Steven Sandor's Blog, page 33

Off the mark at Clarke: Eddies still looking for first home win of the NASL fall season

FC Edmonton’s fall-season performance breaks all the conventional wisdom about second-division soccer in North America.

The long flights, the brutal schedules, well it’s supposed to be that teams dominate at home, but struggle to get points on the road. But, so far this fall campaign, the Eddies are undefeated on the road, and winless at home.

Last season, the Eddies were an outstanding 12-2-2 at Clarke Field.

The Eddies will try and try to get their first Clarke Stadium victory of the fall season this Sunday, when the Indy Eleven pays a visit. And they’ll also try to clear the air after last Sunday’s painful display at home — a 3-0 loss to North Carolina FC.

FCE’s Ben McKendry and Dustin Corea in action vs. NCFC. PHOTO TONY LEWIS/FC EDMONTON

“I think we enjoy being on the road,” said Eddies midfielder Ben McKendry, who joined the team on loan from the Vancouver Whitecaps just before the start of the fall season. “We enjoy being around each other, maybe there’s a few less distractions when we’re on the road, when we’re stuck in a hotel. We’re a tough team to beat and I think teams recognize that. When we go on the road we have the mindset that we need to nick a point, and maybe three points, and we’ve done that quite a lot.”

But how to translate that road success into wins at home? McKendry doesn’t believe that the results aren’t a fair measure of how the team has played at home. Outside of last weekend’s loss to NCFC, the Eddies haven’t played poorly at home, in his eyes.

“I think we have the same mentality at home. We’ve only lost two games at home [fall season], but outside of this last weekend, they’ve all been close. I think we’re a tough team to play right now.”

Coach Colin Miller is bemused by the difference between the home and road results.

“It’s million dollar question, I think it’s a great question and I don’t know if I can answer it, to be honest with you,” he said after Friday’s training session. “There’s a mentality when we go away from home to be much more difficult to beat and hit teams on the counter-attack. But teams are coming in here and changing the way they play because they see we do want to attack when we are at home. Some teams have come in and sat in, making it more difficult for us to try and break down.”

He noted that NCFC coach Colin Clarke adjusted his team’s game to take away the Eddies’ wide players — and sat more offensive players like Ty Shipalane and Lance Laing.

“We’re a team that’s very dangerous on the road because of the pace we have in attack,” said Eddies’ midfielder Ben Fisk. “Because of our counterattacking ability, we’re quite dangerous, I’m sure that plays into it. But when we’re at home, we try and get on the ball and dominate games more, so whether that’s been why we haven’t been as good at home, I’m not sure, but we’re trying to get results home and away and we hope we can do that this Sunday against Indy.”

“What a CanPL will mean for us”: Canadian players speak up

As the Canadian Premier League moves closer to going from dream to reality, with meetings ongoing this week in Toronto, it’s a good time to start hearing from the Canadian players whose careers could be impacted by a new national soccer circuit.

The 11 is reaching out to Canadian players, simply asking them for their thoughts about what a CanPL would mean to them.

The hope is that this becomes a  bulletin board of sorts; that we hear from players across the country.

If you’re a Canadian player and want your voice added to the discussion, reach out to me @stevensandor or teamworkpress@rogers.com.

Thanks go to Rob Notenboom for helping with the inquiries. Here’s to hoping that I’ll be seeing you at a CanPL game in Regina. Actually, make that many CanPL games in Regina.

David Monsalve, goalkeeper

Résumé: Toronto FC (MLS), FC Inter Turku (Finland), FC Edmonton (NASL), AC Oulu (Finland), America de Cali (Colombia), CD Suchitepequez (Guatemala), Husqvarna FF (Sweden)

“It gives us all a clear rather to becoming a pro. Once a pro, it gives us a sense of belonging — something we otherwise don’t really feel. As Canadians we often have to go far distances  to play the sport we love to play, away from family and friends and other opportunities.

“Having something at home gives us a chance to contribute to the game in OUR country as opposed to someone else’s — also it can give us older players an opportunity to make the transition into coaching or other opportunities within the soccer world.

“Long answer short, the CPL is something we can wholeheartedly get behind and support.”

Elijah Adekugbe, midfielder

Résumé: Trinity Western University (CIS), Calgary Foothills (PDL), PDL Top 50 Prospects List, Vancouver Whitecaps Residency

“We (Canadian players) are waiting in anticipation, a Canadian league will change the landscape of soccer. For Canadian players, it gives us a chance at a future that we’ve never had before.

“Right now, it’s tough for a Canadian to find a job. There really aren’t many scouts coming to Canada, so you have to spend a lot of money to go abroad just for a chance at getting a trial somewhere.”

Will Sykes in action

Will Sykes, goalkeeper

Résumé: Europa Point FC (GIB), Lincoln Red Imps (GIB)

“To me, a Canadian league is a requirement. For players like myself, who have had to go abroad to gain some recognition, it would be very important to have a league in Canada that offers chances to Canadian players, teams who aren’t like TFC or the Whitecaps, who are  very hard to break into unless you were part of their academy systems.

“I want to make a name for myself in this country. Being able to play in Canada would be a dream come true.”

