Brad Evans Silly Brad Evans Sounders Funny

The Charm is Gone

The MLS product has improved over the years and currently features a handful of global icons and dozens of internationals from all over the world. This improvement has made the league more attractive to star players, TV networks, wealthy investors and even a few sports fans, but it has also diminished one of the little charms I always liked about MLS. While most domestic leagues around the world are on break this week for the FIFA international date, MLS has a full schedule with eight matches on Saturday and two more on Sunday. MLS has been criticized for not adhering to the international standard of pausing league play during official FIFA dates. But while charging through the domestic schedule with little regard for international play has its drawbacks, I've always enjoyed watching MLS during those international breaks. However, now that MLS clubs employ so many active internationals, league action during the FIFA dates isn't as enjoyable, or charming, as it once was. The week 4 schedule offered MLS fans a brilliant set of matches, but unfortunately the games could not be fully enjoyed. With difference makers out of the lineup for most of the 20 clubs in action over the weekend, the games felt less meaningful and lacked entertainment value. Bringing in stars is a double edged sword; it's cool when Toronto signs Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore, but then it's not cool when those two are with the USMNT the same week that TFC has a nationally televised game on FS1. It's becoming more unhealthy than charming for the league to schedule matches when 50+ of its best players are not available. Taylor Twellman addressed the issue during ESPN2's Sunday MLS broadcast and recognized the league has smart people that are aware of the situation. I don't have the entire quote, but the gist of his point was that "This league needs its stars to be playing." I believe he is right. Somehow, MLS must find a way to schedule around international competition going forward because week 4 was not a fair reflection on the league.

F-Up #1: MLS Scheduling
This is a 3-part rant. I am not outraged and I understand how difficult scheduling is. Still though, I would like to see the league try to improve some of these things:

Gripe 1
For the second straight week we did not get Friday Night Soccer – Boooo! It wasn't scheduled this week, and likely for good reason. With the FIFA date and March Madness in action, Friday Night Soccer would have really struggled for ratings this week.

Gripe 2
It's great that MLS has regularly scheduled matches on ESPN2, but this week's offering of Chicago versus Philadelphia does the league a disservice in my opinion. Chicago and Philly have been struggling and were never likely to play an entertaining match, but it was actually a decent watch in terms of the soccer (Chicago took the match 1-0). The problem was the nonexistent atmosphere at Toyota Park. The match box-score on MLSsoccer.com says there were 12,815 people in attendance, but watching on ESPN2, it sure didn't look like it. The best part about a TV deal with ESPN is that it allows MLS to showcase the cream of its crop in nearly 100 million American households. There are countless reasons why MLS can't just hand pick a game with two great teams and a thrilling atmosphere to put up on ESPN2 every Sunday, but I think it's important for the league to ensure that nationally televised matches have more than that (below) in attendance.

Gripe 3
MLS was guilty of this through three weeks, but now in the fourth week, I must say something. Saturday match overlap has become incredibly frustrating. I understand that scheduling is a massive and intricate puzzle, but it seems the league could do better than what they did this week, where a pair of overlapping afternoon matches were followed by a long break before the final six matches of the day all kicked off within 90 minutes of each other. If the league could pull it off, I'd like to see staggered match times so that MLS soccer is on for eight to nine consecutive hours on Saturdays.

East Conf. Scheduling Blunder from Week 4:
-DCU v LAG kickoff at 7:00 PM ET
-CLB v NYRB kickoff at 7:30 PM ET
Not only two great games for the weekend, but two of the more intriguing matchups so far in 2015. Only separated by 30 minutes, I'd love it if these two matches were separated by 90 minutes or more.

West Conf. Scheduling Blunder from Week 4:
-VAN v POR kickoff at 8:00 PM ET
-FCD v SEA kickoff at 8:30 PM ET
Two great western conference matchups. I think soccer fans around the country would love to have watched all 90 of each game if the start times had allowed.

F-Up #2: Kellyn Acosta
Kellyn Acosta, filling in at left back for starter Moises Hernandez (int'l duty, Guatemala), got his first start of the season and the opportunity to show coach Pareja that he deserves a spot in Dallas' starting XI. He played an uneventful 17 minutes before a horribly timed challenge found his boot firmly in the stomach of poor Andy Rose (see below). Kellyn will want that challenge back as it cost him 73 minutes to showcase his value to the team and quite possibly cost Dallas two points (Seattle and Dallas played to a 0-0 draw).

F-Up #3: David Texiera
Despite not picking up a red card, striker David Texiera (getting his first start of 2015 in place of Panamanian Blas Perez) accomplished about as much as Acosta on a discouraging night for the young Uruguayan. Jason Poon, who writes about FC Dallas at Big D Soccer, had this to say about David Texiera's shift against Seattle.

