MLS sides open CCL Quarterfinal play

CONCACAF Champions League resumed this week with Quarterfinals of the 2011-12 edition of the confederation's club championship. All three remaining MLS entrants were in action Wednesday night with reigning three-time US Open Cup champion Seattle Sounders winning, 2-1, at home versus Mexico's Santos Laguna and the Nutrilite Canadian Championship winners Toronto FC playing to a 2-2 draw against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Playing in the tournament courtesy of winning the 2010 edition of the US Open Cup, the Sounders led at the half, 1-0, courtesy of David Estrada despite four starters arriving late due to traffic congestion. Former USL First Division Sounder and US international Herculez Gomez tallied in the second half to equalize the contest only to see Brad Evans struck in the 63rd for a 2-1 lead heading into the second leg.

Toronto FC, however, were unable to hold onto their lead in the earlier of the two contests. Up 2-0 early on goals from Ryan Johnson and Luis Silva in the first 17 minutes, the Canadian club could not hold onto the advantage as the Galaxy roared back. Landon Donovan found Sean Franklin, who whipped a cross to Mike Magee in the 22nd minute. Donovan later struck for the equalizer himself with two minutes remaining.

On the other side of the bracket, defending CCL champion Monterrey won 3-1 on the road versus fellow Mexican side Morelia Tuesday evening. The final first leg quarterfinal contest is Thursday evening as Mexico's Pumas travels to El Salvador to play Metapan.

Open Cup champ Sounders bumped forward to 2012 CCL Group Stage

Though the Seattle Sounders were unable to turn a great season into multiple championships, the club’s ability to juggle their championship Open Cup campaign with the Major League Soccer season and CONCACAF Champions League proved beneficial when the final whistle sounded for the 2011 MLS season.

By virtue of CCL qualification rules established by US Soccer and MLS, the Sounders were upgraded to automatic Group Stage entrants for the 2012-13 tournament courtesy of the Los Angeles Galaxy winning MLS Cup. The Open Cup champion and MLS Cup runner-up are slated to play in the Champions League Preliminary Round while the MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield winners are placed into the group phase.

The qualification rules use the order of finish in MLS as the determinant for the alternates should those honors be claimed by the same club. With LA winning both MLS titles, one of the group berths became available. As the runners-up for the Supporters’ Shield the Sounders were advanced onto the Group Stage with the Galaxy.

Real Salt Lake was the first beneficiary of the qualification rules, earning the berth when LA advanced to a semifinal meeting against them. It ensured that either RSL would reach the final or earn the berth via the qualification rules since their opponent had already earned a berth and they were in line per the league’s order of finish. RSL, finalists in the 2010-11 CCL, finished the season third behind the Galaxy and the Sounders, who had also already qualified via the Open Cup.

MLS Cup runners-up Houston Dynamo are the fourth entrant. They fell, 1-0, to the Galaxy Sunday on a late second half tally. It is the third entry into the CCL for the Dynamo, the first team from MLS to reach the tournament Quarterfinals. As Group Stage entrants in 2008, Houston went 2-1-3 to advance to the final eight, falling 4-1 on aggregate to eventual champion Atlante after posting a 1-1 draw at home in the first leg.
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Quarterfinals set for CCL in March

The quarterfinal schedule details for the CONCACAF Champions League have been set. The defending three-time US Open Cup champion Seattle Sounders continue their run for glory, representing the 2010 Open Cup title, on Wednesday, March 7. They will play the first leg at home versus Santos Laguna of Mexico with the return leg the following Wednesday, March 14.

The other two remaining Major League Soccer representatives, LA Galaxy and Toronto FC, will square off against one another in the other half of their semifinal bracket on the same two dates. The all-MLS affair will be the early match for the first leg as they play in Toronto. The Galaxy will host the late match the following week.

While the draw did unfortunately pair two MLS clubs into playing one another, it has created a scenario in which an MLS team will be guaranteed to reach the semifinals for a second consecutive year. And, if the Sounders win their series against two-time quarterfinalist Santos, it would ensure an MLS club reached the final for a second straight season. Real Salt Lake became the first MLS team to play in the CCL Final in April earlier this year, falling 3-2 on aggregate to unbeaten Monterrey after a 2-2 draw in the first leg in Mexico.

This is the first quarterfinal appearance for all three clubs, though the LA Galaxy have won the confederation's championship under a smaller and more simplified tournament format in 2000, which was held in Los Angeles. It is also the first time MLS has had three teams in the quarterfinals. The league set a high of two in the previous tournament, but saw RSL and the Columbus Crew, unfortunately, drawn against one another in the quarterfinals.