Dylon Powley, goalkeeper

Résumé: Calgary Foothills (PDL), MacEwan University (CIS)

“It’s going to be great for Canada, for sure. Right now, there are only five pro teams in Canada, and most of their players aren’t Canadian. There is a real lack of opportunities for Canadian players; I am going to Sweden in November for some trials because of the lack of opportunity here in Canada.

“We have seen three teams do really well in the PDL; we got to the final last year, Kitchener-Waterloo won it, Thunder Bay is always near the top. We have the players here. But our players are missing out. We got to the final last year, a team that was 100 per cent Canadian, how does nobody get signed from that team? How do (PDL MVP finalist) Dominic Russo and Ajeej Sarkaria not get signed?

“And, last year, we got to the final, but no one paid attention to us. The MVP? An American? The coach of the year? American. The PDL even made up a creativity award (Creative Player of the Year) that they could give to an American.”

Tofa Fakunle, midfielder/striker

Résumé: Calgary Foothills (PDL), University of Northern British Columbia, 2016-17 Male Athlete of the Year (CIS)

“A new league would offer Canadian players like myself more chances to get to the next level. It would be another platform for us to look to get to.

“The league [PDL] is geared towards Americans. They are always promoting the American players. The last three years, a Canadian team has made it to the finals. But our players don’t get signed.

“A new Canadian league would get a lot of interest from Canadian players. People will be surprised at the number of Canadian players who will come looking for trials.”

Aaron Hooper, defender

Résumé: Indiana Fire (NPSL), then tore his ACL at a training camp in Malaga, Spain. Is expecting to be cleared to play again in February, 2018.

“It’s a huge opportunity for us. I got into soccer pretty late, I was 12. But what was special for me was that the first team I saw was TFC. And that means a lot to a Canadian player, to have a Canadian team to dream about right from the start.

“I coach as well, and I tell the kids that they could have an opportunity of a lifetime. I tell them they could have the opportunity that I never had at their age, to dream about playing in a Canadian league.

“When my knee heals I am looking to get back to NPSL, USL or PDL. But the goal would be to play in the Canadian Premier League for a long time. It would mean a lot to be able to play in front of family and friends, and then to help build the sport in this country.”

Intrinsically Canadian Power Rankings: MLS Week 27/NASL Week 24/USL Week 25

Hurricane Irma caused a few postponements in USL, and wiped out all games but one on the NASL schedule.

So, it’s a good time to pause and assess how Canadians are doing in terms of playing time. So far this season, 26 Canadians have appeared in MLS matches; but, of those, only five have earned more than 1,000 minutes each. To put that in perspective, 1,000 minutes is just over 11 games of full-game action. More than half are under the 500-minute mark.

Last year, as of Week 27, 24 Canadians had played in MLS; but, of those, seven had seen 1,000 minutes or more.

In USL, with 28 games played, TFCII looks to be far off the average of Canadian minutes per game needed to satisfy Canada Soccer’s guidelines. TFCII and WFC2 are required to average enough playing time for Canadians to equal six players out of the 11. That means 540 minutes per game.  By our math, with 28 games gone in its season, TFCII is nearly 100 minutes/game off the pace.

Here are the latest rankings:

MLS MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Will Johnson, Orlando, 2026 (25)
Cyle Larin, Orlando, 1977 (24)
Patrice Bernier, Montreal, 1461 (21)
Tesho Akindele, FCD, 1240 (25)
Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla, Montreal, 1053 (18)
Raheem Edwards, TFC, 929 (17)
Alphonso Davies, Vancouver, 741 (19)
Jonathan Osorio, TFC, 691 (21)
Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Montreal, 678 (15)
Tosaint Ricketts, TFC, 669 (18)
Russell Teibert, Vancouver, 545 (9)
Samuel Piette, Montreal, 439 (5)
Marcel de Jong, Vancouver, 365 (8)
Jay Chapman, TFC, 361 (10)
Louis Beland-Goyette, Montreal, 293 (6)
Ashtone Morgan, TFC, 193 (4)
Jordan Hamilton, TFC, 120 (7)
Wandrille Lefevre, Montreal, 106 (3)
Maxime Crepeau, Montreal, 90 (1)
Ben McKendry, Vancouver, 90 (1)
Maxim Tissot, D.C. United, 90 (1)
Richie Laryea, Orlando, 64 (7)
Brian Wright, New England, 45 (2)
Tyler Pasher, Sporting KC, 45 (1)
David Choiniere, Montreal,34 (3)
Kwame Awuah, NYCFC, 2 (2)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, MLS MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

Montreal, 4131/27 (153)

Orlando City, 4047/28 (144.5)

Toronto FC, 2973/28 (106.2)

Vancouver, 1739/26 (66.9)

FC Dallas, 1240/27 (45.9)

D.C. United, 90/28 (3.2)

New England, 45/26 (1.7)

Sporting Kansas City, 45/27 (1.7)

New York City FC, 2/28 (0.1)

