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    Michael Crampton
    Yes, it’s possible to make an argument that since other games needed to be played this weekend, fairness in the abstract required that none of the league’s teams should be able to dodge the burden of international call-ups. And yes, there was almost certainly a television component to the decision as the league fulfilled a contractual obligation to one of their partners. (Precisely why their television partner would find it beneficial to feature the league when some of its most recognizable American stars are away remains a mystery.)
    The unavoidable truth, however, is that MLS didn’t need to schedule this game for this weekend. One way or another it was a decision. One actively made in the full knowledge that the likely outcome would be offering fans a less palatable product. That’s not just unfortunate, it borders on insulting, and the just result would be fans ignoring the league, in the same way that the league is ignoring its fans.
    Since you’re reading this, however, I suspect I’m safe in assuming that you’re towards the less sensible, and more irrational side the fandom spectrum. So, like me, you’ll be watching. And it will probably come as no surprise to you that yes, in fact, both Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore have been called up to the U.S. national team and aren’t with TFC. Further, Justin Morrow’s red card in Columbus was upheld and he’ll be serving a one game suspension. All the indications are that Steven Caldwell won’t be available either.
    It is accepted wisdom that success over the course of an MLS season requires depth, just as much as top tier talent. That’s certainly true, but it doesn’t make winning when some of your most vital and consistent players are away any easier. How the rest of Toronto FC deals with the enforced absences is an open question.
    Among their offseason additions, the Reds will still be able to field Sebastian Giovinco, Benoit Cheyrou, and Damien Perquis. Ashtone Morgan’s call-up from the club’s new USL side means that Greg Vanney doesn’t have to play anyone out of position at left back unless he chooses to. Jordan Hamilton and Jay Chapman, players that many supporters are excited to see, can fill the bench, and might be able to snag some minutes as legs tire at altitude in the second half.
    RSL, for their part, will also be dealing with international absences. Keeper Nick Rimando, midfielder Luis Gil, and forward Alvaro Saborio are away, but that still leaves the Lakers’ midfield axis of Javi Morales and Kyle Beckerman intact. As usual when playing Salt Lake, if Toronto are to be successful, that’s the combination they’ll have to find a way to counter.
    Real Salt Lake have only managed two draws in their opening two games and will be looking to take full advantage of a diminished TFC. Toronto, on the other hand, has never won at Rio Tinto Stadium. You have to go back into the mists of time to find TFC’s only win in Utah back in 2007. That was the then new Reds’ first road win ever, and was two years prior to RSL’s MLS championship and subsequent installment as annual contenders.
    Like I said, the sensible, rational fan simply wouldn’t watch. Enjoy the match.
    Michael Mccoll
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    Michael Mccoll
    REPORT (by Steve Pandher):
    Vancouver Whitecaps left it to the last moments but for the third straight week they scored a late winner to defeat Cascadian rivals Portland Timbers 2-1. The victory clinching goal came from new signing Robert Earnshaw, with Nicolas Mezquida scoring his first of the season in the first half before Portland countered late on with a goal from Fanendo Adi.
    It was the Timbers who looked to open the scoring in the 4th minute when George Forchive had a strike from outside the box that forced Ousted into making a diving stop to turn the ball around the post for a corner. They had another chance a few minutes later from inside the box, but Kendall Waston and Pa-Modou Kah combined to make a block.
    But just before the quarter hour mark the Caps capitalised on a free kick, as Mezquida scored his first of the season with a 20 yard curler over the wall, that dipped quickly inside the near post past a diving Adam Kwarasey, before nestling in the bottom left corner of the net.
    The remainder of the first half saw the home side concede the majority of possession to the Timbers but Portland were unable to capitalise, going into the break down a goal.
    The second half started similar to how the first ended, as the Timbers controlled the majority of the match, but there was no clear cut opportunity until the 70th minute when Ousted came up with another fine diving stop off a rocket from Darlington Nagbe.
    With less than ten minutes to go it looked as though the Caps would get their insurance goal as Octavio Rivero found the ball at his feet just outside the six yard area. Unfortunately he couldn’t wriggle the ball free and strike it into goal.
    It looked like it was going to prove to be a costly miss, as just a minute after, the Caps would give up an equaliser and Portland were finally able to convert on their chances and domination of possession.
    Rodney Wallace sent a low cross in from the left side of the box which Ousted got a hand to but it was directed to the feet of Adi who made no mistake in depositing the ball into the open net from close range to tie things up.
    The visitors had two chances to complete the comeback in the 89th minute when first Dairon Asprilla’s header bounced off the turf and just missed the top of the net, then moments later Adi was one on one with Ousted but the keeper came up big from point blank range to keep the score level.
    But just when it looked like Vancouver would be satisfied with a draw, new signing Robert Earnshaw opened up his account with Caps.
    After working the ball around, Pedro Morales slipped the ball in between Nat Borchers and Liam Ridgewell to Earnshaw who took a touch and chipped the ball over the keeper to give his new club the three points and the Welshman another debut goal, something he's made a habit of over the years.
    It was agreed by most after the match that the Whitecaps didn’t deserve the win. They were thoroughly outplayed for the majority of the 90 minutes and ended up with only 34% possession, which is staggering for a home game.
    However, they did come up with the result and now ride a three game winning streak after their opening day loss. They will now go for four straight at B.C. Place next Saturday, when they host the defending MLS Cup champs L.A. Galaxy.
