2016 Fourside Eagles FC season
The 2016 Fourside Eagles FC season is the seventh in the Fourside Eagles FC's history. It is the first year in charge for new manager Robin Fraser after Richie Williams' resignation.
Pre-Season
During the offseason, Richie Williams stepped down as manager of the Eagles in order to join Jurgen Klinsmann on the United States Men's National Team, a position he had wanted on the squad "for some time," as he put it. Robin Fraser was given the job after being on top of a shortlist that included the likes of Mike Petke and Jason Kreis. The Eagles management, led by General Manager Richard Gerhart, made sure to sign big names in the new Free Agency for the 2016 season, and signed Jeff Larentowicz, Mike Magee, and Kenny Cooper to their roster. The Eagles also made headlines as they traded away their 13th overall pick, their 4th round pick, and some allocation money to Colorado in exchange for the 2nd overall pick, which they used to draft highly touted defender Josh Yaro. The Eagles selected Timo Pitter in the second round before eventually trading away their 3rd round pick for allocation money to Toronto.
Regular Season
For the second straight season, Fourside crashed out of the CONCACAF Champions League in the Quarterfinal round to a Mexican team. UANL Tigres beat Fourside 6-0 on aggregate, having beaten Fourside 3-0 in both legs in similar fashion, scoring all three goals late in the game. Fourside recovered by winning two of their first three games in the season, doing so for the first time in their franchise history, doing so without any goals from reigning MVP Miguel Senna. Good form kept Fourside near the top of the Eastern Conference, and they took the lead after a 4-0 performance against NYCFC, including two goals from Jeff Larentowicz.
The Eagles got on good form in the MLS Regular season, producing three draws in three matches. Senna managed to score two goals against Montreal, ending his slow start to the season, but it was Remi Didot who was the main goalscorer for the Eagles early on in the season. The Eagles won their 6th Micronesian Championship in 7 years, beating North York United from a hat trick performance from Didot, despite the fact that he was sent off on a second yellow celebrating after his third goal. He got his first yellow card from diving. A small controversy arose when Evan Newton, the starting goalkeeper, was awarded Man of the Match instead, given Didot's night.
Fourside then went on an undefeated streak in the MLS, starting with a 0-0 draw against the LA Galaxy on May 11. The streak in the MLS regular season started on April 23, a win against NYCFC. In total, the Eagles went on a 10-game undefeated streak, consisting of 6 wins and 4 draws. The majority of the winning goals in those games came late in the game, either in the closing minutes or in stoppage time. The Eagles then lost to Vancouver 2-3 before winning again, on a late goal from Miguel Senna (his 100th total goal for the club), against Houston.
After a win against D.C. United, the team underwent a tough streak, drawing against the Red Bulls, losing to Montreal to a Didier Drogba hattrick and a drawing again against Real Salt Lake. By then, Miguel Senna had already gone over to Rio de Janeiro to play for Brazil for the Olympic football tournament. The team's form dropped as a result, with Fourside then losing away to Portland in the CONCACAF Champions League, and then drawing with D.C. United. Fourside then strung together two straight wins in the MLS against New England and Toronto, and drew Saprissa in the CONCACAF Champions League. Fourside then won two more against Sporting KC and Columbus.
After going more than 10 points clear of the Supporters' Shield race of their closest rivals in FC Dallas, Colorado Rapids, and New York Red Bulls. However, the team then went on to go winless in their next five regular season matches, getting three draws and two losses in the process. Despite this, Fourside got a key win over Portland in the CONCACAF Champions League, knocking out the Timbers and getting them with a near insurmountable lead in their group, requiring Saprissa to win their final group stage match in dominating fashion. Fourside would end up winning the group after Saprissa drew Portland. Fourside would win over Orlando City in their penultimate game of the regular season, requiring Dallas to win the following week to have a shot of winning the Supporters' Shield; Dallas drew their match, handing over the Shield to Fourside - the first time ever to a team outside the United States, even though the Eagles lost to the Red Bulls in the final match of the regular season.