NASL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Drew Beckie, Jacksonville, 1739 (21)
Allan Zebie, FCE, 1567 (19)
Mason Trafford, Miami FC, 1539 (19)
Ben Fisk, FCE, 1458 (16)
Kyle Bekker, San Francisco, 1444 (19)
Nana Attakora, San Francisco, 1350 (15)
Dejan Jakovic, New York, 1260 (14)
Karl Ouimette, San Francisco, 1207 (14)
Adam Straith, FCE, 949 (11)
Nik Ledgerwood, FCE, 829 (12)
Tyson Farago, FCE, 765 (8)
Maxim Tissot, San Francisco, 722 (11)
Mauro Eustaquio, FCE, 600 (11)
Nathan Ingham, FCE, 495 (6)
Ben McKendry, FCE, 418 (7)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, NASL MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

FC Edmonton, 7081/23 (307.9)

San Francisco, 4723/22 (214.7)

Jacksonville, 1739/23 (75.6)

Miami FC, 1539/24 (64.1)

New York, 1260/23 (54.8)

 

USL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Callum Irving, Ottawa, 2340 (26)
Mastanabal Kacher, Colorado Springs, 2262 (27)
Mallan Roberts, Richmond, 2217 (25)
Ryan James, Rochester, 2143 (25)
Ryan Telfer, TFCII, 1990 (26)
Jordan Murrell, Reno, 1922 (22)
David Norman Jr., WFC2, 1607 (21)
Amer Didic, Swope Park, 1541 (18)
Zachary Ellis-Hayden, OCB, 1532 (20)
Angelo Cavalluzzo, TFCII, 1530 (17)
Daniel Haber, Real Monarchs, 1528 (24)
Kadin Chung, WFC2, 1508 (20)
Tyler Pasher, Swope Park, 1440 (19)
Bradley Kamdem Fewo, Rochester, 1408 (19)
Jordan Dover, Rochester, 1391 (18)
Liam Fraser, TFCII, 1385 (17)
Jordan Schweitzer, OCB, 1374 (20)
Marco Bustos, WFC2, 1364 (16)
Jamar Dixon, Ottawa, 1354 (22)
Terran Campbell, WFC2, 1354 (20)
Thomas Gardner, WFC2, 1343 (20)
Eddie Edward, Ottawa, 1341 (17)
Ben McKendry, WFC2, 1203 (14)
Shaan Hundal, TFCII, 1171 (18)
Chris Nanco, Bethlehem Steel, 1140 (19)
Carl Haworth, Ottawa, 1135 (15)
Matthew Baldisimo, WFC2, 1014 (19)
Gloire Amanda, WFC2, 1001 (22)
Sean Melvin, WFC2, 990 (11)
Sergio Camargo, TFCII, 938 (16)
Mark Anthony Gonzalez, Swope Park, 925 (17)   
Richie Laryea, OCB, 909 (11)
Luca Uccello, TFCII, 859 (12)
Malik Johnson, TFCII, 849 (17)   
Skylar Thomas, Charleston, 839 (16)
Julian Dunn-Johnson, TFCII, 818 (10)   
Kyle Porter, Tampa Bay, 787 (10)  
Alessandro Riggi, Phoenix, 757 (13)
Mark-Anthony Kaye, Louisville, 737 (13)
Jordan Hamilton, TFCII, 734 (9)  
Michael Cox, OCB, 710 (13)   
A.J. Gray, Phoenix, 706 (19)
Dominick Zator, WFC2, 685 (8)
Aidan Daniels, TFCII, 678 (13)
Paris Gee, Tulsa, 655 (14)  
Chris Serban, WFC2, 643 (12)
Marco Carducci, Rio Grande Valley FC, 540 (6)
Ashtone Morgan, TFCII, 464 (6)
Michael Baldisimo, WFC2, 355 (8)
Mackenzie Pridham, Reno, 350 (12)  
Maxim Tissot, Richmond, 340 (4)
Dante Campbell, TFCII, 337 (10)
Anthony Osorio, TFCII, 315 (5)
Jay Chapman, TFCII, 270 (3)
Aron Mkungilwa, Ottawa, 233 (4)
Josh Heard, Bethlehem Steel, 201 (10)
Adonijah Reid, Ottawa, 199 (7)
Marco Dominguez, FC Cincinnati, 189 (5)
Brian Wright, Tulsa, 186 (3)
Wandrille Lefevre, Ottawa, 180 (2)
Patrick Metcalfe, WFC2, 163 (3)
Brett Levis, WFC2, 131 (3)
Matthew Srbely, TFCII, 95 (2)
Marcel DeBellis, Richmond, 90 (1)
Raheem Edwards, TFCII, 90 (1)
Mele Temguia, FC Cincinnati, 62 (1)
Nicolas Apostol, WFC2, 17 (1)
Thomas Meilleur-Giguere, Ottawa, 1 (1)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, USL MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

WFC2,13375/27 (495.4)

TFCII, 12532/28 (447.6)

Ottawa, 6783/26 (260.9)

Rochester, 4942/25 (197.7)

Orlando City B, 4565/27 (169.1)

Swope Park Rangers, 3906/26 (150.2)

Richmond, 2647/27 (98)

Reno, 2272/26 (87.4)

Colorado Springs, 2262/27 (83.8)

Phoenix, 1463/24 (61)

Real Monarchs SC, 1528/26 (58.8)

Bethlehem Steel FC, 1431/25 (57.2)

Tulsa, 841/26 (32.3)

Charleston, 839/26 (32.3)

Tampa Bay, 787/26 (30.3)

Louisville City, 737/25 (29.5)

Rio Grande Valley FC, 450/26 (17.3)

FC Cincinnati, 251/26 (9.7)

 

NCFC ends Clarke Stadium winless drought, and makes stew of the Rally Rabbit, too

Even the rally rabbit couldn’t save FC Edmonton, this time.

