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    Duane Rollins
    Who needs to watch the games when you have math!?
    Ok, maybe not, but good math can make watching the games more interesting. So-called advanced stats (that aren't all that advanced) allow us to dig deeper and think harder about what's happening on the field.
    A couple great -- and simple -- stats that can help us predict future games are TSR and PDO. For those new to reading these kind of articles, TSR is a measure that looks at the percentage of total shots a team has in games they play in. It seems silly on the surface, but it's been demonstrated to consistently identify the top teams in a multitude of leagues.
    PDO is the combination of a team's shooting percentage and save percentage. That total should be expected to be 1.0. Any deviation from that will be corrected over time, so if a team's PDO is .95 they are a bit unlucky, and if it's 1.05 they have likely been a bit fortunate.
    I took those two figures and combined it with a highly controversial stat I call Actual Points On The Table Now (APOTTN), weighted them accordingly (basically TSR and PDO was used to estimate how many points a team will get the rest of the way) to come up with a prediction on where each team will finish.
    I'm not going to disclose the formula I used, but the season is about 2/3 done and, well, APOTTN measures what's actually happened. So, do your own math.
    The results are as follows:
    TSR
    1. LA Galaxy .597
    2. Kansas City .590
    3. Colorado .577
    4. Philly .571
    5. Columbus .515
    6. Toronto .511
    7. New England .510
    8. Chicago .508
    9. Vancouver .507
    10. Seattle .503
    11. Salt Lake .502
    12. Houston .500
    13. Portland .478
    14. Montreal .457
    15. San Jose .453
    16. DC United .451
    17. Chivas .450
    18. New York .447
    19. Dallas .441
    Dallas continues to confound the TSR numbers. When we last looked at these they were close to the bottom as well, but stood solidly in a playoff spot. That position was largely a result of a red hot start that was on the back of, well, an insanely high PDO of 1.2.
    Don't believe in Dallas.
    Of note is Salt Lake's mediocre number. If you looked at it 6-weeks ago it was worse. They started the season with back-to-back games against LA and have been steadily raising the number since. I expect them to continue that trend.
    As for the Canadian teams the numbers pretty much are exactly where you'd expect based on where they are.
    PDO
    1. Houston 0.94
    2. Montreal 0.95
    3. Chivas 0.96
    4. Colorado 0.97
    5. Columbus 0.98
    5. New England 0.98
    5. Chicago 0.98
    8. Philly 0.99
    9. Kansas City 1.0
    9. Toronto 1.0
    11. Vancouver 1.01
    11. Portland 1.01
    13. Galaxy 1.02
    14. Seattle 1.03
    14. San Jose 1.03
    14. New York 1.03
    17. Salt Lake 1.05
    17. Dallas 1.05
    17. DC United 1.05
    You're really only interested in the top and bottom here.
    Montreal has the worst shooting percentage in the league at .086, which makes sense if you watch them. If Marco DI Vaio was even a fraction of himself from last year they wouldn't be in the mess they are.
    Should they expect a late season turn around? The numbers suggest it, which should give hope in the CCL if not in MLS.
    On the other side there are a couple interesting figures. Salt Lake again jumps out with a high PDO. The numbers suggest they've been lucky. My eyes suggest that Nick Rimando is the goalkeeper of the year and, if the season ended today, would be my MVP pick.
    DC United could be the poster team for PDO. They are high in the standings without impressing. Most observers think they will slip a bit down the stretch.
    The numbers agree.
    How far will they slip though? Let's see.
    The projected final standings of my TSR + APOTTN +/-PDO weighted formula are...
    East
    1- Kansas City (Supporters' Shield)
    2- Toronto
    3- DC United
    4- Philly
    5- Columbus
    6- New England
    7- Chicago
    8- Houston
    9- New York
    10- Montreal
    West
    1- Galaxy
    2- Colorado
    3- Seattle
    4- Salt Lake
    5- Vancouver
    6- Dallas
    7- Portland
    8- Chivas
    9- San Jose
    That's how the numbers call it. If you don't like it, don't yell at me. Yell at math.
    Duane Rollins
    Oh, Canada…
    Janine Beckie scored her second goal in as many matches in the 65th minute to send Canada through to the quarter finals of the Fifa U20 Women’s World Cup. It wasn’t an ugly match, but it wasn’t a particularly pretty game from the Canadians. Luckily this tournament isn’t dictated by style points
    Canada received both good and bad news prior to the match.
    Good news: Korea DPRs dangerous striker Ri Un Sim would start on the bench.
    Bad news: Jessie Flemming picked up a knock in training and would not be available.
    With that being said, the game plan for Canada was the same; start stronger in the first half and finish chances. They managed to follow through on one of those points: The Canadians kept North Koreans off of the score sheet.
    The biggest scare came in the 17th minute when the visitors took possession off of a turnover in the middle of the pitch. However the resulting chance sailed high and wide.
    Canada’s only real opportunity before break came late in the half. Ashley Lawrence sent a cross to Valarie Sanderson whose header was saved comfortably by Korean keeper Kim Chol Ok. However, for the first time in the tournament Canada didn’t concede a goal at the half.
    The level half was welcomed change after such disappointing starts in Canada’s two previous games. But it wasn’t a very inspired 45 minutes by the Canadians as North Korea controlled most of the play.
    Ri Un Sim was subbed in early in the second frame but the Canadians pressed on. They emerged more organized. Their next opportunity came in the 56th minute. Nichelle Prince fought through inside the box but despite a challenge, managed to get up and feed the ball towards Sanderson. Prince’s attempted pass was cut off by the Korean defense.
    Janine Beckie broke the deadlock in the 65th minute. Montreal Native Amandine Pierre-Louis sent a ball up to Prince who crossed it to an unmarked Beckie for the easy tap in.
    The 13,031 fans at the Olympic Stadium could be heard as news about Ghana and Finland match was announced. As the Game drew to a close Finland saw a 1-0 lead disappear and Ghana control 2-1. Canada needed to ensure that didn’t concede or their hopes of advancing would have been crushed.
    Fortunately the hosts held on and silenced North Korea 1-0.
    The goal scorer Beckie spoke about what it took to get her team this far, “Take it one game at a time. That was our goal and we keep going from here. We live our Canadian DNA. We’re work horses and we never give up.”
    Despite the loss Korea DPR top Group A based on goal differential. They’ll battle USA at The National Soccer Stadium in Toronto in the first quarter final tilt.
    Canada faces Group B winners Germany Saturday August 16th at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.
    Germany scored 12 goals in group play but also conceded six, five of those at the hands of China.
    This will be a massive test for the young Canadians. The Germans, like the senior men were in Brazil, have been the class of the tournament. Still, the young Canucksvare in with a chance: just three wins away from a world title.
    James Grossi
    Jonathan Osorio
    Osorio made a second-consecutive start for Toronto in their 2-3 win at Columbus on Saturday – it was his fourteenth start and seventeenth appearance of the season.
    From the left side of the midfield, Osorio showed signs of life early, playing a neat flick up-field for Gilberto to chase – Giancarlo Gonzalez would cut out the chance, and exhibiting some hustle to force a turnover out of Columbus full-back, Waylon Francis on one play.
    After rising to prominence with a very solid season that had some in Toronto calling him a candidate for rookie of the year, the 22-year old has struggled to recreate that same form in his sophomore campaign. Whether injury, playing time, position, or simply adjustment to a rebuilt side and new style, Osorio has showed glimpses of what made him so highly thought of, while suffering from spells of inattention – that said, it’s only natural for a young player to struggle with consistency.
    He was guilty of a loose touch on a Doneil Henry pass that led to a turnover and a good chance for Ethan Finlay in one instance, but then recovered to touch a mistake from Nick Hagglund away from Adam Bedell, who was streaking towards goal on a later play.
    Aside from his goal-scoring exploits of 2013, what drew the eye was his ability to combine and pick his spaces in congested areas atop the opponent’s box, as well as his ability to influence the game with his drive and passing through the middle. Stranded out wide, he has sometimes drifted out of matches, but in Columbus he found the proper mix, making a good run that was overlooked before recycling his effort to get on the ball and make space for a shot from the top of the box that required an excellent save from Columbus keeper, Steve Clark.
    Perhaps one reason his production is slightly down is that he has struggled to know when to commit forward. With Michael Bradley calling the shots in the middle, Osorio has to play a reflexive game, rather than go taking the initiative upon himself – it is no accident that both of his goals this season, including this one in Columbus, have come from when he braves those runs into the box.
    Against Houston, he followed up a harmless looking cross and was on hand to nod in when Tally Hall bobbled. In Columbus, the Toronto, Ontario-native
    to reinstate TFC’s lead – it was his second goal of the season, though some argued there may have been a handball in the process.His passing was a little off, misplacing roughly a quarter of his attempts, a factor that was exacerbated when isolated on the wing – his completion rate getting a bump when tucked in-field – he thrives in combinations and he was feeling good after scoring, showing a new verve in his play for the rest of the match.
    He spoke with TFC TV post-match.
    Maxim Tissot
    Tissot entered Montreal’s 2-1 loss at Philadelphia in the 75th minute, replacing Justin Mapp with his side trailing by two goals – it was his eleventh appearance of the season.
    Fresh off scoring his first goal of 2014 against Portland two weeks ago, the Gatineau, Quebec-native made an immediate impact,
    having ghosted in behind a napping Sheanon Williams from the left in the 79th minute; guiding his left-footed volley low into the bottom left-corner of the goal, past a helpless Zac MacMath.Having fallen behind on two regrettable and preventable goals, Tissot, along with fellow substitutes Dilly Duka and Anthony Jackson-Hamel, provided much-needed hunger and freshness to the Impact that gave Montreal hope of leveling, alas they would not, falling to a seventh-straight defeat.
    Post-match, he commented, “When you’re called upon to go on the field from the bench, you have to bring some energy; the three players that came on, that’s what we did. We created chances, and it’s a shame that we didn’t score another.”
    Adding, “Philadelphia were leading ... They were defending, waiting for us. It allowed us to keep the ball and put more pressure on them. They cleared the ball onto our center backs, our midfielders, so we recovered and attacked at once. We brought good energy in the end, and we wanted to equalize even though we didn’t.”
    Frank Klopas has been reluctant to rely too heavily on the youth in his squad, but with two goals in his last two appearances, expect Tissot to see more minutes with their MLS season all but over. Perhaps a national team call should be coming his way as well.
    Tissot did feature midweek in the Champions League, replacing Justin Mapp then as well, in the 69th minute with the Impact in the lead.
    Will Johnson
    Johnson started his 23rd-consecutive match for Portland on Saturday night in their 2-0 win over Chivas USA, as they look to factor into the playoff chase in the West, now just two points adrift of the dividing line having won three of their last four.
    With regular partner Diego Chara alongside at the base of the midfield, Johnson was a driving force in Portland’s play – it was his
    on the counter to open the scoring.Given the freedom to advance forward, Johnson regularly got involved in the attack and was a factor from set-pieces – hitting one attempt into the wall, which squirreled to Valeri leading to a Gaston Fernandez chance, though the pass was a little behind the Argentine and shortly thereafter hitting a dipping shot from distance that beat Dan Kennedy, but not the left-post. Liam Ridgewell would tuck the rebound into the net, but the offside flag negated the goal.
    The Toronto-born midfielder was heavily involved in a combative midfield that featured three defensive midfielders in Chivas colours: getting in the face of Osvaldo Minda when displeased with a particularly egregious hack – Minda was booked for his troubles, and on the receiving end of another challenge from Agustin Pelletieri that saw him booked as well.
    With Portland running rampant, Johnson nearly added a third goal in the 62nd minute on yet another counter, cutting on to his right-foot to bend a curler to the far-post, but Kennedy was equal to the challenge.
    His passing was excellent, misplacing just seven all night, while racking up eight recoveries, four clearances, two tackles, and an interception. If Portland are indeed to challenge for the playoff positions in the West, performances like this from their captain will be required – fortunately for them, he looks up for the responsibility.
    Johnson was guilty of one of the challenges in the All-Star Game that so enraged Bayern Munich’s Pep Guardiola.
    Anthony Jackson-Hamel
    Jackson-Hamel, who only recently signed with Montreal, made a second-consecutive appearance for the Impact in their loss to Philadelphia, replacing Jack McInerney in the 67th minute.
    As with his debut against Toronto, the youngster nearly got on the score-sheet, getting a deft flick on a Krzysztof Krol cross that would hit the post three minutes after entering play. Those sort of alert runs, getting in front of Carlos Valdes to win the touch with his right-boot, will serve the Quebec City, Quebec-native well in his MLS career.
