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MLS Players Head to World Cup Camps - This Week in MLS

May 12, 2014 - Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


The 2014 FIFA World Cup kicks off in one month and more than 25 current MLS players are in contention to represent their respective countries in Brazil.

Today, Coach Jurgen Klinsmann named 15 MLS players to the U.S. men's national team 30-man roster, including: Columbus Crew's Michael Parkhurst; Houston Dynamo's Brad Davis; Sporting Kansas City's Graham Zusi and Matt Besler; LA Galaxy's Landon Donovan and Omar Gonzalez; Philadelphia Union's Maurice Edu; Real Salt Lake's Kyle Beckerman and Nick Rimando; San Jose Earthquake's Clarence Goodson and Chris Wondolowski; Seattle Sounders FC's Clint Dempsey, Brad Evans and DeAndre Yedlin; and Toronto FC's Michael Bradley. The players will report to Palo Alto, California later this week following Wednesday's Eastern Conference clash between Sporting Kansas City and Philadelphia Union (8:30 p.m. ET).

Columbus Crew's Waylon Francis and Giancarlo Gonzalez, New York Red Bulls' Roy Miller and Real Salt Lake's Alvaro Saborio also will be looking to impress in the Costa Rican national team camp. All countries must submit their final 23-player roster for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil to FIFA by June 2.

While players named to 30-man rosters will be battling to make their respective 23-man rosters during the next few weeks, six more MLS players seemingly are locks for their national teams. Chivas USA's Marvin Chavez, Houston's Boniek Garcia, New England Revolution's Jerry Bengtson, and San Jose's Victor Bernardez all have been name to Honduras' 23-man roster, while New York Red Bulls Tim Cahill and Toronto's Julio Cesar have made Australia's and Brazil's respective rosters.

Week 11 National Broadcasts

Saturday, May 17

Toronto FC vs. New York Red Bulls, 4:30 p.m. ET (TSN, RDS2)

Sunday, May 18

Chicago Fire vs. Sporting Kansas City, 3:00 p.m. ET (UniMas)

Sweet Tweets

@iChristianson6 - May 12 -- Ian Christianson, New York Red Bulls

Half the @ussoccer World Cup prelim roster plays in @MLS . Big step. Says volumes of the league's progress #USMNT

=FE@HeathGPearce - May 12 - Heath Pearce - Montreal Impact

Amazing to see the @MLS impact on the 30man roster for final @ussoccer camp.15 invitees are current MLS,while 5 more are former #risingup

=FE @TealBunB - May 11 - Teal Bunbury, New England Revolution

Happy Mother's Day Mom. I love you with all my heart. So blessed to have you in my life. http:// instagram.com/p/n4XApEJxge/

@QuincyAmarikwa - May 11 - Quincy Amarikwa, Chicago Fire

Getting my dose of @MLS on @NBCSports #playerandfan #SundayFunday pic.twitter.com/GpKD00A4gW

@RMeara_18 - May 8 - Ryan Meara, New York Red Bulls

If Manziel ends up going to the Cowboys I think ESPN would break

Quotables

"He's been unreal, his first touch is amazing. He can fire off a quick shot, he can get in behind and he's unselfish. He's doing everything for us, we're very fortunate to have him as good as he is right now."

RSL defender Nat Borchers on the form of teammate Joao Plata

"It's a relief for me because I have been waiting for this one for a while. Hopefully now I can bang some in because I've been working towards this one a long time. I thought I was going to get a third one, but sometimes it doesn't happen and that's okay. We got three points and that's the number one thing right now."

New England Revolution forward Diego Fagundez on getting his first and second goal of this season

"It certainly looks that way. We have to find a way to either generate better chances - we're certainly getting them - the problem isn't getting it into the box, but being a team that is dangerous in front of goal is definitely a problem now."

Philadelphia Union head coach John Hackworth on bringing in players during the upcoming transfer window

"Harry's been playing really well. Each game he's gotten better, and better, and better. I think just his passes with the one pass to Mike [Magee] when he just missed it, first half, to make it 2-1 I think, and they go down the other end and score. That pass, you know, he's got that passing in as well as the finishing. I can't say enough about Harry. He's really working hard at his game, he looks like a real player, and I think he's got a great chance at going all the way."

Chicago Fire head coach Frank Yallop on the performance of Harry Shipp

"For me, most importantly, I need to be playing. Any player, you can practice all you want, but there's a difference between practice and games, and getting minutes and match fitness. And for me I think most importantly, I need to get back into that groove and find minutes and be match fit and have a home where I compete every day, day in and day out in training."

