Episode 6 - Playoffs Take Shape

Lamar Neagle signing my shirt

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Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of Super Soccer Ian. Last round, we had some big, big wins and losses in terms of playoff hopes and jockeying for position. The playoff spots have now been confirmed, and the first leg takes place on October 30 and 31. The teams on the eastern conference that made the playoffs are the New York Red Bulls, who have also clinched the Supporter’s Shield, Sporting KC, New England Revolution, Houston Dynamo, and the Montréal Impact. The Chicago Fire were eliminated because of the loss to the Red Bulls. The Philadelphia Union was eliminated, too. They lost to Sporting KC 2-1 late on. That’s what’s happening during the playoffs. Now, let’s take a look at the upcoming schedule. 

The first game in the first leg will be on October 30, when the Colorado Rapids travel to take on the Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field. The second game in the first leg will be on October 31, when the Houston Dynamo hosts the Montréal Impact at BBVA Compass Stadium. The second leg will start with the matchup between the New England Revolution and Sporting KC. It will take place on November 2 at Gillette Stadium. The second game of the second leg will be the LA Galaxy hosting Real Salt Lake at StubHub Center. That game will take place on November 3. Those are the upcoming games, and the matches after that will be confirmed from the results. Now, let’s take a look at the MLS Fantasy picks.  During the MLS Cup playoffs, you get unlimited transfers and you can pick as many players from a certain team as you want. I think that somebody like Lamar Neagle or Eddie Johnson would be great choices. Clint Dempsey is considerable, too. If you wanted somebody on Colorado, then maybe Drew Moor, Deshorn Brown, or Gabriel Torres would be good.   Real Salt Lake is traveling to play the LA Galaxy, and somebody like Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan, Omar Gonzalez, or Jaime Penedo would be good to have. If you wanted somebody on Real Salt Lake, then Álvaro Saborío, Joao Plata, Nick Rimando, or Javier Morales would be good choices. In the second leg, there are two matchups. With the matchup between the Montréal Impact and the Houston Dynamo, I think that Tally Hall, Will Bruin, or maybe Oscar Boniek Garcia would be good. If you wanted somebody on Montréal, then Marco Di Vaio would be good, or maybe Hassoun Camara, Patrice Bernier, or maybe Matteo Ferrari. With the New England Revolution and Sporting KC matchup, somebody like Diego Fagundez, Kelyn Rowe, or Jose Gonçalves would be good. If you wanted somebody on Sporting KC, then Aurélien Collin, Soony Saad, Jimmy Nielsen, or Graham Zusi would be good choices. Those are my MLS Fantasy picks. Now, let’s take a look at the 3 Goal Monte picks. 

With 3 Goal Monte, I’m not even sure if it’s still going on or not. I’m used to making the picks, but I think it’s over for the year. So, I’ll just make my picks based on this weekend, as if it were a normal round. With the Sounders game, I would choose somebody like Eddie Johnson or Lamar Neagle. If I made any picks for anybody on Colorado, then I would choose Deshorn Brown or Gabriel Torres. Then, there’s the LA and Real Salt Lake game, and if I were to choose anybody, then I would choose Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan, or maybe Álvaro Saborío or Joao Plata. In the second leg, I would maybe choose Marco Di Vaio, Patrice Bernier, Will Bruin, or Giles Barnes. Giles Barnes would also be a good pick for your MLS Fantasy team. I would maybe choose Diego Fagundez, Juan Agudelo, or maybe Claudio Bieler. Those would be my picks for 3 Goal Monte, and that’s all for today, folks! Good luck with your MLS Fantasy, and may the best team win the MLS Cup! Thanks for reading and have a great day!

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Episode 5 - Vipers Stunning Win, Jedi Roll and MLS Soccer Updates

Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of Super Soccer Ian. We had some pretty exciting games last round, including two games for me. With my team, the Golden Vipers, we won 7-3 on our first game this weekend, and on our second game, we made a two goal comeback and won the game 4-3 at the end. My brother, Alec, and his team, the Jedi, won their game, too. They won 7-3, and Alec scored three goals. It was an exciting week for my brother and me. Below is a highlight of the game tying goal scored by my friend, Owen. 