Full Quarterfinal Schedule [+]
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Update: Chasing the Majors

The 2011 Majors are nearing a third champion.

The Seattle Sounders won their third consecutive US Open Cup, claiming the first of the year. Not long after the LA Galaxy captured the Supporters’ Shield as the Major League Soccer regular season champion.

On Sunday the Galaxy kept their bid for a double, possibly a treble, alive by reaching the Final of the MLS Cup playoffs. Their opponent for the third Major of the year will be the Houston Dynamo.

The Galaxy and the Sounders are both still also alive for the 2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League title, having advanced to the Quarterfinals, which will resume in the early spring. The Canadian champion Toronto FC, yet to reach MLS Cup playoffs, are also still alive for their own version of a double, moving on from the CCL group stage over FC Dallas.

The 2012 Majors...

CCL Qualifiers

The four US entrants for the next edition of the CCL are set. As Open Cup and Supporters’ Shield winners, both the Sounders and Galaxy will return to the event once again. The Dynamo are technically the fourth team to join the fray as one of the two MLS Cup finalists, which advance to the regional championship. With LA having already qualified, that spot was already determined midweek as it fell to Real Salt Lake, third-place finishers in the regular season courtesy of runners-up Seattle also having advanced. RSL would have been guaranteed a spot regardless of its playoff outcome Sunday.

It is only the second time in the last eight years in which the Supporters' Shield winner has reached the MLS Cup Final. It happened five times in the first eight years of the league's existence. In contrast, the US Open Cup champion reached the MLS Cup Final three of the last eight years, the same tally as the first eight years.

US Open Cup

Though rumors/reports are saying that the format may change with more, if not all, MLS teams participating in the tournament next year, here is a look at the top six from the 2011 MLS season that would be pre-qualified for the 2012 tournament if the same qualification process is followed as has been the case since 2007.

1 – LA Galaxy, 2 – Seattle Sounders, 3 – Real Salt Lake, 4 – FC Dallas, 5 – Sporting KC, 6 – Colorado Rapids

It would mark the first appearance since 2007 for Colorado, the only club among the six that did not participate in the tournament this year.
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Scoreboard watching for Open Cup Finalists

As they sit in the locker rooms and step on the field for warm-ups tonight, many of the players and coaches for the Chicago Fire and Seattle Sounders may be tempted to glance at the scoreboard for tonight’s lone MLS league contest, a marquee match between the New York Red Bulls and Los Angeles Galaxy on ESPN2.

A win by either of the two clubs in the league fixture will likely be a dagger for one of the Open Cup finalists.

The Sounders sit seven points pack of the Galaxy with three games remaining in their campaign. A win by Los Angeles tonight would clinch the Supporters’ Shield for the Galaxy as regular season champions.

Chicago, meanwhile, is in the midst of a hot run that has them clawing at the edge of the playoff zone, sitting three points back of the New York Red Bulls, who are currently occupying the final spot. A win by New York would make the gap six points with three games remaining in the Fire season and two for New York.

MLSsoccer.com Playoff Standings [+]

Open Cup clubs leading way as MLS sides off to unprecedented start in Champions League

For the first time, the full potential of five participants from Major League Soccer found themselves advancing to the Group Stage of the CONCACAF Champions League as FC Dallas, Seattle Sounders and Toronto FC all won their Preliminary Round series. They joined previously seeded Colorado Rapids and Los Angeles Galaxy in the 16-team phase of the tournament.

Nutrilite Canadian Championship 2011 winners Toronto FC advanced with a pair of 2-1 victories over Real Esteli (Nicaragua) and the 2010 US Open Cup champion Seattle Sounders rallied from a 1-0 road loss in Panama to defeat San Francisco in series overtime. US Open Cup hero Nate Jaqua scoring the series winner in the 98th minute of the 2-0 second leg result.

Current Open Cup semifinalist FC Dallas made history as the second non-Mexican club to post two shutouts in any two-leg CCL series (Preliminary or knockout stages), blanking Alianza (El Salvador) in a pair of one-goal decisions. The only other non-Mexican side to accomplish the feat previously was future MLS side Montreal Impact, which posted a 1-0 home win and scoreless draw against Real Esteli in the 2008 Preliminary Round.

