MLS Cup Final 2016: Toronto FC vs. Seattle Sounders FC Score and Reaction

The Seattle Sounders earned their first MLS Cup, edging out Toronto FC 5-4 in a shootout after neither team scored a goal in regulation or extra time Saturday night at BMO Field in Toronto. The turning point came during the sudden-death portion of the shootout. Justin Morrow's kick caromed off the crossbar, which allowed Roman Torres the opportunity to hand Seattle the title. The 30-year-old defender opted for the safe route, drilling his kick down the middle past goalkeeper Clint Irwin, who dove to his left. Fox Soccer shared a replay of the decisive kick: Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and quarterback Russell Wilson saluted the victors on social media: It was an improbable victory for the Sounders, who set MLS Cup lows in total shots (three) and shots on target (zero), according to Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl. Seattle defended well, but the Western Conference champion relied heavily on goalkeeper Stefan Frei to keep Toronto off the scoreboard. While the 2016 MLS Cup wasn't a great advertisement for the league, the match unfolded in fitting fashion, given both the stakes and the conditions at BMO Field. Top Drawer Soccer's Travis Clark alluded to the frigid temperature in Toronto: Dirty Tackle's Brooks Peck had a novel way to ...

DC United Players Robbed During CONCACAF Champions League Match vs. Queretaro

The Washington Post's Steven Goff reported Monday that some members of D.C. United had their cellphones and cash stolen last week in Queretaro, Mexico, during the squad's CONCACAF Champions League match against Queretaro F.C.   "S--t happens down there," manager Ben Olsen said, per Goff. "It's upsetting that stuff like that still goes down in CONCACAF." However, Queretaro F.C released a statement in Spanish, via Twitter, denying any phones were stolen from the stadium. ESPN FC's Tom Marshall provided a short summary: Per Steven Streff of SB Nation's Black and Red United, the club will compensate the D.C. United players: Olsen commended both CONCACAF and Queretaro F.C. for what he called a "very professional" response to the incident, per Goff. Goal.com's Thomas Floyd added that no evidence points to either the club or match organizers having direct involvement in the robbery. Floyd countered, however, saying team members don't completely absolve Queretaro or CONCACAF of blame: Recovering the phones will prove difficult. Floyd reported a D.C. United player used an iPhone app to locate his phone, which was roughly 130 miles away in Mexico City. D.C. United lost the first leg 2-0 and will look to overcome the deficit at home Tuesday night. Should it move on to the semifinals, United will ...

Cristiano Ronaldo Comments on Potentially Playing in MLS

Some Major League Soccer supporters are likely tired of clubs' continued reliance on aging European stars to drive interest, but the possibility of landing Cristiano Ronaldo is bound to intrigue even the harshest critic of the league's designated player rule. In an interview with Daniel Riley for GQ, the Real Madrid star spoke about his opinion of MLS and whether he'd ever consider playing in the league: I know that many players move there. I think it's becoming better and better. It's growing. I think it's good. It's good for me and young players that maybe one day we want to move there. So it's good that football—'soccer'—grows there. [...] I mean, what's happening there is great, it's fantastic—maybe in the future will be a good chance for me to play there. You never know, but it's something interesting. I consider it, of course, because as I've said, soccer there has become better and better, so why not? I think that this is maybe going to be possible. Ronaldo has already gone on record saying his "dream is to end [his] career at Real Madrid," per Carlos Carpio and Pablo Polo of Spanish paper Marca. Speaking on the Jonathan Ross Show in November (via ESPN ...

