By Ridge Mahoney (@ridgemax) So goes conventional thinking in regards to a two-game series that advantage goes to the home team of the second leg, since its task to advance is clearlydefined. The away goals rule, used extensively around the world and adopted by MLS last year, alters the dynamics of each conference semifinal […]
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Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Montreal-Columbus Takeaways: Drogba plays villain
Columbus blanked Didier Drogba, but his Impact teammates Patrice Bernier and Johan Venegas did hit the net after falling behind, 1-0, to win the first leg of their conferencesemifinal series, 2-1. Columbus surprised the Impact by taking the lead in the 33rd minute when a poor clearance dropped for Federico Higuain to score, but the […]
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Breaking down MLS's Sunday extravaganza
By Ridge Mahoney (@ridgemax) After two incredible days of knockout games in the MLS playoffs, the four survivors jump right back into action Sunday. All of the third andfourth seeds advanced, though only one game — Montreal’s 3-0 defeat of TFC — was a mismatch. Portland endured an epic penalty-kick shootout (7-6) to eliminate […]
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MLS Power Rankings: FC Dallas finishes in top spot
Though it fell short in the Supporters’ Shield race because of goal difference, FC Dallas bounced back from a 1-0 deficit to beat San Jose, 2-1, and finish atop Soccer America’s MLS Power Rankings. The Western Conference is regarded as the stronger, yet late-season surges by three Eastern Conference teams earned them spots in the […]
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Decision Day: How Eastern Conference played out
While New York Red Bulls waited to see if they could hold serve to win the 2015 MLS Supporters’ Shield, the major questions in the Eastern Conference on Decision Day circled around the battlefor second place — a four-team affair — and whether the Revs — in sixth place but not secure as a playoff […]
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MLS Power Rankings: FC Dallas jumps to the top
That was quite a week in MLS and set things up nicely for blanket coverage of all 10 games when the regular-season concludes on Sunday. FC Dallas took over the top spot in the PowerRankings by beating Vancouver at home and snuffing RSL’s playoff hopes on the road. The Galaxy tumbled down the ladder after […]
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More playoff games will mean more complaints about postseason format
By Ridge Mahoney Since there will be twice as many MLS wild-card games as in past seasons, get ready for complaints to be twice as loud. Expansion of the playofffields in each conference from five teams to six necessitates the addition of an extra wild-card game, so a few days after the regular season concludes, […]
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MLS Power Rankings: Red Bulls stay on top
Three weeks to go in the MLS season and only four teams have clinched playoff spots. The New York Red Bulls, the first team to confirm a postseason place, solidified their spot atop Soccer America’sMLS Power Rankings by beating Columbus. FC Dallas moved into third by belting Texas rival Houston, Toronto won its third straight […]
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MLS Power Rankings: Upsets don't change top spots
It was a great week for teams below the playoff zone; they posted four wins, two of them by Houston, against teams higher in the standings. New York City FC won in Vancouver, and Orlando City SCstunned the Red Bulls, who nevertheless retained the top spot in Soccer America’s MLS Power Rankings. The Galaxy topped FC […]
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Crew's Kamara is looking beyond his record
There’s a significant goalscoring title on the line Saturday when Columbus Crew striker Kei Kamara lines up to face visiting Portland, though it’s not the single-seasonrecord of 27 held by Roy Lassiter and Chris Wondolowski and equaled by Bradley Wright-Phillipslast year. A goal against the Timbers will notonly add to his league-leading total of 21, […]