Two hot teams met Sunday at R.F.K. Stadium, as New York headed down I-95 to the Nation’s Capitol to face D.C. United. The home team, buoyed by the blossoming of a fit Chris Pontius, struck early and often as they defeated the Red Bulls, 4-1.

New York was riding a four match unbeaten streak, where the team had scored fifteen goals and earned ten out of a possible twelve points during this stretch. The one thing that has been a hindrance is their propensity to give up goals to their opposition.  On the other side of the pitch, DC United was in the midst of a five match unbeaten streak (2-0-3) and the winner of the night’s game would take second place in the Eastern Conference. Sadly for Red Bulls fans, their team’s open-door policy for terrible defending continued Sunday, as Pontius scored three goals on the day to lead the way for the Black and Red.

The lousy defending appeared almost immediately for New York and continued throughout the first half. Pontius was able to get on the board in the 8th minute, as he eluded two defenders after stripping Thierry Henry and ripped a fantastic ball. The shot bent past Ryan Meara for the first of his hat trick.

The second came on a fortunate bounce for Pontius in the 32nd minute, depositing a loose ball in close. Maicon Santos fought through three defenders down the left, bringing the ball along the end line. He delivered the cross, and a bad bounce off of Connor Lade’s heel gave Pontius the easy chance.

More would come from DC less than five minutes later. The Red Bull defenders were caught ball-watching and gave rookie standout Nick DeLeon plenty of space. His shot caromed off the right leg of Markus Holgersson and deflected away from Meara and into the net for a three goal lead.

Pontius’ hat trick was completed in the 70th minute as he plowed through the defense and never took his eye of the prize. The UC-Santa Barbara product caught Holgersson flat footed, and Victor Palsson’s last-ditch effort couldn’t get a touch on the ball. Pontius buried his chance, which capped a victory that had seemed clinched by the end of the 1st half.

“I think first that New York came here with a little bit of a watered down team, and it showed at times,” said D.C. United manager Ben Olsen.“But I feel like we took advantage of that, and that’s what you have to do.” On Chris Pontius’ first goal, Olsen added, “He set the tone early. I thought the entire team was buzzing early and the ball was moving.”

The only saving grace from the Red Bulls’ perspective was a fantastic finish in the 72nd minute by Thierry Henry. New York earned a set piece just outside the D.C. area, and the wily veteran bent the ball over the wall and into the near corner for his eighth goal of the season, tying Chris Wondolowski for the league lead.

What did Thierry Henry think about D.C.’s domination? “No excuses. They were good. They scored early, they kept putting on pressure. They could have scored more.” D.C. United did look better on the ball, but yet again none of the goals came from 2011 MLS Most Valuable Player Dwayne DeRosario. The attacking midfielder has yet to find goal this season, a drought that contrasts with the form he showed to close the 2011 season, notching 13 goals in 17 games with D.C. United.  After the game Ben Olsen noted DeRosario’s lack of goals but stated that the captain and designated player was more pleased with the team’s results, saying his trophy case for individual awards is pretty full.

The first of three between these two sides went to D.C. United, with the next coming in late June at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

MLS Talk Writer Robert Hay Jr. contributed to this article.

There were only two Wednesday MLS games this week and they seemingly had little in common.  The results, however, were all about streaks that were on the line in the games.  Both streaks are amazing in their own way and both are continuing at least through the weekend.

The early game saw the Montreal Impact earn their first MLS road point as they held DC United to a 1-1 draw at RFK.  While the point was a cause of celebration for Montreal, it was a source of discomfort for the home team.  DC United has now gone 87 games without back-to-back wins and in the past three years are 0-10-11 in the next game after a win.  After beating the Revolution on Saturday, many DCU faithful saw a visiting expansion team with a 1-5-1 record as their best chance at breaking the streak, but a strong defensive effort by Montreal and poor play by DCU prevented this.

The first half at RFK was an even match, as neither team registered a shot on goal. DC had the best chances of the half (all of them in the later minutes) and looked ready to break the scoreless tie in the 35th minute. Dwayne De Rosario showed off his footwork by dribbling through a few defenders outside the box to line up a shot that missed the net.  Both teams came out in the second half firing, and Donovan Ricketts had to keep his team in the match early as he denied De Rosario twice within a few minutes on one-on-one chances.  Bernardo Corradi broke through in the 69th minute as he beat Brandon McDonald to the DC back post and headed a cross from Lamar Neagle into the goal.  Four minutes later, Maicon Santos equalized with a low line drive from 30 yards out that beat Ricketts and the rest of the Montreal defense.  The Brazilian almost had the game winner as he seemingly converted a pass from De Rosario in the 90th minute for a goal, but he was correctly ruled offside.  As the final whistle blew, the home team still had their streak while the visitors could celebrate their MLS milestone.

“More than anything right now, it is good to get a point on the road,” said Montreal head coach Jesse Marsch after the match.  He also added, “maybe it could have been three tonight, but one’s ok.”

The other streak that was continued on Wednesday was the Kansas City winning streak.  Sporting Kansas City was coming off an impressive win over the weekend against Real Salt Lake and looked to be walking into a tricky road trip with Vancouver followed by a down Portland team. Vancouver had the previous week off to recover from its 3-1 loss to San Jose, a game that the ‘Caps felt could have been theirs, especially after Sebastien LeToux broke a scoreless tie early in the second half.  The visitors came out firing though and took control early with a goal from Aurelien Collin in the 24th minute.  Collin was the final header in a series of KC passes in front of goal and he earned a goal in a second straight game.  Vancouver hurt themselves early in the second half when Martin Bonjour, while under pressure from Collin, tried a backpass to Joe Cannon that was hit a little too hard and settled in the back of the ‘Caps net.

