Steven Sandor's Blog, page 9

Cavalry takes the not-quite-Merseyside Derby in penalties over FCE

When the players of FC Edmonton and Cavalry FC walked onto the Clarke Stadium pitch for the second autumn instalment of their Al Classico series, Gerry and the Pacemakers’ famous version of the Broadway classic “You’ll Never Walk Alone” was played over the loudspeakers.

As FCE coach Jeff Paulus is a Liverpool supporter, the song carried a double meaning. Of course, it was a playful barb directed at his rival, Cavalry coach and Everton supporter Tommy Wheeldon. But, Paulus wants the song to become a regular fixture at games in Edmonton.

Anfield West, maybe? Except with blue bleachers.

“We’ve gone dark, we’ve come back, it’s ideal,” Paulus said of his song choice. “It’s my plan to make it a tradition.”

But, in the end, it was the Everton supporter coaching the team wearing red getting one over on the Liverpool supporter coaching the team wearing blue. The teams finished 90 minutes of play level at 1-1, but the Calgary-based side won the exhibition match/trialist evaluation on penalties, 3-2. Dominick Zator beat FCE keeper Will Sykes with the deciding kick, right after Eddies trialist Reafe Anderson had his attempt stopped by Cavalry keeper Marco Carducci.

Anderson scored with his first attempt on Carducci, but referee Juan Marquez demanded a retake, as the strong wind nudged the ball just before Anderson’s left foot made contact. With the second try, Anderson — who played with Masters Futbol of League1 Ontario – went the same way, to Carducci’s left. But, the keeper guessed correctly and got his hand to the shot.

“Apparently, the ball moved an inch or something,” Paulus said. “At the end of the day, he’s got to make the second one. He put the ball in the same position, he didn’t hit it as well, he’s got to take responsibility for it.”

Carducci was called into action just three minutes in, as he picked the ball off the foot of FCE’s Marcus Velado-Tsegaye, after the Eddies forward was able to split the Cavalry back line.

But, in the 12th minute, Velado-Tsegaye got his revenge, dancing past three red-jerseyed players, entertaining the crowd with a series of stepovers, then firing a shot that beat Carducci and nestled inside of the far post.

With the wind at its back in the second half, Cavalry pushed for the equalizer, and got it in the 64th as Sergio Camargo silenced the crowd. FCE did not do an attendance count for the game, but there were likely less than 1,000 on hand for the match.

But, as Cavalry and FCE both prepare for the April launch of the Canadian Premier League, Wheeldon introduced some wrinkles. Forward Franck Tayou, recently with Fresno FC of the USL, started the game. Willie Spurr, Nick Moon and Jon Stadler, all from PDL side Lane United, came into the game as subs. Spurr scored in the shootout while Moon had his attempt saved by Sykes.

All four of those players are Americans.

As for the three Lane United players, Wheeldon saw them play against Calgary Foothills and were impressed by how well they did.

“They were hungry, and I wanted to throw them into the chaos. It was a chaotic game. The best trial they can have is to put them in a situation where there’s pressure on the ball, there’s a rivalry at stake, they’re not familiar with the turf, the wind. And, so, I’ve got some good answers today on the level of players I’m looking at. That’s my base.

“We are dealing with a lot of interest right now. My first and foremost is that I’m looking at Canadians. They were the first few foreigners that I’ve looked at just because this is a real rare opportunity where we’ve got to extend our training period.”

Wheeldon said the Cavalry would have a intrasquad match to give players a further look.

“It’s great for Tommy,” Paulus said. “I think one of the difference makers in this league will be those gems you can find anywhere, whether it’s the United States, Central America, South America. If you can find a player no one else knows about and get him in at a good dollar, those will be the guys who can make an impact in this league, because there will be a lot of parity in this league, initially, when we deal with Canadian players and how we’re going through the player-signing process.”

Deal between CanPL and U Sports is very close, but some fine print still left to be written

The nascent Canadian Premier League has laid the groundwork for a partnership with Canadian universities. But the fine print on the deal still needs some final signatures.

