Whitecaps - Islanders playoff live blog, Leg II

After a 0-0 tie in Puerto Rico in the first leg of their USSF-II semifinal, the Vancouver Whitecaps have returned home (on the same flight as the Islanders) for the rematch. They take on Puerto Rico today at 4 p.m., and I'll be live-blogging it from Vancouver's Swangard Stadium. Wes Knight is back in the lineup, which should give the Whitecaps a boost, but facing the Islanders in an elimination game is never easy. Check out game previews from Marc Weber, Ben Massey, Simon Fudge and Bruce Constantineau, then come join me at 4 for the game!

Vancouver Whitecaps - Puerto Rico Islanders playoff live blog, Leg One

After narrowly surviving the Portland Timbers in the first round of the USSF-2 playoffs, the Vancouver Whitecaps hope to continue their run against the Puerto Rico Islanders, who upset top-seeded Rochester in the first round. Game One is today at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific in Puerto Rico. The Whitecaps are webcasting it, and it will be live-blogged here (as long as the webcast's working; Puerto Rico isn't on their usual ground, and I know Rochester had some issues trying to get a webcast from the temporary ground).

To get ready for this one, check out the game previews from Ben Massey, Marc Weber, Simon Fudge and Bruce Constantineau. After looking through those, come join me for the live blog below!

Setting up the USL-1 semifinals

The USL-1 semifinals kick off today, and both matchups are intriguing. Here's a brief breakdown of what we're likely to see. Both series involve home-and-home, total-goals clashes with no away-goals rule. If still tied after both legs, the teams will go to extra time and then a shootout. The winner of each series will advance to the USL-1 final.

(1) Portland versus (7) Vancouver:

On paper, the seeding system makes this one (which I'll be live-blogging) look like a bit of a mismatch. However, as I wrote before the Whitecaps' first-round matchup against the second-seeded Carolina RailHawks, their low ranking is a bit deceiving. The team has plenty of talent and a surprising amount of depth. They've struggled with consistency this year, partly due to personnel issues (especially in central defence), partly thanks to their emphasis on giving young players plenty of experience and perhaps even partly as a championship hangover, but they've been in fine form lately, putting up a 5-1-6 record in their last 12 USL-1 games. The defence in particular looked strong over two legs against the RailHawks; they allowed a few chances and even conceded a penalty (which was brilliantly parried by keeper Jay Nolly), but kept Carolina off the scoreboard and dealt with their dangerous scoring threats. As Nolly mentioned on Full Time Sunday, the team sees themselves as more of a fourth or a fifth seed than a true seventh seed. Shaun Pejic has also been a nice fit in central defence since joining the team partway through the year.

The Whitecaps' depth is especially evident up front where USL-1 goal-scoring leader and All-League First Team member Charles Gbeke started on the bench in Sunday's second leg against Carolina. Gbeke, Marcus Haber, Marlon James and Randy Edwini-Bonsu can all fill the net, and they'll all likely see playing time against Portland. Picking who to start will be a difficult decision for head coach Teitur Thordarson, but that's a nice problem to have.

Portland comes into this as a significant favourite, and for several months earlier this year, they were the most dominant team in the USL. They struggled a bit down the stretch, though, and their first-round bye means they haven't seen playoff action yet. Their key players are keeper Steve Cronin (19 goals against in 28 games, 10 shutouts), midfielder Ryan Pore (10 goals and two assists in just 21 starts) and forward Mandjou Keita, the team's top scorer with 11 goals and seven assists in 29 games.

There's a long history between these sides dating back to the NASL days. Portland beat Vancouver in a home-and-home series in 1978, but Vancouver got revenge in their next playoff clash, in USL-1 in 2002. Portland has the most recent victory, though, defeating the Whitecaps 3-1 on aggregate in the 2007 playoffs.

As Marc Weber of The Province wrote this week, the key to this one may be who does more with home-field advantage. Vancouver is 15-1-2 against Portland at home all-time and 31-21-7 overall, but just 16-20-5 on the road. That includes just one win in their last nine games at Portland's PGE Park. As this series is total-goals, it may come down to who can win by more goals at home. My prediction's for a Vancouver upset win, as they're really clicking into nice form at the moment.

