Evaluating the Roster: May-June Camp

US National team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has called in 26 players for the May-June camp that includes two friendlies and three pivotal World Cup Qualifiers. No significant surprises in it once some of it is explained.

Stu Holden makes his return to a US camp.
Photo: Kristy Wigglesworth AP

The most intriguing (and least important) aspect of this roster is the inclusion of six goalkeepers. Tim Howard and Brad Guzan are the unquestioned number one and number two combination while the third spot will be shared by four MLS goalkeepers. Sean Johnson will be the third goalie for the first stretch of the camp that includes the game against Belgium on May 26. Bill Hamid will be the third goalie for the part of camp that includes the game against Germany on June 2. Tally Hall gets the nod for the week in between the friendlies and the US' trip to Jamaica and then Nick Rimando is the goalie for the World Cup Qualifiers.

Basically it's four independent auditions for three spots in the Gold Cup. The rotation policy keeps the respective MLS clubs happy because they only lose their goalie for a couple of days. Real Salt Lake is unfortunate in that Rimando is gone for the longest span but since it's World Cup Qualifying, they had to release him anyways.

In defense, Steve Cherundolo and Timmy Chandler are both out with injury so right back becomes a slight concern for the US. Cherundolo has played in only four games since coming back from a knee injury while Chandler ruptured a knee ligament just over a week ago and would have been questionable at best for the World Cup Qualifiers. Geoff Cameron and Michael Parkhurst are going to be relied on at right back which will be the weak point of this team.

The return of Stu Holden highlights the midfield for this camp. Holden has quickly worked to return to fitness after his long-term injury problems. He will be a part of the camp but will not have a role in the World Cup Qualifiers as Klinsmann has already placed him on the Gold Cup squad. It's not a waste of a spot because Klinsmann and Holden have hardly any experience together so a couple of weeks of training will do wonders for both.

Brek Shea's inclusion is at first look a surprise but given his youth and a lack of playing and training time with Stoke City, he needs less vacation time at this point in his career. There is nothing to fear with his current lack of playing time as Stoke manager Tony Pulis views him as a signing for the future. It's doubtful that Shea will have a substantial impact in the five games for the US but keeping him in the fold for this time and possibly the Gold Cup should get him more up to speed and prepared for the upcoming English Premier League.

There is a double standard that exists when comparing Cherundolo and Chandler with Shea and Holden. That being said, using it as a point of criticism is unfounded. Cherundolo and Chandler are fully immersed with both club and national team and both would be contenders for a starting spot if healthy. They are simply not healthy enough for this stretch of games. Shea and Holden are still establishing/reestablishing footholds for club and country so their inclusions are a step in that process. It is evident that Shea and Holden are projected to be long-term members of the national team, that is why they are included now.

The Landon Donovan exclusion is disappointing yet understandable in that Donovan can still have an impact on this team but he is just starting to regain the form that he had before his break. Donovan and Klinsmann have been communicating so the door is far from closed and it is becoming a safe bet that he will be in the Gold Cup squad for July. Expect Graham Zusi and a consistently improving Joe Corona to see time on the right hand side.

As always, the roster in full:

Goalkeepers: Tim Howard (Everton, EPL), Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, EPL), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), Tally Hall (Houston Dynamo), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Bill Hamid (DC United)

Defenders: DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla, Liga MX), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City, EPL), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana, Liga MX), Clarence Goodson (Brondby, Danish Superliga), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim, German Bundesliga), Michael Parkhurst (Augsburg, German Bundesliga)

Midfielders: Stu Holden (Bolton Wanderers, English Championship), Michael Bradley (AS Roma, Serie A), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Maurice Edu (Bursaspor, Turkish Süper Lig), Jermaine Jones (Schalke, German Bundesliga), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht, Belgian Pro League), Brek Shea (Stoke City), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

Forwards: Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar, Eredivisie), Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna, Austrian Bundesliga), Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur, EPL), Herculez Gomez (Santos Laguna, Liga MX), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders)

ONE GOAL Contributor

Christian Araos (@Christian_Araos) 

MAJOR MONDAY

Northwestern Wins

This guy, who comes up when you google 'mustache hipster', is probably from Vancouver, Portland, or Seattle, all of whom earned wins against teams from California this weekend.

