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    Guest

    Canada vs USA postgame show

    By Guest, in SoccerPlus,

    Recorded in Toronto following a positive 0-0 tie for Canada against the United States, you will hear our analysis of the game along with our American guest collaborator Jonathan Tannenwald (philly.com).
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    You will also hear Stephen Hart and Jurgen Klinsmann's post game conference and comments from Dwayne DeRosario, Julian de Guzman, Andre Hainault and rookie Samuel Piette.
    Enjoy the show!
    Click here to listen.
    Guest
    Vancouver Whitecaps rounded off eight Cascadian derbies in nine days at SFU this afternoon, and they did it in some style.
    The Caps' U16 and U18 teams were both in USSDA action against their Seattle Sounders counterparts, in what turned out to be two explosive games, with eleven goals, two hat tricks, two missed penalties, a sending off, numerous missed chances and so many bookings that even the officials lost count.
    The U18's kicked proceedings off by hammering the Sounders 9-0, and it was nine going on nineteen.
    It's not often you see an absolute rout in football these days, but this was one of them.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The Caps opened the scoring in the 18th minute.
    Ben McKendry set Caleb Clarke free on the left and his pace left the Seattle defenders for dead, before cutting the ball back perfectly to Yassin Essa to fire in off the crossbar from the edge of the box.
    Two minutes later it was two, when Essa volleyed home a Wesley Cain cross from the right.
    Three minutes after that it was three!
    Ben Fisk sent a low corner in from the right, Cain helped it on and McKendry buried it from inside the six yard box.
    Fisk acted as provider again for the fourth goal, breaking on the left before sending a perfect ball into Clarke to finish.
    As half-time approached, Clarke got his second, and the Caps fifth, when he used his bulk and pace to knock the last Seattle defender off the ball, before having the easy task of slotting home under the despairing McKay Owsley, who had been subbed in after the Sounders went four down.
    You know it's not going well when you pull your goalie and it's still the first half!
    Vancouver's goalfest continued into the second half and it was great to see the same intensity from the guys, with no letting up.
    Fisk and Clarke broke away for the Caps, with Fisk grabbing another assist when he cut the ball inside to Clarke, who looked like he'd taken it a touch too far, before recovering, rounding the keeper and grabbing his hat-trick.
    The seventh goal came in the 58th minute and this time Fisk was to get his name on the scoresheet, finishing superbly at the near post from the tightest of angles, after a great ball from Alex Rowley had played him in.
    Six minutes later and it was eight.
    Clarke sent a cross in from the right to Spencer DeBoice at the back post. His shot was blocked, but as it rebounded up into the air, Essa was on hand to head home and grab the second Caps hat-trick of the match.
    It was nearly nine two minutes later, when some fancy footwork from DeBoice finished with him sending a great cross into the box, which was met perfectly by the head of Cain, only to be thwarted by a leg save from the keeper.
    It was only delaying the inevitable by three minutes and goal number nine came in the 69th minute when Cain drilled home a long range rocket.
    The Caps, and the fans in attendance, wanted ten and only an acrobatic save by the Sounders keeper from another Cain header stopped them getting that in the 79th minute.
    The resultant corner fell to Clarke at the back post and his shot was scrambled off the line.
    Vancouver did have the ball in the net for a tenth time with eight minutes remaining, when DeBoice knocked in a Cain cross through the keeper's legs, only to be denied by a late offside flag.
    Seattle had the chance to grab a little bit of self pride a minute later, but even wasted that opportunity when Aaron Kovar blasted a pity penalty off the crossbar, although Callum Irving looked to have had it covered if it had been on target anyway.
    The tenth Caps goal sadly never came and we had to settle for just a 9-0 drubbing instead!
    It's always nice to beat any Sounders team, but to do it in such a fashion was particularly pleasing and sets the guys up for the U18 playoffs perfectly.
    Caleb's hat-trick takes him to 24 goals in 22 U18 games this season, whilst Yassin's hat-trick moves him to 16 goals in 23 games.
    The Caps U18's line up was as follows:
    Callum Irving; Declan Rodriguez, Jason van Blerk, Daniel Stanese, Adam Polakiewicz (Tim Hickson 67); Alex Rowley, Ben McKendry (Carlos Patino 71), Wesley Cain; Ben Fisk (Spencer DeBoice 60), Caleb Clarke, Yassin Essa
    After the game, a German man asked me if the Sounders future looked bright. Nein, I said.
    It's hard to follow a game like that, but the U16's did an excellent job in doing so, with a 2-0 victory in a top of the table match-up spoiled by an officious, card happy referee.
    It was a mark of how well the U16's have developed this season. They were easily outclassed in a 4-0 drubbing down at Starfire in December, but they've worked hard and really come on to their game, and the results were evident today.
    The Caps took the lead just five minutes in when Sebastian Cabrera hit a rocket home, after some good build up play on the left.
    Seattle had a chance to level midway through the half, when they were awarded a soft penalty for handball in the box in the 36th minute.
    Up stepped Jalen Markey, but Whitecaps keeper Marco Carducci got down well to his left to keep the Sounders at bay (as you can see below):
    <center><iframe width="500" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4iEiiAoEUtw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>
    Carducci had turned in a "man of the match" performance in the <a href="http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/content.php?2578-Whitecaps-Under-18s-Pride-Of-Cascadia" target="_blank">game in December</a>, and he had another strong performance this afternoon.
    The Caps went in one up at the break and the second half saw both teams in full battle mode and looking for the next goal.
    Isidro Prado-Huerta hit the post for Seattle, before Kalifala Konneh blasted over from close range for Vancouver.
    The game's turning point came when Seattle went down to ten men midway through the second half following a stamping incident.
    It was a straight red and one of just many cards shown.
    We're not exaggerating when we say that the referee must have booked nearly every player on the pitch during the game. We actually asked him after the match how many bookings it was and one of the linesmen told us that they were still counting it up and needed three hands to count them!
    The Caps soon turned up the heat and nearly doubled their lead when Sam Adekugbe sent a perfect ball across the goal from the left, with Brody Huitema just inches away from getting a foot on it as he slid in.
    The Sounders had a great chance to level in the closing minutes following a defensive mix up, but fired wide of the left hand post with the goal gaping.
    Vancouver were to make them pay with a second goal soon after.
    Jordan Haynes nutmegged a Sounder to set up Adekugbe on the left, and this time the left back's great cross into the box was met by Huitema and the deadly marksman made no mistake to fire home from close range.
    The goal was Huitema's 19th goal in 21 U16 matches for the Caps this season, and it is little wonder that the striker is already garnering interest from a number of US colleges.
    He is definitely a Caps MLS player for the future and some of his flicks and skills are just sublime for any player, never mind a 16 year old.