During the playoffs, Fourside drew Toronto FC in the second round of the Eastern Conference, as Fourside, winners of the Supporters' Shield, got a first round bye. Fourside drew the first leg in Toronto and trailed 2-0 in the second leg 75 minutes in, when Remi Didot and Mike Magee scored within a few minutes to draw the game and aggregate level, though Toronto led on away goals. Kenny Cooper then scored the eventual winning goal in the 88th minute, putting Fourside through to the Conference Finals for the first time in their teams' history. Fourside faced rivals New York Red Bulls in the Conference Finals, but lost both legs 2-1 and 3-1 respectively. Didot was sent off late in the second leg for kicking a ball into the crowd, drawing a second yellow card. He will be suspended for the first game of the regular season in 2017.
Regular Season Games
Date | Team | Stadium | Final Score | W-L-T Record |
---|---|---|---|---|
March 6, 2016 | FC Dallas | Toyota Stadium | 3-1 | 1-0-0 |
March 12, 2016 | Columbus Crew SC | MAPFRE Stadium | 1-2 | 1-1-0 |
March 20, 2016 | New England Revolution | Virgin Stadium | 2-1 | 2-1-0 |
April 2, 2016 | Chicago Fire | Toyota Park | 2-0 | 3-1-0 |
April 8, 2016 | Orlando City SC | Virgin Stadium | 1-1 | 3-1-1 |
April 16, 2016 | Seattle Sounders FC | CenturyLink Field | 1-2 | 3-2-1 |
April 23, 2016 | New York City FC | Virgin Stadium | 4-0 | 4-2-1 |
April 30, 2016 | San Jose Earthquakes | Virgin Stadium | 1-1 | 4-2-2 |
May 11, 2016 | LA Galaxy | Virgin Stadium | 0-0 | 4-2-3 |
May 14, 2016 | Montreal Impact | Saputo Stadium | 2-2 | 4-2-4 |
May 20, 2016 | DC United | Virgin Stadium | 1-0 | 5-2-4 |
May 25, 2016 | Orlando City SC | Orlando Citrus Bowl | 2-2 | 5-2-5 |
May 28, 2016 | Colorado Rapids | Dick's Sporting Goods Park | 2-1 | 6-2-5 |
June 1, 2016 | Columbus Crew SC | Virgin Stadium | 3-2 | 7-2-5 |
June 18, 2016 | New York City FC | Yankee Stadium | 3-2 | 8-2-5 |
June 22, 2016 | Chicago Fire | Virgin Stadium | 4-3 | 9-2-5 |
June 25, 2016 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Virgin Stadium | 2-3 | 9-3-5 |
July 2, 2016 | Houston Dynamo | BBVA Compass Stadium | 1-0 | 10-3-5 |
July 9, 2016 | DC United | Virgin Stadium | 3-0 | 11-3-5 |
July 17, 2016 | New York Red Bulls | Virgin Stadium | 2-2 | 11-3-6 |
July 23, 2016 | Montreal Impact | Saputo Stadium | 0-3 | 11-4-6 |
July 31, 2016 | Real Salt Lake | Virgin Stadium | 2-2 | 11-4-7 |
August 6, 2016 | DC United | RFK Stadium | 2-2 | 11-4-8 |
August 13, 2016 | New England Revolution | Gillette Stadium | 2-0 | 12-4-8 |
August 20, 2016 | Toronto FC | Virgin Stadium | 1-0 | 13-4-8 |
August 27, 2016 | Sporting Kansas City | Virgin Stadium | 2-0 | 14-4-8 |
August 30, 2016 | Columbus Crew SC | MAPFRE Stadium | 2-1 | 15-4-8 |
September 3, 2016 | Chicago Fire | Toyota Park | 1-1 | 15-4-9 |
September 10, 2016 | Montreal Impact | Virgin Stadium | 1-1 | 15-4-10 |
September 17, 2016 | Portland Timbers | Providence Park | 1-2 | 15-5-10 |
September 24, 2016 | Toronto FC | BMO Field | 1-1 | 15-5-11 |
October 1, 2016 | New York Red Bulls | Red Bull Arena | 2-3 | 15-6-11 |
October 16, 2016 | Orlando City SC | Virgin Stadium | 2-0 | 16-6-11 |
October 23, 2016 | New York Red Bulls | Virgin Stadium | 0-2 | 16-7-11 |
Other Games
Goal Scorers
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