American Soccer Weblog

Weekend Attendance

Attendance updated to include Monday's numbers . . .

Attendance figures this weekend for A-League matches (listed high to low):
Fri. Toronto @ Montreal: 6,831
Sat. Atlanta @ Charleston: 5,022
Sat. Milwaukee @ Portland: 4,067
Sat. Rochester @ Puerto Rico: 3,190
Thu. Rochester @ Puerto Rico: 3,000
Sat. Virginia Beach @ Richmond: 2,440
Sun. Minnesota @ Edmonton: 1,913
Fri. Milwaukee @ Seattle: 1,875
Sat. Montreal @ Toronto: 1,826
Mon. Richmond @ Virginia Beach: 1,365
Fri. Edmonton @ Calgary: 1,012

Other notable attendance figures in the lower divisions:
Sat. St. Louis @ Des Moines (PDL): 3,440
Sat. N. Virginia @ Long Island (PSL): 2,629
Sun. W. Michigan @ Pittsburgh (PSL): 1,157
Sun. Reading @ Harrisburg City (PSL): 1,032

Notable women's attendance figures:
Sun. Arizona @ Edmonton (W-League): 1,512
May 22 Maryland @ Steel City (WPSL): 1,250
Sat. Sudbury @ Montreal (W-League): 1,170

MLS Attendance:
Sat. DC United @ NE: 19,314
Sat. Dallas @ LA: 18,460
Sat. San Jose @ Columbus: 14,555
Sat. Colorado @ Chicago: 9,688
Sun. KC Wizards @ MetroStars: 9,101

Saturday A-League Review

Montreal and Portland remain undefeated . . . Swinehart loans Richmond a win and James River Cup . . . Atlanta continues upswing with win over Charleston . . . Rochester gets second 1 goal win in Puerto Rico . . .

Montreal defeated Toronto on back-to-back nights, taking Friday's match at home 4-1 and then last night won 2-0 away, staying undefeated at 5-0-1. Freddy Commodore scored both goals for the Impact last night--his fourth and fifth on the season--in what was described by Rob Lynch as a less-than-inspired match by Toronto, turning in a worse performance, he says, than the one they had in the three-goal loss the night before, even with early sustained pressure. Two Lynx players describe the team as "struggling." Can't argue with that one.

"We had a strong start and Fred (Commodore) scored two great goals," said Montreal coach Nick DeSantis after last night's win. "There was a little bit of fatigue in the second half, but we never really let them get any good scoring chances.

"We used all of our subs, so everyone truly contributed, all the players can come out of this game with a sense of accomplishment."

Portland also stayed undefeated at 5-0-0, coming from a two-goal deficit at home against Milwaukee Wave United to win 3-2 in OT behind a hat-trick by Alan Gordon.

Dustin Swinehart, on loan from the Pro Soccer League's Charlotte Eagles, scored Richmond's lone goal in the 97th minute for a 1-0 OT win against Virginia Beach, taking the James River Cup once more. Swinehart will play Monday night for Richmond at Virginia Beach, and may make odd appearances throughout the season for the Kickers. Should the Kickers make the A-League playoffs, he'll be made available then as well.

Rochester won again in Puerto Rico, this time 2-1 after winning Thursday 1-0, despite the Islanders playing perhaps their best match of the season. Corey Woofolk, ex-Pittsburgh player, scored the lone goal of the first match after Islanders' defenders paused for what they may have thought was a whistle. It wasn't. Woofolk scored the decisive goal in last night's win as well. Soren Johnson made his first A-League start in goal for the Rhinos.

Charleston continue to languish in the middle of the A-League standings, while Atlanta have begun a bit of a surge after winning 4-2 away. From the Post & Courier:

Missing central defender Mark Watson, who was called up by Canada to face Wales in an international friendly, didn't help much either.

In Watson's absence, Charleston's Ezra Hendrickson and Michael Green struggled in the middle of the Battery defense, failing to rein in the speedy and skilled Silverbacks front line.

Charleston surrendered three of the four Atlanta (3-3-1, 10 points) goals with little more than a cursory stab at the ball, as Silverbacks attackers ran through the mistake-prone Battery defense like the incoming tide.

