Steven Sandor's Blog, page 65

Canada will play for bronze; national team shoots itself in the foot in loss to Germany

OK, it hurts.

But some perspective — while watching the Canadian women’s team lose the Olympic semifinal sucks,this wasn’t nearly as bad as it was four years ago. There was no controversy around this 2-0 loss to Germany as there was in that infamous extra-time semifinal loss to the United States. There’s no referee to blame.

In the end, a very good run by the Canadian team was undone by two errors. After winning their first four games of this Olympic soccer tournament, things went sideways for Canada awfully fast.

Kadeisha Buchanan made the rash decision to try and dive in to take the ball away from German attacker Alexandra Popp, and there was never any choice for the referee to point to the spot. Buchanan got nowhere close to the ball, but came right through Popp’s legs. What made it all so much worse is that Popp was barely in the penalty area, and was actually running away from goal when the foul was committed. She presented only the slightest of dangers, but the chance was turned into a penalty kick, which Melanie Behringer dispatched with great power.

In the second half, Sara Daebritz hit a low drive that made it 2-0; but it was painful to see Canadian keeper Stephanie Labbe beaten at her near post. It would have taken a stretch to get to the shot, but Labbe was late getting over; giving herself really no chance to get to the ball.

These were examples of how cruel the game can be; it’s hard to argue that this team wouldn’t beat the 2012 version of the Canadian women’s team, all things being equal. Canada was more impressive in 2016’s group stage and quarter-final than it was in 2012. Yet, the Canadian women will play for that same bronze medal.

In 2012, Canada was undone by fate, controversial refereeing and an American team that refused to quit — and pulled out all the stops to win, even if it meant tossing sportsmanship by the wayside. In 2016, let’s face it, Canada beat itself. Two goals were neatly gift-wrapped for the Germans.

Meanwhile, Canada had golden chances to get itself back in the game. Buchanan’s headed effort was cleared off the line. Diana Matheson had a chance in alone — it was almost as if she had too much time; German keeper Almuth Schult outwaited her and made a good save.

And, early in the first half, Janine Beckie had the chance to give Canada the lead off a cross from Ashley Lawrence, but her effort went wide. To be fair, had it been on target, Schult looked to have it covered.

It was frustrating, because this wasn’t like matches we’ve seen against top-tier teams in the past, where Canada is badly outgunned. This was a case where Canada traded punches with a team ranked second in the world. But, when Canada wasn’t throwing punches, it was shooting itself in the foot.

Delta dawn: San Francisco has reportedly won the Dos Santos sweepstakes

Canadian Marc Dos Santos has emerged as the favourite to become the first head coach in the history of NASL expansion side, the San Francisco Deltas.

RDS’s Patrick Leduc reports that Dos Santos, who left the Ottawa Fury after the 2015 season to take over the USL’s Swope Park Rangers, will return to NASL for the 2017 season.

Dos Santos had also been linked to the head coaching position with the Jacksonville Armada — so there was clear competition out there for Dos Santos’s services. There was word around the league that other teams were interested in Dos Santos, as well.

The former Montreal Impact coach has also worked in Brazil. It took him just two seasons to transform the Ottawa Fury from expansion side to Soccer Bowl finalist. He’s also an unabashed supporter of Canadian talent. Even though he currently works in the United States — with the USL affiliate of Sporting Kansas City — he has four Canadians on his roster.

Of course, the fact that USL allows Canadian players to be counted as domestics on the rosters of American teams — something that MLS and NASL does not allow to happen — helped MDS boost the Canadian content on a team located in middle America.

For NASL, the news the Dos Santos is coming back to the league is a welcome sign of stability. The league was rocked just two weeks ago when Rayo OKC’s brass decided to clear out the front office — and Canadian coach Alen Marcina left the club. So, having the new, desperately awaited California club name a man who is already such a well-respected builder in modern NASL should go down well.

Dos Santos has already shown how quickly he can build an expansion side into a contender. Will there be a repeat performance in San Francisco — and how many more Canadians will be along for the ride?

Floro’s big job: Finding JDG’s replacement for upcoming World Cup qualifiers

So, if you’re Benito Floro, do you draft in a centre back to play the holding midfield position for Canada’s two crucial upcoming World Cup qualifiers?

OK, that was (kind of) a joke. But the subject matter is serious. The news coming out of the Ottawa Fury camp isn’t pretty; midfielder Julian de Guzman is expected to be out four to six weeks with a knee tendon issue. He was hurt in training last week.

Ottawa coach Paul Dalglish confirmed the seriousness of the de Guzman injury after Saturday’s loss to Jacksonville.

Even the most optimistic prognosis — four weeks — would mean that de Guzman wouldn’t be ready to play till mid September, too late to be part of the Canadian national side’s games in Honduras and home to El Salvador. Those games are set fort the first week of September.

JDG has 89 caps for Canada, and started in all of this country’s most recent four World Cup qualifiers. He was excellent in November’s 1-0 win over Honduras at BC Place.

So, what does national-team coach Floro do, when faced with losing his No. 1 choice for the holding midfield role? Does Samuel Piette come in as a starter? Or does he use Nik Ledgerwood, who has been excellent this season for FC Edmonton in the holding mid role, at his natural position — and not as a fullback as he’s so often used by Canada?

Is there another option out there?

This is clear, unless the prognosis on JDG is horribly inaccurate, he won’t be ready for Canada’s two upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

Overwhelmingly Canadian Power Rankings MLS Week 23/NASL Week 18/USL Week 21

Cyle Larin scored for Orlando City Sunday and played the full 90 minutes in a 2-2 draw with the Chicago Fire. Larin continues to lead all Canadians in either MLS or NASL in terms of minutes played.

