MLS Top 5/Bottom5: Week 3.

Where do Will Bruin and the Dynamo sit in my first rankings?

So I really wanted to try my hand at some rankings and trend spotting this year in MLS.  The fact that there is so much parity in the league makes this kind of thing really fun and challenging for me, and gives me something to think about during long lulls at work, and to keep me up at night with my mind turning over and over.  I decided to wait a couple of weeks though, until everybody had at least a couple of games under their belt, though I suspect that rankings like this are always fairly inaccurate this early in the season anyway.   What I'm going to present to you are my top five and bottom five, with comments on each.

TOP 5--   


1. HOUSTON DYNAMO --The Dynamo were quite impressive in their opening matches, and Will Bruin (above) was on fire.  According to the league site, he is one of the most captained fantasy players going into week four as well.  Dom Kinnear's side has also yet to give up a goal.  However, they still might be a paper tiger.  Their first match was against the Revs, who have been absolutely awful so far, and their second was against the almost equally hapless Montreal Impact, sans Marco Di Vaio.  Also, both of those matches have been at home, where they're always good.  This week they travel to Vancouver, who should provide a better test.

2. TORONTO FC--I've been pretty skeptical about TFC in the offseason and through the preseason.  These new additions are great, but at this point, I still have to see it to believe it from them.  However, I just might be starting to see it.  The win at Seattle was definitely a quality win, though a 1-0 victory over DC at home was slightly less impressive.  Defoe and Bradley have been the real deal for sure, and Cesar is big time keeper in net.  However, their job gets a little harder this weekend coming to RSL, especially without speedster Jackson, who has been suspended by the disciplinary committee. 

3. REAL SALT LAKE--RSL's biggest problem in the opening weeks has been a failure to land the knockout punch, or the inverse, letting some rather simple defensive mistakes put teams back on level ground.  Still, undefeated with 5 points from 3 games with LA and San Jose (2 of them on the road) is a pretty solid start.  The other issue is injuries, especially up top, with Big Dev, Joao Plata, and Robbie Findley all injured. 

4. SEATTLE SOUNDERS--It wasn't a pretty performance, but Seattle took down Sporting in the first match at home at beat the Impact on the road last week.  Those two results were sandwiched around that home loss to TFC.  The Sounders played well at Montreal and executed their game plan and counter attack very effectively, despite not having Clint Dempsey.  If Obafemi Martins stays healthy, he's gonna cause MLS defenses some issues this year, without having to compete with the large "Pay Me" ego that he used to partner with.

5. COLUMBUS CREW--The Crew opened the season with an absolute smack down of DC United at RFK, and then beat the Union at home in week three.  They had to hold on a bit in that one, but it was still an impressive performance against a Union squad that I think is gonna be pretty good.  This weekend they travel to Seattle, where the local supporters will be less than welcoming after the fiasco that surrounded the "Seattle is sending capos to Columbus for the USMNT" article that happened last summer.  They have potentially the biggest test of any of my top five this weekend.


BOTTOM 5--

15. PORTLAND TIMBERS--Sorry, I'm still not sold on the Portland Timbers.  Apparently "Porterball" still means draw at home and lose on the road, at least so far this year.  Their defense is still suspect, and while the midfield is a strength, they still lack a true target guy up front.  Urruti doesn't cut it for me, he's just a bull in a china shop.  The Timbers have yet to show me that they can take the next step by converting all those draws from last year into wins and gain points consistently on the road.  It doesn't get any easier for them this weekend as they play at FC Dallas, who just missed out on my top 5.

16. CHIVAS USA--The Goats are definitely an improved side, and looked decent in their first two matches, even though they had to largely resort to packing it in to try to keep the Whitecaps out after going a man down at home.  It didn't work.  This last weekend they were largely pasted by FC Dallas on the road.  They're better, but not good enough, yet.  This weekend they travel to New York, where the Red Bulls will be looking to smack them around and get their season on track.

17.  MONTREAL IMPACT--I'm not rating them lower because they've been without Di Vaio, and hey, that  road swing through Texas isn't going to be easy for anybody.  However, they never really threatened the Sounders at home either.  They were in the match, but I never really thought, "Oh yeah, here they come."  Getting Di Vaio back will help, but as of right now, I really can't see Montreal really making a push for anything.  This weekend they play at Philly, and I'm forecasting a Union victory.

18. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION--I'm so disappointed in the Revs so far.  I really thought they were gonna build on the playoff run from last year, and they still might.  However, it's hard to really find much that they did right in their opening three matches, though they did get their first point this last weekend, albeit without managing to score a goal.  It's too bad that they didn't get to hold on to Juan Agudelo.  This week they travel to play at San Jose, and you'd have to figure in a win for the Quakes, maybe without having to pull the "Goonie" stuff.

