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    Guest
    Add the Montreal Impact Academy to the list of teams not returning to the CSL for the 2013 season. The club has made the news official on Thursday afternoon. The plan is to have the U21 squad play a series of 30 friendlies this summer against NCAA, NASL and USL Pro sides.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The CSA decision to cut ties with the CSL came as no surprise to Montreal, who has been putting these plans in place over the course of the off season, the staffer revealed to SoccerPlus.
    The promotion of keeper Maxime Crépeau and field players Maxime Tissot and Wandrille Lefevre to the Impact’s first team has left holes in the U21 lineup and with the Canada Games in Sherbrooke and the Francophone Games in France, the club is expecting to lose a few more bodies from mid July until the end of September.
    The team would be so depleted on certain weekends that it would make it complicated to field a complete squad in any league it could have entered into, said the club official.
    Also, first team head coach Marco Schällibaum has already opened the door to bringing up a few U21 players for his reserve team’s 14-game schedule.
    PLSQ: Not an option, for now…
    Last season, the Impact Academy played a few games against Quebec Premier Soccer League (PLSQ) teams, but the experience was judged as counterproductive by the technical direction in light of the upcoming season.
    It’s still too early to speculate on any future Impact representation in the PLSQ.
    Guest
    This week we take an extended review of the match against Houston. Discussion centres around what went wrong as the Whitecaps missed a golden opportunity to dump the reigning Eastern Champions.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Interviews with Shel Brodsgaard and Colin Miller, as we discuss Issues on the Island and Edmonton FC as the NASL season is about to kick off.
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    Guest

    U17 roster named

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    The final preparation camp for Canada's entry in the 2013 CONCACAF u17 qualifying tournament starts Saturday. The players involved were named today.
    The list below the jump.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    GK- Marco Carducci | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency
    GK- Daniel Milton | CAN / Ajax Thunder
    GK- James Pantemis | CAN / Lakeshore SC
    D- Alex Comsia | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency
    D- Mathieu Laurent | CAN / Mississauga Falcons
    D- Elias Roubos | CAN / Toronto FC Academy
    D- Kevon Black | CAN / Toronto FC Academy
    D- Ian Fernandes | CAN / Toronto FC Academy
    D- Aron Mkungilwa | CAN / Académie Impact Montréal
    D- Samuel Vinson | USA / West Pine Strikers
    M- Mikaël Cantave | FRA / Orvault Sport Football
    M- Marco-Leonel Dominguez | CAN / Braves d'Ahuntsic
    M- Kianz Gonzales-Froese | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency
    M- Jordan Haynes | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency
    M- Derick Sequeira | CAN / Toronto FC Academy
    M/F- Hanson Boakai | CAN / FC Edmonton Reserve
    F- Jordan Hamilton | CAN / Toronto FC Academy
    F- El Mehdi Ibn Brahim | CAN / Braves d'Ahuntsic
    F- Derek Cornelius | CAN / Unionville U-21
    M- Ali Musse | CAN / WSA . Winnipeg
    M- Marco Bustos | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency
    M- Andrew Gordon | CAN / Woodbridge Strikers
    M- Matthew Chow | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency
    For those keeping score, 13 of the 23 players invited are from the professional academies or reserve sides. Vancouver sends six, with Toronto five. Montreal and Edmonton have one player each involved.
    Ten of the 23 come from outside Ontario or B.C., which represents a much more healthy regional breakdown than the past few cycles. The vast majority of players have come from the Lower Mainland or the GTA recently.
    Guest

    SoccerPlus Weekly Show (March 27)