As well, Tesho Akindele came on as a sub and scored for FC Dallas. As we get closer to Canada’s two massive September World Cup qualifiers, it’s heartening to see Canadians finding the back of the net.

But it’s not all rosy. After surging earlier in the season, the Montreal Impact aren’t giving minutes to Canadians. The team didn’t give a single minute to a Canadian player in this weekend’s loss to the New York Red Bulls.

There was some big news at the USL level, as Canadians Tyler Pasher and Amer Didic got called up from Swopw Park Rangers to join Sporting Kansas City for the MLS parent club’s upcoming CONCACAF Champions League match. The pair are featured in the current issue of Plastic Pitch (issue 9). As well, this week we saw the number of Canadians who have played in USL this year pass the century mark. Yes, more than 100 Canadian players have appeared in USL matches.

So, the USL policy of allowing Canadian players to be treated as domestics — no matter if they play on Canadian or American teams — does have a clear influence on job opportunites in North American pro soccer for this country’s players. In NASL and MLS, Canadians are only domestics on the Canadian clubs — but Americans are considered domestics on both sides of the border.

Here are the minutes:

 

MLS AND NASL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Cyle Larin, Orlando City, MLS, 1599 (21)
Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC, MLS, 1574 (20)
Nik Ledgerwood, FC Edmonton, NASL, 1454 (17)
Eddie Edward, FC Edmonton/Ottawa, NASL, 1438 (17)
Mason Trafford, Miami FC, NASL, 1417 (16)
Carl Haworth, Ottawa, NASL, 1331 (16)
Drew Beckie, Carolina, NASL, 1259 (16)
Will Johnson, Toronto FC, MLS, 1237 (15)
Tesho Akindele, FC Dallas, MLS, 1110 (23)
Karl Ouimette, NYRB, MLS/Jacksonville, NASL  1109 (13)
Maxim Tissot, Montreal, MLS/Ottawa, NASL,  1033 (13)
Fraser Aird, Vancouver, MLS, 1030 (13)
Kyle Bekker, Montreal, MLS, 988 (15)
Shamit Shome, FC Edmonton, NASL, 982 (14)
Nana Attakora, Fort Lauderdale, NASL, 905 (11)
Mallan Roberts, FC Edmonton/Ottawa, NASL, 866 (11)
Wandrille Lefevre, Montreal, MLS, 855 (10)
Patrice Bernier, Montreal, MLS, 770 (14)
Julian de Guzman, Ottawa, NASL, 770 (11)
Marcel De Jong, Ottawa, NASL/Vancouver, MLS,  765 (10)
Kyle Porter, Ottawa, NASL, 731 (10)
Jay Chapman, Toronto FC, 725 (16)
Jordan Hamilton, Toronto FC, MLS, 714 (10)
Mo Babouli, Toronto FC, MLS, 567 (14)
Mauro Eustaquio, Ottawa, NASL, 476 (11)
Russell Teibert, Vancouver, MLS, 447 (7)
Allan Zebie, FC Edmonton, NASL, 403 (9)
Jamar Dixon, Ottawa, NASL, 194 (4)
David Edgar, Vancouver, MLS, 180 (2)
Marcel DeBellis, Ottawa, NASL, 171 (2)
Ashtone Morgan, Toronto FC, MLS, 156 (7)
Kianz Froese, Vancouver, MLS, 150 (5)
Tosaint Ricketts, Toronto FC, MLS, 132 (4)
Sam Adekugbe, Vancouver, MLS, 111 (2)
Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Montreal, MLS, 68 (4)
Alphonso Davies, Vancouver, MLS, 67 (3)
 Mozzi Gyorio, Ottawa, NASL, 65 (2)
Marco Bustos, Vancouver, MLS, 50 (2)
Ben Fisk, FC Edmonton, NASL, 24 (2)
Raheem Edwards, Toronto FC, 2 (1)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2016, RANKED BY AVERAGE MINUTES PER GAME:



Ottawa, NASL, 6102/18 (339)

Toronto FC, MLS, 5108/24 (212.8)

FC Edmonton, NASL, 3814/18 (211.9)

Montreal, MLS, 3178/23 (138.1)

Vancouver, MLS, 2305/25 (94.2)

Miami FC, NASL, 1417/17 (83.4)

Orlando City, MLS, 1599/22 (72.7)

Carolina, NASL, 1259/18 (69.9)

Fort Lauderdale, NASL, 905/18 (50.3)

FC Dallas, MLS, 1110/25 (44.4)

Jacksonville, NASL, 527/19 (27.7)

New York Red Bulls, MLS, 582/25 (23.3)

 

