Five Talking Points--USMNT 0:0 Canada--Two Words UGGG---LLYYY

We have all had that morning after bad date experience right?  The morning after the beer goggle moment where it looks like you have found a sexy young thing to spend the night with but you wake up feeling not only violated, but lied to?  Where morning hideousness makes you wonder what the frak was I thinking?  Yeah--that was last night.

Like most US Soccer fans, I am prepared to suffer late nights to be coupled with early mornings, odd line-ups and tactical situations, crappy refereeing from Central American officiating crews, terrible television commentating (although I liked the half-time bit between Taylor Twellman and Alexi Lalas.  Those guys should be calling games together.  No offense to Adrian Healy or Arlo White).  I was prepared for a lesser standard of play from the USMNT last night simply because it was the January camp and most of the players are, frankly, B level players.  I was prepared for Canada to bunker 9, 10, or even 11 men behind the ball.  But I woke this morning with a serious case of beer goggle hangover.  And I am feeling violated.

Last's nights match was simply ugly with a capital U.

I know that not every match is going to be pretty, but aside from about 1.1 seconds of Sean Johnson save brilliance and a three pass sequence in the first half, I can't remember anything truly pretty about that game.

The match left me wondering why I stayed up to watch the whole thing and wondering if I should ask Comcast for a refund of my cable bill for last night.

I think my ability to do extra reps in my workout this morning can be attributed to anger at the performance last night.

It was Post-50 First Dates Adam Sandler movie bad.

It was wondering if I could get a ruffie to forget it bad.

It was 11:00 am dorm hall walk of shame with the not hot one night stand calling after you that you forgot your underwear bad.

So, now that little rant is over, on to the talking points, as there was a few things that can be gleaned from last night's soccer famine.

1. Eddie Johnson--Grown Ass Man has grown up a lot.  Maybe it is the tutelage of Sigi Schmidt, maybe it is the humility that comes with age and experience, but Grown Ass Man looked like a pretty decent target striker last night.  He held the ball well and played well with his back to the goal.  But when GAM went wide, he really made trouble for the Canadian back line.  The problem, although not of Johnson's making, was that there was few opportunities for him and the USMNT to exploit the space he created.  I can see an Eddie Johnson/Jozy Altidore pairing up top in Honduras.
2. Omar Gonzalez is the real deal.  A while back, I argued that A.J. De La Garza was actually the better defender from the long time tandem, and he may be the better defender.  But Gonzalez is the better soccer player.  Gonzalez was frequently up in the attack, not just on set plays, but starting attacks from the back with sharp passing.  If Gonzalez can keep that kind of play going, it would not surprise me in the least to see a Gonzalez/Geoff Cameron pairing in Brazil 2014.
3. Oh, Michael, Michael, Wherefore art though Michael Bradley?  It was clear that the U.S. was missing a player like Bradley, a general who can dictate the pace of the match, spray the ball around and unlock a packed midfield.  To say that Brad Evans was better playing right back rather than the top of a midfield diamond is a minor understatement.   Benny Feilhaber was better than I have seen him during his limited appearance, but right now, I don't see any kind of competition for Michael Bradley for that midfield general role.
4. Josh Gatt--Lightning Contained. I love his speed, I love his willingness to take on players, I love the fact that he is true winger.  But Josh Gatt cannot play against a five man midfield.  Wingers like to dribble, wingers like to run and if it is too stuffed in the midfield, there is nowhere to run.  You can make the argument that Gatt needs to find his own space to run, but ....
5. Juan Agudelo--Super Sub?  The young Chivas USA striker did what substitutes are supposed to do, make an impact.  Agudelo was all over the place, picking up the ball, taking risks, taking shots, drawing fouls in dangerous spots.  He was energetic with the U.S. needed him to be.  Find the holes in the defense a little better and Agudelo will be a terror as a super sub.

We all know that Jurgen Klinsmann was looking for lessons in the friendly rather than a result.  The big lesson is that a young, MLS centric team does not have enough tactical skill to unlock a packed midfield.  

We have all had that experience, but last nights beer goggles were pretty bad and I for one want to put them back in the closet.

Five Talking Points--USMNT January Camp

Five talking points about the USMNT Roster for the January Camp.

