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Freedom Kicks: D.C. United, USWNT, USMNT, and MLS links for Wednesday October 15, 2014

A scene that will likely happen a lot tonight. - Grant Halverson

Hamid, Silva, USWNT World Cup qualifying, Dunn, Kinnear on the move, and a new team that I am childishly refusing to call by the name they've chosen. All that plus actual information in today's round of Freedom Kicks.

I'm writing this just before going to bed, and I'm too sleepy for a proper intro. Here are your links, please be quiet so I can get another few minutes of shut-eye.

Bill Hamid for MLS Goalkeeper of the Year | DCUnited.com
D.C. United is on the campaign trail, and today it's about Bill Hamid's potential quest for a GKOTY award. We'll have more on this subject (and United's other potential award winners) here at B&RU; in the near future.

Training Notes: October 14, 2025 | DCUnited.com
A variety of one-touch passing drills took place today, but the more interesting thing was that Chris Rolfe is back in practice. He's currently in a non-contact role, but this will at least minimize some of the rust that would normally accumulate when someone's out for over a month.

Top 10 Hispanic Moments: #7. Luis Silva and his great year with D.C. United | MLSsoccer.com
MLS is doing a video countdown acknowledging Hispanic players, and today's is on Luis Silva. Bad timing given his injury prognosis, but we can still remember the good times while hoping he's back in four weeks rather than six.

United Drives to collect canned goods for the Capital Area Food Bank | DCUnited.com
Bring some canned goods to Saturday night's game and drop them off at Gate A.

MLS Power Rankings, Week 31: LA Galaxy, Seattle Sounders battle for top spot ahead of weekend clash | MLSsoccer.com
United is #4 here, though I actually think we'd do well enough head-to-head against #3 FC Dallas. Hopefully we get a chance to prove it (as a DCU-FCD MLS Cup would likely take place at RFK).

3 things we learned from the USA's 1-1 draw with Honduras | SBNation.com
Kevin MacCauley with the reaction to last night's USMNT match. Stray thought: Greg Garza is meeting my expectations at left back.

5 Questions Facing USWNT In Qualifying | ESPN W
The USWNT has a far more important game today, as the World Cup qualifying tournament starts tonight at Sporting Park in Kansas City. The US will take on Trinidad & Tobago (a side that has never avoided defeat in this fixture). Realistically, with Canada not having to qualify, this should be even more of a cakewalk than normal. However, the USWNT ended up in a playoff with Italy after a shocking upset loss to Mexico during qualifying for the 2011 WWC, so one assumes they will be more focused than usual on winning every game.

Injured Crystal Dunn replaced by Julie Johnston ahead of USA World Cup qualifiers | Fox Sports
Washington Spirit defender/midfielder Crystal Dunn has a sprained MCL and will miss the entire qualifying tournament, because the fates apparently don't like Washington soccer teams or their players when important games are approaching.

Reports: Kinnear leaving Houston | Dynamo Theory
Where there's smoke, there's fire. Looks like Dominic Kinnear is about to leave Houston to take over as San Jose's head coach. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but all signs point to the deal being done.

Portland Timbers FC Announce Portland Timbers FC 2 | Stumptown Footy
Another club that can afford to do so has created a USL-PRO team. Portland wants you to refer to their USL-PRO branch as "T2," but you should not because that's already a movie, and also it's just kind of a dumb name.

Q&A; with Colorado Rapids president, Tim Hinchey | ColoradoRapids.com
Among other things, Hinchey says the Colorado Rapids have scoured the top two divisions in both Spain and France - including sending Paul Bravo over to personally scout games and make contacts - and that they intend to sign a Designated Player this winter.

Serbia vs. Albania abandoned after flag-flying drone incites brawl | SBNation.com
This incident almost sounds like a farce, except that the situation nearly devolved into an out-and-out riot. It's particularly odd that this pairing was allowed to happen by UEFA but Spain and Gibraltar couldn't be in the same group due to their immeasurably calmer border dispute. We make fun of CONCACAF, but they're not the only dumb soccer federation out there.

Jonas Gutierrez has cancer and still ran a marathon for charity | SBNation.com
This is pretty amazing. Gutierrez, a wingback for Newcastle, ran a marathon to raise money for a cancer research charity while he has cancer. Meanwhile, I grumble about getting up in the morning.

OK, floor's yours.

In This Article

Teams
  • France
  • Italy
  • Mexico
  • Spain
  • Colorado Rapids
  • LA Galaxy
  • Seattle Sounders
  • Honduras
  • Serbia
  • D.C. United
  • FC Dallas
  • Portland Timbers
Players
  • Bill Hamid (D.C. United)
  • Luis Silva (D.C. United)
  • Dominic Kinnear (HOU)
  • Chris Rolfe (D.C. United)
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