Open Cup News Reports - Quarter LA v Seattle

Coverage of the US Open Cup... Post-Game: LA Galaxy at Seattle Sounders

• Seattle Times – Sounders FC beats Galaxy 3-1 in US Open Cup quarterfinal [view]  
• Seattle Times: Sounders FC Blog – Sounders FC 3, LA Galaxy 1, Open Cup quotes and stats [view]
• ESPN LA – Galaxy: Sounders end Open Cup hopes [view]  
• LA Times – Galaxy loses to Seattle, 3-1, in US Open Cup [view] 
• LA Soccer News – Over and Out [view]  
• Daily News – US Open Cup run for Galaxy done after 3-1 loss to Seattle in quarterfinal [view]  
• Soccer America – Jaqua leads Sounders into semifinals [view] 
• MLSsoccer.com – Galaxy reeling after another USOC defeat at Seattle [view]  
• MLSsoccer.com – Veteran Jaqua continues to be Seattle’s talisman [view]  
• MLSsoccer.com – Kick Off: Seattle have Galaxy’s number in Open Cup [view] 
• SoundersFC.com – Jaqua Lifts Sounders to Semis [view] 
• SoundersFC.com – Match Recap: vs Galaxy (video) [view]  
• MLSsoccer.com – The Daily, July 14 (video) [view]

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Open Cup News Reports - Quarterfinal Post-Game

The Quarterfinals are getting plenty of coverage around the nation. Therefore, we have broken up the Open Cup News Reports media link posts into separate entries for each match. Here are a few general tournament-wide recap reports followed by links to tonight's contest as well as the other Extra Time Open Cup News Report pages for last night.

• Soccer by Ives – US Open Cup: SKC kicked out by Richmond, FCD turns tables on RSL [view]
• Goal.com – McCarthy’s Musings: Fortune favors the brave in Lamar Hunt US Open Cup quarterfinals [view] 
• Big Apple Soccer – US Open Cup Roundup [view] 
• San Francisco Chronicle – US Open Cup [view] 
• MLSsoccer.com – The Daily: July 13 (video) [view] 
• MLSsoccer.com – USOC Roundup: Sporting fall as Fire, FCD go on to semis [view] 
• MLSsoccer.com – Kick Off [view]  
• ESPN LA – Galaxy: Starfire is sweet for Sounders [view] 
• The News Tribune: Sounders Insider – Sounders-Galaxy winner will face Dallas in semis [view]  
• Kitsap Sun – US Open Cup getting harder for Sounders [view] 
• The Seattle Times – Sounders FC faces LA in Open Cup quarterfinal [view] 
• The Seattle Times – Sounders would host USOC semi, but have to get there first [view]  
• SB-Nation: Sounder at Heart – US Open Cup: LA Galaxy at Seattle Sounders – Three Questions [view]
• MLSsoccer.com – Galaxy vie for USOC redemption against Seattle [view]  
• SoundersFC.com – Open Cup Preview: vs Galaxy (video) [view] 

Open Cup News Reports by Game

Richmond vs Kansas City [reports]
RSL vs Dallas [reports]
NY vs Chicago [reports]
LA vs Seattle [reports] 
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Open Cup field still Best in MLS

UPDATE: The 1-0 loss by the New York Red Bulls halted the unbeaten streak Saturday at 38 games. The other two applicable matches, however, with Open Cup clubs ended positively, making the Red Bulls result the only loss in the last 41 games. 

Heading into the second weekend of league play between the Third and Quarterfinal rounds of the US Open Cup, the amazing unbeaten streak in MLS action from the tournament teams remains alive - now at 38 games.

The eight Open Cup sides went into the Third Round with a streak of 30 unbeaten against non-tournament teams in league play dating back to a 1-0 loss by the Columbus Crew in Portland and a 2-1 Chicago Fire loss in Philadelphia on May 21.

The streak is at 36 if you only consider remaining Open Cup sides by excluding the Columbus Crew, who were eliminated by the Richmond Kickers.

Only three games in MLS this weekend can be added to the run with Sporting Kansas City and the New York Red Bulls playing host Saturday night to teams that failed to qualify for the tournament this year. The two-time defending champion Seattle Sounders travel to Portland Sunday in the third.

Four other Open Cup clubs play one another with the Chicago Fire visiting Los Angeles and Real Salt Lake hosting FC Dallas in a back-to-back home and away series in league and Cup play.

