* That MLS task force is crunching the numbers (Portland Tribune)

* Miami FC may be this year’s Virginia Beach/Calgary/Edmonton (Miami Herald)

* Today’s your chance to testify if you support having an MLS team in Portland (Soccer City USA)

Can’t wait til they win the league next year….

Atlanta, a team that is stalled on 32 points, lost its fifth straight game, falling at home to Rochester 1-0. The Silverbacks haven’t won in eight games and finish with road games against Seattle, Puerto Rico and Miami. Atlanta has won just once in 12 road games.

Montreal defeated last place Carolina. It was the Impact’s third straight win since losing to Portland on August 16. Montreal has won five of its past six and is arguably the hottest team in the league. They’re a lock for the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Carolina has four games left, three of them at home where they are .500 on the season. The final game is against the Timbers. That final game could have a lot of meaning for both sides.

The most interesting result came in Miami where the Thunder and Blues played a pair of games. Visiting Minnesota, a team that had won just one time in 11 road games entering the weekend came away with a win and a draw against Miami. I honestly thought the Thunder were going into the tank, but this weekend leaves them very much in the hunt. The Thunder don’t have an easy road ahead, however. They play a pair of road games next weekend in Montreal and Vancouver (who scheduled that trip?) before finishing the season at home against Charleston and Montreal.

Miami suffered the biggest blow, giving up major points at home. They play in Portland on Thursday and Seattle on Saturday before heading home to face Rochester and Atlanta. If they don’t get road results in the Pacific Northwest those final two home games will probably be irrelevant.

I still see the Timbers making the playoffs as a long shot. The team probably needs three wins in its last five games to get in. That’s asking a lot from a club that has won just six times in 25 games. Still, this league is ridiculous this season and this weekend did nothing to hurt Portland’s chances. The Timbers do have the most games left of all the contenders. There are five teams fighting for one spot. You could make a case for any one of those teams to make or miss the playoffs.

The game against Miami on Thursday is massive (in the sense that getting the 7th spot in an 11-team league where all the teams are still alive after 25 games is massive).

Remaining games

Atlanta (32 points)
at Seattle
at Puerto Rico
at Miami

The Timbers were 1-0-2 against Atlanta and hold the tiebreaker advantage.

Carolina (27 points)
Charleston
Rochester
at Charleston
Portland

The Timbers are 0-1-1 against Carolina and don’t hold the tiebreaker advantage at the moment.

Miami (28 points)
at Portland
at Seattle
Rochester
Atlanta

The Timbers are 0-1-1 against Miami and don’t hold the tiebreaker advantage at the moment.

Minnesota (31 points)
at Montreal
at Vancouver
Charleston
Montreal

The Timbers were 1-0-2 against Minnesota and hold the tiebreaker advantage

Portland (28 points)
Miami
at Rochester
at Montreal
Charleston
at Carolina

Good Guys doing Good Things: The Timbers players have been out and about making us proud.

A difference a day makes
Tuesday’s Headline: Soccer stadium developer may balk at league fees
Wednesday’s Headline: Cooper optimistic about MLS bid

As Merritt Paulson pushes forward with Portland’s MLS bid just remember to not take anything you read too seriously.

Trinidad is nice this time of year: Brad Knighton, who may or may not ever wear a Timbers uniform again, was on the bench for the New England Revolution on Tuesday night in their Concacaf Champions League loss to Joe Public in Trinidad. In the same competition, the Montreal Impact defeated Real Esteli FC of Nicaragua 1-0 and the Puerto Rico Islanders played Alajuelense to a 1-1 draw in Costa Rica. It would be awesome to see both USL teams advance in the tournament.

Playoff watch: The Vancouver Whitecaps defeated the Atlanta Silverbacks 2-0 in BC on Wednesday. The Caps moved into first place in the table. Meanwhile, Atlanta continues their late season swoon. The Silverbacks have not won in their past seven games and are just 1-8-3 on the road. Three of their final four games are away from Atlanta. This team is in trouble.

