The Sounders defy the odds

The Sounders have persevered against all odds, despite being in the midst of a seven game winless run in league play and facing what is perhaps the best team in the league, and have topped the San Jose Earthquakes to move on to their sixth straight semi-final appearance in the US Open Cup. All they needed was a lone goal in the eighteenth minute from the speedy Cordell Cato, who put the ball through the keepers legs from an incredibly difficult angle. Each side had their opportunities in the remainder of the half, but the Sounders lone goal held up. In the second half San Jose really poured it on, subbing on Chris Wondolowski and Steven Lenhart and repeatedly lobbing the ball in to the box and creating chances for their big and dangerous strikers, but the Sounders defense stood strong and ultimately kept the clean sheet.

The Sounders next face Chivas USA in the semi-finals at Starfire July 10th.

Changes Coming This Year For USOC Format

After outcry about the formatting of the competition was voiced in last years tournament, most notably by FC Dallas' head coach Schellas Hyndeman, changing are coming in 2012 for the country's oldest sports competition. The changes include:

• The expanding of the field of teams competing in the tournament from 40 to 64, the largest field of the modern era.
• All 16 MLS teams will take part in the competition for the first time ever, throwing out the old format of entry being determined by last season's performance along with a play-in process to determine the last participant.
• The bidding process is getting scrapped, up until the semi-finals at least. This was the most highly contested element of the competition, as clubs who actually care about the tournament like the Sounders and the Chicago Fire can claim home advantage throughout the entire tournament. Which actually makes sense, because the clubs that do care are more likely to advertise the competition and draw in fans for those matches.
• The tournament starts earlier and ends earlier, to help relieve schedule congestion for MLS clubs, especially those competing in the CONCACAF Champions League as well. The first round plays out on April 15th and the final will be played on either August 7th or 8th

Parke And Evans Called Into USMNT January Camp

News broke today that center backs George John and Omar Gonzalez, after finally getting their chance to prove themselves to Jurgen Klinsmann, had to withdraw from this month's USMNT camp in order to sort out club related issues (it's been reported that Gonzalez might be going out on loan and that John may finally be going over to Europe after making consideration last summer). To fill the void, Klinsmann has opted to finally call in a Sounder (makes that two actually).

The most notable of the two to get their first call up under Klinsmann, and notably their first call up of their career, is Jeff Parke. After getting picked up by New York in the 2004 SuperDraft, he quickly became a mainstay in the Red Bulls defense. Likewise, once he joined the Sounders early on into the 2010 season, he quickly became a mainstay in the back line. It seems that he's finally getting the recognition that he's due.

The other Sounder to get called up is the Sounders go to attacking midfielder, Brad Evans. Although only in restricted capacity, mainly coming of the bench as a right back, Evans has suited up for the US four prior times making three appearances in the 2009 Gold Cup and once in a friendly. Confusingly, rather than voice congratulations and support as they have with Parke, many Sounders fans are voicing confusion as to Evans call up. Sure he's been hampered almost insistently with injury, but that by no means should mark him worthy of such ire and malign. When he can remain healthy, he is one of the major pieces of the Sounders exceptional midfield and is clearly viewed good enough by Klinsmann to get the call up.

20 Player USMNT January Camp Roster Announced

The roster for the US Men's National Team January camp has been announced, and notably only two of the twenty players listed play outside of the United States. Expected returning players include Bill Hamid of DC United, New York's Juan Agudelo, and FC Dallas' Brek Shea. Newcomers that really stand out are the Galaxy's Omar Gonzalez (who had been voicing frustration over a lack of a call up), Graham Zusi (who had performed spectacularly for Sporting Kansas City last season), FC Dallas standout George John, and SKC rookie forward CJ Sapong.

Goalkeepers (3): Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

Defenders (7): Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), A.J. DeLaGarza (LA Galaxy), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), George John (FC Dallas), Zach Loyd (FC Dallas), Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjaelland), Heath Pearce (Chivas USA)

Midfielders (6): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt), Benny Feilhaber (New England Revolution), Jeff Larentowicz (Colorado Rapids), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

Forwards (4): Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls), Teal Bunbury (Sporting Kansas City), C.J. Sapong (Sporting Kansas City), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

Eddie Johnson Returns to MLS

It was announced in a conference call this morning that US national team forward Eddie Johnson will be returning to Major League Soccer after a rather unsuccessful stink over in Europe. Now, returning US internationals sign with the league and clubs are presented with the opportunity to sign the player through order of allocation, which is currently as follows:

1. Chivas USA, 2. Houston, 3, Toronto FC, 4. Chicago, 5. Sporting KC, 6. Sounders FC, 7. Columbus, 8. New York, 9. Real Salt Lake, 10. San Jose, 11. LA Galaxy, 12. FC Dallas, 13. Colorado, 14. Vancouver, 15. Portland, 16. D.C. United, 17. New England, 18. Philadelphia.


It's no secret that the Sounders have been on the search for a consistent goalscorer up top, recently having two potential deals with players in Europe fall through as the summer transfer window closed.

Jurgen Klinsmann reveals Mexico friendly roster

This morning, the new US national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann revealed his roster for the upcoming friendly against Mexico. This friendly certainly acts as a rematch of sorts of the Gold Cup final that saw the US take an early 2-0 lead, but ultimately fall to Mexico 4-2. Notable inclusions from Major League Soccer are Brek Shea, who's current form certainly makes him plenty deserving of the call-up, and Real Salt Lake's Kyle Beckerman, who become quite the mainstay in RSL's midfield. A notable absence in this roster is Clint Dempsey. While he squandered many great chances during the Gold Cup, he still ultimately performed well, which makes his exclusion quite puzzling.

You can view the entire roster here.

Bob Bradley Relieved of His Duties

Today US Soccer president Sunil Gulati announced that five year US mens national team head coach Bob Bradley has been relieved of his duties. You can read the full press release below:

“We want to thank Bob Bradley for his service and dedication to U.S. Soccer during the past five years,” said Gulati. “During his time as the head coach of our Men’s National Team he led the team to a number of accomplishments, but we felt now was the right time for us to make a change. It is always hard to make these decisions, especially when it involves someone we respect as much as Bob. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

This announcement comes after a meeting at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., between Gulati, Bradley and U.S. Soccer CEO Dan Flynn.

Bradley was named the head coach of the U.S. MNT in January of 2007 and during his five-year tenure compiled a 43-25-12 record. He led the team to a number of accomplishments, including winning the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, finishing second in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, winning their World Cup qualifying group and advancing to the Round of 16 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

U.S. Soccer will have a further announcement on Friday."