retired_spaulsen

Texas Kicks-Off New Season

Having had plenty of time to swallow and digest the bitter pill prescribed by the Alaska Arctic Wolves and Dr. Russ (or Gabor Kovacs) in MLS Cup 2005, the Texas Longhorns enter the 2006 season with fresh hopes of another title run. Texas manager Ryan Thompson made very few changes to his '05 team, with all of his core players returning. The roster breakdown is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Ukranian Olexandr Shovkovskyi figures to be the mainstay within the posts once again. Talented, but inexperienced Quentin Westberg will likely be his primary understudy.

Defenders: In the center of the defense, Cory Gibbs and Jonathan Spector look set to resume their solid partnership. Ryan Cochrane has completely recovered from his serious injury, though whether or not he will successfully pass Tim Regan and Nelson Akwari to be the primary backup to Gibbs and Spector is unclear. Guarding the right flank will be Brazilian Indio; rumors of enquiries regarding Indio's services by Spanish giants Barcelona during the offseason remain unconfirmed. Regan, Akwari, Kelly Gray, and Antonio de la Torre are all candidates to to step in should Indio be unavailable. Opposite of Indio is likely to be his compatriot, the teenage leftback Avine. John O'Brien could also be in the mix there though, especially when he isn't needed in midfield.

Midfielders: Nik Besagno will almost certainly see a lot of action as the holding midfielder. Only 17 years old, Besagno has already been labeled by his manager, 'the best defensive midfielder in MLS.' Those are bold words of confidence for his youngster by Thompson, especially since the league also features the likes of Edgar Davids and 2005 Rookie of the Year Emanuel Sarki. Besagno's backup will be Kelly Gray. Usually playing in front of Besagno will be two of either John O'Brien, Thomas Prager, and the creative Juan Pablo Garcia. Benny Feilhaber should also be in consideration for selection. Veteran playmaker Rivaldo will be called on again to pull the strings of the attack while sitting behind the forwards, a role in which Garcia may also be used if necessary. Providing cover will be Craig Capano.

Forwards: Bruno is slowly emerging as Texas' top goal scoring threat. The Brazilian can also provide for his attackers, as evidenced by his numerous assists in the 2005 campaign. Bruno will compete with Will John, Stephen Ademolu, and Jemal Johnson for playing time up front.

Despite an opening loss to Rochester, the Longhorns have begun 2006 with good results overall and will strive to continue this in the upcoming weeks. After overpowering foreign sides Hardware Bandits and Harbour View, Texas has also done well to reach the final of the North American Champions Cup, where they meet Mexican side Pumas. The first leg will be played after the Longhorns' upcoming MLS encounter with Nerdington.

retired_hellokity111

For full stats see the latest edition of MLS Gazette.

MLS Gazette - Tables, Rosters and Stats

retired_hellokity111

Ignore the last one please.



For full stats see the latest edition of MLS Gazette.

MLS Gazette - Tables, Rosters and Stats

retired_uzy

Three-peat! Muskegon Fury Win the Colonial Cup Again!!

Last night, the Muskegon Fury completed a sweep of the Danbury Trashers by winning 4-3 in the fifth overtime, thus brining home the Colonial Cup for the 3rd straight year. Robin Bouchard scored the game winner, assisted by the fact that Trashers goalie Sylvain Daigle (formerly of the Fury) had fallen asleep.

The entire squad of the local MLS team, the Muskegon Mismatch, were in attendance. It was surprising that they would show up for a hockey game, since they had yet to show up in MLS, being dead-last. We don't even know why we're telling you about this, since nobody here cares. Seriously, more people show up for a minor league hockey game than for a soccer league at the top level. We don't know why they bother. Reportedly, the Mismatch are attempting to relocate, but nobody wants them. We don't really care anymore, so we'll move on to something more exciting.

In other sports news, I went bowling with some friends last night...

retired_mallory08

Kaiser's on a Roll

"I'm pleased with how we have responded this season. Crashing out in the 1st Round of the Playoffs after scrapping all year, and ulitemately topping our Conference was hugely disappointing. We carreied a few guys ont he team last year and, frankly, the system I chose was a means to an end. We all know I'm a 4-4-2 guy, and now I have the personnel in place to place that system we're doing better."

