Chicago1871
31 Aug 2004, 11:22 AM
The "Too Darn Hot" Edition - as in too hot to score (thanks, Cole Porter). MLS had avoided a "dog days of August" weekend so far this month, so it's not so bad that it got buried underneath the Women's Gold Medal match - I'm quite sure that I'm not the only one with a wife/girlfriend who wants me to shut up about Lindsay Tarpley. However, the era of "veteran attention whores" may have finally ended for the USWNT, with the voluntary retirements of Hamm, Fawcett, and Foudy, and the involuntary (please) retirement of Chastain. In a game that really didn't deserve to be a scoreless tie, Taylor "Blue Balls" Twellman showed the kind of form that makes you think that someone hypnotized him into thinking of his mother ... naked ... just before every shot, so he can just miss wide, or hit the post. The "Sierra Mist Burn Goal of the Week" competition was held in Dallas,and curiously, the league chose to certify the results as an actual game. In a huge affair, the SoccerSiliconValley.com Quakes hosted the Rapids with the chance to move into playoff position, but couldn't beat Joe Cannon and wound up with a scoreless draw[/broken record]. Finally, the Danny Szetela Homecoming match featured Danny pushing Guevara over the boiling point to a red card, a play scored 9.0 out of a possible 10.0 by the judges, but which should have only been rated an 8.0 because the judges assigned the incorrect start value to the routine.*
The AAXI will be setting up in the classic 3-4-3 with some masonry work blocking the goal. This weekend saw a performance by Eddie Johnson that tied him with Gaven at 9 nominations. A young team to be sure, nearly every guy on the team is a rookie or was a rookie within the last two years. Cannon, Gibbs, and Twellman are the geezers of the group…which says a lot about the state of Social Security.
[b]Joe Cannon (2): His performance this weekend, in the opinion of some, makes him a lock for ‘Goalkeeper of the Week.’ Cannon spent his weekend stonewalling the Quakes, what did you do? Many Quakes fans were bemoaning his loss yesterday and rightly so. Cannon was a brick wall in this version of his homecoming. If he played for another team I think he would have had triple the nominations he currently possesses (unfortunately Colorado isn’t the easiest team to watch).
Cory Gibbs (5): Not a spectacular performance by any means, but he was very solid at the back for Dallas against Chicago's “strike force.” Never really let them get a sniff. Along those same lines I think Chicago needs to rethink how Damani Ralph is used, teams have figured out if they triple team him (which is what Dallas did often on Sat.) that he is effectively neutralized.
Nat Borchers (5): For every crafty run that Landon Donovan had into the box, Nat was there to cover it. Very solid in defense all night to keep SJ frustrated all night. Right now, Nat is the Chad Marshall of the Western Conference. It's not very often that a second year player becomes the pillar that a team builds its defensive scheme around. People have wondered how Borchers would perform without Mastroeni alongside him, and he's answered the call. His ability to put himself in the right spot frustrated the Quakes all night long on Saturday. One of the league's bright young defensive stars.
Chad Marshall (5): Speaking of Marshall, with all the physical tools in place, the one question mark some still have about him was how well he would adjust mentally to the professional game. Sunday made the doubters take notice, and it was plain to see how quickly this kid has adapted to MLS mentally. He doesn't make any mistakes, which is everything you want from a central defender. His anticipation of play is right up there with the best defenders in the league.
Freddy Adu (4): Freddy at forward: 10-15 touches, clobbered by defensemen twice his size. Freddy in the midfield: 40+ touches and the freedom to cover most of the field. Novak was very wise to move him, and Alecko made sure he stayed there. With the ball at his feet, running at the defenses, he is incredibly dangerous and is starting to brim with confidence. The scary part is that he's actually starting to be under-rated. This weekend saw him with the chance to have two or three assists with his performance, and everyone on both teams knew it.
Pat Noonan (3): Another forward who spent some time in the midfield and looked good. He was especially dangerous as he pushed the ball up the left side quickly to get the defense on their toes. One of the better games he's had all year. He made runs, took shots, and pretty much had the DC defense dizzy trying to mark him, Twellman and Dempsey. I pity da fool(s) who have that job.
Josh Gros (6): This is a kid who plays beyond his years on so many levels. His passing and vision are amazing and his presence of mind makes him a threat by himself or hooking up with teammates. There’s no doubt in the minds of many that he will be a big part of MLS and the National Team in the coming years.
Nate Jaqua (6): Had a pretty solid game, however, that’s all it took to look like the best Fire player on the field. He had couple of good chances that were stopped by Cassar, but also scored and drilled the woodwork.
Eddie Johnson (9): After seeing Eddie being just threatening the last coupe seasons, we finally got to see him finish his chances. With a couple of more performances like Saturdays, he'll be closing in on the "golden boot" for the season. His speed was deadly to a Fire defense that looked like well...****. Having Curtin mark Johnson was like putting Guevarra into a cage match against Zach Thornton (and we know how that turned out). Personally, I am amazed Johnson didn't score the hat-trick. An outstanding game that was only made better because Ronnie O was out to prove something.
