Sporting Madness

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! Whitecaps - Islanders: Leg II

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! Vancouver Whitecaps - Puerto Rico Islanders

The Vancouver Whitecaps have a 2-0 aggregate lead heading into the second leg of their USSF Division II playoff series in Portland today, but the Timbers aren't going to be an easy foe to dispatch. The game's at 9 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. Pacific) tonight, and will be streamed through the Whitecaps' website . I'll be live-blogging it here and at The 24th Minute . Check out the previews from Marc Weber , Bruce Constantineau , Simon Fudge and Ben Massey , and then come join me at 6 for the live blog! Vancouver Whitecaps - Portland Timbers

I'll be live-blogging tonight's Vancouver Whitecaps - Portland Timbers USSF-II playoff game from the Swangard Stadium press box. It should be a good one, as this rivalry's always interesting on its own and the playoff atmosphere should only add to that. Kickoff is set for 10:30 p.m. Eastern/7:30 p.m. Pacific, and you can watch the game on the Whitecaps' site here . Come join me then! Vancouver Whitecaps - Portland Timbers

Canada’s two USSF-2 teams start their playoff campaigns this week with home-and-home series. Montreal got off on the right foot Wednesday, beating the Austin Aztex 2-0 thanks to an Ali Gerba brace . Meanwhile, Vancouver will face their long-time rivals from Portland in a two-game series starting tonight at Swangard Stadium (10:30 p.m. Eastern: I’ll be live-blogging from the stadium press box, and the game can be seen via streaming video at whitecapsfc.com ). Both teams are in slightly different situations, but they have some of the same concerns and will face some of the same challenges. For Montreal, putting the ball in the net consistently has been an issue for most of the year. Gerba was solid down the stretch run, scoring nine goals in his last seven regular-season games , but he didn’t score at all in the regular season before that. The Impact weren’t able to find much scoring depth, either, and their depth hasn’t shown up much at all lately. The 2-0 home win was a terrific st...

After a month-long road trip, the Vancouver Whitecaps completed their odyssey with a return to Burnaby’s Swangard Stadium. Unlike certain Greek mythological heroes, though, their return was less than triumphal, and they came away with just one point from a 2-2 draw with the Austin Aztex. Whitecaps’ head coach Teitur Thordarson was impressed with his team’s play overall, but less pleased with their finishing touch. “We created so many chances today, it is unbelievable we didn’t score more than two goals,” he said. “We could have been up 4-0 by half.” Vancouver opened the scoring in the 16th minute when Martin Nash went in for a sliding tackle. The ball went off him and bounced to Cornelius Stewart , who broke in alone and drilled a low left-footed drive past keeper Miguel Gallardo into the bottom-right corner of the net. The Whitecaps dominated much of the rest of the first half, recording six shots against Austin’s two and controlling the majority of the possession. They we...

After another month-long road trip, the Vancouver Whitecaps return home today [ Simon Fudge , WhitecapsFC.com ] to face the Austin Aztex [ Benjamin Massey , Eighty-Six Forever ] in a game I'll be live-blogging. It will be their first match at home in almost five weeks [ Marc Weber , The Province ]. Their last home fixture was a 1-1 draw against Minnesota all the way back on July 25 . The team went 2-0-3 on their month-long road trip, picking up wins at Montreal and Minnesota and earning draws with Carolina, St. Louis and Tampa Bay. They've also undergone quite the roster makeover in that time [ Bruce Constantineau , Vancouver Sun : I focused on the reasons behind that in my World Soccer Reader column a few weeks back , but the changes have come even faster and on a wider scale than I would have imagined. We should see some of the new faces in the lineup today; Weber expects 19-year-old Swiss forward Ridge Mobulu to start, with 22-year-old American striker Cody Arnoux ...

Last night's 2-1 Portland Timbers victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps was an odd game for a variety of reasons. For one thing, Portland had won only one of their last 17 matches at Swangard Stadium and hadn't won there in six years [ Prost Amerika ]. The victory also allowed Portland to retain the Cascadia Cup [ Simon Fudge , WhitecapsFC.com ]. Furthermore, the result was probably pretty fair given the overall flow of the game, but it came in a highly unexpected way. The Timbers dominated the first half of play, but didn't come away with much to show for it. Vancouver had a few early chances as well, but they looked disorganized at the back at times and not terribly dangerous in attack. George Josten really should have opened the scoring for Portland; he had a tremendous chance in the 26th minute that was nullified by an offensive foul, and had another chance in the 29th minute, but drilled a rebound wide from five yards out. The second half was a different story. ...