Down 1-0 to North Carolina FC early in the first half of Sunday’s NASL match at Clarke Field, the Eddies had their good luck charm run onto the field; a grey rabbit interrupted the match. Now, history tells us that whenever the rabbit is seen, good things happen for the Eddies. That’s why the rabbit is on the jersey.

But the appearance of the furry grey talisman did not change the Eddies’ fortunes. They made it all too easy for the visitors, who would end up leaving Edmonton with an emphatic 3-0 win. NCFC won for the first time in franchise history at Clarke Field, and ended a five-year winless streak with an exclamation mark.

NCFC not only killed its infamous winless streak, but also made stew of the rabbit legend.

“There was not one passing mark on the team,” said Eddies coach Colin Miller after the shellacking. “The team was unrecognizable from the last four or five games.”

The Eddies’ five-game unbeaten streak came to a crashing halt.

Early in the match, it looked like the Clarke jinx might continue for NCFC. Two minutes in, and striker Brazilian striker Renan Gorne found a way to miss a wide-open net from three feet away.

But, instead of taking the miss as a sign of “here we go again,” NCFC kept pushing and pushing, often using two men on each wing to take away the outside of the park from the Eddies. And, at the 12-minute mark, NCFC took the lead on a fantastic strike from Nazmi Albadawi that swerved just inside the post.

Despite going into the teeth of a 30 km/h wind, NCFC keeper Brian Sylvestre pounded a goal kick into the Eddies half; Austin Da Luz got his head to the ball, sending it to Gorne at the top of the box. He cushioned the ball for Albadawi, who launched what will be an NASL goal of the year candidate. The ball started off on a trajectory to miss the net, then screwballed back inside the post.

NCFC’s Kareem Moses battles FCE’s Sainey Nyassi PHOTO: TONY LEWIS/FC EDMONTON

The rabbit then made its entrance, and a crowd that had been silent since the opening kick-off got its voice; surely the Eddies would get off the canvas,  now!

But, in the 21st, Gorne was left absolutely open in the area to head home a corner, doubling the Carolina lead.

At half, Miller noted that the Eddies didn’t actually make a tackle till the 37th minute, but that the team had “mastered the art of hitting the near-post defender and getting hit on the counter.”

The Eddies did not show any new life in the second half. An NCFC corner kick ricocheted off FCE’s Tomi Ameobi, forcing keeper Tyson Farago into a diving stop to prevent the own goal.

“The only shot on goal we had was on our own goal,” fumed Miller.

Albadawi then sent a swerving shot off the bar,

But NCFC got its third late in the second half, after Eddies fullback Pedro Galvao gave the ball away to Steven Miller; the NCFC midfielder ran 30 yards down the field clear on goal, and finished the chance with a low shot that found the target.

NCFC coach Colin Clarke said that the win was especially sweet, as his team has come to Edmonton many times and gone home disappointed.

“I thought our guys were absolutely superb,” he said.

Eddies prepare for a run of “10 Cup finals” and try to shut out the NASL gossip

FC Edmonton has 10 regular-season games left this season; the Eddies are nine points behind the New York Cosmos for the fourth and final playoff spot in NASL.

According to coach Colin Miller, the team has “10 Cup finals” to play, and that means there isn’t time to worry about the latest soap opera regarding the NASL’s future.

Earlier this week, news broke that the United States Soccer Federation denied NASL’s application to continue on as a Division-2 league in 2018. The league was granted a one-year waiver to continue as a Div-2 league last winter despite being reduced to eight teams.

FCE is the only Canadian team remaining in NASL, with the Ottawa Fury having moved to USL for the 2017 season.

Division designations are unimportant in Canada, as our national association allows the Fury, FCE and the three Canadian MLS teams to compete for the Voyageurs Cup. Until the Canadian Premier League launches, the Cup is the official Canadian championship and is the decider of who from this country goes to the CONCACAF Champions League.

But, despite there being no promotion or relegation in American soccer, the designation of Div-1, Div-2 and/or Div-3 status is a big deal as it’s tied to status, sponsorship money, perceived league prestige. 

“There’s nothing we can do about it as players,” said FCE captain Nik Ledgerwood of the latest episode of As the NASL Turns. “We try to go on with our work, although it is a distraction. It’s your workplace, it’s up in the air. But, at the same token, it’s the same thing as last year. We were dealing with the same thing in the off-season. Nobody knew if there was going to be a league, a team, whatever it was. We’ll continue to work hard and do our stuff, and we hope the fans will come out and continue to support the team.”

Attendance at Eddies’ games is up about 75 per cent this year.