Surprise of the Week:
CLB 1 – 2 NYRB

Week after week MLS matches end in surprising score lines, so I question if I can even label these outcomes as truly surprising. But for me, NYRB going to Columbus and taking all three points was the biggest surprise from this weekend. Columbus were certainly hit harder than New York by the FIFA international date, missing three of their best players in defender Waylon Francis, midfielder Wil Trapp and game changer Justin Meram.

Half Surprise:
MTL 2 – 2 OCSC

A very shorthanded Orlando City picking up a point in Montreal comes as a bit of a surprise, especially after they went down 2-0 (until this week, Orlando had managed just 2 goals in 3 matches!). But Montreal simply cannot be counted on to get a win in MLS under any circumstances these days, so this is only a minor surprise.

The Rest of the Action

NE 2 – 1 SJ
Kellyn Rowe scored a brace for New England's first two goals of 2015, helping the Revs to their first win of the season on a nasty day in Foxborough. Wondo scored a PK for his third goal of the year.

NYCFC 0 – 1 SKC
Defender Ike Opara scored his second of the season (get him on your fantasy team ASAP) to give SKC their first win of 2015 against a David Villa less NYCFC at Yankee Stadium.

DC 1 – 0 LAG
In typical fashion, LA Galaxy blamed themselves for losing the game rather than crediting their opponents for finding a way to win. LA may have been better on the day, but forward Chris Pontius took all three points for the home side in the 93^rd minute with this header.

VAN 2 – 1 PTFC
Another game where the road side felt they were better, but lost the match late in a week 4 that was filled with extra time drama. Recently acquired Vancouver striker Robert Earnshaw scored the winner in the 90th minute, having just come on in the 87′. David Ousted could be the early frontrunner for GK of the Year at the rate he is saving points for Vancouver.

HOU 0 – 0 COL
This game was not even slightly interesting and these two teams are looking like playoff long shots early in the season. Somehow, I saw this one coming.

RSL 2 – 1 TFC
Olmes Garcia nearly cost RSL two points late with this selfish decision as former Dallas hothead Jackson tied the match just moments later. Sadly for Reds fans, TFC gave up the winner about 75 seconds after equalizing. It was a thrilling conclusion to the game and probably the best action of the weekend. RSL have their first win, but haven't found top form in 2015 as they continue their transition from the diamond 4-4-2 to the new 4-3-3.

GOTW

Jack McInerney's brilliant chip takes the cake in week 4, but I would have liked to see Ike Opara's furious header make MLSsoccer.com's Goal of the Week video (maybe at the expense of Jordan Allen's game winner).

Up to this point, the Tweet of the Week (TOTW) has been the funniest tweet I find on Twitter in a given week. But this week I'll introduce a different TOTW: The Stat or Fact of the Week.

Funny TOTW Winner: @theodorelasso

Stat TOTW Winner: @SteveDavis90

That's it and that's all for week 4. Be sure to check back on Thursday for MLSinVegas and the week 5 Bettor's Advice column!

Someone pooped on my radar screen. Week 3 was about as uneventful as they come. Sixteen teams, eight matches, and only ten freaking goals! After a gut-wrenching injury on the New England turf, a whole mess of red and yellow cards, and of course some hopeless finishing in front of goal, the black hole that was week 3 is finally over. Because the action was so bad, I'll be abbreviating this week's Radar Series post so we can all just move on.

F-Up of the Week

This distinction goes to all 16 MLS clubs in action this weekend. What an awful show it was to watch. Even FC Dallas, which managed a comfy and at times attractive 2-0 win in Philly, failed to convert on too many quality chances – they should have had at least five on the day. NYRB was also impressive in their 2-0 win over bitter rivals DC United on Sunday. If this blog cared about the east coast, I'd give the Red Bulls a mention in the Talking Points section below because their performance generated a lot of positive buzz on my MLS radar. Beyond New York and FCD, the other 14 clubs in action this weekend turned in careless and unattractive performances. The games lacked both sharpness and intensity as not one of the eight matches saw two quality sides share the pitch.

One more F-up goes to MLSsoccer.com for not even nominating the best goal in their week 3 GOTW video. Read more and watch the video in the GOTW section below.

Talking Points

Oscar "Papi" Pareja
One of the main talking points around the league after Saturday was FCD head coach Oscar Pareja and his never ending tactical genius. I personally thought the folks at MLSsoccer.com gave Pareja too much credit for making an obvious substitution against a shabby Philly side this week. To be fair, though, there wasn't much to talk about. At halftime, Papi brought on young jack-of-all-trades Ryan Hollingshead to replace Michel, the dead ball specialist who was on a yellow. Despite his inexperience, Hollingshead is a starting XI caliber player in MLS and more versatile than Michel so I thought the substitution Pareja was praised for was an obvious one to make. However, it should be said that every single adjustment Pareja has made through three games has been spot on.

Papi's Set Pieces
Pareja also deserves attention for drawing up a clever set piece in three consecutive matches to start the season. Each one is unique and takes full advantage of Dallas' legitimate dead ball threats: Mauro Diaz' right foot and Michel's left foot. Video links and a brief description of each play are listed below:

Week 1: FCD v. San Jose: A sneaky, clever design as everyone in the building thought Diaz would try and curve it over the wall and under the cross bar. Perez should have scored.