And while Kei Kamara finished off the KC scoring in the 65th minute, the home team battled in the second half.  Le Toux ended Kansas City’s no-goals allowed streak in the 79th minute and, if not for some good play by Jimmy Nielsen, the score could have been a lot closer.  Vancouver finished with seven shots on goal, which is not only the most allowed by KC this season but only two fewer than they had allowed all season!  Kansas City continues their road trip to Portland with their win streak intact, but Vancouver fans should feel confident that their team is improving and can hang with the best teams in MLS.

The atmosphere was charged in historic RFK Stadium as two teams on opposite sides of the standings faced off in front of a national TV audience.  DC United was winless in their first three matches and had scored one goal; the Black and Red were looking for an elusive home win to set their season straight.  FC Dallas saw an up-and-down start to their season but with Brek Shea returning from international duty, the team looked to steal at least a point from the night and keep up with the leaders in the West.

The stadium and fans were electric from the outset.  The small but incredibly loud DC fans were on their feet from the first kick, engaged and showing off for the NBC Sports cameras.  On the pitch, the players brought their own emotions from the start, as four DC United players (including captain Dwayne De Rosario) came out for the introductions wearing hooded sweatshirts.  Throughout the game, there were a number of aggressive fouls and at least two altercations that saw both teams needing to be separated.  With the attention of the American soccer world focused on DC for the night, the teams channeled that big game atmosphere to make an entertaining and intense match.

It was the home team, however, that better bottled the energy and in the span of thirteen minutes in the second half crushed Dallas with three rapid goals.  That sequence was unimaginable in the first half as both teams played a fairly even match.  Dallas had the majority of possession early and, as has every other DC opponent this year, muddled the midfield enough to prevent the Black and Red from connecting the back line to the forwards.  Starting as an attacking midfielder, DeRo was forced by the Dallas defense to fall back to collect the ball from a discombobulated Perry Kitchen early on.  Despite controlling the pace, DC keeper Joe Willis kept the home team in the game with some impressive saves.  It was former Dallas player Maicon Santos who broke the scoreless tie in the 28th minute; receiving a pass from DeRo and given space from the Dallas defense, the forward unleashed a bullet 25 yards out that beat Kevin Hartman.

Dallas would equalize toward the end of the first half on a controversial goal that forced pundits to dive into FIFA and MLS rules to determine its legitimacy.  Daniel Hernandez chested down a Joe Willis clearance in the DC half and tried to thread a pass to Blas Perez, who was in an offside position.  DC defender Emiliano Dudar hit the ball with his foot but instead of clearing the pass, it fell to Perez who was able to take Willis one-on-one and score.  The referee in essence decided that Dudar had established possession with his contact and did not rule the play offside.

The controversy was rendered moot early in the second half as DC came out aggressively looking to reclaim the lead. Louisville rookie Nick DeLeon had looked good for DC, making plays on the right and winning the ball but failing to make good passes to create goal scoring opportunities.  ”We came out after halftime knowing we had no choice, we had to get a win,” DeLeon said after the game, and he started the onslaught of goals.  Chesting down a Maicon Santos pass in the sixtieth minute, DeLeon coolly beat the defense and put the ball into the roof of the Dallas net.  The next goal was DeLeon’s chance to earn an assist, again creating space before finding teammate Danny Cruz on the far post.  The final goal was again the Cruz-DeLeon-Maicon Santos combination as Cruz began a counter off of a set piece, found DeLeon who put in a cross in front of net that Santos headed home.  As Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman said after the game, “I think our defense gave some silly balls away, and I think they capitalized on it.”

The loss for Dallas was undoubtedly a tough one.  This was their second consecutive road loss to an Eastern Conference team and what is considered the strength of their team (the defense) let them down today.  George John was absent, but the backline should still be good enough to prevent four goals from going in.  In addition, the wings (Shea and Rodriguez in the midfield, Loyd and Benitez as fullbacks) were owned by DC and that is not acceptable if Dallas wants to be a playoff team.  Blas Perez was active and when he got the ball made a few nice plays, but essentially as the game unraveled for the visitors he became an afterthought.  All of the attention throughout was on Brek Shea, who was returning from the U-23 team and played all 90 minutes tonight.  Despite physically doing well, he was emotionally drained after the game: “It’s hard coming back, trying to flip the switch… it hasn’t been easy,” he said afterwards in the tunnel.

The win covers up some of DC warts, deficiencies that could be exposed even more with Seattle coming to town next week.  The back line was shaky throughout (as seen by the Perez goal) and Perry Kitchen looked unsettled in the first half (potentially due to his returning to the midfield).  But this was the offensive display MLS fans had expected to see from DC, the movement and the quick strike ability.  Except it was the rookie, veteran who had been castoff in the offseason, and traded backup who were the major offensive sparks in this game.  De Rosario played very well and almost scored himself, but again the designated players were not the catalysts for this team.  These critiques do divert attention away from what was a dominant and entertaining win for DC.

Who says you can’t go home?