    Tesho Akindele
    Akindele made his eleventh-straight start for FC Dallas in their 3-1 dismantling of Colorado on Saturday night – it was his twelfth start and fifteenth appearance of the season.
    Alone up top, Akindele was very active all match, taking up wide positions to keep the Colorado back-line moving and unsettled. It was on just such a play that he drew a rash challenge out of Marvell Wynne after outracing the speedster to a ball – though it was a decision from the official that was not without controversy. Dallas were already ahead by one and Michel would dispatch the penalty kick, doubling that advantage.
    It is the ability to play both centre-forward and wide positions that makes the Calgary, Alberta-native such a valuable resource – sending in a low cross from the right that drew Clint Irwin scrambling off his line – while the timing of his runs has been steadily improving with playing time, making one good run to keep a heavy pass alive at the end-line and looking to dart in on the Colorado defenses, only to be forced to hold his run with Zach Loyd dallying a touch too long on the ball – when it did finally come it was over-hit and the chance of exploitation had evaporated.
    Whether on purpose or due to a push from Marc Burch, Akindele would
    their third of the night – regardless of intent, that excellent diagonal run dragged the Colorado left-back in-field, opening up the space for Castillo to operate.He would receive a yellow card in the 74th minute – just his second of the season – for catching a piece of Drew Moor with a late challenge, though Akindele was bemused by Moor’s over-elaborate, exaggerated throes of pain – the look he gave was priceless.
    In the most recent edition of MLSsoccer.com’s Rookie Rankings, Akindele is second only to Harrison Shipp in the running for Rookie of the Year honours. Shipp’s stats alone will likely be enough for him to garner the award, but Akindele has been the better of the duo in recent weeks and featuring regularly for a playoff-contending team should be a factor.
    Patrice Bernier
    Bernier made his tenth-consecutive start for Montreal in their loss at Philadelphia – it was his sixteenth start and 21st appearance of the season.
    Reunited with Gorka Larrea at the base of the Montreal midfield, Bernier was influential, but again, could not do enough to spur his side to victory.
    He was
    , opening the scoring in the twelfth minute, Montreal again bit by their own mistakes. It was an unexpected and uncharacteristic moment of indecision from Bernier, who rarely, if ever, puts a foot wrong. In his defense, one man does not make a team.As always, his passing was spectacular – his diagrams are always a joy to behold; a whirlwind of green, dotted with the occasional forced bit of red – but once more he was unable to factor in the attacking third, where he is most dangerous and where Montreal struggle to retain possession with any regularity.
    He did have one awkward slip that led to a turnover and a Philly counter, but his partnership with Larrea should be good for Montreal. The problem remains that he has far too much defensive responsibility in front of a hesitant back-line to be allowed an advanced position – once having to track deep into his own box to pressure a weak shot out of Le Toux after a Conor Casey layoff.
    Bernier was one of several players admonishing the referee for blowing the match over in the 97th minute, claiming that a late injury to Le Toux should have given Montreal more time to find their equalizer.
    Post-match he commented, “It’s a tough one to take tonight after playing a solid game like this. After the first goal, we kept on pushing. We played a good second half, but we were unlucky not to tie it up.”
    Midweek Bernier played the final half hour of Montreal’s Champions League match against CD FAS, helping to see out the result after Hassoun Camara was red-carded.
    Doneil Henry
    Henry made a second-straight start for TFC in their win over Columbus – it was his thirteenth start and fourteenth appearance of the season.
    Alongside Nick Hagglund once more in the centre of defense, playing as the left-sided of the duo, Henry was both excellent and inconsistent – a regular feature of his still developing game; racking up nine clearances, six recoveries, two interceptions, and a block.
    The Brampton, Ontario-native showed his excellent reading of the game, stepping up to cut out a Ethan Finlay ball for Federico Higuain in the early goings, but then producing a give-away that prompted a lunging intervention that saw him booked – it was his sixth yellow card of the season.
    He was dominant in the air, winning a big header back to Joe Bendik on one occasion to quell the threat of a Waylon Francis cross bound for Jairo Arrieta, but then
    and leading to Columbus’ second equalizing goal in the 81st minute.Henry and Bendik had gotten their wires crossed on an earlier play, the latter rolling a ball out to the former, who was unprepared to receive it, gifting Columbus a needles throw-in deep in Toronto’s half. It was not the first time that communication has been an issue for the Toronto defense – little things that must be cleaned up for the club to truly contend.
    Wandrille Lefevre
    Lefevre made his first appearance in eight matches, starting against Philadelphia on Saturday – it was his sixth start and seventh appearance of the season.
    Taking up the left-sided centre-back’s role alongside Matteo Ferrari, Lefevre looked a little rusty. The French-born defender had seen limited minutes in Tuesday’s Champions League encounter with Salvadorean side, CD FAS, subbing on for Felipe in the 78th minute.
    He took an earful from goalkeeper Troy Perkins for not closing down a Vincent Noguiera shot quickly enough and was
    that resulted in his second goal of the night, though Lefevre was not the initial pressure on that occasion.Despite those missteps, on the whole he did a very good job of matching Conor Casey in a physical battle.
    Russell Teibert
    Teibert began Vancouver’s 2-0 win over Sporting KC on the bench, before replacing Pedro Morales in the 77th minute – it was his seventeenth appearance of the season and seventh from the bench.
    With Vancouver two-goals to the good, Teibert was asked to use his energy to close down the match, seeing out the result, despite a late surge from a humbled KC.
    Of note, Teibert put on the captain’s armband, for the first time in MLS, upon replacing Morales; he did carry the honour against Toronto in the Voyageurs Cup earlier this season, but this was further indication of the place he holds at the club, if not always on the pitch.
    Kyle Bekker
    Bekker made a brief cameo for Toronto as the clock ticked down against Columbus, replacing Luke Moore in the 92nd minute – it was a second-straight match in which he entered from the bench, racking up his first seven MLS minutes in months over the two cameos.
    The Oakville, Ontario-native has made eleven appearances, eight of which were starts – the last of which came back before the World Cup break.
    The Rest
    Karl Ouimette, Issey Nakajima-Farran, Dwayne De Rosario, and Kofi Opare were on the benches for their respective sides.
    Karl Ouimette got the start midweek for Montreal against CD FAS, lining up at right-back as the Impact started their campaign on the front foot with a 1-0 win.
    Ashtone Morgan, who was not in TFC’s game-day eighteen,
    .Dwayne De Rosario
    , recounting some of his exploits in the midsummer showcase.Issey Nakajima-Farran was
    , discussing, amongst other things, his art.All video and quotes courtesy of MLSsoccer.com
    Each week James takes a look at the contributions of Canadians in the league and the league as a whole.
    You can follow James on twitter @grawsee or read more of his writing at Partially Obstructed View
    Duane Rollins
    By Rose Rago,
    Canada’s hopes of advancing to the final eight of the FIFA women's U-20s was renewed after a marvelous three goal second half performance against Finland on Friday.
    In their first two matches the Canadians struggled to capitalize on the opportunities they created. They were unable to garner momentum to show top form for an entire 90 minutes. This forced the team to play desperation soccer in the latter half of their games.
    Fortunately Canada staved off elimination with their best performance of the tournament thus far. They rallied from a two goal deficit at halftime against the Finnish side to win 3-2.
    However, Canada faces their toughest opponent in the Group A finale vs Korea DPR Tuesday evening. Head coach Andrew Olivieri knows they cannot afford to make any mistakes against this squad. “We have to make sure we’re careful and that there are not too many lapses.”
    Since the inaugural FIFA youth women's (then u19) tournament in 2002, the power nations of the USA and Germany have been crowned champions. These two teams share five trophies between them. However Korea DRP broke the cycle in 2006 when they won in Russia.
    The Korean side has always remained a threat in the tournament. Only the USA prevented them from victory in the final in 2008 and the quarter finals in 2010. While the Germans ended their hopes of advancing to the 2012 semi finals. It is paramount for the Canadians to play a complete game as it would be incredibly difficult to claw back from behind against the very well organized and disciplined Koreans.
    Another key to Canada’s game will be slowing down striker Ri Un Sim. She set up both goals in a 2-1 win over Finland and scored twice when they defeated Ghana 3-0.
    Canada aim for a decisive victory to ensure a place in the quarter finals. A loss or draw could see them through but that would require help in the form of a huge Finland win against Ghana in Moncton. The fate of Group A, as well as the rest of the groups, remains in the balance. The final round of group play has arrived without a single team guaranteed a spot or officially eliminated.
    Canada moves from the National Soccer Stadium in Toronto to the artificial Turf of Montreal’s Olympic Stadium. The “Big O” can house up to 55,000 spectators. Coach Olivier hopes the home crowd can continue to benefit his team. “You saw the impact the crowd had in Toronto in the second half [against Finland]. That was great for us. We hope to have the same in Montreal.”
    Coach Olivieri knows the impact advancing in the tournament has on women’s soccer in Canada. “We’re hoping to take that next step and get into a quarter final and beyond the quarter finals. That would be very important for us as a program in terms of the progress we’re trying to establish.”
    Before the Canada Korea DPR tilt, Germany, the leaders of Group B, face a winless Brazilian side. Should Canada finish second they could battle the Germans in the quarter finals on August 16.
    Squizz
    So, even though Canada's playing or do-or-die game in the U20 Women's World Cup tonight, you're not going to see a match recap from me here -- and there's a very good reason for that.
    I'm going to be on a train hurtling westward (in a safe, controlled manner, I'd hope) with the lion's share of my worldly possessions as I finally make my long-rumoured move from Toronto (where I was born and raised) out to B.C. And yes, I realize this is a website devoted to actually covering the game on the field, and not my own version of Travels With Chuck Blazer, so I'll keep this brief.
    I just wanted to use this space to thank everyone in the Toronto soccer community for, well, existing and giving me multiple channels through which to channel my passion for the game. That begins with the countless people among whom I've spent time at the grassroots level -- whether as a referee, coach or player -- and extends to the burgeoning support community around everyone's favourite dysfunctional (though maybe not anymore?) professional team, Toronto FC.
    While I've never been a season ticket holder or claimed ownership in any supporters group, the guys and gals of both the Red Patch Boys and (especially) U-Sector have always made me feel welcome, whether at the stadium or at the pub. I assume my willingness to consume beer and shout angrily about the boys in red had much to do with that level of acceptance. So, thanks to you folks for that.
    And since you're wondering, I'll come out and say it -- no, I'm not going to become a Whitecaps fan. TFC til I die, and all that. Any members of the Southsiders or Curva Collective are welcome to try and change my mind (bribes are gladly accepted).
    Though changing locations doesn't theoretically have any impact on my ability to keep writing for CSN (since the Internet is, like, everywhere, man), the move comes with a number of circumstantial changes that very well could have an impact on my ability to keep writing for CSN (something that's kinda been decreasing in frequency as it is anyway -- sorry about that).
    I definitely intend to stay active on Twitter. And I have a few ideas up my sleeve for ways to stay engaged with all of you lovely people, who've made this endeavour worthwhile. So this isn't an "I'm closing up shop" post... it's more of a "my life is about to change in a significant way, so it could very well affect my ability to keep doing what I've been doing" post.
    But whatever I'm doing or wherever I am, I'm going to remain a fervent supporter of Canadian soccer, and attempt to show that support in whatever way I can. I'm already saving up for next summer's Women's World Cup and men's Gold Cup. So any of you folk who wanna see my odd-looking face ought to start saving your loonies and booking your time off work too.
    Before this careens into maudlin, overwrought nonsense (a risk that always increases in direct proportion to the amount of time I spend typing), I just want to give special thanks to my Toronto-based CSN compatriots, past and present, upon whose shoulders I've been standing for many years now, and because of whom I'm in a position to even put such a piece of unapologetic navel-gazing on the Internet. We shall raise glasses again together soon, my friends.
    And as for my B.C.-based CSN compatriots... we shall be raising glasses even sooner.
    Anyway, yeah, look out west coast, here I come.
    Allez les rouges!
    Michael Mccoll
    You can find his full gallery from the game (and many other photos) on Tom's own website HERE.


