By JOSE M. ROMERO Aurelien Collin is big, bald and bad. The bruising type of bad. The Sporting Kansas City center back is as physical a player as there is in MLS, and he doles out thumpings regularly. The native of France knew from a young age what position he wanted to play, so he channeled his energy into becoming a defender who thrives on ball distribution and making attacking players pay for forays into the box. "I love football, but I love contact,too," Collin said. "At the end of the game looking in the eyes and seeing that (opposing... Continue reading

By JOSE M. ROMERO PHOENIX -- Four MLS teams have agreed to take part in the Desert Diamond Cup, a round-robin tournament to be held at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium in Tucson, Ariz., Feb. 22-March 3. The defending MLS Cup champions Los Angeles Galaxy, the New York Red Bulls, the New England Revolution and Real Salt Lake are the scheduled participants in a series of matches that span a week and a half. FC Tucson, a soccer club and organization established last year that brought MLS teams to the southern Arizona city last winter, made the announcement about the tournament... Continue reading

Photo by Stephen Brashear/ISIphotos.com By JOSE M. ROMERO The MLS Cup final was played not even three weeks ago, but teams are already making training plans in preparation for next season. Three MLS teams are confirmed for training at Grande Sports World in Casa Grande, Ariz., beginning in January. The New England Revolution arrive Jan. 21 and stay until the 31st. The Seattle Sounders are at the complex from Jan. 30-Feb. 7, and the Vancouver Whitecaps will be there from Jan. 31-Feb. 11. Real Salt Lake -- which has a youth academy based at the site -- and the New... Continue reading

By JOSE M. ROMERO The big man in the middle has quietly become a star for the Los Angeles Galaxy, but there's one more thing for standout centerback Omar Gonzalez to achieve this season to go with his Defender of the Year and Best XI honors. He needs to win the MLS Cup. The MLS title eluded Gonzalez in his rookie season, 2009, when the Galaxy fell to Real Salt Lake in Seattle. Now L.A. gets another crack at it on their own pitch at the Home Depot Center Sunday night, and the central figure of the league's top defense... Continue reading

By JOSÉ M. ROMERO Osvaldo Alonso honestly felt that this could be the year for his Seattle Sounders. He said as much late last week, before the Sounders were blasted 3-0 at Real Salt Lake in the first leg of the MLS Western Conference semifinals. Now Seattle is on the brink of elimination, and will rely heavily on its star midfielder, Alonso, if it hopes to advance to the next round. The Sounders without Alonso is like a ship without a navigator. It is Alonso who helps spark the attack, plays tenacious defense, typically bosses the midfield and is hardly... Continue reading

By JOSÉ M. ROMERO These last two days of CONCACAF Champions League group matches have not been kind to American MLS teams. The Colorado Rapids, despite deploying front-line players in a clear effort to win, became the third U.S. club in two days to lose its finale of group play after Wednesday night's 2-0 loss to Santos Laguna in Torreon, Mexico. However, the Rapids can still qualify for the knockout round, but only in the event of a draw between Isidro Metapán and Real España Thursday night. A draw would give Colorado, at seven points, the second spot out of... Continue reading

Photo by Stephen Brashear/ISIphotos.com By JOSE M. ROMERO Good thing for the Seattle Sounders that they started off CONCACAF Champions League group play with a bang, because they ended it with a whimper. The Sounders dropped their Group D finale to Monterrey Tuesday night at CenturyLink Field, 2-1, and in so doing allowed defending CCL champions from Mexico to leapfrog them in the final standings and win the group. Monterrey finished with 12 points over six games while Seattle, which had already clinched a spot in the knockout stage that starts early next year, ended up with 10. Dario Carreño... Continue reading

By JOSE M. ROMERO Kasey Keller won't turn 42 years old until next month, but what a gift he was given by his Seatlle Sounders Saturday night. Make that a few gifts. On what Washington state government officials proclaimed "Kasey Keller Day" around the state in recognition of the veteran goalkeeper's final regular-season home match as a Sounder, Keller made seven saves and watched from between the pipes as his teammates rallied from a one-goal deficit through 81 minutes for a wild 2-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes at CenturyLink Field. Gift No. 1 was the Sounders getting it... Continue reading

