The MLS has only two cups outside of the MLS Cup. The SuperLiga and the U.S. Open are those two. The U.S. Open comprises of only soccer teams from America, but not just from the MLS at the same time. The SuperLiga is a competition between the MLS and Mexico's Premier Division.

The three past years of the SuperLiga have seen two Premier League Mexican teams win, Pachuca(2007,1st champion) and UANL Tigres (2009, 3rd champion) and one MLS team win, New England Revolution (2008, 2nd Champion). Out of the three champions, two return this year which would be the Revolution and Pachuca. Past runner-ups have also returned, including the Chicago Fire and the Houston Dynamo.

The SuperLiga happens before the start of the Mexican Premier Division's season.

Let's get to the preview.

Group A- Houston, Puebla, Pachuca, and Chivas USA

Houston Dynamo

One of the tougher teams in the MLS make their third appearance in the SuperLiga.

Pros: They are a very defensive team and have proved such. They can easily win games if they are able to keep up their defensive prowess.

Cons: They have struggled as of late, losing five straight games.

Key Players: Brian Ching, who has scored three goals since his return from the World Cup, and Bobby Boswell, the big player on defense.

Puebla

Coming off some recent disappointment, Puebla looks for redemption in this year's SuperLiga.

Pros: The team is under new management and looks very motivated for this tournament. With the recent additions to the team, the team looks much stronger.

Cons: Despite the reinforcements, the team lost key striker Herculez Gomez to Pachuca.

Key Player: Carlos Ruiz, who is a very dangerous striker.

Pachuca

First-time SuperLiga champions, Pachuca feels strong coming into the SuperLiga, calling themselves one of the best teams in the Americas.

Pros: After a major talent overhaul including the addition of Herculez Gomez, the offense of Pachuca has never looked better.

Cons: Can be weak defensively.

Key Players: Herculez Gomez, a major offensive weapon who scored 10 goals last season, and Jose Francisco Torres, a dominant midfielder.

Chivas USA

Another team who makes its third SuperLiga appearance, Chivas looks to finally make it out of group play and maybe more.

Pros: They are gathering momentum after getting into the U.S. Open semi-finals.

Cons: They have earned only one point of of their last seven league matches.

Key Player: Justin Braun who has had 6 goals in 15 appearances for the team.

Group B- Chicago, New England, Pumas UNAM, and Morelia

Chicago Fire

Last year's runner-ups look to brighten the Fire's current season.

Pros: The Fire have made a good run coming into this after having a bad start to the season.

Cons: They are still a struggling team despite the run, and are hoping penalty kicks don't come back to haunt them.

Key Players: Marco Pappa, a young striker who can score from a distance, and Wilman Conde, a veteran midfielder who continues to lead in times of trouble.

New England Revolution

The only MLS SuperLiga champs hope to turn around their dismal season at this SuperLiga.

Pros: This is the very same team who can inspire themselves from their last SuperLiga appearance.

Cons: They are playing horribly in the MLS. They have been injury plagued as well.

Key Players: Matt Reis, the goalkeeper returns from injury who can lead on the team, and Shalrie Joseph, the veteran midfielder looks to give the spark in the Superliga.

Pumas UNAM

The team makes their SuperLiga debut and has new hope after finishing in the Quarter-Finals in the Mexican Premier League's Bicentenario.

Pros: Under new management, they have been playing their best ball.

Cons: The team may have trouble with the style of play of MLS teams in the SuperLiga.

Key Player: Francisco Palencia, who is a two-time World Cup participant, returns to the pitch of the MLS and brings his great vision and striking ability to it.

Morelia

The team returns to SuperLiga after missing the past two editions and looks to strike gold.

Pros: The team is coming off two solid tournament performances from the Mexican Premier Division.

Cons: After missing the past two editions, Morelia may have trouble readjusting to the time before the start of their season.

Key Player: Elias Hernandez who in the Bicentenario has seven assists, along with seven goals.

Summary of SuperLiga

This SuperLiga looks not so good for those of Group B. Many teams in Group B have only a few shining stars that could lead them to the finals. Look for a Group A member to win it all. Members of Group A are just way too strong for the members of Group B to have a chance.

Prediction

Pachuca to win it all.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

ESPN has seen a 36% increase in its ratings compared to the World Cup four years ago as suddenly soccer became a sport that the mainstream media covered. But the question that Major League Soccer probably wanted answered was did the interest in the world cup translate to more fans going to MLS games? The answer to that question is yes.

CSNE.com  had some MLS attendance data that nine out of 12 MLS teams to have hosted a match since the World Cup started saw attendance go up from its last pre-tournament figure.

From the article:

"The return of Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle to MLS action on Sunday also marked the LA Galaxy's first match since before the World Cup. Twenty-seven thousand flocked to the stadium to welcome the duo home from South Africa, a mind-boggling 37.5 percent increase over the Galaxy's 2010 average attendance coming into the match. On the field, the twice-teammates showed their camaraderie when Donovan assisted on a Buddle goal early in the 19th minute as the Galaxy improved to 11-1-3 on the season with a 3-1 win over Seattle Sounders FC. The hookup furthered Buddle's and Donovan's respective MLS leads in goals and assists, as each has now compiled 10 in his given category. MLS attendance at large is up nearly 10 percent in 2010 from 2009, averaging over 16,442 fans a game.”