Photo: Allison Andrews/Soccer City USA

Wednesday

Charleston Battery 1-0 Montreal Impact – Charleston picked up its third win in a row at home thanks to a goal by the absolutely on fire Randi Patterson in the 86th minute. Montreal finished its six-game road trip with two wins and four losses. Charleston’s defense has been impressively stingy this season, allowing five goals in seven games. A midweek crowd of 2,146 showed up at Blackbaud Stadium to watch the Battery continue their winning ways.

Seattle Sounders 1-1 Rochester Rhinos – After starting the season without scoring a goal in four games, the Rochester Rhinos waited until the very last possible second to finally break the duck. Scott Palguta scored in stoppage time to lift the Rhinos to their second tie of their five-game road trip. Zach Scott had given the Sounders the lead in the 75th minute but the defending league champions couldn’t hold on at home. The game in Tukwilia attracted 1,861 fans, a far cry from the 10,000 the Sounders drew in their home opener against the Timbers at Qwest Field last Saturday.

Friday
Puerto Rico Islanders 2-2 Portland Timbers – Recap here

Atlanta Silverbacks 2-1 Minnesota Thunder – The award for the most inconsistent team in the USL First Division goes to Atlanta. They are a pendulum that swings between sucky and super. In this contest they were super. Anthony McManus and Jason McLaughlin scored for the Backs. Melvin Tarley, who is back with another stint with the Thunder, notched the lone goal for Minnesota. The Thunder had entered the contest with three straight victories. A whopping even numbered crowd of 1,900 showed up to watch the Silverbacks go to 2-1-2 on the season.

Miami FC Blues 0-1 Vancouver Whitecaps – By league rules, every Vancouver Whitecaps game must end with a 1-0 scoreline. All four of Vancouver’s games have been decided by a loan goal, and the Whitecaps have won three of those affairs. That is one goal yielded in four games by the Caps. That is impressive. Also impressive is Eduardo Sebrango who netted his third goal of the season in this one. He is the only Whitecaps player to score all year. You might also be impressed that Miami drew 3,125 for this game, but you might want to take into account the club gave away 4,000 tickets to area schools for free.

Saturday
Rochester Rhinos 0-1 Charleston Battery – Randi Patterson took over the lead in the league’s Golden Boot race (If they even have one in USL-1. It is probably made from Cubic Zirconia.) by scoring his fifth goal in the last four games. Patterson’s goal was the difference as once again Rochester’s offensive attack was simply offensive to those who watched it. Rochester has two points from six games and a mere goal to show for their efforts. No wonder only 7,132 showed up for the home opener. The golden child of the USL First Division is no more.

Sunday
Miami FC Blues 0-0 Portland Timbers – Recap used to be here until it was eaten by Word Press

Carolina RailHawks 0-0 Minnesota Thunder – The Thunder came away with a road point on a rainy afternoon in North Carolina thanks in part to their keeper Nicolas Platter’s 8 saves. Playing their second game on the road in three nights, Minnesota went toe-to-toe with Carolina in a game that featured 39 fouls and a lot of end-to-end action. A season low 2,974 braved the elements to watch the home side remain undefeated on the season.

Seattle Sounders 4-2 Atlanta Silverbacks – The Seattle Sounders have two wins this season and both have come against Atlanta. The Sounders continued their dominance of the Silverbacks, who they beat in last year’s championship game, thanks in part to a pair of goals from Josh Gardner. The Silverbacks should know better than to schedule a game in Sunday in Seattle after playing a game on Friday night in Atlanta. In a league of crazy schedules and travel that is about the craziest. Your paid attendance: 1,927.

USL First Division Attendance (home games)
Portland (4) – 8,328
Rochester (1) – 7,132
Seattle (3) – 5,013
Vancouver (3) – 5,013
Carolina (3) – 4,209
Puerto Rico (4) – 4,083
Charleston (4) – 3,683
Minnesota (2) – 2,480
Atlanta (4) – 2,361
Miami (5) – 2,257
Montreal (0)

League average (33) – 4,207

Thursday
Portland Timbers 0-0 Rochester Rhinos – Recap here

Friday
Charleston Battery 3-1 Miami FC Blues – You really only need to know a couple of things about Miami. The first is that their Brazilian striker Alex Afonso should be playing at a higher level than the USL First Division. He scored his fourth goal in six games in this one. He is class. The second fact about Miami is that their defense is causing their keeper Josh Saunders to develop whiplash. Miami has given up 11 goals in six games, a large reason why they have four losses to their name. Meanwhile, Charleston is feeling pretty good after winning their second in a row at home. Randi Patterson scored a brace for the Battery. Former Cuban international Osvaldo Alonso is a joy to watch in the midfield and is the type of playmaker Miami sure could use. A strong crowd of 4,908 showed up at Blackbaud Stadium.

