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    An extension to Canadian Soccer News’ MLS Week in Review, this article provides a closer look at the performances of the Canadian players who saw the pitch this week.
    Another down weekend, with Montreal on a bye, but still plenty to discuss – the top three spots go to Doneil Henry, Will Johnson, and Rob Friend with a special nod for Kofi Opare.
    Find out what they did to deserve recognition and who else earned their keep this week.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Doneil Henry
    Doneil Henry returned from the knee injury that forced a three-game absence in Toronto FC’s 1-2 loss at home against New England – it was his fourth start of the season.
    Reunited with Steven Caldwell, Henry had a very tough afternoon, playing a role in both Revolution goals.
    It was his giveaway – a weakly-hit, telegraphed ball intercepted by Lee Nguyen - that led to Patrick Mullins equalizer in the 24th minute:
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/bCHYch9TJgM?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    And it was he who lunged into a block of Mullins shot in the 81st minute, leading to Nguyen’s winner from the penalty spot a minute later:
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/vP0PXPutb9o?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Post-match his disappointment was palpable:
    <script height="300px" width="533px" src="http://player.ooyala.com/iframe.js#ec=NjMTdybTq_6PApmlz9ZLEc9t7NZh20Pp&pbid=7dacad772d954d99ae74a5b4812d675e"></script>
    Aside from those rather obvious missteps, Henry had a very solid game.
    The Brampton, Ontario-native completed 51 of 60 passes, won four headers and a tackle, had one attempt on goal – a diving header in the 84th minute that he could not keep on target, made thirteen interceptions, eight clearances, and five recoveries, committed six fouls (mostly in his running battle with Mullins) and suffered one, losing possession ten times.
    Will Johnson
    Johnson continued his ever-presence in Portland’s midfield in their 3-2 win over Portland on Saturday – it was his ninth-straight start of the season.
    With the Timbers still in search of their first win, Johnson was very conservative in his approach to the match – his passing chart indicates how rarely he ventured forward, opting to sit very deep, orchestrating the defense and springing attacks from a safe distance, such as when he nicked a loose touch off of Chris Rolfe and fed to Diego Valeri on the counter – Gaston Fernandez would put his shot over the bar:
    <script height="300px" width="533px" src="http://player.ooyala.com/iframe.js#pbid=4bfc225f82bf46c48dfb065eda97f74f&ec=N4dTlybTrkgaKjhF3tcfKtAhQAhE4yYP"></script>
    He did have two shots on goal – both blocked; one from a free-kick that smashed into a wall that stole a few yards at the last second – much to Johnson’s frustration.
    A frustration – perhaps borne of the desire to end the eight-match winless start – that reared its head again when Darlington Nagbe failed to find him on the pull-back after skipping past two defenders, shooting into the outside netting on one of Johnson’s selected forays forward:
    <script height="300px" width="533px" src="http://player.ooyala.com/iframe.js#pbid=403636afd0bc4debb836bf917bdf5d28&ec=J2cmFybTpvst7yQmieK937oOKePpbmB5"></script>
    The Toronto-born midfielder completed a near-perfect 41 of 46 passes, won six headers and three tackles, has two shots, both blocked, and made five recoveries and three clearances, while losing possession five times.
    Post-match he commented on the finally getting the win, “It was huge. The relief and the feeling that you feel when you score a 94th-minute winner like that is something that is hard to put into words. It’s why you play the game. It’s the best feeling in the world, it’s fantastic. You kind of black out, nothing else matters and you just start running around going crazy. It’s a blur, but it’s fun. That’s why we play.”
    Rob Friend
    Friend made his second start of the season in Los Angeles’ 1-0 loss at Colorado on Saturday – a third-straight appearance having factored from the bench in their previous two matches.
    Paired up top with Robbie Keane, Friend was a physical force up top, occupying both Drew Moor and Marvell Wynne for large swathes of the match.
    He nearly played a role LA opening the scoring within two minutes, when he challenged Wynne for a ball that fell to Landon Donovan on the right side of the box. Donovan’s shot would be saved by Clint Irwin, while Moor blocked Stefan Ishizaki’s follow-up on the line:
    <script height="300px" width="533px" src="http://player.ooyala.com/iframe.js#pbid=403636afd0bc4debb836bf917bdf5d28&ec=psMDlybTo8RD-KChkUJJqbAqNQW79E-u"></script>
    And, had he made the run to the far-post in a 39th minute attack, he may have gotten on the end of another Donovan move, as the ball rolled through the goalmouth – for which Friend was remonstrated a little by his teammate:
    <script height="300px" width="533px" src="http://player.ooyala.com/iframe.js#pbid=403636afd0bc4debb836bf917bdf5d28&ec=g0OTlybTrBlPWg1lAnnEcMd3ukWIa7h9"></script>
    Despite that, it was Friend who won his side their best chance to equalize, when he dueled with Moor over a bouncing ball at the edge of the Colorado area, getting position on the defender and drawing a desperately high boot from him, then making the most of any contact to win a penalty:
    <script height="300px" width="533px" src="http://player.ooyala.com/iframe.js#pbid=403636afd0bc4debb836bf917bdf5d28&ec=BxbDlybTpaQsvcD996AdgWAFBD4SFhNL"></script>
    There was some debate over whether contact was made – where was that ‘skill’ when playing in CONCACAF, eh? – but either way, Keane would miss the spot kick in the end.
    Friend would make way for Samuel in the 76th minute having put in a solid shift in his fifth appearance for the Galaxy.
    The Rosetown, Saskatchewan-native completed just 16 of his 29 passes, but won a staggering sixteen headers, had three shots – all headers, one on and two off target, and suffered two fouls, while turning over possession fourteen times.
    Jonathan Osorio
    Osorio made a second-straight start for Toronto in their loss to New England – it was his fourth start of the season.
    From his position on the left-side of the midfield, Osorio was instrumental in most of the Toronto attacks, cutting inside to get involved in the build-up and helping them to win the possession battle for the first time this season.
    All the injuries in recent weeks have prevented TFC from fielding a regular starting lineup and that unfamiliarity led to players getting in each other’s way on more than one occasion. Just minutes into the match he did very well to drag a pass from Jermain Defoe into a good shooting chance, only to run into Gilberto in the box, preventing either from making the most of the opportunity:
    <script height="300px" width="533px" src="http://player.ooyala.com/iframe.js#ec=czYzVybTrhz6vDRKIvunmdJSa1sUfZmt&pbid=4bfc225f82bf46c48dfb065eda97f74f"></script>
    That fifth minute chance was indicative of Toronto’s short-comings on the afternoon – getting in the right positions, but failing to take advantage of those situations.
    The Toronto, Ontario-native completed 46 of 57 passes, had one shot – off target, sailing high and wide in the 59th minute, won four of his five tackles and three fouls, and made six recoveries, while conceding possession eleven times.
    He had a run in with Lee Nguyen late in the match near the Toronto corner flag, where the New England midfielder appeared to put a strong hand into his midsection and appeared to tweak his hamstring that left Osorio hobbled for the close of the match – he is listed as doubtful for Wednesday’s Voyageurs Cup match.
    Kyle Bekker
    Bekker made his fourth-straight start for Toronto on Saturday afternoon – it was his fifth appearance of the season.
    It is noteworthy that despite many of Toronto’s recognized starters being fit, Bekker held his position in the first eleven, indicating a measure of faith in him, after several strong outings, by coach Ryan Nelsen.
    Sitting deepest in central midfield with Michael Bradley roaming a little more forward, Bekker was tasked with controlling the game from the back, initiating attacks and providing additional cover on moments of danger – when Henry committed the turnover that led to New England’s equalizer, Bekker had peeled out to the left to show for a pass, putting him out of position to defend the counterattack.
    If Doneil had been a little more patient or played there instead, New England would never have been granted such an opportunity.
    The Oakville, Ontario-native completed 50 of 61 passes, won two tackles and a header, made twelve recoveries, five interceptions, and one clearance, losing possession twelve times.
    He spoke with TFC TV post-match.
    Kofi Opare
    Opare made his MLS debut for LA in their loss at Colorado, replacing Omar Gonzalez at half-time.
    Taking up the left-sided position in the central pairing, alongside Leonardo, Opare helped to prevent Colorado from finding a second goal to comfortably close out the match.
    He did very well to contain Edson Buddle on several occasion, winning headers to prevent the big, former LA striker from finding his 100th MLS goal, though one of his clearing headers fell to Deshorn Brown, who tried to get fancy with a bicycle kick that did not come off.
    Opare came to prominence at the end of last season, starting the final five matches of LA’s regular season and exuded that same confidence on the ball and aerial ability that earned him praise and plaudits.
    Hampered by an adductor injury through preseason, Opare saw action in four matches with Galaxy II, LA’s USL PRO side, as he worked his way back to fitness.
    The Niagara Falls, Ontario-native completed 20 of 25 passes, won five headers and a tackle, made five clearances, three recoveries, and one interception, losing possession five times, in his one half of play.
    Bruce Arena knows that in Opare he has a very reliable piece for his back-line – expect him to see more minutes with the first team in the coming months.
    Issey Nakajima-Farran
    Nakajima-Farran made his fifth appearance for Toronto against New England – it was his third introduction from the bench, having factored in every match since signing with the club in March.
    Replacing Jackson in the 78th minute, Issey was much more active than his chalkboards indicate – seriously, he may have broke them as they did not properly track his involvement.
    With two goals to his credit, he nearly found a third – on an 84th minute free-kick from Michael Bradley that was met by Doneil Henry with a diving header. As with a chance against Colorado a few weeks ago, Issey was in a better position to get on the end of that delivery, but did not call off his teammate – Henry in this case, Dwayne De Rosario against the Rapids.
    The Calgary, Alberta-native, according to the boards, completed his only pass of the match and lost possession once – that is all – which does not seem accurate.
    Tesho Akindele
    Akindele made his second appearance of the season late as Dallas trailed New York 0-1 on Sunday.
    Entering the match in the 79th minute, providing fresh legs by replacing Blas Perez, Akindele did his best to get involved, but with Dallas down a man there was little to be done - he was bowled over in an off-the-ball collision on one break.
    In his eleven minutes, the Calgary, Alberta-native completed three of four passes and made one recovery, losing possession twice.
    Dwayne De Rosario
    De Rosario returned from a hamstring injury to make his sixth-appearance of the season, replacing Mark Bloom in the 87th minute as TFC desperately looked for an equalizer.
    In his three minutes (plus stoppage-time, which is not recorded, statistically speaking) the Scarborough, Ontario-native completed five of six passes, won a single header and lost possession once.
    He hit one lovely cross-field ball for Alvaro Rey that resulted in Toronto winning a corner – that was wasted by Rey, not getting it past the first man.
    The Rest
    Nana Attakora, Russell Teibert, and Marco Carducci were unused substitutes on the bench for their respective sides, DC, and Vancouver twice – it was Carducci’s first appearance in the game-day eighteen with Paolo Tornaghi, the usual backup, suspended for entering the field of play illegally.
    Toronto FC’s Jordan Hamilton was sent on loan to Wilmington – he saw 29 minutes in their 0-0 draw against Rochester on Saturday. Fellow TFC loanee, Quillan Roberts, earned his first clean-sheet that same match.
    Kyle Porter spent the weekend with the Richmond Kickers again, playing 90 minutes in their 1-1 draw against the Rochester Rhinos on Friday.
    Jackson Farmer was recalled from his loan at Charleston, perhaps indicating that he could feature in Wednesday Voyageurs Cup.
    Patrice Bernier and Karl Ouimette spoke with the media ahead of their match in Edmonton on Wednesday – en francais.
    As did Marco Carducci and Bryce Alderson – both of whom, it was announced, will start on Wednesday in Toronto.
    Sam Adekugbe appears to have suffered a knee injury, he tweeted the following last week:
    <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Road to recovery</p>— Sam Adekugbe (@SamAdekugbe) <a href="
    ">April 30, 2014</a></blockquote><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
    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
    Guest

