“I think all the boys would probably say it, there weren’t very many that played well today,” added Nelsen. “We are not good enough where we can have an off day and get away with it. Hopefully, we’ll be in a situation where we will be one day. But when we’re not all guns blazing, it can get a bit ugly.”

It’s hard to imagine a signing of any athlete in MLS history which has more of a “whew, it’s finally done” feel than Toronto’s FC’s announcement that Argentine forward Maximiliano Urruti is finally a Red.

The signing of Clint Dempsey has accelerated the erosion of trust that North American soccer supporters have in MLS.

The MLS Players Union has confirmed that both Matt Stinson and Terry Dunfield, two Canadian players cut by Toronto FC earlier this year, are still on the payroll.

Dennis Iapichino’s days as a member of the Montreal Impact are over.

When one of the poster boys of U.S. soccer scores a hat trick, the player-of-the-week vote loses most of its intrigue.

“Corey’s been here for three days, I’ve been here for a week, and for us to click like that, it’s great,” said Adur, a former Maccabi Haifa youth player who has also had pro stints in Singapore and Thailand. “I think the two of us are going to become a special story in this league as the season progresses.”

Challenging to the very end, Montreal’s last attempt came on a set play in the third of four minutes of added time. Romero’s cross sailed into the six-metre box and was met by Matteo Ferrari. The Italian central defender headed it towards the inside of the near post, picking a spot that was defended by five-foot-eight, 146-pound Rolfe rather than Johnson, a six-foot-three, 217-pounder.

The Vancouver Whitecaps took down the San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 at BC Place Saturday evening thanks to goals from Camilo and Kenny Miller.

“I talked to Carlyle as soon as I found out, and he only had good things to say about the team,” said Hertzog, who arrived in Edmonton Wednesday and had his medical Thursday. “He said it’s a good bunch of guys. Now I’m looking forward to helping this team get some wins.”