19. DC UNITED--DC was another team that ostensibly got better this offseason, at least they threw a bunch of money at players, particularly one Eddie Johnson.  They then paired Mr. "Pay Me" with Mr. "I Dive and Miss Big Shots" in Fabian Espindola, who also is known to be a bit combative.  Both Seattle and RSL fans predicted that this experiment was not going to go well.  For all their spending and revamping, DC have shown nada, zero, zilch.   This week they host the Fire, and Mike Magee will probably look to feast on DC's back line.

RSL and Galaxy Meet Again, Fight to a Draw

RSL's Luke Mulholland in the second half of Saturday's action. (realsaltlake.com)

This afternoon I finally got over being bummed that I couldn't make the match last Saturday and fired up the DVR to take it in.  It was honestly about what I expected from an RSL vs Galaxy match.  A tight, methodical. sometimes physical affair with both teams seemingly afraid to risk to make a big mistake.  Ironically, both of the day's goals came off of mistakes on the part of both sides.

Of course the Galaxy actually made the first mistake of the match not even two minutes after the opening whistle.  Joao Plata caught Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez deep in his own end and swiped the ball, darting toward what looked like might be an easy finish.  Unfortunately, Plata snatched his ball wide of the post.  That goal would have come in handy at the end.

However, you have to like RSL scoring off of a set piece, which they did in the 19th minute.  Plata hit Sabo in the box with a cross, and well, the Galaxy seemed to think that RSL's big man was off lounging in the Costa Rican sun, because he was as unmarked as you can be. It what must have been like training move, Sabo took the ball down, set it, and smacked it into the back of the net making it 1-0 to RSL.

Unfortunately, the home side were not functioning to perfection on the back line either, and it cost RSL the lead and eventually a point..  Chris Wingert lost the ball around the midfield stripe on 35 minutes and Juninho recovered for the Galaxy.  He dropped the ball off to Robbie Keane, who sprinted toward the RSL goal.  Chris Schuler did a pretty decent job trying to stay in front of Keane and force him wide a bit, but in the end he just became the latest defender to get juked out of his shoes by the Ireland captain as Keane discarded him and put the ball past Nick Rimando with a clinical finish to tie the match at 1-1.

So both goals were well taken, and both sides made a mistake that cost them.  It's not really a surprise.  These clubs are just too good to let big mistakes go unpunished.  There were no further goals in the second half but there was some controversy and talking points.

First off, RSL had a pretty decent penalty case for a penalty, when Dan Gargan clearly held Sabo in the box with two hands on a cross.  Supposedly MLS is looking to crack down on some of that, but not this time.  Second, Sabo was shown the yellow card in the 63rd minute for a rather nasty hit on AJ DeLaGarza that featured a raised leg as he sent the LA defender to the floor in frustration.  Now, Bruce Arena is calling it dirty play and said Sabo was deliberately tying to injure DeLaGarza.  I watched it, slow motioned it, and checked out Simon Borg's thoughts on the "Instant Replay" segment.  I don't think Sabo was trying to hurt him, but as much as I just wanted to be able to see it as something clumsy that a forward might do, there was obviously a frustration involved and bringing the leg into it does make it worse.  Arena wants a ban, and he and the Galaxy openly called for it after the match, which I'm not a fan of.  This whole retroactive punishment thing has turned into a situation where players and coaches now OPENLY lobby for bans and fines after the match has ended, and that needs to stop.  It undermines the referee on the pitch and comes across as very whiny, I don't care who is doing it.  In this case, the referee gave Sabo a yellow, which I personally think was the correct call.  However, I wouldn't be surprised to see the league hit Sabo with a one or two game ban.  I don't agree with that kind of thing where the play was already given a card on the pitch because it takes away the referee's discretion.  It should be as hard to get a ban after a play has already been punished as it is to get a red card or ban rescinded, in my opinion, but we'll see what the league does, likely Thursday or Friday.

All in all, I was pretty satisfied with the performance, though I think it was a tremendous lost opportunity to get the Galaxy right after a CCL loss and without their main 'keeper in net.  Last year we ended up regretting dropped points at home to Chicago and Sporting KC.  I wonder if we might regret this one similarly later on down the road.  However, the Galaxy deserve a massive amount of credit for coming in and locking horns with RSL, and taking their first point back home to LA.

So finally, here are my three stars for the match:

FIRST STAR--Alvaro Saborio, RSL.  I really hope Sabo can stay healthy this year.  He was a beast on Saturday and the Galaxy had lots of trouble with him.  He seems to be in a good frame of mind and looks to be really up for it this year.

SECOND STAR--Robbie Keane, LAG.  I hate it when he does what he does to us, but man, his skills are pretty amazing.  The way he just discarded Schuler and scored the goal past Rimando was the work of a master.