The 10% increase in MLS attendance is really good considering the state of the U.S. economy. By comparison , Major League Baseball has seen its attendance drop by about 1% this season over 2009.

Soccer interest in the U.S. will not end with the World Cup Final tomorrow. The arrival of Manchester United in Chicago on Monday signals the beginning of a month where some of the biggest clubs in the world will be training and playing games in the U.S. Fan interest is extremely high for these games and hopefully the MLS can continue to turn that interest in seat buying fans.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

The MLS season has now passed the halfway point, and the Seattle Sounders need to launch a second half surge to maintain a reasonable shot of making the playoffs as the team was able to do in 2009 in its first season.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup competition has found the Sounders performing successfully in the past two seasons.  Starfire Stadium at the team’s training facility in Tukwila has been a scene for great Sounder success with the latest chapter coming with last Wednesday’s 3-1 win over the L.A. Galaxy.

As enjoyable as those U.S. Open Cup victories are, MLS competition is a separate entity.  Sunday night the Sounders reenter that sphere in hosting FC Dallas at the Xbox pitch of Qwest Field beginning at 7:30 p.m.

This contest will mark the Sounders’ 25th consecutive sellout.  The team and its loyal fans know that time is of the essence if Seattle is going to move out of the second division ranks of the Western Conference, where it has yet to taste victory, and into the upper echelon of playoff teams.

Coach Sigi Schmid was upfront about the importance of Sunday’s game.

“We’ve got to get points!”  Schmid asserted when asked about the Dallas game.  “It doesn’t matter what the other teams do. It’s a matter of us getting points. So we need to get points and we need to win our home games, for sure.

“So we have got to come out with that desire and that fight this weekend. These three points are very crucial to our needs and our success for the rest of the year.”

In situations where teams do not have to play catchup, with Bruce Arena’s L.A. Galaxy and its lofty perch atop Western Conference standings an example, it is not as essential at this stage to seek victories and three points in so many circumstances, especially on the road, where in the world of soccer a point can seem as good as a win.

Schmid has declared that he believes the Sounders will need 45 points to make the playoffs.  Considering that the team currently has 15, to make the playoffs under Schmid’s scenario the Sounders will need to triple their first half seasonal point production.

As for Sunday’s contest, Schmid does not expect any surprises from the visiting Dallas club.

“We have an idea of what to expect,” Schmid said.  “Obviously we have watched them play all year. We have played them down there so we know what they’re doing.

“They have stayed pretty consistent in their lineup. They haven’t started [Jeff] Cunningham the last couple of games. They have played [Atiba] Harris up front. They have stayed true to their 4-3-3 and we will be ready for it.”

Schmid does not anticipate any changes due to having played the game against the L.A. Galaxy on Wednesday at Starfire.  He points out, “We didn’t play an overtime game and you also have Thursday, Friday and Saturday, so you have three days and that’s pretty good recovery time.  We’re also at the stage of our season where we’ve got to put out what we think is the best team for the occasion.”

As the Sounders’ mentor prepares his team for its second meeting of the season against Dallas he cannot help but inwardly wince over the way that the first meeting ended in Frisco, Texas, and how Schmid could have used three rather than one point after the game ended in a 2-2 tie.

“We definitely thought we got jobbed a little bit at the end of that game with the penalty kick call,” Schmid bluntly declared.  “We don’t think we dominated the game from A through Z, for sure, but we had the lead.

“I thought we were managing the game very well and we didn’t put it in the bank, so to speak. We definitely want to win season series‘. We’ve lost a season series to L.A. We are even with Philadelphia. We need to win the season series with Dallas.”

After the final whistle Schmid was observed walking onto the middle of the field and shaking hands with the officials.  After his sportsman’s gesture he related afterwards that he told the officiating crew that they had “blown the call” that gave the home team its equalizing opportunity.

What made the deadlock all the more painful was that the Sounders had forged into a 2-1 lead late in the second stanza on one of the finest goal kicks of the MLS campaign, a free kick laser blast by Fredy Montero.

Schmid concluded his media interview with some good news on the injury front.

While conceding that they are taking the situation “day by day,” Schmid revealed that Osvaldo Alonso had done more during the Thursday workout than he had since sustaining his injury.  A decision will be made shortly before game time as to whether he will occupy a spot on the Sounders’ bench Sunday night.

Brad Evans is beginning to do more running, as is Jhon Kennedy Hurtado.

The time for the Sounders to make progress toward a playoff berth is now in that the team plays three of its next four MLS contests in the friendly confines of Qwest Field in addition to hosting Scotland’s premier football club Celtic FC in a friendly July 18.

The Rave Green is unbeaten (1-0-2) in three previous meetings with FC Dallas (5-2-6, 21 points), beginning the week six points in front of Seattle and fourth in the West.

Dallas has won three in a row and is unbeaten in its last four matches.

Sounders FC hopes to remove itself from a rocky period in which it has lost five of the last six MLS games, including three in a row for the first time.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

Nothing will be able to fully heal Knicks fans of their broken hearts after LeBron James' choice to go to the Miami Heat (unless of course the universe folds and the Knicks win a ring before the Heat do), but New York could be welcoming another superstar in Thierry Henry.