Manassas, VA native C.J. Sapong headed a corner kick into the net in the 93rd minute to help Sporting Kansas City notch a 1-0 road victory over DC United.  While KC had a majority of the possession and at times looked ready to take the lead throughout, this game seemed headed to a scoreless draw before the late goal.  Despite the one goal, this was a game that had some excellent chances and if not for DC keeper Bill Hamid and some careless DC passing, this could have been a much higher scoring game.

The strategy going into the game by Sporting Kansas City was to attack the right wing.  Playing the usual 4-3-3, Kei Kamara was constantly attacking DC left back Daniel Woolard and, for the most part, failed to create many quality chances.  With the DC left consisting of a recovering from injury Chris Pontius and less experienced Woolard, this may have looked like the smart strategy.  However, Kansas City’s best chance to score was late in the first half when Roger Espinoza fed a pass from the left wing to Kamara who skied over Woolard in front of the net to head a ball towards goal.  Somehow DC keeper Bill Hamid was able to deflect it with his shoe top to keep the game scoreless.

The KC pressure got to the DC defense in the second half and multiple times the back four had top scramble to clear the visitor’s chances.  However, starting forward Teal Bunbury himself failed to convert two good chances in the early second half and KC failed to crack Hamid.  In the 75th minute head coach Peter Vermes swapped Bunbury for Sapong, who instantly made an impact and had a better presence than Bunbury.  While Kansas City didn’t look like world beaters on the night, they didn’t need to in order to secure all three points.  Their pressure offense created chances and their goal was the result of an opportunity created by their aggressive play – specifically Sapong forcing Brandon McDonald to drag him down just outside the box in the 91st minute.  This free kick was deflected out which led to the corner.  Sporting KC now travels home to face the Revolution and have a chance to grab some wins early while building their points total.

As for DC United, these statistics tell the tale: one shot on target, 65% passing accuracy, and 43.4% of the possession.  The DC midfield struggled mightily against the KC defense to string together passes, and the result was a punchless DC attack that left reigning MVP Dwayne De Rosario silent for most of the night.  Second half substitutions seemed to spark DC especially in the 88th minute when sub Maicon Santos skied an open shot after a great pass from De Rosario.  However, these chances were few and far between and Jimmy Nielsen wasn’t forced to make a save until late in the second half.  The best weapon for DC on the night was Andy Najar on the wing, who could use his speed and ball handling to create a little space for himself.  However, his crosses once he found that space in the visitor’s end were poor and too often he tried to take on the defenders by himself.

On the night DC certainly looked like a squad integrating some new players.  Coach Ben Olsen after the games noted that his team was rusty, both physically and mentally but fought through the fatigue.  The DC schedule doesn’t get any easier with the team’s next game at Los Angeles, and the Black and Red could be facing an early hole.  Certainly their midfield needs to protect possession more and create scoring opportunities for the forwards.  The defense, while almost getting the clean sheet, cannot rely on Bill Hamid too much to keep providing cover for their mental errors.  After fighting for a draw for most of the game, old ghosts haunted DC and cost them a point.

Team: D.C. United

Coach: Ben Olsen

Last Season: 9-13-12, 7th Eastern Conference, 13th Overall

Hashtag: #DCU

There is a sense of anticipation around the DC United fan base this season, a sense of anticipation that fans have not had for a few years.  After missing the playoffs four straight years, the team invested in some new talent to supplement a young core and on paper, this team is light years from the one that set records for futility in 2010.  With the defending MLS MVP leading the attack and a defense fawned upon by national coaches, you can forgive Black and Red faithful for impatiently waiting for the beginning of the season.

However, behind that unbridled optimism is a sense of unease.  In reality, the most decorated franchise in MLS history has entered a playoff dry spell which they have never experienced prior.  In fact, this season is a critical juncture for the team.  While there are certainly weaknesses in the squad, this is the strongest and deepest team on paper since their last MLS Cup run.  In fact, it is not ridiculous to suggest that this team, if it lives up to its potential, could challenge for the Eastern Conference.  But what if it doesn’t?  For a franchise like DC United, five years without a playoff game is an eternity.

Head Coach and Front Office: For all of the criticism he has taken, Kevin Payne seemingly has earned his paycheck this offseason.  The team president has built the team’s youth academy into one of the best in the league and this winter made some shrewd signings.  In addition, he made the smart move last season to take Charlie Davies on loan, a move that while it did not live up to its entire promise was a good move at the time.  Head coach Ben Olsen is a revered figure among the DCU faithful.  As an all star defender, Olsen played with an attitude that won him the devotion of teammates and people in the stands.  After a season and a half of mediocre play, this is the year where he can show if he can coach a talented team.

Additions:  We will start with the youngsters.  Draft pick Nick DeLeon received mixed reviews in the combine but is expected to add depth and a few goals to the DC midfield.  In another midfield depth acquisition, the Black and Red sent allocation money to Houston in exchange for Danny Cruz.  Expect Danny Cruz to get good minutes this season despite being a second-stringer, and how he performs could mirror how far this team goes.  MLS veterans Marcelo Saragosa and Maicon Santos were both brought in for a veteran presence and to push the first string, as well as fill in when players in front of them are called up to their national teams.