I'll be live-blogging tonight's Vancouver Whitecaps - Portland Timbers clash tonight at 7:30 p.m. Pacific (10:30 p.m. Eastern), both here and over at [ The 24th Minute ]. The rivalry games between these sides, both set to join MLS next year, are always interesting on their own, but this one comes with some extra importance. It's only two days since Vancouver made an interesting trade [ Marc Weber , The Province ], sending FC Tampa Bay a pair of fine midfielders in former USL-1 MVP Jonny Steele and all-star Ricardo Sanchez in return for future considerations. It's a curious move from a pure talent perspective, as both Sanchez and Steele had been tremendously successful at the USL-1 level and had played well with the Whitecaps when called upon. However, when you consider other factors, this makes more sense. Vancouver has quite a bit of midfield depth, and the starting central tandem of Martin Nash and Luca Bellisomo has played quite well. Sanchez and Steele were v...

For a long while, Blake Wagner seemed like another cautionary tale of giving athletes too much hype too early. He was identified by the U.S. national team through their Olympic Development Program back when he was 13, was highly publicized and went on to play for the U.S. at the U-14, U-15 and U-17 levels. He then joined Generation adidas and was drafted 18th overall by FC Dallas in the 2006 MLS Superdraft. Dallas did bring him along slowly, only using him once as a substitute in a friendly that season and not starting him in MLS until 2007. He made 12 appearances with the team that year, then started 23 of 24 matches for them as a defender in 2008. He only saw limited time with them in 2009 though, and they opted not to bring him back. It looked like he had fallen off the map, but he then signed with Vancouver earlier this year, and his star appears to be back in the ascendancy. Although this was only Wagner’s fourth match with Vancouver, he has already surpassed his career goals ...

The Vancouver Whitecaps are playing their first home game in almost a month tonight against AC St. Louis, and I'll be there at Swangard Stadium to live blog it. The Whitecaps are in good shape coming into this one; they're 6-2-7 on the season, and went 2-0-3 on their recent five-game road trip from hell where they criss-crossed North America from Puerto Rico to Montreal. They're in first place in the NASL Conference and are the only USSF Division II team to have conceded less than 10 goals on the season [ Simon Fudge , WhitecapsFC.com ]. They've only allowed eight goals against in league play. Still, as Marc Weber points out in his preview, they're still looking for consistent goal-scoring , and this week's club-imposed suspension of Dever Orgill over a training incident might result in some further new looks up front. The match will start at 7:30 p.m. Pacific (10:30 p.m. Eastern); come join me for the live blog then! Vancouver Whitecaps - AC St. Louis

Tonight in Vancouver, an immovable object and an unstoppable force decided to forget the whole thought experiment and go for a drink together. The Vancouver Whitecaps came into this clash with a 4-0-2 record at home in USSF Division II play, while the Carolina RailHawks were 2-0-3 on the road, so you would have expected something to give. Neither side did, though, and the game ended 1-1 after a solid battle. Vancouver looked set to pick up another low-scoring home win when Ansu Toure put them ahead in the 31st minute. It was a beautiful goal with a terrific buildup. Former USL-1 MVP Jonny Steele found space for a run down the left flank, where Toure normally plays. Toure shifted inside and Steele sent a cross in for him near the top of the six-yard box, but it was slightly behind him. Toure reached back, though, and with a move straight out of a freestyle competition, hit a behind-the-back sideheel into the net. Their lead was short-lived, though. In first-half stoppage time, con...

I'll be live-blogging the Vancouver Whitecaps - Carolina RailHawks USSF Division II clash tonight from Swangard Stadium. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Pacific, and the match can be watched via webcast at whitecapsfc.com . Come join me then! Vancouver Whitecaps - Carolina RailHawks

Saturday’s Vancouver Whitecaps clash against the Rochester Rhinos saw the fall of one streak and the continuation of a more auspicious one. Before 4,996 fans at Swangard Stadium, the Whitecaps found a way to break their goalless streak while maintaining their defensive dominance, coming away with a 2-0 victory. Vancouver threatened early, but that was something we’ve seen before. This last stretch of games has been characterized by the team creating scoring chances but not capitalizing on them. Tonight was different, though, as Cornelius Stewart ended their scoring drought in the 17th minute. He collected the ball in the box after Marcus Haber ’s shot hit him, turned and drilled it past Rochester goalkeeper Neal Kitson into the corner of the net. The goal came in the 276th minute of USSF-II play since the Whitecaps’ last league tally ( April 29 against Portland) and the 296th minute of USSF-II and Voyageurs’ Cup play since their last goal of any type (a Marcus Haber penalty May 5...

