So the news came down today that the TOA league would be dubbed the new North American Soccer League. Yes the return of the NASL is possibly more about the name than the actual league here. The TOA group went for name recognition right away with this choice.

The league has nine clubs now that Tampa and Baltimore have jumped ship and they could look to add a tenth with the possibility of Rochester leaving the USL after 2010.

Currently there are only 5 teams remaining from last year’s USL-1 season.  Austin, Cleveland, Portland, Puerto Rico and Rochester, with the expansion team of  New York bringing the league to 6. Some may say what about Charleston? Well, they are headed to the USL-2 in the form of a self-relegation. Some folks are saying Cleveland could easily do the same.

Let’s not forget that after this next season for the USL they will stand to lose Portland. That bring their lovely total down to just four for the 2011 season unless they get some expansion sites up in a hurry before then.

The USL does looked doomed here but will this NASL really work? Vancouver and Montreal are headed MLS’s way in the near future but this little league could be fine if the chips keep falling for the USL. But the thing that worries people like me is how in the world will they get all their crap together before the start of the season next year? At the very least they could have a website up now that they have a name but since http://www.nasl.com is already taken they could be in trouble on that front.

Things do look good for the TOA, or now rather the NASL, which is still a stupid name in my mind to go with.

Continue Reading…

Seattle made another signing today. It just seems like every couple of days they add another player to their roster. It should be close to being full by now.

Anyways, Cuban defector Osvaldo Alonso, the USL1 rookie of the year at Charleston last season, signed to a multiyear contract. The Battery and Sounders agreed to terms today for Seattle to acquire his rights from the Battery.

Alonso is a 23-year-old central midfielder who made 17 national team appearances before defecting in June 2007.

Not a bad signing for Seattle. I recall seeing some of Alonso last year in the US Open Cup. While I thought Seattle was a little full in the midfield, this certainly doesn’t hurt their depth. I thought Alonso looked pretty MLS-ready the last time I watched him play.

DC United won their 12th club trophy last night in the 2008 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup with their 2-1 defeat of the USL-1 Charleston Battery at RFK Stadium. DC was lead by their two Brazilians Luciano Emilio and Fred in this one as Emilio got the Black-and-Red up early and after Charleston leveled things at 1-1, Fred put home the go ahead goal shortly after the start of the second half.

This was probably one of the more entertaining US Open Cup finals that I’ve seen in the past couple years. Maybe it was because of the DC fans making RFK a fortress or maybe it was because you had a USL club in the final for the first time in a few years.

With the win, DC becomes the first MLS club to qualify for the 2009/10 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League. Continue Reading…

I love that line. And if you are a United supporter, you know what I am talking about here.

Here is a little mojo to get you Black-and-Red fans in the mood for tonight’s US Open Cup final in RFK Stadium. I will have more in a bit on this game but I wanted to start out with this video that a reader emailed in this morning!

Almost forgot to put this up for those who care about the oldest soccer tournament in the US. But there is some US Open Cup semifinal action tonight!

DC United plays host to New England first at 7:30pm ET at RFK Stadium and will only be broadcast via two radio streams (available at www.USOpenCup.com).

The Seattle Sounders vs Charleston Battery game also kicks off at 7:30pm and will be shown on USLLive.com.

More from these games later on tonight or early tomorrow morning! Enjoy!

It sure appears to be the case. I just got word about the possible championship scenarios for the 2008 US Open Cup today. Under three of four possible scenarios, either Seattle or Charleston from the USL-1 will host the title game next month.

The only MLS side that could host is DC, that is if D.C. United and Charleston advance. In that case, the game would be Sept. 3 at RFK Stadium (7:30 ET). Otherwise…..

DCU at Seattle, Sept. 3, 11 p.m. ET.

New England at Seattle, Sept. 15, 10 p.m.

New England at Charleston, Sept. 22, 7 p.m. ET. Continue Reading…

A very entertaining night of soccer in the quarterfinal round of the 2008 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Entering the night was five MLS clubs, two USL1 clubs and a lone USL2 club. After it was all said and done two MLS sides prevailed and two USL1 sides upset their big brothers from MLS.

Three of the four games went into extra time, two of the games were decided on penalty kicks. Great night of soccer all around.

The results set up an all MLS semifinal and an all USL1 semifinal. No matter what, each division will get a club in the final game later this summer. Continue Reading…