    FINAL SCORE: Vancouver Whitecaps 2 - 1 Portland Timbers
    ATT: 22,500 (sell out)
    VANCOUVER: David Ousted; Steven Beitashour, Kendall Waston, Pa-Modou Kah, Sam Adekugbe; Gershon Koffie (Deybi Flores 78), Matías Laba, Erik Hurtado (Robert Earnshaw 87), Pedro Morales, Nicolas Mezquida (Kianz Froese 52); Octavio Rivero [subs not used: Paolo Tornaghi, Tim Parker, Jordan Harvey, Ethen Sampson]
    PORTLAND: Adam Kwarasey; Alvas Powell, Nat Borchers, Liam Ridgewell, Jorge Villafana; Darlington Nagbe, Diego Chara, George Fochive (Gaston Fernandez 75), Rodney Wallace; Fanendo Adi, Maximiliano Urruti (Dairon Asprilla 65) [subs not used: Andrew Weber, Jeanderson, Taylor Peay, Norberto Paparatto, Nick Besler]
    REACTION:
    VANCOUVER WHITECAPS
    CARL ROBINSON
    Thoughts on the match:
    "Today I thought we were ordinary at best but we stole a victory in the end so I’m very happy."
    On David Ousted’s performance:
    "He was excellent. He won us the game today. Obviously the substitutes coming on made a big difference as well for us but without David we would have lost the game. Maybe we deserved to lose the game but when you have a top goal keeper it’s important he keeps you in games like he did today. They were the better team. They were the better team for long stretches. We couldn’t get to grips with them. When it went to 1-1 we would have taken a draw at that point but we put Earnie (Earnshaw) to try and nick us a goal. That’s why we signed him."
    On being dominated in midfield:
    “I don’t know. That’s something we need to look at because they are a good team with good players. We can say that we had a couple players missing but it’s irrelevant. We shouldn’t be dominated like that in the midfield area. We are very strong in midfield. The game is won and lost in midfield. Every game of football is. Today we came out on top with a moment of magic. A sliding pass from Pedro and Earnie chips over the goalkeeper. I will take the points.”
    What was said to Earnshaw before he went on?
    “I said he will get one chance. I’ve known Earnie for a number of years and I’ve brought him here because he can score goals. He got 266 or 267 goals in his career and when he gets a chance and when he is in the right position he usually takes it. Obviously the pass was excellent. The slide-rule pass and obviously the calmness and coolness of the finish and the calmness in his head was outstanding. We’ll take it.”
    Thoughts on Morales’ game:
    “He has put an excellent pass through for the winning goal. I think all my players weren’t up to scratch. I think we all were probably fives and sixes out of 10 if you mark players. I think Portland players were sevens and eights. The two wide players for me were excellent today.”
    On his history with Earnshaw:
    “I’ve played obviously in Wales a number of times with him. We’ve been in the squad for eight or ten years together. Played together at Norwich for 18 months so I know what he is good at and I know what he needs a kick in the backside with sometimes but he is a great professional. He gets the job done and today he got the job done.”
    On Nico taking the free kick:
    “They both got good quality. Pedro bangs them in for fun in training and so does Nico. I think Nico was feeling confident, he had a good rhythm early in the game, and he popped that in with great technique.”
    On what was said to his players post-match:
    “We need to be better next week. We’re playing the best team in MLS next week and the best coach. We’re gonna have to be a lot better than we were today. As I said sometimes you can’t play pretty football and be brilliant and win every game of football. Today we weren’t good. We were okay at best but we won. We will take it and we’ve got a lot to learn. We’ve got to work hard next week. We need to perform better than that.”
    On Sam Adekugbe:
    “We’re lucky we’ve got one of the best medical teams in the league. It was touch and go for Sam today. He trained yesterday a little bit and managed to declare himself fit. I thought he did okay today. Like all the players he did okay. I’ve got no worries because I’ve got two fantastic left backs.”
    On Flores’ debut:
    “He showed a drive from midfield which I think some players lacked at certain times. It was a very positive 20 plus minutes for him. I think he was eager to get a goal. He was obviously delighted playing in front of the 22,000 screaming fans here. The noise was nice when the winning goal (by Earnshaw) was put in.”
    Did this game live up to the rivalry?
    “It’s a great rivalry. Portland came in and played well. It does live up. We’ll take the result and performance, but will go back to work next week. We need to improve a lot but the fans have gone home happy today.”
    ROBERT EARNSHAW
    Thoughts on his game-winning goal:
    “It was amazing. Even with the length of time I’ve been playing football, that feeling when the ball hits the net, oh my god, it’s the best. It’s the best. Within those two and a half seconds, in my mind it was like three minutes because I have to know what to do, when to do it and react to what he was doing. I had a few options. I had time. The best option was what happened."
    On his post match John Cena celebration:
    "I didn’t know what to do. I was so emotional. I was so happy, I kind of lost myself a little bit. That’s a credit to everybody here."
    On the team’s overall play:
    “I have to point out that, yes, I scored the winner but it’s not possible if Pedro Morales doesn’t see me, or David Ousted doesn’t make a save maybe a minute earlier, the defending, and the amount of work we put in. All of these things – that’s the game that I see out there, so credit to the whole team. It wasn’t a good performance because we can do better. We can keep the ball better, we can dictate more, there’s a lot more to come from this team. When we can do this and win in that way when we feel like there’s a lot more to come from the tank, that’s a good foundation to have.”