    Andrea Neil become the latest member of the Whitecaps’ Hall of Fame


    Pre game Curva Collective flag tifo


    Vancouver Whitecaps starting XI


    Darren Mattocks has a great chance to give the Caps an early 4th minute lead


    But Aurelien Collin gets in a vital late foot


    Pedro Morales tries a speculative long ball forward in the 17th minute


    But in a bad year for Brazilian defenders, KC’s Igor Juliao heads past his own keeper. 1-0 Caps


    Mr Cool, Pedro Morales, just takes it all in his stride


    Seth Sinovic limbers up for the post-game yoga


    Carl Robinson’s is a happy man so far


    It’s that man Pedro again. This time with a low free kick


    And it skims lows causing Andy Gruenebaum to parry but Collin is on hand


    Morales and Mattocks streak clear on a two on one breakaway


    Morales centres for Mattocks


    And it’s 2-0 Whitecaps after 39 minutes!


    Mattocks celebrates


    Thank the lord, the Caps finally have a two goal lead


    Sending the crowd into a frenzy


    Sebastian Fernandez has a chance to make it three just before half time


    But that pesky Collin gets a late foot in once again


    Seba keeps the danger on though


    Twisting and turning in the KC box


    Before taking a little bit too dramatic fall and the Caps have to settle for a two goal lead at the half


    Erik Hurtado takes a sore one


    Bloodied and bruised the young striker stays on for more


    Captain Marvel


    Collin in the thick of the action once again, this time hauling down Omar Salgado


    And referee David Gantar points to the spot


    Much to Collin’s disbelief


    But sub keeper Jon Kempin comes up big with a big penalty stop from Matttocks


    And boy is he happy about it. Still two goals down though Jon


    Mattocks does the post game humba with Curva Collective


    Anything Dom Dwyer can do, Andy O’Brien can do better. Selfie time!


