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All 26 Major League Soccer teams will spread across warmer parts of the United States to prepare for the 2020 regular season, which kicks off Feb. 29. 

The five Concacaf Champions League participants: Atlanta United, New York City FC, Montreal Impact, Seattle Sounders and Los Angeles FC began preseason Jan. 11, while the rest of the league opened a week later on Jan. 18. 

A majority of clubs are training in either Florida, Texas, Arizona or California, playing in preseason tournaments alongside other MLS teams and lower-level squads. 

Below is a look at the schedules that have been released. 

MLS preseason schedules 

Atlanta United

Jan. 13-20: Training in Marietta, Georgia Jan. 20: Two-week camp at IMG Academy Jan. 24: vs. New York Red Bulls Jan. 29: vs. Philadelphia Union  Feb. 1: vs. IF Elfsborg Feb. 8: at Birmingham Legion Feb. 10: Training in Guadalajara, Mexico

Chicago Fire 

Jan. 20-24: Training in Chicago Jan. 26-Feb. 6: Training in Florida Feb. 1: vs. Philadelphia Union (Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex, Clearwater) Feb. 6: vs. MLS team TBD Feb. 11: Start of Training in California Feb. 12: vs. Orange County SC at Orange County Great Park Feb. 15: vs. Colorado Rapids at Dignity Health Sports Park Feb. 19: vs. Toronto FC at UC Irvine Feb. 22: vs. LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park 

FC Cincinnati 

Jan. 19-Feb 6: Training at Kino Sports Complex, Tuscon, Ariz. Jan. 29: TBD  Feb. 1: vs. Sporting Kansas City (Grande Sports World) Feb. 5: vs. El Paso Locomotive Feb. 10-21: Training at IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.  Feb. 12: vs. Philadelphia Union Feb. 16: vs. Nashville SC  Feb. 21: vs. KR Reykjavik/ vs. Sarasota Metropolis FC

Colorado Rapids

Feb. 12: vs. New England Revolution  Feb. 15: vs. Chicago Fire at Dignity Health Sports Park  Feb. 22: vs. Toronto FC at Dignity Health Sports Park 

Columbus Crew

Feb. 15: vs. Phoenix Rising FC in Tuscon, Arizona Feb. 19: vs. New York Red Bulls in Tuscon, Arizona Feb. 22: vs. Houston Dynamo in Tuscon, Arizona

FC Dallas 

Jan. 29: vs. NTX Rayados at AdvoCare Field 1 at Toyota Soccer Complex Jan. 30-Feb. 6: Training in Chula Vista, Calif.  Feb. 1: vs. Vancouver Whitecaps at University of San Diego Feb. 6: vs. LAFC at Banc of California Stadium  Feb. 9: vs. Austin Bold  Feb. 12: vs. San Antonio FC at Toyota Field, San Antonio Feb. 18-22: Training in Tampa, Fla. Feb. 19: vs. Philadelphia Union at Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex Feb. 22: vs. Inter Miami CF at Al Lang Stadium 

D.C. United 

Training in Florida

Jan. 28: vs. Montreal Impact (at USF)  Feb. 1: vs. New York Red Bulls (IMG Academy)  Feb. 6: vs. Louisville City (Clearwater)  Feb. 15: vs. Orlando City (USF)  Feb. 19: vs. Nashville SC (Clearwater)  Feb. 22: vs. Philadelphia (Clearwater)

Houston Dynamo 

Jan. 20: Training begins Feb. 4-8: Training with USL Championship affiliate Rio Grande Valley FC  Feb. 5: Game vs. Opponent TBD Feb. 8: vs. Rio Grande Valley FC Feb. 13-22: Training in Tucson, Ariz./Visit Tucson Sun Cup Feb. 15: vs. Sporting Kansas City Feb. 19: vs. Real Salt Lake Feb. 22: vs. Columbus Crew SC

Los Angeles FC 

Jan. 13: Training begins 

Games at Banc of California Stadium

Jan. 25: vs. Penarol  Jan. 31: vs. NYCFC Feb. 6: vs. FC Dallas Feb. 12: vs. Toronto FC 

LA Galaxy 

Feb. 10: vs. New England Revolution  Feb. 15: vs. Toronto FC at Dignity Health Sports Park  Feb. 22: vs. Chicago Fire FC at Dignity Health Sports Park 

Inter Miami CF 

Jan. 20-25: Training at Barry University in Miami Jan. 25-31: Training in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Feb. 1-6: Training in Bradenton, Fla.  Feb. 7-14: Training at Inter Miami facilities  Feb. 7: vs. Charleston Battery Feb. 12: vs. New York City FC  Feb. 15-22: Training in St. Petersburg, Fla. Feb. 15: vs. Philadelphia Union  Feb. 22: vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies

Minnesota United

Jan. 20-25: Training in Blaine, Minn.  Preseason Tournament at Providence Park Feb. 16: vs. New England Revolution Feb. 19: vs. Portland Timbers Feb. 22: vs. Vancouver Whitecaps 

Montreal Impact 

Jan. 16-23: Training in Orlando, Fla.  Jan. 23-Feb.2: Training in Montreal  Jan. 28: vs. D.C. United  Feb. 3-17: Training in St. Petersburg, Fla.  Feb. 5: vs. Philadelphia Union Feb. 8: Orlando City  Feb. 12: vs. Nashville SC  Feb. 15: vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies 

Nashville SC 

Jan. 19-30: Training in Florida Jan. 30: vs. IF Elfsborg at IMG Academy. Feb. 4-21: Training in Florida Feb. 6: vs. Chicago Fire (TBD)  Feb. 9: vs. Louisville City (IMG Academy) Feb. 12: vs. Montreal (Al Lang Stadium) Feb. 16: vs. FC Cincinnati (IMG Academy)  Feb. 19: vs. D.C. United (Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex)

New England Revolution

Jan. 18-Feb. 5: Training at Revolution Training Center Feb. 6-14: Training in Los Angeles Feb. 10: vs. LA Galaxy Feb. 12: vs. Colorado Rapids Feb. 14-23: Training in Portland Feb. 16: vs. Minnesota United Feb. 19: vs. Vancouver Whitecaps Feb. 22: vs. Portland Timbers 

New York City FC 

Jan. 11: Training in Orlando, Fla./Florida Cup at Exploria Stadium Jan. 15: vs. Corinthians Jan. 18: vs. Palmeiras Jan. 21-30: Training in Santa Barbara, Calif.  Jan. 31-Feb. 5: Training in Los Angeles, Calif. Jan. 31: vs. LAFC at Banc of California Stadium Feb. 8-18: Training in Boca Raton, Fla.

New York Red Bulls

Jan. 18: Physicals, meetings at RBNY training facility  Jan. 19-31: Training at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Feb. 1-8: Training at RBNY training facility Feb. 9-23: Training in Tucson, Ariz./Visit Tucson Sun Cup Feb. 15: vs. Real Salt Lake Feb. 19: vs. Houston Dynamo Feb. 22: vs. Sporting Kansas City

Orlando City 

Jan. 20: Begin preseason training in Kissimmee, Fla. Jan. 25: Closed training session at Stetson University Jan. 27-Feb. 4: Training in Mexico Feb. 1: vs. Columbus Crew SC Feb. 4 vs. Inter Playa Feb. 8: vs. Montreal Impact at Exploria Stadium Feb. 12: vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies at Exploria Stadium Feb. 15: vs. D.C. United at USF Feb. 18: vs. KR Reykjavík at Exploria Stadium Feb. 21: vs. San Antonio FC at Exploria Stadium

Philadelphia Union 

Jan. 20-25: Training in Wilmington, Del.  Jan. 27-Feb. 6: Training in Clearwater, Fla.  Jan. 29: vs. Atlanta United at IMG Academy Feb. 1: vs. Chicago Fire at Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex Feb. 5: vs. Montreal Impact at Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex Feb. 11-23: Training in Clearwater, Fla.  Feb. 12: vs. FC Cincinnati at IMG Academy  Feb. 15: vs. Inter Miami CF at Al Lang Stadium Feb. 19: vs. FC Dallas at Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex Feb. 22: vs. D.C. United at Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex

Portland Timbers

Preseason Tournament at Providence Park

Feb. 16: vs. Vancouver Whitecaps Feb. 19: vs. Minnesota United Feb. 22: vs. New England Revolution 

Real Salt Lake

Jan. 18-25: Training opens in Herriman, Utah Jan. 26-Feb. 1: Training in Phoenix, Ariz.  Feb. 2-10: Training in Herriman, Utah Feb. 11-23: Training in Tucson, Ariz/Visit Tucson Sun Cup Feb. 15: vs. Sporting Kansas City Feb. 19: vs. Houston Dynamo Feb. 22: vs. Phoenix Rising FC

San Jose Earthquakes

Jan. 20-25: Training in San Jose Jan. 26-Feb. 10: Training in Cancun, Mexico Feb. 3: Game vs. MLS Club TBD  Feb. 10: Game vs. TBD  Feb. 18: vs. Reno 1868 Feb. 21: vs. Sacramento Republic FC 

Seattle Sounders

Jan. 14-18: Training at Starfire Sports Jan. 19-29: Training camp in southern California Feb. 1-5: Training at Starfire Sports Feb. 6-TBD: Training camp in Mexico City 

Sporting Kansas City 

Jan. 19-Feb. 2: Training in Arizona Feb. 8-23: Training in Arizona / Visit Tucson Sun Cup Feb. 15: vs. Real Salt Lake Feb. 19: vs. Phoenix Rising FC Feb. 22: vs. New York Red Bulls 

Toronto FC 

Jan. 18: Players report for medicals at training ground in Toronto Jan. 20-22: Training in Toronto Jan. 23: Depart for Orlando, Fla. Jan. 23-29: Training in Orlando Jan. 29: Arrive in Toronto Feb. 5:  Depart for Los Angeles, Calif. Feb. 5-22: Training in Los Angeles Feb. 8: vs. Colorado Rapids at UC Irvine Feb. 12: vs. LAFC at Banc of California Stadium Feb. 15: vs. LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Complex Feb. 19: vs. Chicago Fire at UC Irvine Feb. 22: vs. Colorado Rapids at Dignity Health Sports Complex

Vancouver Whitecaps 

Jan. 20-23: Training in Vancouver Jan. 24: Depart for San Diego, Calif.  Jan. 28: vs. TBA at University of San Diego  Feb. 1: vs. FC Dallas at University of San Diego  Feb. 4: vs. LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park  Feb. 6-14: Training in Vancouver Feb. 16-22: Preseason tournament at Providence Park  Feb. 16: vs. Portland Timbers Feb. 19: vs. New England Revolution Feb. 22: vs. Minnesota United 

The post A complete look at the MLS 2020 preseason schedule appeared first on Pro Soccer USA.

A sizable contingent of African soccer players who represent North American clubs and whose national teams are still in the running for a berth at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar learned their qualifying fates Tuesday.

The 40 remaining nations were drawn into 10 groups – A through J – of four teams in Cairo by the Confederation of African Football.

Each group will compete in a home-and-away round robin. The 10 group winners will then be paired for home-and-away knockout games to determine Africa’s five allocated World Cup berths.

Fifteen of the players in those groups compete in either Major League Soccer, the second-tier USL Championship, or in third-tier USL League One. Seven of the 10 groups contain at least one of these players.

Group A is headlined by Algeria, which is seeking its fifth World Cup berth and features Montreal Impact midfielder Saphir Taider. Group A also includes Burkina Faso, Niger, and Djibouti.

Three of the four teams in Group C have players currently competing in North America. The group is led by Nigeria; followed by Cape Verde Islands with Jamiro Monteiro (MLS, Philadelphia Union); Central African Republic with midfielder Wilfried Zahibo (MLS, New England Revolution); and Liberia with midfielder Joel Johnson (USL Championship, Charlotte Independence) and forwards Seku Conneh (USL Championship, Las Vegas Lights) and Sam Johnson (MLS, Real Salt Lake).

Group E contains Mali; Kenya; Rwanda with defender Abdul Rwatubyaye (MLS, Colorado Rapids); and Uganda with Michael Azira (MLS, Chicago Fire FC).

Group F features Egypt, Gabon, Angola, and Libya with fullback Mohamed El Munir (MLS, Los Angeles FC) and winger Ismael Tajouri-Shradi (MLS, New York City FC).

Defenders Jonathan Mensah and Harrison Afful (MLS, Columbus Crew SC) play for Ghana, which has qualified for three World Cups and headlines Group G with South Africa, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia.

Group I has Morocco, Guinea-Bissau, Sudan and Guinea, which boasts the talents of winger Lass Bangoura (MLS, Vancouver Whitecaps)

Finally, Group J contains the Democratic Republic of Congo; Benin; Madagascar, which has defender Romain Metanire (MLS, Minnesota United); and Tanzania with midfielder Ally Hamis Ng’anzi (USL League One, Forward Madison FC).

Groups B, D and H do not feature any North American players. 

Here are all 10 qualification groups, complete with any player who represents a North American club and has earned an international call-up in the last year:

Group A

Algeria – M Saphir Taider (Montreal Impact/MLS)

Burkina Faso

Niger

Djibouti

Group B

Tunisia

Zambia

Mauritania

Equatorial Guinea

Group C

Nigeria

Cape Verde Islands – M Jamiro Monteiro (Philadelphia Union/MLS)

Central African Republic – M Wilfried Zahibo (New England Revolution/MLS)

Liberia – M Joel Johnson (Charlotte Independence/USL Championship), F Seku Conneh (Las Vegas Lights/USL Championship), F Sam Johnson (Real Salt Lake/MLS)

Group D

Cameroon

Ivory Coast

Kenya

Malawi

Group E

Mali

Uganda – M Michael Azira (Chicago Fire FC/ MLS)

Mozambique

Rwanda – D Abdul Rwatubyaye (Colorado Rapids/MLS)

Group F

Egypt

Gabon

Libya – D Mohamed El Munir (Los Angeles FC/MLS) , M Ismael Tajouri-Shradi (New York City/MLS)

Angola

Group G

Ghana – D Harrison Afful, D Jonathan Mensah (Columbus Crew SC)

South Africa

Zimbabwe

Ethiopia

Group H

Senegal

Republic of the Congo

Namibia

Togo

Group I

Morocco

Guinea – M Lass Bangoura (Vancouver Whitecaps, on loan from Rayo Vallocano)

Guinea-Bissau

Sudan

Group J

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Benin

Madagascar – D Romain Metanire (Minnesota United/MLS)

Tanzania – M Ally Hamis Ng’anzi (Forward Madison/USL League One)

The post North America-based African players learn 2022 World Cup qualification paths appeared first on Pro Soccer USA.

COMMERCE CITY, Colo.— The Colorado Rapids made a third addition to their attack in as many days, signing attacking midfielder Braian “Brian” Galván on Thursday. 

The 19-year-old Argentinian winger will join Colorado at the start of the secondary transfer window in July as a young designated player. 

“Braian is a highly touted prospect whose development we’ve been monitoring for some time now,” Rapids executive vice president and GM Padraig Smith said in a statement. “He’s a fast, skillful and talented player who has already made his professional debut and has been a part of the Argentine youth national team system. We see great potential in him and couldn’t be more thrilled to have him join our club.”

Galván joins Colorado from Argentine first division side Club Atlético Colón, where he made eight appearances over three seasons, scoring one goal. Galvan debuted professionally at the age of 17.

A native of San Miguel de Tucumán, Galván has spent time with both the Argentina U-20 as well as the senior team, where he was called up ahead of the 2018 World Cup.

