Russell sees perfect fit in U.S. return

SALT LAKE CITY -- When Robbie Russell decided it was time to return to the United States after spending seven years playing soccer in Europe, he wasn't looking for any run-of-the mill club to join.

Russell wanted to be with a team that was forward-thinking. He wanted to be involved building a solid foundation for the future more than latching onto a win-now mentality.

With Real Salt Lake, Russell thinks he has found exactly what he was looking for.

"I really feel like this is a place where the management and coaches have a specific goal in mind," Russell said. "In my experience with clubs in Europe, that's usually the teams that do the best -- teams that have plans."

RSL acquired the U.S. midfielder from Viborg FF of the Danish Superliga last Wednesday, one week into the international transfer window. Russell spent seven seasons in Norway and Denmark after being drafted 22nd overall by the Los Angeles Galaxy in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft.

RSL's newest acquisition arrived in Utah last week and took part in his first training session last Friday. He made his debut against Toronto FC at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Monday, coming on as a 73rd-minute substitute.

Just how many minutes Russell plays and which spot he will play from on the field remains to be seen. But there is no doubt he can work his way into the rotation, given that he already possesses many qualities head coach Jason Kreis is looking for in an RSL player.

"He's athletic, he's versatile, he'll play several positions for us," Kreis said. "It's always nice to have players like that to give you options and choices in tactics."

Versatility will make Russell a major asset in putting together different lineups. During his time in Europe, Russell played major minutes at defensive midfield and right back.

With RSL, he should add some needed depth to the midfield -- an area that had become thinner than it was when the season got underway with the trade of Carey Talley and the midseason departure of Matias Cordoba.

"Anytime you get a new player that can help your team, it's exciting," midfielder Dema Kovalenko said. "It's good for the team. The coaches definitely think he can help us. We welcome him. It's good to have him."

Russell should make an impact with his new club eventually, but it could take a week or two to shake off enough rust before he sees substantial playing time. His last competitive soccer match, in Denmark, was two months ago.

Russell is happy to fill whatever role is required of him. He said he doesn't need a certain amount of minutes to keep him happy. And he feels like he can come in and help RSL in a multitude of ways.

"I see it as a plus that I can fill multiple spots," Russell said. "Any way I can help the team, I up for it."

If he can find a niche with RSL, Russell should be anchor for several seasons to come. The former Duke University product wanted to return to from Europe once he found the right situation.

Now that he is in Utah, he aims to get his game back to an elite level that will appeal to the U.S. national team. Russell figures he has from three to six good seasons still ahead of him and he hopes his time with RSL will allow him make the most of those remaining years.

"It's a perfect time (to return)," Russell said. "It gives me a chance to try and get back on the national team. Take a nice run at some of those goals I've set for myself."


FCD revitalized after short break
DINWIDDIE SEES FLAG MIX-UP AS OMEN

Alvarez back where it all began

FRISCO, Texas -- On Monday afternoon, FC Dallas traded midfielder Arturo Alvarez back to the team that drafted him in 2003, the San Jose Earthquakes. With the Quakes off on Wednesday, Alvarez returned to the club he's called home for nearly four seasons to gather some personal effects and also to say goodbye to his now former teammates.

"There are some great memories here," Alvarez said. "I was here for three and a half years and a lot of stuff happened. I think I came here, developed and matured on and off the field as a player. There were good moments here. Last year was probably the highlight of my career here in Dallas. Hopefully, I can go to San Jose and start playing the way that I should be playing."

The decision to trade Alvarez wasn't an easy one for FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman, but in the end, he saw it as the right move.

"I think Arturo (Alvarez) is a very gifted player on the ball," Hyndman said. "At times, what I was looking for on the flanks was to get behind the opposition by making deeper runs, getting to the baseline and serving balls. I think he felt more comfortable in the middle third of the field. It's almost like he liked being that withdrawn striker or a holding center midfield.

"I said to him that if we would keep you here, as the year goes on, I think our relationship would sour because I would keep asking you to do something you don't want to do or can't do. So, I don't want it to end on that note," Hyndman continued. "I think you're a good player and let's find a place where you can do the type of things that you can do."

On Sunday, Alvarez started and played 88 minutes in FCD's 4-0 win against the LA Galaxy. Later that evening is when the swap with San Jose started coming together.

"I think it all came down Sunday night," Hyndman said. "We were all talking about it and it got finalized on Monday. But there had been discussion with a couple of teams. San Jose wasn't the only team that showed interest in Arturo. With all fairness to Arturo, I think he might be a little bit relieved as well only because the demands I was having on him in that position, I don't know if he was willing or capable of doing it.

"That does not mean that he's not a good player, it means that maybe the style or structure wasn't bringing the best out of him. I told our players today that that was not something that was easy for me to do. I had never done it before, so it wasn't easy for me," added Hyndman. "But I always believe in being honest and letting the player be the first to know. I did that and let the team know that this has nothing to do with the quality of Arturo. This might not have been the best fit for him and we want him to do well. I know (Frank) Yallop really likes him and that's why they came up with such a high bid for him. We wish him nothing but the best."

Alvarez knew a swap was in the works but when he learned he would be joining the Earthquakes again, it made him very happy.

"I had been talking to my agent and knew that a couple of teams were interested," he said. "It really wasn't that big of a surprise. I'm really excited. I think maybe it was time for a change and what better place to go than to San Jose where it all started for me. I'm excited about that and can't wait to get going. I know they had [Wednesday] off, so I'm here getting some of my stuff and saying goodbye to some of the guys that I was friends with here. I'm happy to be at San Jose now."

He spent two seasons with the Earthquakes, 2003 and 2004, before being traded to FCD in January 2005. He was part of the team that won the MLS Cup in 2003.

"I was 17 or 18 when I was there," Alvarez said. "I do have some great memories. I remember winning MLS Cup with them in 2003. So, hopefully, good memories like that can repeat again. I know they're a new team this year and it's always difficult for a new team to get going here. I think Frank (Yallop) is a great coach and he will have the players to maybe have a better second half of the season and maybe even a better season next year."

Coincidentally enough, Alvarez's last game for FCD was against the Galaxy and his first game back with San Jose could very well also come against LA, who the Quakes meet on Sunday.

"I'm really happy that we won that game," Alvarez said of his last game with FCD. "I felt like I played well. It was a good win for this club because things hadn't been going well here."

Even though it has been more than three years since he last played in the Bay Area, Alvarez still knows some of his new teammates, including Ronnie O'Brien, who played with him at FC Dallas in 2005 and 2006.

"I know Ronnie O'Brien, Ramiro Corrales, who I played with in San Jose, Ryan Cochrane, who I played with in San Jose and the assistant coach Ian Russell, who I played with when he was a player in San Jose," Alvarez said. "I know a lot of the guys there and being in the league, I know some of the players they have now like Eric Denton, Joe Cannon, Nick Garcia and stuff like that. It's a good group and I can't wait to be in the mix."

Those won't be the only familiar faces to greet him with his new side. Alvarez also played for Frank Yallop as a rookie in 2003.

"For the few coaches that I've had in my young career so far, I've got to say that he's one of my favorite coaches," Alvarez said. "I think I'm really excited about that. I'm going to play for a coach that's really going to appreciate my game. He knows the kind of player that I am and is excited to have me. When a player is happy, that's when he performs well. So, I'm going to go out there and do my best."

Corrales currently wears No. 12, which Alvarez wore with the Hoops. But Alvarez said he will switch to a new number to signify a fresh start.

"I'm going to wear 17 now," he said. "I wore it a couple of times with the youth national teams. It's a good number. It was one of the numbers open, so I figured that I might as well take it. It's a new start."

On Oct. 2, San Jose will face FCD at Pizza Hut Park and Alvarez admits playing against the Hoops will be a little strange but the goal will remain the same.

"Yes, it will be weird but just like it is when I go to (my hometown) Houston and play against them, I will try and come here and get three points," he said. "There's nothing weird about that."


Rocha’s versatility benefiting FCD
Top game

FCD youngsters rapidly improving

FRISCO, Texas -- On Sunday evening, FC Dallas got their first win under new head coach Schellas Hyndman with a 4-0 blanking of the LA Galaxy at Pizza Hut Park. While the big story for FCD was the two goals from Kenny Cooper, FCD also got solid performances from a pair of younger players in Michael Dello-Russo and Chase Wileman.

Dello-Russo came on for Andre Rocha in the 66th minute and was playing in the second MLS game of his career but first in 2008 after his MLS debut came last October against Kansas City. And Chase Wileman, a second-year player who played for Hyndman at SMU, came on in the 75th minute to make his league debut and assisted on FCD's last goal, scored by Abe Thompson.

All in all, Hyndman was pleased with how Dello-Russo and Wileman performed.

"He (Dello-Russo) did fine," he said. "I thought Michael did a good job getting forward holding the ball. It looked like there was no change as far as personnel. You also have to realize that he came in 66 minutes into the game when the other team was already tired and with three front runners."

Hyndman offered a similar review of Wileman's play.

"I thought he did great," Hyndman said. "He played for me (at SMU). I love the kid and have known him for so long. But I can't let my feelings interfere with what is best for the team. So, I went to Chase with the injuries we have and the boys away with the Milk Cup, I said that I had good news and bad news for him. The good news was that he was going to dress out for the game. He had big eyes, was happy and had a big smile on his face. As I was walking away, he asked me what the bad news was. I told him not to plan on playing.

"I really didn't plan on him playing in the game," Hyndman said. "I thought it was great for him to dress out his first time but after watching Arturo (Alvarez) and Andre (Rocha) struggle a little bit, I thought it was a wonderful day for Chase. I put him on the field and told him not to ask (David) Beckham for his autograph during the game. I know how excited he was to be on the field and to be marking up with Beckham. I thought he did fine."

Both players were clearly pleased to see some time with the first team on Sunday.

"It was fun," Dello-Russo said. "It was a great time. It was probably the best occasion too, a packed house, Beckham was there and we had the lead. You couldn't ask for much more. I was very excited and pleased with the team's effort."

Said Wileman: "It was awesome. Dressing for the first time ever and it being a sold-out stadium was awesome. I wasn't expecting to play. I was ready and did everything I had to do to be ready but we scored goals and things happened in my favor.

"When I went out there, (assistant coach John) Ellinger and him (Hyndman) told me to not wake up tomorrow and to not have any regrets about this," Wileman continued. "I just tried to go out there and do a job for the team. I got an assist but Abe (Thompson) did everything. I just played him the ball and he scored a great goal. It was great, a good experience."

Since taking over at FCD, Dello-Russo has been one of the players whom Hyndman has continually commended for a strong work ethic.

"I've been trying to do that (catch his eye)," Dello-Russo said. "That's what I've been doing my whole life, try to show up every day and if I try to do work hard every day and get the best out of myself, then I hopefully I can produce the most out here for the team. I'm glad that he recognized that and will just keep working hard from here and see what happens."

Wileman admits that in the hours before the game, he did everything he could to keep his mind off soccer so that he could avoid getting nervous.

"It was partly adrenaline," he said. "All day, I wasn't really thinking about the game. I tried to do other things so that I wouldn't get antsy about it. Once you get out there, soccer is soccer. You're playing against great players but you step between the lines and are playing the same game you've been playing since you were a boy. Sure, the game is faster but it was cool."

Like Wileman, Dello-Russo also came from a big-time college program in Maryland. He sees many similarities in Hyndman's training sessions to those he participated in during his days in College Park.

"Definitely (there are a lot of similarities), he expects a lot out of individual players, which is good," Dello-Russo said. "He holds everyone accountable, which is very good. I got that a lot in college and am very used to that. (Maryland head coach) Sasho (Cirovski) is a lot like that too, it's self accountability. I really enjoy practicing like that."

Dello-Russo has also noticed that Hyndman's practices are more intense than those of his predecessors with the Hoops.

"He's intense," he said of Hyndman. "I think that's coming from a college level also. A lot of college coaches are intense and expect a lot from their players. I'm not saying that Steve (Morrow) or Marco (Ferruzzi) didn't by any means, it's just a different mentality. Everybody coaches differently and now, we're getting used to the way Schellas (Hyndman) coaches and it's good for us and him."


Sacchi: Man Utd Betrayed England
Ellinger brings experience to FCD staff

Old demons once again doom Reds

SALT LAKE CITY -- The same shortcomings continue to doom Toronto FC, who have yet to earn a clean sheet while playing outside the comfort of BMO Field, and even the similar artificial surface of Rice-Eccles Stadium couldn't change that.

When looking for an explanation, TFC head coach John Carver said that his team continually suffers from the same mistakes, and he told his players following the 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake that he's starting to feel like a recording, saying the same thing after each match.

So, rather than dictate only his thoughts, Carver opened the floor to his players for a two-way discussion on what needed to be done to set Toronto FC on a successful course. Their private conversation lasted for several minutes following the match, more than twice the normal time that teams hold post-match talks.

"I don't really want to talk about what goes on in the dressing room, but it's like everything else," said Carver. "If you keep making the same mistakes, I start sounding like a recording. We're all making the same mistakes, and I'm seeing the same things. So, I'm asking for some feedback from the guys and what they're thinking. And, again, that remains private. You have to respect that. But, it was an open discussion and it was quite positive and the good thing is everybody respected each other's opinions." The most consistent problem for Toronto has been its defending, an issue that seems to amplify itself on the road. With the exception of a 3-2 result at Los Angeles in April, TFC has yet to earn another point on the road all year.

"It seems to be the story of our life at the moment, especially on the road," said Carver. "I don't know how we could defend like Trojans at home, maybe it's because you've got 20,000 screaming fans down your throat and if you make a mistake they'll let you know about it. But, there's something not right when we are away from home. You claw your way back into the game, you think you've got something from the game and then, again ... you shoot yourself in the foot -- and you come away with nothing."

Carver said that he has no doubt that his players give maximum effort on the field, but he's starting to realize that there may not be enough ability in some positions. In those situations, Carver feels he's going to need to make some changes.

"I feel for the guys who have given, again, maximum effort," he said. "The one thing I've got to start considering now is -- and I've never, ever doubted the effort and energy that they've given the team. But, sometimes you've got to start wondering their ability is good enough. I've said to certain individuals -- without going into it because I like to keep it private -- that the way we defended at times wasn't good enough. And, I need to do something about it."

Goalkeeper Greg Sutton saw a lot of the ball against RSL, doing his best to make sure that the 20 shots -- nine on frame -- fired his way didn't end up in the net. He was able to keep out all but two. The first goal for Salt Lake came off the head of Jamison Olave, and the second came after Sutton parried a Kyle Beckerman shot and the loose rebound was swept up by a sliding Robbie Findley.

Losing concentration was the reason for the breakdowns in defense, from Sutton's view. Other than a few key moments, where RSL scored, he felt the defense played well. Like Carver, Sutton feels the pattern of failing is too familiar.

"It's the same old story -- we can't put 90 minutes together," said Sutton. "We let ourselves down. We did well to get ourselves back into the game in the second half. I thought we did what we said we wanted to do at halftime, and when we came out it was pretty effective. Then we had that mental error again. It's one thing to happen once or twice, but now it's becoming a habit -- a real bad habit."

The Reds are still looking for a consistent option at striker. Their lone goal against RSL came off a beautiful free kick from Amado Guevara. It's good to get goals from the midfield, but they're still vying for solid front men.

They thought they had found their man in Chad Barrett, who traveled with TFC to Salt Lake, but have yet to receive word that the deal is finalized. Carver doesn't understand what is holding up the trade from completion.

"In fairness, it's been the story of the season," said Carver. "That's why we've been desperate at trying to get some strikers in, and when we feel like we've gotten so close to one -- where it was announced on Thursday by the commissioner that we would have a deal done by tomorrow, which was Friday. It's now Monday and the deal still hasn't been done. I'm a bit perplexed.

"I'm just surprised that something can't be done that's quite simple, that can take so long. It seems that everybody else seems to be able to trade over the last few days, but we can't. What is that?"


Carver unhappy with Reds
Reds close on Dossena
Reds jubilant after first win

All-Stars demonstrate strength of MLS

TORONTO -- After the MLS All-Stars' 3-2 victory against West Ham United at a packed BMO Field, All-Star head coach Steve Nicol thought his temporary charges earned the victory.

"It was a fantastic performance," Nicol said. "We thoroughly deserved to win and it was a pleasure for me."

Cuauhtemoc Blanco garnered MVP honors by scoring a goal and an assist in his 45 minutes of action. He said that it wasn't difficult to merge stars from across the league in order to overcome a strong West Ham United team.

"We also wanted to put in a good team performance because we are a bunch of players that play against each other every week and haven't played with each other," Blanco said. "But we proved tonight that we can come together and we played as a team, we worked as a team and we won as a team. So, overall, it was a very good performance."

It started off a bit sluggishly for the All-Stars as they tried to figure out how to communicate and how to mesh with each other. Without much practice time, the opening stages of the match turned into the time where the team could mold into a unit.

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SIGHTS & SOUNDS
Highlights: MLS 3, WHU 2: 350K
Postgame press conference: 350K
Awards presentation: 350K
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Cuauhtemoc Blanco's bender: 350K
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MLS-West Ham Preview: 350K
All-Star Highlights, part 1: Photos
All-Star Highlights, part 2: Photos
2008 All-Star First XI: Photos

"We were feeling each other out, trying to figure out where the space was going to be," All-Star captain Jimmy Conrad said. We really only had one practice and that was yesterday. We only had eight guys at our practice on Monday. It's going to take 15-20 minutes."

Defensive midfielder Shalrie Joseph said that the team settled into the game after Dean Ashton opened the scoring with the first of his two goals.

"Soccer's a universal language," Joseph said. "Playing with these guys makes it easier. These are some of the top guys in the league. It makes it easier."

Ashton's goal was met with an instant reply from Christian Gomez. The goal restored parity and allowed the All-Stars to show off to the crowd with their newfound momentum.

"We got the flair going once we got scored on," Conrad said. "We scored a great first goal and then we loosened up a bit. The first 20 minutes was just about us feeling each other out. We don't know who they are as players. We see these guys on TV a little bit, but we don't know what they're about. We have to figure out what they are trying to accomplish. I thought as the game went on, we did a better job of that. The only time we were threatened was when we turned the ball over in bad areas."

As the match progressed, the All-Stars' superior fitness came to the fore. West Ham is in the middle of its preparations for the English Premier League season, allowing the All-Stars to surge forward and keep the Hammers inside their own half.

"We wanted to be the aggressors," midfielder Steve Ralston said. "We were in better shape than them. We wanted to try to get on top of them."

Dwayne De Rosario's penalty ensured a happy ending to the night, one that Nicol feels established that the quality of MLS players continues to improve with each passing year.

"It's always a pleasure to be involved with good players," Nicol said. "I think we showed tonight that not only do we have good players in this league, but we have great players."


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FALDO WILL CONSULT RYDER CUP STARS

New faces key Quakes' draw with NY

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The San Jose Earthquakes have been experiencing the growing pains every MLS expansion team faces as they build a new team from scratch, but the club is hopeful for a strong finish to its first season back in the league after the signings of three new players this month.

Darren Huckerby, Francisco Lima and Scott Sealy all figured prominently in San Jose's 1-1 tie against New York Sunday afternoon at Buck Shaw Stadium. Huckerby scored his first MLS goal, banging in the rebound of a Sealy shot, while Lima controlled the midfield for most of the match.

The Earthquakes' first two games with their new players have ended in ties, but with an overall 3-9-6 record, San Jose has already shown an improvement from the beginning of the season.

"I think the first half today was probably the best we've played this year," San Jose coach Frank Yallop said after Sunday's game. "Overall, our performance was excellent, to be honest. I thought we were very good today, and I was really happy with the spirit and the togetherness and everything, the creation of chances. Finishing is the thing we can't do now, but again, that will come."

For the most part, San Jose controlled the run of play Sunday against New York, and the three newest Earthquakes were a large part of the team's showing, even if they have barely met their teammates. After giving up an own goal in the fourth minute, San Jose scored the equalizer nine minutes later.

"Scott makes the first (shot) and Darren scores it, so that's always a good start," Yallop said. "I thought Lima held possession well. Both Darren and Lima have been in Canada for the week. Lima got back on Friday night, practiced Saturday and played, so he has not even trained. Darren was there 'til Thursday so he missed training as well, but I thought both guys did great. Scott's more game-fit.

"We're building a team here that's going to be good for many years, hopefully, and I think that we all, myself included, get carried away with the results we've had," Yallop continued. "I look at the performances of individuals and the team, and we're not far off. I think that we've got a pretty solid team. We need to add in certain areas and juggle around the (salary) cap and all that stuff, but I thought we were the better team today with the ball."

San Jose has struggled on the offensive side of the ball so far, scoring just 12 goals in their 18 games, so even though he's pleased with his three new signings, coach Yallop admits he isn't finished putting his side together.

"We're always looking," he said. "I think, the three guys we signed have been terrific for us. If we can add one more ... You know, Ryan Johnson is a terrific player for this club -- wherever he plays he does his best and he tries hard, and I think he does well. (But) he's not a natural forward and a goal scorer. If we can add another quality forward, I think that will make us more of a force."

New York's coach Juan Carlos Osorio had good things to say about the trio of new Earthquakes.

"With their new signings, they should have a good second half of the season," Osorio said. "Darren (Huckerby) is a threat, not only because of his pace but also because of his ability to come inside and combine with the strikers. Lima has a good left foot, good quality, and also a good free kick taker. Sealy is a very good forward, and a proven goal scorer in this league, so I think they're on the way up and they'll be a difficult team to play against, as they proved today."

San Jose, after another week getting acclimated to their new teammates, will have the chance to show just how difficult they can be next Sunday when they face the Los Angeles Galaxy at home.


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Quakes stay fit, rout Honduras

Crew strike first, hold off Rapids

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- Steven Lenhart made the first start of his MLS career, scored his third goal in six games -- and then was sent off before the first half was out. But the Columbus Crew withstood the pressure from the Colorado Rapids despite the man disadvantage, then got a second late goal for a 2-0 victory Sunday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

Lenhart put the Crew ahead in the 21st minute then was ejected in the 43rd. Jason Garey sealed the victory for the Crew with his goal in the 75th minute, but goalkeeper William Hesmer certainly did his part, recording seven saves on the night as the Crew pulled within a point of the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

Conor Casey had Colorado's best chance early, getting a rebound off a throw-in in the 12th minute and unloading a powerful shot on the turn that Hesmer was just able to punch to his left.

Lenhart gave Columbus the edge with a 21st-minute goal on an assist from Stefani Miglioranzi, who found Lenhart to the right of the net and forced Rapids 'keeper Bouna Coundoul to come out of the goal and challenge him in front of the near post as Lenhart fired low into the far corner.

The opportunities were increasingly falling Colorado's way as the first half progressed, but they were unable to finish on their chances. The Rapids had an excellent opportunity in the 24th minute, with Mehdi Ballouchy passing to Colin Clark from midfield and Clark centering it for Casey, who headed it just wide of the goal.

The Rapids responded again in the 32nd minute with an opportunity in front of the goal, but Hesmer punched it out, recording another big save from close range.

Colorado nearly caught a break when Hesmer handled a pass back to the goal, setting up an indirect kick from just outside the penalty box. Terry Cooke charged in for the kick, apparently thinking it was a direct kick, and easily buried it into the goal behind Hesmer, but the goal was not allowed and Columbus was given a goal kick, escaping the threat.

Christian Gomez made good use of Ballouchy, finding him open when Gomez was getting extra attention, and setting up combinations like Ballouchy's pass to Terry Cooke on the wing, from where Cooke chipped it into the center and Casey sent a high header that Hesmer pulled in at the goal's edge.

The game was rough, with Columbus determined to get physical on the Rapids' home turf. Danny O'Rourke was shown a yellow card in the 13th minute after a sliding trip of Clark, and the Crew's Frankie Hejduk and Andy Iro and Colorado's Nick LaBrocca all earned yellow cards later in the match.

Lenhart played aggressively from the early minutes, getting a nasty push off on Facundo Erpen in the 15th minute that wasn't called. By the 43rd minute, however, when he sent Erpen to the turf with an elbow in front of Colorado's goal, he was shown a red card and ejected from the game by referee

With Columbus down a man, the Rapids kept the pressure on throughout the second half, keeping the ball in Columbus' back third. They were unable to find the net, however, and Columbus added to their lead when 63rd-minute substitute Jason Garey took a flick-on from Eddie Gaven after a long downfield kick from Hesmer. Garey was able to maintain control despite pressure from Erpen in front of Colorado's goal, flicking it over Coundoul for a much-needed insurance goal.

The Rapids kept ramping up the pressure, with Clark missing two close shots in the last 15 minutes of the match, settling and shooting once wide and firing from the top of the area in the 82nd minute, just high.

Hesmer came up with two remarkable saves in the dying moments to preserve the shutout. Omar Cummings dove headlong to send a low header goalward, but Hesmer acrobatically kicked it aside.

Then Christian Gomez tried his luck with a free kick that was almost on the goal line, near the left corner. Gomez whipped the ball inside the near post, but Hesmer dove back and somehow knocked it away from almost right on the goal line.


Lenhart’s energy key in comeback draw
Clavijo, Rapids finding consistency
Bielefeld are saved
Gomez back on the ball

RSL avoid late-match meltdown

SALT LAKE CITY -- With a crucial three points on the line against Toronto FC, it seemed like Real Salt Lake had cooked up the perfect recipe for a late-game disaster once again.

RSL yielded a slim lead in the 83rd minute when a foul by Jamison Olave set up a TFC direct free kick just outside the top of the penalty area. Amado Guevara curled his shot over the wall and under the post -- past a diving Nick Rimando and his outstretched hands -- to knot the game at 1-1.

But Robbie Findley refused to let the game become the latest to get away from Real in the closing minutes. Findley keyed a 2-1 RSL victory at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Monday night when he stuck a dagger in the Reds' comeback hopes with a spectacular game-winning goal in the 87th minute.

Findley netted his team-high fifth goal of the season when he corralled a ball after TFC 'keeper Greg Sutton deflected a shot by Kyle Beckerman toward the top of the box. He beat a pair of Toronto defenders to the bouncing ball and threaded a sliding strike right between to make it 2-1.

Just like that, a seeming draw was back to a sure win.

"It's such a relief," defender Chris Wingert said. "It would have been such a disappointment if we came away with a draw in that game after working so hard. It would have been a real letdown."

That moment also proved to be sweet redemption for Findley. He had a ready-made opportunity to put RSL up 1-0 in the 27th minute when Wingert set Findley up with a perfect cross inside the six-yard box, only to see him clank a chip shot off the left post and back out the other side.

It would have been easy enough at that point to second-guess himself, but Findley was determined to make another play when the situation arose to do so.

"It's always tough if you miss a goal early in the game," Findley said. "You usually think about it the whole game. I think I did a good job of letting it go and just keep on focusing on the game."

In terms of confidence for the front line, the late goal was a huge thing too. Kreis had worked to keep both Findley and Yura Movsisyan thinking positive at halftime after several first-half shots did not go their way.

Getting such a dramatic goal, the RSL boss thinks, will have a long shelf life for Findley.

"I'm so glad that things fell Robbie's way there in the end because I think it's very important for his development here," Kreis said.

Another player who also took an important step forward was Olave. The Colombian defender netted his first career MLS goal when he pushed a header over Sutton for the match's first goal in the 63rd minute.

Olave nearly netted his first header on a free kick from Javier Morales two minutes earlier, but that attempt sailed wide. He finally broke through when Wingert sent in a long ball from the right side toward him in front of the left post.

Olave leapt into the air and got his head under the ball -- easily pushing it over Sutton and into the net.

For Kreis, the goal proved just how well-rounded a player he is.

"He's been nothing short of spectacular and defensively tonight he was spectacular as well," Kreis said. "I was very excited to see him score a goal because I known all along he could be dangerous for us on attacking corners."

Olave nearly traded his good fortune for bad with his foul and subsequent yellow card in the 83rd minute. But with disaster averted, he could walk away instead feeling satisfied at his contributions to another victory.

"Fortunately, I'm starting to reach a good level," Olave said. "Every day, I'm working a little bit harder to get to the level I should be at."

The win not only helps RSL hold onto first place, but it shows another step in the club's maturation process -- namely the ability to pull out a late-game goal when needed.

For Kreis, that is the sweetest part of finally guiding his players to a rare winning record.

"It makes me feel very good," Kreis said. "It makes me feel like my faith is well-placed in them and I know it's a mentally strong group."


Real Salt Lake roll past San Jose
Findley: Real Salt Lake’s energizer
Ten-man Energie stage spectacular comeback

Wizards, Fire still streaking

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- The Kansas City Wizards extended their unbeaten streak to seven games and the Chicago Fire theirs to five games in a 0-0 draw at CommunityAmerica Ballpark on Saturday night. The Wizards had the better of the chances but Chicago goalkeeper Jon Busch held his fort and goalkeeper Kevin Hartman did the same for Kansas City for their league-leading seventh shutouts of the season.

The match began promisingly for each side on the attack as both showed the ability to be dangerous. Fire forward Chris Rolfe nearly broke the match open in the 14th minute as he went in alone on Hartman after a long pass out of midfield. His shot from the top of the box forced Hartman to leap high while palming the ball out with his left hand for a corner.

The Fire corner turned counter for the Wizards, though, as forward Claudio Lopez was loosened into the Fire end where he forced a corner that resulted in Davy Arnaud redirecting Lopez's service into the box at the near post. But Busch gobbled up the attempt and kept the scoreboard empty into the 15th minute.

By the half-hour mark, the Wizards' high pressure on the ball was serving them well as Chicago built well but found little near K.C.'s box. The home side's possessions, however, broke down in combinations that lacked the necessary timing and combination.

The emotion and energy of the match began to grow as the overflow crowd's noise spiked late in the half. To the delight of the crowd and those standing on vehicles outside the stadium, Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Wizards right back Michael Harrington tussled in the K.C. box before a 44th-minute corner. Arnaud then broke in on Busch's left after a clearance and beat midfielder Logan Pause, but failed to get off a cross despite the promising situation.

Dominating the chances through the opening half of the second 45 minutes, the Wizards tried to take some of the drama out of the match. Midfielder Kurt Morsink hit 25-yard shot first that Busch bobbled but held on to. Then left midfielder Roger Espinoza used a stepover and a spin to beat his man on the left side of the Chicago box but Busch knocked his attempt off the crossbar.

After a 54th-minute Arnaud volley from 16 yards off an Espinoza penetration that finished off a nice combination, Arnaud laid the ball back for an onrushing Jewsbury whose low, blistering cross just evaded midfielder Sasha Victorine but sat for Lopez at the far post in the 64th minute. His attempt forced a save from Busch at his right post.

The Fire tried to ignite their attack four minutes later during a scramble in the Wizards box, but the resulting shot from Blanco from a prone position did little to trouble Hartman.

In the 74th minute, the Fire dodged a bullet. A Michael Harrington cross was aimed in from the left flank and John Thorrington, who had moved to right back, saw it hit his arm and bounce down. Referee Mark Geiger ruled it was a handball, but just outside the edge of the area, and the resulting free kick came to nothing. But the Wizards felt the foul had occurred inside the area.

But despite the Fire's defensive posturing and the Wizards three offensive substitutions, Chicago still saw the better late chances. First Patrick Nyarko got off a quick shot under a defender that nearly caught Hartman napping, but the veteran 'keeper was still able to the parry the chance in the 74th minute.