    By Guest, in SoccerPlus,

    King Schällibaum leads his troops on top of MLS.
    This week we revisit the exceptional start of year two for the Montreal Impact with comments from Canadian international Patrice Bernier, Italian DP Marco Di Vaio and CP reporter and regular contributor Marc Tougas.
    We also chat with Swiss reporter and long-time Schällibaum friend Matthias Erne who was in town for the New York game working on a piece on the Impact's coach for the Swiss national TV.
    Jonathan Tannenwald calls in from Philadelphia to talk about The Hex and we go over CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers with Arcadio Marcuzzi.
    We conclude with a talk with the initiator of the first ever Montreal Soccer Expo, March 29-30.
    All this and more on this week's show.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Click here to listen: SoccerPlus - March 27, 2013
    Guest
    "What have you done for me lately?"
    It's an old entertainment biz trope that's been applied to all facets of life (and was a hit song for Janet Jackson back in 1986). When we apply it to the Canadian women's national team vis-a-vis France and England (their opponents in a pair of friendlies next week), the answer is: A bit of a mixed bag.
    You'll surely remember it was France that was dealt a cruel, last-minute blow in last summer's Olympic bronze-medal game (courtesy of Diana Matheson's foot). On the other hand, it was England who downed Canada by a slim 1-0 margin in the final of the Cyprus Cup earlier this month.
    Then again, go back a little farther, and the the tables turn -- Canada knocked Team GB out of the London Olympics with a decisive 2-0 victory in the quarterfinals, while the French utterly demolished Canada at the 2011 Women's World Cup, before going on to a less comprehensive but still deserved victory in the final of the 2012 Cyprus Cup.
    So Canada knows anything can happen next week, facing off against a pair of tough, top-10-ranked opponents. After the jump, a look at the 19-player roster named by head coach John Herdman:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    1 - GK- Erin McLeod | USA / Chicago Red Stars
    2 - CB- Emily Zurrer | USA / Seattle Reign FC
    3 - F- Tiffany Cameron | USA / Seattle Reign FC
    4 - CB- Carmelina Moscato | USA / Chicago Red Stars
    5 - FB- Robyn Gayle | USA / Washington Spirit
    6 - M- Kaylyn Kyle | USA / Seattle Reign FC
    7 - FB- Rhian Wilkinson | USA / Boston Breakers
    8 - M - Diana Matheson | USA / Washington Spirit
    9 - FB- Ashley Lawrence | CAN / Erin Mills Mighty Eagles
    10 - CB- Lauren Sesselmann | USA / FC Kansas City
    11 - M- Desiree Scott | USA / FC Kansas City
    12 - F- Christine Sinclair | USA / Portland Thorns FC
    13 - M- Sophie Schmidt | USA / Sky Blue FC
    14 - CB- Kadeisha Buchanan | CAN / Erin Mills Mighty Eagles U-16
    15 - F- Adriana Leon | USA / Boston Breakers
    16 - M- Jonelle Filigno | USA / Rutgers University
    17 - F- Jodi-Ann Robinson |USA / Western New York Flash
    19 - FB- Chelsea Stewart | USA / UCLA
    33 - GK- Karina LeBlanc | USA / Portland Thorns FC
    Plenty of familiar faces from the London Olympics (14 of them, in fact), as well as some rapidly-becoming-familiar faces from Herdman's lineup experimentation thus far in 2013. Teenagers Lawrence and Buchanan have stuck around, while Leon (who formed a potentially-dangerous striker triumvirate with Sinclair and Filigno at the Cyprus Cup) also seems to have ensconced herself with the senior side.
    Cameron, 21, and Robinson, 23, are also getting another look with the senior squad under Herdman (though Robinson is no stranger to the team, with 50+ caps already under her belt).
    Barring any hastily-organized friendlies between now and then, the matchups against France (April 4) and England (April 7) will be the team's final tests before the high-profile, sold-out friendly against the United States on June 2. Herdman has said he'll only use players who are "ready" on that day (rather than testing lineups or personnel), so we'll have to see whether any of Lawrence, Buchanan, Leon, Cameron or Robinson can show enough in these two games to earn a callup in June.
    Big Red heads to Nice for the match with France on Thursday, April 4 at 9:30 a.m. PT / 12:30 p.m. ET, before heading to Rotheram to take on England on Sunday, April 7 at 7 a.m. PT / 10 a.m. ET.
    Both matches will be streamed live on Sportsnet.ca (hooray for that) -- but not, presumably, shown on Canadian TV. No word what will be on during the time Canada plays England, but at least for the Canada-France game, you can set aside any accusations of an "anti-soccer" conspiracy, as the TV network will be showing Europa League at that time.
    .
    Guest
    The ongoing dispute between the Canadian Soccer League and the Canadian Soccer Association has taken another twist.
    First, a quick refresher of the events of the last couple months:
    After initially denying a CBC report that detailed why the CSA had cut ties with the CSL, the league is now threatening to take whatever action necessary and admitting to their new status. That action apparently included taking out that full page ad in Inside Soccer - which in retrospect may look like a waste of money. If you care, I refuted much of what they claim right here. Since then, CSN has been the first to report that both the Montreal Impact and Toronto FC have left the CSL. And according to some, TFC will not return even if the de-sanctioning is overturned.
    Which brings us to today and the pair of events that have happened over the weekend.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The CSA board of directors met in Montreal on Saturday and among other things, re-affirmed their commitment to the Easton Report and their decision to sever ties and de-sanction the CSL.
    CSN has learned that as a result of the CSA's unwillingness to move on the issue, the CSL is now applying to the Sport Dispute Resolution of Canada for mediation and then arbitration if necessary. A hearing is expected in early April. The CSL has start their launch date for the 2013 campaign as late April.
    Two CSA sources re-affirmed that the CSA are committed to moving forward with their plans to build a national D3 league.
    This all may be a moot point anyways. With the Montreal Impact leaving the CSL, under pre-Easton Report directives, the CSA would not be able to sanction the CSL, as the league is no longer a two province division. With only Ontario teams, the CSL would need to apply for sanctioning by the OSA, or find another out of province team to join the fold.
    If you'd like a better understanding of the CSL's position and to read about how CSL chairman Vince Ursini described this matter as "a continuation of the conspiracy against the CSL," then you can view their letters to the CSA here, here and here. You can also read the CSA's initial response here.
    CSN will continue to follow this story.
    This story has been edited from its original form. Contradicting information was presented this morning which resulted in the change.
    Guest
    One streak ended in Houston on Saturday. Sadly it was the Whitecaps winning start to the season, and frustratingly it could have been so different.
    Vancouver came away from Texas with some important learning points to work upon and can at least be safe in the knowledge that there aren't going to be many Western teams that head to Houston and come away with anything either.
    How the Caps move forward on these learning points is what will shape their season.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    So what are they? Well some for starters...
    - Be more aware of what is going on around you
    - Get the right players in the right positions at the right time
    - Mark up and don't lose your man
    - Drastically improve at set pieces, both those gained and those defended
    All the basics, I know.
    When the fixtures came out you looked at this game and hoped to maybe come away with a point at best. As the build up to the game got into full swing, hopes were raised. This was the best chance we would have of heading into Houston and coming back with all three points. They were tired. They were missing players. Even some of the Houston media were sounding a little worried.
    When Darren Mattocks beautifully hit home the opener in the 36th minute, hopes were even higher.
    Then the game turned on a couple of minutes of madness. The Whitecaps blew a two on one breakaway and were immediately punished by conceding an equaliser to sloppy defending. It was LA all over again.
    Except it wasn't.
    Houston were there for the taking but they also rallied well. They earned their win as much as the Whitecaps threw it away and if they had taken their first half chances, they could have wrapped this one up a lot earlier.
    The Dynamo had 17 shots on goal, but only four on target. Warren Creavalle didn't have his shooting eye in during the first half and that allowed us Whitecaps fans to get a little bit carried away.
    Even understrength, Houston were the better team for a lot of the game, but when the Caps took the lead, we had the game there for the taking. If we'd just been a little bit more clinical, even a little bit more adventurous, we could have done just that as I think the Dynamo were ripe for conceding again. They showed after the second goal that when they attacked Houston, they got chances.
    The 2013 Whitecaps can be scary going forward and scary at the back. Get both tweaked correctly and the team could be electric. Fail and there are a number of other teams in the Western Conference that will take advantage.
    As with so many games, the Whitecaps loss to the Dynamo came down to not taking our own chances and not having the right people, in the right places in the box.
    Playing the blame game doesn't help anyone at this stage. Analyzing what went wrong, working on it and not repeating it does. It's hard not to point some fingers though, whether it helps or not.
    There's probably been three main talking points from the game.
    Should Mattocks have shot or passed? Who should have started, Hurtado or Camilo? Who should be between the posts, Cannon or Knighton?
    We've talked in the first two games of our strikers not being fully aware of their surroundings. Kenny Miller is perhaps the best forward we have in knowing what is going on around him. You'd expect him to be with his experience.
    Darren Mattocks, Erik Hurtado and Kekuta Manneh have a long way to go in this respect. So does Camilo, who is still young himself, which many forget.
    You want a striker to be selfish to a point. The best ones are. They want to take the shot themselves and if they score, then there's no questions asked. There's that fine line though in going yourself and finding the better option.
    Did Mattocks choose wrongly on the two on one breakaway? The ball across to Hurtado or cut back to Reo-Coker were possibly the better options. At the time I was cursing him for being a selfish bastard. On hindsight, which is why we don't write this column right after the game, if he had taken time to look up, he may have had no options on at all and an even worse angle to shoot from. Or he may have found one of them, the Caps went two up and we'd currently be sitting on top of the West.
    We have no way of knowing. The Caps management just have to make sure that Mattocks, and all the strikers, become more aware. That will help them become more clinical, because if we don't take our chances, especially in away games where they are few and far between, then we will be punished by the better teams. And we saw that with Houston.
    It was great to see Mattocks get a much needed confidence boosting goal though. What is it with him and away games?
    Nigel Reo-Coker's comments after the game have brought a lot of debate in Vancouver. If you didn't hear it, he was critical of Mattocks on Team 1040. Martin Rennie wasn't best pleased.
    If this had been Barry Robson doing this, there was have been an online meltdown.
    It's not the first time Reo-Coker has done this. He berated his Ipswich team-mates in the press during his short time at Portman Road. This was milder and seemed to offer more constructive criticism just the wrong place to do it in.
    I personally don't think it's as big a deal as some are making it out to be. I like to see that disappointment and that will to win. Some things are probably best kept to the dressing room though and I could maybe accept it a little bit better if the player doing the questioning hadn't had a shit game himself!
    I was surprised when Rennie decided to give Hurtado the start over Camilo, or even Watson.