Now, let’s take a look at what happened this round in the MLS. The first match of the round was the game between Sporting KC and DC United. Sporting KC won 1-0 because of a Dominic Dwyer goal. The Montréal Impact won 2-1 against the Philadelphia Union. FC Dallas won 2-0 against the Seattle Sounders, and the Colorado Rapids won 3-2 against the Vancouver Whitecaps. Gabriel Torres scored twice in that game. The New England Revolution also won 3-2 against the Columbus Crew at home. The Chicago Fire won 1-0 against Toronto FC because of a Mike Magee goal. The Portland Timbers tied at home against Real Salt Lake 0-0, and the Houston Dynamo lost at home 3-0 to the New York Red Bulls. Tim Cahill scored the fastest goal in MLS history, scoring after just eight seconds. There were some big results. Now, let’s take a look at the upcoming schedule. 

The next round will be the last of the season. The first game will be Real Salt Lake at home against Chivas USA. Next, the Philadelphia Union will host Sporting KC at home. Toronto FC will host the Montréal Impact, and FC Dallas will travel to take on the San Jose Earthquakes. Chivas will play again, hosting the Portland Timbers. The Houston Dynamo will travel to play against DC United, and the Columbus Crew will play at home against the New England Revolution. The New York Red Bulls will play against the Chicago Fire at home, and the Vancouver Whitecaps will play the Colorado Rapids again, except at home. The final game of the 2013 season will be the Seattle Sounders hosting the LA Galaxy. That’s the upcoming schedule. Now, let’s take a look at the MLS Fantasy picks. 

This upcoming round has a lot of matchups, which means that you can get a lot of points. One of my picks this round would be somebody like Javier Morales, since he’s playing at home against Chivas USA. Somebody like Marco Di Vaio would be considerable, I think that Diego Valeri on Portland wouldn’t be a bad choice, either. Somebody I think you should really get on your team would be Will Bruin. In the last meeting against DC United, he scored twice, and he had two assists. Currently, in all of Will Bruin’s meetings with DC United, he has scored nine goals in nine matches against DC United. He would be a great choice. I think that somebody for the New York Red Bulls wouldn’t be bad because they’re playing at home. Somebody like Tim Cahill or Jamison Olave would be good. Somebody on the Sounders might not be that bad of a choice, either, since they’re playing at home. I think that somebody like Lamar Neagle or DeAndre Yedlin might be good, since they are both pretty big point earners. Those are my MLS Fantasy picks for this week. 

Now, let’s take a look at my 3 Goal Monte picks. There are some pretty good matchups this upcoming round that could score you points in 3 Goal Monte. Again, I think that somebody on Real Salt Lake would be good, since they do well at home. I also think that Marco Di Vaio can get a goal or two against Toronto FC. He would be a great choice. My main pick this week would be Will Bruin. Like I said, he does well against DC United, and DC’s defense has given up a lot of goals, so I think that he can get a goal or two. Another pick that I think would be good would be Camilo at home against the Colorado Rapids, or maybe Clint Dempsey or a striker for the Seattle Sounders at home against the LA Galaxy. This round is a great one for getting lots of points on MLS Fantasy and 3 Goal Monte. Those are my picks for this week, and that’s all for today, folks! Good luck with your MLS Fantasy and 3 Goal Monte, and I’ll be back next week for another episode of Super Soccer Ian during the playoffs. Thank you for reading and have a great day! 

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Episode 4 - The Playoff Push

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Hello everybody and welcome to Episode 4 of Super Soccer Ian. We had some pretty big matches last round, and there were some pretty big results. The first match of the round was between the Houston Dynamo and Sporting KC. The game produced nothing but a 0-0 draw. The San Jose Earthquakes beat the Colorado Rapids 1-0 because of a Chris Wondolowski goal. The Sounders lost to the Vancouver Whitecaps 4-1 at home, which was pretty bad for them. The Montréal Impact were also beaten at home by the New England Revolution. It was a 1-0 loss. The Philadelphia Union tied 1-1 with DC United, and Jack McInerney ended his goal-scoring drought. FC Dallas fell 3-2 to the Chicago Fire, and the Sounders lost on the road 1-0 to the Portland Timbers. Now, let’s take a look at next week’s matchups. 

The first game will be the LA Galaxy versus the Montréal Impact, at StubHub Center. Sporting KC will host DC United, and the Impact will host the Philadelphia Union. This time, the Montréal Impact have a double header, as well as the LA Galaxy. FC Dallas will host the Seattle Sounders, and the Vancouver Whitecaps will travel to Colorado to take on the Rapids. The New England Revolution will host the Columbus Crew, and Toronto FC will travel to Chicago to take on the Fire. The Portland Timbers will host Real Salt Lake, and the Houston Dynamo will take on the New York Red Bulls. The final game of the round is the California Clasico, the LA Galaxy versus the San Jose Earthquakes. Now, let’s take a look at the MLS Fantasy picks for this coming round. 

