~Soccer Thread~

[Brutus Buckeye]

MLS Standings: heading into the All Star break



Sorted by PPG


EAST

#	Club	PTS	PPG		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD		W-L-T		W-L-T
4	New York City FC	35	1.75		20	9	3	8	36	24	12		5-1-4		4-2-4
1	Philadelphia Union	39	1.63		24	11	7	6	41	36	5		7-2-3		4-5-3
2	Atlanta United FC	36	1.57		23	11	9	3	38	29	9		8-1-3		3-8-0
3	D.C. United	36	1.5		24	9	6	9	31	26	5		5-2-5		4-4-4
5	New York Red Bulls	34	1.48		23	10	9	4	39	34	5		7-4-1		3-5-3
7	New England Revolution	33	1.43		23	9	8	6	34	39	-5		6-4-2		3-4-4
8	Toronto FC	32	1.39		23	9	9	5	38	38	0		6-4-3		3-5-2
6	Montreal Impact	33	1.38		24	10	11	3	31	38	-7		6-4-1		4-7-2
9	Orlando City SC	26	1.13		23	7	11	5	30	33	-3		4-6-1		3-5-4
11	Chicago Fire	24	1		24	5	10	9	34	35	-1		5-2-6		0-8-3
10	Columbus Crew SC	24	1		24	7	14	3	24	36	-12		5-6-2		2-8-1
12	FC Cincinnati	17	0.74		23	5	16	2	22	53	-31		3-6-1		2-10-1

.

WEST

#	Club	PTS	PPG		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD		W-L-T		W-L-T
1	Los Angeles Football Club	49	2.23		22	15	3	4	59	23	36		9-0-1		6-3-3
2	Seattle Sounders FC	38	1.73		22	11	6	5	33	28	5		8-1-2		3-5-3
3	LA Galaxy	37	1.68		22	12	9	1	30	31	-1		8-4-0		4-5-1
4	San Jose Earthquakes	37	1.68		22	11	7	4	39	33	6		8-3-1		3-4-3
5	Minnesota United FC	35	1.59		22	10	7	5	38	30	8		6-1-4		4-6-1
7	Portland Timbers	31	1.48		21	9	8	4	35	32	3		3-1-2		6-7-2
6	FC Dallas	33	1.43		23	9	8	6	31	26	5		6-1-5		3-7-1
8	Real Salt Lake	31	1.41		22	9	9	4	30	30	0		7-2-1		2-7-3
9	Houston Dynamo	30	1.36		22	9	10	3	32	35	-3		7-2-3		2-8-0
10	Sporting Kansas City	25	1.14		22	6	9	7	33	39	-6		4-4-3		2-5-4
12	Colorado Rapids	20	0.91		22	5	12	5	33	45	-12		4-6-2		1-6-3
11	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	21	0.88		24	4	11	9	23	41	-18		3-5-4		1-6-5

.



The Midwest isn't doing so hot, with Minnesota as the only team that is even remotely in playoff contention.

LAFC is running away with the Supporters Shield. Double digit lead in the Pts column, and the only club over 2 pts/game. In fact they are nearly a half pt/game better than the next best team, at 2.23 vs 1.75 (NYCFC).

Top 7 teams in each Conference make the MLS Playoff Bracket at seasons end.

[Brutus Buckeye]

Hell Is Real 

The first installment winds up in a draw. 



.

US Open Cup 

In the semifinal round Atlanta beat Orlando and Minnesota beat Portland. 

The final will be on August 27, between the two non-DC Uniteds, Atlanta vs Minnesota. Champions League bid on the line. 

[ALA2262]

Atlanta beats Club America to lift Campeones Cup

"The Campeones Cup is played out each year between the MLS champion and the Liga MX Campeon de Campeones, with Tigres defeating Toronto FC in the inaugural 2018 edition."

https://www.espn.com/soccer/report?gameId=539389

[Brutus Buckeye]

Yeah, congrats to Atlanta. That is definitely a thing. 

. 

Voyageurs Cup

The Canadienne Final is set, with Toronto set to square off with the Montreal Impact. Toronto will attempt to tie their own record of four straight. No matter what happens, these two teams will have combined for 11 of the first 12 of these things. The Whitecaps are the only other team to have ever won one. 

[Brutus Buckeye]

So we are starting to get quite a bit of clarity with regards to the 2020 Champions League field.

The 4 Mexican bids are already set.
-Autumn Season: America (Champion), Azul (runner up).
-Spring Season: UANL (Champion), Leon (runner up).

Jamaica has a team in.
-Portmore United: won the Caribbean Tournament.