    At first I was a bit excited. Were the Caps going to go for it and finally play an attacking game on the road? But I kept thinking back to the match preview I wrote of the game elsewhere. When talking about Miller's replacement, I espoused the merits of what both Camilo or Watson would add to the team. I then dismissed Hurtado starting as he brought no defensive qualities to the line up, and Vancouver would clearly need this away from home. That soon became very evident.
    I don't know how much defending Hurtado's been required to do with his previous teams. Sure, every player needs to help out in the box, but some, Sebastien Le Toux comes to mind, can do more damage there than help. Hurtado sadly showed on Saturday that he needs to really work on that side of his game, although he was in no way solely responsible for either Houston goal.
    My question around those incidents is why was he the man in there in the first place? Why was he jumping for a cross after being the only one to track back and pick up the completely unmarked Giles Barnes on what was a beautifully worked goal for Houston? And why was he again the man in the middle of the six yard box for Creavalle's toe poke? What were our actual defenders and more defence minded players doing?
    Now again, whilst it's easy to blame Hurtado, as he simply stood out in the middle of it all and looked a little lost as to what to do on the second goal, he at least showed the defensive brain to be back there helping. He is surely the guy you want up the park to get on the end of a long clearance, so the more experienced guys need to be stepping up and being in those positions and let the rookie play to his talents. And he did show some of them, with a lovely pass for the assist on the goal and some strong runs in the first half.
    How he bounces back from these mistakes and the criticism will partly show how ready he is to be a MLS starter. It was a bold move by Rennie to play him, but for me, it had to be Camilo for the kind of game he seemed to want to play. Experience on the road is so often key.
    With Rennie commenting yesterday that Kenny Miller is unlikely to start against Chivas, you have to feel that Camilo's performance has earned him a spot in the starting eleven for this coming game at least.
    The Houston game showed how much we rely on our full backs, and when they have off days, how much it can cost us.
    Andrew Driver ran YP Lee ragged at times out there, which really surprised me as he's never impressed me much when he was with Hearts. Alain Rochat fared a little bit better in an attacking sense, but he was caught out of position a few times and was easily pushed off the ball for the second goal.
    And that just leaves with the debate that's been going on since the start of the season really. Joe Cannon or Brad Knighton? I was happy enough for Cannon to start the season. What I've felt was important was that he wasn't then dropped for one mistake or one bad game. I don't think that helps the stability of the team or the goalkeepers, who are living on their nerves of messing up.
    Cannon has looked a little shaky at crosses this season, often flapping at the balls coming over. His kicking has been a little dodgy too. Does he deserve some more games?
    I think yes. Brad Knighton hasn't overly impressed in the reserve games I've seen of late.
    But if Rennie does make the change, he needs to stick with this for the long haul. We can't keep chopping and changing. I've had seasons of that back home and both keepers were just terrified of making mistakes and it did affect their overall game.
    The Chivas game is going to be a tricky one. I think the Goats are the favourites going in to it, but their defence can be a bombscare at times and if they go with three at the back, our pace guys could rip them apart.
    They are also looking deadly on quick breaks themselves, and if Lee and Rochat leave any holes back there, they will exploit them and do that to us. They're on a high right now and will be keen to add to it.
    The Caps will need to have the stomach for a tough encounter. Chivas will be playing hard. They've already recorded 76 fouls in their four games so far, racking up 11 bookings and they almost seem to play an old-fashioned rotational fouling system. When you look at the Caps side, there aren't a lot of players there that you feel can respond in kind. This could be the kind of game to get Watson involved in, and one to keep the younger guys on the bench. It may also be one to test Mattocks' new found calmness and hopefully his disciplinary issues from last season won't come back to haunt him.
    The next eight opponents for Vancouver are going to be Western Conference rivals. Forget Houston and their streak, these are the teams we need to be beating and keeping ahead of.
    'Mon the Caps.
    <center>**********</center>
    <b>AFTN 3-2-1:</b>
    3 points - JUN MARQUES DAVIDSON (Did what he needed to do back there. He may not stand out in games, but provides a vital role. No one really stood out screaming as the MotM in this one)
    2 points - DARREN MATTOCKS (Looking a little more like the player we saw last season but needs to be less selfish and more aware of who is around him. A screamer of goal that shows how deadly he can be)
    1 point - CAMILO SANVEZZO (Add some real spark to the attack for the brief time he was on the pitch and tracked back well to cover)
    <p>
    Guest
    After three weeks, the updated look at TFC's season through the publicly available data on MLSsoccer.com's chalkboard option.
    The numbers are blow the jump. Starting next week we will start to evaluate the numbers (when the data set is big enough) with comparables to other teams. For now, the numbers without comment.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Positive touches measures how often a player successfully converts possession into a positive result (shot, pass to another teammate, etc).
    [TABLE=width: 500]
    [TR]
    [TD]Player[/TD]
    [TD]Total touches[/TD]
    [TD]Positive touches[/TD]
    [TD]Negative touches[/TD]
    [TD]Positive touch percentage[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Bendik[/TD]
    [TD]85[/TD]
    [TD]26[/TD]
    [TD]59[/TD]
    [TD]30.5%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]O'Dea[/TD]
    [TD]108[/TD]
    [TD]82[/TD]
    [TD]26[/TD]
    [TD]75.0%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Califf[/TD]
    [TD]83[/TD]
    [TD]65[/TD]
    [TD]18[/TD]
    [TD]78.3%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Eckersley[/TD]
    [TD]171[/TD]
    [TD]123[/TD]
    [TD]48[/TD]
    [TD]71.9%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]AMorgan[/TD]
    [TD]123[/TD]
    [TD]76[/TD]
    [TD]47[/TD]
    [TD]61.7%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Bekker[/TD]
    [TD]96[/TD]
    [TD]70[/TD]
    [TD]26[/TD]
    [TD]72.9%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Dunfield[/TD]
    [TD]175[/TD]
    [TD]137[/TD]
    [TD]38[/TD]
    [TD]78.2%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Hall[/TD]
    [TD]116[/TD]
    [TD]87[/TD]
    [TD]29[/TD]
    [TD]75%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Lambe[/TD]
    [TD]105[/TD]
    [TD]84[/TD]
    [TD]21[/TD]
    [TD]80.0%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Ephraim[/TD]
    [TD]155[/TD]
    [TD]113[/TD]
    [TD]42[/TD]
    [TD]72.9%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]TMorgan[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]50.0%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Earnshaw[/TD]
    [TD]53[/TD]
    [TD]38[/TD]
    [TD]15[/TD]
    [TD]71.6%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Welshman[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]100%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Osorio[/TD]
    [TD]14[/TD]
    [TD]12[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]85.7%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Russell[/TD]
    [TD]34[/TD]
    [TD]20[/TD]
    [TD]14[/TD]
    [TD]58.8%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [/TABLE]
    Shooting percentage (only players with a registered attempt are listed)
    [TABLE=width: 500]
    [TR]
    [TD]Player[/TD]
    [TD]Attempts[/TD]
    [TD]On goal[/TD]
    [TD]Missed[/TD]
    [TD]Percentage on goal[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]O'Dea[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]0%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Dunfield[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]0%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]A Morgan[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Lambe[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]0%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Ephraim[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]0%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Earnshaw[/TD]
    [TD]6[/TD]
    [TD]5[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]83.3%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [/TABLE]
    Dribbling
    [TABLE=width: 500]
    [TR]
    [TD]Player[/TD]
    [TD]Attempts[/TD]
    [TD]Successful[/TD]
    [TD]Failed[/TD]
    [TD]Percentage successful[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Earnshaw[/TD]
    [TD]22[/TD]
    [TD]6[/TD]
    [TD]16[/TD]
    [TD]27.2%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Osorio[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]0%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Bekker[/TD]
    [TD]6[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]6[/TD]
    [TD]0%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Lambe[/TD]
    [TD]31[/TD]
    [TD]5[/TD]
    [TD]26[/TD]
    [TD]16.1%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Eckersley[/TD]
    [TD]36[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]33[/TD]
    [TD]8.3%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Ephraim[/TD]
    [TD]21[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]18[/TD]
    [TD]14.2%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]O'Dea[/TD]
    [TD]24[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]20[/TD]
    [TD]16.6%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Califf[/TD]
    [TD]17[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]17[/TD]
    [TD]0%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]A Morgan[/TD]
    [TD]29[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]29[/TD]
    [TD]0%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Dunfield[/TD]
    [TD]26[/TD]
    [TD]6[/TD]
    [TD]20[/TD]
    [TD]23%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Russell[/TD]
    [TD]10[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]10[/TD]
    [TD]0%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Bostock[/TD]
    [TD]42[/TD]
    [TD]7[/TD]
    [TD]35[/TD]
    [TD]16.6%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Hall[/TD]
    [TD]18[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]16[/TD]
    [TD]11.1%[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [/TABLE]
    Defensive stats
    [TABLE=width: 500]
    [TR]
    [TD]Name[/TD]
    [TD]Tackles[/TD]
    [TD]Blocks[/TD]
    [TD]Interceptions[/TD]
    [TD]Clearances[/TD]
    [TD]Recoveries[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Eckersley[/TD]
    [TD]17[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]8[/TD]
    [TD]12[/TD]
    [TD]11[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Califf[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]26[/TD]
    [TD]7[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]O'Dea[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]6[/TD]
    [TD]25[/TD]
    [TD]11[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]A Morgan[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]9[/TD]
    [TD]9[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Dunfield[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]6[/TD]
    [TD]8[/TD]
    [TD]10[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Russell[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Bostock[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]5[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Hall[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]4[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]18[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Lambe[/TD]
    [TD]10[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]20[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Bekker[/TD]
    [TD]5[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Osorio[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Earnshaw[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]6[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Ephraim[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]2[/TD]
    [TD]16[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]Welshman[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]T Morgan[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]1[/TD]
    [TD]0[/TD]
    [TD]3[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [/TABLE]
    Guest