“The message from the league is that we carry on,” said Miller. “We’re focused on one game at a time. Whatever happens with the powers-that-be will happen. We are very positive. Our ownership, everything, is rock-solid. We are just focusing on trying to get into that playoff spot. Whatever’s going to happen is going to happen. But this group of players and our staff and our ownership, everything, has been so positive and we won’t be distracted by anything… We will carry on. We owe it to our fans, we owe it to everybody because it’s been such a good season, we will be as positive as we possibly can.

“I don’t even know if there is any uncertainty. There’s a decision being made. It doesn’t affect us. We’re here. We’ve got 10 games to go, 10 Cup finals to go. We can’t afford to be focused on other things.”

Hurricane Irma

The Eddies will host the only NASL game being played this weekend, Sunday’s date at home to North Carolina FC. All of the other games in the league have been postponed due to Hurricane Irma, which has already hit Puerto Rico and is moving towards Florida.

The Eddies are scheduled to play in Puerto Rico on Sept. 20, and have road games to go in Jacksonville and Miami in October.

The Eddies are ready for more schedule changes, if need be.

“With the greatest respect, we hope everything is OK in Puerto Rico, that everyone is safe and well,” said Miller. “But they’ve got to look at it and say maybe that [playing elsewhere]  is the best bet… It’s up to Puerto Rico to do that, but we’ve thought of everything in terms of preparation. It is a horrendous situation for not just the people in Puerto Rico but all the Caribbean Islands. Nobody seems like they’re going to escape this for the next little while. As long as everyone is healthy and safe, that’s the most important thing, and I am sure Puerto Rico FC will come out and make a statement at some point, just about  how things are on the island and with the football club. We’re told everybody is OK, there.  But’s it’s a real shame.

“That [playing games in other venues] has to be a possibility if things aren’t functioning properly on the island.”

 

And then there were six: Calgary’s out as a potential World Cup 2026 host city

The bid committee overseeing the joint U.S./Canada/Mexico push for the 2026 World Cup released an updated list of potential host cities for the tournament on Thursday.

The number of Canadian potential host cities has been lowered from seven to six, as Calgary’s McMahon Stadium has been removed from the list. That means Canada’s fourth-largest metro is out. And, Toronto and Montreal now have one stadium each put forward as potential World Cup venues, as the Rogers Centre and Stade Saputo have been eliminated.

Rogers Centre was always going to be a long shot because, well, even if it was to only host a couple of games, FIFA takes over World Cup venues weeks ahead of the tournament, and that’s just too much of a hole to put in the Blue Jays’ schedule.

The CONCACAF joint bid is up against Morocco for the right to host the 2026 tournament.

Here are Canada’s remaining six potential sites:

Edmonton, Alberta
Commonwealth Stadium
56,335


Montréal, Québec
Stade Olympique
61,004


Ottawa, Ontario
TD Place Stadium
24,341


Regina, Saskatchewan
Mosaic Stadium
30,048


Toronto, Ontario
BMO Field
28,026


Vancouver, British Columbia
BC Place
55,165

To be a World Cup stadium, the venue will need a natural grass surface — unless FIFA introduces a rule that allows senior World Cups to be played on a mix of surfaces. The Americans and Mexicans will use grass fields, so Canada’s fields will likely need grass, too.

The stadiums also need to have a minimum of 40,000 seats — and none of the seats can be temporary. No one-off deliveries of bleachers to pad the capacities of the stadiums.

And, look for FIFA to require security perimeters around the venues.

The issues? Only one of the six stadiums has a grass field — BMO Field — and it’s 12,000 seats short of being World Cup ready. Ottawa and Regina both need expansions and grass fields. Edmonton is likely good without a major renovation outside of a grass field, and its location north of downtown offers plenty of room to build a security zone. Olympic Stadium would need some kind of facelift. BC Place needs grass, but is otherwise in good shape.

Let the Canadian regional squabbling begin! If you live in any of the six cities, of course your city is the best place for the World Cup, and the other five suck! Now get on Twitter and belittle your fellow Canadians!

METRO AREAS OF SIX BID CITIES (2016 Canadian census)

Toronto 6,242,300

Montreal 4,093,800

Vancouver 2,548,700

Edmonton 1,392,600

Ottawa-Gatineau 1,351,100

Regina 247,200

Another Canadian in legal trouble in Orlando: Will Johnson arrested on domestic-violence charge

For the second time this season, a Canadian national-teamer playing for Orlando City has been arrested.

On Wednesday, just after 2:30 a.m. local time, Will Johnson was booked into the Orange County jail. He was charged with battery (domestic violence), according to records from the Orange County Jail.

Will Johnson

Johnson was sent to cell BRCIA 10, which must be awfully close to cell BRCIA 14, which is where Canadian national-team forward Cyle Larin spent a few hours in June after he was charged with impaired driving.

Needless to say, with a domestic violence charge, Johnson will be facing discipline from MLS and possibly Canada Soccer.

The league released the following statement:

Orlando City SC midfielder Will Johnson was arrested Wednesday and charged with misdemeanor battery in connection with an alleged domestic incident. Johnson has been suspended pending investigations by MLS and the Orlando Police Department. Major League Soccer will remain in close communication with Orlando City SC, local law enforcement, and the MLS Players Union during this investigation.

MLS will not have further comment on this matter until the conclusion of the League’s investigation.