    MLS Week in Review – Round 09

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    The ninth round of MLS play took place over this past weekend with nine matches spread over the two days (seven on Saturday and two on Sunday) resulting in four away wins, some surprising, some not, and not a single draw.
    Goals aplenty as thirty were scored throughout, including four from the spot. In fact, there could have been more as a further three penalty kicks were wasted – two saved and one horribly sent wide.
    And nearly an equal number of yellow cards were shown, 29, as well as a trio of reds - one accumulative to Columbus’ Wil Trapp and two straights, each well-deserved.
    It was a round that will be remembered for centre-backs playing a pivotal role in the action – both for repeated missteps and heroic interventions (and more than a few goals of their own); as well as dramatic turns of damnation and redemption, or vice-versa in one case, as players marked themselves the villain, only to make amends in short order (or vice-versa).
    There were come-from behind wins – and failed attempts at such, snake-bitten players getting in strikes, goalkeepers saving penalties – and one player getting it all wrong, dastardly own-goals, and unselfish setups from two of the league’s best assist providers.
    Before the results, the goals of the round:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    This weekend’s trio – who doesn’t love a trio – features a bevy of beauties for one’s viewing pleasure.
    In chronological order, up first, is Colorado’s fit-again (if only momentarily) Vicente Sanchez and this lovely touch:
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/txHH_drcVSc?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Was that intentional? Looked like it; he claimed so afterwards.
    Up next another touch of South American flair as Portland’s Gaston Fernandez pulls this out of his hat in the opening minute of their match against DC:
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/enrq7GWbUBE?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Not too shabby at all.
    And finally, enough of that Latin flair, how about some good old-fashioned English blood and thunder, provided by Giles Barnes on this hammer-blow against Chivas:
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/enonGRk-rIk?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    A round of applause for that pass from Oscar Boniek Garcia as well.
    On to the results…
    Results in Brief
    Toronto 1 – New England 2
    The round kicked off with an early match on Saturday, Toronto FC hosting New England, bossing the play after taking the lead through a deflected Jackson strike, only for two mistakes from Doneil Henry to prove costly in the end.
    Jackson would give the home side the lead after just six minutes, collecting a ball from Gilberto on the right and sending a hopeful drive towards goal. The well-struck shot would deflect off the boot of AJ Soares, attempting to block the effort, and catch New England keeper, Bobby Shuttleworth, moving to his right, unable to recover as he could only watch the ball beat him at the near-post.
    TFC would have several chances to pad their lead, dominating possession throughout the match – most notably Gilberto sending a low shot just wide of the post – before another misstep from a centre-back would change the tide.
    Henry played a weak ball through the middle that was easily intercepted by Lee Nguyen, who immediately fed Patrick Mullins, making just his second career MLS start, between the centre-backs. Mullins cut onto his left-foot and blasted a high shot past Brazilian keeper, Julio Cesar to level the match at one in the 24th minute – hmm, sounds familiar.
    Toronto would continue to direct their energy forward, but could not craft any definitive chances and Mullins would make them pay in the 82nd, when, following a bizarrely retaken corner kick from the Revolution, rookie midfielder Steve Neumann clipped the half-cleared ball back into the box. Justin Morrow’s poor header fell to Mullins at the top of the area and his shot caught the arm of Henry, as he slid in with a desperate block.
    Nguyen, who was very impressive throughout, converted his fourth goal of the season (and third from the spot) with a calm finish, eyeing Cesar to his right before going to the keeper’s left with his right-foot.
    Ryan Nelsen piled on the attacking substitutes and Toronto’s best chance to level fell to the foot of fit-again Jermain Defoe, who set his effort wide in the dying minutes.
    With the 1-2 loss, Toronto falls to a third-straight defeat, while New England’s unbeaten run stretches to four matches, three of them wins.
    Nelsen was left perplexed at the decision to reward New England’s mistake of a corner kick with another chance, but must question his decision to bring so many players fresh off of injury back into the starting lineup and leave them out there the entire match.
    Jay Heaps’ surprise selection of Mullins as the starter was justly rewarded, with the first-year forward bringing home a fine souvenir, the ball from his first professional goal, one blasted past the Brazilian National Team keeper.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/WQaGXVxZdzk?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Vancouver 3 – San Jose 2
    Some hours later, come evening, the round resumed with a match steeped in history, as both Vancouver and San Jose, former NASL sides, celebrated the long heritage of their clubs with a 40th Anniversary match that featured nostalgic pre-match festivities and fancy dress.
    The Whitecaps, who were forced to rely on late goals to salvage points against Salt Lake and Los Angeles in recent weeks, came out of the gates like a shot, notching three goals within the first twenty minutes of play.
    Kekuta Manneh tallied the first after ten minutes, collecting a ball from Pedro Morales on the left, cutting inside across the top of the box to find space for a right-footed drive. He beat Jon Busch, but not the near-post; somewhat fortuitously the rebound fell to him and his stabbed rebound neatly kissed in off the opposite-post to open the floodgates.
    Nine minutes on it was the other of Vancouver’s starting speedsters who punished San Jose. Darren Mattocks flared out wide left, one-on-one with Victor Bernardez, moved inside across the centre-back before cutting back to the outside and was tripped up by an errant leg in the process, prompting the referee to point to the spot.
    Morales would coolly convert the chance, eyeing Bush to his left and finishing to the right.
    Directly from the restart, the Chilean would add his second of the match after Manneh charged up the left-channel through midfield. He played in to Morales, who drifted further to the right as he got the ball out of his feet and hit an unstoppable right-footed shot across the keeper from outside the box to treble Vancouver’s lead.
    The Earthquakes, who lost the dynamic Yannick Djalo to injury just fourteen minutes into his first start, would draw one back before half-time with a penalty kick of their own. Jay DeMerit aggressively barged into the back of Alan Gordon in an unwinnable aerial challenge and Chris Wondolowski – who loves scoring against the Whitecaps – struck from the spot.
    The second half was largely uneventful, with the result more-or-less already decided; San Jose would attempt to comeback but fall short in the end.
    Wondolowski added his second of the match in the 91st minute after a JJ Koval header into the box was hooked away by DeMerit, falling to the deadly striker for a low right-footed finish that eluded David Ousted, who either saw it late, or could not react to a slight deflection off DeMerit, leaving precious few minutes to search for an equalizer.
    Of note was Kenny Miller’s entrance in the 57th minute, replacing Manneh, in what turned out to be his final appearance for the Whitecaps, the club and player ‘mutually decide’ to part ways.
    Carl Robinson, who stressed the need for his side to not fall into a hole off the bat, will have appreciated the bombastic start, but now must deal with the latest problem of falling asleep once firmly in the lead, tempering his elation at their first win of the season over Western Conference opposition.
    Mark Watson, a Vancouver native and former 86er/Whitecap himself, while be very disappointed in losing Djalo and succumbing to the early pressure in his homecoming after San Jose finally found their first win last weekend.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/kGz1KtNvpqE?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Chicago 2 – Salt Lake 3
    The evening rumbled on as Chicago took a two-goal lead through Mike Magee and Juan Luis Anangono in the opening half-hour, only to see their first win of the season crumble, as Salt Lake found three in the final twenty minutes courtesy a Joao Plata brace either side of a Alvaro Saborio strike.
    In a contest between one of the two winless sides in MLS and the sole unbeaten team, it was those down on their luck would took the initiative.
    Magee opened the scoring for Chicago in the 22nd minute, pouncing on the rebound from a fierce Harrison Shipp left-footed drive that Nick Rimando clawed off the goal-line. The rebound however, fell straight to last season’s Golden Boot winner, who notched his second of the season, right-footing past a helpless, prone keeper.
    Anangono, Chicago’s much-maligned designated player, was given the start in place of the suspended Quincy Amarikwa. He wasted one glorious chance on the volley from a Magee ball over the back-line before getting on the end of another excellent left-sided delivery from Shipp with a hanging leap and downward header into the bottom left-corner of the goal in the 30th minute.
    Salt Lake would emerge from half-time in an awkward position – having only previously trailed for five minutes this season – but with a hunger that must be satisfied. They have been haunted by an inability to finish off matches this season, dropping points on four occasions when late goals against turned wins into losses, but this time it was they who would do the haunting.
    As the clock ticked down, Salt Lake would slowly ratchet up the pressure, tightening the proverbial noose around a luckless Chicago side.
    It could have been so different.
    Chicago had a chance to add a third goal in the 63rd minute when Magee’s chip hit the crossbar and he looked destined to nod in the rebound, only for a crucial bump from Tony Beltran to spoil his balance – Magee was shown a yellow card for handball, his protestations indicative that he thought a penalty more appropriate.
    Salt Lake would get the first back in the 72nd minute from the red-hot Plata, when Javier Morales picked out the tiny Ecuadorean on the edge of the area on the left side of the box, in space to turn and squeeze a low right-footed drive in at the near-post.