Barcelona have released the French star, and it has long been rumored that Henry will come to America to join the MLS, more specifically the New York Red Bulls. (The move is all but confirmed now with the Red Bulls set to unveil a new designated player on July 15th.)

Right away comparisons to Beckham will be made, but this is a semi-different scenario. Henry doesn't quite have the star power Beckham does, and is going to New York rather than star studded LA. Obviously New York has some star power, but it's no Hollywood.

So off the field, Henry won't be able to offer quite what Beckham offered, but on the field he should be able to provide more.

At a time where soccer is probably at its biggest in the States, Henry can come into one of the biggest markets in the U.S. and put on a show for fans of the game. What perfect timing with the World Cup coming to an end.

Henry will be able to step in and provide a potent striking partnership with captain Juan Pablo Angel. The Red Bulls currently sit in second place in the Eastern Conference, two points back of the Columbus Crew who have a point in hand. Adding a player of Henry's calibre will give them a more than legitimate shot at capturing the MLS Cup.

Beckham's arrival was supposed to signal an exodus of aging European stars to the MLS and in turn trigger much more interest in soccer from a North American viewpoint. At the time the signing was announced there was a lot of coverage, but it sizzled quite quickly, although almost every LA Galaxy away game sold out in hopes to get a glimpse of Becks.

But AC Milan came a knockin' and Beckham couldn't refuse the opportunity to play for one of the world's most prestigious clubs and stay in shape and boost his chances of featuring for England at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

During his loan spell, Beckham picked up an injury that kept him out of the World Cup and the rest of the MLS Season. Beckham is not the most liked man in LA, he even had a little spat with Galaxy captain and American hero Landon Donovan.

It's unknown if the same would happen with Henry. I do think he would snap up a loan opportunity during the MLS offseason so he can continue playing with the French National team as they try to save face after the fiasco that was their 2010 World Cup.

But I doubt he will show any home sickness when he is here. He has a lot of friends in North America including Steve Nash, Tony Parker, and other NBA stars. (Also reading up on Henry, he's a fan of the Wu-Tang Clan. Atta boy Henry.)

Henry won't quite bring the marketing power Becks brought (he could come damn close though), but he should be able to provide a lot of goals and creativity on the field for the Red Bulls. A great move for North American soccer and the New York Red Bulls.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

During the first half of the season Seattle Sounders Coach Sigi Schmid has had to frequently piece together patchwork lineups based on numerous injuries sustained by his players.

One of the key losses during this costly phase had been forward Nate Jaqua. 

On July 7 at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, WA, Jaqua served notice that he is back and a force to be reckoned with in the second half of the season as he booted home both scores in a 2-0 Seattle win over the L.A. Galaxy in the quarterfinal round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup competition before an enthusiastic sellout throng of 4,512.

Last Sunday night in a 3-1 MLS loss to the host Galaxy, Schmid’s first half lament was that the Seattle defense was notably porous at midfield.  Jaqua was the first change he made as the second half commenced and there was a notable tightening after he entered the match.

Since Jaqua was returning after a lengthy injury, Schmid understandably has brought him along gradually despite his bullishness in seeking to give him playing time.

In one sense the U.S. Open Cup tourney activity has come along at the right time for the Sounders since Schmid has had an opportunity to work Jaqua back into action gradually while unleashing some promising young future stars at the same time.

Jaqua was given quality playing time not only in the second half in Carson, California against the Galaxy last Sunday, but earlier in the work in a 4-3 penalty kick win after an overtime 1-1 deadlock at Portland in another U.S. Open Cup match.

The rangy 6'4'', 205 lb Portland native Jaqua gives the Sounders punch in two basic areas. 

He is an aggressive defender in the midfield area and he also possess scoring punch, as was exemplified on the Tukwila pitch against the Galaxy.

At 28 Jaqua is a young veteran, someone who still retains an edge of youth but with previous MLS experience with Houston and Chicago.

After a scoreless first half Jaqua went to work. 

His first goal came at the 50th minute.  Miguel Montano took a pass from Michael Seamon and blasted two rapid fire blasts goal ward that were superbly blocked by Galaxy goalkeeper Josh Saunders.

With Saunders off line by virtue of having to make his defense to prevent a score, an alert Jaqua was able to move into perfect position and nudge home the first goal of the contest.

A determined Jaqua was soon back for more. 

Twelve minutes later at the 62-minute mark Montano crossed the ball to the far post.  Jaqua took over from there and delivered his second score of the evening.

Not wanting to stretch their regulars in the midst of a long season and with MLS contests coming up this weekend, head mentors Schmid and Bruce Arena of the visiting L.A. squad had a chance to look at other talent.

Schmid should be happy not only over Jaqua’s play but also over that of promising rookies Montano, Seamon, and Sanna Nyassi.

Montano, a 19-year-old forward from Colombia, and Jaqua received enthusiastic ovations when they came off the pitch late in the game. 

Montano notched an assist on Jaqua’s second goal and put the Sounders in scoring position several times with long speedy surges.

Forward Nyassi also displayed good speed as he and Montano provided the kind of speedy one-two punch displayed by regular forwards Fredy Montero and Steve Zakuani.

Seamon is fresh off the Villanova University campus following graduation.  Schmid has liked his style of play as a determined midfielder seeking to keep opposing offenses at bay.