Colorado Rapids defender Gale Agbossoumonde on getting minutes with the Rapids

Week 11 Game Previews

Wednesday, May 14

Sporting Kansas City vs. Philadelphia Union, 8:30 p.m.

- Dom Dwyer had his second 2-goal game of the season and Sporting KC won by shutout for a second consecutive match in their 3-0 win at Montréal on Saturday afternoon.

- Union had their winless streak extended to nine games with their 1-0 home loss to D.C. United on Saturday, setting a club record.

- The teams met three times a season ago - and the road team won on all three occasions, the first road victories ever in the all-time series. Union won 1-0 on Sept. 27 in the only meeting at Sporting Park.

- Union have won just once in five all-time matches against Sporting at PPL Park, that win coming June 23, 2012. SKC won on their two visits to Chester last year; the first two meetings at PPL Park ended in draws.

Saturday, May 17

Toronto FC vs. New York Red Bulls, 4:30 p.m.

- Bradley Wright-Phillips extended his goalscoring streak to four games with his second hat trick in that time, hitting for the triple in the Red Bulls' 5-4 loss to Chicago on Saturday. Wright-Phillips has scored eight goals in his last four games,

- Toronto FC return to action after another bye week. They've played one game in the last three weeks, losing their third in a row in a 2-1 loss to the New England Revolution on May 3 at BMO Field.

- The Red Bulls have an 10-game undefeated streak alive (7-0-3) vs. Toronto FC, dating back to June 24, 2009, a 2-0 TFC win at BMO Field. New York has two wins and three draws in its last five visits to Toronto.

- The Red Bulls have won their last five home games vs. TFC, and have won all four meetings lifetime at Red Bull Arena (with a 12-1 goal differential). TFC's only away win vs. New York came in 2008, a 3-1 win at Giants Stadium.

D.C. United vs. Montreal Impact, 7 p.m.

- D.C. United won on the road for the first time since Oct. 6, 2012 in their 1-0 defeat of Philadelphia Union at PPL Park on Saturday, putting an end to their away winless streak after 21 games. It was the second-longest stretch of road games without a win; the New York Red Bulls went 27 away games without a victory, May 31, 2008-Oct. 14, 2009.

- The Montréal Impact lost in a shutout to Sporting Kansas City for the second time in four weeks over the weekend, falling 3-0 at Stade Saputo. They were outscored 7-0 by the defending MLS champions over the two matches.

- United have never lost to the Impact at RFK Stadium, winning their last encounters on East Capitol Street, including a 3-1 win last Aug. 3 in the only game in Washington.

- The Impact have won both visits by United all-time to Québec, including a 2-1 triumph last Aug. 17 in the only encounter at Stade Saputo.

Philadelphia Union vs. New England Revolution, 7 p.m.

- The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Sebastien Le Toux scored the game's only goal in the 31st minute for a Union win March 15 at PPL Park.

- Union have never lost to the Revolution at PPL Park. Philadelphia is 4-0-2 on its home ground vs. New England, with victories in each of the last four encounters.

- Diego Fagundez became the youngest player in Revolution club history to score two goals in a game when he netted twice in the first half of the 5-0 win against Seattle Sounders FC on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.

- The Revolution extended their current undefeated streak to four games and are unbeaten in their last seven games at Gillette Stadium after the win against Seattle.

FC Dallas vs. Chivas USA, 8:30 p.m.

- Chivas USA put an end to their eight-game overall winless streak - and their 19-game road winless streak - with a 3-1 victory against the Colorado Rapids on Sunday afternoon at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The road winless run was the fourth-longest in MLS history, snapped on a weekend when two of the four longest in MLS annals were put to an end.

- FC Dallas matched their club record with their fourth consecutive defeat, falling 2-1 at the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday evening at Buck Shaw Stadium. It's the eighth time in the club's 19 seasons FCD has lost four games in a row.

- The teams are meeting for the second time this season. FC Dallas got three goals over final 19 minutes of the game, from Fabian Castillo, Je-Vaughn Watson and Michel, to storm back for a 3-1 triumph March 22 at Toyota Stadium.

- Chivas USA haven't won in Frisco since 2009, when they defeated FC Dallas 2-0. Since then, FCD is 3-0-3 at home vs. Chivas, ending a streak of three consecutive draws with this year's victory.

Houston Dynamo vs. LA Galaxy, 8:30 p.m.

