Expansion Draft: Impact ignores Ching’s retirement threat 23 Nov 2011 Brian Ching, scorer of 77 career regular-season goals, made it public that he would rather retire than be plucked off Houston’s roster and go to the Impact. What did Marsch do? He made Ching the first pick of expansion draft.
MLS playoff system makes Wednesday sudden-death game a tough sell 27 Oct 2011 The fact that just 10,017 people showed up at Pizza Hut Park to cheer on FC Dallas is troubling. And, it’s a sign MLS can learn some lessons on how much time is actually needed to generate interest in a one-and-done playoff game between lower seeds.
Toronto FC and the Crew give us a game worthy of the rivalry 11 Sep 2011 For Toronto FC fans, there was the joy of beating Columbus for the first time. And, for neutral fans, there was a fantastic spectacle a 4-2 win for the Reds— a relief in a weekend of non-competitive matches from England (and likely more to come from Spain).
Neagle’s hat trick earns him Player of the Week nod 29 Aug 2011 In what was a major statement game for his club, home-state product Lamar Neagle scored a hat trick for the Seattle Sounders in a 6-2 win over Eastern Conference leaders Columbus — and earned the Player of the Week nod from the membership of the North American Soccer Reporters.
Toronto FC acquires Iro to bolster the back line 15 Jul 2011 The Extreme Makeover: TFC Edition series continues. A day after making two major deals, Toronto FC Technical Director coach was at it again Friday, sending Generation Adidas midfielder Tony Tchani to the Columbus Crew for defender Andy Iro and French midfielder Leandre Griffit.
Montero named MLS Player of the Week; The 11 opts for Hesmer 11 Jul 2011 Seattle Sounders’ striker Fredy Montero finished at the top when the votes were counted, and was named MLS Player of the Week on Monday. It wasn’t a huge surprise. Montero scored twice, one on an audacious free kick, another on a tap-in after a goalmouth scramble as the Sounders came back from two one-goal deficits to win 3-2 against the hated Portland Timbers at JELD-WEN Field.
Unhappy days: Cunningham ties MLS scoring mark in win over Whitecaps 7 Jul 2011 It’s OK if, until late Wednesday night, you had forgotten that Jeff Cunningham still played in MLS. After spending most of the first half of the season riding the pine, arguably the greatest villain in the history of the league is now tied with Jaime Moreno atop the MLS all-time scoring list. His 133rd career goal, his first for the Crew since he returned to the club in the off-season, gave Columbus a 1-0 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps at Empire Field.
Draw! MLS stalemates continue at an amazing pace 6 Jul 2011 Last season, there were 58 draws in MLS play. In 2011 — at just the halfway mark of the season, we are now at a whopping 64 draws. With six of this past week’s nine games ending up in draws — including both matches played as part of a July 4 doubleheader broadcast on ESPN2 — 2011 continues to show parity in MLS like we have never seen before.
Magee’s emergency goalkeeping performance earns him Player of the Week nod 27 Jun 2011 A midfielder and a goalkeeper split the MLS Player of the Week Award. Except that they’re the same guy. Confused? Don’t be. Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Mike Magee won the award after the votes from the North American Soccer Reporters were counted.
Fit to be tied: Number of draws skyrocketing in MLS 16 Jun 2011 Forget about the power rankings. If you are betting on MLS games, and aren’t putting money on draws, you aren’t looking at the stats. The combined record of MLS teams this season is 78-78-100. Of the 128 games played this season, 50 have ended in ties.