USL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

 Janouk Charbonneau, FC Montreal, USL, 1880 (22)
Skylar Thomas, TFC II, USL, 1755 (21)
Daniel Haber, WFC2, USL, 1708 (23)
Louis Beland-Goyette, FC Montreal, USL, 1698 (20)
Brett Levis, WFC2, USL, 1626 (20)
Anthony Osorio, TFC II, USL, 1551 (19)
Ryan James, Rochester, USL, 1526 (21)
Aron Mkungilwa, FC Montreal, USL, 1513 (18)
 Thomas Meilleur-Giguere, FC Montreal, USL, 1506 (17)
Shaan Hundal, TFC II, USL, 1494 (23)
Ballou Jean Yves Tabla, FC Montreal, USL, 1443 (18)
Maxime Crepeau, FC Montreal, USL, 1440 (16)
Michael Cox, Orlando City B, USL, 1391 (20)
Chris Mannella, TFC II, USL, 1370 (20)
Amer Didic, Swope Park Rangers, USL, 1329 (21)
Dominic Samuel, Rochester, USL, 1318 (20)
Raheem Edwards, TFC II, USL, 1288 (16)
Liam Fraser, TFC II, USL, 1284 (20)
Aidan Daniels, TFC II, USL, 1281 (22)
Tyler Pasher, Swope Park Rangers, USL, 1279 (17)
John Smits, Wilmington, USL, 1260 (14)
Richie Laryea, Orlando City B, USL, 1255 (19)
Kadin Chung, WFC2, USL, 1241 (15)
Mark Anthony Kaye, Louisville City FC, 1154 (19)
Bradley Kamdem, Rochester, USL, 1141 (19)
Marco Bustos, WFC2, USL, 1112 (14)
Zachary Sukunda,  FC Montreal, USL, 1074 (17)
Mark Anthony Gonzalez, Swope Park Rangers, USL, 1068 (19)
Benjamin McKendry, WFC2, USL, 1068 (15)
Mastanabal Kacher,  FC Montreal, USL, 1022 (18)
Alessandro Riggi, FC Montreal, USL, 1016 (16)
David Choiniere, FC Montreal, USL, 1011 (14)
Marco Dominguez, FC Montreal, USL, 939 (13)
Zachary Ellis-Hayden, Orlando City B, USL, 911 (12)
Giuliano Frano, WFC2, USL, 903 (20)
Callum Irving, Rio Grande Valley FC, USL, 900 (10)
Jackson Farmer, WFC2, USL, 882 (10)
Luca Uccello, TFC II, USL, 855 (18)
Malik Johnson, TFC II, USL, 845 (17)
Nevelo Yoseke, FC Montreal, USL, 810 (18)
Philippe Lincourt-Joseph, FC Montreal, USL, 796 (20)
Yacine Ait-Slimane, FC Montreal, USL, 732 (14)
Jordan Murrell, Pittsburgh, USL, 719 (10)
Jeremy Gagnon-Lapare, FC Montreal, USL, 659 (8)
Carlos Patino, Sounders FC 2, USL, 653 (16)
Josh Heard, Bethlehem Steel, USL, 649 (16)
Sean Melvin, WFC2, USL, 630 (7)
Quillan Roberts, TFC II, USL, 630 (7)
Brandon John, Sounders FC2, USL, 545 (9)
Alphonso Davies, WFC2, USL, 544 (9)
Anthony Jackson-Hamel, FC Montreal, USL, 541 (8)
Phil Di Bennardo, TFC II, USL, 537 (7)
Kianz Froese, WFC2, USL, 516 (8)
Matthew Baldisimo, WFC2, USL, 499 (14)
Jems Geffrard, FC Montreal, USL, 472 (7)
Marco Carducci, WFC2, USL, 450 (5)
Charles Joly,  FC Montreal, USL, 450 (8)
Thomas Gardner, WFC2, USL, 411 (11)
Robert Boskovic, TFC II, USL, 367 (11)
Angelo Cavalluzzo, TFCII, USL, 363 (5)
David Paulmin, FC Montreal, USL, 360 (4)
Jordan Haynes, WFC2, USL, 348 (10)
Adam Bouchard, TFC II, USL, 342 (7)
Sam Adekugbe, WFC2, USL, 329 (4)
Sahil Sandhu, WFC2, USL, 303 (11)
Duwayne Ewart, Pittsburgh, USL, 302 (9)
Mackenzie Pridham, Sacramento Republic, USL, 301 (14)
Heikel Jarras, FC Montreal, USL, 279 (15)
Fabrice Mbvouvouma,  FC Montreal, USL, 273 (8)
Chris Serban, WFC2, USL, 273 (6)
Simon Lemire, FC Montreal, USL, 268 (7)
Steven Furlano, TFC II, USL, 257 (3)
Mo Babouli, TFC II, USL, 252 (3)
Jonathan Grant, Swope Park Rangers, USL, 239 (13)
Jordan Hamilton, TFC II, USL, 182 (3)
James Pantemis, FC Montreal, USL, 180 (2)
Marko Maletic, TFC II, USL, 156 (4)
Jay Chapman, TFC II, USL, 141 (2)
Mitch Piraux, WFC2, USL, 100 (2)
David Edgar, WFC2, USL, 90 (1)
Wandrille Lefevre, FC Montreal, USL, 90 (1)
Maxim Tissot, FC Montreal, USL, 90 (1)
Richlord Ennin, TFC II, USL, 89 (4)
Karl Ouimette, NYRB2, USL, 87 (1)
Andrew Dias, TFC II, USL, 80 (1)
Ethan Beckford, TFC II, USL, 65 (3)
Ashtone Morgan, TFC II, USL, 62 (1)
Badreddine Boulajoul,  FC Montreal, USL, 57 (3)
Joel Harrison, WFC2, USL, 51 (3)
Pierre Lamothe,  FC Montreal, USL, 45 (3)
A.J. Gray, Orange County, USL 45 (2)
Raheem Taylor-Parkes, Bethlehem Steel FC, USL, 44 (3)
Terran Campbell, WFC2, USL, 31 (6)
Dante Campbell, TFC II, USL, 23 (1)
Jimmy-Shammar Sanon,  FC Montreal, USL, 18 (1)
Alan Camacho, WFC2, USL, 16 (1)
Leonard Sohn, TFC II, USL, 13 (1)
Mele Temguia,  FC Montreal, USL, 10 (1)
Nick Apostol, WFC2, USL, 9 (1)
Michael Baldisimo, WFC2, USL, 8 (1)
Nikola Stakic, TFC II, USL, 7 (1)

 

USL TEAM RANKINGS, MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2016, RANKED BY AVERAGE MINUTES PER GAME:

FC Montreal, 20736/23 (901.6)

TFC II, 15277/25 (611.1)