    MLS Musings - Week Four

    By Guest, in AFTN,

    Our weekly, sometimes offbeat, look at the best and worst of the week's MLS action. We took your suggestions on board and either embedded videos of our best/worst selections or included links. So what did week four of the 2013 season throw up for us?
    <b><u>Games This Week:</u></b>
    This is one of those lottery weeks in MLS where who knows what will happen with so many players away on international duty? The only certainty was that a number of people's fantasy teams were going to be screwed.
    There are a number of unfashionable teams in MLS. The ones that the casual fans don't really care about going to watch when they come to town. Sometimes these teams can serve up a cracker and that's just what the first game of the weekend did and was our overall 'game of the week'.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    DC UNITED and COLUMBUS CREW gave us three goals, including a long range 'goal of the week' contender, a disallowed goal controversy, some goalkeeping howlers, some world class saves and end to end action. It was a great game for the neutral to watch and a fantastic showcase for the League on the NBC Sports Network. DC's 19 game unbeaten home streak was ended by a spirited Columbus side that took the game to them right from the first kick off. Bill Hamid has had a fantastic season so far, but was badly at fault when he hesitated at coming out for the Crew's first goal. He then went on to make amends with a string of top drawer saves. His opposite number, Andy Gruenebaum, had a howler of his own when he was simply terrible in allowing debutant Rafael's long range shot anywhere near the back of the net. Ex Whitecap Kyle Porter nearly grabbed his first MLS goal but it was rightly chalked off for offside after Lionard Pajoy went towards the ball in an offside position. Columbus got a deserved 2-1 victory in the end and are showing that they are a much improved team this season. Vancouver caught them at a good time.
    Shame the next match was a bit of a snoozefest with neither NEW ENGLAND nor KANSAS CITY able to find the net. KC came closest when they hit the bar in the first half but offered little else. The Revolution had two penalty shouts turned down in the second half, but also offered little of danger in the final third. Highlight of the game was Jimmy Neilsen flying out of his area to berate his four man wall after one free kick. Got to love the crazy dude.
    MONTREAL remained unbeaten with a fine 1-0 win over NEW YORK, in a feisty encounter that saw five bookings and a sending off. Montreal continued to look good, but New York had their chances and once again couldn't take them. Marco di Vaio could/should easily have had a hat-trick for the Impact, who are playing some of the best, if not <i>the</i> best, football in all of MLS just now. Some team is going to get a hammering off the Red Bulls sometime soon, when it all finally clicks. New York have had a staggering 40 attempts at goal in the past two games! With only ten on target and no goals to show for any of them, therein their problems lie. Sitting second bottom of the East, with just two points out of 12, patience will soon wear pretty thin, pretty quickly.
    We've already covered HOUSTON extending their unbeaten home streak with the 2-1 victory over VANCOUVER elsewhere. Perhaps the sole consolation that the Whitecaps can take from this game is that if that streak continues, there aren't going to be many of their Western rivals that come away from Houston with many, or indeed any, points. Better to lose to Eastern opposition than your Conference rivals and hopefully they will take a lot of learning points away from the game.
    One of the Western Conference battles this weekend saw two of the teams that many expect to be at the top come October battling it out. SAN JOSE took all three points with a narrow 1-0 win over SEATTLE. It was narrow in scoreline but SAN JOSE should have been out of sight in this game in the second half. Chris Wondolowski was dangerous throughout and took his goal well. He could easily have had at least a hat-trick if he'd taken some of his other chances. Seattle looked like they missed their absent players the most, which may raise questions around their squad depth when the injuries hit, especially in attack. They did dominate possession. They just couldn't do anything with it. The defeat leaves the Sounders sitting with just a single point from their first three games, still five behind Vancouver. Nice for the Caps to have any kind of cushion over these teams at any point of the season.
    One team the Caps definitely need to keep a close eye on, and apace with, is Conference leading DALLAS. We could still be battling with the FUDs for that final playoff spot and it was another three points on the board for them against REAL SALT LAKE and they dominated the game against a very poor looking RSL side. The Saltines had five players away on international duty, and had to make six changes overall, but Dallas were also missing three. Unfortunately for RSL, one of those missing was their talismanic Nick Rimando and good old Slosh Saunders wasn't a patch in old Nick, gifting Dallas their second goal with poor control from a passback that allowed Jackson to nip in and score. Fabian Castillo's opening goal though was a beauty worthy of winning any game, but again you could lay some blame on Saunders who went down a bit early. David Ferreira and Kenny Cooper could have had Dallas out of sight by half time, as RSL struggled with their marking. Salt Lake had nearly grabbed an unlikely equaliser, but Matt Hedges came up with a vital last ditch foot to direct Devon Sandoval's effort wide. RSL ended up with ten men after Yordany Alvarez saw red after picking up a second booking for simulation right in front of the referee. Knob! Four points from their first four games is not what RSL would have been looking for and they are a team that if Vancouver can keep ahead of for the whole season, then that should set us up fine.
    Talking of knobs, COLORADO's captain Drew Moor got sent off for one of those things that must just drive a coach insane, an off the ball elbow to the face. Stupid move that ultimately gave away a penalty that led to the only goal of the game, as LOS ANGELES won 1-0. How it was only a one goal victory, only LA can know. It was pretty much one way traffic for most of the game and so much of the game was played inside the Colorado half. Rapid's MLS rookie Clint Irwin was in top form to keep out an out of sorts looking Galaxy side on several occasions. Some bad finishing from LA had a helping hand. Colorado's defence were all over the place at times and easily taken apart from the Galaxy's pace guys. Something for the Whitecaps to keep a close eye on. One of the more surreal looking moments in the game came towards the end of the first half when LA a free kick on the edge of the box and 14 men lined up in the wall - eight from the Rapids and six from LA. Just looked so bizarre. LA come away still unbeaten though, whilst Colorado now sink to one point from a possible 12 and already their season looks a little forlorn.
    The weekend was finished off with the highest scoring game of the weekend, as CHIVAS destroyed CHICAGO 4-1, to go unbeaten in three. The Chivas players are starting to get their eye in and when you consider that all four goals were scored against the strong wind, it's even more impressive. The Goats were happy to sit back and soak up what little pressure Chicago put them under, then hit on the break and exploit the gaps the Fire were leaving at the back. Vancouver are going to have a tough job when they head down to California next weekend. On the one hand the Caps pace will have the ability to cause problems for a shaky Chivas backline, especially if they go with three at the back, but on the other hand, if the Caps don't get their defence together themselves or leave gaps, then Chivas will punish us. It was another robust performance from Chivas but only two bookings this week from their 16 fouls committed. Chicago didn't look too bad at times, and had their chances, the best of them coming when Daniel Paladini hit the post, but they just look like a team needing a break or two to see them get their first win of the season and off the foot of the East. Chivas are playing with an excellent team spirit and really seem to be playing for Chelis, running over to hug the management after most of the goals.
    So after all that, Vancouver slip down to fifth in the West, and the Caps are going to face a tough time of it in Chivas next weekend. Montreal and LA remain the only unbeaten teams left in MLS, with five teams still to record their first win.
    <b><u>Outfield Player of the Week:</u></b>
    Of all the first choice votes from the NASR guys for the MLS Player of the Week (I decided not to take part in the voting as I couldn't guarantee I would have watched all the games in time), none of them went for my choice of CHRIS WONDOLOWSKI.
    There's maybe a reason for that, and I did go back and review my choice in case I'd seen stuff the first time around that no-one else had seen. But for me, Wondo was a constant thorn in the side of Seattle, with seven attempts at goal and he could have easily had a hat-trick instead of just his game winner, not to mention a number of key passes.
    Juan Agudelo off Chivas had a good game. One goal, one assists and 26 successful passes, but for me, Wondo takes it. Props go to Montreal's Marco di Vaio as well though. If he'd only taken more of his chances, he may have snatched this, but he put in some shift.
    <b><u>Goalkeeper of the Week:</u></b>
    Columbus' Andy Gruenebaum had a strong game against DC, including basically a match winning double save but also including a cock up for the DC goal. Chivas' Dan Kennedy was another strong performer.
    Our goalie love is being reserved for DC's BILL HAMID once again though. His indecisiveness probably cost his team a goal, but he more than made up for it with a string of top drawer saves. He made seven saves in total, including a double one from Chad Marshall and Eddie Gaven, a one hander from a Federico Higuain shot that was heading into the top corner, and an acrobatic one right at the end from a long range Dominic Oduro effort, to name just three.
    Still prone to the errors, but more than making up for it with the huge saves.
    <b><u>Goal of the Week:</u></b>
    Many will look toward Rafael's goal for DC United, just due to the distance of it, but I feel a lot of the goal went down to goalkeeping error from Andy Gruenebaum.
    Chris Wondolowski had a nice strike from the edge of the box, after some great control to bring it down, and he gets my runners up vote. As it was the match winner, it came close to winning, but without wanting to play the homer card, my winner is going to DARREN MATTOCKS' wonderstrike against Houston.
    The reason this one gets my plaudits was for the both the build up play to the goal and the strike. The move started with a throw in deep in the Houston half, ended up back in the Caps half, before being blasted home after nine passes, thirty seconds and some nice footwork by Mattocks. Take a bow son.
    <center>