.

Canada is down to two teams for their lone autobid.
-Toronto vs Montreal, September 18th and 25th.

.

United States: 4 bids
-US Open Cup: Atlanta vs Minnesota, August 27th.
-Supporters Shield: LAFC currently enjoys a 10 point cushion over the field.
-Opposite Division Champion: East division is wide ass open. 9 teams within 12 "points."
-MLS Cup winner

.

The other 6 Champions League bids will be decided through the Concacaf League Tournament.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_CONCACAF_League
The field is currently at 16 teams, but by the end of this month the bracket will have been whittled down to 8 quarterfinalists, six of which will wind up getting Champions League bids. It is mostly Central American teams in that Tourney, although Canada and Jamaica each have a team that is still alive as well. So one or both of those countries can still get a second team in, but they have gotta win one more round in order to have any chance.

[TyphonInc]

Hell Is Real

The first installment winds up in a draw.

One of the most fun/emotional soccer games I've been too (I can't remember if it was the first or second Dos-Cero at Crew stadium, that atmosphere rivaled and OSU Football game. I've only been to one of those and am leaning towards the first one, but remember chanting Dos-a-Cero for a lot of the match.)

There was a an incredible amount of tailgating going before the game. Cincinnati fans were fun and respectful. Like the "harshest" thing I recalled being said was "Free Beer!, unless your wear Crew merch then it's $15 dollars." said with a smile.

FCC fans had am impressive loud march into the stadium. I was surprised they didn't look like more fans once they shoe horned into their corner. Once in the stadium the supporters sections were both loud and drum banging cheering constantly going on.

#daytonstrong - there was a moment of silence before the game, and both teams got together to pose for a support of Dayton Shooting survivors and families. Then in the 9th minute it got eerily silent, I asked my buddy what just happened; we looked it up later to see both the supporter groups had a second moment of silence in the 9th minute. Just another reminder that life is so much more important than the sporting distractions we choose to love.

Crew started off the game looking horrible. Fouls all going against them. Some deservingly so; One Crew non-regular starter, Maloney, twice did this two handed shove of an FCC player in the back, causing the Ref to blow his whistle. He would spin around and act all innocent, but the fouls were so bad even the Crew fanatics couldn't condone his bad play. Some were confusing; Artur playing defense got position on an FCC player, who then did this swim move to try and get past him, elbowing Artur just below his eye. Artur was called for the foul then sent to the sidelines to have the blood taken care of. After 23 minutes the Crew was down 0-2.

Food Lion Fans were delirious with Joy. The Banana teams fans stayed loud (unlike say OSU fans who get silent when the team looks like they are going to lose.) Just before Half Crew scored on a penalty kick from Zardes. Crew dominated the 2nd half and able to tie the game up on a rocket shot by Santos.

The last Ten minutes the Crew dominated, and missed 5 golden opportunities to win the game. Columbus fans went home disappointed at the missed chances, while Cincinnati Fans stayed and sang songs at holding on for a tie.

Man if every game was like this I think there would be tremendous support from the fans/community. The normal is (and I'm stereotyping now) rich elitist fans who show up to socialize, and don't really care about the product on the field.

[SFBadger96]

Good sport is good sport, no matter what. One of the most exciting soccer games I've been to--don't laugh (too hard)--was the championship game in our recreational city league for under 12s. The favorite dominated, but the underdog held on to force extra time. Our league doesn't use kicks from the mark (aka PKs) to decide these games, but instead follows a removing players protocol, starting with the keepers, every few minutes. The game went down to 2 v. 2 and had, I think, four overtime periods with 2 v. 2 until finally a goal was scored to win it. Because it wasn't the final match of the day, a bunch of other parents showed up, both from the game that was on the field next to it, and for the games scheduled afterward. So the tension kept ratcheting up, and more people were showing up. It was crazy. The kids were alternately exhausted and fired up. The spectators hung on every play. It was ridiculous. And all for a recreational, small city league. And the best part was that all the spectators and coaches were really well behaved. By the end, everyone knew it would crush the losing team, and elate the winners, and they had all the kids interests at heart. It was something to behold.

[Brutus Buckeye]

Trillium Cup

First leg ends in a draw. 

[Brutus Buckeye]

The Crew win the Hell is Real derby by taking a w in the second leg. 



So in the "rivalries" this is where we stand.

Manufactured rivalries
Hell is Real (Cincy): Crew with a win and a draw.
Pioneer Cup (Dallas): Crew win the lone match up. 
Trillium Cup (Toronto): First game was a draw, so the season finale on Oct 6 will determine who gets it. 