Thorrington went high and wide with a bullet shot in the 81st from 19 yards followed by substitute Stephen King who went wide left from the right side five minutes later.

In the end, the hot hands of the two goalkeepers had earned each their seventh shutout of the season, to tie with Nick Rimando of Real Salt Lake, despite the efforts of each side's attackers.

The Wizards visit D.C. United at RFK Stadium next Saturday while the Fire play host to Chivas USA at Toyota Park.


MLS Clubs Turn On Charm For McBride
Wizards douse Fire, move into first
Germany blunder their way to loss
Wizards survive furious NY rally

RSL fall to Deportivo Saprissa

SALT LAKE CITY -- For all of the trouble MLS teams have had producing any good result against Real Salt Lake on their home field this season, foreign club teams keep leaving with plenty of victories.

RSL stumbled in its second international friendly in two weeks, falling 2-1 to Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa on Wednesday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Real scheduled a match with the three-time CONCAF Champions' Cup winner as part of its annual Pioneer Day celebration. Saprissa struggled in the first half while figuring out the RSL defense, but took off in the second half behind rapid-fire goals from Ronald Gomez and Armando Alonso.

Just as he did against Santos Laguna, RSL coach Jason Kreis mixed in plenty of reserve players with his regular starters to begin the match. The results were much better for the club during the early stages than it ended up being against Santos two weeks ago.

Real just missed on a golden opportunity to stake out a quick lead in the eighth minute. Dema Kovalenko angled a free kick through a cluster of players to Kenny Deuchar in the center of the penalty area. Deuchar uncorked an on-frame header, but Saprissa 'keeper Keylor Navas knocked the ball down before it could reach its intended destination.

Throughout the half, RSL controlled possession like they hoped to do, but could not cash in on it. Kyle Beckerman lofted a ball over a defender on the near side of the box in the 34th minute, but Navas easily scooped up his shot.

RSL's final chance of the half came in the 44th minute when Robbie Findley put his head onto a ball sent to him in the area. But Findley's shot bounced forcefully off the right post and ricocheted backward.

Saprissa opened up things in the second half by nearly turning a pair of corner kicks into goals in the 51st minute. Walter Centeno swung both kicks into the center. The first one set up a header that just sailed over the crossbar. The second was deflected away by RSL 'keeper Kyle Reynish.

RSL stepped up its own attack in the 55th minute. Fabian Espindola -- seeing his first action after sitting out several weeks with a knee injury -- penetrated the six-yard box. Espindola bent a shot around the near post, but Alexander Robinson met the ball and cleared it away before it crossed into the net.

Saprissa finally took a 1-0 lead in the 58th minute when Gomez drilled a long shot after being set up perfectly by Centeno.

Alonso quickly put the Costa Rican club up 2-0 in the 62nd minute. He barreled down into the box, drawing out Reynish. Reynish dove after the ball, but Alonso patiently waited until he was out of the way. He then rifled a shot past defender Nat Borchers, who raced over to protect the empty net.

A fight took some of the friendliness out of the friendly late in the match. Saprissa defender Gabriel Badilla and RSL forward Yura Movsisyan were both sent off in the 83rd minute after their roles in nearly sparking a brawl between the two clubs.

Chris Wingert finally put RSL on the board in the 90th minute when Tino Nunez hooked it to him on the run and Wingert pushed it past a Saprissa defender into the back of the net.


Woodwork unkind as Fire, RSL draw
Drama surrounding Frei
Wizards youngsters stop CF Atlas

Davis: All-Star Game earns high marks

TORONTO -- A big night at BMO Field on Thursday provided the rowdy Canadian supporters with lots of great soccer.

Strangely, it looked less like an All-Star event than just a good, skillful match.

MLS manager Steve Nicol augmented the voters' selections with players that provided balance. Nicol and his All-Star selections seem pretty serious about protecting this streak of All-Star wins against foreign opposition -- five and counting.

The latest was a 3-2 win against West Ham United inside Exposition Park, in the shadow of downtown Toronto. If the night was a bit short on All-Star panache, it was certainly chock-full of effective, efficient and clinical soccer.

"We said we were going to take it seriously and we wanted to win the game, and we did that," MLS celebrity midfielder David Beckham said. "We played together as a team and we won as a team."

The MLS side "worked," realistically, better than could be expected, considering that these assemblies are generally pieced together with ill-fitting parts (read: too many offensive engines, not enough defensive diggers). And consider that the All-Stars had just one true practice together.

Still, it all pieced together nicely on a beautiful evening in Ontario. Never mind that for 20 minutes or so, it looked a lot more like a cautious playoff match than any kind of an All-Star free-for-all.

NEWS • Blanco plays the hero for MLS
• All-Stars demonstrate strength of MLS
• Stars gush over All-Star experience
• All-Star nod No. 9 fine for Mastroeni
• All-Star notebook: Long day's end
• Hammers pleased with performance
• Blanco leads MLS past West Ham
• Garber's State of the League address
• All-Stars aim to defeat West Ham
• All-Star first for MLS luminaries
• De Rosario shines in spotlight
• West Ham visits land of opportunity
• MLS announces All-Star First XI
• MLS All-Stars to face West Ham
ANALYSIS • Davis: All-Star Game earns high marks
• Davis: All-Star matchups
• A look at West Ham United roster
PRESS RELEASES
• MLS All-Stars defeat West Ham United
• MLS seeks two expansion teams by 2011
• MLS finalizes '08 All-Star roster
• West Ham to face MLS All-Stars
• Toronto to host 2008 All-Star Game
SIGHTS & SOUNDS
Highlights: MLS 3, WHU 2: 350K
Postgame press conference: 350K
Awards presentation: 350K
David Beckham postgame: 350K
Dwayne De Rosario's penalty kick: 350K
Dean Ashton's double: 350K
Cuauhtemoc Blanco's bender: 350K
Christian Gomez's goal: 350K
MLS-West Ham Preview: 350K
All-Star Highlights, part 1: Photos
All-Star Highlights, part 2: Photos
2008 All-Star First XI: Photos

"We got the flair going once we got scored on," MLS captain Jimmy Conrad said.

Cuauhtemoc Blanco, playing as a second striker behind Kenny Cooper, and Christian Gomez ran the offense in Nicol's 4-4-2. Juan Toja protected the left side with plenty of hustle and bustle, and David Beckham took care of playing the direct balls when opportunity arose.

Toja and Jonathan Bornstein combined occasionally on the left, while it was tougher for Frankie Hejduk to get forward to combine with Beckham on the right.

The midfield worked so well in large part because of Nicol's selection of Toja. While few could argue that Toja has been the same dynamic presence in his sophomore season that he was in 2007, Nicol knew the floppy-haired Colombian would provide the requisite midfield balance. With playmakers such as Gomez, Blanco and Beckham doing their offensive thing, in their own ways, the MLS manager knew he needed one more midfielder who would chase and harass a bit more.

Shalrie Joseph, the ever-present holding force, can't do it all.

Up front, Cooper effectively stood as a target player, with Blanco moving around behind him as second striker. Or, that was the plan. That was perhaps the one flaw in Nicol's blueprint. Blanco didn't always work as the second striker because -- as he likes to do in MLS contests -- he retreated too far into the midfield to gather up possession.

That had a lot to do with the game's crisp-but-cautious start. Not much happened for either side for about 20 minutes. Gomez and Cooper combined to provide the only showy "All-Star" moment to that point; FC Dallas' young striker spun from close range and nearly turned Gomez's cheeky little chipped pass into a spectacular All-Star-worthy goal.

The Hammers' attackers only occasionally troubled the MLS back four. MLS center backs Pablo Mastroeni and Jimmy Conrad could generally deal with Carlton Cole when the big West Ham striker had the ball at his feet. But Cole won almost every aerial duel with Conrad, like the one that led to Dean Ashton's sure strike in the 26th minute to open the scoring.

West Ham's outside attackers, Julien Faubert on the right and Matthew Etherington on the left, did too much defending to make themselves overly useful going forward.

It all left MLS goalkeeper Matt Reis with very little to do before the break -- excepting the one time Ashton got loose and left the Revolution veteran with no chance.

Gomez seemed to tire a bit after the break, and West Ham was finding more room in the gap between the MLS back four and midfield. Dwayne De Rosario's entrance changed that, and fast.

"DeRo," who loves the All-Star contest and keeps showing us all how much, immediately put a little more pep in the MLS step upon his 59th-minute entrance. He added back the flair that left when Blanco was withdrawn at halftime.

Most importantly, he helped the MLS regain the initiative. De Rosario bounced around midfield, finding Juan Pablo Angel, combining with Landon Donovan or feeding the always attack-minded Bornstein along the left.

In the 69th minute De Rosario forced West Ham right back and captain Lucas Neill into a dangerous challenge, and then converted the spot kick for the game-winner. It was De Rosario's second in an All-Star contest, having also nailed the match-winner two years ago against Chelsea.

And last year, he combined with Ricardo Clark in the center of the park on All-Star night, as the pair troubled Celtic with its pace and athleticism.

De Rosario could flit about so freely because Joseph was doing what he always does: bossing the midfield, expertly screening the defense and handling the work of about one and a half men.

Meanwhile, with the exception of some late space made available to West Ham once Nicol emptied the bench to get everyone into the contest, the organization remained remarkably tidy under the circumstances.

"That kind of falls on Pablo, Shalrie and myself to make sure we were staying organized," Conrad said, "to make sure we're not getting out of control, to make sure guys aren't just bombing forward for the sake of bombing forward. We just wanted to pick our spots, and we did a better job of that once West Ham was tired."


Nicol bringing Ralston to Toronto
Hargreaves: Destiny In Our Hands
DAVIS IN FOUR-WAY TIE FOR LEAD
Davis: All-Star matchups

Carroll, Hesmer reunited in Columbus

COLUMBUS -- Columbus Crew goalkeeper Will Hesmer was an Academic All-American at Wake Forest while earning a history degree, but somewhere along the way he must have taken a few public relations courses.

When Columbus coach Sigi Schmid called in the offseason and inquired about obtaining midfielder Brian Carroll in a trade, Hesmer was eager to praise his former college teammate.

"Sigi was looking for more of a consistent midfielder, a guy who is going to hold that hole and win balls. But not only win them, but find teammates out wide and move us quickly into the attack. Brian was a perfect addition for that," said Hesmer.

Schmid knew Hesmer wasn't just a friend pumping up Carroll.

"I've always liked Brian Carroll because he's steady," Schmid said. "There's not a lot of highs and lows in his game. If he has an off game it's still decent and when he has a great game it's better than decent. He doesn't have a lot of valleys in his game."

The Crew engineered a deal on Nov. 26 with San Jose for Carroll, who was claimed by the Earthquakes in the expansion draft from D.C. United. San Jose received Crew forward Kei Kamara.

"Kei was a good player but it was a humungous trade for our team in the sense of filling a need, especially since we were going to move Danny O'Rourke to center back," Hesmer said.

Actually, when Schmid had Hesmer on the phone he wanted to know what type of person Carroll is.

Uh, it's probably a good thing Hesmer -- a groomsman in Carroll's wedding -- didn't go into details about being roommates for two years on the Winston-Salem, N.C., campus.

"Animal House. That's actually what my mom nicknamed our college house -- me, BC and two other guys," said a grinning Hesmer. "It was a fun time. Every year we hosted one sorority for their initiation night so we'd get to be the only four honorary guys. That was always a good time to have 150 college girls in your house. Those days are behind us ... hopefully."

Carroll, who will be 27 on Sunday, turned pro a year earlier than Hesmer in 2003. Carroll played only U.S. Open Cup matches and friendlies for D.C. United his rookie season but started 26 matches in 2004 and all four playoff games when D.C. won MLS Cup. He also registered his first assist that season against the Crew on June 19.

He had two goals and 11 assists in 121 regular-season games for D.C. but was left unprotected after the 2007 season and was claimed by San Jose. Thus began his coast-to-coast-to-Midwest move -- all in 30 minutes from his living room.

Shortly after he was taken by San Jose he was informed of the trade.

"My agent did a pretty good job of finding out if that was going to happen, if there was a good possibility I would end up in Columbus," Carroll said. "When I found out I did get drafted by San Jose I thought I would be going to Columbus. It worked out. I'm in Columbus. It's great to be reunited (with Hesmer) and spend more time together, catch up on that year that I left school a year early."

As a defensive midfielder, Carroll does the dirty work that usually goes unnoticed. He's there to stop to the opposing attack from forming dangerous situations then acts as the conduit between the defenders and the offense when the ball is turned up field.

"You know every time out there you're going to get maximum work rate. He's a guy who covers a lot of ground and is intelligent," Schmid said. "He organizes us defensively. He's the one that's got to establish the line defensively. He gets the wide midfielders to tuck in at the right times. He orchestrates a lot of that out of the back and often times he's the first outlet out of the back with the defenders."

It's not surprising that Carroll does not often show up on the scoresheet: he has two assists and one shot on goal while playing all 1,440 minutes this season heading into Thursday's home match vs. Kansas City. Then again, he doesn't want to appear on a highlight reel when the other team scores.

"You look at Brian's position," Hesmer said. "I was telling him (Monday) on the golf course that the less he's mentioned the better. He should be getting All-Star consideration. No one is talking about him. He should get more credit. He deserves it but at the same time nobody is talking about him. That's great for him.

"Brian brings consistency. He brings the same performance every day. He's going to work his tail off every game. He's going to be in the right spot. He's a good communicator. He's smart. He knows the game really well. He's played for championship teams and he's played in the league for awhile. Guys who have been around the league are important."

The unassuming Carroll understands there is little glory in what he does and is fine with his role.

"When the team does well you don't really get recognized for that position but you know deep down that you had a good part to play in the team's success," he said. "I do relish the fact that when things are going well and we're winning everyone has an involvement in it, even the defensive midfielder. It's the name of the position. If you make a mistake it gets shown but if you do something well it doesn't really get seen."


Stoic Moreno providing Crew big lift
Jose - Lamps is the best pro

United frustrated with pallid display

WASHINGTON -- Lightning, thunder, torrential rains, power failures -- with one freak occurrence after another prompting a whopping three delays over three separate fixture dates, D.C. United and Houston Dynamo could be forgiven for wondering if some higher power was intent on preventing them from playing their only league match of the season at RFK Stadium.

Originally scheduled for June 4, when a driving thunderstorm prompted a postponement after just 16 minutes of play, Tuesday night's first makeup date was stymied by power outages in RFK's southeast D.C. neighborhood.

But the situation reached comical proportions when the match finally got under way 24 hours later, only to be interrupted by lightning and fierce rainfall in the 54th minute, along with several power surges that set many of the old stadium's lights flickering out again. A three-hour delay, United's second such mid-game outage in eight days after losing power during last week's SuperLiga match against Chivas de Guadalajara, tested the resolve of everyone involved.

"It felt like someone didn't want us to play this game, huh?" said D.C. goalkeeper Zach Wells afterwards. "It's kind of bizarre, you get up for a game and then to have something like that test your professionalism and test your energy level is pretty frustrating, especially three times in a week now, with Chivas last week and then the postponement yesterday and then the delay tonight."

Yet when the clash was finally settled at 12:20 a.m. on Thursday morning, the vast gap in form that currently separates the two sides was unmistakable, both before and after the weather-induced stoppage, in a 2-0 Houston victory. As in Dynamo's 3-1 SuperLiga triumph at RFK on Saturday night, a haggard-looking United had no answer for the defending MLS Cup champions' organization, work rate and defensive rigidity, and they knew it.

"They came out motivated," said head coach Tom Soehn. "We came out [for the] second half with a little bit of energy, a little bit of life, and then we came out after the rain delay like we did in the first half. We had no energy, no life. And to their credit, they did, and they punished us, over and over again."

His team's pallid display hinted at the same sort of fatigue that troubled the Black-and-Red during their fruitless SuperLiga campaign, but on this occasion, with an unexpected day off on Tuesday and more than a week before their next match, that justification held much less water.

"Just as a whole, it was bad," said Soehn. "We're going to take this time -- we've got a 10-day stretch -- and we're going to make some changes. We'll make our team stronger. We're going to get back to the basics and work our kiesters off to make sure that there's no excuses about fitness. They outworked us today, period. All over the field."

Soehn went on to make clear that United is planning a midseason roster overhaul.

"We're going to bring in some reinforcements, some people that I think are going to make us better in spots on the field that we need to get better," he explained, later adding, "I wasn't satisfied with anybody's performance tonight."

After hauling themselves back up to the .500 mark with a torrid winning streak last month, United seem to have reverted back to their miserable spring form as they enter the All-Star break, and will now have to resuscitate their campaign all over again when league play for them resumes against Kansas City on August 2.

"You know, we're frustrated," said Clyde Simms. "We can't put our finger on what it is right now, but I think the break is going to help us -- it's coming at a good time. We'll come back to work next week and try to fix things."


“We should have made it 2-0″
Ronaldo: News In Three Days
D.C. United’s depth a strength
D.C. United unable to find spark against Rapids

Davis: New York's Dutch savior

We can gab all day about the ballyhooed Designated Players. We can go one about exciting young stars or the reliable, decorated old guard of U.S. internationals. It's easy to talk about these illustrious types because we know so much about them.

Armed with 411 aplenty, the soccer geeks among us have enough to fill up conversations from pizza joints in New Jersey all the way out to the Starbucks in sunny southern California.

But events over Major League Soccer's 17th round should serve to remind us anew: the backbone most clubs is formed by the above-average workaday, the skilled worker who steadily fills a role, who quietly gets the business done.

To wit: where would the New York Red Bulls be this year without Dave van den Bergh? Talk about a fellow who didn't receive much All-Star mention, but who has propped up his team through an up and down campaign. This guy could walk into most MLS stadiums carrying a Red Bulls bag and a T-shirt that said, "Hello, I'm Dave van den Bergh," and plenty of fans still might wonder if he was the trainer.

And yet, at this point, he is as responsible as any individual with keeping the Red Bull unit afloat while manager Juan Carlos Osorio waited for the chance to overhaul as much of the roster as the salary and league personnel structure would allow.

Seth Stammler, too, had another nice game on Saturday, as the Red Bulls nearly got out of Giants Stadium with a huge "W," but settled for a draw after Landon Donovan's late strike. Like his Dutch teammate, Stammler has filled various roles, and just keeps turning out one reliable performance after another.

Yes, everybody will be talking about Juan Pablo Angel's moment of brilliance on Saturday -- and what a goal it was. To calmly and cleverly lift that ball over goalkeeper Steve Cronin takes talent, focus and a steely disposition. And that's not to mention all the good work it took to get there, beating Greg Vanney off the dribble inside the penalty area.

But the match, a real dandy, one that surely left the season's largest MLS crowd abuzz, might have unfolded differently but for van den Bergh's own magic moment.

The Dutchman is hardly known for his right peg. There's a reason he plays on the left, where he probably delivers the best cross from that side in MLS.

So when he took a nifty little backheel pass from Red Bulls newbie Jorge Rojas and slammed a pinpoint turf-burner past Cronin from 30 yards, who could blame the Galaxy 'keeper for being caught slightly unaware. The shot came off van den Bergh's right boot.

And it came from very close to the same spot where van den Bergh tipped us all, way back in April, to the kind of season he might have in store. Early in the Red Bulls' season opener, he ripped a shot past Columbus goalie Will Hesmer, helping propel his side to a 2-0 win.

The veteran, schooled at the famous Ajax youth academy, has manned several spots for Osorio this year. He has worked the middle when needed, occupied the left midfield spot frequently or deployed along the left in a four-man back line. Twice already this year he has helped keep David Beckham under control with smart positioning and hard work. (He's even responsible for one of the two yellow cards Beckham has earned this year, as the England international was booked back in May for a hard foul on van den Bergh in Los Angeles.)

FYI, you could probably win a bar bet tonight: ask someone who leads the Red Bulls in scoring in 2008? Just-departed Jozy Altidore? Angel? Dane Richards? See how long it takes them to arrive at van den Bergh, whose five strikes sits atop the list.

Other lunch pail types that are driving their teams despite a relative lack of decoration: Kyle Beckerman has been a valiant force for Real Salt Lake, which continues to dwell atop the West despite that modest 6-6-6 mark. Ditto for Jamison Olave, turning out steady nights at Rice-Eccles as well. Jesse Marsch and Paulo Nagamura are the heart and soul of Chivas USA's ongoing efforts, even if Ante Razov is (deservedly) grabbing all the headlines at the moment.

Left back Facundo Erpen is helping Fernando Clavijo's Rapids maneuver through the summer. He still has his shaky moments -- like giving up a penalty kick over the weekend -- and he's never far from his next yellow card, but Colorado would be worse off without him right now.

And Los Angeles seemed to miss the injured Sean Franklin on Saturday. The young center back, L.A.'s steadiest defensive presence this year, missed just his third start.

TACTICAL CORNER

• Chicago boss Denis Hamlett moved Justin Mapp to the right late Saturday against Real Salt Lake (with Mike Banner playing wide on the left upon his second-half introduction.)

Mapp's left foot is the stronger one, which is why he usually sets up on his preferred side. Some managers love switching players to their less natural side, aware that they can trouble defenders by cutting inside and causing others along the back line to rotate over and such.

But not all managers see the point. They'd prefer to have a player on a side where he can swing in crosses most accurately. And since defenders can obviously figure out where a player is more comfortable, they can shade the attackers to the outside to keep them off their preferred foot.

But either way, where it does cause some real damage is the in-match switch. Mapp gave RSL some trouble once he moved across the field, although to no final avail.

• For an instant clinic on how to shed a defender, watch Conor Casey's work against Drew Moor as the big Rapids' striker equalizes in the second half at Pizza Hut Park.

Moor has pretty good position as Rapids playmaker Christian Gomez chases down a ball on the right side of the Dallas penalty area. But Casey is staying just off Moor's inside shoulder, which isn't a bad place for the FCD defender to have his target. Moor can see Casey, but can also watch the fast-developing play. Suddenly, Casey takes one quick step toward the near post. Just as Moor reacts, the Rapids striker fades quickly back to the far post, where he has enough separation to head home his third goal this year.

• Between forwards Robbie Findley, Fabian Espindola, Kenny Deuchar, Tino Nunez and Yura Movsisyan, Real Salt Lake manager Jason Kreis has 15 different combinations he can try (assuming the manager sticks with an alignment of two men up front.) Well, he might just have to try 'em all before season's end.

It was Movsisyan and Nunez the other day, but the young pair couldn't push one past Jon Busch in Chicago, and eventually gave way to second-half replacements Findley and Deuchar.

A couple of road games back, it was Nunez and Findley. No combo has worked particularly well, and none have worked at all away from Rice-Eccles. RSL has but four goals in seven matches on the road this year.

• Schellas Hyndman's biggest issue at Pizza Hut Park becomes clearer with each match. He wants to the team to play with more width, to get into the corners, stretch the field, get to the end line and offer service. He does have Kenny Cooper in there, after all, and the young U.S. striker created a nice goal for Juan Toja by maneuvering one serve from the wings right into his teammate's path. But players who are comfortable playing along the touchlines simply don't occupy the FCD roster right now. Saturday, Hyndman had Dax McCarty and Andre Rocha stationed out wide in a 3-5-2. Both are clearly more comfortable in the middle. McCarty was wide left, even though he's better with his right foot.

Assistant coach John Ellinger left Sunday on a trip for Argentina and Brazil, where he'll personally scout players, looking to fill the two international slots acquired late last week from Kansas City. Safe to say, he'll be looking for at least one wide player. (That guy might already be in camp; former Ajax flanker Victor Sikora is currently on trial.)


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Nicol bringing Ralston to Toronto

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Revolution captain Steve Ralston had a couple of days off in his schedule next week.

The MLS All-Star Game is in Toronto on Thursday night and the Revolution coaching staff heads up there on Tuesday. That means a light couple of days for the busy Revolution players, who remain active in SuperLiga, the U.S. Open Cup and MLS play and will soon add the CONCACAF Champions League to an ever-growing list of competitions requiring their attention.

The hectic schedule meant Ralston, unlike some other players around the league, didn't make vacation plans for next week.

"With our schedule, you never know what's going on," Ralston said.

Revolution head coach Steve Nicol decided Ralston didn't need that break, selecting him to his seventh All-Star Game as a replacement player for one of the three Olympians (Michael Parkhurst, Sacha Kljestan and Robbie Rogers) who won't be able to play at BMO Field because of international duty.

"I was excited," Ralston said. "It helps that my club coach is the coach of the All-Star team, I suppose. To be selected is an honor."

Ralston said he talked with Nicol earlier in the week and the Revs coach noted that it was a possibility the Revs' captain would join Shalrie Joseph and Matt Reis in Toronto.

NEWS • Blanco plays the hero for MLS
• All-Stars demonstrate strength of MLS
• Stars gush over All-Star experience
• All-Star nod No. 9 fine for Mastroeni
• All-Star notebook: Long day's end
• Hammers pleased with performance
• Blanco leads MLS past West Ham
• Garber's State of the League address
• All-Stars aim to defeat West Ham
• All-Star first for MLS luminaries
• De Rosario shines in spotlight
• West Ham visits land of opportunity
• MLS announces All-Star First XI
• MLS All-Stars to face West Ham
ANALYSIS • Davis: All-Star Game earns high marks
• Davis: All-Star matchups
• A look at West Ham United roster
PRESS RELEASES
• MLS All-Stars defeat West Ham United
• MLS seeks two expansion teams by 2011
• MLS finalizes '08 All-Star roster
• West Ham to face MLS All-Stars
• Toronto to host 2008 All-Star Game
SIGHTS & SOUNDS
Highlights: MLS 3, WHU 2: 350K
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Awards presentation: 350K
David Beckham postgame: 350K
Dwayne De Rosario's penalty kick: 350K
Dean Ashton's double: 350K
Cuauhtemoc Blanco's bender: 350K
Christian Gomez's goal: 350K
MLS-West Ham Preview: 350K
All-Star Highlights, part 1: Photos
All-Star Highlights, part 2: Photos
2008 All-Star First XI: Photos

"He was thinking of me and he talked to the Commissioner," Ralston said. "There were different things going on, and I don't know all the details. He mentioned to me that it was a possibility about a week or so ago."

This isn't the type of all-star game Ralston remembers from his days in Tampa. With an international audience awaiting and one of England's storied clubs on the other side of the field, the game won't likely yield a 8-6 score line like yesteryear.

"The games are different now," Ralston said. "I haven't been selected for a while. I was selected last year but I didn't go. The last all-star games I played in were run and gun. These are more serious games now."

The seriousness brings a shift in demeanor. Nicol chose his team to give him the best squad and the best opportunity to defeat West Ham.

That means bringing in Ralston, who can play multiple positions and deserves the nod for his six goals and four assists in leading the Revs this season, and selecting other talented players who might be less deserving on the stat sheet than the ones left at home on the inactive roster or snubbed altogether.

Ralston said there is always controversy involved with the selection process, but he thinks the players Nicol selected will represent the league well.

"There are some guys with maybe some better stats, but the guys that Steve chose are good players," Ralston said. "I'm sure there were a few guys that were left off that will obviously be in that second part [of the all-star team, the inactive roster]. They still deserved to be considered an all-star."


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Every point big for Rapids

FRISCO, Texas -- A year ago, the Colorado Rapids missed the MLS playoffs by a single point. The point the Rapids end up needing this year might have been secured Saturday when they came back to claim a 2-2 draw with FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park.

Herculez Gomez gave the Rapids an early 1-0 edge in the fifth minute. That lead held until the 49th when FCD's Kenny Cooper converted a penalty kick for the equalizer. The Hoops made it 2-1 when Juan Toja scored in the 64th but Colorado drew even again just three minutes later when Conor Casey headed one home for the final scoreline.

After the game, Rapids head coach Fernando Clavijo was pleased with the resiliency that his side showed in the draw.

"We never gave up," he said. "We played hard and that was a soft penalty, a very soft penalty. I think Dallas was surprised by it. I'm not going to say it wasn't or not but it was very soft. I'm disappointed but very happy with the way that we fought to get a point back. We have to make sure that we keep adding points."

For Colorado captain and defender Pablo Mastroeni, at least in his eyes, it was a match that never really developed any sort of flow.

"It was a real strange game," Mastroeni said. "It was hard to get good possession and to gain a good rhythm in the game. Dallas had a good rhythm going in the last 10 minutes of the game, were given a fortuitous PK and they went with that."

However, like his coach, Mastroeni was encouraged by the character his team showed in fighting its way to a draw.

"We were pretty resilient to get that second goal," he said. "I don't think we're excited about this point but we realize that a point on the road can make the difference between making the playoffs at the end. Last year, we were snubbed by a point and this year, we have a really strong mindset of bearing down and trying to get points on the road and making sure we take care of the stuff at home. Nobody here is ecstatic or excited, but everyone is relieved that we at least came in and got a point here."

Colorado defender Ugo Ihemelu agreed that the draw never really produced much of anything resembling flow.

"It was tough," he said. "We didn't really get going possession wise. For us, the one thing is that we're on the road and had a few highs. We're just trying to maintain that momentum. Our job today was to if we could get the win, get the win. But if we couldn't, we wanted to get out of here with at least one point and we did that."

Saturday's match was especially interesting for Ihemelu and teammate Colin Clark because both played for current FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman while they were collegians at SMU.

"It was interesting," Ihemelu said. "That's my old coach and I definitely want to perform well when I come home and play against my old coach, someone that I respect. He brought me to where I am today. It was kind of weird. I want to beat him but at the same time, I want him to do well. We came out with the tie but I would rather take the win because I'm a competitor. It was a good game, well fought and I think he's going to take his team to where it wants to go."

Both FCD goals came because of miscues by Rapids goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul but that doesn't mean that Clavijo has lost faith in his starter between the posts.

"He has saved our life in many games but he's human and is going to make mistakes," Clavijo said. "It's not about Bouna (Coundoul), it's about us. I just told him that he's saved our bacon many times. We're going to make mistakes but it's about what we do after we make mistakes that matters. The team reacted well. There is nothing we can do. This is a game of mistakes. Bouna has been very solid through the years for us. I thought it was weak decision-making (on the two goals) but then again, hopefully, we learn from them."

Mastroeni remains encouraged by a team that he sees as getting stronger as the season wears on and one that is ahead of where they were last year when the Rapids narrowly missed qualifying for the playoffs.

"There's been a change in mindset in the last month where we have come together as a team," he said. "We went to San Jose after they took it to us earlier in the season at our home and got a point there. Historically speaking, this is a tough place to play but I think we were resilient. Not only is the point important but we're also building character at the right time of the season. It feels good to come into places and go away with a point."


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Davis: All-Star matchups

Matthew Etherington's resume (or "CV" in the continental parlance) doesn't look quite as polished as David Beckham's. Beckham's path to glory came via stops at world soccer heavyweights Manchester United and Real Madrid. By comparison, West Ham's left winger arrived at the Boleyn Ground via Peterborough, Bradford City and then EPL middleweight Tottenham.

(Etherington did have a one-week trial at Man U. back during the 1998-99 campaign, where he earned lavish praise from none other than Sir Alex Ferguson -- but didn't earn an invitation to stay on.)