On Wednesday, U Sports and the CanPL announced the beginning of a new partnership. It will allow for players who are at any of the 48 Canadian university teams to be selected by the CanPL teams, via a draft, and invited to pro camps. If they do make it in the CanPL, they can go back to school in the off-season. This means a CanPL team does not have to wait until a player is in his final year of school in order for him to be drafted.

But, can a player from York University be drafted by York 9, make the team, play in the CanPL and then come back to school in the fall and rejoin the York Lions? The Canadian Premier League release stated that these players will keep their athletic eligibility, but in an interview Thursday, U Sports President Graham Brown said some of the details still need to be finalized.

“We still have some details to work out when it comes to eligibility,” he said. And he said that the deal will likely evolve over time, as the schools and the CanPL recognize ways that they can better work together.

He said that the partnership between U Sports and the CanPL was far enough along that it could be made public, but the “fine print” still needs some going over.

A draft is scheduled for November 12. The Canadian Premier League, which has seven teams announced, is set to begin play in the spring of 2019.

Could Canadian university players make an impact? Well, two Canadian university products — Mark-Anthony Kaye and Shamit Shome — are on MLS rosters. Kaye was having an excellent season with LAFC until he suffered a season-ending injury. (Oops. It’s three. Apologies to Brett Levis of the Whitecaps, and thanks to readers for pointing it out.)

FC Edmonton, from 2011-17, regularly mined Canadian universities for talent. University of Toronto product John Smits won the NASL’s top goalkeeper honour. Trinity Western’s Paul Hamilton was an NASL Best XI defender. Shome split time playing (regularly) for FCE and attending classes at the University of Alberta before he was sold to MLS and then drafted by the Montreal Impact.

You could make the argument that Shome’s career path showed that a player can be in school and play professionally at the same time.

Of course, this can’t be done with schools south of the border, as the NCAA treats collegiate players who understand that their talent has financial value as pariahs. A player can lose eligibility for taking any sort of payment that’s tied to his or her athletic career.

As well, in the U.S., if a player chooses to stay in school until his senior year before jumping into the draft, he won’t be turning pro until his 20s, which some coaches will tell you is too old to be a “new” pro.

Brown said that U Sports has no input into how players will be paid by the CanPL sides.

“This is a new project,” he said. “And this is a league that is just trying to figure out how to get a talent pool in place, and how to align that with the programs that we have.”

He said that Canadian universities “certainly have good athletes” and have vastly improved their programs through better medical support, sport science and off-season training programs.

But, he understands that there are a lot of Canadians “to the south” who will also be looking to play in CanPL. And he isn’t sure where the new partnership with the CanPL will ultimately lead.

He does note that 32 players from Canadian universities signed pro hockey contracts this past year, and that schools north of the border are regular providers of talent to the CFL.

As Brown cautioned several times in his conversation with me, this is a new deal, a new partnership. So, he said he can’t put a target on the number of players he’d like to see drafted.

“We have not done any metrics, internally,” he said. “It’s new. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”

 

America, as always, brings Canada back down to Earth

It’s like an alarm clock. Just when you start to feel really good about the Canadian women’s team, the team faces the United States… and loses. And, once again, you question how good our national side really is compared to other elite programs around the globe.

The United States is our reality check.  The Canadian women’s team  hasn’t beaten the Americans since March, 2001. Think back to what you were doing in 2001. Maybe listening to Destiny’s Child or maybe the Strokes’ Is This It.  

So, in Wednesday’s final of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship, with the United States playing at home, it wasn’t a surprise that Canada fell once again. A 2-0 result, this time around. It, just felt so, well, unsurprising.

And, even though the CONCACAF final had no bearing on World Cup qualification, with both teams having punched their tickets to France with their semifinal wins, there is something about once again losing to the United States that, well, makes us feel like same old, same old. It makes us doubt again. It turns believers into fence-sitters.

After the game, Canadian fullback Ashley Lawrence said that “To win this tournament would have been excellent, but we’ve learned so much.”

Eventually, this team has to learn to be competitive with its regional rival.

