Soccer By Ives

Chivas USA vs. Houston Dynamo: Your Running Commentary

The top two teams in Major League Soccer are set to meet tonight in a mid-week Western Conference clash. Chivas USA, holders of the best record in MLS (8-2-3), take on the Houston Dynamo (6-2-3), the hottest team in the league and riders of an eight match unbeaten streak.

There are plenty of great match-ups in this one, from Stuart Holden vs. Jesse Marsch, to Geoff Cameron vs. Eduardo Lillingston. Can the stingy Chivas USA defense contain Brad Davis and the suddenly surging Dynamo attack?

Tonight's match is being shown on ESPN2 at 8:30pm. If you will be watching tonight's match, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action.

San Jose deals Weaver to Houston for Wondolowski and draft pick

 

                                                      Photo by ISIphotos.com

The Houston Dynamo has added yet another forward, bringing in Cam Weaver from the San Jose Earthquakes in a trade completed Tuesday that sends Chris Wondolowski to the Earthquakes, along with a conditional draft pick.

Weaver becomes the third new forward added by the Dynamo during the season, along with Ade Akinbiyi and Dominic Oduro.

Houston Dynamo at Chicago Fire: Match Night Commentary

Good evening folks. There is one game on the MLS schedule tonight and it happens to be the best match-up of the week. The red-hot Houston Dynamo take on the Chicago Fire in a battle of top MLS teams.

Both squares are missing players due to national team commitments, but it is the Fire that must cope without Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Gonzalo Segares and Bakary Soumare. Chicago will look to rebound from a rough loss to FC Dallas last Sunday.

I will be providing live commentary on tonight's match so feel free to follow along here, and as always, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action:

USMNT calls up Clark to replace Edu

Houston Dynamo midfielder Ricardo Clark has been called in to the U.S. national team camp ahead of its World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica on Wednesday. Clark replaces Maurice Edu, who suffered a leg injury last week that could keep him out an extended period of time.

Set to join the U.S. team in Costa Rica on Tuesday, Clark is fresh from having helped Houston rout Toronto FC, 3-0, on Saturday and he will look to battle for a spot on the match-day roster. With Michael Bradley and Pablo Mastroeni projected to start vs. Costa Rica, Clark could wind up battling Jose Francisco Torres and Sacha Kljestan for the role of first midfielder off the bench.

What do you think of Clark joining the squad? Hoping he gets into the Costa Rica match? Disappointed that Edu couldn't make it? Were you hoping for some other player to get the late call?

Share your thoughts below.

Red Bulls deal Oduro to Houston for draft picks

The New York Red Bulls acquired Dominic Oduro from FC Dallas with the hope of finding a speedy goal-scoring complement to Juan Pablo Angel.

That didn't quite work out.

The Red Bulls traded Oduro to Houston on Wednesday, sending the Ghanaian striker to the Dynamo for a first-round pick in 2010 and second-round pick in 2011.

Leitch suspended for knee to Ching's face

 

                                                                     Photo by ISIPhotos.com

As if things couldn't get any worse for the last-place San Jose Earthquakes, now comes word that defender Chris Leitch has been suspended for the Earthquakes' match vs. Columbus on Wednesday night for striking Houston's Brian Ching in the face with a knee during San Jose's 3-1 loss to Houston on Saturday.

The MLS Disciplinary Committee ruled quickly late on Tuesday with the Wednesday match looming, and chose to suspend Leitch on a play that didn't even draw a yellow card from referee Alex Prus. Leitch has been one of the few bright spots for the Earthquakes this season, having recorded a team-high and career-best four assists since joining the Earthquakes from New York in the off-season. The suspension is the first in Leitch's eight-year MLS career. He has never been issued a red card in MLS.

Here is a replay of the incident in question:

What do you think of the decision? Was the league right to suspend Leitch for a game, or do you think MLS overreacted on this one?

Share your thoughts below.

Red Bulls 1, Dynamo 1: A Look Back

 

                                                                     Photo by ISIphotos.com

Most times a home team will come away extremely disappointed with a draw, but the Red Bulls can't be too upset with their 1-1 tie on Saturday night against the Houston Dynamo.

If they want to direct some anger at anybody, they should point it at Jorge Rojas, who lost his cool and delivered an unnecessary flailing arm to the face of Brian Mullan. That moment, coupled with Carlos Johnson's broken foot suffered at the hands of a hard and late challenge from Stuart Holden were the bad moments in what actually wound up being a good night for the Red Bulls.

It wasn't just a good point because the Red Bulls took a point instead of none. It was good for the Red Bulls because it was the first time this year the team showed real heart late in a game, the kind of heart that keeps fans from leaving a stadium in the 80th minute because they assume the worst will happen, the kind of heart they showed making a run to last year's MLS Cup final.

Here are some observations from Saturday night's match:

Osorio falsely accused of implying MLS refs are racially biased

 

                                                                        Photo by ISIphotos.com

Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio had his issues with Saturday night's match vs. Houston, and his issues with referee Baldomero Toledo, but none of those issues had to do with race and whether Toledo and other MLS referees are targeting Hispanic players.

Contrary to this report from the New York Post soccer blog, which stated that Osorio accused MLS referees of being racially biased, Osorio never made a comment relating to referees and their perceived mistreatment of Hispanic players.

What Osorio did do was make a comment about all four of the Red Bulls players receiving red cards this year being Hispanic, but he did so in acknowledgment of a trend he wasn't necessarily happy with. Jorge Rojas, who drew a red card for an arm to the face of Brian Mullan, fell into the stereotype of the hot-tempered Hispanic player, something Osorio wasn't happy about.