Week 2: FCD v. SKC: I thought Michel would whip one directly into the box, but he caught SKC off guard by quickly tapping it to Mauro Diaz, who tapped it right back to Michel in a more advanced position. Just like the chance in week 1, this was quite simple, but the play utilized the threat of Diaz and Michel to trick the defense and create a quality scoring chance.

Week 3 in Philly: The Union were surely concerned about Michel putting a dangerous ball into the box on this one, but then he tricked them, chipping to an open Tesho Akindele. This one put FCD in a fantastic attacking position again. Not the best video, but you get the idea.

Defenses across the league are showing Dallas respect inside the 18 yard box, giving the club's attacking talent room to work the edges in dangerous set piece situations.

OCSC Attack is in Trouble
They are missing a key contributor up top in Carlos Rivas, but Orlando City are in real trouble in the attacking third right now. Their two goals on the season can be chalked up to luck (a deflection and a GK error), and other legitimate chances have been few and far between. Analysts in the media that have watched more Orlando City and know the tactical side of the game better than me have suggested that Kaka and Kevin Molino, the promising young Trinidadian, are carrying the attacking burden all by themselves. That sounds like something a team does when they are on two red cards. Depressing. Not to worry though, Colorado, New England and Montreal have all failed to find the back of the net in 2015, so sometimes it's better to be lucky than good!

International Call Ups
By my count, 56 MLS players have been called up for international duty during the March 23-31 FIFA dates. That's a lot, even if many of those call ups are for U-20, U-23 and some average CONCACAF teams. FIFA dates are impacting MLS more and more as the league's talent improves and teams with fewer internationals gain a significant advantage in MLS matches that overlap international competition. Orlando City SC for example, an expansion side with little depth, may struggle to field a full 18 in Montreal on Saturday after seven of their players were called up for international duty this week.

GOTW

I was going to skip this section because, as I pointed out above, MLS' 16 clubs playing in week 3 combined to score a paltry 10 goals, and not a single one was worth writing about. Anyhow, I thought BWP's opener on Sunday night was the clear cut winner, yet when MLS released their GOTW nominees for week 3, BWP's was nowhere to be found!

Historical Note: The San Jose goal nominated on MLSsoccer.com was trash and would never have made the cut, but the Quakes christened their new home on Sunday, Avaya Stadium, and that goal was the first ever scored in the new venue. I guess the historical value got it onto the GOTW list, and likely at the expense of BWP. On a related note, it seems something borderline groundbreaking and positive has happened for MLS in all three weeks of the 2015 season. This week's positive offering was the debut of Avaya Stadium (shown above). It's a gorgeous building and rightfully so as San Jose, an MLS charter franchise, has never truly had a home they could call their own.

Surprise of the Week

No real winners here. I find it somewhat surprising that DC United looked so listless against NYRB on Sunday night, but they are missing two of their MVPs in Luis Silva and Fabian Espindola. New England struggling early on is a bit of a surprise, but they are dealing with key injuries as well. I've got nothing in this section, and that is representative of how unexciting week 3 was. The games weren't destined to provide us with great entertainment this weekend (COLvNYC ending in a scoreless draw was hilariously predictable) but I'm counting on week 4 to make up for that with match-ups like DAL v SEA, DC v LA, CLB v NYR and VAN v POR.

I couldn't decide, so I chose three good ones.

This might be a weird thing to say, but nothing does it for me quite like a well done TV commercial. I've enjoyed television ads so much (the good ones anyway) in my life that I even decided to study the subject of advertising when settling on a major in college. This wasn't a smart move on my part as I quickly learned, upon studying the subject and looking beyond the catchy TV ads,  that there are so many other not-so-cool things about the advertising profession in the modern world.

Having said that, I still love a bad-ass, inspiring or otherwise highly memorable ad. So with today being the official start of March Madness 2015, it seems like a perfect time to revisit the greatest ad campaign, in my opinion,  to ever be associated with the event. Not surprisingly, it was NIKE who came up with the brilliant Bracketville concept that made the NCAA Tourney feel like it was something out of Peter Pan'sNever Never Land.

Watch the 30 Second Spot here

I promised the action would get better and it did. Week 2 was filled with intriguing storylines and can't-miss-highlights, so let's get right into this second edition of the MLS Radar Series. Below you will find a quick take on each of the weekend's eight matches. If you don't feel like reading but still love MLS, skip to the bottom where you'll find fun stuff including my Goals of the Week, "F" Ups of the Week (refs eligible too!), Surprises of the Week and Tweets of the Week.

