2015 MLS Preseason Action
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Ridge Mahoney @ridgemax, Feb 21, 2015
Week 4 Schedule:
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22:
Simple Invitational:
Portland, OR | Portland 0 Vancouver 1.
The Timbers suffered a huge blow when midfielder Ben Zemanski tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the 26th minute. Zemanski had stepped in for Will Johnson when the Portland captain was lost with a broken leg and the Timbers were unbeaten with Zemanski at defensive midfielder the rest of the season. Former Timbers defender Pa Modou Kah, starting alongside Kendall Waston in the back line of a 4-2-3-1 formation, headed home a feed from former Sounder Mauro Rosales for the game’s only goal five minutes after Zemanski injury's. He is the eighth Whitecap to net a goal this month in what was a preseason game in name only; Timbers Rodney Wallace and Liam Ridgewell were sent off with second cautions as both teams took this game like they do any other Cascadia Cup clash: Seriously. The match drew 15,491 fans at Providence Park.
Portland, OR | Chicago 0 Stabaek 0.
The Fire posted its third shutout in as many preseason games and for the first time all three Designated Players -- David Accam, Kennedy Igboananike and Shaun Maloney -- started a match together. Defender Adailton headed a shot by Birger Solberg Meling out of danger with keeper Jon Busch off his line.
Week 4 Results:
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21:
IMG Suncoast Pro Classic:
Bradenton, FL | Toronto FC 1 HB Koge 0.
Jonathan Osorio’s goal in the 53rd minute gave TFC its first win at the IMG Suncoast Pro Classic. But it needed goal-line clearances from defender Damien Perquis and Justin Morrow to keep its Danish opponents off the scoreboard in the first half.
Bradenton, FL | NY Red Bulls 1 OKC Energy FC 0.
Unsigned draft pick Manolo Sanchez scored the game's only goal in the 10th minute. Sanchez started in the front four that included Peguy Luyindula, Bradley Wright-Phillips and Dane Richards, who is back with the Red Bulls on a tryout.
Bradenton, FL | Columbus 2 Costa Rica U-23s 0.
Goals from Kei Kamara and Federico Higuain two minutes apart early in the first half were all the Crew could score against the Tico U-23s, who played the last hour with 10 men following the red card to Yosimar Alexis Clark.
Bradenton, FL | Philadelphia 6 London United 0.
Venezuelan newcomer Fernando Aristeguieta scored two late goals as the Union first-teamers, who came on with half an hour to play, put four past the team of unemployed players. Andrew Wenger had a goal and two assists, while Richie Marquez, Fred and Cristian Maidana also scored.
Carolina Challenge Cup:
Charleston, SC | Charleston Battery 1 Houston 0.
The Dynamo fell to its second USL opponent of the week when substitute Austin Savage's goal in the 69th minute gave the host Battery the win at the Carolina Challenge Cup.
Charleston, SC | New York City 1 Orlando City 1.
In the first meeting of MLS's expansion teams, Kaka put Orlando City ahead in the 31st minute, but Khiry Shelton equalized on a pass from David Villa, who capitalized on a defensive error from Orlando to feed the No. 2 pick overall in the 2015 SuperDraft. The doubleheader drew a crowd of 5,244 at Blackbaud Stadium.
Desert Diamond Cup:
Tucson, AZ | Colorado 1 New England 1.
Diego Fagundez scored for the Revs six minutes after a goal by Gabriel Torres gave the Rapids a 1-0 lead in the 48th minute. Provided a great chance to win the game in the final seconds, Fagundez fired a shot that was smothered by Rapids keeper Clint Irwin.
Tucson, AZ | FC Tucson 1 Real Salt Lake 3.
Host FC Tucson suffered a second defeat in its own competition though it did manage to score against Real Salt Lake. Alvaro Saborio scored the first two RSL goals and Devon Sandoval netted a penalty kick awarded for a foul on Jordan Allen.
Tucson, AZ | Sporting KC 3 Seattle 2.
Sporting Kansas City took a 2-0 halftime lead with goals by Graham Zusi and Krisztian Nemeth, yet a minute after rookie James Rogers added a third 17-year-old Victor Mansaray got Seattle on the board, and a goal by Kenny Cooper in the 81st minute kept the game on edge until the final whistle. Seattle started out with a 3-5-2 with Zach Scott, Brad Evans and Chad Marshall in the middle but abandoned it after the half. The tripleheader drew 3,661 fans, a new Kino North Stadium record crowd.
Sacramento, CA | Sacramento Republic FC 0 San Jose 1.
Designated Players Matias Perez Garcia and Chris Wondolowski teamed up to score the only goal. Wondolowski touched a ball that Perez Garcia finished from the edge of the penalty area in the 51st minute. Head coach Dominic Kinnear used 19 players; going the distance were keeper David Bingham and midfielders JJ Koval and Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi. Defender Clarence Goodson, who started in the middle alongside Victor Bernardez, drove a header off the crossbar late in the first half. Sacramento's Bonney Field drew a new record crowd of 9,794 for the match.
