Friday's soccer news starts with the last MLS team standing in the 2019 Concacaf Champions League. Sporting Kansas City overturned a first-leg deficit to win 3-0 on the night and advance 4-2 on aggregate to advance past Independiente. Sporting plays Monterrey in the semifinals with Tigres vs Santos Laguna on the other side of the bracket. Krisztian Nemeth opened the scoring in the 74th minute . . .
MLS and Liga MX parity waits on Champions League results
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 8, 2019) US Soccer Players - Major League Soccer’s list of annual failures in the Concacaf Champions League looks almost certain to get another entry in 2019 after the second-legs of the quarterfinal round next week. That’s because every MLS team still remaining in the competition lost the quarterfinal first-leg. With one exception, the chances of turning . . .
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 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 . . .
Atlanta and Sporting KC advance in the Champions League
The soccer news starts with the conclusion of the 2019 Concacaf Champions League round of 16. Atlanta United pulled off a multi-goal comeback in their series with Herediano, winning 4-0 at home and 5-3 on aggregate. Josef Martinez scored in the 1st minute with Julian Gressel scoring in the 9th. Martinez scored again in the 63rd with Leandro finishing off the goals in the 83rd. Brad Guzan made . . .
Win for Sporting KC, loss for Atlanta in the Champions League
Once again, the soccer news starts with MLS in the Concacaf Champions League round of 16 first-legs and once again it's mixed results. Sporting Kansas City shutout Toluca 3-0 at home. Krisztian Nemeth scored in the 35th with Gerso Fernandez doubling the lead in the 52nd. Ilie Sanchez finished off the scoring in the 72nd minute. Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia kept the clean sheet with three saves. . . .
The battle of the underdogs in the Western Conference
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON DC (Nov 16, 2018) US Soccer Players - There’s still more than a week to go before the FIFA international break is over and MLS resumes its playoff season with the conference final stage. The anticipation for one matchup, in particular, is already high. The Eastern Conference final, pitting the record-breaking New York Red Bulls team against the club the' beat to the . . .
Toronto’s letdown season and Sporting KC’s core
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON DC (Sep 5, 2018) US Soccer Players - Toronto FC was going to be a dynasty. At least, Toronto FC had all the ingredients to start a dynasty after back-to-back Eastern Conference titles and an MLS Cup in 2017. Praise flowed in the direction of the owners MLSE, club president Bill Manning, and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko as the one-time laughingstock established . . .
Q&A with Ike Opara: “Really you just need to be clicking on all cylinders”
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Aug 13, 2018) US Soccer Players – MLS is often overlooked, even mocked, for its defending. In a league where backlines are often maligned and strikers soak up all the attention, it isn’t easy not to notice that some of the league’s best players can be defenders. Among this elite group is Sporting Kansas City center back Ike Opara. The 29-year-old defender is one . . .
Nemeth, Ramirez, and the MLS transfer window
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON DC (Aug 8, 2018) US Soccer Players - The MLS secondary transfer windows officially closes at midnight on Wednesday, meaning teams have just a few more hours to finish any business for the balance of the 2018 season. The deadline doesn’t often spur a flurry of trades and transfers as it might in other leagues. Still, a few transactions did go down on Tuesday that will . . .