Clark, never one to worry about swing the axe has shuffled the deck somewhat, and his most recent trade was a little surprising. He shipped Joh Wolff, who has lead the club in scoring both of the last two years to Nerdington. Clark explained...."Josh was a good finisher, an American - which in this league is important, and our main asset up front. He was also expensive - $170k, nearing the end of his contract and looking for a raise. As good as he was for us, this simply was a numbers decision. One, that I must add, that was made considerably less painful by the fact that we acquired startlet Ricardo Clark in retun. He's young, cheap and on a long term deal."

Of course, the trade was beneficial for both parties - Wolff is no chump - and Ricardo Clark causes something of a glut in the DM/M C position for the Kaiser's, but is seen as more of a medium-long term move.

"Clark is a future USMNT player, holding the center of the park hostage, or breaking down the right from an D/WB R position. He's going to work with our coaches to see if there's even any potential for him to play at the back. In a small league like this, versatility is paramount."

The decision to let Wolff go leaves the KK with a potential shortage of goals. But, fans at Commonwealth Stadium must admit, that the goals have been easier to come by throughout the team in 2006 and with a strong pack of strikers to choose from, Clark probably made the right decision.

"Knox Cameron, Kai and Chris Greer are superb young talents. I fully expect all three to dominate in this league and soon. Until they get there, we've got 'El Pescadito' [Carlos Ruiz], the leagues most prolific scorer over the last few years to help knock em in. New signing J.M Lucero is pretty handy too, and once he acclimitizes to the MLS game will be an impact player."

Christian Gomez, Leozinho and Brian Mullan have contributed 8 goals, and the midfield total is 10 on the season. "Having scorers from all over the pitch is vital. A few more goals from the back wouldn't hurt, and we'll be working on set pieces with the big center backs on that."

Clark's team has struggled a little with injuries, and this may be a blessing in disguise in some respects. Knocks to Albright, Mulrooney, Mullan, Conrad and Mapp kept them out of contention for the WC, with the Kaiser's losing the services of just 3 players - USMNT and KK Captain Claudio Reyna, Oguchi Oneywu and back up goalie Joe Cannon. "I'm glad they didn't take Kevin Hartman as well, that could have derailed our season in a hurry. He's been huge for us since the day he ousted Brad Friedel last season."

The Kaiser's policy of recruiting young foreign talent also appears to have helped, as most of their YI's are not yet in international contention for the full squad. "It's pretty hard to break in to the Brazillian or Argentine teams, even when you're as good as Leozinho and Kai. Maybe they'll get their chance in a couple of years. [KK has 2 Brazillians and 2 Argentines, with another coming in for 2007]" Other foreigners - Carlos Ruiz (DNQ, GUA) and Mirko Lomic (DNQ, SLO) did not have a chance to compete due to their teams failure to qualify. With the release of Mark Wilson, KK only currently have 6 foreigners on the squad. Clark has indicated he will continue his policy of buying young talent, including looking for depth at the drafts. He recently picked up two discarded youngsters from the 2006 draft - Mike Dombrowski (ML) and Chris Moore (DM), both of whom will have their chances to impress with both the reserve and senior teams. The former seems to work well in Clarks system and has been tearing up the reserve league. His form earned his a start and 3 sub appearances whilst Justin Mapp was out injured and he responded with 2 helpers. "Steals" said Clark of the rookies. "They need work but they've shown a great deal of potential and I'm glad to have em. Cheap too!"

The Kaiser's will hope international call-ups will hit harder for their rivals in the Southern Confernce so that they can try and put some distance between themselves and the pack. Presently, Nerdington are under a revial supreme thanks to the guidance and inspiration of new manager Jos3 C. But they've lost their starting 'G' and both of their top strikers. 'Now is the time" says Clark....

retired_hellokity111

Lions Honoured but Face a Big Mid-Season Battle

The World Cup has begin and a total of 9 Vancouver Lions players are taking part in this years competition. While this means more exposure for the Vancouver Lions, it also means a depleted squad for Roger Saint-Vil.