Just as a quick reminder, here is the roster:

GOALKEEPERS- Tally Hall (Houston Dynamo), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire)

DEFENDERS-Steven Beitashour (San Jose Earthquakes), Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), A.J. DeLaGarza (LA Galaxy), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Connor Lade (New York Red Bulls), Alfredo Morales (Hertha Berlin), Justin Morrow (San Jose Earthquakes), Jeff Parke (Philadelphia Union)

MIDFIELDERS- Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (out of contract), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City), Joshua Gatt (Molde), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

FORWARDS- Juan Agudelo (Chivas USA), Will Bruin (Houston Dynamo), Edson Buddle (Colorado Rapids), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

To the Points:  

1.  I can't remember the last time a USMNT roster featured two outside midfielders who could serve the ball with as much aplomb as Brad Davis and Graham Zusi.  Two set piece service maestros.  Seems to me like a match made in heaven--so that means we won't see them together.  Shame, that could be a lot of fun to watch them on the pitch together.

2.  Besler or Gonzalez?  If you accept the (semi-conventional) wisdom that Geoff Cameron has solidified a place in Klinsmann's back line corps, who between Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler has the chops to make the step up to partner with Cameron with the surely imminent departure of Carlos Bocanegra from the regular national team fold.  (on that point- is Bocanegra really on the outs?)

3.  Speaking of Gonzalez, can he and his L.A. Galaxy and Maryland Terrapin teammate A.J. De La Garza make an impact on the national team as they have in college and MLS?  The versatility of De La Garza to play either right or left back has to be give him the edge to start in this corps.  Truly has there ever been as consistent a pairing of players through all levels as these two?  I think not.

4.  Klinsmann has said that between 5 and 8 of these players will likely be held in camp for the Honduras World Cup Qualifier.  That list, I suspect will include, Hamid, Beckerman, Gonzalez, Zusi, Johnson and Wondolowski.  On the bubble will be Gatt and Besler.  

5.    It would be easy to look at this as Benny Feilhaber's final chance to impress Klinsmann for inclusion in World Cup Qualifying rosters, but I suspect that his inclusion is no throw-away.  Can Feilhaber capture that Gold Cup magic in a bottle (or in a volley) and catapault himself back into contention--particularly in light of the doubts surrounding Landon Donovan's future?  A strong camp will do that for him.

Projected Line-Up vs. Canada (4-1-3-2)

---------------------Hamid-----------------------

De La Garza---Gonzalez---Besler---Beitashour

------------------Beckerman----------------------

Gatt --------------Zusi---------------Feilhaber----

----------Wondolowski----Johnson--------------

Maryland's London Woodbury to Sign with FC Dallaa

According to SBI. FC Dallas agree to Homegrown Player deal with Woodberry

My Favorite 2012 Soccer Memory--Soccer was My Succor

On a personal level, this year was a particularly rough one for me.  As a result, I often took refuge in the beautiful game.  When things were rough in my personal and professional life, I could retreat to the confines of the pitch, where an unpredictable game was played with predictable and known rules, so much unlike regular life.  Whether playing, watching or refereeing a game, being on the soccer field game me immense comfort.  I have refereed some excellent matches, seen kids play at all levels, enjoyed the camaraderie of my Monday night indoor matches, watched my alma mater University of Maryland win the ACC championship with a powerful performance against North Carolina with my youngest daughter and dear friends, and fought with my oldest daughter about watching games on TV.  I felt the fear and elation of the USMNT in World Cup Qualifying.  I watched DC United play well and play poorly, and felt the joy and anguish of each high and low, matching the course of my own life in many ways.

Yes, this year is filled with many memories, soccer and otherwise, that are both good and bad.  But soccer was this year more than any other, a comfort.  It was a place and a game that helped me get through all the crap in my personal life.

In a year when my personal life was a shambles, soccer was my succor.

There were lots of good memories this year to choose from:

• The absolute wicked brilliance of Lionel Messi and 91 goals 
• The USMNT winning at Azteca for the first time ever.  
• Listening to the coach of a high school soccer team tell me I had a rough night refereeing having awarded not one but two stone cold penalties against his team.  After his team got spanked 8-0 by the eventual state champions, I was able to thank him for his opinion with only a touch of sarcasm (best I could muster).
• My beloved DC United making the playoffs for the first time in five years despite the absence of Dwayne DeRosario.   
• Posting my first clean sheet as a goal keeper for my team (a difficult task in the indoor game) and having a seven penalty kick save streak (not to toot my own horn too much).
• The spectacular improvisation of Patrick Ianni's only goal of the season.  