Earlier in the week, Colorado announced the additions of midfielders Nicolas Benezet and Younes Namli as new attacking options under head coach Robin Fraser, who enters his first full season with the Rapids. 

The post Colorado Rapids add young Argentine winger Braian Galván to attacking corps appeared first on Pro Soccer USA.

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – The Colorado Rapids have signed attacking midfielder Younes Namli on loan, with a club option to buy, the club announced Wednesday.

The Danish attacking midfielder fills one of the three vacant Designated Player slots the Rapids have entering the preseason.

“Younes is a talented and technically gifted playmaker that we’ve had our sights on for the past two years,” Colorado Rapids Executive VP of Operations and GM Pádraig Smith said in a statement.  “He’s been a consistently strong performer in the Eredivisie, a league we believe translates well to MLS, and has shown a great ability on the ball and in creating clear scoring opportunities for his teammates as well as getting on the scoresheet himself. We’re excited to finally have him join the club and expect him to be a difference maker for us.”

The 25-year-old has spent his career playing in The Netherlands, Denmark, and Russia, with clubs AB, Heerenveen, PEC Zwolle as well as Russian Premier League club FC Krasnodar, scoring 16 goals in 165 appearances across seven seasons.

Namli joins Colorado as the second international signing the club has announced this week. The Rapids added former Toronto FC midfielder Nicola Benezet yesterday in another move bolstering the team’s attack.

Colorado now has two Designated Player spots ahead of its preseason, which begins next week.

The post Colorado Rapids add Dutch midfielder Younes Namli as Designated Player appeared first on Pro Soccer USA.

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – In the opening rounds of the MLS SuperDraft, the Colorado Rapids focused on bolstering its defense, consistent with the club’s earlier moves this offseason.

Colorado’s highest pick was 11th overall, which it traded to expansion franchise Nashville SC for $75,000 in General Allocation Money, and Colorado later traded that same amount to the Montreal Impact in exchange for right back Jeremy Kelly from the University of North Carolina. Montreal had originally selected Kelly with the ninth overall pick.

“I didn’t expect anything else to happen once I was picked by Montreal, but then my agent told me I had been traded to the Rapids,” Kelly told the Rapids website. “I’m excited to be with the Rapids.”

Kelly is expected to be a depth piece at right back behind Keegan Rosenberry. In Rosenberry’s first season with Colorado last year, he started all 34 games, logging 3060 minutes.

“(Kelly) is a tenacious defender,” executive vice president and GM Pádraig Smith said. “He is very smart and intelligent, plays with a lot of urgency and looks to play out of the back. That is very important to us. He also played in the midfield as well, so that showed his versatility.”

Later in the draft, Colorado selected defender Robin Afamefuna in the second round with the 37th overall pick. A product of Borussia Monchengladbach’s youth acadamey, Afamefuna was one of two UVA players to start all 17 regular season games for the Cavliers, who finished NCAA runners-up in 2019.

The MLS SuperDraft concludes with the final two rounds Monday, where Colorado holds the 63rd and 87th overall picks.  

The post Colorado Rapids bolster defense with top picks in 2020 MLS SuperDraft appeared first on Pro Soccer USA.

The 2020 Major League Soccer SuperDraft began at 12:30 p.m. ET Thursday. The draft took place remotely this year, with selections revealed during a live broadcast produced by MLS and ESPN. You can watch a replay of the broadcast above. A full list of draft selections is below.

The broadcast included Rounds 1 and 2 of the draft viewed through 20 video feeds from various locations across the country. Nine top draft prospects were followed by cameras, including the No.1 overall pick for Inter Miami, Robbie Robinson, a junior forward out of Clemson who won the 2019 MAC Hermann Award.

Cameras were also embedded in the draft rooms of clubs, including Inter Miami, Orlando City, Houston Dynamo, Montreal Impact, FC Dallas, New England Revolution, Toronto FC and Atlanta United. Rounds 3 and 4 of the draft will take place via conference call Monday.

See the full list of eligible players.

2020 MLS SuperDraft

No.	Team	Player	College
1	Inter Miami CF	F Robbie Robinson	Clemson
2	Nashville SC	D Jack Maher	Indiana
3	Inter Miami CF (via CIN)	D Dylan Nealis	Georgetown
4	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	F Ryan Raposo	Syracuse
5	Orlando City SC	F Daryl Dike	Virginia
6	New England Revolution (via SKC)	D Henry Kessler	Virginia
7	Columbus Crew SC	F Miguel Berry	San Diego
8	Houston Dynamo	F Garrett McLaughlin	SMU
9	Colorado Rapids (via MTL)	D Jeremy Kelly	UNC
10	New York Red Bulls (via CHI)	D Patrick Seagrist	Marquette
11	Nashville SC (via COL)	D Alistair Johnston	Wake Forest
12	San Jose Earthquakes	D Tanner Beason	Stanford
13	Nashville SC (via NER)	GK Elliot Panicco	UNC-Charlotte
14	FC Dallas	D Nkosi Burgess	Seattle
15	New York Red Bulls	M Cherif Dieye	Louisville
16	Portland Timbers	M Aaron Molloy	Penn State
17	FC Dallas (via DC)	F Cal Jennings	UCF
18	Minnesota United FC	D Noah Billngsley	UC Santa Barbara
19	Toronto FC (via LAG)	D Nyal Higgins	Syracuse
20	Real Salt Lake	M Dayonn Harris	UConn
21	DC United (via PHI)	GK Simon Lefebvre	Temple
22	New York City FC	M Jesus Perez	UI-Chicago
23	Atlanta United	D Patrick Nielsen	Michigan State
24	LAFC	GK Paulo Pita	Marshall
25	Toronto FC	M Achara	Georgetown
26	Chicago Fire FC (via SEA)	D Jonathan Jimenez	Pacific

No.	Team	Player	College
27	San Jose Earthquakes (via MIA)	M Jack Skahan	UNC
28	Nashville SC	M Tanner Dieterich	Clemson
29	FC Cincinnati	F Rey Ortiz	Portland
30	New England Revolution (via VAN)	D Simon Lekressner	Cal
31	Orlando City SC	M Joey DeZart	Wake Forest
32	Vancouver Whitecaps FC (via SKC)	GK Daniel Gagliardi	FIU
33	Toronto FC (via CLB)	D Malik Mbaye	Clemson
34	Houston Dynamo	M Luka Prpa	Marquette
35	Seattle Sounders FC (via CHI/MTL)	D Danny Reynolds	UNC-Wilmington
36	New York Red Bulls (via CHI)	GK Wallis Lapsley	UC-Davis
37	Colorado Rapids (via SKC)	D Robin Afamefuna	Virginia
38	San Jose Earthquakes	D Jon Bell	UMBC
39	Orlando City (via NE)	D Jonathan Dean	Central Florida
40	FC Dallas	M Manuel Ferriol	James Madison
41	New York Red Bulls	F Deri Corfe	Wright State
42	D.C. United (via POR)	F Josh Fawole	Loyola-Maryland
43	New England Revolution (via DC)	GK Keegan Meyer	Hawaii Pacific
44	Orlando City SC (via MIN)	GK Austin Aviza	Providence
45	LA Galaxy	D Tom Smart	Akron
46	Real Salt Lake	D Michael Wetungu	Michigan State
47	Columbus Crew SC (via PHI)	GK Remi Prieur	Saint Mary’s College
48	New York City FC	D Felicien Dumas	Notre Dame
49	Columbus Crew SC (via ATL)	M Danny Griffin	Providence
50	LAFC	F Jack Hallahan	Michigan
51	Toronto FC	D Simon Waever	Indiana
52	Seattle Sounders FC	M Timo Mehlich	UNLV

 

 

The post 2020 MLS SuperDraft selections Rounds 1 & 2 appeared first on Pro Soccer USA.

Anthony Hudson has been named the head coach of the U.S. Under-20 national team, U.S. Soccer announced Wednesday.

