The season is almost upon us, as a matter of fact, it begins this week. Who would have thought that the winter would fly by so fast and we'd be nearing the time to warm up the grills, train the vocal cords, and find a way to get out of work early on Fridays already? Once again, the season preview, much like the View itself, is back! This time we'll look briefly at each of the teams and what 2007 may hold for them.
Atlanta Silverbacks
The 'backs bring in 8 new faces to their squad. The most promising new face will be Atlanta native, Justin Moore, who comes to the team after a short stint in MLS with FC Dallas. Dan Antoniuk and Luis Liendo could possibly be impact newcomers as well.
Making the playoffs should definitely be an expectation for this bunch but they will need to make all of their experience pay off for once. Many of these players have been together or, at the very least, in the USL for some time. This could be the year that they finally pull everything together to get into the playoffs and make some noise. There is little that makes this team any better than the teams close to it who will also challenge for that final playoff spot but I have a hunch the Apes will sneak in.
Final position: 7th playoff spot
Silverware: none
California Victory
Being new to the league and still not having their complete roster nailed down, or at least posted to the club's own website, means a lot of guesswork. We know they have Chuck Kim, who has kicked around the USL (and Belgium) for a while now, Chris Schwarze has been a positive factor in their exhibitions and aside from that we have the match reports. Other possible positive contributors should include former US U-20 player, Raul Palomares, Mike Munoz, Jose Retiz, Hugo Casillas, and Luis Aguilar. Still, getting dominated by Fiji shortly before the season starts cannot bode well for the club. However, don't be surprised if a revolving door effect is seen in the Bay Area while their main backer, one of the bigwigs from Spain's Alaves, looks to settle on a combination of players to make this team successful. That success, though, likely won't come this year especially since they will have to battle the Pacific Northwest giants many times in their inaugural season.
Final position: last
Silverware: none
Carolina RailHawks
The Railhawks could be a surprise package if people allow the opportunity for this team to sneak up on them. However, with a spine of Chris Carrieri, Kevin Jeffrey, and David Stokes and a host of other very talented players no one should be taking them lightly. The players are experienced at this level outside of several newcomers to this league. The new blood looks promising as well with guys like John O'Hara, Philip Kutsu and Rune Hagen learning the USL ropes. The learning curve is there for this club and could contribute to a few early disappointments but by the end of this season don't be surprised if they are in the middle of the battle for playoff spots.
Final position: 6th playoff spot
Silverware: Southern Derby
Charleston Battery
Battery fans are quietly optimistic about their chances this season; however, the question of who will score the goals is still prevalent as it has been over the past few seasons. Losing Gavin Glinton was a big blow but in the strange world of MLS personnel moves it isn't entirely unlikely that the Turks and Caicos national team player won't reappear in Charleston before all is said and done. The recent addition of Byron Alvarez may provide an answer to that particular question, though, but the fact remains that there seems to be something missing for the team from the 'Baud. This squad bears the mark of a side that will probably win, lose or draw a number of very close games this year. The key will be turning one goal losses into draws and draws into wins. If the Battery can turn Blackbaud into a fortress again, winning most of their games at home, then they could look to repeat last year's playoff performance and possibly make the next step to challenge the top teams in the league.
Final position: 5th playoff spot
Silverware: none
Miami
Miami will look to repeat their playoff appearance from last season. The task is tougher, though, this season as it appears that much of the competition has made a concentrated effort to improve and upgrade their squads. They will look to Zinho and Luchi Gonzalez to provide the fire power and creativity but depending upon the legs of a 40 year old may not pay off over the long haul of the season. Chris Williams will be an imposing figure on the back line for Miami. This team also has a large number of young, inexperienced players that could emerge to terrorize their opponents. They will probably finish short of making the playoffs.
Final position: 11th
Silverware: none
Minnesota Thunder
The Thunder looks like a team that will keep plodding along as a competitive side, once again challenging for a playoff spot. With the right results they could even find their way into the Championship game. Joe Warren and seasoned USL vet, Godfrey Tenoff, will need to have a solid year. Some players to watch for this team are Ansu Toure, Sasha Gotsmanov, and Keisuke Ota. The rest of the roster shapes up like quite a capable group but will they have the quality in depth necessary should the inevitable injuries happen?
Final position: 10th
Silverware: none
Montreal Impact
Montreal looks like they should contend yet again for the title. Even after being raided by the newly minted MLS team down the road in Toronto they still have enough quality returning to challenge for the championship. Key returnees include Ze Roberto, Mauro Biello, Gabriel Gervais and Jason Ditullio. Also, to make up for their losses they added several quality players that should be able to help maintain the team's position at the top of the league. These additions include Matt Jordan, Fabian Dawkins, and Seth Trembly. They also have two young players that people may want to keep an eye on: Martin Fabro and Ibrahim Baldeh. Anything less than getting back to the Championship game has to be considered a disappointment.