    On his conversation with Robinson before going on:
    “Carl was just telling me that as soon as I came on, he just felt like I was going to score. It’s a debut and I was going to score. I was thinking I just needed one chance. It’s amazing because the amount of times you see debuts happen to go your way in games especially when it’s focused on one player, what an amazing feeling. I was just hoping to get on the pitch.”
    On playing in front of Whitecaps fans:
    “That was an amazing atmosphere to play in. I’ve played in a lot of different countries, with the national team and in the Premier League, what a great atmosphere. Credit to the fans. Thank you because I was looking around and they’re singing, I thought this was really, really nice. What a great atmosphere to play in as a player to see that and to feel that energy from the fans. It goes a long way. Players appreciate it because when I got on, I got excited because of the atmosphere. When the fans are behind us, it really plays a part. Sometimes it gets underestimated that the fans play a role on how the players play. Credit to the fans today, they were brilliant, awesome, and really helped the team.”
    DAVID OUSTED
    On the overall game:
    "Pleased with the three points, not pleased with how we got them. There's a lot of work to be done and we're going in to a week now where we got to look at some stuff to be better."
    On his important saves:
    “I’m happy with my performance today. I gave us a chance to win it and that’s why I’m in there. I’m delighted to see Earnie [Earnshaw] get that goal. It shows what a composed player he is and he’s a great addition to our team.”
    On Robert Earnshaw’s game-winning goal:
    “Fantastic. I was thinking another week, another steal in the 90th minute. It won’t always be pretty but if we can get away with three points in these games, it’s looking good.”
    On young teammates [Deybi and Kianz]:
    “Fantastic. I think Kianz has come in a couple of times and shown how good a player he is. Comes in and takes responsibility and works a lot. Deybi I was impressed with, young guy, making runs from midfield. I thought he did really well.”
    On Portland’s control in the second half:
    “I think we lacked both composure on the ball and pressure on the ball. They did really well keeping it and playing around us but we’re a better team than what we showed today, both in the pressing and with the ball and that’s some of the things that we need to work on.”
    NICOLAS MEZQUIDA
    Thoughts on the game:
    “Happy. Happy for the first goal of the season. I’m happy for the three points.”
    On the free kick given, which led to his goal:
    “I’ve been training a lot. I’ve been training a lot on free kicks. The first free kick was for Pedro, and I said “Okay, the second is mine.” I’m happy for the chance for a free kick in the game and I scored as well so I’m very happy for that.”
    On Earnshaw’s debut goal:
    “When playing bad, this team is important because we have big players forward so in any moment we can score, because we have Octavio. He’s shown the last two games he can score in the last minute. The forwards are important players so we can score in any moment.”
    On Portland’s defence:
    “They are strong. They are experienced players. They have a big team and are very good players.”
    PORTLAND TIMBERS
    CALEB PORTER
    How did you see that last Vancouver goal develop?:
    “It was a counter, we dominated the game and were far and away the better team. I thought it was tough to give up the first goal that was against the run. I think they had three shots in the first half and two of them were dead balls. We played outstanding but we gave up the goal and that happens; our response was good. We pushed in the second half; I thought we dominated the ball and deserved a level goal and should’ve scored a winning goal. We had a couple of chances like the one their goalkeeper saved on Adi. If we score that we probably come away with the three points. As it turns out they come down the other end, and Earnshaw makes a good run and a good finish.
    "You have credit them, certainly today, for getting the three points. They defended well but I thought our guys dominated the game and played well. I don’t know how we didn’t win; I really don’t. This is the sport, and sometimes it’s cruel. I haven’t seen us dominate a game on the road like this since I’ve been here. It was probably the best game I’ve seen our team play in terms of flow and control and final third entries. We should have scored a few more goals with as much possession as we had. It is what it is. I think it’s a bit unfair for our guys; they deserved better but you’ve got to move on. We’ll get ready for next week against Dallas at home. We’ve got two games at home and have to have a short memory on this one.”
    Is this one of the most frustrating games you’ve been a part of?:
    “Yeah probably because of the way we played. I didn’t think it was fair based on how well we played, but again you have to credit Vancouver. They’ve been getting results and finding a way to win games like this by defending and countering. We knew what type of game we were going to be in and you have credit them for finding a way to get three points.”
    On what’s next:
    “Move on to the next game. Keep playing that way – it’s simple. Obviously we need to get a bit better quality in the final third because as much as we dominated we should’ve scored two, three, four goals – no doubt about it – and the few chances they had we have to do better on. First goal I thought was a soft goal.”
    FANENDO ADI
    On Urruti up top:
    “It’s a combination we haven’t had so much time to work on, but today we were not able to create a lot in the first half. But we were able to play and this is a step forward. I think it’s just a combination we need to work on, playing more together.”
    On the key to scoring goals:
    “It’s football. Today we can say the better team lost the game. Of course it’s all about winning. If we are not able to win we are not the better team, so that’s all we can say: they are the better team and that’s why they won.”