- The Dynamo matched their club record with five goals allowed in the 5-2 loss to Real Salt Lake at BBVA Compass Stadium on Sunday. It's the second time in the club's last 22 regular season games they allowed five goals, also conceding that many in a 5-0 loss at Montréal on Aug. 24, 2013.

- Robbie Keane netted his fifth goal in the last six games, but the LA Galaxy still saw their winless run reach three games after the Portland Timbers scored a late equalizer for a 1-1 draw Sunday at Providence Park.

- The Dynamo have won the last three league meetings between the teams, claiming a 1-0 victory last May 5 in Carson in the only meeting between the clubs.

- The Dynamo win last year ended a six-game Galaxy winning streak in all competitions at StubHub Center, including victories in MLS Cup 2011 and MLS Cup 2012. Houston's last win against the Galaxy in Carson had come in 2007, a 3-1 triumph.

Real Salt Lake vs. Colorado Rapids, 9:30 p.m.

- Javier Morales scored after just 15 seconds - the fourth-fastest goal in MLS history - on the way to the first hat trick in his MLS career in Real's 5-2 win at Houston on Sunday afternoon. It was the first RSL victory in Houston in the club's history, having gone 0-8-1 previously in league play.

- Real extended their season-opening undefeated streak to 10 games, the only unbeaten team remaining in Major League Soccer. The league record for games without defeat to start the season was set by the Los Angeles Galaxy in their first 12 games in club and league history, in 1996 (12-0-0).

- The home team has not lost in the Rocky Mountain Cup series since 2007, when RSL knocked off Colorado 1-0 in Commerce City to close out their playoff hopes. There were two draws in three meetings a year ago; the Rapids took the only win, a 1-0 victory April 6 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

The rivals play for the Rocky Mountain Cup, a trophy awarded by the supporters groups of both teams. The rivalry has lived up to its billing in past seasons, as last-day results sent RSL into the MLS Cup Playoffs ahead of their Rocky Mountain rivals in 2008 (a last-minute RSL goal for a 1-1 tie) and 2009 (a 3-0 Real win). In 2007, the RSL win also ended the Rapids' playoff hopes, though Real also did not qualify.

Portland Timbers vs. Columbus Crew, 10:30 p.m.

- The Timbers scored for a third time in second-half stoppage time - and for the second consecutive game - to snatch a result in their late 1-1 draw with the LA Galaxy. The match before, Portland defeated D.C. United with an added-time winner; they opened the season with a 1-1 draw with Chicago where the equalizer came in stoppage time.

- The Crew had their goalless streak extended to 321 minutes - the fourth-longest in club history - in their third consecutive shutout, a 1-0 home defeat by Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday.

- The Crew have won both meetings all-time in Columbus, both by 1-0 scorelines, including a victory in the only matchup a season ago, July 7 at Crew Stadium.

- The teams played to a scoreless draw in 2012 in the last meeting in Portland; the Timbers won 1-0 in 2011 in the first encounter ever between the clubs.

Seattle Sounders FC vs. San Jose Earthquakes, 10 p.m.

- Sounders FC matched their MLS club record for goals allowed in the 5-0 defeat at the New England Revolution on Sunday. It was the heaviest defeat in club history; the previous mark was the 5-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids last Oct. 5 in Commerce City.

- Sounders FC were also shut out at the attacking end for the first time in the loss in New England. Only the Chicago Fire have still scored in every one of their games this season.

- Sounders FC won the only game between the teams at CenturyLink Field last year, a 4-0 triumph on May 11 that ended a four-game Quakes winning streak in the series. It was the home win for Seattle against San Jose since 2011.

- The Earthquakes have won the last three meetings at Buck Shaw Stadium, including victories in both games in Santa Clara last year. The last Sounders FC away win in the series came July 31, 2010, a 1-0 victory.

Sunday, May 18

Chicago Fire vs. Sporting Kansas City, 3 p.m.

Fire midfielder Harry Shipp became the sixth rookie in MLS history to score a hat trick when he netted three goals in the 5-4 win at the New York Red Bulls. The last player to do it was Vancouver's Kekuta Manneh last season, in an Oct. 9 win vs. Seattle. The Fire put an end to their season-opening winless run after nine games with the win at New York, and became the final team in MLS to win a game this season. The streak was the third-longest run without a victory in club history. The teams evenly split their series a year ago. Each team won once at Toyota Park, Sporting winning 2-1 on July 7 and the Fire taking a 1-0 win Aug. 23; they played to a scoreless draw in the lone encounter in Kansas City. Kansas City has won three times on their last seven trips to Bridgeview, dating back to 2008 - after winning at the Fire just once in the opening decade of the series between the clubs.

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