MLS All Star Soccer Team beats West Ham United in Toronto (8/08)
The MLS All Star game took place at BMO field in Toronto on July 24, 08. The match pitted the MLS All Stars vs. West Ham United of the English Premier League. Top scorer Dean Ashton led West Ham. He was the lone bright spot for the English team scoring both goals before being replaced later in the game since the team is just starting their season. The MLS All Stars were primed and ready at the halfway mark in their current season. They ended up with a 3-2 victory. Christian Gomez tied the score at 1-2 before Cuauhtemoc Blanco of the Chicago Fire made the play of the game with a great move and lifted a shot over the goalkeeper to put the MLS team in front. After Ashton tied the score, Houston’s Dwayne De Rosario scored the game winner on a penalty kick after he was taken down inside the offensive zone.
The sell out crowd was very boisterous yelling for local Toronto player Jimmy Brennan to come into the game. They finally got their wish in the second half when he entered to a loud ovation. The crowd showed poor taste at the beginning booing during the English and US National Anthems and even singing “Oh Canada” during the English version. One would think the fans would be routing for the MLS team but it was hard to tell at certain moments. Debris and stringers were thrown at David Beckham while he was lining up for a corner kick. In the end, the MLS stars got the victory 3-2 and the fans seemed satisfied.
There were some interesting side notes during the media day before the game. The field turf (which is the surface at BMO field) was gaining attention on its condition, less injury reports and more affordable maintenance expenses. I got to experience this first hand during the pre-media mini soccer games earlier in the day. The surface was more giving than Astroturf and felt like you were running on grass. I give it a big Thumbs Up. The games were fun and well organized by Steve Rodriguez (head of PR for the MLS).
Some past and current pros made appearances. LA Galaxy GM and past USA National Team legend, Alexi Lalas, played and it was such a pleasure to be on the same field with him. He was very light hearted and made it fun for everyone as the team I played on barely defeated Alexi’s team. The other interesting match up was former Canadian Goalkeeper and current Vancouver Whitecap owner, Greg Kerfoot, teaming with current NBA all star Steve Nash as our next opponent. Nash, whose brother plays professional for the Vancouver team, showed off his athletic and soccer skills scoring 2 goals to beat my team. If Nash wasn’t a basketball player, he could have been a pro soccer player with his talent. I was wondering what the friendly Phoenix Suns guard was doing at the media games. It turns out that he is partnering with Kerfoot for an expansion team in his home city of Vancouver in the next few years. They are making their best pitch to land a team there in the MLS as money and politics are two major factors.
The MLS All Stars are undefeated in their last four all-star matchups vs. English teams. Beckham played a solid game taking all the free kicks and helping control the game. Kenny Cooper of Dallas showed off some of his skills narrowly missing a bicycle kick among a couple other good scoring chances. The MVP award went to Gomez and the traditional swapping of jerseys at the end of the match signified a well-played game.
More information, team schedules and the latest news can be seen at www.mls.com
Photos by Kelly Doherty