Saturday
Seattle Sounders 0-0 Portland Timbers – Recap here

Minnesota Thunder 1-0 Montreal Impact – Don’t look now but the Minnesota Thunder have won three in a row and are sitting in second place. It was a dramatic finish with Melvin Tarley scoring the game winner in stoppage time to lift the Thunder to a victory over Montreal in front of 745 fans. Yes, 745 fans. It was a cold, rainy, miserable night in Minnesota and that obviously scared more than a few people away. Neither team generated much offense with the game seeing a grand total of four shots. Ugly. Montreal has one more game on the road before they finally get to open up their new stadium on May 19.

Carolina RailHawks 2-2 Atlanta Silverbacks – Portland and Carolina are the only two teams left without a loss. The RailHawks looked poised to come away with three points at home after Jamil Walker put them ahead 2-1 in the 83rd minute, but Atlanta’s David Hayes scored just a minute later to put this one level. Dan Antoniuk scored his second goal of the season for Carolina in front of a crowd of 4,552 in Cary, NC.

Vancouver Whitecaps 1-0 Rochester Rhinos – The good news for Rochester was that they managed to fire three shots in Vancouver. The bad news is that none of those shots found the goal. The Rhinos have opened their season with four games without a goal. Ouch. They also have three losses in those four games. Triple ouch. Vancouver picked up three points thanks to a goal by Eduardo Sebrango in the 77th minute. Rochester will finish off their five-game road trip in Seattle on Wednesday. Your paid attendance at Swangard: 4,762.

A Look at the Table
A couple of things really stand out when you look at the USL First Division table. Minnesota is off to a surprisingly strong start and is in second place. Rochester is off to a dismal start and is in last place. Carolina also appears to be stronger than I expected. One thing that is frustrating about this league is the unbalanced scheduling. It is hard to really tell how good Montreal is, for example, when they’ve played all their games on the road, while Portland, for example, has already played four home games. The collective record for home teams thus far: 12 wins, 6 losses, 6 draws.

Average Attendance (home games)
Seattle (1) – 10,184
Portland (4) – 8,328
Vancouver (3) – 5,013
Carolina (2) – 4,827
Charleston (3) – 4,196
Minnesota (2) – 2,480
Puerto Rico (3) – 3,138
Atlanta (3) – 2,514
Miami (3) – 2,380
Rochester (0)

League average (24): 4,576

Friday

Charleston Battery 2-0 Rochester Rhinos – After watching all the other kids take part in the reindeer games, Rochester finally kicked off their 2008 season. It was a rough start for the team that is no longer raging. Randi Patterson and Aaron King scored for the Battery, lifting Charleston in a game played in front of an announced 3,355 at Blackbaud Stadium. The marginally diligent blogger that I am, I watched a fair amount of this game to get a look at Rochester. Two things struck me. They looked like a team that is severely lacking foot speed and a team that has not played enough together to be remotely organized in the back. And they are not super fit. Charleston took advantage of this to pick up their first win of the season. I always enjoy watching games from Charleston. Their play-by-play guy is top notch.

Atlanta Silverbacks 0-2 Seattle Sounders – It was a replay of the 2007 USL First Division championship and the result was the same. Seattle played its best game of the young season, picking up three road points behind goals from Leighton O’Brien and Sebastien LeToux. O’Brien’s goal came directly off of a corner kick, which tells you a thing or two about Atlanta’s keeper Ryan McIntosh. The Silverbacks did put up a fight in the second half, but boy are they an inconsistent team. One game they look great, the next they look horrible. A season-low crowd of 1,928 showed up for this one. That is a depressing figure for a club that has invested a lot of money in building a classy soccer complex in Atlanta, but can’t get anyone in the area to take notice. The Timbers drew more for their opener than Atlanta have for their first three games combined.

