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Bruin named MLS Player of the Week: The 11′s nod went to Teibert

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/13/2013

Russell Teibert

Russell Teibert

Most of the time, the bodies of work we look at are fairly consistent when voting for an MLS Player of the Week.

Most of the time, we judge players on the basis that they each play a single match on the weekend.

But in the odd weeks where some teams play two games because of the midweek schedule and others play one — that makes it difficult.

This week, Houston Dynamo forward Will Bruin won the Player of the Week vote. He scored twice and added two assists in a midweek 4-0 win over D.C. United, but didn’t do much in a 1-0 loss at home Sunday to Sporting Kansas City. And that brings up an uncomfortable question: Does a “meh” game on Sunday weigh down what was a spectacular midweek effort?
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Another day, another late collapse by Toronto FC

By
Gavin Day
– 04/21/2013

Warren Creavalle

Warren Creavalle

In soccer, the last-second goal is usually an occasion of great drama.

But, for Toronto FC, the concession of a late goal has almost been an inevitability, as it did for the third time in seven games this season on Saturday. Toronto had taken the lead in the 58th minute but conceded in the last second of the game and had to settle for a 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo.

“To throw these points away—they’re very hard to get back and so I just feel really bad for them because the work ethic is great,” said TFC head coach Ryan Nelsen, who’s seen his team throw away a victory for the second game in a row and third time this season.

“It’s a great bunch of guys. All the hard work they put in during the week should be rewarded with performances like that — which was a fantastic performance.”

Toronto had taken the lead when Jeremy Hall jumped on a poor Houston clearance out of its own penalty area. Hall fended off one Houston defender to claim the ball and then cut back onto his right foot to elude another.
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Houston’s Davis edges out TFC’s Bendik for MLS Player of the Week honour

By
Steven Sandor
– 04/15/2013

Brad Davis

Brad Davis

Brad Davis played a key role in helping the Houston Dynamo extend its home unbeaten streak to 35 games. His assist and winning goal in a 2-1 decision over the Chicago Fire earned him the MLS Player of the Week honour.

But it wasn’t a landslide by any means. Davis got 11 first-place votes out of the 24 ballots cast by the members of the North American Soccer Reporters. Toronto FC keeper Joe Bendik got seven.

Bendik made a series of ridiculous saves, including a tie-preserver on an Antoine Hoppenot stoppage-time breakaway, to allow TFC to escape Philadelphia with a wholly undeserved point. Yes, Philly scored late to get the 1-1 draw, but if not for a series of fantastic stops by Bendik, the Union would have enjoyed a laugher of an afternoon.

Bendik also got two second-place votes.
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Ryan Johnson wins Player of the Week award: The 11 gives nod to former CSL keeper Clint Irwin

By
Steven Sandor
– 04/08/2013

Ryan Johnson

Ryan Johnson

For the second time in a row, someone named “Johnson” from the Portland Timbers has won the MLS Player of the Week award.

Last week, it was Canadian Will Johnson, who scored twice. This week, it’s former Toronto FC forward Ryan Johnson, who scored two second-half goals to give the Timbers a 2-0 win over the Houston Dynamo. Johnson got the most first-place votes out of the membership of the North American Soccer Reporters.

Johnson’s two-goal game was deemed to be more Player-of-the-Week worthy than the two-goal game of another ex-TFC striker, Maicon Santos. Read the rest of this entry »

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Reo-Coker offers “constructive criticism” after Whitecaps drop game in Houston

By
Martin MacMahon
– 03/24/2013

nigelreocokerSmall moments change matches, and while Darren Mattocks looked set to be the hero on Saturday after a cracking first-half effort, his second-half miss will be the lasting memory from a 2-1 defeat against the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium.

With his team leading 1-0 in the 53rd minute, the Jamaican youngster elected to shoot at Tally Hall from a tight angle rather than pass to a wide open Nigel Reo-Coker and a streaking Erik Hurtado.

Just two minutes later, the Dynamo equalized through a wonderful bit of interplay culminating in a Giles Barnes headed goal, and on 62 minutes Warren Creavalle scored the deciding effort by pouncing on a loose ball in the area.

Following the defeat, stand-in captain Reo-Coker highlighted Mattocks’ error, and said he had strong words for the 22 year old following the match.
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Football fashionistas: We rate the new MLS kits

By
Steven Sandor
– 02/28/2013

impact_thirdFRONT(FORMATTED)Judging from the readership numbers — which spike every time we put up a story about new kits, redesigned kits, anything to do with kits — we’ve surmised that, to be a Canadian soccer fan, you have to be a bit of a fashionista.

If someone could create a tour of soccer stadiums and fashion weeks around the world, it’s be a smashing business.