    Chicago would be stung again by a refereeing decision in the 80th minute, when Anangono and Chris Schuler raced after a long ball – the Salt Lake defender took down the attacker with a sliding challenge and could have seen red on another occasion as the last man denying a goal-scoring opportunity.
    Ten minutes later, in the final minute of regulation, Salt Lake equalized when Ned Grabavoy played a ball down the outside left for Abdoulie Mansally to cross into the middle. Centre-back Bakary Soumare appeared to have it covered, but missed his clearing header, ducking under the ball, which hit left-back Greg Cochrane in the chest and fell perfectly for Saborio to roof into the net before Sean Johnson could collect the bouncing ball.
    And in the third minute of stoppage-time the comeback was complete with Plata notching his second of the night – and fifth of the season – with a back-post move to get on the end of a Saborio cross from the left.
    Frank Yallop was outraged at his team’s woeful defending when protecting a lead – amateurish was too kind a word (more on that shortly), while Jeff Cassar continues to oversee the Salt Lake transition with the calm-demeanour of a man who was handpicked for the job; not as easy a task as it may sound.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Wx2RuWVxjjU?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Colorado 1 – Los Angeles 0
    Meanwhile a little further west, Pablo Mastroeni was showing some of his admirers, just what his Colorado team was capable of, with a little help from Vicente Sanchez’ touch of class and heroic defending – and a little bit of luck - from Drew Moor.
    Prior to the match, LA’s Bruce Arena and Landon Donovan showered praise on their friend and former teammate, Mastroeni, who played under and with the duo during his time with the national team and spent much of last season with the Galaxy prior to retiring, as he begins his adventure into the coaching ranks.
    Despite those niceties, it was LA who should have taken the lead as early as the second minute, when Landon Donovan collected a headed pass from Rob Friend wide on the right side of the box, only for Clint Irwin to deny his tight-angled drive. The rebound fell to Stefan Ishizaki with a gaping cage to aim for, but Moor stood firm, clearing the attempt off the line.
    Donovan has yet to score this season, still one-goal away from taking sole possession of the all-time goals lead in MLS – that would prove to be his best chance of the match, though he would later drag a slow-roller through the goalmouth that needed only a strong wind or miss-cut blade of grass to tuck it in..
    That opening salvo evaded, Colorado looked to respond; pouncing on the frailties of the LA back-line – Deshorn Brown nearly got on the end of a Sanchez cross just a minute later, stretching but not reaching, the goalmouth ball. Sixteen minutes later, Leonardo whiffed on another dangerous cross that was again inches beyond the reach of the ever-dangerous Brown.
    In the 20th minute, the Galaxy would not be so lucky, as a half-cleared corner kick was put forward by Nick LaBrocca to Marc Burch on the left and his cross arced to the back-post. The savvy Sanchez shouted for Dillon Serna to leave it, ducking under the delivery, and the Uruguayan Sanchez collected wide right.
    From a tight angle, Sanchez delicately sent a left-footed chip back across the goalmouth – it looked initially to be a cross – but curled preciously in, kicking off the upper post and settling in the net for the game’s only goal.
    Moor, who made that crucial early block, nearly leveled the match for the Galaxy moments into the second half, when he slid to cut out a Robbie Keane goalmouth ball, only for his clearance to bank, mercifully off his own goal-post and out for a corner kick under severe pressure.
    And it was Moor, again nearly turning villain, who gifted the Galaxy a glorious final chance to level in the 62nd minute, appearing to catch Friend with a high-boot as the big man strode into the box – whether contact was made or not is debatable, but either way, the referee pointed to the spot.
    Perhaps Donovan, resting so close to the history books, should have taken the kick, but Keane was the designated taker and so he stepped to the spot, only to send a poor attempt whistling wide of the right-post. Irwin appeared to have it covered, but either way, one would expect a man of his finishing class to test the keeper in that situation.
    Mastroeni would hail the quality of Sanchez, who left at half-time with an apparent knee injury, post-match, as his side responded to last weekend’s disappointing result in Seattle with the full three points.
    Arena, on the other hand, blasted his side’s lack of effort and finesse, claiming the match was there to be had, if only they had executed better. He will be well aware that the stop-start nature of their season thus far will likely have played a role in the lack of sharpness, but needs to put out a message in warning.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Duzj6DGNk0o?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Seattle 2 – Philadelphia 1
    Themes, like streaks, have a way of continuing to pop up; throughout matches, weekends, or seasons –many of those same threads that adorned much of this round reappeared when Seattle came from behind to win over Philadelphia on a late goal from centre-back Chad Marshall after Brad Evans had made amends for his own goal by setting up Obafemi Martins’ equalizer.
    Not to mention Osvaldo Alonso wasting a chance from the penalty spot – though Zac MacMath’s fine save deserves much of the credit (that last one is more foreshadow than recollection).
    Evans, who was making his first start since leaving the match against Toronto in Round Two, was unfortunate to see a Cristian Maidana free-kick sent to the penalty spot flick off his head and beat Stefan Frei in the thirteenth minute to open the scoring on a rainy night in Seattle – not the best way to reintroduce oneself to the team.
    Undaunted by the set-back and riding a three-match winning streak, Seattle took the match to the visitors, earning a penalty kick in the 39th minute when Amobi Okugo stuck out a chicken-wing as he went to ground on Gonzalo Pineda. The veteran Mexican walked around the challenge of the young defender, who in desperation put his elbow into the ball in full view of the official, who duly pointed to the spot.
    Alonso would step to the task, blasting a right-footer to the keeper’s left, but MacMath read it well, got down quickly and touched it onto the post to make his third-straight save in such situations this season.
    Philadelphia may have padded their lead, were it not for the immense contributions of defensive stalwart Marshall, who has looked more like the league’s best defender of four season ago since reuniting with Sigi Schmid – he quelled an early run from Andrew Wenger like swatting at a fly, blocked a pair of Sebastien Le Toux chances in quick succession before the half-time whistle, and then put in several more after Martins had leveled the match in the 61st minute.
    Clint Dempsey may have been held off the score-sheet, but his strike partner, Martins, scoring in a third-straight match, would not be; it was Evans who made amends for that early own-goal by nodding a poor Aaron Wheeler clearance into space behind the Philly back-line for the Nigerian striker to pounce.
    Martins touched away from pressure with his knee and swatted a left-footer past MacMath to square things up in the second half.
    And in the 84th minute it was the dominant Marshall who got on the end of a right-sided, in-swinging corner kick from Marco Pappa, rising in front of Edu and Okugo to direct a powerful header across the face of goal to the far-side.
    The 2-1 win sees Schmid’s Seattle pick up a fourth-win on the trot, surging into sole possession of the top spot in both the West and the league. For John Hackworth and Philadelphia, who are now winless through eight, it comes as no surprise that another late goal – the fifth they have conceded in the final quarter-hour of a match – is their downfall, soiling another result.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/vJYV0shmXjw?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Portland 3 – DC 2
    The drama continued nearby in the Pacific Northwest, as Portland, who had waited all-season for their first win, finally got one thanks to a 94th minute strike from Maxi Urruti, after twice relinquishing leads to DC.
    It took just 34 seconds for the Timbers to get on the goal sheet. They may have struggled to combine much this season, with five of their nine goals unassisted (very much unlike them) – but on this night the attack finally clicked.
    Darlington Nagbe pressed a turnover out of DC left-back Cristian, skipped over the challenge of Jeff Parke and played up to Diego Valeri further ahead on the right. He sent an early ball between the centre-backs and keeper for Gaston Fernandez, who deftly avoided the lunging challenge of Bill Hamid with a neat hop, then volleyed over his own shoulder with his back to goal, avoiding the attentions of Bobby Boswell and the sliding block of Chris Korb to trickle over the line. Quite the way to start a match.
    DC, however, have found a confidence of their own through their five-match unbeaten run and Davy Arnaud showed what such positive effort can add, when his hopeful strike from distance took a nasty deflection off Diego Chara and knuckled, looping beyond the reach of a scrambling Donovan Ricketts into the right-side of the Portland goal in the 21st minute.
    Mamadou Danso, more commonly known as Futty, would reinstate Portland’s lead in the 38th minute, showing a surprisingly good touch – for a centre-back – on the end of a Valeri corner kick, sweeping a first-time right-footed finish into the near-post neatly.
    Portland, like Chicago, could not find that crucial third goal to seal up the victory – Steve Zakuani was denied a fierce strike by a bandaged Bill Hamid, who did very well to get down and Nagbe twisted through a crowd, but could not wrap his foot around the shot, finding only the side netting with Will Johnson screaming for a pull-back in the middle.
    In the 78th minute, it appeared as though Danso would turn from winner to goat, when he went up with Christian for a right-sided corner kick from Fabian Espindola, only to see (or more appropriately, not see) as the ball deflected off his head and into his own net to tie the match at twos.
    But his blushes were sparred in the 94th minute, when Urruti knocked in the game-winner in stoppage-time after a recycled corner kick came back to Valeri on the right and his cross that was redirected on goal by Urruti. Hamid would deny the initial attempt (or maybe it was the post, either way) the rebound returned to the Argentine forward, for a low right-footer that found the back of the net.
