West notes: All MLS eyes on Seattle
Sounders debut puts Emerald City in spotlight; Kamara punished
The same goes for the coaches, with Seattle head man Sigi Schmid saying it might even be tougher from the sidelines.
"When you're a player out there, you get to kick somebody, or you get to chase the ball, or you get to run around a little bit and the adrenaline wears off," said Schmid. "As a coach, I don't have anything to kick unless I'm kicking [assistant coach Brian] Schmetzer. And Brian won't be happy, because he'll kick me back and that won't be fun.
"There's a line there when you get overly motivated or overly excited, but I think we have enough veteran players. They know how to deal with that. I think that wears off after five minutes. So as long as nothing dumb happens in the first five minutes, we'll be fine."
Seattle has some impressive attacking weapons, especially in forward Fredy Montero, but if the Sounders are to buck the expansion trend of first-year struggles, they'll need a defense stout enough to last through the inevitable ups and downs of a season.
Suffice it to say, the building of the Sounders defense has hit some speed bumps so far. Expansion draft pick Jeff Parke auditioned for several Belgian clubs and only now appears set on returning to MLS. Meanwhile Taylor Graham has been sidelined with a broken foot.
But there are signs that the backline is starting to take shape. The acquisition of Tyrone Marshall, a longtime favorite of Schmid's from their days together in Los Angeles, helped fill a big hole in the back. With fellow center back Jhon Kennedy Hurtado quickly coming to grips with MLS, and with two solid pros in James Riley and Nathan Sturgis manning the outside back spots, Seattle might yet have enough defensive steel to make some noise in the Western Conference.
"In the center of defense, I feel good about what our options are," Schmid told MLSnet.com, adding that he's pleased with the depth provided by players like Tyson Wahl. "As far as the outside positions go, I don't think we're done tinkering with that."
With Seattle set to face perhaps the most lethal finisher in the league in New York forward Juan Pablo Angel, as well as some blistering speed on the flanks in the form of Dane Richards and Khano Smith, Thursday should give a good indication of where the Seattle defense stands.
Garcia 2, Kamara 0: If you were among those wondering why Brian Mullan -- and not Kei Kamara -- got the start at forward during Houston's game against Chivas last weekend, you got your answer late on Monday. It was revealed that Kamara has been suspended for two regular season games and fined $500 for verbally abusing an official following his ejection against San Jose back on Feb. 15.
Yes, you read that correctly. Kamara got suspended over an incident that took place in an exhibition game. Apparently Kamara was irate that his latest set-to with San Jose's Nick Garcia ended with him once again getting ejected, and it was his verbal fusillade, and not the red card itself, that earned Kamara a spot on the sidelines.
This marks the second time that Kamara has earned a suspension after tangling with the Quakes defender. The Sierra Leone international drew a straight red card when the two teams met last Oct. 15. And while Houston got the last laugh on that night, prevailing 2-1, this suspension could cut deep given the Dynamo's lack of depth at forward. Among the games that Kamara will be forced to miss will be the March 28 rematch against the Quakes at Buck Shaw Stadium.
High hopes for Gibbs: Colorado has been a club operating in stealth mode for much of the preseason, and while one has to be careful not to read too much into their three-game exhibition winning streak against MLS opponents, one encouraging sign has been the progress made by defender Cory Gibbs.
The one-time U.S. international has been sidelined by injuries for the better part of three seasons, and while he achieved at least a semblance of health upon joining Colorado at the end of 2008, he was unable to shake off the rust from such a long spell of inactivity. Yet Rapids head coach Gary Smith has liked what he has seen of Gibbs so far.
"[Gibbs] is great for the team, he's great individually, and he's a great leader," said Smith. "And he's pleased he has a chance to string some games together."
Also pleasing to Smith are the relatively low expectations accompanying his side, and he feels his team are more than capable of sneaking up on a few teams this season.
"It helps us to a degree, it's not bad for us" said Smith of the relative lack of attention surrounding his team. "We've slowly but surely made steady progress in preseason, and I think we've taken confidence from every game. What I hope is that we'll see more of that this weekend."
Quakes bag a Kiwi: While acquisitions like Bobby Convey and Cam Weaver garnered most of the preseason headlines in San Jose, one move that could prove just as important is the imminent signing of former L.A. and Columbus midfielder Simon Elliott.
The New Zealand international seemed a long shot to make the club when he first arrived at training camp, but Elliott impressed head coach Frank Yallop with his simple, possession-based play. Now with Convey nursing a right quadriceps strain, Elliott might find himself in the starting lineup when the Quakes host New England this Saturday.
"[Elliott] is a nice steady head who is real experienced," said San Jose manager Frank Yallop. "He's hungry to do well and not just come here to make up the numbers. He's a good, solid footballer in this league."
Yallop added that Convey would be back in training this week, but if Convey can't heal up in time to face the Revs, San Jose should be able to manage. With Darren Huckerby and Arturo Alvarez already manning the outside midfield positions, the Quakes shouldn't be short of attacking firepower out of midfield, and Elliott should provide some much-needed bite on the defensive end.
RSL makes a statement: There was a time when the Carolina Challenge Cup proved a harbinger of things to come. From 2004 until 2007, the champion of the MLS preseason staple won either the Supporters' Shield or the MLS Cup. That is until last year, when the San Jose Earthquakes won the event, only to finish bottom of the league.
With Real Salt Lake claiming this year's crown with a perfect 3-0 record, they're clearly hoping that the CCC returns to its Nostradamus-like ways. That said, general manager Garth Lagerwey isn't putting too much stock in his team's preseason success.
"You never know how good teams are going to be this time of year," said Lagerwey. "But [winning the CCC] does give us hope that the decision to keep last year's team together has paid off."
Perhaps the most encouraging sign for RSL was the play of 2008 first-round pick David Horst, who filled in ably for injured center back Nat Borchers. While Borchers might yet recover in time for RSL's opener on March 28, Lagerwey is taking comfort from having depth in a key part of the field.
"We think he's going to be a monster," said Lagerwey of the 6-foot-4 Horst. "He took a big step forward, and now we think he's ready to step in. He makes a good backline even better."
Home Depot-itis? Perhaps there is something in the water down in Carson, because the injury virus that has been plaguing Chivas USA now appears to have jumped species and is pestering the Galaxy.
Neither Stefani Miglioranzi nor Eddie Lewis made the trip to Phoenix for L.A.'s 1-1 draw against Chicago last weekend. And topping it all off is the fact that goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts suffered a recurrence of the hamstring injury that has bothered him practically since he arrived in Los Angeles.
Head coach Bruce Arena told Nick Green of the L.A. Daily News that he was "not optimistic" that Ricketts would play. That leaves the Galaxy relying on USL-1 veteran Josh Saunders to man the nets.
Jeff Carlisle is a regular contributor to ESPN Soccernet, and covers the San Jose Earthquakes for Center Line Soccer and MLSnet.com. Jeff can be reached at eljefe1@yahoo.com. Views and opinions expressed in this column are the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