Johnson is currently leading all Canadians in MLS when it comes to minutes played. He signed with Orlando after spending the 2016 season with Toronto FC, where he scored the Canadian Championship-winning goal while breaking his leg at the same time.

Johnson has 43 national-team caps.

FC Edmonton remains silent in wake of USSF decision to “refrain” from granting NASL Div-2 status for 2018

The NASL has released the following statement in regards to the news that the United States Soccer Federation voted to not sanction the league as Div. 2 for the 2018 season.

From the league:

“Since taking the pitch in 2011, the NASL has been working diligently to advance the growth of soccer by creating an entrepreneurial league where dynamic clubs bring the excitement of professional soccer to fans across North America. Despite the progress made by the NASL, U.S. Soccer has taken a decision to refrain from sanctioning the league as Division 2 for the 2018 season. The NASL is disappointed with the decision and does not believe that the federation acted in the best interest of the sport. U.S. Soccer’s decision negatively affects many stakeholders in soccer: fans, players, coaches, referees, business partners, and the NASL club owners who have invested tens of millions of dollars promoting the sport. The decision also jeopardizes the thousands of jobs created by the NASL and its member clubs.

“While the last several days have seen some unfortunate results for U.S. Soccer, both on and off the pitch, the NASL remains committed to growing the game and is exploring multiple options as it continues planning for the future. The NASL knows that its fans will continue to show undying support for their clubs, and the league looks forward to the home stretch of the 2017 season and beyond. The beautiful game is bigger than any decision, result, person, league, division or federation. The NASL will continue its work to ensure that brighter days are ahead for soccer in the U.S.”

Now, to be a word geek, it’s interesting that NASL chose the words “refrain from sanctioning” rather than “reject” or “deny.”

FC Edmonton is the lone Canadian club left in NASL, with the Ottawa Fury having moved to USL for the 2017 season. Over the past off-season, which saw the NASL reduced to eight teams, the USSF decided to promote USL from Div-3 to Div-2 status, while NASL was granted a one-year stay — allowed to remain at Div.-2, despite the loss of so many clubs.

FC Edmonton’s front office stated Tuesday that it will not have anything official to add to the NASL’s statement.

Ironically, despite the turmoil in NASL, FC Edmonton has seen attendance soar in 2017, attendance is up over 75 per cent over 2016, when the club made the playoffs. And, last winter, as American soccer followers wondered about NASL’s future, the attitude in Edmonton was “crisis? what crisis?” as there was very little attention paid to the drama going on down south — and many fans paid up for season tickets without knowing there were even any issues with the league.

Now, in the past season, FC Edmonton had denied links the Canadian Premier League; the messaging changed somewhat in 2017 to “we are loyal to NASL.” Still, owner Tom Fath was arguably the most defiant of the core NASL owners last season, pretty well guaranteeing the league would return for 2017 despite the uncertainty emanated from the USSF sanctioning process.

Now, understand, Canada Soccer cares very little for U.S. sanctioning. Until the Canadian Premier League comes to be, the official national championship of this country is the, well, Canadian Championship. And the Ottawa Fury, FC Edmonton plus the three Canadian MLS teams all participate in it. The MLS teams are seeded, but, over and over, Canada Soccer has stated that it feels it gives FCE and the Fury equal opportunities to win the trophy.

Canadian Premier League president Paul Beirne has stated that the new circuit has a goal to begin play a week after the 2018 World Cup concludes. But, only two teams are sanctioned at the moment – Winnipeg and Hamilton. And Hamilton’s city council has said it won’t green-light a soccer team at Tim Hortons Field until legal issues surrounding the new stadium are cleared.

Beirne has been clear that if the league can’t pull off a launch in July 2018, it won’t, for lack of  a better term, half-ass things. It will wait till 2019 to do things right. As Beirne said at a recent meeting in Regina; “you only get one chance to make a first impression.”

Now, for the sake of argument, if FCE was to go the CanPL route, could it afford a year of darkness? There are staff, coaches and players on the payroll. It’s not like a true CanPL startup, that looks at the books and says “we’ll pay people once things get started.” As well, a year away would halt the ticket-selling momentum that’s been built up in 2017.

As for USL, there was no interest from FCE in going to that league last year, even though the Fury and Tampa Bay Rowdies departed. FCE, hypothetically, would present a massive issue for USL; that’s a league that preaches local rivalries and limited travel expenditures. If FCE pops into the league, isolated from the rest of the Western Conference, well that’s a fly-in date for each team on the schedule.

Luckily for FCE, there won’t bee too much local media on the NASL situation, as Oilers training camp opens this week. Connor McDavid, folks. Connor McDavid.

 

Intrinsically Canadian Power Rankings: MLS Week 26/NASL Week 23/USL Week 24

With this being an international weekend, and Canada’s more prominent MLS, NASL and USL players being on national-team duty, there has been some shuffling in our list of minutes played by Canadians.

The most significant change comes in MLS, where Orlando City, which has been that league’s leader in minutes played by Canadians since First Kick, was finally passed at the top. The Montreal Impact, even with Samuel Piette and Anthony Jackson-Hamel on international duty, has surpassed the Lions in terms of minutes played by Canadians. Patrice Bernier’s 90 minutes played in Saturday’s loss to Chicago helped nudge the Impact ahead.

