Robert Hay

If Sporting Kansas City's season had a title, it would be "Night and Day". A tough start to the season, no doubt spurred on by the never-ending road trip, saw the team open Livestrong Park and use its great atmosphere to rocket to the top of the Eastern Conference. Although they fell in the conference […]

Last year was a good year for one of MLS's premier franchises. The Sounders won yet another U.S. Open Cup and advanced past the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League. While they could not vanquish their nemesis Galaxy in the regular season or playoffs (and were knocked out early by streaking RSL), the team […]

Defending champions in all sports have had down subsequent seasons, but few have imploded quite like Colorado. Despite qualifying for the playoffs, the Rapids' season was a roller coaster. Struggling with injuries and added games the entire season, the team constantly rotated players and tried to field a healthy eleven, ending the season with third-string […]

In their second year in MLS, the Philadelphia Union surprised the league by combining unbreakable defense with timely scoring. Philly was in the top three of the East most of the season before slipping a bit at the end of the year and bowing out of the playoffs to eventual champ Houston. Regardless, the year […]

Who says the U.S. national team is weak at forward? During yesterday's Everton v. Bolton match, keeper Tim Howard broke the scoreless tie with a 100 yard strike that was aided by the wind. I am not sure which is more impressive, the goal itself or how cool Howard was celebrating. What do you think, […]

Poor New York Red Bulls. In a season when it was all supposed to come together (young stars! established DPs! weak conference! newish stadium!) it all fell apart. New York struggled all season and barely made the playoffs, defeating a floundering Dallas side before falling in the conference semi-finals. The offseason has not been kind […]

FC Dallas was an up-and-down team last season, getting off to a slow start (remember Brek Shea as a fullback) before surging in the summer then falling off a cliff in the fall. The team ended the season on a whimper with a playoff loss to New York, but it was a particularly traumatic and […]

This past season in U.S. soccer was certainly an interesting one. In MLS, two new teams were promoted and the soccer world fell in love with them and their passionate fans. Coaches were hired and fired, players finally fulfilled their potential, and others failed to inspire. One MLS team had a chance to make history […]

The Columbus Crew were certainly a surprise team last season. After cutting ties with a number of veterans and going with a roster that looked lacking on almost every part of the pitch, head coach Robert Warzycha coaxed a great season out of a sometimes combustible team. Robbie Rogers earned his way onto the U.S. men's national […]

Chicago ended the year as potentially the best non-playoff team in MLS. They caught "fire" and had a winning record for the final third of the season, almost stealing the tenth playoff spot from New York. The same team that set the MLS record for draws in a season (which they tied with NY) gave […]

The "expansion" Portland Timbers had a debut MLS season to remember. The team quickly became the darling of the TV networks with their passionate and creative fans, the team played an exciting brand of soccer, and the resurgence of Jack Jewsbury gave them some high-profile players. The team even had a goal of the year […]

There was only one thing DC United fans knew for sure going into the 2011 season, and that was this season couldn't be any worse than the previous one. After setting the standard for futility, the team not only climbed its way back into respectability (through its play on the field and front office dealings) […]

This time last year, the San Jose Earthquakes were riding high. They had upset the New York Red Bulls in the Eastern Conference playoffs and had seen the emergence of Chris Wondolowski as a bona fide goal scorer. Although the team had definite weaknesses and was not at the level of, say, Real Salt Lake, […]

Chivas USA had a new head coach and a new system last season, but after a slow start the team looked to be set in neutral in the competitive Western Conference. However, the acquisition of Juan Pablo Angel and a too late run at a playoff spot gave this team a bit of life and […]

In my 2011 season preview, I predicted that Toronto would struggle for the first few months under its newest leadership structure (new general manager and head coach) but toward the end of the year start to look like a promising team for 2012. I had no clue that the amount of change they would undergo […]