Montreal Impact 1-0 Puerto Rico Islanders – Montreal’s seemingly never-ending road trip has taken them to Vancouver, Miami, Atalanta and now Puerto Rico. I’d say the Impact are probably pretty pleased to have come away with a pair of wins and a pair of losses. They picked up three points in Puerto Rico on Friday evening thanks to a goal by Joey Gjertsen in the 82nd minute. I’ve watched video of the goal a couple of times and I still don’t know how it went in. Perhaps it was magic. In any case, the loss is Puerto Rico’s second at home and leaves the Islanders with just three points from four games. They played a man up from the 40th minute and let this one slip away. The Islanders have had a brutal start in the stands too with 2,742 in attendance for this one. It doesn’t help that they have had monsoon conditions for all three of their home games.

Sunday

Minnesota Thunder 1-0 Rochester Rhinos – Technical difficulties on USL Live prevented me from watching this one live as I had planned, which was just as well since Sunday afternoon might have been the nicest in the history of Portland weather and I didn’t need to be squinting at my computer anyway. It was the home opener for the Thunder and the 4,215 on hand saw the Thunder pick up their second win in three games. Minnesota looks poised to be the most improved team this year. Alen Marcina scored in the 26th minute and keeper Nic Platter picked up the assist. Rochester has started the season without scoring a goal in their first 180 minutes.

Miami FC Blues 0-1 Carolina RailHawks - This game can be summed up by the words of a Peruvian international who was briefly on the broadcast: “This game no good”. It was, indeed, an ugly affair between a Miami team that isn’t skillful enough to play a beautiful Brazilian style that its coach Zinho wants and a Carolina team that has no interest in playing an attractive style. Carolina plays ugly, but it works from time to time. This was one of those times. Dizzy Antoniuk scored in the 87th minute to lift the RailHawks to their second win of the season and into second place in the table. Your paid attendance on a lovely afternoon in Miami: 1,320. The home crowd has not seen the Blues win in three home games this season.

USL First Division Table
What a muddled mess the table is early in the season.

Average Attendance (home games)
Portland (3) – 8,597
Vancouver (2) – 5,139
Carolina (1) – 5,102
Minnesota (1) – 4,215
Charleston (2) – 3,839
Puerto Rico (3) – 3,138
Atlanta (3) – 2,514
Miami (3) – 2,380
Seattle (0)
Rochester (0)

League average (18): 4,287

His goal against Seattle will certainly be a candidate for goal of the season, his effort on his assist was second to none, and as a reward Portland Timbers forward Takayuki Suzuki has been named USL First Division Player of the Week. The Mighty Man from Japan was huge in a pair of Portland wins. He is one of four players to earn recognition from the United Soccer Leagues this week. Keeper Ray Burse, defender Scot with one T Thompson, and Shaun Higgins also are on the Team of the Week. Suzuki’s goal will undoubtedly be the Goal of the Week when that is announced later this week.

Thursday
Portland Timbers 2-1 Minnesota Thunder: Recap here

Friday
Puerto Rico Islanders 0-2 Miami FC Blues: This result reaffirms my belief that I could never make a living betting on sports. I would never have predicted that a beat up Miami team would travel to Puerto Rico and take it to the Islanders. Sean Cameron and Juan Pablo Galavis were the goal scorers and Josh Saunders recorded four saves, picking up his first shutout of the season. Cameron was ejected in the 77th minute and four minutes later Galavis scored. The Islanders start the season with a pair of losses. The home opener for Puerto Rico played on a rain drenched pitch drew 4,382 fans who now know the definition of humidity.

Atlanta Silverbacks 3-2 Montreal Impact: The Impact are going to be very happy when their new stadium is finished and they can play at home. Playing their third straight game on the road, Montreal gave up a pair of second half goals in the loss before 2,183 in Atlanta. Macoumba Kandji, David Hayes and Jason McLaughlin all scored for the Silverbacks, who might just play the most wide open and entertaining style of play in the league.

