MLSsoccer staff
Preseason matches continue on Friday, including the first formal tournament of the 2015 preseason, the ATX Pro Challenge, kicking off down in the Lone Star State.
- Montreal Impact vs. Club Proyecto Tecamachalco –CANCELLED
- Orlando City SC 2, BK Hacken 2 (Sandford, Florida)
- FC Dallas 3, Columbus Crew SC 1 ATX Pro Challenge (Austin, Texas) | RECAP (DAL)| RECAP (CLB) | HIGHLIGHTS
- D.C. United 2, Austin Aztex 0, ATX Pro Challenge (Austin, Texas) | RECAP | HIGHLIGHTS
You can catch all the news and updates from MLS training camps below, and for the entirepreseason schedule, click here.
FC DALLAS DEFEAT COLUMBUS CREW SC 3-1
FC Dallas and Columbus Crew SC squared off in the first game of the ATX Pro Challenge in Austin on Friday, with the Texas side beating the midwestern club 3-1 (WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS HERE). Dallas scored all of their goals in the first half, courtesy of Blas Perez and a brace from Ryan Hollingshead, while Columbus grabbed a consolation strike in the second half from Kristinn Steindorsson. Dallas will face D.C. United in the tournament title game on Sunday, while Crew SC will play hometown side Austin Aztex on the same day.
D.C. UNITED BEAT AUSTIN AZTEX 2-0
D.C. United got their stint in Texas off to a strong start to cap off the first night of the ATX Pro Challenge in Austin, as they defeated home team Austin Aztex 2-0 (WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS HERE), with the goals scored by Miguel Aguilar and Conor Doyle. Bill Hamid made his preseason debut in the second half, and preserved the shutout with an outstanding save off an Aztex corner kick with about 15 minutes to go. With the win, D.C. will take on FC Dallas in the ATX Pro Challenge title game on Sunday.
BOWL BASH
Orlando City's home opener looks like it's going to be quite party– just as the first team was drawing 2-2 with Sweden's BK Hacken on Friday afternoon (goals from Kevin Molino, via Kaka, and a trialist), the club announced that it had surpassed 40,000 tickets sold for its #FillTheBowl campaign, which is aiming for a sellout at the 65,000-capacity Citrus Bowl when New York City FC come to town on March 8 (5 pm ET; ESPN2, ESPN Deportes).
“Orlando City fans have responded in overwhelming numbers since last Saturday and the milestones continue to fall as we approach the history-making season opener,” said Club President and Founder Phil Rawlins in a statement. “Three weeks remain and we are within reach of our goal to #FillTheBowl! Orlando and all of Central Florida have embraced Purple Pride. We are going to show the nation on March 8th why we are the ‘Soccer Capital of the South.’”
IN LOVE WITH REO-co*kER
The Montreal Impact front office staff channeled their inner musicians, releasing this parody of the O.T. Genasis hit, "CoCo", just in time for Valentine's Day. The object of their affection? A certain English midfielder recently arrived in Montreal in, as the video accurately points out, the Waiver Draft. Check it:
REPORTING FOR DUTY
As the Colorado Rapids preseason camp transitions to Las Vegas for two friendlies over the weekend, a particularly interesting player is set to join the squad for the first time.
Joe Greenspan, the 26th-overall pick in the 2015 SuperDraft, pulled on the Rapids shirt for the first time and was in the starting XI for their Friday scrimmage against UNLV. His time with Colorado, however, will be brief. After their game Sunday against the San Jose Earthquakes, Greenspan will return to school at the Naval Academy for his spring graduation before reporting for military duty aboard the USS Sampson DDG 102, a destroyer out of San Diego.
“It is a bit of learning curve to jump from the college game to the professional game but the guys have been really accepting and welcoming,” he told ColoradoRapids.com. “I am hoping to play against UNLV [on Friday]. I just want to get some minutes and mesh with the guys - see how they play, they can see how I play.”
ROAD RUNNERS
As a cold front washes over the Eastern Seaboard and plunges temperatures way, waaaay below freezing in their home cities, D.C. United and Columbus Crew SC and flocks of their fans are escaping to the mild sunshine of Austin.