WFC2, 13158/23 (572.1)

Swope Park Rangers, 3925/22 (178.4)

Rochester Rhinos, 3995/23 (173.7)

Orlando City B, 3547/22 (161.2)

Wilmington Hammerheads FC, 1260/22 (57.3)

Sounders FC 2, 1198/23 (52.1)

Louisville City FC, 1154/24 (48.1)

Pittsburgh Riverhounds, 1021/22 (46.4)

Rio Grande Valley FC, 900/22 (40.9)

Bethlehem Steel, 693/23 (30.1)

Sacramento Republic, 301/23 (13.1)

NYRB2, 82/22 (3.7)

Orange County, 45/24 (1.9)

 

 

Eddies take ninth in a row at home, as top three teams break away

It was the most important six-pointer FC Edmonton has played to date so far this season. If they lost Sunday to Minnesota United, the gap between the Eddies and Minnesota — who hold down fourth spot in the NASL overall standings — would shrink to three points. But, if the Eddies won, they’d tie the Indy Eleven atop the fall standings (with a game in hand) and go nine points clear of Minnesota in the final playoff spot.

Thanks to a great team goal that was finished by Tomi Ameobi, the Eddies passed the test. With the 1-0 win, the Eddies:

• Extended their home winning streak to nine games

• Avenged a loss to Minnesota — as the Loons, in April, were the only team to come to Edmonton and win an NASL match this season

• Are now part of a breakaway pack — that includes Indy and the New York Cosmos — in the NASL overall standings. Two points separate those three teams, then there’s a big gap to fourth-place Minnesota.

This may be the week where the NASL narrative changes. We’re edging towards the halfway point of the fall season, and we might now be talking about FCE, Indy and the Cosmos all being playoff teams, and everyone else fighting for that fourth and final spot — unless one of those other clubs can make a mark on the fall-season race.

“Personally, I don’t look at it in that light, that we’re nine points in,” said Ameobi. “Myself and a lot of the guys take every game as a must-win. That’s the attitude that we need to have from here on out — to play like we need every point that we’re going to get. If we continue to start games and address games with that attitude, we should go a long way.”

After going through the spring season without a goal, Ameobi has scored two consecutive game-winning goals, and has either set up or scored the last five goals the Eddies have scored.

“A lot of thanks have to go my teammates and the manager for continuing to have complete confidence in my ability,” said Ameobi. “Thankfully, the tide has started to turn.”

FCE’s Tomi Ameobi challenges Minnesota’s Tiago Calvano for the ball. PHOTO: TONY LEWIS/FC EDMONTON

The goal came right after the halftime kickoff. After the Loons failed to clear their lines, Dustin Corea won the ball at the top of the box and played it out onto the right wing for Shawn Nicklaw, whose high, far-post cross was met by Eddies striker Daryl Fordyce. Ameobi, stretched out and headed it in as he himself lunged into the Minnesota goal.

Ameobi had a couple of more great chances to build the lead, but a breakaway chance was stopped by Minnesota keeper Sammy N’Djock. A headed effort was cleared away from goal by Loons fullback Justin Davis.

Minnesota got two late great chances to equalize; Eddies keeper Matt VanOekel got caught out of his goal, but scrambled back into the penalty area to make a diving effort to knock Ben Speas’s effort away from danger. And, Eddies sub Nicolas DiBiase cleared Ismail Jome’s headed effort off the line.

Minnesota Coach Carl Craig, who saw his team get just one point from a Puerto Rico-Miami FC series of home games the week before, said his team’s finishing simply isn’t good enough at the moment.

“We had the lion’s share of the ball, the lion’s share of the possession, but we don’t have that quality in the final third.”

In fact, the first half was marked by some real wastefulness by the visitors, who found lots of space in front of the Eddies’ back four, but really could only muster some mostly harmless long-range hit-and-hopes at VanOekel. There were moments where Eddies fans had their hearts in their throats, though, in a sequence where central defender Albert Watson tackled Speas in the area and then Ibson went down under a challenge from Nicklaw. Referee Juan Marquez signalled that both Minnesota players should get up — and showed a yellow card to Ibson for simulation.

The French dejection: Canada establishes itself as a gold-medal threat

Since Canada won Olympic bronze by beating France in 2012, the four years leading up to the 2016 Olympics were simple to explain. Canada looked pretty good against the middling nations — but couldn’t find a way to beat the top-tier nations.

There were no breakthrough victories in friendlies, tournaments — and not at the Women’s World Cup.

Then, Canada beat Australia to open the 2016 Olympics. And we said: “oh, the Aussies’ world ranking is overstated.”

Then, they beat Germany. And we said “Germany didn’t want to win because of the tough draw for the group-stage winner.”

Maybe now, it’s time to believe in the work coach John Herdman and the women have put into this push for the podium. A gritty 1-0 quarter-final win over France wasn’t always pretty, there were some scares, but we know this — Canada can be called not just a medal threat, but a gold-medal threat.

Four games in Brazil. Four wins. The Canadians have given up just two goals.

Enjoy this. Over the past four years, Canadians have been so filled with doubt about the direction of the women’s program. But, tonight, replay that oh-so-wonderful winning goal in your head. See Janine Beckie take a long pass and, with one deft touch, pop the ball over a French defender’s head. Remember how, with her second touch, she lofted the ball to the far post. And, think about how Sophie Schmidt fired the ball into the top of the goal with a perfect volley.

As all-time Canadian national-team goals go, this was one of the prettiest. It was artistry from Beckie, and clinical finishing from Schmidt. There was grace. There was power.