Read the original story about the streak at TheCup.us [+]
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Open Cup News Reports - Rd 3 LA v LA

Coverage of the US Open Cup... Post-Game: LA Blues vs LA Galaxy

• LAGalaxy.com – USOC Recap: Magee again heroic as Galaxy stop LA Blues [view] 
• LAGalaxy.com – Galaxy gut out another result thanks to Magee heroics [view]  
• LAGalaxy.com – Postgame Notes & Quotes: Galaxy vs LA Blues [view] 
• LABluesProSoccer.com – Strong Blues Fall to Galaxy 2-1 [view] 
• ESPN LA – US Open Cup: Magee big at other end, too [view]  
• Bleacher Report: LA Galaxy – US Open Cup: Mike Magee Magic Powers LA Galaxy to 2-1 Victory Over LA Blues [view]  
• LA Soccer News – Busy Magee: Scores Galaxy winner in Open Cup [view]  
• Daily News – Galaxy stay alive in US Open Cup [view]  
• Examiner: Los Angeles – Galaxy Avoid Blues [view] 
• MLSsoccer.com - Perk prepared for LA Galaxy limelight against Sounders [view] 

Gold Cup Overlap Update: Red Bulls missing trio

Six more teams were knocked out of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the Quarterfinals and Semifinals over the past week, but only four players are making their return to MLS clubs slated for starting their US Open Cup campaigns Tuesday. Five remain with the United States and Mexico for Saturday’s Final at the Rose Bowl.

The US eliminated Jamaica 2-0 in the Quarterfinals Sunday evening, sending goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts back to the LA Galaxy and Dane Richards to the New York Red Bulls. The two clubs are set for derbies versus local USL Pro clubs in the Third Round. Ricketts made eight saves in the loss, but allowed his first two goals of the tournament after recording three clean sheets in group play. Richards finished with two assists.

Eliminated via penalties, 4-2, after a 1-1 draw with Honduras Saturday, Costa Rica’s Alvaro Saborio may be looking for redemption in Real Salt Lake’s first Open Cup appearance since 2006. Tied 1-1, Saborio had a chance to win the match for the Ticos in the 76th minute with a penalty kick but struck the attempt poorly, allowing the netminder to make the stop. Trailing 2-1 after the first two rounds of the shootout, Saborio’s effort rang off the crossbar, dooming Costa Rica to the eventual elimination.

The Hondurans, and Sporting Kansas City's Roger Espinoza, would fall 2-0 Wednesday in overtime by Mexico. Espinoza had a chance to provide the winner in the 90th minute on a long-range effort only to see the keeper make a diving stop. 

Still in the tournament are the Red Bulls’ Rafael Marquez with Mexico and the US foursome of the Columbus Crew’s Robbie Rogers, LA Galaxy’s Landon Donovan and the New York duo of Tim Ream and Juan Agudelo.

With a trio of Red Bulls set to play in the Final Saturday, the club will likely rest all three come Tuesday’s Open Cup contest.

For the initial report on the Overlap Affect of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on the US Open Cup, as well as the list of the players on international duty, view it here at TheCup.us.

MLS Open Cup clubs on a run

Bad news for the lower division teams playing in the Second Round Tuesday. Their Third Round opponents are in good form. With the New York Red Bulls’ dramatic come-from-behind 3-3 draw Sunday night in Portland, the qualified Open Cup teams have not lost to a non-qualified opponent in their last 33 matches.

That is an unbeaten streak for the eight teams that dates back to a 1-0 loss by the Columbus Crew in Portland and a 2-1 Chicago Fire loss in Philadelphia on May 21, making the streak at least a month long considering the next match is not until Wednesday, June 22.  The streak is 36 matches if you also include the three other matches with Cup-qualified teams that night.

After the Open Cup & Who's New York's Team

There were five clubs in the 2011 US Open Cup that have played in CONCACAF’s club championship tournament as representatives from the Open Cup. It would probably surprise you to know that only two are in Major League Soccer.

As the defending repeat champions, the Seattle Sounders are headed to a second CONCACAF Champions League appearance later this summer. The Columbus Crew represented the 2002 US Open Cup in the 2003 edition of the event. But before them there was the New York Pancyprian Freedoms who themselves have three appearances in CONCACAF’s club championship event in its numerous formats through the years.

CONCACAF History at the Door for RSL

There were some anxious moments Tuesday night in Costa Rica as Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer finished up its CONCACAF Champions League Semifinal series against Saprissa, winning 3-2 on aggregate despite a 2-1 loss on the road in the second leg.

A stunning 19 yard Luis Cordero strike just under the bar moments into the second half from the hosts rose the stakes, but Jamison Olave hit a blistering side-volley to give RSL a commanding edge with the away goal tiebreaker that left Alonso Solis’ late penalty for the host inconsequential in the series.  Full game reports: MLS [+] - SBI [+]

The result furthered the Utah club’s historic campaign representing MLS after previously being the league’s first to win a group as well as advance to the semifinals in the Champions League format of CONCACAF’s club championship.

Further success, against either remaining semifinalists Monterrey or Cruz Azul, will now eclipse anything previously achieved by their league counterparts despite previous CONCACAF titles claimed by DC United and the Los Angeles Galaxy.