But kits are important to fans. They want to be proud to wear the club’s colours. They want the road kits to be sharp. And marketers love it, because soccer kits change seasonally. Adidas gives us new MLS kits at almost the same pace as Marc Jacobs introduces new fashion lines.

With MLS creating a “Jersey Week,” where many MLS teams  revealed or will reveal their new kits at special events or, as they are known outside of the sports world, “fashion shows,” we thought it would be fun to play Vogue. That is, give you a one-stop look at the new kits, with our, ahem, expert commentary. With all three Canadian teams putting their new kits out there, we thought it would be fun to look at the best, the worst, the exciting and the boring of what’s already out there.

Just as a disclaimer — The 11‘s editor HAS judged fashion shows before. Seriously.

We’ll start with the Canadian teams:
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The Super-Duper MLS preview, 2013 edition

By
Steven Sandor
– 02/28/2013
Philip F. Anschutz Trophy, the big prize at the end of the season

Philip F. Anschutz Trophy, the big prize at the end of the season

With the MLS season moved up to its earliest start ever, forgive us if we don’t feel 100 per cent totally prepared for First Kick. Judging by the way many MLS teams finished preseason, with tentative matches and still looking at trialists with a week to go before the games count in the standings, a lot of coaches aren’t quite ready for the early start, either.

And that could be telling. The teams that got the jump and have their ducks in a row could have a real advantage in these March matchups; and they could find some bonus points that could help them in the fall.

Steven Sandor, Editor of The 11 and contributors Randy Davis, Aman Dhanoa, Mark Polishuk and Gavin Day all submitted their picks. We tallied the scores and we present our picks below.
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Rennie “encouraged” by Whitecaps despite loss to Dynamo

By
Greg Hutton
– 02/21/2013

Corey Hertzog

The Vancouver Whitecaps had their five-game preseason winning streak snapped as a pair of second-half goals within a three-minute span led the Houston Dynamo to a 2-1 win Wednesday evening at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, S.C.

The short lapse spoiled an otherwise-competent performance for a young Vancouver squad on the second match day of the Carolina Challenge Cup.

All three MLS teams remain in contention for the tournament title heading into Saturday’s third and final match day. Chicago used a stoppage-time goal to defeat USL Pro side Charleston Battery, 2-1, in Wednesday’s nightcap, placing it in the driver’s seat with six points. The Whitecaps and Dynamo have three each, and the host Battery have zero.

“Overall, I was actually very encouraged about the game,” said Vancouver head coach Martin Rennie. “It was a very young team from us – lots of inexperienced players. For most of the game, we were doing well. We were on top for quite a long time. Obviously, (we’re) disappointed that we lost the goals that we did. I thought we could have defended those a little bit better given that we hardly gave up any chances throughout the game.”
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Whitecaps’ early preseason does little to clear a muddy goalkeeping picture

By
Steven Sandor
– 02/03/2013

Joe Cannon

While there isn’t a coach or manager in the world who doesn’t want to see his or her team’s defence prevent as many scoring chances as it can, it might serve the Whitecaps to see their keepers’ feet put to the fire.

The Whitecaps beat the Houston Dynamo 2-1 Saturday in Casa Grande, Ariz., their second consecutive win. The Dynamo took the lead when a free kick was deflection by Bobby Boswell, giving Brad Knighton — who started last season as the back-up but finished the season as the No. 1 — no chance to make the save.

Joe Cannon, who began the 2012 campaign as the No. 1 but finished as the back-up, played a rather untroubled second half.

Simon Thomas, who got the clean sheet in Canada’s 0-0 draw with the Americans earlier in the week, didn’t play. Evan James, who arrived from the national team to try out for the Caps, got about 25 minutes of action in. Canadian fullback Jaime Peters also got a half of playing time.
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Hainault has to watch as Galaxy wins aerial MLS Cup battle over the Dynamo

By
Steven Sandor
– 12/02/2012

Dominic Kinnear got most of the Houston Dynamo game plan just right.

But the Houston Dynamo coach made one critical error that had a lot to do with his team coughing up a one-goal lead in Saturday’s MLS Cup, and eventually losing to the Los Angeles Galaxy by a 3-1 score. For the Galaxy, it’s a storybook finish to David Beckham’s L.A. soccer career, and the second time in a row it has beaten the Dynamo by a single goal in the MLS Cup.

Kinnear came out with a clog-the-middle-of-the-park formation, which dared the Galaxy, a team of thirtysomethings, to try and use its legs to go wide. Yes, that strategy will occasionally yield a few chances thanks to a well-weighted long, diagonal balls. But it doesn’t allow the older team to gain respites by playing the ball comfortably in the middle of the park.
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