The three big additions however are Robbie Russell, Emiliano Dudar, and Hamdi Salihi.  Russell was brought over from Real Salt Lake to hold down the unsettled right back spot and buy his fellow defenders beer give veteran leadership to the backline.  Dudar comes over from Switzerland and provides an immediate aerial presence at 6’4″.  Just two years ago he was named the Swiss league defender of the year but missed last season with a serious concussion.  Reports are that he has won the starting centerback job in camp.  The expectations for Salihi are slightly higher however.  A prototypical #9 with a passport full of stamps, he has scored 142 goals in his professional career and will be expected to not only replace Charlie Davies, but exceed his goal output.

Subtractions: Let’s start with Davies, who returned to Sochaux after DC didn’t try to purchase his contract.  After a blistering start, Davies slowed down toward the end of the MLS season and even failed to make an appearance in DC’s last game.  His departure was, like his tenure, unfortunately rocky.  To make room and cap space for the new signings, the team released a number of veteran depth players.  Midfielder Clyde Simms went to New England via the Re-Entry draft while D Marc Burch was selected by the Sounders.  Other familiar names like forwards Joseph Ngwenya and Blake Brettschneider were waved and have moved on to other clubs.  Overall the losses may come back to haunt the team if their young players or acquisitions fail, but these were obvious moves for the team.

Starting Lineup:  The min in net is potentially Jurgen Klinsmann’s choice to replace Tim Howard.  Bill Hamid is a local guy who is one of a few success stories from the DC academy and is cemented as the starter.  Hamid has a huge wingspan and is an aggressive keeper, but still has a ways to go before entering the elite level of MLS keepers.  That said, don’t be surprised if he is one of the top keepers in MLS by September.  When he gets called up by Caleb Porter or the national team, returning backup Joe Willis and former Fire starter Andrew Dykstra will battle for the starting minutes.  Both are adequate but drop offs.

The defense in front of Hamid is more veteran and certainly more improved from last season.  Russell will man the right well and Daniel Woolard is penciled in as a starter on the left.  In the center are Dudar and 2011 midseason acquisition Brandon McDonald, who had his sights set on Europe but signed a long-term deal with DC this winter.  Those two plus veteran backup Dejan Jakovic and experienced Ethan White makes this unit intriguing and potentially very good.

The beauty of this DC team is the number of starting combinations Ben Olsen can use game to game.  If he sticks with a diamond 4-4-2 (instead of a 4-4-3 or 4-2-3-1), second year player Perry Kitchen will man the holding midfield spot.  Kitchen, who also plays centerback, is an up-and-coming star that will be critical to the U-23 team’s chances at winning a medal in London.  He is a future star in the league.  On the left is a healthy Chris Pontius, who has taken his game to a higher level last season and even got a call-up before breaking his leg midway through 2011.  If he continues his growth, watch out.  On the right is Andy Najar who is still not 20 years old.  The Honduran struggled in Ben Olsen’s system last year but, when he’s on, is incredibly fast and can thread a needle with a shot.  In the attacking midfield spot is original DC designated player Branko Boskovic, a guy of whom much is expected and much is needed.

While Pontius can play as a forward, the starters on Saturday will likely be Salihi and Dwayne De Rosario.  DeRo, the sometimes midfielder and constant threat to score, is finally getting DP money and needs to perform at the incredibly high level he did last year for DC.  At some point his age will catch up with him, but DC hopes it will not be for a while longer.  Off the bench will be Santos and Josh Wolff, the team leader who rarely scores but works hard and will live in team lore for his bare chested jump into the Bara Brava in last season’s home opener.

Player to Watch: While some players play more important positions, all eyes will be on Branko Boskovic.  He has shown flashes of the incredible ability that led to DC signing him in 2010, but injuries have constantly derailed his momentum.  Now he is healthy and needs to provide offense from the midfield, which allows DC to keep DeRo or Pontius up top.  If he gets hurt again or fails to play well, this team could struggle to score consistently.

Best Case Scenario: This team will score loads of goals as DeRo picks up where he left off last season and Salihi is in the Golden Boot race all season.  The defense, which for the past two years has been a cause of heartburn for fans, is actually pretty good and holds some high-scoring teams down.  With a weak Eastern Conference and a schedule that isn’t too challenging, DC secures the top spot in the East and makes the MLS Cup.  The team and DC come to an agreement to build a soccer stadium in the city near a Metro line within the next three years.

Worst Case Scenario: The problem with young players is that their expected development sometimes doesn’t, well, develop.  Kitchen and Hamid have their flaws revealed by the competition and a shaky backline is again a sieve.  De Rosario begins to show his age, Salihi doesn’t adjust to MLS well, and injuries ravage the midfield.  The team misses the playoffs again and with their cap space taken by current players, it is up to the youth academy to provide hope for the future.  The team makes no progress on a new stadium and MLS announces a relocation to Las Vegas in 2013.

Prediction: If the starting XI for this team was able to start 90% of the season, I would be very comfortable predicting a top three finish for DC.  However, a number of starters will be spending extensive time this summer with their national teams and the back-ups are solid, but question marks.  That plus youth and injury worries should put a damper on DCU fans dreaming of a fifth MLS Cup.  It can happen, but I see a fourth place finish as a more likely scenario.

