By TRAVIS CLARK
The top two teams in the SBI USSF D-2 Power Rankings met last week, and managed to put on a show that equaled the hype.
A back-and-forth meeting at PGE Park between Vancouver and Portland was an exciting and physical battle, and on the strength of Ryan Pore's two goals, the Timbers walked away victorious and to maintain the top spot in the latest power rankings.
Newcomers A.C. St. Louis dug themselves off the bottom after beating fellow basement-dwellers Crystal Palace Baltimore to earn the new franchise's first-ever win. Austin made a jump as well after winning out in Minnesota.
Here's a look at this week's USSF Division 2 Power Rankings:
SBI USSF DIVISION 2 POWER RANKINGS (Week 4)
1. Portland Timbers (3-0-1)
Last Match– Beat Vancouver 2-1 on Saturday.
Next Match– vs. Crystal Palace Baltimore on Thursday, May 13.
Outlook: After last week's win against the Whitecaps, Portland gets to take a weekend off to rest and recover. Although with the tear Ryan Pore is on, that may not be a good thing. Timbers fans can only hope he sticks around when they make the jump to MLS next year.
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2. Vancouver Whitecaps (2-1-1)
Last Match– Lost 2-1 at Portland last Thursday.
Next Match– vs. Crystal Palace Baltimore on Saturday, May 8.
Outlook: Whitecaps will be disappointed at the nature of Portland's winner — Pore scored via a remarkable header shortly after the Timbers were reduced to ten men — but get a break with Baltimore coming to town. It's a chance to bounce back with a league win against an opponent yet to post a win this season.
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3. Rochester Rhinos (2-1-2)
Last Match– Tied vs. Carolina 1-1 on Saturday.
Next Match– vs. A.C. St. Louis on Saturday, May 8.
Outlook: Rochester's home opener had a familiar feel, as the club failed yet again to miss out on an opening win in front of a decent crowd. A.C. St. Louis visits this weekend, giving the Rhinos another shot at that first victory at home.
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4. Austin Aztex (3-1)
Last Match– Beat NSC Minnesota 2-1 on Saturday.
Next Match– at FC Tampa Bay on Saturday, May 8.
Outlook: The strong start continues, as Austin bounced back nicely from their home loss against Rochester. Eddie Johnson provided a goal once again, and his production and consistency will be crucial to the Aztex maintaining form throughout a long campaign. With two wins on the road already, Austin looks for a third this weekend against expansion Tampa Bay.
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5. Puerto Rico Islanders (2-1)
Last Match– Lost 1-0 at Montreal on Saturday.
Next Match– vs. Carolina on Wednesday, May 26.
Outlook: Thanks to Puerto Rico's participation in the final round of the Carribbean Football Union's Club Championship, the Islanders get to enjoy a long respite from league competition. Their quest to qualify for a CONCACAF Champions League qualifying spot began Wednesday night with a win against Bayamon FC, another Puerto Rican-based team.
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6. Carolina Railhawks (1-1-1)
Last Match– Tied at Rochester 1-1 on Saturday.
Next Match– at Miami on Saturday, May 8.
Outlook: A fortuitous penalty call allowed Carolina to escape Rochester with a point against the Rhinos. The offensive struggles continued however, with the Railhawks unable to create and convert chances. With a strong defense, it is up to the offense to start clicking and turn Carolina into a stronger contender.
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7. Montreal Impact (1-1-1)
Last Match– Won 1-0 vs. Puerto Rico on Saturday.
Next Match– vs. NSC Minnesota on Saturday, May 8.
Outlook: The distraction of the Nutrilite Championship could prove to make the weekend fixture a bit more difficult. Montreal's improvement continues, and they'll hope to string together two wins in a row. Their depth will certainly be tested by this short week, however, plus the traveling time to Vancouver.
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8. Miami FC (0-0-3)
Last Match– Tied vs. Tampa Bay 1-1 on Saturday.
Next Match– vs. Carolina on Saturday, May 8.
Outlook: The news for Miami last weekend was both good and bad. Christian Gomez got off the mark against inter-state rival Tampa Bay, while Caleb Patterson-Sewell held stoutly after Gomez earned himself a red card. Conceding a late equalizer for a third tie in a row dampens those feelings, not to mention how close Miami came to that elusive first win. Carolina visits for a fourth straight home match, and it'd be a disappointment if Miami can't come away with at least win from that early stretch.
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9. FC Tampa Bay Rowdies (1-1-1)
Last Match– Tied at Miami 1-1 on Saturday.
Next Match– vs. Austin on Saturday, May 8.