An opportunity was presented as well for goalkeeper Terry Boss to make his initial Sounder start.  He did not disappoint, recording two saves for a clean sheet on the night.

He has indicated that he would bring him along gradually and the recent U.S. Open Cup opportunities have provided excellent display windows to nurture Seamon along.

On the evening the Sounders took 21 shots to 10 for the visitors,  Seattle had seven shots on goal to two for Los Angeles.

Sunday night the Sounders return to the MLS wars against FC Dallas at 7:30 at the Xbox pitch of Qwest Field.

As for Seattle’s attempt to repeat as U.S. Open Cup champion, the next competition will be September 1 hosting Chivas USA at 7 p.m. at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

As the European transfer window comes to an exciting high point, Major League Soccer announces the signing of Spanish striker Miguel Angel Ferrer, "Mista", until the end of the 2010 season, as a second designated player.

Mista, who has played for Valencia, Deportivo A Coruña and Atletico Madrid, has played near to 300 matches in Spain, including an amazing 2003/04 season for Valencia, where he managed to score 19 times in La Liga, and win the Spanish tournament, as well as the UEFA Cup.

Mista began his career in Real Madrid's B team, but was quickly bought by Rafael Benitez's Tenerife, scoring 22 goals in three seasons.

Valencia got ahold of the Murcian striker in 2001, and he did not disappoint. Five seasons and 40 goals with the team made him a favorite of the Valencian crowd, but a disappointing last season cut short his spell with the team from the East coast.

The last four years for Mista have been even more disappointing; he scored three goals for Atletico in the first season, and did not even make it to ten games in the second.

For Deportivo, he was slightly better, playing thirteen games each season, but only scoring once in every one of them. However, his skill with the ball and unselfishness when it comes to looking for the team's good before anything else makes him a valuable player for any team.

Mista is only 31 years of age, and even though he has only signed for half a season, he has the potential to be the surprise of the year, if he is fit enough to find playing time starting July 15.

Mista will coincide with another former Deportivo man, Julian de Guzmán, who was very excited to see the Spaniard in Toronto, and promised to help the striker as he starts to adapt to a new country, league and club.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

Let me get this straight, Bruce Arena: I am getting word from Tukwila, Washington that your Los Angeles Galaxy reserve team did not take their contest against the Seattle Sounders seriously. They let a man by the name of Nate Jaqua salvage a win against your club, 2-0, in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Unacceptable. What were you thinking? Did you lose your mind by not starting Tristan Bowen at least, given that you chose to rest the players that would have allowed the guys to progress in the U.S. Open Cup?

If this is the case, Bruce Arena, you should have forfeited this match. The Galaxy did not take this match seriously and had the mindset of "Oh whatever. After we swept them in MLS competition, we'll go with 'two out of three ain't bad.'"

It's a asinine mindset, Arena. Why don't you take the U.S. Open Cup seriously? It would be a really good feather to go in the cap of the club, and it's not a difficult mindset to take.

Instead, Arena, you go with a patchwork group of second-stringers who have no business being in a match like this, and eventually get run over by a Nate Jaqua brace.

Seriously, the Puerto Rico Islanders will be believing that they have a chance against the best team in Major League Soccer right now in the preliminary round. It is a doomsday machine in the works with this effort.

These players need to turn it around. Wednesday showed why they needed Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle in this match. You can't rely on a group of second-string players and hope to pierce home-field advantage at a place that isn't even the home field of the defending Open Cup champs. It simply won't work.

I observed the fluidity and ball movement of the Galaxy tonight, and they were lacking. In all facets. You would have thought they didn't miss a beat from the last match at the Home Depot Center. Instead, they were out of rhythm all game. You cannot let that happen in any contest if you want to hoist hardware.

All in all, this was an unacceptable effort by the Los Angeles Galaxy. It's the price the team must pay for not taking the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup seriously, if ever. This was not the brand of football that its supporters should ever associate themselves with. Wednesday night's outing at Starfire was nothing short of a disgrace.

INS & OUTS:

Youth Academy Update

The Los Angeles Galaxy Youth Academy U-20s got their revenge against Chivas USA on Monday, shutting the Goats out 3-0 in a USL Super-20 Pacific Southern California Division game.

The victory exacts sweet payback for the Galaxy's 3-1 demise at the hands of Chivas at Bell Gardens to open the season. Since their defeat, LA has been 5-2-1 overall, outscoring their opponents 24-5 with a clean sheet in five of their last seven outings.

On Wednesday, LA faced off against SUSA-Everton at UC Riverside. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. The Young G's will next face the Poway Vaqueros at Poway High School. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PT. A victory here should seal the division.

The Galaxy Youth Academy U-20 wraps up the regular season on Tuesday, July 13 with a match against the Southern California Seahorses in La Mirada. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. PT.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

T-120 minutes to kickoff: It's a straightforward thing with these Cup matches: win, and your run continues. Lose, and you will be mulling on what could have been.

That's the situation facing the Los Angeles Galaxy as they look to dethrone the Seattle Sounders at the old stomping grounds of the Sounders, the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Washington.

T-110: There is no doubt that the Galaxy have taken this season series, but Bruce Arena would love to make the sweep complete at Seattle's back yard. The depth of Los Angeles will need to be counted on. Look for Juninho to make his presence felt once again.