As the preseason gets into full swing and rosters begin to stabilize, it’s time to take a look at the men who pull the strings and have the greatest impact on the team itself.  The modern manager is part tactician, part showman, and part PR man.  The best are the ones who can bring a diverse team together and make it into a trophy-winning side.  Rarely can a side win an MLS Cup, Open Cup, or Supporters Shield with a mediocre or poor manager.  However, at times its the team that makes the man and only the perfect marriage of players and manager that can make a championship.  A manager is especially important in MLS, with the salary cap and built-in rules designed to promote parity.

These men are masters of the realm, the best managers in MLS today.  The following ranking is my own top five managers in MLS going into the 2012 season.  Keep in mind this is not an all time list but simply looking ahead to the 2012 season.  Agree or disagree?  Make your opinions known in the comments section.

5.  Piotr Nowak:  Maybe the restructuring going on in Philadelphia is Nowak’s way to challenge himself.  The veteran coach has taken a new franchise and by year two had made the Union into a Eastern Conference championship contender.  Building the team around a stout defense and the timely scoring of his offense, Nowak has made the club in his image and, even with the departures, Philadelphia is now a team to watch every year.  His work with DC United, leading them to their fourth MLS title in 2004, only adds to his coaching resume.  Although he does not have the large number of trophies some of the others on this list have, he is undoubtedly established himself as one of the best head coaches in the league.

4.  Schellas Hyndman:  Although at times his decisions are questionable (Brek Shea as a full back?), Hyndman is a long-time collegiate coach who finally got the right opportunity to prove his worth with FC Dallas in 2008.  His defining win was a 3-0 defeat of Los Angeles in the 2010 Western Conference finals over a team that looked like the best in the league with a healthy David Beckham.  Although Dallas lost the 2010 MLS Cup in overtime, the former SMU head coach has done a good job balancing his roster and replacing departed players, especially in the midfield.  Under his watch David Ferreira blossomed into one of the most dangerous midfielders in the league and with some promising youth coming up through the system this year, Hyndman may soon be able to chase down that elusive MLS Cup.

3.  Sigi Schmid:  For a guy who never played professional soccer, Schmid gets this league.  His uncanny ability to identify talent and his in-game ability to identify mismatches has made the former UCLA Bruin the brain behind the constantly-successful Seattle Sounders.  A team with a rich history and demanding fan base, Schmid gave the league a blueprint for how to compete in MLS from year one, a blueprint that teams as recently as Montreal are looking to emulate.  He is the most successful U.S. Open Cup head coach in the modern era and has guided the careers of many of MLS’s greatest stars.  His LA Galaxy team was also one of two MLS clubs to ever win an intercontinental cup.  He is the winningest head coach in MLS history and has the Sounders poised to challenge for the 2012 MLS Cup.

2.  Dominic Kinnear:  The coach of this year’s Eastern Conference champions narrowly edges Sigi Schmid in my rankings because since 2006, Houston has been one of the league’s most successful teams.  Besides winning back-to-back MLS Cups in 2006 and 2007, this year may have been his best coaching job, leading an arguably less talented team to the MLS Cup.  All of this is even more impressive considering the fact that the team has worked within a tight budget and a changing ownership situation.

1.  Bruce Arena:  The National Soccer Hall of Famer continues to prove that he is arguable the greatest American soccer coach of all time.  Even though he had three famous designated players, it was his work with the Galaxy’s defense that was most impressive about the 2011 Galaxy.  The keys to the defense were that the two major contributors, A.J. De La Garza and Omar Gonzalez, were Arena draftees.  Arena guided a dominant team through a dominant season, essentially staking claim to the MLS Cup early in the season and never relinquishing it.  His history is unparalleled in the U.S., but even going into the new season he is still in a class by himself and recognized by many as the best head coach out there.

The U.S. Soccer Federation yesterday announced an expanded Open Cup format and schedule, one that will incorporate all MLS and lower division teams in a newly and hopefully more condensed way.  In essence, the changes allow the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup to mirror the English FA Cup, where lower division and semi-pro teams have a chance to play against the top level of the country’s soccer hierarchy.

The Open Cup in 2012 will expand from 40 to 64 teams, which means all 16 U.S. MLS teams, 10 USL Pro, and 6 NASL teams will be included in the tournament.  Last season, only half of the eligible MLS teams and all the eligible USL Pro sides had been included in the tournament, so this format change alone guarantees more participation.  Six MLS teams in 2011 had automatically qualified for the tournament while another two came from play-in rounds held prior, a format that in essence had been in existence as long as MLS.  Now, every MLS side will have an opportunity to participate in at least one match.  The larger pool also means an expanded number of amateur teams are eligible to participate, with 16 spots going to the Premier Development League and the remaining to be divided among other amateur leagues.

What does this mean for MLS teams?  First, it means that they do not have to worry about “playing in” to the U.S. Open Cup; they’re in as of May 29 (more on schedule below).  Secondly, it sets up some very interesting potential match-ups.  Soccer fans who watched the FA Cup this weekend saw major upsets like Swindon defeating Wigan; imagine the Des Moines Menace upsetting DC United or the Real Colorado Foxes giving the Colorado Rapids a run for their money.  Those amateur teams would have a shot, if they survive the first two rounds, to take down the big boys and gain a little attention.  While it is unlikely that too many amateur teams will advance too far (again, see how many were in the most recent round of the FA Cup), the possibility exists.  More likely, for the first time NASL teams, who were excluded last year, will have a chance to show how small the gap could be between the top two divisions.