    Andy O’Brien gives his shorts to a fan! No, we don’t know why either


    A very satisfied Carl Robinson in the post game presser

    ** Tom goes by the name Residual Image on Twitter. Give him a follow. **
    Aaron Campbell
    STARTING XI
    11 - Erik Hurtado
    Tough game for the young forward. Had numerous passes go directly to defending SKC players during the game. Took a huge knock to the forehead that busted up his nose. Should have came off as soon as he suffered the hit to the head in my opinion.
    10 - Sebastian Fernandez
    Went down numerous times way too easy. Had two great chances where he failed to score. Just missed a cross from Mattocks and had another attempt cleared off the line where he was slow to follow the ball towards goal.
    9 - Jordan Harvey
    Played an okay game. Almost got a head on the Leveron cross that was cleared by the SKC player on the goal line. Was in position and covered well.
    8 - Stephen Beitashour
    Was very solid defensively and helped control the defensive box and shut down the SKC attack.
    7 - Andy O'Brien
    Played very well with Matias Laba. Might be last start this season with Kendall Waston coming into the mix.
    6 - Darren Mattocks
    Could have had 3 or 4 goals in this game. Needs to keep working on his finishing touch. Made a very nice run to the middle of the pitch on his goal.
    5 - David Ousted
    Only had to make two saves but played a very good game with his feet helping clear the box. Is now tied for 2nd in the MLS with six clean sheets.
    4 - Pedro Morales
    Had a very nice pass to Fernandez to almost set up a goal. Showed great touch setting up the run on the Mattocks goal. Could have been a little more active in the middle of the pitch but overall a good game.
    3 - Johnny Leveron
    Had a great game helping shut down Dom Dwyer. Stepped up in the box and made great decisions. Almost had a goal off a Morales corner after making a great play with a header.
    2 - Matias Laba
    A great game for Laba, played with enough of a physical presence not to get suspended with his next yellow. Along with Gershon Koffie they shut down the middle of the pitch to stop any of the SKC attack. Had a great play to step up and give the ball to Morales to set up the 2-0 goal.
    1 - Gershon Koffie
    So strong on the ball the whole game. Teamed up very well with Matias Laba shutting down the SKC attack. Magician with the ball at his feet and always knows where to position his body when being defended on a challenge.
    SUPER SUBS
    3 - Russell Teibert
    Very surprised he didn't get the start on the wing over Erik Hurtado. Came on for Pedro Morales and the team lost some spark once their talismanic captain left the pitch.
    2 - Mehdi Ballouchy
    Always great to see Ballouchy get on the pitch. Is turning into a good capable MF sub.
    1 - Omar Salgado
    Was able to put Aurelien Collin in a position where the ref had to make the penalty call. Had some great runs on the wing where he used his good size to get the ball down the pitch.
    Aaron Campbell
    The Good:
    Laba & Koffie Shutdown Pairing
    They shutdown the Sporting Kansas City attack perfectly. The SKC players were not able to generate any runs into the Whitecaps’ box. Matias Laba stepped up nicely and challenged all balls that came into the middle of the pitch. Gershon Koffie was strong all game long with the ball at his feet. Very good pairing just getting better and better with every game.
    The Average:
    Darren Mattocks Finishing
    1 out of 4 ain't bad in baseball. But game after game in soccer it gets old really fast. Had two great chances in the six yard box and failed to deliver. Made a good run on his goal by going from the wing to the middle of the pitch. Looked over confident on the penalty kick and the keeper was able to make the stop.
    He continues to complain to the ref when no calls are made when he is challenged. The more he complains the less legit calls will go his way.
    The Bad:
    Erik Hurtado
    Had a horrible start to the game. All his passes were going to the opposing team. The SKC players didn't even have to try and steal the passes they went straight to them. His first touch has been letting him down the past few games. He is better when he takes his first touch off his chest.
    Took a nasty shoulder to the head. He should have been subbed off as soon as that happened. There is no way anyone should be given the chance to stay in the game after taking a hit like that.
    James Grossi
    This weekend was a scrappy affair and as such highlight reel stuff was a rarity, mistakes or penalties contributed to the score-sheet more than wondrous strikes. That said, this round’s candidates are worthy of their place.
    In chronological order, up first is San Jose newcomer
    on Friday night. The second candidate seems to be in contention every week, as on Saturday night. And the third nod goes to – anytime a 5’2’’ player wins a header, he is worthy of praise.On to the results:
    Results in Brief
    Los Angeles 2 – San Jose 2
    The round began on Friday night with a California Clasico; one that carried a little extra importance. The league was stunned last week when Landon Donovan announced that this would be his final season in professional soccer, thus beginning his sunset-tour with a home match against the club with whom he made his name.
    Donovan has made it clear his intention is to go out on top with yet another MLS championship and the last two months has seen a different Galaxy to the one who picked up a mere two wins in their first eight matches, losing just one of their next eleven matches and looking to extend a two-game winning streak against a resurgent San Jose.
    The Earthquakes too appeared to have turned a corner, winning their last two and going unbeaten through three off the back of a four-game losing skid. And it was San Jose who took the lead in the 18th minute, very much against the run of play, when Chris Wondolowski latched on to a long pass from Shea Salinas to squeeze a low shot across Jamie Penedo.
    The shock only served to wake up the Galaxy, who would draw level eleven minutes later when Robbie Keane’s blocked shot fell to Gyasi Zardes on the left, who swept an easy finish into the unguarded net for his eight goal in the last nine matches.
    But San Jose would not go quietly to fate and debutant Matias Perez Garcia, making his first MLS appearance, made himself comfortable in the league with a long-range left-footed smash after Atiba Harris chased down a Salinas ball on the right, played in to Wondolowski, who unselfishly laid off to his new teammate.
    The Earthquakes lead would survive to half-time, barely, as Zardes had the ball in the back of the net again in the 41st, but was correctly ruled offside. The second half was a different story however, the Galaxy equalizing in the 49th minute when Omar Gonzalez rose up to meet a right-sided Stefan Ishizaki corner kick at the near-post to score his first of the season.
    LA would hunt for the winner, but San Jose held strong, extending their unbeaten run to four matches with the 2-2 draw as they look to make up ground on the pack ahead. Worth noting, US national teammate, Wondolowski, was the first to get a post-match Donovan jersey as the legend begins his farewell tour – a collector’s item indeed.
    The Galaxy meanwhile, see their winning streak snapped, but continue their home unbeaten run – up to nine matches now – coming from behind twice to cancel out Earthquake leads.

    Saturday began in Philadelphia with a resurgent Union hosting a faltering Impact. The Union have been an invigourated side since Jim Curtain took up the head coaching reins, losing just once in their last eight matches. They earned praise for their early season style, but were unable to transfer that quality into points – the last two months have been another story: three wins and four draws have seen them claw back into the middle of the Eastern pack.
    Montreal on the other hand are all but done, mired at the bottom of the league on fourteen points from 22 matches – their only hope of salvation? The Champions League.
    The Impact have often been their own worst enemy and once more they shot themselves in the foot after just twelve minutes as another defensive breakdown allowed Sebastien Le Toux to open the scoring for the Union. A long goal-kick from Zac MacMath was allowed to bounce by both Patrice Bernier and Krzysztof Krol, Le Toux inserted himself into the crowd, pouncing when Krol eventually tried to nod back to his keeper, Perkins, who had come out to collect, only to see Le Toux break down the right to finish into the empty net. Terrible defending.
    Montreal would collect themselves, shoring up the defenses for the remainder of the half, while teasing forward on occasion, but it was Philadelphia who found the next goal: Le Toux again taking advantage of some poor play to notch his second of the night and seventh in their last eight matches. The Frenchman collected a squared ball across the top of the box from Andrew Wenger, side step two half-hearted challenges to left-foot a low shot past Perkins.
    Frank Klopas would go to his bench for reinforcements, bringing on Dilly Duka, Anthony Jackson-Hamel, and Maxim Tissot. The changes would nearly pay off immediately Jackson-Hamel flicking a cross from Krol off the post three minutes after entering. It was Tissot who would find Montreal’s goal in the 79th minute, four minutes after coming on, getting on the end of a deep right-sided cross from Andres Romero at the back-post, nicking in behind a sleepy Sheanon Williams to touch past MacMath with his left foot on the volley.
    The Impact would hunt out an equalizer that did not come, pushing forward and leaving gaps at the back – Brian Brown nearly added another for the home side, whiffing on a good look in the 95th minute.
    The Union, who welcomed back centre-back Carlos Valdes from his Colombian hiatus, are now unbeaten through five matches, taking a grip on the fifth playoff spot in the East. Montreal, despite a solid performance, fall to a seventh-straight loss, desperate for ideas and hope in the midst of a club-worst run in MLS.

    Up next was the final match of the three-game Trillium Cup between Columbus and Toronto.
    With the trophy already decided, TFC having won the previous two matches, pride was on the line for the Crew having responded to a six-match winless run by picking up a pair of wins, while going unbeaten through three; adding emphasis, it was Kirk Urso Memorial night, honouring the memory of their fallen teammate.
    A scrappy first half looked bound to end scoreless, but Gilberto had other ideas, beating Steve Clark with a low, left-footed drive from the left-side of the area after Dominic Oduro, playing for the first time against his former club, found Luke Moore atop the box, who moved the ball on into the Brazilian striker.
    Columbus would respond four minutes later, deep into stoppage-time, when Tony Tchani’s goal-bound header appeared to strike to outstretched arm of Justin Morrow, prompting the official to point to the spot. Federico Higuain confidently dispatched the penalty with his right foot, beating Joe Bendik low to his left, having eyed the keeper the other way.
    Jonathan Osorio would reinstate the visitors’ advantage in the 59th minute; following up a play he began to be in position to walk the rebound from a Moore shot into the goal.
    The Crew would again draw equal in the 81st minute, piling on the pressure only for a harmless looking cross from Justin Meram on the left to sail over the head of a flat-footed Doneil Henry, leaving the service to his keeper, who was caught ball-watching, as the delivery nestled in at the far-post.
    Toronto would not be denied however and it was Moore, who, having collected a pair of assists, capped off the night with the game-winning goal, rising up to meet a left-sided Collen Warner corner kick with a powerful header in the 84th minute.
    The 2-3 win was their second straight, allowing TFC to make up ground on the teams above, while giving them a little breathing space ahead of those below.
    For Columbus, being swept by their once lowly cup foes will have been a shock, but dropping out of the top five spots in the East may prove the worst of the result.