It is Hudson’s first coaching job since being fired after a dismal spell with the Colorado Rapids, in which he was 8-26-9, including an 0-7-2 start to the 2019 season. He replaces Tab Ramos, who stepped down in late October to become the new Houston Dynamo coach.

“We’re excited to bring Anthony on-board to lead our U-20 men’s national team as it prepares for this summer’s Concacaf Championship,” U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Earnie Stewart said in a statement. “We’ve enjoyed great success with the U-20s over the last few cycles and the team has been instrumental in advancing players to our senior men’s national team. We believe that Anthony’s experience in the international game and at the club level make him a great choice to continue that success.”

Hudson has a wealth of international experience in a 12-year managerial career, having coached the Bahrain U-23 national team before leading the New Zealand senior national team that reached the inter-confederation playoffs for the 2018 FIFA World Cup before falling to Peru.

The 38-year old Seattle, Wash. native holds a UEFA Pro License.

“I’m very proud to be joining U.S. Soccer,” Hudson said. “It’s a really exciting time with the game’s rapid growth in this country and especially with so many talented young players coming through the ranks. I can’t wait to work with them and help develop these players into contributors at the highest level.”

Hudson, who will oversee all aspects of the U-20 program while managing the programming of the U-18 and U-19 teams, will hold his first training camp at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. this week.

The U-20 team will begin preparations for this summer’s Concacaf U-20 Championship, where it will face Costa Rica, Jamaica and St. Kitts and Nevis in the group stage.

The post Ex-Colorado Rapids boss Anthony Hudson named US U-20 national team coach appeared first on Pro Soccer USA.

The MLS SuperDraft may not be what it used to be, but for the young players vying for a spot on a Major League Soccer team, it matters all the same.

MLS announced Tuesday its list of 141 college players eligible for selection in the draft, which will take place over four rounds and see up to 104 players picked, though teams are expected to forgo their picks in the later rounds.

The 2020 MLS SuperDraft will be the first that will not be held as a live event, and instead it will be conducted via conference call. The first two rounds will be held Thursday at 12:30 p.m. ET and will be streamed online, while the remaining two rounds will be held Jan. 13.

Here are all the college players eligible for the draft:

GA = Generation Adidas | S.Sr = Signed senior

Name	Position	University
Achara, Ifunanyachi	F	Georgetown
Adams, Shak	F	Florida Gulf Coast
Afamefuna, Robin	D	Virginia
Ahlinvi, Joris	M	Indiana
Avila‐Good, Julian	M	Seattle
Aviza, Austin	GK	Providence
Awana, Adrien	D	Manhattan College
Baynham, Will	F	UC Santa Barbara
Beason, Tanner (S.Sr)	D	Stanford
Bell, Jon	D	UMBC
Bentley, Matthew	F	Missouri State
Bergmann, Johannes	D	Maryland
Berry, Miguel	F	San Diego
Billingsley, Noah	D	UC Santa Barbara
Blaskic, Ivan	D	UMass Lowell
Booth, Andrew	M	Florida International
Boudadi, Younes	D	Creighton
Boyce, Devin	M	Saint Louis
Brodacki, Niklas	F	Central Arkansas
Burgess, Nkosi	D	Seattle
Candia, Thibault	M	UC Santa Barbara
Chaouche, Teddy	M	UNC Charlotte
Coan, Josh	F	Marquette
Colacci, Antonio	M	New Hampshire
Corfe, Deri	F	Wright State
Crognale, Eli	M	Maryland
Damiani, Daniel	M	George Mason
Dean, Jonathan	D	Central Florida
DeZart, Joey	M	Wake Forest
Diaz, Eric	D	Oregon State
Dieterich, Tanner	M	Clemson
Dieye, Cherif	M	Louisville
Dike, Daryl (GA)	F	Virginia
Dumas, Felicien	D	Notre Dame
Easterling, Koray	D	Tulsa
Edwards, Kyle	M	Texas Rio Grande Valley
Elias, Stephen	F	Seton Hall
Engebretsen, Anders	F	Saint Mary’s College
Fala, Joseph	D	Ramapo College
Fawole, Josh	F	Loyola – Maryland
Fernandes, Gustavo	D	Stony Brook
Ferriol, Manuel	M	James Madison
Gagliardi, Daniel	GK	Florida International
Garcia‐Herreros, Sebastian	D	West Virginia
Gilbey, Jared	M	Stanford
Gomez, Sam	M	California State – Bakersfield
Gomez, Andres	M	Howard
Gonzalez, Jorge	M	SIU Edwardsville
Goodrum, Phillip	M	UNC – Wilmington
Griffin, Danny	M	Providence
Guhl, Brandon	F	Butler
Haakenson, Luke	M	Creighton
Hallahan, Jack	F	Michigan
Harris, Dayonn	F	Connecticut
Harter, Skye	M	Akron
Higgins, Nyal	D	Syracuse
Jennings, Cal	F	Central Florida
Jimenez, Jonathan	F	Pacific
Johnston, Alistair	D	Wake Forest
Jovanovski, Dario	M	UMass Lowell
Kasak, James	D	Virginia Tech
Kashani, Kavian	D	UC Santa Barbara
Kelly, Jeremy	D	UNC
Kessler, Henry (GA)	D	Virginia
Knox, Alex	D	UCLA
Kouma, Emmanuel	M	Rider
Kristiansen, Peder	D	Rhode Island
Lander, Henry	D	San Diego
Lapa, Bruno	M	Wake Forest
Lapsley, Wallis	GK	UC Davis
Lefebvre, Simon	GK	Temple
Lekressner, Simon	D	California
Leme, Gui	F	Midwestern State
Lobe, Justin	D	Yale
Maher, Jack (GA)	D	Indiana
Masset, Louka	D	Louisville
Matthews, Luke	D	Elon
Mbaye, Malick	D	Clemson
McGraw, Zac	D	West Point
McKenzie, Carlton	F	Seton Hall
McLaughlin, Garrett	F	SMU
Megally, Aidan	M	Loyola – Chicago
Mehlich, Timo	M	UNLV
Mejia, Will	D	Virginia Tech
Meyer, Keegan	GK	High Point
Molloy, Aaron	M	Penn State
Moreno, Malcolm	D	Iona College
Morse, Jackson	D	Memphis
Munts, Fortia	M	VCU
Mwembia, Anthony	GK	Bowling Green
Nealis, Dylan (S.Sr)	D	Georgetown
Nielsen, Patrick	D	Michigan State
Nogueira, Leonardo	M	UC San Diego
Nus, Sergi	D	Duke
O’Callaghan, Nick	D	Florida International
Oland, Joergen	D	Fordham
Ortiz, Rey	F	Portland
Otim, Derrick	M	Xavier
Panicco, Elliot	GK	UNC Charlotte
Pelaez, Pablo	M	San Diego State
Perez, Jesus	M	UI – Chicago
Petridis, Niko	M	St. John’s
Pieters, Jelani	F	UNC
Pita, Paulo	GK	Marshall
Popovic, Nebojsa	F	Michigan
Power, Jeranimo	M	Coastal Carolina
Prieur, Remi	GK	Saint Mary’s College
Proch, Daniele	M	Duke
Prpa, Luka	M	Marquette
Prsa, Roko	M	UMass Lowell
Raposo, Ryan (GA)	F	Syracuse
Restrepo, Mateo	D	UC Santa Barbara
Reynolds, Danny	D	UNC Wilmington
Robinson, Robbie (GA)	F	Clemson
Rudel, Jake	F	Saint Mary’s College
Ryosuke, Kino	F	Louisville
Samake, Abdou	D	Michigan
Saramago, Brian	F	Loyola – Maryland
Scearce, John	M	Cornell
Seagrist, Patrick	D	Marquette
Sharifi, Barry	M	Loyola – Maryland
Shimazaki, Ryo	D	VCU
Siegfried, Parker	GK	Ohio State
Skahan, Jack	M	UNC
Smart, Tom	D	Akron
Smith, Will	GK	Lehigh
Svehlik, Jakub	F	Saint Mary’s College
Taneski, Rok	D	Dayton
Timmer, Jared	M	Butler
Townsend, Jaret	M	Washington
Turnbull, Duncan	GK	Notre Dame
Vargas, Adam	M	San Diego State
Verdi, Andrew	GK	Michigan
Waever, Simon	D	Indiana
Waldeck, Derek	M	Stanford
Wetungu, Michael	D	Michigan State
Whelan, Eamon	F	Quinnipiac
Williamson, Brandon	M	Duke
Zarokostas, Stavros	F	Rhode Island

The post MLS SuperDraft 2020: List of players eligible for selection appeared first on Pro Soccer USA.