David Beckham’s Miami Soccer Stadium Deal Reportedly on Verge of Collapsing

David Beckham and the ownership group behind Miami's Major League Soccer expansion franchise are running into another snag with regard to the team's new stadium.In an interview with David Smiley of the Miami Herald, Tim Leiweke, the man charged with spearheading the stadium bid, said that current landowners who occupy the space the club is looking to buy could prevent the construction a new venue."They know what we're doing and unfortunately they've let that create an absolutely unrealistic conversation," Leiweke said. "They can absolutely blow this deal up, and they probably will blow this deal up. We're willing to overpay. We just don't want to be the stupidest guys on the face of the earth."With the substantial amount of public funding committed to the Miami Marlins' stadium, the city has been loath to repeat the situation with Miami's MLS team.   As a result, Beckham and his partners have endured a difficult time getting plans in place for stadium construction. They originally desired a waterfront location but ultimately settled on a spot next to Marlins Park.Many have criticized the commitment of Beckham and the investors behind the franchise. Leiweke admitted in the interview that "this has not been the smartest negotiation I've ...

MLS Cup Playoffs 2015: Semifinal Scores, Reaction and Updated Schedule

Major League Soccer entered the conference semifinal phase of the MLS Cup playoffs on Sunday, with the eight remaining teams looking to get an advantage in the first of the two-legged ties. D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls met in the first of two Eastern Conference clashes followed by the Columbus Crew and Montreal Impact later in the evening. Over in the Western Conference, the Vancouver Whitecaps and Portland Timbers renewed their rivalry, while the Seattle Sounders were hoping FC Dallas wouldn't derail their hopes of winning an MLS Cup for the first time. Here's a look at how Sunday's matches unfolded.   Conference Semifinal Scores Conference Semifinal Schedule   Sunday Recap D.C. United 0, New York Red Bulls 1 The Eastern Conference's top seed drew first blood in the conference semifinals after Dax McCarty's goal in the 72nd minute gave the New York Red Bulls a 1-0 win over D.C. United on the road in RFK Stadium. Sacha Kljestan picked up the assist, as his right-footed delivery on a set piece found McCarty on the edge of the six-yard box, per MLS: Some D.C. United supporters will feel wronged by referee Fotis Bazakos after Ronald Zubar escaped a red card in the 69th minute. The Red Bulls defender took out Markus ...

MLS Cup Playoffs 2014: Seattle vs. FC Dallas 2nd Leg Score and Twitter Reaction

It wasn't pretty, but the Seattle Sounders advanced to the Western Conference final after a 0-0 draw with FC Dallas on Monday night at CenturyLink Field, moving on by an aggregate score of 1-1 on away goals. This was the first year that Major League Soccer used the away-goals rule in the playoffs. Away goals don't technically count double—which is often how they're described—but in order to go on, Dallas needed a minimum of one goal on Monday in order to advance. That gave Seattle the incentive to park the proverbial bus and play for the draw. Entering the second leg, however, Sounders center back Zach Scott denied that he and his teammates would revert to a defensive position and protect their slim lead. "We’ve never really adjusted the way we play around a specific result we need to get," Scott said, per MLSsoccer.com's Ari Liljenwall. "We’re not going to bunker in, we’re not going to look for any specific scoreline. We’re just going to play our soccer." While the Sounders failed to score, it wasn't for a lack of trying. Seattle enjoyed the lion's share of chances and was on the whole the better team on the night. FC Dallas were game challengers, though. In the ...

MLS Cup Playoffs 2014: LA Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake 2nd Leg Score and Reaction

Entering the second leg of the Western Conference semifinal between Real Salt Lake and the Los Angeles Galaxy, many observed that the Galaxy would go as far as Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane could take them. The two veterans answered the call, scoring four of the Galaxy's five goals in a 5-0 aggregate victory for Los Angeles at the StubHub Center on Sunday evening. The postseason is the time most coaches ask their star players to shoulder a larger burden in order to propel the team forward. Fox Soccer's Kyle McCarthy noted that throughout the early stages of the MLS Cup playoffs, many of the biggest stars have accepted the added responsibility: Donovan, who's retiring at the end of the season, was brilliant on the night, notching a hat-trick and hammering Real Salt Lake on the counter-attack. His performance led many, including soccer writer Richard Whittall, to question if Donovan is making the right decision to step away from the game: ESPN's Bob Ley countered that the 32-year-old could be leaving at the perfect time, before his skills diminish to a larger extent: Sunday's match is merely another entry in a legendary MLS career. The Galaxy also get a measure of revenge, having lost to Real ...