They'll be supporting their respective teams in the ATX Pro Challenge, set to begin with a doubleheader at the University of Texas' Mike A. Myers Stadium on Friday evening. (FC Dallas will surely be cheered by supporters making the much shorter drive down I-35 as well.) On ThursdayUnited trained next door on the artificial turf of the enormous Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, where they got their first look at new acquisition Michael Farfan (pictured above) and welcomed Perry Kitchen and Steve Birnbaum back from US national team camp.
For Columbus, it's effectively their first meeting with unfamiliar opposition this winter, and the prospect has the club quoting a certain dazed, confused legend for inspiration...
— Columbus Crew SC (@ColumbusCrewSC) February 13, 2015IT'S MATCH DAY!!!!
As the locals in Austin would say: "Alright alright alright." #CrewSC pic.twitter.com/vC7qJYKe5F
That means a steady stream of tweets, Facebook posts and Instagram pics taunting folks back home with tacos, slabs of brisket, margaritas and other trappings of Texas' capital city.
And who can blame them? We'd all be doing the same thing.
Good morning ATX; we're here to eat your food, listen to your music, imbibe, & support @dcunited at #ATXProChallenge pic.twitter.com/QmQuiXx3sk
— S.E. Road Trips (@SE_Road_Trips) February 13, 2015
LINDPERE-OCITY
Life moves fast these days. So fast, in fact, that we are apparently already nostalgic about the New York Red Bulls' "DP era" of high-priced signings and reliance on foreign talent. An era which basically ended, oh, about two months ago.
At least, that's what one might conclude from RBNY midfielder Dax McCarty's latest Instagram post, which celebrates a visit from a cult hero of seasons gone by:
Of course, offseason cabin fever quickly led Red Bulls fans to speculate that Joel Lindpere's appearance may coincide with the club's announcement thatyoung midfielder Eric Stevenson has been waived.
Lindpere is presently plying his trade in the Czech top division and an RBNY homecoming seems like a long shot, but you never know. It probably would all come down to how he rates under the "Moneyball" approach taken by the club's new technical staff. On Friday,Capital New Yorkdelved into that topic, and its potential impact both on the field and at the box office.
ZAK IS BACK
Seattle Sounders fans, like many across MLS, felt shortchanged by winger Steve Zakuani's premature retirement, an injury-enforced decision that robbed the game of his electrifying skills too soon.
But the Rave Green faithful will get to see plenty more of Zakuani after all, now that he's signed on to contribute to the club's television broadcasts:
"I always knew when I retired I would come back home." Steve Zakuani joins the broadcast team: http://t.co/jISAvNFbtV pic.twitter.com/megSJtGcfx
— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) February 13, 2015
Add this to the Congolese-born talent's recently-penned book, and it appears that we're finally getting a good look at how Zakuani works.
POKU: YANKEE STADIUM YAYA?
Let's be honest: Not too many observers were familiar withKwadwo Poku when New York City FC signed the 22-year-old Ghanaian from the NASL's Atlanta Silverbacks FC last month.
But the imposing midfielder -- who was playing striker way down at the NPSL level not too long ago -- has caught the eyes of those who've watched him play in sky blue thus far. His bite, distribution and positional discipline seems to have pushed him in the reckoning for a place in head coach Jason Kreis' starting lineup and theGuardianhas even published apost comparing him to imperious Manchester City star Yaya Touré.
As it turns out, several MLS teams sought his services last year when he spearheaded Atlanta's US Open Cup run, but NYCFC beat them all to the finish line of the discovery process. Will those other clubs soon be cursing themselves for missing out?
If you're looking to get better acquainted with Poku, he's in the lead image of NYCFC's photo gallery from their friendly win over St. Mirren earlier in the week:
— New York City FC (@NYCFC) February 11, 2015Photo gallery of #NYCFC's 2-0 victory over @saintmirrenfc
He also had a chance to chat for a couple minutes with Toure on camera:
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