THIRD STAR--Chris Schuler, RSL.  Schuler bares no fault for the goal, that's on Wingert.  However, it is so great to see him back on the pitch.  If he can rekindle what we saw from him in the playoffs last year, he's going to be a beast for RSL at the back and who knows, future captain maybe?  I'm always much more comfortable when I see him next to Nat, the bearded one.

Don't forget to join us, yes even me, at the RioT on Saturday against Michael Bradley, Jermaine Defoe, and TFC.  Pop 'round to section 30 and give me a holler.  I'm next to the guy who brings all the cool tifos.

Chivas de Guadalajara Bans All Supporter Groups After Derby Violence

Multiple injuries were reported after Chivas fans fought police this last weekend.

In case you missed it, Mexican soccer suffered a HUGE black eye this weekend.  During the Tapatio Derby between Chivas and Atlas, this time being played at the home of Atlas, Chivas supporters engaged in a running battle with Guadalajara police in the upper terraces of the stadium.  According to Reuters, the Chivas folks managed to outnumber the police and several police officers were seriously injured, including two suffering serious but non life threatening injuries.  Approximately 30 civilians were injured and were being treated at local hospitals after the match.

Reaction from the club, the Mexican Federation, and the local government has been swift, and hard line.  First off, Chivas has announced that they will ban ALL supporter groups from their matches indefinitely and with immediate effect.  This includes this weekend's coming Superclasico with Club America to be played at Chivas's Omnilife Stadium.  The statement on this issue also says that ALL MEMBERS of credentialed supporter groups are banned as well.  According to Soccerly, The FMF is seriously considering banning all supporter groups from all clubs in the wake of this incident.

Guadalajara officials are none too pleased with events either.  They have closed Estadio Jalisco, home of Atlas, and prohibited it from hosting soccer matches until further notice.  17 arrests have already been made in connection with the violence, and both Chivas and the local police are working on rounding up anyone else involved as well.

This derby has long had a reputation for violent incidents, especially involving Chivas "ultras" who puff out their chests and announce that they take pride in such things, again, giving real supporters a bad name.  Chivas and Atlas shared Estadio Jalisco until recent times when Omnilife stadium was built to host Chivas.

  

This kind of thing has no place in soccer and just gives people who are against the sport more ammunition to use against it.  Anyone who thinks that this is "cool" or that it's the right way to "support your club" should never be allowed through the gates of a stadium.   Check out the video below for footage of the incident, but be cautioned that it's rather graphic.

Puddle's Goal of the Weekend: Bernardo Anor BLAST

You won't want to miss this sweet strike from Bernardo Anor (Dispatch.com)

It would be awfully easy for me to pick Wayne Rooney or maybe a goal from this weekend's remarkable Clasico for my goal of the week, but I decided to keep it close to home and Major League Soccer.  Check out this rocket from Columbus Crew's Bernardo Anor in first half stoppage time against the Union.

MLS Crashes and Burns in CCL. Again.

Cruz Azul's Mario Pavone scored a hat trick as Azul demolished Sporting KC.

Remember last week when there was a little more than cautious optimism about MLS sides in CONCACAF Champions League play?  Reigning MLS Cup champs Sporting Kansas City took down Cruz Azul at home, and the LA Galaxy managed to hold off the Xolos of Tijuana.  Even San Jose managed to fight back late to earn a home draw against Toluca.  Things looked fairly bright.  If all three MLS clubs could pull a sweep in Mexico, it would guarantee that an MLS club would make the CCL final and have a chance to play for the trophy and a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup.

Then reality set in starting on Tuesday night, really harsh reality.

That night the LA Galaxy took on the Xolos at Estadio Caliente in Tijuana, and things went rotten quite quickly.  The 1-0 lead they had from winning at home evaporated in less than a minute.  The Galaxy couldn't clear their own box and the ball finally managed to fall to Xolo Jaime Ayovi, who easily knocked in the first goal of the match on 57 seconds, equalizing the aggregate.  By halftime, the Galaxy found themselves down 3-1.  Oops.  Still, the Xolos didn't have a road goal, and the Galaxy scored one through Robbie Keane out of halftime to make it 3-2.  One more goal and the Galaxy could take the series on road goals.  However, things fell apart in the last ten minutes Richard Ruiz scored for Tijuana in the 82nd, which put the Galaxy into full kitchen sink mode.  Keane managed his brace in the 85th, but they Galaxy were never able to tally the last needed goal and fell to the Xolos by a 4-3 aggregate.  The Galaxy fought hard, but just could not overcome the dreadful first half.

