Houston's Kinnear: Davis not available for MLS Cup

HOUSTON – What many already expected has now been confirmed: Houston midfielder and MLS MVP finalist Brad Davis will not take part in MLS Cup. Addressing the media after training on Monday, Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear confirmed that Davis’ diagnosis means he will be a spectator on Nov. 20 at the Home Depot Center. "Unavailable," Kinnear said. "Out, right quad strain." Davis suffered the injury while making a cut at midfield a few minutes before halftime of Houston’s 2-0 Eastern Conference Championship victory against Sporting Kansas City. After the game, Davis told MLSsoccer.com that he would miss MLS Cup, although official word had yet to come down. With Kinnear’s statement, though, Davis’ early prognosis was confirmed. Last week LA Galaxy defender Gregg Berhalter expressed his skepticism about Davis' potential absence when he stated that he would only believe the news when he didn't see the left-footed playmaker on the Home Depot Center field this Sunday. Davis’ absence leaves a huge hole for the Dynamo to fill, but, fortunately, Kinnear has a few of options to pick from. Against Kansas City, Houston's manager moved Corey Ashe from left back to left midfield and inserted Jermaine Taylor in place of the diminutive defender with great results. Adam Moffat assumed the dead-ball duties from Davis and set up the game-winner with his first and only free kick of the night. Colin Clark, a natural left midfielder who has played on the right most of the season for the Dynamo, is also a logical candidate to fill in for Davis and has looked good on the left flank this season when given the opportunity. Other options could include moving Danny Cruz from right to left or the more unlikely scenario of inserting first-year player Alex Dixon.

Vancouver's Soehn pleased with club's rookie class

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Realistically, a draft can't properly be evaluated until years after it's completed. But so far, Vancouver Whitecaps director of soccer operations Tommy Soehn likes what he sees from his class of 2011. The club selected Omar Salgado, Michael Nanchoff, Jeb Brovsky and Bilal Duckett in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft, before adding Michael Boxall, Joe Anderson and Santiago Bedoya in the Supplemental Draft. From that group, Brovsky and Boxall stand out as being the most MLS-ready. Brovsky showed his versatility throughout the season, playing as a central midfielder, wide midfielder and, eventually, settled into a right fullback position as the season came to its conclusion. The Colorado native was 11th on the team in time played, participating in 1,509 minutes of action, and quietly went about whatever role was asked of him. Boxall, selected first in the Supplemental Draft by the club, was a steady contributor in the heart of defense, playing much more than Soehn said the club had initially planned. While the the interim coach has stated the New Zealand international suffered from fatigue at times as the season wore along, it's clear to see the hulking 23-year-old seems a savvy pickup, as he also cracked the team's top 10 in minutes played. Ultimately, though, it's not about what the players have done so far — it's about what they can bring in the future. "Guys develop at different stages," Soehn told MLSsoccer.com by phone this week. "The Brovskys and the Boxalls did get a lot of time, but you're going to see a lot of guys you didn't see much of this season [next year]. Even with Nanchoff, he went through some injuries this year, but there's a lot of talent there. I think you're going to see him develop into a solid MLS player." Salgado, the first overall pick in the 2011 draft, hasn't made the immediate impact of some of his peers selected back in January, but Soehn says patience will pay dividends with the 18-year-old. "With Omar Salgado I think we've got a gem there," Soehn said. "You want to take your time to grow that talent." The El Paso, Texas, native is currently participating in a training camp with the US U-23 team in Germany as they prepare for qualifying for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. "[International experiences] are fantastic, especially for someone his age," Soehn said. "Having gone through a full season now of training, probably the most demanding year he's ever been through in terms of a training environment, he's going to use his experiences from the year to now show what he's made of on the international front. "These kinds of experiences for young guys are just so welcoming, they grow so much."

Int'l roundup: Purdy, El Salvador advance in CONCACAF

Second stage qualifying in CONCACAF for the 2014 World Cup got underway in full force on Friday night, and El Salvador came out the big winners. Portland Timbers defender Steve Purdy put in a full shift in the back line as

Jakovic returns to action for DC United in reserve game

WASHINGTON – D.C. United’s season may have ended at the end of October, but having two Reserve League matches left to play finally gave defender Dejan Jakovic a chance to return to the field. Jakovic was a second-half substitute and played 30 minutes in the first of those two reserve fixtures, a 2-2 draw against the New York Red Bulls on Thursday. "It feels great, I’ve been training with the team for two weeks," he told MLSsoccer.com. "My fitness is pretty much back – it felt good to come out and play with the team." Hamstring issues dogged Jakovic throughout the 2011 season. He picked up his first at the beginning of June in an international friendly with Canada that knocked him out of the summer’s Gold Cup, and he finally returned from that injury at the end of July. But five games later, he picked up a second hamstring injury, less serious than the first, though he couldn’t heal in time to help D.C. make the playoff push down the stretch. In all, he managed just 15 appearances on the year. "It was definitely disappointing, and at the time to have the first one and the second one, and to not be able to help my team in the last couple of games, really sucked," he said. Thursday's Reserve League appearance gave Jakovic a chance to continue building his fitness and be prepared for next year. He'll get another chance on Nov. 15 in D.C. United's Reserve League finale at Columbus on Nov. 15. That's a prospect that excites the 26-year-old. "I think we have a great young team," he said. "We showed that we can play with anybody when we were healthy. I don’t know what’s going to happen, if the team’s going to change, but I’m happy with the group of guys we have right now." This latest injury did cost Jakovic a shot at playing in the latest round of World Cup qualifiers with Canada, who play St. Kitts and Nevis on Friday in the Caribbean and back in Toronto again on Nov. 15. Jakovic said he’ll be keeping an eye on the qualifiers, and thinks advancing to the next round won’t be too difficult (Canada need one point from the remaining two games). "I will be watching," he said. "I am a little disappointed [not to play] but obviously, I am just coming back from injury. I’m not too worried about it – knock on wood."