But my favorite memory is this one:



The USWNT team versus Canada in the Olympics semi-final was a classic match to watch no matter who you root for, and one worthy of watching over and over.  Rarely do I feel heartache for any team that any U.S. squad beats (yeah, I am a homer and a patriot that way), but I truly felt bad for the Canadians, they played well enough to win.  The Canucks have nothing to be ashamed of, it was that good a game.

The game featured seven goals over 120 minutes of exciting soccer.  Topping it all off was Alex "Baby Horse" Morgan's 123rd minute header that looped over the Canadian goalkeeper.  The goal was just phenomenal, not because it was a difficult finish (although it is not easy), or particularly spectacular, but coming as it did, when it did, how it did.   I also loved the way Morgan celebrated, with arms out wide, in part she looked disbelieving, but in part she also looked like "yeah, I did that, I knew I could."  Just amazing stuff.

In a breakout year, this was, in my opinion, Alex Morgan's best goal of the year.  A simple, classy finish of a looping cross, touch of luck but coming literally at the death of a game to prevent the match from going to penalty kicks.

In so many ways, my own life mirrored that game.  I have battled back from being down, fought against tough odds and in the end, it is something simple that puts me over the edge of winning at the final moments.

When soccer mirrors life so much, it is hard not to like the simple moments of victory.  Yeah, that is my favorite 2012 Soccer Memory.

The Business of Soccer

Ben Berger of Footiebusiness has a poll up asking people to vote on the business item of the year.  Berger himeself selected four business stories for the year that he thought were the biggest of the year in terms of the business of soccer in 2012.  They include NBC's new contract as a broadcast partner, the demise of the WPS, the addition of the Montreal Impact to MLS and the groundbreaking for a new soccer specific stadium for San Jose.  You can vote for "other" as well.

The business of soccer in America is growing, and it is on solid ground.  True the women's side of things needs some work and there is some going on with the creation of the NWSL.  But it is hard to point to anywhere else in the world of American soccer where things are not on a solid footing and moving in a positive direction.

I recommend Berger's blog as well.  Good stuff all the time and smart stuff all the time.

Quick Free Kicks

Shaktar Donetsk striker Adriano has been suspended one match by UEFA for blatant violation of sporting behavior.  "The suspension applies to next week's UEFA Champions League group stage game between FC Shakhtar Donetsk and Juventus in Ukraine. The Shakhtar player has also been required to perform one full day of community football service."   Even Adriano's boss is not happy.

MSL Head Honcho Don Garber thinks MLS will do fine without Beckham.  Well, I couldn't agree more.  Was Beckham helpful, no doubt.  But the league does not need Beckham but it will be interesting to see if Beckham needs the MLS in the future?

A wish list for Toronto FC.  Well, as I said, they got a great president in Kevin Payne.

Payne Leaving DC United

Everything happens for a reason right?  Today DC United announced that President and CEO Kevin Payne is stepping down to take a similar position with Toronto FC.  

So what is the reason for Payne leaving is the question that has to be asked.  I think the reason can be found in Payne's own quote for the release:

“For me, D.C. United has been like my child. We brought the team into the D.C. and national sports world 17 years ago and every day since – good and bad – has been a labor of love. This team has provided many great memories of championships and historic accomplishments, but I will best remember the people I've had the chance to meet, to work with, strive with, celebrate with, and sometimes to share disappointment with.

“To the players, coaches, co-workers and fans, I can only say thank you so much for the great privilege of having been part of the D.C. United family. It’s very difficult for me to express how I have felt, and still feel, about all of you."

When a child reaches a certain age, you have to let him or her go.  Payne can't exactly break DC United's dinner plate or throw its belongings into Lot 8 at RFK Stadium.  But I think he can step down, and let his child grow on its own.  

Looking back on Payne's tenure, perhaps there are only two things I would consider failures.  The first and most obvious is the lack of a stadium.  To be sure, navigating the shifting political grounds of the District of Columbia government is no easy feat, compounded by government personnel who may not be the "cleanest" shall we say.  But during a time when DC United was the most successful team in the DC sports landscape, it is hard to overlook the fact that DC is still playing in a 40 year old relic of a stadium and paying way too much money to do so.