Friday Night Soccer

I particularly enjoy watching sports on Friday nights. For years I've thought MLS should incorporate a regular Friday night broadcast into their season schedule, something they finally did this off-season. It didn't hit me last week that Friday Night Soccer is finally here, perhaps because LA v. CHI made for such a dull matchup. But this week it really settled in that MLS will become a Friday night mainstay on TV sets around the country thanks to UniMás, the Spanish language television network. HOU v. ORL provided for an intriguing matchup with the Dynamo coming off an unconvincing win and expansion side Orlando looking to build off of a draw in its inaugural match.

HOU 0 – 1 ORL
Orlando looked better for most of the match in my opinion, controlling possession and creating more quality looks than Houston. Like last year, the Dynamo defense struggles in the air while the midfield doesn't apply enough pressure on the ball as attacks are mounting. Houston 'keeper Tyler Deric has already put together an impressive highlight reel of saves this season in helping the Dynamo keep a clean sheet through the first three halves of the season. But a loose touch off a back pass in the 74^th minute showed Orlando midfielder Pedro Ribeiro just enough of the ball and he punished the in-form 'keeper for the mistake.

In the end Orlando took the match 1-0 as Houston were never very dangerous. The Lions looked solid in week 1 and they built on that with a deserved three points on the road in week 2. They are looking pretty damn silky for an expansion side and should be fun to track in their inaugural season. If they can acquire a quality MLS striker (finishing seems to be the biggest problem right now), the eastern conference may need to look out.

Saturday Games

CHI 0 – 1 VAN
This one had draw written all over it, both before the game when predicting the outcome, and late into the match, as it was scoreless 85 minutes in. But an error in the defensive 18 from veteran MLS defender Lovel Palmer cost the Fire in the 86^th minute. Vancouver DP Pedro Morales should have been better and his MVP caliber form from 2014 is noticeably missing. Morales easily should have scored twice early, missing badly on two wide open looks in the first half. Chicago created some nice chances as well and improved on their week 1 outing but 'Caps GK David Ousted played a great game and really earned his clean sheet. This was a big win for Vancouver after losing at home a week ago. They are sure to rack up some points at BC Place this season, so if they can find results on the road, even against the likes of Chicago, that'll be enough to get them into the playoffs in a tough western conference.

CLB 2 – 0 TFC
It's a good thing TFC managed three points in a tough venue (BC Place) in week 1 because I've just learned that the Reds open 2015 with seven straight road matches. What a brutal start to the year! The 2-0 loss to Columbus on Saturday night should not have TFC fans too worried because it was a tough road match against arguably the best team in the east. Plus, TFC were the victim of a terrible call, as fullback Justin Morrow was shown red just before halftime after what looked like a clean tackle. Ten-man Toronto couldn't hang in the second half and goals from Justin Meram and Kei Kamara sealed the points for the home side.

FCD 3 – 1 SKC
The #BBQderby: This nickname didn't catch on in the TwitterSphere, but I don't care, and will be referring to the Dallas v. SKC matchup as the Barbecue Derby from now on. Oscar Pareja made the lineup adjustment many predicted, bringing on defensive mid Michel and his deadly left foot instead of Ryan Hollingshead. The one lineup change I would like to see going forward is removing Atiba Harris from the starting XI. A lot of FCD fans were probably glad to see Colombian hot head Jair Benitez leave because of his knack for picking up reds and yellows, but it seems that Atiba could fill his shoes nicely in that department, not to mention the fact that he's performed poorly at right back through two weeks.

Dallas switched from the 4-4-2 used in week 1 and went with the 4-2-3-1 that suits Mauro Diaz so well. The team performance was improved and we looked a more threatening side than a week ago. It must be noted that SKC were without USMNT center back Matt Besler (suspended), but Dallas looked dangerous up the middle of the pitch, out wide and from set pieces all night. Both first half goals came from mistakes but Dallas' was still the classier of the two, culminating after two nice passes and a sure finish by the Super Rat. SKC's lone goal on the night came just before halftime was more a product of subpar defending and questionable goalkeeping than a specific blunder.

The second half was impacted by an egregious error from the officiating crew. Only 10 minutes into a half that seemed evenly played, Blas put one in the back of the net. The only problem is that he and four of his teammates were at least a yard offside. Both sets of players, coaches and fans looked on in astonishment as the head ref pointed to the center circle rather than looking to his assistant.

Five Dallas players were in an offside position before Blas Perez (circled) scored our 2nd goal of the match

I honestly didn't even celebrate because I kept waiting for the offside flag to be raised – it was a strange sensation. FCD later grabbed a third thanks to Fabian Castillo – you can see this highlight in the GOTW section below. SKC could have put the pressure on late after being awarded a questionable PK in the 79^th minute, but star striker Dom Dwyer can't finish a ham sandwich right now and 'keeper Chris Seitz came up with a clutch save to seal the win for Dallas. Don't look now, but FCD is on top of the MLS power rankings.

