Who are ya? - Hollywood United

By: Bob Kellett | June 9th, 2008

The Details: Portland Timbers v Hollywood United, Tuesday, June 10, 7pm, PGE Park, Video webcast (the game will not be shown live but will be available on demand after it is finished)

How they got here: For the first time in club history Hollywood United have advanced to the knockout stage of the US Open Cup. They advanced out of United States Adult Soccer Association’s (USASA) Region IV thanks to a pair of 2-0 victories over the Santa Cruz County Breakers and San Diego United. They also defeated Banat Arsenal 3-1 in qualifying.

The Portland Timbers automatically qualified thanks to their membership in the USL First Division. Hardly seems fair.

Familiar faces:
Hollywood United have two players with Portland Timbers ties. Midfielder Alex Bengard played with the 2004 Portland team that won the regular season league title. Bengard was a solid central midfielder, scoring five goals and dishing our seven assists in 24 games for the Green and White.

Forward Matt Taylor joined the Portland Timbers in 2007. He appeared in five games for the Timbers and scored a whopping zero goals in 133 minutes. He has been more valuable to Hollywood. He scored two goals in their qualifying games.

Keep an eye on:

Derk Droze - Hollywood United’s captain, Droze has had an interesting soccer career that has taken him to Chile, Spain and Denmark among other places. He could have made a career in MLS but opted for playing striker in lower division leagues around the world. I remember his name being part of the US National Team pool way back in the early 90s.

Mike Munoz - Hollywood United have inherited a few California Victory players including Mike Munoz. I couldn’t pick the guy out of a crowd, but I do know that his girlfriend is very pleased he is back in Southern California.

Jason Boyce - If you watched MLS back in the 1990s, you might remember Boyce. The midfielder played with the Miami Fusion and Dallas Burn for a spell. He is the type of player that is found throughout Hollywood United’s roster. Players that have played at a high level, but without much distinction.

Brian Dunseth - A classic MLS journeyman, Dunseth played for seven different teams in the league. He also had a stint in Sweden. He was on the same 2000 Clive Charles-coached US Olympic squad as a former Portland Timbers midfielder who wore the number 11 and whose name shall never be mentioned on this blog (actually #11 just was on the roster for a few qualifying matches, I think).

Mike Littman - A veteran goalkeeper (anyone whose Web presence dates back to 1990 is a veteran for sure), Littman has played against the Portland Timbers before. He started in goal for the Utah Blitzz team in 2001 that knocked the Timbers out of the US Open Cup. Anyone who is associated with both Chris Agnello and Fadi Afash has to be bad news, right?

Final random thoughts: This is a slippery slope type of game for the Timbers. They should win. They have the better talent. However, Hollywood United can’t be taken lightly. They have a number of veteran players who know what it is like to play at the USL-1 and MLS level. They also have a number of younger players who by all accounts have some talent. Hollywood United have had the luxury of watching the Timbers play a few times. Portland goes into this game largely blind. The Timbers also limp into this game after a busy couple of months. Cameron Knowles is out with a suspension from last year’s US Open Cup. My hunch is that this game is going to be more interesting than many of us would like.

Hollywood United Roster

1 Javier Barragan
2.LJ Reinhardt
3.Brian Dunseth
4.Cameroon Dunn
5.Eddie Pinto
6.Eder Robles
7.Jason Boyce
8.Alex Bengard
9.Ilia Nazorov
10.Raul Palomaires
11.Earl Alexander
12.Mike Munoz
13.Nas Koubouras
14.Craig Reynolds
15.Derk Droze
16.Steve Chirgwin
18.Sean Lockhart
19.Matt Taylor
20.Nate Reeves
21 Brandon Avery
22.Mike Littman

Match Previews

Lights … camera … Hollywood United (Portland Tribune)

Timbers host two special events, Atlanta this week (Portland Timbers)

Will the stars come out tonight? (The Oregonian)

Where soccer and glamour go together (Portland Tribune)

Hollywood United Heading To Portland (The Original Winger)