And, deep into second-half stoppage time, Larin stood right next to Romilio Hernandez as the El Salvadoran forward buried the dagger-through-the-heart winner off a set piece. Keeper Nolan Wirth made a diving stop off the first attempt in the box. Larin, who was back in the box to help defend the set piece, had the rebound carom off of him before it fell to Hernandez, who slammed the ball in.

When the CBA expires in the middle of the month, we can’t say for sure how many DPs a team will be able to have, and what the cap hits for those DPs will be. Basically, Altidore’s signing would play into a series of moving parts that makes it hard to truly pinpoint the kind of domino effect he would have on the roster.

You couldn’t shake the feeling that Rob Gale, the coach of the Canadian U-20 men’s team, was trying to keep the focus off the high-profile players on his roster.

Hanson Boakai will be going to the CONCACAF Championship in Jamaica, but he’ll be the only FC Edmonton player making the trip.

When asked if he’d consider talking to an MLS side in January, Hutchinson said “yes, especially if it was in Canada. I’m open to it if the interest comes, if things can work out and do what’s best for everybody.”

But Miller says that he would only look at players who were committed to the NASL, not a player who saw it as a stop-gap solution or a step down from MLS.

Critics will point to Toronto FC’s 2014 campaign as the most high-profile failure in the franchise’s history — and that’s saying something. Apologists will point to the strides the team made despite missing the playoffs — again. So, is the glass half-empty or half-full for MLS’s poster boys for futility?

Issue 4 of Plastic Pitch is out today! What will you find inside?

Certainly, improving the Impact’s young prospects wasn’t the prime motivation for Saputo to join a consortium that purchased Italian Serie B side, Bologna. But he knows an improvement to the Impact’s youth development stream is a byproduct of the deal.

He’s advised soccer programs throughout Quebec. He’s worked with youth national teams. Former Montreal Impact coach Valerio Gazzola has quietly made a massive mark on the game in Canada...