MASL News

A scoreless half is not common, but it's not that rare either (if that makes any sense).

 

Hauss was outstanding for CR. Paolo was doing well for Saint Louis until the last part of the 2nd half (but his penalty may result in a 1 game suspension and fine for point accumulation). No reason is given for Petricek's suspension but it sounds serious, hope he is OK. Fortunately CR has an ace on the hole! Good win by CR. Hurwitz is really looking sharp. The defense got the job done for CR, a welcome change.

The Ambush are an enigma once again. Just when we think they are getting it together, they get boat-raced. Saint Louis had plenty of decent shots but many went high or off target. Hauss stopped some of them but the Ambush looked tentative and uptight on offense, especially in the 2nd half. CR played with more energy and purpose in the 2nd half. The Ambush were trying too hard and not just playing the game. We just don't have anyone who can consistently score goals. Other than Hewerton, we don't have anyone who can turn and shoot at the top of the box. Aguilar is supposed to bring some goal scoring, he has only scored a couple so far. Hernandez and Gibson are inconsistent scorers, at best. Just no rhythm or flow on offense.

Either someone needs to step up their scoring (as Hurwitz is doing for CR) or the Ambush need to sign a scorer or two. At this point, Saint Louis is just trying to win another game, and develop the team one game at a time. Why not bring in some new guys and try to upgrade the roster, as much for next year as this season? I am a bit surprised the Ambush haven't signed Greenfield yet. More depth on defense can't hurt. Back to the drawing board for the Ambush.

 

The Ambush failed to go the free agent route, but they haven't done well in player development and scouting either. Good, available players don't grow on trees, but the Rampage have Kenawy and Bradley paying immediate dividends.

 

Agreed, other knowledgeable fans here have been asking the same question - where is the new local soccer talent? The 1990s Ambush teams were mostly local guys. For example, one of the former Ambush players (played a couple years back) still plays rec center soccer in Saint Louis a lot. My source said that there were local players way better than some of what we had on our 1-19 squad. An Ambush person even told me this season that they haven't been focused on finding local talent. Why not?

I did suggest, as well as others, to our owners that they have early morning or late night practices to make it easier for a guy to punch a time clock somewhere. I don't see any effort to bring in new local talent. Saint Louis has a USL team, and one of our USL guys Tony Walls (one example) ends up signed by Cedar Rapids.

We don't have even any of our local USL guys on the team now. Frustrating. Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. Cedar Rapids seems to have done a good job bringing along guys like Hurwitz, Hauss, Kenaway, etc. At this point, the Ambush have nothing to lose by bringing in some local guys who have the right talent and attitude.

 

Saw a Rampage commercial on NBC Sports Chicago here in Iowa during the Chicago Blackhawks telecast. First time they've advertised on TV.

 

Rampage introduce new coach.
http://www.maslsoccer.com/news/rampage-introduce-ante-cop-as-new-head-coach

 

http://www.maslsoccer.com/news/ambush-add-two-players-to-roster

Ambush traded for a defender and signed a PDL forward. Kudos for bringing in new players. We will see if they can help lift the team into the win column.

 

Having not paid much to the indoor game after having not attended a game in years, Toronto will be back on the indoor scene with an expansion team in the MASL next season. I attended a bunch of the NPSL Shooting Stars games back in 1996-97. Toronto last had an indoor team in the final season of the NPSL I know back in the day there was some real money being made in the indoor game, how does it compare to today? Do guys make money compared the say the USL or is it closer to semi-pro?

 

No on

No one is making a full-time living playing in the MASL. There may be some who can made an average amount playing MASL in the winter and coaching/soccer camps/living outdoor in the summer.

 

Mostly closer to semi-pro. Some 'star' players might get a guaranteed modest salary but many guys just get game checks of $150 to $500 a game, according to my sources (and they only get that $$ if they are on the game day roster). A team may try to help line up side jobs or paid soccer coaching gigs for their players. Such as the team owner who also runs some other business gives some players a job, or job from a team sponsor company. Some players may keep a regular job during the season if they can schedule games and practices around their work. Overall it is not a financially lucrative deal for most players.

 

Just when I thought STL was more solid defensively and needed more help offensively, just the opposite happened Saturday night. Both KC and STL had total breakdowns on defense, but on the other hand, both did a great job at scoring goals. Kiel Williams, KC, looks like he could become a real scoring threat in this league. If you like goals, which most fans do, Saturday's game was fun to watch!