Canada got its scares in the game; the first — and most controversial — came in the ninth minute, when referee Claudia Umpierrez didn’t blow the whistle after French forward Eugenie Le Sommer was hacked down in the Canadian penalty area by Kadeisha Buchanan. The Canadian centre back didn’t get any of the ball. Had Umpierrez pointed to the spot, the Canadians couldn’t have complained.

On set pieces, the French came close two other times in the first half. But headed efforts from Griedge Mbock Bathy and Wendie Renard both missed their target.

Right before halftime, Alyssha Chapman had to come out of the game with a shoulder injury. But, having to worry about who will play left back in the semifinal is a winner’s problem — it’s a lot better than watching someone else play in the semis.

After Schmidt gave Canada the lead, there were scares. A defensive header from Christine Sinclair looped over the head of keeper Stephanie Labbe, but the ball struck the bar. A few inches later, and Canada would have been undone by an own goal.

A penalty claim that wasn’t given. A ball that goes off the bar. Maybe Canada has a giant bag of karma — built up from the controversial loss to the United States in the 2012 semifinal. Maybe the soccer gods have said, “you know, after that cheap time-count call that let the Americans tie that game in 2012, Canada should get a break or two.”

But it’s not just about luck. It’s about all-hands-on-deck defending. It’s about some wonderful off-the-ball running from Beckie — who has clearly established herself as Sinclair’s heir apparent. It’s about taking all the lessons learned from last year’s World Cup and putting them into play a year later.

After so much fretting — it’s time simply to applaud.

Silent assassins: League continues to ignore table-topping FC Edmonton

FC Edmonton coach Colin Miller thinks that, until the Eddies or the Ottawa Fury win the Soccer Bowl, neither of the Canadian NASL sides will truly get league-wide respect.

Definitely, the Eddies aren’t getting the respect they deserve from around the league. Despite having the best point-per-game ratio in NASL, despite having the best record of any team in the fall season (yes, Indy is tied with the Eddies on points, but FCE has a game in hand), the Eddies still don’t get a lot of accolades from points around the league.

“We’re happy with that; let them have that mentality,” said Eddies captain Albert Watson. “It’s a mentality that they don’t expect much from us and we hit them with the sucker punch.”

Put it this way: Seventeen weeks have been contested in the NASL season; and an Eddies has been named a player of the week just once. Two weeks ago, the Eddie-snubbing hit an all-time high; the player of the week award went to New York’s Lucky Mkosana, didn’t convert a clear-cut chance in Edmonton — after coming on as a sub — that cost his team points. Meanwhile, Matt VanOekel won two starts and made eye-popping saves that preserved six points for his team.

MVO has yet to be named player of the week, even though he leads the league in clean sheets and should be a clear candidate for league MVP — it’s hard to find a player that’s been more valuable to his team than MVO has been for the Eddies.

“I think individual awards are overrated,” said VanOekel. “I think it’s pointless. I don’t know who makes these teams, whatever, it means nothing to the players at this club. We have one goal in mind, and that’s the championship. Getting into the playoffs. If we’re the underdogs, so be it. It plays into our hands.”

More evidence of who-is- FCE? On Sunday, in describing the Cosmos’s disappointing home draw with Rayo OKC, Big Apple Soccer editor Michael Lewis referred how the New Yorkers were in a battle with the Indy Eleven at the top of the standings, with nary a mention of FC Edmonton — who are also ahead of the Cosmos (oh, and have a 2-0-0 record against the Cosmos this season).

Watson said: “The Cosmos have come up here twice and we can only say we beat them twice. In the second game, in the first half, we were shocking by our own admission. But in the second half, we destroyed them. They couldn’t deal with our pace. They couldn’t deal with our intensity.”

Matt VanOekel PHOTO: TONY LEWIS/FC EDMONTON

This Sunday, the Eddies will face a beat-up Minnesota United squad — coming off a 4-0 loss at home to Miami and with an infirmary that’s filled to the brim. If the Eddies make it nine wins in a row at home, the league could have a situation where three teams — Indy, FCE and the Cosmos — begin to separate themselves from the rest of the pack in the overall standings.

But, when will those around the league notice? Will it take a snow-swept playoff game at Clarke Field in November to remind people that, well, the Eddies actually exist?

“I’ve been here four seasons, and I think the league has always underestimated our players,” said Watson. “We’re surprised about it this year, because we have better calibre of players. But, we’ve always been underestimated, even in stupid things like player of the week, and team of the week, which we really don’t really take into account. Because some of the selections, you put your head in your hands and go ‘where did that come from?’

“No one realizes how good our players are. Only us and our fans. Were one of the top sides. We’ll continue with that mentality this year.”

For coach Colin Miller, the anonymity of the Eddies may be an advantage.

“I want it to continue that way, believe it or not. I’m not a guy who goes and blows his own trumpet, anyway. I think the players deserve an enormous amount of credit for the work that they’re doing and the attitude they show in training every day. But, we are where we are because we deserve to be here. Teams don’t get relegated because they’re good teams. Teams win leagues and get into playoffs because they are good teams. We know we have got good squad, a very competitive squad. We know we haven’t accomplished anything yet. We’re on a good run. The guys are showing a lot of belief in what we’re doing as a staff. They believe in themselves as a group.

“If you’ve supported Scotland all your life, underdogs all the way through, then I don’t mind being where we are at the moment. “

And Miller is still big on using the Leicester City example. Even in April, as the Foxes were growing their lead atop the English Premier League table, the papers were filled with columnists wondering when, not if, the bigger clubs would pass them. It never came to pass. And, the Eddies are in that situation — so many around the league are expecting a fall, even though FCE has lost just one of its seven fall-season games.

Miller said he sees a lot of similarity between the current Eddies and the Toronto Blizzard of the original NASL. Miller played for that Blizzard squad — which was one of the elite teams in the league; but he felt, as a Canadian team, the Blizzard got very little respect league-wide.