    The evening continued in Dallas, where the red-hot home team handed Colorado a third-straight defeat, registering a pair of goals inside the first eleven minutes, before sealing the result at the start of the second half.
    Dallas entered the match in good form, having gone unbeaten in seven matches to surge back into the chase for the Western crown, the Rapids, on the other hand, have struggled through the last month with just one win in their last six, including back-to-back shutout losses – they entered the match without a goal in 196 minutes of play.
    A familiar worry stunned the Rapids in the 9th minute when Matt Hedges touched in the rebound from a Walker Zimmerman header after Michel sent a follow up cross into the box once his corner kick had been partially cleared – Colorado have conceded inside the first half hour in four of those last six matches, a stat no side wants to confront.
    Their woes were doubled just two minutes later when Marvell Wynne lunged into Tesho Akindele on the left-corner of the area after the two wrestled for position, allowing the referee to point to the spot, somewhat harshly – Michel would convert the spot kick with a well-placed left-footer into the side-netting leaving Clint Irwin helpless, though he read the intent correctly.
    Down two, Colorado nearly responded immediately, only for Michel to come up with a big goal-line clearance at the other end in the thirteenth minute to prevent a Moor header from squeezing in at the post. The match slowed into half-time under the heat of a Dallas night.
    The home side would find their third ten minutes after the restart with Michel again playing provider – Tesho Akindele appeared to duck under his left-sided cross, drawing a defender away with him, allowing Fabian Castillo to arrive at the back-post for a low right-footer past Irwin.
    With the match all but over, Colorado found scant consolation in the 86th minute, when Gabby Torres converted from the penalty spot, beating Raul Fernandez low to his left with a right-footer after the keeper awkwardly fooled himself, moving early and drifting to his right, opening up a wide side for the striker to find. Je-Vaughan Watson conceded the spot kick when he marked Torres far too casually on a harmless long ball before hauling him down.
    The dominant 3-1 win extended Dallas’ unbeaten run to eight, winning a fifth match in that spell to challenge for the top of the West, now within one game of Salt Lake and two of Seattle. Colorado drop to a third-straight defeat, slipping out of the playoff places and must find their goal-scoring boots lest they drift even further off the pace.

    It appeared as though fans of MLS were set to be granted an impressive spectacle, as the second-placed teams in each conference met in Salt Lake for the fourth match of Saturday night; anticipation was ripe, but alas, it was not to be.
    Salt Lake had the lead within eleven minutes of kickoff through Joao Plata, who registered his tenth of the season with a back-post header, meeting a Luke Mulholland cross after Javier Morales was given far too much time to chip a ball for Olmes Garcia’s run, which fell to Mulholland on the right.
    Two minutes later centre-back Chris Schuler doubled the advantage, turning in a stabbed Morales ball at the near-post after the Argentine maestro laid a pass through the legs of his marker, Nick DeLeon.
    And the night was over after just 24 minutes, when Schuler netted his second of the evening, meeting a right-sided Morales out-swinging corner kick with a powerful downward header helped on to the far-side of goal.
    DC would compose themselves (more-or-less, Eddie Johnson was lucky to not see red for his frustration) and not concede again, though they barely threatened Nick Rimando’s net and Bill Hamid was called upon several times to prevent further Salt Lake goals. The lone positive for United was the return of Fabian Espindola, the driving force of their early-season attack.
    The 3-0 win was Salt Lake’s third in their last four matches, extending their current unbeaten run to five matches and solidifying their second-place spot – Dallas had briefly taken it in the lapse between the end of their respective matches that evening.
    Reason enough to celebrate, made all the more so by Rimando collecting his 113th MLS clean-sheet, putting him in sole possession of the all-time record – even former teammate and opposition coach, Ben Olsen got in on the act, despite his side’s woeful display in dropping a second-straight match.

    Saturday night’s final match was an all-Western affair, as two of the conference’s bottom-dwellers looked to factor back in to the reckoning. It was a tale of two clubs headed in opposite direction; Portland having won two of their last three and Chivas dropping three-straight after that impressive four-game winning streak looked to have their season on the turn.
    It was a familiar face who first got on the score-sheet, Diego Valeri collected the ball from a Will Johnson interception to charge up field down the left-channel, before cutting inside on to his right-foot to hit a dipping drive from the top of the arc that beat Dan Kennedy in the Chivas goal after ten minutes of play. The Argentine has been sensational for the Timbers, scoring in a fourth-straight match.
    Portland would dominate much of the action, with Chivas struggling to keep a lid on a rampant Timbers attack and failing to threaten at the other end. Their second goal of the evening would come after 39 minutes, when Valeri picked out Fanendo Adi in the Chivas area and the big man held off the defenders with his back to goal before scooping across to Rodney Wallace, who right-footed his finish to the left-side of goal.
    Even goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts showed the kind of hustle that a team scrapping for their season needs, hustling out of his area, to much amusement and applause, in order to prevent the ball from going out for a corner kick.
    Johnson came close to adding a third in the 62nd minute, only for Kennedy to leap, pushing his curling effort wide of the right-post.
    No such goal was required, as Portland strolled to a 2-0 win over the visiting AmeriGoats, collecting just their second clean-sheet of the season in the process – the other having come in a 0-2 result at Chivas in May.
    It was a third-straight shut-out defeat for Chivas, who have not scored in nearly three hundred minutes of action as they sit at the bottom of the Western table.

    Sunday night’s trio of matches began with a hard-fought affair between Chicago and New York.
    Having provided a nine-goal thriller in their last meeting, expectations were high of a repeat, but just a single goal would be required to determine this match’s outcome. It would come in the 38th minute after Ambroise Oyongo was adjudged to have fouled Quincy Amarikwa in the New York box, the official harshly pointing to the spot as the two tangled.
    Mike Magee would step to the spot, only to see his right-footed effort saved by Luis Robles. Magee was alert enough to left-foot the rebound past Robles before sympathizing with the hard-done-by keeper.
    The goal came after a scintillating twenty minutes that saw some positively brilliant passages: Thierry Henry showing his class with a pinpoint long ball for Oyongo, only for Bakary Soumare to exhibit his strength in holding off the attacker; Soumare was again called into action, this time with a fantastic tackle when Roy Miller’s lovely long pass played in Bradley Wright-Phillips, fresh off his cracking strike against Bayern; then Henry dummied a Dax McCarty pass to let in Wright-Phillips, but Soumare was again on hand with a thunderous challenge to snuff the forward’s hopes.
    Chicago would nearly add a second in a 56th minute counterattack, when Amarikwa laid Magee down the right-side of the area, but could not stretch to reach the return ball to the back-post. And the result was ensured in the 65th minute when Wright-Phillips’ drive was tipped around the post by a fantastic save from Sean Johnson.
    The 1-0 win was Chicago’s first win in five matches; it was a crucial one that keeps them within reach of the playoff spots in a congested East, currently sitting in eighth, two points off of fifth-placed Philadelphia and three behind defeated New York in fourth.
    It was bitter loss for the Red Bulls, who see their three-match unbeaten run ended a week after a potential season-turning win over New England, fighting back from a goal down despite being down a man – tricky how quickly things can change.

    At the same time as Chicago and New York were battling, Vancouver laid a beating on one of the best teams in the league, systematically dismantling Kansas City en route to a 2-0 victory.
    Pace is deadly and the Whitecaps have it in spades; add the quality service and vision of a player like Pedro Morales and, on their day, Vancouver can compete with any team in this league.
    That said, it was a defensive mistake that handed the home side the lead, when Igor Juliao and Andy Gruenebaum got their signals crossed on a hopeful Morales punt up field. The defender tried to cushion a header back to his keeper, who had come darting off his line; the two watched helplessly as the ball dribbled into the unguarded cage.
    Morales, buoyed by the early fortune, attempted to catch the KC keeper off his line from half and then nearly squeezed a free-kick past Gruenebaum at the near-post in the 31st minute having bent his attempt around the outside of the wall, but the keeper was alert to the danger.
    Vancouver would double their lead in the 39th minute when Matias Laba sprung a counterattack intercepting a Matt Besler ball and feeding up to Morales on the right, the Peruvian skipped over the challenge of Besler before squaring to Darren Mattocks, who beat the KC keeper with a low right-footer.
    And they nearly added a third in first-half stoppage-time, when Sebastian Fernandez’ effort caught a piece of the keeper and looked to dribble over the line. Aurelien Collin showed why he is widely considered one of the premier defenders in the league, exhibiting the hunger and tenacity to track it down and clear off the line. The Whitecaps should perhaps have earned a penalty kick on the play, as Besler upended Fernandez with a desperate challenge that was lost in the fracas.
    Kansas City would compose themselves to find a few fruitless chances in the second half and could consider themselves unlucky to concede a penalty kick in the 84th minute, when Collin wrestled with Omar Salgado just inside the area, bringing the attacker down and prompting the official to point to the spot. Perhaps justly, Mattocks’ attempt was read all the way by Jon Kempin, who replaced Gruenebaum at half time to make his first MLS appearance.
    Kempin tipped the effort onto the post after diving to his right and Besler was on hand to clear any danger.
    The 2-0 win ended a run of four-straight draws for Vancouver and was just their second full points in their last ten matches, finally clawing into the top five in the West. For Sporting it was dismal end to their fine run, having gone unbeaten through their previous eight matches and won their last five away from home.