    Finally, in their ninth match of the season, Portland earned their first win, much to the delight of Caleb Porter and his charges – that out of the way, they can now focus on climbing the table. For DC, their unbeaten run may have ended, but putting in such a shift at a place as difficult to play as that, will only serve to reinforce the desire that has seen them surge from laughing stock to double-digit points in a little over a month.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/SP3lAjvBHpw?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Chivas 1 – Houston 4
    The final match of Saturday night saw Chivas take the lead from Erick Torres at the penalty spot, only for four unanswered Houston goals and a red card to sour their already miserable existence.
    This season has not been kind to Los Ameri-Goats, no matter how much better organized or lively they may appear, they always find a way of shooting themselves in the foot – whether red cards, suspensions, injuries, penalties, or all of the above.
    The match began brightly for the hosts, when Brad Davis clipped the heels of Carlos Alvarez as he worked into the box, forcing the referee to point to the spot in the 7th minute. Torres would again coolly convert the chance – he is a perfect three-from-three this season – eyeing Tally Hall to his right before slotting to the keeper’s left, the other way.
    But Davis would make amends in short order, latching onto a loose ball behind the Chivas back-line in the 12th minute with a darting run, stepping around their retreating pressure and placing a low left-footer across the keeper, Tim Melia - in for the suspended Dan Kennedy, and in.
    Twenty minutes later Giles Barnes brought on more pain, when his thunderous right-footer, after a lovely pass from Oscar Boniek Garcia, bulged the old onion bag – quiet literally, Tommy – ending his goal-less drought in spectacular fashion.
    And before the half-time whistles could bring mercy, Will Bruin had added a third, getting on the end of a Corey Ashe cross from the left, neatly collecting and finishing on the turn in one fluid motion in front of Carlos Bocanegra in the second minute of first-half stoppage-time.
    The second half went from bad to worse for the hosts who saw their goalkeeper dismissed - for the second-straight match - when a weak back-pass from Bobby Burling allowed Bruin to race in on Melia, who brought down the forward as he rounded – drawing a red card and conceding a penalty kick, which Barnes calmly dispatched in the 69th minute.
    With the defeat, Wilmer Cabrera and his Chivas USA have not tasted victory in eight matches, dating back to opening day, while falling to a third-straight defeat. Were it not for the seven goals of Torres, who knows what this peculiar season would hold for them – and his future, as property of big Chivas, remains unclear.
    Dominic Kinnear and Houston on the other hand, brush off the stench of a six-match winless run, though their propensity for four-goal score-lines – two wins with and two losses by (either feast or famine) – is an unsettling conundrum.
    <iframe width="533" height="300" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/JzBBMVSLay8?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Dallas 0 – New York 1
    Sunday kicked off with kicked off with a tight affair in Dallas, as the home side fell by a single goal from Bradley Wright-Phillips to New York, despite going down a man early, as Je-Vaughan Watson was dismissed from the field of play.
    Just ten minutes in, the Jamaican saw his second red card of the season – his first was rescinded after the fact; that off-the-ball encounter with Michael Harrington that was undone by Disciplinary Committee – for an unintentional karate kick to a sensitive spot on Tim Cahill’s midsection.
    Watson tried to avoid a potentially troublesome challenge with Dax McCarty, but in the process planted his raised studs into the midriff of the innocent bystander Cahill in the tenth minute, reducing Dallas to ten men.
    Dallas were already up against it, without Mauro Diaz through injury, as well as Michel and Zach Loyd to suspension, but even in such a state, they put up a good fight against the surging Red Bulls.
    Homegrown talent, Danny Garcia was handed the creative reins in place of Diaz, and after a few welcome-to-MLS collisions (from Cahill and Thierry Henry), he found his footing.
    Dallas had a good claim for a penalty kick in the 26th minute when Fabian Castillo went over the outstretched leg of McCarty in the New York box, but Castillo was judged to be the offender, shown a contentious yellow card for his troubles.
    It was Garcia who would finally see his side given the chance they deserved, earning a penalty kick when Cahill barged him over breaking down the left-side of the area, but Blas Perez had his attempt saved by Luis Robles in the 60th minute.
    Robles would deny a fierce lash from Garcia seconds later and eleven minutes on in the 71st minute, New York would finally break the deadlock.
    McCarty played a long ball up the right-channel for Henry to chase, getting the better of Walker Zimmerman in a footrace and playing over to Wright-Phillips, who notched his fifth goal in the last three matches, touching a right-footer past Raul Fernandez in the Dallas goal.
    The one goal was all that New York needed to extend their unbeaten run to four matches – three wins in that stretch – while picking up their first away win of the season, Mike Petke heralded the unselfish and alert play from his talisman, Henry, seeing and making a pass that many would not have imagined.
    For Oscar Pareja and Dallas, the loss, though depleted and down a man, comes as a stark warning, having lost two-straight and three of their last four, after establishing a solid lead atop the table.
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    Kansas City 2 – Columbus 0
    And the final match of the round began with Sporting being presented their championship rings, before crowning the afternoon with a two-goal win on strikes from Jacob Peterson and Claudio Bieler.
    Peter Vermes and Gregg Berhalter, former American internationals, have a fair bit in common, most noteworthy being their preferred style of play. Vermes has overseen the transition from Wizards playing on a repurposed baseball diamond to champions, while Berhalter, in two short months, has turned Columbus into a possession-based potential powerhouse, very much in the mold of Vermes’ Sporting.
    In this clash of similar styles, it was an early goal from an unexpected source that proved the difference, with Peterson pouncing on a bouncing ball in the box at the left-post with a tidy finish to the short-side.
    Matt Besler sprayed a long ball cross-field for Graham Zusi down the right, who in turn fed Chance Myers on the overlap. The full-back then pulled a ball back to the top of the box for Paolo Nagamura, whose shot was blocked by Giancarlo Gonzalez, before the scrambled clearance came to Peterson for the finish.
    Columbus had their chances to level, including an excellent header from Bernardo Anor that drew a jaw-dropping save from Eric Kronberg, but could not find the equalizer.
    The match devolved into a fractious contest, racking up seven yellow cards and a red – to Wil Trapp in the 80th minute for a second booking – with four in the final twenty minutes or so.
    Deep into stoppage-time, the fifth minute to be exact, Kansas City would seal the result when Michael Parkhurst let a chested touch run away from him, allowing Soony Saad to steal onto the bouncing ball.
    Parkhurst would recover with a last-ditch tackle, only for Zusi to pick up the loose ball on the left-side of the box and chip a lovely, unselfish cross to Claudio Bieler after drawing Steve Clark well out of goal, leaving the seldom-used striker an easy finish in an un-minded net.
    Vermes and his defending champions would set aside the distractions of reflecting on last season’s glory with a strong performance, making amends for the two-goal loss in New England last weekend. For Berhalter and the Crew, their winless run stretches to five matches, though they avoid a fourth successive draw.
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    CanCon
    As usual, the extended look at the Canadian performances will be posted tomorrow (Tuesday) midday.
    Watch for strong outings from Will Johnson, Rob Friend, Jonathan Osorio and Kyle Bekker, as well as the first MLS sighting of Kofi Opare this season, and a few words on Doneil Henry’s tough afternoon.
    Overheard
    The head of PRO (the Professional Referee Organization) Peter Walton was asked about the decision to retake the New England corner kick in Toronto, supporting the call by stating, "They did the right thing not allowing that kick to stand if it was taken contrary to the law."
    He continued, "The assistant is just pointing to the ball to tell the kicker [Chris Tierney] that the ball is not positioned correctly. And the assistant has very little time to step in even if he thought about stepping in."
    Which all sounds rather weak, if technically correct; it certainly seems contrary to the spirit of the rules – rewarding the offending team with a second chance.
    There were some similar echoes of disappointment – involving a certain bodily requirement – from both Frank Yallop and Ben Olsen, reflecting on their side’s inability to see out matches.
    Yallop - “I haven’t seen the goals again, but obviously it’s piss poor defending. I don’t think we really wanted to win that game because it didn’t show. If we wanted to we would have tried, put our head through the ball, and cleared things, and be good at that stuff but we didn’t. So it’s back to the drawing board for us. I thought we were going somewhere but now we’ve had a total collapse in a game we should have won.”
    Olsen - "We pissed that game away.”
    It was a rather rainy weekend, which may have played a factor in such word choices.
    A quality line from Salt Lake commentator, Brian Dunseth, applauding Nick Rimando’s intervention before Bakary Soumare can get on the end of a Harry Shipp free-kick with the line, “Hands like Steve Bartman” – too soon?
    And Glenn Davis on the Houston broadcasts, with the frank “But he’s not going to outrun anybody” when Bofo Bautista latched onto a potentially dangerous break – it was true.
    See It Live
    Plenty of little tidbits throughout the round:
    Drew Moor’s goal-line clearance
    Amobi Okugo’s sneaky handball and Zac MacMath’s ensuing save on the penalty kick
    Je-Vaughan Watson’s startling red card
    Huge save from Kronberg on Anor header
    The Ring