    On going up against Kah and Waston:
    “I’ve played a couple of times with them. I think it’s pretty much physical. I think they are the most physical to play against in the whole league. I can turn around them. So it’s just something we’ve got to look into, if he doesn’t call my fouls and he calls the same fouls against their striker, it’s just something I can’t control. What I can control is how I play my game. They played well and defended well and cut our crosses. They are good defenders.”
    On taking the positives:
    “We take a lot of positives out of it. We know Vancouver is a tough team to play against, and it’s always a fight to come in here to play them out rightly. We possessed the game, we created more chances, we did everything more than they had but unfortunately they scored two goals and we just scored one goal. We take a lot of positives things out of this game; we just need to forget about it as soon we can and focus on the next game.”
    NAT BORCHERS
    On being concerned about playing well and not getting the result:
    “No, I’m not. I think good teams like this are eventually going to find a way and we’re going catch our stride and we’re going to get that first win. It’s going to come soon and once we do I think it’s going to give us a lot of confidence going into the rest of the games.”
    On taking the positives:
    “This is a results business of course and we’re disappointed that we lost the game. But we do acknowledge that a lot of guys stepped up and played very well.”
    Guest

    FC Montreal-Toronto FC2 Game Report

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    A new chapter in the Montreal-Toronto rivalry was written today. For the occasion and because he is suspended in MLS this week, Hassoun Camara was starting at Right Back for FC Montreal. His presence was felt early on, the first three times MTL defense touched the ball, it was him saving a dangerous look on goal for TFC2 , blocking a open pass lane or clearing a dangerous aerial attempt on goal. Toronto were the first to open the score with a great FK into the box by Mo Babouli finished by Marcos Nunes. Set pieces were an issue all game long for the academy of the Montreal Impact. Toronto were controlling the pace of the game in the first half, making FC MTL chase them around and use their stamina to keep up with the speed of play.
    Montreal's best chance came at around the 35th minute with a great Mallace style long ball to Victor N'Diaye who hit a great shot but hit the post. Phillipe Eullaffroy's team had their best chances of the games off long balls, even if it was not a directive by the coach, the players realised that Toronto were leaving too much space open between the centerbacks and decided to use it. Toronto FC2 were clearly the most experienced team of the two having played a full season in League One Ontario last year, winning the league title. That fact really had an impact on the result of game I believe, TFC2 were able to use that said experience on set pieces and it directly led to the first goal of the game.
    Montreal were finding their marks in the second half. Finally getting used to the pace of the game, FC MTL had their best moments of the game between the 55' and 70' minutes. They were able to move forward and to create looks on goal, execution was the reason the ball did not go in and not creation. Even Hasoun Camara had a great run forward carrying the ball up until he was at the edge of the box and creating a good chance for one of his teammate. The team in blue were close to finding an equalizer when they got caught outnumbered on the counter, Fillion, FC MTL keeper save the first shot, but the return hit defender John Dinkota and went in for an own goal. 2-0 TFC2.
    All and all, ToronTWo and Mo Babouli used what made them successful in League One to get their first win of their history in the USL. FC Montreal were improving their possession and control of the ball throughout the game, but the second goal on the counter killed any momentum they had trying to find that famous equalizer.
    Quick Thoughts
    -Louis Béland-Goyette made his debut for FC Montreal, coming in in the second half,
    -A little more then 1000 spectators were present for this first USL game in Montreal,
    -Alessandro Riggi who got subbed out in the second half against Ottawa after a hard tackle did start the game at LM
    -Fabio Morelli, who is one of the standout of the academy lately, had difficulty finding space in the middle of the attacking midfield today,
    -the Charleston Battery is the next opponent for FC Montreal
    Phillippe Eullaffroy's Post Game comments
    https://archive.org/download/PhillipeEullaffroyPostGame/Eullaffroy.mp3
    Duane Rollins
    An academy team that was playing in USL PDL for the last couple seasons and learned a hard lesson about the difference between playing against men and boys today. Not that TFC2 is old by any means, but they are battle tested. The majority of the players on today’s side played last season in League1 Ontario.
    While the PDL is made up of college players staying fit, L1O is a semi-pro league that demands professional standards. It’s only that Canadian instinct to assume they do things better than us that makes people think PDL is a greater challenge than L1O is.
    Now one game doesn't prove anything as it relates to the difference between L1O and PDL – those inclined to dismiss L1O still will – but the one game today demonstrated that TFC’s academy grads were more pro ready than Montreal’s were.
    The best players on the pitch came directly from TFCA and the L1O title winning side.
    Especially Mo Babouli.
    Those that follow me are likely sick of hearing about Babouli. The intriguing, occasionally infuriating, creative goal scoring machine that is the most creative Canadian product since a certain man from Scarborough broke onto the scene 15 years ago.
    He was everywhere today, playing a 10-like role. In the past, Babouli was thought of as a pure poacher, but today he showed that his ability to feed players the ball is as exciting as his knack for putting it into the back of the net.
    There was a moment in the first half where he stripped the ball off a Montreal player just outside the 18, did a full 360 on the ball, and then found Mark Anthony Kaye in behind the bewildered FC Montreal back-line. Kaye probably should have finished, but in that moment the Babouli skeptics became MoLievers.
    It didn't hurt when he blasted one off the bar on a 25-yard free kick minutes later, played a perfect ball into Marcos Nunes for the game’s first goal (his first pro goal in the 38th), hit the bar again in the second and basically drew triple coverage for most of the second half.