Of course, some will howl that Montreal’s number includes Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla, who has been in a self-imposed national-team limbo since his decision not to play for Canada in the CONCACAF U-20s. But, despite rumours linking him to Cote d’Ivoire, his most recent national-team appearance was for a Canadian youth side. So he continues to count in our rankings.

Here are this week’s rankings:

MLS MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Will Johnson, Orlando, 2026 (25)
Cyle Larin, Orlando, 1887 (23)
Patrice Bernier, Montreal, 1416 (20)
Tesho Akindele, FCD, 1215 (24)
Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla, Montreal, 1041 (17)
Raheem Edwards, TFC, 929 (17)
Alphonso Davies, Vancouver, 726 (18)
Jonathan Osorio, TFC, 646 (20)
Tosaint Ricketts, TFC, 644 (17)
Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Montreal, 588 (14)
Russell Teibert, Vancouver, 545 (9)
Marcel de Jong, Vancouver, 365 (8)
Jay Chapman, TFC, 361 (10)
Samuel Piette, Montreal, 349 (4)
Louis Beland-Goyette, Montreal, 248 (5)
Ashtone Morgan, TFC, 193 (4)
Jordan Hamilton, TFC, 120 (7)
Wandrille Lefevre, Montreal, 106 (3)
Maxime Crepeau, Montreal, 90 (1)
Ben McKendry, Vancouver, 90 (1)
Maxim Tissot, D.C. United, 90 (1)
Richie Laryea, Orlando, 64 (7)
Brian Wright, New England, 45 (2)
Tyler Pasher, Sporting KC, 45 (1)
David Choiniere, Montreal,34 (3)
Kwame Awuah, NYCFC, 2 (2)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, MLS MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

Montreal, 3849/26 (148)

Orlando City, 3957/27 (146.6)

Toronto FC, 2903/27 (107.5)

Vancouver, 1724/25 (69)

FC Dallas, 1215/26 (46.7)

D.C. United, 90/27 (3.3)

New England, 45/25 (1.8)

Sporting Kansas City, 45/25 (1.8)

New York City FC, 2/26 (0.1)

 

NASL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Drew Beckie, Jacksonville, 1739 (21)
Allan Zebie, FCE, 1477 (18)
Mason Trafford, Miami FC, 1449 (18)
Kyle Bekker, San Francisco, 1444 (19)
Ben Fisk, FCE, 1388 (15)
Nana Attakora, San Francisco, 1350 (15)
Karl Ouimette, San Francisco, 1207 (14)
Dejan Jakovic, New York, 1170 (13)
Adam Straith, FCE, 949 (11)
Nik Ledgerwood, FCE, 829 (12)
Maxim Tissot, San Francisco, 722 (11)
Tyson Farago, FCE, 675 (7)
Mauro Eustaquio, FCE, 600 (11)
Nathan Ingham, FCE, 495 (6)
Ben McKendry, FCE, 328 (6)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, NASL MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

FC Edmonton, 6741/22 (306.4)

San Francisco, 4723/22 (214.7)

Jacksonville, 1739/23 (75.6)

Miami FC, 1449/23 (63)

New York, 1170/22 (53.2)

 

USL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Callum Irving, Ottawa, 2250 (25)
Mastanabal Kacher, Colorado Springs, 2207 (26)
Mallan Roberts, Richmond, 2127 (24)
Ryan James, Rochester, 2053 (24)
Ryan Telfer, TFCII, 1900 (25)
Jordan Murrell, Reno, 1832 (21)
Amer Didic, Swope Park, 1541 (18)
David Norman Jr., WFC2, 1460 (19)
Zachary Ellis-Hayden, OCB, 1442 (19)
Angelo Cavalluzzo, TFCII, 1440 (16)
Daniel Haber, Real Monarchs, 1438 (23)
Bradley Kamdem Fewo, Rochester, 1408 (19)
Jordan Dover, Rochester, 1391 (18)
Kadin Chung, WFC2, 1385 (18)
Liam Fraser, TFCII, 1385 (17)
Tyler Pasher, Swope Park, 1350 (18)
Thomas Gardner, WFC2, 1343 (20)
Eddie Edward, Ottawa, 1341 (17)
Jordan Schweitzer, OCB, 1284 (19)
Jamar Dixon, Ottawa, 1264 (21)
Ben McKendry, WFC2, 1203 (14)
Marco Bustos, WFC2, 1200 (14)
Terran Campbell, WFC2, 1174 (18)
Shaan Hundal, TFCII, 1171 (18)
Chris Nanco, Bethlehem Steel, 1140 (19)
Carl Haworth, Ottawa, 1070 (14)
Sergio Camargo, TFCII, 932 (15)
Mark Anthony Gonzalez, Swope Park, 925 (17)   
Gloire Amanda, WFC2, 918 (21)
Richie Laryea, OCB, 909 (11)
Matthew Baldisimo, WFC2, 891 (17)
Luca Uccello, TFCII, 859 (12)
Malik Johnson, TFCII, 849 (17)   
Skylar Thomas, Charleston, 839 (16)  
Sean Melvin, WFC2, 810 (9)
Kyle Porter, Tampa Bay, 787 (10)  
Julian Dunn-Johnson, TFCII, 728 (9)  
Michael Cox, OCB, 710 (13)   
A.J. Gray, Phoenix, 688 (17)
Dominick Zator, WFC2, 685 (8)
Aidan Daniels, TFCII, 678 (13)
Alessandro Riggi, Phoenix, 667 (12)
Mark-Anthony Kaye, Louisville, 647 (12)  
Jordan Hamilton, TFCII, 644 (8)
Chris Serban, WFC2, 582 (10)
Paris Gee, Tulsa, 565 (13)  
Marco Carducci, Rio Grande Valley FC, 540 (6)
Ashtone Morgan, TFCII, 464 (6)
Mackenzie Pridham, Reno, 350 (12)  
Maxim Tissot, Richmond, 340 (4)
Dante Campbell, TFCII, 337 (10)
Anthony Osorio, TFCII, 315 (5)
Aron Mkungilwa, Ottawa, 233 (4)
Josh Heard, Bethlehem Steel, 201 (10)
Marco Dominguez, FC Cincinnati, 189 (5)
Brian Wright, Tulsa, 186 (3)
Jay Chapman, TFCII, 180 (2)
Wandrille Lefevre, Ottawa, 180 (2)
Michael Baldisimo, WFC2, 175 (6)
Adonijah Reid, Ottawa, 174 (6)
Matthew Srbely, TFCII, 95 (2)
Marcel DeBellis, Richmond, 90 (1)
Raheem Edwards, TFCII, 90 (1)
Patrick Metcalfe, WFC2, 73 (2)
Mele Temguia, FC Cincinnati, 62 (1)
Brett Levis, WFC2, 29 (1)
Nicolas Apostol, WFC2, 17 (1)
Thomas Meilleur-Giguere, Ottawa, 1 (1)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, USL MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2017