By JOSE M. ROMERO The Kenny Cooper who has showed up in recent matches is exactly the player the Portland Timbers hoped they were getting when they grabbed the veteran forward with their place in the MLS allocation order prior to their expansion season. The timing of Cooper's resurgence couldn't be better for a team that badly needs wins in order to crash the MLS playoff party. Cooper, the target forward who returned to MLS this year as one of the cornerstones of the first-year Portland side, has three goals in his last four matches. One helped salvage a point... Continue reading

By JOSE M. ROMERO On the outside looking in for a playoff spot to begin the night, the climb toward the MLS postseason got a little steeper for D.C. United. The Vancouver Whitecaps played spoiler Wednesday night at B.C. Place Stadium, holding on for a 2-1 victory thanks to strong defensive play for 56 minutes, another goal for leading scorer Camilo and the first career MLS goal for forward Long Tan. DCU was energized by Brandon McDonald's 57th-minute goal that cut the Whitecaps' lead to one, but it lost an opportunity for a PK -- and potentially a tie --... Continue reading

By JOSE M. ROMERO Parking and seats on the SkyTrain were probably more difficult to come by than Vancouver Whitecaps' goals Thursday night in downtown Vancouver. With the NHL Canucks playing nearby in their regular-season opener, the Whitecaps still drew a big crowd of 20,113 fans to their brand new home, B.C. Place Stadium, and rewarded the faitfhful with a 3-0 win over struggling Real Salt Lake. Camilo converted two penalty kicks and Nizar Khalfan added the finishing touch as Vancouver snapped a four-match winless streak and won for the first time in two games at B.C. Place. RSL (15-11-6)... Continue reading

By JOSE M. ROMERO The Seattle Sounders have gone unbeaten in Mexico and Central America in CONCACAF Champions League group play this year, and now they are into the quarterfinals of the tournament for the first time in the club's three-year MLS history. Seattle came from behind for a 2-2 draw with Comunicaciones on a rainy Tuesday evening in Guatemala City. Osvaldo Alonso brought the Sounders back from a pair of one-goal deficits, his second goal coming in the 89th minute. The Sounders moved into sole possession of first place in Group D with 10 points from five matches and... Continue reading

By JOSE M. ROMERO Winning was what they wanted. Losing was what they absolutely could not do. But a draw was what happened for the Portland Timbers Wednesday night at Jeld-Wen Field, a difficult result to take since Portland let its lead in the game slip away. The Timbers drew with the San Jose Earthquakes 1-1 and moved into the 10th and final playoff spot in MLS with five matches left to play in the regular season. Portland's 37 points (11-12-6) put it ahead of the New York Red Bulls by a point at the end of play Wednesday night,... Continue reading

By JOSE M. ROMERO The Houston Dynamo changed their fortunes for the better in the span of a week, capping off seven days that began with a loss to Sporting Kansas City and progressed to a draw at Columbus, then ended with a 2-1 come-from-behind win over the San Jose Earthquakes Saturday night at Robertson Stadium. Late-game sub Will Bruin was the hero, scoring off a fine cross into the box from Luiz Camargo in the 79th minute to give the Dynamo the lead, and Houston made it stand. Bruin had entered the game only five minutes earlier. He replaced... Continue reading

By JOSE M. ROMERO The Houston Dynamo was in the driver's seat at halftime, leading 1-0 over the Columbus Crew with a man advantage after Emmanuel Ekpo was sent off for popping the Dynamo's Adam Moffat in the face with a high elbow in the 11th minute. The Dynamo, leading at halftime after Je-Vaughn Watson's impressive header off a service from Jermaine Taylor in the 34th minute -- over big defender Chad Marshall, no less -- was 45 minutes from picking up three big road points and strengthening their position in the chase for an MLS playoff wild card spot.... Continue reading

Photo by Patricia Giobetti/ISIphotos.com By JOSE M. ROMERO One had better know his or her soccer when talking Mission Viejo with Jordan Harvey. The Vancouver Whitecaps defender was quick to point out, when asked recently about his hometown, that the community in Orange County, Calif. produced U.S. soccer stars Joe-Max Moore and Julie Foudy. Forget about NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez, who is arguably a more famous native. Harvey is closer to California in his new digs in Canada, and he's loving the natural beauty of Vancouver. But roughly two months after being traded from the Philadelphia Union to the Whitecaps,... Continue reading

