An MLS weekend for the hardcore
There’s something magical about summer school. The near empty classes, the eerie silence of the once noisy hallways, the sense that even though everyone else is enjoying the summer sun, you can get away with anything.
This weekend has a little of that flavour in Major League Soccer, with only five matches scheduled in light of a heavy slew of international absences and a few US Open Cup games midweek. Neither are there any particular barn-burners to keep an eye on, though some litmus tests for how far parity in this league will go before the proper order of things is somehow restored (see below).
Furthermore there are several competitions that will compete for American (and possibly Canadian) soccer-loving eyeballs, including the Women’s World Cup – the USA will play Sweden in their second group match Friday – and the U20 World Cup quarter-finals on Sunday, in which the USA will take on Serbia. Nope, this is a week for tired beat writers and the hardcore – and possibly housebound – MLS fan element.
Up is down, down is up
Followers of MLS will know by now that the league is in the throes of a convulsive revolution in which the erstwhile washouts are suddenly challenging for the playoff spots at the expense of a few top-of-the-table slumpers. I’m talking, for instance, of the Portland Timbers’ three game win-streak in the West, their latest a 2-0 victory over the New England Revolution, or the rise of Toronto FC in the East on the back of some gorgeous form from its pricey Italian forward Sebastian Giovinco, who took MLS player of the week honours twice in a row.
We’ll see how far this ridiculousness will go this weekend in a couple of semi-interesting match-ups. The Columbus Crew will host the LA Galaxy on Saturday, a match that will pit an under-strength Los Angeles teetering over the red playoff line against a Columbus team that hasn’t won in their last five matches, the latest a 1-2 home loss against the suddenly inspiring Montreal Impact which spurred a little social media unrest from at least one “rested” Columbus defender.
Meanwhile, Orlando City will have to find a way to avoid a season sweep against the Eastern Conference leaders DC United without the help of Cyle Larin, who will be off helping Canada defeat the mighty Dominica in 2018 World Cup qualifying. DC, for their part, will hope to stave off any threats to their dominance, particularly after their home loss to Toronto FC last week.
NYCFC look for two in a row
Following their first win in 12 matches, New York City FC would normally have been thrilled to face the Montreal Impact this weekend. After all, this was a team that initially failed to show any improvement on their rock bottom form in 2014, posting two draws and three losses in its first five matches, and looked set to flounder their way through 2015, too.
That’s all old news of course. In the Impact’s last five matches – of which they won four – we’ve discovered that as Giovinco is to Toronto, Ignacio Piatti is to Montreal. The Argentine played a role in each recent Montreal victory with either a goal, an assist, or both, and it was his run and simple pass on the counterattack against the Crew that saw his countryman Andres Romero score the eventual winner against the Crew last Saturday.
New York City FC may not care about that after breaking their winless streak with a 1-2 victory against the Philadelphia Union, a team that was also in the midst of an important spring/summer turnaround. With rumours swirling over the potential arrival of Andrea Pirlo, who will eventually join the still-vacationing Frank Lampard in New York, the club’s goal now is ensuring their star backups won’t be joining a team at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Defeating Montreal would be a good start.
Low-scoring FC Dallas try to get it done
FC Dallas are an otherwise talented team that has been going through a rough patch of late. A big part of the problem is goals, or a lack thereof. Head coach Oscar Pareja’s side has scored only once in its last four matches, the lone goal from defender Matt Hedges in a 2-1 loss against the Montreal Impact three weeks ago. It’s not clear what exactly the issue is, though Pareja believes it’s merely a question of better finishing.
One might also blame an inconsistent line up of late (they will be without Tesho Akindele, on duty for Canada this weekend), but that’s hardly a problem limited to the Hoops. Their opponents this weekend, the top-of-the table Seattle Sounders, will start their match without Marco Pappas, out on international duty for Guatemala. Meanwhile, Clint Dempsey may still be waiting for the birth of his fourth child, and his strike partner Obafemi Martins is still nursing a nose injury. Everybody’s hurtin’.
Even with the uncertainty surrounding their starting XI, the Sounders likely have little to worry about. They’re coming off a relatively rare loss, a 1-0 defeat last weekend to Sporting Kansas City that came down to an incredibly dubious 82nd minute penalty decision when keeper Stefan Frei collided with an onrushing Dom Dwyer after clearing the ball. Seattle continues to be the most consistently good team in the league, but this is MLS after all. Put your bets on FC Dallas for a stunning 0-4 win at CenturyLink Field.
