It's that time of year again, the time when USL teams get to play their MLS brethren in preparation for the start of their respective seasons. This year, this week in fact, we have 2 tournaments being hosted by USL clubs kicking off just in time to soak up some spring sunshine. Charleston once again will host their premier preseason soccer party with MLS clubs, Toronto FC, Houston Dynamo and New York Red Bulls. There are some great stories in this one to look forward to including the Dynamo returning to Charleston after some lively competition in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, Bruce Arena coming down for a visit to Blackbaud, and the new Canadian club looking to improve ahead of their first MLS season.
Meanwhile, Bayamon hosts the Puerto Rico USL-MLS Challenge which sees Rochester, the LA Galaxy, and FC Dallas paying a visit. Sadly, the Galaxy won't be bringing David Beckham to a USL field just yet but Frank Yallop will likely be fielding a very close to full-strength squad to get his men ready. FC Dallas should provide quite the entertaining game or two considering how they've been scoring and scored upon recently. The Islanders and Rhinos round out the field to provide an example of top class USL soccer between a couple of clubs that have been penciled in by many to, at the very least, reach the playoffs this season.
So let's get to it. First up, we preview the teams visiting the Baud for the Carolina Challenge Cup and make some guaranteed to go wrong gameday predictions. We were even able to get some guest commentary on a few of the teams, enjoy!
Charleston Battery
keys: Lazo Alavanja, Shane Crawford, Ian Fuller, Tim Karalexis, Chris Gores and Stephen Armstrong; must get production from their forwards; Gores must come back to full fitness.
prognosis: 1 win would be fantastic, if it comes it's likely to be against Toronto or Houston if the Dynamo rest a lot of players ahead of their 2nd leg against Pachuca in the other CCC. Charleston will once again be trying to figure out how to put the ball in the back of the net. As of this moment, Ben Hollingsworth is yet to return to the Battery fold which adds further question marks for the club.
Toronto FC
keys: Edson Buddle, Jose Cancela, Alecko Eskandarian, Greg Sutton. Conor Casey must get fit, Canadian internationals must show they are capable of stepping up to the next level
prognosis: This team must gel; a combination of win, loss, draw would be acceptable but winning this tournament might give them the confidence boost they need ahead of their 1st MLS campaign. They have a solid lineup on paper but whether or not they can get production from Buddle, 'Pepe', 'Esky' and Casey remains to be seen. The early going will see Sutton and the TFC defense tested if the offense cannot sustain pressure against the opposition.
New York Red Bulls
keys: Josimer Altidore, Todd Dunivant, Claudio Reyna, Marvell Wynne
prognosis: Arena is notorious for auditioning many players at any given time, this situation will likely be no different. However, despite the fact that you may hear him say that results don't really matter in this tournament don't expect him to be happy with anything other than wins even if reserves play the majority of the time in S.C. Look for Altidore to blossom in this tournament and cement his reputation as a young player to watch heading into the MLS regular season.
Dan Ryzansky over at Metrofanatic.com has this to say about his club:
"With RBNY participating in the Carolina Challenge Cup for the second straight year, there is no question that the team will try to better their hopeless effort from 2006, when they lost all three games without scoring a goal (but the second team did trash DC 3:0 in an off-the-books match). The changes from last year have been widespread on and off the field, and with former boss Mo Johnston now in charge of Carolina opponents Toronto, it is up to Bruce Arena to better last year's pathetic mark.
What is not known is how seriously Arena will take the tournament. Yes, it is the last preparation before the MLS season, but it is also a preseason tournament, winning which will not exactly bring your team the accolades that the 2004 La Manga Cup brought (tongue pressed firmly in cheek). And with the starting lineup looking all but decided, it is interesting how much Arena will mix and match in Carolina.
From the looks of things, if Arena wants to go with the first team, it will be in the 4-5-1 formation with Ronald Waterreus in goal, Todd Dunivant, Carlos Mendes, Jeff Parke, and Marvell Wynne in the back, Dema Kovalenko and Seth Stammler in defensive midfield, Claudio Reyna in front of them, Dave van den Bergh on the left, Dane Richards (in for the injured Markus Schopp) on the right, and either Josimer Altidore or John Wolyniec up top. One would expect Jon Conway, who was desired by Johnston in Toronto but stayed with Metro and had a great preseason, to get in at least one game in goal.
One player to watch is former Minnesota Thunder forward Ansu Toure. The Liberian has impressed in camp to earn a contract, but with Metro out of senior roster spots, he would have to knock down a player from the current 18. One who could be in danger is Taylor Graham, whose role as a central defensive backup can be endangered by the re-acquisition of Tim Regan and the signing of rookie Hugh MacDonald. Elie Ikangu, the young Frenchman who saw little playing time last year but earned a senior contract for 2007, needs to also impress to keep his spot."