This was a game in which Canada got exactly two shots on goal. But one, a header from Kadeisha Buchanan off a corner kick from Janine Beckie, was generously scored as a shot on targets by the CONCACAF gatekeepers. It looked like the ball was headed wide of the net when American keeper Alyssa Naeher got a hand to it. 

So, really, one shot on target.

Sure, the second American goal, a late insurance marker from Alex Morgan, was offside — everyone saw it save for the linesman.

But, the first, coming from Rose Lavelle inside the two-minute mark, was a gift from Canadian central defender Shelina Zadorsky. The Canadian’s clearing attempt went right to the top of the penalty area for the American midfielder to attack. In the end, Zadorsky ended up providing a well-cushioned ball for Lavelle to run on to and shoot.

It can be easy for an apologist to say that one terrible error led to the Americans’ first goal, and that the second was offside. But, Canada had three attempts on goal — on target and off — all game long. Three. And, when Canada was chasing the game, when it needed a goal, there were zero shots on goal in the second half.

Yes, Canada is going to France. We expected it, yet it should still be celebrated. But, with yet another loss to the Americans in which the Canadians didn’t generate enough to be competitive, it’s OK to be nervous about what Canada will do when it gets to the World Cup.

Canada’s men’s team thrashes Dominica, but still has a country to win over

Canadian men’s national lteam coach John Herdman has made it something of a trademark to throw young players right into the mix. With six teenagers seeing the field in Canada’s 5-0 win over Dominica, it appears its steady on with that philosophy.

Jonathan David scored, Junior Hoilett added a second, a penalty from Lucas Cavallini and a marker from Cyle Larin — plus an own goal from Dominica — that was Canada’s tally on the night.

The announced attendance of a shade over 10,000 took in Canada’s next generation making relatively light work of their less-fancied opposition. That attendance figure felt a bit generous with no tickets being sold in the upper levels at BMO Field and plenty of red seats down below.

That being said, Canada’s newest talents now know what it’s like to start a cycle with fans staying away — saving their interest for bigger matches to come.

“The atmosphere was a lot better than I anticipated. It was quite loud, to be fair,” said midfielder Liam Millar, making his home debut for Canada. “It felt like 20 or 25-thousand. It felt like the atmosphere was really good.”

On the eve of a new NBA season and the Leafs making early waves in the NHL, a Canadian national soccer game on a chilly fall evening along Lake Ontario was always a longshot to move the needle in the Toronto sporting landscape.

Canada Soccer had scattered posters around buses and around downtown billing the Nations League as the start of the road to 2022. The real road doesn’t really get underway for about a year. This is really the road to the CONCACAF Gold Cup and given how poorly the Gold Cup was attended when Toronto hosted a game in 2015, that likely wouldn’t resonate much.

Canada hasn’t had to qualify for a Gold Cup they did it for the 2000 edition of the tournament and we all know what happened then.

It wasn’t the finished product with Canada missing plenty of chances to pad their own statistics, but with players who can boast their training at the likes of Liverpool, Barcelona, Juventus and coming soon, Bayern Munich. But the average fan won’t really care about that until they actually see those players suited up for those massive clubs on Tuesday and Wednesday nights and won’t be drawn to the argument that they’re in the academy or close to the first team.

Those fans who would come out regardless of opposition got a taste at what is possible given some time.

“Not only is there talent there, I think there’s real depth. There are players that could have been on the field that weren’t,” said Herdman. “For the fans coming out to see Ballou Tabla’s first touch that had something like 20 step-overs, it’s a different breed of player. It’s a different type of player. The type that finds one seam and has the support of the quality like Atiba (Hutchinson) that can find them.”

Herdman is truly very fortunate to come into the program when he has. He’s shown he can work with young talent on the women’s side and is blessed with some of the most impressive young attacking talent the program has seen in years.

It says something that the likes of Larin can start the game on the bench. A lack of attacking depth has ultimately been a sword that’s impaled many a Canadian coach in the past.

“I think you could see they hit the ground running,” said an impressed Hutchinson who certainly won’t have to carry as much of a load as in the past as he plays his final games for Canada.

