The NASL has concluded its investigation into Puerto Rico FC midfielder Chris Nurse's claim that FC Edmonton's Nico Di Biase uttered a racial slur in Spanish during an Aug. 28 game at Clarke Field.

For the first time in NASL play, the Eddies put out a starting XI that didn’t feature any Canadians. Now, there were mitigating circumstances. Due to international call-ups, both Shamit Shome (Canada U-20) and Nik Ledgerwood (who played in Canada’s 2-1 loss to Honduras on Friday) weren’t available for the 2-2 draw against the Ottawa Fury.

The Fury’s 2-0 lead evaporated thanks to two goals from Eddies’ forward Daryl Fordyce — and it took a last-second goal-line clearance from Ottawa’s Rafael Alves to preserve the 2-2 tie.

“It’s a real positive in one aspect of it, because we’re now such a good standard of league that we’re attracting international football players,” said Miller. “But, at what point does the international call-up affect the standard of the league?

But it’s time to ask this of you, Edmonton — and, more specifically, of Edmonton’s soccer community. What do the Eddies have to do to make you love them? Clearly, winning isn’t enough.

The Vancouver Whitecaps made club history Saturday night. Coach Carl Robinson named four Canadians to the starting lineup for the match in Carson, Calif. against the Los Angeles Galaxy. David Edgar, Marcel de Jong, Russell Teibert and Fraser Aird all were in the starting XI for the 0-0 draw.

From the league: "The NASL has opened an investigation with respect to an allegation that racially abusive comments were made by one player to another player during the FC Edmonton vs. Puerto Rico FC game on August 28, 2016. Per League policy, no further comment will be made while the investigation is ongoing."

How negative was the road side? Even when PRFC was up a man, the players opted for a clock-killing strategy. Late in the game, up a player, the visitors chose to take the ball into the corner and kill time rather than try to create scoring chances.

Julian de Guzman's knee injury won't allow him to take the field for Canada in its two upcoming do-or-die World Cup qualifiers. But he's still going along for the ride.

The league confirmed that there will be some changes. The network and the league have a partnership that sees one game per weekend — usually a Saturday-night match — broadcast to American and Canadian viewers. There’s also two remaining Wednesday night matches.