So far this season has been about surprises and at this point they have to begin to seem like the backdrop of yet another interesting season in the A-League. It seems that every season someone makes an unexpected run while someone else experiences a dismal and sometimes disgraceful fall. It's hard to argue with results and as we head into another week of action looking at last week's results plainly show that it's time that some clubs should be starting to shake the position of being a surprise club in either sense.
On the good side of things it appears that the Connecticut Wolves are well on their way to a successful season as they've easily jumped past last season's dismal failures. The Wolves performed a Canadian double this week as they defeated both Montreal and Toronto. It took overtime in the French speaking region to reach a 2-1 victory while they were able to dispatch the Lynx in the slightly north of Buffalo region by the same score. This week they'll have another test as they'll have a homestand against Long Island with a midweek jaunt to Rochester scheduled for Wednesday. If the Wolves escape with a win and a draw this weekend things will begin to look very serious indeed for the boys from New Britain.
On the bad side of things Minnesota still looks unconvincing even though they took a 3-1 victory over Cincinnati on Saturday. They slumped to a 1-0 loss against Milwaukee Wednesday night and were unable to attack with any tangible effect against the Rampage. This week will feature matches at home against the Whitecaps and a road date with Portland for the Thunder. A win against one of these foes is sorely needed and losing anymore points at home could be costly to a squad that was at one point one of the most confident in the league. One has to wonder how long before that begins to take a hit.
Rochester was also a club bracing for a bumpy ride earlier in the season as tough games against D3 opposition and the Connecticut Wolves put fans on the look out for a crisis. Fortunately, things have evened out for the Rhinos as solid wins over Western Mass and on the road against Toronto show. The 3-0 home win over the Pioneers get them back on track while the fierce fan rivalry between the Stampede and Ultras was fed by the Rhinos 1-0 victory at Varsity Stadium. The Rhinos will try to continue their luck against two very tough squads. They'll face Connecticut and Hershey in battles that could solidify what could turn into a three-way race for the Conference.
The double dose of losses for the Lynx lead to a rather dismal week for the Ultras but they'll look to turn it around this week with a home date against the spirited Riverhounds on Sunday. Pittsburgh will get a home date with Northern Virginia on Friday to prepare for their match against the Lynx. They split last week's matches while once being on the right end of a 2-0 score against Montreal and the wrong end against fellow Pennsylvanians Hershey. Hershey will also be taking on Reading in another all-Pennsylvania clash for Open Cup points on Sunday.
Milwaukee continues its strong start to the season with a pair of wins and a draw on the week. Anytime they can beat the Thunder and grab an Open Cup slot against their rivals it's been a good week but they piled on the pleasure with a 3-0 demolition of Cincinnati after earning a 2-2 draw at Indiana. This weekend the Rampage will play against Vancouver on Sunday as the Whitecaps earn the prize this week with a double dip with the Rampage and Thunder.
Richmond appears to be right on course after collecting a pair of wins last week by beating the quickly faltering Silverbacks and outlasting the Blast 3-2 in overtime. Their 2-0 victory over Atlanta only adds to the current horrid streak that the 'Backs are on after their rather decisive losses to Nashville the previous week. The Kickers will play host to South Jersey while the Silverbacks will have to wait until next weekend to attempt to right their ship against Charlotte.
Speaking of Nashville they enjoyed a trip to Charleston last weekend only to find out that they still had to play the Battery. The Metros were rude enough to give the Coppertops the Fenger early on yet wound up being bounced by Ball and company. By all accounts Jon Akin left the Metros precisely as such after a nice display of skill in their match and he'll look to have similar success in helping to guide the Battery to a U.S. Open Cup berth against Carolina and Charlotte this week. Prior to Saturday's meeting with the Battery the Eagles will match up against the Wilmington Hammerheads in Open Cup action of their own.
Nashville will play against Greenville and Cincinnati this weekend as they try to continue their turnaround from last season's dismal run. Greenville have been surprisingly solid in their first season in the D3 while Cincinnati look like they deserve to be demoted after some of their previous performances. Either way if Nashville don't get at least eight points from this weekend it will be a bit of a surprise.
Long Island has been surprisingly strong so far this season but we're still waiting on the reports from other regions as they've mainly played against their Open Cup opposition. This week they'll face road tests against Montreal and the razor sharp Wolves. All of a sudden going to New Britain may not be that pleasant of a weekend for the denizens of Long Island. They'll be looking to build on their 2-1 win over New Jersey from last week in these two road matches.
Out West El Paso continues to show up and down form after losing last Friday to the Whitecaps 1-0 in Vancouver while using home field to beat out the Fireballs to the tune of 7-1. Carlos Farias remains instrumental to the Patriots attack and they'll need him to get rested and ready for their next round of matches that just so happen to not come around until June 15th when they'll take on Seattle.
Speaking of Seattle they had a productive weekend in the high climes of Utah and Northern Nevada a.k.a. Reno. A scoreless draw against the Blitzz started things on a rather shaky note for the Sounders but a 5-0 win over the Aces got boys who play on the plastic surface 6 Open Cup points. This week they'll be home to San Diego where they'll try to gain some important points against their surprising Western Conference foes.
Last weekend San Diego played a sizzling match against the Portland Timbers in which the boys who play on the much less aggravating plastic surface took a 4-3 victory. This week the Timbers stay home for a visit from San Diego who will be on their way home from the wilds of Seattle and the Super-Ball© pitch. Then the Timbers get a few days to rest up and wait for the arrival of the Thunder who should feel right at home in the seasonal rains of Portland.
That should just about cover all of our upcoming action in the league that refused to make sense as we're still asking questions that refuse to be answered. Then again that's why they play the games so enjoy them all and check as much as you can via webcast, carrier pigeon, radio, newspapers, telegraph or any of the other usual modes one must go through to find info on all the A-League action. Then again you could just hang around A-League.com and USLdiscussions.com as results roll in on another exciting weekend. Do what you will so long as you're paying attention.
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