Absolutely insane atmosphere at @SacRepublicFC match
tonight. We are 100% ready for @MLS. #BuiltForMLS #indomitable pic.twitter.com/YxErWF8pFn
— Rusty Prevatt (@rustyprevatt) February 22, 2015 Ireland | Shamrock Rovers 0 LA Galaxy 1.
Finnish trialist Mika Vayrynen scored the only goal off a cross from Stefan Ishizaki to give the Galaxy a split of its two games on its short European tour. The game drew a near-capacity crowd of 6,000 at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin. The stop in Dublin served as a homecoming for Galaxy captain Robbie Keane. It included a trip to see to Republic of Ireland President Michael D. Higgins. One Galaxy training session drew 3,000 fans.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20:
Frisco, TX | FC Dallas 3 D.C. United 1.
FC Dallas went down a man when Brazilian Michel was sent off in the 23rd minute, but it still managed to win on goals by Ryan Hollingshead, Fabian Castillo and Tesho Akindele. Sub Jairo Arrieta had the lone goal for D.C. United, which is now off to Costa Rica for the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals against Alajuelense. Both teams went with most of their starters all the way.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19:
Tucson, AZ | Seattle 1 Minnesota United 1.
Kenny Cooper scored on a free kick for the Sounders, who played their reserves, but U.S. international Miguel Ibarra responded for Minnesota in the second half.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18:
IMG Suncoast Pro Classic:
Bradenton, FL | Columbus 7 London United 0.
The Crew crushed London United, a team of unemployed players brought in after Congolese powerhouse TP Mazembe scratched. Kei Kamara opened the scoring after three minutes, and the Crew led 6-0 at the half. Kamara scored twice, as did Argentine signing Hernan Grana. Ryan Finlay, Chris Klute and Israeli Sagi Lev-Ari also scored.
Bradenton, FL | Philadelphia 3 Costa Rica U-23s 0.
Sebastien Le Toux scored twice, including one from the penalty spot, and Cristian Maidana added another to pace the Union to the easy win over the Tico U-23s. Costa Rica's squad includes three U.S.-based collegians -- Marco Sunol (North Carolina)
Juan Manuel Arguedas (Jacksonville) and Diego Campos (Clemson) -- and Ariel Lassiter, the son of former U.S. national team forward Roy Lassiter who left Cal Poly to play in Sweden but has returned to join LA Galaxy II of the USL.
Bradenton, FL | NY Red Bulls 1 HB Koge 1.
Mike Grella out the Red Bulls up in the 36th minute when he scored off a deflected cross from Roy Miller. But their Danish opponent pulled level in the 62nd minute with a goal from Philip Zinckernagel.
What They're Saying:
“This is our third phase of preseason and is one we wanted to start focusing on results. The first two phases were about player evaluation and fitness. Now we have set a goal to win this competition, and to keep a clean sheet was something that we also talked about. We scored a couple of good goals today, too, so I was very happy with the performance.” -- Union head coach Jim Curtin.
Bradenton, FL | Toronto FC 0 OKC Energy FC 1.
Kyle Greig's goal in the 56th minute gave the USL's OKC Energy FC the win over TFC, which started all its first-team players, including its four newcomers -- Jozy Altidore, Sebastian Giovinco, Damien Perquis and Benoit Cheyrou.
Desert Diamond Cup:
Tucson, AZ | Colorado 2 Sporting KC 2.
Sporting KC exploited a man-advantage to score twice within three minutes and rally from a two-goal deficit to tie Colorado, 2-2, in the opening game of the Desert Diamond Cup in Tucson, Ariz. Wednesday. Krisztian Nemeth, one of the offseason additions signed by head coach Peter Vermes, converted a penalty kick in the 77th minute and Bernardo Anor, formerly of Columbus Crew SC, snuck home an equalizer two minutes later. The goals canceled out early strikes by Gabriel Torres and Dominique Badji by the Rapids, whose command of the match dissipated in the wake of liberal substitutions and a second caution handed to Francisco Flores.
Rookie Watch: SKC's first-round SuperDraft pick (No. 20 overall), defender Amadou Dia, has signed an MLS contract. Dia, 21, played 70 games during a four-year career at Clemson University and holds dual citizenship of France and the United States. The native of Nantes grew up in Highlands Ranch, Colo., and has played for the USA at the under-14, under-18, and under-20 levels.
Tucson, AZ | Real Salt Lake 1 New England 0.
Devon Sandoval converted a penalty kick in the sixth minute and the RSL defense, led by returnee Jamison Olave, thwarted the Revs' efforts to catch up.
Tucson, AZ | FC Tucson 0 Seattle 6.