Second failing of DC United is a little less noticeable.  Under Payne's watch, DC United has struggled with finding quality DP's and top tier veterans.  With the exception of Dwayne DeRosario, a very know quality player in the MLS, DC United has not been able to adequately find Designated Players worth the money being spent for their services.  The past five years have been largely a failure in that regard.  

But there have been some very good facets of DC United under Payne.  First, I think that the relationship between the front office and the fans is solid.  While the front office does not defer to fans in terms of decisions, the supporters groups have generally found at least an opportunity to be heard.  In the end, there is not much more that can be asked for.  

I know that all MLS clubs are active in their communities, but I just feel like DC United has gone above and beyond in such regard.  While players and clubs are contractually required to make public appearances and perform charitable work, the efforts made by the club and players appears genuine.  

Finally, I believe that DC United under Payne has done a wonderful job promoting the game of soccer in the area.  True, DC United has benefited with quality home grown players like Bill Hamid and Andy Najar.  But the club is expanding its Academy programs and I believe that the next logical step for the club will be a residency academy for players at the U16 and U 18 levels.  But Payne lead the effort to integrate the academy and the First Team in a farsighted effort that means that the club is starting to benefit from its academy system directly.  

So as Payne moves on to the troubled child of Toronto, I think he can fairly say that he leaves DC United poised for more success.  It may be hard to leave a child on its own, but Payne can take pride that he has done all he could do to prepare the club to succeed on its own.

So, as a former sailor, Fair Winds and Following Seas, Kevin.  Thanks for the memories.

Fair Play Awards--or the XBOX Award for Year of Undetected Crime

Back when I was in the Navy, enlisted personnel could received a Good Conduct Medal every four years for, well as the name implies, good conduct.  It was a good reward and allowed for points toward promotions.  The award was jokingly referred to as the award for Four Years of Undetected Crime.  The unofficial moniker was clearly tongue-in-cheek, but sometimes not far from the truth.  The XBox Fair Play Awards could be thought of as the MLS version of the Good Conduct Medal, the "Stealthy Fouler Awards" or something similar.  

The Xbox Fair Play awards focus on some fairly objective criteria, which is very different than many other awards.  MLS selects the finalists for these two awards based upon the objective criteria of games and minutes played, fouls committed, and cards received.  But there is also a subjective criteria of general sportsmanship.  

In all seriousness, this is an award that should have more play in both the media and among MLS types.  I would like to see big fat bonuses from MLS on this one, on the order of $100 for every average minute of foul-free play for individual players and a big fat team bonus for the team award winner.  But that maybe the referee in me talking.

On the the finalists:

Xbox Individual Fair Play Finalists

• Ante Jazic (Chivas USA)
• Logan Pause (Chicago Fire)
• Heath Pearce (New York Red Bulls)

Let's take a look at the numbers:  

Jazic started and played 27 games this season for a combined 2,379 minutes.  During those minutes, Jazic received no yellow or red cards and committed 8 fouls according to MLS stats.  That is one foul every 297.3 minutes.  So putting that in different numbers, Jazic was committing about every FOURTH game.  He never got a booking--ever--during the season.

Pause started in 31 games and played in 32.  He logged 2,242 minutes in 2012.  During that time, he too was never booked by the referees.  Pause committed 11 fouls, for an average of one foul every 220.4 minutes.  Very good numbers for a man who was playing defensive midfield for most of the season.

Finally, Pearce started and played 18 games for the Red Bulls this season and a further 10 games for Chivas before being traded.  His total minutes for the year were 2,504, during which time he committed 9 total fouls and received one yellow card.  On average he was committing one foul for every 278.2 minutes.  

Okay, now it is time to start thinking about what matters.  I could easily toss Pearce for having gotten a yellow card since the other two finalists did not get booked, but Pearce played with two different teams in two very different playoff outlooks.  You could also toss Jazic because he did not have as many games or minutes as the other two and he was playing on a team that was more or less eliminated from the playoffs by the end of June.  You could toss out Pause because he committed more fouls than the other two players but he did it playing in Defensive midfield.  

But I think I need to be objective on this one and go with Jazic.  Objectively, he was playing more fairly (or not getting caught as often depending on how you look at it) and minutes player per foul average is very impressive.  The discrepancy between the minutes played is, frankly, not all that significant (the span of just over a game and a half.  

Ante Jazic, hats off to you, if I had my druthers, you would be getting at $29,730 bonus.  But I don't make that choice.