Final position: 2nd playoff spot
Silverware: none
Portland Timbers
The Timbers look like a solid team with players like Lee Morrison, Andrew Gregor, Chris Bagley and Leonard Griffin forming a good core. However, Bagley will have to put the ball in the back of the net consistently to keep this team close to Vancouver and Seattle in the Cascadia. Luckily, their schedule padded out a bit with more games against the expansion Victory after Virginia Beach's demise. This is a team that looks fairly vanilla on paper and really could go either way. The Timbers could contend for a playoff spot or they could sink without a trace. Right now, I'm leaning more towards them making up the numbers in the fight for that last playoff spot come September.
Final position: 9th
Silverware: none
Puerto Rico Islanders
I said it before the Islanders had some impressive results in the USL-MLS Challenge and I'll say it again: los Islenos will be looking to contend for a title in Year Three. They will need to up their goal totals so look for players such as Alberto Delgado, Alen Marcina, and Peter Villegas to contribute as much as possible either scoring or creating chances. If the talent they've mined from Panama (Gustavo Avila, Alberto Zapata, and Victor Herrera) works out, they could challenge for the top honors in the league. Velez will need to be a rock to breed confidence among the defenders and keeper. Speaking of which, Josh Saunders should be an upgrade in net for the Islanders as well. They are putting all of the pieces together in Bayamon.
Final position: 4th playoff spot
Silverware: USL 1 Runners up
Rochester Rhinos
The Rhinos look loaded on paper but will the tactics employed allow them to use all of their potential firepower? Looking over their roster names like Scott Vallow, Rey Angel Martinez, Johnny Menyongar, Matthew Delicate, John Ball, and Tenywa Bonseu jump out at you. With a group like this leading the way and a solid supporting cast around them providing some depth as well, it looks like the Rhinos are ready to challenge once again for the title. Martinez needs to impose himself on matches this season and Delicate needs to put away more goals to get this team over the hump to break the Canadian dominance in the league of late.
Final position: 3rd playoff spot
Silverware: none
Seattle Sounders
Seattle appears to have some gaps to fill before opening day. That said, they return several solid starters such as Danny Jackson, Kevin Sakuda, Jake Besagno and Leighton O'Brien. The key for this team will be not getting left stuck in the starting blocks over the first few weeks of the season. The Sounders open at Vancouver, then, the following weekend sees them travel clear across the continent for matches against Puerto Rico and Miami. They will finally be at home on May 5th to face Cascadia rivals, Portland, which they may desperately need to win just to pick up their first 3 points of the year. Seattle probably has the toughest schedule, although, with the upgrade in competition between the clubs these days, everyone has it tough. The Sounders, much like Portland, could find themselves making up the numbers or will hope to be toughened up enough by the early part of their schedule that it could take a superhuman effort to knock them out of playoff contention.
Final position: 8th and final playoff spot
Silverware: none
Vancouver Whitecaps
The usual suspects and then some return to make the Whitecaps a leading contender to defend their crown in 2007. Just to run some names by you, how about this group? Steve Klein, Eduardo Sebrango, Jason Jordan, Steve Kindel, Alfredo Valente, Martin Nash… the list goes on. Vancouver has a steady group that is dedicated to results. There is little "flash" about this team. All they do is go out and win games especially those in the postseason. They may not repeat but if they don't make it to the Championship match again, I think it's safe to say, it would be a disappointment. This team should win the Cascadia trophy as well.
Final position: 1st playoff spot
Silverware: Cascadia Cup, Voyageurs Cup and USL 1 Champions
Virginia Beach Mariners
The ghost of the Mariners will haunt this season relentlessly whether it's in the form of playing an expansion team three or four times in a row, back-to-back games or a road trip that wasn't originally on the schedule. It is sad to have seen a club like this struggle on over the years to have this finally happen. Some would say it was entirely overdue and that the existence of the Soccerplex was the only reason there was still a team. Someone had to justify the costs, no? At the end of the day, though, as much of a black eye as it is the USL will grow just fine without this perilous situation hanging around its neck year after year after year. Hopefully all the teams in the USL have taken note and made precautions so that they never wind up in a similar situation.
Sure to go wrong predictions
Playoff teams
(in seeded order)
Vancouver
Montreal
Rochester
Puerto Rico
Charleston
Atlanta
Carolina
Seattle
Champions
Vancouver will meet host Puerto Rico in the final. The Whitecaps will be overwhelming favorites but the Islanders will prove they deserve their shot at the championship by scoring first. However, the favorites will win out with goals from Jordan and Klein to seal their back-to-back title win.
MVP
Steve Klein, Vancouver Whitecaps
Most Goals
Alen Marcina, Puerto Rico Islanders
Rookie of the Year
I hardly ever am willing to take on picking out the rookie of the year for this league because inevitably some kid comes completely out of nowhere to wreak havoc (see: Weaver, Cam). This year is no different. Sorry, fans, but I'll be watching the newcomers as closely as all of you to see who comes out of the pack of young faces.
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