    Controversy
    Plenty of decisions to consider:
    That corner kick in Toronto
    <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23NERevs&src=hash">#NERevs</a> were allowed to retake the corner that led to the Doneil Henry PK b/c the 1st ball was outside the arc. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23TFC&src=hash">#TFC</a> <a href="http://t.co/C3TFCNWMau">pic.twitter.com/C3TFCNWMau</a></p>— Ben Jata (@Ben_Jata) <a href="
    ">May 3, 2014</a></blockquote><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
    The shove on Mike Magee and the ensuing handball – keep an eye out for the Juan Luis Anangono-Chris Schuler tangle in Simon Borg’s Instant Replay – though he’ll probably say it was fine.
    Rob Friend wins a penalty kick, but was there contact – does it matter when one gets their foot that high?
    Giles Barnes bustled into a challenge on Bobby Burling (again, look for it in the Instant Replay presumably) – strangely, Sorin Stoica restrains himself and his itchy pocket; for a little while at least…
    And finally, should Fabian Castillo have been awarded a penalty kick rather than a yellow card?
    Upcoming Fixtures
    Three midweek fixtures on the docket for this Wednesday, followed by a full slate of nine matches on the weekend – five on Saturday and four on Sunday.
    Wednesday: Houston-Columbus; Seattle-Dallas; San Jose-Colorado. Saturday: Montreal-Kansas City; Philadelphia-DC; New York-Chicago; Columbus-Vancouver; San Jose-Dallas. Sunday: Portland-Los Angeles; Colorado-Chivas; New England-Seattle; Houston-Salt Lake.
    The Voyageurs Cup proper gets underway this Wednesday as well, with Toronto hosting Vancouver and Edmonton welcoming Montreal.
    All video and 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
    Guest
    <i>"Caps Countdown" is our Vancouver Whitecaps player rankings with a twist. The starting eleven is ranked from eleven to one, from worst to first. Who was the 'man of the match' and who, if anyone, had a game to forget in the action packed 3-2 win over San Jose Earthquakes? Aaron Campbell makes his selections. Do you agree?</i>
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <b>STARTING XI:</b>
    11 - Jay DeMerit
    Poor game by DeMerit. Silly foul lead to the San Jose penalty kick near end of first half. His ability to not clear the ball lead to the second goal by Chris Wondolowski.
    10 - Darren Mattocks
    Only got 30 minutes in the game before coming off with a hamstring injury. Did nothing wrong but didn't have the chance to do much offensively, although did win the penalty for the second goal with his pace.
    9 - Jordan Harvey
    A better game from Harvey than the previous two matches. Got pulled into the middle of the pitch a few times but the Earthquakes weren't able to convert on it. Great battle near end of game with Atiba Harris.
    8 - Gershon Koffie
    Helped control the middle of the pitch with Matias Laba to shut down Alan Gordon and Wondolowski. Overall a good game to gain some confidence.
    7 - Andy O'Brien
    His ability to clear the ball in the air this season has been great. Stepped up when he needed to.
    6 - Sebastian Fernandez
    Deserved the start over Russell Teibert based on his play last week. Added a lot more attacking pace this game than Teibert has done the past few games.
    5 - Kekuta Manneh
    Great vision and attack on his goal. A lot of players would have eased up after the ball hit the post. Has to settle down in all the crossovers when attacking. It looks nice but not practical.
    4 - Steven Beitashour
    Another solid game for Beitashour. He quietly shuts down any player attacking his side of the pitch. Going to be missed when he leaves for the World Cup.
    3 - Matias Laba
    Is becoming a fan favourite in Vancouver. Seems to always be in the right spot at the right time. Forming a nice partnership with Koffie.
    2 - David Ousted
    Made some nice saves early in the game to keep the Earthquakes off the scoreboard. Wasn't at fault on either goal against.
    1 - Pedro Morales
    Very nice second goal to seal the seal the win for the Whitecaps. Seems to becoming comfortable with Manneh and Mattocks playing a striker role in front of him.
    <b>SUPER SUBS:</b>
    3 - Kenny Miller
    We now know why this game and last game he looked to be playing not to get hurt. Would have been nice to know this was his last game so he could have got a proper send off.
    2 - Nicolas Mezquida
    Worked well attacking late in the game with Hurtado. With Miller gone may open up more minutes for him.
    1 - Erik Hurtado
    Could have had 2-3 goals this game. His attacking speed and pace is nice but his touch on the ball needs to improve.
    <p>
    Guest
    By Tyler Follett
    A tired-looking Fury FC wrapped up the most hellacious month of scheduling they’ll have all season, falling to the more-rested Atlanta Silverbacks 2-1.
    After a period of 14 days that included five games, as well as travelling across the continent through various time zones, Fury FC could be forgiven for looking fatigued.
    With Omar Jarun, Oliver and Richie Ryan getting a rest, it was new starting lineup with Hamza Elias earning his NASL first start in midfield.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Hamza was a spark plug in the first half, distributing the ball well and nearly scoring himself in the opening 15, but Cameroonian keeper Eric Ati stopped the Ghanaian’s shot.
    Sinisa Ubiparipovic wore the armband in place of Ryan, with he and Elias leading the attack from midfield.
    Both keepers were called into action early in a back and forth first half with plenty of chances for both sides. Gorrick came up big on an early Deon McCaulay shot.
    Vini Dantas got the start up top with Haworth flanking him on the left, Davies on the right.
    Dantas found himself one on one with the keeper later in the first half, Cameroonian Ati was sharp to stop the initial shot and the rebound.
    A scary moment in the first half occurred when a Junior Burgos cross led to a heavy collision between Jaime Chavez and Devala Gorrick in the box. Gorrick did well to deal with the cross before colliding midair with the surging Chavez. Both men received medical attention but stayed in the game.
    Just before half, the Silverbacks scored when McCaulay knocked home after a cross in the box.
    A dejected Dos Santos was left disappointed by another first half where Fury FC created more chances and offence than the opponents but once again found themselves behind heading into the break.
    An injury to Haworth early in the second half brought on Pierre-Rudolph Mayard.
    Jaime Chavez would put the Silverbacks ahead 2-0 barely five minutes into the second half, off another cross.
    As the game wore on, the players looked worn down, as expected given the travel and schedule, the squad’s depth has been put to test often early in this Spring season. While the effort was there in the second half, the legs were not.
    Not long after the second goal, Jarun entered the game, followed by Kenny Caceros. The addition of Caceros pushed the imposing, 6’5 Jarun up top with Dantas, rather than his usual centreback.
    “I used to play forward so it’s not much stress out there,” said Jarun.
    “I played before I turned pro, my whole career and university at striker. Then when I turned pro in Atlanta, we had about 6 or 7 strikers so they asked me if I’d play centreback and I figured I’d give it a try.”
    The Jarun-Dantas pairing proved trouble for the Silverbacks defenders and keeper on set pieces, the team’s biggest threats in the second half.
    In extra time, a Ubiparipovic corner was headed home by Jarun, who earned it, proving to be too much for the Silverbacks defenders on every aerial ball.
    “It’s not gonna be a regular occurrence I don’t think,” Jarun said of playing forward.
    “Whenever I’m called upon to do something for the coach, I’ll do it.”
    One of the biggest difficulties of the Spring season for Fury FC has been injuries causing frequent lineup changes, and a back four that often has players playing out of position. Building chemistry among the back four can be so difficult without enough regular playing time together.
    “We’re still getting the feel of who’s playing where, who’s in good form and playing better than some guys,” said Jarun.
    “We’re going to get better as we get to know each other. Coach is confident in everyone’s ability to step in and play a match here and there.”
    Elias’ influence on the game was less noticeable in the second half as he continues to adjust to the league and continent, with his 80-minute performance his longest performance to date. He dealt with some physical defending in the first half, but it did not deter him from challenging defenders, which was an encouraging sign.
    The time off now back in Ottawa before next Saturday’s home visit from the Tampa Bay Rowdies will do the squad good as they rest some tired legs.
    Guest
    Episode 62 of the AFTN Soccer Podcast is a Vancouver Whitecaps v San Jose Earthquakes postgame show, and also a Canadian Championship preview!
    Going into May there were two monkeys on the Caps' backs. They still didn't have a win against Western Conference opposition and they just can't seem to win that elusive first Voyageurs Cup.
    Well, after San Jose, that's one monkey well and truly shaken and one to go.
    We look back at Vancouver's win over San Jose and the super quick start that saw them three up after the first 20 minutes. Who shone? What led to them coming out of the blocks so fast? And what does the immediate future hold in store for this team?
    We have audio from both locker rooms after the game. We hear from Caps coach <b>Carl Robinson</b>, goalscorer <b>Kekuta Manneh</b>, goalkeeper <b>David Ousted</b> and captain <b>Jay DeMerit</b> for Vancouver and two goal man <b>Chris Wondolowski</b> and former Whitecap <b>Shea Salinas</b> for San Jose.
    And there's still time to look ahead to Wednesday Canadian Championship semi final against Toronto. It's going to be a young Caps team that takes on TFC and we chat with two of them, goalkeeper <b>Marco Carducci</b> and midfielder <b>Bryce Alderson</b> about the game and more.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Have a listen!
    You can listen to this week's podcast on iTunes <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/aftn/id628306235" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a>.
    Or download it for your later listening delight <a href="http://aftn.podbean.com/" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a>.
    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 <a href="http://aftn.podbean.com/mobile/" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a> 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've joined <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/michael-mccoll/the-aftn-soccer-podcast?refid=stpr" target="_blank"><u><b>Stitcher Radio Network</b></u></a>. Download the app and listen to the AFTN podcast on your device, along with over 15,000 shows <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/michael-mccoll/the-aftn-soccer-podcast?refid=stpr" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a>.
    Or after all that, you could just listen on the player below!
    <iframe width="100%" height="100" id="audio_iframe" src="http://www.podbean.com/media/player/audio/postId/5148813/url/http%253A%252F%252Faftn.podbean.com%252F2014%252F05%252F04%252Fepisode-62-the-aftn-soccer-podcast-vancouver-v-san-jose-postgame-show-and-canadian-championship-preview%252F/initByJs/1/auto/1?skin=3" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
    <p>
    Guest
    Vancouver Whitecaps came out of the traps quickly to see off San Jose Earthquakes 3-2 at BC Place on Saturday afternoon, thanks to three goals in the first 20 minutes.
    There were festivities all around, with the Caps also commemorating 40 years since the NASL Whitecaps inaugural match in 1974 with the help of some alumni.
    AFTN photographer Tom Ewasiuk was there capturing the game for us. Here's a selection of his photos from before, during and after the match.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    You can find his full gallery from the game on Dropbox <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qpo8d0mf22r1eji/srXusBfk3o#/" target="_blank"><u><b>HERE</b></u></a>.
    <center><b>
    Whitecaps alumni are celebrated before kick off