    The final whistle soon came and the Caps had a well deserved 2-0 victory that secured the top spot in the USSDA Western Conference Northwest Division for the Caps and a vital top seeding for the playoffs in Dallas later this month.
    The Caps U16's line up was as follows:
    Marco Carducci; Quinton Duncan, Alex Comsia, Jackson Farmer, Sam Adekugbe; Matthew Chow (Titouan Chopin 65), Liam Elbourne (Marco Bustos 45), Mitch Piraux, Sebastien Cabrera (Jordan Haynes 72); Sadi Jalali (Kalifala Konneh 60), Brody Huitema
    If both the U16 and U18 sides keep up their recent form, then we could be seeing some more silverware in the Whitecaps trophy cabinet by the end of July.
    <p>
    Guest
    Every few weeks, whenever we feel like it, we think of a subject for a football team to be based around for our "Team of the Week". Then we fill it with our starting eleven of current and recent MLS players with some appropriate name changes, or even better, just as is!
    Your scouting job is to come up with the subs bench, from any player from around the world, and leave your player suggestions in the comments section.
    Yesterday was National Doughnut Day, so in honour of this special occasion we headed in to Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland after the PDL game in the morning to pick up some snacks for the journey home.
    With our arteries clogging, we couldn't post our "MLS Team of the Week" yesterday, but today we can now bring you the <b>Doughnut XI</b>….
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <center>**********</center>
    <b>GK:</b> Kasey Cruller (ex Seattle Sounders)
    <b>D :</b> Greg Glazeura (Vancouver Whitecaps)
    <b>D :</b> Timbit Ward (San Jose Earthquakes)
    <b>D :</b> Tim Cream (ex New York Red Bulls, now Bolton)
    <b>M :</b> Jelly Nguyen (New England Revolution)
    <b>M :</b> Fritterry Dunfield (Toronto)
    <b>M :</b> Brad Ring (San Jose Earthquakes)
    <b>M :</b> Long John Thorrington (Vancouver Whitecaps)
    <b>F :</b> Jason Sugarey (ex Houston Dynamo, now Carolina Railhawks)
    <b>F :</b> Jam Weaver (Houston Dynamo)
    <b>F :</b> Krispy Kreme Boyd (Portland Timbers)
    Looking forward to their upcoming friendly with Yeast Fife.
    </p>
    Guest
    Vancouver Whitecaps continued their period of Cascadian derbies with two more games on Friday and AFTN took in both matches.
    It was a case of you win some, you lose some, with the U23's losing 2-1 to Portland in the morning, but the Reserves beating Seattle 2-1 in the evening.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The day kicked off at 11am with another trip to Piggy Park in Portland, this time on PDL action.
    Having set the attendance record for a PDL match last week, the Timbers broke it again with 8,174 fans heading along to see the Timbers U23's make it five wins out of five.
    Portland were deserved winners in the end, but had two absolute howlers from Caps goalkeeper Lucas Menz to thank for the three points. It was definitely a debut to forget for the former Abbotsford Mariners goalie.
    The Timbers had the better of the early proceedings, with Menz saving an Erik Hurtado shot at his near post in the third minute.
    A minute later, it was the woodwork that saved the Caps, with Cam Vickers heading a Roberto Farfan cross off the bar.
    With Portland in the ascendency, Hurtado, Mark Sherrod and Steven Evans all put good chances wide for the Timbers.
    Vancouver then shocked the hosts with a cracking goal against the run of play in the 33rd minute.
    Caps captain Gagandeep Dosanjh played the ball through to Ben Fisk, who unleashed a rocket from just inside the box high into the net to stun the home fans.
    The goal seemed to knock the wind out of the sails of the Timbers for the rest of the half.
    With two minutes remaining, Michael Marousek cut the ball back to Cam Hundal just inside the box and although Portland keeper Spencer Richey fumbled his low drive, he managed to recover quickly to grab the rebound.
    The Timbers nearly tied things up in first half stoppage time, but Menz did well to keep out Chris Harms with a fine leg save at his near post.
    Down a goal, Portland really came out all guns blazing in the second half.
    Hurtado flashed a header wide in the first minute of the restart and Farfan fired inches past the right hand post seven minutes later.
    As the hour mark approached, Sherrod connected with a Vickers cross and was the latest Timber to come within inches of grabbing the equaliser.
    Although Vancouver were living on borrowed time, the manner in which they did finally concede was unfortunate.
    Sherrod broke up the left for Portland in the 65th minute and played in Farfan, who ran into the box and hit a speculative shot towards goal which Menz seemed to have easily covered. Unfortunately for the Caps keeper, he got down to it a split second too late and allowed the ball to squirm under his body and into the net.
    Portland continued to pressure straight from the kick off and Hurtado found himself unmarked at the back post, blasting over, when anywhere on target would have given the Timbers the lead.
    The home side got that lead in the 70th minute.
    Sherrod slipped a neat pass inside to Vickers, who stayed onside perfectly to beat Menz at his near post. The goalie once again seemed to have the shot covered but somehow let the ball through his hands and into the back of the goal.
    With twelve minutes remaining, the Caps had a rare foray forward, when Hundal ran at the Timbers defence and won a corner. As the corner came across, a Hundal volley forced a fine save from Richey for another corner.
    It was the closest Vancouver came to levelling and the final whistle signalled a disappointing loss.
    The Whitecaps line up was:
    Lucas Menz; Bobby Jhutty, James Farenhorst, Shawn Parkes, Adam Polakiewicz; Cam Hundal, Ben McKendry (Carlos Marquez 60), Reynold Stewart (Gagan Josan 85), Gagandeep Dosanjh; Ben Fisk (Yassin Essa 69), Michael Marousek [subs Not Used: Callum Irving, Tyrin Hutchings, Sangyoon Hwang]
    You can find some photos from the PDL game <a href="
    " target="_blank">here</a> on AFTN's <a href=" " target="_blank"><b>Flickr</b></a> account.Five hours later, up the I5, the Whitecaps were to have the better of the next Cascadian derby, as the Reserves triumphed 2-1 over Seattle Sounders at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila.
    The big talking point for Seattle fans was the return of striker Steve Zakuani, playing his first competitive match since having his leg broken over a year ago. For Vancouver fans, the big talking points were another two goals from Carlyle Mitchell to seal the win and the fact that it has now become clear that Darren Mattocks is never going to score against Seattle!
    Vancouver had the first real chance of the match when Greg Klazura shot over at the ten minute mark.
    The Caps kept the pressure on and Mattocks brilliantly got his head onto a Michael Nanchoff cross, only to see his goalbound effort acrobatically stopped by reality TV flop Andrew Weber in the Sounders goal.
    Zakuani nearly made it a dream return in the 21st minute, when he got onto the end of a long Seattle punt up the field, shaking off the attentions of two Vancouver defenders before trying to lob Brad Knighton with his outstretched foot. The Caps keeper just managed to make himself big enough to claw the ball down into his arms.