But there they will be under the bright BMO lights on Thursday, lining up on opposite sides of the midfield stripe before kickoff on the grounds inside Toronto's Exhibition Place. It's but one of the intriguing matchups to monitor as Major League Soccer's All-Stars target a fifth consecutive win in the showcase series against foreign opposition.NEWS • Blanco plays the hero for MLS
• All-Stars demonstrate strength of MLS
• Stars gush over All-Star experience
• All-Star nod No. 9 fine for Mastroeni
• All-Star notebook: Long day's end
• Hammers pleased with performance
• Blanco leads MLS past West Ham
• Garber's State of the League address
• All-Stars aim to defeat West Ham
• All-Star first for MLS luminaries
• De Rosario shines in spotlight
• West Ham visits land of opportunity
• MLS announces All-Star First XI
• MLS All-Stars to face West Ham
ANALYSIS • Davis: All-Star Game earns high marks
• Davis: All-Star matchups
• A look at West Ham United roster
PRESS RELEASES
• MLS All-Stars defeat West Ham United
• MLS seeks two expansion teams by 2011
• MLS finalizes '08 All-Star roster
• West Ham to face MLS All-Stars
• Toronto to host 2008 All-Star Game
SIGHTS & SOUNDS
Highlights: MLS 3, WHU 2: 350K
Postgame press conference: 350K
Awards presentation: 350K
David Beckham postgame: 350K
Dwayne De Rosario's penalty kick: 350K
Dean Ashton's double: 350K
Cuauhtemoc Blanco's bender: 350K
Christian Gomez's goal: 350K
MLS-West Ham Preview: 350K
All-Star Highlights, part 1: Photos
All-Star Highlights, part 2: Photos
2008 All-Star First XI: Photos

(The matchups are tentative, as neither West Ham manager Alan Curbishley nor MLS boss Steve Nicol is obligated to share their intentions -- which means both coaches will be in it to win it Thursday.)

Beckham vs. Etherington:

Even if he's far less decorated, Etherington can be a difference maker. He has occasionally turned those dashes up and down the wing into game-turning performances, as when he hit for a hat trick against Wimbledon back in the stretch run of his sterling 2003-04 season.

The former England youth international, who sometimes struggles to fend off Luis Boa Morte's challenges for the starting spot, had three goals in 15 appearances during last year's injury-blighted campaign at West Ham.

Beckham, meanwhile, will have to focus a little harder to lift those seeing-eyed deliveries off the BMO FieldTurf. Beckham has improved his ability to cope with artificial surfaces since last year. Still, he never looked 100 percent comfortable last week as the Galaxy battled the New York Red Bulls on the carpet at Giants Stadium. The manner in which Beckham strikes free kicks, corner kicks and long deliveries from the run of play requires that plenty of the ball's surface to be available; some artificial turf surfaces don't provide quite enough, although BMO's FieldTurf plays better than most.

Craig Bellamy vs. Jimmy Conrad:

Conrad has battled some of the game's best while wearing a U.S. national team shirt. He was summoned to hold off Italian marksmen Luca Toni and Francesco Totti back when things looked dire for the United States in that memorable, heroic World Cup night in Kaiserslautern.

So he won't be intimidated by the combustible Bellamy, but he will have plenty to cope with. The powerful striker from Wales combines pace and a fiercely combative spirit. Conrad is likely to partner with either Jim Brennan or Pablo Mastroeni if Nicol opts for a four-man back line.

Bellamy is back from an injury-shorted season. He seems likely to partner with young striker Dean Ashton, who made his England debut last spring against Trinidad & Tobago. Ashton scored 11 times in 24 appearances last year for West Ham in a season that was also shortened by injury.

There might not be a lot of rest for the MLS defenders; Nicol brought only four of them, although Pablo Mastroeni can (and probably will at some point) play in the back, as he has lately for Fernando Clavijo at Colorado.

Shalrie Joseph vs. Mark Noble:

Whatever formation Nicol chooses (his preferred 3-5-2 or a 4-4-2 that might match up better with the Hammer), you can bet that Shalrie Joseph will man the holding role in midfield.

There, the New England Revolution heart and soul will likely do battle with Mark Noble, a home-grown West Ham talent. Like Joseph, he's known for all-out effort, getting the job done through an indomitable combination of skill, grit and stamina. Tackling hard and chasing harder, Noble immediately endeared himself to Hammers fans during his West Ham debut back in 2005, as he bravely passed the test against combative Tottenham center midfielder Edgar Davids.

Juan Toja vs. Julien Faubert:

There's a lot going on here. Faubert made just four starts last year after a celebrated $11 million move from France's Bordeaux in the summer of 2007. Now, he's getting a chance to establish a toehold in the midfield at Upton Park ahead of more heralded types who are coming back from injury, well-known fellows such as Kieron Dyer and Freddie Ljungberg.

He's likely to be on the right Thursday, where he'll probably oppose Toja, who may soon join a short list of MLS players who capped their careers here during an All-Star Game. A move to Steaua Bucharest in Romania could be ahead for the long-haired Colombian, who highlighted his year and a half with FC Dallas at last year's All-Star happening.

Faubert will be supported along the right by West Ham fullback and captain Lucas Neill, the veteran Australian international in his third season at Upton Park.

So, what will he give Thursday? Will Faubert begin digging in, finding the extra something and holding his ground? Will Toja be distracted by the impending move to Eastern Europe? If Toja performs anything like last year, as he scored one of two goals against Celtic, Faubert will have his hands full.

Landon Donovan vs. Anton Ferdinand:

The "other" Ferdinand, Anton, now 23, is beginning to emerge from his brother Rio's long shadow. The younger Ferdinand may never quite escape the comparisons to his older brother, but now in his sixth season at Boleyn Ground, he's developed into a steady presence in the center of West Ham's defense. He'll likely partner on Thursday with Calum Davenport, who moved across London from Tottenham in January of 2007.

They'll both have to be tip-top to cope with Donovan, who seems to enjoy these opportunities to combine his pace with a new variety of playmaker. Donovan will most likely take up a second striker position, just as he does for Los Angeles. From there, he'll look to get balls from Christian Gomez or Cuauhtemoc Blanco in the attacking midfield position. Plus, any time Beckham gets control along the right, his first option will often be to find Donovan streaking toward goal or into the corner.

Kenny Cooper vs. Robert Green:

Where will the West Ham United goalkeeper's mind be? Last year's player of the year at Upton Park is having a tiff with management, upset over compensation. He said so publicly last week, eliciting a quick, sharp and equally public retort from West Ham officials.

So, Cooper will look to exploit any gaps in concentration from the young English 'keeper. Combined with Donovan, the young pair of U.S. attackers has 21 goals in 31 matches this year.


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Quakes stay fit, rout Honduras

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- When you're scheduled to play an international friendly in the middle of the MLS regular season, the game plan is pretty simple.

"We wanted to score some goals and get a victory, and not have any injuries," San Jose Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop said after watching his club do just that, beating the Honduras Olympic team 4-0 Tuesday night at Buck Shaw Stadium.

Ned Grabavoy, Shea Salinas, Jovan Kirovski and Kei Kamara all got on the scoreboard for San Jose, who enjoyed its best offensive output since the team's rebirth this season.

"It's always good to score, but obviously it's a friendly, and (Honduras) wasn't the strongest team that we've faced this year," Yallop said. "But it's never easy finding the back of the net, and it was nice to have four different scorers. It might give us some confidence to feel a little more comfortable in front of goal."

The Earthquakes dominated the match from the start, scoring twice in each half while shutting down the Honduran attack.

"I think we played with a bit of confidence for a change. It's a friendly, but it shows that we can play decent football," Yallop said. "We've been a little bit edgy on everything lately, so it was nice to see (the Earthquakes) just go out there and play and perform."

The exhibition allowed the Earthquakes to field several players who've seen limited action so far this season, and also gave some who've been struggling a chance to shine.

"I thought Ned Grabavoy had a good game in the middle of the field," Yallop said. "He was playing free and moved the ball well. Ramiro (Corrales) played well the first half, and Shea (Salinas) had some moments. It was good to see Jovan (Kirovski) get his first or second 90 minutes in, too. There were some good performances out there."

Before the game, the Earthquakes introduced the just-signed Darren Huckerby and Francisco Lima to the press. They did not dress for the game, but should be ready, along with the newly acquired Scott Sealy, to see action when San Jose travels to Canada on Saturday to face Toronto FC.

"Maybe the players we've signed have moved some people a little bit, so that's good," Yallop said. "Competition for a place is always good on any team. And (these signings) are going to put some people under pressure, which is good.

(Huckerby, Lima, and Sealy) will all hopefully be available Saturday," Yallop said. "Like Darren (Huckerby) said, he's only trained once in two months, so it'd be a little tough for him to be thrown out there, but hopefully he can be on the bench. I don't want to force him into anything he's not quite comfortable with. The same with (Francisco) Lima. We'll see how he feels. Scott Sealy will probably be available, because he's played in MLS and he's fit and raring to go. but they might all get some time."

After traveling to Toronto Saturday, the Earthquakes finish out the season with nine home games in their remaining 13 matches as they attempt to climb back into the playoff picture after beginning the year with a 3-9-4 record. The events of Tuesday might just be a good start.


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Razov brings Chivas closer to semis

CARSON, Calif. -- Ante Razov scored in the 73rd minute as Chivas USA beat Santos Laguna 1-0 at The Home Depot Center on Wednesday for their first victory in SuperLiga 2008.

However, Chivas USA still might need a victory against the New England Revolution on Sunday to secure a spot in the second round. Their passage might also depend on the result of the other Group B game between Pachuca and Santos, also on Sunday.

The reigning Mexican league champions are also not eliminated but would need a convincing victory against Pachuca and a Revolution win against Chivas USA if they are to advance to the semifinals.

Chivas USA wasted no time in putting their latest acquisition on the field. Roberto Nurse officially joined the club on Tuesday and received the paperwork necessary to play earlier Wednesday. Nurse, a native of Mexico City, started as essentially the lone striker.

In total, Chivas USA coach Preki made five changes to the starting lineup from Sunday. Dan Kennedy replaced Lance Parker in goal as Kennedy was a scratch against Pachuca due to injury. Shavar Thomas and Jim Curtin started in central defense while Kraig Chiles replaced Jesse Marsch in central midfield.

Santos, meanwhile, made just two changes to the squad that started in the 1-0 loss to New England: Christian Benitez replaced Oribe Peralta up front while former Chivas USA midfielder Johnnie Garcia replaced Juan Pablo Rodriguez, who was sent off against the Revolution.

Jonathan Bornstein had Chivas USA's first look at goal but sent a 20-yard attempt well over the crossbar. Minutes later, Nurse won a corner kick after a blazing run inside the Santos penalty area. Chiles sent the ball well over his teammates' heads, though.

Christian Benitez had an open goal in front of him in the 12th minute but could not open the scoring. Benitez took the ball after a pass from the back cleared Chivas USA's defense. Benitez walked into the penalty area, forced Kennedy to dive and skirted around the fallen 'keeper. Benitez ripped a shot but saw it carom off the crossbar and to Shavar Thomas.

Matias Vuoso, meanwhile, tested Kennedy from close range in the 26th minute but Kennedy was in good position to stop Vuoso, who fired a shot from 10 yards out on the right side.

Bornstein, meanwhile, tried his luck twice more on Santos goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez but sent one shot over the crossbar and the other hopelessly wide.

Kennedy turned away Edgar Castillo in the 40th minute as the U.S.-born left back fired a shot on goal that Kennedy did well to turn away.

The first half, though, was slowed down by several rough challenges as players from either side tried to slow down the speedy opposition. Paulo Nagamura was booked after a challenge on Fernando Arce while Francisco Torres saw yellow for taking out Nagamura with a rough slide tackle minutes later.

Chivas USA made a pair of moves at halftime as Preki took out Nurse and Atiba Harris in favor of Razov and Jesse Marsch. The MLS Originals each were subbed out midway through the second half on Sunday and were given just 45 minutes on Wednesday in an apparent effort to manage their respective fitness levels.

Jorge Flores, meanwhile, entered the match in the 62nd minute in place of Chiles. Flores picked up a slight ankle injury that kept him from dressing for the Galaxy match a week ago. Flores was an unused substitute against Pachuca but received the chance to play on Wednesday as his ankle was likely fit enough to last at least a half hour.

Chivas USA finally broke through in the 73rd minute. Kljestan picked up a bad clearance attempt by a Santos defender, settled the ball and sent a cross to the front of the goal. Razov hit a perfect glancing header past Sanchez and inside the left-hand post.

For Razov, the goal was his fifth all-time in international club competitions. Razov scored three goals as a member of the Chicago Fire in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup and accounted for Chivas USA's lone goal on Sunday.

Kennedy turned Vuoso away in the 83rd minute with a diving effort. Vuoso fired a shot on goal from just inside the penalty area but Kennedy extended and parried the ball away.

Santos had a late equalizer called back due to an offside call.


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Woodwork unkind as Fire, RSL draw

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The woodwork was unkind for both teams, but the Chicago Fire and Real Salt Lake ended up in a scoreless draw on Saturday night at Toyota Park. The draw was good enough to keep the Fire in third place in the Eastern Conference, while RSL maintained its hold on the top spot in the West.

Chicago did not waste any time applying pressure. Chad Barrett took the first shot of the match in the fifth minute. Justin Mapp sent a corner kick into the box one minute later. Cuauhtemoc Blanco headed it toward goal while inside the box. The ball deflected off a defender and back into play.

In the 10th minute Real Salt Lake had their best opportunity of the match. Javier Morales bent a corner kick into the box and Yura Movsisyan headed it toward goal. The ball bounced off the right side of the crossbar and back on to the ground, where Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch smothered the ball for the save.

In the 33rd minute things opened up for the Fire. Chris Rolfe intercepted a back pass and went in on RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando one-on-one. Rimando slipped and Rolfe rounded the fallen goalkeeper, but he sent a long ball into the side netting.

In the 41st minute Chicago had another opportunity. Rolfe slid a through ball to Barrett, who held off defender Jamison Olave and took a quick, low shot. It beat Rimando, but the ball bounced off the right post and back into play. Rolfe tried to get there, but was already too far to the left and took an awkward fall.

At the start of the second half, RSL sent on forward Robbie Findley for Tino Nunez. In the 47nd minute, Findley captured a poor clearance at the top of the box and had Busch alone in front of him. His shot bounced off Busch and then glanced off the left post.

Blanco sent a perfect ball to Justin Mapp in the 67th minute. Mapp drilled it at the net, with the ball deflecting out for a Fire corner kick. Then two minutes later Mapp sent a shot into Rimando's arms.

The game took a strange turn in the 75th minute, when Kovalenko tackled Blanco and received a yellow card. Blanco attempted a freekick from the right side of the box to no avail. But before the play took place, referee Ricardo Salazar issued a red card to Fire defender C.J. Brown, who was warming up with the substitute players.

Chicago had another opportunity in the 87th minute. Blanco found substitute Patrick Nyarko, who forwarded the ball to a streaking Mapp. Mapp blasted the ball at the goal, but Rimando jumped into the air and deflected the ball out of play, the second of two saves the RSL goalkeeper was credited with on the night.

For each team, it was the fourth time in the last six games they were held scoreless. The Fire remain the stingiest team defensively in the league, while RSL is now 1-6-1 on the road on the season.


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D.C. eager to shake SuperLiga funk

WASHINGTON -- D.C. United's reserve-laden side were soundly beaten by Houston Dynamo in their SuperLiga finale on Saturday night, handing United their third consecutive home defeat in the tournament and piling more stress on an injury-ravaged club facing a second meeting with the Orange just three days later.

But the Black-and-Red are approaching Tuesday's rescheduled league match as an opportunity for a fresh start, hopeful that their sudden SuperLiga funk disappears as they turn towards their first MLS contest in more than three weeks.

"We've just got to get back to the league and try to start winning again," said defender Marc Burch after Saturday's setback. "It's tough to take three losses but we'll learn, we'll move on. We're in a good place in the league right now and if we beat them on Tuesday, now that's the most important game."

With several starters recovering from significant injuries and others looking worn down by the daily grind, this meeting with the defending MLS Cup champs arrives at a less-than-ideal time for D.C. But squad can look forward to a break after Tuesday, with the All-Star Game -- which, for the first time ever, will have no United representation -- presenting nearly two weeks off from match play.

"You can see a lag. You can definitely see some tired legs, and you can sense where we need to regroup," said Bryan Namoff. "I think this is definitely going to be a time where the bench is going to need to give us some added depth in the latter half of the season."

Saturday's match saw head coach Tom Soehn practically empty that bench, starting three rookies and giving a fourth, Mike Zaher, his first-team debut. The resulting 3-1 loss offered several hard lessons for those youngsters -- most notably, the consequences of lax set-piece marking at the top level -- but Namoff saw reasons to be encouraged as his team looks to reverse the result some 72 hours later.

"I think we can take some lessons learned on some marking situations, but they didn't really create a lot of chances," said the veteran right back. "I didn't think they were that dangerous. Defensively we were pretty sound, and we were a lot tighter than the last couple of games. So there's definitely some positives to take away from this game, leading up to Tuesday."

Perhaps the greater challenge for D.C. lies at the attacking end. Though their statistical dominance has lagged this season, the Orange boast one of the league's sturdiest back lines and United have scored just five goals in six total meetings with Dynamo since the organization's 2005 relocation from San Jose.

Reflecting its South American components, the Black-and-Red attack is possession-based and typically lets the ball do the work -- but a new tack might be required if Dynamo's formidable but sometimes ponderous defense is to be breached. With Marcelo Gallardo's continued absence likely forcing Soehn to field striker Jaime Moreno in a playmaking role, the speed of in-form frontrunner Francis Doe could become more of an option.

"They're good. But I think we need to maybe change it up a little bit and look for a couple balls in behind. They're big, physical players -- I don't think they're the fastest players," said D.C. midfielder Clyde Simms. "I think just to vary it up a little bit, some checking in and if one [striker] checks in the other go in behind, and hit a couple balls over top. Ultimately if we get those over top every now and then, I think it'll open up things in the middle."

Doe seems to have settled into life in the nation's capital after his early days with United were interrupted by international duty with Liberia, including a lost passport incident that delayed his return to D.C. after World Cup qualifiers last month. Beyond scoring in three of United's last four matches, his athleticism gives the front line a different look when deployed alongside Luciano Emilio's instinctive finishing skills.

"When I first came here, I didn't understand the guys, the way they played," said Doe on Saturday. "But it was my first time. In training and in games, I'm understanding the way they're playing and coach is telling me where to be: get into space, holding the ball. I think it's going better for me."

His entire team will hope for the same improvement as they eagerly return to league play.


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Dynamo look for boost in SuperLiga

Inexperience, fatigue catch up to D.C.

WASHINGTON -- D.C. United can point to a host of extenuating circumstances surrounding their 3-1 SuperLiga loss to Houston Dynamo at RFK Stadium on Saturday night: a nasty injury bug, the urgent need to rest tired regulars like Jaime Moreno and the long odds on the situation that had to transpire for them to advance into the tournament's knockout rounds.

Yet in the end, the Black-and-Red failed to mind a fundamental tenet of the game and were duly punished by the defending MLS Cup champions. United's poor man-marking on two first-half set pieces allowed Houston dead-ball specialist Brad Davis to set up teammates Ricardo Clark and Bobby Boswell for close-range headers, pushing United into an early -- and in the end, insurmountable -- hole for the third consecutive match.

"It's just personal responsibility, you know? If you've got a man, don't let him score," said D.C. defender Marc Burch. "But I thought we played good soccer, and for most of the game I thought we played pretty good defense. So it was just a couple of breakdowns."

Having blasted his team for their halfheartedness in Tuesday's underwhelming 3-2 loss to Atlante, a pensive Tom Soehn was more measured in his evaluation of United's latest setback.

"I think as far as injecting some new guys, we had to look into the future and see how important it was to get some guys rest," said the D.C. head coach. "On the competitive side, that part was better. And we talked about their danger on set pieces -- I thought we controlled a lot of the first half and gave away two set pieces [where] we just let our marks go. We didn't compete on those, so that's pretty discouraging."

While Ryan Cordeiro's inexperience was perhaps to blame for allowing Clark to beat him to Davis' 12th-minute corner kick, it was surely fatigue that turned Devon McTavish's feet to lead as he tracked former teammate Bobby Boswell on a right-wing free kick 16 minutes later, and at the moment those are the twin plagues stalking the Black-and-Red. The rigors of a crowded schedule gave Soehn little choice but to call on youngsters and reserves, especially with a rescheduled league match against Dynamo just 72 hours away.

"It's been taxing," said the second-year boss. "We've been in a rough stretch and through the first part of the season and this last part, we've had a lot of injuries. So a lot of guys are putting in a lot of minutes and over the long haul, it wears you down. So we had to evaluate the approach to this game and hopefully we got some guys some needed rest [for] when we get back to work on Tuesday. That's a very important game for us."

Soehn had every reason to envy the depth available to his Dynamo counterpart. Dominic Kinnear was able to field a strong first XI and still bring stalwarts like Stuart Holden and Brian Ching off the bench to secure the result in the second half, when the midsummer mugginess further drained United's tired legs and Soehn pulled off Fred, Clyde Simms and Luciano Emilio.

"Yeah, you know, you take some of the guys who've logged the majority of the minutes out of the game, and it's tough," said Bryan Namoff. "You get guys who, some are inexperienced and haven't added too much to the team as of yet. It's just a difficult situation all around, and you add the heat and humidity into a season where leading up to this month, there's been a lot of added games."

But even as United look to strike back with a stronger lineup and more thorough performance in Tuesday's game, a makeup of the June 4 clash at RFK that was washed out by lightning and torrential rain, the same fundamentals will have to be addressed.

"Going into tonight, we knew it was a long shot, but still a good possibility," said Clyde Simms, referring to his team's faint hopes in SuperLiga, "and we wanted to at least put some fear into their eyes for Tuesday, which is a big game for us. We know they're a team that survives on set pieces, and we'll have to do something to fix that before Tuesday."


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Hoops eye first league win since June

FRISCO, Texas -- It has been 14 days since FC Dallas last played a league match. That was on July 4 when a goal by Abe Thompson in stoppage time saved the day for the Hoops as they were able to salvage a point with a 1-1 draw against Kansas City. But FCD has not been victorious against an MLS foe since June 15, when they beat Chicago 1-0 at home.

On Saturday, Colorado pays its first visit of 2008 to Pizza Hut Park, a venue where the Rapids are 0-4-0 all-time. However, the two Western Conference sides met on June 1 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park and the Rapids prevailed 2-1, ending a six-match winning streak by FCD that had dated back to 2004.

Colorado has failed to win on FCD's home field in each of the last 12 matches and has a 10-0-2 record in that span. The last time the Rapids won in north Texas was on March 25, 2000, when they prevailed 1-0 at the Cotton Bowl.

But FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman, who still is in search of his first league win, isn't about to take the Rapids lightly.

"I think they're an extremely fit team from training in the altitude all the time," he said. "They're an organized team and attack with a lot of different weapons. With them playing a 3-5-2, it's going to be a midfield war. This is a very important game for us because we've got them on our home field."

His players also realize what an important game this is shaping up to be.

"We've spoken a lot about it," said FCD center back Duilio Davino. "For us, we have to concentrate on taking it game-by-game. The Colorado game is what we have to concentrate on and what we have to come out and win."

Forward and leading scorer Kenny Cooper concurs. "They've got players like Pablo Mastroeni who I have a lot of respect for, Terry Cooke and Conor Casey up top," he said. "They have a lot of good players and are a team that we won't underestimate. They have a very good team. This is a good game for us and hopefully we can give Schellas (Hyndman) his first league win this weekend."

The Rapids' starting 11 features two players that Hyndman is very familiar with in midfielder Colin Clark and defender Ugo Ihemelu, both of whom played for him at SMU.

"I think it's going to be great to coach against them at a higher level," Hyndman said. "Colin (Clark) has really turned into a good player in the MLS. He's got a great engine, goes up and down the left flank and almost plays for two players. Ugo is a special player. He is probably one of the more athletic players in the league. It's hard to beat him one-on-one whether it's with a run or a dribble. But he may cough up a silly ball that we can jump on."

FCD is just 2-5-3 in their last 10 matches and has scored multiple goals just twice in that run of games. Under Hyndman, the Hoops are 0-1-2 but have gotten points in each of their last two league matches after dropping their first game with their new boss on June 21 at New York.

Despite his side's recent struggles, he is still clear about what he wants to see from his team on Saturday evening.

"We want to see a team playing together," Hyndman said. "What we're just trying to do now is put everybody on the same page. We need flank players getting forward, good work ethic, good crosses and our players to hold their shape a little bit better."


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Donovan almost steals win for LA

E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- They say some ties feel like wins while others are more like losses. But excuse Landon Donovan for not being sure what to feel after his injury time strike salvaged a point for the Los Angeles Galaxy in a 2-2 draw against the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium.

That's because, moments after his equalizer, Donovan came within inches of grabbing a spectacular winner when his right-footed blast rocketed off the inside of Red Bulls 'keeper Jon Conway's near post and out of danger.

"From where I was I saw that the ball was going in," said Galaxy coach Ruud Gullit afterward. "Then it swerved to the left a bit. If it goes the other way, it goes in."

"I hit it as well as I could hit it," Donovan said. "Given the circumstances -- being down in the 90th minute -- tying is good. I think it was probably the fair result."

Still, despite the dramatic late miss, Los Angeles might have stolen all three points anyway. The Galaxy controlled possession for long stretches of the game and limited the Red Bulls -- who got goals from Dave van den Bergh and Juan Pablo Angel -- to only a few quality chances.

Veteran striker Carlos Ruiz, staring his first game since the season opener after a lengthy injury layoff, scored once but had a few more chances that he often -- when fit and in form -- puts away with ease.

"Eventually, when he gets confidence, he's going to score every game if not a couple times," added Donovan. "Tonight he could have had four or five goals."

Nonetheless, Gullit was pleased with the Guatemalan international's effort, and also with the way Ruiz responded after being told recently that he might be traded if he can't contribute on a regular basis.

"I had a conversation with him and said 'You haven't done anything for us. It's difficult to get you into good shape. If you continue like this, I have to think about trading you.'

"The good thing is that (tonight) he showed that he wanted to stay with the LA Galaxy. His commitment was unbelievable. I think he proved tonight that he's the player everyone knows. He took my conversation very seriously and I'm very proud of him."

Galaxy midfielder David Beckham had a quiet night on the score sheet but was undoubtedly the man many of the 46,754 in attendance came to see. Flashbulbs sparkled every time the visitors had a set piece opportunity in New York's end, but they were also accompanied by a smattering of boos each time.

"It was the same as last year," said Beckham. "There were some boos last year as well."

Of course, the big difference between the captain's last visit here 11 months ago and Saturday's appearance was the result. Last time around, Angel stole all three points for New York when he scored with minutes left to play to cap a nine-goal thriller. This year, the visitors were the ones who struck late to earn a result.

"It didn't look like we were going to get the goal but we did in the end," said Beckham. "It shows a lot of character."


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Chivas' Nurse thrown into the fire

CARSON, Calif. -- For the last year, Roberto Nurse made the best of a bad situation.

After Nurse and his club Queretaro were relegated from the Mexican Primera Division, the Mexico City native turned up his goal-scoring fury. He torched Mexico's Primera A (second division) by scoring a league-high 17 goals between the Apertura '07 and Clausura '08 campaigns.

Still, Nurse had all the goals but none of the glory. When his time with Queretaro was over, Nurse wanted nothing to do with Mexico's second level.

"I decided to leave Mexico because I felt that I was stuck in a league that nobody cares about," Nurse said. "What interests me most is to succeed, to accomplish significant achievements and I think this is a good option. I just have to work hard to score goals."

With Chivas USA, Nurse quickly learned how much he was valued. Just one day after he signed with the Red-and-White, and hours after he received the necessary paperwork to play, Nurse started Chivas USA's SuperLiga tilt against Santos Laguna.

On a squad that has been depleted by injuries since the start of the season, Nurse is a welcomed addition. There will be an adjustment period, however, as Wednesday's match was the start of the process.

"He did OK. Obviously (it was) the first time on the field with this group of players," Chivas USA coach Preki said after Wednesday's match. "The game was fast and he had a little bit difficulty adjusting himself to this type of game. To be fair to him, he played 45 minutes and gave us some minutes so we can rest some of the guys."

Without Nurse, Preki likely would have had to have either started Ante Razov or Anthony Hamilton or adjusted the lineup in some manner. Maykel Galindo and Alecko Eskandarian have battled injury for most of the season while Justin Braun is out for as much as two weeks with a knee injury.

If and when the forwards begin to regain their health, the competition for minutes will likely be intense, but it's one Nurse said he's up for.

"It's going to be interesting. Possibly the ones who are in better form will get the starting spot," Nurse said. "But it's all up to me and how hard I work. That's how you achieve success. Nothing is impossible. I know I can accomplish it. I'm here for a reason and I believe I've got a good opportunity here."

Working hard is what Nurse does best, he said, and that's the only way he will be able to reach his goals.

"I expect the best from myself," Nurse said. "I want to score as many goals as possible as that's always what I try to achieve as a forward. I've got to work and follow the coaches' orders and when called upon I need to be ready."

Having spent his entire career in Mexico, Nurse said he knew little of Major League Soccer. In time, though, both his knowledge of the league and the United States will increase. It helps that Nurse speaks English.

"I know very little of the league. I've just been learning about it since I got here," he said. "In reality, this league is not thought of or followed very much in Mexico. It's an important league but in Mexico it's not given the necessary respect. I think that showed (on Wednesday) because I believe Santos was overconfident against us and they were pretty surprised."

One of the major perks for Nurse is the opportunity to play with Claudio Suarez. Nurse said having the opportunity to play with Mexico's all-time national team appearance leader humbled him.

"It's an honor. The man is an institution in Mexico and here as well," Nurse said. "It's fantastic to have the chance to play with him and train with him. Aside from being a great player, he's a great person and it's really a pleasure to be with him."


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First XI: What makes it great?

It took MLS a while to get the formula right for these All-Star games, but in the opinion of FXI, it has been pretty much perfect the last three years -- and four of the last five -- when the league decided to pit its best against an established team from outside the U.S. Gone are the old Rock and Jock style games that took on a comical flavor. Gone are the days of Tony Meola at forward and Rob Stone on the field with a microphone. Thank goodness. Anyway, here's a First XI of what makes the current All-Star games fantastic. And why I'll be locked in Thursday night.

11. Saves. In one of the wildest All-Star Games ever, in 2001 in San Jose, my most vivid memory is of Timmy Howard -- then just a 22-year old kid -- standing on his head. As the Western Conference pelted his net with leather in the second half, Howard made one ridiculous save after another. For the 45 minutes, he recorded 14 saves. However, this was back in the days of the defense-free All-Star Games and, 14 saves proved to be not enough as Landon Donovan's injury time goal earned the West a 6-6 draw.

10. Fans. Year in and year out, the fans of MLS put their best foot forward for this celebration of soccer. From the inaugural game at Giants Stadium in 1996, when the MLS stars -- and the FIFA World Stars vs. Brazil -- set a stadium record for attendance, to sell-outs in Columbus and Chicago, the game is always a showcase for the fans. This year, obviously, will be no different as the fans of Toronto, in just a year and a half, have shown themselves to be as passionate as any the league has seen. The color and noise on Thursday night could well surpass anything we've seen in MLS All-Star history.