Traditional rivals
Chicago Fire: First leg was a draw, second leg is on Aug 31. 
DC United: Crew lost both games. 

[ALA2262]

Atlanta downs Minnesota to win U.S. Open Cup

Atlanta United hung on for a 2-1 win over Minnesota United to win the 106th edition of the U.S. Open Cup at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Tuesday night.
The home team was gifted a dream start in the 10th minute when Leandro Gonzalez Pirez's cross took a wicked deflection and looped into goal over the head of Minnesota keeper Vito Mannone.
Gonzalo Martinez doubled Atlanta's lead minutes later, burying a cross from Justin Meram past Mannone to make it 2-0.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/report?gameId=555915

[rolltidefan]

Sept friendlies roster released. honestly, looks like pretty good selections.

GOALKEEPERS (4): Jesse Gonzalez (FC Dallas; 0/0), Brad Guzan (Atlanta United FC; 60/0), Sean Johnson (New York City FC; 8/0), Zack Steffen (Fortuna Düsseldorf/GER; 15/0)
DEFENDERS (9): John Brooks (Wolfsburg/GER; 37/3), Reggie Cannon (FC Dallas; 6/0), Sergiño Dest (Ajax/NED; 0/0), Nick Lima (San Jose Earthquakes; 7/0), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls; 11/2), Daniel Lovitz (Montreal Impact/CAN; 8/0),) Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 35/1), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United FC; 0/0), Walker Zimmerman (LAFC; 10/2)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; 9/2), Weston McKennie (Schalke/GER; 14/3), Alfredo Morales (Fortuna Düsseldorf/GER; 13/0), Paxton Pomykal (FC Dallas; 0/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC; 15/0), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC; 19/0), Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes; 1/0)
FORWARDS (6): Corey Baird (Real Salt Lake; 3/0), Tyler Boyd (Besiktas/TUR; 5/2), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC; 33/5), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea/ENG; 31/13), Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen/GER; 7/2), Gyasi Zardes (Columbus Crew SC; 51/10)

with weah, adams, yedlin and miazga all out from injury and bradley and altidore out with club matches during break, this is a pretty solid selection, imo. not sure why horvath isn't there, though.

[Brutus Buckeye]

So we are starting to get quite a bit of clarity with regards to the 2020 Champions League field.



Jamaica has a team in.
-Portmore United: won the Caribbean Tournament.

.

Canada is down to two teams for their lone autobid.
-Toronto vs Montreal, September 18th and 25th.

.

United States: 4 bids
-US Open Cup: Atlanta
.

The other 6 Champions League bids will be decided through the Concacaf League Tournament.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_CONCACAF_League
.

The Concacaf League Tourney is down to 8 quarterfinalists, 6 of which will get Champions League bids, including the 4 that wind up moving onto the semifinal round.

The pool of remaining clubs include two from Costa Rica, two from Honduras, and one from each Guatemala, Panama, El Salvador, and Jamaica. 

[ELA]

Sept friendlies roster released. honestly, looks like pretty good selections.

GOALKEEPERS (4): Jesse Gonzalez (FC Dallas; 0/0), Brad Guzan (Atlanta United FC; 60/0), Sean Johnson (New York City FC; 8/0), Zack Steffen (Fortuna Düsseldorf/GER; 15/0)
DEFENDERS (9): John Brooks (Wolfsburg/GER; 37/3), Reggie Cannon (FC Dallas; 6/0), Sergiño Dest (Ajax/NED; 0/0), Nick Lima (San Jose Earthquakes; 7/0), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls; 11/2), Daniel Lovitz (Montreal Impact/CAN; 8/0),) Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 35/1), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United FC; 0/0), Walker Zimmerman (LAFC; 10/2)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; 9/2), Weston McKennie (Schalke/GER; 14/3), Alfredo Morales (Fortuna Düsseldorf/GER; 13/0), Paxton Pomykal (FC Dallas; 0/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC; 15/0), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC; 19/0), Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes; 1/0)
FORWARDS (6): Corey Baird (Real Salt Lake; 3/0), Tyler Boyd (Besiktas/TUR; 5/2), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC; 33/5), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea/ENG; 31/13), Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen/GER; 7/2), Gyasi Zardes (Columbus Crew SC; 51/10)

with weah, adams, yedlin and miazga all out from injury and bradley and altidore out with club matches during break, this is a pretty solid selection, imo. not sure why horvath isn't there, though.

Friendlies or CONCACAF Nations League?  I thought that was mostly replacing friendlies this year

[rolltidefan]

friendlies. nations league starts in Nov. i think