COLUMBUS — The Columbus Crew announced the club signed centerback Axel Sjoberg off of waivers Wednesday. The former Colorado Rapids defender will help add depth the to the Crew back line after Lalas Abubakar was transferred to the Rapids and Alex Crognale was cut.

Selected 14th overall in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft, Sjoberg made the MLS Best XI in 2016. He is the only player in the 2015 draft class to do so in his career, despite big names including Cyle Larin and Khiry Shelton. 

Sjoberg was limited by after 2016. He has played in just 43 games over the past three seasons, including just seven games in 2019. His guaranteed compensation was $179,996.00, according to the MLS Players Association. For comparison, Abubakar’s compensation in 2019 was $144,937.50 and Crognale’s was $104,504.40

“We are pleased to welcome Axel Sjoberg to Columbus Crew SC,” Crew SC president and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said in a statement. “Axel is a defender whose significant experience in MLS makes him a valuable addition to our roster. We look forward to incorporating him into the team and are excited to begin working with him.”

Sjoberg will likely slot in behind Jonathan Mensah, Josh Williams, and Aboubacar Keita on the depth chart. The addition of another centerback to the team is still possible. The Crew also transferred Gaston Sauro during the season and could need more depth as Keita is inexperienced and Williams has also struggled with injuries lately. 

The post Columbus Crew sign former Colorado Rapids centerback Axel Sjoberg appeared first on Pro Soccer USA.

After four players were selected in Stage 1 of the Major League Soccer Re-Entry Draft, Stage 2 will be held today at 3 pm ET.

Players who are out of contract and at least 25 years old with a minimum of four years experience, players at least 23 years old with a minimum of three years experience whose contract options were declined and free agents are available for selection.

Players who weren’t selected in Stage 1 are again available In Stage 2.

Any team selecting a player has seven days to make a genuine offer. If an agreement isn’t reached, that team holds the Right of First Refusal in MLS for that player. Clubs cannot select their own draft-eligible players in Stage 2 until all other teams declined selecting those players.

As was the case in Stage 1, teams select in the reverse order of their 2019 regular season with expansion sides Nashville and Inter Miami CF the final two to pick.

Here are the 51 eligible players for the Stage 2 Re-Entry Draft.

Chicago Fire FC	David Ousted	Option Decline
Colorado Rapids	Kofi Opare	Option Decline
Colorado Rapids	Dillon Serna	Out of Contract
Columbus Crew SC	Alex Crognale	Option Decline
Columbus Crew SC	David Guzman	Option Decline
Columbus Crew SC	Connor Maloney	Option Decline
Columbus Crew SC	Romario Williams	Out of Contract
D.C. United	Jalen Robinson	Out of Contract
FC Cincinnati	Corben Bone	Option Decline
FC Cincinnati	Roland Lamah	Option Decline
FC Cincinnati	Jimmy McLaughlin	Option Decline
FC Cincinnati	Blake Smith	Option Decline
FC Dallas	Cristian Colman	Option Decline
FC Dallas	Moises Hernandez	Option Decline
Houston Dynamo	Eric Bird	Option Decline
Houston Dynamo	Juan David Cabezas	Option Decline
LA Galaxy	Joao Pedro	Option Decline
Minnesota United FC	Miguel Ibarra	Option Decline
Minnesota United FC	Collin Martin	Option Decline
Minnesota United FC	Rasmus Schuller	Option Decline
n/a	Charlie Lyon	Option Decline
n/a	Yura Movsisyan	Option Decline
New England Revolution	Juan Agudelo	Option Decline
New England Revolution	Cody Cropper	Out of Contract
New England Revolution	Brian Wright	Option Decline
New York Red Bulls	Vincent Bezecourt	Option Decline
New York Red Bulls	Marcus Epps	Option Decline
New York Red Bulls	Derrick Etienne	Option Decline
New York Red Bulls	Evan Louro	Option Decline
New York Red Bulls	Bradley Wright-Phillips	Out of Contract
Orlando City SC	Cristian Higuita	Out of Contract
Orlando City SC	Shane O’Neill	Option Decline
Orlando City SC	Dillon Powers	Option Decline
Philadelphia Union	R.J. Allen	Option Decline
Philadelphia Union	Fabinho	Option Decline
Real Salt Lake	Jordan Allen	Option Decline
Real Salt Lake	Alex Horwath	Option Decline
Real Salt Lake	Luke Mulholland	Option Decline
Real Salt Lake	Joao Plata	Option Decline
San Jose Earthquakes	Francois Affolter	Option Decline
San Jose Earthquakes	Jimmy Ockford	Option Decline
Seattle Sounders FC	Saad Abdul-Salaam	Option Decline
Seattle Sounders FC	Jonathan Campbell	Option Decline
Seattle Sounders FC	Victor Rodriguez	Option Decline
Seattle Sounders FC	Luis Silva	Option Decline
Seattle Sounders FC	Roman Torres	Option Decline
Sporting Kansas City	Krisztian Nemeth	Out of Contract
Toronto FC	Caleb Patterson-Sewell	Option Decline
Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Victor Giro	Option Decline
Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Brett Levis	Out of Contract
Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Scott Sutter	Option Decline

The post What you need to know about today’s Stage 2 of MLS Re-Entry Draft appeared first on Pro Soccer USA.

The restructuring of the Colorado Rapids backline continued Wednesday with the signing of free agent Drew Moor to a one-year deal, the club announced.

“Drew is someone who has meant so much to this club and we couldn’t be happier to welcome him home,” Rapids vice president and general manager Padraig Smith said in a statement. “His championship-winning experience and familiarity playing for Robin [Fraser] will be a huge asset in our locker room, especially for our young group of players.” 

Moor, who spent the last four seasons with Toronto FC, where he was part of the team that captured a treble (MLS Cup, Supporters’ Shield and Canadian Championship) in 2017.  But the 35-year-old was out of contract following the 2019 season and became a free agent.

Moor returns to the Rapids after starting all but one game he appeared in during seven seasons in Colorado. He also wore the captain’s armband for three years in his first stint in Colorado.

He not only returns to Colorado, but he also reunites with Robin Fraser, his assistant coach at Toronto FC who is now the Rapids’ head coach.

“We are extremely pleased to have Drew join our team,” Fraser said. “He’s a player who has been a mainstay in the league for so long and every team he’s been on has been successful. His leadership and championship-winning experience will be extremely important to us moving forward.”

The move to sign Moor comes after the Rapids acquired Auston Trusty in a trade with the Philadelphia Union and signed Lalas Abubakar after his one-year loan stint from the Columbus Crew.

The Rapids also announced Swedish defender Axel Sjöberg was waived Wednesday. The injury-plagued 28-year-old, who was limited to seven appearances last season, earned $$179,996 in 2019, according to the MLS Players’ Association Salary Guide.

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Major League Soccer announced Friday the pools of players who will be available through free agency, the league’s re-entry draft and end-of-season waivers.

MLS’ deadline for teams to exercise contract options for the 2020 season was Thursday at 1 p.m.

Players eligible for free agency are out of contract, at least 28 years old and have played at least eight seasons in the league.