I'll be live-blogging tonight's USSF Division II game between the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Rochester Rhinos. Kickoff is at 10 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Pacific. A video feed of the action can be found on the Whitecaps' website . Come join me then! Whitecaps - Rhinos live blog

Saturday night’s 0-0 scoreless draw [ Simon Fudge , WhitecapsFC.com ] with the Montreal Impact saw the continuation of a disturbing trend for the Vancouver Whitecaps. They’ve now gone 259 minutes without scoring in league play since Nelson Akwari notched an 11th-minute goal against Portland on April 29. Following that, they went 79 minutes of the Portland game without scoring again, then held Crystal Palace Baltimore to a 0-0 draw [ Marc Weber , The Province ] last weekend before tonight's scoreless clash. Of course, Vancouver did get one goal during that span, but that came against Montreal in last week's Voyageurs' Cup game, though, not in USSF Division II competition. They're still doing reasonably well in the league and lead the NASL Conference with eight points, but that's unlikely to continue unless the goals start to come. Tonight's game was a little more promising on the offensive end, however, as head coach Teitur Thordarson commented post-mat...

The Vancouver Whitecaps and Montreal Impact will face off again tonight [ Simon Fudge , WhitecapsFC.com ]in USSF Division II play. The game has plenty of on-pitch implications, as Vancouver (2-1-2) and Montreal (2-1-1) are the top two clubs in the NASL Conference so far, but it also carries a significant off-field component. The rivalry between the teams is long-running, but it took on extra heat last year when Montreal's lopsided loss to Toronto FC cost Vancouver a CONCACAF Champions League berth, and again when the Impact beat the Whitecaps in the USL final. This year, the two clubs battled to a 1-1 draw in the Voyageurs' Cup last Wednesday. Montreal was officially announced as the newest MLS team (joining in 2012, one year after Vancouver) on Friday [ Paul Attfield , The Globe and Mail ], so this will be the first time the two clubs face each other since that, but hardly the last; Vancouver will travel to Montreal to face the Impact in another Nutrilite Canadian Champion...

Today features another interesting soccer clash, with the Vancouver Whitecaps hosting AC St. Louis [ Simon Fudge , WhitecapsFC.com ] in USSF Division II action. The Whitecaps got off to a strong start to their league campaign on April 11 with a win over the NSC Minnesota Stars at home , but they were held to a scoreless draw on the road against Miami FC last weekend. They still lead the NASL conference with four points from two games, though. St. Louis, in their first year of operation, have gotten off to a tougher start, losing all of their first three games. They'll be eager to turn that around, but Swangard Stadium is always a difficult place for road teams to get a result. They're also playing on short rest after getting thumped 3-0 by Portland Thursday, so this fixture doesn't auger well for them. There are some concerns on the Whitecaps' end, though. Their depth up front, already questionable, took another hit midweek with Dever Orgill suffering a calf injur...

Welcome to today’s coverage of the Vancouver Whitecaps’ season opener against the NSC Minnesota Stars. Game video can be seen at the Whitecaps’ home page . Join the live blog below! Vancouver Whitecaps - NSC Minnesota Stars

The Vancouver Whitecaps begin their new season today at Swangard Stadium, and I'll be live-blogging the game from the press box for this site, The 24th Minute and Epic Footy . They'll be taking on the NSC Minnesota Stars [ Simon Fudge , WhitecapsFC.com ]. Game time is at 7 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Pacific, and live video can be found via the Whitecaps' home page. It should be an interesting clash; Vancouver finished with a mediocre 11-10-9 record last season, but got hot in the playoffs and went all the way to the USL championship before losing to Montreal. The Minnesota Stars are a new team, but they have nine players from the former Minnesota Thunder, who were 7-13-10 last year and missed the playoffs. They'll be eager to get off to a hot start. I've already written a season preview focused on the Whitecaps' league and personnel changes for Dave Clark over at Sounder At Heart , and I wrote one focused on their potential Voyageurs' Cup ambitions over at...