    Vancouver kept pressing and forced a couple of corners in the 26th minute. As Nanchoff sent over the second one, Mitchell rose unchallenged to head a brilliant bullet into the net for the opening goal.
    The Sounders came close to levelling two minutes later when Zakuani ran at Mitchell, twisted and turned, before firing inches past the left hand post.
    Omar Salgado had a great chance to make it two for the Caps in the 31st minute when he stayed onside to get on the end of Etienne Barbara's perfect through ball, but he pulled his shot wide right.
    Three minutes later, Knighton had to be alert to get down low to a Christian Sivebaek shot.
    With nine minutes remaining, Servando Carrasco went in high on Russell Teibert, as the young Canadian breezed past him on an attack. The American earned a booking and Teibert had to be helped off the field with a thigh injury.
    Mattocks again came close to netting his first goal against the Sounders in the 40th minute, flicking on Barbara's cross towards goal, only to be thwarted by a last ditch scrambled clearance from the last defender on the line.
    If the Jamaican was frustrated by that, he was to be even more so nine minutes into the second half.
    Barbara played him in with another inch-perfect ball and Mattocks' pace left two Seattle defenders for dead, as he bore down on goal. He should have buried it, but hit it fairly meekly and allowed Weber to get a despairing hand to it and pull it in.
    As the hour mark approached, the home side should have levelled.
    Aaron Kovar gave Mitchell a hard time in the box and it looked as if the Trinidad international had pulled the Sounders Academy player back. With no penalty given, Kovar then hit a weak shot at Knighton from a great position, when he really should have found the net.
    Another weak shot cost the Sounders two minutes later, after David Estrada had easily dispossessed Matt Watson and ran through on goal.
    The Whitecaps doubled their advantage in the 73rd minute and it was another bullet header from Mitchell.
    Floyd Franks sent in a free kick to the back post and Mitchell was allowed to ghost in and give Weber no chance.
    As you can see from this picture of the goal, he was perhaps allowed to ghost in as he apparently had removed his head!
    The Sounders then pushed forward looking to try and get something from the match.
    Klazura tried to find Mitchell with a pass back in the 75th minute, which was intercepted by Seattle sub Dominique Dismuke, who shot straight at Knighton.
    The Academy player wasn't to be denied though and pulled a goal back for the Sounders in the 81st minute.
    He was sent clear down the right wing and just when it looked as if he was going to run the ball out of play, he somehow managed to find a way past Knighton at his near post from the most acute of angles, ending up in amongst the Sounders Oompa Band for his troubles.
    As the minutes ticked down, Knighton turned out to be the matchwinner for the Caps, making a tremendous double save in the 88th minute, first from Mike Seamon and then a stop from Carrasco at point blank range from the rebound.
    It was a well deserved win for the Whitecaps, who still top the Western MLS Reserve League standings.
    The Whitecaps Reserves line up was:
    Brad Knighton; Greg Klazura, Carlyle Mitchell, Jordan Harvey, Russell Teibert (Daniel Stanese 39); Floyd Franks, Matt Watson (Bryce Alderson 69), Etienne Barbara; Omar Salgado, Michael Nanchoff (Long Tan 56), 22.Darren Mattocks (Caleb Clarke 79) [sub Not Used: Callum Irving].
    You can find some photos from the PDL game <a href="
    " target="_blank">here</a> on AFTN's <a href=" " target="_blank"><b>Flickr</b></a> account.There's another couple of Cascadian derbies to come on Sunday, as the Whitecaps U16 and U18 sides entertain their Seattle counterparts at SFU, starting 1pm.
    Can't get enough of these derby games? Then head along and we'll see you there.
    <p>
    Guest
    As you likely know, the angry-looking fellow to the left is Frank Costanza, a classic character from the era-defining sitcom Seinfeld. Frank is high-strung, overly emotional and prone to flying into apoplectic fits over seemingly trivial occurrences.
    So, he and I have a lot in common.
    But in one classic episode, Frank embarks on a mission to control his explosive ways: A system called "serenity now!" -- which essentially consists of
    instead of flying off the handle.Given the usual baggage surrounding Canadian soccer, and some recent developments, I think it's time to give the "serenity now!" approach a shot.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Josh Simpson breaks his leg two weeks before a massive set of World Cup qualifiers? Serenity now!
    A pair of players -- reportedly Atiba Hutchinson and Mike Klukowski -- pick up injuries in training, potentially endangering their status for the qualifiers? Serenity now!
    And now an American team -- undoubtedly a top-15 squad in the world -- sharpened by a pair of recent friendlies is coming to BMO Field in their final tune-up game, all guns a-blazin' in front of what is likely to be a less-than-sold-out crowd? Serenity now!!!
    Normally I would live and die by the results of any men's national team game, regardless of the stakes. The late equalizer against Ecuador last year had me smiling for days. The many other instances where things didn't end so positively ... well, they've sent me into the doldrums time and again.
    But for the first time in a long time, I can appreciate a game for what it is: A game. A chance to see the players play. Maybe even, as the Canadian Soccer Association has been marketing it, as a celebration.
    I will celebrate Canada emerging from the U.S.A. friendly with no injuries. I will celebrate any Canadian goals that are scored, or impressive plays that are made. I will celebrate the chance to see newcomers potentially making their way into the squad, or veterans who are able to show they've still got gas in the tank.
    And yes, I will celebrate another opportunity to get together with like-minded fans and make noise in support of the boys in red.
    I will endeavour to remain serene regardless of the result (barring a lopsided thrashing of the sort the Americans laid on Scotland last week). I will take the game for what it is -- something the players and coaches themselves have admitted -- a warm-up, a preparation... again, yes, maybe a celebration.
    This is a novel approach for me. But I think it makes sense. After all, the really important games are yet to come: Friday in Cuba, and then next Tuesday against Honduras, back at BMO Field. World Cup qualifying. Everything on the line.
    For this weekend, though, it's serenity now.
    There is one downside to this system, though, as we were reminded by George Constanza's nemesis, Lloyd Braun:
    "Serenity now... insanity later."

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlZvY_LXJco
    .
    Guest

    We're not really here

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    As Centennial celebrations go this one is coming in with a bit of a thud.
    Although you have to give the CSA a tiny little bit of credit for trying – a few years ago they may not have noticed it was their 100th birthday until mid-September – overall this celebration is shaping up to become yet another lost opportunity to gain exposure for the sport.
    Rather than having a true party across the country for 365 days, the CSA has booked two friendlies and made a blue strip with Umbro. There is nothing wrong with those initiatives on their own, but they are kind of floating out there in isolation. Notably, there is very little connection between the women’s game in Moncton Wednesday and Sunday’s clash in Toronto against the USA.