Hutchinson played in a more withdrawn role oftentimes sitting with the defenders. But he showed that trademark touch that’s gone unappreciated in this country for so long.

His long diagonal balls were perfectly weighted. It was a quietly profound effort from the veteran.

“They just wanted the ball and to express themselves. They’re young players. They’ve got a lot of talent and confidence playing with their clubs. There’s a chance here to come and play for Canada and put on a show for fans here.”

Next year is shaping up to be a big one for the program with the Gold Cup and more Nations League action starting with French Guiana in March. And of course, the real road to 2022 is just around the corner.

With so few options for places to play in Canada (don’t bet on Vancouver having a shot) in March, odds are good they’ll be right back here for that game.

The opposition won’t sell too many tickets. If they event want that aspirational 10,000 goal, expect Canad a Soccer to push those young talents to the front of its marketing efforts.

The team didn’t do much local media in the run-up to the game. Herdman made appearances at TSN and CBC News Network but those are aimed at the national audience and it’s always going to be tough to spin these games into relevance for the World Cup this far away from 2022.

The fans will come given the continued results but, as is usually the case in these sorts of things, they’ll likely only really show up when the opposition has a bit more of a bite to them.

The diehards will certainly be excited about the potential but to really get hearts racing in Canada, there have to be results first.

As FC Edmonton’s new assistant coach, Fleming looks forward to finally being part of a “home” game

Sean Fleming spent two decades coaching in the Canada Soccer ranks, leading various youth teams through camps, friendlies, CONCACAF championships and World Cups.

But, in those years, he never knew what it was like to play a true home game. The demands of being in the national program meant that he was often far, far away from his Edmonton home.

So, when the Canadian Premier League kicks off in 2019, and FC Edmonton has its first home match of the campaign, Fleming, will have a homecoming of sorts.

“Throughout my coaching career, I had over 200 youth internationals and I never had a home game,” Fleming said. “It will be an interesting to feeling to finally have a home game.”

Fleming was announced as the assistant to coach Jeff Paulus and FCE Academy technical director on Tuesday night.

Fleming had been working with FCE’s academy after leaving his post at Canada Soccer, so his appointment won’t come as a complete surprise to many. But, he didn’t really start speaking with Paulus about working together in 2019 until after Paulus was confirmed as FCE’s coach.

“Until Jeff knew that he was going to be the head coach, it was moot point to discuss anything else,” said Fleming. “Once that was set, I had to give Jeff time to settle in.”

On the first-team side, Fleming’s focus will be on looking at the opposition and using that information to help with game preparation. He will also coach the U-21 side.

And, of course, Fleming is pretty close with the fraternity of coaches who have been named for the CanPL. He and Valour FC coach both worked together in helping nurture Canadian youth players.

“It is going to be pretty competitive, everyone is going to do what is best for their squads,” said Fleming. “But, at the same time there’s a lot of respect between the coaching fraternity. Really, it’s the same around the world, there is a coaching fraternity. Yes, you all want to to what’s best for your teams, but you’re also all working to do what’s best for the game, as well.”

And, could some of the players Fleming coached in the national youth system appear in FCE kits sometime soon?

“Possibly. Some of my former players have been calling me, asking me what the league is going to be about. A lot of the players I had are toiling in Europe, they’re trying to make a career of it. But it’s very hard. There are some great players there who could have opportunities here.”

 

Clanachan: CanPL is “zeroed in” on seven teams for 2019

With only six months to go before the Canadian Premier League kicks off, the slate of teams is apparently set. In an interview at the Got Game trials in Vaughan, Ont., league Commissioner Dave Clanachan confirmed that we will most likely see seven teams in the league’s inaugural season.

“We are zeroed in on the seven (teams), obviously. I wouldn’t say it would take a minor miracle, but it would take something very innovative to happen very quickly (to add an eighth for 2019)”, said Clanachan.

With the Ottawa Fury deciding in September to play the 2019 season in USL, there were suggestions that the Canadian Premier League might have a dark horse team that could be brought forward to compete in 2019, and thereby makeup the preferred eight team table. But with a six month window before kickoff, and with open discussion of the seven home kits and seven away kits developed by new kit supplier Macron, seven teams, not eight, is all but confirmed for 2019.

