2011 Midseason Report

Halfway through another season and so far so good. Let's begin with the bad news:

CONCACAF Champions League
In my last post, I had just eliminated Club America to advance to the final against Atlante. The first leg was away. Apparently, my squad were all partying in Cancun because they did not play particularly well. Goals by Gerardo Castillo (pen 4) and Rafael Marquez Lugo (81) meant I had my work cut out for me in the return leg.

In Philadelphia, a 12th minute strike by Feham Bouazza gave us hope. Saul Garcia got it back for Atlante in the 40th, but an own goal by Federico Vilar meant we were still in it. Sadly, in the 68th minute, Chance Myers was shown his second yellow, only a minute after receiving his first (and before I could get his tackling set to easy), and we were a man down needing 2 goals. Clemente Ovalle converted an 87th minute penalty to shut the door on our hopes of a miracle and Atlante won the tournament 4-2 on aggregate.

US Open Cup
Only played 1 match so far, but it was a doosy, against in-state rivals Pittsburgh Riverhounds. A dramatic winner in the final moments of extra time Feham Bouazza gave us a 3-2 victory. Danny Szetela and Daniel Stahl scored the other goals.

Our opponent in the quarterfinal will be Chicago Fire.

Major League Soccer
After 15 games, we are sitting comfortable atop the Western Conference with 12 wins and 3 draws. Our 39 points sees us 15 clear of second place Real Salt Lake, who do have a game in hand.

Michael Chidi Alozi has been everything we hoped for. His 7 goals in 11 league appearances is good for third most. He also has 3 assists. Daniel Stahl is also progressing quite nicely. He has 7 goals in all competitions.

Bill Hamid has been splitting time with Chris Seitz in goal, and is showing signs of brilliance. He has 8 clean sheets in 11 appearances. Seitz is still solid, with 7 shutouts of his own in 14 games.

SuperLiga
Play hasn't begun yet, but we have learned our group draw. We will play Chivas, Monterrey, and New England Revolution in Group A. Group B is Colorado Rapids, Cruz Azul, San Jose Earthquakes, and Toluca.