Chicago Fire  0 : 1  Philadelphia Union                                                                 >>>>>> highlights

Pop Quiz: Which MLS team controlled play and created a number of chances only to be thwarted by a keeper and a striker young enough to be in college (or high school, if they are seriously lacking in reading comprehension)?  The answer is of course, the Chicago Fire, who are tied for the second lowest number of goals scored in the league.  Zac MacMath and Jack McInerney were both great for the Union (McInerney's winner gave him sole possession of MLS leading scorer), but the loss is truly on the Fire, whose incompetent strikers love to squander the play of their potent midfield.

Montreal Impact  3 : 2  Real Salt Lake                                                                   >>>>>> highlights

Montreal shook off a midweek loss at New York to come back late from down 2-1 against visiting RSL.  Matteo Ferrari, one of the Impact's core of ridiculously old Italian players, had a huge impact* on the game, opening the scoring with an own goal and notching the winner on a 93rd minute corner kick.  Felipe and Marco Di Vaio scored Montreal's other two (although Di Vaio was just a hair offsides on the game-tying goal), and the league's most prominent Rastafarian, Kyle Beckerman, got on the scoresheet for Salt Lake.  A loss was probably unfair for the visitors, who performed well in an open and exciting game, but sometimes that's soccer.

Seattle Sounders  4 : 0  San Jose Earthquakes                                                   >>>>>> highlights

Seattle had a big week, beating Sporting in Kansas City on Wednesday and demolishing San Jose on Saturday.  Lamar Neagle had the best game of his MLS career, netting two goals.  Mauro Rosales did an excellent impression of Juninho when he was still good on deal balls by curling in a beautiful free kick, while Obafemi Martins rounded out the rout in stoppage time.  The 'Quakes actually had more possession than the Sounders, but didn't really manage to threaten to score.  Despite picking up 11 points in their last 5 games Seattle are still second to last in the West thanks to an incredibly slow start.

New York New Rules: The Two Halves of Thursday

Hello, this is a column that will run every week looking at two of the many stories going on in American soccer. Don't be mad after reading this, Friday is a day away. 

Manchester City's ownership looks primed to join MLS in the near-future

MAJOR MONDAY

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

One of the week's most notable events took place off the field, when Crew Stadium's scoreboard, which was apparently made of balsa wood and coated in gasoline, burst into flames. 

Toronto FC  1 : 2  New York                                                                                    >>>>>> highlights

Although Toronto continues to languish in the Eastern Conference basement, they have looked better in recent weeks, and were unlucky not to earn a point in their matchup against New York.  The Red Bulls opened the scoring when Tim Cahill remembered that DP's are supposed to score goals and finished a nice team play, but Toronto had solid spells of possession and attacking pressure.  This culminated in a nice long distance goal from rookie sensation Jonathan Osorio (its worth noting NY keeper Luis Robles made a serious blunder on the play), but it just wasn't enough.  Cahill scored again in the 89th minute, sealing the win for the visitors.  TFC can take some solace in the fact that their ownership just signed Tim Leiwike as an executive, which should make Toronto sports teams less terrible going forward.

Montreal Impact  2 : 0  Chicago Fire                                                                    >>>>>>> highlights

The Impact are back at the top of the East on goals from Andres Romero and Marco Di Vaio.  The Fire failed to threaten throughout the match, and were doomed when Jeff Larentowicz was given a ridiculous red card for running kind of close to Andrea Pisanu.  Romero's goal, his first for the club, was a great one.  He isolated Logan Pause and kept him on his back foot before unleashing from a tight angle.  With 14 goals against Chicago have the worst defensive record in the league, and their anemic attack is incapable of bailing them out and earning points.

Vancouver Whitecaps  2 : 2  FC Dallas                                                               >>>>>>> highlights

Vancouver stormed back from 2-0 down to tie Dallas at BC Place.  Dallas' goals, both scored on set pieces, came early in each half.  The insertion of rookie striker Kekuta Manneh had a major impact on the match, as he scored Vancouver's first and assisted on Camilo's game tying goal.  With the game knotted at 2-2, Jackson was red carded and things really opened up, with both keepers forced to make solid saves to maintain the even scoreline.

