The soccer news starts with Portland's lopsided loss at LAFC and a disappointing draw for Atlanta United at home against FC Cincinnati. Both of last season's finalists already face questions about their approach. The only answer for that is winning games, but that's not getting any easier in MLS. For Portland, giving up four goals is an MLS cliche, but it doesn't takeaway from expectations . . .
MLS Week 2: Minnesota wins again
Minnesota shutout San Jose 3-0 at Avaya Stadium. Darwin Quintero opened the scoring with a 49th minute penalty. Miguel Ibarra made it 2-0 in the 52nd with an own-goal finishing off the scoring in the 75th minute. Vito Mannone kept the clean sheet with four saves.Week 2 of the 2019 MLS season saw something that's been unlikely so far in Minnesota United's history. They've won two in a row to start . . .
MLS and Liga MX parity waits on Champions League results
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MLS Power Rankings: Seattle on top, Cincinnati bottom
By Luis Bueno – RIVERSIDE, CA (Mar 6, 2019) US Soccer Players - The first MLS Power Rankings of the year can be tricky. Teams are starting from scratch, and yet they are not. It is not fair to rank teams based on their results from 2018, but it is difficult to know which offseason acquisitions will pay off and which ones will not. Throw in the fact that every team has already played one league . . .
MLS goes 0 for 4 in Champions League quarterfinal first-legs
The news for MLS in the 2019 Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals didn't get any better. Two more losses means every MLS team has a tough assignment in next week's second legs. Sporting Kansas City and Atlanta United join the New York Red Bulls and Houston Dynamo in the loss column. After shutting out Toluca over two legs in the last round, Sporting KC fell behind 2-1 at Independiente in the . . .
The Galaxy moves on from Gio Dos Santos
By Luis Bueno – RIVERSIDE, CA (Mar 6, 2019) US Soccer Players - When the LA Galaxy pulled the trigger on a major transfer in the summer of 2015, it looked like a bit of game-changer. In August 2015, the Galaxy acquired Giovani Dos Santos from Villarreal. It took a hefty transfer fee, but LA looked to have landed the eventual heir to Robbie Keane’s attacking throne. With that move, the Galaxy did . . .
Early returns from the MLS newcomers
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 6, 2019) US Soccer Players - While every single MLS club made changes to its roster in the offseason, some turned over the personnel list more than others for 2019. For a few, the winter was not just about signing a few potential starters and adding to depth, but by the acquisition of high-priced talent. Despite the impact of Targeted Allocation Money and the . . .
The Red Bulls and Houston down two goals in the Champions League
The soccer news starts with bad news for MLS in the 2019 Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals. Both the New York Red Bulls and the Houston Dynamo lost their home legs 2-0 to Liga MX clubs. That means the unlikeliest of comebacks in the second-legs in Mexico. It's a disappointment for MLS, with reason to believe that they'd finally turned the corner against Liga MX in the CCL. New York lost 2-0 . . .
The MLS scenario in the Champions League
The soccer news starts with a reminder about the bracket for the knockout round of the 2019 Concacaf Champions League. MLS is the only league that can potentially take all of the semifinal slots. Given the history of the CCL, that might be an unlikely scenario but it's possible and worth considering. Sporting Kansas City showed in the last round that it's certainly possible for an MLS team to . . .
Moving on from week 1 in MLS
The soccer news starts with expectations in MLS. For FC Cincinnati, a quick start in their opening game led to an unnecessary reminder of the degree of difficulty. Expansion is tough. So is defending a title, something Atlanta went through at DC United. Neither of these extremes is news, necessarily. MLS isn't the type of league that regularly rewards the safe assumption. Maybe you'd like to . . .
