved as well apparently makes this quite intriguing.
So do all these dots connect to a potential women's team coming to Kansas City in the new women's league? We could very well find out tomorrow, but it's not too hard to connect these dots and come to that conclusion.
First, last week came the rumor that the new US women's league that US Soccer was trying to start would involve 8 teams, and one of which would be in Kansas City. The original rumor was that Sporting KC could be involved in the team, but that lasted for a day before Sporting shot down that rumor. Even though Sporting KC was out as potential owners, the rumor of a team in Kansas City still existed.
The second dot came out today in a tweet today from Brian Buzinski, proprietor of the MISL Comets.
Excited to change the face of the Kansas City soccer landscape for the 2nd time. Look for an Announcement tomorrow.
— Brian Budzinski (@kcsoccerdome) November 20, 2012
That Tweet started speculation that this could potentially be tied in with a women's team.
The last dot to connect came later today when it was announced that US Soccer announced that they'd scheduled a press conference for tomorrow at 12pm central time. The press conference is to "make a major announcement regarding US women's league." The press conference will apparently include the Canadian AND Mexican federation in the announcement. Canada wasn't so surprising in a new US women's league, the fact that the Mexican league is involved as well apparently makes this quite intriguing.
So do all these dots connect to a potential women's team coming to Kansas City in the new women's league? We could very well find out tomorrow, but it's not too hard to connect these dots and come to that conclusion.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
