Some games you just want to forget.  I have a feeling that Saturday’s game at the Montreal Impact is one of those games for the Earthquakes.  Unfortunately, they will be feeling the aftershocks of this game well into next weekend’s home game against the Colorado Rapids, as they will be missing two important starters thanks to red cards.

The game started out like any other, with the Quakes keeping most of the possession and putting pressure on Montreal.  However, it took a strange turn in the 21st minute when both Steven Lenhart and Montreal defender Hassoun Camara were shown red for a physical altercation that took place off the ball inside Montreal’s penalty box.  Check out the video for yourself–Camara appears to karate chop Lenhart down after Lenny (admittedly) provokes him.

As if a double send off wasn’t disciplinary–or dramatic–enough, the ref proceeded to award a penalty kick to the Earthquakes.  Naturally, as a Quakes fan I wasn’t about to complain about the call, but it didn’t make much sense even to me.  Naturally, Wondo stepped up to the spot and, in the one real high point of the game, ended his “scoring drought” and scored his league-high 18th goal of the season.

With both sides now down to 10 men, Montreal reacted quickly and the newly-signed Italian Marco Di Vaio equalized 2 minutes later with his second goal since joining the Impact.  The Quakes, on the other hand, were now completely without a target man, as Alan Gordon was not available due to suspension.  Wondo and Simon Dawkins pressed up and managed to create a few chances, but were unable to convert.

Although San Jose and Montreal started the second half on equal terms, Lamar Neagle scored in the 61st minute to put the Impact up 2-1.  As everyone knows, goonies never say die; as such, I wasn’t too worried, despite the fact that we were sorely missing Lenhart.  However, in the 71st minute, Quakes defender Jason Hernandez brought down Di Vaio in the box and was sent off for denying a clear scoring opportunity.  Patrice Bernier made no mistake in converting the penalty kick past keeper Jon Busch, and it was all downhill from there for the 9-man Quakes.

It was obvious they were a bit shook up from the loss of two integral players, and they did not display their usual calm in the final quarter of the match.  They didn’t exactly freak out, but it is the closest they have looked to it in a long time.  They did manage to finish out the match with 54.1 percent of the possession; unfortunately, without a target man, they were just not that dangerous in the final third.

All was not doom and gloom, however.  Even though this loss hurts, like any other loss, it does not affect the Earthquakes’ standing in the Western Conference.  Additionally, difficulty is always an opportunity for players to show what they are made of.  Defender Justin Morrow took this opportunity and (literally) ran with it.  He has been rock-solid for the Quakes and has played every minute of every game, but he brought a little something extra to the match on Saturday–making runs into the box, taking on players, and creating opportunities.  Hopefully he will be able to take that and integrate it into his everyday play.

As was mentioned before, the Quakes will next host the Colorado Rapids at home on Saturday.  Even though Colorado trails San Jose with a pretty significant point difference, San Jose will not want to drop points to a Western Conference opponent this close to the playoffs.  Alan Gordon will be available once again to occupy the target man spot, and we will no doubt see a little defensive reshuffling in order to make up for the absence of Hernandez.  The Quakes will hopefully bounce back from this loss and be able to preserve their unbeaten record at Buck Shaw Stadium.

Image courtesy of mlssoccer.com

Good Monday to you all! I hope you had great weekends! Today’s headlines are packed with US Soccer news, and big news from the English Premier League, including John Terry’s ban. It’s your Monday Daily Kick Around!

U.S. Men’s National Team

The USMNT are in Mexico for the first time since 1984. The game, set to kick off at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday, will definitely be entertaining. It is US v. Mexico after all! Yesterday, head coach Jurgen Klinsmann named a 23-man roster to take to the match. The biggest snub I think would be D.C. United’s Chris Pontius. Chris has been on fire for D.C. this season and definitely deserves the call up.

Major League Soccer

The SuperClasico kicked off last night in LA between the Galaxy and Chivas USA. And make no mistake, it definitely was a show from the Galaxy. They stomped Chivas 4-0.