    </center><b><u>Save of the Week:</u></b>
    Holy cow. You could have written pages on this one from the DC - Columbus game alone, but it was certainly the week for double saves.
    Bill Hamid had a string of top class saves throughout the game, the highlight being a double one in the second half to keep the scores level.
    It was another double save from that match, from opposing keeper ANDY GRUENEBAUM, that takes my top honour. The Columbus stopper had been a little shaky at times during the game but came up strong with a double save to keep out a long range Brandon McDonald shot and then the rebound from Dwayne de Rosario. It was a save which ultimately gave the Crew the three points.
    (WATCH: http://p.mlssoccer.com/SAu5a/video/1656872/mls_2013-03-23-173412.640hq.mp4)
    Have to make note of Michael Gspurning's one handed instinct save from a deflection in the second half of the San Jose-Seattle game and the Earthquakes Jon Busch came up big himself, with a great double stop from Rosales and Estrada.
    Dallas defender Matt Hedges could have won the award some other weeks with his wonderfully times last ditch foot in to deflect a Devon Sandoval goalbound effort away for a corner.
    <b><u>Biggest Danger of the Week to a passing seagull:</u></b>
    Brazilians and free kicks are usually a marriage made in heaven. Someone should tell Dallas midfielder Michel, who hit one of the worst free kicks that you'll see not just this season, but in many a season. I couldn't find a clip of it, but if you have MLS Live, it's at 43.28 of the game. Worth watching. Simply dreadful!
    New York's Juninho's wasn't much better, but at least the roof was closed in Montreal and there was no danger posed to passing birds.
    <b><u>Dive of the Week:</u></b>
    Real Salt Lake's YORDANY ALVAREZ took a dive right in front of the referee to earn a second booking and a sending off with his team down two goals and missing six starters.
    (WATCH: http://p.mlssoccer.com/SAu5a/video/1657128/mls_2013-03-23-222628.640hq.mp4)
    <b><u>Fud of the Week:</u></b>
    We could have given RSL's Alvarez the award for what we've outlined above, but it has to go instead to Colorado captain DREW MOOR.
    As we covered in the games round-up, Moor inexplicably elbowed LA's Marcelo Sarvas off the ball and in the box, whilst his team were already under the cosh with eleven men on the field. A red card and game winning penalty was the result.
    It's bad enough for any player on your team to do something that stupid, but when it's your captain.... A prize fud as we say in Scotland.
    (WATCH: http://p.mlssoccer.com/SAu5a/video/1657262/mls_2013-03-24-000002.640hq.mp4)
    [For those not familiar with the Scottish definition of the word fud, well it has two meanings. One of them is that of a very stupid person. That's the one we'll go with here!]
    <b><u>Tackle of the Week:</u></b>
    In a game which didn't have much to show for it, Sporting KC's MECHACK JEROME produced a fine cruncher on New England's Kevin Alston. He picked up a booking, but nice bit of aggression.
    (WATCH: http://p.mlssoccer.com/SAu5a/video/1656800/mls_2013-03-23-165100.640hq.mp4)
    <b><u>Stat Attack:</u></b>
    After Week 4 and 34 games
    <b>Total goals in week</b> - 16 (78 this season)
    <b>Average goals per game</b> - 2 (2.29 ave this season)
    <b>Highest scoring team</b> - Chivas USA with 4 goals
    <b>Penalties awarded</b> - 1 (6 this season)
    <b>Clean sheets</b> - 6 (20 this season)
    <b>Unbeaten teams</b> - 2 (LA, Montreal)
    <b>Winless teams</b> - 5 (Chicago, Colorado, New York, Portland, Seattle)
    <b>Biggest win this season</b> - LA 4-0 v Chicago (2/3/13)
    <b>Sending offs</b> - 3 (4 this season)
    <b>Bookings</b> - 19 (95 this season)
    <b>Total attendance</b> - 117,301 (626,945 total for season)
    <b>Average attendance</b> - 14,662 (18,439 average for season)
    <b>Highest attendance this week</b> - 26,259 Montreal v New York
    <b>Highest attendance this season</b> - 40,150 Seattle v Portland (16/3/13)
    <b>Lowest attendance this week</b> - 9,723 Chicago v Chivas
    <b>Lowest attendance this season</b> - 7,121 Chivas v Columbus (2/3/13)
    <b><u>Fantasy Football Highs and Lows (after Week 4):</u></b>
    This is mainly my attempt to keep my interest in the competition going beyond the first few weeks this season, which has been my downfall in the past!
    <b>Highest Scoring Goalkeeper</b> - Bill Hamid (DC - 30 points)
    <b>Week's Highest Scoring Goalkeeper</b> - Cudicini (LA) / Perkins (MTL) / Reis (NE) (all 9 points)
    <b>Highest Scoring Defender</b> - Josh Williams (Columbus - 29 points)
    <b>Week's Highest Scoring Defender</b> - Five players with 9 points
    <b>Highest Scoring Midfielder</b> - Mike Magee (LA) / Graham Zusi KC) (both 30 points)
    <b>Week's Highest Scoring Midfielder</b> - Jackson (Dallas - 13 points)
    <b>Highest Scoring Forward</b> - Federico Higuain (Columbus - 26 points)
    <b>Week's Highest Scoring Forward</b> - Juan Agudelo (Chivas - 10 points)
    <b>Overall Highest Scoring Club</b> - Dallas (249 points)
    <b>Overall Lowest Scoring Club</b> - Toronto (102 points)
    <b>Week's Highest Scoring Club</b> - Dallas (80 points)
    <b>Week's Lowest Scoring Club</b> - Real Salt Lake (26 points)
    <b>Best Weekly Score so far</b> - Los Angeles Galaxy (90 points - Week 1)
    <b>Worst Weekly Score so far</b> - Chivas USA (23 points - Week 1)
    <p>
    Guest
    In a surprising turn of events, the Aspire training facility in Doha, Qatar is ill-equipped to handle a live television or webstream broadcast -- so, much to the chagrin of probably at least a few dozen people, the senior men's friendly between Canada and Belarus on Monday morning wasn't televised.
    And actually, given that the CSA's video highlight package has beaten me to the punch on this occasion (and that I'm elbow-deep in planning my own wedding this weekend, and am not supposed to be wasting time on this stuff oh God please no one tell my fiancee), there isn't much purpose served by me concocting fanciful scenarios in which Pedro Pacheco transforms into a dragon or Stephen Hart skydives onto the middle of the pitch to dispatch bowls of hearty gazpacho.
    So, instead, check out the video and some bare-bones information gleaned from the CSA's twitter feed during the game, which will hopefully hold you until the Gold Cup / the friendly against Costa Rica in Edmonton is confirmed / the team schedules a friendly against Greenland, to be played in Turkmenistan.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Tomer Chencinski earned his first cap for the CanMNT in goal, behind a defensive backline of Marcel de Jong, Andre Hainault, Dejan Jakovic and David Edgar, back at the RB position he's become accustomed to playing for Canada. Stefan Cebara was another first-time starter for the nats in midfield (a few days after earning his first cap), surrounded by Will Johnson, Julian de Guzman, Atiba Hutchinson and (presumably up front) Randy Edwini-Bonsu and Tosaint Ricketts.
    Much like against Japan, a tepid first half was (apparently) counterbalanced by a more spirited second half, though the chances that Canada was able to create all went for naught. As you can see in the video, lots of excitement, pushing and shoving, coaches getting sent off (or at least sent to plastic seating five feet behind the players' bench) and general good old Canadian truculence. Which would be awesome, if truculence won games. But, *checks final scoreline*, nope, not today.
    The good news is, Canada's played four friendlies so far this year, and it's not even the end of March! The bad news is, all we've scraped from those games is one point and one goal. But does it really matter? I needn't repeat my blathering about where these friendlies fit into the bigger picture; it was all pretty well covered in the post-game article after the match against Japan.
    We did learn that professional footballers are capable of playing for 90 minutes in Qatar without fainting of heat exhaustion, which is ultimately of no consequence for 2022 unless the morons at FIFA decide to actually put the tournament in the spring or winter. Or, y'know, they could let another decade of global warming make the already-intolerably stultifying conditions in Doha spike even worse, and watch from their air-conditioned luxury boxes as someone literally dies on the field. Their choice, I guess.
    Whoops, I'm lapsing into unsolicited moralizing. Must be all the wedding stress. In lieu of my usual "fabricated synopsis" nonsense, why not take a stroll through the twitter feed of a CSA official who helpfully offered translated commentary from the Belarus side. It's at least 45% funnier than whatever I would have come up with, including the fact that the Canadian side was evidently "attacking the mass" at one point, whatever that means.
    Maybe that's the key; maybe we just need to attack the mass better and everything will be OK.
    Anyway, talk amongst yourselves about how this result is the apocalpyse for Canadian soccer; I need to get back to yardwork before the in-laws yell at me.