The first of two ties on Wednesday night involved Toluca hosting the San Jose Earthquakes, who came into the match tied 1-1 after yet another Goonie style comeback at Buck Shaw last week.  As an MLS fan, you have to hand it to the Quakes who were playing at 9,000 ft, much higher than Rio Tinto Stadium or even Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado.   The Quakes actually took the lead in the tie in the 56h minute through Ty Harden, but Toluca equalized 13 minutes later, sending the tie into extra time.  In the 96th minute Alan Gordon appeared to tally his second of the tie, but the goal was ruled out for offside.  It was really close call, but if you freeze fame the replay, he certainly looked even.  At any rate, the match ended up going into penalties, where Toluca picked up the victory 5-4.  The Quakes might feel a bit hard done by, but they certainly represented the league well.

That was certainly not the case for defending MLS Cup Champs Sporting Kansas City.  Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I'm still a little bitter over the MLS Cup final, and Cruz Azul is my favorite Liga MX side, so this probably isn't unbiased, but SKC laid a total egg at Estadio Azul.  Backup 'keeper Erick Kronberg got hammered and Azul blew up the the KC defense who suffered while Aurelien Collin sat on the bench.  They did their best keystone cop impression and Mario Pavone scored a hat trick on the way to a 5-1 victory in the match and 5-2 on aggregate.  It was a clueless performance from the champs, who from what I managed to see, didn't really look all that interested.  That's nice, because the supposed "best team in MLS" got obliterated on Mexican soil.  It was a result that I think sets the league back 2 or 3 years in CCL play.  Thanks Peter Vermes.  Why don't you let somebody who wants to play in next time, say, Seattle or RSL?

At any rate, MLS bows out yet again without even getting a team into the semis, let alone into the finals.  Both Houston and Canadian Champions Montreal were eliminated in the group stage.  For us RSL fans, we can continue to hold on to "we're the only ones to make the final," which stings a little as Portland was handed our spot when the qualification rules were changed AFTER the MLS season and playoffs last year, which doesn't seem fair, but whatever.  Next year we'll have the Timbers. the Red Bulls, and Sporting KC in as well as DC United (thanks to RSL's own massive egg laid in the US Open Cup final, and probably Vancouver, TFC, or Montreal provided they win the Canadian Championship.  I don't expect anything from DC United barring a massive improvement, Portland still has issues on the road and has only managed draws in it's first two home matches this season, Thierry Henry will probably come up with a reason not to play, and I really can't see Sporting KC doing any better.  So uh, maybe we hope TFC wins and goes in?  That's the ticket.

Another year, another disappointment for MLS fans.

The Puddle Congratulates USMNT Defender Steve Cherundolo On a Great Career

US international defender Steve Cherundolo retired earlier this week. (Zimbio.com)

Most of the buzz surrounding the United States men's national team this week surrounded the announcement that young Bayern Munich player Julian Green has decided to switch federations and play for the USA.  That is certainly newsworthy, but another bit of news crossed the wire that was of interest to seasoned fans as well.  Wednesday evening, USMNT and Hannover 96 defender Steve Cherundolo announced that he was retiring from professional football due to a knee injury.

It's kind of sad news as Cherundolo has been a fixture on the US back line for quite awhile.  He earned his first cap for the USA in 1999 against Jamaica.  He then went on to participate in multiple CONCACAF Gold Cups for the USA, winning the trophy in 2005 and wearing the captain's armband in the 2009 edition.  He also competed in two FIFA World Cups for the USA, in Germany 2006 and South Africa 2010.  He scored two goals for his country as he compiled 87 caps overall.

Cherundolo is also fairly unique because he's one of the few American players to have spent his entire playing career in Europe.  After two years at the University of Portland, "Dolo" went to Germany and signed on with Hannover 96, who were in the German second division at the time.  In 2001-2002 Hannover won the league and was promoted to the Bundesliga.  Cherundolo eventually ascended to captain of the side, making 423 appearances in all competitions and scoring 8 goals.  He also earned the nickname: "The Mayor of Hannover."  At his press conference, Cherundolo confirmed that he will remain Europe as an assistant coach for Hannover's U-23 team.

Personally I would like to congratulate him on a fantastic career for club and country.  He was certainly a great player and person to represent our country and even wear the armband.  It's unfortunate that he ended up missing a couple of big international tournaments due to injury.  Though I never really got to see him in action for Hannover, I always enjoyed watching him play for the national side.  Thank you, "Dolo" for all you have given to US Soccer and to the beautiful game as a whole, and good luck in your future endeavors.

Smash and Grab Job Gives Whitecaps A Point At Chivas USA

Darren Mattocks heads a ball against Chivas USA (sporttopix.com)

I was really impressed with the way the Vancouver Whitecaps took apart the defending Supporter's Shield winners, the New York Red Bulls, last week up at BC Place.  Kekuta Manneh and new signing Sebastian Fernandez has Caps fans, and me, asking "Camilo who?"  Well, after last night's outing against Chivas USA, one has to wonder if that first match was a bit of a fluke since Red Bulls were missing Thierry Henry and Jamison Olave, among others.

