Category: Sidewinder Insider

By Scott Adamson
Adamsonmedia.com

The 2017 MLS Cup will be another one just like the other one.

With Toronto FC’s 1-0 victory over Columbus on Wednesday and Seattle’s 3-0 shellacking of Houston last night, the Major League Soccer championship will be a rematch of the 2016 finals.

In 2016 Seattle had to go to a shootout to top Toronto at BMO Field and claim its first MLS title, and the teams and the setting is the same for next Saturday’s 4 p.m. showdown in Canada.

Toronto, the league’s only 20-game winner in the regular season, secured its spot in the Cup when Jozy Altidore scored in the 60th minute to top the Crew.

The squads played to a scoreless draw in the first leg of the Eastern Conference finals and it took Altidore’s tally in the second leg to book passage to the final match of the campaign.

Things were much less dramatic for the Sounders, who held a 2-0 lead against Houston after the first leg and just needed to play keep away in the second Western Conference final showdown.

Instead Seattle poured it on, with Victor Rodriguez, Clint Dempsey and Will Bruin all scoring to give Seattle a 5-0 aggregate and a chance to defend its crown.

While the Sounders displayed plenty of offensive firepower in winning the West, keeper Tyler Miller logged another clean sheet. Incredibly, the Sounders have not conceded a postseason goal since the first leg of the 2016 conference finals.

The scoreless streaks for Seattle’s opposition in playoff competition stands at 647 minutes, while in 2017 it hasn’t allowed a goal in 542 minutes.

Brian Schmetzer’s footballers blanked their last two regular season foes and every opponent so far in the 2017 postseason.

EXPANSION CANDIDATES ANNOUNCED

MLS plans to expand to 28 franchises in the coming years, and Los Angeles FC will become the 23rd club to play in the league when it starts up in 2018. A Miami entry will possibly join the league in the near future.

The next wave of expansion, however, will bring MLS up to 26 teams ­– and the finalists for those two positions were announced on Wednesday.

Cincinnati, Detroit, Nashville and Sacramento are the four cities which were culled from 12 groups that submitted formal bids back in January.

The remaining candidates will make their presentations Dec. 6 and eight days later the MLS Board of Governors will meet with current league members to discuss expansion.

“The leaders of the Cincinnati, Detroit, Nashville and Sacramento MLS expansion ownership groups have bold visions and innovative plans for their clubs, stadiums and their involvement in their respective communities,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said in a statement. “We are pleased these highly-respected business and sports leaders have been so determined to bring Major League Soccer to their cities. We have been greatly encouraged by the progress that all four of these groups have made and we are looking forward to their presentations.”

The other 12 markets that applied were Charlotte, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Raleigh/Durham, St. Louis, San Antonio, San Diego and Tampa/St. Petersburg.

In addition, an ownership group led by David Beckham, which is trying to put a franchise back in Miami, is still considered likely to be added as the 24^th franchise.

Beckham’s involvement has been ongoing for several years and was not part of the expansion process.

WORLD CUP DRAW HELD

Much of the soccer-loving world watched the draw for the 2018 World Cup this morning, but ratings in the United States were likely down.

Way down.

The U.S., of course, failed to qualify, but 31 other countries did and they, along with host Russia, were placed in eight groups of four during Friday’s ceremony in Moscow.

Russia will open the World Cup when it plays Saudi Arabia on June 14 in a match featuring the two lowest-ranked teams in the field.

Some intriguing first round matchups include defending World Cup champion Germany against Mexico and Spain vs. Portugal.

Below is the complete list of groups for next summer’s event.

 

By Scott Adamson
Adamsonmedia.com

“Black Friday” had a different meaning for the North American Soccer league this year.

FC Edmonton folded earlier today, leaving the embattled league with just five franchises from its 2017 season and no assurances any of them will be playing in 2018.

Unless the NASL is allowed to retain second division status – that determination will be made by a court on Dec. 15 – it could go out of business altogether.

The folding of Edmonton comes just days after the San Francisco Deltas won the league’s 2017 championship and then closed up shop.

North Carolina FC announced its move from the NASL to the USL on Nov. 16.

“Although we believed in and have supported the NASL business model, our franchise has proven to be unsustainable in the Edmonton market. Our decision today is further reinforced by the continuous uncertainty being forced upon the NASL by the United States Soccer Federation,” FC Edmonton co-owner Tom Fath said in a statement. “We sincerely hope the road to long-term stability can be found for the NASL as the NASL pursues the lawsuit against the USSF in the US courts.”

Edmonton is one of the founding franchises of the NASL, which launched in 2009.

Rishi Sehgal, interim commissioner of the NASL, released a statement on Friday following the announcements made by FC Edmonton and the San Francisco:

“As we anticipate what we hope will be a favorable outcome in the U.S. Court of Appeals, we have been working diligently to build a strong foundation for the 2018 season. We are looking at making a number of changes to our business structure, and we are encouraged by the amount of expansion candidates that are ready to join the NASL.