Xbox Team Fair Play Finalists

• Chicago Fire
• Houston Dynamo
• New England Revolution 

This is another very stats driven calculation, working from MLS's stats, where games played and minutes played are equal, after all the teams played the same number of games and accounting for discrepancies as a result of having players sent off, the minutes played are going to be essentially equal, or at least within near enough tolerances as to be largely insignificant.  Here is what we have in terms of numbers:

Chicago Fire: the Fire actually committed the fewest fouls of any team in the MLS, 349.  That comes to an average of just over 10.2 fouls per game.  Not bad.  It should be noted that Chicago were ith in the league among fouls suffered (421).  But of these three teams nominated, Chicago collected 45 yellow cards and five red cards, a total of 50 bookings (1.47 cards per game), and that comes to one card for every 6.8 fouls.  So you could say that Chicago got the most bang for their buck in terms of fouls or looked at from another viewpoint, the fouls they committed tended to be harsher or more prone to sanction.  (Note however, the MLS stats do not differentiate between a yellow card for dissent, for example, and a yellow card for a reckless or studs up challenge).  

Houston Dynamo:  Houston were third on the list in terms of fewest fouls committed, 372, which means they committed 10.9 fouls a game.  Games with Houston involved look to be pretty even as the men in orange suffered 377 fouls(3rd fewest in the league).  However, Houston collected 34 yellow cards and only one red card this season, (1.03 cards per game).  The fouls to cards ration is one card for every 10.6 fouls.  

New England Revolution:  The Revs come in second in terms of fouls committed, 360 for the year, or 10.6 fouls per game).  Revs players also suffered a goodly number of fouls as well, 483 for the season (3rd on the list in the league behind Vancouver and FC Dallas).  The Revs collected 40 cards, 37 yellow and three red cards).  That puts there cards per game ration at 1.18 cards per game.  The Revs received one card for every 9.0 fouls (a nice even number by happenstance).

Because this is, I would like to think, a largely stats based comparison, then Houston should walk with this prize.  The Dynamo picked up fewer cards for the year and that to me is important.  New England picked up 14 percent more cards that Houston and Chicago picked up 28 percent more cards than Houston.  Houston's games, at least statistically in terms of fouls were largely equal.   

In keeping in with my notion that Fair Play, as a team, should be handsomely rewarded, I think the winning team should receive a team bonus of $200,000 to be divvied as they see fit.    Congrats Houston

Frankly, the one thing about these awards is that I am not sure how the subjective "overall sportsmanship" criteria is developed.  I would be fine with the latter being tossed out and let this be simply an objective criteria award.  Alternatively, I would suggest that only referees and assistant referees be permitted to judge the subjective criteria side of things, because referees take a lot of stick of players and often listen to a lot of whining, whinging and haranguing before issuing a dissent yellow card. 

MLS Season Awards Finalists

MLS Announced their end of season award Finalists.  I will have my thoughts on some of these categories in other posts.

And the Nominees are:

Rookie of the Year Finalists

• Austin Berry (Chicago Fire)
• Nick DeLeon (D.C. United)
• Darren Mattocks (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
• Winner to be announced Monday, November 19. 

Xbox Individual Fair Play Finalists*

• Ante Jazic (Chivas USA)
• Logan Pause (Chicago Fire)
• Heath Pearce (New York Red Bulls)
• *Selected by MLS based on objective criteria such as fouls committed, cards received, games & minutes played, as well as subjective evaluation of sportsmanlike behavior.
• Winner to be announced Monday, November 19.

Xbox Team Fair Play Finalists*

• Chicago Fire
• Houston Dynamo
• New England Revolution*Selected by MLS based on objective criteria such as fewest fouls committed, cards received, and on subjective evaluation of sportsmanlike behavior.
• Winner to be announced Monday, November 19.

Defender of the Year Finalists

• Victor Bernardez (San Jose Earthquakes)
• Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City)
• Aurelien Collin (Sporting Kansas City)
• Winner to be announced Tuesday, November 20. 

MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year Finalists

• Kei Kamara (Sporting Kansas City)
• Michael Lahoud (Philadelphia Union)
• Chris Seitz (FC Dallas)
• Winner to be announced Tuesday, November 20.

Referee of the Year Finalists

• Silviu Petrescu
• Baldomero Toledo
• Armando Villarreal
• Winner to be announced Tuesday, November 20.

