Photo by Tony Quinn/ISIphotos.com
D.C. United repeated as champions of the Carolina Challenge Cup, sewing up the tournament with a 2-2 draw with Toronto FC on Saturday.
Charlie Davies opened the scoring in the 12th minute for D.C. (and followed it up by doing the stanky leg). Dwayne De Rosario and Maicon Santos answered with goals in the 19th and 28th minutes, respectively, for Toronto, which had Adrian Cann return to action for the first time since he walked out of training camp in a contract dispute. TFC's Mikael Yourassowsky was red-carded in the 37th minute, and Joseph Ngwenya capitalized on the man-advantage with the equalizer in the 61st minute to seal the draw.
With victories over the Charleston Battery and Chicago Fire and the draw with Toronto, D.C.'s seven points were tops among the four-team field. Chicago and Charleston played to a scoreless draw in their tournament finale.
Here are some other results from the end of the MLS preseason:
ATLANTA PRO SOCCER CHALLENGE
Will Bruin's two-goal performance, Brian Ching's latest injury and Chad Marshall's return to action were the most notable items to come from the Atlanta Pro Soccer Challenge.
Bruin, Houston's rookie forward, tallied his brace in Sunday's 3-1 victory over the New England Revolution. Another Houston rookie, Alex Dixon, got on the scoresheet as well, as Houston went 1-1 in the round-robin tournament.
With his performance, Bruin stated his case to earn a spot in Houston's starting lineup, one that may be missing Ching to start the season.
The veteran striker injured his hamstring in the 28th minute of the Dynamo's 1-0 loss to Columbus on Friday, a match in which Marshall also played his first set of 90 minutes since returning from a concussion. He had played 45 minutes last Wednesday in Columbus' 3-1 victory over New England.
COLORADO 1, VANCOUVER 0
Jamie Smith's 79th-minute goal broke a scoreless draw and lifted the Colorado Rapids to a victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps at Empire Field in the final tune-up for both teams.
Vancouver's Designated Player, Eric Hassli, made his team debut and played 58 minutes before giving way to Omar Salgado.
FC DALLAS 2, CHIVAS USA 0
Daniel Hernandez and Ruben Luna scored the goals, as FC Dallas concluded the preseason by posting its fourth consecutive clean sheet.
Things got chippy at about the hour mark, as Luna and Jimmy Conrad got into a scuffle that yielded yellow cards to both of them. A minute later, Conrad was cautioned for a tackle on Marvin Chavez and was sent off, forcing Chivas to play a man down for the final 28 minutes.
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What stood out for you from the weekend's results? Do you think D.C. will rebound in a big way in 2011? Do you think Bruin can fill Ching's void atop Houston's formation? Relieved to see Marshall back in action? Which 2010 MLS Cup finalist do you see having a better season, Colorado or FC Dallas?
Share your thoughts below.
Bruin is a fine, young prospect, but they have never replaced Holden or Rico Clark. Most other teams have gotten significantly better since that time. Dynamo will be lucky to avoid last place, especially if Ching goes down…
I’m not ready to jump on the Dynamo bandwagon as much as Ives is, but I was impressed with Bruin and Sarkodi this weekend. Bruin’s second goal was pure class, and he seems to have more of a “soccer brain” than half of the returning strikers in the league.
I think DCU has significantly improved a porous defense. Kitchen–though a young rookie, seems to be the communicator and organizer that this team has lacked for a couple of years. The scheme helps too–playing with Dax McCarty and Clyde Simms in central midfield, creates a lot of congestion and defensive help. The depth is better but I won’t get carried away–they’ve gone from a team that didn’t have 11 legitimate MLS starters last year (and were relying on a 16-17 y.o. rookie as their best player) to one that probably has 15 legitimate MLS starters–so okay as long as there aren’t major injury problems. To me, the real question is going to be about “goals scored.” The talent is there to get the better of possession in a lot of games and create a lot of chances. But finish? CD9 has to have a good season (10+ goals) and/or guys like Wolff, Pontius, Najar, Ngwenya and Quaranta all need to chip in (with 3 of the 5 scoring at least 5 goals a piece).
Good finish by Davies…. but that was some POOR defending.
Reminiscent of Top Gun…. “where’d who gooooooo?”
I wonder if its the same hamstring that kept Ching out in the run up to the WC?
I think Houston made a great move to trade for the pick to select Bruin. As a DC United fan, I had been hoping that they would make that move. Bruin was too good a value to be around still when he was picked up, and strikers that good are hard to come by.
Do you have the words “Ching re-injured” set as a macro? You know going into a season you will have to type that a few times, so you might as wel save time.
Jimmy Conrad has been a noble servant of the league, but he’s past it–was last year, too.
He’ll be on the bench soon enough, even if Fraser gives him a few extra games for old time’s sake.
Ching is hurt again! Man, I feel bad for the guy. I hope he recovers quick. That Bruin kid looks dangerous from what I have seen. A lot faster than he looks too. I’m glad to see Charlie Davies scoring. I hope he can do this during the season.
While the card went to Conrad, it was actually, Heath, “You’re dead to us, Dallas reject,” Pearce that was trying to choke Ruben Luna. It will be interesting to see how much Luna gets in the heads of considerably more mature defenders this season.
good for davies!