2010: MLS CHAMPIONS!

Western Conference Semifinal: Seattle Sounders FC
The team did not play well in either match, but a 2-1 win in the first leg away with goals by Daniel Stahl and Michael Adeyinka was good enough to advance us through. The second leg at home was a 1-1 draw with Ciro netting our only goal for the 3-2 aggregate victory.

Western Conference Final: San Jose Earthquakes
Fethi Trabelsi's 54th minute strike was the only goal in this hard fought match. The Quakes are quickly becoming our competitive rivals, having faced them several times in multiple competitions. This is the second year a row we played for the Conference Championship, both ending in 1 goal victories for the Zolos.

MLS Cup Final: New England Revolution
New England had the better of the first 20 minutes, but Ciro broke through for a goal in the 21st to open the scoring. Michael Adeyinka added his second goal of the playoffs 8 minutes later and we held on for the 2-0 victory and our second consecutive MLS Cup.

Offseason Outlook
Most of our players return for next year. Only 3 contracts expire and they're all young, non-contributors. There will be some decisions to be made, with some contract statuses changing and we're bringing a handful of players in November and January so some players will have to be traded or released. The most exciting acquisition was Michael Chidi Alozi, a Nigerian Striker with very good pace (17). He and Ciro will make an electric partnership. Other notables added were right lateral Quavas Kirk and Goleiro Bill Hamid, both free transfers.

After havin sold Brian Klinger and Carlos Perez to European clubs, we had to pick up Chad Barrett and Daniel Stahl. Stahl is a nice propsect for the future but Barrett will likely be gone before the 2011 season begins. Other players who have probably seen their last game for the Union are Danny O'Rourke and Heath Pearce. Their positions are starting to get a little crowded after we acquired Chance Myers and Darren Johnson, 2 younger players.

Algeria National Team
Sort of up and down results with Algeria. Our Cup of Nations qualifying group was drawn, and we were pooled with Lesotho, Sierra Leone, and Sudan. The results for the end of the year were as follows:
Mexico 0-2 (Friendly)
at Sudan 2-1 (Cup of Nations Qualifier)
at South Africa 0-1 (Friendly)
Sierra Leone 0-0 (Cup of Nations Qualifier)
Libya 2-0 (Friendly)

So a 2-1-2 record in my first 5 matches. The friendly results aren't important, but that scoreless draw with Sierra Leone stung because I really wanted to take all the points from my home matches. I have to win the group to advance, so a draw at home is going to make that difficult. We will now likely need to win at Sierra Leone next year to secure qualification.