I'll be live-blogging both legs of this one. The first leg is tonight at 10:30 p.m. Eastern/ 7:30 p.m. Pacific at Swangard Stadium. The second leg follows Sunday at 7 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Pacific.

(3) Puerto Rico vs. (5) Montreal:

This one should be quite interesting as well. The Impact are coming off an impressive 4-1 aggregate victory over the Charleston Battery, while the Islanders thumped the Rochester Rhinos 5-2. Both teams can fill the net, so the question here is whose defence will be better.

On paper, I'd give the defensive edge to the Islanders. They have a solid defensive line and one of the best keepers in the league in Bill Gaudette, while Montreal has the less impressive tandem of Matt Jordan and Srdjan Djekanovic. Puerto Rico's also received strong performances from defensively-minded players like Christian Arrieta and Noah Delgado

I like Puerto Rico's offence, too. Former Vancouver striker Nick Addlery has done quite well with the Islanders, and Fabrice Noel forms an excellent strike pairing with him. Montreal looked to upgrade their offence this past season by acquiring former Vancouver striker Eddy Sebrango, but he's had a disappointing season with only four USL-1 goals. Roberto Brown led the Impact with seven goals and three assists, but it took him 1568 minutes to do that.

The one mark against the Islanders is that they had to play a CONCACAF Champions League match Tuesday, so they'll be less rested than the Impact. They've had to travel a lot in the last week, too, which also doesn't help. However, head coach Colin Clarke elected to rest several of his key players in Tuesday's game (a 2-0 loss to Cruz Azul), sending them straight to Montreal. It's a bold gambit, and we'll see if it pays off. In the end, I'm picking Puerto Rico in this one; I like their depth and their defence. It could be a close one, though.

[Cross-posted to The 24th Minute]

Soccer Saturday live blog!

It should be an action-packed evening in North American soccer. I'll be covering the Toronto FC - Columbus Crew game at 7:30 Eastern (4:30 Pacific) and the Vancouver Whitecaps - Puerto Rico Islanders game at 10:00 Eastern (7:00 Pacific), but there's also plenty of other MLS action, including New England at Houston at 8:30 ET, the L.A. Galaxy at Kansas City at 9:00, the New York Red Bulls at Colorado at 9:30 and D.C United at San Jose at 10:30; some of the other guys at Epic Footy will be reporting in on those games as well. Come join us for what should be a great evening of soccer!

Vancouver Whitecaps - Puerto Rico Islanders live blog

I'll be live-blogging tonight's match between the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Puerto Rico Islanders here and at The 24th Minute. Kickoff is at 10 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Pacific, and the game will be webcast on USL Live. It should be a good one; these are two of the top USL teams, and they met in the USL final last year, so there's a great rivalry there. The Islanders took the last meeting 2-1 at home, so Vancouver will also be out for revenge.

Both of these teams are coming off busy and somewhat disappointing weeks as well; Vancouver lost 1-0 to Toronto FC in the first match of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship on the road Wednesday, while the Islanders tied the Austin Aztex 1-1 in Texas on Friday. Neither side's had the start to the year they envisioned, either; Vancouver's 2-1-2 through five games and in fifth place, while Puerto Rico's 2-0-2 in four games and in fourth. There's lots of time left in the USL season, but tonight's match could mark a big turnaround in the fortunes of either side. Come join in the live blog tonight to see what happens!

Whitecaps - Islanders live blog

I'll be live-blogging tonight's USL game between the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Puerto Rico Islanders both here and at The 24th Minute. My match preview is already up over there. Check it out, and then join me in the live blog at 7 p.m. Eastern!

White is the colour

It was tremendous to hear that the Vancouver Whitecaps claimed the United Soccer League Division I championship [Marc Weber, The Vancouver Province] Sunday with a 2-1 win over the Puerto Rico Islanders [Jim Morris, The Canadian Press via The Globe and Mail]*. It's the Whitecaps' second championship in three years (their last one came in 2006), and their first championship clinched at home since they won the 1991 Canadian Soccer League title. That's some great news for Vancouver soccer fans. Yes, the Lions are still doing well and the Canucks are off to a 2-0 start, but for at least a little while, the Caps claimed top spot in the Vancouver spotlight.