As for 2020, and the league’s possible expansion, Clanachan identified four locations where teams are furthest along in the process and most likely to join the league. The first of these is the aforementioned Ottawa. “Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, we think there’s a path to 2020 there. I hope there’s a path for 2020 in Saskatchewan, and also in (the province of) Quebec”, stated Clanachan.

The rest of the month of October could be busy, as Clanachan expects information about roster rules and player acquisition to be finalized. And player signing news might also come soon. But as for an eighth team in the league, expect that announcement to come for 2020.

Never mind the memberships: Brennan bullish on York 9’s future

When I ask Jimmy Brennan at the Canadian Premier League’s Got Game open trials in Vaughan, Ont. if he is concerned about York 9’s membership numbers to date, a smile appears on his face. “No, we’re not concerned about memberships,” he says.

“What we’re concerned about is that when these games come, we want 6,000 to 10,000 people in the seats. A membership is nice. But we’re not worried about that. We know what we’ve got coming down the line … all of the events that we’ve done, and the interest that we have, so we’re not worried about [memberships].”

It is a disposition that sets York 9 apart from all the other teams in the league, and it is not the only thing that makes York 9 unique. Currently the only club in one of Canada’s big three markets, York 9 has consistently been doing their own thing. It is the only club that’s head coach is also a member of the ownership group; was also announced as the vice president of York Sports and Entertainment when the club launched earlier this year. The club’s home is York Region, a collection of nine different communities, contrasting the other club’s territories, which are much more tightly defined. And finally, there is York 9’s stadium solution. It will begin play in York Lions stadium, the only CanPL team to utilize a university stadium at launch —  and the only team to kickoff its inaugural season outside of the region for which it is named. York University’s campus stadium sits just inside the northern border of Toronto proper.

Brennan smiles at this, as well.

“I can stand on the York side of Steeles Avenue (the thoroughfare that acts as the border between Toronto and York Region) , throw a stone, and hit the stadium” says Brennan. Instead Brennan refers to how enthusiastic York University is to have the team at the university, how excited it is by the intimate atmosphere it believes the team will create there, and how York 9’s plans for a new stadium continue to take shape behind the scenes.

In fact, Brennan is bullish that all of these unique situations, which could be interpreted as potential barriers to York 9’s success, are well on their way to being surmounted. And it is by employing a solid and continuous ground game that Brennan believes his team is working towards that success.

“We are constantly out in the community. We are looking to get involved with all the local businesses. Every time there’s a festival, we have our staff there. The tents are all there and the cars that we’ve wrapped are all there. We are showing our community that the more we are out there and supporting our community, the more the community is going to support us. You can’t get people to support you if you don’t support them. And that’s been the biggest key for us.”

Immediately after launch, York 9 established relationships with all of the region’s soccer clubs. During the Got Game trials, many of the various club TDs and administrators have been invited and are attendance at the two-day event.. The team continues to engage the York Region business community, and believes that what it has done behind the scenes will translate into ticket sales that membership numbers fail to predict.

As for the head coaching decision, Brennan points to the ownership group . In discussions around the boardroom table, others in the ownership group thought it was quite simple. “Jimmy you’re from the region, you have your coaching badges, you’ve played over in Europe and in Canada, your family lives here … you’ve got to be the coach.” Brennan decided to take on the role. It is a role which brings a considerable amount of pressure, but in his own words “I thrive off of [pressure].”

There is little doubt that he will be feeling that pressure, now and in the foreseeable future. He is in a role which brings a considerable amount of pressure, but in his own words “I thrive off of [pressure].” And he punctuates it once again with a knowing smile.

Osorio on Nations League: “You don’t really know what you’re up against”

In the sports media business, you hear this a lot.

“We have to focus on what we do, not what they do” or “we have take care of our own game, and not worry about them.”

And, almost every time, it isn’t true. If teams truly didn’t worry about opposition game plans, they wouldn’t be scrutinizing video and using advance scouts.