    Guest

    MLS Week in Review – Round 4

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Round Four of MLS has come and gone: featuring eight matches, sixteen goals, a sprinkling of red cards, a ton of international absences and only a single draw - after rivalry weekend’s flurry of ties. There were some fine goals, a few surprises – Chivas dismantling Chicago – and the end of one streak, while others continued.
    Before the results, the goal of the round.
    There were some great strikes this weekend: Darren Mattocks’ blast from the top of the box; Juan Agudelo’s predatory curler in off the inside of the far-post; and Rafael’s long-range opportunistic bomb were all spectacular.
    Top billing, however, goes to Columbus’ Ben Speas; not only for his low, game-winning, seeing-eye drive, but for the importance of the strike.
    Not only was it his first as a professional, ending a very tight contest and disrupting United’s long – nineteen match – unbeaten run at RFK Stadium, but it carried a certain added significance.
    Last August, a day after falling 1-0 to DC, Columbus learned of the sudden death of rookie midfielder Kirk Urso.
    Speas was a teammate of Urso’s - both in Columbus and in college at North Carolina; both entered the world of the professional at the same time with the same club and fittingly, he dedicated his strike to his friend: "This is the place we found out about Kirk, so it was pretty emotional; I thought about that yesterday and I knew my first goal was going to be to [for] him and I wanted to get it today. It's just special."
    Special indeed.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MKLpQN8nt0A?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Results in Brief
    DC 1 – Columbus 2
    DC opened the weekend at home to Columbus in a match that, despite three goals, was highlighted by a pair of unbelievable goalkeeping displays: Bill Hamid with another fantastic double-save and Andy Gruenebaum twice denying Dwayne De Rosario at the back-post with miraculous stops.
    Josh Williams, goal of the round winner from Round One, scored his second of the season, again from a set-piece, this time a header from a delivery curled in by Tyson Wahl. DC’s young Brazilian designated player, Rafael, leveled the score twenty-three minutes into his debut. His attempt, an alert strike from distance, lashing a ball on the half-volley after turning centre-back Glauber, caught Gruenebaum scrambling.
    Speas kept his place in side and paid back coach Robert Warzycha’s faith with the game-winner latching onto a half-cleared Federico Higuain free-kick loose at the top of the box and smashing a low shot through a crowd. Ben Olsen’s DC sees their impressive unbeaten home run end, in part due to their concerning goal-scoring woes – only two goals through four matches.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-RSg8ltBD3w?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    New England 0 – Kansas City 0
    New England and Kansas City battled not only each other, but also a fierce wind, to a scoreless draw at Gillette Stadium.
    It was not a match without its chances: Clyde Simms cleared a CJ Sapong effort off the line and the Revolution had two penalty shouts – a clear Ike Opara hand-ball, the stronger case – waived away.
    Both sides will be content with their continued defensive prowess, having now kept consecutive clean-sheets, but Sporting’s lack of scoring punch – they have not scored in nearly two-hundred minutes of play – will be of concern to Peter Vermes. Jay Heaps’ Revolution saw their streak of winning six straight home openers come to a crashing halt in the cold wind.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZbyyciJxU98?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Montreal 1 – New York 0
    Montreal maintains their perfect start to 2013 with a fourth straight win, this week over New York.
    Marco Di Vaio scored his second of the season – another game-winner - after his sublime finish against Toronto last weekend. A Patrice Bernier first-time touch guided the ball behind the New York centre-backs for a clinical finish, taking advantage of one of the few times he was not called offside on the night.
    New York, without Thierry Henry, will rue the chances wasted by debutant Peguy Luyindula, who twice should have found the back of the net, and a red card shown to Brandon Barklage for a pair of booking less than ten minutes apart.
    Marco Schallibaum’s Impact sit confidently atop the Eastern Conference, while Mike Petke’s Red Bull, still winless, are mired at the bottom.
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    Houston 2 – Vancouver 1
    Houston’s unbeaten home run – now standing at twenty-seven league and thirty-three all competitions – was momentarily threatened when Darren Mattocks blasted a shot from the top of the box to give Vancouver a lead heading into half-time.
    Erik Hurtado played up to the Jamaican sophomore, who made space for his shot, turning Eric Brunner in the process, before hammering his effort high into the net.
    The Dynamo stormed back with two goals in seven minutes in the second-half. English-born attacking midfielder, Giles Barnes, scored his first in MLS, rising highest to head in a Ricardo Clark right-sided delivery and Warren Creavalle managed to poke in a loose ball from an Adam Moffat corner kick that fell to him as he lay on the ground, squeaking it under Joe Cannon in goal.
    Camilo nearly found an equalizer, his free-kick hitting both posts, but it was not to be for Martin Rennie’s charges, as Dominic Kinnear’s side continued their dominance at BBVA Compass Stadium.
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    Dallas 2 – Salt Lake 0
    Schellas Hyndman’s Dallas picked up their third home win of the young season against a Salt Lake side depleted through injury and international absences.
    As many as eleven players were unavailable to the visitors, though Nat Borchers made his first appearance of the year, and their unfamiliarity was on display.
    Fabian Castillo finally saw Dallas ahead after seventy minutes. Jackson hit a cross-field ball that put the young Colombian into space, one-on-one against Lovel Palmer down the left; a burst of pace and a flash of boot opened the scoring when his left-footed blast was too much for Josh Saunders, in goal for Nick Rimando, to handle.
    Jackson himself added a second eleven minutes later, harrying Saunders - after a suspect back-pass from Palmer - into a pair of poor touches that allowed the in-form Brazilian to poke the ball goal-ward.
    A last-ditch block from Matt Hedges denied Devon Sandoval his first professional goal, Yordany Alvarez was sent off for a second bookable offense, and, despite the loss, Jason Kreis will be pleased with the fight his side put forth.
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    Los Angeles 1 – Colorado 0
    A moment of madness from Colorado’s Drew Moor, lashing out with a back-hand swing at Marcelo Sarvas, defined this match between Western Conference foes. Moor was shown red, only the second of his nine-year career, reducing his already hampered side – both Pablo Mastroeni and Diego Calderon were forced off in the first-half through injury – to ten and simultaneously conceded what would be the game-winning penalty, as his infraction took place just inside the box.
    In the absence of Robbie Keane and the still-wandering Landon Donovan, Mike Magee converted from the spot.
    LA’s teenage striking duo of Jose Villareal and Jack McBean were handed starts and proved useful, though they – McBean in particular – were repeatedly denied by Clint Irwin, himself making his first MLS start after a debut last weekend, replacing the injured Matt Pickens, who left with a broken forearm early in the match.
    Oscar Pareja will lament the misfortune – and madness – that has hampered his young team who are still winless on the season; Bruce Arena will have enjoyed his side finding a win, albeit marginal, and maintaining their unbeaten form, without Omar Gonzalez and their high-profile attackers.
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    San Jose 1 – Seattle 0
    Chris Wondolowski scored his second of the season – and first from open play – to lead his San Jose to a narrow victory over Seattle.
    A long kick from goalkeeper Jon Busch seconds into first-half stoppage-time was flicked by rookie Adam Jahn towards Wondolowski atop the left-side of the box. The striker took a touch to settle the ball before placing a right-footed strike across the keeper and in, off the inside of the post.
    Seattle were without both Eddie Johnson and recently-signed Obafemi Martins and could muster little threat despite bossing possession.