Three Sounders each scored two goals in a 6-0 pounding of host FC Tucson in the Desert Diamond Cup Wednesday. Clint Dempsey and Lamar Neagle shared the first four goals and substitute Kevin Parsemain, who scored three goals in the 2014 preseason before suffering a torn ACL in early April that ended his season, bagged the fifth and sixth goals. Dempsey's bid for a hat trick was thwarted by a goal-line clearance of a shot bound for the bottom corner. Head coach Sigi Schmid made wholesale changes midway through the second half that included Parsemain, who had been held out of the first two preseason games. Schmid will get a look at more players on Thursday as the Sounders scrimmage Minnesota United FC of the NASL.
Houston, TX | Houston 0 Austin Aztex 1
An own goal by first-year Spanish defender Raul Rodriguez in the 86th minute gave the Aztex the upset win at Houston Sports Park. Rodriguez was one of five first-teamers to go the distance in the final match for the Dynamo in Houston before it heads to the Carolina Challenge Cup.
San Jose, CA | San Jose 4 Fresno Fuego 0
Adam Jahn scored a goal and set up two others. Sanna Nyassi and Tommy Thompson cashed in his feeds to score the first and third goals, respectively, before Jahn polished off the scoring by heading in a Leandro Barrera corner kick. Thompson also set up the Quakes second goal for Mike Fucito, who fended off a challenge to shoot into the bottom corner. San Jose takes a short trip up Interstate 80 Saturday to play USL champion Sacramento Republic at Bonney Field.
Mexico | Cuautla 0 Montreal 6.
In its second game in as many days, the Impact topped third division Cuautla at the CECAP training center. Jack McInerney and rookie Cameron Porter had two goals apiece, while another rookie, top pick Romario Williams, and Blake Smith also scored in the win. Porter, who was taken with the 45th overall pick in the draft out of Princeton, added two assists.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17:
Mexico | Cruz Azul XI 0 Montreal 1.
Dominic Oduro's goal in the first half gave the Montreal Impact a 1-0 win over Cruz Azul in its second match as it prepares for next week's Concacaf Champions league match at Pachuca. Goalkeeper Evan Bush stopped a penalty kick, while Jack McInerney was red carded along with a Cruz Azul player in the second half.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16:
Sweden | Hammarby 2 LA Galaxy 1.
The defending MLS champion fell to sister club Hammarby in the first game of its two-game European tour before 10,601 fans at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm. The only Galaxy goal came from a Robbie Keane penalty kick in the seventh minute. The Galaxy played the last 35 minutes with 10 players following the dismissal of Juninho. It started U.S. U-20 Bradford Jamieson and Baggio Husidic in the places vacated by the retiring Landon Donovan and Marcelo Sarvas, who was traded to Colorado.
Week 1: Results
Week 2: Results
Week 3: Results
Week 5 Schedule:
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25:
Bradenton, FL | Columbus vs. Philadelphia (IMG Suncoast Pro Classic), 5 pm
Bradenton, FL | Toronto FC vs. NY Red Bulls (IMG Suncoast Pro Classic), 7:30 pm
Charleston, SC | New York City vs. Houston (Carolina Challenge Cup), 5 pm
Charleston, SC | Charleston Battery vs. Orlando City (Carolina Challenge Cup), 7:30 pm
Portland, OR | Vancouver vs. Stabaek (Simple Invitational), 8 pm Streaming
Portland, OR | Portland vs. Chicago (Simple Invitational), 10 pm Streaming
San Jose, CA | San Jose vs. SF Stompers FC, TBD
Tucson, AZ | FC Tucson vs. Colorado (Desert Diamond Cup), 7:30 pm Streaming
Tucson, AZ | Seattle vs. New England (Desert Diamond Cup), 8 pm Streaming
Tucson, AZ | Real Salt Lake vs. Sporting KC (Desert Diamond Cup), 10 pm Streaming
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28:
Bradenton, FL | Placement game (Suncoast Pro Classic), noon
Bradenton, FL | Placement game (Suncoast Pro Classic), 2:30 pm
Bradenton, FL | Placement game (Suncoast Pro Classic), 5 pm
Bradenton, FL | Placement game (Suncoast Pro Classic), 7:30 pm
Charleston, SC | Houston vs. Orlando City (Carolina Challenge Cup), 5 pm
Charleston, SC | Charleston Battery vs. New York City (Carolina Challenge Cup), 7:30 pm
Portland, OR | Vancouver vs. Chicago (Simple Invitational), 5:30 pm Streaming
Portland, OR | Portland vs. Stabaek (Simple Invitational), 8 pm Streaming
San Antonio, TX | San Antonio Scorpions vs. FC Dallas, 8 pm
San Jose, CA | San Jose vs. LA Galaxy, 5 pm
Tucson, AZ | Placement game (Desert Diamond Cup), 6:30 pm Streaming
Tucson, AZ | Placement game (Desert Diamond Cup), 7 pm Streaming
Tucson, AZ | Placement game (Desert Diamond Cup), 9 pm Streaming