9. Sportsmanship. As the All-Star Game has evolved, it's been impressive how the players have figured out how to balance show and sport. They've proved there's a way to play a competitive soccer match without cynical fouls and rough play. I wasn't a big fan of the old all-star games, when matador defense was acceptable, but I know it's too much to ask these stars to show up for an exhibition and play it like a cup final. Over time, especially in the last five years, we've seen the players strike the right balance. Credit the MLS vs. The World format, which puts players' pride on the line.

8. Camaraderie. This year, we'll see players representing six countries and 11 MLS teams suiting up for MLS, and I guarantee you'll see them bond. It's always very cool to see guys who fight like the most bitter enemies during the year -- in the league as well as internationally -- working together. In particular, I look forward this year to seeing Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Landon Donovan partnering on some magic.

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7. Improvisation. They say the language of the game is universal and it's never more apparent than during these All-Star affairs when you see a team that's never played before learning how to combine and make magical plays happen. A coach I know well always explains it in the simplest terms. "Good players know how to play." I guess there's no other explanation as to how a team an enter a game having never played together as a unit, and with very little time to formulate a game plan, and make it look like they've been working together for years. Sure, it'll take some time for the MLS guys to figure it out, but there's a better chance than not that they'll get it rolling at some point.

6. Surprises. Back in the day, who didn't root for Jorge Campos to come out of the net and play striker for a while? Yeah, I know there's nothing like that in the works for this group of MLS All-Stars, but I still love surprises, even if it's a guy like Jimmy Conrad sneaking forward to score a goal or a player like Frankie Hejduk showing he can still motor all the way out of the right back position to ignite the MLS attack.

5. Perspective. I always cringe when I hear one of the TV announcers say these games are a chance for MLS to prove something to the world. However, I also know the vast majority of fans in our country are now smart enough and sophisticated enough to know that a friendly match -- in West Ham's case, a training match -- is not the proving ground for anything other than a showcase for skill and athleticism. I'm glad we all keep this in perspective now. It makes for a more enjoyable evening for all soccer fans.

4. Moments. We all hope for a few free kicks in the 35-yard range for David Beckham, right? If not a few free kicks, at least a few good setups for Becks to deliver one of his laser-like crosses. These games are all about moments. Donovan with a head of steam and the West Ham defense retreating. Blanco with options on the ball. Sacha Kljestan running into the box, bobbing and weaving over the ball as he goes. This is what we all want to see Thursday night, moments that will endure in our memory.

3. Momentum swings. I don't want 6-6, but who wouldn't want to see a few lead changes, a few shifts in the game? Maybe it's a lot to ask. I mean, in the old days, we'd see four-goal leads dissolve and it was too much. I think the 2002 All-Star Game between MLS and the U.S. national team was a good indication of what I'd love to see. An early lead for the U.S. through Donovan, a couple of MLS goals (Jason Kreis and Marco Etcheverry) to make it 2-1. An equalizer by Cobi Jones for the U.S. and a game-winner for MLS from Steve Ralston. That's what I'm talking about.

2. Balance. I guess what I'm saying is the best games are those in which the correct balance between attacking and defending is established. The right balance between players having some time on the ball while still maintaining the need for them to keep things quick. No one likes the games that turn into walks. I love the fact that we're going to be playing this game at night in a northern town, which should keep the legs fresh.

1. Competitiveness. Finally, here's a wish and a prediction. West Ham is going to come to play, and MLS is going to have to respond. West Ham will strike first and maybe second, but MLS is going to start firing on all cylinders about the 30-minute mark. The second half will be one for the DVR and SportsCenter's Top 10 will feature at least three moments from the contest. Enjoy everyone!


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Hyndman still left searching

FRISCO, Texas -- After just five minutes Saturday, FC Dallas found themselves down 1-0 to Colorado. But the Hoops responded with a pair of unanswered goals in the second half to take a 2-1 edge, after Kenny Cooper converted a penalty kick and fellow MLS all-star Juan Toja scored his first goal since March 30.

But in the end, it wasn't enough as Colorado's Conor Casey tied it at 2-2 just three minutes after Toja's goal before the teams settled for the draw. FCD now has not won a league game under Schellas Hyndman, who was hired as head coach on June 17. The Hoops' last league victory came on June 15 when FCD beat Chicago 1-0 in what proved to be interim boss Marco Ferruzzi's final game at the helm.

After the draw at Pizza Hut Park, Hyndman was clearly less than pleased.

"The teaser is taking the lead 2-1 and then scoring within four or five minutes to make it an even game," he said. "They came into our field and got a point, which is disappointing for all of us. I think it showed a lot of character on our part to play with a lot of enthusiasm, to get crosses off and to have more people in the attack. I saw that we're making some progress but we have to eliminate that big boo-boo."

FCD outshot the Rapids 15-10 on the evening and Hyndman was pleased with the play of leading scorer Cooper, who assisted on Toja's goal.

"I wanted Kenny (Cooper) to get more touches, not so much run out wide and make the crosses but to be a target player," he said. "I thought today he was very dangerous, especially in transition. He was able to get behind them. One of the things we look for from our strikers is that we all want them to score but we also want them to hold the ball, create opportunities and make assists."

Even though FCD got a point for a third consecutive week and extended their home unbeaten streak against Colorado to 14 games, Hyndman's players were less than pleased with the end result.

"I thought we fought back, did well and were in the lead but we've just got to do the little things right," FCD forward Dominic Oduro said. "We're not too excited about it. It's a very bad result for us even though it's a tie because we wanted three points out of it. But it's over, what else can we do but try and improve in the next game?"

Oduro sees a clear trend that has reared its head in each of FCD's last three matches that definitely needs reversing.

"In all three games, we have been scored on early," he said. "We have to avoid that and all those little mistakes that have cost us. We need to try and score early goals. We also need to try and keep the ball and stay focused for the whole game."

One positive for the host side was the return of third-year midfielder Dax McCarty to the starting 11 for the first time since April 24 against New England.

"I feel good," McCarty said. "It's been a while since I've gotten a start and it felt good to walk out the tunnel with the guys. I had a little bit of nerves at first but once I got my first touch, I settled down pretty well and felt nice, loose and warm."

He added: "I felt like I combined well with the guys and that we created a lot of chances. Unfortunately, we didn't finish enough of them. Ultimately, we came away with a decent result but at home, you always want to get the win, so it's a little frustrating."

McCarty had only played five times since his last start after having sports hernia surgery in late May but the youngster admitted he felt pretty good.

"I felt surprisingly up to par in terms of my fitness," he said. "Maybe my groin started tightening up toward the end and I felt a little less mobile. I felt pretty good in terms of fitness and think a few more games like that, I will be able to get over that hump of the tightness in my groin totally being eliminated."

But what was most impressive about his performance is that it came just two days after McCarty learned he would not be on the U.S. Olympic team after being one of the top players during qualifying back in March.

"You have to move on and life goes on," McCarty said. "It obviously wasn't what I wanted and that's pretty disappointing but you've got to move on. Maybe it's a blessing because I can come and maybe help FC Dallas qualify for the playoffs and make a run. There's not much I can do. I'm just going to take it day-by-day and get 100 percent fit because I'm really close so that I can help FC Dallas."

FCD will have Monday off before returning to the practice field on Tuesday. Both Cooper and Toja will depart on Tuesday morning for the MLS All-Star Game. The Hoops' next action will be on Sunday, July 27 against the Los Angeles Galaxy.


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Chicago defense remains solid

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Despite another scoreless adventure, the Chicago Fire did have a few positives come out of Saturday's scoreless draw with Real Salt Lake.

Chicago got a shutout -- its sixth of the season. And a few youngsters earned some playing time. Fire head coach Denis Hamlett called it a tale of two halves, though he still lamented his team's finishing.

"This game was disappointing," Hamlett said. "We wasted 45 minutes in the first half. Second half we went out and played the way we wanted to. Our composure in the final third is what is hurting us. We have to make those final plays."

Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch made two saves on the night. He along with the defense has figured out a method that at least keeps them in games.

"The guy's an All-Star," Hamlett said. "Tonight he made some big plays. He's been doing it all season long."

As always, Busch credited the backline for his success.

"It was another great game for our defense," Busch said. "I am giving them kudos after every game. They held tight in the back. And at the end of the day, we got a point."

Youngsters Daniel Woolard and Stephen King started for Gonzalo Segares and John Thorrington, who were both serving one-game suspsensions for yellow card accumulation.

Woolard started for the second time this season and played the full 90 minutes, at left back. King started for the third time, played 62 minutes on the right of midfield and registered one shot.

"With Gonzalo and John being out, it was an opportunity for other guys to step up," Hamlett said. "Daniel had a good game against D.C. in the Open Cup and he played well last week. I felt he deserved to start. He played well.

"Stephen has had a taste of playing this season. I didn't feel that he found the game as much as I thought he would from the right side. But he did OK."

Both players said they were happy to get the start and contribute to the draw.

"It's nice to come in and get some time," Woolard said. "I played pretty well. I could have done some things better."

King said tonight's start was special for him.

"It was exciting," King said. "It was my first start at Toyota Park in front of our home crowd. Our fans are so exciting."

When the Fire needed some fresh legs, the team called upon youngsters Mike Banner and Patrick Nyarko in addition to veteran Tomasz Frankowski.

Banner created some noise in the midfield. Nyarko almost earned an assist in the 87th minute when he fed the ball to Justin Mapp. Frankowski took a shot in the 88th minute, which was deflected.

"Mike, Patrick and Tomasz came in and made an impact for us, even though they didn't score," Hamlett said.

Chicago finished its two-game homestand and Hamlett said it wasn't all bad.

"We wanted six points, and we got four," Hamlett said. "Now we have to build on the positives and move forward."

The Fire enter the All-Star break in third place in the Eastern Conference. The team returns to MLS action Sunday, July 27 at Kansas City.


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Fire hope to regain momentum in second half

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- It wasn't supposed to be this way.

The Chicago Fire are at the midway point of the 2008 season, and they stand in third place in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer with a record of 7-5-3 (24 points). They play the surprise team of the Western Conference, first-place Real Salt Lake, Saturday at Toyota Park to begin the second half.

But the Fire are in third place only because they pulled out a 2-1 win against Toronto FC last Saturday with a stoppage-time goal by John Thorrington. Otherwise, they would be in a tie with TFC and D.C. United for third place, and clinging to a spot among the top eight teams in the league which translates to a playoff spot.

While third place might seem acceptable at the midpoint of the season, the Fire had greater expectations thanks to a quick start. They were 5-1-1 after seven games and cruising atop the Eastern Conference.

The seventh game of the season was their uber-impressive 5-1 win against the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium, the so-called revenge game for coach Juan Carlos Osorio, who abandoned the Fire after half a season to move to New York.

Since then, results have been worse than mixed. The Fire went 340 consecutive minutes without a goal in league games while going 1-4-2 through their second seven games, prior to beating the Reds.

"The glass is half-full, half-empty," Fire coach Denis Hamlett said. "We played some wonderful games away from home against very good teams and we played not so great at home."

The Fire have been solid on the back end, although second-year defender Bakary Soumare has been caught a couple of times playing as a central defender. The addition of Brandon Prideaux has solidified the right side, Gonzalo Segares has played solid on the left side, and the combination of Diego Gutierrez, C.J. Brown and Wilman Conde has helped when coach Denis Hamlett played with four in the back.

The midfield has belonged to Cuauhtemoc Blanco, the second year player who brought his Mexican superstardom to Chicago. Blanco, who at the age of 35 has played every minute of every MLS game this season, has four goals and a team-high six assists.

Hamlett said Blanco, the Fire's only MLS All-Star, has gotten through the first half in the peak of health.

"He is getting back into the form that he was (prior to last year)," Hamlett said. "He takes a lot of fouls, with players coming at him. He's doing very well health-wise."

Hamlett said he would consider substituting him late in the game if he wasn't so dangerous with the ball at all times.

"In the 90th minute he is a guy who can score a goal," Hamlett said. "He is a guy who can still make a play offensively. In the games we have been behind we are pushing to get the goal. If we were up with a goal with 10 minutes to go, I would think so, but there are other guys I take off because they are a little more fatigued."

Logan Pause, the long-time steady hand, has served as Blanco's backup, filling holes left by Blanco's opportunist wanderings. John Thorrington, after a lengthy bout with injuries, filled another hole in the midfield, and moving forward Chris Rolfe into an attacking midfield spot gave the team a lot of veteran talent. Justin Mapp, a national team player pool member, has played all 15 games, patrolling the wings.

The forward spot has most often been held by Chad Barrett, who leads the team in scoring with five goals but has been somewhat inconsistent around the net. That inconsistency, most prominently displayed in a 2-0 loss at Chivas USA, might have been responsible for his exclusion from the U.S. Olympic team, announced Thursday by coach Peter Nowak.

Polish star Tomasz Frankowski was primed to win the forward spot, but Barrett beat him out and Frankowski is reduced to spot reserve status.

The fact of the matter is that the Fire could have won, or at least tied, every game they played. They had chances to score. So to Hamlett's way of thinking, the first half was more success than failure.

"The last three league games before Saturday, we had two ties and a loss, and we had opportunities to come away with two wins," Hamlett said. "The breaks didn't go for us in those games. Draws are disappointing. We train well but we are not finishing our chances. It's not like we are not playing well and getting run off the field. We are playing in good stretches. There are more positives than negatives."


Thorrington shines as Fire rebound
Fire confident, but know season is long
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Frustrated Fire hungry for success

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Soccer is unique to most sports because outcome does not always match performance. In other words, the better team doesn't always win. Or tie.

There doesn't appear to be any other explanation for the way the first half of the Major League Soccer season went for the Chicago Fire, who start the second half Saturday at home against Real Salt Lake.

The Fire was 5-1-1 through their first seven games, hot as a pistol thanks to a 5-1 win against New York at Giants Stadium on May 25. In the second seven games, the Fire went 1-4-2 (they ended the first half with a 2-1 win against Toronto FC last Saturday).

There was no traumatic event that changed the Fire from a team with a winning record to a team with a losing record. It's hard to know whether the Fire are the team from the first seven games, or the team from the second seven games.

"That's one of the frustrating things about soccer," Fire midfielder Chris Rolfe said. "You can dominate a team in possession and opportunities for goals and you could come away losing. That is just the way soccer is. It can be extremely frustrating."

The difference between the first seven games and the second seven games "was probably a combination of quite a few things," Rolfe said. "Early on the bounces were going our way, the next seven, we could say they weren't at times."

There are reasons to think the Fire is a solid defensive team. They still lead the league with only 14 goals against in 15 games, and have the only double-digit goal differential (10).

But the Fire are way behind the opposition in shots (189-164) and shots on goal (89-81) which makes it appear the offense still needs work.

The second half begins with a home game, which is not necessarily a good thing. The stoppage-time goal scored by John Thorrington last Saturday still raised the Fire's home record to a middling, at best, 3-3-1.

For the second half, the Fire can concentrate fully on their MLS games. Unlike some teams playing in the SuperLiga or still alive in the U.S. Open Cup, the Fire are out of non-MLS competition for the time being.

The loss to D.C. United in the Open Cup quarterfinal was difficult for the Fire, who have won the Cup four times in their first 10 years. But it does allow the team to focus on one goal.

"It helps us to be mentally focused on one thing right now," Fire coach Denis Hamlett said.

"It allows us to work on more things in practice, and we have more time on the practice field," Rolfe said. "We can do more on the practice field because we have a longer time to recover. That could help us as we go to the second half of the season."

The Fire have roster issues for this game. Forward Calen Carr is out for the season with an ACL tear, and forward Andy Herron remains unavailable following a concussion suffered two weeks ago. Defender Dasan Robinson is out with an ankle sprain and defender Gonzalo Segares is listed as doubtful with a sprained foot.

Segares is actually out of the game anyway with a yellow card accumulation as is Thorrington, the hero of Saturday's game.

The Fire were about two minutes away from a tie in that home game Saturday, so although Thorrington's goal did give them a win, it wasn't a win of overwhelming domination.

"It helps a lot," Rolfe said. "But because we got a late goal to win, that doesn't solve everything. It definitely helps the confidence and gives us something to build off of."


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Fire confident, but know season is long

Sealy trade gives K.C. options

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Technical director Peter Vermes and head coach Curt Onalfo of the Kansas City Wizards have always said they are constantly on the look to improve their team. Now they have more tools to do just that. Tools they would not have had in three months time.

The trade of 27-year-old Trinidad & Tobago international forward Scott Sealy to the San Jose Earthquakes for allocation money gives the team another international spot on its senior roster and three options for what they can do with the money acquired.

"Scott made it very clear he was not going to be coming back at the end of the season," Onalfo said, "and it was an offer we couldn't refuse."

Vermes said the Earthquakes had approached the Wizards some time back, but the deal was not something they were willing to do at the time. Now, Vermes said, the allocation money received in return makes a good business decision for the future.

"With allocation money, you can buy down a current player's salary who you are going to renegotiate with or do a new contract with," Vermes said. "You can buy a foreign player and use it for a transfer fee, a loan fee, or even part of his contract. Or you can [trade] it. We have all three of those options in mind right now, and we're going to continue to evaluate what's going to be the best use."

For a team that has struggled to consistently find the back of the opposition's net, despite their current four-game undefeated streak, the decision will need to be the right one. Averaging less than a goal a game isn't going to result in too many victories.

Even though the recent signing of one-time Wizards forward Josh Wolff to the club helped Vermes and Onalfo pull the trigger on trading Sealy, they are still not happy with their team's execution, thus more changes are on the way.

"Have we had some better performances here as of late? Sure. Could they be better? Should they be better? Absolutely. Could we do some things a little better? Yes. I still think we need to make some tweaks as we move forward. Only time and performances are going to tell that," Vermes said. "But we're on the verge of turning the corner here. I've said this all along, we constantly are going to be looking to improve this team."

With Wolff rejoining the side, a whole new set of options come about. Designated player Claudio Lopez, effective recently on the left side of midfield, could move up top to combine more often with Wolff. Or right midfielder Davy Arnaud could resume his past fruitful partnership with Wolff -- the two led Kansas City to a spot in the 2004 MLS Cup Final. Onalfo has given either possibility credence. The weeks to come in training and matches will determine the outcome.

"We're still not pleased with the amount of goals we're scoring and how dangerous we are," said Onalfo. "We're going to still be tinkering with ways for us to score more goals in the run of play."

The Wizards recent home wins against Real Salt Lake and the New York Red Bulls and road draws against FC Dallas and Toronto FC and the subsequent move into a four-way tie for ninth in the overall MLS table from the basement are good signs, but they are not enough.

"Do we think we have a very solid nucleus of players here that can get the job done? Absolutely, 100 percent. But we also realize that there is a lot of hard work to be done for us to really get into the thick of things," said Vermes. "The recent points have brought us a lot closer to the mix of teams that are right there, so it gives us a fighting chance and gives us a little bit of confidence."

The international transfer window closes Aug. 15, yet MLS teams have until Sept. 16 to make roster moves within the league. Keep an eye on the Wizards -- moves on the field and off might be prominent in their future.

"We're happy with moving forward in the standings, but we want to be even better here," said Onalfo.


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Pinilla weighing up options
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Wizards focus on moving forward

Young Hoops champing at bit

FRISCO, Texas -- FC Dallas has the youngest roster in Major League Soccer and it might not be long before some of that young talent has pushed its way into the starting 11. Schellas Hyndman has been the Hoops' coach now for one month and several FCD rookies have already caught his eye.

Midfielder Eric Avila, whom FCD took in the second round of the 2008 SuperDraft (19th overall) is the first to impress his new coach. Avila has played in two league matches and has one assist after delivering a ball to Abe Thompson that allowed the Hoops to salvage a point in a 1-1 tie with Kansas City on July 4. He has also played in two U.S. Open Cup matches, where he has one assist.

"He's very technical, has got good vision, makes good decisions, has got good athletic ability and is quick," Hyndman said about Avila. "I think he's a better central player than he is a wide player, and we need to concentrate and getting him to play more in those positions. He can improve on his defense by putting a little more pressure on opponents. But he's come a long way. I think he's proven that every time we put him on the field, there's a little bit of electricity."

The other rookie Hyndman has taken notice of is forward Brek Shea. The 6-foot-3 Texan was the second-overall pick in this year's draft and has already played for the U.S. under-20 and under-23 national teams this year. In league play, he has appeared in two matches and seen a total of 17 minutes.

Earlier in the year, Shea, who is only 18, was playing in the midfield and even in the back, but Hyndman now sees the big youngster as more of a frontline player for FCD.

"(There are) a lot of positive things with Brek (Shea) up there because he reads the game and tries to do a little bit more than just run away," Hyndman said. "He tries to be more of a combination player. I can also see the youth up there with a lot of silly giveaways on non-pressure balls and lackadaisical passing. He's got to improve on that and he and I talked about that."

But that hasn't precluded him from showing Shea some tough love like he did during training earlier this week.

"On his last one (mistake), I stopped the exercise to give him a chance to not just forget about it," Hyndman said. "I know all the players are trying to support him but at some point in time, you have to step up from a boy to a man, and if we're asking you to play as a man, then you need to play like a man."

Both players are pleased that Hyndman has taken notice of their development but still seek to keep improving.

"It's awesome and is something that I have to keep going with and showing him that I can," Avila said. "With a new coach, it's a whole new start. I've been doing well in practice, so I hope to get rewarded for that."

Added Shea: "It's always good when a new coach comes in and says that you're doing a good job. I hope that I keep improving and that he keeps noticing."

Each rookie has noticed a big difference between the sessions under Hyndman compared to those under previous FCD head coach Steve Morrow and interim boss Marco Ferruzzi.

"It's a lot more intense," Avila said. "He's teaching us what our problems are and what we need to fix, especially when it comes to fitness. These sessions are hard but that's good for us. To tell the truth, it's what we need. He's always on us and I think we needed a nice little wake-up call. That's what he's doing."

Said Shea: "The sessions are longer and more intense but I think it's good. I've also noticed that he expects more. If you can show him that you can play, then he will play you."

For Avila, the biggest change that he can see in himself since arriving in Frisco back in February for preseason is a higher comfort level all-around.

"It's a lot of different things but I'm more comfortable and that's what I like," he said. "If I'm too nervous or intense, my game is a little off. Now, I feel comfortable with the guys and playing with them is fun. Since he has been here, I have improved on holding the ball and keeping possession. He wants me to go forward and allows me to do that. That gives me the confidence to go and play the way that I like."

Shea acknowledges that he still has plenty to work on but has benefited greatly from spending extra time on the practice field doing finishing drills with FCD leading scorer Kenny Cooper, a member of the league's All-Star First XI.

"I just need to keep the ball and not give it away with silly mistakes," he said. "He (Cooper) has taught me how to be composed in the box on finishes. He has taught me to focus on where I want to put it. He's scored a lot of goals, so it's good for me to listen to him."

The lanky Texan likes the possibilities that could come from playing up top with Cooper, who is also 6-foot-3. "We're pretty tall and should be able to win a lot of aerial battles on corners and flick-ons," Shea said. "Hopefully, we can use that to our advantage."


FCD players to compete for U.S. U-20 Team
Cáceres: I Will Give My All

Wizards' Conrad ecstatic at ASG nod

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Jimmy Conrad has come a long way in his 11-year professional soccer career. From being passed over in the 1998 MLS draft after his senior season at UCLA to playing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and becoming "the face of Kansas City" as teammate Josh Wolff put it in regards to Conrad's prominent media presence at the league and local level, Conrad has been there.

Yet, he takes nothing for granted, even his fifth consecutive MLS All-Star selection announced last week.

"It's never routine. It was a welcome surprise. Anytime you have a chance to represent the league in a competition like that it's a nice honor," said Conrad. "To be voted in by your peers, coaches, the fans and media is fun as well. I'm excited to represent the Kansas City Wizards."

The right to represent Major League Soccer in the annual All-Star Game is earned by only 18 out of a league stocked with some 350-plus players. Clearly, the one-time A-Leaguer is not just another player.

"I've said from day one, I think Jimmy is the best central defender in Major League Soccer. He proves it on a daily basis, said Wizards' head coach Curt Onalfo. "I'm extremely pleased for him."

Conrad's selection also points to the pride he takes to the field each and every time he walks onto it. The All-Star Game at Toronto FC's BMO field on Thurs., July 24, comes at the end of a very packed schedule -- six games in 14 days -- and ahead of what will be an intense second half of the season as the Wizards scramble to make the playoffs.

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Add that the Temple City, Calif. native recently suffered a foot injury he has been playing through, and the tone of his approach to the match versus English Premiership side West Ham United is admirable.

"It's more of a fun thing. There's nothing on it, as much as just pride and trying to play well for the league," said Conrad. "I expect to play at least a half, if not more. It's fun. It will be a fun environment. You don't really get tired in those games because everybody's buzzing around."

As anyone who has watched the MLS stars defeat Mexico's Chivas de Guadalajara, Celtic FC and other Premiership teams in Fulham and Chelsea in the past, the All-Star Game will be a hard-fought contest. As Conrad plays with his usual intensity, skill, and wisdom, look closely. The only difference one might notice is that his joyous smile will only show more often.


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Lewis: Reyna underappreciated, but special

NEWARK, N.J. -- It is one of the great puzzles of American soccer.

Here was one of the greatest, if not the best, U.S. soccer player, who made a 13-year career in Europe and made 112 appearances, many as captain, for the U.S. national team.

Yet, he was never truly appreciated by the American soccer fan, not the way he was across the pond.

Perhaps these fans didn't realize what Claudio Reyna brought to the game.

Reyna's game wasn't about filling the net with tons of goals and assists (although there is certainly nothing wrong with that). It was about displaying a calming influence on the field, with ball possession, vision and skill not many, if any U.S. players have possessed.

He might not have done the most spectacular thing, but he did more than enough of the important little things to make himself quite effective, thank you.

Let's have someone who has been there -- former MetroStars and national team midfielder Tab Ramos talk about Reyna, who announced his retirement from the New York Red Bulls Wednesday.

"Claudio has been the leader of the national team for a long time," said Ramos, who attended Reyna's press conference at both the former players' high school, St. Benedict's Prep. "He was probably the first American player I've ever seen that actually played calm.

"He knew that he belonged there. I think that was a big step in soccer. I guess for some fans he's not the flashy guy you're looking for, the guy who takes somebody on, takes a shot and hits the crossbar. But he brought something different to the table and that something different obviously was good enough for the teams overseas. The fact that somebody may say and not give him credit, I think it's just crazy."

While the "modern" version of Reyna certainly wasn't an offensive juggernaut, a younger man wearing his boots certainly had his moments.

While researching his career, more than a few of them came to light:

• Such as the time Reyna, playing in a withdrawn center forward role, scored one goal and created two others as the U.S. stunned Mexico -- yes, the Mexicans' first team -- 4-0 at the 1995 U.S. Open. When Reyna left the game late in the match to a rousing ovation by the RFK Stadium faithful, he was replaced by Ramos, of all people, in what many observers felt was the changing of the guard on the national team. • He connected 31 seconds against Argentina -- the homeland of his father, Miguel -- 31 seconds into the match at the 1996 Olympics (the U.S. went on to lose the match, 3-1). • With a World Cup berth at France '98 on the line, Reyna masterminded the U.S. victory with a goal and two assists in a 4-0 CONCACAF qualifying win against Canada in Vancouver in November 1997.

• There was that World Cup goal that Brian McBride scored that started off the U.S.'s 2-0 win against archrival Mexico at the 2002 World Cup. Reyna raced down the right flank, beat a defender and dribbled toward the endline, drawing two more defenders. Reyna laid the ball off to forward Josh Wolff at the corner of the goalkeepers' box. Wolff tapped the ball back to McBride in the middle of the area, where he fired a shot through three defenders and past goalkeeper Oscar Perez.

• When Reyna became the seventh U.S. player to reach 100 international appearances in a 4-0 rout of Honduras in Foxboro, Mass. June 2, 2004, he played a role in three of the goals.

Of course, there were some games Reyna would prefer to forget -- when he was fouled by Germany's Jens Jeremies 21 seconds into the U.S's opening match at France '98 (he was never the same player for the rest of the tournament) and when he had to be restrained from going after referee Peter Prendergast after a controversial handball call cost the U.S. the game on an 11th-hour penalty kick at a World Cup qualifier in Costa Rica in 2000.

Several weeks after the Red Bulls had made Reyna their first designated player, he played during several scrimmages in Bradenton, Fla. in February 2007.

Scrimmages are light-years away from the real thing, but you can discover the playing personality of a player quite quickly. In a close examination of Reyna in certain situations, in two games, he made maybe -- maybe -- one bad pass. The most impressive part of his game was when he had a man literally on his back, trying to make him cough up the ball in a pressure situation.

Using his patience, calmness and skill, Reyna made sure he did not lose the ball before finding an open teammate.

Then there were the subtle things off the field.

When Peter Philipakos, a player on trial with the Red Bulls, stepped onto the practice field for the first time at the IMG Academy in February 2007, Reyna went up to the midfielder, welcomed him and shook his hand.

After one training session, Reyna made a coffee run for teammates.

"He's the captain," Philipakos said. "That's something that comes from being a captain. But I feel that if there was another player on the team who was the captain, he would still do that. From watching him, that's just his character. Some people are just born leaders. He's like that."

Reyna's take? "The respect definitely has to be earned. It wouldn't be right for me to come in here and just take it easy and not do what everyone else does because of what I've done before," he said.

Of course, his time with the Red Bulls and MLS was way too short for him to showcase his talent (on Wednesday, Reyna said "I wish I was playing here in my prime"). His tenure was a disappointing one, especially for so much money spent on a designated player.

Slowly, but surely, Reyna's body betrayed him.

It seemed he experienced the entire spectrum of injuries.

A hamstring injury that kept him out of the 1994 World Cup.

A groin injury in March 2001.

A torn left ACL in October 2002.

A quad injury in the fall of 2003.

Another quad injury in September 2004 (re-injured in November).

A torn MCL during the 2005-2006 season.

A stress fracture in his right ankle in December 2005.

A series of leg injuries last year, including a sprained left toe that kept him sidelined for the three remaining games of the regular season.

A hamstring injury and a herniated disc this year.

There are likely few more missing here and there.

We'll never know how good he really could have been.

But you know -- 112 international appearances, U.S. national team captain, playing with five European teams over 13 years, three World Cups and two Olympics -- that ain't too shabby.

Just wondering if there is another American ready to step up to match that record or even surpass it.


Error in box costs Chivas shot at first
Player of the month

Wells makes bid to remain starter in D.C.

WASHINGTON -- Just when things seemed to be clicking into place for D.C. United, a midsummer injury bug has stricken the playing roster and threatened the club's SuperLiga prospects. Three everyday starters and several reserves have been lost in recent weeks, limiting head coach Tom Soehn's options and increasing the workload on the tired legs of those left standing.

That situation was an unmistakable undercurrent of Saturday's 2-1 loss to Chivas de Guadalajara, in which Soehn looked down his bench in search of a spark for his trailing team and saw mostly rookies -- and most of them defenders, at that.

"We pretty much have 18 guys. Not many guys to choose from," admitted Soehn afterwards.

But one United mainstay isn't about to gripe over fatigue or fixture congestion, even though he's gone the distance in all the team's domestic and international cup matches, plus every league game save one.

"I'm pretty happy ... I'll never complain about playing games," said goalkeeper Zach Wells. "I didn't get a lot of chances to play in the last four years."

Despite undeniable potential, Wells made only 23 first-team appearances during that time, having spent most of his Major League Soccer career backing up veteran 'keepers: first Tony Meola in New York and, later, Pat Onstad in Houston.