Other scores:
Philadelphia 1 – Chicago 3 
New England 0 – Montreal 1 

La Liga

Saturday marked a big day for Barcelona forward David Villa as the club took on Dinamo Bucharest. He played in his first game since his broken leg last season. And he told media after the match, which Barca won 2-0, he felt “very pleased” and good on the pitch; he intends to come back better than ever this eason.

English Premier League

Well John Terry has the luck of someone on his side, that’s for sure. After being found not guilty of racial abuse to Antoin Ferdinand this summer, it seems the UEFA is reducing his three-match ban from the red card he received during the Champion’s League second-leg semi-final match. ESPN is reporting Terry’s ”final match of his suspension was deferred for a probationary period of three years.” If that isn’t lucky, I don’t know what is considering Terry’s track record.

Manchester United’s ploy to go public with its shares is sort of blowing up in their face. Some headlines are even comparing it’s demise to that of Facebook’s recent stock fall.

PrivCo, an independent financial analyst, said United’s stock price could plummet further – and gave the shares a value that would mean the club is worth less now than when the Glazers bought it in 2005. 

World Soccer

Some times things happen during matches when players’ tempers get out of control. One ref is hitting back at a player who he claims purposely attacked him on the field. During a friendly match yesterday between Portuguese side Benfica and German side Fortuna Dusseldorf, Benfica’s Luisao allegedly knocked over ref Christian Fischer on purpose. And Fischer plans to sue Luisao because of it.

Fischer, who refused to restart the Esprit Arena game after the 38th-minute incident, told the Express he would be taking legal action, adding: “As proof, I got hold of the TV recordings. Thus he [Luisao] can say whatever he wants. It just makes his statements even more ridiculous: everyone saw what happened.”

This post was put together by our MLS and San Jose Earthquake writer, Alyssa Olszewski.

It was a comparatively low-scoring weekend in MLS (all except one game–read on to see which!), but one that had some major consequences in the standings.

It all started on Friday, when the Houston Dynamo defeated the New York Red Bulls 2-0 to overtake them at the top of the Eastern Conference standings.  Despite NY pulling out all their big guns, including Tim Cahill in his team debut, it was Houston’s Jermaine Taylor and Calen Carr who put their team up 2-0 in the first half.  Dynamo keeper Tally Hall only had to make 2 saves to preserve the clean sheet.

Sporting Kansas City found themselves tied with Houston at the top of the Eastern Conference standings after putting down the New England Revolution 0-1 on Saturday, thanks to a goal from Teal Bunbury.  This was their first win in 4 matches.  New England, in their first game without former captain Shalrie Joseph, lost their fourth in five matches.

DC United hung on to the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference after their 1-0 win over the Columbus Crew.  Chris Pontius put his team up in the 49th minute.  He nearly scored another in the 58th minute, but in the end it didn’t matter as United managed to make his goal stand up.

The Montreal Impact moved to within 2 points of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference through their 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Union, their fourth straight victory at home.  Montreal went up in the 44th minute due to a goal from Andrew Wenger.  Both teams went down to 10 men in the 69th minute after Montreal’s Nelson Rivas headbutted Antoine Hoppenot after a hard challenge.  Philadelphia’s Jack McInerney came in to defend his teammate, and both he and Rivas were ejected.  Felipe Martins sealed the deal for Montreal when he scored in the 78th minute.

The Chicago Fire came back from a couple defensive miscues to defeat Toronto FC 2-1.  Toronto went up in the 16th minute after Ryan Johnson intercepted a bad back pass from Marco Pappa and converted past Sean Johnson.  However, Pappa made up for his mistake in the 64th minute when he scored to tie the game up at 1-1.  Defender Austin Berry secured the win in the 84th minute after Toronto went down to 10 men in the 79th.

The Colorado Rapids finally broke their 6 game losing streak in a 1-0 win over Rocky Mountain rivals Real Salt Lake, denying them the opportunity to overtake San Jose at the top of the Western Conference standings.  This was Colorado’s first win over RSL in 9 matches since May 2009, and it was brought about by Joseph Nane’s first career goal.