    The Caps starting line up v San Jose

    Kekuta Manneh opens the scoring ten minutes in

    And down goes Darren. Victor Bernardez brings upends Mattocks for a penalty

    Which is coolly slotted home by Pedro Morales for 2-0 Whitecaps

    And the Chilean jumps for joy

    Then 57 seconds later he grabs another in exactly the same spot. 3-0 Vancouver

    Pedro Morales bares his joy

    Vancouver's joy is tempered by a hamstring injury to Darren Mattocks

    His replacement, Erik Hurtado, nearly makes it four

    Chris Wondolowski pulls one back for San Jose from the spot

    Erik Hurtado has another chance to make it four, but Busch thwarts him

    He might not be able to put the ball in the back of the net, but he is athletic

    Two goal hero Pedro Morales keeps the fans even happier</b></center>
    <center>** Tom goes by the name <a href="http://www.twitter.com/residualimage" target="_blank"><b><u>Residual Image on Twitter</u></b></a>. Give him a follow. **</center>
    <p>
    Guest
    Forty years after losing their franchise opener to San Jose, the Whitecaps exacted a little revenge winning decisively against the Earthquakes by a score of 3-2. It was Pedro Morales who picked up his first brace, within a minute, as a Cap while Kekuta Manneh scored the opener. San Jose responded with a brace from Chris Wondolowski who scored one at the end of each half.
    The opening goal came on the ten minute mark when Kekuta Manneh scored on his second attempt. He was sent in alone by Sebastian Fernandez and took his first shot which hit squarely off the post returning right back to him. Manneh would make no mistake on his second attempt as he side footed the ball off the far post and into the net.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Eight minutes later the Caps doubled the lead after Darren Mattocks was fouled in the box by Victor Bernardez. Vancouver’s Chilean DP Pedro Morales stepped up converted the shot sending Jon Busch the wrong way.
    The home side struck again right off the kickoff when a leaping Gershon Koffie was able to block a pass right to Manneh. He was able to find Morales who took a couple of touches and fired a shot into the net picking up what was probably his quickest brace of his career.
    There was almost a fourth for the Caps as they counterattacked after some Quake pressure but the shot by Erik Hurtado was cleared off the line by Sam Cronin.
    Just before the half the visitors pulled one back just before the half when Captain Jay DeMerit was called for foul on Alan Gordon while going for a header in the box. The penalty was converted by San Jose’s leading scorer Chris Wondolowski.
    The second half proved to be uneventful when it came to scoring as the Earthquakes possessed the ball for the majority of time but were unable to threaten. In fact the best chances in the latter 45 came to subs Erik Hurtado and Nicholas Mezquida who were both denied by Busch.
    However in added time the ball found its way to Wondolowski who beat a flat footed David Ousted for his fifth of the season, with the aid of a deflection off DeMerit. Despite the tense moments the Caps were able to close the game out and earn their third win of the season, their first one since March.
    A trip out east now awaits the Whitecaps as they face TFC in the Voyageurs Cup and look to hoist their first trophy in that competition.
    Vancouver Whitecaps FC
    David Ousted; Steven Beitashour, Andy O'Brien, Jay DeMerit, Jordan Harvey; Gershon Koffie, Matías Laba; Sebastián Fernández (Nicolás Mezquida 69th min), Pedro Morales, Kekuta Manneh (Kenny Miller 57th min); Darren Mattocks (Erik Hurtado 30th min)
    Subs
    Marco Carducci, Johnny Leverón, Nigel Reo-Coker, Russell Teibert
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Jon Busch; Brandon Barklage (Billy Schuler 79th min), Victor Bernardez, Clarence Goodson, Jordan Stewart; Cordell Cato (Atiba Harris 73rd min), J.J. Koval, Sam Cronin, Shea Salinas; Chris Wondolowski, Yannick Djalo (Alan Gordon 14th min)
    Subs
    Bryan Meredith, Ty Harden, Khari Stephenson, Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi
    Attendance: 21,000
    Scoring Summary
    10’ – VAN – Kekuta Manneh
    19’ – VAN – Pedro Morales
    20’ – VAN – Pedro Morales
    45’ – SJ – Chris Wondolowski
    90’+1 – SJ – Chris Wondolowski
    Match Stats
    Shots: Vancouver 17 – San Jose 7
    Shots on Goal: Vancouver 9 – San Jose 4
    Saves: Vancouver 2 – San Jose 6
    Fouls: Vancouver 19 – San Jose 14
    Offsides: Vancouver 1 – San Jose 1
    Corners: Vancouver 5 – San Jose 3
    Cautions:
    21’ – VAN – Pedro Morales
    70’ – SJ – Alan Gordon
    <p>
    Guest