The match began rather sluggishly at Stub Hub Center, with neither side looking as though they wanted to put out much effort or creativity in what was an unseasonably warm day in SoCal.  I know this because the announcers mentioned it probably twenty thousand times in the first 10 minutes.

The first event of note came in the 13th minute, and it seemingly spelled disaster for the Goats.  Augustin Pelletieri went in for a hard challenge on Vancouver's Pedro Morales.  As he continued through the challenge, he came down on Morales's ankle, and the referee showed the Chivas midfielder a straight red card.  I suppose by the letter of the law it was a good call, but it seemed rather harsh to me at the time.  At any rate it was dumb challenge for Pelletieri to make so early in the match with absolutely nothing going on offensively for either side.

So now that the Caps had a man advantage I got excited and thought that now I was going to see that same awesome football that I saw last week in Vancouver.  I was disappointed, though hey, Chivas played pretty well.  You couldn't tell that they were down a man as Vancouver just refused to press the issue.

Still even the Goats couldn't manage anything but blocked shots, and Vancouver couldn't manage a shot at all in the entire first half.  Then in the 45th minute, the scales tipped in favor of the Goats.  Mauro Rosales threaded a ball into the area where Chivas forward Erik Torres was waiting.  Torres fired off a shot, and it took a tricky deflection off of 'Caps defender Jay DeMerit and into the goal to make it 1-0 to Chivas heading into the break.  DeMerit joked afterward, via Twitter, that at least his ass scored it's first goal of the season.

Things didn't look any better for the Whitecaps at the start of the second half either.  The adjustments that were needed seemed clear, but didn't seem like they were taking place.  Chivas stayed organized on defense and continued to outwork the listless Whitecaps on offense.  In the 52nd minute Leandro Barrera shot forward on a counter and looked to have a sure fire second goal for the Goats.  However, 'keeper Pat Ousted made a nice save, getting a hand to it and knocking it wide for a corner.

Finally the 'Caps made some good hay starting at the hour mark with the insertion of Manneh into the match.  He immediately brought the energy that the Caps had been lacking, and started opening up the match for others as well.  In the 61st minute Morales sprayed a shot just wide of goal and then in the 66th Darren Mattocks knocked the ball past Dan Kennedy, who had come out to the top of the area to claim it, and sent it rolling toward the goal line.  However, he couldn't get much power on it and a Chivas defender came and poked the ball out of harm's way.

But the 'Caps kept up the pressure and finally came good in the 81st minute.  Mattocks had the ball on the left side of the box, and dropped a nice centering pass to Manneh near the penalty spot.  The Gambian promptly slotted the ball past Kennedy in goal to tie the match at 1-1, which was the score at the full time whistle.

You have to feel a bit for Chivas in this one.  I thought they really deserved all three points.  They played with a grit and spirit that hasn't always been there for a franchise that has been considered the doormat of the west.  I'm not sure that's gonna happen this year, especially if they can hang onto Torres all season.  They really played a solid match.

On the other hand, it's hard for me to say that the 'Caps really deserved the point that they got.  Their performance was woeful for the first 60 minutes, 47 of which were played with a man advantage.  The bright spot for Vancouver was definitely Manneh.  He showed some real chemistry with Mattocks in the 2nd half, and that's really good news for 'Caps fans.  Now they just have to pray that their club can gain some consistency to keep pace in a loaded Western Conference.

Next week the 'Caps travel to New England to take on a Revs squad that has looked miserable to open the season.  Chivas USA will travel to Frisco, Texas, to take on FC Dallas.

RSL Leaves Buck Shaw With A Point

Yeah, these guys.  Enough said. (MLSSoccer.net)

MLS starts off their official recap of the match by talking about how the Quakes "broke their RSL Hex" in season openers.  Well, despite the fact that I remain slightly frustrated after Saturday night's result, I wouldn't say that going down by two goals at home and then coming back and earning a last second draw is a particularly awesome thing to do.  I guess you can look at it two ways: one, the Quakes showed a lot of heart to come back at home twice this last week after going down.  Two, going down at home twice in a row cost the club two big missed opportunities, one in CCL, and one in MLS.  There comes a point where draws aren't good enough.

But speaking of missed opportunities, let's talk about the match and Real Salt Lake.  Might I say that things were a bit sloppy?  Yes.  Especially on set pieces, which were one of RSL's big issues last year.  They were really solid on them in LA, but less so up the road in San Jose, and it cost them in this one.  The first goal came off of a set piece in the sixth minute.  Shea Salinas sent a free kick into the box that found the head of Victor Bernardez.  (We'll talk about both of these guys again in a bit.)  Bernardez flicked the ball to Chris Wondolowski, who basically deflected the ball in at close range to give the Quakes the 1-0 lead.  Did anybody check to see if he had an extra "W" on the jersey?