Eager for a meaningful shot at a No. 1 role, he embraced an offseason trade to D.C., but soon found himself under the microscope when the team's brutal early-season form led to goals and losses galore. The goalkeeping battle club officials had envisioned between Wells and his Peruvian understudy, Jose Carvallo, failed to materialize and in recent weeks United have been perusing the international transfer market for a netminder capable of challenging for the starting spot.

Yet Wells, who approaches the game with a cerebral outlook that belies his mellow southern California upbringing, hardly seems unsettled by all that. In fact, he's produced his best performances of the season over that same period, with quality saves in United's recent league and U.S. Open Cup matches, including several big plays on one-on-one opportunities to help D.C. vanquish their unloved rivals from Chicago in last week's Open Cup quarterfinal.

On Saturday, a litany of clutch stops ensured that his team stayed in contention against Chivas until the very end, and he'll need to maintain that excellence if his undermanned squad is to haul itself back into the SuperLiga reckoning against Atlante on Wednesday night.

"You can't get caught up in it," said Wells of the speculation surrounding United's hunt for another goalkeeper. "You can enjoy it when you're playing, but you can't be worried about all the other stuff that's going around. Because I've been in situations before where they bring guys in and they don't pan out, they don't think they're as good as they thought they were going to be."

Virtually the entire United squad was guilty of underachievement at some point or another during the spring struggles that plunged the Black-and-Red into the Eastern Conference basement, but the unforgiving nature of his position meant that Wells' shortcomings were laid bare, both on the scoreboard and the stat sheet.

Even when D.C. reeled off a perfect 4-0 record in June, he was excoriated for a glaring fumble that gifted San Jose an easy goal on June 22 -- the Earthquakes' only goal of the month, actually -- prompting his teammates to vocalize their backing.

"As a defender, as a teammate, I think we all support Zach," said defender Gonzalo Martinez. "Everyone makes mistakes. ... But we believe in him, because he's a good goalkeeper."

While foreign signings like Martinez were expected to require some adjustment time, Wells' experience with the league probably raised hopes of a seamless adaptation despite the challenges of a new city, a new club and a new-look defense in front of him.

"I think it was just a matter of everyone finding their feet and figuring out where they fit in the system and understanding the system of playing," Wells said earlier this month. "And then as players, being able to see everyone's strengths and weaknesses. Now we're starting to complement each other a little bit."

Wells is all too familiar with the frustration and inactivity that is a backup goalkeeper's lot, and his recent displays suggest he's in no hurry to return to the bench. Whether or not United finds another competitor for his minutes, he's already begun to defend his turf.

"In the end you can only control what you can control, and I think as a defense and as a team we're playing better," he said. "I think I'm improving every game, so you can only leave it in the management's hands at that point."


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Crew, Wizards shootout ends in draw

COLUMBUS -- It wasn't officially Turn Back the Clock Night in a raucous Crew Stadium but the Columbus Crew and Kansas City Wizards put on an offensive outburst in the first half that harkened to the inaugural year of MLS in another nationally televised Thursday night match.

Josh Wolff's second-half equalizer gave the Wizards a share of a wild 3-3 draw, but was the only goal after the break following a first-half blitz.

On May 2, 1996, the then-Wiz and Crew combined for 10 goals, including eight in a 40-minute segment of the second half. What was a 1-1 match in Arrowhead Stadium at halftime turned into a 6-4 Kansas City win in a game that was tape-delayed on ESPN. It still ranks as the second-highest scoring match in league history.

The network did it live this time on MLS Primetime Thursday and the viewers were treated to five goals in 16 minutes as the home side went up 3-2 by intermission, answering two goals that came in three minutes.

The Wizards, who had the league's second-worst offense with 14 goals in 15 games, struck first on an own goal by Crew defender Frankie Hejduk followed by a redirect from Roger Espinoza, who was (this time) making a happy homecoming. Guillermo Barros Schelotto, the top assist man in MLS, led the Crew comeback with a sizzling free kick on the first goal, a set-up of Alejandro Moreno on the second and perfect corner kick to Chad Marshall for the go-ahead tally in the see-saw match.

The first half initially brought back bad memories for the Crew and their supporters. When the low-scoring Wizards stunned Columbus with goals in the 22nd and 24th minute it was similar to the previous home match when Chicago struck for a 2-0 lead by minute 25. The Crew rallied for a 2-2 draw.

On the opening score the Wizards took advantage of a poor clearance off a restart. Morsink was on the right wing and sent a service to the middle of the box. Although teammate Sasha Victorine was sandwiched between Hejduk and Danny O'Rourke, Hejduk tried a clearance with his head but ended up putting the ball into the goal over Crew goalkeeper Will Hesmer.

The Wizards scored again two minutes later on Jewsbury's grounder to a cutting Espinoza from eight yards. He got his left foot on the pass and put it first-time inside the near post for his first goal. For Espinoza, it was his second game in Columbus, where he went to college at Ohio State. In his first, May 3, he was sent off after just 36 minutes.

Columbus was reeling but as it did against the Fire, found another gear thanks to Schelotto, who made full use of the term free kick. After being fouled by Morsink, Schelotto lined up for the restart from 25 yards on the left side as the Wizards' wall tried to get settled. The referee's whistle blew and several K.C. players were caught still looking at keeper Kevin Hartman for instructions when Schelotto laced the ball over the top and inside the near post in the 26th minute.

It was his fourth goal but first that was not from the penalty spot.

Life was restored in the stands and the fans erupted again in the 33rd when Schelotto took a ball in full stride from Robbie Rogers and dribbled into the left side of the area. He found Moreno on a near-post run. Moreno was tackled as he got a foot on the ball but still managed to get off a shot. Hartman dove and got to the ball, though it might have already crossed the line. Regardless, Hartman pushed it right back to Moreno, who made sure it got over the second time.

It wasn't all offense in the opening 45 minutes. Hesmer made a key stop on a Victorine in the 36th minute and the Crew assumed the lead in two minutes as Marshall scored his second of the season -- the first was in a 3-0 win at Kansas City on June 14 -- on a diving header from six yards.

The trip down memory lane continued in the second half as the Wizards' newest, but certainly not unfamiliar, player made a triumphant return. Wolff came on after the break and scored his first MLS goal since 2005 in the 76th minute.

Wolff signed a four-year deal with the Wizards after spending the past two seasons in Germany, where he scored two goals in 34 games for 1860 Munich. The U.S. international had 27 goals for Kansas City from 2003-06, including 10 each in the 2004 and '05 seasons.

He had trained with the Wizards for two weeks and showed some rustiness on his first shot but he was in fine form on the goal. The play started with a pass from Kurt Morsink that snuck past the Crew defense to Jack Jewsbury on the right. As he moved into the penalty area he spotted Wolff in front of the goal, and Wolff tapped it home with his left foot.

After allowing the equalizer, the Crew had several opportunities for the winner in the waning moments. Rookie sub Steven Lenhart, who has two late tying goals, battled with All-Star defender Jimmy Conrad in the 86th minute, won the ball and knocked it home, only to be called for a foul.

The Crew also had two corners in stoppage time but could not get a shot on goal to end the match with a whimper after a sizzling start.


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Disastrous stretch dooms Crew
Serie A round-up
All-square in Frankfurt

Still Jaime after all these years

WASHINGTON -- When D.C. United's horrid spring was counteracted by an impressive June winning streak, optimism blossomed around the apparently ascendant club. But two home losses in SuperLiga have slowed that momentum to a grinding halt, with a cascade of injuries and simple exhaustion leaving United looking somewhat spent at the moment.

Argentinean mainstays Marcelo Gallardo and Gonzalo Peralta are sidelined by groin injuries that could require imminent surgery, while fellow offseason signings Franco Niell and Jose Carvallo failed to make the expected impact in D.C. and have been waived.

Versatile veteran Santino Quaranta came back too soon from a hamstring strain against Atlante on Tuesday night, re-aggravating the injury that has sidelined him all month. Inspirational figure Ben Olsen is recovering from yet another ankle surgery and remains stuck on the early stages of the comeback trail.

Yet one pivotal figure remains standing, consistently contributing quality on the field and leadership off it, coaxing a tired team to soldier on. Regardless of the 34 years on his odometer, Jaime Moreno is as irreplaceable as he's ever been, through more than a decade of service to United.

"There's no denying that at all," said D.C. midfielder Clyde Simms. "He definitely helps with the possession, and that's a big part of our game. I think we have the players to be a good team without Jaime, but fortunately right now he's on our team and when he's on the field I feel like we are a better team."

He's been wearing the captain's armband for more than three years now and in the locker room, his communication skills have been critical in helping United welcome wave after wave of Latin American signings over the years.

Yet his uniqueness has become particularly noticeable during Gallardo's lingering injury troubles, which have left the Black-and-Red short of creative inspiration. Last week Moreno came off the bench against Chicago to rescue United when their U.S. Open Cup campaign was in jeopardy, engineering a stirring comeback. In SuperLiga play, he's made a seamless adjustment from withdrawn striker to central playmaker, keeping possession and coordinating the D.C. attack.

"He has so much experience up top. The ability to hold the ball for us in critical areas of the field, especially in [the opposition's] defensive end, speaks volumes for him and I think that really helps us lead the attack," said defender Bryan Namoff. "It enables us to make runs out of the back and get our wingers involved."

Moreno brushes aside such questions about his own influence, however. In Tuesday's 3-2 loss to Atlante, the Bolivian international ignored his own fatigue and put forth a professional display over 90 minutes despite underwhelming performances all around him -- and afterwards remained focused on the team's outlook.

"Everyone has a job to do on the team and everyone has to be responsible for their own job," said Moreno. "Myself and the whole team, I don't think we did our job tonight -- very simple. I'm disappointed, because we throw away a great opportunity to be in a championship that we wanted to win so bad."

For all the joy he's brought them over the years, United fans might find it a bit disconcerting that so much is riding on Moreno at this point in his career. But his mere presence gives the team an undeniable psychological boost and the teammates and coaches who see his quality every day in training are quick to pay him tribute, even while downplaying the squad's dependence on his abilities.

"Is he too important? No one's too important," said head coach Tom Soehn. "I think everybody's got a value to what the team is. Each one carries a value in different ways, and you can see what Jaime's value is. He makes us a better soccer team."

Like several first-team regulars, Moreno could use a break in Saturday's SuperLiga decider against Houston, especially given the complex scenario that would have to unfold for D.C. to advance in the tournament. But his absence from the first XI would surely dent United's chances dramatically -- just another sign of his value.

As with many league observers, Moreno and the club have long been inseparably linked in Simms' mind, and he believes his teammate has plenty more to contribute in the coming seasons.

"As long as I can remember watching MLS, he's been with D.C. United. So it's tough to think about that," said Simms on the notion of a future without Moreno. "I think he could stick around for a couple more years, maybe not in a starting role but in a role like [his supersub appearance against Chicago]. I think it's just as effective. I don't know -- he's a great player. He means a lot to the team, on and off the field."


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Nowak makes final roster selections

You can't always get what you want.

And no one has to remind U.S. men's Olympic coach Peter Nowak of that when it came to selecting his three overage players for the U.S. men's Olympic team.

On paper, the three over-23 players would have been the best fit for the team was goalkeeper Tim Howard, defender Carlos Bocanegra and forward Landon Donovan.

But with all due respect to the Olympics, the World Cup team still gets preference over what is an under-23 tournament (plus three overage players a side).

So, that trio is expected to perform for the U.S. national team in a World Cup qualifier in Guatemala Aug. 20. If the USA advanced to the medal round in Beijing, those three would have been lost for the qualifier. While the U.S. isn't a favorite to get that far, you have to remember that the 2000 team played for a bronze medal (and lost) in Sydney.

Instead, when Nowak unveiled his 18-man roster Thursday, he named former Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan, New England Revolution defender Michael Parkhurst and former Columbus Crew and U.S. national team striker Brian McBride, who wants to play for the Chicago Fire, as the three overage players.

"We have three really great overage players who can contribute to this team," said Nowak, who is an assistant for the full national side under head coach Bob Bradley.

They're solid players, but except for a 36-year-old McBride (who could very well be the oldest U.S. male soccer player to perform in the Olympics), they don't have much international experience.

Nowak said that Donovan, a forward with the Los Angeles Galaxy, was considered for the Olympic team, but there were other priorities.

"We still feel very strongly about Landon's contributions to the senior team," he said. "As much as I would love to have him, needs are needs. World Cup qualifiers are not simple games. We still have both teams, very competitive teams, and we feel good about both teams' chances."

Nowak wouldn't blame CONCACAF for scheduling World Cup qualifying dates right smack in the middle of the Olympics.

"This is the best team that we could have selected and I feel very good about this group," he said. "This is our team for the games that we will play. Let's focus and concentrate on the games. Let's do the best we possibly can in order to accomplish the goals we want to accomplish. Let's not play the blame game right now. We just want to make sure that the teams that compete in the Olympic Games and the World Cup qualifiers are competitive teams."

Perhaps the biggest was the naming of Crew forward Robbie Rogers, who has scored five goals in 16 games.

"It's no secret that Robbie has [had] a great season ... and the whole team is playing very well," Nowak said. "In the last couple of months, Robbie started to play the game everybody loved to see him play. He's had a lot of very significant progress in the last six, seven months and this is good to see. He's healthy, he's fit, he's scoring goals and he's helping his team win. ... He fits the picture very well."

And so does Guzan, who will miss preseason training with his new English Premiership club (Aston Villa, who is seeking a work permit for him). Nowak said he felt Guzan was the best option.

"Brad knows the players very well," he said. "With the whole team spirit and team unity situation, Brad shows he has similar qualities to our younger players. He has played very good in competitive games vs. England and Spain. He is a good goalkeeper but also is someone who can be around those players and can feel like he has something to prove.

"As much as we love Aston Villa, there was a clear message from Brad that he wanted to play in this tournament. There will be enough time for Brad to establish himself as the first-string 'keeper with Aston Villa."

Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake), who helped backstop the U.S. in the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament, will back up Guzan.

Parkhurst, who is 24, is the oldest player of a backline that includes Michael Orozco (San Luis, Mexico), Nate Sturgis (Real Salt Lake), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC) and Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo).

Parkhurst, the 2007 MLS Defender of the Year, is the lynchpin of the New England backline, but has made only three international appearances.

"It is not necessarily about how many caps he has, but the experience he has," Nowak said. "From a personality standpoint, Michael is a good selection. He's an underrated defender. I think he does a great job with the Revolution. They've played big games in the past. My experience with him last year at the Gold Cup was very good, and that's why I took this route."

The midfield is easily the strongest and deepest platoon.

Freddy Adu (Benfica, Portugal), the team's qualifying MVP, is the attacking force and an extremely dangerous option on free kicks.

"Freddy is maturing in a very good way right now," Nowak said. "He did most of the work himself, and he started to see things during camps and progressed with his mentality and overall game. You can see his progress with the senior team games. I ... am pleased to see the progress."

Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA) and ex-Crew player Danny Szetela (Brescia, Italy) are other offensive options while Holland-based Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen, formerly with the MetroStars) and Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), who can play the backline as well, are the leading candidates in the defensive or holding roles. Stuart Holden (Houston) and Benny Feilhaber (Derby County, England) will be pushing the others for starting spots.

Up front, McBride probably will be joined by former Red Bulls forward Jozy Altidore (Villarreal, Spain) in the other starting spot, while Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF, Sweden) and Rogers are expected to come off the bench.

McBride, who had retired from international competition two years ago, played in three World Cups and is the only U.S. player to have scored in two. He is out of contract after helping Fulham avoid relegation from the English Premiership. "He's a great professional, a great guy to be around, brings in a lot of experience," Nowak said. "He's going to be very vital to our team. I'm really pleased and very thankful that he has considered to play with this team. I think for his career, these Olympic games would be the cherry on the cake."

McBride hasn't played a competitive match in two months, but Nowak said the team has a program for him and other European players to get back into the swing of things.

"We're going to have more personalized workouts," he said. "We have to make sure that the groups will work together at some point and will match fitness at some point -- to have both groups on the same page. ... We've already done our homework with that and know how to accommodate our players needs to get them ready for the Japan game."

The team will train in San Jose, Calif. prior to departing for Hong Kong July 25 and play in the ING Cup, facing Olympic participants Ivory Coast July 30 and Cameroon Aug. 2.

In Group B play, the U.S. will play Japan in Tianjin Aug. 7 against Japan, the Netherlands in Tianjin Aug. 10 and Nigeria in Beijing Aug. 13.

"It's no secret that the group we are playing is very difficult, probably one of the toughest groups in the whole tournament," Nowak said. "But if you all play the tournament like that, when it's the 16 best teams in the world, you never have an easy group."

"We are looking forward to this challenge and I feel very good about the group of players. During our qualifiers, they showed a lot of team unity and spirit, and that was a very important factor in qualifying for the Olympic Games."


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NORMAN CALLS FOR OLYMPIC RECOGNITION

Top of SuperLiga table clash on tap

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- After Sunday night's victory against Santos Laguna, New England Revolution head coach Steve Nicol can see the SuperLiga semifinals in his future.

New England's victory, combined with CF Pachuca's 2-1 win against Chivas USA, sets up a top-of-the-table clash on Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium against the reigning SuperLiga champions.

Nicol figures that his team will advance to the next round with a victory and wants his team to string together a second consecutive victory to clinch a semifinal berth.P "It would be nice to win," Nicol said after his team defeated Santos Laguna on Sunday night. "If we did that, I think it'd be pretty safe that we'd go through but we take nothing for granted. Pachuca is a great team and plenty of history behind them."

Pachuca's storied history includes a victory in last season's SuperLiga, two CONCACAF Champions' Cup crowns and a victory in the Copa Sudamericana in 2006 -- the first team from outside South America to win a CONMEBOL event.

The Tuzos have altered their core a bit since those championship winning years with players like Andres Chitiva (Ciudad Juarez) and Juan Carlos Cacho (Pumas) moving to other Mexican clubs. Mainstays like coach Enrique Meza, captain Miguel Calero, Christian Gimenez and Gabriel Caballero remain and Bruno Marioni, once heavily linked with Houston and FC Dallas, joined this summer from Atlas.

The contest represents another stiff test for a Revolution side that has come through most of them this season.

"We know the broad Mexican style and I'm sure we'll see more of the same on Wednesday night [against Pachuca]," Revolution defender Michael Parkhurst said. "It will be another test. If we come away with another three points it'd be big. We'd be going out to Los Angeles knowing that we're already through."

Revs 'keeper Matt Reis said Pachuca will try to do many of the things Santos did in the first half before Juan Pablo Rodriguez was sent off for a stray elbow to Sainey Nyassi's head.

"They're going to play the same style," Reis said. "They'll be very good on the ball and very composed. They're going to try to play possession and pass the ball around us."

Who will play for the Revolution remains a question. Steve Ralston and Jeff Larentowicz are both questionable with quadriceps injuries after starting on Sunday night. Taylor Twellman missed Sunday's contest with a hip flexor strain that might keep him out again while Mauricio Castro's groin strain could also keep him out again.

The possible changes it make even more likely Nicol will continue with the 4-4-2 formation that brought his team success in the first half against Santos Laguna.


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Crew looking for consistency in back

COLUMBUS -- While the Columbus Crew have found stability in the midfield and forward positions the past three matches with the same starting six, the backline continues to be a source of adjustment.

However, coach Sigi Schmid said the constant changes are a matter of tactical moves and not unhappiness with the players, trying to fill the left back spot and one of the center back positions alongside Chad Marshall. For instance, rookie Ryan Junge started on the left side Saturday at Real Salt Lake in part because Schmid thought his long throw-in capability might be useful on the hard artificial turf. In the previous two games Danny O'Rourke was on the left side.

"We felt that in the case of Colorado (June 28), O'Rourke was the better person at left back," Schmid. "We felt that at Salt Lake with the narrowness of the field and the ball going out of bounds we could use his throw-ins."

Since Frankie Hejduk returned from the U.S. national team four matches ago and occupied his usual right back position, he and Marshall have been the only constants on the backline. Rookie Andy Iro has made two starts in the middle as has O'Rourke, a converted midfielder who also made two starts on the left. Junge has been in the opening lineup twice.

The shuffle was caused by injuries to left back Gino Padula then his replacement, Ezra Hendrickson. Padula has not played since April 26.

"Padula was the guy we expected to play at left back but he's missed so much that we've had throw different people out there. Ezra was there for awhile, now Danny," Schmid said. "It's really been a reflection of Iro's development in the middle and wanting to keep Danny on the field that pushed him to the outside."

Hendrickson has missed the last five matches due to a left groin strain but said Tuesday he is fit.

"To be honest, my best position is center back," he said. "I prefer playing in the middle. I bring a lot of experience and organization to the middle of the pitch. If I had choice, that's where I'd play but I'm ready for wherever they need. I know I'm not going to straight into a starting role."

The emergence of Iro, the 2008 first-round pick from California-Santa Barbara via Liverpool, England, gives Schmid options in the middle. When he wants quickness he goes with the 6-foot O'Rourke.

"Danny has great speed," goalkeeper Will Hesmer said. "Danny's still learning the job but overall is doing a good job. He still has his moments when you think, 'Yeah, we understand you're not a center back.'"

Iro (6-5) and Marshall (6-4) are the masts on the Crew's ship.

"When we're next to each other opposing players see two big guys," Iro said. "At least that's one element to the game that maybe they think, 'We can't go long here. There's really no point in crossing the ball because there's two big bodies in there.' Although Danny is very good in there I think people look at a big guy and a small guy and think they can attack that way."

Added Hesmer, "Andy and Chad gives us a great aerial presence."

Marshall said he is comfortable with either partner.

"Everyone has different tendencies but I've with both of them enough to know what they're doing," he said. "With Danny, I know if the ball goes over the top he's a little faster and has the speed to get there where with Andy I have to cover more."

As the Crew prepared Tuesday for Thursday's home match vs. Kansas City, the first 11 had two personnel changes from the starters in the 2-0 loss to Real Salt Lake. Stefani Miglioranzi replaced Brad Evans as the center midfielder and Iro was at center back instead of O'Rourke, who went to the left in place of Junge.

Iro could make his fourth start.

"There's a lot of ups and downs to being a rookie. I've learned not to take criticism personally. I was letting it get to me. It was affecting my performance in terms of mistakes on the field," he said. "When I first got here I was thinking every bad pass meant I was a really bad player. I've learned to roll with the punches. Ultimately I'll keep doing that until the end of the season.

"Every time I step on the field I still feel like the new guy. For sure, it's going to take awhile to wear off. You notice the difference between the older guys and how confident they are and how they interact. They're more mature with their decisions than me as a rookie."

Schmid said Iro's transformation from a nervous newbie to a reliable defender is noticeable.

"From the beginning of the season until now he's really improved in a lot of areas -- his approach to training has taken a tremendous leap forward and he's a much more confident player than he was at the beginning of the year," he said.

Iro credits being paired with Marshall.

"I learn from him. He's a really, really good player," Iro said. "He has a lot of things I don't have that I would like to have. He's so clean on the ball. I'm not sure if he's had that his whole life or if he's learned it in his four years in the league."

Someday a rookie defensive partner might be asking the same question of Iro.


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Smith's stoppage time PK lifts Revs

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Khano Smith slotted home a penalty in the eighth minute of stoppage time to virtually ensure the New England Revolution's place in the SuperLiga semifinals with a 1-0 victory against Pachuca CF on Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium.

Julio Manzur handled a Sainey Nyassi cross in the 96th minute and referee Walter Quesada pointed to the spot despite the vigorous protests by the home side. Smith tucked his attempt home in the lower right corner to give the Revolution victory.

It was a dramatic ending to a pulsating game with end-to-end play for most of the contest and chances for both teams, though Pachuca will feel aggrieved to lose a point at the death considering their contribution to the game.

It wasn't all positive for the Revolution after midfielder Pat Phelan left the field on a stretcher after colliding with Nyassi as the duo went up to head away a corner kick. Phelan's injury kept him down on the field for more than five minutes and created the need for significant stoppage time.

Selection problems forced Revolution head coach Steve Nicol to name every available player onto his bench. With the likes of Steve Ralston (quad), Jeff Larentowicz (quad), Taylor Twellman (hip flexor), Mauricio Castro (groin) and Chris Albright (unspecified lower extremity) unavailable, Nicol had to chop and change to suit the 4-4-2 formation he prefers in SuperLiga. In came Khano Smith, Pat Phelan and Chris Tierney, with Tierney deployed in an unfamiliar left back position.

Pachuca started the talismanic Christian Gimenez and Jose Torres, a U.S. citizen, in midfield. Christian Correa and Damian Alvarez comprised the strike force; Bruno Marioni missed out on the lineup and a place on the bench through injury.

The match started with a sickening clash of heads inside the first minute. Leobardo Lopez misjudged the bounce off the turf as he went to volley a ball out of his defensive half. In his haste to clear, Lopez ducked his head right onto Kenny Mansally's cranium. The pair remained down for a couple of minutes before rejoining play.

The play went from end to end during spells in the first half as both teams tried to keep the ball on the floor and pass it around midfield.

Pachuca was having marginally better success in that endeavor, forcing a free kick after Amaechi Igwe cheaply gave over possession. Jay Heaps committed the foul to set up that opportunity before taking the resulting shot off his face before the danger was cleared.

New England tried to utilize its tidy passing game moving forward and displayed a couple of intricate passing moves in trying to break down the Pachuca defense. Most of the success came from surging runs through the middle and the wide channels, with Khano Smith pinning Paul Aguilar back and Joseph drawing a free kick and a cynical yellow card from Gimenez as Joseph broke through on goal.

But chances were hard to come by for either side in the opening stages. Pachuca gradually looked more threatening as the first stanza progressed. Carlos Rodriguez's low, driven cross eluded Correa's run into the box.

Smith nearly responded minutes later with a diagonal run from the left side to set up a right-footed drive that slid just past the far post.

Minutes before the break, Alvarez should have opened the scoring. The Argentinean striker danced around Igwe and caught a break when Michael Parkhurst's slide deflected the ball off Alvarez's shins and towards goal. The finish wasn't nearly as lucky as the low drive missed the far post by inches with Reis stranded.

Fausto Pinto nearly let the Revs in two minutes after the break with a needless turnover inside his own penalty area. Kenny Mansally's quick pass allowed Kheli Dube to hook a shot towards goal. Pachuca 'keeper Miguel Calero managed to push the effort wide.

The chance sparked a good stretch of play for the home side with Joseph's range of passing on full display and the wide play used to create havoc in the Pachuca penalty area. Only Lopez's intervention stopped Mansally from streaking through on goal.

Suddenly it was Pachuca's turn to assert itself. As if flicking a switch, the Tuzos clicked into another gear. It took the very best from Reis to deny a low, dipping shot by Alvarez to the near post and only a deflection off the inside of the post kept the swerving effort out.

It was then Calero's turn to bail out his side. Reis went direct with his clearance and Smith brought it down with a neat touch. A quick pass sent Dube streaking down the right side. Dube's high drive to the near post forced a smart save from Calero to keep the scores level.

Two minutes later, all the action in the ground stopped as Nyassi's head collided with the bottom of Phelan's chin as the pair went up to head out a corner kick. Phelan appeared as if he was knocked out before coming down to the ground. He remained there for several minutes before being stretchered off the field.

Phelan's injury meant significant stoppage time would be added and Nyassi's cross created the opportunity for Smith to seal the victory for the MLS leaders.

The Revolution finished the night with six points from two games, while Pachuca have three. The Revolution would secure their place in the final four if the second Group B game of the night, between Chivas USA and Santos Laguna, ended in a draw.


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Hard work pays dividends for RSL duo

SALT LAKE CITY -- All of the time spent with the U.S. under-23 national team in the spring and early summer have paid off in a big way for Real Salt Lake players Chris Seitz and Nate Sturgis.

On Thursday, Seitz and Sturgis were both named to the squad that will represent the United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing next month.

A third RSL player, Robbie Findley, was chosen as an alternate to that team. Findley will not travel with the team to China, unless an injury creates an opening for him to fill on the 18-man roster.

"It's a great honor," Seitz said at RSL's training session on Thursday. "Growing up as a kid, all you think about is the Olympics. You look forward to the Olympics as a kid - watching it on TV and so forth. To actually have an opportunity to go and participate is a great honor."

Based on his play in earlier U-23 matches, Seitz appeared to be a virtual lock to be selected to the 18-man roster when the Olympics rolled around. His playing time might decrease in Beijing, however, with the inclusion of ex-Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan as one of three overage players allowed to join the Olympic team.

In addition to Guzan, the U.S. team will also feature Brian McBride and Michael Parkhurst on its roster.

Seitz is not worried about the size of the role he might play. For him, just getting a chance to represent his country is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. He doesn't feel frustrated at going from potential starter to likely backup.

"I knew all along that there was a possibility of this happening, " Seitz said. "But I've got to look on the bright side. I'm going to the Olympics."

Sturgis' inclusion on the 18-man roster elicited some surprise given lingering injuries that have kept him sidelined for a huge chunk of the current MLS season. He appeared briefly in last weekend's 2-0 win over Columbus - his first action since a hamstring injury sidelined Sturgis in April.

During the rehabilitation process, Sturgis tried to be cautious. He always had an eye on trying to get himself back to 100 percent in time for the Olympics.

"That's been the toughest thing to balance," Sturgis said. "I'm trying to get back in as quickly as possible to get fit and ready to play. But, at the same time, if I have another setback -- it basically knocks me out."

Sturgis is not at full strength just yet. He did suffer a small setback after injuring an ankle on Tuesday night. Offering a roster spot to such an oft-injured player could be a risk, but Sturgis has enough potential that the reward could be worth it.

"It's a little bit of a gamble, but it shows you how highly respected he is with his abilities," RSL coach Jason Kreis said of Sturgis' inclusion. "I think he is coming back into health and fitness and so, with them having another couple of weeks until their matches, he should be fine."

If Sturgis isn't ready to go, it could potentially open the door for Findley to make the trip to China. Competing in Beijing would be a satisfying moment for the budding RSL star, but he is content to focus on MLS play until he is called on to go.

"I'm here right now and that's what I have to focus on right now," Findley said.


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Davis: Big strikes from young and old

The age difference for two featured goal scorers from Round 16 spans about 17 long years.

And at either side of the bookends, the stories behind the weekend strikes were significant.

On the young side, Abdus Ibrahim became the fifth youngest scorer to record a goal in an MLS match. His well-taken tally for Toronto (in the Canadians' 2-1 loss to the Fire) happened a few weeks shy of Ibrahim's 17th birthday.

The only younger guys to score in MLS represent a pretty fearsome foursome: Freddy Adu, Santino Quaranta, Eddie Gaven and Jozy Altidore.

Surely you recognize Adu, who was sold last year to Portugal's Benfica. And Altidore was recently sold to Spain's Villarreal. Quaranta is enjoying a career resurrection at D.C. United. And Gaven, though currently dinged by injury, remains a valuable young starter at Columbus.

None of that is to say that Ibrahim is the next big target for the international market or automatically glory-bound. It's just to say that scoring young has been a harbinger of good things to come, at least.

Ibrahim's goal, scored to the delight of hundreds of TFC faithful, who had made the long cross-border trip to Chicago, appeared for some time to have earned John Carver's team a point on the road. That's significant, since TFC had managed just three of a possible 18 points on the road before the visit to Bridgeview.