    Frank Yallop’s Earthquakes, themselves short-handed due to injury and internationals, will take the points and run; Sigi Schmid’s Sounders must contemplate their worst-ever franchise start in MLS, winless after three – two losses and a draw – from the bottom of the Western Conference table.
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    Chicago 1 – Chivas 4
    Sunday’s lone fixture provided the shock of the round, though given Chicago’s rough start and Chivas’ penchant for late goals, hardly truly surprising.
    Edgar Mejia opened the scoring with a thundering blast from the top of the box, before Patrick Nyarko, scoring the Fire’s first of the season, finished off a bit of wonderful interplay between Maicon Santos and Sherjill MacDonald with a tidy finish.
    Joaquin Velazquez and Juan Agudelo put the match out of reach scoring within two minutes of each other – Velazquez from a free-header at the back-post from an Eric Avila left-sided free-kick and Agudelo outmuscling Jeff Larentoewicz to a long ball up-field from Jorge Villafana – before an own-goal from Jalil Anibaba in the final minute of regulation sealed the result.
    Frank Klopas’ Chicago remain winless after four matches; El Chelis’ Chivas continue to surprise all – and delight some.
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    Canadian Content
    Patrice Bernier was again the difference maker for the Montreal Impact. He controlled the match from his deep-lying midfield position and set up Di Vaio – his league-leading third assist of the season, all game-winners - with lovely first-time ball in behind the New York centre-backs to spring the Italian.
    It was his forward surge that drew the second yellow from Barklage having gracefully moved past him towards goal. Bernier was again named Man of the Match and has arguably been the best - and most influential player - in MLS this season.
    Nana Attakora made his first start of the season at right centre-back, in place of Victor Bernardez – away with Honduras, for San Jose as part of a former TFC heavy back-line – also containing Ty Harden and Dan Gargan.
    Nana was excellent, showing the sort of performance that inspired such high hopes for him amongst the Toronto faithful. He quieted David Estrada with some very strong positional play as the forward tried to squeeze by on the end-line and almost got on the end of a corner kick – he was getting mauled by Andy Rose, who could have conceded a penalty, at the time - then couldn’t get out of the way of a goal-bound Ty Harden shot (Note: read that again).
    He helped an Earthquakes side, without three regular starters, to keep their first clean-sheet of the season. When interviewed post-match, he spoke of the experience of Jason Hernandez and Busch helping and a great coaching staff – including Canadians, Frank Yallop and Mark Watson – keeping those on the bench motivated.
    He was named third star of the match by MLSsoccer.com – with six interceptions and twelve clearances highlighting a no-nonsense defensive performance.
    Kyle Porter came on for DC after thirty-one minutes, replacing Nick DeLeon, who left with an apparent right-leg injury. He had a goal controversially ruled offside – the offside Lionard Pajoy motioned towards the ball, freezing the Columbus back-line, allowing the on-side Porter to steal in unmolested and finish with a tidy, low left-footed effort – called back after consultation between the referee and linesman.
    He provided an excellent cross into the box at the start of the second-half, finding a yard space on the right to curl a ball to the six that Pajoy should have finished, had he bothered to attack the service. He also comically ran straight into Glauber once in attack and pulled off a skillful nutmeg of Wahl.
    Porter was very busy down the right flank, putting in a shift for United, but had a pair of unsuccessful dribbles and was tackled, losing possession ten times.
    Karl Ouimette made his first start for Montreal, becoming the club’s first homegrown signing to do so. He had a tidy match as the right-sided centre-back, generally playing safe and was well supported by veterans Matteo Ferrari and Hassoun Camara on either side.
    Ouimette put in a great sliding challenge on the dangerous Fabian Espindola who attempted to wile past him on the touch-line and even found himself on the end of a corner kick, but sent his unmarked header over the bar.
    Dwayne De Rosario again started in the attacking midfielder’s role for DC, going the entire match. He had a tough afternoon, completing only twenty-eight of forty-four passes and losing possession a whopping twenty-three times, though usually well up field in the attacking end.
    But in typical De Ro fashion twice nearly made the difference. His header from a left-sided Chris Pontius cross stretched the Columbus keeper, who just managed to push the effort around the post and he was later denied again on the goal-line by Gruenebaum with a miraculous save after the Canadian had attempted to force the rebound from a Brandon McDonald shot goal-ward.
    Wandrille Lefevre and Russell Teibert were on the bench for their sides, Montreal and Vancouver, respectively.
    Over Heard
    San Jose Broadcaster - and former player - Kelly Gray dropped a little hockey knowledge proclaiming, “A kick-save, and a beaut” when Michael Gspurning denied Ramiro Corrales cleverly with his leg when the MLS elder statesman was in alone on a break.
    The New York broadcast started a little sloppy, proclaiming Di Vaio as scorer of the first-ever Impact goal in MLS – he didn’t join the club until midseason, that honour went to Davy Arnaud.
    But took on a whole new life with Shep Messing’s half-time rant on Chivas USA, proclaiming them borderline racist and declaring it was time for them to go.
    The racism claim has been made before and is debatable. Soccer has a long history of clubs promoting their own, at times exclusively, and there is no proof, only speculation and insinuation, that Chivas would promote local products of Latin descent over those with other heritages.
    Dan Kennedy and Tristan Bowen, both California boys, have a place in the side and Bobby Burling, well, who knows how he has stuck.
    For a broadcasting partner of the league and such a large figure of the American soccer community, to so whole-heartedly slam another club, was a surprise and controversial.
    See It Live (We’re Seeing It Live)
    Jimmy Nielsen sprinting out to chew out his wall on a free-kick was entertaining, the big Dane is no stranger to confrontation; perhaps giving up smoking and the consumption of diet coke may not have been the best idea with Sporting’s rocky start to the season. Those nerves must be frayed.
    Steve Zakuani does not like being subbed out. Twice now he has stormed off, face athunder, when being asked to leave the pitch, though he feels he can still contribute. Too early to say a rift has formed, perhaps it is just the sign of a fierce competitor, eager to help his side – given how much time Zakuani has missed; it comes as no surprise he wants to play.
    Upcoming Fixtures
    Saturday: Toronto-Los Angeles; New York-Philadelphia; New England-Dallas; Colorado-Portland; Kansas City-Montreal; Houston-San Jose; Salt Lake-Seattle; Chivas-Vancouver
    Parting Thoughts
    A few questions to ponder and discuss:
    Montreal is the lone perfect team and have now won four matches to start the season; a tough test awaits as they visit KC, but given Sporting’s inability to score, can this marvelous run continue? Vancouver picked up their first loss of the season on the road, having relinquished the lead to two sloppy goals that began as poorly handled restarts; with their next match away to high-scoring Chivas, can they get contain the flying Super-Goats and get back to winning ways? And what of Toronto, who rested and took stock this round – will their BMO Field home opener continue to increase the positive vibes around the club or will LA take revenge for the Champions League meeting last season?
    Four of the five winless teams – New York, Portland, Colorado and Seattle – take to the pitch; do they find their first wins? And the other, Chicago, has a bye week to sort out their troubles before hosting New York the following Sunday; can they turn around their woeful start? Dallas has ridden its three home wins to the top of the West; can they take that form on the road to New England? Houston’s continuing home record comes under fire from San Jose – a fierce match, as the Dynamo were once the Earthquakes - will it continue? Salt Lake hosts Seattle, in one of the marquee matches over the past years, but with both sides struggling, will it live up to billing?
    Until next weekend.
    Each week James takes a look at the league as a whole.
    You can follow James on twitter @grawsee or read more of his writing at Partially Obstructed View
    Guest