Former DC United defender Ivan McKinley made his first start of the season, and noted mental lapses by the Battery in the loss. Alex-Pineda Chacon scored for the Silverbacks in the win. Wolde Harris scored his first for the Battery in the loss.

"It was a bit of an embarrassing debacle," said Battery head coach Chris Ramsey. "The players know in their hearts, individually who made mistakes and who didn't. . . . It's my fault in the end," he said. "They make the mistakes, but I pick the team."

Minnesota plays in Edmonton this evening, while Richmond travels to Virginia Beach tomorrow for a Memorial Day match.

More match reports from the weekend's action (Thurs.-Mon.)
Milwaukee @ Seattle (Fri): Seattle Pitch, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Bremerton Sun

The OTS MLS Top 11

Perhaps in a previous post you saw us make reference to our new poll, the MLS Top 11. But there's only 10 teams right now, you say? Well, what we do is take the best A-League team at the moment and slot them into the #11 slot. While normally this poll will be posted on Wednesday, it makes its debut today due to my mini-vacation, which kept posting light for a week. The poll is an average of our two senior writers--myself and Mark Bushman. This week, actually, it turns out we have a consensus on our picks, and we usually don't agree on too much! We're back at full-tilt once more, so leave your comments about our poll, and anything else, right here.

OTS MLS Top 11
1. LA Galaxy (4-2-3)
2. San Jose Earthquakes (3-2-3)
3. MetroStars (2-1-4)
4. Chicago Fire (2-2-4)
5. Columbus Crew (2-3-2)
6. KC Wizards (3-2-2)
7. Colorado Rapids (2-1-4)
8. Dallas Burn (2-3-2)
9. DC United (2-4-3)
10. NE Revolution (1-3-3)
11. Portland Timbers (4-0-0)

Allie Gets An Interesting Welcome In Montreal

While it sounds like Montreal has a rabid fan base for soccer (unlike baseball, at least), at least one fan made a fool of himself by insisting--nose to nose--that A-League.com match reporter Allison Andrews take a hike. She hasn't yet told the full story from the match, a 4-1 win by Montreal over Toronto, but read her travelogue for more on that, and her 2nd consecutive east coast tour.

In a battle of winless Canadian teams, Edmonton (0-1-3) and Calgary (0-5-2) stayed that way in a 1-1 draw. The Aviators gave up a 2nd half stoppage-time goal to snatch a tie from the jaws of victory. Calgary's Nick Zuniga--an Edmonton native, by the way--was looking forward to the budding rivalry. Zuniga is more or less a role player off the bench now, and Mustangs coach Thomas Niendorf says he's got work to do to get better:

Niendorf knows what the 5-ft. 10-in. forward brings to the team but would like Zuniga to be more consistent with his transitional play and defensive responsibilities.

"The bottom line with Nick is we all recognize his talent but he needs to make a more consistent jump into the professional level of the A-League," said Niendorf. "We still see too many times just the flashes of his potential. He has to become more consistent with the responsibility of the assignments he has to look after on the field.

In the only other action last night, Seattle defeated Milwaukee Wave United 2-1 with a 2nd half stoppage time goal by Welton. But the bigger news out of Seattle is that they're one of four finalists for an MLS franchise. Seattle Sounders GM Adrian Hanauer was at MLS offices in New York meeting with commissioner Don Garber on Thursday. Hanauer is described by the Seattle Times as that city's "point man" for a top-flight team.

"We're no closer to having a franchise," Hanauer said after the meeting with Garber. "We're trying to figure out under what structure something might be able to work." The MLS hopes to expand by an additional two teams in 2006; Borg said Seattle automatically would be put on the 2006 expansion list if the city is not awarded a franchise this year.

The article pokes holes in Salt Lake City's bid, and notes that the Field Turf surface at Seahawks Stadium wouldn't be an issue.

While the current A-League Sounders team would cease to exist, the Sounders' name, logo and colors would more than likely continue with the new team, since there is 30 years of Sounders history in the city. But Hanauer said there may be some benefits to starting over with a new brand because he would want to make a big first impression on the city if it gets an MLS team.

The Chivas USA franchise set for play in 2005 will play in either Los Angeles or Chicago. Either city would have a stadium share with the existing MLS franchise in the respective cities.

The Portland Timbers, ranked #11 in the OnTheSidelines MLS Top 11, are taking experience and talent to the top of the A-League.