On Sunday, the Eddies will get the chance to avenge one of the black marks on the season; their only home loss in NASL play in their spring-season home opener. Minnesota won 2-0.

“It was probably the poorest game we’ve played for the full 90 minutes,” said VanOekel. “We definitely owe them something. It’s a well-coached team and very talented players. We know they’re going to come out after being beat by Miami last week.”

“They turned us over and beat us pretty well, but we were poor that day,” said Miller. “We’re on a good run — but there’s no point in us going all the way to Puerto Rico and doing what we did on Saturday night if we let ourselves down here.”

To hell with the draw: Canadian women deserve praise for group-stage perfection

Last year, at the Women’s World Cup, Canada had a chance to win its group — and, theoretically, get a better draw — if it won its third game of the tournament, against the Dutch.

Before that game, which Canada would go on to win, coach John Herdman was asked over and over about the importance of playing for the easiest draw in a tournament. And he pushed all that talk aside.

“It never goes the way you think,” he said — suggesting that if you try to manage your group stage so you get the easiest elimination game, it’s not the right approach to take. You think you’ll get the plum draw and, bam, an upset happens in another group, and you end up being drawn with the team you were trying to avoid. Basically, you worry about your own results, the draw be damned.

Going into the 2016 Olympic tournament, Canada knew that winning Group F could be a recipe for disaster. The draw had the winner of this group facing the second-place team in a group that features France and the United States in the quarter-final.

With a 2-1 win in Brasilia over the Germans — despite resting many key starters — Canada finished the Group stage with a perfect 3-0-0 record, and will get that tough 1F slot. But it all follows through on the Herdman philosophy of not trying to game a tournament draw.

Two goals from Melissa Tancredi got Canada the win over the favoured Germans.

“We have a team that will push hard to finish top of this group and continue making history like we’ve done here,” said Herdman before the match. “We have six points but we want to finish with nine, win the group and go back to Sao Paulo which has been our home stadium here in Brazil.”

But, despite the brave words, Herdman left strikers Janine Beckie and Christine Sinclair on the bench; he also chose not so start fullback Ashley Lawrence and midfielder Diana Matheson, and centre back Kadeisha Buchanan served her yellow-card-accumulation suspension.

Lawrence and Matheson came in as a second-half subs.

The Germans also started a much different team than played in the 2-2 draw with Australia; scoring threats such as Alexandra Popp and Sara Daebritz were left on the bench to start the match.

In the 11th minute, fullback Allysha Chapman brought back visions of the 2015 Women’s World Cup with a rather foolish challenge just inside of the Canadian penalty area. Mandy Islacker went down, and the penalty was awarded to the Germans, which Melanie Behringer slotted home.

But the Canadians equalized in the 25th minute; midfielder Desiree Scott dove in to stop an underhit German pass, and the ball went to Tancredi, who showed some of her 2012-Olympic form with a cool finish into the corner of the German goal.

Tancredi scored the game winner in the second half, with a powerful header off a sweet free-kick delivery from Rebecca Quinn, who was in for Buchanan.

Canada got a late scare off a German corner kick, but Josee Belanger was able to lunge and clear a shot off the goal line.

Now, in the world of Canadian soccer fatalism, there will be those who treat this win like a loss; they’ll point to the tough draw. They’ll say Canada would have done better with a second- or third-place finish in the group. But that’s an anti-football mentality. It’s against everything we should hold dear about sport — you shouldn’t try to win by gaming the system, you should try to get to the top by beating all comers. Beat the teams that are put in front of you. And, for a Canadian team we all weren’t too sure about heading into Rio, we should applaud a perfect group stage.

Whitecaps forge new partnership in Alberta: FC Edmonton gave thumbs-up to deal

Outside of some very entertaining and competitive matches in the Amway Canadian Championship, the Vancouver Whitecaps and FC Edmonton have had a very amicable relationship. In the past, the Whitecaps have loaned players to its closest NASL neighbour — Corey Hertzog and Carlyle Mitchell come to mind.

On Tuesday, the Whitecaps announced a new partnership with the Alberta Soccer Association that will include an academy located in Calgary. But it needs to be stated that, before this deal was stamped, both the ASA and the Whitecaps informed FC Edmonton of their intentions — and FCE gave the plan its support.

So, the positive relationship between the ‘Caps and Eddies remains in place.

Alberta has provided a steady share of players to the Whitecaps. At the moment, no one is garnering more attention than Edmonton’s Alphonso Davies, who made his MLS debut at 15 years of age. Davies came out of an Edmonton program called Free Footie, which provides free soccer for high-needs kids whose families can’t afford to register their kids in leagues. It’s become a place where refugee children learn to connect with their new Canadian surroundings. This year, Free Footie will provide soccer for more than 2,000 Edmonton kids.

To rise from Free Footie to the Whitecaps is an incredible tale.

But the Whitecaps also have other Albertans on their first-team roster, including goalie Marco Carducci and fullback Sam Adekugbe, currently out on loan to Brighton and Hove Albion.

“The Whitecaps FC brand brings tremendous respect to all involved in the game,” said Shaun Lowther, the ASA’s technical director, in a release issued by the Whitecaps. “Now, more than ever, it is essential that organizations such as Whitecaps FC and the Alberta Soccer Association work together for the betterment of the game.”

As well, it should be noted that one of the challenges for FCE’s own academy program is the difficulty in finding the right kind of competition for the club’s prospects. Now, having a Whitecaps academy just down the Queen Elizabeth II highway could open some competitive options.