Unfortunately for TFC and the faithful Red Patch Boys -- TFC's super supporters' group -- John Thorrington rescued the night for the home team. His late strike grabbed the result for Chicago. Still, it couldn't completely undo an exciting night for Ibrahim, who only recently moved north in a trade from Dallas.

FC Dallas made the Ethiopian-born teenager a second round selection in last winter's SuperDraft. In fact, Ibrahim was the second youngest player ever to be selected in the draft. Only 14-year-old Freddy Adu (in 2004) was younger when chosen.

At the other end of the age continuum, Ante Razov is delivering regularly again for Chivas USA -- and that's not great news for the field.

Preki's men have soldiered on fiercely this year despite rampant injury. The HDC outfit remains right in the middle of the Western Conference pack despite physical setbacks to defenders and forwards, a buildup of medical issues that might have splintered less tough-minded sides.

A patchwork of defensive lineups, backed by Brad Guzan, was able to hold down its end. But scoring was sometimes problematic through the first half of the season as Razov struggled to get healthy and two other potential starting strikers dealt with ailments of the own.

But Razov began getting more fit a month or so back. Then, last week, the surest sign yet that maybe he had regained his balance: a spectacular free kick that became a highlight-reel game-winner against San Jose.

Razov followed that with an absolute beauty last week against Los Angeles. Delivered with sublime touch and clinical accuracy from 25 yards, it was an opportunity that few players would see, much less attempt.

He punctuated the week's work with Chivas USA's only goal in the SuperLiga setback against Pachuca on Sunday night. And a pretty fair week's work it was for a 34-year-old (who happens to be the league's second all-time leading scorer).

So, Chivas USA is attacking the summer with a healthier defense. It still has that well-balanced midfield -- which has mostly remained healthy all year. Now, Preki's side also has a hot striker.

(Of course, Chivas USA just lost a central figure on the other end, where goalkeeper Brad Guzan once stood. He's bound for a Premiership high adventure. But that's another story.)

TACTICAL CORNER

Plenty of managers had lots of tactical choices to make last week, considering a tightly packed schedule. The calendar for MLS teams included 14 matches last week in four competitions (SuperLiga, U.S. Open Cup, Canadian Championship and MLS regular season.)

New York Red Bulls manager Juan Carlos Osorio, for instance, opted to rest Dane Richards for more than an hour of his team's road match at Kansas City. (And the feisty little guy improved his team's attack immediately upon his second-half introduction.)

At Chivas, Preki stated outright that he had to pick one of the week's two matches to rest veteran defender Claudio Suarez. So, The Emperor had to miss Thursday's SuperClasico draw with the Galaxy.

It will be more of the same for Chivas, New England, Houston and D.C. United this week as the foursome plays out first-round SuperLiga competition with two matches each.

Interesting that Claudio Lopez is playing wide now for Kansas City -- and that it seemed to stir a bit more life into the Kansas City attack. Lopez seemed quite comfortable attacking the Red Bulls last week from those wide spots.

It will also be interesting to see how Curt Onalfo uses Josh Wolff once the U.S. international becomes eligible on July 15. Wolff has always been a striker. But considering Onalfo's impulse to use every attacking weapon available, and considering that Wolff often lined up as an outsider midfielder at his former German club, would anybody really be surprised to see him line up there at CommunityAmerica Ballpark?

Juan Carlos Osorio gets credit sometimes for being the league's standard bearer in terms of tactical tinkering. But Colorado's Fernando Clavijo sure likes to throw out different looks. Many of his formations are hybrids and patchworks, in fact.

Or, sometimes, the looks are familiar formations -- even if they aren't so familiar to his own team. For instance, just last week Clavijo shifted away from the four-man back line the Rapids have used all year. Instead, he lined up Pablo Mastroeni behind two markers (Facundo Erpen and Ugo Ihemelu) in a 3-5-2 for an afternoon meeting with San Jose.

The Rapids have used nine different lineups in 16 games this year.

Osorio, of course, was still doing his formation- and personnel-juggling. In the club's contest against Kansas City, he deployed two wide players who are very comfortable defending, hoping to neutralize the Wizards' top attackers, who were out wide.

Seth Stammler, usually seen in the middle of the park, and Luke Sassano, better on defense than on the attack, were lined up wide. Meanwhile, Carlos Mendes, most often seen along the back line, played as a holding midfielder.

San Jose's Ronnie O'Brien lined up on the right, as usual, as the Rapids visited Buck Shaw. But by the second half, manager Frank Yallop was apparently weary of watching an attack that still lacks for creativity. O'Brien moved to the inside, where the ball did move a bit faster due to his presence.


González Praises Getafe
Tale of two halves Saturday in LA
DAVIS IN FOUR-WAY TIE FOR LEAD

Revs start SuperLiga with win

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Revolution captured their first-ever SuperLiga game with a 1-0 victory against 10-man Santos Laguna on Sunday evening at Gillette Stadium.

Juan Pablo Rodriguez's elbow to Sainey Nyassi's head late in the first half gave the Revs a numerical advantage. It took until the 70th minute for Kheli Dube to give New England the lead on the scoreboard after Nyassi cut down the byeline and pulled his pass back for the Zimbabwean striker to tuck inside the far post.

The Revolution earned their win by pressing the tempo early and utilizing Nyassi's pace down the right side to unsettle the Mexican champions. The win marked the Revs' first competitive victory against a foreign opponent at Gillette Stadium and extended the team's unbeaten streak to five matches in all competitions.

Revolution head coach Steve Nicol named a first-choice starting 11, but lost Taylor Twellman (hip flexor) and Mauricio Castro (groin) to injury. The injuries, and Santos' attacking fullbacks, meant the Revs lined up in a 4-4-2 formation with Amaechi Igwe playing left back and Kheli Dube starting alongside Kenny Mansally at forward.

Santos Laguna selected a 4-4-2 formation designed to allow its fullbacks to surge up into the attack. Fernando Arce anchored the midfield, while veteran 'keeper Oswaldo Sanchez captained the side. Former Manchester City striker Matias Vuoso and Oribe Peralta comprised the strike force; Ecuadorian forward Christian Benitez was named among the substitutes.

The home side started on the front foot, perhaps catching the Mexican champions off guard with their pace on the flanks. Composed midfield passing at pace ruled in midfield as the Revs sought to dictate the tempo. Shalrie Joseph's blast over the bar, after a surging run from Steve Ralston, served to note New England's attacking intent.


Despite easy win, Nicol not pleased
Milan plot major striker move

Guzan blazing new path

CARSON, Calif. -- Since Chivas USA began sorting out their first-ever roster, Brad Guzan has been a pillar with the Red-and-White.

The club's first-ever SuperDraft choice eventually became its first-ever starting goalkeeper and led the club to their first-ever playoff victory a year later.

Now, Guzan is blazing a new path and leaving Chivas USA in his wake. Chivas USA and Major League Soccer agreed with English club Aston Villa to send Guzan to the English Premiership. If a work permit is secured, Guzan has played his last match with the Red-and-White.

"It was mixed emotions obviously," Guzan said after watching Chivas USA and Pachuca play in Sunday's SuperLiga match. "I've been part of this club for 3-1/2 years and to be parting ways right now it's a little difficult. There is excitement but at the same time there is a little bit of a soft spot in my heart for these guys busting my butt day in and day out with them."

With Guzan left, only Francisco "Panchito" Mendoza remains as an original club member. Mendoza and the rest of the club must adjust on the fly to life without Guzan.

In his final season with Chivas USA, Guzan left the club atop the Western Conference standings. After his last match -- a 1-1 draw with the Galaxy -- Guzan left the club tied for first place. He had compiled a 5-1-2 mark in his final eight games after recovering from an early-season slump.

Guzan said he felt confident that the players left behind would be in a good position for the remainder of the 2008 regular season.

"I know the work that goes in day in and day out on the training field," Guzan said. "I know the schedule that they have ahead of them with all these games but I know it's not going to be easy but with the character we have in our locker room, it's special. I expect nothing but the best and that's obviously making the playoffs and making a serious push at an MLS championship."

That Guzan is heading over to England is a testament to his mental makeup and composure, something that led to success with the Red-and-White. Guzan endured a trying first season. When veteran goalkeeper Martin Zuniga injured his shoulder in the preseason, Guzan became the number one goalkeeper by default. He struggled early on but by midseason had shown that he was indeed worth the second overall selection in the 2005 SuperDraft.

Guzan earned a callup to the U.S. national team in January 2006 and earned his first cap a month later.

By the end 2006, Guzan was in the playoffs as Chivas USA finished third in the Western Conference. A year ago, Guzan led Chivas USA to the conference title with 13 shutouts in 27 starts.

The interest from abroad grew after the end of the 2007 season and Aston Villa came calling in January. A deal had been worked out prior to the start of the 2008 preseason but Guzan's work permit was denied at the 11th hour.

Now, though, Guzan said he and Aston Villa officials are certain in the Guzan's ability to secure the all-important permit.

"Hopefully that will all sort itself out," Guzan said. "That's the plan obviously. I think we're all confident."

With Aston Villa, Guzan will have the task of landing a starting spot on a club that finished sixth in the Premiership last season. And although the level of competition for starting spots in England is grand, Guzan said he would not have it any other way.

"Any time you go to a big club like Aston Villa, there is always competition. That's what makes them so good. If you look at the big clubs around the world, there are always two or three top goalkeepers at each club. I'm expecting nothing less than a hard-fought battle and hopefully I'll be able to earn the No. 1 spot."


Guzan takes step in right direction
Juve Eye Aston Villa Goalkeeper

FCD revitalized after short break

FRISCO, Texas -- FC Dallas have not played a league match since July 4. In between that game, a 1-1 draw with the Kansas City Wizards at Pizza Hut Park, and Saturday's home game against the Colorado Rapids, the Hoops have had just one match of any sort -- a loss to USL-1 Charleston Battery 3-1 last Tuesday in a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal.

That game was the fifth match in 13 days for FCD. So, head coach Schellas Hyndman gave the team four days off. On Tuesday, they returned to the training field feeling revitalized.

"We had so many games in such a short period of time and have been asking a lot of them in training," Hyndman said. "I wanted to give them a little bit of an energy burst as we head into the second half of the season. We wanted to give them a break to get some energy because we demand more of them after they come back. I wanted to give them a break but not too much of one."

FCD is just 2-5-3 in their last 10 games. Their last win came on June 15 against Chicago but the club sits at 0-1-2 under Hyndman, who was named head coach on June 17.

"I think (the break) was very good for us," midfielder Dax McCarty said. "We just had a ton of games in a short time. We learned a lot about ourselves and where we need to get better. It did us some good. We feel refreshed and refocused on our goal, which is to make the playoffs."

Defender Drew Moor agreed. "Absolutely (we feel refreshed after this break)," he said. "It's very rare for a team to get four days off like this in the middle of the season. It allowed us to mentally and physically regroup."

The Hoops took to the training field on Tuesday with a couple of guests. The first was Victor Sykora, a 30-year-old from Holland who has played for Ajax and NAC Breda. He is considered a wide midfielder who can get forward and will train with FCD for the rest of the week.

"He's a quick player," Hyndman said. "He is technically strong and has good vision. I don't think we'll see his true value until we get to see him in an 11-on-11 situation."

Also training with FCD was midfielder Carl Bussey, who was drafted ninth overall by FCD in the 2002 SuperDraft and played nine games for the Dallas Burn as a rookie. Hyndman coached Bussey in college at SMU.

Both also concurred that today's first session back showed that team spirits have never been higher. With Tuesday marking the official opening of the league's international transfer window, Hyndman did acknowledge that assistant coach John Ellinger will be traveling to South America to look at three forwards.

"Yes, we have some things in mind," Hyndman said. "He (Ellinger) will be making a trip to South America to look at players. He will come back with a report telling us if they are someone that we need or that if we need to look someplace else."

The new FCD coach is clearly not pleased with the current direction of his club and says that changes are coming.

"There are some changes that need to be made," Hyndman said. "We all recognize the need to make the team better. We need to make sure that any move we make is the best thing for the team."

Hyndman also said that he feels FCD is currently set at goalkeeper. Defensively, he feels the team is short on numbers in terms of starters and needs a right back and left back who can get forward. He also sees Moor as more of a center back than a right-sided player, where he has played the entire year.

As for the Hoops midfield, Hyndman feels there is a lot of talent in the middle but a lack of flank talent. Up top, he likes what leading scorer Kenny Cooper brings to the table and calls Dominic Oduro and Abe Thompson solid role players but admits that FCD needs another top scoring threat to accompany Cooper on the front line.

Still, McCarty and Moor said Tuesday's return to training showed the club believes the promise shown in the early weeks of the season is still there.

"It was upbeat and vibrant," McCarty said of the training session. "Everyone was excited to get back on the field. We want to prove to our fans and the league that we are a good team and a playoff team."

Added Moor: "Today showed what kind of character we have in the locker room. It is the best it has been in my four years here. Everyone was excited to be back in. The team spirit is high and today was a very good start to the week for us."


Training start with new striker
Hyndman finds positives in loss
Season Over For Arteta

Clavijo, Rapids finding consistency

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- For most of this MLS season, Colorado Rapids head coach Fernando Clavijo has found himself in Dr. Frankenstein-mode: chopping and changing both players and tactics in an effort to find the optimum balance in his side. And while Saturday's 1-1 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes left the Colorado manager less than satisfied, it appears that Clavijo is closer to finding a lineup that plays to his side's strengths.

For the second consecutive game, Clavijo used the same players and formation, and the result was that the Rapids' trio of central midfielders took the game to the home side in the first half.

But the Quakes survived the opening stanza, and jumped on top in the 62nd minute when Ryan Johnson headed home Ramiro Corrales' free kick. Colorado came back with Conor Casey leveling matters in the 70th minute, and while Clavijo was pleased with the fortitude shown by his side, he thought his team deserved more than one point.

"We thought we did enough; I thought we lost two points today," said Clavijo. "But we know how this league is. Every game is difficult whether you are playing at home or on the road."

The biggest beneficiary of Clavijo's most recent attempt at stability is Mehdi Ballouchy. The former Real Salt Lake midfielder had done little in Colorado since being acquired in a trade last season. That former linchpin Kyle Beckerman went in the other direction made Ballouchy's miniscule contribution even more striking.

But the Santa Clara product, who returned on Saturday to the stadium where he performed as a collegian, looked plenty comfortable playing alongside Christian Gomez and Nick LaBrocca, with his possession passes allowing Gomez to probe further up field. For Ballouchy, this recent stretch of playing time is just reward for the work he put in earlier in the year.

"It's always tough when you're not playing," said Ballouchy. "It takes a good attitude I think. I worked pretty hard. Once I got my chance, I think I did a good job, and I've gotten the good faith of the manager again."

Ballouchy also attributes part of his success to the role he has been given in Clavijo's revamped attack.

"I think the three-man midfield is good for us," said Ballouchy. "I think all of us can keep the ball and pass the ball. The ability we have in the midfield is great, and the variety of forwards we have ... we have target guys and guys who can run in behind. I think we have a good team, it's just a matter of getting everyone on the same page, and gelling a little bit more."

One of the forwards Ballouchy alluded to is Casey. The former Mainz striker struggled to recuperate from a knee injury earlier in the season, but has been coming on of late, with his size and hold-up play adding some heft to the Rapids' attack. Casey indicated he is also feeling more comfortable with Clavijo's current approach.

"I think it's helped that we've had the same formation and the same guys on the field the last couple of weeks," said Casey. "We've been able to get in a better rhythm, I think the formation suits us, and I think we're slowly getting comfortable in that formation."

Still, Casey was kicking himself for squandering a 12th-minute breakaway, failing to even hit the target. But he stuck to his task, muscling aside Quakes defender Jason Hernandez to equalize on a looping header.

"You try and forget that [miss] as quickly as you can," said Casey. "After the game you're a little more frustrated than during. I'm happy to have been able to tie it up, but it would have been a big boost to go up early."

The Quakes were livid after Casey scored, insisting that the Colorado forward had fouled Hernandez, with the protests of San Jose manager Frank Yallop resulting in referee Hilario Grajeda asking him to leave the field. But Casey insisted that it was all part of the normal give-and-take that happens in any game.

"I thought that was strange," said Casey of San Jose's protests. "I don't know what to say about that. I don't remember anything like [a foul] happening. You look at their goal too, the [referee] gives them a free kick from 30 yards out that was never a free kick in the first place. I think it evens out in the end."


CASEY INVITES SINGH TO WATCH HIM TRAIN
Rapids show heart despite defeat
Rapids earn holiday rout of Bulls

Physical play marks SuperClasico

CARSON, Calif. -- Thursday at The Home Depot Center, the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA battled their way to a 1-1 draw. Even after the teams combined for seven goals in their first meeting, the game was surprisingly wide open. More surprising -- even given the nature of derbies generally -- was how physical the game was.

A certain amount of physicality is normal in any game, especially one matching intra-stadium rivals. But the second SuperClasico meeting of the season more resembled a bunch of bulls in a china shop, running roughshod over one another. What kept the game from losing its flow and pace was that the referee let a lot of the play go.

Despite the fact that there were 34 fouls called -- 17 for each team -- there very easily could have been three times that number, as challenges were flying freely and often. It made for a chaotic feel to the match.

"The referee can't blow his whistle for every foul. I think it was a crazy game," said Ruud Gullit after the match. "I think for a coach it's a terrible game because the ball goes up and down. It's not supposed to go like that, but it did."

David Beckham, always one to play with his heart on his sleeve, was involved in more than one reckless challenge. In some instances he was the victim, in others he was the aggressor. He agreed with his coach that the physical play dictated the pace of the game.

"This week, some decisions that we thought should have gone our way didn't. But it's the same for both teams," said Beckham. "It's one of those things. It happens in soccer. Sometimes it affects the game in certain parts. Tonight it did."

It should come as no surprise that the game came with so many emotions. The rivalry between the two Los Angeles teams has heated up considerably the past two seasons, and the latest meeting was no exception. Both teams entered the match tied for first place. With the top spot in the Western Conferenc on the line, there was bound to be confrontation.

"It's always high emotions in derby games. Of course there's going to be confrontations between players and tackles," said Beckham. "That's part of the game. There's a line that you draw and don't cross. Every player tonight was professional enough to do that."

The Galaxy didn't manage to walk away from tonight's match completely unscathed. Ante Jazic went down with an injury in the first half after a hard collision Atiba Harris. The Canadian international was carted off the field with severe back spasms, forcing Gullit to shuffle his lineup early on.

"We had an injury tonight with Jazic. That was bad," said Gullit. "Suddenly you wonder what's going on because people are falling like flies."

Gullit was forced into several changes to his lineup before the game began. The center back pairing of Troy Roberts and Greg Vanney that started against Chivas was a result of training ground injuries to Abel Xavier and Sean Franklin during the week. In addition, Pete Vagenas got the nod over Alvaro Pires in a holding role, and David Beckham began the game in the center of the midfield, rather than his more traditional position on the right side.

"On Wednesday we had a full squad, and had a tactical game (in training). All of a sudden I had people who were getting injured," said Gullit. "Therefore we had to improvise. I think the players who played, like Troy and Greg did very good. Compliments to them and how they played."

The player who leveled the match was Edson Buddle, who has enjoyed his best MLS season in a long time this year. Buddle played so well that Gullit even tipped him for a national team call-up.

Even though the Galaxy saw their winless streak extended to four games, there were very few negative sentiments following the match. Gullit repeatedly praised his side's work rate, while Beckham cited the team's "character" in getting back into the match after going a goal down.

The heart LA showed against Chivas in an open and physical game, along with Buddle's continued form, give the Galaxy cause for hope their best soccer is still ahead of them.


Season underway at Leverkusen
Jiménez: Our Legs Are Gone
High stakes give SuperClasico spice

Wizards survive furious NY rally

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- The Kansas City Wizards won their second consecutive game at home and extended their undefeated streak to four games with a 2-1 triumph against the visiting New York Red Bulls Thursday evening at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

Jimmy Conrad scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season and Davy Arnaud added his first for the Wizards, each coming early in each half. Juan Pablo Angel countered for the Red Bulls in 71st minute and the visitors nearly grabbed a late equalizer, but the Wizards held on.

The game's first opportunity came after 11 minutes, and it led to the first goal. After midfielder Sasha Victorine earned a corner kick on the left side of New York's goal, Claudio Lopez placed a perfect ball into the heart of the box for Conrad. The center back made no mistake, driving the ball off his head high into the center of Jon Conway's net to set off an emphatic celebration.

The Wizards had achieved their pregame goal of jumping on top early, through their captain's fourth marker of the season, as Lopez recorded his third assist. It was now the Wizards' task to add to their lead and avoid losing two points like they did in the 89th minute at Dallas the week before.

By the 23rd minute, the Wizards had accumulated three corners, all converted by excellent service from Lopez. In the 23rd minute, Conrad was at it again, this time off a rebound of a taken corner. Eighteen yards out to Conway's left, Conrad let rip a drive that went only a yard wide of the right post. The crowd's reaction and Conrad's hands to his head showed how close the chance was.

But then, starting his first match since June 5, Red Bulls striker Juan Pablo Angel tested K.C. goalkeeper Kevin Hartman at the other end. Angel's shot from 20 yards forced the 11-year veteran to punch the ball over his bar for an eventual benign corner.

Toward the end of the half, New York grabbed some momentum after an inauspicious start. After the break, however, there was no doubt who was in control.

In the 47th minute, midfielder Kurt Morsink sent in winger Davy Arnaud in alone on goal with a defense-splitting ball from his own half. Arnaud, making a long run himself, raced in from the right and poked the ball past Conway to the goalkeeper's right as he rushed off his line. The goal was Arnaud's first on the season after coming back from offseason knee surgery.

Winless in their last three, the beleaguered Red Bulls would not lie down. Found all alone on the right side by defender Kevin Goldthwaite in the 71st minute, Dane Richards sent in a high cross that Angel met 10 yards out from goal. The Colombian pounded home a goal that gave his side hope in the remaining 17 minutes and created a renewed sense of urgency for the Wizards.

And it was the Red Bulls who were the more successful in their attempt to take at least a share of the points. In successive minutes, Hartman and his right post held ground for the Wizards despite New York's industry.

The 84th minute saw Richards involved again as he took a long pass and half-volleyed a blistering shot right at the Wizards goalkeeper, who was forced to deflect the ball away for a corner. On the ensuing chance, forward John Wolyniec, an 81st-minute substitution, hit a rebound for goal that pinged off the post.

There was one more opportunity. In the 90th minute, former Wizards midfielder Dave Van den Bergh took a shot from the left that Hartman again deflected for a corner.

Full time soon followed and the Wizards had survived and could rejoice in grabbing three points at home and catching the Red Bulls in the standings, each now with 20 points and tied for sixth in MLS's Eastern Conference.

The Wizards will host Mexican club Atlas in an exhibition Friday night at CommunityAmerica Ballpark and will then travel to Columbus to take on the Crew next week in an ESPN Primetime Thursday matchup. The Red Bulls return home to face the Los Angeles Galaxy at home next Saturday, July 19.


Wizards secure must-win game
Wizards frustrated by missed victory
Serie A round-up

Defensive lapses haunt Real Salt Lake

SALT LAKE CITY -- A major reason Real Salt Lake have risen to contender status in the Western Conference is a defense that simply refuses to make things easy for an opposing offenses. RSL already set a new club record shutout streak earlier this season and generally have made Rice-Eccles a nightmare venue for opponents.

From the moment Mexican Primera Division side Santos Laguna took to the turf, however, RSL's defense suddenly had more holes in it than Swiss cheese.

Real could not slow down the speedy Santos attack in a 4-1 defeat on Wednesday night. RSL yielded three goals in its half -- the fourth being an own goal courtesy of rookie David Horst -- and generally seemed to struggle with corralling a much faster and more athletic Mexican club.

"We knew they were going to possess the ball," midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. "That's one of their main things Mexico is known for."

RSL withstood a flurry of shots from Santos in the opening minutes, but seemed to buckle when Horst accidently flicked the ball backward into his own net in the 12th minute when he attempted to clear it out.

Santos staked out a 2-0 lead in the 34th minute when Agustin Herrera crossed to fellow forward Oribe Peralta and he uncorked a bullet that sailed right over the head of goalkeeper Chris Seitz.

RSL looked like it might mount a second half comeback when Alex Nimo delivered his first professional goal in the 70th minute. Nimo was on the receiving end of a cross from Andy Williams deep into the six-yard box and the rookie made it count with a powerful header that made it 2-1.

But whatever positive momentum generated by that play was quickly washed away down the stretch.

Santos midfielder Gregorio Torres popped the ball up and over Seitz as he dived forward to make it 3-1 in the 74th minute. Andony Hernandez delivered the capper in the 85th minute when he spotted up in front of the goal area and threaded the ball past Seitz for another easy goal.

It wasn't necessarily a catastrophe that RSL fell apart so quickly en route to losing the third annual XanGo Cup. With a key home match against Columbus on tap for Saturday, this friendly was more about giving some younger players experience and working out kinks in a game that did not count for anything in the standings.

But for Real coach Jason Kreis, it proved that his players cannot afford to take a night off against any opponent.

"We're not good enough to go into games and relax and think we're going to go out and have some fun and knock the ball around and be successful," Kreis said.

Kreis wasn't too hard on his club after the match, despite the lopsided nature of the loss. The focus on this exhibition match was different than at times in the past because of where it came in the schedule.

RSL did better in its XanGo Cup matches a year ago -- when the club beat Everton FC and tied Boca Juniors -- simply because those matches came during a lengthy break in MLS action.

"For us right now, we're in a very important stretch in our season and so the focus had to be completely different tonight than it has been for prior international games," Kreis said.

Beckerman and other veterans saw this as a good training situation for the team on how to handle itself in a hostile environment. The home advantage that RSL normally enjoys in its home stadium was washed away by a throng of Mexican fans who showed up to root for one of Mexico's premier clubs.

By the end of the match, the cheers from Santos Laguna fans reverberated throughout Rice-Eccles Stadium.

"That's the way it is when you play a Mexican team," Beckerman said. "It's going to be an away game in America right now. That's just the way it is. Even when the national team plays Mexico in America, that's the way it is."


Klinsmann watches Demichelis and Sosa
Schalke stay on track
Real defense remains strong

Thorrington delivers win for Fire

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire needed a win. Toronto FC needed a positive result. The Fire got what they needed when John Thorrington scored in stoppage time to give the Fire a 2-1 win Saturday evening at Toyota Park.

The outcome ended the Fire's five-game winless streak and gave them a 3-3-1 record at home. The loss extended Toronto's poor road record to 1-6-0.

Thorrington's goal came after he blocked a clearing kick by goalkeeper Greg Sutton as the Fire pressed to get the go-ahead goal. Chris Rolfe had put the Fire ahead just six minutes into the game, but Abdus Ibrahim scored his first MLS goal to pull Toronto into a 63rd-minute tie.

The Reds played the game without leading striker Danny Dichio, who is suffering headaches that the team believes is related to a concussion. Dichio has five goals to lead TFC.

With defenders Dasan Robinson out due to injury and regular starter Bakary Soumare out due to accumulation of yellow cards, Fire coach Denis Hamlett gave Daniel Woodard his first start. Woolard has been a second-half substitute in four games this season. Defender Wilman Conde also received his fifth start ahead of veteran Diego Gutierrez.

Fire midfielder Logan Pause returned for his first game in three weeks after suffering a right hip labral tear.

Toronto coach John Carver placed veteran goalkeeper Greg Sutton back between the posts, but started Julius James and Jarrod Smith in place of Rohan Ricketts and Dichio, respectively.

Toronto fans, known for being the best traveling fan base in the league after only two years, filled section 133 in the southeast end of Toyota Park and began chanting well before the start of the game.

Maintaining possession for all but a few seconds of the first five minutes, the Fire got on the board in the sixth minute when Chad Barrett found Rolfe alone above the penalty area. Rolfe took one dribble to center the ball, then fired a right-footed shot into the upper right corner past Sutton.

In the 12th minute, Toronto midfielder Maurice Edu and Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch collided going after a ball inside the box, as Edu tried to round him. The ball bounced out of bounds and Edu was given a yellow card for diving on the play.

The Reds got their first corner kick in the 15th minute but it turned into a great scoring chance for the Fire. The kick went far above the box to the foot of Justin Mapp, who dribbled hard on the counter and sent a cross to Thorrington on the left side. Thorrington found Barrett charging in the middle of the field but Barrett's shot was blocked by Sutton.

The Fire maintained dominance of possession time through the first 25 minutes, and missed a great scoring chance in the 23rd minute. Thorrington dribbled up the right side and sent a short pass to Chad Barrett at the corner of the box. Barrett passed back to Thorrington, who dribbled into the middle and tried a top shelf shot to the left corner but it was too high and went over the crossbar.

Thorrington received a yellow card in the 27th minute for interfering with Sutton as he tried to throw the ball out of the box.

Marvell Wynne had TFC's best scoring chance in the 29th minute when the ball bounced to his foot atop the box and he put his left footed shot over the bar.

TFC increased its offensive thrust after 30 minutes and Edu had a clear shot on goal in the 32nd minute off a sharp pass from Wynne but his shot hit the left post and bounced away.

Blanco received a free kick 25 yards out in the 39th minute but his kick went directly into Sutton's arms.

The Reds won a free kick of their own about 30 yards out in the 42nd minute. Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch saved Robinson's attempt on one bounce.

Toronto coach John Carver subbed midfielders Ibrahim and Ricketts into the game in the second half for Julius James and Smith.

In the 53rd minute, Cuauhtemoc Blanco had a tremendous scoring chance, standing directly in front of Sutton when Segares sent a cross up and over the defense. But Blanco's soft touch hit the crossbar and settled on top of the net.

Toronto tied the game in the 63rd minute when Amado Guevera slotted the ball through three Fire defenders to Ibrahim, charging down the middle of the field into the box. Busch came off his line but Ibrahim made a touch past, then turned a slow roller that just crossed the goal line.

The Fire had three shots within about five seconds in the 86th minute, with Sutton on the ground and a crowd in the box, but they could not get the ball through, as one was also blocked by TFC defender Jim Brennan at close range.

In stoppage time, Thorrington deflected a Sutton clearance just outside the area, knocking it to Mapp. Mapp looped a header into the area and Thorrington ran onto the return pass, sliding the ball under Sutton and into the goal for his fourth on the season.


MLS Clubs Turn On Charm For McBride
Wizards douse Fire, move into first

D.C.'s Thompson proves quick study

WASHINGTON -- Craig Thompson was officially acquired by D.C. United on June 30. A day later, he found himself playing 45 minutes in his new club's 2-0 U.S. Open Cup win against Rochester, and just a week after that, he came on -- in a different position -- for the second half of United's Open Cup quarterfinal clash with Chicago, and played an important role in reversing the team's fortunes en route to a 2-1 overtime victory.

Even designated players aren't expected to produce that quickly.

"He came on really well," said Jaime Moreno, who took a pass from Thompson and set up Francis Doe for the game-tying goal on Tuesday. "He's only been with us, not even two weeks, and to step up and play the way he played tonight, I was impressed with his game."

Thompson began his career in a locale probably unfamiliar to even the most dedicated college soccer fan: the Colorado School of Mines, in Golden, about 15 miles west of downtown Denver. A native Coloradoan, he grew up watching the Rapids and still vividly remembers a first-hand interaction with the Mile High club's stars.