    Surely the CSA didn’t think it could schedule the games, sit back and wait for the excitement to build, did they? You would hope that they would understand that selling the game in Canada (outside of the three MLS clubs) is a challenge. They have had 100 years to learn that lesson.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Yet, here we are. The two games failed to attract widespread excitement in either community. Toronto is old news, but the failure to sell out Moncton has to be considered a disaster. Getting a community of that size excited by hosting a national team should have been a fairly easy exercise. Yet, beyond what appeared to be a lot of youth club group sales, there didn’t appear to be much traction. True, soccer isn’t the biggest sport in Atlantic Canada, but there is a soccer community there and, more importantly, there are underserved sports fans there.
    Truth be told, Mission Moncton was a bit flaccid.
    In Toronto, CSN has been told that they have sold 12,000 to 14,000 tickets for the game. With walk-ups, the CSA is hoping for a dream number of about 17,000, with a more realistic target of 15,000.
    BMO Field sits just shy of 22,000. That’s a lot of red seats. Even if they hit 17,000, which would be about 1,000 less than a typical TFC games this year.
    The kneejerk reaction of many outside of Toronto will be to look down their nose and judge the country’s biggest city. Hating on Toronto comes easy to many, but it’s rarely productive and it ignores the core problems.
    If the problem is Toronto, why didn’t Moncton sell out? Why were there less than 10,000 in BC Place for early games of Olympic qualifying?
    Getting fans excited about watching Canada isn’t a Toronto problem. It’s a Canada problem. Beyond that, it’s not a fan problem either. That would be to blame the victim.
    The villain here is the marketing arm of the CSA. They’ll cry poor – and they won’t be wrong – but they need to do a better job. Based on what has been seen around Toronto in the lead up to Sunday (not much) they need to do a job, period.
    Let’s think back to the Olympic qualifying event. If you listen or read interviews from the week before the event people were really concerned. There were only about 5,000 tickets sold and organizers were facing the prospect of playing in front of nearly 20,000 empty seats.
    But, then something happened. And, it wasn’t some sort of magic awakening of a fan base that is somehow better than it is in other parts of the country. No, Vancouver fans are no better or worse than fans in Moose Jaw, Fredericton, Yellowknife, or, yes, Toronto.
    What happened in Vancouver was that Sportsnet got a hold of the thing.
    The television network packaged it and promoted the hell out of it. They made it an event and they created excitement about it. Without that push there would have been many in Lower Mainland unaware that it was even happening. We live in a busy world. You need to actively tell people about your product.
    The CSA didn’t and isn’t. Sportsnet had a week to do so and the result was 25,000 for the final.
    How did it do it? By old fashioned hustle and pizzazz (i.e. Marketing)
    It works. Crazy, eh?
    Bringing it back to the Toronto game, it was about two weeks ago when Voyageurs president Jamie MacLeod was granted permission to promote the USA and Honduras games in BMO Field. inside the stadium, he approached fans individually and engaged them in a conversation about the games.
    Talking to me after, he told me that the reception by fans was almost universally positive. The fans were happy to hear about Canada and were interested in going to the games. However, there was another side to it.
    MacLeod said that close to 75 per cent of the fans – and these are fans at a TFC game remember, not random fans at a Blue Jays game or something – did not know that there was a game coming up. Remember, these people were soccer fans. Maybe not obsessed soccer fans, but fans none the less.
    Even more surprisingly, a significant amount of those fans were not only not unaware that Canada was playing the USA this Sunday, they were also unaware that Canada had a team at all.
    Yes, fans at a Toronto FC game were unaware that Canada entered a team in World Cup qualifying.
    Staggering.
    It’s easy to dismiss an anecdote like that as being unrepresentative. However, the evidence suggests otherwise. Fans only suddenly appeared in Toronto when a highly visible MLS team arrived. They were nowhere to be found prior to TFC and the marketing push MLSE gave it. In time, some of them became engaged and now are equally supportive of the Canadian national team. However, others remain more casual. The CSA is doing nothing to reach those fans.
    They need to start. When you turn on your television Sunday and see red seats at BMO Field check your response. Stop blaming the fans that aren’t there and maybe aren’t even aware that there is a game to go to.
    No, put the blame where it belongs – with the CSA.
    Guest
    As far as ominous signs go, this one was pretty stark.
    After a dry and temperate May, June brought monsoon season to Toronto, perfectly coinciding with the arrival of the men's national team ahead of their friendly on Sunday against the United States. Carrying on in the same theme, Canadian head coach Stephen Hart revealed on Friday that two players had picked up minor injuries during the team's training camp in Florida.
    But Hart was upbeat during the press conference -- almost incongruously so -- when speaking about the upcoming friendly and, more importantly, Canada's return to World Cup qualifying in a week's time.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    "I would like to see a very solid performance from the team, and if the solid performance leads to a victory, then of course I'll be very very happy," he said of the U.S.A. friendly. "But either way, you come out of the game mentally better."
    Expect a first-choice lineup against the States, Hart said, as the time for experimentation is over. Given those parameters, Canada's lineup on Sunday should give fans a good idea of who the injured players are.
    "One of the injuries was just a matter of training went well, he woke up (and) there was some swelling. So there was no contact, no anything, just maybe some sort of strain," Hart said on Friday, declining to name either of the injured players. "The other injury was muscle-related."
    When asked whether the players would be fit to return in time for next Friday's World Cup qualifier in Cuba, Hart said: "Hope is the word."
    The injury bug already hit Canada, hard, when Josh Simpson broke his leg last week. And word coming out of the team's opening training session on Sunday suggested Atiba Hutchinson could be one of the players with a knock.
    So, as Hart said, yeah... hope is the word.
    But don't expect to see any of the domestic-based players on the periphery of the national-team setup -- Terry Dunfield, Patrice Bernier, Shaun Saiko -- called in to replace Simpson or anyone else. At least not right now.
    "You don't call players for the sake of calling players, you have to call in the players that you need to fill roles that have been, or may be, in jeopardy," said Hart. "Right now we're going to stay with the 22 players we have in camp, and we'll see how things go."
    Depending on the situation, a door could be opened for surprise callup Samuel Piette. Hart insists the 17-year-old is "not here to make up the numbers".
    "He's done very very well. I made it quite clear to him, he's come into the squad to fight, to take somebody's position, to make it as difficult (as possible) for me in the selection."
    Of course, the Simpson injury (and these new situations) were going to call for some adjustments in the Canadian approach. Hart acknowledged some of the shortcomings as of late, and said the team is working to address them.
    "We have a good possession game at times," he said. "I think sometimes we tend to be a bit one-paced, a little bit slow in possession and we've worked really hard at changing the speed of the game, changing the way we attack. We've got to do that more efficiently.