Fortunately RSL responded well to going down a goal in the early stages.  I liked this, because it hasn't always happened with this team.  In the 11th minute Joao Plata dropped the ball off to Kyle Beckerman who drilled a shot on target from outside the box.  It bounced off the post and into the goal to knot the match at 1-1.  I always like to see Beckerman taking those kinds of shots, he's proved to be very dangerous out there, just ask the Portland Timbers.

From there on in, RSL controlled the rest of the first half and had the best scoring chances.  In the 32nd minute Plata torched a couple of Quakes defenders, then engaged in some nice give and take with Luis Gil, and then slotted the ball into the back of the net to give the Claret and Cobalt the 1-2 lead.  It really was top notch work from both Plata and Gil, who I thought looked pretty good filling in for the injured Javier Morales.

RSL would take further control in first half stoppage time.  Ned Grabavoy, who I thought had a better night than he did against LA, smashed a shot off of Quakes 'keeper Jon Busch, and RSL new boy Luke Mulholland played trash man, scooping the rebound and knocking it into the net to make it 1-3.  It was is first goal for the club in his first start.

Things seemed to be under control in the second half.  Well, as under control as they can be against the Quakes anyway.  You always wait for the other shoe to drop against them and sure enough it fell late on in the match.  In the 71st minute Aaron Maund, who I thought had another solid start, had to come off and was replaced by Carlos Salcedo.  Then in the 75th minute set piece issues struck again as Salinas (again) put a corner into Bernardez (again) who headed the ball into goal to make it 2-3.

Still, it seemed like RSL was going to survive and take all 3 points.  They took their one goal lead deep into stoppage time and looked to have it sealed up.  Then in the 95th minute Shaun Francis sent a cross into the box, and it looked like we had it dealt with, as Nick Rimando rose to try to punch it clear.  However, his punch was weak, and it went only so far as an unmarked Victor Bernardez, who hammered the ball into the back of the net to make it 3-3 at full time.

In the end, I guess it at least wasn't Lenhart that did the damage, but it was just as frustrating.  I'm not trying to blame Carlos Salcedo at all, but one wonders if Schuler or Maund were in the game late on, well maybe the defense is just a little tighter on those last two goals.  To Salcedo's defense, it often takes a CB 30 minutes or so to get into a match as they don't move and loosen up as much as forwards or midfielders.  In the end I think Maund going out was a big moment in the match.

At any rate, RSL should be relatively pleased by getting 4 points from that opening road swing.  They'll head home for the opener at Rio Tinto this weekend, again against the Galaxy, where the set piece defense is going to have to be better.  It would also be nice to see Schuler back in the lineup.  San Jose will travel to Sporting Kansas City, where the defending champs will try to break out of their early season doldrums, but before that, the Quakes will travel to Mexico to take on Toluca in the 2nd leg of their CCL tie.

So now here are the three stars for the match:

1st STAR--Shea Salinas, San Jose.  This guy caused trouble for RSL all night long, and contributed two set piece balls that led to the first two San Jose goals.

2nd STAR--Joao Plata, RSL.  Platita continues his role as danger man in chief for RSL during these early weeks of the season.  Saturday night he contributed a ton of energy, a goal, and an assist to the cause.

3rd STAR--Victor Bernardez, San Jose.  Yeah, the guy has a bit of an attitude problem on occasion, but to me there's no denying that he's one of the best center backs in MLS.  He's more than solid at the back and is ALWAYS dangerous on set pieces.  I would like to see our center backs emulate that particular quality on a more regular basis.

Puddle's Goal of the Weekend: Motaz Salhani in the Jordan Pro League

Even Zlatan is is not sure he believes what he sees on this remarkable goal.

I was all set to pick a goal from MLS to feature this weekend, I mean, hey, Jermaine Defoe right?  Then I saw this, and well I'm just not quite sure what to say.  This is Motaz Salhani who plays for Al Wehdat in the Jordan Pro League, and the unfortunate keeper plays for Al Ramtha.  What is this even, a back heel goal?  Luck? Pure skill? Check it out:

I'm not sure which is more amusing, the goal or the keeper's reaction.  The whole thing is insane!

Quakes Bounce Back to Draw Top Seed Toluca

Alan Gordon scored a stoppage time equalizer to draw Mexican side Toluca (sjearthquakes.com)

Stop me if you've heard this one: A team favored to beat the Earthquakes makes the trip to Buck Shaw Stadium, takes the lead, then seemingly has it all wrapped up going into stoppage time.  Of course, then this guy named Alan Gordon shows up, puts the ball in the back of the net, and the rest of us have to hear about "Goonie Magic" until the Quakes play again.