Sunday continued to feature Western Conference match-ups, with the two bottom teams Portland Timbers and FC Dallas playing to a 1-1 draw.  Brek Shea was back on the field for Dallas after not playing since July 18, and he provided the assist to Scott Sealy’s goal in the 51st minute.  Within a minute, Dallas went down to 10 men after Zach Lloyd received his 2nd yellow card of the day.  They nearly hung on for a much needed win, but Portland’s Jack Jewsbury evened the score in the 79th minute and in the process snapped his team’s five-game losing streak.

In the final match of the weekend, the Seattle Sounders served up a 4-0 thrashing to the recently resurgent LA Galaxy.  They got on the scoreboard early, with Eddie Johnson scoring in the 6th minute, and kept right on scoring until the 88th minute, when Andy Rose put an exclamation point on the game with his first career goal.  Fredy Montero and Alex Caskey, also with his first career goal, scored  in the 52nd and 61st minutes.  The Sounders extended their unbeated streak to 6 games while snapping LA’s 5 game unbeaten streak.

Image courtesy of mlssoccer.com

It’s late and we know you’re probably watching the Sounders vs Chelsea in the World Football Challenge, so we’ll keep this one short and sweet today!

To kick off, we’ve got some news about Liverpool’s interest in poaching Clint Dempsey from Fulham. If you missed today’s MLS matches, we’ve got the highlights, including the Fire getting overheated in New York, and something that’s never happened to the Union at home! And finally, who doesn’t love off-day video footage of the U.S. Women’s National Team goofing around?

English Premier League

The buzz around Clint Dempsey’s next whereabouts continue, with ESPN reporting that Liverpool is interested in the Fulham striker’s services. The club is tight lipped with any more info than that and will not comment on any of the rumors swirling around about a loan of Andy Carroll:

“Clint is a player we’ve enquired about, it is as simple as that,” Rodgers said. “Ian Ayre, our managing director, has spoken with the club to see what the position is. That is where we’re at.

“He’s a very talented player but we don’t like to talk about other clubs’ players.”

The waiting game continues…

 MLS

The Fire couldn’t stand the heat today, as they fell 1-0 to the Red Bulls in an afternoon game in New York, where temperatures were well into the 90s. Thierry Henry provided the winner in the 70th minute.

Philadelphia Union dropped their first home international friendly to Aston Villa tonight at PPL Park. Villa will head to Chicago this weekend and Portland next Tuesday on their pre-season tour.

The Dynamo continued their torrid run with their unbeaten streak running to nine games now. Led by a brace from Calen Carr, they bested Sporting KC, 2-1, tonight at home.

The Revolution won’t want to return to Canada anytime soon, after falling to the Impact 2-1 today and remaining winless in the Great White North. Watch highlights of Sanna Nyassi’s go-ahead volley in the  67th minute.

U.S. Women’s National Team

We’re just one week before the kickoff of the London 2012 women’s football tournament and defending gold medalists USWNT hard at training in England. But it can’t be work all the time. The ladies took a break one day for a round of golf. U.S. Soccer captured all the hijinks on their YouTube channel.

Women’s Professional Soccer

A new women’s professional soccer league is coming in 2013 (so we hear…), but after the initial hype, the media coverage is bound to be pretty low. Equalizer Soccer’s Jeff Kassouf writes that the next incarnation of a pro league will have to do a better job of producing its own media — digitally — and looks to MLS as an example:

In 2009 MLS completely changed its digital strategy. The league dropped MLB Advanced Media as its platform and MLSnet.com became MLSsoccer.com, a change not only in name but in tone. (Read more in at nysportsjournalism.com.)

MLSsoccer.com suddenly became the online landing spot for news, video and written content covering not only the premier U.S. league but soccer abroad as well. Most interestingly, the site began to break news on its own league and feature content critical of players and managers. It was discussion, it was engaging and it’s drawing more eyeballs than ever.