    "When all the analysis comes back, we create chances but we're not clinical enough. ... If you're going to play at the highest level, you're not going to get many chances, and we have to get more of a killer instinct in the penalty area."
    One of the players who'll be called upon to provide that clinical touch agrees.
    "There definitely does have to be a killer instinct in front of goal and going forward," said striker Simeon Jackson. "And that's one we've been working on."
    Jackson says improving the team's sharpness comes down to a variety of things -- specific drills in training sessions, renewed mental focus and, at the end of the day, being in the right position and situation to capitalize on chances when they come.
    Jackson called the U.S.A. friendly "a good distraction", and agreed it's always a big deal when the cross-border rivals meet -- but clearly his emphasis is on the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. Still, he took a moment to take a shot across the bow.
    "We're next-door neighbours," he told the assembled media. "Usually you don't really like your neighbours."
    American defender Steve Cherundolo, also at the press conference, attempted to provide some witty retort, but I wasn't listening, since I was still chuckling at Jacko's awesome comedic delivery. He's awesome, y'know.
    "You try to keep the same mind set (from one game to the next)," said Jackson. "Make sure you're physically ready, mentally ready, and you go out there and play.
    "The first (World Cup qualifier, in Cuba) is very important, even though it's away. .. It's definitely going to be tough, we know that, but it's important to go out there and get a result and give ourselves momentum to carry back home."
    When asked if a win was what Canada needed to get in Cuba, Hart smiled and said a win would be "ideal".
    Indeed it would, especially as the adversity continues to pile up for the Canadian team. But then, Hart's been around the program long enough to know that adversity is nothing new in Canadian soccer. Maybe he was upbeat because, sometimes, you've just got to smile because there's nothing else to do.
    Or maybe, just maybe, he knows something about this collection of players that we don't. Yet.
    We'll all find out this Sunday.
    Rain is in the forecast -- but then, even the experts are caught by surprise every now and again.
    .
    Guest
    Within the context of her sport, Christine Sinclair is, clearly, the best soccer player this country has ever produced. Although claims that she is the best player in the world are more than a tad bit biased, she's legitimately world class. Top 20, for sure. Maybe top 10.
    Amongst non-hockey team sport athletes she's in the conversation for best Canadian of all-time regardless of gender (it's hard to argue against Steve Nash, but Sinclair might be the only other one in the conversation). Again, this is about context - Sinclair dominates her sport at a level that very, very few Canadians ever have.
    On Wednesday in Moncton, Sinclair proved her worth yet again with a last second touch to give Canada a 1-0 win. It was about the only thing worth talking about on the night. It was a tepid performance by a team that has not yet fully adjusted to new head coach John Herdman's tactics.
    With just two months to the start of the London Olympics, there isn't a lot of chance yet for them to do so. This is not a team that looks close to being a medal contender right now. Saying this isn't meant to be cruel. It just is what it is.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    With the team mostly invisible in the lead up to Germany, many in Canada found a false sense of confidence. Some were even suggesting that they were darkhorse contenders in the World Cup.
    It didn't take long for those ideas to be shown as horribly misguided in Germany. Although Canada probably wasn't the worst team at the tournament (despite their last place finish) they weren't close to the truly elite. And that brings us back to the idea of context.
    Specifically, what does Canada's ranking in women's football really mean within the context of that particular sport? It's an important thing to understand because many casual soccer fans look at the No 7 (they float between No 9 and 6, depending on the month) ranking and assume that this is a powerhouse team playing truly elite soccer. That, in turn, puts unreasonable expectations on what the team is capable of.
    In the men's game the No 7 team in world can beat anyone on any day and would be a favourite to win the World Cup. The No 7 team in women's football is in a far different place.
    The (unfortunate) thing is that there are, at best, 20 countries in the world that put any legitimate resources in the women's game. If you're talking about significant resources that are at all equitable to how the support the Men's game, that number drops to about 10-12. Let's not dismiss the importance of the fact that Canada is part of that group (it should be celebrated), but let's also consider Canada's standing in context.
    It's middling. On a perfect day they can compete with the elite teams (but usually don't win), they can and do beat the very good teams, but it's hit and miss and they tend to handle those teams that are ranked low. We saw it against China - the Chinese are also middling, but a little lower than Canada.
    A 1-0 win is about what you might expect. In many ways the Canadian women's ranking, in context, is similar to the Men's. Yes, you read that right - the Canadian women are not all that more successful (again, in context) than the men. The chance of the women winning a medal are about the same as the men qualifying to Brazil -- possible, sure, but most understand this cycle is more about setting up the future than actually getting something done now.
    The women host the World Cup in 2015 and the men are looking to build off the regional youth success we've seen lately. Fans of the game need to understand that and adjust expectations - if Canada can get to the quarters in London it's a great accomplishment. It's something to build off of. It would be a shame to see a good result like that tarnished by negativity that comes out of unreasonable and, you got it, out of context expectations.
    Guest
    In the lead-up to the men's national team's upcoming World Cup qualifiers, we'll be taking a look at who should be getting the start for Canada in each area of the field. Agree? Disagree? Join the conversation in the comments section below. We've already pondered who Canada's #1 goalkeeper is, attempted to establish our best backline and waded through the muddy midfield. Today, in the final installment of the series, we go right up top.
    My colleague Grant wrote earlier this week about the 17 (or 18, depending on how you count) goals Honduras has scored in its last 15 games. He analyzed them in such a way that it seemed like good news for Canada. In the same time frame, Canada has played 12 times and scored 24 goals. Holy smokes, Canada is an offensive force! Well, sort of -- consider that 11 of those 24 goals came in thrashings of St. Lucia, a tiny island of 175,000 people currently ranked #188 in the world by FIFA.
    There are no St. Lucias this time around -- but Canada's goals will still need to come from somewhere. So, when it's all on the line, who gets the call?
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Iain Hume: Humey's made a remarkable recovery from a near-fatal (seriously) on-field incident in 2008, and has been scoring at a decent clip for Preston North End since last year. The 28-year-old is a long-time servant of the Canadian program, and certainly has motivation to perform at this stage in his career.
    Tosaint Ricketts: The 24-year-old Edmontonian has speed to spare (if you don't believe me,
    ) and has ingratiated himself into the national-team setup with some big-time performances in the past few years. Simeon Jackson: Eight years ago, he was flipping burgers. These days, he's a striker in the English Premier League. Not a bad progression. Along the way, he's scored promotion-clinching goals twice (for Gillingham in 2009, and for Norwich City in 2011) and earned plenty of goodwill from Canaries fans. Will this be the year when the 25-year-old brings it all together for the national team?