    I’ve been told that TFC wants Babouli to play the full year in USL to develop maturity. They might have their hand forced if he keeps playing like this.
    There were other good performances. Alex Bono looked better, Adam Bouchard was solid at the back and Raheem Edwards was dangerous in a sub role (and forced the 71st minute own goal that put the game out of reach).
    Yes, there was plenty to like about a lot of things in the club’s MOnificent, MOmentous and MOstoric win.
    Now MOre, please!
    Michael Mccoll
    Schuler is a 5"11' striker who spent last season in MLS with San Jose Earthquakes, making six league appearances for the Quakes and one in CONCACAF Champions League action.
    His MLS debut actually came against Vancouver, coming on in the 'Caps 3-2 win at BC Place last May and playing the last 11 minutes of the match. He made his one and only start for San Jose in the 1-0 loss at Seattle two weeks later and played 137 MLS minutes altogether.
    Capped by the US at U17 and U20 level, Schuler had a successful college career with the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, going on to score 29 goals and contribute 15 assists in 79 appearances and lifting the 2011 College Cup.
    That Championship win prompted Schuler to come out college after his Junior year (which was actually his fourth year as he had one redshirt year through injury) and head over to Europe, joining Swedish club Hammarby IF.
    After two seasons in Sweden, which included a loan spell with Nacka FF, Schuler decided to head back to the States and joined San Jose last season before being freed in Dominic Kinnear's reshuffle of the team.
    The Quakes' loss is WFC2's gain and coach Alan Koch is delighted that the soon to be 25-year-old striker has landed in Vancouver.
    "He's a great attacking player," Koch told AFTN at WFC2 training on Friday morning. "He can play as a 9, as a 10. We even looked at him in the last session as an outside player too. Great kid, great player. Not quite match fit yet at this stage. It's going to take another week or two to get where he needs to be, but as soon as he's ready, he's going to compete for a starting spot for us.
    Schuler is joined as the newbie in the squad by former New York Red Bulls midfielder Ian Christianson.
    Christianson has spent the last two seasons in New York, after being selected 22nd overall by the Red Bulls in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft. He made three sub appearances, lasting nine minutes, for New York last season before being released at the end of the year.
    Like Schuler, Christianson also has some CONCACAF Champions League experience under his belt, starting two of the Red Bull's games in their 2014-15 campaign.
    Christianson came to MLS from Georgetown University and he captained the Hoyas in both his Junior and Senior seasons, on his way to scoring 14 goals and adding 10 assists in his 78 appearances. His college career came to a heartbreaking end however when Georgetown lost the 2012 College Cup 1-0 to Indiana.
    The midfielder is certainly familiar with USL. He spent three of his summers playing PDL, first with Chicago Fire Premier and then with Reading United, and he had a short loan spell with Orlando City last season, making three appearances for the Lions in USL PRO.
    Christianson can play both midfield and defensive roles and that versatility will definitely be one of his attributes that appealed to the 'Caps.
    "He's a silky smooth, left-footed midfielder," Koch told us about Christianson. "He can also play potentially as a left full-back or as a central defender. Very, very comfortable on the ball. I think he's going to suit the way that we're going to ask our team to play.
    "Great guy too, just like Billy. They're both excited to be here. They can see already that we've got a lot of young talented players around them. They're both a little bit older than our teenagers or 20-year-olds and 21-year-olds, so we're literally speaking that they're going to give us a little bit of experience, which we'll definitely need in some intense games."
    It's unlikely that either player will feature in the starting line-up for WFC2's inaugural USL game against Seattle on Sunday, but they may feature on the bench and expect to see both of them pushing for starting minutes in the near future.
    Their additions and experience certainly round off the USL squad nicely. Now all that remains is to finally get the season off and running.
    Duane Rollins
    Ok. Fine. Maybe we should tone down the hyperbole a bit. And maybe the only way we’re going to Russia is on a tourist visa. Still, that was a nice little win today.
    Despite getting all kinds of CONCACAF thrown at them, a young and gritty Canadian team got the job done. A 1-0 win over Guatemala – Yes, it could have been 1-1 (it could have also been 2-0). But, it wasn't – is exactly the type of building block Canada needs and it should be enough to calm down those on the other side of the hyperbole continuum.
    Maybe we aren't doomed against that powerhouse El Salvador in the Gold Cup. Maybe we should just get on with it and actually see what happens in World Cup qualifying. Maybe we have enough to get by (it appears) Dominica after all!
    The shadow of that game isn't going to go away quickly. The momentum that was building at the end of the cycle was understandably stopped in its tracks. Canadian fans are going to need to start from the bottom again and build up the interest again. That’s fine. We’ve done it before, we’ll do it again. And, when they do break through the fight will have been worth it.
    But, enough of the pep talk. Let’s look at today:
    What went right? Well, first of all they scored. That hasn't been that easy since the end of 2014 qualifying. So, when Marcus Haber’s banging header found the back of the net it was a great relief for those that care about this team. It was a good goal too. Kyle Bekker whipped in the ball off a dead ball. And Haber made no mistake.
    Julian de Guzman almost made it two minutes later in a twenty minute stretch that was pure dreamland for CanMNT fans.
    It got closer after that. But, that leads to the second good thing they did today.