MLS

It’s a busy weekend for the MLS and last night was no exception. Today’s big match ia between the NY Red Bulls – Seattle Sounders but first here’s the scores from yesterday!

Crew 0-2 Sporting KC

Rapids 1-2 FC Dallas

SJ Quakes 5-0 RSL

Timbers 3-5 Galaxy

Union 2-1 Impact

New England 0-1 Toronto FC

 FIFA

FIFA is corrupted, who knew!! Today, FIFA president Sepp Blatter suggested that Germany was given the 2006 World Cup through bribery. Blatter stated that during the voting process, someone got up and left the room and that an unnamed football association attempted to bribe him in 1986.

Serie A

Roma have confirmed the signing of Michael Bradley (son of former USMNT coach Bob Bradley) from Chievo  for €3.75 million with a contract good until 2016.

World Football

Ever wonder who made it to the Top 10 Most Expensive Defenders of all time? Goal.com put out their list (which you can read here) of who they think are the most over-paid men standing in the backline.

I, like many of you, have been enthralled and entertained by the non-stop Euro action over the past week or so.  However, there is something to be said for the familiarity of MLS and a return to all the places and faces we love so well.  For the next couple of weeks we get both!  Let’s just say that my DVR will be very active.  But in case you missed any of the MLS action in your Euro zeal, here’s what you need to know:

Both of Sunday’s games were marked by controversial non-calls.  In the case of the Chicago Fire vs. the New York Red Bulls, a ball from Dominic Oduro clearly crossed the goal line before being cleared by NY defender Wilman Conde.  Inexplicably, the ref did not give the Fire the goal (goal line technology, anyone?).  Fortunately for the Fire, even this injustice did not prevent them from handing an Henry-and-Marquez-less NY their first loss in 6 games.  Chicago broke their own 3-game losing streak with a 3-1 win.

The Portland Timbers, on the other hand, will be ruing the non-call that led to the LA Galaxy’s 1-0 win.  As Portland ‘keeper Troy Perkins tried to come out to snag the ball off a Beckham corner kick, Landon Donovan effectively blocked him, allowing Todd Dunivant to nod in the game winner.  Perkins had stopped and put his arms up to protest to the ref and did not have time to react to the shot.  [Side note: never stop playing until the whistle blows!  This is elementary soccer!]  Perkins immediately had words for the ref, earning himself a yellow card for his efforts.

The shocker of the weekend was the Montreal Impact’s 4-1 romp over the Seattle Sounders, in their first game in the new Saputo Stadium.  What a way to break in their new home!  Montreal were already up 2-0 over Seattle when Jhon Kennedy Hurtado was sent off, leaving the Sounders down to 10 men, and they did not let up despite Seattle pulling one back.  Check out our own Elizabeth Ibsen’s recap here.

Check out Saturday’s other results:

VAN 1 COL 0

PHI 0 DC 1

NE 0 CLB 0

HOU 2 DAL 1

KC 2 TOR 1

CHV 0 RSL 3

Image courtesy of mlssoccer.com

So the Sounders just lost to Montreal. I’m now sitting in my room, licking my wounds before I make a long, 6 hour trip over to Eastern Washington. Let’s start out, though, with a quick recap of this cringing game before I have to rush out the door before the sun sets.

In the 18th minute, Montreal scored their first goal off the foot of Martins. The game would go to the half with Montreal leading 1-0. Feeling confidant that my boys would come back, I petted my new toy Honey Badger that my friend gave me today for a birthday present with a grin on my face.

My smile disappeared at minute 51 when Justin Mapp found the back of the net due to bad defending. Then again, Andrew Wenger scored at the 58th minute with a beautiful shot.

Speaking of bad happenings with defensive players, around the 55th minute, John Kennedy Hurtado was shown a red card and was forced to leave the game off a questionable call. It made me yell out a string of certain words that probably should not be repeated.