During this time of change, two of our clubs, FC Edmonton and the San Francisco Deltas, will be departing the league.

“We are very appreciative of FC Edmonton’s contribution to the NASL as a founding member. As the club’s owner, Tom Fath was a tremendous ambassador for the league and his genuine passion for the community did so much for the fans and the people of Edmonton.

“In San Francisco, it’s unfortunate that the Deltas’ business plans did not materialize in the way they had hoped. We remain a big believer in the market, as evidenced by the atmosphere and crowd at the championship final earlier this month, and we still believe that the city deserves a professional soccer team. We are in active discussions with potential ownership groups and we aim to keep professional soccer in San Francisco in the future.

“We appreciate the support of the soccer community as we continue our plans for the 2018 season, and we remain confident ahead of our appeal hearing on December 15.”

The USSF has denied the NASL second division status for 2018 due to its small geographical footprint, and a court upheld that decision earlier this month after the league filed suit. The appeal will be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York.

This season the league fielded franchises in Brooklyn, Miami, San Francisco, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Puerto Rico (Bayamón), North Carolina (Cary) and Edmonton.

San Diego and Fullerton are being eyed for NASL expansion should the circuit go forward.

By Scott Adamson
Adamsonmedia.com

The first leg of the conference finals are complete in Major League Soccer, and only the Seattle Sounders took a major step toward the MLS Cup.

The Sounders, who claimed the league title last season, defeated Houston 2-0 on Tuesday in the Western Conference championship.

In the Eastern Conference, Toronto FC and Columbus played to a 0-0 draw.

Seattle will try to secure its spot in the 2017 MLS Cup when it hosts Houston on Nov. 30, while FC and the Crew will settle the issue a day earlier in Toronto.

The MLS Cup is set for Dec. 9 at the site of the finalist with the best record.

In Seattle’s win, Gustav Svensson tallied the game-winner in the 11th minute and Will Bruin added insurance in the 42nd minute.

Houston was forced to play a man down from the 27th minute on when Dynamo right back Jalil Anibaba pulled down Joevin Jones in the penalty box and was sent off.

Tyler Miller had three saves in the shutout.

United Soccer League awards

Nine days after Louisville FC claimed the league title, the USL has handed out the last of its awards for the 2017 season.

Reno 1868 FC’s Dane Kelly on Wednesday was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.

Scoring 18 goals for the expansion club, Kelly entered the season as the USL’s modern-era leader with 48 regular-season goals. The Jamaican now has 66 regular-season goals in his professional career.

“A player like me, who has been playing in the league for such a long time, to be awarded the Golden Boot earlier in the season and then get the MVP award, it means so much to me,” said Kelly, who joined the USL in 2012. “I couldn’t have done any of this without the help of my Reno 1868 FC family, so I have to say kudos to them for helping me have such a good season.”

Real Monarchs SLC’s Mark Briggs is Coach of the Year, getting 41 percent of the vote to Louisville City FC’s James O’Connor’s 31 percent.
“It hasn’t really hit home because I’m preparing for next year where we’re already trying to bring in the players we want for next year and planning for another successful year,” Briggs said. “I loved every minute of this season, but I love what I do, I’m passionate about what I do and hopefully I can do it for a long time.”

San Antonio FC goalkeeper Diego Restrepo is the league’s Goalkeeper of the Year.

The netminder, in his first year with san Antonio, led the USL with 12 shutouts and finished second in the league with a 0.80 goals-against average.
“Obviously, I had a great team in front of me that completely helped me feel very comfortable and get me adjusted very quickly,” Restrepo said. “A lot of credit goes to them, and I knew I had the backing of the coaches and I just took it game by game, minute by minute, and that’s one thing I never take for granted.”

Restrepo teammate Sebastien Ibeagha is Defender of the Year.

Playing 2,700 minutes, Ibeagha was part of defense that allowed only 24 goals in 32 regular-season contests and led the league with 15 shutouts.

“It’s truly an honor to win this award, but I would be remiss if I failed to mention how big of a role the entire team played in this accomplishment,” Ibeagha said. “We had a great group this season, and without them, we would not have had such a great defensive record. I want to thank the USL for giving me this award, and I’m honored to be among the other finalists who had great seasons.”

Finally, Reno 1868 FC’s Chris Wehan is the USL’s Rookie of the Year.

He tied the USL single-season record for assists with 12.

“It was a great year – I think all of the stars aligned for me,” said Wehan. “I was on a really good team, I had a lot of good players around me which helped me personally. I had a chip on my shoulder a little bit after what I’d gone through with the draft and not finding a home at the very start, but I was super-fortunate this year to be part of the group.”