    Olivier Occean: Speaking of earning promotions, Occean is in the hottest of form. The 30-year-old was tied atop the scoring chart in the 2.Bundesliga this season with 17 goals for Greuther Furth, who also finished atop the table and earned promotion to the 1.Bundesliga. The performance has led to rumours that Occean could catch hold with a new club -- but for now, the focus will be on finding the back of the net for Canada.
    Dwayne DeRosario? Though listed as a midfielder, we'd be remiss not to address DeRo's role as a de facto striker. If and when Canada finds itself in need of a goal, you know he'll be part of the effort to get one. His next goal for Canada will be his 20th, and put him alone atop the all-time leaderboard for the men's national team.
    What will Hart do?
    As discussed yesterday, his usual formation has been thrown off by the injury to Josh Simpson. Occean has to be a starter, given his form, and we could see DeRosario used as an out-and-out striker as well. Much will depend on how he decides to adjust to the Simpson situation.
    Squizz says:
    Given my proposed four-man midfield, that leaves two spots for strikers. One, of course, must be Occean. And the other -- it's got to be Jackson. While he hasn't totally pulled it together yet for Canada, perhaps utilizing him as a second striker (playing off of the big man, Occean, similar to what he sometimes does vis-a-vis Grant Holt at NCFC) is the answer. DeRo is still on the pitch, mind you, in an attacking midfield role. Ricketts has shown the potential to be a big difference-maker as a super-sub.
    What do you think? Have I gotten it totally wrong? Let me know. That's it for this series. All that's left, if you're able to get to the games, is to buy your damn tickets!
    Guest
    Contrary to what most observers and fans might have thought, the arrival of Marco Di Vaio will not lead to the renewing of his good friend Bernardo Corradi’s contract with the Montreal Impact.
    SoccerPlus has learned that the top goalscorer of the MLS expansion side is a few weeks away from returning to Italy.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    A European source confirmed a few days ago that Bernardo Corradi will not use the option following his four-month contract with the Impact. This scenario was planned from the start with the player’s agent, Federico Pastorello who is also Marco Di Vaio’s agent.
    When Pastorello met with Impact’s president Joey Saputo and Sporting Director Nick DeSantis this winter in Italy, Corradi’s case was presented to Montreal as a solution before the arrival of the Designated Player at the end of June.
    Saputo spoke of a pleasant surprise describing Corradi on his return as the club had already resumed training ahead of its inaugural MLS season. The president had left to get his first DP, he returned with a deal and an extra man, Corradi, a 36-year-old ex-national team member who was playing on the bench for Serie A side Udinese.
    Although he absolutely loved Montreal and his North American experience, Corradi could not deal with the separation from his young child still living in Italy. This lead him to his decision to cross back the Atlantic once his deal with Montreal completed.
    Since the beginning of the season, Bernardo Corradi rose on top of Montreal goalscoring column (14th in MLS) with four goals in 10 of the team’s 13 games. He scored his first three goals in consecutive games, including the first on a penalty in a 2-1 away loss to Dallas, s second on a header in a 1-1 away tie to DC United and a third on penalty in a 2-0 home victory over the Portland Timbers.
    He scored his fourth and latest goal in the 2-1 loss to NYRB in the final game at Olympic Stadium.
    The Montreal Impact’s communications department said Corradi still had a contract with the club and that he will resume training with his teammates on Friday after missing Thursday’s practice on a extra day off. The Impact’s next game is June 16 against the Seattle Sounders, marked by the reopening of a revamped Saputo Stadium.
    Guest
    In the lead-up to the men's national team's upcoming World Cup qualifiers, we'll be taking a look at who should be getting the start for Canada in each area of the field. Agree? Disagree? Join the conversation in the comments section below. We've already pondered who Canada's #1 goalkeeper is and attempted to establish our best backline. Today, we get into the middle of everything -- specifically, the field.
    Four years ago, the Canadian quartet of Dwayne DeRosario, Julian de Guzman, Atiba Hutchinson and Patrice Bernier was (quite justifiably) lauded as "the best midfield in CONCACAF". But while some of the faces are the same this time around, the expectations aren't at that same lofty level. Still, there's plenty of talent to be seen.
    So, when it's all on the line, who gets the call?
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    (Now, right off the bat, a clarification: Depending on what sort of formation and tactics head coach Stephen Hart decides to employ, the line between a "midfielder" and a "forward" could get a bit blurry. And given the recent injury to Josh Simpson, you'd have to imagine the lineup is in for a bit of a shakeup. Still, we'll go through this exercise using the CSA's official roster release to determine who's a mid and who's a striker, and then we'll see how it actually breaks down on matchday, yeah?)
    Julian de Guzman: If you read yesterday's post and guessed that the second player named by Hart in that possibly-apocryphal tale was JDG, you've won a cookie. (Note: Offer not valid.) Of course, most followers are aware of the troubles that have followed the elder de Guzman since he signed that designated player contract with Toronto FC. Still, those obsessed with his salary figure may have failed to notice the positive impact de Guzman can still have on the run of play -- including during a recent resurgence with his club.
    Will Johnson: WiJo (nah, not really gonna work, but I needed to try) has become an integral part of the midfield for Real Salt Lake -- a squad that has been one of the most consistently dangerous in MLS for several years. The 25-year-old has plenty of experience playing for his country, and brings a not-so-secret weapon to the table: the ability to snap off 30-yarders that seriously test (and sometimes beat) the keeper.
    Atiba Hutchinson: Though absent from most of the World Cup qualifying campaign last year with a knee injury (and subsequent surgery), Hutch will play a massive role for Canada this time around. The 29-year-old PSV Eindhoven man will keep things under control in the middle of the Canadian midfield, and he has accomplished something few of his compatriots have: He's scored against Honduras, in Honduras. Let's hope history repeats itself in 2012.
    Dwayne DeRosario: You know who DeRo is.
    Pedro Pacheco: You probably don't know who Pedro Pacheco is. But he's the captain of C.D. Santa Clara in Portugal, and one of the Canadians (he lived here as a kid, Wikipedia tells me) unearthed by Hart in the past few years. He's made five appearances for Canada since 2010, impressing a number of national-team supporters along the way.
    Samuel Piette: Like the little brother who gets to tag along with the big kids on some weekend adventure, the 17-year-old Piette is almost certainly here to soak up the experience and gird him for multiple World Cup qualifying cycles to come.
    Issey Nakajima-Farran: Despite playing on the other side of the world, Issey was not forgotten! A member of the Brisbane Roar during their two A-League championship wins in the past two years, the 28-year-old brings years of Canadian experience (24 caps, to be exact) and some proper footballer hair to the table.
    What will Hart do?
    Goodness gracious, who knows. Simpson's injury has thrown everything for a loop. Hart has preferred to play with a couple of wingers (usually Simpson and Simeon Jackson) as of late -- but the question becomes, does he toss someone else into Simpson's spot in that formation, or make a wholesale change? This one can't be predicted with any reasonable level of certainty.