    Canada the old vs Canada the new

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Juxtaposition was in full force in Ontario soccer circles Thursday.
    In the space of about 30 minutes two press releases arrived. One, from the Toronto Lynx, celebrated the arrival of five foreign players to the local PDL side. Primarily playing in a development league, the a Lynx were expressing excitement over the fact they were taking five spots away from local products.
    Canadian soccer the old.
    The other press release came from Ontario League 1, the new standards based professional league that launches later this month.
    That press release was to confirm that a former Premier League stand-out was coming to Canada. However, rather than coming to take a playing spot away from local talent while lending his name to a team to sell tickets, that player -- Newcastle fan favourite Nolberto Solano -- was coming to a small club in Toronto (Internacional de Toronto) to teach the game to a next generation of Canadian players.
    Canadian soccer the (hopefully) new.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Today, he reiterated that desire at a press conference at the Ontario Soccer Association.
    At least three times Solano mentioned that Canadian men's head coach Benito Floro was based in the city. The context of that was to illustrate that it would be an aspiration of his players to play for that national team. In most places on earth it would be a given that a player would aspire to that and that his manager would want to help him do that.
    In Canada (the old), not so much. In Canada the old they'd be on ancestry.ca looking for national team to aspire to.
    In Canada the old, Solano isn't being lured here.
    Time will tell whether we are done with Canada the old, but between the launch of League 1 and the parallel launch of the LTPD-standards based youth league the OPDL (this weekend, in fact) it's becoming less and less crazy to think it possible.
    For more info on League 1 visit: http://www.league1ontario.com
    Guest
    Episode 61 of the AFTN Soccer Podcast looks ahead to the game between Vancouver Whitecaps v San Jose Earthquakes. It's the Caps' special 40th anniversary match but can they produce something special on the pitch?
    We look at how the game may play out, what formation and line-up the Caps may adopt and hear the thoughts on the game from assistant coach <b>Gordon Forrest</b>.
    Filling us in on all the Earthquakes team news and developments is San Jose Mercury News journalist <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/earthquakes/ci_25662765/former-san-jose-earthquakes-star-steven-beitashour-enjoying" target="_blank"><u><b>Elliott Almond</b></u></a>.
    And there's still time to look at some of the main stories in Whitecapsland this week and get <b>Predictapooch</b> to cast his (fading) magic powers into the weekend's results.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Have a listen!
    You can listen to this week's podcast on iTunes <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/aftn/id628306235" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a>.
    Or download it for your later listening delight <a href="http://aftn.podbean.com/" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a>.
    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 <a href="http://aftn.podbean.com/mobile/" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a> 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've joined <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/michael-mccoll/the-aftn-soccer-podcast?refid=stpr" target="_blank"><u><b>Stitcher Radio Network</b></u></a>. Download the app and listen to the AFTN podcast on your device, along with over 15,000 shows <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/michael-mccoll/the-aftn-soccer-podcast?refid=stpr" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a>.
    Or after all that, you could just listen on the player below!
    <iframe width="100%" height="100" id="audio_iframe" src="http://www.podbean.com/media/player/audio/postId/5146748/url/http%253A%252F%252Faftn.podbean.com%252F2014%252F05%252F02%252Fepisode-61-the-aftn-soccer-podcast-vancouver-v-san-jose-pregame-show%252F/initByJs/1/auto/1?skin=3" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
    <p>
    Guest
    Now the real test begins.
    With less than 100 days until the U-20 Women's World Cup and just a little over a year until the senior Women's World Cup, the mind set around the Canadian program is definitely in competition mode. With John Herdman's side looking to prepare itself for a (hopefully) deep run at WWC2015, the first of this year's four match-ups on Canadian soil with so-called "Tier I" teams goes down in less than a week, from Investors Group Field in Winnipeg.
    With a raucous crowd expected as Big Red cruises into Desiree Scott's hometown to renew the cross-border rivalry, Herdman will trot out a predictably mixed squad, comprised of some familiar veterans who'll likely remain the core of the 2015, along with a collection of youngsters who'll surely form the backbone of Canada's U-20 team later this summer.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    That squad is as follows:
    GK- Karina LeBlanc | USA / Chicago Red Stars
    GK- Erin McLeod | USA / Houston Dash
    D- Kadeisha Buchanan | USA / West Virginia University
    D- Robyn Gayle | USA / Washington Spirit
    D- Carmelina Moscato | USA / Seattle Reign FC
    D- Rebecca Quinn | USA / Duke University
    D- Rhian Wilkinson | CAN / Comètes de Laval
    D- Sura Yekka | CAN / Brams United
    M- Kaylyn Kyle | USA / Houston Dash
    M- Diana Matheson | USA / Washington Spirit
    M- Sophie Schmidt | USA / Sky Blue FC
    M- Desiree Scott | ENG / Notts County Ladies
    M- Jessie Fleming | CAN / London NorWest SC
    M- Ashley Lawrence | USA / West Virginia University
    M- Brittany Baxter | USA / Seattle Sounders Women
    F- Jonelle Filigno | USA Sky Blue FC
    F- Nkem Ezurike | USA / Boston Breakers
    F- Adriana Leon | USA / Chicago Red Stars
    F- Christine Sinclair | USA / Portland Thorns FC
    F- Josée Bélanger | CAN / Comètes de Laval
    F- Melissa Tancredi | USA / Chicago Red Stars
    While the influx of youth against the world's #1 team may raise some eyebrows, it's important to remember that Buchanan -- who, at age 18, is already considered a near-lock on Canada's back line -- had her breakthrough performance against this same U.S. squad last June. Could another youngster -- such as Fleming, Yekka or Lawrence -- grab the spotlight on this occasion?
    It's possible. But it's also a tall ask to expect that younger players with only a handful of senior appearances between them to make an instant impact against the Americans, even if they are in transitional mode after a surprising seventh-place Algarve Cup finish and an even more surprising dismissal of head coach Tom Sermanni.
    That's why veterans such as Melissa Tancredi find themselves back on the roster. Tancredi, for the second straight year, is coming back to the national team after an extended absence for a friendly against the Americans. Herdman has admitted that she wasn't in top form for last June's match, and told media this week that she won't be expected to pull a full-90 performance in Winnipeg.
    But Tancredi's around for this game -- and potentially, next year's World Cup -- because Canada is in need of a diversified strike force. As has been said in this space, the cupboard has looked bare for Canada when Christine Sinclair is either ineffective or when the day comes that she retires. With that in mind, this game will feature the team's most robust strike force in recent memory, with Tancredi and Belanger helping ease the transition from Sinclair (who is a category unto herself) to the next group of 23-and-under strikers in Ezurike, Leon and Filigno.
    The squad is, of course, missing a few players that may have otherwise been expected to take part. Lauren Sesselmann is out with an ACL injury, suffered during the Cyprus Cup, while Kara Lang is "back in recovery mode" after suffering another knee injury during her recent comeback bid. Several European-based players were left off the squad due to logistics, and Herdman's desire to give some experience to the aforementioned group of youngsters.
    But all in all, this roster bears a pretty close resemblance to the list of players Herdman will be turning to for the remainder of this year's challenging games (including two friendlies against Japan and one against Germany) and, presumably, next year's World Cup.
    Canada's result at the previous World Cup was dead last. Herdman's goal for this World Cup is to make the final. The reality will almost certainly -- as it tends to do -- fall somewhere in the middle.
    But will it be closer to the former or the latter? Next Thursday's game against the U.S. is going to give us our clearest indication yet of which way the needle will end up pointing.
    .
    Guest
    Toronto FC return to action after a two-week layoff, in the first game of the MLS weekend, this Saturday afternoon in a match versus the New England Revolution. Toronto is looking to get back to winning ways after back-to-back losses sucked some of the momentum out of a surprisingly strong start to the season and, for the first time, find themselves below the majority of teams in the Eastern Conference standings. With their next four games all against Eastern Conference opponents, all of whom are currently above the Reds in the table, a solid accumulation of points during this stretch of games will be essential if TFC wants to stay in-touch with the playoff positions.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Since they were one of the few teams that last year’s Toronto FC enjoyed success against it’s easy to forget that New England ended the 2013 season as a solid playoff team who nearly eliminated the eventual champions Sporting Kansas City in a thrilling Conference Semifinal series.
    The Revs endured a slow start to the new season but have started to find form in their last few games and are currently undefeated in three games with three wins from their last five. The goals came really, really late, and they were aided by a red card to perennial line-toer Aurelien Collin, but a 2-0 win over the defending champions sees New England head to Toronto building up a momentum of their own and probably confident that they can beat just about any team in the league.
    Jay Heaps’ cadre of exciting young attacking players that powered last year’s team has been kept together. Diego Fagundez, Lee Nguyen, and Kelyn Rowe were capable of playing fast, exciting on-the-deck football and now have Teal Bunbury, picked up in the offseason from Kansas City, to serve the ball to along with former Whitecap Daigo Kobayashi adding further creativity to their midfield. While Rowe is listed as questionable due to a hamstring strain, and hasn’t featured during New England’s recent strong run, the veteran presence of Andy Dorman has more than made up for his absence.
    Unlike some of the teams that Toronto has faced to-date in 2014 Heaps’ New England don’t rely as much on one central attacking player to be the fulcrum of their attack. While Nguyen normally operates centrally and continually looks to get on the ball the Revolution have creative players who like to get forward right across their midfield, particularly in the wide positions, making it difficult to mark any one player out of the game. While that tendency makes them harder to defend, it also implies that they could be vulnerable to a side set-up to draw their midfielders forward and look for opportunities to launch quick counterattacks.
    Thankfully for Toronto FC, if it is to be a counterattacking style that they attempt to implement, it appears that Jermain Defoe will once again be looking to get on the end of those attacks. The word all week has been that the Englishman is back to full fitness and is expected to be back in the starting line-up.
    Even though they only managed one goal, TFC looked more dangerous against DC United than against any other opponent when Defoe was able to combine with Gilberto. Hopefully that partnership has been enhanced by another few weeks of familiarity created by at least training with each other. Gilberto has been isolated in matches during Defoe’s absence and his attempt to score his first goal in the colours of Toronto should benefit greatly from Defoe’s return.
    For Toronto, the time for excuses is over. They are at home, the Designated Players are back, the team has had two weeks to prepare, and New England are, very likely, one of the teams Toronto will be directly competing with for a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. If this Reds side intends to be the one to end the club’s woeful record of league futility these are the sort matches they need to win, and win consistently. Lose, and the old doubts will surely start swirling.
    Guest
    The countdown to the Whitecaps' 40th anniversary celebrations have been in full flow in Vancouver this week.
    With Saturday's game against San Jose marking 40 years since the original Whitecaps played their first ever match against the NASL Earthquakes in 1974, there's been a real 70's vibe at training all week, with players and Caps staff donning retro wigs, clothes, sunglasses and the Caps' recently produced line of original logo leisurewear.
    Let the haters hate, but it's been a fun break from the more serious proceedings and you can expect more of the same at the match on Saturday, which will also see Whitecaps legend, and current President, Bobby Lenarduzzi being inducted as the first person into the Caps' "Ring of Honour" (and yes, we do plan to bring back our <i>"All-Time Greats"</i> series sometime real soon).
    But in amongst all that, let's not forget the most important matter to be taken care of on Saturday. Three points.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Such an occasion can either be a motivating factor for the players or a distraction to the main matter in hand. Jay DeMerit doesn't see it being the latter and is looking forward to a day of commemoration.
    <i>"Anything can act as a distraction if you let it,"</i> the Caps' captain told AFTN on Thursday. <i>"The message this week is there's nothing wrong with having some fun with things and to take these types of occasions as something that matters, because it does.
    "It's important to the fans, it's important to the Club and it's important to us as players to continue to try and grow this game and to keep trying to use occasions as this as building blocks to continue to make soccer better and an occasion we can all enjoy and appreciate how far it's come."</i>
    According to a post on the Southsiders' forum, DeMerit is also set to lead the supporters in a Whitecaps chant before kick off on Saturday. Arranged by members of the Caps' various supporters' groups, the plan is to get the club captain to get fans on their feet and loud from the first kick. Unusual, but part of what is going to be a unique atmosphere all round.
    <i>"It's a great occasion and it marks a really rich history at this club"</i> DeMerit continued to tell reporters. <i>"Obviously to be playing the Earthquakes, who were there in 1974 as well, it's a great step, I suppose, in the right direction for North American soccer and it's great that the Whitecaps are commemorative in that occasion."</i>
    <p>
    Guest
    By Tyler Follett
    The Ottawa Fury FC were eliminated from their first ever Voyageurs Cup by FC Edmonton, dropping the second-leg 3-1 at Clarke Stadium Wednesday night.
    Fury FC headed into the game confident following a 4-0 weekend dismantling of the Carolina Railhawks, one of the stronger NASL sides. A 0-0 draw in the first-leg at Keith Harris Stadium meant a scoring draw would be enough to secure Fury FC a semi-final meeting with the Montreal Impact.