    They didn't allow. That’s obvious in many ways, but they didn't give up a lot of chances and when they did Milan Borjan was there to save the day. A great scramble back to tip the ball over the bar off a tricky long shot that got caught up in the wind highlighted his game.
    It wasn't perfect. We are Canada. Still, after the last couple years it was awfully nice to see a little bit of light at the end of what has been a very deep and very dark tunnel.
    Allez les Rouge. On to Puerto Rico. On to World Cup Qualifying.
    Ah, what the hell: On to Russia!
    Guest
    The Bytown Boys and the Stony Monday Riot peeps are planning to make the relatively short drive to Canton, NY for the game, contact their Facebook/Twitter if you are interested as well.
    The furious battles across at least 7 positions for a starting spot will continue. There are very few guaranteed starters for the Carolina game, and this will be the best chance for Fury fans to get a glimpse of the team before the season opener. And the level of excitement is off the charts at the moment!
    ---
    2015 Fury FC Friendly – Syracuse University vs. Ottawa Fury FC Preview
    When: Saturday, March 28, 2015 @ 6:00pm EDT
    Where: SUNY Canton College Turf Field, 34 Cornell Drive, Canton NY
    Ottawa Injuries and Absences: DM Richie Ryan (probable), DM Mauro Eustaquio (injured), CM Julian De Guzman (international duties)
    ---
    For a detailed review of the FC Montreal-Ottawa Fury FC friendly from last week, check out this excellent review from CSN's Kevin Laramee here: http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/index.php?/page/articles.html/_/24th-minute/fc-montreal-ottawa-fury-post-game-r5107.
    ---
    2015 Fury FC Friendly – FC Montreal vs. Ottawa Fury FC Review – 0-1 W
    When: Friday, March 20, 2015 @ 1:30pm EDT
    Where: Olympic Stadium, Montreal, QC
    Ottawa Injuries and Absences: DM Richie Ryan, DM Mauro Eustaquio (injured)
    Ottawa (4-3-3) – Peiser (DeBellis 72′); Randolph (Poltronieri 70′), Falvey (Trafford 55′), Alves (Beckie 55′), Richter; Ubiparipovic (Misik 60′), Davies, Paterson; Paulo Jr. (Haworth 70′), Wiedeman (Heinemann 55′), Oliver (Dagnogo 75′)
    Ottawa Goals/Assists: Wiedeman (Oliver) (1′)
    You can follow Namu Yoon on Twitter at @BBSC_SeoulBro and @OFFCReview, and his Canadian Soccer News articles on Ottawa Fury FC at http://www.canadians..._/ottcityfootie and http://OFFCReview.wordpress.com.
    Guest
    Photo courtesy of Ottawa Fury FC
    De Guzman’s name had been whispered among Canadian and Ottawa footy observers for the past two weeks, ever since Steve Sandor of the11.ca first reported that De Guzman was entertaining several NASL offers while undergoing a trial at Columbus Crew.
    His signing marks a watershed moment for Ottawa footy in being the first widely recognized name among casual Canadian soccer fans to sign for the club, a name that even those who follow European soccer but do not follow North American club or international soccer can recognize relatively quickly. To more hardcore Canadian soccer fans, the matchup of JDG, aka Bobby, and the Fury FC is a connection made in heaven. As observers have put it, this signing certainly highlights the advantages that having more Canadian professional footy clubs brings to the Canadian national team, with one less member displaying his talents for Unattached FC.
    The signing has been widely acclaimed throughout the soccer media, with articles on De Guzman and Fury FC being published today across all media platforms one can imagine, including the Globe, Sportsnet and the CONCACAF official website.
    Beyond the obvious marketing appeal, what does De Guzman bring in terms of talent to the club? One could argue quite a bit, with De Guzman’s midfield play expected to bolster Marc Dos Santos’s possession-oriented approach. The club now has 6 talented CM’s for its 3 spots in the 4-3-3 formation.
    The most popular train of thought is that, once De Guzman acclimatises himself within the team through the remainder of the preseason, he could be expected to be a near-certain contender to start in the RCM position, mainly populated by Tony Donatelli (whose status is the 1 player that has never been fully determined this offseason) and Nicki Paterson in 2014.
    It must be noted that Paterson and Patryk Misik have both looked very good in the position in the preseason so far and will not give up their battle for a starting spot quite easily. Richie Ryan is a certain lock to start at DM, with Mauro Eustaquio expected to push him hard as he continues his development. The playmaker LCM position has been the domain of Sinisa Ubiparipovic, and the popular talisman will be expected to continue in his role in 2015 as well.
    While most observers have De Guzman pencilled in at RCM, I would suggest one alternate approach. I’ve always had much fonder memories of De Guzman chasing down Zidane in a bloodhound role while playing for Depor than trying to orchestrate play in the midfield as a DP for TFC. Additionally, I have seen Richie with some silky passing in midfield, while sometimes being overrun in an opponent’s counterattack. With that in mind, I would suggest De Guzman for the Makelele/Gattuso role at DM, and Ryan in the old Donatelli role at RCM, which I believe is easily playable by a left-footed player.

    Photo courtesy of Deportivo-La-Coruna.com
    With Ryan having nursed a knock and Eustaquio a minor injury the past 2 weeks, Phil Davies has been deputising as the starting DM during the last 2 preseason games. While Ryan looks set to return next week, the arrival of De Guzman means that Dos Santos now has a myriad of options at DM.