    A new red

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    TFC has signed Ryan Richter from the Charleston Battery.
    The 23-year-old was part of the club’s 2012 USL Pro Championship team.
    Richter was originally selected in the first round of the 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft by the Philadelphia Union, and signed with the club following preseason. He was later sent on loan to USL Pro club Harrisburg City Islanders.
    “Ryan is a versatile, fit and talented young player” said Toronto FC Head Coach Ryan Nelsen. “We’re hopeful that Toronto will be a place where he can flourish.”
    Richter played his collegiate soccer at LaSalle University in Philadelphia.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Guest
    Vancouver Whitecaps headed into Houston this evening looking to end the Dynamo's 32 game unbeaten home streak.
    With the home side missing three key starters to international duty there won't be many better opportunities for Vancouver to come away from Houston with some points, but despite taking a first half lead through a Darren Mattocks wonderstrike, the Caps left empty handed after poor defending gifted the Dynamo two goals and all three points.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Vancouver were missing Kenny Miller to international duty themselves, and Martin Rennie sprang a surprise in his line up, favouring rookie Erik Hurtado for his first MLS start over the more experienced Camilo Sanvezzo.
    The inclusion of Hurtado seemed to signal that Vancouver were looking to play an attacking game in their first road game of the season, hoping to exploit the weakened Houston line up. As it turned out, it was the wingers defensive frailties that proved to be the talking point after the game.
    The Dynamo had a boost to their line up when Will Bruin was able to start after being a doubt with a hamstring injury sustained last week and the striker played an important part in the home side's victory.
    Houston were presented with the first opportunity of the game three minutes in when a bizarre incident unfolded at the corner flag.
    Joe Cannon rushed out of his goal and tried to shield the ball out for a goal kick but the ball held up and Andrew Driver tried to dispossess him. YP Lee was back and looked like he had cleared the danger but his clearance bounced off the referee into the path of Adam Moffat, whose wild shot went across the box instead of towards the open goal and Gershon Koffie eventually cleared.
    The Caps settled and Alain Rochat nearly played in Daigo Kobayashi with a long though ball that was just too far ahead of the Japanese playmaker in the fifth minute.
    One of the keys to this game was which team could use their set pieces to greater effect. Houston are a side who have looked dangerous in attack from set pieces this season, but susceptible to defending them.
    Vancouver got early warning of the former when Giles Barnes rose unchallenged to head a Driver corner narrowly wide in the 11th minute.
    Houston kept the pressure on and Cannon had to react quickly to palm away a Ricardo Clark shot that took a slight deflection off the foot of the tackling Andy O'Brien. Barnes had set Clark up with a delightful backheel and if Clark's first touch had been better it could have been more troubling for the Caps.
    There was no respite for Vancouver and when another dangerous Driver corner came out to Kofi Sarkodie in the 17th minute, the young defender fired over.
    The game settled down and the visitors were surprisingly ahead in the possession stats but not producing much with it and Houston were looking the more dangerous side.
    As the half hour mark approached, Warren Creavalle did well to get past Rochat and Kobayashi on the sideline and played a great ball down the line to Clark who took a couple of touches towards goal before blasting over.
    It was Vancouver who were to open the scoring with a stunning Darren Mattocks goal in the 36th minute.
    The move that led to the goal started with a Caps throw-in deep inside the Dynamo half. Nine passes and thirty seconds later, Hurtado slipped the ball through to Mattocks on the edge of the 'd' and the Jamaican at first seemed to stumble before regaining his composure, shaking off Eric Brunner and blasting the ball over Tally Hall and into the roof of the net.
    Nigel Reo-Coker was nearly punished for losing possession with five minutes of the half remaining in a move which ended with a dangerous Clarke ball across the face of the goal but with no Houston players in the box.
    The Caps went up the pitch and Kobayashi got in behind the Dynamo backline and just failed to get a low header onto a perfect O'Brien cross, when a sidefoot would have been the better option.
    The game was now end to end, as the minutes of the half ticked down, and Creavalle should have levelled things up in the 43rd minute.
    Driver took the ball off the foot of Lee as he was about to clear, hit the byeline and cut the ball back to Will Bruin. The striker looked up and saw Creavalle ghost into the box unmarked and played a perfect ball into his path, only for the midfielder to fire wildly over from 12 yards out when anywhere on target was likely to have led to a goal.
    Creavalle got a chance to make amends in stoppage time when Cannon could only palm a Driver cross into his path, but once again the chance was wasted and blasted high and over.
    It was to be the last chance of the half and Houston must have gone in at the interval wondering just how they were a goal down.
    For Vancouver, the question now was whether to sit back and soak up some second half pressure or to use their pace to stretch the game and try and sneak a vital second.
    Houston turned up the heat from the start of the second half and Driver drove over two minutes in, with Cannon well off his line and there to be beaten.
    Vancouver weren't about to get overpowered though and Mattocks showed that they were still an attacking threat when he tried to find the top corner with a soft chip three minutes later which Hall easily had covered.
    And the Caps should have doubled their lead in the 53rd minute.
    Vancouver's speed was to the fore as Kobayashi set up a quick breakaway from a Houston free kick outside the Caps box. Mattocks and Hurtado powered forward on a two on one break, but with the rookie looking open, the Jamaican decided to go himself and drilled his shot off the legs of Hall.
    The Caps were made to pay for that miss two minutes later.
    Houston won a throw-in in line with the edge of the box and a neat passing move ended with Clark playing an inch perfect cross from Barnes to head home unchallenged from six yards out.
    It was terrible marking from the Vancouver defence, who left Barnes completely unmarked with only Hurtado coming in late to cover.
    Spurred on by the goal, the Dynamo soon took the lead just past the hour mark and again it was down to bad Whitecaps defending.
    Adam Moffat sent over a corner and Bruin bulldozed his way on to the end of it, deflecting the ball into the path of Creavalle, who managed to poke it home past Cannon from inbetween a crowd of three Caps players from three yards out.
    The Dynamo midfielder rewarded for his quick reaction and the Whitecaps penalised for the slowness of theirs.
    Houston could have had three in the 68th minute with more good work out right by Bruin, but a free Barnes just failed to get on the end of his cut back.
    Vancouver brought on Camilo Sanvezzo for Hurtado in the 71st minute to try and haul themselves back into the game, and within a minute he forced Hall into action with a long range shot.
    The Caps had a great chance to restore parity in the 75th minute.
    Reo-Coker was brought down by Moffat in the middle of the Dynamo half and sent Rochat free on the left with a quickly taken free-kick. The left back sent a dangerous ball across the goal but Corey Ashe coolly cut it out with Kobayashi waiting to pounce at the back post.
    Vancouver were finding space against a tiring Houston backline and Mattocks nearly grabbed his second when he got on to the end of a perfectly weighted Rochat through ball but fired into the side netting.
    Sensing an opening, Rennie moved to add more pace to the Whitecaps attack with the introduction of Kekuta Manneh for the more defence minded Koffie.
    With eight minutes remaining Camilo was brought down for a free kick. The Brazilian picked himself up and hit a screamer of a 30 yard free kick that crashed first off the right hand post, then the left one, before the ball was scrambled away for a corner.
    The Dynamo defence was starting look all at sea and moments later Camilo whipped in a cross from the right which Hall let slip through his hands but there were no Whitecaps in the box to take advantage of it.
    Vancouver pushed hard in the closing minutes but just couldn't find another way past a resolute Dynamo who were simply happy to pack their defence and settle for what they had.
    On the overall play of the game, Houston were deserving of their win and fought back well. Vancouver played a more attacking away game than we've seen from them for a while, but they were made to pay for not taking their chances and some sloppy defending.
    The Caps certainly still have a lot to work on and cannot rely on speed alone to get the job done in these kind of games. Next week sees their first game against Western opposition when they head to Chivas.
    Having dropped three points in their first real test of the season, and with the next eight games being against Conference rivals, we will soon get a good idea of exactly what the quality of this season Whitecaps is.
    FINAL SCORE: Houston Dynamo 2 - 1 Vancouver Whitecaps
    ATT: 16,428
    HOUSTON: Tally Hall; Kofi Sarkodie, Bobby Boswell, Eric Brunner, Corey Ashe; Warren Creavalle (Omar Cummings 90), Adam Moffat, Ricardo Clark; Andrew Driver; Will Bruin (Cam Weaver 79), Giles Barnes (Luiz Camargo 81) [subs Not Used: Tyler Deric, Brian Ching, Alex Dixon, Mike Chabala]
    VANCOUVER: Joe Cannon; Young-Pyo Lee, Brad Rusin, Andy O'Brien (Corey Hertzog 90+1), Alain Rochat; Jun Marques Davidson, Nigel Reo-Coker, Gershon Koffie (Kekuta Manneh 79), Daigo Kobayashi; Erik Hurtado (Camilo Sanvezzo 71), Darren Mattocks [subs Not Used: Brad Knighton, Jordan Harvey, Matt Watson, Russell Teibert]
    <p>
    Guest
    <b>KEY PLAYERS</b>
    <b>Attacking</b>
    So far this season <b>Daigo Kobayashi</b> has been the most productive player for the Whitecaps in the final third, setting up the winner in the first game and then following it up by capturing the MLS 'goal of the week' against Columbus. While Kobayashi has been lining up wide, he has been at his most dangerous when he is in possession the ball in the middle.
    With Will Bruin out with an injury, it looks as though offseason addition <b>Omar Cummings</b> is ready to go after playing 61 minutes in a reserve game last weekend. The former Rapid has been dealing with ankle issues the past two seasons after scoring 14 goals in 2010.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <b>Defence</b>
    Similar to the start of last season <b>Jun Marques Davidson</b> is being recognized as a key player for the Whitecaps. He did an excellent job against the Crew by keeping Higuain clogged in the middle and forcing to wide areas. Davidson’s presence on the pitch also gives the freedom for both Lee and Rochat to move forward in the attack.
    Since last season the Dynamo have lost Cameron and Hainault from their backline and now Taylor will be away for Jamaica, so <b>Adam Moffat</b> will need to protect the defence. The Scot, who once played for Rennie in the lower leagues, will need to track Kobayashi when the playmaker moves to the middle of the park.
    <b>WHO'S ON FORM</b>
    Once again this season the ageless one <b>Y.P. Lee</b> is having another great start to the season and assisted on the winner in the opener as well as creating a number of chances against the Crew. The Korean defender has completed just under 87% of his passes in the first two games and has provided 12 crosses into the box.
    After a two year stint in Europe playing in Germany and Norway <b>Ricardo Clark</b> returned last season during the summer transfer window. Known mostly for his tackling and long range shooting the American international is being counted on to produce more in the attack, especially this week with so many missing from the lineup.
    <b>PROJECTED LINEUP</b>

    Vancouver Whitecaps (4-3-3) R to L- Joe Cannon; Y.P. Lee, Andy O’Brien, Brad Rusin, Alain Rochat; Jun Marques Davidson, Nigel Reo-Coker, Gershon Koffie; Daigo Kobayashi, Darren Mattocks, Camilo
    Houston Dynamo (4-4-2) R to L-Tally Hall; Kofi Sarkodi, Bobby Boswell, Eric Brunner, Corey Ashe; Adam Moffatt, Luiz Camargo, Giles Barnes, Ricardo Clark; Omar Cummings, Brian Ching
    <b>INJURED/MISSING</b>
    Vancouver Whitecaps - Out: FW Omar Salgado (foot), DF Jay DeMerit (Achilles)
    Houston Dynamo - Out: FW Calen Carr (knee); Questionable: FW Will Bruin (hamstring)
    <b>2013 RECORD</b>
    Vancouver Whitecaps: 2W - 0D - 0L - 6pts
    1st in Western Conference
    Last Match: 2-1 Win vs Columbus Crew
    Houston Dynamo: 1W - 0D - 1L - 3P
    6th in Eastern Conference
    Last Match: 3-2 Loss at FC Dallas
    <b>OVERVIEW</b>
    Vancouver Whitecaps return to action after a week off as they go on the road for the first time this season. It will be a daunting task as they go up against the defending Eastern Conference champions Houston Dynamo and their impressive home unbeaten streak. It should be an easier mission than normal because the Dynamo will be missing three significant starters due to international duty and one to injury.
    The Caps have the advantage over Houston since coming into MLS with two wins at home and one road loss. In the preseason the two clubs split their preseason matches with each team earning a 2-1 result.
    Expect very little change from the lineup that faced the Crew two weeks ago, with Joe Cannon seeing his third start in a row. The backline remains the same with Andy O’Brien and Brad Rusin partnering in the middle while Y.P. Lee and Alain Rochat both defend and attack from the full back spots.
    After a month of training and two games Nigel Reo-Coker should be more of an impact player in the midfield, with Gershon Koffie as the other box to box man and Jun Marques Davidson playing in the holding role. With Kenny Miller away on international duty, Camilo should find his way into the starting eleven for the first time this season, lining up with Darren Mattocks and Daigo Kobayashi up top.
    The Dynamo are coming off two straight losses with one in the CONCACAF Champions League and one in MLS against state rivals FC Dallas. Another problem they are dealing with is the loss of four regular starters, with midfielders Brad Davis, Boniek Garcia and defender Jermaine Taylor off on international duty. In additional to those missing players the Dynamo will be missing striker Will Bruin who suffered a hamstring injury.
    The big question will be how Rennie decides to play against the Dynamo in their first road game of the season. Last year the manager had his side play a very compact and disciplined formation defensively while hoping to get lucky and snag a goal on the attack.
    Another contributing factor in the club’s approach to the game will be the weather. After training in cool Vancouver temperatures the players will need to adjust to hotter conditions with a chance of thunder showers.
    This season the roster is stronger and has more attack options, giving Rennie more choices in the tactics he decides to employ. The coach may keep his tactics more fluid and wait to see how the Dynamo decides to play with so many missing players.
    Even with these losses the Dynamo will be a difficult team to beat at home and the Whitecaps will need to play a strong defensive game to escape with a result. A strong start to this three game road trip will keep their confidence high as well as continue the early season momentum.
    <p>
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