Daily news roundups

“It’s big”: Quotes & previews ahead of tonight’s USOC semi, more news

As of this writing, there is still no official confirmation that FC Dallas will stream tonight’s US Open Cup semifinal against the Union, which is scheduled to kickoff at 9 pm ET, but it is widely assumed that they will do so. PSP’s Adam Cann will be in the press box for the game, so follow the PSP Twitter account for live updates from Texas.

UPDATE: Click here to link to the live stream of tonight’s game.

Philadelphia Union

US Open Cup semi

Will Sebastien Le Toux’s ankle be good to go? Is Cristian Maidana now fit after his hamstring injury? How rested will the team be after playing on Saturday and then flying to Texas on Monday for a game on Tuesday? These are just some of the questions ahead of tonight’s US Open Cup semifinal game against Dallas.

One thing is certain: Tonight’s game is huge. Not only is a cup final on the line, if the Union win, they will host the final against the winner of Seattle-Chicago at PPL Park on Sept. 16.

Sheanon Williams said of the game, “It’s big. There’s only two trophies you can win in our league, or three if you want to count the Champions League. You have to win the Open Cup to get into the Champions League. It’s huge. We’ll treat it as big of a game as we’ve had. If we get to the finals, it’ll probably be the biggest game in this club’s history.”

He added, “This place will be packed if we pull it off and get back here for the championship game.” Truth!

Williams said of Dallas, “Last time, we played well enough to get a result. They are a team that’s in form, they are a team we know can play and has good players that can break down defenses. We’ll have to be compact again defensively and complete a couple more passes. (Against Montreal), we kept giving them back the ball and in that 100-and-whatever degree weather (in Texas), we can’t do that. We have to play a lot better. I’m sure we’ll watch the film on this past game, we’ll watch more film on Dallas and get ready for them as best as possible.”

Ethan White, who won the Cup with DC last year, said, “Every game is a must-win, and Tuesday is a must win. The East is tight. And we’ve got to keep getting points, and we’ve got to keep getting wins in the Open Cup. For now, everything’s a must-win.”

Jim Curtin said of the challenges posed by short rest and travel, “It’s tough, [but] we’re not going to make excuses. We really have a deep squad now; if you look the bench, you have hundreds and hundreds of games on the bench right now of experience, so that’s a positive to come in and help close out games.”

FC Dallas defender  Zach Loyd said of tonight’s game, “It’s huge. I’ve been here five years and I haven’t won a trophy so there is a lot on the line Tuesday night. Especially, with it being the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, it means a bit more to this club than others. We’re really looking forward to it and we cannot wait to get out there Tuesday night.”

FC Dallas defender Walker Zimmerman said, “It’s a must-win game for us. The U.S. Open Cup means a lot to the club. Lamar Hunt’s name being on the trophy makes it very significant. We’re all up for it. We want to be champions this year. The chance to host the final here is massive – two home games separate us from winning that championship. Everyone is fired up. We know it’s going to take a lot of work but we’re ready.”

Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja said of the Union, “They have been getting confidence with some results. As I’ve said, respect the next opponent as the last one, try to beat them. We work towards the results and what we can control. That’s the way we see Philadelphia honestly. It’s going to be a difficult match for sure.”

The man holding the whistle for tonight’s game will be Mark Geiger.

Previews of tonight’s big game from PSP, Philadelphia Union, TheCup.usMLSsoccer.comInquirer, Daily News, Delco Times, Soccerly, Dallas Morning News, Brotherly GameStoppage Time Soccer, and Playing for 90.

More Union news

In the latest Inside Doop, Dave Zeitlin includes this interesting tidbit: “Le Toux’s 10 goals in league play this season have come on only 31 shots and 13 shots on goal. For comparison, the Galaxy’s Robbie Keane has scored 12 goals on 77 shots and 35 shots on goal and Seattle’s Clint Dempsey has scored nine goals on 62 shots and 26 shots on goal.” Even with four of Le Toux’s goals coming from the penalty spot, that’s pretty tidy.