RSL 3 – 3 PHI
I have already written too much and I did not watch most of this game, so I'll keep this short. From what I understand Philly's three goals were mostly a product of good fortune and luck. Their new Young DP, Venezuelan striker Fernando Aristiguieta, opened his MLS account, bagging a first half brace thanks to some sloppy play from RSL. This much I did watch; RSL were down 3-2 late and scrambling to find an equalizer in their home opener. Then Luke Mulholland's 85^th minute shenanigans paid off as head referee Alan Chapman pointed to the spot when the RSL midfielder took a fall in the box. Click here to see how bad the call was. No doubt, the officials decided the outcome of this one instead of the players. Unfortunately for us, Philly head man Jim Curtain was a class act and kept his post match comments tame.

SEA 2 – 3 SJ
Clint Dempsey bagged a garbage-ish goal in record time and must have had the Quakes and the famous Seattle crowd thinking the beatdown was on. But not so fast. New manager Dom Kinnear has clearly injected San Jose with some confidence in his return to the Bay Area. It didn't take long for Chris Wondolowski to get on the score sheet, bringing down a cross with a nice first touch and hammering it past the 'keeper with his second touch in the 13^th minute. It was a classic Wondo finish that brought back memories from 2012, when he set the league on fire with a record-tying 27 goal season.

Wondo's second goal, an opportunistic but well taken blast in the 48^th minute, was less about Wondo and more about Brad Evans, the veteran jack-of-all-trades who has seen time with the USMNT. Seattle are experimenting with Brad Evans at center back to start the season but he gift wrapped the two second half goals for the Quakes on Saturday and cost his side the match. When I started following the league a few years ago, Evans was known almost exclusively as a midfielder, albeit a versatile one with a deep knowledge of the game. Then, during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, JK gave Evans a look at the fullback position. Now Seattle is trying to convert him to a full time central defender so they can pair him with three time MLS Defensive Player of the Year Chad Marshall.

Back to the game. San Jose were down a man for the final 38 minutes but it hardly showed. They had the better of the chances until the final 10-15 minutes when they were clearly running on fumes. A 70^th minute strike from new Quakes DP Innocent Emeghara capped off Evans' nightmare game. The San Jose striker deserves credit for putting a dirty move on Evans and beating the 'keeper with a class finish, but again Evans inexperience on the back line showed itself on the play, which eventually cost Seattle the match.

Through two weeks, the Brad Evans in central defense experiment is looking like a risky one, and the Seattle faithful might be examining their defensive depth a bit in the aftermath of this loss. On the other hand, San Jose, one of the true unknowns coming into 2015, proved their week 1 effort against Dallas wasn't a fluke and will look to build off of what their commentator called an historic win.

Sunday Games

NYC 2 – 0 NE
I only caught the first half but the crowd was electric. NYC created far more chances than they did in week 1 versus Orlando and David Villa saw quite a bit more of the ball. I thought he could have had at least a brace in the first 45', but he did bag the opening home goal in franchise history by finishing off a nice little give and go. Even prior to the season, it was clear that Orlando's DP/Global Icon/Team Captain Kaká had bought into his club and this league. After watching David Villa celebrate his first goal in front of a brilliant home crowd, I am convinced that NYCFC's DP/Global Icon/Team Captain has bought into his club and Major League Soccer as well. The second goal of the match was fantastic as Villa played the role of provider, playing a perfect ball in on the counter attack to promising young forward Patrick Mullins who easily finished the chance and sealed the 2-0 victory.

A lot of MLS folks get sensitive and uppity when discussing playing surfaces and stadium situations, acting as though the league isn't legit unless all 20 of its clubs play in the classiest of venues and on the finest of pitches. I on the other hand credit MLS for what they have achieved and the number of clubs that are housed in modern, soccer-specific stadiums. In fact, 16 of the 20 current clubs are playing in their own soccer-specific stadium or have seen the legislation passed in order to build one. Two of the other four clubs are Vancouver and Seattle, who play on artificial surfaces but in front of some of the league's best crowds, so I wouldn't describe their situations as terrible. NYCFC's situation is pretty silly though. They are playing on a baseball field so the pitch is limited to small dimensions while the fans are limited to bizarre seating arrangements. Having said that, I thought it was okay on TV as the small pitch made for entertaining up and down action and the strong crowd compensated for the match being played in a baseball stadium.

The two expansion clubs have made MLS a better league with their unique stories and impressive community support. Suffice it to say, I'll be tuning into as many NYCFC and Orlando home matches as I can this season.

PTFC v. LAG
In the action I watched, neither team looked particularly dominant. LA still seem to be finding their post-Landon-Donovan-era form, and perhaps we won't quite know what that is until the arrival of Steven Gerrard in July. Portland seemed to have secured all of the points after a clutch finish from Adi in the 90^th minute, but Galaxy forward Alan Gordon headed in the equalizer moments later. If you listen closely, you can hear Timber Joey sawing away at the log, still celebrating Portland's second goal as the Galaxy celebrated their dramatic equalizer. I can only imagine the sickening feeling for Timbers supporters. But their loss is my gain and it was a great way to wrap up the weekend for FC Dallas as even more of our western conference clubs were forced to settle for a point or worse on the weekend.

