Timbers 2010 season preview part 2 - friendlies, opponents and goalkeepers (original) (raw)

In previewing the 2010 Timbers season, we focus part 2 of our season preview in reviewing the exhibition or friendly games this season we know about, and talk about the goalkeepers on the Timbers roster for 2010. All players on the roster are signed as of April 12, 2010.

Exhibition Games

The Timbers will have three exhibition games, also called friendlies on the schedule for 2010. The team will face Puntarenas FC, a top division team from Costa Rica at PGE Park on Saturday, May 1st. The trip is a result of coach and general manager Gavin Wilkinson’s scouting trip to Costa Rica late in 2009. The Timbers were originally scheduled to travel to Costa Rica for training in April, but instead will host this match at home.

The Timbers will have two more exhibition matches tentatively scheduled for Sunday, July 11th and Saturday, July 24th against unnamed opponents. However, the dates will be officially announded as more details are known. There are rumors that the team is talking to some bigger clubs from England to make a trip for a match, but there is nothing official about the opponents at this point. Stay tuned to Oregon Live for information as soon as those matches are announced.

League Opponents

In previewing the Timbers, I felt it important to do a short preview about their opponents. The USSF Division 2 will have 12 sides playing in two six-team conferences, the USL and NASL. Brian Quarstad of Inside Minnesota Soccer coordinated a brilliant preview of all 12 franchises for his website written by correspondents in each market. The preview includes an entry by yours truly talking about the Timbers.

The USL Conference is comprised of Portland, Puerto Rico, NSC Minnesota, Austin, Tampa Bay and Rochester.

Austin has made significant changes from last season by upgrading their talent on the pitch and moving to a new stadium in downtown Austin, which should improve their crowds and profile. NSC Minnesota replaces the departed Minnesota Thunder, whose ownership had major financial concerns that kept them from paying league dues and assorted vendors around town. The new ownership moved quickly to fill the void, and while they are an extremely young group, they should be interesting to watch.

Puerto Rico lost quite a bit of talent from last season to other teams, and chose to field a team short on experience but long on potential. Playing in one of the more difficult stadiums for visiting teams to win at due to atmosphere and weather conditions, Puerto Rico should follow their usual pattern of being very good at home and struggling on the road. Tampa is a new franchise playing temporarily in a baseball park, but ownership is committed to find a more permanent home for the team in the future. Rochester has been struggling over the past few seasons with ownership turmoil and financial issues, but they remain one of the more popular franchises annually in terms of attendance, and are usually within the title chase each season.

The NASL Conference consists of Montreal, Vancouver, Carolina, Miami, Crystal Palace Baltimore, and AC St. Louis.

Montreal won the USL D-1 title last season despite player turmoil on and off the pitch, firing their head coach at mid-season, and dealing with significant player injuries. Vancouver struggled in the first part of the season with lackluster play, but pulled things together with some late signings and a favorable schedule to advance all the way to the USL championship game. Both Canadian sides are competitive year in and year out because they invest wisely in scouting and player development, and have solid ownership backing them.

Carolina has been trying to turn their fortunes around on and off the pitch but despite being located in the middle of a soccer hotbed, they have struggled for relevancy. Miami has the league’s richest ownership group backing them, but the team hasn’t been able to find solid footing despite playing in a passionate soccer market. Management hasn’t helped the cause by playing home games on three different home fields and fans in the area remain angry over previous failed soccer ventures in south Florida. CP Baltimore is moving up from USL D-2 with bold dreams of being successful, but similar to last season’s Cleveland City Stars, being competitive and remaining financially viable for the whole season present two entirely different challenges. AC St. Louis is a brand new franchise that bold dreams of one day joining MLS, but their biggest challenges for 2010 are building the brand with an inexperienced coach and a wide range of local talent.

Outlook: The USSF has already said they won't do a combined league next season, so USL or NASL must emerge as the sanctioned D-2 league for next season. It can't help things when two of the most established franchises are leaving for MLS (Portland and Vancouver), while one (Montreal) aspires to move up. The teams and league officials must find a way to merge the two entities and build a viable league for years to come, or risk becoming irrelevant. This is more important with the possibility that MLS will resurrect its reserve division next season, which will increase competition for players.

I expect Portland, Vancouver and Montreal to all be in the title hunt this season, based on the roster and coaching/management. Austin will surprise some people with their upgraded roster, and Minnesota could pull off some upsets as well, as they possess a wealth of young talent. Rochester has one of the more seasoned rosters, and that experience always helps keep them close to the top. The unknowns surrounding the other sides because of inexperience, financial questions, and management keep me from picking them to do well, but each team does have enough assets that they could become a dark horse in the title chase.

And now, we’ll preview the team itself over the next few entries. We will talk in this entry on the goalkeepers today, while focusing on the defenders in part 3, midfielders in part 4, and the forwards for part 5.

Goal Keepers

The Timbers will carry three goalkeepers for the 2010 season, incumbent Steve Cronin, and newcomers Adin Brown and Matt Pyzdrowski.

Steve Cronin had a monster 2009 season, playing in 28 games for the Timbers. He posted a 15 win, 4 loss and 9 draw record, giving up just 19 goals and making 97 saves in just over 2500 minutes played. Cronin had only two games in 2009 in which he gave up two goals, both games late in September. He was originally slated to start the 2009 season, but sustained an injury in training, and so current Philadelphia Union keeper Chris Seitz played in goal for the Timbers during the first two games.

Cronin possesses great quickness and instincts, as he was rarely caught surprised by any attacks. He also has a strong leg, launching goal kicks past the center line which helps jump start the Timbers offense; he also has soft hands and rarely is rattled in traffic. He’s also very aggressive on passes on shots in the box, sacrificing his body in order to capture the ball. While the aggressive approach does pay dividends at points, there were a few instances where teams took advantage of Cronin’s tendencies and were able to shoot the ball past the charging keeper. I’m impressed with his composure, and it appears he got more vocal and in sync with his back line as the year went along.

Adin Brown has a lengthy career playing overseas, having played in Norway the past four seasons. He's also played in the MLS, playing with the Colorado Rapids, New England Revolution and Tampa Bay Mutiny over three seasons, so he's got a wealth of experience playing throughout the world. Brown has also played with the U.S. National Team between 1998 and 2003, playing in assorted competitions representing the red, white and blue.

Brown’s talent isn’t questioned, as he is known as a very heady and vocal keeper. He’s not Tim Howard vocal, but he does make his presence known on the pitch quite loudly, which is a good quality for a keeper. Unfortunately, his career has been beset with injuries, having spent most of 2008 and 2009 out of soccer for various ailments. Brown will be a very good asset for the Timbers, but will not officially join the team until at least July because of a current ailment. If he can stay healthy, he will provide some talent and depth between the posts.

Matt Pyzdrowski is playing his first professional season for the Timbers, having just graduated from Marquette University. Pyzdrowski is a decorated keeper, having earned various collegiate honors while playing for the Golden Eagles, and gives the Timbers a young keeper to build around for the future. While he has good vision and a strong leg, the biggest issue with Pyzdrowski will be his lack of experience against higher caliber opponents. But if there is a group of keepers to learn from, it's Brown and Cronin who will deftly share their knowledge with the rookie. Pyzdrowski is also sharing his thoughts about his rookie campaign in a blog for the Timbers called the Clean Sheet, and you can read his insights at the Timbers website.

Analysis:

The keeper job is Cronin’s to lose. As long as he remains healthy and plays well, there’s no competition for the job right now. Brown will provide veteran depth for later this season when it might be needed, while Pyzdrowski will get an opportunity to learn from two veterans and play in short stints when needed.

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