Well that's exactly what happened to Mexican side Toluca in CONCACAF Champions League play last night.  Toluca came in as the top seeded team in the knockout phase of the tournament and figured to have somewhat of an easy ride against the Quakes.  Toluca has had a pretty good 2014 Clausura campaign in Liga Mx as well, sitting second only to Cruz Azul.  I'll even admit that I didn't give the Quakes a chance at all in this tie.

I don't want to give the impression that the Quakes just showed up in stoppage time though.  They actually acquitted themselves fairly well for much of the match, but it was a mistake that cost them the lead in the first place.  In the 67th minute Jason Hernandez attempted to clear the ball from the Quakes' end, but saw his kick go only as far as Raul Nava, who is NOT the guy you want to gift the ball to at the edge of the box.  Nava deftly volleyed the ball past Jon Busch to give Toluca the 0-1 lead.

Fortunately for the Quakes fans, their club continued to press,  If you've watched MLS and the Quakes over the last couple of years, you know they don't give up, it just doesn't seem to be in their DNA, even after they changed coaches midway through the 2013 MLS season.  In the 79th minute Steven Lenhart headed a cross from Shea Salinas off of the crossbar.  Both JJ Koval and Alan Gordon had chances to tie the match on the rebound from this opportunity, but neither could get the ball through all the traffic in front of the Toluca goal.

So it seemed like that might be all she wrote as the match entered second half stoppage time.  Of course as it turns out, the Quakes had Toluca right where they wanted them.  In the fourth minute of added time, Salinas again provided a dangerous cross into the box.  This time it was Gordon who got his head to it first, and he didn't miss, bouncing his header in off the post to knot the match at 1-1, which was also the score at full time.

All in all the Quakes did a pretty good job last night, but Toluca are still going to be in the driver seat in this tie.  Next week the two sides will head down to Mexico and Toluca's Estadio Nemesio Diez to settle the score.  I don't think the Quakes will be able to rely on "Goonie Magic" in Mexico.  They'll have to finish their chances and more importantly keep the high flying Toluca side out of the goal as well.  It's just really hard to see San Jose coming away with a win in Mexico, but then again, you can never count this team out until the final whistle has sounded.

So What Do We Think of the New NYCFC Crests?

These are the final two choices for the NYCFC crest. (nycfc.com)

So early this week NYCFC (NY2) jumped on the beginning of the season hype machine for MLS by announcing the final two choices for it's crest, err badge.  They use "badge," but I prefer "crest" so I'm going with that.  It's actually a pretty smart move for the franchise, one year out from actually hitting the pitch.  It continues building their fanbase by letting fans vote for which crest they prefer on the official club website and gets the rest of us talking about them as part of the league throughout the 2014 campaign.  

Now that they have their first coach, *COUGH--HACK--WHEEZE.* Sorry about that.  Anyway, now that they have their first coach, there will be more steps toward formulating the club's identity and building their support.  You'll have the first signings, the first DP signings, the signing of a sponsor, the first money drop from Manchester City (I kid, kind of), the stadium announcement, the first kit, the first supporter group, the second supporter group, the first cranky disagreement between supporter groups, then finally the first game, the first goal, oh and the first chance to bitch about MLS referees.  Welcome, NYCFC!

Actually I like the crests.  Now, I had seen some others during their design contest that I liked better, but I think these are two solid choices.  I think I like the circular one a little better.  The shield looks just a little too elaborate for my taste, then there's that hint of Mets orange that, as a Braves fan, I think is rather meh.  Honestly, I don't think the club can go wrong with either one though.

In previous entries I've been quite critical of Major League Soccer's choice to put a second team in the NYC area.  But hey, now it's happened, so I'm gonna get behind what the league thought was a good move, even if I disagree.  I'm still not thrilled with the Man City aspect either, but again, it's out of my control.  I do think a healthy derby between Red Bulls and City could be a great thing for MLS, even if it might take it awhile to develop.

There are going to be those who hate it for other reasons as well.  You've got the "I hate whatever MLS does" faction of folks who feel that this sucks just because it's affiliated with MLS.  You also have the history buffs who thought that MLS should have brought the Cosmos back into division one.  NYCFC is always going to be an abomination to these guys with their reanimated zombie version of the Cosmos sitting in NASL while this Man City farm squad plays in the US top flight.  Nobody is ever going to win over either of these two groups of people.

But, if you're an MLS fan like I am, I urge you to get behind this effort at least a little bit, even though it might be a particular issue for my fellow RSL fans.  NYCFC is going to bring more talent into MLS, and we know that Jason Kreis is going to play the right kind of soccer with that talent, well, either that or he'll end up being the David Moyes of MLS.  We shall see.  Besides, away days in NYC?  I'm thinking that might be a pretty good time, don't you?