MLS Cup Playoffs 2014: New York vs. Sporting KC Score and Twitter Reaction

In the space of roughly 13 minutes, the New York Red Bulls went from the outhouse to the penthouse, clawing back from a 1-0 deficit to pick up a 2-1 win over reigning MLS Cup champions, Sporting Kansas City. The loss eliminated Sporting K.C. from the 2014 MLS Cup. When things began looking bleak for New York, Bradley Wright-Phillips atoned for an earlier miss, poking home the equalizer past Eric Kronberg in the 77th minute. Thierry Henry did well to thread the assist through the legs of Sporting center back Aurelien Collin. MLSSoccer.com's Matthew Doyle felt that right back has been an area of concern for Sporting K.C. since Chance Myers' injury, and it came back to bite them in a big way there: The match looked destined for extra time until Wright-Phillips delivered the winner in the 90th minute: Both the goal and the cross leading to the goal looked somewhat accidental, with Ambroise Oyongo hitting his cross poorly and Wright-Phillips looking to have mistimed his header, only for the ball to bounce in the back of the net. Trevor Hayward of the North American Soccer Network didn't care about style points—a goal is a goal: That was enough to secure the victory. Before the match, ...

MLS Cup Playoffs 2014: Dallas vs. Vancouver Score and Twitter Reaction

The Vancouver Whitecaps' stay in the 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs is over a mere 90 minutes after it began, with FC Dallas winning the Western Conference knockout-round fixture, 2-1, on Wednesday night in Frisco, Texas. The match looked destined for extra time until referee Mark Geiger blew his whistle and pointed to the spot in the 82nd minute for a handball on Vancouver center back Kendall Waston. Nobody will argue with the fact that the ball hit Waston's arm, but many took exception to Geiger's decision to award the penalty. Opta's Ben Jata felt that Waston's arm was in a natural position, thus it was a ball-to-hand situation rather than hand-to-ball: MLSSoccer.com's Dan Itel couldn't believe the 26-year-old's luck, considering he had played well for so much of the match: Regardless of the dissenting opinion, Geiger's call was final, and FC Dallas midfielder Michel drove home the penalty in the 84th minute to hand his team a place in the next round: For FC Dallas, this run to the MLS Cup Playoffs is a chance to undo years of disappointment. After losing to the Colorado Rapids in the 2010 MLS Cup Final, they fell to the New York Red Bulls in the 2011 wild-card game ...

Carlos Bocanegra to Retire from MLS: Latest Details, Reaction and Analysis

Carlos Bocanegra became the newest United States international to announce his formal retirement from professional football. The 35-year-old defender broke the news on Twitter: Plenty of teammates and other American soccer luminaries saluted the retiring star: Bocanegra's club career spans the globe. After spending four years with the Chicago Fire, he moved on to Fulham. Following a successful stint in England, the center back headed to France, where he played for Rennes and Saint-Etienne. Bocanegra then made brief stops in Scotland and Spain before going home to play for Chivas USA. Most U.S. Soccer fans will remember Bocanegra for his national team career. His 110 caps are tied for seventh all time, according to USSoccer.com. His 14 goals are the most for an American defender, one ahead of Marcelo Balboa's 13. Bocanegra played a pivotal role on 2006 and 2010 U.S. World Cup squads, captaining the side and moving wherever Bob Bradley needed him on the back line. He had since been pushed to the periphery by current national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann ahead of the 2014 World Cup. MLSSoccer.com's Matthew Doyle felt what helped to set Bocanegra apart was his ability in the air despite not being a colossal physical presence: Here's what Bocanegra said to ...