By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON DC (Jun 22, 2018) US Soccer Players - It’s tough to blame the leadership at Orlando City for deciding to dismiss head coach Jason Kreis during the brief World Cup break. The Lions aren’t exactly in a death spiral. It’s still too early for that. However, six losses in a row won't convince anybody that this is the year Orlando makes the playoffs. Kreis arrived in Florida . . .
Reopening the US Open Cup
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON DC (Jun 20, 2018) US Soccer Players - Despite the world’s attention being on the events in Russia, the US Open Cup rolled into the round of 16 this week. A break in the MLS season for the group stage of the World Cup provided some flexibility in the schedule. Games featuring 13 MLS and three USL teams were strung out across a six-day period, beginning last . . .
MLS at the 2018 World Cup break
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON DC (Jun 15, 2018) US Soccer Players - Following a six-game burst of games on Wednesday night, Major League Soccer will pause for two weeks of World Cup group stage matches in Russia. The league’s decision to take a World Cup break seems like the type of thing worth celebrating, especially in light of the rising number of internationals plying their trade in the American . . .
It’s seldom easy for NYCFC
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON DC (Jun 13, 2018) US Soccer Players - On May 22, amid reports that he and his agent had flown to France to negotiate a deal with Ligue 1 club OGC Nice, Patrick Vieira told reporters that any claims that he was leaving NYCFC were flatly false. “It makes me smile, because of course there’s no contract being signed or anything like that,” Vieira said. “This is the wrong . . .
The Red Bulls played a USL advantage in the Open Cup
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON DC (Jun 8, 2018) US Soccer Players - The New York Red Bulls added to their bag of bragging rights against NYCFC with a 4-0 win in the Fourth Round of the US Open Cup on Wednesday night. With both teams playing second-choice lineups in a competition with rules regarding the use of foreign players, it was the Jersey side that got the best of their city rivals. Former Red . . .
TAM tells a familiar MLS story
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON DC (Jun 6, 2018) US Soccer Players - Target Allocation Money has, on the whole, been good for Major League Soccer. The league's new budget mechanism allows clubs to bridge the gap in the MLS talent pool between Designated Players with their seven-figure salaries and the lower level players often making closer to $100,000 a year. To say that it has been successful at . . .
What is going on with the Montreal Impact?
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON DC (Jun 1, 2018) US Soccer Players - There are higher profile teams in MLS than the Montreal Impact. Record-breaking crowds in Atlanta. Significant spending in Toronto. The big stage of New York. High-profile signings in LA. New stadiums in several places. All of those things and others serve to make Montreal something of an afterthought in a constantly changing . . .
Cincinnati gets its MLS team
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON DC (May 30, 2018) US Soccer Players - It only took six or so more months than originally planned, but Cincinnati finally has its MLS expansion team. Major League Soccer and city dignitaries gathered at an Over-the-Rhine brewery on Tuesday night to officially announce Cincinnati as the 24th MLS club. We've seen several years of excellent attendance for the USL club . . .
Cinderella stories in the 2018 US Open Cup
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON DC (May 25, 2018) US Soccer Players - The Cinderellas are arriving at the US Open Cup ball in full regalia as the venerable, yet underappreciated, the tournament moves on to the Fourth Round. Wednesday night’s third round delivered a handful of upsets and set the stage for the David versus Goliath matchups that can make the competition so compelling. The Fourth Round is . . .
Colorado in the latest version of MLS
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON DC (May 23, 2018) US Soccer Players - MLS carries with it a sort of institutional hierarchy. The league’s modern explosion of supporter-driven passion, big crowds, and accelerating spending means that for most, the first things that spring to mind are new. It's the atmosphere at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the play of Atlanta United with its cadre of South Americans. The . . .