T-100: What's a bigger incentive for the Galaxy is that they get a shot at renewing the Honda SuperClasico against Chivas USA if they dispose of the Sounders, who are going through a difficult year. This team may not even come close to making the playoffs. They are out of their league, sinking fast, and it will not be a surprise if the poor form shows up tonight.

T-90: Don't tell that to the Emerald City Supporters, though. They have hope that they can still keep their U.S. Open Cup defense alive against what should be another reserve side for Bruce Almighty, Dave Sarachan, Cobi Jones and the staff.

T-80: In other U.S. Open Cup action, Chivas USA blasted the Houston Dynamo 3-1, and USL Second Division side Charleston Battery said adios as the Columbus Crew saw them off 3-0.

T-70: Pitch here at Starfire is tighter, similar to the dimensions at Houston's Robertson Stadium. Stretching the Galaxy defense will prove critical to the Sounders' chances.

T-60: Lineups...

LOS ANGELES GALAXY

Manager: Bruce Arena

Formation: 4-5-1

Colors: White tops with blue trim, white shorts, white socks

12 Josh Saunders

20 A.J. De La Garza ---- 4 Omar Gonzalez ---- 22 Leonardo ---- 6 Eddie Lewis

7 Chris Klein (C) ---- 9 Jovan Kirovski ---- 84 Clint Mathis ---- 27 Bryan Jordan

---- 88 Alex Cazumba

21 Alan Gordon

Substitutes:

1 Donovan Ricketts GK

2 Todd Dunivant DEF

28 Sean Franklin DEF

8 Dema Kovalenko MID

19 Juninho MID

26 Michael Stephens MID

17 Tristan Bowen FWD

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC

Manager: Sigi Schmid

Formation: 4-4-2

Colors: Electric yellow tops, electric yellow shorts, electric green socks

28 Terry Boss

20 Zach Scott --- 31 Jeff Parke ---- 4 Patrick Ianni ---- 5 Grant Wahl

23 Sanna Nyassi ---- 22 Mike Seamon ---- 12 Nathan Sturgis ---- 32 Miguel

Montano

24 Roger Levesque ---- 21 Nate Jaqua (C)

Substitutes:

18 Kasey Keller GK

14 Tyrone Marshall DEF

19 Leo Gonzalez DEF

10 Steve Zakuani MID

7 James Riley FWD

16 David Estrada FWD

17 Fredy Montero FWD

25 Pat Noonan FWD

30' - A sensational turnout here today, 30 minutes to kickoff. Will home field advantage drive the Sounders through? Or will the Galaxy complete the sweep?

15' - I really dig these camera angles. Flags and chants from the Emerald City Supporters out in full force.

T-0: The Sound Wave, the Sounders marching band, with our National Anthem.

FIRST HALF START: 7:15 P.M. PT

1' - And this quarterfinal in the 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is underway, from Tukwila. What a nice-sounding name.

Sounding, Sounders...fits the team well. Throw-in Seattle. Some early dispossession in order for the Sounders.

2' - Corner for the Sounders on the right side. Alan Gordon deflects. Another corner.

3' - Eddie Lewis clears. Here comes Alex Cazumba. Dispossessed by Mike Seamon. Josh Saunders picks that up.

4' - Here's a corner for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Let's see what Clint Mathis does. It's another corner.

5' - Seattle playing some tenacious defense early. The defending US Open Cup champs, biding their time. Cleared by Patrick Ianni. Here comes Seattle. A.J. De La Garza gives chase.

6' - Goal kick, Josh Saunders. The crowd of 5,000 howls in disapproval. Jair Marrufo is our match official today.

7' - Bryan Jordan clears, and back come the Sounders. Throw-in for Seattle. Here's Jaqua. Eddie Lewis clears that one. Here's trouble for the Sounders.

8' - That ball is deflected for a corner. The ECS awaits the set piece. Out of play. Goal kick, Saunders. Good pace for the Sounders, giving the G-fense some looks. Marrufo warns the young Colombian Miguel Montano to stay on his feet.

9' - Roger Levesque dispossesses, and the G's are forced to reset.

10' - Back come the Sounders. Goal kick for the Galaxy. We have some up and down action here.

11' - Another throw-in for Seattle. THis is a 68-yard wide pitch. Those two yards less of space may prove to be the difference for the road side, we'll just have to wait and see. Goal kick, Saunders.

12' - Throw-in for the Galaxy. Terry Boss, the goalkeeper for Seattle, takes that. A possession struggle early on.

13' - Nothing too special from the G-fense so far (my new phrase for the Galaxy defense). You try to give some looks against this back line; they'd better be creative.

14' - Seattle is getting a good deal of the possession this game. Too ambitious a shot from Klein. Unoriginal look.

15' - Fifteen minutes into the contest and it's scoreless. How about that earthquake down in the Borrego Valley? Oy vey!

16' - Boss to take, and here come the Sounders again. Omar Gonzalez lets that go for a goal kick to Saunders.

17' - Pressure by Jaqua, but the Galaxy remain composed and regroup.

18' - So far, the adjustments to playing on this surface haven't resulted in any goals yet, but that may change. It's scoreless. Shot by A.J. De La Garza over the crossbar. Goal kick, Boss.

19' - A few throw-ins on the way for the Seattle. LA counters. This is Bryan Gordon. Wide shot from Alan Gordon. Klein had a better look. Best chance so far for the road side. Goal kick, Terry Boss.

