The Sister Tournaments - ACC & CFU Updates

The US Open Cup is in full swing at the midway point of the month-long, four-round blitz that will take the field of 64 down to eight. Meanwhile, on Wednesday the Amway Canadian Championship crowned a winner and this weekend the Caribbean Football Union will reduce the field down to the final group for the championship round.

Both tournaments will send representatives on to this summer's CONCACAF Champions League while the Open Cup winner will join the fray for next year's CCL. And if Puerto Rico Islanders get at least a draw Friday evening in the Cayman Islands, at least one club from the North American lower divisions will advance yet again, possibly two, from the CFU.

A Call for a Canadian Open Cup

Jonah Freedman of MLSsoccer.com may be onto something - though it has been a topic of discussion for a long while - with his feature column about expanding and opening the Amway Canadian Championship into an event more like the US Open Cup. The question behind the scenes over the years has been: "Can we create an Open Cup in Canada?" Politics and the same financial realities the American version faces were the main roadblocks over the years, particularly before Major League Soccer grew over the border.

With Toronto FC came a desire from the then lower division Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps to continue to show that they are just as good, despite the technical designation of the league. The three clubs, having built themselves to a professional capability on and off the field far superior to those in the other Canadian and Canadian-American leagues, came together, with the revamped CONCACAF Champions League on the horizon, and created the Canadian Championship. That event, obviously, has evolved with Vancouver and Montreal moving up to MLS while FC Edmonton was also founded.

But four years later, the question still remains. Can Canada, with a lot of fan and, seemingly, corporate support, finally expand the nation's championship event and make it open to all levels of the sport?

Canadian Championship kicks off Wednesday; Monterrey repeats as CCL champs

A week after CONCACAF crowned Monterrey champions and while the US Open Cup and its modern professional era record 64 entrants are busy preparing for the 99th edition of the tournament, the Amway Canadian Championship's fifth edition is about to kick off Wednesday evening with the three MLS clubs and one lower division NASL entrant.

FC Edmonton of the NASL and Montreal Impact, in their first season as an MLS club, will play host to the first leg matches. The second leg matches for the Canadian Championship are next Wednesday, April 9.

The Vancouver Whitecaps will head north with a 4-2-2 record in league play to face the winless FC Edmonton (0-3-1), who picked up their first point two weeks ago with a scoreless draw in Puerto Rico and ended their scoreless status in a wild 4-3 loss at their home opener 10 days ago.

Vancouver has yet to win the competition, finishing as runners-up the past three years. FC Edmonton is hoping to become the second lower division side to win the competition since the Montreal Impact accomplished the feat in the inaugural edition in 2008. It will be only the second all-Canadian match this season for Vancouver, who opened the MLS season with a 2-0 victory over the visiting Impact, who were making their league debut. Sebastien Le Toux and Camilo Sanvezzo scored in the match.

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.

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 [+]
-

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.

The long NCC wait is nearly over; CCL Prelims near

The final participant for the upcoming CONCACAF Champions League is set to be determined Saturday when the Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC play the second leg of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship Final. The two clubs go into the contest level 1-1 on aggregate.

It will certainly have been a lengthy wait in one of the largest spans imaginable between two legs of a championship series at 45 days. The extraordinarily long hiatus was courtesy of a thunderstorm that wiped out the second leg with the Whitecaps leading on the road in the second half of the contest.

Three CCL berths handed out tonight

The Nutrilite Canadian Championship comes to a close Wednesday evening while the semifinals of the Caribbean Football Union championship will send another two clubs to this summer’s fourth edition of the CONCACAF Champions League.

Big CCL week outside US

Following Puerto Rico’s big victory Saturday to claim the final spot in the final four of the Caribbean championship, the Islanders learned their opposition Sunday in the draw for the event, which will determine three of the five remaining participants for the upcoming CONCACAF Champions League. On Wednesday, the draw for the Preliminary Round and Groups of the CCL will be held, and the first leg of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship will kick off between Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps.

CCL Update: Championship soccer returns to Haiti

While eyes interested in the CONCACAF Championship League have largely shifted toward Canada and the United States since Monterrey claimed the title in the third edition of the tournament, an important moment is about to occur in the Caribbean. On Sunday, Haiti will play host to the biggest soccer match since the nation was devastated by the catastrophic earthquake of January 12, 2010 when Tempete FC plays host to Caledonia AIA for a spot in the Final Four of the Caribbean Football Union’s Club Championship and a shot at one of the three CCL berths for this fall.

Neither the men’s or women’s national teams has played a game since that day with most matches in Trinidad or a series of friendlies abroad, making Sundays CFU contest the first significant match in the nation in over a year. The match will be held at Parc Levelt in Saint Marc, a city that was at the edges of the earthquake’s most impacted area and is now the nation’s primary port city for commerce.

While restoration for a nation that was already very impoverished before the fateful day is still a long way off, the people of Haiti will have plenty to cheer and be hopeful for Sunday in Saint-Marc as Tempete holds a surprising 1-0 advantage in the series following the upset victory April 22 in Trinidad courtesy of a fourth minute goal from captain Junior Charles.

Not only does Caledonia need two goals Sunday, minimum, in order to advance, but the club has two goals for its trip to Haiti, according to head coach Jamaal Shabazz, who told the Trinidad & Tobago Guardian, “It’s a huge challenge but we have become accustomed to situations like these where our backs are against the wall. But going to Haiti means more than just a win or loss. Even though we are going for a victory, it’s more about the historical significance where people of our community Morvant/Laventille can go to a country which has shown the ability to rise above tragedies. To me that is the real essence of this trip.”

CFU Championship continues, NCC nears

With the First Leg of the CONCACAF Champions League right around the corner, the Caribbean Football Union’s club championship tournament is a quarter of the way toward completing the field for the Final Four in Trinidad. In addition, the Nutrilite Canadian Championship is only a week away from the opening legs of the Semifinal contests. The two events account for four berths in the 2011-12 edition of the CCL.

Not having a home field proved fateful the second time around for USL Pro’s River Plate Puerto Rico as the club’s gallant attempt to play twice away from home in Guyana resulted in a narrow exit. They drew Alpha United in a scoreless affair in the opening leg April 15 and came up short in their attempt to rally in the second. Scoreless at halftime, things fell apart quickly with a red card eight minutes into the second, followed by a penalty and a second goal within five minutes. They fought back to close the gap to one twice, but the second goal in the 90^th proved too late as they fell 3-2.

CSA confirms 2011 NCC schedule

The Canadian Soccer Association has announced a new format for the Nutrilite Canadian Championship along with its 2011 schedule. For the first time, the competition will now feature four teams, with FC Edmonton added to the existing group of Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Impact Montréal. The old round-robin format has been replaced by the combination of a home-and-away semi-final stage along with a home-and-away championship final.   Full Release +