Outlook: Four points from three road games is a good foundation for new club Tampa Bay. Still very much in the adjustment stages, they have to be a bit disappointed not winning in Miami after playing almost the entire second half with a man advantage. Still, a point on the road is a good result, and Austin comes to town as Tampa Bay hosts their first game of the season on Saturday.
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10. NSC Minnesota Stars (2-4)
Last Match– Lost 2-1 vs. Austin on Saturday.
Next Match– at Montreal on Saturday, May 8.
Outlook: Minnesota hit a bit of a slump over the past week, dropping two games at home in what appeared to be fairly winnable matches. The Stars take to the road with a difficult away trip to Montreal this weekend. Affording slight hope to Minnesota is the Impact's busy week, as they have to cope with the trip to Vancouver Wednesday night.
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11. A.C. St. Louis (1-4)
Last Match– Won 1-0 vs. Crystal Palace Baltimore on Saturday.
Next Match– at Rochester on Saturday, May 8.
Outlook: Things are looking better for St. Louis — Steve Ralston's return nears, the club's first win of the season came over the weekend, and 27-year-old Brazilian midfielder Gauchinho officialy joined the club. Formerly playing in Denmark, his arrival is expected to give a stagnant offense a much-needed boost (St. Louis has just two goals in five games).
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12. Crystal Palace Baltimore (0-3)
Last Match– Lost 1-0 at A.C. St. Louis on Saturday.
Next Match– at Vancouver on Saturday, May 8.
Outlook: A loss at St. Louis was the third in a row for struggling Baltimore. The road ahead isn't any easier, with a Northwest swing on the schedule — first Vancouver on Saturday, then Portland the following Thursday. It'd be a shock — and a great result — to see Palace come away with any points from the trip.
The Tampa Rowdies outplayed Miami on Saturday and should have won handily but for their inability to finish and some heroics by Miami’s goalie.
The Rowdies have already sold 6,000 tickets for their home opener v. Austin Aztecs this Saturday. The City of Tampa is hungry for a professional soccer team, and Paul Dalglish has done a great job with a brand new team. They play a very patient possession game, and have a very solid defense. The Rowdies will make the playoffs this year.
I am very interested in seeing who the Timbers pick up for their opening MLS season. And yes, they need to hold on to Ryan Pore, and I hope they keep Steve Cronin and Mandjou Keita.
The second division attendance bible (at least in recent seasons) can be found here: http://www.soccercityusa.com/2010uslatt.html
Rochester has a student supporter season ticket for $35. Now that makes sense! I need to find my student id.
Wow – have any of you followed USL in the past few years?
Toronto and Seattle worked? Both had absolute shite attendance before joining MLS. Their cities all of a sudden found infinite new fans once MLS came calling.
Montreal, Portland, Rochester, and Vancouver have all been head and shoulders above the rest for the past 4 years – long before MLS announcements ‘boosted’ attendance numbers in those cities. Their fan bases get it, although Rochester has dropped out of that consideration the past two seasons.
Vancouver’s Swangard Stadium only holds 5,xxx and change, and they consistently sell out or get close. Montreal has a sellout more often than not at around 13,000. Portland sold out the first match this year at 15,418, then had two straight weeks where matches were on the same night as home Blazers playoff games, so attendance suffered there, but still drew almost 6k to each.
These three cities should be happy MLS is calling to rescue them from the USL/USSF/NASL mess. They deserve the top tier. The rest of the also-ran clubs in this league may well not have a league as they haven’t shown they can or will support it.
And the league has no identity yet because the USSF is hoping that it will only be a one year league.
As far as the teams go, MLS has skimmed off the best markets, many of which have been around for a number of years. It will take time for new teams to develop to the point that Portland, Montreal and Vancouver are.
I’m tracking the attendance numbers here:
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1394298&page=5
Attendances are generally crap, because the league has no identity yet and, as far as I can tell, no marketing plan to try to establish supporter-group driven fanbases equal to the size of their communities.
It worked in Toronto and Seattle. I’m not sure what’s wrong with these people.
Tampa drew at Miami and should be ahead of them. Otherwise, pretty spot on.
I would think the teams already MLS bound (Portland, Vancouver and presumably Montreal) would be outliers as their fan bases are definitely boosted by the pending moves.
But from there I would imagine it’d be pretty close for the rest.
wow seems like the winless miami fc is getting a little too much love up there.
Travis, do you have attendance numbers for these teams? Does anyone have a case to be MLS team #20?
Wow! I bet EJ’s really racking up the Frequent Flyer miles playing for both Aris Thessaloniki and the Austin Aztex…
Bazinga!
Viva los Rhinos!