If the Comets wants to get in the playoffs, they should go and try to acquire a veteran GK, like Paterson (from last season, or maybe even Petricek from Cedar Rapids. Another experienced field player wouldn't hurt either. Both Gasson and Hamersky, have had some decent games, but are new to the league and are still learning the game. They will probably have good futures if they stick with it.

The Ambush seem to be much improved from last year, even though their record does not show it. They have had a good number of competitive games and are not too far off from winning. The rest of the season should be used to continue developing their current players and maybe continue to bring in new talent tryouts to see if they are a good fit for next season. If they could bring in some experienced players, even on short term contracts, that would be great.

 

Thanks for the info, I was afraid this was going to be a season ending injury when I saw it happen live on Saturday night. Big loss for the Blast! They probably would not of beat the Heat without his game tying goal and outstanding play Saturday night. He was a big reason why the Blast won both away games last weekend, without Dantas and Healey. He was on track for another great season. Hopefully the surgery goes well and has a smooth recovery.

Speaking of the Heat, they played a great game against the Blast on Saturday and probably should of won. Their record does not indicate how good this team really is!

 

Totally agree. The Ambush need to sign a couple of veteran scorers and maybe another midfielder. The Ambush decided to bench two of their best defenders (Mattingly and Schmermund) and as a result, the Ambush were 'lost in space' on defense in the last 3 quarters. Kudos to Comets player Williams for converting his shots but he was extremely open on many of those. Not sure he gets those great looks at the Wave. Hewerton is tooling around with different lineups, which is understandable given our record. Poor defense and not handling the ball well led to an epic collapse. This game video could be great to show a kids team that if you keep executing the game plan and playing hard, anything can happen. Roentved coached circles around the Ambush.

I also agree that the Comets have no chance to make the playoffs unless they can bring in a veteran Goalkeeper. Gasson did play better in the last 3 quarters but he won't help beat the Wave, Blast, etc. Heck, Paterson is local, call him up, see if he can come in. Two of the Comets 3 wins were against the Ambush, and one against Tacoma, who also has a losing record. The Comets could use help at defender and maybe another scorer too.

 

I'm pretty sure it was Schmermund who "scored" the game-winning goal for the Comets.

 

Actually, Ross McGregor is the hapless Ambush player who kicked the ball back towards his own goal, resulting in the winner for the Comets. Schmermund was not on the game day roster on Saturday. If there is a way to lose an indoor soccer game, the Ambush will find it. If the current roster stands, they won't end up with more than 3 wins in my opinion. They managed to under achieve even their modest expectations.

 

Must be one of those fonts where the 1s look like 7s. I could have sworn I saw 11 on the shorts, but McGregor is 77.

 

Just saw on the MASL page under the transaction tab that the Harrisburg Heat signed Denison Cabral. Could we see him out on the field this weekend????

 

Looks like Lucio Gonzaga received a 3 game suspension for a blow to the head of #3 James Togbah of KC on Saturday night. It happened at the 159:50 mark in the 4th quarter. There are 3 replays of the blow at and after the 200:50 mark

The MASL announces @HarrisburgHeat defender Lucio Gonzaga has been suspended 3 games for an intentional blow to the head of a @KCComets player on January 13 pic.twitter.com/AVKU6Kvaz1

— MASL (@MASLarena) January 15, 2018

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Many fans are wondering why there was not an immediate red card and ejection of Gonzaga at the time of the foul. Poor decision by the officials not to eject Gonzaga right then. I hope Togbah was checked out for a concussion. Really, you could make an argument for a longer suspension for this incident. At least the MASL took strong action.

 

Wow, more big player news from CR...

NEWS: The @TacomaStarsSC have added MORE offensive firepower to their roster
Full Story: https://t.co/C9uSsSpOEG pic.twitter.com/Yj3L1vb9Rl

— MASL (@MASLarena) January 16, 2018

...I really hate to say it, and I know Bond hasn't had the production we thought he would in CR, but some of these moves (particularly the Greenfield and Petricek issues) have the hallmarks of a salary dump.

 

During last night's Blast game vs KC, GK Vanzela was injured and will be out for an extended period of time. Backup, Brazilian GK, Deivid Chaves still in process of getting a work visa. Just noticed on the MASL Transactions, the Blast have signed veteran GK Joey Kapinos. I assume he will be starting tonight against Harrisburg.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bs-sp-blast-0120-story.html

http://www.maslsoccer.com/stats#/192/transactions?season_id=734

 

Another very good article from "The Turf and Boards" addresses more info on the current Blast GK situation.

https://turfandboards.com/2018/01/20/blast-find-a-way-without-a-william/