20' - Here's Zac Scott for the Seattle Sounders. Corner on the way. This is Nate Sturgis.

21' - Cleared out, but here comes Seattle. Eddie Lewis clears that chance. Ooooh, Jaqua with the overhead. Too high, too strong, goal kick.

22' - Seattle now on the counter. They are intest to milk that home field advantage, the Sounders do. Jordan butchered that first touch.

23' - Great save by Josh Saunders. Point blank. Good challenge attempt by Alan Gordon, but it's a throw for Seattle.

24' - What was Mike Seamon doing on that one, pray tell? Some good passing here from the Galaxy, but back comes Seattle.

25' - Tyson Wahl didn't do well on that cross. The Galaxy slow the pace a little. This is Jovan Kirovski. The ball movement is good, but Seattle is there to snuff it out. Gordon is offsides.

26' - Bryan Jordan wasn't connecting on the feed from Chris Klein. Back come Seattle. Nothing doing.

27' - Here come the Galaxy, and there is a bit of a collision. Alex Cazumba is fouled, to the dismay of the crowd. Set piece Galaxy, and Ianni is shaken up.

28' - Patrick Ianni rises to his feet, but he got quite a knock. 30-yard set piece for the Galaxy here. Way high a shot from Mathis. What a butcher.

29' - Goal kick, Terry Boss, and we are still scoreless deep into the first half. Some footjuggling from Saunders, and he snaps that one up.

30' - End-to-end action, and Boss grabs that one. No long balls please, they are a bore.

Here come the Sounders, and ROger Levesque is offsides as De La Garza clears.

31' - What is with the long ball obsession today? Can't both side do some short passing for once? Throw-in LA.

32' - Back come the Galaxy, and Tyson Wahl outmuscles A.J. De La Garza there for a Seattle throw.

33' - Klein with the harsh challenge on Montano. Sturgis with the free kick. Wide right. Goal kick, Saunders.

34' - De La Garza clears that sequence for the Sounders.

35' - Good stuff from Nathan Sturgis. Here is Sanna Nyassi. Now it's Wahl. An excellent sequence from Seattle. Zac Scott missed the frame by five yards.

36' - Goal kick, Saunders. Not enough real estate, throw-in Sounders.

37' - This long ball obssession is gagging me...as well as the foul on Mike Seamon by Jovan Kirovski.

38' - THat long cross didn't amount to much. Seattle tries to switch the point of attack, but it's not working for them.

39' - Saunders smothers that ball. Back come the Galaxy. Wide shot by Alex Cazumba. Too hard an angle to fire. Gonzalez with the clearance. Clint Mathis blows that one off the woodwork.

40' - Nice work by the Galaxy to get some touches. Cazumba needs to brush up on his first touch. Gordon's offsides. Doesn't look like the reserves are doing much to open up the scoring...

41' - 41 minutes in, and it's still scoreless. Nate Jaqua with the hard foul, free kick.

42' - Terry Boss will take that one. Seattle with the quick restart and here they come. Gonzalez marks.

43' - Leonardo (I called his name for the first time) clears that out of trouble. How about that. Whew!

44' - LA on the counter, and Seattle clears. Too long a ball for Levesque. Saunders takes. The fans looking for an obstruction on Omar Gonzales; won't work.

45' - The Galaxy look to press for a late goal this half. But it may be a scoreless first half with this reserve side. Time for some subs and shaking up.

Yellow card 88 Alex Cazumba

Los Angeles Galaxy

Not a smart foul. That will draw the wrath of the official every time.

46'+ - From this point, I will use this to refer to any stoppage time minutes. Clint Mathis's shot blocked by Jeff Parke.

Halftime here at Starfire, and it's scoreless. 

HALFTIME

Los Angeles Galaxy 0

Seattle Sounders FC 0

SECOND HALF START: 8:17 P.M. PT

46' - The second half of this match in regulation begins. Let us see what unfolds. Goal kick for Saunders. Boy, has he been busy today.

47' - Some early scrambles here for both sides.

48' - Too high a shot by Ianni. Speculative.

49' - Good defense by Sturgis. And Sanna Nyassi is offsides. Goal kick, Saunders.

50' - Jovan Kirovski's cross is deflect for the G's fourth corner of the match. Left-footer from Eddie Lewis on the way. Not enough mustard on that shot by Cazumba.

51' - Here Nyassi, and here come the Sounders.

GOAL! Seattle Sounders FC 21 Nate Jaqua

That was a poor effort defensively by the Galaxy. They were not set on that stanza, and they paid the price. Good attempt by Miguel Montano to get on the board, but well done by Jaqua on the follow through.

52' - The match will open up now, and the pace now accelerates.

53' - Seattle will look to take control of this match, and they mix it up with a set of offensive looks.

54' - Corner for Seattle. Sturgis to take. Wide shot, and that will be a goal kick for Saunders.

55' - I am having some issues with this keyboard. Gotta reel this thing back in.

56' - Makes you wonder if this reserve side really was ready for this match. Doesn't look like it.

57' - Jeff Parke cannot get to that ball. Goal kick, Saunders. Bad pass by Bryan Jordan. Sanna Nyassi is offsides.

58' - This Galaxy reserve team is coming unglued. Still waiting for the substitutions.