The re-entry pool consists of players who are at least 23 years old, have played at least three years in MLS and whose contract options were not exercised by their clubs. These players will be available at their option salaries for 2019. Out-of-contract players who are at least 25 years old with at least four years of MLS service also go into the re-entry pool. They are can be signed for at least their 2019 salaries. Free agents can elect to enter the re-entry pool.

Players who do not meet the age and/or service requirements for free agency or re-entry are available via end-of-season waivers.

The waiver process begins this Monday, Nov. 25, at 3 p.m. ET. Twenty-four teams are given priority in reverse order of 2019 MLS season results, followed by Nashville SC and Inter Miami and Nos. 25 and 26, respectively. End-of-season waivers will continue round by round until all teams pass on their opportunities to make picks. Once the waiver process is complete, any players not selected will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Free agency opens immediately upon the conclusion of the waiver process Monday. 

The re-entry draft will have the same order as waiver process and will take place in two stages. Stage 1 begins this Tuesday, Nov. 26, at 3 p.m. Any player not selected will be available again in Stage 2, scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 3. 

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Auston Trusty will not have an opportunity to regain his starting spot in the Philadelphia Union starting lineup. 

The 21-year-old centerback was traded to the Colorado Rapids Wednesday in exchange for $300,000 in Targeted Allocation Money for the 2020 season and $300,000 in General Allocation Money for the 2021 season.

Additionally, the Union will receive $150,000 in GAM for 2021 if Trusty reaches certain performance metrics. Philadelphia would also get a percentage of a sell-on fee if he moves on from Colorado. 

“On behalf of the organization, we want to thank Auston for his hard work and contributions to the team,” Union sporting director Ernst Tanner said in a statement. “Auston has been an integral part of our defensive line since signing with the club in 2016 and his efforts helped lead the team to consecutive playoff appearances. With the depth of our defensive roster, we believe this is the best move for both the club and Auston. As one of our homegrown signings, we are proud of his accomplishments and wish him the best of luck in Colorado.”  

The trade is the second in two seasons to send a young Union defender to the Rapids. Keegan Rosenberry was dealt to Colorado following the 2018 season. 

Trusty made 22 starts for the Union in 2019, but was replaced by Mark McKenzie after a run of bad form and could never get back into the fold. 

The deal clears the way for Jack Elliott and Mark McKenzie to be the Union’s center back pairing for the 2020 season and gives Trusty a chance to earn a starting job in Colorado. 

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COLUMBUS — The Columbus Crew announced they have sold centerback Lalas Abubakar to the Colorado Rapids for $400,000 in General Allocation Money and an international roster spot Wednesday. Abubakar spent most of the 2019 season on loan with Colorado, and the team made it a top priority in the offseason to bring him back.

Earlier in the offseason, Crew general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said he expected Abubakar back for the 2020 season. However, the Ghanaian was not a pivotal part of the club’s plans for the upcoming year, and after lengthy negotiations, the deal was made final. Columbus has Jonathan Mensah, Josh Williams and Aboubacar Keita on the roster at the centerback position.

Abubakar is the third centerback to depart the team, following the transfer of Gaston Sauro and former homegrown player Alex Crognale, who’s option was not picked up. The team is looking to add another central defender as a depth piece before the 2020 season.

“We believe that this transaction puts us in a position to build and strengthen our roster for the 2020 MLS season,” Bezbatchenko said in a statement. “We want to thank Lalas for his contributions to Columbus Crew SC during his three seasons with the club and we wish him the best in the next stage of his career.”

Abubakar was the fifth overall pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft out of the University of Dayton. His strong play and personality made him a fan favorite during his time with the Crew and Rapids.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Lalas back,” Colorado Rapids executive vice president and general manager Pádraig Smith said in a statement. “Since joining us last year, Lalas has been an integral part of our team and has established himself as a top defender in MLS. We’re excited to have him with us from the start next year and build on the exceptional season he had in 2019.”

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United States Under-23 national team coach Jason Kreis has called in a 24-player roster for the United International Football Festival in Canary Islands from Nov. 14-17, as part of the preparation ahead of the Concacaf Olympic qualifiers in March.

Of the 24 players, 16 are MLS-based with Real Salt Lake leading the way with four selections as defenders Justen Glad and Aaron Herrera and forwards Brooks Lennon and Bofo Saucedo were picked.

The Philadelphia Union had three player — goalkeeper Matt Freese, defender Matt McKenzie and midfielder Brenden Aaronson — picked, while the Colorado Rapids (Jonathan Lewis, Sam Vines) and Minnesota United (Hassani Dotson, Mason Toye) both had two players selected.

San Jose Earthquakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski, New York Red Bulls defender Kyle Duncan, NYCFC midfielder James Sands, Chicago Fire midfielder Djordje Mihailovic and Portland Timbers forward Jeremy Ebobisse are the other MLS players on the roster.

Marcinkowski and Mihailovic have appeared in all three of the U-23’s games thus far in 2019. Marcinkowski is the only player to appear in all four training camps this year, as well as the team’s June joint camp with the USMNT.

The other eight players compete in Europe, including defender Antonee Robinson, who has started all 15 league games this season for Wigan Athletic, defender Chris Richards, who scored his first goal for Bayern Munich II on Nov. 3 in a 5-3 loss at Meppen and forward Emmanuel Sabbi, who is Hobro IK’s joint-leading scorer with five goals in the Danish Superliga.

The U.S. will meet Brazil on Nov. 14 and either Argentina or Chile in the four-team tournament’s final or third-place game three days later.

Concacaf Olympic qualifying will be held from March 20-April 1 in Guadalajara, Mexico. The tournament’s draw will be announced at a later date.

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Clint Mathis took the call and stepped outside his California office. The man who spent much of his career roaming opposing defenses likes to be on the move when he’s on the phone.

So he paced a bit while South Carolina soccer coach Mark Berson and athletics director Ray Tanner made small talk on the other end — before they came with the purpose of their call. That’s when Mathis stopped in his tracks.

“I got a little teary-eyed,” Mathis said, “a little choked up.”

Before Mathis played — and scored — in a World Cup and before he spent over a decade in Major League Soccer, Mathis starred for South Carolina.

Friday, the two-time All-American became the first Gamecock men’s soccer player to have his jersey retired.

Clint Mathis— One of the all- time greats gets his jersey retired as MSOC wins 1-0 against FIU.#Gamecocks pic.twitter.com/1x6UrRjo4G

— Ray Tanner (@RayTannerSC) November 2, 2019

“This is where I really grew up,” Mathis told reporters Friday afternoon while he stood on the field at Stone Stadium. “I came from a boy to living on my own to trying to become a man. But it was also a situation where I had to learn responsibility of being able to go between school and sports, which is not always the easiest because of time constraints.

“It was a huge transition in my life to be able to really put me on that platform, to take that next step into professional sports.” 

Mathis, a Georgia native, went to USC in 1994. When he left after the 1997 season, he had 53 goals and 121 points. Both stats remain top three in program history. He was taken by the Los Angeles Galaxy as the No. 6 pick of the 1998 MLS Draft. 

Berson, Carolina’s only men’s soccer coach since its 1978 founding, didn’t have to think hard about a lead candidate to represent his sport when USC announced it push to retire more jerseys.

The goals and assists were great, but what Berson recalled most was the way Mathis responded to bumps in his career. Two ACL tears — one in college that forced him to play with a knee brace his junior season and one in the pros ahead of the 2002 World Cup — didn’t prevent success.

“Those are not insignificant injuries,” Berson said. “The guy just has a willpower. He overcame a lot of things. The key to his success has been — yeah, he’s got some flamboyance … he made his own rules. That’s what he’s most remembered for — but not many people remember what he had to overcome to play. That’s a lot of work that goes on off camera.

“I think that’s a big part of who Clint is today.”

Mathis, 42, is married and has four kids. He lives in California and works in software. This visit to USC marked his first time back in at least 10 years. Several things looked different, but at least one memory remained — a 1994 win over Clemson.

