MLS Cup to be staged in Los Angeles 10 May 2011 LS has decided to keep its championship game at a neutral-site venue. And, it will go back to the safety of a warm-weather site for the Nov. 20 MLS Cup. The league announced Tuesday that the game will be awarded to the Home Depot Centre, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA.
Impact’s former reserve team involved in alleged fixed match 9 May 2011 A 2009 Canadian Soccer League match between the Montreal Impact’s reserve team and Toronto Croatia has been linked to a major European match-fixing ring.
TFC’s Plata wins MLS Player of the Week honour 9 May 2011 The shortest player in Major League Soccer has made a major impact. Toronto FC became the eighth separate team in eight weeks to have an MLS Player of the Week, as the North American Soccer Reporters gave the honour to Joao Plata, the Ecuadorean midfielder selected 49th in this year’s SuperDraft.
Changes to TFC lineup pay off in win over Houston 8 May 2011 Toronto FC still has a ways to go before it perfects the attacking, pass-heavy, Total Football-esque style that Aron Winter has tried to implement in his first few months as the club's head coach. Saturday's 2-1 win over the Houston Dynamo, however, is the clearest example yet that Winter's style may be starting to take hold with his team.
Another weekend, another star goes down in MLS 8 May 2011 Canada’s Will Johnson scored the winner on a goalmouth scramble to give Real Salt Lake a 1-0 win over Chivas USA on Saturday, but the talking point of the game — indeed, the weekend of MLS action at large — will be yet another serious injury to a star player. This time, it was Javier Morales, RSL’s midfield sparkplug, who will miss months because of a fracture and dislocation of the left ankle after he was brought down from behind on a red-card worthy challenge from Chivas’ Marcos Mondaini.
TFC upbeat going into weekend clash with the Dynamo 6 May 2011 After breezing past FC Edmonton on Wednesday in Nutrilite Canadian Championship play, Toronto FC has quickly shifted its focus to Saturday when the club takes on Houston Dynamo. “I think that mentally we are all focused on this Saturday’s game and going in there we have to visualize how we play with one another beside us,” said Cann. “It’s very crucial that we get the three points so that’s our main objective going forward.”
Gerba’s gaffe sends fortunate Whitecaps to NCC final 5 May 2011 But, the Montreal Impact should be the one going through. All Gerba had to do was convert what was a pretty automatic scoring chance in the dying seconds of extra time. But, with Whitecaps keeper Jay Nolly at his mercy and no defender in sight, Gerba's header crashed off the post. The Whitecaps escaped with a 2-1 aggregate win; a 1-1 draw on the night.
TFC and FCE both rebound in second leg of Cup semifinal 5 May 2011 With a three-goal gap separating Toronto FC and FC Edmonton going into the second leg of their Nutrilite Canadian Championship tie, there wasn't much drama as to who was advancing to the tournament final. Wednesday's match therefore became a test for both sides to exorcise some recent demons and, to that end, both teams were happy with their performance in the 1-0 TFC victory.
Stephen Hart chats about Jackson, DeRo and NASL 3 May 2011 Canadian men’s national team coach Stephen Hart held a conference call Tuesday to discuss the team’s preparation ahead of the Gold Cup and the June 1 friendly against Ecuador at BMO Field. Hart touched on a number of topics, from mixed messages over the availability of attacking midfielder Dwayne De Rosario for the Gold Cup, where Simeon Jackson will play in the Canadian lineup and the possibility that Montreal Impact or FC Edmonton players could get call-ups.
Impact exposes FC Edmonton’s defence, goalkeeping 2 May 2011 The Montreal Impact sent all of NASL a message on Sunday night. And FC Edmonton showed some serious defensive and goalkeeping frailties. The Impact routed FCE 5-0 in the first NASL game played at Foote Field, with league commissioner David Downs in attendance.