Howard expects his back line to be busy against France

PARIS — US national team netminder Tim Howard is expecting his defense to be on its toes during Friday's friendly with France (3 pm ET, ESPN2, Univisión, live chat on MLSsoccer.com). The Everton custodian says he will do his best to direct the back-liners in the most efficient manner for limiting chances to the French side, knowing he'll need plenty of help against their attack-minded hosts. "The biggest challenge tomorrow is to stay organized and tight at the back and press the ball," Howard told MLSsoccer.com on Thursday. "Obviously, if we can cut them out before they get shots off or make runs, the better off we'll be. After that, you've got to start making that money, making some saves." Despite the prospect of facing a highly skilled

Quaranta comeback a surprising boost for DC United

WASHINGTON — For a couple months in 2011, it looked like D.C. United midfielder Santino Quaranta had played his last game of the season. After suffering a concussion picked up in training, the veteran was addled with the lingering effects of post-concussion syndrome, and could do very little to figure out how to get better. "That was a tough period for me because I didn't know what was going on, and all of a sudden, you start to turn a corner one day," he told MLSsoccer.com. "I can't explain it, it's hard." That turn came in August, and Quaranta returned to the starting lineup on Aug. 6 after nearly three months on the shelf. But because of the nature of the game he returned in — a hectic 3-3 draw against Toronto FC where goalkeeper Bill Hamid picked up a red card in the game's first 10 minutes — Quaranta slugged his way through a full game and was able to jump right back into the swing of things. "I was out for so many months and then came back and played 100 minutes that game," he said. "I didn't really think about it and I was just getting back into it. That game was good for me because you start to forget about it." That grueling game against Toronto turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Quaranta's fitness was brought all the way back in one fell swoop, and he went on to make 11 more appearances on the season, filling in for Chris Pontius after the third-year midfielder broke his ankle in September. Concussion problems aside, the season was always going to be a unique and interesting one for Quaranta playing under longtime teammate-turned-head coach Ben Olsen. Quaranta thinks his former teammate can do big things on the sidelines. "He has a base of being a good guy that people respect and if he treats you fairly, which he does, the guys respond to it," Quaranta said. "It's a recipe for a winning coach in the long run. If you look at guys that have success, they can look you in the eye and be honest with you. And he's that type of guy." With the offseason now here, Quaranta is one of many D.C. players with an option for 2011. Now that he's healthy, he has a chance to think about what lies ahead. "I feel good," he said. "I'll sit down with [the technical staff] and figure out where we go from here."

Galaxy's Arena happy with CCL draw against Toronto

CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy know what stands between them and an MLS Cup title, and now they know the beginning of a path that could lead to international glory. The Galaxy were matched up with Toronto FC in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal draw on Tuesday and will play a home-and-away series against their MLS brethren in March. And while it was never going to be easy, there was one upside to drawing the Reds. "Whoever we were going to draw wasn’t going to be an easy game," Galaxy coach Bruce Arena told MLSsoccer.com. "At least it’s a club we’re somewhat familiar with in Toronto, as opposed to a Salvadoran club." The Galaxy won Group A and advanced to the knockout round by virtue of a 4-2-0 record against Morelia, Alajuelense and Motagua. Since they couldn’t play group runners-up Morelia in the quarterfinals, they had three potential opponents – Toronto FC, Seattle Sounders and El Salvador's Isidro Metapán. In Toronto FC, the Galaxy will face a club that overcame difficulties to advance out of Group C. Toronto won their first game, defeating Tauro FC in Panama by 2-1, but dropped matches to FC Dallas (1-0 at home) and Pumas UNAM (4-0 in Mexico City). The Reds then beat Tauro FC and tied Pumas at home before stunning FC Dallas with a 3-0 victory at Pizza Hut Park to claim the second spot in the group. "Both teams are on a level playing field," Arena said. "We know their team, there’s going to be changes to both teams in the offseason and it’s going to be what it is – playing in Toronto in March. They’re going to be a very difficult opponent. There’s no question about that." The first leg will be played in Toronto between March 6-8 with the return leg taking place at the Home Depot Center between March 13-15. Despite having competitive games before the start of the MLS regular season, the Galaxy won’t change their preseason around much, if at all, to accommodate for the series. "I don’t think this competition changes a whole lot with what we’re doing," Arena said. "MLS season next year, if I’m not mistaken, starts March 17 so we’re not that far off." Still, the Galaxy’s focus is not quite yet on preseason camp in January and February. There is, after all, the matter of trying to win the third MLS Cup title in club history. "We’re going to get through this game the next couple of weeks and start zeroing in after that how we’re going to work the preseason," Arena said. "We have a postseason tour in a couple of weeks. We have a lot of things we have to get accomplished. I think we’re going to put our preseason on the back burner."