"When I was 13, I think, I actually did volunteer work for the Rapids," Thompson said. "I got to go in the locker room and see guys like [Marcelo] Balboa, and that was inspiring for me, just to be in that atmosphere as a little kid. They passed the ball around with me for a little bit. That was very inspiring."

At Mines, he excelled both in the classroom and on the field at the NCAA Division II program, breaking several school records for the Orediggers as a striker -- and he certainly seems to have struck gold with the timing of his arrival in Washington.

He was invited to join United's reserve squad as a guest player for matches against Toronto and Columbus, then found himself at the front of the line when head coach Tom Soehn, eager to rest his veterans, needed extra bodies for Open Cup action. After appearing at right back last week, a hamstring injury to Quavas Kirk opened the door for him to slot into right midfield against the Fire as Soehn looked for life after a lethargic first half.

"It's been good that I've had an opportunity to get in," said Thompson on Wednesday. "I just try to get in and work as hard as I can, give the team a boost with some energy."

Overcoming some rookie jitters, Thompson's work rate enabled him to cover plenty of ground along the D.C. right flank, contributing at both ends even as Chicago tried to regain their advantage with the deployment of veterans Justin Mapp and Gonzalo Segares in the same area. In fact, it was Thompson's dispossession of Segares -- who's been widely praised as the best left back in MLS this season -- that led to United's first goal.

"You could tell he was a little nervous, which I knew was going to happen -- I was the same way my first couple of games, and that was a tournament game, single-elimination, so the stakes were pretty high," said Clyde Simms.

"He always works hard, so you know he's going to have that. But I thought he did some other things pretty good. A couple times he tried to take on Segares, and Segares is a physical player himself, and usually comes out of those battles on the winning end whenever he plays against anyone. I think Craig did a good job of frustrating him, and he almost scored the [winning] goal, also, in the second half. I thought he did well."

Thompson remembers that chance, too, wincing as he recalls the shot he skipped into the outside netting, just wide of Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch's near post.

"Oh man -- I wish that one would've went in, that would've been awesome," he sighed, then smiled, adding, "I don't know if that goal is regulation size."

Thompson's contributions have already validated United's decision to part with a fourth-round supplemental draft pick for his services, and in a month's time, the investment will look even smarter if he can help D.C. secure their first U.S. Open Cup title since 1996.

"We liked his starting points," said Soehn. "You always look at qualities in a guy, and you put him in your organization and you think, 'what can we turn him into?' So he had a lot of those initial qualities. His first test went well, but there's a lot to go."


Late foul proves costly for Quakes
Traore Hoping For Hammers Move
Out for spark, Fire glad for Open Cup

SuperClasico stakes higher than ever

CARSON, Calif. -- By all accounts, Chivas USA players get up for the Los Angeles Galaxy no matter the circumstance.

Toss the records by the wayside and the match is good enough to stand on its own, seems to be the consensus regarding the SuperClasico series.

But what happens when you do the opposite and factor in the standings? In the second edition of the 2008 SuperClasico series and the 14th all-time league meeting, that added plus might add an unprecedented element to what is already one of the league's best rivalries.

For the first time in the SuperClasico series, both Chivas USA and the LA Galaxy will enter a game against each other with first place on the line. Both teams are in first place atop the Western Conference table and the winner would distance themselves from the loser as well as the rest of Western teams.

"If you can't get up for these games, something is wrong," Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan said. "Whenever we step on the field against Galaxy, it's going to be a hard-fought game. It's going to be a battle. There's no surprise."

Entering Thursday's match, Chivas USA seems to be in a better position than the Galaxy. Chivas USA is unbeaten in three games and is 5-2-1 in the last eight games overall as the Red-and-White has climbed up the standings and surpassed several teams to get to the top of the table.

The Galaxy, meanwhile, have lost their grip atop the table having lost two consecutive matches and enters the match with a three-game winless streak.

Still, it would unwise for Chivas USA to let that lead to overconfidence, players said.

"We've gotten some good points in our last eight games and obviously in the past few games they haven't. But that doesn't really matter," Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan said. "When you come into this game, it's a Clasico. It's a derby. You see it all over the world -- when you share a stadium, you share a city, there's a lot of passion no matter what. Even if it's the last game of the season and it doesn't even matter in the standings, it's still a fight for Los Angeles."

As every Clasico match, this latest one has a "big game" feel to it, players said. Practices have been sharper and more intense while the anticipation for the game has built up with every passing moment.

About the only thing players can expect is that something unexpected will likely happen.

"You can't afford in big games to be lazy, to make bad mistakes. You've still got to be cautious but confident," Chivas USA midfielder Jesse Marsch said. "And so that's why I think in a lot of these games it's tight and its emotional and there have been many instances throughout the series where something happens that normally wouldn't happen in many other games. It takes on a whole different aspect than any other game throughout the year."

This Clasico will likely feature a player who is new to the rivalry. Carey Talley has been a fixture in Chivas USA's lineup since shortly after arriving from Real Salt Lake in early May. Talley has played seven consecutive games for his newest club.

Even before he joined Chivas USA, Talley said the possibility of competing in a Clasico was enticing.

"Watching on TV, I was always saying to myself 'Man, I'd love to play in one of those games," Talley said. "Now, with the opportunity to play in it, especially with what's at stake being who can take over sole possession of first place, I'm looking forward to it."

With all that's already at stake, another part of the significance this match carries is the possible fallout. Chivas USA will take a break from league play after the Galaxy match and will focus on SuperLiga. On Sunday, Chivas USA will host Mexican side Pachuca in their SuperLiga opener and won't play another league match until Aug. 2 at Chicago.

Going out with a bang is the only way players said would work.

"We want to put ourselves in a good position before SuperLiga starts," Kljestan said. "Hopefully I'm going to the Olympics so it might be my last game for a little while as well. It's pretty important in many ways for our team to hopefully try and get three points and hopefully set ourselves on top of the standings while we go into a league break. It's always important to be on top when you come back into the league again."


High stakes give SuperClasico spice
Messi: Great Preparation For The Bernabéu

Wizards secure must-win game

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Two points out of third place in the Eastern Conference and within striking distance of seven teams in the overall MLS table, the Kansas City Wizards can look forward to the second half of the MLS season. Thursday night's 2-1 win against the visiting New York Red Bulls was a needed win.

"Tonight was a must-win," head coach Curt Onalfo admitted after the result. "Getting three points is huge."

Although not a tour de force, the win, highlighted by a 2-0 lead after 47 minutes, was a clear improvement over last week's last-minute capitulation to FC Dallas for a 1-1 draw and miles better than their 3-0 home loss to Columbus nearly a month ago.

"We've been playing well ever since the Columbus game," said team captain Jimmy Conrad. "It was a nice, rude awakening for us to say, 'What kind of season do we really want to have? Do we want to let it pass us by? Or do we really want to make something of it?'"

It was Conrad's well-taken header that set the tone early. Off a well-placed corner from Claudio Lopez, the now five-time MLS All-Star sent the ball past Red Bulls goalkeeper Jon Conway and into the middle of the net for his fourth goal of the season.

"When [the cross] first came, I thought, 'This one might be over my head,'" said Conrad. The same could be same for the Wizards recently. In the last 2-1/2 months, the Wizards have suffered through a seven-game winless streak (six of those on the road) and a recent run of five games in 13 days. Yet they have persevered.

"We don't make excuses, but I'll tell you what: Any other team put in the situation we've been put in, I don't think they'd come out with the same results we've gotten," said Onalfo. "So I feel proud of the group, and I feel like we're a little bit hardened."

The second goal -- the one that wouldn't come last week in Dallas -- was a relief.

Midfielder Kurt Morsink threaded a pass behind and through the New York defense and found a streaking Davy Arnaud. The midfielder hit the ball first time with the outside of his right boot to beat Conway and put his side up a rare two goals.

"[Red Bulls midfielder Dave] van den Bergh was pretty tight to me, so there was a little space behind," said Arnaud. "Morsink played a great ball with a good weight to it. When you get that two-goal cushion, it definitely helps out."

Although "extremely pleased" to gain the three points and particularly happy with the play of Arnaud and goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, Onalfo lamented the Wizards easing up after establishing the two-goal lead.

"Still, there are times in the game where we are a little too naïve and we give them too much territory and allow them to at least get back into it," he said. "We fell asleep, and we got punished. When you fall asleep, Angel is going to punish you."

Angel's third goal of the season made the last 19 minutes harrowing for the Wizards.

"We haven't had a two-goal lead for a while, so it's kind of a shock to our system," quipped Conrad.

But thanks to Hartman's play, the Wizards are now undefeated in their last three games and are ready to move on to the second half of the season.

"It's been an uphill battle, and we're at .500 halfway through the season," said Onalfo. "We need to continue to move up. We need to be positioned well by the last 10 games of the season so we can make a run for sure to make the playoffs and try to get home-field advantage."


Luck not on Wizards’ side in PKs
Wizards frustrated by missed victory
Own goal saves Bayer
Subs secure victory

Yallop's frustration bubbles over

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- For nearly all of this expansion season, San Jose Earthquakes manager Frank Yallop has worn the calm demeanor of a man who firmly believes that things will turn around for his team, despite some compelling evidence to the contrary. But in the second half of Saturday's 1-1 tie with Colorado, Yallop did his best to channel Howard Beale from the movie "Network." He was mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.

The focus of Yallop's ire was referee Hilario Grajeda, who in the eyes of the Quakes manager failed to spot Conor Casey's push on San Jose defender Jason Hernandez, allowing the Colorado forward to nod home a 70th-minute equalizer. That the goal came just eight minutes after the Quakes' Ryan Johnson had put San Jose ahead 1-0 with a header of his own made it even tougher to take, resulting in just the second ejection of his career.

"I was thrown out with Canada once," said Yallop. "I don't get angry very often, but I struggled with that [call]. I just looked at it again on the tape, and from the angle I was at, [Casey] pushed [Hernandez] in the back."

Yallop's outburst was also the culmination of a season's worth of offensive frustration. Despite Johnson's goal, the Quakes are still on pace to break Toronto's dubious 2007 record for fewest goals in a season, and Saturday's result saw another solid defensive effort wasted. For Yallop, the game was just the latest instance where the he felt his team deserved better.

"Again, it's a draw at home in a game we really needed to try and win, and we were in a position to do that," said Yallop.

Saturday's match was San Jose's first home game of any kind in almost a month, and it was their first match at Buck Shaw Stadium in nearly two. Yet it was Colorado who adopted the more aggressive mindset in the first half, as San Jose struggled to cope with the Rapids' sharp possession game. In fact, it wasn't until Casey squandered a clear breakaway in the 12th minute that the Quakes woke up.

"We were the second-best team out there in the first half today," said goalkeeper Joe Cannon. "If we come out like that we don't have a chance. I think the reason it's so disappointing that we came out like that is I think we've all been looking forward to this homestand, and this game as the one to kind of help us turn the corner. I'm down. I don't know what to say."

But the Quakes did have their share of opportunities. In particular was a Johnson effort in the 37th minute that went wide, and then another chance in first-half stoppage time where Ivan Guerrero failed to latch onto Johnson's cross.

"Going in up 1-0 at halftime after not playing well would have made a big difference," said Yallop. "We're just stuttering around the goal, and that's the frustrating part about it."

Yet the Quakes season-long scoring malaise was forgotten when Johnson buried Ramiro Corrales' free kick in the 62nd minute with a thumping header. And San Jose nearly doubled their advantage five minutes later off another set piece, but Rapids 'keeper Bouna Coundoul did well to parry away Ronnie O'Brien's free kick. That set the stage for Casey's heroics, and Yallop's histrionics.

With the transfer window set to open on Tuesday, it would also appear to usher in a new era this season. It's expected that both midfielder Francisco Lima and forward Darren Huckerby will be signed in the next few days, with more changes possibly on the horizon. The hope is that these new additions will not only bolster the team's attack, but also make them more resilient.

"We need to look at us doing more in a game, and not let one call dictate the whole game," said Cannon.

In the meantime, the frustrating season for the Quakes continues.


Late foul proves costly for Quakes
Jose has Arshavin doubts
Yallop encouraged despite struggles

United edged in SuperLiga opener

WASHINGTON -- D.C. United and CD Guadalajara resumed their budding rivalry in the 2008 SuperLiga opener on Saturday night and once again the two tradition-laden clubs did not disappoint, producing a robust encounter that was edged by the Mexican side's opportunistic finishing -- and good fortune -- for a 2-1 Chivas victory in front of a passionate throng at RFK Stadium.

Omar Arellano and Gonzalo Pineda scored on either side of halftime before Luciano Emilio snatched a goal back -- as United missed a potential equalizing penalty kick and also hit the post twice.

The home side, missing injured Argentineans Marcelo Gallardo and Gonzalo Peralta, ran out a hybrid starting lineup featuring erstwhile reserves Rod Dyachenko and Craig Thompson in midfield, while Marc Burch took over Peralta's center back spot after performing well there during U.S. Open Cup action.

After chesting the ball down to his feet at the top of the D.C. penalty box, Chivas frontrunner Sergio Santana tested Zach Wells with a low right-footed drive in the fourth minute, but the United goalkeeper dropped to his right to make the save. Seconds later, a nice passing combination allowed Dyachenko to play Jaime Moreno into the Chivas box, only for the Bolivian to be denied by a last-ditch slide tackle. Eight minutes in, Moreno's gorgeous pass into space set up Emilio with a one-on-one against Jonny Magallon and the Brazilian made space with a hesitation move before lashing a left-footed shot past netminder Luis Ernesto Michel at the near post, only to watch the drive clang off the woodwork.

With their attacking-minded 3-4-3 alignment, the Mexicans were surging forward at every opportunity, even when it left space behind them -- and United looked willing to play their game, though it before long it got them into trouble, as Chivas caught them on a quick counterattack to grab a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute.

United had pushed well into their attacking end when the ball popped loose near the center circle, and Devon McTavish's premature slide tackle on Arellano allowed the Chivas forward to combine with Ramon Morales, leaving Clyde Simms behind the play as Arellano sprinted forward to latch on to his captain's return pass.

Another D.C. defender made a questionable decision as Bryan Namoff left his feet too early in his attempt to cut out the pass, leaving Arellano to walk in alone on Wells -- and the former CF Pachuca man coolly finished the chance, cutting past the United 'keeper and stroking home from a tight angle to give his team an early advantage.

The Guadalajara club's system thrives on the turnovers created by constant pressure on the opponent's rearguard, and on this occasion that approach had created something out of virtually nothing thanks to quick passing and intelligent movement off the ball.

Though the visitors continued to threaten as the half wore on, D.C. boss Tom Soehn decided to move McTavish alongside Simms in an effort to win more of the midfield battles, leaving Burch at the center of a three-man back line. Meanwhile, up top, Dyachenko had effectively ceded the playmaking duties to Moreno and pushed into a striker's role.

But the Russian-born 24-year-old would not get much of a chance to prove himself there as Soehn pulled him off at halftime in favor of the fleet-footed Francis Doe. On the other side, Chivas sat back in a surprisingly defensive posture for the second half, perhaps in recognizance of their MLS counterparts' superior fitness at this stage of the season.

Fred's gesticulating along the D.C. left hinted at United's growing urgency, and in the 56th minute the creative Brazilian combined with Moreno to begin a long string of passes that led to another great chance for the Black-and-Red.

A switch of play to the right side saw Emilio receiving the ball at the top of the Chivas box with his back to goal, and his flick to McTavish took a fortuitous deflection behind Magallon and sat up ideally for the West Virginia University graduate. But he, too, was denied by the post as his shot beat Michel but clipped off the inside of the upright, leaving a stunned McTavish holding his head.

Barely a minute later, Santana took an outlet pass at midfield and, seeing a moment of confusion between Burch and McTavish, surged past them with a burst of pace and aimed a shot for the top corner. Wells was ready with a sharp reaction save, though, parrying the effort away with his right paw.

The crowd's cheers turned to jeers just shy of the hour mark, however, as most of RFK's floodlights suddenly shut off, leaving the field in semi-darkness and forcing a 19-minute delay as the old stadium's lighting system powered back up again.

The match took on a more cagey tone when play resumed, though Chivas were too cagey for Costa Rican referee Walter Quesada's liking in the 67th minute. Santana looked to have picked Martinez's pocket at the top of the box, nipping in to steal possession and rip a thunderous finish past Wells -- but the 28-year-old had used his hand to win the ball and was swiftly carded by the man in the middle.

More controversy erupted in the 69th minute when the Mexican giants doubled their lead after a questionable foul was called on Simms when Arellano toppled over his leg some 25 yards out from the United goal. On the ensuing set piece, Gonzalo Pineda stepped up to whip a curling, dipping left-footed blast over the wall and into the net, with Wells unable to fling his right hand up to get a touch in time.

The Red-and-White fans in attendance went wild, but their MLS hosts responded with a superb solo effort from Emilio in the 76th minute. With his side probing around the Chivas box, the Brazilian muscled his way into position on Jose Antonio Olvera and took a pass from Namoff, then adeptly spun past his mark and stroked a shot between Michel's legs to cut the deficit to 2-1.

The contest took another intriguing turn within moments as Emilio used his strength to get the better of Olvera again, prompting the Chivas defender to tug him down as he ran onto Moreno's angled pass into the box. Quesada immediately pointed to the spot as the United fans took their turn to cheer, confident in the knowledge that all-time MLS scoring leader Jaime Moreno would step up to bury the penalty kick as usual.

But Michel guessed correctly, shuffling to his left to palm Moreno's bid away from the net and shock the RFK faithful, preserving Chivas' precarious lead and sparking chants of "portero!" from his team's partisans.

United would dominate possession in the final minutes, throwing everything they had at Michel's goal, but his Chivas teammates persevered despite tired legs and escaped with a 2-1 victory to maintain their advantage in the cross-border rivalry.


Easy win for “Wolves”
Emilio dominates comeback win

Wizards youngsters stop CF Atlas

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- A few months removed removed from signing a partnership with each other, the Kansas City Wizards and Mexican Primera Division side Atlas played a friendly Friday at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, and midfielder Michael Kraus scored a sliding unassisted goal in stoppage time, lifting the Wizards to a 2-1 victory.

The teams had traded goals late in the first half, with Nelson Pizarro scoring for Kansas City in the 37th minute before Ulises Mendivel equalized just before halftime.

The Wizards fielded much the same lineup as they did in their U.S. Open Cup match loss against the Seattle Sounders, filled with mostly reserve players. The only exception was Pizarro starting instead of Kraus. As a result, the Wizards struggled to put together a coherent attack early.

Atlas defender Nestor Vidrio let go a 25-yard shot in the 10th minute, but it was wide of the near post. In the 16th minute, a volley found defender Hugo Ayala accompanied by four teammates near the mouth of the goal. But his header was off the mark.

Pizarro ignited the Wizards offense with a blast that crossed over the goal near the midway point of the half. It was the Wizards best chance to that point in the match.

In the 37th minute, defender Jonathan Leathers worked his way to the right wing then scooted the ball back to Pizarro. Pizarro found the corner of the net with a low line drive from just inside of the box that put the Wizards in the lead.

Atlas continued to threaten late in the half, winning two successive corner kicks. The second saw a header from a corner kick battle, and after the ball bounced into the air, Mendivil headed the ball in the goal. Defender Tyson Wahl tried to save the ball with an extended leg on the goal line, but the ball had been judged to have already crossed the goal line and the score was 1-1.

Both teams made numerous substitutions after the break. The Wizards continued to scrap and tussle on set pieces, but struggled with execution. Atlas held a 3-0 edge on corner kicks in the first half, but the Wizards turned the tables in that aspect in the second half.

In the 51st minute, midfielder Lance Watson showed his breakaway capability, racing down the pitch with a deflection. He made a run to the goal before missing the near post.

Atlas went close in the in the 85th minute on a free kick. Two Atlas players stood upfield from the ball, screening the Wizards defense. The players moved out just before the blast from forward Dario Bottinelli, but the shot soared over the crossbar. In stoppage time, the Wizards won a freekick for a handball, and in confusion that followed over the call, Kraus quickly played the ball to Pizarro on the right. Pizarro went in alone on goal and fired a low shot that Atlas goalkeeper Pedro Hernandez blocked, but the ball squirted through him and rolled across the face of goal. Kraus came sliding in at the far side to turn it into the net from a sharp angle for the winner.


Cup glory for Roma
Pizarro Keen For Scolari Chance
Wizards douse Fire, move into first

Opportunity knocks again for RSL

SALT LAKE CITY -- First place in the Western Conference has been within the grasp of Real Salt Lake at various points this season. Each time, the chance to move up the conference ladder has slipped away from RSL -- either through a lopsided loss or a head-scratching tie.

One more opportunity to finally rise to the top is available if RSL can take down the Columbus Crew on Saturday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Given the fact that seven of its next 10 games are on the road, this could be the final chance RSL has to make the kind of big splash it has been seeking to create in its turnaround season.

"Enough is enough," midfielder Dema Kovalenko said. "This is the fourth time and we've got to take it. I don't know if it's going to happen again. We understand that."

For Real, the match against the Crew also represents a must-win situation in some ways. RSL has struggled to come up with victories on its home turf lately, settling for ties in the wake of scoring struggles.

With success being much harder to come by outside of Utah, RSL coach Jason Kreis knows his team can't afford to leave three points unclaimed this weekend.

"For me, it's a bigger deal to get another win at home," Kreis said. "The record indicates it as well. We have four wins and five ties at home. For me, that's not enough wins at home."

Saturday's match will be the first of two without Kreis on the sidelines. He was handed down a two-game suspension and a $2,000 fine earlier in the week for several critical comments directed toward the referee and linesman in the postgame press conference following RSL's 0-0 draw with Houston.

In accordance with MLS rules, Kreis may enter the locker room at halftime and before and after the match. But he is not allowed to coach the team from the sideline during the match.

Kovalenko defended what his coach said in the heat of the moment, saying it was Kreis' way of letting his team know that he has their back.

"He always wants to do the right thing and that's what he thought was the right thing to do at the moment," Kovalenko said. "Guys understand that and respect it."

Besides Kreis, Real Salt Lake will also be without starting defender Chris Wingert. Wingert drew an automatic one-game suspension after being issued a red card in the waning minutes against Houston.

Wingert's absence in the backline will be a tough obstacle to overcome because he has been a defensive anchor and a model of consistency all season.

"It will hurt because he's one of our most consistent performers," Kreis said. "He offers leadership and he offers vocal commands to the players in front of him."

Kreis hopes that Ian Joy or Tony Beltran can step up and fill some of the leadership void on Saturday. He has high praise for Joy, who believes is much stronger mentally at this point in the season than he was when he first joined the team coming out of Germany.

RSL has shown a penchant for rising up and performing well at home against upper-echelon MLS teams. The club will certainly need to have that part of history repeat itself against Columbus if it hopes to avoid a slow fade from contention in the Western Conference.

With how tight the conference has been in recent weeks, the slipups at home have been that much harder to swallow. RSL knows it cannot afford continuing to give away points at home if it hopes to finally secure a playoff spot in October.

"It's tough because the points we could have gotten, we know we could use them at the end," midfielder Javier Morales said. "But we still have an opportunity to go to first place."


Schuster Hopes For Go-Ahead
New lineup adds bite to RSL attack
Palops Hopes For Double Seville Victory

Dynamo look for boost in SuperLiga

HOUSTON -- The Houston Dynamo truly believe they are better than their mediocre and somewhat surprising 4-4-8 record shows.

They were saying the same thing when they made it through the first six weeks of the season without a win to show for, and they turned things around.

Now the team, which will not play another league match until August, looks to the second edition of SuperLiga for a way to cure the ills of the defending champions.

The Dynamo open SuperLiga play Saturday, July 12 against Atlante and will host Chivas de Guadalajara on Tuesday, July 15. Both games will be at Robertson Stadium and the team will be looking to show any kind of spark on the offensive side of the ball.

The team has scored just two goals in their last five games, but still remains tied for third place in the very tight Western Conference standings. Midfielder Brad Davis, who participated in the Free Kick Masters exhibition in Houston last weekend, said this is the perfect time for the team to clear its collective head and get back to playing good soccer.

"We are getting too many ties; we have tied half of our games," Davis said. "The spirit of the guys is so great. We still believe in ourselves. Other people don't, and I think that is wrong for what we've proven and what we've done over the last couple years. We believe we will work it out, and once we do and start scoring some goals, with this team, it's not unlikely that we could rattle off 10 or 11 unbeaten with six or seven wins in there."

Even though the wins are few and far between for the defending champions, confidence remains high. Head coach Dominic Kinnear stands behind his team and believes he is coaching one of the league's elite teams.

While the standings might beg to differ, the Dynamo are just one small winning streak away from taking over the West.

Davis said he and his teammates are looking forward to the challenge of playing the Mexican league teams. If they are able to play well and get out of the first round, a potential rematch with Pachuca awaits.

Pachuca, winners of the last two CONCACAF Champions' Cup titles and the victor in last season's SuperLiga, beat the Dynamo on penalty kicks last summer after a 2-2 draw over 120 minutes. The got the Dynamo's very best and Davis said playing the Mexican teams provides quite the challenge because it's a different style of soccer all together.

"MLS is very up-and-down and a quick-paced game, while the Mexican teams play a lot slower," said Davis. "The Mexican teams try to spread you out a bit more and try to work the ball and make you run around a bit more."

Davis said playing well in the SuperLiga tournament means more than just going for the top prize of $1 million. It's about, he said, playing good soccer and also representing Major League Soccer.

"Every time you step on to the field, you want to win, and you want to play well," Davis said. "You want to represent yourself and your team and MLS in the proper way, so you have to do whatever it takes."

More than 62,000 fans attended SuperLiga games at Robertson Stadium a year ago and were treated to some of the best soccer in North America. The team can only wonder "what if" had they been able to hold off Pachuca.

But one thing is for certain, Davis and his teammates know they will have the support of some of the greatest fans in MLS. The team often credits the rowdy environment for helping it because of the best pro teams since arriving in Houston just prior to the 2006 season.

But even with the support of many Dynamo fans, Davis knows there will be crowds of people supporting the visitors. That, he said, is quite all right too.

"There will be some fans there that will want to support the Mexican side, and whenever you get American supporters and Mexican supporters, there is going to be a bitter rivalry," Davis said. "It's always going to be a good atmosphere. I think that's what helps us as well is to have a great atmosphere like that. You are playing in and surrounded, and you don't always get to play in packed stadiums every week. These are games that we work forward to."


Clark experiences highs and lows of soccer
Dynamo turn attention to Toronto FC
DAVIS IN FOUR-WAY TIE FOR LEAD

SuperClasico rivals settle for draw

CARSON, Calif. -- Ante Razov scored in the first half for Chivas USA and Edson Buddle equalized for the Galaxy in the second half and there was nothing to separate the two sides in the second SuperClasico of the season, as they finished in a 1-1 draw on MLS Primetime Thursday at The Home Depot Center.

The result leaves both teams in a tie for first place at the top of the Western Conference, pending the results from the upcoming weekend.

Chivas was clearly the more aggressive team to start the match. The Red-and-White were immediately pushing into the Galaxy defensive third, and the entire LA team seemed out of sorts, as they struggled with their first touch and failed to string passes together.

Their carelessness with the ball ultimately led to the game's opening goal. In the 15th minute, the Galaxy turned the ball over in the midfield and Chivas launched a counter. Sacha Kljestan broke down the Galaxy defense with a long dribbling run, then found Razov with a square pass at the top of the penalty area. With his preferred left foot, Razov curled a perfect shot into the upper corner to give Chivas the lead.

The Chivas pressure continued, and five minutes later, Razov used a clever heel flick to find an overlapping Francisco Mendoza. Mendoza managed to get off a clear shot from 18 yards out, but it was a weak effort that was easily saved by Galaxy goalkeeper Steve Cronin.

The Galaxy finally made an offensive foray in the 24th minute. Pete Vagenas played a through ball right up the heart of the Chivas defense. After both David Beckham and Edson Buddle dummied the ball, Ely Allen was in clean through on Guzan. But the rookie banged his shot off goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

One minute later, Beckham hit a corner kick to Buddle. Buddle won the header, but Mendoza did a good job of marking the post and cleared the ball off the line.

Razov came close to doubling his tally in the 28th. Mendoza, who had been terrorizing the Galaxy defense all night, drew a foul from 20 yards out. Razov got his shot over the wall and under the crossbar, but Cronin read the shot well, and made the save.

The game started to get physical following the half-hour mark, and scoring chances started to wane. Just before halftime, the Galaxy did managed to forge one last attack. Joe Franchino, who came into the game as a first-half substitute for an injured Ante Jazic, played a cross from the left flank. The ball bounced all the way to Chris Klein, who had the time and space to settle the ball and uncork a shot that the caromed off the upright.

The Galaxy started the second half much better, and in the 49th minute, Buddle came close to equalizing. Landon Donovan let a ball bounce past him to Buddle, who raced into the penalty area and fired a low shot under duress. The shot beat Guzan, but wound up curling to the wrong side of the post.

The game continued to produce scoring chances few and far between as the physicality of the match produced several bone crunching tackles that disrupted the flow of the match. In an attempt to inject some life into his offense, Ruud Gullit brought on Carlos Ruiz in the 58th minute.

Eight minutes later, Ruiz nearly got on the end of a cross to draw things level. In the buildup, the Galaxy worked the ball through midfield before finding Klein on the wing. Klein played a low cross to the edge of the six where Ruiz was making a run. As he slid in to try and poke home a shot, Guzan charged off his line and beat him to the pass to smother the danger.

The Galaxy's persistence finally paid off in the 72nd minute. Vagenas spotted Buddle making a run into the area, and hit a perfectly weighted through ball. Buddle sprinted into the area, and from a sharp angle on the right, shot between Guzan's legs to level the game.

Chivas thought that they had regained the lead in the 78th minute. Kljestan made a phenomenal run down the right side and cut the ball back into the middle. As the ball bounced around the goalmouth Mendoza blasted home from close range, but the linesman had determined that the ball had gone out over the end line before the cross ever came in.

Chivas came close again in the 88th minute. Jonathan Bornstein ventured forward from his left back position and sent an early cross into the area. Cronin got caught coming off his line, allowing Kljestan to get a header past him at the near post. Fortunately for Cronin, the ball banged off the post.

Los Angeles had one last push as well. On a counter attack in stoppage time, Donovan fed Ruiz in the left side of the area. From an angle, Ruiz shot on goal, but Guzan was equal to the task and made the save.

That was the last opportunity for either team, as they settled for the 1-1 draw. Next up for the Galaxy is a game against the New York Red Bulls next weekend at the Meadowlands, the first of an extended road swing, while Chivas USA do not have a league game again until Aug. 9, as their first participation in SuperLiga will come in the meantime.


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Dynamo settle for draw with Chivas
Player Ratings: Chelsea 1-1 Bolton
Donovan, Gordon fuel Galaxy rout

Out for spark, Fire glad for Open Cup

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- It's the middle of the Major League Soccer season, and things are not going well for the Chicago Fire.

The optimist will tell you they have not lost in their last two league games (both ties), but the pessimist will point out they have not won in their last five league games (0-3-2 in that stretch).

They need a spark, after having one taken away in their 2-2 tie at Columbus on Saturday, the equalizing goal coming two minutes from the end. The U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal match against D.C. United could not come at a better time.