Le Toux was named to the Team of the Week at MLSsoccer.com and Goal.com. Le Toux was also named to the Best XI for Week 22 at SI and SBI, with Zac MacMath and Carlos Valdes receiving honorable mentions at SBI.

More on Carlos Valdes’ performance on Saturday at MLSsoccer.com.

Brotherly Game has a statistical look at place of the Union’s backline in the team’s counterattacking game.

Power rankings! At Soccer America, the Union move up three spots to No. 9. At ESPN, they climb one spot to No. 11. At SI, they remain at No. 12.

The Guardian says, despite Saturday’s win, “uncertainty surrounding the Union remains,” adding “Though Valdés has added some needed quality in the back, we’ll need a stronger test than Montréal to see whether a revamped team can maintain their postseason spot.”

In a look at possible new faces on the USMNT at Goal.com, Ives Galarcep lists Ray Gaddis and Amobi Okugo among “some intriguing defensive prospects.”

At the Union website, a look at the 4-2-3-1 doesn’t have a place in the starting lineup for Amobi Okugo.

Local

AO Philly and AO Lancaster are organizing the first annual Mid-Atlantic American Outlaws Charity Tournament, a 6-v-6 tournament to benefit Veteran Victory House.  You must register for the tournament, which will take place Sept. 27, by Sept. 6. For more information, click here.

MLS

LA have acquired Alan Gordon from San Jose in exchange for allocation money. Gordon was originally drafted by the Galaxy in 2004.

NYCFC have acquired defender Kwame Watson-Siriboe from Real Salt Lake in exchange for a fourth round pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft.

ASN talks to Taylor Twellman about his emergence over this year as a soccer news scoop machine.

Eddie Johnson appears to like digging deeper holes for himself.

Las Vegas Informer has a piece outlining the pros and cons for those working to bring a MLS franchise to that city.

US

The Football Association of Ireland announced it will host the USMNT in a friendly at Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Nov. 18. US Soccer has not yet confirmed the fixture, news of which first emerged in July.

Mexico coach Miguel Herrera says USA-Mexico games won’t be the same without Landon Donovan. “It’s his decision obviously (to retire), but I think Donovan is very young. I think he can continue giving results. I think the decision might be due to him being left off the World Cup roster. It was a dream of his to be there. It’s a personal decision, but hopefully he can look back and change his mind.”

The USWNT will host Mexico at Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake on Sept. 13. The game is one of two matches against Mexico, the other in Rochester on Sept. 18, both of which will be the final warmup games for the US before the start of the CONCACAF 2015 Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament, the final of which will be at PPL Park.

Hope Solo’s domestic assault trial has been scheduled for November, Her attorney is seeking to have the charges dismissed. You will recall that Solo was charged with assaulting her sister and nephew in June.

Elsewhere

Carlo Tavecchio, the man who recently referred to African players as “banana eaters,” has been elected the head of the Italian Football Federation with 63.63 percent of the vote.

13 Comments

  1. Did anyone ask Curtin at the post match press conference specifically about Okugo’s DNP – whether it was solely based on needing him to go 90 min tonight & Friday, or if it was coach’s decision & performance based? I see a mention of Fabhino as ‘depth’ but nothing on Amobi. I would think that benching a player who has started every match he was eligible for over a year would merit a question/response. I’ve seen the arguments that his play has slipped this season but really don’t see how Carroll is a better option.

  2. If you go to US Soccer’s website, there’s an article about the Seattle – Chicago match. But nothing at all about the Union – Dallas match. I did some poking around but I couldn’t find any sort of “contact us” link or anything so I could voice my displeasure about the lack of stream for the game.

  3. With both teams wanting this so badly tonight, and the amount which both team play bunker ball, shots will be at a premium. It’s going to be such an interesting game with so many lineup choices. Let’s hope the stream works

  4. OneManWolfpack says:

    I don’t care if it is bunkerball… JUST WIN!!

  5. There is zero chance Ray Gaddis is USMNT quality. Sorry Ray- love me the U but the truth is the truth. Okugo however…….

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