FUN STUFF

GOTW – Four of my favorites from the weekend in no particular order

• Fabian Castillo (FC DALLAS): nice passing, pure speed, 'keeper had no chance
• Innocent Emeghara (SJ): great move, great finish, the game winner
• David Villa (NYCFC): nice give and go, epic celebration by crowd
• Fanendo Adi (PTFC): lightning quick build up, quality finish

"F" Up of the Week

Tyler Deric's poor touch that cost Houston the game at home. Though Brad Evans was a close runner-up, as he also cost his side the match with an inexcusable gaffe in front of the home crowd. You can find highlights of these hilariously bad mistakes above in the breakdown for each match.

Honorable Mention: Three awful pieces of officiating impacting the outcome of matches
-RSL 3-3 PHI: Phantom PK call in 85′ cost Philly 2 points
-FCD 3-1 SKC: One of the worst non offsides calls you will ever see
-CLB 2-0 TFC: Terrible red card decision changed the match

Surprise of the Week

(1) San Jose went on the road to Shield and Cup favorites Seattle, took all three points and looked a creative and dangerous side in doing so. They hung with FCD in Frisco for 91 minutes and lost on a dumb mistake. They have been impressive in two tough matches to open the season.
(2) The expansion clubs are playing some solid soccer. While the opener wasn't the most attractive soccer, Orlando played a nice match in Houston and NYCFC created far more chances at home than they were able to last week. It's a big monkey off the back of the expansion clubs to already have a win, and they can now take aim at a playoff spot. After all, more than half of teams get in!

This week's winner is @eyeats, for his astute reply to a Taylor Twellman tweet. I'll post a picture below of the play in question:

There you have it, MLS Radar: Week 2 is in the books. That escalated quickly! I'll be prioritizing content next week.

Between chipping away at the MLS Timeline Series and the threat of a strike from the MLS Players Union, I am in no way prepared to thoroughly recap the first week of action. It's unlikely that I'd consistently publish a quality recap of MLS action over the course of the entire 34 week season anyway. So instead, I'll be reflecting in classic Soccer Therapy fashion, sharing thoughts, listing notable events and discussing key takeaways from everything that registered on my MLS radar over the weekend. I'll try to post every Monday or  Tuesday, but we'll see.

Quality of Play – It looked like the first week of competitive action as far as I could tell. I'll remember week one (not really though) for the awful finishing, as chance after chance was squandered. Nine of the 20 clubs failed to put one in the back of the net while only three clubs managed to score more than once. So the opening week didn't exactly provide fireworks. But MLS writer Matthew Doyle compared this year's opening week to 2014 and had some nice things to say:

"MatchDay 1 of the 20th MLS season is now in the books, and this must be said: It was a hell of a lot better than last year's. Goals per game and pass completion percentages generally lag in March and into mid-April as teams work out the kinks – new faces, new schemes, new coaches and the occasional new stadium –on the way to becoming finely tuned machines. This weekend was still stuffed with the signs of early season rust, but there were also a few impressive passages of play, and a couple of very nice goals"

OCSC v NYCFC – The people of Orlando truly did #FillTheBowl and the Florida weather came through, providing a gorgeous sunny afternoon on a special day in MLS history. The scenes, as you can see, were terrific. Two unique expansion clubs joined the MLS ranks on the day. One, Orlando City, is a former dominant USL side owned by a rich Brazilian and the other, New York, a brand new club owned by the Yankees and Man City. Orlando City is captained by former Ballon D'or winner and 2002 World Cup Champion Kaká, while NYCFC is led by 2010 World Cup Champion David Villa. Each club also has a relevant member of the USMNT on their squad, with Mix Diskerud in midfield for New York and Brek Shea at fullback for Orlando. Brek Shea looked very dangerous coming up the left flank in the opener and Mix had a nice curler to score the first goal in franchise history and open his MLS account.

Toronto FC – They clearly upgraded their 3-headed monster from a year ago, replacing the frail Jermaine Defoe with the Hulk-like Jozy Altidore up top and replacing young Brazilian striker Gilberto with arguably the finest and primest talent in MLS history, Sebastian Giovinco. Checkout some highlights from his time at Italian powerhouse Juventus. Toronto FC has some other useful pieces and if they can keep their core healthy, this should be the year their frustrated supporters have been waiting for.

Houston Dynamo – I can't personally comment on this as I did not watch any of the game. And even though I read somewhere that Columbus out possessed and out shot Houston, the Dynamo did still manage the three points and the sense I got on Twitter was that new manager Owen Coyle has them playing attractive, attacking soccer. Houston still has a lot of talent, and with Cubo Torres soon to be in the fold, if they can solve their defensive problems from 2014, they could be dangerous.