If you are an MLS Fantasy member, then you should definitely consider choosing somebody on the Montréal Impact, since they have two games this next round. So, I suggest you choose somebody like Marco Di Vaio because he can definitely rack up points, no matter who he’s playing against. Also, you can consider somebody such as Mike Magee or possibly Sean Johnson. The Fire are hosting Toronto FC, and I think that Magee can score a goal or two against them. With Sean Johnson, Toronto FC is a team that hasn’t scored a lot of goals, and I think that you could expect a shutout for Chicago. Like I said about Montréal, you should also consider somebody on the Galaxy, since they have two games this weekend, as well. Somebody really to consider this week would be Aurélien Collin at home, against DC United. He is a strong defender and also a threat in front of goal. Anybody on Sporting KC would be considerable, such as Jimmy Nielsen, Soony Saad, or Claudio Bieler. They are great choices. Now, let’s take a look at the 3 Goal Monte picks for this coming round.

With 3 Goal Monte this round, I think that there are some pretty good matchups to rack up points. I think, that somebody on Sporting KC would be good, such as Claudio Bieler, or possibly Soony Saad. Marco Di Vaio, at home, against the Philadelphia Union would be a great choice. I think you could expect a goal or two from him. Last time the Impact took on the Union at home, it was a 5-3 win, and Marco Di Vaio had a hat trick. I think that Mike Magee would be a great choice, or maybe a striker for New England, such as Diego Fagundez. A striker for the LA Galaxy would be considerable, I think. Those are my picks for this coming round. That’s all for today, folks! Good luck with your MLS Fantasy and 3 Goal Monte, and I’ll be back next week for the next episode of Super Soccer Ian!

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Predicted Lineups and Weekend Scores

I went through the remaining games in the weekend, and I've come up with these probable lineups. If you are playing 3 Goal Monte, I've marked some possible picks. Good Luck!

Probable Lineups: SEA vs POR (Final Score 1-1)

Seattle Sounders

GK-Marcus Hahnemann

D-Djimi Traore

D-DeAndre Yedlin 

D-Jhon Kennedy Hurtado 

D-Patrick Ianni

DM-Marc Burch

M-Mauro Rosales

M-Osvaldo Alonso

M-Lamar Neagle 

F-Obafemi Martins

F-Clint Dempsey 

Portland Timbers

GK-Donovan Ricketts 

D-Michael Harrington

D-Pa-Modou Kah

D-Futty Danso 

D-Andrew Jean-Baptiste 

DM-Diego Chara 

M-Will Johnson

M-Diego Valeri 

M-Kalif Alhassan

F-José Adolfo Valencia

F-Maximiliano Urruti

Probable Lineups: MTL vs NE (Final Score 4-1 Montreal)

Montréal Impact

GK-Troy Perkins

D-Matteo Ferrari

D-Alessandro Nesta

D-Maxim Tissot

D-Karl Ouimette

DM-Davy Arnaud

M-Patrice Bernier

M-Felipe

M-Justin Mapp

F-Marco Di Vaio

F-Andres Romero

New England Revolution

GK-Matt Reis 

D-Jose Gonçalves

D-Chris Tierney

D-Stephen McCarthy

D-Scott Caldwell

M-Lee Nguyen

M-Kelyn Rowe

M-Clyde Simms

F-Diego Fagundez

F-Juan Agudelo

F-Saer Sene 

Probable Lineups: DCU vs PHI (Final Score 3-1 Philadelphia)

DC United

GK-Joe Willis

D-Daniel Woolard

D-Chris Korb

D-James Riley

D-Dennis Iapichino

DM-Nick DeLeon 

M-Perry Kitchen

M-Luis Silva

M-Chris Pontius

F-Lionard Pajoy

F-Conor Doyle

Philadelphia Union

GK-Zac MacMath 

D-Jeff Parke

D-Raymon Gaddis

D-Chris Albright

D-Amobi Okugo

M-Brian Carroll 

M-Sebastien Le Toux 

M-Danny Cruz

F-Jack McInerney

F-Conor Casey

Probable Lineups: FCD vs CHI (Final Score 2-2)