    The 22nd round of the MLS season came to an end with one final match late Sunday night in Seattle, with the stumbling Sounders hosting a Dynamo side looking to turn the corner of their season.
    Seattle, after surging into a massive lead atop the league, had plummeted down on the back of consecutive losses, against LA and San Jose. Houston, on the other hand, had finally ended an eight-match winless run last weekend and were unbeaten through two.
    It was the visitors who had the first chance, earning a penalty kick in the 24th minute when a sliding Djimi Traore handled an Oscar Boniek Garcia attempt, forcing the official to point to the spot. Brad Davis stepped up to convert, but his left-footed effort was far too close to Stefan Frei, who made the save low to his left. Ricardo Clark found the next good look, getting free on a Davis corner kick, only for his header to sail over the bar.
    As is so often the case, when one team wastes chances, the other will punish; doubly cruel, it was a horrible deflection off Houston defender, David Horst that allowed Marco Pappa’s shot in the 69th minute to wrong-foot Tally Hall, giving Seattle the lead.
    Six minutes later the Sounders doubled that lead from the penalty spot after Obafemi Martins’ arm was tugged by Clark in the Houston area, allowing Gonzalo Pineda a free go at goal, which he took, sending a left-footer to Hall’s left. The Dynamo keeper got a piece, but could not prevent it was finding the back of the net.
    Despite Martins’ dismissal for a second booking in the 86th minute, Houston could not respond, falling 2-0 to the Sounders.
    With the win, Seattle retake first place, having watched Salt Lake leapfrog them with Saturday’s result, responding to those two losses with a solid, if unspectacular outing. Having had to wait two matches, head coach Sigi Schmid could finally celebrate the 200th win of his MLS coaching career.
    For Houston, the loss was a failure to keep pace with the East, losing the minor progress that came with last weekend’s win.
    CanCon
    The extended review of the Canadian performances this round will be posted early afternoon tomorrow (Tuesday) featuring goals from Jonathan Osorio and Maxim Tissot, further solid outings from Will Johnson and Tesho Akindele, a strong cameo from recent homegrown signing, Anthony Jackson-Hamel, and an MLS first for Russell Teibert.
    Overheard
    Nick Rimando celebrated his record with an old friend, as former teammate and DC manager, Ben Olsen, reportedly ran on to the pitch for a congratulatory hug: “It doesn’t really make a difference that I got it against D.C. It’s good to have a friend in town, in Ben. We had breakfast this morning. As much as he didn’t want me to get that shutout, I know he’s proud of me. It shows that he is a class guy that losing the way he did, that he still came over and congratulated me. Obviously getting the win is very important. D.C. is a team that I have a lot of respect for and have a lot of memories there. D.C. or any other team in the league; as long as I got the record.”
    Olsen was much more sanguine in the post-match interviews, responding with a presumably flat, “no”, when asked if the altitude was a factor in DC’s dismal outing.
    Mauro Rosales adds a new word to lexicon describing the isolation endured by striker Cubo Torres, who has gone three matches without a goal, starved of service: “He was too lonely in the attacking part of the field. Having four defenders against one is not always good. He needs help from us coming from outside. If you are in a good shape, organized, you can have more chances, you can get more second balls that are going to help you to move forward. It’s our job to give options to him. Coming down from 2-0, just running from behind is not easy anymore, you have to work double.”
    And finally, it was an emotional and celebratory night in Columbus, as the Crew family remembered and celebrated Kirk Urso.
    Justin Meram, who scored, said as much: "Playing for Kirk is something special. You never forget these moments. Scoring that goal, of course I'm going to kiss my armband with his initials. Everyone that scores, I'm sure for them as well, you score for Kirk. We love their family. It was so good to see his father and his brother here", before summing up, “No matter the result, you play for Kirk, and we'll always remember."
    Long may the tradition continue.
    See It Live
    The KU armbands and the grass-cut patterns in Columbus were a very nice touch; even the TFC coaching staff honoured Kirk, as did LA.
    Nat Borchers beard is epic, it’s not even playoff time yet and his ‘wild man in the mountains near Sasquatch Pass’ look is in full effect – pretty sure a bird flew out of there. Terrifying
    Donovan Ricketts hustling out wide to prevent corner kick and getting a big cheer in the process was worth a smile and chuckle.
    Some brilliant saves this round: Bill Hamid gets down low to deny Salt Lake’s Olmes Garcia; Dan Kennedy on Will Johnson; Andy Gruenebaum denying Pedro Morales’ cheeky bender around the wall bound for the short-side; Sean Johnson on golden boot leading Bradley Wright-Phillips; and finally, Aurelien Collin’s hustled goal-line clearance.
    And there were several excellent passages of New York attack – enjoy Thierry Henry while he’s around, he’ll be missed when he retires: his pass to Ambroise Oyongo was not in the highlight pack, nor was his dummy off a Dax McCarty ball, but Roy Miller’s ball to Wright-Phillips and Bakary Soumare’s tackle is available.
    Controversy
    Plenty of minor controversy, nothing egregious, except for perhaps the penalty in Chicago:
    Toronto’s Justin Morrow was called for a handball against Columbus.
    Colorado’s Marvell Wynne suffered a similar fate when he lunged in on Tesho Akindele.
    Should Roy Miller have been penalized for his hand on the shoulder of Chicago’s Alex or was it a blatant dive; then New York’s Ambroise Oyongo was indeed penalized for his tangle with Quincy Amarikwa – is there a foul there?
    Did Matt Besler’s challenge on Vancouver’s Sebastian Fernandez deserve a penalty after Aurelien Collin’s stunning clearance?
    Eddie Johnson took out his frustration at trailing 3-0 in the 29th minute by kicking the ball into a prone Carlos Salcedo in Salt Lake, earning a yellow card – Columbus’ Bernardo Anor was sent off for less vicious play, though it was overturned on appeal this season and Jonathan Osorio got two games for clearing a nasty ball into a prone Kosuke Kimura last season. Have to wonder if the DisCo (disciplinary committee) will be having a look at this one.
    Upcoming Fixtures
    The US Open Cup returns this week with the semifinal round set to be played on Tuesday and Wednesday with Dallas hosting Philadelphia and Seattle taking on Chicago.
    Before a full slate of weekend fixtures litter the docket for Round 23, beginning on Friday night:
    Friday: Houston-Philadelphia. Saturday: Salt Lake-Seattle; Montreal-Chicago; New England-Portland; Columbus-Los Angeles; Kansas City-Toronto; Chivas-Vancouver; San Jose-Dallas. Sunday: DC-Colorado.
    All video & quotes courtesy of MLSsoccer.com
    Each week James takes a look at the league as a whole.
    You can follow James on twitter @grawsee or read more of his writing at Partially Obstructed View
    Michael Mccoll
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    Steve Pandher
    The Whitecaps almost got off to a quick start in the fourth minute when Sebastian Fernandez set up Mattocks around the six yard area. He spun around and tried to get a quick shot off but Aurelien Collin was a bit quicker and he got his foot in to deflect the shot for a corner.
    Sporting responded with their own early chance in the 10th minute when Benny Feilhaber curled a shot from outside the box wide of the far post.
    Just before the 20 minute mark a quick counterattack by the Whitecaps resulted in them taking the lead when Igor Juliao scored an own goal. Pedro Morales sent a ball from his own side of the halfway line into the final third which the defender attempted to head back to his keeper but sent it over the on-rushing Andy Gruenebaum and into the empty net.
    At the half hour mark Morales almost caught the keeper with a free kick sent to the near post but Gruenebaum was able to get down and gather the ball.
    It was all Vancouver and another quick counter with six minutes to go in the opening half led to the Caps doubling their lead when Mattocks scored his sixth of the season, and fourth in five games.
    Matias Laba sent Morales with Mattocks on a 2v1 on Collin and after a couple of touches the Chilean set up the Jamaican striker alone to beat the keeper.
    The home side almost scored another before the half as Fernandez sent the ball to an open net but a diving Collin recovered to deflect the ball over the end line.
    Despite being down by two goals and holding the advantage of possession, Sporting KC were unable to generate enough chances in the second half. Their best one came just after the ball was kicked off when Jacob Peterson was sent in a hard shot from the right side of the box that was straight at Ousted.
    It was the Whitecaps who came closest to scoring in the half when Omar Salgado was fouled in the box by Collin, earning a penalty. Unfortunately for Vancouver they weren’t able to put an exclamation point on the victory as Mattocks’ attempt from the spot was deflected off the bar by keeper and second half sub Jon Kempin, with a fine instinctive save.
    The victory over the Eastern Conference leaders club was their first in six games and first since their 1-0 win over Seattle, who are also atop the Western Conference, on July 5th.
    With the win and the three points the Caps leap over Colorado and Portland into fifth spot in the West with a game in hand on the two teams below them.
    With only one game left against the East (at home to DC United in a few weeks time), the Caps now have 11 of their remaining 12 against Western teams and it starts next week against Chivas USA where they will look to avenge their loss at BC Place a month ago.
    　
    LINEUPS
    Vancouver Whitecaps FC
    David Ousted; Jordan Harvey, Johnny Leveron, Andy O’Brien, Steven Beitashour; Matias Laba, Gershon Koffie, Sebastian Fernandez (Omar Salgado 82), Pedro Morales (Russell Teibert 77), Erik Hurtado (Mehdi Ballouchy 66); Darren Mattocks [subs Not Used: Paolo Tornaghi, Carlyle Mitchell, Nicholas Mezquida, Kekuta Manneh]
    Sporting Kansas City
    Andy Gruenebaum (Jon Kempin 46); Seth Sinovic, Matt Besler, Aurelien Collin, Igor Juliao (C.J. Sapong 64); Mikey Lopez, Jorge Claros, Benny Feilhaber; Graham Zusi, Dominic Dwyer, Jacob Peterson (Soony Saad 78) [subs Not Used:Martin Steuble, Sal Zizzo, Antonio Dovale, Lawrence Olum]
    Scoring Summary:
    17' - VAN - Igor Juliao (own goal)
    39' - VAN - Darren Mattocks (Pedro Morales)
    Match Stats:
    Shots: Vancouver 13 - Kansas City 13
    Shots on Goal: Vancouver 7 - Kansas City 2
    Saves: Vancouver 2 - Kansas City 6
    Fouls: Vancouver 9 - Kansas City 25
    Offsides: Vancouver 6 - Kansas City 2
    Corners: Vancouver 6 - Kansas City 5
    Cautions:
    25' - SKC - Dom Dwyer
    62' - SKC - Benny Feilhaber
    63' - VAN - Erik Hurtado
    83' - VAN - Jordan Harvey
    Reaction:
    VANCOUVER WHITECAPS
    Carl Robinson
    Thoughts on the early lead:
    “It would’ve been more relaxing if we’d gotten the third goal, to tell you the truth. It’s a nice win. It’s a good win for us against a very good team. There’s a lot of good teams out there, and Kansas City is certainly a very good team, very well organized with a top coach in charge. It was a good test for us, a test that we managed to overcome. I believed we could win the game if we did things right, because of the personnel that we’ve got .We can cause any teams problems, and we showed that today. It could’ve been four or five for us on another day, but we’ll take the victory.”
    On the first goal:
    “It was a fantastic pass, we talked about getting angled balls, and getting guys in the system we play. We play with two wide guys, and try to get them in when Pedro drops deep. It was a fantastic pass, and just a miscommunication between the fullback and goalkeeper, but we’ll take it, we did get lucky on the first goal. Take that out of it though, and I think we fully deserved the victory. It was a good performance against a top team. It would’ve been nice to get that third goal, because at two-nil, you’re never really comfortable. I said to the guys at halftime though, we’ve been in this position before. We were comfortable leading against Chivas one-nil, we went off and we switched off, so let’s just try to learn something today, and let’s just try to overcome that little bit of a hurtle. I think the first 20 minutes of the second half we didn’t maintain the ball as much as I would’ve liked, but again, we’re a work in progress in relation to that against a good team. We bent a little, but we didn’t break, and that was a pleasing thing for the guys.”
    How the play of Leveron and O’Brian will affect Waston breaking into the lineup:
    “He’s got to do well in training, he really has. Those two were excellent. I left Carlyle out, and he’s been very good. Kendall must be sitting here watching the game today, excited to be part of it. So if I feel it’s right I’ll put him in, but the two guys were excellent today, and when I look at the game tonight, I’ll see what we do when we have a day off tomorrow.”
    On why he thinks Kansas City is as good as they are:
    “I think it’s vitally important when you’re building football clubs that you have a foundation, and I think it’s vital that you have a core group of players, and Kansas City is a perfect example, so are Salt Lake. You don’t have to spend over the odds to do it, but it takes time. I was at Toronto from 2007-2010, and I saw an influx of maybe 80 odd players, teammates come and go. I don’t want to talk about Toronto too much, but that wasn’t a base for success. I think you’ve got to build somewhere, you’ve got to start somewhere, and sometimes you need to go backwards before you can go forwards. The good organizations understand that, we’ve certainly got a good organization here, and one that wants to progress, one that wants to win, but one that wants to produce young players as well. Me being a young coach, working with this young group of players, it really is a privilege, and an honour day in and day out because they give me a role, and I’ll never question anything from them.”
    Darren Mattocks
    Thoughts on scoring four goals in five games:
    “Yeah, it should have been five in five with the [penalty kick], but the most important thing is we got three points against a very good KC team with four All-Stars, and for us to get a clean sheet, I tap the guys on the back. To get three points on two goals, it was a very big thing for us.”
    Did you think Pedro was going to pass to you there?
    “Yeah. I mean, he’s a great player and I just put myself in the best position for my teammates and to give them a second option, and he chose it. I think I did well to put it in the back of the net.”
    Thoughts on the pass to you for the goal:
    “Yeah, I was trying my best to get in front of him and the pass was a bit behind me and I had to hook it in front of me and stretch a bit but as I said, it was a great finish nonetheless.”
    Thoughts on closing out the game:
    “I think we managed the game. There’s going to be games where we’re going to need to win one-zero, but I think we did great today managing the game, but we should have gotten a third goal, but as I said, three points, we’ll take it.”
    Thoughts on battle with Aurelien Collin:
    “Great battle. Physical guy. Week in and week out, I look forward to those challenges, and that’s going to get me better in the long run so I welcome the battle.”
    David Ousted
    Thoughts on the game:
    “Great win. Nice to get on the scoreboard in that sense. Really great performance all over, good defensively, and some good goals.”
    Importance of winning the game:
    “It definitely is crunch time right now. Like you said, people are winning next to us, and we need to keep winning like we did today to keep up with people and keep going up the standings. This was a good start but the work doesn’t stop here. We’ve got an even more important game next week in Chivas, and this will be a little bit for nothing if we don’t go there and get something out of it.”
    Thoughts on the defence:
    “Yeah, I think we did really well defensively. They had some finishes but everything was almost locked-down and we got them in some good angles, so easy saves for me. That was a nice clean sheet.”
    Thoughts on the team beating good teams:
    “You know I think it’s both. I think that says something about this team, and the quality that’s in it, but it also says about, we need to mature a little bit. Getting into those tough games, like you said, Chivas away, Chicago away, those games where people are expecting wins, those are not easy games. We need to realize that, and work even harder in those games to get those wins out of it.”
    SPORTING KANSAS CITY
    Peter Vermes
    Thoughts on the match:
    “They were the better team. They wanted the game more. Their guys were hungry, our guys were lackadaisical. We made two mistakes, and the mistakes are one thing, because that happens sometimes in games, and that kind of stuff you’ve got to be able to live with, but it’s our approach in the game. I always say that that’s my responsibility, so I’ll take responsibility, but at the same time, I’ll say that it won’t happen next week, I can tell you that.”
    On whether the number of fouls were caused by his team’s physical style:
    “That’s a misconception. We don’t play a physical game, what we do is play aggressive. What happens is, when you play aggressive, especially when you’re pressing the ball, things are going to happen. There are going to be fouls, but I don’t think, in any way, shape or form, did we foul more than them, or whatever. I don’t think that was the case. Again, I think we were late to a lot of stuff today because of our approach.”
    On whether the All-Star game affected his four starters:
    “From a physical perspective, no I don’t think so, but obviously, all four of the guys from the All-Star game for sure didn’t have their best games today, so that definitely has to have something to do with it, I would assume, because they didn’t have any training with us all week.”
    On Pedro Morales:
    “I think he’s a good player – I’ve seen him on video quite a bit. I think he’s a very good player, think he’s very good going forward, and good in the counter. He can not only find passes, but he’s a guy that can score as well. So, he definitely drives their offence from that part of the field.”
    Matt Besler
    Thoughts on the match:
    “I think that, in the first half, we didn’t come out with the correct mentality. We didn’t play who we are, we were on the back foot instead of the front foot. We finally got into the game in the second half and created some chances there, but at the end of the day, we were down two goals by that time, and it wasn’t good enough.”
    On whether the abundance of fouls called was a product of Sporting Kansas City’s play:
    “We played like we normally do. I think we’re a physical team. I think the ref, for whatever reason, was calling more fouls than we’re used to, but I don’t think we were fouling more than we usual, we were playing like we usually do.”
    On whether the All-Star game had any effect on himself, Zusi, Dwyer, or Collin in terms of fatigue:
    “No effect. Anyone that says it affects you – that’s just an excuse. Like I said, the mentality wasn’t good enough and we didn’t play the way we could today.”
    Jon Kempin
    On whether this was his first time entering a match at halftime:
    “Throughout my career, yes, but obviously that was my debut, so not professionally. It’s always tough, because you don’t get much of a warm-up or notice, but I was definitely very happy to get in.”
    On whether communicating with the centre backs is the most important part of coming into a game cold:
    “Yeah, just getting on the same page. Coming in and getting a feel for how the game is going.”
    On whether scouting and review of Mattocks helped him stop the second-half penalty kick:
    “A little bit, but to be honest, I think the ref blew the whistle a little early, before I was quite ready and I had to make a quick decision, and that’s the way I went.”
    Graham Zusi
    General thoughts on the match
    “First half is what killed us. We just came out with the wrong mentality and we didn’t play the way we play on a consistent basis. That’s what killed us today. They came out and took it to us that first half. Obviously, we were unfortunate on that first goal, but it’s as simple as not coming out and fighting. That’s what we do so well, and we didn’t do it today.”
    On why they didn’t come out strong:
    “It happens every now and again. Whether it’s preparation or we’re too comfortable, there’s a reason we didn’t bring it.”
    On the second half:
    “We woke up. We had some chances and if one of those goes in early on in the half, then we get ourselves a shot, but at that point, they were up two goals, and were pretty happy just to put 10 guys behind the ball.”
    Duane Rollins
    By Rose Rago,
    A late game goal by Luke Moore led Toronto FC to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Crew at the aptly named Columbus Crew Stadium on Saturday Night.
    Even with the squad’s leading goal scorer Jermain Defoe out of the line up, TFC were able to get production from fellow designated player Gilberto as well as Jonathan Osorio and Luke Moore.
    Moore headed the game winning goal in the 84’ for his fifth of the season off of a corner kick from Colin Warner.
    This late game winning goal is a phenomenon TFC faithful are not used to experiencing. Toronto has a history of conceding the tying/go ahead goal late in the match in what is, not so affectionately, known as “Tobias Time”
    As mentioned in the broadcast Moore’s goal was the first from a corner kick as well as the first goal headed in by a forward for TFC this season.
    Moore also had assists on the club’s previous two tallies. Warner's helper was his first in TFC red.
    Toronto took a 1-0 lead in the 43rd minute when former Crew member Dominic Oduro’s pass to Moore was fed to Gilberto through the 18. The Brazilian controlled the ball on his left foot and slipped it past goalkeeper Steve Clark. The goal came from transition when Warren Creavalle stripped the ball off of Federico Higuain. They immediately pushed up the pitch to allow TFC a four on three opportunity.
    However Columbus would draw level shortly thereafter on what TFC head coach Ryan Nelsen referred to as a, “Soft [Penalty] call” one minute into stoppage time.
    Marcos de Oliveira (officiating his second career MLS match) called Justin Morrow on a controversial handball in the box and awarded Columbus the penalty kick. Higuain would finish from the spot as TFC goalkeeper Joe Bendik went the opposite direction.
    TFC fans were up in arms on Twitter over the call however some pundits did defend de Oliveria’s decision. For example, one could argue that Morrow's hands were not in a normal playing position at the time of contact.What does that have to do with anything, you ask?
    The Professional Referee Organization (who preside over MLS games) takes its cues not only from the FIFA Laws of the game but from the US Soccer Federation. In a document entitled "Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game” the USSF addresses the issue at hand…pun completely intended.
    12.9 Deliberate Handling
    The offense known as “handling the ball” involves deliberate contact with the ball by a player’s hand or arm (including fingertips, upper arm, or outer shoulder). “Deliberate contact” means that the player could have avoided the touch but chose not to, that the player’s arms were not in a normal playing position at the time, or that the player deliberately continued an initially accidental contact for the purpose of gaining an unfair advantage.
    Take from that what you will.
    TFC regained their lead in the 59th minute. This time Gilberto sent a ball up the middle towards the top of the area to Moore. His shot rebounded off Clark, back to Moore’s chest, then on to Jonathan Osorio. The Toronto native controlled the ball and scored inside the six yard box for his second of the season.
    Twenty one minutes later Justin Meram would counter for Columbus. He crossed it from the left flank to Aaron Schoenfeld but the ball sailed past Schoenfeld’s head. Here a misplay from Bendik and defender Doneil Henry caused the cross to sail into the net.
    Who is the blame for the miscue? Normally Bendik doesn’t shy away from vocalizing his displeasure in mistakes made on the pitch. However, after the goal he remained relatively silent and kept his head down. His body language indicated that perhaps he misjudged the flight of the cross and called Henry off the ball.
    Despite this gaffe TFC managed to secure the victory against the Columbus Crew, sweeping the Trillium Cup season series for the first time in franchise history.
    After the match Osorio commented on the importance of the win.
    “It was a very difficult match. We were against a team that’s very desperate for points, and so are we. We know if we won this game that it would set the tone for the rest of the season, so it was a big three points.”
    TFC has earned points in eight of their eleven road games so far, notching 17 goals. When asked about what the cause of their success away from BMO Field is, Osorio laughed and said, “We just keep fighting until the end and believe that we can go into any stadium in this league and win.”
    Toronto FC remain third in the Eastern conference with 32 points. They end their four game road trip against first place Sporting Kansas City on August 16.
    Michael Mccoll
    It looks like's he's snagged another one in the 26-year-old Costa Rican international, who came across as a very humble and genuine guy. He'll fit in just fine with the team that Robbo has put together.
    Waston talked about how quickly the move to Vancouver came about, what he can bring to the team, playing in Vancouver during the 2007 U20 World Cup, his ambitions for the future, the performance of the Ticos in this year's World Cup in Brazil and how soon he hopes to be in the Whitecaps starting eleven.