But, when it comes to Canada and the CONCACAF Nations League, the “we have to focus on us” mantra is, well, true. Canada will play Dominica at BMO Field on Tuesday, its second match of four in Nations League qualifying. This qualifying schedule brings together Canada with a lot of smaller Central American programs and teams from across the Caribbean, nations that don’t get a lot of attention, at least when it comes to soccer. Heck, many of these teams don’t generate a lot of attention in their own countries.

So, even though Canada played Dominica in the most recent World Cup qualifying cycle, Canadian midfielder Jonathan Osorio admitted that he and his teammates have what amounts to a very limited scouting report on the team from the island nation.

He said that, the last time they played, Dominica liked to play a direct style. Dominica’s players were athletic, and the rest, well, it’ll take care of itself Tuesday, right?

“It’s difficult, you don’t really know what you’re up against,” said Osorio.

“It’s interesting playing them because you don’t know much about them… and it’s hard to get video on them.”

So Canada focuses on its own game because, well, in a lot of ways, the Nations League qualifiers see them facing minnows from the unknown. Canada throttled the US Virgin Islands by an 8-0 count in the opener.

But Canada needed the goals then, as they will now. To finish at or near the top of the group, a team not only likely has to win all four games, but amass a healthy goal difference.  Curacao’s already at +15 over two games. Cuba is at +13. Haiti has played just once, but is at +13. Jamaica has played twice and is at +10.

Osorio said needing to pile on the goals isn’t a bad thing.

“It makes us play 90-minute games,” he said. “In the past, when goal difference didn’t matter, you got up four or five goals on a team and cruised till the end.”

And while the goal differences for some of Canada’s rivals were posted a couple of paragraphs ago, Osorio said he and his teammates aren’t yet looking at what’s happening outside of the game with Dominica.

“I haven’t been looking at the scoreboard, I honestly can’t tell what’s happened in the other games,” said Osorio.

Checking the scores will come after Canada’s game, to see where the team’s performance on Tuesday has left it in the standings. But, until then, no one needs to know about another country’s +15.

Unless it’s the weather.

Inescapably Canadian Power Rankings: MLS Week 33/USL FINAL

It could be a very rough autumn for Canada’s USL and MLS teams. With Ottawa’s home loss to Canadian Skylar Thomas and his Charleston Battery teammates, the Fury was eliminated from the playoff race. The Fury was able to stretch the playoff chase to the final weekend of the season, but soccer fans in the nation’s capital will be on the outside looking in,

While the three Canadian teams in MLS were all idle this week, Montreal slipped below the playoff line thanks to D.C. United’s continued hot streak. TFC has already been eliminated and the Vancouver Whitecaps are below the playoff line.

With the USL regular season complete, Jordan Schweitzer finished atop all Canada-eligible players when it comes to minutes played, with 2984. A total of 74 Canadians played in USL this season. Fourteen of them each played 2,000 minutes or more this season.

 

Here are the rankings after the 33rd week of MLS play/final week of USL regular-season action:

 

MLS MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Samuel Piette, Montreal, 2820 (32)
Jonathan Osorio, TFC, 2429 (28)
Alphonso Davies, Vancouver, 2244 (29)
Will Johnson, Orlando, 2033 (26)
Raheem Edwards, Montreal/Chicago, 1606 (25)
Mark-Anthony Kaye, LAFC, 1582 (20)
Russell Teibert, Vancouver, 1403 (20)
Marcel de Jong, Vancouver, 1290 (17)
Dejan Jakovic, LAFC, 1148 (15)
Doneil Henry, Vancouver, 990 (11)
Jay Chapman, TFC, 876 (19)
Ryan Telfer, TFC, 865 (15)
Ashtone Morgan, TFC, 833 (15)
Jordan Hamilton,TFC, 803 (13)
Brett Levis, Vancouver, 703 (11)
Michael Petrasso, Montreal, 692 (13)
Tosaint Ricketts, TFC, 596 (16)
Anthony Jackson-Hamel, Montreal, 580 (16)
Tesho Akindele, FC Dallas, 569 (17)
Liam Fraser, TFC, 458 (8)
Shamit Shome, Montreal, 249 (5)
Richie Laryea, Orlando, 237 (8)
Brian Wright, New England, 201 (8)
Kwame Awuah, NYCFC, 143 (6)
Louis Beland-Goyette, Montreal, 109 (4)
Julian Dunn-Johnson, TFC, 104 (2)
Mathieu Choiniere, Montreal, 59 (4)
David Choiniere, Montreal, 12 (1)
Aidan Daniels, TFC, 12 (1)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, MLS MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2018