    I can also imagine, with De Guzman’s introduction, Paterson being asked to push Ubi hard in the LCM role this year, perhaps as a box-to-box alternative to Ubi’s talisman role, while Misik must certainly get his minutes in perhaps RCM, with his preason performances having caught many eyes.
    We will soon find out, with De Guzman linking up with the club after the current CanMNT camp in Florida, with the player most likely expected to join them in North Carolina, where the Fury will travel after their game against Syracuse University in Canton, NY tomorrow, to play their final preseason match away at Wake Forest University next Saturday, which will be followed by Ottawa's season opener vs. Carolina the following weekend.
    This has been one of the most enjoyable articles I have had the pleasure of writing while covering Ottawa Fury FC. It is certainly a watershed moment for the club. Welcome to Ottawa, Bobby! You can follow De Guzman on Instagram at @juliebobby.
    You can follow Namu Yoon on Twitter at @BBSC_SeoulBro and @OFFCReview, and his Canadian Soccer News articles on Ottawa Fury FC at http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/index.php?/page/articles.html/_/ottcityfootie and http://OFFCReview.wordpress.com.
    Duane Rollins
    All Fury FC, and Edmonton home matches will be legally streamed to Canadians. The majority of their road matches will be shown as well
    Fury home matches will air live on OttawaFuryFC.com, while FC Edmonton will air its home matches live on its TV partner’s website, City TV Edmonton.
    Most road matches for both clubs will be streamed on TSN Go, available free to most cable subscribers in Canada.
    The deal is part of a league wide streaming deal in US with ESPN3. About 120 NASL matches will be streamed to Americans.
    There is no legal way to watch NASL games not involving Canadian teams in Canada. Additionally, the New York Cosmos have opted out of the deal to pursue their own TV interests. Their home matches will be played on ONE World Sports.
    Guest
    ... about the new MLS franchise and their beginning of the season. Plus another home opener is happening before the IMFC-ORL game, the historical first game in the USL fo FC Montréal. The team coached by Phillippe Eullaffroy (also director of the academy) will make their season debut against 401 Derby rivals Toronto FC 2, or if you prefer, Torontwo FC this Saturday at 12:30 pm at the Big O! If you have a ticket for the MLS game, it is good for the USL game ! Kevin had the chance to talked to Jems Geffrard (defender for FCMTL) and Phillippe Eullaffroy after their last preseason game last week!
    Until next time, have a great soccer!
    @OfftheWoodworkx
    @KevLaramee
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    http://www.patreon.com/twosolitudes5rings?rf=361554&ty=2
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    offthewoodworkx@hotmail.com
    Michael Mccoll
    You can listen to this, and all previous, episodes of the podcast on iTunes HERE.
    Or download it for your later listening delight HERE.
    We also have an iPhone app, so you can now add our podcast to your phone as an app. Visit the podcast's mobile site HERE and then at the bottom of the screen just click the "Quick Launch" icon and the podcast will be added to your home screen and appear as an app.
    And if that's not enough, we're on Stitcher Radio Network. Download the app and listen to the AFTN podcast on your device, along with over 20,000 other shows HERE.
    Or after all that, you could just listen on the player below!

    Michael Mccoll
    Washington Huskies goalkeeper Richey was widely tipped to be taken pretty early on in the draft, but as things played out, the Whitecaps were able to get him with the penultimate pick of the third round, 61st overall.
    "I spent five years down at the University of Washington," Richey told AFTN. "It was an awesome experience. I'm super thankful for the staff and what that program did for me and for my soccer abilities especially.
    "Going in to the draft I didn't have a ton of idea where I was going to end up, which was kind of part of the fun of it."
    The fact that it ended up being the Whitecaps that selected him came a something of a surprise to Richey. The 'Caps hadn't been one of the clubs that had shown interest in him going in to the draft, although they had previously brought him up to Vancouver for some training time.
    "I came up here a few years back, right when Marius [Rovde] got here, but the rest of the staff wasn't here yet. So that was the only history or kind of communication. That was the last time I spoke to them, so it was a bit of a surprise in a totally positive, good way.
    "Just getting to know the technical staff and the guys and even going down to getting to know the equipment guys and the medical staff. They've all been super helpful and all seem like good guys, so I'm really enjoying it so far."
    After a string of strong showings with an increasingly successful Washington side in NCAA, which saw them ranked number one in the nation for a time last year, a pro career was always looking on the cards for Richey. He'd represented the US at both U17 and U20 level and had played at the 2009 U17 World Cup. Things were looking rosy, but it wasn't to prove to be a smooth journey for the young keeper, as a leg break four games into his senior season with the Huskies derailed plans.
    Richey was forced to sit out the remainder of the 2013 NCAA season, as the Huskies made it to the Elite 8 stage of the College Cup, only to be knocked out by Ben McKendry's New Mexico Lobos, in a game that saw the Residency alumni, and now teammate of Richey, score the only goal of the game on a bitterly cold December night in Seattle.
    Richey watched from the sidelines as he continued to recover from his injury, and he was soon faced with a tough decision. Did he head into the 2014 MLS SuperDraft as planned or go for a redshirt season and repeat his senior year? The lure of the pros and still entering the draft crossed his mind, but in the end he decided that wouldn't be the best move for his future career.