Saturday
Carolina RailHawks 1-0 Charleston Battery – Connally Edozien scored in the 32nd minute to lift Carolina to a victory in their home opener played in front of 5,102 in Cary, NC. The Battery played the final 30 minutes a man down after John Wilson was sent to the showers early (he probably used up all the hot water before his teammates finished the game). Carolina is off to a solid start with a win and a draw. Charleston, not so much. The Battery have a loss and a pair of draws. I suspect when it is all said and done these two teams will finish near one another somewhere in the middle of the table.

Vancouver Whitecaps 0-1 Minnesota Thunder – The second shocking result from the week. Minnesota had not won in Vancouver since 1997 and they were coming off a loss against the Timbers on Thursday night. Somehow they managed to break their 15-game winless streak at Swangard Stadium. Ricardo Sanchez’s spot kick goal in the 68th minute was the difference. Nicolas Platter made three saves to pick up the shutout. The game was played in front of 4,989 in Vancouver. I have to think that Minnesota is ecstatic coming away with three points from their NW trip.

Portland Timbers 2-0 Seattle Sounders – Recap here

Sunday
Puerto Rico Islanders 3-1 Miami FC Blues – These two teams had so much fun playing one another on Friday that they decided to do it again on Sunday. Talk about weird, typical USL First Division scheduling. Puerto Rico took advantage of the 48 hours off to regroup from Friday’s loss and took it to Miami to pick up their first points in three games in a game played on a field that resembled a lake. Miami’s defense has given up seven goals in its first four games. Keeper Josh Saunders can’t be especially pleased with the defense in front of him. Alex Afonso did score for the Blues and he now leads the league with three goals. A small crowd of 2,289 was on hand for this one.

USL First Division Table
Timbers fans could look at this table all day and be happy.

Average Attendance (home games)
Portland (3) – 8,597
Vancouver (2) – 5,139
Carolina (1) – 5,102
Puerto Rico (2) – 3,336
Charleston (1) – 4,324
Miami (2) – 2,909
Atlanta (2) – 2,807

League average (13): 4,892

Much more attractive attendance chart and some coherent thoughts about attendance found here.

Atlanta 1-1 Carolina – Jerson Monteiro saved the Silverbacks’ bacon with a goal in the 72nd minute to help Atlanta earn a point at home. The Railhawks (dumbest name in the league) took the lead in the 49th minute from a free kick by Steven Curfmam. Former Portland Timbers forward Dan Antoniuk made his debut for Carolina coming on in the 56th minute. The announced crowd in Atlanta was 3,431, which according to the team’s press release “broke several ticket sales and attendance records with Saturday’s near capacity crowd.” They’ve poured a lot of money into that facility. I hope this is a sign that they will see some returns on their investment.

Miami 1-2 Montreal – The Montreal Impact traveled to South Florida and picked up a road win against a Miami FC Blues team that has the worst defense this side of the LA Galaxy. Miami took the lead early on a goal from Alex Afonso (this dude can really play) in the 16th minute. It was Afonso’s second goal of the young season. Montreal got it back in the 48th minute thanks to a goal from Roberto Brown. Late game sub Dwight Barnett took advantage of a blunder by former Timbers keeper Josh Saunders to score the game winner in the 83rd minute. Miami has opened the season with a draw and loss at home. That ain’t good. The announced attendance was 2,450 but it looked more like 24. It you haven’t checked it out yet, you should pay a visit to The Offside’s new Montreal Impact blog. It is in French and English. I’m considering making this blog bi-lingual too. English and Esperanto.

Portland Timbers 1-0 Puerto Rico Islanders – Recap here

USL First Division Table (Look who is on top!)

Average Attendance watch
Portland – 10,977
Vancouver – 5,288
Charleston – 4,324
Atlanta – 3,431
Miami – 2,909

League average after 6 games: 4,973

Upcoming games
Thu, April 24
Minnesota Thunder at Portland Timbers

Fri, April 25
Miami FC Blues at Puerto Rico Islanders
Montreal Impact at Atlanta Silverbacks

Sat, April 26
Charleston Battery at Carolina RailHawks
Seattle Sounders at Portland Timbers
Minnesota Thunder at Vancouver Whitecaps

Sun, April 27
Miami FC Blues at Puerto Rico Islanders