MLS All-Star Update

The MLS regular season is a little more than halfway through, and there has been some great soccer as of late. The MLS All-Stars have already been announced and the best the MLS has to offer will play Bayern Munich on August 6 at Providence Park, the home of the Portland Timbers. Here is a list of the MLS All-Stars that will be competing in the big game: GK Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), GK Bill Hamid (DC United), CB Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), CB Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), DEF DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders FC), DEF Aurelien Collin (Sporting Kansas City), DEF Chad Marshall (Seattle Sounders FC), DEF Michael Parkhurst (Columbus Crew), MF Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), MF Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), MF Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City), MF Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls), MF Osvaldo Alonso (Seattle Sounders FC), MF Will Johnson (Portland Timbers), MF Diego Valeri (Portland Timbers), F Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), F Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls), F Obafemi Martins (Seattle Sounders FC), F Jermain Defoe (Toronto FC), F Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy), F Erick Torres (Chivas USA),  and F Bradley Wright-Phillips (New York Red Bulls).

Most of the players listed above played for the U.S. Men’s National Team during the FIFA World Cup. Twelve Americans made the list for the MLS All-Star team and eleven are international. Now, here’s how each team has been doing so far:

Kansas City has a one point lead over DC United for the Eastern Conference. United has shocked a lot of people by playing this well after finishing dead last in the entire league last year with only 16 points (3 wins, 7 draws and 24 losses). Now, they are 10-4-5 and have a goal differential of 9, the third best in the entire league. Their surprising efforts have come in due to the play of their All-Star goalkeeper Bill Hamid and their ability to play as one unit. Fabian Espindola deserves a little bit of credit for leading his team with seven goals this year. The 29-year-old forward from Argentina has been a huge help since joining the club earlier this year. His seven assists also leads the team and is tied for second in the entire league!

Back to Sporting Kansas City, they have three All-Stars on their team, but their best player didn’t even make the roster this year and that is Dom Dwyer. He is tied for second in the league with 14 goals with All-Star Erick Torres. The 23-year-old forward from England definitely has a bright future ahead and could open the eyes of some Premier League scouts.

Since 2012, Dwyer has scored 16 goals in 35 appearances for Kansas City.
Credit: http://www.sportstalkflorida.com

The team to beat right now is the Seattle Sounders. They have dominated their opposition, landing a 12-2-4 record and lead the league with 35 goals scored for them. They also lead the league with the most All-Star players with five. One of those five is National Team Captain Clint Dempsey. He has nine goals accredited to his name and fellow All-Star teammate Obafemi Martins is having one of the best years of his career. The 29-year-old Nigerian forward has eight goals and six assists in 16 appearances with the team this year. This one-two-punch combination has been deadly all year and will continue Seattle’s winning ways unless someone stops them.

Speaking of great seasons, Thierry Henry is continuing to defy his limits has he now leads the MLS in assists with eight and has scored four goals this year. The French Forward has been able to produce for New York even at the well-experienced age of 36. He has now made four straight All-Star appearances and will look to continue his amazing career after scoring 45 goals in 108 appearances for the Red Bulls.

Henry’s teammate, Bradley Wright-Phillips, is having one of his best seasons ever as well. The 29-year-old forward from England is leading the league right now with 17 goals in 19 appearances. It seems as if he’s bound to score at least one goal in every game he plays in! He will have to play just as hard for the rest of the season in order to catch up with Toronto FC just two points ahead of New York.

This is Bradley Wright-Phillips’ first MLS All-Star appearance.
Credit: http://www.theguardian.com

The next MLS game will be played this Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. and it will pit San Jose against Chicago. Stay tuned for the rest of the MLS season as everything starts to get more interesting with playoff pushes in focus.

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New Soccer Season has begun

The MLS is entering its fourth week of the season and teams are starting to come together to form some sort of chemistry. The Houston Dynamo seem to have their chemistry down quick, leading the entire league in goal differential with five. The defending eastern conference champions have won both of their opening home games, destroying New England 4-0 and slipping by Montreal 1-0. Not only that, but their top striker Will Bruin is tied for first in goals scored this short season with 3. The young forward is tied with Jermain Defoe of Toronto FC and Erick Torres of Chivas USA.

FC Dallas stands alone in the Western Conference as the only team without a loss so far. The Seattle Sounders FC have had a great start, defeating the defending champion Kansas City 1-0 in the home opener. They lost Toronto on March 15 1-2, but then bounced back with a 2-0 win at Montreal last week. As for the defending champs, they have had a slow start. They are now 1-1-1, so their next game at Colorado will show what kind of team they really are.

The most surprising story taking place right now is the performance of 22-year-old Joao Plata Cotera of Real Salt Lake. The young forward out of Ecuador as had 2 goals and 2 assists in just three games this season and his team has not lost a game yet. He shows promise as a young talent and could step up as a potential leader for his team that already features veteran U.S. soccer star Kyle Beckerman. The 31-year-old midfielder has 1 goal and 1 assist this season. Look out for Real Salt Lake to make a run in the middle of the season behind these two stars.

The young and small striker is quickly making a name for himself.
Credit: ecuagol.com

Speaking of stars, Jermain Defoe is doing great in his first season with the MLS. After spending solid careers in West Ham United and Tottenham for the Barclays Premier League, Defoe is quickly becoming a tremendous playmaker in the U.S. His Toronto team is currently 3-0 after a 1-0 victory over DC United last week. Toronto FC is now battling for first place in the eastern conference with Houston and the Columbus Crew.

The veteran still has enough talent to carry Toronto FC this season.
Credit: torontosun.com

Things are shaping up well in the MLS and many fans are excited that the new season is finally here. The Seattle fans truly epitomize that with their excellent game participation. Both of the Sounders’ home games have been the largest attendance so far this season, reaching over 38,000 in the two games. More and more soccer fanatics are watching these soccer stars play, hoping that they perform well as the MLS season gets rolling early.