The US Open Cup is a special event that has gotten a lot of attention as of late. MLS teams have crashed out of the competition at an alarming rate in our country’s version of the FA Cup. Josh Hakala, senior editor of TheCup.us, helped us answer a few questions about this year’s matchups. 1. Some analysts have claimed that Cal FC’s defeat of the Timbers is the greatest upset in Cup history. Do you agree or disagree? How will they
This week has been an exciting one for a lot of reasons. High-profile international friendlies, the upcoming EUROs, and some big changes in the world’s best leagues. The Guardian was one of the first to report the move of Porto’s Hulk to Chelsea for £38m. Hulk has been a goalscoring beast in the Portugese top-flight, claiming 57 goals in 91 games. Some questioned the price, but I will be the first to say that it was an absolute bargain.
For the second year in succession the Crew were knocked out by lower league opposition in the US Open Cup. In a game that Columbus dominated from start to finish with 18 shots on goal, wasteful finishing cost them dear. A frantic two minute period in the second half lead to all of Dayton 3 shots with 2 of them producing the decisive goals. Columbus dominated the first half, with their best opportunity coming from Chris Birchall. His fiercely struck free kick
For a team that has yet to win a match in the USL PRO League no one expected the Dayton Dutch Lions to even keep up with a hot Columbus Crew squad. And yet in spite of all the experts the Lions stunned the Columbus Crew 2-1 in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. It was the first matchup between two Ohio teams in the modern era of the cup, and the second straight year that
Kick off @ 7:08pm Play-by-Play 3’: low cross by 20 Emilio Renteria Crew but cleared out for corner. Corner kick ineffective. Nothing going on in the first 5 minute of the game. Mostly CC possession. 8’: Possession evening out 50/50 9’: GOAL Eddie Gaven on first shot of game from top left outside the box. Not a good start for Chicago Fire. Assisted by 29 Sean Francis 10’: Corner Kick Fire. No troubles for Crew to clear out. 12’: Back to back corner kicks for CF, no
In a disappointing display of poor defense and missed chances, the Sounders FC lost at home to the Columbus Crew by a 2-0 margin. Seattle maintained possession for the large majority of the match and tallied at least a dozen shots. Crew keeper Andy Gruenebaum was well placed for all of them and stopped two particularly deadly strikes from Fredy Montero. After winning five straight games, the Sounders FC have not won one in the last three games, opening up the
Krystian Witkowski is literally living a dream. Playing for childhood hero Peter Nowak at the Philadelphia Union, months after finishing his career at Marist College (NY), is pure bliss for the former U-18 Poland national team player. “MLS is a dream come true,” Witkowski stated. “Every morning when I wake up, I can’t think of a better job.” He has embraced his role as a defensive midfielder for the Union. His fitness and quality touch on the ball have made him
The Sounders FC fell at home to Real Salt Lake on Saturday May 12th. This ended their five game winning streak. They were coming off of a busy schedule and it showed. Neither team had many chances, although the Sounders maintained the majority of possession. Real’s back three proved impenetrable and were able to shut down on corners and aerial crosses into the box. The only goal came in the 51st minute: Fabian Espindola received a pretty through ball from
A 2-1 win by Columbus over FC Dallas was a welcome site to the Crew who had been inept on offense the past two matches. In the 67th minute Justin Meram finally ended the Crew’s offensive woes. A few minutes later Sebastian Miranda followed suit and put in a rocket of a header from outside the box. Before that it had been almost 2 ½ games worth of playing time since the Crew’s last goal. The Dallas defense took a blow when