2014 Fourside Eagles FC season
The 2014 Fourside Eagles FC season was the fifth in the Fourside Eagles FC's existence and the second under the Eagles name. It will be the third year for manager Richie Williams.
Pre-Season
After being knocked out of the Conference Semifinals for the second straight year, there have been calls to make some changes to the lineup. Richie Williams has said that he is slowly changing towards a 4-5-1 formation, but the "plethora of strikers" when he came on the team in 2012 meant he could not make a swift transition. With all-star talents of Evan Newton, Miguel Senna and Fabian Castillo making waves across the world, Williams stated that he won't be making many transfers of his star players to the MLS but rather, to Europe. He says that it is what all of the players want later in their careers.
The team also got around to dispersing some of their cap space by getting rid of some of their players. Stefani Miglioranzi was transferred for free to São Caetano after having a loan spell there, but retired soon afterwards. Brad Knighton was traded to Vancouver in return for the third overall pick in the SuperDraft (Christian Dean), having been the starting goalkeeper in 2010 and part of 2011. They also dealt out their second, third and fourth round draft picks in return for a second round draft pick from Seattle. (Daniel Lovitz) The team also put up an agreement with former MLS MVP David Ferreira (who had been sought after since 2010) and former Dawson Lions forward Jesse Mitchell, who ironically scored against Fourside in the Micronesian Championship Final in 2012. Forward Bright Dike and Midfielder Nick Zimmerman was released, with Zimmerman testing the free agency waters.
Regular Season
Near the beginning of the season, Jason Hernandez was transferred to New York in return for Bradley Wright-Phillips. The Eagles started off with two ties in the season, first against Portland where they didn't start Miguel Senna due to an illness. The second game against New England was rife with fouls, exuberant penalties, dives, and the two teams were flat out angry at each other. The game ended when the fans threw debris on the field after a goal was overturned for being offside, and the mess would have taken a long time to clean up.
The first four games of the season went off to a slow start, tying three games and losing one. The Eagles got their first win of the season against Chicago in a dominating fashion. After a stunning win over New York, their slow start got back on track, tying against Houston and losing to Montreal, both teams who usually do not do well against Fourside. After another loss to MLS-leading Seattle, Fourside got back to their winning ways, winning against DC United and Kansas City.
The season was filled with exciting action from the scoring of the team. Most notably, midfielder Miguel Senna was the most prolific, scoring often and sometimes multiple times during the match. Danny Koevermans was also helping out with his leadership abilities (having been named captain in the beginning of the season) and also helping out assist Senna in many of his goals, which is unusual for a forward, but helps out in terms of strategy. Newcomer Jesse Mitchell (who infamously scored against the team in the 2012 Micronesian Championship) was also shining brightly in the team, showing lots of potential.
In the five games in May, the Eagles only lost once, in a bizarre 5-3 game to New England, who by now had forged a rivalry with each other on and off the field. But despite the loss, the Eagles quickly got back to their winning ways again, beating Chivas USA and Vancouver. It helped them to get to second place in the Eastern Conference.
After the World Cup break ended, Fourside got back to their winning ways by beating New England, technically going undefeated in June. After a tight loss to FC Dallas, Fourside won a shootout battle with Colorado, winning 4-3. Senna's goal in that game put him in the hunt for the MLS Golden Boot, and also put Fourside back on top of a tight Eastern Conference. By now, transfer rumours surrounding Sebastien Le Toux was swirling again, with a deal to New York being denied by manager Richie Williams. Fourside ended July with convincing wins over New York and Chicago, putting them over with six wins out of seven matches.
After a draw against Kansas, Fourside played their first game in the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League against Montreal, easily winning 2-0. The two teams returned to Virgin Stadium and Fourside won again, this time 3-1. After a tough loss to Houston, Fourside beat Montreal again in the Champions League. Fourside won again against San Jose and Toronto, getting an early lead in both games as they were undergoing leadership troubles. Since their win over Toronto, however, the team tied or lost 6 of their last 7 games, putting them in third place in the Eastern conference.