Assistant Referee of the Year Finalists

• Ian Anderson
• Gregory Barkey
• Corey Parker
• Winner to be announced Tuesday, November 20.

Coach of the Year Finalists

• Ben Olsen (D.C. United)
• Peter Vermes (Sporting Kansas City)
• Frank Yallop (San Jose Earthquakes)
• Winner to be announced Tuesday, November 27. 

Comeback Player of the Year Finalists

• Alan Gordon (San Jose Earthquakes)
• Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders FC)
• Chris Pontius (D.C. United)
• Winner to be announced Tuesday, November 27.

Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year Finalists

• Michael Gspurning (Seattle Sounders FC)
• Dan Kennedy (Chivas USA)
• Jimmy Nielsen (Sporting Kansas City)
• Winner to be announced Wednesday, November 28. 

Newcomer of the Year Finalists

• Victor Bernardez (San Jose Earthquakes)
• Michael Gspurning (Seattle Sounders FC)
• Federico Higuain (Columbus Crew)
• Winner to be announced Wednesday, November 28.

Volkswagen Most Valuable Player Finalists

• Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls)
• Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
• Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
• Winner to be announced Thursday, November 29.

Five Talking Points: RUS 2:2 USMNT

1. The scouting report on the USMNT is pretty clear for opponents.  High pressure, high intensity for the first 15-20 minutes will likely yield a goal.  Jurgen Klinsmann has got to find a tactical or a psychological solution to this problem for the USMNT.  One tactical solution for the U.S. is to just be frenetic for the first 20 minutes, run at defenses, long balls out of the back, open the field and let the superior physical fitness carry them through the half and into the second half.  If the solution is psychological--Klinsmann needs to hire a new sports psychologist and pronto.
2. Klinsmann needs to find a true left-sided midfield player.  The trio of Bradley, Jones, and Williams/Edu does not provide enough linkage in the midfield to do all the things that need to distribute the ball out of the back and connect to the strikers.  Maybe a healthy Donovan (who has played on the left for both club and country) could do it.  Some might say Dempsey, but the defensive responsibilities take Dempsey away from where he is best.  I think the answer is probably someone new, which is a worry heading into the World Cup Qualifiers.
3. Gatt--it is pronounced "Gatt" as in rhymes with "cat" I am sure his family was cringing and groaning every time Ian Darke mispronounced his name--showed some promise.  He was not significantly worse in the first 15-20 minutes of the game than anyone else.  The boy is fast and he has an eye for attack.  I think given that he trained for all of about two hours--maybe three--with the MNT before this game, I can't say he doesn't deserve more call ups.
4. Can we finally put an end to the Geoff Cameron doubts?  He has been consistent all year long at centerback.      
5. Overall team performance is a C+.  Were it not for the late game heroics of Bradley and Diskerud, as well as the never say die effort (another U.S. trademark is seems), then this would a lot lower grade.

Player Grades:

Howard--8      What can you say, he kept the U.S. in the game--as usual.

Chandler--6     Impressed with his movement and defensive skills.  

Cameron--7    Provided lots and lots of lateral cover, but has to be expected with F. Johnson and Chandler moving foward.

Bocanegra--5  Left early for an injury, played okay during limited time.

F. Johnson--5.5  looked suspect at times, but played well out of the back.

Gatt--5.5             See above.

Bradley--8.5     Man of the match performance.  Brilliant, and technically difficult, strike for a goal.  

Jones--5.5        He is not the attacking link we need out of a midfielder, but didn't totally suck either.

Williams--4.5    Although he found the game in the second half, I was wondering if Klinsmann was going to pull him out in the first half.

Gomez--6         Made a nuisance of himself, buzzed around, but not his best performance.

Altiodre--6.5    Was getting back and helping defend, working hard, had a few chances that didn't break his way.

Subs

Goodson--6     Had one golden chance on goal, some fine defensive work, and bad decision on fouling for the late penalty.  Still not going to supplant Bocanegra or Cameron in the central defense.

Edu--6             Compared to Williams, Edu was miles better.  Sharp and mistake free.

Kljestan--5       Didn't have as much an impact as I think he could or should have.  But workmanlike effort.

Agudelo--5.5    Smart header to set up Bradley, fair impact on the match which is what subs should do.

Boyd--5           Not really enough time

Diskerud--6     and yeah, that is all goal.  Not really enough time otherwise to make an impact.