photo by Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports
By FRANCO PANIZO
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — Landon Donovan might have been an exceptional penalty-kick taker in his career, but it is that part of the game that got his coaching career off to a losing start.
Club America’s Under-20s won the second MLS Homegrown Game on Tuesday night, defeating the Donovan-led MLS Homegrowns, 6-5, on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw through 90 minutes. The shootout at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park went to seven rounds, but Anthony Jackson-Hamel missed on the Homegrowns’ final attempt.
Tommy Thompson scored the first goal in the history of the event in the first half, but the MLS side could not hold on. Tyler Turner conceded a penalty kick in the 67th minute for a push inside the penalty area, and Sergio Rodriguez capitalized on the opportunity by slotting in the ensuing spot kick a minute later.
Club America nearly won it before the end of regulation. Substitute Homegrowns goalkeeper Matt Lampson got just enough of the ball to push a 76th-minute shot off the post, and Victor Rodriguez fired a stinging shot from the right side of the penalty area two minutes before the final whistle that just went wide.
The MLS Homegrowns were on their heels for much of the second half, and they would have surrendered an equalizer earlier if not for Alex Zendejas preserving the lead in the 58th minute by heading a ball off the goal line.
Five minutes earlier, Club America had another quality chance that Brandon Garcia fired off the post.
The Homegrowns also came out of the gates slowly, but came to life after Thompson struck. Thompson opened the scoring with a low finish from 23 yards out in the 34th minute, dribbling upfield and taking advantage of the space in front of him. The ensuing shot had power behind it, but Jonathan Leon Quinones got his hand to it and should’ve kept it out.
Memo Rodriguez nearly made it 2-0 for the MLS Homegrowns four minutes later, hitting a bending shot from outside the 18-yard box that was denied superbly by a flying Quinones.
Quinones also delivered in the penalty shootout, stopping an attempt from Zendejas in the opening five penalties before seeing Jackson-Hamel shoot his effort over the crossbar in sudden death.
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What did you think of the MLS Homegrowns’ penalty kick loss to Club America’s U-20s? Which players impressed you? Like seeing Donovan involved and on the sidelines?
Share your thoughts below.
Thatmwas supposed to read “San Jose fans” Autocorrect sucks on the iPad.
I’m going to do something strange here–talk about one of the players instead of if Mexico or the US is better, if MLS is any good, whether Donovan should coach, and all those other relevant topics. I didn’t see this, but not surprised that Tommy Thompson scored. I like that kid. He is the kind who tries and usually succeeds in making an impact. After the U-20 tournament I wrote that I thought he was going to be a good MLS player. I now think he has the capability of maybe being good enough to be a national team player, if he keeps developing as he has (key words). He has the speed and I think he has the right attitude. He seems like he’s one of those all out, fight for every scrap type. I like those kind of players.
he should go to Europe.
I’ve been watching Thompson for @3 years now and what has always Impressed me is that he has a skill set that is unique in that he is constantly trying to exploit space. Specifically he makes diagonal runs that open up the opponents defense. If you watch last nights match you can see how often Club America’s players made exactly the same type of run and how difficult it was for your defenders to deal with.
I by no means think that TT’s game is complete, but Gary you are correct, he works his socks off both in and out of possession, uses his body well for a small player and is wiling to run at the opposition. San Jose DNS need to appreciate what they have much more than many of them do.
Landycakes (and his fanboys) are too thin skinned to be in coaching. I am surprised he didn’t teach them all to do that silly kissing of their taped fingers in honor of Bianca before the penalty kicks…I Love You Bianca!!!
Now that (game) is over, let’s stop mentioning Donovan unless it’s about people breaking his records, further descending him into the land of the forgotten.
Also, was this game even broadcasted?
It was on the MLS channel
Oh…so it wasn’t even broadcasted
Fire LD!
Is LD wanting to coach? I know you are joking, but I was thinking…..
If JK’s kid is coming through the ranks of the US national team and if Landon could make his way to become a great national team coach. Hmmmm.
This is not true LandyCake is a fine couche.
I was there last night. Some promising talent coming through in the midfield. Fun game to attend, with the crowd solidly on the side of Club America U20’s. Bigger crowd that I expected, too – anyone seen an actual total?
Love the Chipotle jersey, gotta get me one of those
The teams say it all. MLS Homegrowns (All MLS) vs. Club America u-20s (just one team from Liga MX). Club America isn’t even the u20 champion from liga MX, that spot goes to Pachuca.