We were a man down, losing 3-0 when Fredy Montero decided to show some magic. He passed the ball around Montreal’s defense, finding Eddie Johnson who chipped the ball into the net at 61st minute. Fredy would later be taken down in the midfield from a two-footed, studs up tackle that would have gotten anyone else sent off if the ref was actually good at what he was doing. The criminal got off with only a yellow when it was clearly a red.

Then Lamar Neagle came on and showed Sigi why he should have not been traded for Eddie Johnson. At the 87th minute, he scored the final goal in the match, beating Brad Evans and Bryan Meredith and hitting the netting.

After the match, Sigi had a few choice words for the referee after the game. Who could blame him, though?

A busy Sunday in the footy world as news pours in from all the major leagues. With the new month of June, summer becomes a time where footy fans begin to worry as the transfer window is officially open. Dun, dun, dunnnn!

Transfer Rumors

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini wants Robin van Persie, claiming the Gunner would be a more ‘realistic’ target than Edinson Cavani. RvP’s contract expires in the summer of 2013 but rumors have it the Dutchman is looking at other options.

Ronaldinho was granted an injunction by the Brazilian club, Flamengo and given permission to leave the club, breaking contract due to unpaid wages. Claiming he is owed more than 16 million Euros, the Brazilian international is now a free agent with other clubs looking to sign the 32-year-old. Perhaps a move to the MLS as a designated player could be in his future?

Rumor has it (cue the Adele music) that Chelsea FC is close to signing Porto striker Hulk for a whopping £38 million even after spending £32 for Eden Hazard just a few days ago. If the deal goes through, Hulk would fill the rolde of Didier Drogba who confirmed his departure from the Blues.

Looks like MLS’ Montreal Impact could land a big name in the footy world – Alessandro Del Piero, who is apparently in talks with the French-Canadian club. But not so fast! Impact president, Joey Saputo is denying the rumors saying that Del Piero ‘was more interested in New York or Los Angeles.’

International Friendlies

We have some major matches today before the start of the 2012 Euros.

Mexico face Brazil at Cowboys Stadium at 3pm ET.

It’s a North American rivalry as Canada faces the USMNT at BMO Field at 7 pm ET. Before the game, check out our own Trista Lutgring’s thoughts on the USMNT performance against Brazil last Wednesday.

Lastly, 2010 World Cup & 2008 Euro Champions, Spain will face off against China at Sevilla FC’s home stadium, Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán at 4pm ET which will be broadcasted on ESPN3.com.

Also, England was dealt another serious injury blow yesterday as Gary Cahill broke his jaw after a collision with his own goalkeeper Joe Hart. Cahill was pulled off after the incident and the FA released a statement today he would be ruled out of the Euros. Martin Kelly of Liverpool will be in to replace him.

Check back later for full recaps of all the friendlies and remember, only 6 days until the start of the 2012 Euros!

Keep up with @AerysSoccer on Twitter for more news from this weekend’s international friendlies!

Saturday was a busy day in MLS with 6 games played.  Streaks, some good and some bad, were broken and some pretty spectacular goals were scored.

A crowd of 60,860 set a new record for attendance at a professional soccer match in Canada as the Montreal Impact drew 1-1 against the LA Galaxy, with Montreal going up in the 8th minute thanks to a goal from captain Davy Arnaud.  However, LA responded in the form of a signature David Beckham free kick to secure the road point.

The Houston Dynamo hosted DC United in their first ever game at new home BBVA Compass Stadium, ending a 7-game away streak.  It was a memorable first home game, with the Dynamo securing a 1-0 win over their opponents and breaking their 5-game losing streak.  It was an exciting day for all those in orange, as Brad Davis scored the inaugural goal in the new stadium and promptly leaped over the side boards to celebrate with ecstatic fans.

The highest scoring game of the night was the New England Revolution’s 4-1 rout of the Vancouver Whitecaps.  While Eric Hassli scored for the Whitecaps within the first 5 minutes of the game, Lee Nguyen responded a minute later to put the Revs even with his former team.  Nguyen wasn’t done yet, however, and scored another fantastic goal and assisted Saer Sene’s goal.  Shalrie Joseph rounded out the scoring for New England.

