Well, that was a hell of a weekend for Canadians in MLS and USL.
Well, that was a hell of a weekend for Canadians in MLS and USL.
Of course, the Fury, who have been playing Canadians in the 700-minutes-per-game range over the past few weeks, had the most movers and shakers. Four of the top 11 USL players in terms of minutes played by Canadians are Fury players. And they comprise six of the top 20.
You’ll notice that Noah Verhoeven — and his 594 minutes played so far this season for Fresno FC — has been added to the rankings. He’s been assimilated into the Canadian collective.
Well, that’s it. With the NASL regular season coming to a close this past weekend, we’re now at the final instalment of the Power Rankings for 2017.
Now, to USL. We stopped ranking minutes last week when the league’s regular season came to a halt. But, in the opening round of the playoffs, Canadian (and former TFC Academy) goalkeeper Darrin MacLeod shone for Swope Park Rangers.
Congratulate Ottawa Fury keeper Callum Irving for finishing as the top Canadian minute-getter in USL this season.
MLS has just two who have passed 2,000; Cyle Larin and Will Johnson from Orlando City. Drew Beckie from Jacksonville is the only Canadian NASL player to push through the 2,000-minute barrier. In USL, there are six — Callum Irving, Mastanabal Kacher, Ryan James, Mallan Roberts, Ryan Telfer and Jordan Murrell.
Congratulations go out this week to teenager Abraham Dukuly, who made his professional debut Sunday for FC Edmonton.
Orlando City’s Cyle Larin, Jacksonville’s Drew Beckie and Ottawa Fury keeper Callum Irving continue to lead their respective leagues when it comes to minutes played by Canadians.
Toronto FC misses a few key regulars, and still is good enough to annihilate the Los Angeles Galaxy, 4-0. For Canadian soccer followers, the big news out of TFC’s weekend win was that Tosaint Ricketts bagged a couple of goals.
The 11 offers insight, interviews and commentary by respected soccer journalists. It is affiliated with the Canadian soccer magazine, Plastic Pitch. Our editor, Steven Sandor, has covered Major League Soccer, United Soccer Leagues, World Cup qualifying, CONCACAF Champions League, women’s soccer and the Canadian Soccer League and has won numerous awards for his magazine work. His work has appeared in the Sun chain of newspapers, Soccer 360, World Soccer, Soccer Canada, Philadelphia Daily News and the Deseret News. His work has appeared in publications in Canada, the United States, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom and Namibia.