59' - We are 59 into the match and it is 1-0 Seattle thanks to the goal by Nate Jaqua inside the penalty box in the 51st minute.

60' - Seattle is not looking like a team near the bottom of the standings here.

61' - Goal kick for Terry Boss.

62' - Here comes Seattle again. This is the type of speed we haven't see from them the past two meetings. Where has this been, dear SOunders?

63' - Great defense from the Sounders. Here comes Sanna Nyassi.

GOAL! Seattle Sounders 21 Nate Jaqua

It is now 2-0 Seattle, and this is how the Galaxy will lose their matches. Horrid performance from the team today.

64' - This is not looking like the Galaxy's day today.

67' - Can the Galaxy rally from this deficit? This has not been their night.

68' - Here comes Seattle. Jaqua was looking for the hat trick.

69' - It's 2-0 Seattle, and the Galaxy will be looking for answers when this night is over.

70' - If I am Arena, I am considering making some subs now.

Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy

IN 8 Dema Kovalenko

OUT 7 Chris Klein

Yellow Card 27 Bryan Jordan

Los Angeles Galaxy

71' - Alan Gordon with a horrid shot. What is going on here with Los Angeles? They are playing like a side that may not even get the Supporters Shield.

Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy

IN

28 Sean Franklin

19 Juninho

OUT

22 Leonardo

9 Jovan Kirovski

Substitution Seattle Sounders FC

IN 19 Leo Gonzalez

OUT 32 Miguel Montano

73' - Nate Jaqua has manhandled this LA Galaxy reserve side, who shouldn't even be showing up for this contest. This has been a disgraceful effort for Los Angeles. Here's Zac Scott.

74' - Gordon butchered the timing on that cross.

75' - 75 minutes in, and it's Seattle 2-0.

76' - Jaqua was trying to get his hat trick, and that ball instead found Saunders.

77' - Some of the passing here is speculative. Without their main men, the Galaxy have proven to be an unstuck bunch, and it showed tonight.

78' - Seattle dispossesses, and Saunders clears off his line.

Substitution Seattle Sounders FC

IN 7 James Riley

OUT 22 Mike Seamon

79' - Last 10 minutes of regulation, and it's still Seattle 2-0.

80' - From the body language on these players, I believe they can't wait for the match against New England.

83' - Is there any sense of urgency from these players? Here's Dema Kovalenko, trying to light a fire underneath the carpet.

84' - Substitution Seattle Sounders FC

IN 16 David Estrada

OUT 22 Nate Jaqua

85' - David Estrada is a player of the future for Seattle. Watch out for more of him. This is just garbage time for the Electric Green.

86' - Speculative one-time shot from Omar Gonzalez. Taken by Boss. This is a sign of how things have been.

87' - Great tackle by David Estrada.

88' - Only a few more minutes to go until Seattle defense continues for at least one more round.

89' - THe Galaxy are essentially a team of mummies now. There is no excuse for this type of performance when Champions League and the rest of the MLS season.

Yellow card 16 David Estrada

Seattle Sounders FC

Yellow card 21 Alan Gordon

Los Angeles Galaxy

Match is now getting a little bit out of hand here.

90' - How many minute of stoppage time, Mr. Jair Marrufo? Two, says the fourth official. These should go rather quickly.

92'+ - And the Sounders move on to face Chivas back at Tukwila, while the Galaxy will be looking for answers when they face the New England Revolution.

FINAL

LOS ANGELES GALAXY 0

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC 2

Nate Jaqua 51', 63'

Stay tuned for my take on the match and the ins and outs on The View and Bleacher Report. Whatever fits your fancy.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

The Houston Dynamo fans’ hopes for a Lamar Hunt US Open Cup title would come to a heartbreaking halt at the hands of fellow MLS Western Conference rival Chivas USA. The Goats broke a club spell by winning their first match at Robertson Stadium at the expense of what were undoubtedly the Dynamo reserves.

Despite losing the only two league meetings earlier this year against La Naranja , Chivas USA must feel they got the better end of the battle by eliminating the Dynamo from US Open Cup play and will await the winner of the Los Angeles Galaxy-Seattle Sounders FC quarterfinal.

Brian Ching may have taken the night off, but one could’ve sworn to see the USA men’s national team habits of giving up early goals on the field as Justin Braun’s header in the fifth minute opened up the scoreboard and gave the visiting Chivas USA the 1-0 lead. Houston Dynamo was forced to play catch up the rest of the evening.

Simply by looking at the lineups sent on to the field by their respective managers, it is evident Houston Dynamo sent their reserves to face all but two Chivas USA common starters. Chivas USA flew to Houston to win and their attitude exhibited that objective in immediate fashion. The teams would battle opportunities and possession back and forth, but ultimately the scoreboard maintained the same result til halftime.

The problem facing Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear at halftime has been the one in bold all season long: team complacency and no sense of urgency.   Both teams took the same amount of shots: two. The difference was Chivas USA converted on a shot for goal.

When you refuse to react to the opposing threat and furthermore allow the adversary to keep aiming for goal, sooner or later you will feel the attack. Chivas USA reacted on a counter attack led by Ante Jazic to a lone Michael Lahoud, who went one-on-one with a vulnerable Tally Hall and fired the laser into the broad target to place Chivas USA 2-0 en route to the semifinal.