Clyde Simms has gone from a tryout camp just hoping for a shot with the Richmond Kickers, to a starting role with the team as they prepare for their James River Cup match tonight at home against Virginia Beach.

Richie Williams, who will sit out tonight's match against the Mariners, had a rare thing happen to him with a straight red card for dissent in their most recent match, a 1-0 OT loss to Atlanta.

Beau Dure has a good rundown of the US lower divisions.

An Absence

I start my week on the road to visit relatives and someone named Moreno scores a hat-trick at RFK Stadium. Thinking, great, days of lore, and with Freddy Adu scoring a Cold Pizza highlight goal, had to be a DC United win in convincing style, particularly without the Little Fish playing.

Alas, I learn it was Alejandro Moreno of the LA Galaxy who scored his hat trick, with a top play on ESPN and two other goals all within an 8 minute span. Actually, they scored four times in nine minutes to close out the first half and cruised from there. Amazing. I get to see a drab, boring Wizards/United match as my last before my midwest jaunt, and I left behind six goals, a hat-trick and a highlight-goal from Super Teen Star Freddy.

And with Nick Rimando's play, will that be enough for Doug Warren to return to the starting lineup, or does United begin to think about moving one of the two to find someone more reliable? And (again), United showed their typical play that leads to nothing for the first 30 minutes before the four goal outbreak by the Galaxy.

I missed it all while driving past farms in Illinois. I realize how spoiled I am living on the east coast, and in particular in Virginia, where there's never a shortage of a game going on somewhere most days of the week. However, watching my cousin's daughter graduate is a special moment for me, and for a week or so, soccer is on the backburner. But don't worry, I'll be back next week with a vengeance, blogging and posting new OnTheSidelines content. I'm sure Ian Plenderleith, Mark Bushman and Craig Stouffer will have a lot to say about the United/Galaxy, and more on how they do in Colorado. Also check out the rest of the OnTheSidelines content in case you missed something.

While I'm away, check out Dr. Chuck's Blog Matchnight. He's doing a great job blogging the soccer world. I'll return next week to highlight the close of the European season for the American contingent, highlight the minor league world and give an overview of the US Open Cup draw, among other things.

Frankie Hejduk Did Not Dive

After hearing from fans, DC United players, Peter Nowak and now Tony's Take on the PK-inducing foul, let me reiterate that Brandon Prideaux did commit the foul on the Columbus Crew's Frankie Hejduk, and it did warrant a PK call. It didn't go down (wishfully) like this:

Brandon had his hand on the jersey of Frankie Hejduk in the box as the ball rolled toward the end line. Hejduk realized that he couldn't catch up with the ball so he belly flopped onto the turf and looked hopefully at the official Terry Vaughn. There was an unusually long pause as Hejduk was on the ground, and then the referee blew his whistle and dramatically pointed to the penalty spot. More than 18,000 fans at RFK Stadium were in shock. Shocked at the mysterious delay, shocked at the call and shocked that, after totally dominating ball possession and chances on goal, D.C. United was going home with an infuriating tie. Vaughn missed the call undoubtedly. The play was much closer to being a yellow card for diving than a penalty. It was a critical call that cost D.C. United two points in the standings. The result was an unfair one to put it mildly, but the referee is not the only one to blame.

Here's the definitive proof available for download (Updated Real Player required). Thanks to Mark Bushman's TV show (shown locally in the Fredericksburg, VA-area) This Week In Soccer, and their cameraman Luis Pacheco, we have a different camera angle of the foul that shows the following:

1. Prideaux was beaten on the play. 2. Prideaux had both hands on Frankie Hejduk and was grabbing him. 3. At the point Hejduk fell down, Prideaux had stepped on Hejduk's foot. 4. Hejduk did not "dive."

The foul that led to the PK is the second highlight on the clip--the first being Dema Kovalenko's goal and celebration. We also show Ross Paule's PK. Just as a note to the video also, there's a 9 second test pattern that leads it off.

On the Prideaux/Hejduk play, we show it in real time, and in slo-mo so you can see it one more time. Download speeds will definitely vary on that but your chances are better on a cable/broadband/DSL connection than dialup. It took me about 10-15 seconds to download the clip.