The Columbus Crew and FC Dallas both snapped their scoreless streaks in Columbus’ 2-1 win over Dallas.  Fabian Castillo put FCD ahead initially, but Columbus took advantage of a red card issued to Dallas’ Zach Loyd and proceeded to take the lead through goals from Justin Meram and Sebastian Miranda.

Sporting Kansas City lost their 3rd straight game after their blistering start to the season, with the Chicago Fire beating them 2-1.  Bobby Convey put SKC in front, scoring his first goal of the season.  Chicago tied it up on a Sebastian Grazzini penalty kick.  After SKC’s Roger Espinoza was red-carded for an elbow to Grazzini’s face, the Fire proceeded to seal the deal with a goal from Dominic Oduro.

Yet another streak was ended as the Seattle Sounders suffered their first loss since March 31 as they fell 0-1 to league leaders Real Salt Lake.  Fabian Espindola cracked the Sounders’ 321 minute shutout streak, reinforcing his team’s seat at the top of the table.

Don’t forget, the weekend’s not over yet, folks!  Sunday will see the Philadelphia Union take on the New York Redbulls and the San Jose Earthquakes face fellow California team Chivas USA.

Image courtesy of mlssoccer.com

FA Cup

If we told you two months ago when Andre Villas-Boas was let go from Chelsea that the Blues would win the FA Cup, you’d probably spit your beer in our faces laughing. But that’s exactly what happened, as Chelsea defeated Liverpool 2-1 Saturday to claim the title. Dirty Tackle has photos and video from the celebration, including Didier Drogba’s “dressing room dance party.”

The win was not without controversy, however. Andy Carroll, who had cut the lead in half with Liverpool’s first goal in the 64th minute, thought he equalized on a header in the 82nd minute, but the official said that the ball was not over the line before Chelsea keeper Petr Cech knocked it out. Cue the arguments for goal-line technology…

English Premier League

Manchester City is just a win away from their first League title since 1968, but they’re already looking toward next year. City has offered Arsenal’s Robin van Persie £250,000 per week to sign with them next year. Could this signal the end to Mario Balotelli’s time at the Etihad?

 Major League Soccer

It was a big day in MLS on Saturday, with seven league matches, including an ESPN prime time clash between the New York Red Bulls and the L.A. Galaxy. The Red Bulls were down two of their stars, Thierry Henry (hamstring) and Rafa Marquez (suspension), while the Galaxy was bringing their big guns after resting Beckham and Keane against the Sounders a week earlier. On paper the match looked to be in the Galaxy’s favor, but just two weeks after getting absolutely demolished by D.C. United, the Red Bulls’ back line pulled a complete 180, holding up a 19′ goal from Joel Lindpere. Rookie keeper Ryan Meara had the game of his life, saving numerous Galaxy chances, and posting a clean sheet for the second week in a row.  Get match highlights and a full recap at newyorkredbulls.com.

Vancouver and Montreal both pulled off huge shockers, with the Whitecaps knocking off the Western Conference leader San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 in stoppage time and the Impact pulling out a huge road win to hand Sporting KC their second straight shutout, after starting the season 7-0.

League One

Some fans wear face paint. Others wear scarves or toot vuvuzelas. Fans of Hartlepool United support their team by dressing in costume for the final match of the season. Last season it was Ooompa Loompas. This season? Smurfs. 

U.S. Women’s National Team

After the Seattle Sounders’ win over the Philadelphia Union yesterday, NBC Sports Network interviewed the goalkeeper for the Sounders Women squad, who you may have heard of: Hope Solo. Solo chatted about the U.S. National Team’s prep for the the Summer Games, her thoughts on their group stage matches, playing Japan again in a friendly before the Olympics, and of course, the possibility of grabbing the gold at Wembley Stadium.

Check back throughout the day for more news and recaps from EPL and MLS, and follow @AerysSoccer on Twitter for the latest reactions to all the weekend’s matches.