A bad run of form, however, soon followed. In the next seven games in the MLS Regular Season, Fourside only won one of them, against Kansas City. The Eagles did barely enough to stay in third place in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of Columbus. The bad form carried over into the CONCACAF Champions League, as the Eagles lost to the Red Bulls in the final group stage game for the Eagles. However, a tie between the Red Bulls and the Montreal Impact meant that Fourside would advance to the quarterfinals against Club America in 2015. The Eagles faced New England in the MLS Cup Playoffs, but were eliminated as they failed to score a goal in the playoffs. Williams' managerial situation was put under scrutiny, but Williams was signed on for the 2015 season.
Regular Season Games
Date | Team | Location | Final Score | W-L-T Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
March 8, 2014 | Portland Timbers | JELD-WEN Field | 1-1 | 0-0-1 |
March 15, 2014 | New England Revolution | Virgin Stadium | 2-2 | 0-0-2 |
March 22, 2014 | Columbus Crew | Columbus Crew Stadium | 1-2 | 0-1-2 |
March 29, 2014 | Montreal Impact | Virgin Stadium | 1-1 | 0-1-3 |
April 5, 2014 | Chicago Fire SC | Toyota Park | 3-1 | 1-1-3 |
April 12, 2014 | Real Salt Lake | Virgin Stadium | 2-2 | 1-1-4 |
April 16, 2014 | New York Red Bulls | Red Bull Arena | 2-0 | 2-1-4 |
April 19, 2014 | Houston Dynamo | Virgin Stadium | 0-0 | 2-1-5 |
April 26, 2014 | Montreal Impact | Stade Saputo | 0-1 | 2-2-5 |
May 3, 2014 | Seattle Sounders FC | CenturyLink Field | 1-2 | 2-3-5 |
May 10, 2014 | DC United | Virgin Stadium | 2-0 | 3-3-5 |
May 14, 2014 | Sporting Kansas City | Sporting Park | 2-1 | 4-3-5 |
May 17, 2014 | New England Revolution | Virgin Stadium | 3-5 | 4-4-5 |
May 25, 2014 | LA Galaxy | StubHub Center | 2-2 | 4-4-6 |
May 31, 2014 | Chivas USA | StubHub Center | 3-0 | 5-4-6 |
June 7, 2014 | Vancouver Whitecaps | Virgin Stadium | 3-2 | 6-4-6 |
June 28, 2014 | New England Revolution | Gillette Stadium | 3-1 | 7-4-6 |
July 4, 2014 | FC Dallas | Toyota Stadium | 0-2 | 7-5-6 |
July 12, 2014 | Colorado Rapids | Virgin Stadium | 4-3 | 8-5-6 |
July 16, 2014 | New York Red Bulls | Virgin Stadium | 3-1 | 9-5-6 |
July 19, 2014 | Chicago Fire SC | Toyota Park | 2-1 | 10-5-6 |
August 1, 2014 | Sporting Kansas City | Sporting Park | 1-1 | 10-5-7 |
August 9, 2014 | Montreal Impact | Virgin Stadium | 3-1 | 11-5-7 |
August 15, 2014 | Houston Dynamo | BBVA Compass Stadium | 0-2 | 11-6-7 |
August 24, 2014 | San Jose Earthquakes | Virgin Stadium | 3-1 | 12-6-7 |
September 3, 2014 | Toronto FC | Virgin Stadium | 5-0 | 13-6-7 |
September 6, 2014 | Toronto FC | BMO Field | 2-0 | 14-6-7 |
September 13, 2014 | New York Red Bulls | Virgin Stadium | 1-1 | 14-6-8 |
September 20, 2014 | Houston Dynamo | Virgin Stadium | 0-0 | 14-6-9 |
September 27, 2014 | DC United | RFK Stadium | 0-1 | 14-7-9 |
October 2, 2014 | Chicago Fire SC | Virgin Stadium | 1-1 | 14-7-10 |
October 11, 2014 | Columbus Crew | Virgin Stadium | 2-3 | 14-8-10 |
October 18, 2014 | Sporting Kansas City | Virgin Stadium | 2-1 | 15-8-10 |
October 26, 2014 | Columbus Crew | Columbus Crew Stadium | 2-2 | 15-8-11 |
Other Games
Goal Scorers
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