    Squizz says:
    Shake it up. Might as well. It's not as though the formation, as it was constructed, was producing a whole lot in terms of offence anyway (except against St. Lucia, I guess). There's not really anyone you can plop onto the field as a like-for-like replacement for Simpson on the left side. And we know that DeRo, Hutchinson and de Guzman (yes, it's true, haters) are automatic starters on this team. Add Johnson to the mix (as part of the midfield, not a straight-up winger like Simpson was), and we may be onto something.
    What do you think? Have I gotten it totally wrong? Let me know. Tomorrow, we head up top.
    Guest
    No matter the level, Vancouver Whitecaps seem to make it hard for themselves in Cascadia derby matches.
    The PDL Whitecaps had to settle for a 3-3 draw against Seattle Sounders U23’s tonight, in a thrilling match at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma.
    Despite dominating the game, the Caps found themselves having to battle back from 3-1 down to earn a share of the spoils, in the first football match played at the newly renovated baseball stadium in over 35 years.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Vancouver set out their attacking intentions early when Ben Fisk blasted over in the second minute.
    Callum Irving saw his first action of the match a minute later, turning a Sounders effort around the post for a corner.
    As the players awaited the corner to be taken, there was concern amongst the Caps ranks as Caleb Clarke went to ground with what looked like a hamstring problem.
    The stadium PA people saw the immediate chance for a plug for one of their sponsors, announcing that MVP Physical Therapy were your number one choice for sports injuries!
    Thankfully Caleb didn’t need their attention and was soon back up running around.
    The Caps had a chance to break the deadlock in the 13th minute.
    Gagandeep Dosanjh played a neat pass through to Ben Fisk, who turned his marker before firing straight at Seattle keeper Doug Herrick.
    Two minutes later, Vancouver did get the opening goal, when Dosanjh turned in a low cross from the right from close range.
    The Caps kept pressing and Clarke put Fisk through in the 17th minute, but Herrick got down to his low drive.
    Herrick was becoming the busiest man on the park and he had to be alert again a minute later to smother a Yassin Essa effort, after the Cap had been put clean through on goal.
    The keeper came to the Sounders rescue again in the 25th minute when he acrobatically stopped a deflected Fisk shot.
    Vancouver were dominating possession, and the match, and were the only attacking force.
    Dosanjh nearly grabbed his, and the Caps’, second in the 27th minute when he ran at the Sounders defence, twisted and turned, and unleashed a fierce strike which crashed off the bar.
    Seattle had a great chance to level things up in the 34th minute.
    Fernando Monge was sent clear on the right and whipped in a perfect ball across the face of the goal but Sean Okoli was just inches away from getting something on it, when any touch would have taken the ball past Irving.
    With six minutes of the half remaining, and completely against the run of play, Seattle tied the game up.
    Aodhan Quinn played a short pass inside to Luis Esteves, who curled a beauty past Irving into the bottom left hand corner of the net.
    Vancouver went up the pitch and nearly retook the lead immediately, but Essa’s shot was scrambled off the line and the danger cleared.
    Despite their dominance, Vancouver came close to finding themselves going in to the break a goal down.
    A long ball forward to Okoli saw the Sounders striker do well to hold off the attentions of two Caps defenders before managing to get off a shot which flashed just wide of the right hand post.
    It was one of the best halfs of football you are likely to see from a Whitecaps side this season, but as is always the case, it all counts for nothing if you can’t turn your dominance and chances into goals, and Vancouver were soon to be punished for their failings to do just that.
    Seattle took the lead two minutes into the second half.
    Quinn hit a superb swerving shot from 25 yards out, which wrong footed Irving and although the Caps goalie managed to get a hand on it, he was unable to keep it out.
    The Whitecaps tried to get their groove back and Adam Polakiewicz had a good run up the left wing in the 49th minute, but his cross-come-chip-shot ended up on the roof of the net.
    The Sounders nearly made it three two minutes later, when a neat give and go between Quinn and Esteves, ended with the scorer of Seattle’s second goalscorer missing the target so wide that it didn’t even go out for a goal kick.
    A minute later though and it was three for Seattle after Okoli was played through and the local lad had the easy job of slotting home past Irving.
    It was an amazing turnaround for a team that were barely in the game, but the goals reignited the Caps fire and they came roaring back.
    Herrick was forced to get down well when Essa’s header from a Polakiewicz cross was looking goalbound in the 62nd minute.
    Irving kept the Caps hopes alive midway through the second half with a great point blank save at his near post and it was to prove to be a turning point in the match.
    Vancouver pulled a goal back in the 71st minute when Clarke collected the ball in the box and swivelled to send a rocket into the postage stamp corner, which even initially became lodged in the stanchion.
    The Caps pushed for the equaliser and they nearly got it three minutes later.
    Clarke was put through, hit the byeline and cut it back to Ben McKendry who shot straight at Herrick from close range. The Sounders goalie fumbled but was quick to smother the rebound as Fisk was poised to strike.
    With time running out, the Caps had a good spell of pressure which ended with Dosanjh’s low drive forcing as fine stop from Herrick.
    The Whitecaps finally got the reward their play deserved with four minutes remaining, when Fisk rose brilliantly to head home a cross into the bottom left hand corner of the net to make it 3-3.
    Although Vancouver tried to go for the winner, they ran out of time, and although the Caps will be happy to have seen the spirited fightback, they will be left wondering why they aren’t coming out of this Cascadian derby with the full three points.
    There were a lot of positives to take from the match though, and only some good goalkeeping and some spectacular strikes kept Seattle in the game.
    Gagandeep Dosanjh had an excellent game and is getting better with each PDL game this season. Bryce Alderson bossed the midfield and Ben Fisk and Callum Irving had their usual stellar performances.
    With another Cascadian PDL match up taking place in Portland on Friday morning, the squad won’t have much time to recover, but hopefully we can see another exciting performance from the side and this time the full three points.
    You can view our slideshow of photo's from the game <a href="
    " target="_blank">HERE</a> (Photos and info on Cheney Stadium itself will be going up in a later feature).And here's some more photos from the game from Susan Harris - <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/105230484906556037164/PDLWhitecapsVSounders053012CheneyStadium#" target="_blank">CLICKY</a>.
    Vancouver’s line up against Seattle was:
    Callum Irving; Bobby Jhutty, Daniel Stanese (Shawn Parkes 57), James Farenhorst, Adam Polakiewicz; Yassin Essa (Cam Hundal 64), Ben McKendry, Bryce Alderson (Gagan Josan 80), Ben Fisk, Gagandeep Dosanjh; Caleb Clarke
    <p>
    Guest
    At 30 years old and on top of his game, the Canadian international could strike gold with his next contract
    Olivier Occean is coming out of his best season in career after greatly contributing to Greuther Fürth’s promotion to the Bundesliga and there’s no doubt he’s in very good position to sign what could become his biggest contract ever.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Scoring 17 league goals (co-leading the German D2), plus two German Cup goals and three with Canada on the path to Brazil 2014, the Quebec product and his agent know they have the necessary arguments to raise the stakes.