No matter the lead, the dedicated 1,037 fans at Robertson Stadium withstood a light rain and rallied behind subs Danny Cruz and Lovel Palmer to control the midfield into an all-out attack to possibly send the game into extra time or win in dramatic fashion.

Danny Cruz has been on the rise, scoring recent goals in MLS competition. Lovel Palmer has scored in crucial situations; his first MLS goal came earlier in the season at Robertson when he fired a near half-field shot for goal and his most recent moment of triumph came in the previous USOC match where he scored the game winner versus Miami FC.

Houston Dynamo’s comeback opportunities were looking bleak until the 86th minute of the match. Joseph Ngwenya was fighting for possession against two Chivas USA players, found the opportunity and fired with power the Jabulani ball that would rebound off teammate Dominic Oduro and send a wave of thrill to hopeful Houston Dynamo fans that now saw the comeback to be a possibility.

To the dismay of those wearing orange jerseys in the stadium, the mood quickly changed as the lousy work at defense once again left Tally Hall alone inside the box. Justin Braun would sprint down the field off another counter attack and a valiant Tally Hall that managed to save an earlier threatening shot could not stop the misleading chip in stoppage time that would cement Chivas USA’s dominance and secure the Goats’ ticket to the semifinals of the 2010 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

A quick peek at the comments on the official Revolution Facebook page, the Revolution blog or (if you can handle it) Big Soccer, and it’s clear that there’s a significant amount of (negative) energy floating around the New England Revolution right now.

Since I already lobbed my questions toward Mr. Bilello (here and on the Revs Blog), and Mr. Burns (here and on the Revs blog) I decided to let my thoughts settle for a bit around the “damage control” Questions/Answers sessions the front office had offered, and how they went so very wrong.

Instead, I decided to follow up on my last post about how Real Salt Lake so easily out-manned the Revolution. Basically, I suggested that RSL was a superior roster in all positions.

Admittedly, for someone, who despite the blog-based critiques and criticisms, still considers themselves a Revolution fan, that’s some tough love to dish out. It made me wonder WHY our players didn’t seem up to the task.

So I did a bit of playing around with MLS Salary information, and found some interesting bits of information. Of course, if you feel there is no truth whatsoever to the old adage of “you get what you pay for” than stop reading right now.

Now, as I always do, I’ll caveat some of this… First, I don’t know deep details of how contracts are structured, and second, I’ll admit I completely made up a salary of $50K for Jason Griffiths based on what other rookies are making, plus a boost for him being an international.

I’ll also admit that some of New England’s most expensive players were not available—players like Taylor Twellman, Edgaras Jankauskas, Steve Ralston. I admit this under duress, since many of New England’s most expensive players are almost never available, which I would think would factor into their contracts, re-signings, etc. (But that’s open to debate…)

I looked at the players that were the starting eleven for Real Salt Lake and the New England Revolution, took my view of like/like positional comparisons from the last blog and compared salaries. Here’s what it looked like.

Within this, there are some interesting findings…

To my surprise, when comparing overall roster expense, the RSL team was only paid about $100K more. However, taking out each team’s most expensive players made the RSL roster over $320K more highly compensated. Shalrie Joseph’s team-leading salary really adds up when he doesn’t take over a game—something he’s capable of, but hasn’t been able to do recently.

It’s already been asked on this blog—and through the Revolution blog—why Shalrie isn’t a Designated Player if none are about to be announced. This should theoretically lower that salary burden on the roster, if not for the ownership, and free space up for new signings.

But outside of Shalrie’s salary, things actually get even stranger.

Number of starting players that earned over $100K. RSL: Eight. The Revolution? Five.

The lowest paid player included in Real Salt Lake’s starting lineup?  Fabian Espindola, with a salary of $75K.

The Revolution had FIVE players making less—some significantly less—than that number, and one more that just barely topped it at $76.5K.

If we call Sainey Nyassi’s $76.5K more or less equivalent to Espindola’s $75K, that means more than half of the Revolution starting lineup made less than or (practically) equal to RSL’s least expensive player.

Real Salt Lake had seven players on the field that were higher paid than their Revolution counterparts, and in only one of those seven was the difference less than $12K.

The four Revs who were paid more than their counterparts?

After the Revolution let in five goals, you might want to know that the RSL central defensive paring (Olave and Borchers) salary is more than double that of their Revolution counterparts (Gibbs and Osei.)

More curious is that in at least four cases (given my assumption on Griffith’s salary), the difference in salary between the RSL player and Revolution player of the same position was actually larger than the Revolution player’s entire salary.

For a team that has been lauded for its balance in recent years, and has even been used as a rationale against Designated Players due to its successful—if not beautiful—soccer, one must wonder if this team really does offer that balance at all. Related to a balanced roster, they’ve clearly been one-upped by RSL.

Might the success of drafting future All Stars Clint Dempsey and Michael Parkhurst have clouded the Revolution vision of what success might look like in MLS?  It’s hard to say for sure.

What we can say is this… the “you get what you paid for” adage was created based on some element of general truth. And the Revs haven’t paid for a winning team.

So as the supporters across the web spew insults, theories and accusations, the Revolution front office should know that sending a vastly inexperienced and under-skilled team out to compete is fine.

Just don’t be surprised by the results on the field or in the stands.

Your fans no longer are.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here