Seattle Sounders – While Seattle was missing their key midfield man, Ozzie Alonso, they were hosting a weakened NE Revs side missing its two best players, Lee Nguyen and Jermaine Jones. Despite this, the Revs are considered a top club in MLS this season and it was impressive for Seattle to get the three points and a clean sheet after losing 2-1 to TFC in the opener a year ago. Clint Dempsey's goal in the 67′ was straight out of a FIFA video game.

Portland 0 – 0 RSL – I am starting to wonder if either of these teams is a significant threat in a western conference that's just added two tough clubs to the mix (HOU and SKC) and lost its punching bag, Chivas USA.

CONCACAF – This has nothing to do with MLS' opening week, but the paths of DC United and Montreal have been interesting over the last six days. Earlier in the week, DC United were eliminated in the CCL quarters after losing 6-4 on aggregate to Costa Rican side Alajuelense. Montreal, MLS' lone surviving representative in the tourney, staged a miraculous upset, downing Mexican powerhouse 3-3 (on away goals) in dramatic fashion. These highlights are impossible to believe, amazing scenes in Montreal. Just 72 hours after DC were knocked out of the CCL, they hosted Montreal in their 2015 MLS opener, a match DC won thanks to a goal assisted by Davy Arnaud, the former Montreal midfielder.

FC DALLAS
I thought the boys looked good in the first half, creating some nice chances but failing to convert them. The second half was disappointing, and I would have liked to see some substitutions made earlier. However, with a 92' goal, we secured the three points, and that is all that matters. The late goal was a fortunate one, and San Jose were probably unlucky not to come away with a point. Dallas has rarely taken points from matches that they shouldn't have in the past, so to come away with three while the team is still feeling itself out is a big boost. We are a great home team, perhaps the key to the season ahead is finding points on the road.

Oscar Pareja appeared to go with a 4-4-2, deploying Tesho Akindele on the wing, and Blas and Castillo up top. Tesho's first touch has vastly improved and rumors of his productive preseason and USMNT camp experience were verified, but I've never been a fan of him out wide (as much as I like him up top). Hollingshead manned the other wing and continued his strong preseason form as he was absolutely all over the pitch. Fabian Castillo was his normal terrorizing self, especially in the second half, and appears more comfortable taking defenders inside this year in addition to his standard trying to beat them around the outside. For me, Mauro Diaz was the biggest let down. The formation did not allow Mauro to be himself as the 4-4-2 didn't accommodate a true #10, but the most disturbing part of his performance was the awful set piece delivery from FKs and corners. This must improve because Oscar left our set piece specialist, Michel, out of the lineup presumably to improve our passing and possession in the midfield. Moises Hernandez continued his growth at left back and showed real pace and skill on the evening – he will move onto a bigger league one day. Victor Ulloa is quickly becoming a fan favorite as he continues to become an above average midfielder in MLS and busts his ass for the entire match. Oh, and Michael Barrios, our new Colombian DP, looks like a strong player, a nightmare for opposing defenses, and I would imagine he will get the nod over Tesho or Hollingshead in our next match vs. SKC. That is about it for the player by player breakdown. Despite losing JeVaugn Watson for unknown reasons, this looks like the deepest FC Dallas squad I have seen and it should hold up nicely against injury and discipline over the course of the season.

These are my main thoughts after one week of MLS action. There are 33 more to go and it promises to get better. I'll cover a variety of topics and some weeks the radar piece will be shorter than others. Here's to an FCD victory on MatchDay 2, and maybe a few more goals across the league.

A fascinating aspect of soccer, one that distinguishes the soccer culture from that of other professional sports, is the role of supporters groups (sometimes referred to as SGs). I haven't read a handbook or researched the history of supporters groups, but having watched countless hours of soccer in the last five years, I am starting to learn a bit about them. Long established European clubs like Liverpool and Real Madrid have dozens of local supporters groups and hundreds worldwide. FC Dallas officially recognizes five SGs on their website. Every supporters' group is unique in its own way, but most SGs are alike in that members are legitimate diehard fans and there is a very real group wide obligation to support the club as intensely as possible. Supporters' groups are known for organized marches to the stadium before a match, evocative tifo displays during the procession, and smoke-bombs, drums, flags and flares during the match itself. SGs own their section in the stadium, they literally purchase all of the tickets, so the only way to sit in an SG section is to become a member of that SG. It is common for supporters' groups to establish a presence behind goal and celebrate with players after a score… or throw stuff at the opposition when taking a corner.

I have always been intrigued by the supporters' culture in soccer, but despite my love for FC Dallas, SGs have never been for me. To be a valued member of a real SG one must pay dues, attend matches at all personal and financial costs, and commit a ton of personal time to SG activities beyond the games (those tifos don't paint themselves!) – none of these are things I am willing to commit to. That being said, I do enjoy attending a live soccer match with friends sandwiched by trips to the pub. So as a casual Austin Aztex fan, I've come up with an idea for a new supporters group, one that just might fit my style.