Rimando, Plata, Boost RSL to 3 Points Over Galaxy

Robbie Keane missed two sitters and a PK for the Galaxy (LAGalaxy.com)

Sorry, I couldn't help but lead my first RSL 2014 entry with this pic of Robbie Keane.  Let's face it. Keane is one of the best, if not THE best striker in MLS, but Saturday night was not his night.  Instead the night belonged to a heroic Nick Rimando and a dangerous Joao Plata as RSL defeated the Galaxy 0-1 at StubHub Center.

Of course, it was hard to tell that it was going to be RSL's night from the action in the opening half.  The Galaxy opened the match looking very dangerous, and finding quite a bit of open space for Keane, Landon Donovan, and new attacker Samuel.  They even got in behind the RSL defense a couple of times.  Aaron Maund got the start next to Nat Borchers at CB instead of Carlos Salcedo, and that made me nervous, even knowing that Keane absolutely abused Salcedo in LA last year.  Maund held his own early and throughout the game though.  At one point in the first half, LA found Keane behind the defense streaking toward Rimando in what appeared to be a 1v1 situation.  However Maund, showing flashes of his good speed, got back and tackled the ball away from Keane to save the day.  It was remarkable that he didn't give up a yellow card or even a foul.  In that moment, Jeff Cassar's confidence in the youngster paid off.

That wasn't the only good chance the Galaxy would have though.  In the 34th minute Rimando botched a clearance and sent it straight to Keane.  It looked to be lights out for the Ireland Captain as he knocked it back toward the goal.  Incredibly the ball smacked off the woodwork, hit the ground, then bounced away from the goal line and the score somehow remained 0-0.  A few minutes later, Keane found Donovan on an angle and Landon smacked toward Rimando's near post.  Rimando hit the deck and made an outstanding save though, keeping the match yet level as the teams headed into the halftime break.

LA continued their assault in the second half, and RSL's defense continued to bend but not break.  Gradually they did start to shut down the space though.  Still, the offense seemed to be sputtering some, so Cassar went to his bench.  The first sub for the Claret and Cobalt was former NASL Best XI player Luke Mulholland, who came in for Luis Gil in the 66th minute.  Gil never really got into the match, but Mulholland had no such issues.  Not long after entering, he found himself putting the ball into the back of the net off of a rebound from a Plata shot, but he was whistled offside, despite having two LA defenders and keeper Penedo between him and the goal at the time.

Still, RSL's had signaled their attacking intent and LA was starting to look nervy at the back.  In the 80th minute Captain Kyle Beckerman played Plata into the box, and Platita slotted past Penedo to make it 0-1 to RSL.  This time there were no flags.

The Galaxy cranked up the pressure over the last ten minutes looking for an equalizer.  New Galaxy man, and rather large attacker, Rob Friend entered the match and caused trouble along RSL's back line, but the boys held into stoppage time, that's when it looked like it was all going to blow away.

In the final minute of the 3, Friend went up in the box over Tony Beltran.  He fell over theatrically, with the ball striking his hand on the way down.  The ref fell for it though, and awarded the Galaxy a penalty kick on the rationale that Beltran had undercut him.  It looked to be the opposite for me, but my opinion doesn't matter.  Keane stepped to the spot and hoped to redeem himself for earlier misses, but his PK was stoned by Nick Rimando and the points were preserved for Real Salt Lake.

The win launches RSL's new season and the Jeff Cassar era on a high note.  They showed real grit and determination despite several things going against them.  The Claret and Cobalt will take on San Jose at Buck Shaw stadium next week.  For the Galaxy, the played well, and were superior to RSL for large swathes of the match, unfortunately for them, they couldn't finish even one of several possible chances.  Still it's hard to argue that LA didn't deserve a point.  They have a bye in league play next weekend, but they host  Tijuana this week in CCL play.  That should be interesting as both Keane and Donovan played 90 minutes in this match.

Now, here are my 3 Stars for the match, the first installment of 2014:

1st STAR: NICK RIMANDO: RSL.--Yes, Nick made a pretty big goof in the first half, but bounced back in epic fashion.  He had nine saves on the night, including the big one on Keane's PK in stoppage time.

2nd STAR: Joao Plata: RSL.--Plata was the most consistent offensive threat for RSL.  He forced Penedo into a save in the first half on a driven shot, earned a rebound that Mulholland put in for the called back goal in the second, and eventually beat the LA shot stopper for the match winner in the 80th minute.

3rd STAR: Aaron Maund: RSL.--Hell yes, I was nervous.  However, Maund did have a good preseason, and really justified Cassar's selection by putting out a solid performance in the back.  He also nearly had a goal in the first half.  I would really like to see our CBs be a more consistent threat on set pieces this season.