Vancouver players Clarance Goodson, Steven Cherundolo, Heath Pearce, Eddie Gaven and Taylor Twellman have all been included in the US World Cup squad following their excellent performances in 2005 and thus far in 2006.

Also travelling to Germany, Emanuel Sarki and Jay-Jay Okocha for Nigeria, Alpay Ozalan for Turkey and Félix Alexander Borja for Ecuador will be away from the team for at least three weeks.

"This is odd" Saint-Vil commented, "They will postpone matches because 3-4 players go on international duty but they won't do it when 9 players are gone. It just makes no sene whatsoever."

While the number of players leaving is a concern, Vancouver have built up a buffer of 11 points in front of second placed Rochester in the conference. That 11 point lead could easily diminish with 3 bad matches however. The players who have been on the fringes of first team football are happy about this news however as Jason di Tullio managed to get his frist start of the season against fierce rivals Alaska. Jason put together a solid match which ended 1-1 thanks to a late penalty goal by Luke Kreamalmayer. In the coming weeks, we should all be getting a chance to watch the likes of Zak Whitbread, Marcel De Jong and Arturo Alvarez suiting up for the Lions as Saint-Vil and his men look to secure a playoff berth for the second year in a row.

retired_vallem733529

Manager E.T. Allen filed his midseason report

So far this year we have been going back and forth between a dominating team and team is struggling to keep its head above water


Well Kahn was Kahn, pretty dominate but he got injured and since then Jon Busch has been pretty rocky for us. I really got to look at the future and wonder how much longer Kahn will be able to keep up this pace. He keeps getting better so I expect him to be around 2 or 3 more years but I wonder what the future holds for Jon. If he does not step up a bit more in key situations we might look elsewhere.

Defensively we have been playing well for the team that we have had. Robbie Russell and Reda have been often injured. Reda is not fully fit yet, we have had some let downs but I think a lot of that was adjusting to not having Kahn back there.

One of the big questions have been will DeMarcus stay beyond this year. So far things are not looking like it. He has told DeMarcus that he will look at the what the transfer market is for him next year. Allen says that he is looking at the cap for the future. Understanding that some of the younger stars have signed extensions and his hopes that eventually Hugo Colace can make a good right midfielder. Our strikers have went back and forth at the begging of the year Emad was untouchable it looked like it was going be his break out season he has cooled off and Conor who started off slow has now became hot as of late. Matt Nickell is a great 3rd option has a striker. We got to keep these 3 heathy when we had our big struggles was w hen both of them were injured

Overall right now we are on target for a playoff spot but we are really eying the home field advantage at the mid way point of the season with the injures we have had so far. I would consider the season a success. Hopefully the team gets fully healthy by the time we have 5 games left so we can make a playoff push.

retired_hellokity111

World Cup over. Lions return to form

Playing three matches without the nine players with their respective countries at the World Cup, Lions managed to pick up three draws, 1-1 at home against Alaska, 0-0 at Marquette and 1-1 at Kentucky. Missing so many players was certainly a challenge as many players had to play out of position and a more defensive approach was used in order to compensate for the depleted attacking foce. Despite only picking up 3 points out of 9, the Lions were happy with the outcome.

The players' return did not bring instant results however as the Lions played against division rivals Rochester and New Liskeard. With several internationals low on morale following their countries' World Cup exit, Vancouver managed a 3-3 draw against Rochester and lost 3-2 against New Liskeard after falling behind by three goals within the first 40 minutes and putting together an inspiring fightback.

Despite the loss, the second half performance was pleasing and the players certainly showed their improved morale by putting together a 3-0 win against Nerdington as Taylor Twellman scored his 5th and 6th goals in 7 matches this season and Vancouver are certainly looking forward to being able to field Twellman more regularly in the second half of the season.

retired_hellokity111

For full stats see the latest edition of MLS Gazette.

MLS Gazette - Tables, Rosters and Stats

retired_hellokity111

For full stats see the latest edition of MLS Gazette.

MLS Gazette - Tables, Rosters and Stats