“The stands were full, they were on top of the fence there,” Mathis said. “Probably had five rows of people outside the lines. That was back when you could stand on the sidelines. Just the support we had from our alumni and really getting to see what a true rivalry was in college, I’ll always remember that game against Clemson.”

And that night he had his USC jersey retired.

“I’ve had some pinnacle moments in my life, where I’ve said, ‘Hey, I’ll never forget this no matter how old I get,'” Mathis said. “And this is definitely up at the top of that list.”

___
(c)2019 The State (Columbia, S.C.)
Visit The State (Columbia, S.C.) at www.thestate.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – Colorado Rapids forward Andre Shinyashiki is the 2019 MLS Rookie of the Year, the league announced Tuesday.

Shinyashiki was one of three finalists for the award, a list that included midfielders Brenden Aaronson (Philadelphia Union) and Hassani Dotson (Minnesota United).

“It’s such an honor,” Shinyashiki said, via the club’s website. “Going against guys that are such high quality, like Hassani and Aaronson, and for me to win the award, not necessarily over them but together, is good because those guys are very quality players and to come out on top and win is amazing and a dream come true.”

Read: Pro Soccer USA’s 2019 MLS Awards

The Brazilian tallied seven goals and three assists in 31 appearances (18 starts for Colorado) in his rookie campaign. Colorado selected Shinyashiki fifth overall in the 2019 SuperDraft, moving up in the draft to select the University of Denver product.

Read: ‘Always a top target’: Colorado Rapids draft pick Andre Shinyashiki pays dividends

“We couldn’t be more proud of Andre’s achievement,” Rapids executive VP & GM Padraig Smith said in a statement. “It’s a testament not just to his natural talent, but also to his strong work ethic and mentality. He was a key figure in our club’s turnaround this year and we’re excited to see him build on this year’s performances and become a key contributor for us in 2020 and beyond.”

Shinyashiki becomes the first Rapids’ player to win the league’s Rookie of the Year award since midfielder Dillon Powers won it in 2013 as a co-finalist with teammate Deshorn Brown. He becomes only the fifth non-MLS domestic player (USA & Canada) to win it and the second Brazilian to win the award since Rodrigo Faria with the Metrostars in 2001.

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The 2019 Major League Soccer regular season featured single-season records in the golden boot and Supporters’ Shield race, and 10 teams eclipsed 50 points. 

The best individual performers were scattered across the league, and that is shown in our Pro Soccer USA MLS awards balloting. 

On the ballots we received from our beat writers across MLS, 30 different players were mentioned in best XI voting and only one award was unanimous. 

Our voting group included Julian Cardillo, Dan Santaromita, Chris Fuhrmeister, Dylan Butler, Glenn Crooks, Laura Gomez, Robert Jonas, Tristan D’Amours and Arman Kafai. 

Most Valuable Player

Carlos Vela, Los Angeles FC

Vela was the only unanimous award winner. 

The Mexican broke Josef Martínez’s single-season scoring record with 34 tallies, and he also provided Los Angeles FC with 15 assists. 

Vela closed the regular season with a nine-game scoring streak, including a hat-trick on decision day versus Colorado.

Coach of the Year 

Bob Bradley, Los Angeles FC 

More than half of our writers believed Bob Bradley’s job with LAFC was the best of the season. 

Bradley’s second-year side won the Supporters’ Shield with 72 points from a 21-4-9 record. 

The Black and Gold outscored opponents 85-37, notching the most goals and conceding the fewest in MLS. 

LAFC has home-field advantage throughout the postseason, and it should be on a mission to win MLS Cup after falling to Real Salt Lake in the first round of the playoffs last season.

Others Receiving Votes: Matías Almeyda, San Jose Earthquakes; Bruce Arena, New England Revolution; Domènec Torrent, New York City FC

Newcomer of the Year

Carles Gil, New England Revolution

Carles Gil was one of the most consistent attackers over 34 games. 

The Spaniard tallied 10 goals and 14 assists in his first season with New England after joining from Deportivo La Coruña in Spain.

After New England acquired forward Gustavo Bou, Gil enjoyed even more success, including a stretch over the summer with a goal and an assist in four of five matches. 

Others Receiving Votes: Alejandro Pozuelo, Toronto FC; Héber, New York City; Brian Fernández, Portland Timbers

Rookie of the Year 

Brenden Aaronson, Philadelphia Union

Brenden Aaronson’s MLS career began with a March 17 start at Atlanta United. By October, Aaronson earned his first United States men’s national team call-up.

The 18-year-old homegrown midfielder totaled three goals and two assists over 1,722 minutes and was one of a few players who displaced Marco Fabián from the Union lineup.

Aaronson started six of the Union’s past seven games and is in contention to make Jim Curtin’s XI for the Eastern Conference first-round clash with the New York Red Bulls. 

Others Receiving Votes: Andre Shinyashiki, Colorado Rapids; Hassani Dotson, Minnesota United

Defender of the Year

Ike Opara, Minnesota United

The hefty amount of allocation money Minnesota United used to trade for Ike Opara was well spent. 

The former Sporting Kansas City center back helped the Loons earn their first playoff berth and the third-best defensive record in the Western Conference. 

In the second half of the season, the Loons recorded six clean sheets, including shutouts of LAFC, New England and Portland, twice. 

Others Receiving Votes: Miles Robinson, Atlanta United; Walker Zimmerman, LAFC; Eddie Segura, LAFC

Goalkeeper of the Year 

Vito Mannone, Minnesota United

Vito Mannone secured many goalkeeper of the year votes with his performances in the final weeks of the regular season. 

The 31-year-old recorded 15 wins, 11 shutouts and 129 saves in Minnesota’s best campaign since it joined MLS. After Sept. 1, the former Arsenal man turned away 39 of the 45 shots he faced.

Others Receiving Votes: Bill Hamid, D.C. United; Matt Turner, New England Revolution

Best XI (3-4-3) 

Goalkeeper: Vito Mannone

Mannone received the majority of our staff votes, while Matt Turner and Bill Hamid split a pair each. 

Defenders: Ike Opara, Walker Zimmerman, Miles Robinson 

Thirteen defenders in a variety of formations were nominated by our writers, but Opara, Walker Zimmerman and Miles Robinson were constant figures on the ballots. 

Zimmerman helped LAFC earn the best defensive mark in MLS, and Robinson took a major step up under Frank de Boer and earned his first USMNT call-ups from Gregg Berhalter.

FC Dallas‘ Ryan Hollingshead and New York City FC’s Anton Tinnerholm also received multiple votes. LAFC’s Eddie Segura and Jordan Harvey, Seattle’s Brad Smith, FC Dallas’ Reto Ziegler, NYCFC’s Maxime Chanot, Kai Wagner of Philadelphia and D.C.’s Frederic Brillant all had a single vote. 

Midfielders: Maxi Moralez, Alejandro Pozuelo, Eduard Atuesta, Carles Gil 

Assists leader Maxi Moralez was on every best XI ballot we received. 

Pozuelo, Eduard Atuesta and Gil were on more than half of the nomination sheets, which created a significant gap between them and the other potential honorees. 

Pozuelo and Gil were two of four players with 10-plus goals and assists, Moralez played a hand in 27 of NYCFC’s 63 goals and Atuesta was a dominant force behind LAFC’s record-setting attack.

LAFC’s Mark-Anthony Kaye, Philadelphia’s Haris Medunjanin, the Portland duo of Diego Chará and Diego Valeri as well as Atlanta’s Darlington Nagbe also received best XI midfield votes. 

Forwards: Carlos Vela, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Josef Martínez

The top three scorers in MLS were the only forwards our writers chose for the best XI.

Vela, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Josef Martinez scored 91 goals between them. 

The gap between Martínez in third (27) and Diego Rossi in fourth (16) was 11 goals, and only three other strikers reached the 15-tally mark. 