Soccer Therapy proudly presents
The Eastside Aztex: an unofficial and unorthodox SG

WHO ARE THE EASTSIDE AZTEX?
In one sense, mine will be just like every other supporters group out there. My SG will consist of members uniting for the sake of a soccer club and it will then be defined by those members' values and actions. We will also have our very own section! – sort of. On the other hand, Eastside Aztex will differ from traditional SGs in that we will not be committed to attending every match or staying for the entire 90 of those that we do attend. Like I said, this is a group for the casual supporter. Many SGs live by a code of Community, Club and Country, but my "three Cs" would be more like Casual, Cheap and Convenient. I am sure any genuine Ultra out there reading this would be scoffing, but clearly, I was not cut from the same cloth as a traditional Ultra. For a look at the current supporters group scene in ATX, scroll way down to the bottom of this post and check out the graphic with Amplifier Austin and Eberly's Army (featured in the image below: the group with the flag).

The Aztex are not my favorite club, but they are Austin's club and Austin is my favorite city. I like the Aztex, I really like soccer, and I love a good time with friends on a great Austin night. This group is just as much about rallying people together around a scheduled event as it is about soccer or supporting the club. As such, if/when it is officially founded, it will lack organization and continuity. Maybe one day we will make some shirts and get a group of 20 out to a game. And if I can get 20 Eastside Aztex out for a match, that'll warrant a custom commemorative scarf, but that's a long way off.

THE NAME
The idea behind the name is simple. At House Park, the Aztex' home venue, fans situate themselves in the west stands, taking up most of the good seats on that side of the stadium. The east stands are more open and my experience is that it's easier to get a front row, center of the pitch seat there rather than squeezing in with the home fans on the west side. Our priorities are far different from most SGs, which relentlessly support their clubs with jumping, screaming and singing for 90 minutes straight. Our goals are to get people out to the match, watch some live soccer and, most of all, enjoy ourselves. When we sat in the east stands at previous matches, it was more than a onetime decision, it was a representation of who we are. We like easy, comfortable, good viewing, but sitting amongst the home crowd means little to us. Plus, Eastside Aztex has a nice little ring to it.

Below, I've begun drafting a constitution. I know, the word constitution in itself contradicts the supposed casual nature of this SG, but it's mostly just a title I am putting on a list of things that need to be written down.

Constitution

Membership Details: Attend one Aztex game in which you drink all of three Steins at the Tavern: (1)prior to first kick, (2)at halftime, (3)a night cap after the match. This process, once honestly completed, earns a lifetime membership. It is roughly a $30-$40 investment and a really fun two hours.
***The only exception to this rule is a brilliant opening 45' in a significant match such as a US Open Cup tie or a late season top of the table showdown. In that event, if you don't want to jeopardize missing some of the action with a halftime trip to the Tavern, then we understand. Your membership will still be valid if you enjoy a beer by some other means – shotgun in the parking lot, a beer from the vendors, or take in a second night cap over at the Tavern etc.***

• Goal #1: Have fun
• Goal #2: Build membership numbers by getting people out for a match. This goal serves two purposes: (1)We will do our part to help the Aztex become become more relevant to the city of Austin and assist their upward movement in the United States Soccer Pyramid. Getting people out to games helps their cause with a few extra ticket sales and improves the drab atmosphere of their matches. (2)The larger our group grows, the easier it will be to reach our first goal – to have a good time.
• Goal #3: Gameday plans will be easy, flexible and cheap – remember the "Three Cs." If you prefer to sneak in a flask or shotgun a beer in the parking lot to save a buck, you will not be judged. If it is better for you to show up 20 minutes late or leave 20 minutes early, we understand, and thanks for making it out to the game.
• Dues: none beyond paying for your tickets and beer, no commitments – financial or any other sort
• Responsibilities: Demonstrate a willingness to embrace the local club and support them by attending a match and occasionally mentioning our group to your friends, coworkers, or through social media (as rare as you want it to be, and never forced or salesy).
• Being an Eastside Aztec should never feel like a burden. There are no true, tangible commitments. If you can make a game, great. If you pick up an Aztex shirt or just wear some blue out to the match, great. If not, we really don't care – perhaps that can be our motto going forward > The Eastside Aztex: We just don't care.

Mark your Calendars!
The complete Aztex 2015 home schedule is posted below. For a look at Austin's marquee home matches this year, check out Soccer Therapy's 2015 Calendar and see when you'd like to officially become an Eastside Aztec.

The current supporters scene in ATX is described in the graphic below. I scanned this out of the program for the ATX Pro Challenge tournament that was played in February. I've become quite familiar with Eberly's Army, but know little about Amplifier Austin. From what I can tell, they are a new SG, but will have an impressive presence at House Park this season – I can certainly say that the Eastside Aztex believe in the Amplifier mission. As for a third SG in Austin currently? Well, I certainly hope someone else is closer to establishing one than I am with this blog post (but I am borderline serious with all of this). Cheers, and I hope to see some readers out at House Park in 2015.

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Source: https://soccertherapy.net/2015/03/

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