MLS attendance report: Aug. 23, 2010

Observations

Chicago had a fair crowd of 14,000+ for its midweek tilt v the Revs. A record crowd in Toronto saw their 17 game home unbeaten streak come to an end. San Jose also set an attendance record(at Buck Shaw) as they beat the Galaxy. What looked like another drab turnout at Crew Stadium was reported at 16,000+. A typical soft showing in Dallas, despite the club’s success. A full house in Kansas City. Can’t wait to see how they draw in their new stadium next year. Almost 19,000 saw a thrilling match in Houston. A little over 12,100 came out in rain soaked DC to see their first win in 2 months.

Regardless of how well San Jose and the Wizards did at the gate, when you have home games in Columbus, Dallas, San Jose and Kansas City in the same week, it’s a real numbers buster.

Rookie Watch: Tony Tchani got his first assist in MLS. Need some help from readers for other outstanding rookie performances.

Joel Lindpere, on my preseason ‘watch list'(bottom of post) had a good game for RBNY v TFC. Kei Kamara scored and had 2 assists for the Wizards, while Ryan Smith got his 8th assist for KC.

Well, we’re now in the stretch run for the playoffs and the Supporters’ Shield. Dallas could put themselves into the thick of it with a win over Columbus next week. San Jose could solidify its playoff position by winning its game in hand. They next play RBNY. Chicago seems to be in the best position to bump a team out of the playoffs as it has 2(or 3) games in hand over the teams that are ahead of them. They meet Seattle next weekend, with Seattle coming off a midweek Champions League match. Alas, my Philadelphia Union, on the heels of their loss in DC and taking only 3 points from their last 4 home matches will not duplicate expansion Seattle of last year by making the playoffs. By the way, did you notice there were no draws this week.

Streaking

• RSL are unbeaten in their last 21 regular season home games.
• Dallas are unbeaten in their last 11 games.
• Dallas are also unbeaten in their last 9 road games.
• Colorado are unbeaten in their last 6 home games.

MLS Throw Ins

• LA is the only club to have earned more than 50% of its points on the road.
• There have been 40 draws compared to 50 in ’09 thru the first 162 matches.
• There have been 98 clean sheets in the first 162 matches, counting scoreless draws as 2.
• Through 162 games: goal scoring is down around 5.5% from 2009, 2.43 vs 2.57.
• RSL has lost only twice in its last 40 home matches. They lost only once in ’08 and ’09, a feat matched by Houston.
• DC United have yielded 14 goals in the last 15 minutes.
• Dallas have not given up more than 1 goal since April 22.
• San Jose has gone from one the worst allowing late goals in ’09 to the stingiest in ’10(as a percentage of total goals allowed).

N.A. SuperLiga

The participants in the 2010 N.A. SuperLiga and their respective finishes in the last completed season are …

New England will attempt to win its 2nd SuperLiga title on Sept 1 at Gillette Stadium.

CONCACAF Champions League

A good showing for MLS as the group phase got underway. The only loss was suffered by Seattle, the only team that was on the road.

• Aug 17 — Toronto 2 Cruz Azul 1
• Aug 18 — Columbus 1 Municipal 0
• Aug 18 — Real Salt Lake 2 Arabe Unido 1
• Aug 19 — Marathón 2 Seattle 1

Group play continues this week. The matches with MLS teams are(home team listed first) …

• Aug 24 – Arabe Unido v Toronto
• Aug 24 – Santos Laguna v Columbus
• Aug 25 – Cruz Azul v Real Salt Lake
• Aug 25 – Seattle v Monterrey
  
• Aug 19 – Marathón v Seattle–>

Lamar Hunt US Open Cup

The winner will compete in the 2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League.

In the semifinals, Columbus will play DC United on Sept 1, 7:30 p.m. ET @ RFK Stadium, Wash, DC and Seattle will play ChivasUSA on Sept 1, 10 p.m. ET @ Starfire Sports Complex, Tukwila, WA.

The Lamar Hunt US Open Cup structure

Congestion

You can decide if fixture congestion has had an effect so far. Of the clubs that participated in multiple non-league competitions, only Seattle and Toronto have not been bounced out yet. LA crashed out of the CCL and US Open Cup. Chicago and Houston lost in the N.A. SuperLiga and the US Open Cup. Chivas USA lost in SuperLiga but are in the US Open Cup semifinals. New England lost in the US Open Cup but are in the N.A. SuperLiga final. Columbus and RSL have the automatic berths in the group phase of the CCL, but RSL lost in the US Open Cup while Columbus are in the semifinals. It’s a matter for discussion as to whether Seattle had tougher go than Toronto vis-a-vis the Canadien Nutrilite Championship vs the US Open Cup being injected into their schedules.
TFC and Seattle have the longest stretches without a full week between games. Seattle and RSL have no league matches between their first two CCL games. Seattle however will have to remain very sharp as they have a slim lead over playoff contenders, all of whom have games in hand.

I think we might see Chivas USA and DC United put full efforts into their Open Cup matches. It’s their only shot at silverware and a berth in the next CCL.