Overwhelmingly Canadian Power Rankings MLS Week 22/NASL Week 17/USL Week 20

Toronto FC’s Tosaint Ricketts scored his first MLS goal Wednesday, a game-winner against Real Salt Lake. The Canadian forward, who recently signed with the Reds, is one of 40 Canadians who have got onto the field for an MLS or NASL team so far this season.

Last year, in between the two leagues that count Canadians as domestics on Canadian sides but as imports on the American teams, a total of 41 Canadians made appearances. We are already at the 40-player mark this year.

It’s also worth noting that, last year, only four Canadians played more than 2,000 minutes each in MLS or NASL games. As it stands, this year’s crop should provide more than four 2,000-minutes-plus players.

Here are the rankings:

 

MLS AND NASL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Cyle Larin, Orlando City, MLS, 1509 (20)
Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC, MLS, 1484 (19)
Nik Ledgerwood, FC Edmonton, NASL, 1374 (16)
Eddie Edward, FC Edmonton/Ottawa, NASL, 1362 (16)
Mason Trafford, Miami FC, NASL, 1327 (15)
Carl Haworth, Ottawa, NASL, 1241 (15)
Will Johnson, Toronto FC, MLS, 1237 (15)
Drew Beckie, Carolina, NASL, 1219 (15)
Karl Ouimette, NYRB, MLS/Jacksonville, NASL  1109 (13)
Tesho Akindele, FC Dallas, MLS, 1081 (22)
Fraser Aird, Vancouver, MLS, 1014 (12)
Kyle Bekker, Montreal, MLS, 988 (15)
Maxim Tissot, Montreal, MLS/Ottawa, NASL,  944 (12)
Shamit Shome, FC Edmonton, NASL, 909 (13)
Wandrille Lefevre, Montreal, MLS, 855 (10)
Nana Attakora, Fort Lauderdale, NASL, 815 (10)
Mallan Roberts, FC Edmonton/Ottawa, NASL, 776 (10)
Patrice Bernier, Montreal, MLS, 770 (14)
Julian de Guzman, Ottawa, NASL, 770 (11)
Kyle Porter, Ottawa, NASL, 731 (10)
Jordan Hamilton, Toronto FC, MLS, 714 (10)
Marcel De Jong, Ottawa, NASL/Vancouver, MLS,  699 (9)
Jay Chapman, Toronto FC, 651 (15)
Mo Babouli, Toronto FC, MLS, 567 (14)
Russell Teibert, Vancouver, MLS, 447 (7)
Allan Zebie, FC Edmonton, NASL, 403 (9)
Mauro Eustaquio, Ottawa, NASL, 386 (10)
Jamar Dixon, Ottawa, NASL, 180 (3)
Marcel DeBellis, Ottawa, NASL, 171 (2)
Kianz Froese, Vancouver, MLS, 150 (5)
Tosaint Ricketts, Toronto FC, MLS, 113 (3)
Sam Adekugbe, Vancouver, MLS, 111 (2)
Ashtone Morgan, Toronto FC, MLS, 107 (6)
David Edgar, Vancouver, MLS, 90 (1)
Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Montreal, MLS, 68 (4)
 Mozzi Gyorio, Ottawa, NASL, 65 (2)
Marco Bustos, Vancouver, MLS, 50 (2)
Alphonso Davies, Vancouver, MLS, 43 (2)
Ben Fisk, FC Edmonton, NASL, 24 (2)
Raheem Edwards, Toronto FC, 2 (1)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2016, RANKED BY AVERAGE MINUTES PER GAME:

Ottawa, NASL, 5653/17 (332.5)

FC Edmonton, NASL, 3661/17 (215.4)

Toronto FC, MLS, 4876/23 (212)

Montreal, MLS, 3178/22 (144.5)

Vancouver, MLS, 2109/24 (87.9)

Miami FC, NASL, 1327/16 (82.9)

Orlando City, MLS, 1509/21 (71.9)

Carolina, NASL, 1219/17 (71.7)

Fort Lauderdale, NASL, 815/17 (47.9)

FC Dallas, MLS, 1081/24 (45)

Jacksonville, NASL, 527/18 (29.3)

New York Red Bulls, MLS, 582/24 (24.3)

 