    Oliver sprints full speed to chase down a streaking Hanson Boakai and dispossess him in the first leg of their Voyageurs Cup matchup. Tyler Follett photo
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The Eddies had scored one goal in four games heading into the game, with head coach Colin Miller saying midweek he predicted more offense in the game than his team had shown so far.
    Unfortunately for anyone not in attendance, myself, the first half was not aired due to an issue with the streaming of the game. Everyone experienced the same issue, until half-time when the feed began.
    It has been a difficult start to the season for the NASL in terms of streaming games, as issues with their Spring NASL Live free trial has them offering free streaming for the rest of the Spring season.
    Even more unfortunate for attempted viewers, Fury FC came out strong and were the better side in the first half.
    Much like the first-leg, it was a rough game with Eddie Edward getting a yellow for the second time in this draw against his hometown club. FC Edmonton midfielder Richie
    Jones joined him in earning a yellow in the first half.
    Fury FC had five corners in the first 30 minutes, coming close several times on set pieces.
    Two free kicks by Sinisa Ubiparipovic also threatened, with one long range effort nailing the cross bar, inches away from giving the team the lead and the crucial away goal.
    It would be the Eddies who would open the scoring. Following 30 minutes of almost complete pressure by the Fury, 17-year-old Hanson Boakai found himself with some space on the left side. His cross found an open Daryl Fordyce who made no mistake.
    Heading into the break, Dos Santos spoke of the positives in the half, which included 30 minutes of almost continuous, sustained pressure that the team was going to try to build off in the second half.
    “We give away goals, you’re not gonna go through,” said skip Richie Ryan after the game.
    “At the end of the day we don’t take chances.”
    The second half began with some trouble for Fury FC as a Richie Ryan back pass had an ill-prepared Omar Jarun scrambling. It led to a footrace between the towering Jarun and speedy Boakai, as the young winger won the ball and went in alone on Devala Gorrick.
    After Gorrick made a great save on the initial shot, Boakai corralled his own rebound to net the Eddies second goal.
    The young Boakai is full of pace and troubled the Fury FC backline all night, especially in the second half.
    Just after the hour mark, Daryl Fordyce would add a second to his tally with a perfectly placed shot after a pass from the man of the match Boakai.
    It was a difficult score line for Fury FC after carrying so much of the play in the first half with nothing to show for.
    Near the end of the game, Fury FC continued to press with Haworth missing a close-range chance just before extra time. Substitutes Pierre-Rudolph Mayard and Vini Dantas pressured, getting close on a couple chances.
    Dantas finally broke through in the 90th minute, after getting behind two Eddies defenders and getting clear on net, slotting a low effort home in the corner.
    At the very least, it was a deserved goal for the score line, which at 3-0 was maybe not representative of the game.
    With the goal, Dantas is now the first every Fury FC player to score an NASL goal, as well as Voyageurs Cup goal.
    “The fact we were the better team in the first half doesn’t count for anything,” said Ryan.
    The strong play from the team in the opening 30 may have made the result an even tougher pill to swallow. So far this season, Fury FC are yet to be outplayed for an entire 90 minute stretch, and they’ve shown glimpses of what they’re capable of even in the losses.
    “Obviously disappointing to lose tonight and not go through to the semi-finals. But that’s gone now, luckily for us, we’ve got another game in three days where we can go out and hope to get a win and forget about what’s happened tonight,” said Ryan.
    Up next for Fury FC is an away meeting with the Atlanta Silverbacks on Saturday evening at 7:30p.m.
    “Once we get there tomorrow we’ll have a meeting and stuff about what we need to do on Saturday to beat Atlanta,” Ryan said
    Nicki Paterson continues to recover from a knee injury, nearing a return while Maykon has been ruled out of at least the next game.
    “Hopefully in the next weeks, it’ll good to have a full squad and everybody fighting and ready to go.”
    Guest

    Jock Math: Tackling a problem

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    There is perhaps no skill more overemphasized in North American soccer than the tackle. A strong, aggressive tackle can often get a roar that rivals only goals.
    Its a trait that confuses observers from places where the game is more established. There, tackling is seen as a last ditch thing that should not be rewarded. Good positional awareness is what we should be excited about, not the ability of a player to lunge in at the last moment to make up for the fact they weren't properly placed to begin with.
    Still, it is a skill. It's importance can be debated, but like all aspects of the game you'd rather be good at it than not.
    But, what is a good tackler? Here it would seem like the criteria is pretty basic -- do they win the ball or not? Indeed, the (very basic) formula we created to measure tackling is 50 percent based on that.
    The other 50 present looks at how reckless a player is. It's great if a player can get a good tackle in that occasionally wins the ball, but not so much if he gives up three free kicks for every tackle he wins.
    So, we also factored in fouls. Although a measure of how many fouls a player makes isn't perfect, it's the only measure we have that looks at recklessness.
    Let's call this stat Tackling Efficiency (TE). Its simple formula is TW - F.
    Below the jump the top 10 and bottom 10 players so far in TE.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Top
    1. Juninho LAG +3.0 (per 90)
    2. Eric Avila CUSA +2.7
    3. Matias Laba VWFC +2.6
    3. Eric Miller IMFC +2.6
    5. Andrew Farrell NER +2.3
    6. Raymon Gaddis Phi +2.0
    7. Waylon Francis CBS +1.9
    8. Jackson TFC +1.8
    8. Mark Bloom TFC +1.8
    10. Karl Ouimette IMFC +1.5
    The player at the top -- Juninho -- is a consistent presence near the top of nearly every measure we create. To venture into the subjective for a moment, Juninho might be the most underrated player in MLS.
    Other than that we see some well known names near the top (along with Miller, who is a clear Rookie of the Year candidate at the moment) which suggests this measure may have some value.
    Two former Reds at No 2 and No 3 is very TFC. Mark Bloom at No 8 less so.
    Some might be surprised that Jackson makes the list. The assumption bring that he creates too many fouls. That assumption is false. Jackson is caught being Jackson far less often than it seems.
    We've seen the top of the list. Now for the bottom.
    253. Alavaro Soborio RSL -1.2
    253. Gilberto TFC -1.2
    253. Edson Buddle Col -1.2
    256. David Texeira FCD -1.3
    257. Dominic Dwyer SKC -1.4
    257. Tim Cahill NYRB -1.4
    257. Quincy Amarikwa Chi -1.4
    259. Erick Torres CUSA -1.5
    259. Jack McInerney IMFC -1.5
    261. Fabian Espindola DCU -1.7
    262. AJ DeLaLarza LAG -2.0
    So, the Galaxy bookend the list!
    To be serious, the first thing that jumps out is the number of forwards at the bottom of the list. That likely indicates a few things.
    1) that the type of tackling that forwards make is different than defenders. It's more aggressive and less likely to succeed.
    2) that forwards are more likely to take a risk with a tackle because they are in a place on the pitch where there is more reward for winning the tackle than risk for losing.
    3) referees give the benefit of the doubt to the defender
    And 4) forwards are generally terrible tacklers.
    All that adds up to an argument for excluding attacking players from the rankings in the next update.
    Guest

    The Vancouver Whitewashers

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    The Vancouver Whitecaps aren't 40 years old.
    They aren't. At best they are 14 years old. They might only be four.
    Anyone who points this historical accuracy out is accused of being, at best, a killjoy. At worst, they are an anti-Cascadian hater hellbent in destroying all that is good in the world.
    Such accusations don't change the fact that the football club that is celebrating its 40th anniversary this weekend in no way is 40 years old.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The name Whitecaps was first attached to a soccer team 40 years ago. That NASL team folded in 1984. In 1985 and 1986 there was no professional soccer team in Vancouver of any name.
    Then, in 1987 the Vancouver 86ers began play in the Canadian Soccer League (the original one, not the disgraced Ontario-based league of the same name). That club, created partly with money from Canada's 1986 World Cup team, is inarguably the most successful club team in Canadian history.
    The 86ers won nine honours (four playoff championships, five season titles) during the CSL's all-too-short run.
    When the CSL went belly up, the 86ers continued in the American pyramid until 1999. At that time the Whitecaps name was purchased back from those who held the rights (further calling into question the claims some in Vancouver make that the gap years and 86ers years can be included in the Whitecaps history because it was really the same people involved).
    A team has operated under that name every year since. Technically speaking, that club was folded in 2010 to allow the MLS franchise Vancouver Whitecaps FC to be formed. But, that's a pedantic technicality. The Whitecaps, which is an extension of the 86ers, have pretty much played since 2000.
    So, although it does a disservice to the importance of the 86ers name in Canadian soccer history, a charitable interpretation of Whitecaps history can be traced back to 1987.
    But, not 1973.
    What can be traced back to 1973 is the start of professional soccer in Vancouver. For all but two years since the city has had a pro club. That's the second longest history of pro soccer in Canada and absolutely is worth celebrating.
    However, it needs to be celebrated in such a way that acknowledges the challenges and ebbs and flows that the pro game has had in this country. Most of all it needs to be celebrated in such a way that puts the 86ers name front and centre in those celebrations, on equal footing with the Whitecaps name.
    By whitewashing the history of the pro game in this country, the Caps are choosing a cheap marketing gimmick over actually celebrating and educating new fans about a history that is no less rich than if the club actually was 40 years old.
    Which it isn't.
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