    "I thought about it," Richey admits. "Jamie Clark, our head coach down there, is big on evaluating all your options. We sat down and chatted about it. I actually got invited to the combine, even though I was nowhere near healthy enough to participate in it. So it was something we thought about.
    "But, especially as a goalkeeper, you're not in a big hurry to get to the next level. You're not in a race against your prime so to speak. With a goalkeeper you've got a little bit of a longer career, barring injuries and things like that. We thought it was the right choice to come back and rehab properly and play my 5th year down there and I'm glad I did."
    All that's in the past and Richey's professional career is now underway in Vancouver and it was evident from the early days of preseason camp that not only had the Whitecaps acquired a talent, they liked what they saw. Richey was officially added to the WFC2 roster last week and will now battle it out with Carducci for starting minutes in USL this season.
    The Whitecaps are keen for both keepers to fight it out, and constantly push and test each other throughout the season. It's likely that they'll each share significant playing time between themselves.
    Heading into his first pro environment, it's a challenge Richey is looking forward to and one which he feels will be beneficial to both keepers and the 'Caps in the long run.
    "It's something we've talked about and from the sounds of it, Marco and I will be down there quite a bit together," Richey revealed. "From everything I've understood, they think the best goalkeeper will play, which is awesome to hear. Coming in as a new guy, all you want is a shot to compete and a shot at playing time.
    "Marco's a really quality goalkeeper, especially for how young he is, so I've been pretty impressed by him. It'll be fun competing for minutes and I'm sure it will make us both better."
    Richey's journey to the Whitecaps is an interesting one, especially as landing in Vancouver now puts him in the unique situation of playing for all three Cascadian clubs.
    A Seattle native, Richey turned out for the Sounders in PDL action in 2010 and 2011, before heading south to play for the Portland Timbers U23 side in 2012, where he played alongside Erik Hurtado, in front of some large crowds. He's now completed the Cascadia trifecta.
    "It's kind of funny," Richey told us. "At my school we had four guys that went pro this past year. Two to Seattle, one to Portland and one to Vancouver, so that was kind of a crazy coincidence. I've had a fun ride these past five, six years. Kind of bouncing around. I'm trying to get different experiences.
    "Down in Portland, it was an awesome summer. Probably my best PDL experience. They take it really seriously and it's a good program down there. It's pretty wild [with the crowds they draw]. You wouldn't know it was a PDL game unless someone told you. Like I said, trying to get as many different experiences, in as many different environments as possible, can only help in the long run."
    Different, but similar environments, for after being born and raised in Seattle, Richey has found himself not having to travel too far in his playing career so far. Now, after bouncing around the PDL scene in the Pacific Northwest, where he also had a season with Washington Crossfire, Richey begins his footballing journey in the pros still in Cascadia.
    With all the uncertainty of draft day and where he might end up, it must have been a nice feeling for him to know that he was about to begin the new chapter in his life not too far from family, friends and familiar surroundings, instead of having to up sticks and move to the other side of the country.
    "It's one of those things that whichever team takes you, you're stoked about it because that's the team that's giving you your shot before anybody else is," Richey told us. "But obviously being close to home, it's fun to be able to, on an off day, sometimes make a trip down and back. It's fun to see the family and what not.
    "But it's also fun to go to a new city and kind of get out of my own back yard. It's a good balance of both, where I can visit now and then, but it's fun to be in a new adventure, a new area."
    Richey's enjoying his new life in Canada, but he's also enjoying continuing to hone his craft in a professional footballing environment. He may have only been here for a few weeks so far, but he feels that what he's learned in that time from David Ousted and Whitecaps goalkeeping coach Marius Rovde has been invaluable and already improved his game.
    "It's one thing that's fun about sports overall, but goalkeeping especially, everyone does it a little bit different," Richey said. "So it's fun training with different goalies and different nationalities from other parts of the world. Everyone plays a little different.
    "David's been super helpful to me and Marius as well. I've kind of taken bits and pieces, a page from their book, a page from his book, and not totally changing what you do but little things that can help you along the line. Both of them have already given me quite a few pointers that have helped me out. It's a different game up here, so there's definitely parts of my game that I need to adjust to make sure I can play at this level."
    And has Ousted been teaching him to scream at his defenders?!
    "He is!" Richey laughed. "But that's honestly probably one area that I need to get better at. I'm kind of a, not necessarily a quieter guy at heart, but I'm not much of a yeller. At times, it's absolutely necessary to be a yeller, to wake some guys up if their off to a slow start. That's one of the things, one of many, that I can take from David and those older guys."
    With the preseason now over for WFC2, the challenge of their inaugural USL season begins down in Richey's hometown of Seattle on Sunday. It'll be a long and tough season ahead, but it's one Richey feels the Whitecaps are heading in to in good shape for success.
    "The one thing we know is that we've got tons of talent, tons of good players," Richey said. "The chemistry will come. It's tough cos one of the benefits of having a USL team is that it's right in your back yard, so the MLS players, it's easy for them to swing back and forth. But the downside of that is that the full roster isn't there all the time, so it's coming and going. I think that will be the biggest challenge for us.
    "Regardless of what roster is out there on a given weekend, and I'm sure it will be changing all the time, the more training and the more we can get out of the games that we do play together, from a comfort standpoint, will be the biggest challenge. The players are there and the talent is there, so we've got high hopes and we'll be competitive."
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