WFC2,11942/25 (477.7)

TFCII, 12067/27 (446.9)

Ottawa, 6513/25 (260.5)

Rochester, 4852/24 (202.2)

Orlando City B, 4385/26 (168.7)

Swope Park Rangers, 3816/25 (152.6)

Richmond, 2557/26 (98.3)

Reno, 2182/24 (90.9)

Colorado Springs, 2207/26 (84.9)

Phoenix, 1355/22 (61.6)

Real Monarchs SC, 1438/25 (57.5)

Bethlehem Steel FC, 1431/25 (57.2)

Charleston, 839/26 (32.3)

Tampa Bay, 787/25 (31.5)

Tulsa, 751/25 (30)

Louisville City, 647/24 (27)

Rio Grande Valley FC, 450/25 (18)

FC Cincinnati, 251/26 (9.7)

 

Surreal own goal from NCFC’s keeper allows Eddies to get a draw on the road

The North American Soccer League is continually looking for ways to bring more exposure to the league.

Well, North Carolina FC keeper Brian Sylvestre’s own goal on Saturday night will get the NASL that exposure. It’s going to find its way onto blooper reels on sportscasts around the world. It’s that, well, odd. Sylvestre’s gaffe allowed FC Edmonton to get a 1-1 tie in Cary, N.C.

In the second half, NCFC defender Christian Ibeagha headed the ball back towards Sylvestre. Because it was headed back, and not played back by the feet of the defender, Sylvestre was able to pick up the bouncing ball. But he chose not to, and the ball bounced over his outstretched foot and skipped through his legs. The ball wasn’t rolling all that fast, and Sylvestre may have had time to dive backwards and swipe the ball away. Instead, he chose to stay on his feet and try to get around the back side of the ball. He didn’t get there in time, the ball inched over the goal line and, then, with the cause already lost, Sylvestre tried to dive and knock it away.

“I don’t think that things could have gone any worse for the goalkeeper,” said Eddies coach Colin Miller.

But, Miller, who worked with Sylvestre when both of them were with the Vancouver Whitecaps, left it right there. It’s one of those situations where a team is happy to get the goal, but you can still feel bad for the victim.

“Brian is having a hell of a season,” Miller said.

And, right after the match ended, the cameras showed FCE veteran Daryl Fordyce going over to Sylvestre and giving the keeper an embrace.

It also topped off a busy night for Ibeagha, who scored off a corner early in the match, then, off an FCE corner, headed a ball off his own crossbar. NCFC was just inches away from giving away two own goals on the night.

Miller was happy to come away with North Carolina with a point, but he also believed his team deserved more. Jake Keegan had a header go off the bar, and Tomi Ameobi missed the net after Sylvestre spilled a rebound in the penalty area.

“I thought that was our best football that we have played in a very long time,” said Miller.

While NCFC took the early lead and had the bulk of the play in the first 10 minutes, the Eddies gained momentum as the game went on.

“A lot of their attacking play came from us giving the ball away needlessly,” said Miller.

But Miller felt that the Eddies should have had more than the own goal, and he wants his players to be more selfish when they have clear looks at goal. Too often, he feels his players are looking to make the perfect pass, rather than shooting and seeing the kind of havoc in can create in the box. If a shot is on target, if it doesn’t go in, it can cause a rebound that leads to a free-for-all in the box. And that’s a good thing for the attacking team.