Houston Dynamo
keys: Alejandro Moreno, Paul Dalglish; most likely to play: Chris Wondolowski, Brian Mullan, Kelly Gray, Stuart Holden, Patrick Ianni
prognosis: All signs point to the Dynamo first team players getting a pass on this tournament. Many will likely play token minutes to bolster their fitness but don't look for guys like Moreno, Brad Davis, etc. to play 90 minutes in Houston's games. Dominic Kinnear will like his chances in this tournament thanks to the depth of his bench. Players like Holden, Ianni, and Wondolowski are coming on strong and gained invaluable experience late during last season.
Kevin Musgrave of the Dynamo supporters group, Texian Army, sees things this way for his club:
i>"Ching and Clark being gone for USMNT camp and DeRo most likely leaving for the Canadian team will hurt our chances.
Houston vs Toronto - Houston over Toronto 3-1. Our new guys (mixed with some veterans) beat their new guys.
Houston vs Charleston - Houston lose 2-1. Charleston rallies behind the home crowd to pull out the victory.
Houston vs New York - Houston over New York 1-0. The defence tightens up to help get our second win."
Matchday predictions:
Houston 3-1 Toronto
Battery 0-1 New York
New York 3-2 Toronto
Battery 1-1 Houston
Battery 2-1 Toronto
Houston 2-2 New York
Now, we'll cruise on down to Bayamon to check out the Puerto Rico USL-MLS Challenge.
FC Dallas
keys: Kenny Cooper, Richard Mulrooney, Chris Gbandi, Carlos Ruiz, Shaka Hislop, Adrian Serioux
prognosis: the Hoops need someone in defense to step up and for Shaka Hislop to either lead of get out of the way. Either he or Sala will need to prove they are near the top of the league to inspire a fairly rough around the edges defensive group. FCD's midfield also needs to step up. So far in the preseason they look shaky in the back yet very dangerous on the attack. Solid wins against the Rhinos and Islanders look to be in the cards, a couple of clean sheets would boost morale among their backline tremendously heading into the season.
LA Galaxy
keys: Landon Donovan, Chris Albright, Peter Vagenas, Joe Cannon, Kyle Martino, Nate Jaqua
prognosis: There will be no Beckham in Puerto Rico but LA will be warming up their act. This is a largely unchanged group from last season but there's an undeniable optimism surrounding the team at the moment. We'll see how long that lasts but they have a slight upgrade in goal with Cannon which should provide more confidence in the back and translate into more attacking forays from the wide defenders. If they can develop consistently over the next few weeks they could turn this ship around well before Becks' arrival in mid summer.
Rochester Rhinos
keys: Matthew Delicate, Angel Rey Martinez, Johnny Menyongar, Scott Vallow, Tenywa Bonseu, John Ball
prognosis: The Rhinos are solid yet again, on paper that is, but this tournament will give fans a revealing look at where Rochester is in terms of preparation for the upcoming season. Everything could and likely will hinge on how consistent the quartet of Menyongar, Delicate, Martinez and Ball can be. Vallow and Bonseu look to head up a steady and solid, if unspectacular, defense.
Puerto Rico Islanders
keys: Marco Velez, Leslie Fitzpatrick, David Johnson, Byron Alvarez, Alejandro González, Mauricio Segovia, Corey Woolfolk
prognosis: Working from the roster presented for their CONCACAF Champions' Cup Caribbean Qualifying run and the expectations for the new season, los Islenos will be looking to contend for a title in year 3. They will need to up their goal totals so look for newcomers like Alvarez and David Johnson, as well as former and once again Islander, Corey Woolfolk, to bolster the team in this department. If the talent they've mined from Panama works out, they could challenge for the top honors in the league. Velez will need to be a rock in the back to breed confidence among the defenders and keeper.
Matchday predictions:
Rochester 1-2 LA Galaxy
PR Islanders 2-3 FC Dallas
Rochester 1-3 FC Dallas
PR Islanders 1-2 LA Galaxy
So that's the way the View and friends see the tournaments playing out over this weekend and through the next week. One can only hope that some day soon we'll see clubs take advantage of their surroundings and we'll get tournaments hosted by the Carolina Railhawks as well as the Bermuda Hogges. Someone's got to make this happen. After all, MLS clubs have routinely visited Cary and the New England Revolution have been to Bermuda. I'm keeping my eye on you two clubs, get cracking! I expect to see an announcement next winter about these actually happening. So until next time, that's the view from here!
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