10114_isi_neaglelamar_mlsjw091214027 Joshua Weisburg/isiphotos.com
ASN 100 Update

Kelyn Rowe! Lamar Neagle! Luis Silva! Edgar Castillo!

Yes, this week's ASN 100 Update features plenty of familiar faces, but we're more excited about the goal-scoring escapades of a few guys who don't always see their names in 36-point type.
BY Josh Deaver Posted
October 01, 2014
5:39 PM
Fabian Johnson—ASN rank #1
Johnson was a late scratch for Borussia Monchengladbach’s 2-1 win over Paderborn this weekend after picking up a minor Achilles strain during training. Despite missing a few days on the field, Johnson is reportedly back with the team as of Tuesday. There is no official word yet on whether he will be available for Europa League play against Zurich or the weekend match against Mainz.

Clint Dempsey—ASN rank #2
The Seattle Sounders have been distinguishing themselves all season as perhaps the best side in MLS. And even though it was against soon-to-be-non-existent Chivas USA, sequences like this do nothing to disabuse that notion. You gotta love the pick Dempsey sets on the Chivas defender before making his run.

Jermaine Jones—ASN rank #3
No pressure, poor close-out, and suspect goalkeeping—but it was still a pretty nice goal. Jones opened his MLS account in emphatic fashion on Saturday, smashing home a 25-yard worm-burner to give the Revolution a 3-2 win over Sporting Kansas City. After this weekend’s results, the three points catapults New England into second place in the East. Winners in six of its last seven, the Revs battle the Columbus Crew on Saturday, with only two points separating the sides.

Michael Bradley—ASN rank #4
Never a bad time for an 89th-minute free kick winner, am I right? Bradley couldn’t have picked a better time to grab his second of the season for Toronto FC, bouncing in his 30-yard effort past a flailing Donovan Ricketts to give the Reds a 3-2 win over Portland Timbers on Saturday. Staring down the barrel of a sixth straight season without postseason play, the much need three points leaves Toronto one point behind New York for the final spot in the Eastern conference with only five matches remaining. Up next: a date with the scorching-hot Galaxy on Saturday in Los Angeles. Geoff Cameron—ASN rank #6
The 28-year-old utility knife of a defender is set to return to training with Stoke City next week after undergoing hernia surgery last month. For what it’s worth: a few less-than-reputable-looking sources are claiming that Cameron has been called up by Jurgen Klinsmann for national team training camp, beginning next week.

Jozy Altidore—ASN rank #8
It’s been more than a week now, but…JOZY SCORED A GOAL! In the Capital One Cup. Altidore followed this up by not featuring for Sunderland in a scoreless draw with Swansea City on Saturday. The Black Cats remain winless in six matches.

John Brooks—ASN rank #13
Much was made recently regarding comments made by Hertha Berlin manager Jos Luhuakay about defender John Brooks—even some speculation that Brooks would be allowed to leave, or even cut entirely. Pump the breaks. Run it through any translator you want; Brooks is heading back to the reserves. In all honesty, the decision was justified. Brooks has struggled since returning from Brazil, making only three appearances this season. His last being an objectively terrible performance in a 2-2 draw with Freiburg two weeks ago. On Saturday, Brooks started and went 90 minutes for Hertha II in a 3-0 loss to Babelsburg.

Mix Diskerud—ASN rank #20
Assiskerud for Diskerud. I’m sorry, I’m writing this very late. Rosenborg beat Aalesund, 3-0.

Gyasi Zardes—ASN rank #36
Ball don’t lie, especially when you’re staring down the reality of 14 goals in 18 matches. Yes, Gyasi Zardes: Soccer Player is now a thing. The 23-year-old notched his 16th of the season on Saturday night during the Los Angeles Galaxy’s emphatic 4-0 win over the New York Red Bulls, playing a wonderful give-and-go with Landon Donovan in the 69th minute (one of Donoavan's three assists on the night.)

Edgar Castillo—ASN rank #37
Rarely seen on the score sheet, the Atlas defender notched his first Liga MX goal in more than four years during a 2-1 loss to Monterrey on Sunday. After latching on to a muffed clearance, Castillo fired a left-footed bullet from the top of the 18 yard box in the 83rd minute—part of a last-gasp effort to rescue a point from the Rayados. American under-23 Alonso Hernandez played the final 32 minutes for Monterrey. On Tuesday, Castillo was back in the lineup for third-place Atlas, making his ninth consecutive start in a 2-1 win over the Ronaldinho FC…I mean, Queretaro.

Kelyn Rowe—ASN rank #39
Rowe notched his second goal in consecutive weeks on Saturday during a 3-2 win over Sporting Kansas City. As a late far-post runner, Rowe found the end of a Jermaine Jones cross and finished coolly, slotting home a delicate volley at a difficult angle for his fourth goal of the season. That’s much tougher than it looks.

Joe Gyau—ASN rank #66
Ancient news by now: Joe Gyau made his Bundesliga debut for Borussia Dortmund. For weeks the 22-year-old has been a fixture in the game day roster for Klopp and Co.

Lamar Neagle—ASN rank #76
Neagle is on fire…by proxy. In his last five matches, Neagle has three goals and three assists. During the same time Seattle has gone undefeated while outscoring its opponents 18-8. The first of his two goals this week came on a thunderous 25-yard effort in a 3-1 win over FC Dallas last Thursday before adding another in a 4-2 rout of Chivas USA over the weekend. Look!

Luis Silva—ASN rank #92
The 25-year-old has been flying way under the radar this season. After battling some injury concerns early in the year, Silva has put together a respectable 11 goals and three assists in 25 appearance for D.C. United. His latest came on Saturday off a nicely placed snap header to give D.C a 1-0 win over the Philadeplhia Union. The win leaves the Red and Black with 51 points and a six-point cushion in the Eastern Conference.

Andrew Wooten—ASN rank #93
The German-American scored his fourth consecutive goal for Sandhausen over the weekend, converting a stoppage-time penalty kick in a 2-1 loss to Braunschweig. However, because 2.Bundesliga highlights are not allowed to exist, we’ll just have to imagine what it looked like.

Josh Deaver is a former academic turned soccer obsessive. Follow him on Twitter.

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