Saints Gear Up for Majors Cup 12'

Gateway United is back in the Majors Cup. Qualifying as the top seed for the BSL clubs, the Saints must play Toronto, Pennsylvania, and Houston in Group A. "The first match is a must-win. We have to take advantage of our top seeding and defeat the bottom MLS club in Toronto FC. Then findng a win against either Pennsylvania or Houston will be the focus. Game 1 must bring 3 points!" said the Gateway coach. The tournament will start a few weeks removed from a disappointing 7-0 defeat in the Semi-Finals of the BSL playoffs. When asked how the club will respond, the reaction was all business. "It was a bad loss. The fans are calling us the semi final Saints and who can blame them. However, this club qualified for the Majors Cup and in several circles, this cup is just as important. There are 8 other BSL clubs that would love to have qualified, so the focus is on getting ready to win." said the coach.

 

Gateway United is 3-2-0 in Majors Cup play. All results are from 2009. Gateway United was a finalist that year and will try and capture the 2nd league title in club history by the conclusion of this entry.  

Saints Win Honors With Final Week Thriller

The celebrating is still going strong. In an almost unthinkable final week, Gateway United had everything go right to claim the teams first championship! Trailing the entire match, the Saints scored 4 unanswered points to outduel the Stoners and win the match and the Honors Trophy in the final week of the season. The Saints fans have been waiting for a league title and now the club is the 2012 Honors Trophy Champions!!!

Looking Forward

Week 21 Saints 7 Suns 1 - Coming off a disappointing tie against the Quest, Gateway United was looking for a complete game and got it from its captain Landon Donovan. His 4 assists put the game out of reach and brought home the 12th win of the season matching the high the Saints set in 2009.
Now that the club has officially clinched the playoffs and Majors Cup, the real fun begins. Actually the real pressure begins. The Saints have lost in the Semi's twice and are looking to advance beyond previous failures. But, before that there is still one more regular season match against Pennsylvania. The club will be short handed playing with Becks and Donovan. "Better to be short handed now than next week".

Match Build Up: Week 22
Next opponent- Pennsylvania Stoners

Lineup- Cooper, Carr, Camara, Rolfe, Mullan, Jackson, Bolanos, Espinoza, Nielsen-GK. Subs- Salinas, Beckham, Donovan.

No Clinching Celebrations Yet

Week 20 Saints 3 Quest 3 - A disappointing draw against the last place club in the BSL serves as a reminder that there are no sure wins on game day. The Quest played very well and earned the point. The result is more embarrassing then worrisome. The club had planned on celebrating the clinching of both the playoffs and Majors Cup, but that celebration will just have to wait.

Match Build Up: Week 21
Next opponent- Gold Coast FC

Lineup- Donovan, Cooper, Beckham, Carr, Camara, Rolfe, Mullan, Jackson, Nielsen-GK. Subs- Bolanos, Salinas, Espinoza

Back to Back Barium's

Week 19 Saints 4 Lions 1 - Coming into the match without Donovan who was serving a yellow card suspension, and later even Beckham would miss the match because of the Olympic opening cermonies, Gateway United needed a team effort in the 2nd leg of the Barium Cup against Alliance FC. That effort came when the men in green put up their scoring average of 4 points to sweep the season series and win the cup for a 2nd straight year.

Match Build Up: Week 20
Next opponent- KC Quest

Lineup- Donovan, Cooper, Beckham, Carr, Sealy, Rolfe, Mullan, Jackson, Nielsen-GK. Subs- Bolanos, Salinas, Espinoza