You can also hear Prideaux talk about the play, and hear takes from Earnie Stewart, Ben Olsen, Ryan Nelsen and Bryan Namoff about the play and the match, which, as you're well aware, ended in a 1-1 draw.

Cherundolo Suspended

Steve Cherundolo was sent off for the first time in his career after Hannover 96 lost to SC Freiburg 4-1. Soccer Times' German correspondent has a good explanation of what took place . After Cherundolo got tangled up with a player and received a booking, he made a gesture which is obscene in Germany (a finger to the temple) and was sent off in the 25th minute, suspended for a match, and fined an undisclosed amount by the team. From the Soccer Times report:

While in American culture, Cherundolo was indicating, "What was I thinking?" or "What was the referee thinking?", in Germany, such a motion is seen as a obscene gesture, equivalent of giving someone the finger. Possibly, Cherundolo knew exactly what he was doing, but that would be inconsistent with his conduct throughout his professional and U.S. national-team career.

Kicker rated him a 5 of 6 (1 best, 6 worst). Clint Mathis came off the bench in the loss.

Tony Sanneh played 90 minutes for FC Nürnberg in a 3-1 win over Arminia Bielefeld. The win separates 1st place Nürnberg by 6 points over 2nd place Bielefeld in the 2 Bundesliga. Gregg Berhalter's Energie Cottbus sit in 3rd place after a 4-2 loss to MSV Duisburg. The top 3 in the 2 Bundesliga receive promotion to the Bundesliga. Cherundolo's Hannover 96 side are perilously in the danger zone in the German top flight. The three-man Cottbus backline--including Berhalter--all rated 5 of 6 by Kicker.

Joe Enochs rated a 4 of 6 for VfL Osnabrück in a 2-1 loss to Alemannia Aachen. Meanwhile, Conor Casey rated a 5 and was taken out in the 86th minute of a 1-1 tie for Karlsruher SC against Jahn Regensberg. VfL Osnabrück are last (18th) in the 2 Bundesliga and face relegation, while Karlsruher SC are 12th, though just two points above the drop zone.

In Regionalliga Süd action, the American trio of Tim Lawson, Michael Mason and Grover Gibson all played 90 mintues for SV Elversberg in a 0-0 draw against John van Buskirk and Sportfreunde Siegen. Gibson was booked in the match. Both teams sit in the drop zone with five weeks left in the season. Elversberg is one point from safety at the moment.

Reports From Far And Wide

I know anyone looking for match reports for anything below MLS have a rough go of it, but there are some doing it. Some are rough around the edges, while others outshine most anything you'll find in a contemporary outlet. For instance, Allison Andrews' multimedia presentations on Portland Timbers matches have reached cult-like status for their quality. For Portland's opening win, there's a writeup, photos and even goal-videos. A-League.com typically has match reporters for each of the home teams, though the most consistent coverage early on is coming from Portland, Seattle, Virginia Beach and Puerto Rico.

Virginia Beach enters with writeups from their road trip to Richmond and their home match with the Kickers the following night.

You can read rival match reports from the Portland/Seattle match.

Puerto Rico has entered strong with four match reports by their A-League.com correspondent, losses to Toronto, Montreal, and a loss and tie to Syracuse.

Some, granted, haven't have an opportunity since they haven't had a home match, so keep checking.

Also of note, Blue Sky Soccer is taking on the Minnesota Thunder. They started off with an interview with USL CEO Dave Askinas.

There's plenty more fan sites, particularly in the A-League, and I'll work to highlight those posting regular updates in future entries.

Even PSL soccer is getting attention. Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Wilmington and others have good followings and have dedicated fans keeping up sites, or at the very least, writing about their teams. Charlotte has photos and audio too. Check their multimedia page for more. The Riverhounds are even making local TV.

Wilmington's Hard-As-Nails fansite is doing match reports too. Check out their latest, a 1-1 tie against Harrisburg City.

By the way, looks like the Austin Posse are "reorganizing". No roster is listed and Chad Deering is noted as having left the team. Esra Hendrickson also left and will join the Charleston Battery (surprise...).

Another by the way, looks like CyberSoccerNews has changed its name to AmericanSoccerNews, with a forthcoming domain name of http://americansoccernews.net, which isn't active yet. Their American Soccer News radio show is on an indefinite hiatus.