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MLS Ticker: Cronin injures wrist, Taylor trials with Dynamo and more

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By AVI CREDITOR

D.C. United has gone to great lengths to improve itself during the offseason, but after an injury to one of its acquisitions, the team currently is without a healthy goalkeeper on the official roster.

Steve Cronin, acquired in a trade with Portland for Troy Perkins, injured his wrist in training, and the team is awaiting MRI and X-ray results to determine the severity of the injury. Should Cronin have to miss an extended period of time, the team's depth chart at the position would be rather shallow.

With Bill Hamid still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, the only two healthy keepers in camp are the un-signed Chase Harrison and Joe Willis. Harrison was with the team for the tail-end of the 2010 season before joining Columbus for the playoffs, and Willis, a 6-foot-5 prospect out of the University of Denver, was the team's third-round pick in the MLS SuperDraft.

Among the out-of-contract keepers available with MLS experience is Brad Knighton, who was waived by the Philadelphia Union last month.

Here are a few more items from around MLS:

TAYLOR TRIALS WITH HOUSTON

Jamaican international defender Jermaine Taylor is on trial with the Houston Dynamo, with the club eyeing a deal with the 26-year-old centerback.

Houston's revolving door of Caribbean trialists continues to turn, as Jamaican midfielder Richard Edwards is also set to join the club, while Jamaicans Steven Morissey, Francois Swaby and JeVaughn Watson and Trinidadian Lester Peltier will all have their trial periods end on Saturday.

WHITECAPS SIGN TWO MORE FROM D2 TEAM

The Vancouver Whitecaps signed Nizar Khalfan and Gershon Koffie, two players who were with the club at the USSF Division 2 level. Khalfan, a native Tanzanian, and Koffie, a native Ghanaian, occupy the first international roster slots used by the club.

The 22-year-old Khalfan can play either in the midfield or at striker and tallied two goals and two assists with the Whitecaps last season. He has played for the Tanzania national team since 2006. Koffie, 19, is a ball-winning central midfielder.

RED BULLS OPEN PRESEASON VS. ATLANTE

The New York Red Bulls will play their first preseason match against Atlante in Mexico tonight at 9 p.m. The team will be providing live updates throughout the match via its Twitter feed.

SCHEDULE SET FOR RELEASE

MLS fans have just one more day to wait before getting to work on planning out any road trips and soccer weekends, as the league will release its schedule on Thursday.

Each team will play against each other at home and away for a total of 34 games apiece. It's been speculated that the league's contract negotiations with the television networks is what has been holding up the release.

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What do you think of the D.C. goalkeeping situation? Do you think Taylor would be a good fit in Houston? Do you like the signings for Vancouver? What do you hope to see out of the Red Bulls-Atlante friendly? Ready for the schedule to be unveiled?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. These were players they brought in with an eye towards the MLS. They were likely always going to be signed. They have been great in pre-season, are young, and very good players in the making. And that’s the key phrase. In the making. That’s why they chose Salgado over Nagbe. The Whitecaps are trying to be the kind of club that develops top players through their system with an eye for sales to European teams while hopefully being successful in the MLS. They have had the best Residency program and youth system in the US and Canada for some time. It’s the club philosophy. And they will be signing some international strikers soon.

    Whether they are successful in the MLS remains to be seen.

    Reply
  2. I think they’ve been close to a stadium before…even before the economy tanked & they didn’t get it. They”re moving.

    BTW, Pink Cows is actually a pretty good decsription of Phill’s female fans.

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  3. We’ll see about that. They know that they’d loose a significant percentage of their fan base with little gain to make up for it. Further one of the biggest obstacles to a stadium was the recession. Now that the economy is improving they can hopefully find investors and a stadium site in the DC metro area. Also savoring the defeat of a rival shouldn’t extend to stuff unrelated to the actual game. As much as I think the Pink Cows are scum I wouldn’t want them to relocate to say…Atlanta or St Louis.

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  4. look at how small the MLS team is right now… dont be surprised if they sign more than half the people on trial still for depth

    they could sign almost every player there and still have spots to sign a DP or a few others

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  5. I think they overestimated the ease with which they’d be able to sign international players. I think they had a list of targets and keep striking out, and as time goes on, they steadily settle for signing more and more of their D2 team.

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  6. Surely Hamid should be back soon. It seems hes had that shoulder injury for many months ago and is just about back to full fitness.

    I don’t get Vancouver. Mediocre Division 2 players will not make the Whitecaps competitive.

    TS completely underestimated the skill level required for MLS today when he was with United and it seems he is continuing the favor to Vancouver.

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  7. I’m proposing that the DCU front office inquire with the league office — unless they already know hte answer — as to whether they can sign DCU Academy product Samir Badr to a loan until the July window. Cronin should be back by then, even in the worst case.

    I don’t know if the Home Grown rule can be used to add a player in this way, but if it can, they should get on the phone with FC Porto pronto.

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  8. Yeah Buddy! I’m with you, I don’t think I have ever been this excited for the new season!

    I’d like to attribute it to a few things:

    1) The NW corner with the Cascadia rivalry among other growing/established rivalries

    2) Ever improving league and hopes it continues in quality, team passion, attendance, beautiful venues etc… (more TV coverage hopefully!)

    3) Excellent and unprecedented coverage by the wonderful SBI staff throughout last year and this year to keep us in the know!

    Onward and upward!

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  9. The Euro leagues provide us with a standard but there is nothing like rooting for the underdog (MLS) and watching it grow. MLS is OURS and we should embrace it season in and season out. Nice stadiums, some rabid fan bases, skilled players, a world class player sprinkled around the league… this is all good stuff!!!

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  10. I agree. Although it’s nice to watch the big Euro games, there is something special about watching games from your own domestic league.

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  11. I can’t wait for the MLS to start, I’m tired of watching these Euro games.

    It would have been great to have a live feed to the RYRB game tonight.

    Reply

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