    Michael Crampton
    In terms of player availability, there’s a certain degree of parallel with Toronto’s last visit to the Ohio capital but it’s interesting to juxtapose the reaction that has created. Then, Reds fans fretted over the lack of Jermain Defoe and Steven Caldwell and questioned if the team would be capable of dealing with their absence. Now, with both players once again sidelined, there is far less angst. TFC has finally started finding secondary scoring to supplement Defoe’s disproportionate share of the team’s goals and Doneil Henry seems to have gotten over his early season propensity to commit game changing errors in central defence. There’s little argument that Toronto is still a better team with Defoe and Caldwell, but their absence no longer seems catastrophic.
    That victory in Ohio back in April was memorable for another reason: the emergence of Michael Bradley as a bona fide match winner himself, capable, even without Defoe, of powering the team to victory. Some might argue that it was his best game in red, and there has been much disappointment ever since as he has not been able to recapture that level of influence. Bradley had a strong game in Montreal last weekend – including a spectacular pass that lead to Luke Moore’s goal – and with the American World Cup campaign fading in the rear view mirror the hope will be that Bradley is finally rounding back into the form he exhibited in the opening weeks of 2014.
    Of course, Dominic Oduro, the player who actually squared the ball for Moore’s goal in Montreal (and for Gilberto’s) will be relishing his return to Columbus. Traded to Toronto by the Crew for Alvaro Rey back in early June, the Ghanaian has been providing consistently dynamic attacking performances on the right flank for the Reds since joining the team, and highlights a welcome evolution in TFC’s approach to team building under the management of Tim Bezbatchenko.
    Some Reds fans expressed disappointment when MLS’s secondary transfer window closed Wednesday evening that Toronto had been more or less completely quiet during the summer transfer season. More than not even announcing a signing, TFC was barely even linked with a credible rumor of an incoming player. In 2014 there was to be no Diego Forlan, Danny Koevermans, Mista, Ali Gerba*, or (brace yourself) Paul Dickov riding over the hills with the cavalry to rescue a beleaguered Reds attack.
    What that attitude ignores is the slow, unglamorous evolution in Toronto’s line-up that has been happening in increments already. Last weekend in Montreal the quartet of Luke Moore, Collen Warner, Oduro, and Warren Creavalle all started, and all contributed to a comprehensive victory for the Reds. All were acquired in-season from other MLS teams and have added to the core of MLS experience Bezbatchenko starting accumulating in the off-season in the form of Jackson and Justin Morrow. It didn’t happened until their eighth season, but Toronto FC seems to have finally gotten past the expectation that answers must be found outside MLS.
    The Crew of the other hand can be legitimately disappointed by their lack of success in finding upgrades during the summer window. Turned down by their major target American international Mix Diskerud, who had occupied a disproportionate share of their attention, Columbus leave the summer without addressing the need for a consistent goal scorer who can convert the service from Federico Higuain.
    MLS teams still have the opportunity to add players who are out of contract, or make deals inside the league, but any reinforcements brought in by those methods won’t be in time to help the Crew versus Toronto on the weekend. If the Reds can take advantage, and complete a season sweep, they’ll have reopened a healthy gap between themselves and the Crew while still enjoying a games-in-hand advantage.
    *Admittedly, acquired from an MLS team, but too memorable and reflective of the trend to pass up.
    Squizz
    Let's be honest -- it's not always easy being a fan of Canadian soccer. In fact, most of the time, it's pretty difficult. Dispiriting. Disappointing. You get the idea.
    But Friday night... well, it's one of those nights that makes the whole ridiculous endeavour worthwhile.
    Whether you watched the game on television or online, or had the privilege of being in the stadium to see it first-hand we all know we just bore witness to something special.
    Sure, there's no guarantee that Little Red will find their way into the knockout round of this U20 Women's World Cup. They've still got a very difficult task ahead of them against North Korea, the nation that's knocked Canada out of the last two women's youth World Cups.
    But this situation is so much more than could have been hoped for at halftime against Finland on Friday. Down 2-0 and seemingly dead in the water -- with the always-cynical Voyageurs in the south end of BMO Field grimly assuming another winless, goalless U20 FIFA World Cup in Canada might be in the cards -- the Canadians showed remarkable resilience in the second half.
    Head coach Andrew Olivieri, who'd been criticized (i.e. by me) for his player selection and tactics in the tournament-opening 1-0 loss to Ghana, pulled off what turned out to be a brilliant double substitution at halftime, bringing on Janine Beckie and Valerie Sanderson, both of whom scored within the opening five minutes to knot the game at two.
    Those goals came as part of a 20-minute sequence of attacking football that, quite honestly, hasn't been seen by any Canadian team, at any level, of either gender, in quite some time. Now, sure, Finland is no women's soccer powerhouse -- but you can only play the opponent that's put in front of you; and in the second half, Canada played them very, very well.
    Nichelle Prince -- who will, unquestionably, be getting a call from senior coach John Herdman in the not-too-distant future -- was rewarded for her hard work throughout the game with the dramatic winner later in the second half, sending the 16,000+ in attendance (legit figure, for what it's worth) into hysterics (in a good way).
    Canadian goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, as expected, bounced back from the one-goal loss to Ghana, while a strong performance from Ashley Lawrence had much to do with the team's buoyed fortunes.
    After a solid contingent of Ghana fans caused much consternation during Tuesday's Canada-Ghana showdown, the same Ghanaians were back on hand and lending their vocal support to the Canadians on this night (one would hope so, considering that the vast majority of them presumably live in Canada). And while the flying of a small Ghanaian flag alongside a larger Canadian flag in the Voyageurs section caused some dissatisfaction from at least a couple of long-time supporters, who'd flown thousands of kilometres to watch the game (hi Ben and Jeff!), the simple fact -- from my vantage point -- is that nearly any effort to win over new supporters to the Canadian program is a valuable one.
    We have no idea if any of the Ghana supporters -- who, again, almost certainly live and work in the Greater Toronto Area -- will come out to, say, the men's national team's game against Jamaica in September. But they might. At the very least, they'll have a positive impression of the Canadian program and Canadian supporters when the day is done. And that's far more important to growing support in this country than upholding some faux-sacred notion of "purity" around what should and shouldn't be done in a supporters section.
    Again, just my two cents on a foolishly esoteric issue that should really be of no consequence to anyone after such a thrilling evening.
    Ultimately, whatever becomes of this team, in the short or long term, they gave us one performance that reminds us why -- despite all the heartache, all the disappointment, all the nonsense -- supporting Canadian soccer is, every once in a while, a pretty fun thing to be doing.
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