The post Pro Soccer USA’s 2019 MLS Awards appeared first on Pro Soccer USA.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Colorado Rapids are making a big push to acquire center back Lalas Abubakar from the Columbus Crew. Abubakar joined the Rapids on loan this season and was named the club’s defender of the year. The loan move cost Colorado $125,000 in targeted allocation money, and the Rapids are willing to spend over $1 million in assets to acquire Abubakar permanently, sources told Pro Soccer USA. The assets would be a mixture of targeted allocation money (TAM) and general allocation money (GAM).

Colorado is one of several teams interested in Abubakar, according to a Crew spokesperson, who would not confirm specific bid amounts.

The Rapids’ original loan deal did not include an option to buy at the end of the season, but Abubakar endeared himself to the Rapids community with his personality and style of play. Speaking to Ghanaian outlet Zuria FM, Abubakar stated that he wants to stay in Colorado, but he knows Columbus wants him back.

A Rapids spokesperson would not confirm specifics but said, “I can confirm that Lalas is one of our offseason targets. He integrated himself well with the group in such a short amount time and was a solid contributor to our back line, so we’re hopeful we can bring him back next season.”

The current record fee for an intra-MLS defender transfer is $1 million, paid by Minnesota United to acquire Ike Opara from Sporting Kansas City before this season. The Rapids are willing to break that record for Abubakar.

Should the Crew accept the offer, it will give them the largest reported allocation-money transfers in league history for MLS SuperDraft picks on both offense and defense. Abubakar was the fifth-overall pick in the 2017 draft. Columbus also set a record when it transferred Justin Meram, the 15th-overall pick in 2011, to Orlando City SC for $1.05 million in 2018. 

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The MLS regular season came to a dramatic end on Decision Day and, along with it, comes the final Pro Soccer USA MLS Power Rankings of the 2019 season.

It’s no surprise the top two seeds in each conference — LAFC and NYCFC — top the Week 31 power rankings. Toronto FC, which ended the regular season on a 10-game unbeaten streak and earned a first-round playoff home game following a 1-0 win over Columbus Crew SC, made the biggest leap, advancing five spots to No. 7.

The Portland Timbers and FC Dallas, which both needed wins to clinch their postseason berths, each made four-spot positive advancement, while the LA Galaxy and New York Red Bulls both dropped four spots after disappointing Decision Day defeats.

The Major League Soccer Power Rankings are created by averaging the rankings submitted by a committee of Pro Soccer USA’s editors and writers.

(1) Los Angeles Football Club (21-4-9, 72 points): Carlos Vela claimed the Golden Boot emphatically with a hat trick and LAFC set a new MLS record for points in a regular season following a 3-1 win over the Colorado Rapids. (2) New York City FC (18-6-10, 64 points): Ronald Matarrita and Ismael Tajouri-Shradi scored inside the opening half hour to help lead NYCFC to a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Union. No team is hotter down the stretch (7-1-2) than the East’s top seed. (4) Atlanta United FC (18-12-4, 58 points): Julian Gressel had a goal and assist and Josef Martinez returned from injury to score in a 3-1 win over the New England Revolution. The Five Stripes went 3-1-1 in their last five games. (6) Seattle Sounders FC (16-10-8, 56 points): Roman Torres scored the lone goal as the Sounders clinched the second seed in the West, beating Minnesota Untied for their second consecutive 1-0 victory to end the season. (5) Philadelphia Union (16-11-7, 55 points): The boos rained down at halftime and although the Union rallied to pull within a goal in an inspired second half, they ended the regular season with consecutive defeats. (3) Minnesota United FC (15-11-8, 53 points): The bad news for the Loons is they won just one of their final four regular season games, ending with a 1-0 loss to Seattle. The good news? Their first-ever MLS Cup playoff game is at Allianz Field vs. the Galaxy. (12) Toronto FC (13-10-11, 50 points): Alejandro Pozuelo’s second-half free kick was the difference for Toronto FC in a 1-0 win over the Columbus Crew which helped the Reds move up to fourth in the East and clinch a home playoff game. (10) Real Salt Lake (16-13-5, 53 points): It’s back-to-back wins for Real Salt Lake, which defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 1-0 courtesy of a Damir Kreilach headed goal in the 28th minute. They are home in the first round against the Timbers, who handed them one of four losses at RioT. (7) D.C. United (13-10-11, 50 points): The good news is D.C. United didn’t concede a goal over the course of the final five games of the regular season. But failing to score in a regular season finale against FC Cincinnati cost them a home game. (14) Portland Timbers (14-13-7, 49 points): The Timbers needed a win on Decision Day and they got one, beating the San Jose Earthquakes 3-1 to extend an unbeaten streak to four consecutive games to end the regular season. (15) FC Dallas (13-12-9, 48 points): What an emphatic way to book a playoff berth as FC Dallas crushed Sporting Kansas City 6-0 on Decision Day. Zdenek Ondrasek struck for a brace in the victory. (8) LA Galaxy (16-15-3, 51 points): The Galaxy are leaking goals at the most inopportune time, conceding a combined eight goals in consecutive defeats to the Vancouver Whitecaps and Houston Dynamo, a pair of teams that missed the playoffs. (9) New York Red Bulls (14-14-6, 48 points): The Red Bulls had an outside shot at a first-round home game, but that went out the window with another decisive defeat in Montreal. The Red Bulls lost five of their final 10 games of the season and haven’t scored in consecutive games. (11) New England Revolution (11-11-12, 45 points): Cristian Penilla leveled five minutes after Darlington Nagbe’s opening goal, but the Revs conceded twice in an eight-minute span early in the second half in a 3-1 loss to Atlanta, their opponent in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs. (13) Colorado Rapids (12-16-6, 42 points): The Rapids needed a win, and some help, to clinch a spot in the MLS Cup playoffs. That didn’t happen with a 3-1 ouster at LAFC. Winning five of their last seven was impressive. (17) Chicago Fire (10-12-12, 42 points): The Fire missed the playoffs, but they ended the regular season on a high note, beating Orlando City SC, 5-2, to extend an unbeaten streak to five straight games. (16) San Jose Earthquakes (13-16-5, 44 points): The Earthquakes needed a Decision Day win to book a playoff spot, but they fell to the Timbers 3-1. Their season ended with six straight defeats. (18) Columbus Crew SC (10-16-8, 38 points): The Crew saw their five-match unbeaten streak snapped with a 1-0 Decision Day loss to Toronto FC. But for the first time since 2016, Columbus has missed out on the playoffs. (19) Montreal Impact (12-17-5, 41 points): There’s questions abound about the future of Nacho Piatti and others, but the Impact gave their home fans one last thrill with a convincing 3-0 win over the New York Red Bulls. Bojan, Maxi Urruti and Orji Okwonkwo scored a goal apiece. (23) Houston Dynamo (12-18-4, 40 points): DaMarcus Beasley closed out his stellar career in fine fashion as the Dynamo defeated the Galaxy, 4-2. Christian Ramirez scored a brace and Alberth Elis had one goal and two assists. (20) Orlando City SC (9-15-10, 37 points): Another season that ended without a playoff berth was capped by a decisive defeat to the Chicago Fire. The Lions fell 5-2 at home and, a day later, James O’Connor was fired as head coach. (22) Vancouver Whitecaps FC (8-16-10, 34 points): After three consecutive matches without a loss, the Whitecaps season ended with a 1-0 defeat to Real Salt Lake. How much will the roster be overhauled again. (21) Sporting Kansas City (10-16-8, 38 points): And the award for most disappointing Decision Day defeat went to Sporting Kansas City, which conceded six goals without response in a blowout loss to playoff-bound FC Dallas. (24) FC Cincinnati (6-22-6, 24 points): Despite finishing the match with nine men, FC Cincinnati managed to earn a 0-0 season-ending draw at D.C. United. Their expansion season finished with three consecutive draws and three clean sheets in their final five games.

Pro Soccer USA writers Dylan Butler, Chris Fuhrmeister, Robert Jonas and Emily Olsen contributed to this report.

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