FC Dallas

GK-Raul Fernandez 

D-Matt Hedges

D-Jair Benitez

D-George John

D-Zach Loyd

DM-Michel

M-David Ferreira

M-Andrew Jacobson

M-Jackson

F-Fabian Castillo

F-Kenny Cooper 

Chicago Fire

GK-Sean Johnson

D-Austin Berry

D-Jalil Anibaba

D-Bakary Soumare

D-Gonzalo Segares 

DM-Dilly Duka 

M-Patrick Nyarko

M-Chris Rolfe

M-Jeff Larentowicz 

F-Mike Magee

F-Juan Luis Anangono

Possible 3 Goal Monte Pick

Episode 3 Vipers, Jedi, and Review

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Hello everybody and welcome to another week of Super Soccer Ian. We had quite an exciting week, and there were some pretty big wins and losses. I play on a soccer team called the Golden Vipers, and my team had a pretty big tie. We tied 4-4, and we made a three goal comeback. It was pretty exciting. My brother, Alec, played on his soccer team, the Jedi, and he won 5-3, scoring four goals. It was pretty much an exciting week for everybody. Now, this round, let’s take a look at the scores and results.

We had some pretty vital wins and losses this round, and a couple of wins turned out to be total routs. A big game was when the Chicago Fire won 3-0 against DC United, and I’m pretty sure most of you are surprised that Mike Magee did not score. I was pretty surprised by it, too. A game between the Philadelphia Union and Toronto FC turned out to be a late show, with a 95th free kick winner by Jose Kléberson. When the Seattle Sounders travelled to Colorado to take on the Rapids, there was a giant 5-1 win for the Colorado Rapids. I believe that the Sounders just weren’t prepared, and it was just a bad game. There was a very big win at StubHub Center between the LA Galaxy and Chivas USA. Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane both scored twice, and had an assist. Some big news right now is with Landon Donovan’s scoring. He is currently tied with Jeff Cunningham with the all-time scoring record, with 134 MLS goals. During the Cascadia rivalry between the Portland Timbers and the Vancouver Whitecaps, there was a 2-2 draw, and there were three goals in ninety seconds, said the commentators. Camilo scored a beautiful free kick goal, plus, an astonishing bicycle kick goal - I've embedded the video below. There were some exciting games last weekend. Now, let’s take a look at the upcoming matches.

We have six byes next week. Chivas USA, LA Galaxy, Columbus Crew, New York Red Bulls, Real Salt Lake, and Toronto FC all have byes. The Seattle Sounders have a double-header next week, with a Wednesday match against the Vancouver Whitecaps, and a road match against the Portland Timbers. The Houston Dynamo will host Sporting KC, and the Earthquakes will play against the Colorado Rapids. The Montréal Impact will host the New England Revolution, and DC United will host the Philadelphia Union. FC Dallas will also host Mike Magee and the Chicago Fire. There are some Cascadia Cup and exciting games coming up! Now, let’s take a look at the MLS Fantasy picks.

If you are an MLS Fantasy member, then you all are probably thinking that this week would be another good week to get a Philadelphia Union striker. Well, Philadelphia only scored one goal in their last game against Toronto FC, but DC United’s defense has conceded more goals than Toronto’s, so I think that you could consider somebody like Sebastien Le Toux, or Conor Casey. Also, I think that you should consider somebody on the Seattle Sounders. They have a double-header this coming week, so they could earn you extra points, since they have one extra game. So, you could possibly consider somebody like Obafemi Martins, if he’s healthy, or Lamar Neagle. Eddie Johnson, for sure, is going to be on the US squad, so you shouldn’t choose him, even though he does well against the Portland Timbers. I think that somebody like Mike Magee would be good this week, even though he’s playing on the road, I think he can score a goal or two against FC Dallas because they have been conceding a lot lately. Those are my MLS Fantasy picks, and now, let’s take a look at my 3 Goal Monte picks.

If you are a 3 Goal Monte member, then I have some suggestions for you. This week, I think that you could consider somebody on Seattle to score against the Vancouver Whitecaps, like Lamar Neagle or Obafemi Martins. I wouldn’t choose anybody to score against Portland, just because Seattle’s playing on the road. You could consider somebody such as Conor Casey to score against DC United, or possibly Sebastien Le Toux or Jack McInerney. Somebody that I think would be a really good choice would be Marco Di Vaio. He’s playing at home against the New England Revolution. Last time these two teams played each other, it was at Gillette Stadium, and Di Vaio scored twice. I think that he would be a great choice. Or, like I said, you could choose Mike Magee and see how he does against FC Dallas. Those are my 3 Goal Monte picks for this week, and that’s all for today, folks! Good luck with your MLS Fantasy and 3 Goal Monte, and I’ll be back next week for another episode of Super Soccer Ian!

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