NYCFC drops tourney opener
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Alejandro Bedoya scored in the 63rd minute and the Philadelphia Union defeated NYCFC 1-0 on Thursday in the MLS is Back tournament.
NYCFC goalkeeper Sean Johnson dove and got a hand on the ball but couldn't keep Bedoya's left-footed strike out of the net after a scoreless first half.
The teams met on the second day of the monthlong tournament played without fans in attendance at ESPN's Wide World of Sports complex at Walt Disney World.
Goalkeeper Andre Blake preserved Philadelphia's first win of the season in the 86th minute when he dove to push away Brazilian forward Heber's shot from the left side of the box.
Teams are divided into six groups for the opening stage of the World Cup-style tournament, with results counting toward the regular season. FC Dallas was forced to withdraw after 10 players and a coach tested positive for COVID-19.
NYCFC finished atop the Eastern Conference last season. The team returned much of its roster, including midfielder Maxi Moralez, who led the league in assists last season with 20. Heber had 15 goals in 22 appearances with the team last season.
NYCFC lost both of its games played before the season was shut down on March 12. The team has yet to score a goal this season.
The Union, which had a loss and a draw to start the season, finished third in the East last year. Forward Kacper Przybylko, who led the Union with 15 goals last season, started.
Players for the Union wore jerseys with the names of people killed by police. Ray Gaddis wore the name Taylor for Breonna Taylor, a Black emergency medical technician who died after being shot eight times by Louisville, Kentucky, officers serving a narcotics search warrant in her apartment. Goalkeeper Blake wore Floyd, for George Floyd, a handcuffed Black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee against Floyd's neck for nearly eight minutes.
The group stage features early morning games to avoid the heat and humidity in Florida. The game-time temperature was 82 degrees Fahrenheit (27.7 Celsius) with 88% humidity.
BIG TEN CHANGES FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
College football will look a lot different for the 2020 season.
The Big Ten will be eliminating their non-conference games for all fall sports — including football for the duration of the 2020 season. The news was first reported by Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic.
ESPN reported that if college football can be played, administrators and athletic directors would prefer to play a conferenceonly schedule that would eliminate cross country and long distance travel.
Big Ten football teams will only be playing 10 games this season, all within the conference. The Big Ten officially announced its update for the 2020 season with a statement on Thursday:
“We are facing uncertain and unprecedented times, and the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, game officials, and others associated with our sports programs and campuses remain our number one priority.
“To that end, the Big Ten Conference announced today that if the Conference is able to participate in fall sports (men's and women's cross country, field hockey, football, men's and women's soccer, and women's volleyball) based on medical advice, it will move to Conference-only schedules in those sports. Details for these sports will be released at a later date, while decisions on sports not listed above will continue to be evaluated.
“By limiting competition to other Big Ten institutions, the Conference will have the greatest flexibility to adjust its own operations throughout the season and make quick decisions in real-time based on the most current evolving medical advice and the fluid nature of the pandemic.”
The Big Ten also announced that student athletes who choose not to play this year due to concerns over the coronavirus will be kept on scholarship and in good standing with their teams.
This also means a handful of marquee college football matchups are off the schedule. Ohio State versus Oregon, Michigan State versus Miami, Michigan versus Washington and Wisconsin versus Notre Dame will all be put on the shelf. In total, the Big Ten teams has 36 scheduled opponents, including eight FCS opponents, that will be taken off the schedule.