Columbus Crew  3 : 0  DC United                                                                        >>>>>>> highlights

The fact that the Crew's jumbotron malfunctioned and burst into flames, delaying the game by nearly an hour, is both a reflection on Major League Soccer's incredible evolution and a reminder that we are still kind of bush league.  Crew Stadium was an American soccer Mecca when it became the country's first soccer specific stadium, but it has since been eclipsed by nearly every other team's venue and looks more like a very nice high school football stadium than a place where a pro sports team plays.  In any event, the fire didn't harm anyone and the game was played, with C-Bus stomping the visiting United.  Jairo Arrieta had a great match, assisting on Dominic Oduro's opener and drawing the foul for Federico Higuain's penalty goal.  Josh Williams was the third goalscorer.  United is 0-5-1 in their last six, and have a mere 4 points in 8 games.

New England Revolution  2 : 0  Philadelphia Union                                              >>>>>> highlights

A fantastic Lee Nguyen lead the Revs to victory by stringing passes together, creating chances, scoring New England's second, and rocking a ponytail that easily put my third grade rat tail to shame.  His passing helped set up Diego Fagundez's goal, and if Kelyn Rowe and Saer Sene were better finishers he could have had three assists.  Philly's defense was a mess, and when they did manage to put a chance on goal, Bobby Shuttleworth was excellent in net for the Revolution.

Sporting Kansas City  2 : 3  Portland Timbers                                                    >>>>>>> highlights

Chance Myers had two goals (the first of which came less than a minute in) but it wasn't enough to seal a win against Portland.  It was an exciting match, filled with good scoring chances and people kicking soccer balls. Both teams poured forward, and Ryan Johnson, Darlington Nagbe, and Rodney Wallace all tallied as a result of Portland's attacking pressure.  Sporting will be disappointed to have allowed the Timbers to come back and win, but Caleb Porter's team is proving that they're much more dangerous than in the past. Also of note was the debut of KC's argyle third jersey, which match my grandpa's socks and confirm the fact that Branecks are fashion geniuses.  

Real Salt Lake  0 : 2  Los Angeles Galaxy                                                          >>>>>>> highlights

LA beat Real in Utah despite missing Robbie Keane, Landycakes, Todd Dunivant and Carlo Cudicini.  Salt Lake dominate possession and shots but couldn't put anything past Galaxy back up Brian Rowe.  Mike Magee and rookie Charlie Rugg had both scored within 13 minutes for the visitors, who held on for three points.  After going up the Gals packed it in and played defense, allowing Salt Lake to hold the ball and try their darndest to break down one of the league's better defensive units.  Unfortunately for fans in  Salt Lake, this didn't happen, and they've settled in at the middle of the Western Conference standings.

Chivas USA  2 : 2  San Jose Earthquakes                                                         >>>>>>> highlights

The Quakes absolutely ran things in the first half, preventing Chivas from registering a shot and getting ahead by a goal when Wondo abused a napping Chivas backline to easily tap in a long distance free kick.  The second half was a different story, as the Goats scored two in the first five minutes of the half.  Mario de Luna and Tristan Bowen got on the scoresheet for the hosts.  The pendulum quickly swung back San Jose's way, and they knocked on Dan Kennedy's door until Cordell Cato finished an excellent cross to tie things for the visitors.  Shea Salinas assisted both of the Earthquake's goals, and had his own shot cleared off the line in the second half.  San Jose had a bunch more chances than Chivas, but between sloppy finishing and good play from Dan Kennedy they couldn't find a game winner.

Houston Dynamo  1 : 1  Colorado Rapids                                                          >>>>>>> highlights

Drawing the Rapids was enough for Houston to break the league's record for consecutive unbeaten regular season games at home, with 30.  They can thank Giles Barnes for tying the match and keeping the streak alive.  Colorado took the lead in first half stoppage time when Drew Moor headed home a corner.  The final score was a fair one, as both teams exchanged decent chances and neither really controlled the entirety of the match.

ONE GOAL Contributor

Dave Braneck

MAJOR MONDAY

Dallas Keeps Dominating

This stolen photo of excellent TIFO before the Dallas match is submitted sans commentary.