Another change that addressed a major concern with the tournament is the hosting of home games.  Last year, Seattle played five home games on their way to the title.  This season, everyone theoretically will have a chance to host their match prior to the quarterfinals.  When the match-ups are determined, if both teams meet U.S. Soccer specs for hosting an Open Cup match, a “random selection process” will be used to determine the host.  While few non-professional teams will likely qualify to host, for USL Pro and NASL teams there exists a chance that they can bring MLS teams to their venues and make a little extra money off the match.  After the quarterfinals, the old bidding system of submitting financial bids will be used to determine the hosts.  So while the Sounders could again theoretically only play home games on their way to winning the U.S. Open Cup, the potential exists that they would go on the road due to a random draw.

A final major change of note is the timing.  As referenced above, MLS teams join the competition in the third round, but the tournament itself begins on May 15 and wraps up by the first weekend in August.  All matches will be played on a Tuesday.  This condensed schedule allows MLS teams competing in the CONCACAF Champions League and the Open Cup to wrap up the latter before turning their attention to the former.  However, this is where travel can become a factor in these matches.  Since the Open Cup games are on a Tuesday, MLS teams potentially face large travel distances in a short period of time.  For example, San Jose plays at Sporting Kansas City on May 27.  If they hosted an Open Cup match, they’d have essentially a day turn around.  Because MLS teams come in during the Third Round and the schedule is defused to avoid many of these potential conflicts, it may affect only one or two teams doing very well in the tournament (or it may increase the chance of an upset) but the possibility exists.

So what do all of these changes mean?  Do the problems that existed in the previous few years’ Open Cups still exist?  The answer is, potentially, yes.  But the tournament now at least has the look and feel of a European-style tournament, which undoubtedly will please Euro-phile American soccer fans.  The Davids of the U.S. soccer world will get their chance against the Goliaths, and the NASL/USL Pro sides have a slightly better chance to host and ride upsets to the finals.  MLS teams have a chance to juggle their lineups to take the competition seriously, or use it to play younger players and not have to worry about too much schedule congestion.  While the 99 year-old tournament will never approach the Copa del Rey or FA Cup in term of prestige or fan following, it does raise the professionalism of U.S. soccer and makes the tournament a bit more watchable.

This past season in U.S. soccer was certainly an interesting one.  In MLS, two new teams were promoted and the soccer world fell in love with them and their passionate fans.  Coaches were hired and fired, players finally fulfilled their potential, and others failed to inspire.  One MLS team had a chance to make history and win the CONCACAF Champions League, but fell short in a heart-breaking fashion.  During the season, the team that dominated from First Kick forward hoisted the trophy at the end of the season.  Internationally, the U.S. women took Germany by storm but in the end it was Japan that took everyone’s hearts.  The U.S. senior men were underwhelming in the Gold Cup, and seeing Bob Bradley out the door was new coach (and long hoped-for savior) Jurgen Klinsmann.

It was certainly a year of memories, but as we belt out Auld Lang Syne and drink Champagne/sparkling cidar/assorted alcoholic beverages, let’s take a look ahead to 2012.  The upcoming year will hopefully feature a U.S. team in the London Olympics, a new broadcast network, World Cup qualifiers, and a whole host of new heroes and villains.  One of the things we do best at MLS Talk is make bold and informed predictions that are on occasion proved wrong.  Below are twelve such predictions I think we occur in 2012.  Happy New Year!

1. The U-23 team will not only qualify for the Olympics, but contend for a medal.

This U-23 team has a confluence of a good youth coach and good young depth on the team.  While the team is less talented than probably Mexico and some European teams, I think it will well set up to make a run at the Olympics, especially if they add some quality overage players like Carlos Bocanegra looking to supplement their legacy as medalists.

2. Ratings for MLS matches on the NBC networks will exceed those on the Fox network

NBC has three major advantages for MLS over Fox Soccer.  One, it has more platforms to promote the games (imagine MLS commercials showing up on Sunday Night Football, Brian Williams programming, or The Office).  Two, NBC needs its new sports network to succeed and will put the resources behind it to make MLS programming a success.  Three, the network formally known as Versus is available on more television sets than Fox Soccer, making it easier for casual sports fans to find the matches.  The ratings still won’t approach BPL matches on Fox, but the numbers will tick upwards.

3. The USMNT will beat a major European power and drop an embarrassing World Cup qualifier

Rumors are swirling of a U.S.-Italy friendly in the upcoming months, and even if that falls through the U.S. will surely line up one or two more big money friendlies.  Because of its talent and Euro 2012 fatigue, the U.S. will knock off a European power and gain some instant cred in world soccer (see Spain 2009).  However, it will lose to one of the teams in the group stage of World Cup qualifying in embarrassing fashion, adding unneeded drama into qualifying.  Because, after all, this is the Red-White-and-Blue.

4. An MLS team will again play in the CONCACAF Champions League final

Real Salt Lake almost made history this year, and another MLS team stands a good chance of repeating the feat.  In the current round, three of the eight teams are MLS teams and two are facing each other (Galaxy v. Toronto).  All of them have the talent and depth to make a run at the finals, and the Galaxy and Sounders may be among the two or three most talented teams this spring.  Expect to see either Los Angeles or Seattle trying to hoist the CCL trophy this spring.

