Chicago1871
08 Jun 2004, 09:55 AM
Nutmeg has had some family business arise that requires his attention and he has passed the AAXI on (temporarily). We wish him and his family well and hope to see him back soon.
This week’s action saw two 2nd year players score hat tricks to lead their respective teams to victory, which begs the question, "why didn't we see any hats fly after Noonan and Ralph put their third tallies up?" The concept of home advantage took a savage beating this week with only 1 team coming away with a victory on their own grounds. This week also saw Columbus reach a six-game unbeaten streak...kind of scary. Week 10's AAXI is fielding the every popular 4-4-2, and has six guys finding themselves on the list for the first time.
Jonny Walker (1): This man is a good reason why you shouldn't judge keepers by their goals against. Despite not finding him even on the Goalkeeping Leaders chart, his performance earned him a spot over last weeks AAXI keeper, Pickens. After reverting back to the shootout days, a great individual effort saw him stop one of the two Nhleko breakaways. Critical saves, including taking the ball off of Eddie Johnson’s feet once or twice earned him the nod.
Jose Buciaga (1): Looked very solid at left back. His passing was superb and his runs forward looked very dangerous at times. It wasn't a flashy performance by all reviews, but it was good enough for him to be voted in.
Corey Gibbs (3): Spent his day blocking shots left and right and disrupting damn near everything the Metros tried in front of net. Putting up a very solid performance Gibbs did well containing all the (formerly) dangerous forwards for the Metros. Gibbs was a big reason Scott Garlick was only forced to make 3 saves on the Metros 3 shots on goal.
Ricardo Clark (1): Got a start at the right back sport and showed some promise from yet another new position. Sometimes he seemed the only player getting the offense started for the Metros, and the Burn didn't challenge him as much as they could have. Also, he was accused of holding the ball a bit long on a few occasions, but otherwise an auspicious start to his right back career.
Nelson Akwari (1): One nomination proclaimed him "a stud in the back." He was often first to the ball, showing the hustle that helped earn him a spot on the AAXI defense. His physical play made him a presence, but the lack of fouls called on him showed his maturity as a back.
Steve Ralston (1): Gave Zavagnin and Garcia both problems for nearly all day, depending on where he was on the field. His control and management of Revolution possession looked as good, if not better than that of Cancela. All this despite Nicol having to put him as the wide left midfielder to cope with all of the injuries. Playing two very good games in one week and drawing two penalties in the last three games earned him a spot in the midfield.
Nate Jaqua (2): Jaqua is not what you would normally think of as a wide midfielder (and is, in face, listed as a forward), but he has looked very solid there, even taking over a role that looked to be Mapp's. His over-the-head assist on Ralph’s third goal was something great (if slightly lucky). And his defensive work late in the game might be giving Bruce Arena Victorine/Convey/Albright-esq ideas.
Chris Klein (1): A very solid performance, typical of Chris. After Donovan and Beasley, I'm not sure any midfielder in the league covers open space with the ball at his feet quite like Klein. Always a danger with a defensive presence reminiscent of Armas and Mastroeni, Klein consistently shows why he is in the Nats pool.
Chris Armas (2): Speaking of Armas, he again had a quietly good game. In typical fashion, he was everywhere. Creating, meddling, breaking up plays (and starting them), and just being a force in the middle. Armas, who many people are very critical of, showed why he is a perennial favorite of the Bruce.
Pat Noonan (2): As one nomination said, "The one real bright star for either side." Noonan just looked like a different player today than he has all year. Great control of the ball. This is a guy who wants to show Bruce Arena that he isn't the only Rev worth taking a look at. Goals 1 and 2 were good, but 3 was great.
Eddie Johnson (5): This has been nothing short of a break-out season for EJ. He showed flashes of brilliance as he held the ball well, made good decisions, and was constantly a danger running onto through balls. Many nominations included how impressed they were with the shot he put off the crossbar.
This week’s action saw two 2nd year players score hat tricks to lead their respective teams to victory, which begs the question, "why didn't we see any hats fly after Noonan and Ralph put their third tallies up?" The concept of home advantage took a savage beating this week with only 1 team coming away with a victory on their own grounds. This week also saw Columbus reach a six-game unbeaten streak...kind of scary. Week 10's AAXI is fielding the every popular 4-4-2, and has six guys finding themselves on the list for the first time.
Jonny Walker (1): This man is a good reason why you shouldn't judge keepers by their goals against. Despite not finding him even on the Goalkeeping Leaders chart, his performance earned him a spot over last weeks AAXI keeper, Pickens. After reverting back to the shootout days, a great individual effort saw him stop one of the two Nhleko breakaways. Critical saves, including taking the ball off of Eddie Johnson’s feet once or twice earned him the nod.
Jose Buciaga (1): Looked very solid at left back. His passing was superb and his runs forward looked very dangerous at times. It wasn't a flashy performance by all reviews, but it was good enough for him to be voted in.
Corey Gibbs (3): Spent his day blocking shots left and right and disrupting damn near everything the Metros tried in front of net. Putting up a very solid performance Gibbs did well containing all the (formerly) dangerous forwards for the Metros. Gibbs was a big reason Scott Garlick was only forced to make 3 saves on the Metros 3 shots on goal.
Ricardo Clark (1): Got a start at the right back sport and showed some promise from yet another new position. Sometimes he seemed the only player getting the offense started for the Metros, and the Burn didn't challenge him as much as they could have. Also, he was accused of holding the ball a bit long on a few occasions, but otherwise an auspicious start to his right back career.
Nelson Akwari (1): One nomination proclaimed him "a stud in the back." He was often first to the ball, showing the hustle that helped earn him a spot on the AAXI defense. His physical play made him a presence, but the lack of fouls called on him showed his maturity as a back.
Steve Ralston (1): Gave Zavagnin and Garcia both problems for nearly all day, depending on where he was on the field. His control and management of Revolution possession looked as good, if not better than that of Cancela. All this despite Nicol having to put him as the wide left midfielder to cope with all of the injuries. Playing two very good games in one week and drawing two penalties in the last three games earned him a spot in the midfield.
Nate Jaqua (2): Jaqua is not what you would normally think of as a wide midfielder (and is, in face, listed as a forward), but he has looked very solid there, even taking over a role that looked to be Mapp's. His over-the-head assist on Ralph’s third goal was something great (if slightly lucky). And his defensive work late in the game might be giving Bruce Arena Victorine/Convey/Albright-esq ideas.
Chris Klein (1): A very solid performance, typical of Chris. After Donovan and Beasley, I'm not sure any midfielder in the league covers open space with the ball at his feet quite like Klein. Always a danger with a defensive presence reminiscent of Armas and Mastroeni, Klein consistently shows why he is in the Nats pool.
Chris Armas (2): Speaking of Armas, he again had a quietly good game. In typical fashion, he was everywhere. Creating, meddling, breaking up plays (and starting them), and just being a force in the middle. Armas, who many people are very critical of, showed why he is a perennial favorite of the Bruce.
Pat Noonan (2): As one nomination said, "The one real bright star for either side." Noonan just looked like a different player today than he has all year. Great control of the ball. This is a guy who wants to show Bruce Arena that he isn't the only Rev worth taking a look at. Goals 1 and 2 were good, but 3 was great.
Eddie Johnson (5): This has been nothing short of a break-out season for EJ. He showed flashes of brilliance as he held the ball well, made good decisions, and was constantly a danger running onto through balls. Many nominations included how impressed they were with the shot he put off the crossbar.