Good Friday morning Caps fans, hope you all are having a lovely week and that you’re gearing up for a well-earned break.
God, I forgot how infuriating CONCACAF play can be. The Caps certainly got a rude awakening for their return to continental competition, slipping on a banana peel and conceding a late winner to Saprissa that will leave them up against it next week at BC Place.
An away goal will help Vancouver’s cause but this is one that the Caps should have put away in the first leg. They created the chances to win and just didn’t finish them, only to have some absolute braindead defending in the dying moments of the match to gift Saprissa a winner.
If you’re going to screw up, better to do so now. And for their first competitive match of the Jesper Sorensen era, it is encouraging to see them put together 95% of the picture, as they can find finishing later (hopefully?). JC Ngando, Ali Ahmed and Pedro Vite looked quite good, a sign the Caps could have a stable of dynamic players, both centrally and out wide, to call on. Ryan Gauld chipped in a nice finish and will continue to look more and more sharp as MLS season starts up.
There will be much more anxiety for the Caps in the return leg than I think anyone wanted but this is still a doable turnaround. Just not quite the start Sorensen (and the rest of us) were looking for.
As an aside, with the MLS season starting this weekend, I will continue my tradition of predicting the final standings and tossing out my award and cup winners. I always look profoundly stupid every year but its fun to keep trying anyway. Chime in with your thoughts and predictions in the comments and we’ll start another year with this wild, stupid, beautiful league we all love.
Eastern
- FC Cincinnati
- Inter Miami
- Atlanta United
- Columbus Crew
- New York Red Bulls
- Charlotte FC
- Chicago Fire
- Orlando City
- New England
- NYCFC
- Nashville SC
- CF Montreal
- Philadelphia Union
- Toronto FC
- DC United
Western
- Seattle Sounders
- LAFC
- Minnesota United
- LA Galaxy
- Colorado Rapids
- Austin FC
- St. Louis City
- San Jose Earthquakes
- Vancouver Whitecaps
- FC Dallas
- Houston Dynamo
- Portland Timbers
- Real Salt Lake
- San Diego
- Sporting KC
Supporters Shield: FC Cincinnati
MLS Cup: Inter Miami
Leagues Cup: LAFC
Canadian Championship: Vancouver
Golden Boot: Petar Musa, FC Dallas
Shameless Self Promotion
A recap of the Caps’ adventures (misadventures?) down in Costa Rica and who impressed in the first match of the year. Meanwhile, the podcast has you covered with a season preview show.
Best of the Rest
If you want more podcast listening material, I enjoyed AFTN’s interview with Kendall Waston, who returned to play and frustrate his old club Thursday night.
MLS’ 30 year birthday finds the league at a crossroads.
Who are the most intriguing players in the league heading into the new season? The Athletic crunches the numbers.
On the same week Inter Miami/Sporting KC play in subzero windchill, players and coaches tout the benefits of a fall-spring calendar.
watched Stuart Armstrong play today for Sheffield Wednesday vs Burnely- he had at least 2 seious shots and was unlucky not to score- NO QUESTION, 100% that he would have pushed the Caps 3-4 places higher in the standings as an AMF
Salty
good comments- i predicted a 2-1 Saprissa win- gotta agree that their winning goal was on the defenders and Jayden Nelsen in particular- but a decent first game in months
i agree on a 8th-11th place finish unless we get recruits, one being a significant AMF which will only come with new owners or the proverbial, free agency- it will all hinge on Sorenson getting better Team results for the first 2 months, one of the new players surprising us like Picault did last year, Sorenson making thoughtful in-game adjustments/changes (something Vanni couldnt or wouldnt do) and ESPECIALLY an injury-free Ryan Gauld
new ambitious Owners- and soon- will be a major upgrade and could turn the Team around from mediocre to contending
Salty