5. Los Angeles will not repeat as MLS champions

The 2011 LA Galaxy were a truly dominant team.  They had the right mix of superstars, support players, and good coaching plus a friendly playoff schedule to allow them to dominate from start to finish.  The 2012 season will not be as kind.  In addition to two sets of CONCACAF Champions League matches (’11-’12 and ’12-’13) the team will play an unbalanced schedule, which means more matches against the tougher Western Conference teams.  In addition, even if Beckham returns, he and Robbie Keane will be playing in Euro 2012.  Landon Donovan will be coming off a short-term loan and spending time with the USMNT in World Cup qualifying, as could possibly one or two of his teammates.  The schedule glut for the players and team, plus the improvement of the teams around them, mean we will have a new champion in 2012.

6. At least two more fringe USMNT players will come to play in MLS

Last year, Benny Feilhaber, Charlie Davies, and Freddy Adu all returned to MLS to try and get themselves back on the USMNT radar.  I can see this trend continuing as players who are on the cusp on making the team will take pay cuts to play in MLS where Jurgen Klinsmann’s staff can more easily watch them.  In addition to the older players (maybe Carlos Bocanegra?) who will want to wrap up their career on national soil, players like Edson Buddle or Michael Parkhurst will bite the bullet and come play for an MLS team.

7. Arsenal will conduct a summer tour of the United States

While this is not a specific prediction for U.S. soccer, this is a prediction that will have a major impact on the American soccer scene.  Due to Arsene Wenger’s training philosophies, the club has hesitated to play the summer friendlies outside of Europe which has brought the major European clubs to America’s shores.  That will change this summer on the heels of a successful Asian tour in 2011.  Arsenal will announce a multi-city tour in the spring featuring a mix of MLS teams, one or two Euro club matches at major venues, and a match-up against the MLS All Stars.  Arsenal will reap a financial windfall, American Arsenal fans will finally get to see their favorite team without flying across the ocean, and more U.S. fans will become familiar with the Arsenal style of play.

8. A player from one of the BPL big six (not Thierry Henry) will come to MLS midseason

The rumors have been swirling around a number of big name players like Evra and Anelka.  One of them this summer will bite the bullet and sign with New York or LA as the latest designated player.  My prediction is that it will be a Chelsea player, a victim of AVB’s house cleaning who is too old to play in the new style.

9. A Canadian team will not have the first/second pick in the 2013 Superdraft

Obviously there are three Canadian teams in MLS and none of them will have the first pick in the Superdraft (or second if the 20th franchise is ready for 2013).  Even though they are the new team, Montreal has too much talent and too good of a coach to be the worst team in MLS this upcoming season.  Vancouver, while still not necessarily playoff bound, will be improved enough to avoid having the worst record in MLS.  Toronto will make a huge leap forward this year and contend for the playoffs.

10. The New York Cosmos will be announced as the 20th MLS franchise

It’s the worst kept secret in U.S. soccer, and over the All Star break MLS will announce that the New York Cosmos will be the 20th franchise in the league.  Whether they begin play in 2013 or 2014 I will leave to others to predict, but they will be announced to no one’s surprise.

11. DC United will finally find a home, and it will be in DC

Eventually everyone will come to their senses and work this deal out, but one major factor will help with DCU’s push to stay in DC: population growth.  The city’s population is growing, with most of the growth coming from young professionals and Hispanics, two demographics that are likely to support a soccer team in the city.  In addition, the population growth will help stabilize DC’s shaky finances, making a partial funding of a stadium on the Southwest Waterfront seem even more likely.  There will be a major announcement in 2012 and the DC area soccer community will breathe a major sigh of relief.

12. The 4-2-3-1 formation will make the U.S. women’s team unbeatable in international competition

The U.S. women’s team is switching to a more attacking 4-2-3-1 formation for the next World Cup cycle to have more of their dynamic attacking young players on the pitch at the same time.  It’s a change that is overdue and will lead to the U.S. women being the de facto best women’s national team in the world by the end of the year.

There was only one thing DC United fans knew for sure going into the 2011 season, and that was this season couldn’t be any worse than the previous one.  After setting the standard for futility, the team not only climbed its way back into respectability (through its play on the field and front office dealings) but even for a while was positioned for a potential top three finish in the Eastern Conference.  However, a cold dose of reality doused those plans, and for the fourth consecutive season DC was outside the playoffs looking in.

For a team with a good fanbase and decorated history, where do they go from here?  In a sense, the word “forward” will define this offseason in a few different ways.  DC United, you are up next in our Three Questions offseason series:

1. Who will play forward for DC United?

This may be the easiest and hardest question to answer this offseason.  Looking at the roster, the answer looks to be “some darn good options”.  The defending MVP returns and looks to build on his amazing performance for half the season last year, and Chris Pontius also returns from injury after a first half of the season that helped him catch the U.S. Soccer Federation’s eye.

But De Rosario is arguably more effective as an attacking midfielder, and Pontius is definitely more valuable on the wing opposite Andy Najar.  That leaves DC with two forwards under contract: an aging but useful Josh Wolff and young contributor Blake Brettschneider.  With Charlie Davies’ seeming departure back to Europe, the team lacks a pure-forward scoring threat.  The acquisition of one could potentially allow De Rosario to move back into a CAM role and make DC’s attack even more potent, or at least give them some options on offense.  Will the team pursue another forward, or be content with what they have at that position?