*Morris has some great tidbits in the notes at the bottom of his story, including that this is the first time the USL men's final has ever been between two teams from outside the U.S. and that the Vancouver-Puerto Rico trip is the second-longest in any world soccer league (bested only by Vladivostok and Kaliningrad in Russia).

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to watch this one thanks to being in Florida for the weekend (in fact, I'm writing this in the airport), but it sounds like a terrific game from all accounts. It's fantastic to hear about the Caps players jumping into the stands to celebrate with the fans afterwards [in Morris' piece]: that shows the level of interest in their community this team has. Toronto FC is legendary for their support of their fans and their player-fan interaction, but they aren't the only ones. Vancouverites love their team as well, which was reflected in the over-capacity attendance of 5,288 [Weber].

It was also nice to see Charles Gbeke get both goals for the 'Caps. Gbeke was born in the Ivory Coast, but grew up in Montreal and played for the Impact. He was also on the 2006 Rochester Rhinos squad that lost the USL final to the Whitecaps. He's a great Canadian story and a talented player, and it's terrific to see him playing for Vancouver instead of their rivals: I expect much more from him in the years to come.

This victory couldn't come at a better time. With the race for MLS heating up, this is a terrific opportunity to play up soccer in Vancouver and get the community even further behind the team than they are already. As Duane wrote over at Out of Left Field, "It's moments like this that it becomes clear that the Whitecaps deserve to be awarded a MLS franchise (deserve and "are gonna get" are two very different things). The team, which has survived the folding of two leagues, is as close as you can get to a football institution in this country. An argument can be made that the Whitecaps are the only club left that can trace itself directly back to the NASL -- that's something to be proud of. Who knows whether the 'Caps will get the MLS nod for 2011. But, if they don't it won't be Vancouver that is losing out."

This is also a ray of hope for Canadian soccer fans, given the dismal failure [Ben Knight, On Soccer] of the national team to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Yes, that exit begs question, and the whole structure of Canadian soccer needs to be looked at and considered: I'll have more on that shortly. For now, though, as Duane pointed out [Out of Left Field, there's plenty for Canadian soccer fans to be excited about at the club level, with Vancouver's championship, Montreal's success in the CONCACAF Champions League and the strength of the MLS bids in both cities (and Ottawa as well). TFC is also moving in the right direction, albeit slowly. Our clubs seem to be getting things right both on and off the field, with their play, their marketing, their fan support and their youth development systems. Let's take some comfort in that during the struggles of our national teams: things may not always be this bad.

The GBU: Whitecaps vs. Puerto Rico

Sunday Night Lights

Photo: The Vancouver Whitecaps take on the Puerto Rico Islanders Sunday night under the lights at Burnaby's Swangard Stadium. The match ended 0-0. [Andrew Bucholtz photo].


Breaking down yesterday night's match for USL supremacy, featuring the second-place Vancouver Whitecaps and the top-of-the-league Puerto Rico Islanders...

The score: 0-0

How I saw it: In person

The Good:

-Jay Nolly: The Whitecaps' keeper continued his outstanding season with another stellar performance, including several diving saves, key interceptions of crosses and corner kicks, and a couple of crucial stops on potential breakaways.

-Alfredo Valente: Valente had a solid game on the wing for the Whitecaps, creating several quality chances with his speed and crossing ability. His crosses weren't always exactly on the mark, but on balance, he turned in a strong performance.

-Luca Bellisomo: The SFU product came on for Lyle Martin in the 63rd minute and demonstrated again that he's a capable wingback. He appeared more composed than on the previous occasions when I'd seen him play, which was good to see. He did a nice job of shutting down the speedy Islanders' wingers, and won a lot of balls in the air.

-The crowd: It was great to see 4,563 people take the time to come out to a Caps' game on a rainy Sunday night. That's normally a pretty good attendance for a Friday or Saturday game, and it's not far from Swangard Stadium's capacity of 5,288. Of course, it probably helped that the Lions had a bye week, as the Whitecaps were the only game in town this weekend. Still, there were a lot of people there, and those who came were loud and passionate, which is also good to see.

