Tucson Will Test Revs

Courtesy of the New England Revolution

The preseason is rolling along in Foxboro, but the first important test for the New England Revolution will come on February 13th, the start of the 3^rd Annual FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup. The New York Red Bulls, Real Salt Lake and the Seattle Sounders will also be in attendance in the four day tournament, all whom finished 3rd or better in their MLS regular season conferences. New England head coach Jay Heaps could not be in a better position to train his squad against top league talent. The time spent in Arizona will help the club make roster observations of who is creating chemistry on the pitch as plenty of newcomers are fighting for a starting role. Although Jay’s rookie season as head coach was not terrible, he got the sense that late  additions such as Jerry Bengtson and Juan Toja found trouble performing with the team due to preseason absence. Thankfully, the only two injured players on the Revolution roster played the majority of regular season matches in 2012, and blended well with their teammates before their injury. Saer Sene and Lee Nguyen’s absence this preseason should not hurt the club’s game plan or quality of play a great deal come March. The next few weeks will be a critical time for the organization to asses the direction they intend to head in this MLS season, involving roster cuts, formation strategy, and who deserves to start. “I’m a big believer that formations come from your talent level and what you’re going to do on the pitch,” said Heaps. “Style of play is something we’ve ingrained from day one, but the actual formation is going to be [determined by] which players we have to choose from and finding our strengths and weaknesses. That’s a lot of what the next seven or eight days are going to be: long sessions derived toward looking for those relationships and starting to build our formation.” Desert Cup games will be played on February 13th, 16th, and 20th. The championship will commence on the 23rd, televised nationally on the NBC Sports Network.

Matt Bloom

Twitter: @foxborofort

USL Pro Gives MLS Bright Future

MLS Commissioner Don Garber (right) is not only attracting overseas talents like David Beckham to the MLS, but building a league he hopes can compete with the EPL and others one day.

When you look at the successful football clubs in Europe or even the sell out baseball games in America, you find that partnerships with minor leagues are just as valuable to winning as over spending for a top player. Major League Soccer’s decision to partner up with their own minor league USL Pro is a move that could potentially shift the quality of players in the MLS and popularity of the sport in America. The league has been vocal on their goal to become one of the best leagues in the world within the next ten years, and the proper construction of MLS and USL Pro team affiliations will certainly help them do so.

The beginning years of the partnership will be a testing phase as all 19 MLS clubs will have their choice on how to manage their reserve players with the USL Pro league. A club can either create an affiliation with an existing USL Pro team, join the USL Pro with a standalone team, or continue to participate in the MLS Reserve League while integrating matches against USL Pro teams to their schedule. If a club is to create an affiliation with an existing USL Pro team, a few more rules come in to play. First, the MLS team must send a minimum of four players on long-term loan to their USL Pro affiliate. Second, if a USL Pro member is to be called up to the MLS, another reserve must be sent back down in his place. Third, players can be moved up or down on a game by game basis, meaning some young emerging stars may get a shot to prove themselves earlier than usual.

Revolution, Rochester Rhinos Partnership Official

New England was one of the first clubs looking to partner up with a USL Pro team. News broke this morning that a partnership between the Revolution and Rochester Rhinos (N.Y.) is official. Management at New England explained how the move not only raises the competition level for their reserves, but allows them to stay more active and play more games. “We believe forming an affiliation with Rochester gives us the ability to get our players more competitive games on a regular basis. This option allows those players who would normally see most of their action in the Reserve League to get more consistent playing time, which we believe will benefit our first team in the long run,” GM Michael Burns said. Kudos to the Revs for acting so fast, but the MLS deserves all the credit for their attempt at building a wildly effective farm system in what they hope is a short amount of time.

Matt Bloom

Twitter: @foxborofort

Revs 2013 SuperDraft Recap

Courtesy of the New England Revolution

Andrew Farrell (1^st Round, 1^st Pick)

Player Profile:

• Position: Defender
• Height: 5′ 11″
• Weight: 165 lbs.
• Birth Date: 04-03-1992
• Birthplace: Louisville, KY

Career at Louisville:

2012 First-team NSCAA All-American, 2012 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist, 2012 Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Started all five NCAA Tournament games as freshman.

2012 Stats: 23 Starts, 4 Goals, 9 Points

Highlights: http://www.mlssoccer.com/video/2013/01/08/mls-superdraft-andrew-farrell

Twitter: @louisville05

1-1 Interview With MLS: http://www.mlssoccer.com/video/2013/01/17/superdraft-13-andrew-farrell-selected-1

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Donnie Smith (2nd Round, 2nd Pick)

Player Profile:

• Position: Forward
• Height: 5′ 11″
• Weight: 158 lbs.
• Birth Date: 12-07-1990
• Birthplace: Matthews, North Carolina

Career at UNC Charlotte:

2011 College Cup Championship Appearance, 2011 College Cup All-Tournament Team, Named Second Team All-Atlantic 10.

2012 Stats: 16 Starts, 4 Goals, 4 Assists, 12 Points

Highlights: http://www.mlssoccer.com/video/2012/12/25/mls-superdraft-donnie-smith-char

Twitter: @Donnie9Smith

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Luke Spencer (2nd Round, 4^th Pick)

Player Profile:

• Position: Forward
• Height: 6’2″
• Weight: 198 lbs.
• Birth Date: 11-28-1990
• Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio

Career at Xavier:

2009 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team, 2010 Atlantic 10 Championship All-Tournament Team, 2011 Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team, 2011 Atlantic 10 Championship All-Tournament Team, Lead Musketeers to second round of NCAA Tournament

2012 Stats: 20 Starts, 14 Goals, 8 Assists, 36 Points

Highlights: http://www.mlssoccer.com/video/2013/01/12/mls-superdraft-luke-spencer

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Luis Soffner (2nd Round, 17^th Pick)

Player Profile:

• Position: Goalkeeper
• Height: 6’4″
• Weight: 210 lbs.
• Birth Date: 08-28-1991
• Birthplace: St. Louis, MO

Career at Indiana:

Started all 24 games played in 2012, 13 shutouts, 2012 NCAA College Cup Champion, 2012 College Cup Most Outstanding Defensive Player and All-Tournament Team, Academic All-Big Ten

2012 Stats: 24 Starts, 18 Goals Allowed, 0.72 GAA, .816 Save Pct.

Highlights: http://www.mlssoccer.com/video/2013/01/07/mls-superdraft-luis-soffner

Twitter: @louie_soffner