USL Division 1 Championship
Rochester Raging Rhinos VS Vancouver Whitecaps
FSC: Final Score 0-3
Not too bad of a game. FSC did a much better job announcing this game than they did with the US Open Cup Final. But that could have just been the difference between USL production and FSC's in house production team. Despite a few replay issues, the USL announcing was better than usual... Although I admit during the first half to having had the TV on mute and music on instead.
PAETEC Park still looks great. 9,500 in attendance is pretty good considering the weather (cold rain) and the performance the home team put in. FSC reported that this was the first time in 10 years that the home team hasn't won the final. This was the first championship for the Whitecaps since their victory in the 1979 Soccerbowl against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Although they did win a number of CSL Championships as the '86s before joining the USL (then known as the USISL A-League).
The first twenty minutes of the game were all Rochester, but then a misdirected cross lead to an own goal. While there was still a lot of soccer left to be played, Rochester seemed defeated. Despite having a historically solid defensive line, continued mental lapses allowed Vancouver two more goals, and never gave their offense a chance to get back in the game.
Lamar Hunt US Open Cup
Chicago Fire VS Los Angeles Galaxy
FSC: Final Score 3-1
I wish I had had this game on mute. The announcing was pretty terrible, those guys didn't seem to know anything about the US Open Cup. I mean, they seem like soccer fans, but they just didn't seem to know anything about the Cups history, or anything that had happened in the cup this year. How can you talk about Cinderella stories and not mentioned Dallas Roma FC? They beat a PDL team, a USL1 team, and then an MLS team before finally going down to an MLS side. That's a pretty good run for an amateur team. But yet it got no mention. All these guys seemed to know was that it was an all MLS final 8. Not to mention the constant slips calling it the MLS Cup or MLS Open Cup. I mean come one guys. You really didn't give this game its deserved respect.
The Fire did though. They really seemed to know what they were playing for. As did LA. Since 1998 the Fire hasn't gone 3 years without winning an Open Cup title. They have now held the trophy four times. LA has had the trophy twice. Including its remarkable Cup run last year that then continued on as LA went on to win the double. A feat that has only been accomplished by three teams. DC United won the double in MLS's first year, and the Fire did it themselves in their first year. No team has ever won the Supporters Shield, US Open Cup and MLS Cup.
DC United has done a Supporters Shield and MLS Cup double in 1997 and 1999, Kansas City did it in 2000, LA in 2002. Only the Chicago Fire has done a Supporters Shield and US Open Cup double so far, which they accomplished in 2003.
The game itself was pretty good. Lots of fouls, but few cards. LA looked like a quality squad, as they have for much of the season. You can't fault them on playing some good looking soccer when on TV, but they haven't been able to string together more than a few wins, certainly not enough to dig themselves out of the hole they made earlier this season. Chicago just had too much momentum, and seemed to have a quickness that LA couldn't counter. There seemed little LA could do most of the game, they were just constantly off target and unable to convert Chicago mistakes.
Section 8 had a great night, they were hard to miss on TV. And while one wonders why Garber played such a big part in a Cup that he had nothing to do with, the game itself wasn't bad at all, and it was great to see how intense the players were.
Showing posts with label Game Reports and Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Game Reports and Reviews. Show all posts
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
News & Notes: Sept 13
CD Chivas USA @ FC Dallas
If Chivas played as sharpe as a dull knife, then FCD was as sharpe as a baseball. FCD why? Why, why why? I think you have a problem. A problem with commitment. But I think we can work on it. This is at the very least the third year in a row you have just melted away at the end of the season. First place should have been a lock by now, you could have been in thje play offs by now, but no. No, it was not to be. Did you even realize you were at a game, and you were the ones playing?
Carlos Ruiz? The lad hasn't scored since early June and at this point I wonder at the wisdom of going through all this trouble to secure his services and put him up as the face of the team. Although he still seems like the better option, when compared to his former strike partener Eddie Johnson, who has only scored twice in eighteen games.
Ronnie O'Brian? The kids got talent and speed. But he seems toi swing wildly from being a major play maker to a dissinterested winger, who for whatever reason is yet to jell with the rest of the team.
Chivas was only slightly better off than FCD, but still had their own fair share of defensive lapses, miscues, and irate players. If you believe the announcers, then Chivas is the team to beat. But strangely enough, I find myself still most impressed with the Gals, even though they lost their game this past Sunday.
After this game, I don't see FCD or Chivas havign any chance to win the MLS Cup unless they change there ways. And at this rate FCD could give up its home advantage all the way to the final.
Mexico @ US: Women's Friendly
Great to see PAETEC Park get shown off on national TV. The field and stands really look top class for a second division team. The game was really the perfect homecoming for Abby Wambach, who scored two goals.
The US Women are now 17-0-0 against Mexico and according to espn.com, the US has outscored Mexico 82-6. I only wish the men enjoyed such one sided domination.
The game was by far the most entertaining American fixture on TV today and I found myself spending long periods enjoying this match over the drab and dull FCD/Chivas match. The women passed much crisper, attacked harder, and showed off their creative abilities with great success. While the announced crowd was only about 7,000, those that were there saw a great game, and really made some good noise during the game.
Hawaii girl Natasha Kai came on as a sub late in the game and only got a few touches on the ball. While I obviously would have liked to see more of her, you can't argue with the results put up by the forwards that did start the game.
If Chivas played as sharpe as a dull knife, then FCD was as sharpe as a baseball. FCD why? Why, why why? I think you have a problem. A problem with commitment. But I think we can work on it. This is at the very least the third year in a row you have just melted away at the end of the season. First place should have been a lock by now, you could have been in thje play offs by now, but no. No, it was not to be. Did you even realize you were at a game, and you were the ones playing?
Carlos Ruiz? The lad hasn't scored since early June and at this point I wonder at the wisdom of going through all this trouble to secure his services and put him up as the face of the team. Although he still seems like the better option, when compared to his former strike partener Eddie Johnson, who has only scored twice in eighteen games.
Ronnie O'Brian? The kids got talent and speed. But he seems toi swing wildly from being a major play maker to a dissinterested winger, who for whatever reason is yet to jell with the rest of the team.
Chivas was only slightly better off than FCD, but still had their own fair share of defensive lapses, miscues, and irate players. If you believe the announcers, then Chivas is the team to beat. But strangely enough, I find myself still most impressed with the Gals, even though they lost their game this past Sunday.
After this game, I don't see FCD or Chivas havign any chance to win the MLS Cup unless they change there ways. And at this rate FCD could give up its home advantage all the way to the final.
Mexico @ US: Women's Friendly
Great to see PAETEC Park get shown off on national TV. The field and stands really look top class for a second division team. The game was really the perfect homecoming for Abby Wambach, who scored two goals.
The US Women are now 17-0-0 against Mexico and according to espn.com, the US has outscored Mexico 82-6. I only wish the men enjoyed such one sided domination.
The game was by far the most entertaining American fixture on TV today and I found myself spending long periods enjoying this match over the drab and dull FCD/Chivas match. The women passed much crisper, attacked harder, and showed off their creative abilities with great success. While the announced crowd was only about 7,000, those that were there saw a great game, and really made some good noise during the game.
Hawaii girl Natasha Kai came on as a sub late in the game and only got a few touches on the ball. While I obviously would have liked to see more of her, you can't argue with the results put up by the forwards that did start the game.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)