Just one team. Kind of the operative word. One team, one system, with familiarity and a continuity in development and coaching. Whereas the homegrown team was a bunch of guys who did not know one another, had never or seldom played together before…and were coached by a guy in Donovan who had never coached before in his life.
Hard to take much from that.
You’re right, it does. One is a team that works and practices together all season long while the other is a group of players thrown together for less than a week and are mostly unfamiliar with their teammates.
I’m not sure of the relevance of the Pachuca comment, though…
He is trying to put down US soccer even more by showing that Club America isn’t even the best team Mexico could have put forward.
Standard stuff in the whiner’s fight.
Pssst. I knew that. My last comment was a subtle dig at the poster I was replying to. 🙂
MLS homegrown system is a joke. Aside from Gyassi so far no real quality had come through, and please don’t reference ones who scored in Mickey Mouse friendlies where players are working themselves back into shape an are playing at 1/4 speed.. Shipp?? He did most of his developing at Notre Dame.
It’s a rule, not a system. The homegrown player rule encourages teams to develop young players by giving mls clubs a way to say, “this young player is ours.”
Yedlin, Najar, Miazga, Trapp, Hamid
Shipp spent time in the Fire youth system before going to Notre Dame and played some for the Fire PDL side while there also.
The Home Grown system has only been around a few years, to write it off as a joke that quickly is crazy. The idea is more clubs will invest in developing players knowing that there not just going to have them be drafted by another team in the future. We can’t have a system thats just like it is in Europe and we can’t just do things like other American sports. The homegrown system is trying to find the right balance and I think its at least a good start.
Agudelo, Maigza, Fagundez, EPB, Thompson, Allen, Jamieson, Villareal, Sorto, O’Neill, Readding, Acosta & Kovar are all Home Grown players who have also shown that there is quality to the system. Just needs a little more time to see the impact of these types of players.
None of those players are impressive with the exception of Najar and Fagundez. Unless I’m mistaken, both were born elsewhere to immigrant parents who instilled soccer in a young age and taught them the importance of technical ability. That is pretty much the only way we get technical players in the U.S. either soccer loving immigrant parents who taught them, they were born elsewhere where they learned or are duals. Had Najaf and Fagundez completely depended on the U.S. System to teach them we never would have heard of them. The rest of Thais players will pretty much amount to roster fillers.
Martha,
The hate you are spewing since you joined is getting old. While I agree, to a certain extent, that some homegrown ties are tenuous (Yedlin), to say that Fagudez is not a product of the US system is being disingenuous. He moved here at 5! His family instilled in him a love for soccer, but his training was done in the elite Massachusetts youth soccer system before joining the Revs at 14. I am sure his dad helped him, but rest assured he is a product of the system primarily.
Andy Najar, I’ll give you to a certain degree because a lot of his foundation was laid before he joined DC at 13. However, rest assured, DC did some refining.
In reference to Agudelo, Maigza, EPB, Thompson, Allen, Jamieson, Villareal, Sorto, O’Neill, Readding, Acosta & Kovar, Miazga (20) and Agudelo (22) have shown to be quite good. Keep in mind, Agudelo was starting for Utrecht and they wanted to keep him but he was too obsessed with playing in the EPL.
“Martha” has only been around under this handle for a short time but he/she is already a tedious and perdictable bore. Yes, we know. MLS and American soccer sucks and we should all flagellate ourselves daily over this fact. Thanks.
+ 1
Goof, been posting here from the begging,since SBI was just Ives
People don’t feed the whining trolls.
Especially the ones that are this clueless.
Right, here anyone who doesn’t say the U.S. Is improving and MLS is growing is trolling. Never mind the facts like the fact we had a few world class players in their prime to the fact we only have one now, despite MLS being around OVER a decade. While MLS has improved, it hasn’t been by much. It’s still hack a man and kick and run. And it’s definatlely not a retirement league …Simeon forgot to tell Drogba Pirlo Beckham Kaka Gerrard Lampart and Blanco that.
I guess it’s mirrors society today. You have freedom of speech…so long as that speech is politically correct
I like Martha, let’s grab a drink
we were the better team, so result doesnt matter much in this game.
The result didn’t matter because this game didn’t matter. Like at all.
You are like an e-snob
Nope I am not. This is just a dumb game to go along with the MLS all star game. Holds no weight and hurts the league more than it does any good. MIGGY
Someone from MLS wants to make pu$$i man a coach ha ha.