New York Red Bulls vs. Houston Dynamo: Live Commentary

Good evening everybody. The New York Red Bulls are back at Giants Stadium tonight, this time to take on the Houston Dynamo in the latest installment of one of the better East-West rivalries in Major League Soccer.

The Red Bulls tied Houston, 0-0, in Houston last month and will look to build on last week's 4-1 victory against San Jose. That won't be easy against a red-hot Dynamo team riding a four-match unbeaten streak.

I will be providing live commentary throughout the night so please feel free to follow along here. As always, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action.

Morning Ticker: Pacheco receives ITC, Vieri a rounder and USMNT starts supporter's club

 

Alfredo Pacheco is officially a New York Red Bull. Finally.

The Salvadoran left back is now formally on the roster after the club received Pacheco's International Transfer Card on Thursday, putting an end to a drawn out loan process that dragged on for two months.

Pacheco is expected to step in and start at left back for the Red Bulls when they take on Real Salt Lake on Saturday. Those wondering what this means for Danleigh Borman, who has emerged as an impressive left back option, should know that Borman has played well enough to be back in consideration for playing time on the left flank, where Khano Smith has yet to impress.

Here are some other news tidbits from the MLS and the rest of the world to get your day started:

New York Red Bulls at Houston Dynamo: Match Night Commentary

The New York Red Bulls are in Houston tonight to take on the Dynamo in a rematch of last year's Western Conference playoff series won by the Red Bulls. Both teams are searching for their first win of the season.

I will be providing running commentary throughout the match so please feel free to folow along. As always, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action:

SBI's Mid-Day Musings

 

Did someone say something about there being games today?

Good afternoon folks. With World Cup qualifying providing us with enough entertainment later today and tonight, I figured I could drop a few gems on you this afternoon to help you pass the time. Here are some new stories, and some old ones, and our observations on them all:

Gregg Berhalter is coming to MLS. Anyone who heard his comments last summer knew this was coming. The only question has ever been just where would he go. New York seems like the logical choice but I have never gotten the impression that Juan Carlos Osorio is that interested. Yes, the Red Bulls need centerback help, but they probably need a younger and faster option.

Where does that leave Berhalter? The Los Angeles Galaxy hold the top spot in the MLS allocation order and could certainly use some depth in central defense. With Tony Sanneh and Omar Gonzalez as starters (or as I like to call them, the Old Man and the Kid), Berhalter could certainly step in and push for a starting role. D.C. seems like a potential destination, especially considering Berhalter's ties to the East Coast, but I'm not sure D.C. has the money to make it happen.

MLS Pre-season- A look around the Western Conference

The 2009 MLS Season is now just two weeks away so it's time to start making the rounds in MLS for a sense of the happenings in MLS pre-season.

Here is a look at what the teams in the Western Conference have been up to in the past week:

Houston Dynamo

The Dynamo received some awful news on Wednesday when veteran defender Eddie Robinson was sidelined indefinitely after having knee surgery. The injury, which could keep him out up six week, likely means that newly-acquired defender Julius James will have to be thrust into the starting lineup alongside Bobby Boswell.

Dynamo knocked out in CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals

Atlante FC became the first club to advance to the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals, defeating the Houston Dynamo, 3-0, Tuesday night in Cancun, and winning the quarterfinal series, 4-1, on aggregate. It also extends Major League Soccer's winless streak in Mexico.

Atlante will face either the Montreal Impact of the United Soccer Leagues First Division or Mexican club Santos Laguna. The Impact lead 2-0 on aggregate after its historic win at Olympic Stadium in Montreal last week.

Things actually started going downhill for the Dynamo last week, when Gabriel Pereyra headed in a late equalizer as Atlante claimed the all-important away goal in a 1-1 draw at Robertson Stadium.

That put the onus on Houston to score, but instead the final MLS squad in the competition conceded a pair of goals in the opening 35 minutes and went into halftime down 3-1 on aggregate.

CONCACAF Champions League: Your Running Commentary

The Houston Dynamo are in Mexico tonight to take on Atlante in the second leg of their quarterfinal series in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. The sides tied 1-1 in the first leg in Houston and now the Dynamo can reach the semis with a victory in Mexico.

If you are watching tonight's match (10pm, Fox Soccer Channel/Telefutura) please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action.

CONCACAF Champions League Preview: Houston vs. Atlante (Second Leg)

by GIANFRANCO PANIZO

After allowing Atlante to level the score late in last week's home-leg of their CONCACAF Champions League series, the Houston Dynamo will need to do something an MLS team has never done in an official CONCACAF competition--win in Mexico.

Atlante will attempt to prevent that from happening tonight in the second-leg of their Champions League quarterfinal series (10pm, FSC/Telefutura) as the Mexican club looks to build on last week's late-game heroics. Gabriel Pereyra and Luis Gabriel Rey will headline an Atlante offense which looked anemic at times in last week's 1-1 draw. Atlante will also look to its home field advantage, at the Andres Quintana Roo Stadium in Cancun, Mexico, as a way to edge out Dominic Kinnear's Dynamo.

Veteran forward and U.S. national team player Brian Ching will look to help spark the Dynamo's offense which is still brushing off its pre-season rust. But the Houston Dynamo are no strangers to scoring goals in bunches in Mexico. In the group stage of the tournament, the Dynamo, playing away at Pumas, tied with the Mexican club, 4-4.