The Bad:

-Nigel Henry: The tall Islanders' defender turned in a great performance, but as per the rules of The GBU, his effort gets filed here because it was for the wrong team. Henry did an exceptional job of winning balls in the air, thwarting the Whitecaps' strategy of attacking via crosses from the flanks. He also neutralized the ever-dangerous Sebrango for much of the match, not an easy feat.

-Josh Hansen: The ex-Whitecap midfielder made a strong showing in his return to Swangard, controlling the play in the middle of the park and sending several good balls through for the Islanders' swift strikers.

-Bill Gaudette The Islanders' keeper was effective all night, and proved especially adept at intercepting aerial crosses, a prominent feature of the Whitecaps' attack. He also made several key diving saves to preserve the draw for his side.

The Ugly:

-Eduardo Sebrango's sending off: The Whitecaps' star Cuban striker, who's well in front in the team scoring race with 10 goals (tied for second in the whole USL and eight goals better than his nearest teammate), actually had a decent game on balance. He was the most dangerous man on the pitch for much of the day, but his finishing was a little off. However, what was really ugly was his red card late in the match. He thought the Whitecaps had scored in the 79th minute after defender Omar Jarun buried a rebound that was jarred loose after a collision with Puerto Rico keeper Bill Gaudette, but they were instead called for an offensive foul. Somehow, Sebrango was shown a yellow card, and he then earned a second yellow for dissent and was sent off.

It was tough to tell from the stands exactly what happened. I thought at first it was Sebrango who committed the foul and that was what gave him the first yellow, but Steve Ewen's game story [The Province] indicates that it was Jarun. In that case, it doesn't seem clear what the first yellow to Sebrango was for, and Ewen indicates that the dissent that earned him the second yellow also seemed pretty minimal. However, that's tough to tell without being right there, as you can't tell from the press box if he said anything objectionable. What's clear is that you should shut up as soon as you get a yellow, something most soccer players realize. Sebrango's second booking left the Whitecaps to play the last 15 minutes or so with only 10 players. It may have been a bad call by the ref, or it may have been a selfish decision from Sebrango to mouth off after a yellow. Either way, it cost the team a chance at getting all three points.

-Martin Nash's set pieces: Whitecaps' midfielder Nash (the brother of new Whitecaps' co-owner Steve) had a decent game overall, and was effective at both making key tackles defensively and sending through balls to the Vancouver wingers and strikers. However, his set-piece efforts, usually one of the best parts of his game, were a bit off: many of his corners soared clear over the box, while his free kicks found only defenders. Towards the end, Valente took over the set-piece duties. Nash will surely regain his set-piece form down the road, but it wasn't there Sunday night.

-NAIA references:: The Whitecaps' game-day program, which overall is a fine piece of work (and free too, unlike most sports programs these days), has one rather ugly error. It lists Bellisomo's last school as Simon Fraser (NAIA). Yes, the Clan used to play NAIA soccer, and they still are in the NAIA in some sports, but they've been playing CIS soccer since 2002. As a CIS guy, I'd like to see the league get a bit of credit for the guys that have come through its ranks.

The Verdict: Overall, it was a pretty good match, and surprisingly offensive for a 0-0 draw. There was plenty of end-to-end action, and both sides were clearly going for goals: it was only some spectacular defence and goalkeeping that kept them in it. It was billed as a clash between two of the USL's best franchises, and the on-pitch action lived up to that, even if the scoreboard didn't show it.

On Tap: The Whitecaps travel to Tukwila, Washington Wednesday night to play old rivals in the Seattle Sounders. It will be the Whitecaps' first game at the Starfire Sports Complex, where the USL Sounders are now based (due to the MLS Sounders taking over Qwest Field next season). They won't have any rest, either: Friday night, they're back in Vancouver to host the Portland Timbers. I'll be at Friday night's match, which will also be shown live on Fox Soccer Channel, and I should have a game report up Saturday.