Toronto FC, 6978/31 (225.1)

Vancouver, 6630/31 (213.9)

Montreal, 5054/32 (157.9)

LAFC, 2730/32 (85.3)

Orlando City, 2270/31 (73.2)

Chicago, 800/32 (25)

FC Dallas, 569/32 (17.8)

New England, 201/32 (6.3)

NYCFC, 143/32 (4.5)

 

USL MINUTES BY PLAYER, THE CANADIANS

Jordan Schweitzer, Colorado Springs, 2984 (34)
Maxime Crepeau, Ottawa, 2790 (31)
Karl Ouimette, Indy, 2752 (31)
Paris Gee, Tulsa, 2637 (33)
Kyle Bekker, NCFC, 2718 (33)
Robert Boskovic, TFCII, 2609 (30)
Jordan Dover, Pittsburgh, 2569 (30)
Eddie Edward, Ottawa, 2529 (29)
Thomas Meilleur-Giguere, Ottawa, 2399 (27)
Skylar Thomas, Charleston, 2320 (27)
Carl Haworth, Ottawa, 2279 (29)
Amer Didic, Swope Park Rangers, 2178 (25)
Jamar Dixon, Ottawa, 2153 (30)
Matthew Srbely, TFCII, 2076 (29)
Chris Mannella, Ottawa, 1956 (29)
Adonijah Reid, Ottawa, 1810 (29)
Drew Beckie, OKC Energy, 1800 (20)
Dante Campbell, TFCII, 1759 (22)
Zachary Ellis-Hayden, Fresno, 1747 (20)
Bradley Kamdem-Fewo, Fresno, 1745 (20)
Malik Johnson, TFCII, 1610 (28)
Luca Uccello, TFCII, 1529 (20)
Aidan Daniels, TFCII, 1527 (26)
Josh Heard, Real Monarchs SLC, 1464 (24)
Noble Okello Ayo, TFCII, 1437 (22)
Nana Attakora, Ottawa, 1434 (17)
Mastanabal Kacher, Real Monarchs SLC, 1342 (23)
Jordan Murrell, Reno, 1287 (20)
Mallan Roberts, Richmond, 1170 (13)
Chris Nanco, Bethlehem Steel, 1169 (30)
Noah Verhoeven, Fresno, 1085 (23)
Shaan Hundal, TFCII, 1083 (24)
Rocco Romeo, TFCII, 1014 (12)
Ryan James, Nashville, 1011 (16)
Liam Fraser, TFCII, 900 (10)
Keven Aleman, Sacramento, 865 (17)
Julian Dunn-Johnson, TFCII, 810 (9)
Jeremy Gagnon-Lapare, Ottawa, 801 (11)
David Edgar, Nashville/Ottawa, 785 (12)
Jordan Hamilton, TFCII, 739 (11)
Tyler Pasher, Indy, 732 (10)
Ryan Telfer, TFCII, 671 (9)
Terique Mohammed, TFCII, 651 (10)
Michael Cox, Nashville/Saint Louis, 635 (15)
Kyle Porter, Ottawa/Tampa Bay, 560 (8)
Jordan Faria, TFCII, 549 (14)
Daniel Haber, FC Cincinnati/Ottawa, 490 (17)
Marco Bustos, OKC Energy, 488 (9)
Mauro Eustaquio, Penn FC, 462 (7)
Darrin MacLeod, Swope Park Rangers, 450 (5)
Angelo Cavalluzzo, TFCII, 449 (5)
Luca Petrasso, TFCII, 446 (9)
Gianluca Catalano, TFCII, 434 (5)
Alessandro Riggi, Phoenix, 342 (14)
Mark Anthony Gonzalez, Reno, 327 (5)
Zak Drake, Las Vegas, 296 (6)
Doneil Henry, Ottawa, 270 (3)
Matthew Baldisimo, Fresno, 264 (3)
Steffen Yeates, TFCII, 196 (4)
Callum Irving, Ottawa, 180 (2)
Daniel Kinumbe, Ottawa, 166 (3)
Kunle Dada-Luke, TFCII, 148 (5)
Jordan Perruzza, TFCII, 129 (4)
Luca Ricci, Phoenix, 124 (4)
David Monsalve, Ottawa, 90 (1)
Ashtone Morgan, TFCII, 63 (1)
Daniel Da Silva, TFCII, 59 (1)
Gabriel Wiethaeuper-Balbinotti, Ottawa, 51 (2)
Clement Bayiha, Ottawa, 50 (2)
Maxim Tissot, Ottawa, 48 (2)
Monti Mohsen, Ottawa, 45 (1)
Terran Campbell, Fresno, 43 (5)
Malyk Hamilton, TFCII, 42 (2)
Jordan Dunstan, Nashville, 1 (1)