Toronto FC  1 : 1  Houston Dynamo                                                                      >>>>>> highlights

Toronto managed to prove that despite being significantly improved over seasons past, they are still capable of dropping points in heartbreaking fashion.  With their team up a goal and a man, the dreams of greater Ontario's MLS fans were dashed in the 94th minute.   This was thanks to sophomore defensive midfielder Warren Creavalle, who headed home a last gasp corner for the visitors.  Jeremy Hall had put Toronto up earlier in the second half with a decent, if savable goal, and things only looked better when Jermaine Taylor was red carded for 'elbowing' Robert Earnshaw.  In this instance, elbowing actually means running next to.  In any event, soccer justice was served, as TFC couldn't capitalize on possession and the Dynamo grabbed a trademark late equalizer.

Colorado Rapids  0 : 1  Seattle Sounders                                                             >>>>>> highlights

Seattle stole a win from injury-strapped Colorado, who reminded us that you need to score goals in order to win games.  Unfortunately, this can be a bit difficult when your starting forwards are Atiba Harris and Danny Mwanga, and your whole team thinks points are awarded for hitting the woodwork.  Obafemi Martins bagged his first for the Sounders, trapping a deflected shot in the box and tapping it home.  The only thing as impressive as his goal was his celebration, which featured at least 38 flips and a winning smile.

New York  4 : 1  New England Revolution                                                            >>>>>>> highlights

New York recovered from a tough midweek loss against the Sporks to decimate the Revolution, although the game was more even than the scoreline indicates.  Both teams created chances and pressured in the attack, but only the hosts managed to convert (in fact, New England's only goal was a Brandon Barklage own goal).  Dax McCarty, Fabian Espindola, Thierry Henry and Johnny Steele all scored for NY.  Steele was particularly dangerous, having his best game since joining the Red Bulls in the offseason, notching a goal and an assist in the romp.

FC Dallas  2 : 0  Vancouver Whitecaps FC                                                       >>>>>>>  highlights

Dallas ripped through yet another Western Conference team this weekend, controlling the match and forcing Whitecaps keeper Joe Cannon to make some quality saves to stop the result from getting out of hand.  David Ferreira had a great game as a playmaker, with Dallas dictating the game against a partially second string Whitecaps.  Blas Perez scored his third of the season, while Vancouver were unlucky to give up an own goal thanks to a corner deflecting off of Brad Rustin's back.

Chicago Fire  1 : 0  Columbus Crew                                                                    >>>>>>> highlights

Chicago's domination of the match paid off when Jeff Larentowicz scored his first goal for the club since arriving from Colorado.  Until the 83rd minute Andy Grenenbaum had done a great job to keep things scoreless, but he was hung out to dry when the red-headed wonder abused Kevan George to head one home from the near post.  Chicago, who have improved significantly now that Logan Pause is back in the lineup, have been playing much better than the start of the season but must keep winning to prove they won't be languishing near the bottom all year long.

Real Salt Lake  1 : 0  Chivas USA                                                                        >>>>>>> highlights

Chivas continued their freefall back to la tierra (spanish for earth, I am working on my ethnic pandering to appeal to the market of spanish-speaking MLS fans that Chivas is busy courting) with their second straight loss, this week at RSL's expense.  Nick Rimando was excellent, stopping a penalty in the first and making a number of saves in what was a bit of a shootout despite the low final score.  Javier Morales scored the only goal of the match, while Olmes Garcia continued to show flashes indicating he will be an exciting striker to watch once he fully hits puberty/gets accustomed to MLS.

Los Angeles Galaxy  2 : 0  Sporting Kansas City                                                 >>>>>> highlights

Landon Donovan's solid play helped end KC's near six game streak of shutouts, and he notched a goal and an assist in the Galaxy victory.  Sporting were decent in possession but struggled to test LA's keeper, while they got burned on the counter for both goals (the first of which was scored by Marcelo Sarvas).  The Galaxy defense was great, limiting Kansas City to two shots on goal, while the visitors were clearly a little hung over from earning a 1-0 win in New Jersey only three days before.

DC United  2 : 3  Philadelphia Union                                                                      >>>>>> highlights

As a highly biased, homer New York fan, I'll readily admit that I was hoping there would be a way for both these teams to lose this match.  Since that is apparently impossible, I'm willing to settle for DC losing at home to a mediocre Philadelphia. Jack McInerney continues his surprising run of form, and he scored two for a league leading six on the season.  His first goal was particularly embarrassing for United's defenders, who have done a pretty decent job at being horrible so far this year. Conor Casey, who seems like a solid pickup for the Union, scored as well, while Perry Kitchen and Lionard Pajoy got on the scoresheet for DC.