2. Will the youngsters take the next step forward?

The Black-and-Red’s youth academy has done an excellent job of churning out talent, including rising star Andy Najar and starting keeper (and USMNT prospect) Bill Hamid.  After the disastrous 2010 season, the team focused on adding more youth especially in the back and have been rewarded with one of the most promising, and up-and-coming, defenses in MLS.

Undoubtedly, players like Perry Kitchen and Hamid are the future of this team and the team has shed some of the veterans that these players had bypassed on the depth chart.  At some point that youth has to realize the potential.  Does Hamid continue to improve his quick thinking and cut down on the poor decisions?  Can Kitchen play as a holding midfielder at the MLS level (he played primarily as a fullback/centerback last season)?  Can the likes of Woolard, Korb, and White push for permanent starting roles?  The success of DC depends on it, and not just in the short term.

3. Will the stadium situation move forward or stay in neutral?

Unfortunately for DC area soccer fans the off-the-field situation is overshadowing the on-the-field progress.  Until the stadium situation is resolved in some way, and by resolved I mean there is at least a 5-10 year plan in place, it is harder to build this team.  And management does need to decide is what kind of team this is.  At the beginning of last year, it was a “youth revolution” both by choice and by necessity, but when the team saw there was a chance at the playoffs in the weak Eastern Conference it acquired Dwayne De Rosario.  This offseason the team shed more of its older, more expensive salaries to free up roster and cap space.

So what does it do? Does it throw academy players like Conor Shanosky into the fire and give them significant minutes to see what they actually have in the academy and fast forward the youth movement? Or does management go “all in” and gamble by signing some expensive overseas designated players/high-salary players?  That strategy backfired in the past but with the Eastern Conference still not dominated by a group of teams like the West, there is an argument to be made that it is the correct strategy.  However, until the team knows what its revenue estimates and home location will be two years from now, these types of decisions are infinitely harder to make.

As our long-time readers know, MLS Talk likes to provide serious, well-thought out news analysis mixed with offbeat and laughable soccer-related thoughts.  This is the latter type of post.

Prior to First Kick 2011, the MLS Talk writers got together to give some predictions for the upcoming season.  At the time, we promised we’d resurrect the predictions to take credit for everything we got right.  Little did we know that such a post would only be about 1-2 sentences if actually written.  Regardless, as promised, here are our predictions for the 2011 season, and a little bit of analysis/defending from yours truly on the picks.  Feel free to post your wrong predictions (and correct ones) in the comments section.

The Final Standings

Prior to the season, it was common knowledge that RSL was the deepest team in the league and was thus primed to make a run at the Supporters Shield.  What we didn’t know was that their loss in the CONCACAF Champions League final and injuries would derail their season, in addition to improved LA and Seattle squads.  As such, only Kristan Heneage accurately predicted that Los Angeles would finish atop the Western Conference.  In fact, besides flip-flopping RSL and Seattle, he got the conference’s top five correct.

As for the Eastern Conference, the chaos that ensued was reflected in our picks.  We all got New York wrong as the Eastern Conference winner but at least they made the playoffs.  Earl Reed identified three teams correctly that made the playoffs from the East, but probably regrets picking DC to finish above Philadelphia.  Playoff picks are in bold.

Daniel Feuerstein

Earl Reed

Kristan Heneage

Robert Hay

MLS Cup Predictions

We were 0-4 on this one.  Earl and I picked Real Salt Lake to hoist the MLS Cup while Daniel thought Rafa Marquez would be showering Thierry Henry with champagne.  Kristan’s pick (DC United) didn’t make the playoffs.

Most Valuable Player

In our defense, while none of us correctly predicted this category, all of our picks were somewhat in the running toward the end of the year.  Daniel had Thierry Henry taking home the trophy while Earl and Kristan had Landon Donovan.  My pick made a late run but was still misguided: Alvaro Saborio.

The Golden Boot

Only Earl and I were ambitious enough to guess at this category, and my pick (Montero 12) edged his (Saborio 11).

Coach of the Year

Interestingly, none of us had a coach that was remotely in the running, although our picks by the end of the season were setting themselves up as candidates for next year.  All of our coach of the year selections were new MLS coaches, with Daniel seeing Toronto head man Aron Winter winning the award while Earl and I agreed upon DC United’s Ben Olsen.

Newcomer of the Year

Again, our picks were solid choices that for the most part contributed in some way but didn’t merit consideration.  Daniel went with Fabien Castillo of FC Dallas, Earl and I chose Omar Bravo for Sporting KC, and Kristan went with the right team  but wrong player (Erik Friberg of the Seattle Sounders).

Rookie of the Year

Well what can you say.  Who’d have thunk that C.J. Sapong would have played such a large roll for Sporting Kansas City?  Well we didn’t think he’d play a bigger role than Juan Agudelo (Daniel), Will Bruin (Earl and I), and Darlington Nagbe (Kristan).

Most Improved Player

Admittedly, this is one of the hardest categories to predict.  With so many players in the league, who will be the one who exceeds their previous year’s stats to be given an award?  Three of us thought that it would be someone from the Red Bulls: Kristan and Daniel thought that Dane Richards would be that player in 2011, while Earl picked Richards’ teammate Tim Ream.  However, the award for most laughable prediction for 2011 goes to me, and here is a direct quote from my prediction:

Since I wanted to show my Black-and-Red colors a little, I thought the player who would finally fulfill his promise would be D.C. United’s Branko Boskovic.