 

TEAM RANKINGS, USL MINUTES PLAYED BY CANADIANS IN 2018

TFCII, 20930/34 (615.6)

Ottawa, 20051/34 (589.7)

Fresno, 4884/34 (143.6)

Indy Eleven, 3484/33 (102.5)

Colorado Springs, 2984/34 (87.8)

Real Monarchs SLC, 2806/34 (82.5)

NCFC, 2718/34 (79.9)

Tulsa, 2637/34 (77.6)

Swope Park Rangers, 2628/34 (77.3)

Pittsburgh, 2569/34 (75.6)

Charleston, 2320/34 (68.2)

OKC Energy, 2288/34 (67.3)

Reno, 1614/34 (47.5)

Nashville, 1476/34 (43.4)

Richmond, 1170/34 (34.4)

Bethlehem Steel, 1169/34 (34.3)

Sacramento, 865/34 (25.4)

Phoenix, 466/34 (13.7)

Penn FC, 462/34 (13.6)

Saint Louis FC, 391/34 (11.5)

Tampa Bay, 360/34 (10.6)

Las Vegas, 296/34 (8.7)

FC Cincinnati, 201/34 (5.9)

 

Canada qualifies for 2019 Women’s World Cup

The formality of World Cup qualifying is done and dusted for the Canadian women’s team.

With a 7-0 win over Panama in a CONCACAF Championship semifinal, the Canadians assured themselves a berth at next year’s Women’s World Cup in France. But, we need to be honest here, CONCACAF qualifying does not yet offer any sort of parity — the Americans and Canadians go into the process knowing full well that the regional championship is a tuneup. And, it shows in the way we as Canadians look at the tournament. None of us talked about “can we qualify?” going into this tournament. Heck, most of us were far more focused on Christine Sinclair’s goal total.

(She had two on Sunday against Panama, by the way, raising her career total to 177 international goals).

Panama held Canada at 0-0 for 44 minutes until Sinclair finally got the favourites on the board. The floodgates opened in the second half, with Fleming and Sinclair both heading home in the first four minutes after the restart. Janine Beckie and Rebecca Quinn would score before Adriana Leon came on for Sinclair and got a brace of her own.

Like it was in the wins over Cuba and, maybe to a lesser extent, Costa Rica, watching the game felt more like watching a spirited training session.

Sinclair’s opener came off an inch-perfect cross from Beckie, who dashed down the left wing and could not have placed a more perfect ball into the Panamanian  penalty area. Sinclair’s second goal was a header that came off a great cross from Nichelle Prince, who made a run down the right side.

It’s a good result for Canada, but you hope down the road that it becomes nearly  impossible for the next generation of Canadian or American players to reach the kind of goal totals that Christine Sinclair or the woman she is chasing for the international scoring record,  Abby Wambach, amassed in their careers. Here’s to hoping that the rest of the region improves, meaning that there are fewer 12-0 or 7-0 scores which help elite players pad their stats.