Taylor Twellman (3): Looked dangerous throughout the game, and while he wasn't able to put anything in the back of the net, he did enough of everything else to make this list. Two pings off of the post and his setups for others have continued to improve. Considering it was 93 degrees in Boston, many expected a pretty listless affair, and from time to time it was exactly that, but this was no typical 0-0 tired loser draw, and Taylor gets the credit making it better than it sounds.
Kyle Martino (5): Something lit the fire underneath Kyle this season as he's been solid all of 2004. The last couple weeks, though, he's been one of the league's very best. Playing up top, he's been the aggressive player fans of MLS remember from his rookie season, willing to take defenders on 1v1 and more often than not, beating them. The penalty he drew on Sunday was a great example, as Kyle left three Metros behind before Parke was left with nothing but a desperate lunge that ended up costing the Metros a home win.
*header provided by Casper.
The AAXI will be setting up in the classic 3-4-3 with some masonry work blocking the goal. This weekend saw a performance by Eddie Johnson that tied him with Gaven at 9 nominations. A young team to be sure, nearly every guy on the team is a rookie or was a rookie within the last two years. Cannon, Gibbs, and Twellman are the geezers of the group…which says a lot about the state of Social Security.
[b]Joe Cannon (2): His performance this weekend, in the opinion of some, makes him a lock for ‘Goalkeeper of the Week.’ Cannon spent his weekend stonewalling the Quakes, what did you do? Many Quakes fans were bemoaning his loss yesterday and rightly so. Cannon was a brick wall in this version of his homecoming. If he played for another team I think he would have had triple the nominations he currently possesses (unfortunately Colorado isn’t the easiest team to watch).
Cory Gibbs (5): Not a spectacular performance by any means, but he was very solid at the back for Dallas against Chicago's “strike force.” Never really let them get a sniff. Along those same lines I think Chicago needs to rethink how Damani Ralph is used, teams have figured out if they triple team him (which is what Dallas did often on Sat.) that he is effectively neutralized.
Nat Borchers (5): For every crafty run that Landon Donovan had into the box, Nat was there to cover it. Very solid in defense all night to keep SJ frustrated all night. Right now, Nat is the Chad Marshall of the Western Conference. It's not very often that a second year player becomes the pillar that a team builds its defensive scheme around. People have wondered how Borchers would perform without Mastroeni alongside him, and he's answered the call. His ability to put himself in the right spot frustrated the Quakes all night long on Saturday. One of the league's bright young defensive stars.
Chad Marshall (5): Speaking of Marshall, with all the physical tools in place, the one question mark some still have about him was how well he would adjust mentally to the professional game. Sunday made the doubters take notice, and it was plain to see how quickly this kid has adapted to MLS mentally. He doesn't make any mistakes, which is everything you want from a central defender. His anticipation of play is right up there with the best defenders in the league.
Freddy Adu (4): Freddy at forward: 10-15 touches, clobbered by defensemen twice his size. Freddy in the midfield: 40+ touches and the freedom to cover most of the field. Novak was very wise to move him, and Alecko made sure he stayed there. With the ball at his feet, running at the defenses, he is incredibly dangerous and is starting to brim with confidence. The scary part is that he's actually starting to be under-rated. This weekend saw him with the chance to have two or three assists with his performance, and everyone on both teams knew it.
Pat Noonan (3): Another forward who spent some time in the midfield and looked good. He was especially dangerous as he pushed the ball up the left side quickly to get the defense on their toes. One of the better games he's had all year. He made runs, took shots, and pretty much had the DC defense dizzy trying to mark him, Twellman and Dempsey. I pity da fool(s) who have that job.
Josh Gros (6): This is a kid who plays beyond his years on so many levels. His passing and vision are amazing and his presence of mind makes him a threat by himself or hooking up with teammates. There’s no doubt in the minds of many that he will be a big part of MLS and the National Team in the coming years.
Nate Jaqua (6): Had a pretty solid game, however, that’s all it took to look like the best Fire player on the field. He had couple of good chances that were stopped by Cassar, but also scored and drilled the woodwork.
Eddie Johnson (9): After seeing Eddie being just threatening the last coupe seasons, we finally got to see him finish his chances. With a couple of more performances like Saturdays, he'll be closing in on the "golden boot" for the season. His speed was deadly to a Fire defense that looked like well...****. Having Curtin mark Johnson was like putting Guevarra into a cage match against Zach Thornton (and we know how that turned out). Personally, I am amazed Johnson didn't score the hat-trick. An outstanding game that was only made better because Ronnie O was out to prove something.
Taylor Twellman (3): Looked dangerous throughout the game, and while he wasn't able to put anything in the back of the net, he did enough of everything else to make this list. Two pings off of the post and his setups for others have continued to improve. Considering it was 93 degrees in Boston, many expected a pretty listless affair, and from time to time it was exactly that, but this was no typical 0-0 tired loser draw, and Taylor gets the credit making it better than it sounds.
Kyle Martino (5): Something lit the fire underneath Kyle this season as he's been solid all of 2004. The last couple weeks, though, he's been one of the league's very best. Playing up top, he's been the aggressive player fans of MLS remember from his rookie season, willing to take defenders on 1v1 and more often than not, beating them. The penalty he drew on Sunday was a great example, as Kyle left three Metros behind before Parke was left with nothing but a desperate lunge that ended up costing the Metros a home win.
*header provided by Casper.