By JOSE M. ROMERO For three months, the San Jose Earthquakes either lost or drew in 13 consecutive MLS matches. The cherished three points were not to be had, time after time. Until Saturday night at Buck Shaw Stadium. San Jose won a league game for the first time since June 11, topping the Chicago Fire 2-0 on goals by Chris Wondolowski and Ramiro Corrales. Goalkeeper Jon Busch made two huge stops -- on shots by Dominic Oduro and Pavel Pardo -- within seconds of one another late in the first half to keep the Quakes in front 1-0 at... Continue reading

By JOSE M. ROMERO The Portland Timbers are still on the outside looking in as far as the MLS playoff picture, but their important 1-0 win Wednesday night over Chivas USA at Jeld-Wen Field vaulted them into the top spot among teams vying for the 10th and final playoff spot. Eric Brunner's header for a goal off a corner kick from Mike Chabala in the 44th minute proved to be the difference for the Timbers, who won their second straight match and moved a point ahead of Chivas USA (32-31) in the West standings. Portland currently has the same point... Continue reading

By JOSE M. ROMERO Chance after chance, run after run, the Colorado Rapids thwarted Real España of Honduras Tuesday night in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. The Rapids clung to a 1-0 lead for almost 42 minutes, beneficiaries of a perfectly-placed shot by Jeff Larentowicz just before halftime. But they couldn't hang on for what would have been a big win far from home in CONCACAF Champions League group play, instead surviving with a single point from a 1-1 draw. Julio "Palomo" Rodriguez took advantage of a bad clearance attempt from the Rapids' Kosuke Kimura, a header that went straight back... Continue reading

By JOSE M. ROMERO Jeff Larentowicz's low bouncer through the San Jose wall and past goalkeeper Jon Busch in the 72nd minute proved to be the difference as the Colorado Rapids came from behind to defeat the host San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 Saturday night at Buck Shaw Stadium. A straight red to Quakes midfielder Sam Cronin in the 50th minute gave the defending MLS Cup champs a man advantage, and even though San Jose had chances, the Rapids took the lead and finished the job to go undefeated for the fifth straight game. The Earthquakes, in desperate need of wins... Continue reading

By JOSE M. ROMERO Almost five months ago on a sunny day at Empire Field in Vancouver, B.C., the home team Whitecaps made quite a first impression in their debut MLS match, with striker Eric Hassli scoring twice in a 4-2 win. Wins have been hard to come by since then. But Sunday in the same stadium under more sunny skies, the Whitecaps defeated the Chicago Fire by that same 4-2 score, and guess what? Hassli scored twice again, and added an assist. Hassli's first goal came 33 seconds into the match. A long ball from Jordan Harvey took a... Continue reading

By JOSE M. ROMERO Teal Bunbury didn't celebrate his second goal in as many games by doing a human bobblehead routine. He didn't let the moment pass without a little gesture, though. Bunbury made binoculars with his hands as the crowd roared after his 34th minute goal, the one that ensured that Sporting Kansas City would run its unbeaten streak to 14 matches as SKC topped Real Salt Lake 2-0 at Livestrong Sporting Park on Wednesday night. Bunbury's goal was nice; midfielder Roger Espinoza's was even better. The Honduran international opened the scoring with a rocket into the near post... Continue reading

By JOSE M. ROMERO The Philadelphia Union have been one of the biggest stories of the MLS season with its play in the first half of the season. But Friday night at PPL Park just wasn't the second-year club's night. The Colorado Rapids snapped Philly's 10-game unbeaten streak in MLS matches with a 2-1 win at PPL Park. That, and forward Carlos "El Pescadito" Ruiz is apparently on his way elsewhere, Coach Peter Nowak said following the match. Ruiz did not suit up for Friday's game and was seen shaking hands with teammates while wearing street clothes. "Carlos is no... Continue reading

By JOSE M. ROMERO San Jose and Vancouver didn't look like two teams a long way from playoff contention Wednesday night at Buck Shaw Stadium. In fact, it was almost a shame neither team -- both were in need of a win -- walked away victorious. Instead, both settled for a 2-2 draw. Two star offensive players, the Earthquakes' Chris Wondolowski and the Whitecaps' Eric Hassli, scored two goals apiece. Three crossbars were hit. One defender from each team made a goal-saving play. And at least one former Earthquake had a return to remember against his former club. Shea Salinas,... Continue reading