    Under contract with Fürth until 2014, Occean is currently in talks to reassess his deal, an automatic process with the promotion to the German top flight.
    “I’m still negociating with Fürth so we’ll see what will happen in the coming weeks”, Occean told SoccerPlus via messaging.
    “(Olivier) is an important part of our team. He has not fully touched all his potential and I have no intention to let him go”, emphatically responded club president Helmut Hack in an interview to a Nuremberg daily on Tuesday.
    Fürth’s fortune was to pick up Occean from D3 side Kickers Offenbach for about € 200,000 last summer.
    The pressure will be mounting on the small Bavarian club now playing with the big boys, since the Canadian international is attracting interest from clubs based in Dubaï and in China where money does not appear to run dry in football circles. That’s not counting established Bundesliga rivals, including Werder Bremen.
    It is not surprising then that Occean will be in a good state of mind coming in to Toronto on Sunday to face the United States, his short-to-mid-term future is looking bright.
    Do not miss our special edition of SoccerPlus recorded in Toronto following the Canada-USA Centenary gala match at BMO Field with comments from both coaches and players of both teams as they head to the CONCACAF semi-final round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifying Tournament. Available Monday morning on Canadian Soccer News, iTunes and Stitcher Radio.
    Guest
    The Footy Blog's Richard Whittall wrote recently that the nascent realm of soccer analytics blogs remains short of actual analysis — ie. casual fans must draw their own conclusions from increasing amounts of raw data. How fitting then that I'm about to add to the problem, in the form some numbers compiled by my favourite Honduran sports portal.
    Hint, the conclusions in question may be more good news for Canada fans.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Diez.hn analyzes the 17* goals Honduras has scored in the 15 games the team has played since last March when the Colombian Luis Suárez took charge of the team. The 17 goals break down as follows:

    8 goals came from plays through the middle
    3 came from "long range"
    2 came from plays down the left
    2 came from plays down the right
    2 came from headers
    1 came from a penalty

    First, you'll notice the numbers above add up to 18, not 17. See the footnote below and continue reading. Please.
    So, Honduras likes to attack through the middle then? The article also breaks down the scorers of those 17 goals — 13 of them came from the boots and heads of Carlos Costly (six) and Jerry Bengston (seven). The pair accounted for a good portion of the nine goals from the head and through the middle.
    Jerry Bengston, who plays his club football at Motagua in Honduras, didn't even make the squad that faces Canada because of a shit domestic season. That's 41% of all the goals the Hondurans have scored in the past year gone right there! And if you add in the fact that both Walter and Mario Martinez (each scorers of one goal) aren't in the squad either, 53% of the goals vanish.
    Yes, seven of those 17 goals came in a blowout win versus Grenada, but bear with me.
    According the diez.hn "analysis" about half of Honduras' goals come through the middle of the pitch, via either Costly or Bengston, and the latter won't be at BMO Field June 12. Canada's strength in defence is in the middle, with McKenna, Edgar and Jakovic, as opposed to the more problematic flanks.
    So based on my ad-hoc reasoning, Canada should be well-suited to defend against a Honduran attack shorn of one half of its most effective strike force when the two teams meet in Toronto on June 12.
    Pricey tickets
    The Honduran FA released prices for the 37,000 tickets that will go on sale for next Friday's World Cup qualifier between Honduras and Panama in San Pedro Sula. The cheapest seat in the house will cost the equivalent of $11 Canadian dollars, while the most expensive goes for $110. In a city where the median after-tax income is US$435 and the average price of a movie ticket is US$3.50 those prices are not as entirely cheap as I thought they'd be.
    *It's clear there is a serious mathematical error being committed here. Based on the listed match reports, Honduras has only scored 17 goals in their past 15 games, not 18. But as long as we trust that the main analysis of where the goals came from on the pitch is correct, my point more or less stands.
    Guest
    To some, the most important number on Wednesday night was 134.
    Christine Sinclair, as she's done so many times before, scored a late (in his case, literally last-second) goal for Canada, this one propelling the home side to a 1-0 victory at Moncton Stadium.
    The goal was, as you'd guessed, the 134th of her illustrious career, a career which will likely (eventually, years from now) end with her owning the crown as most prolific goal-scorer in the history of international soccer.
    But that's a number to be celebrated later. On this night, the important number was one that can't actually be quantified, but is crucial nonetheless: The number of young players whose soccer dreams have shot into the stratosphere as a result of Sinclair's latest heroics.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The game, on the whole, wasn't especially inspiring. Some sloppy play and failure to convert opportunities raised a bit of alarm for Canadian fans. But given the nature of the match, and the number of substitutes used, a bit of incongruity between players was to be expected. After all, the main function of the match -- in the grand scheme -- was as a tune-up for the all-important Olympics.
    But a corollary function of the match was to open up the national-team game to a new part of the country, and a whole new set of fans. It's been mentioned several times that no current member of the women's national team hails from Atlantic Canada, with the closest connection being that American-born Lauren Sesselmann derives her Canadian-team eligibility from a long-ago familial tie in Newfoundland.
    One game in Moncton -- the first trip by one of our senior national teams, and surely not the last -- isn't going to change that situation overnight. But while the shrill shouting and high-pitched "Let's go Canada" chants may not have impressed some cynical observers watching from afar, the reality is that the next generation of Canadian players needs to come from somewhere. They need to have that soccer-loving spark lit within them at some point.
    And for the hundreds, if not thousands, of young athletes who came out to Moncton Stadium on Wednesday night -- well, what better way to be inspired than the thrill of a last-second victory, on a goal by Canada's heroic captain?
    Are all of the fans who came out to the game worried about the tactical adjustments made by head coach John Herdman? Or the ones that still must be made? Are they biting their nails over the team's over-reliance on its main striker, or on how well Diana Matheson can reincorporate herself into the midfield? Will they be wringing their hands over what dire prospects the game against China may hold for Canada's Olympic chances?
    Probably not. But they know they came away from a Canadian national-team game with a damn good feeling.
    They know that one day, that could be their kid scoring a big goal for Canada. They know that the next time the Canadian team comes to town, they'll be there. And they'll tell their friends.
    No, we can't precisely quantify what sort of impact this game may have had on the fans in attendance, or on the young kids who watched Canada get a win on home soil in Atlantic Canada.
    But if Canada's biggest star at the 2031 Women's World Cup comes from a province east of Quebec, then we can probably put a number on where a big dose of her footballing inspiration came from:
    05/30/2012.
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