USL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Janouk Charbonneau, FC Montreal, USL, 1700 (20)
Skylar Thomas, TFC II, USL, 1665 (20)
Daniel Haber, WFC2, USL, 1618 (22)
Louis Beland-Goyette, FC Montreal, USL, 1611 (19)
Brett Levis, WFC2, USL, 1524 (19)
Anthony Osorio, TFC II, USL, 1492 (18)
Shaan Hundal, TFC II, USL, 1429 (22)
Aron Mkungilwa, FC Montreal, USL, 1428 (17)
Ryan James, Rochester, USL, 1391 (19)
Chris Mannella, TFC II, USL, 1366 (19)
Maxime Crepeau, FC Montreal, USL, 1350 (15)
Amer Didic, Swope Park Rangers, USL, 1329 (21)
Thomas Meilleur-Giguere, FC Montreal, USL, 1326 (15)
Michael Cox, Orlando City B, USL, 1311 (19)
Dominic Samuel, Rochester, USL, 1304 (19)
Ballou Jean Yves Tabla, FC Montreal, USL, 1291 (16)
Tyler Pasher, Swope Park Rangers, USL, 1279 (17)
 John Smits, Wilmington, USL, 1260 (14)
Kadin Chung, WFC2, USL, 1241 (15)
Aidan Daniels, TFC II, USL, 1208 (21)
Liam Fraser, TFC II, USL, 1198 (19)
Raheem Edwards, TFC II, USL, 1198 (15)
Richie Laryea, Orlando City B, USL, 1197 (18)
Mark Anthony Kaye, Louisville City FC, 1101 (18)
Bradley Kamdem, Rochester, USL, 1064 (18)
Marco Bustos, WFC2, USL, 1022 (13)
David Choiniere, FC Montreal, USL, 1011 (14)
Zachary Sukunda,  FC Montreal, USL, 982 (15)
Benjamin McKendry, WFC2, USL, 979 (14)
Mark Anthony Gonzalez, Swope Park Rangers, USL, 978 (18)
Jackson Farmer, WFC2, USL, 882 (10)
Alessandro Riggi, FC Montreal, USL, 872 (14)
Zachary Ellis-Hayden, Orlando City B, USL, 860 (11)
Luca Uccello, TFC II, USL, 855 (18)
Mastanabal Kacher,  FC Montreal, USL, 842 (16)
Giuliano Frano, WFC2, USL, 813 (19)
Callum Irving, Rio Grande Valley FC, USL, 810 (9)
Malik Johnson, TFC II, USL, 808 (16)
Marco Dominguez, FC Montreal, USL, 796 (11)
Nevelo Yoseke, FC Montreal, USL, 771 (16)
Philippe Lincourt-Joseph, FC Montreal, USL, 749 (18)
Yacine Ait-Slimane, FC Montreal, USL, 732 (14)
Jordan Murrell, Pittsburgh, USL, 719 (10)
Jeremy Gagnon-Lapare, FC Montreal, USL, 659 (8)
Sean Melvin, WFC2, USL, 630 (7)
Quillan Roberts, TFC II, USL, 630 (7)
Carlos Patino, Sounders FC 2, USL, 597 (15)
Josh Heard, Bethlehem Steel, USL, 584 (15)
Alphonso Davies, WFC2, USL, 544 (9)
Brandon John, Sounders FC2, USL, 537 (8)
Phil Di Bennardo, TFC II, USL, 537 (7)
Kianz Froese, WFC2, USL, 516 (8)
Matthew Baldisimo, WFC2, USL, 481 (13)
Jems Geffrard, FC Montreal, USL, 472 (6)
Anthony Jackson-Hamel, FC Montreal, USL, 465 (7)
Charles Joly,  FC Montreal, USL, 450 (8)
Thomas Gardner, WFC2, USL, 411 (11)
Robert Boskovic, TFC II, USL, 367 (11)
Marco Carducci, WFC2, USL, 360 (4)
Jordan Haynes, WFC2, USL, 348 (10)
Adam Bouchard, TFC II, USL, 342 (7)
Sam Adekugbe, WFC2, USL, 329 (4)
Sahil Sandhu, WFC2, USL, 303 (11)
Mackenzie Pridham, Sacramento Republic, USL, 298 (13)
Chris Serban, WFC2, USL, 273 (6)
Angelo Cavalluzzo, TFCII, USL, 273 (4)
 David Paulmin, FC Montreal, USL, 270 (3)
Simon Lemire, FC Montreal, USL, 268 (7)
Heikel Jarras, FC Montreal, USL, 257 (13)
Duwayne Ewart, Pittsburgh, USL, 257 (8)
Steven Furlano, TFC II, USL, 257 (3)
Jonathan Grant, Swope Park Rangers, USL, 239 (13)
Jordan Hamilton, TFC II, USL, 182 (3)
James Pantemis, FC Montreal, USL, 180 (2)
Fabrice Mbvouvouma,  FC Montreal, USL, 178 (6)
Mo Babouli, TFC II, USL, 162 (2)
Jay Chapman, TFC II, USL, 141 (2)
Mitch Piraux, WFC2, USL, 100 (2)
Marko Maletic, TFC II, USL, 99 (3)
David Edgar, WFC2, USL, 90 (1)
Wandrille Lefevre, FC Montreal, USL, 90 (1)
Maxim Tissot, FC Montreal, USL, 90 (1)
Richlord Ennin, TFC II, USL, 89 (4)
Karl Ouimette, NYRB2, USL, 87 (1)
Andrew Dias, TFC II, USL, 80 (1)
Ashtone Morgan, TFC II, USL, 62 (1)
Badreddine Boulajoul,  FC Montreal, USL, 57 (3)
Joel Harrison, WFC2, USL, 51 (3)
Raheem Taylor-Parkes, Bethlehem Steel FC, USL, 44 (3)
Ethan Beckford, TFC II, USL, 40 (2)
Pierre Lamothe,  FC Montreal, USL, 33 (2)
Terran Campbell, WFC2, USL, 31 (6)
Dante Campbell, TFC II, USL, 23 (1)
Jimmy-Shammar Sanon,  FC Montreal, USL, 18 (1)
Alan Camacho, WFC2, USL, 16 (1)
Leonard Sohn, TFC II, USL, 13 (1)
Mele Temguia,  FC Montreal, USL, 10 (1)
Nick Apostol, WFC2, USL, 9 (1)
Michael Baldisimo, WFC2, USL, 8 (1)
Nikola Stakic, TFC II, USL, 7 (1)

 

USL TEAM RANKINGS, MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2016, RANKED BY AVERAGE MINUTES PER GAME:

FC Montreal, 19023/21 (905.9)

TFC II, 14515/24 (604.8)

WFC2, 12589/22 (572.2)

Swope Park Rangers, 3835/21 (182.6)

Rochester Rhinos, 3769/22 (171.3)

Orlando City B, 3358/21 (159.9)

Wilmington Hammerheads FC, 1260/21 (60)

Sounders FC 2, 1134/22 (51.5)

Louisville City FC, 1101/22 (50)

Pittsburgh Riverhounds, 976/20 (48.8)

Rio Grande Valley FC, 810/21 (38.6)

Bethlehem Steel, 628/22 (28.5)

Sacramento Republic, 298/22 (13.5)

NYRB2, 82/21 (3.9)