The Fire, who have won four U.S. Open Cups in their 10 years of existence, play United at the Maryland Soccerplex in Germantown, Md. Tuesday in an Open Cup quarterfinal match. U.S. Soccer announced Monday the winner of the Fire-United match will play host to the semifinal match on Aug. 12 against either the New England Revolution of MLS or Crystal Palace Baltimore, the only USL Second Division team left in the tournament.

While questions abound about where the Fire are headed in terms of league play, there is no question about the kind of effort they will put forth in the Open Cup game.

"We are going to be putting out our best team available," Fire coach Denis Hamlett said. "You are closer to the prize now. You win this game and you are two games from lifting the trophy. The guys know that stakes are a little bit higher now. You want to make sure to put a good team out there."

Hamlett said everyone on his roster is available to play in this game but Hamlett has to consider the rest of his schedule. The Fire play Toronto FC on Saturday in a key Eastern Conference contest (the teams are tied for fourth place), and Hamlett has to balance the desire to win Tuesday with the desire to make a statement at home against TFC.

The Fire are coming off the tie in Columbus in which they took a 2-0 lead but could not hold it. As a result, instead of being able to charge into the Open Cup game, the Fire have to try to forget the opportunity lost.

"We are disappointed," Hamlett said. "We scored two very good goals and felt we were in control of the game. I felt like we had three (points) but we ended up with one. But we've got to draw the positives. We hadn't scored in a while and got two good goals. These are the things you build on."

Against Columbus, the Fire used defenders Wilman Conde, Bakary Soumare, Gonzalo Segares and Brandon Prideaux, midfielders Diego Gutierrez, Justin Mapp, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, John Thorrington and Chris Rolfe and forward Calen Carr, who left in the 65th minute for Chad Barrett.

Do not be surprised to see Mike Banner, who scored twice against the USL2 Cleveland City Stars in the Open Cup match last Tuesday, and defender Daniel Woodard, who also played the entire game. Although Hamlett used backup goalkeeper Nick Noble in that game, starter Jon Busch is expected to play against the MLS foe United.

For the Crew match last week, midfielder Logan Pause (hip), defender Dasan Robinson (ankle) and defender C.J. Brown (hamstring) were not available due to injury.


Fire look to heat back up
Fire look to thwart upstart City Stars
Schmeichel Tips United For Title
Hildebrand: Barça One Of The World’s Best

Rapids earn holiday rout of Bulls

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- The Colorado Rapids showed their Fourth of July spirit Friday night, matching their season high as they embarrassed the struggling New York Red Bulls in a 4-0 victory and made an emphatic movement toward reclaiming their own season.

In their last five matches against each other, one goal was all it took for either the Rapids or the Red Bulls to earn a win. So when Tom McManus touched a feed from Colin Clark in the 24th minute, slipping the ball in between goalkeeper Jon Conway and the post, the Rapids had reason to feel confident.

Set free down the left wing by Facundo Erpen, Clark raced down the flank and then found McManus at the far post, who quickly redirected the pass home before Conway could react to stop its path to the net.

Mired in a four-game winless streak coming into the match, the Rapids took nothing for granted, following with another goal in the 37th minute to double their lead. Terry Cooke came all the way down the right side to collect a pass from Conor Casey before making a short cross to Mehdi Ballouchy at the near post, who drilled first-time it past Conway for his first goal of the season and a comfortable lead for the Rapids.

A few minutes later Bouna Coundoul had his first significant test of the match, stopping a close range cannon shot from Dave van den Bergh to maintain Colorado's edge. Coundoul snared another ball moments later, a cross from the endline that the Rapids 'keeper got hold of before a Red Bulls attacker could get to it.

The Independence Day celebration by the Rapids, featuring a massive fireworks display, had seen the club win 10 of its 12 previous Fourth of July home games (with one draw).

By the 49th minute, it was clear the fireworks were coming early at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, as a long ball found Clark on the left side. After nearly losing possession, he regained the ball, rounded midfielder Dane Richards, and raced unmolested into the area before sending a hard shot inside the far corner, giving the Rapids a commanding 3-0 lead and kicking the celebrations into high gear around the soldout park containing a record crowd.

It was the first time the Rapids had scored three goals in a match since their Opening Day 4-0 win against L.A., and the offensive surge offered a much-needed spark to a team desperately trying to stay in the playoff hunt.

It took Omar Cummings three attempts to match Colorado's season high, starting in the 57th minute as he beat out two defenders to catch a long loose ball, giving him a one-on-one situation with Conway. Cummings shot wide, however.

He then missed another opportunity in the 63rd minute, emerging with the ball from amidst a tangle of defenders in front of the goal and having an open net when Conway fell down. The ball slipped away from Cummings before he could get a shot off, but he didn't relent in his attempt to create opportunities.

Cummings finally found the net in the 68th minute, as Ballouchy crossed a ball from the left side to McManus on the right and McManus tapped it back to Cummings, who cleared a defender for another one-on-one with Conway that left the 'keeper helpless to stop the shot to his left.

Colorado played aggressively throughout the match, owning a 12-5 advantage in shots and a 5-2 edge in attempt on target. It marked the third time this season the Red Bulls have allowed four goals or more, all in the last eight games.

The victory moved Colorado from sixth to fourth place in the Western Conference for the moment, and signaled the revitalization of an offense that scored as many goals Friday night as it scored in its last four matches combined.

The Rapids head back on the road in an attempt to win back-to-back games for the first time this season, traveling to play San Jose next Saturday. The Red Bulls remain on the road, facing the Wizards in Kansas City on Thursday, July 10.


Dynamo earn first victory of 2008
Schalke stay on track
Premier League Replay: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Luck not on Wizards' side in PKs

SEATTLE -- Whether it was a botched breakaway in the game's early minutes, numerous saves from two determined goalkeepers or multiple denials from the unfriendly woodwork, the ball flat out refused to find a home in the net for much of Tuesday night's U.S. Open quarterfinal match between the Kansas City Wizards and the Seattle Sounders at Qwest Field.

But penalty shootouts do not accept ties, and the Wizards found themselves on the losing end of that ritual Tuesday night, losing 6-5 in the seventh round of penalties thanks to a save from Sounders 'keeper Chris Eylander, followed by a coolly taken final penalty from Zach Scott into the right side of the net.

Scott rushed straight into Eylander's arms after the score, and the celebration ensued as the Wizards trudged off with a tough-break loss after a 0-0 tie through 120 minutes of play.

"That's the biggest thing is just try not to think about and be confident in where you're going to go with the ball," Scott said. "I knew where I was going to go the whole time, it was just a matter of whether or not I would be the seventh kicker or not."

The Wizards played hardly any of their regular players -- although bringing on Jimmy Conrad and Michael Harrington during the second half - mainly because they need to prepare for Thursday's MLS match against the New York Red Bulls. That said, they put up an impressive fight against a USL-1 team that has made a habit of knocking off MLS foes in Seattle.

"I do think there was some very good performances within our group," Wizards coach Curt Onalfo said. "Anytime you have an opportunity to play a game that really matters, you learn from it. We had five rookies on the field, we had a couple second-year players and a couple third-year players. We had a very, very young team on the field, and I think they did a good job."

Seattle came out the aggressor, a predictable occurrence for the USL-1 team that has given MLS opponents fits in the U.S. Open Cup during the past couple years. The Sounders played several long balls in the air early on, looking for the quick breakthrough. The young Kansas City visitors, starting almost none of their regular lineup, seemed content to feel the Sounders out and settle with some long, speculative efforts.

"I think it was two different styles," Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said. "We're a bit more direct when we get possession we like to try to get in behind and get Sebastien (Le Toux) in behind."

The Sounders got behind the defense early, but it wasn't Le Toux. Seattle received the opportunity of a lifetime as Andre Schmid beat the Kansas City backline without straying offside and took a looping through ball that left him completely alone at the top of the box behind the defense. But he was uncomfortable with the touch as he moved in on charging Wizards 'keeper Eric Kronberg and nudged the ball too far to the right of the goal.

But Kansas City had its own opportunity in the 19th minute, as Ryan Pore probed the right side of the box before sending a low boring cross through the area. Wizards forward Mike Kraus met that offering with perfect timing from point-blank range, but Eylander smothered the shot to keep terms level.

That was the theme for most of the game -- close opportunities, but nobody able to get the ball past that little white line.

"I thought our guys fought extremely hard, I thought we created quite a few chances, took a lot of shots on goal, fell a little bit short," Onalfo said.

Kronberg became a big fan of his crossbar as the night went on. The top part of the goal frame stopped a shot by Seattle's Josh Gardner in the 61st minute and then denied a beautiful chip in extra time from Le Toux, who is already set to play for Seattle Sounders FC in the MLS next season. It also stopped Le Toux's penalty kick during the shootout.

But Kronberg did his part, as well, stopping a Le Toux shot off a run down the right side late in the first half and then parrying a 94th-minute strike from Jason Cascio just right of the post.

"It definitely helps to get in the game, to make a few saves, get some hands on the ball," Kronberg said.

Extra time brought additional opportunities, but Wizards midfielder Nelson Pizarro's run along the top of the box ended up in a shot that faded high and to the right. Even in the 120th minute, Eylander had to stay focused to collect a deflected free kick to send the game into penalty kicks.

"Anytime you go into PKs, you never know what's going to happen," Onalfo said.

Le Toux and Conrad both missed their second-round kicks, but everyone else held serve until the fateful seventh round. The loss sends Seattle on to the semifinals against Charleston, while the Wizards will now turn their attention back to the MLS season.

"I think quite frankly it was an evenly played game. I think 0-0 was a fair result," Onalfo said. "And it comes down to PKs, and you know the luck went Seattle's way. I think that's the way I see the game."


Bundesliga: top for goals
Open Cup high stakes for Wizards

Osorio fumes after rout in Colorado

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- It was a frustrating Fourth of July for the New York Red Bulls, as all of the fireworks were on the other side of the ball. After losing 4-0 to the Colorado Rapids, New York has won only one of their last five league games and three of their last 10. And with a frustrated coach hinting at making numerous changes to his roster, the fireworks might not yet be over for the Red Bulls.

"We were not at the races," said coach Juan Carlos Osorio. "We didn't compete today and at the end we got what we deserved."

It was the third game in six days for the Red Bulls, including a couple of cross-country flights and a disastrous loss on Tuesday to USL Second Division team Crystal Palace Baltimore. The players, however, do not believe that fixture congestion is enough to explain away Friday's loss.

"Obviously we've had a busy schedule over the past few weeks, but that's no excuse for what happened," said Hunter Freeman.

In the initial stages of the match, the two teams looked equally matched with neither team doing much of anything on offense. The Rapids were the first to score a goal, and things seemed to snowball from there.

"At the beginning of the game it was fine," said Freeman. "It was back and forth and then on their second chance of the game they scored a goal. Obviously you don't want to be down a goal, but it's not the end of the world. The second one they scored before halftime really put us behind the 8-ball and changed things. We went for broke in the second half and that didn't work out."

For his part, Osorio believed the effort from his team was lacking.

"We just wanted to match them up and play the same system that we have been doing," said Osorio. "That's down to the players and I do not think that anyone can look in my eyes and tell me that they really played today."

Although at times New York maintained good possession in the midfield, they seemed to have few ideas to connect with the forwards other than playing crosses or long balls forward. Some of that was simply taking what Colorado was giving them, and not doing much with it.

"In the first half we had numbers wide and they only had one true guy outside so there was a lot of space there," said Freeman. "We whipped some good balls in but we never really got on the end of them. We kept the ball but we didn't do anything with it; in the final third we didn't have any answers and we lacked some creativity. Give Colorado credit - they did something with their chances."

At halftime, Osorio was clearly already frustrated with his team's effort. When asked what he told the players he replied: "You don't want to know."

By the end of the game, Osorio was not any happier, and hinted at his desire to make wholesale changes to his roster.

"I can't wait for the 15th of July, when we can sign some players and make a very competitive team," said Osorio. "Because at the moment, I think all of our players have had the chance to shine and stake a claim and a lot of them refuse to do that."


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The Bundesliga’s goal-machine
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Davis: Perception vs. Reality

We've reached the season's midpoint, when clubs take a breath, step back, take a good introspective peek at their own house and ... frequently fool themselves into thinking that something better is ahead.

First, let's examine some of the evidence that points to slightly dented self-examination.

"I am hesitant to go too far into it, but I will say, without insulting any other team, or having it sound like I am taking shots at other teams, that I think this team is disappointed being in second place." That's from Houston manager Dominic Kinnear, who does, at least, have some historical backing for his sentiments. When you are the two-time defending league champs, you get the benefit of the doubt.

Technically, his team is in fourth place. But never mind that. And never mind that Kinnear's side has just four wins in 16 matches. That puts Houston on pace for eight wins this year, which would represent a stunning drop from last year's 15. But let's move on for now. Here are comments on another team.

"We've played well. We've been fairly consistent. However, I don't think we've played to our potential yet, and I don't think that we have gotten the results that would be indicative of this team." This is what Real Salt Lake defender Nat Borchers told The Salt Lake Tribune.

Just east of there, FC Dallas fired their coach because management and ownership didn't think the win-loss record was commensurate with the level of talent on the roster.

Even further East, New York Red Bulls manager Juan Carlos Osorio punctuated his team's bad loss (4-0) at Colorado over the weekend by ripping indirectly into his personnel, promoting his eagerness to arrive at the July 15 transfer window so he could scoop up the talent that will presumably rescue the season.

All this is well and good. And, to be fair, this is the professional athlete's general condition. They always believe things are pointed north, perennially on the way up.

But here's the deal: It's mid-July. Half the season is over. In most ways, you are what you are.

Hope springs in the spring, and in May and maybe even in June, it's certainly OK to think that good things are just around the corner.

But by July, to a large extent, again, you are what you are.

The good news is that Major League Soccer's playoff format remains forgiving -- even if a 14-team field this year makes it a little less so.

Every team remains in the playoff hunt, and a hot streak can ferry clubs a long way. But they all stand a better chance of gaining post-season grace by acknowledging what they are and the precise challenges ahead. At this point, there's a reason that New England and Los Angeles lead their conferences -- just as there are reasons that have teams landing in the middle of the pack and at the back of the bunch.

Take Houston, for example. Kinnear and GM Oliver Luck continue to kick the tires on new options at forward. But if they don't seal the deal on one, the Dynamo will continue to struggle in efforts to escape the frustrating draw zone.

Houston has tied half of its 16 games. Why so many? Just look at the latest draw, one that kicked off Round 15 of MLS matches, a scoreless tie at Real Salt Lake.

Houston's defense was good enough to keep an attack-minded RSL side from ever claiming the big goal. But at the other end, Houston managed just two shots on target. The result was a 0-0 tie, which isn't bad on the road. On the other hand, Kinnear's outfit has just two goals in its last four MLS matches. Good defense. Stagnant offense. Sounds like a draw waiting to happen, no matter how good the team feels about itself.

And that probably won't get it done in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Los Angeles fell at home over the long weekend to New England. Afterward, Galaxy manager Ruud Gullit bemoaned the state of his midfield, which he said panicked too frequently before intermission and gave away possession too easily.

(In truth, strong matches from Jeff Larentowicz and, especially, Shalrie Joseph, had a lot to do with New England's midfield dominance in the July 4 weekend's marquee matchup.)

Fact is, outside of David Beckham, Gullit doesn't have a midfield full of players who are especially comfortable on the ball. Alvaro Pires is still a holding type who is best when he gets the ball off his foot quickly. He is not particularly special at holding possession in tight spaces. Joe Franchino is more of a defensive destroyer. Mike Randolph is best when carrying the ball forward with speed.

Besides, Gullit's bigger problem is in the back, where he has yet to find a dependable center back to partner with the emerging Sean Franklin. Abel Xavier could be faulted for both New England goals Friday. So, Gullit's team probably would be OK with the midfield it has ... but only for that reliably unreliable defense.

Personnel change may be on the way in Dallas and New York. But how much? Dallas may have a bit of wiggle room, but major change could only happen if Kenny Cooper can be pried away with continued overtures from Norway's Rosenborg. And it's probably not a good thing for Dallas to lose its top scorer; Cooper has eight goals in 16 matches.

And how much can Osorio, already tethered to a pair of designated players, really reshape the roster at Giants Stadium?

Again, the Red Bulls are what they are to a certain extent. Their best hope is that the veteran DPs already on board, Claudio Reyna and Juan Pablo Angel, get 100 percent healthy and lead a heroic revival.

Assuming that valuable pair can get fit, that's something that's not so improbable.

TACTICAL CORNER

• Did a battle of sideline wits weigh heavily in the outcome of a big Eastern Conference meeting?

Columbus caretaker Robert Warzycha, subbing for manager Sigi Schmid, who was attending his stepdaughter's wedding in California, made a bold move in the waning moments of his team 2-2 draw with Chicago.

He tossed aside the Crew's usual 4-4-1-1 by adding attacker Steven Lenhart in place of defender Andy Iro in the 77th minute. Columbus trailed at the time, 2-1.

It seemed to work -- the home team began pressing for the equalizer. Chicago boss Denis Hamlett responded soon by subtracting attack-minded midfielder Justin Mapp in favor of defender Lider Marmol.

A minute later, the opportunistic Lenhart was on the spot for the equalizer as Columbus completed a two-goal rally.

Additionally, Hamlett might second-guess his own decision to remove Mapp (age 23) from the field instead of replacing one of his 35-year-old midfielders, Cuauhtemoc Blanco or Diego Gutierrez. Also subtracted from Chicago's starting 11 were Chris Rolfe (25) and Chad Barrett (23).

Would it have made a difference to leave one of the younger fellows on the field? We'll never know.

• New England midfielders Steve Ralston and Mauricio Castro had quiet nights Friday while the team made big noise with a "statement" win in Los Angeles. Joseph and Larentowicz controlled the midfield in New England's 2-1 victory, and Sainey Nyassi made life miserable for Los Angeles' left side, tearing up the flank with pace and enough variety to keep the Galaxy guessing.

But did Castro and Ralston really have quiet nights, or were they just focused on the disrupting the passing channels and keeping the Galaxy's big weapon from firing?

Teams that have success against the Galaxy are teams that limit David Beckham's opportunities on the ball. It forces the famous England international to drift and receive the ball inside, in spots where he's still dangerous, but where he's a bit less comfortable, at least.


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Additional UEFA Cup berth for Bundesliga
DAVIS IN FOUR-WAY TIE FOR LEAD

High stakes give SuperClasico spice

CARSON, Calif. -- The first two years of the SuperClasico between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA was anything but a classic rivalry. The passion in the stands has always lived up to the billing, but on the field, the Galaxy were clearly the dominant team. Power shifted a bit last year, as Chivas USA won the season series. This year, and especially this week, the rivalry has reached an entirely new level.

For the first time in the rivalry's history, LA and Chivas are tied for first place in the Western Conference. The added emotion of having first place on the line should make this already intense rivalry that much more heated.

"This is going to be a fun game. We're both in first place. I don't know if that's ever been the case," said Landon Donovan. "They're playing well. They're gaining some confidence. All signs point to this being a great game."

In addition to the fact that first place is on the line, Chivas will be looking to get a little revenge. The two sides have already met once this year, a 5-2 win for the Galaxy. A lot has changed for both teams since that game however, and LA knows they can't just sit back and expect to get a similar result.

"They're two different teams since then. The funny thing, it's almost the same players. They're pretty much the same team," said Donovan. "Back then it was just confidence, getting a few results and having things go their way. It's not like they're destroying teams, but they're getting some breaks, so that means they're going to be dangerous."

For LA, bouncing back from a recent three-game winless skid and regaining a bit of confidence is a top priority. The club is about to embark on a rather extensive road trip that only sees them playing one more home game until September following Thursday's match.

"We keep forgetting that we've played a lot of games at home and we've given up a lot of points at home. We're not going to be here much in the near future," said Donovan. "We need to get our points when we have our home games. That being said, we've been doing pretty well on the road, so that's not that much of a concern."

The Galaxy are technically the home team in Thursday's game. The two sides share The Home Depot Center, and it's to be expected that a good number of Chivas supporters will be in the stands as well. The two rival fan groups always make for a fantastic atmosphere, one that Galaxy head coach Ruud Gullit can fully appreciate from his playing and coaching career in Europe.

"It's a good rivalry. You have to forget about what happened in the first game. It's all about the derby," said Gullit. "It's going to be passionate. The crowd has been excellent."


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Messi: Great Preparation For The Bernabéu
Donovan continues to shine brighter

Open Cup high stakes for Wizards

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Don't let the fact that the Kansas City Wizards are using split squads to navigate their five games in 10-day stretch fool you. Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal game against the Seattle Sounders at Qwest Field holds plenty of high stakes.

First, it's a chance for the club to move closer to claiming some silverware.

"You don't get a lot of opportunities like this," said midfielder Kerry Zavagnin. "The stakes are raised more and more by each game, and we realize by having success in 2004, what it takes to win."

Second is a chance to further establish consistency. Zavagnin and the Wizards won the 2004 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with solid performances, something they are looking to foster in their current squad for the remainder of the tournament and the MLS schedule.

"Absolutely [the Open Cup title helped us make MLS Cup in '04]. The beauty of that was that we had fairly consistent performances throughout the year -- we were pretty consistent in the Open Cup and the league," Zavagnin said. "But right now is a great opportunity for all players within the team to not only get playing time but to play in meaningful games so that we're ready for the final stretch."

As head coach Curt Onalfo did last week on Tuesday and Friday, he will split his roster in two with some playing solely in Seattle and some solely in Thursday's league match against the New York Red Bulls, with some seeing time in both. The situation resulted in a 4-2 extra-time win at the Carolina RailHawks on Tuesday and a 1-1 draw at FC Dallas on Thursday.

Third, confidence will be tested.

"It's encouraging that we feel confident enough that we can play two groups. That's something I wouldn't have been as confident of last year," said Onalfo. "We have a strong group all the way through. ... There are guys playing on Tuesday that very well should be part of our starting lineup. The way it worked out, we got those two groups together, and we're sticking with it."

Onalfo said his players are holding up fine physically at this point with Carlos Marinelli's hamstring being the only issue. And while the scheduling has not been kind to his side, neither has it been to Seattle. The USL-1 side played matches on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday last week. Yet neither Zavagnin nor Onalfo expects a lull come the game whistle.

"A-League teams are always excited to play MLS teams whether it's a friendly or a meaningful Open Cup game," Zavagnin said.

For a team that includes former MLSers in Josh Gardner (LA Galaxy), Leighton O'Brien (San Jose Earthquakes and Real Salt Lake), and former New York and Wizards defender Taylor Graham, the energy will be high and could resemble the up-and-down, track meet type of match the Wizards played in last week against Carolina. Add in the fact that the Sounders will enter MLS next year, there is plenty to play for.

"I expect Seattle to have enormous energy; they are going to make it extremely difficult on us," said Onalfo. "We just have to match that intensity, and hopefully our experience will prevail.

"It's an important game. Scheduling obviously hasn't been kind. Quite frankly, it doesn't make any sense at all," Onalfo continued. "But that's what we've been dealt, and we're going to deal with it in a very positive manner. We're going to put a group of players on the field that is capable of winning the game. Our goal is to go to Seattle, take the game to them, and get ourselves into the semifinal."


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Wizards frustrated by missed victory
Eager K.C. eyes Open Cup berth

Open Cup goal remains for D.C.: Move on

WASHINGTON -- The most familiar faces -- Jaime Moreno, Cuauhtemoc Blanco and the like -- may or may not be in uniform when D.C. United plays host to the Chicago Fire at the Maryland SoccerPlex on Tuesday night. Yet for United, the challenge remains equally daunting either way: overcome a familiar opponent with a long-running psychological advantage in order to advance in a do-or-die situation.

This time, a berth in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals is at stake, and though their head-to-head record in league play is dead-even, the Fire have simply owned United in knockout competitions.

D.C.'s proud history includes a playoff victory against every side it has ever met in the postseason -- except Chicago. Two of the Black-and-Red's last three MLS Cup playoff adventures have ended, prematurely and at home, at the hands of the Fire. Which team ended United's last meaningful Open Cup run, a ride to the semifinals under Peter Nowak in 2006? Chicago, in an ill-tempered 3-0 victory at Toyota Park.

While neither side is likely to field a full-strength lineup on Tuesday, the simple sight of the Men in Red should be enough to get United's blood boiling. In fact, at least one veteran is prepared to put the Fire ahead of other longtime Eastern Conference enemies like New York and New England.

"Chicago's definitely -- I think -- our biggest rival," said D.C. midfielder Clyde Simms. "We see each other so much. We've already played them twice and we still have to play them [twice in league play] and then this tournament, and possibly playoffs -- that's a lot. I don't know, I think they're fun games though. It's such a battle every time we play them that it makes it more fun."

There is no shortage of individual motivation, either, as role players look to seize the opportunity that Open Cup action represents. Reserves comprised about half of United head coach Tom Soehn's starting lineup against the Rochester Rhinos last week and afterwards the second-year boss made it clear that he was running the rule over his fringe players.

"Some did well and some didn't. This was our chance to find out two things: who can make it and who can't," said Soehn, later adding, "We learned a lot today."

Soehn and his squad are aware that a more complete performance will be needed against Chicago, whose offense is considerably more dynamic than Rochester's. Using a lineup dominated by reserves, the Fire powered to a 4-1 win in their round-of-16 match against the USL2 Cleveland City Stars.

"Maybe we can get a little revenge for them knocking us out of the playoffs last year," said D.C. defender Devon McTavish. "They're a good team. They'll come with a good squad and we just need to bring a better game, better soccer -- keep the competitiveness that we had against Rochester and hopefully put the ball in the back of the net."

Even in an intimate facility like the SoccerPlex, the intensity of Open Cup matches represents a dramatic step up for United's youngsters.

"It's definitely a chance to show yourself, and come out and finally get a chance to play in front of a decent crowd, a big crowd," said United midfielder Quavas Kirk. "There's more at stake. ... In reserve games you can kind of have some slipups or whatever, but now it's like you've got to be on key, ready for everything."

Kirk strained his hamstring against the Rhinos and does not expect to be recovered in time for the Fire clash. But his counterpart on the left wing, Ryan Cordeiro, has probably earned another start after last week's sharp display. With more experienced veterans on the sidelines, the hunger of players like Cordeiro will be a key for United's Open Cup hopes.

"To be honest, this is my first tournament, it's my first opportunity to win something with D.C. United, so it's huge," said the rookie. "It's everything to me."


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Quakes encouraged by road ahead

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- When the San Jose Earthquakes meet Chivas USA on Saturday, the match will mark a milestone of sorts.

Not only will the Quakes have reached the halfway point of their return season in MLS, but it will conclude a difficult part of their schedule that has seen them play seven of nine games on the road. And while San Jose has coped decently by grabbing eight points in that span, a win on Saturday would go a long way towards landing them in the thick of the playoff race.

Put another way, at the conclusion of Saturday's hostilities with the Red-and-White, the Quakes will have played twice as many road games (10) as they have home matches (five). And the fact that San Jose is just eight points out of third place with two games in hand has manager Frank Yallop convinced that his team still has plenty to play for.

"It's in our hands really," said Yallop. "The league is wide open still. No one is running away with it. It's not like third place is 15 points away and we're going 'Oh geez, we have no chance.' It's right there."

Among the more encouraging signs for Yallop has been the fact that San Jose has recorded two ties in its last three away matches, but the Quakes' manager knows better than anyone that for his team to really make some noise, they'll need to start bagging some wins.

"When you don't lose, it gives you some momentum if you like," said Yallop. "But winning is everything, and we need to get some wins to get going."

The key to cracking the win column on Saturday will be finding a way to contain Chivas' potent midfield, one that contains budding star Sacha Kljestan. With Ned Grabavoy hampered by a groin injury, Yallop will deploy Kelly Gray and Ramiro Corrales in the center of midfield in the hope that their collective size and tough tackling will be enough to shackle the U.S. international.

"[Kljestan] is not only a good footballer, but he's a good finisher," said Yallop. "And he makes some great late runs."

While containing Kljestan will be difficult, the Quakes' presumed central duo has hit a solid run of form. Corrales is coming off perhaps his most impressive performance of the season in San Jose's 0-0 tie with Chicago. Gray meanwhile has put his versatility to good use, deputizing in the center of defense while the team coped with a rash of injuries and suspensions.

While Ryan Cochrane seems likely to sit out Saturday's match with a sprained ankle, the return of James Riley from suspension will allow Jason Hernandez to move into the center of defense alongside Nick Garcia, thus freeing Gray to patrol the center of midfield. It's a task that the San Jose native is ready to embrace, even though he'll be going up against former teammate Jesse Marsch.

"Marsch has always been a pretty solid player; never too flashy and he always does the right things," said Gray. "He usually doesn't make the killer pass, but he keeps everything short and simple."

That recipe is one San Jose's league-worst attack would do well to adopt, although lately the team's approach work has been solid enough. It's been the lack of a finishing touch in front of goal that is still their biggest obstacle. After last week's game against Chicago, Yallop bemoaned the fact that his side "had five clear chances and failed to hit the target."

That hasn't stopped Yallop from remaining upbeat about his team's prospects and mentality.

"None of our guys have dropped their heads," said Yallop. "The group is solid, and we're looking forward to the next 16 games and getting something out of them."


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Galaxy look for rockets' red glare vs. Revs

CARSON, Calif. -- The Fourth of July at The Home Depot Center has become a tradition the last several years in southern California. The Los Angeles Galaxy will play host to the New England Revolution on Friday in front of what is expected to be a capacity crowd.

The Galaxy will be looking to feed off of the energy of their home supporters and bounce back after a rather lifeless 4-1 loss at the hands of D.C. United last weekend. United are easily the hottest team in the league right now, and this Friday's opponent won't offer any sort of reprieve for the Galaxy in their bid to stay atop the Western Conference standings. New England owns the best record in MLS and will provide a stern test for the Galaxy.

"I think it's going to be a test of our willpower. They are a good team," said goalkeeper Steve Cronin. "They're first in the East and they're not letting in a whole lot of goals either. It's going to be a test for us on a bunch of different levels."

Head coach Ruud Gullit reiterated Cronin's sentiments, and focused on the fact that the Galaxy will need to be better this week against New England than they were last weekend.

"(New England) is playing well at the moment, so they are a good team. I think we need to be on top of our game at home," said Gullit. "I think also we need to bounce back from a loss."

LA is playing with something to prove. After climbing to the top of the Western Conference, the Galaxy have suffered two disappointing results in a row to Eastern Conference opposition. Proving that they are capable of hanging with the East's best teams is motivation enough for the club.

"After the last loss we're excited to get back out there and get a good result," said Cronin. "Especially being here at home for the Fourth of July."

It's that holiday crowd that could spell the difference. It can't be understated how much energy a team can feed off its fans. The Galaxy have always been one of the best supported clubs in MLS, and they are looking for the Home Depot Center crowd to ratchet up the volume a couple of notches on Friday.

"I think our fans are great no matter what. Hopefully they'll raise it up another level," said Cronin. "I think with the fireworks afterwards, everyone is going to be pretty excited. We're going to have a great crowd and we're just trying to get a result for them."

Even Gullit, who is still new to MLS, recognizes the great support in LA. For him, the energy provided by the crowd could be that little something extra the Galaxy needs to right the ship and stay atop the West.

"(The fans) are a big part. We are very proud of our fans," said Gullit. "They are our 12th man."


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Lenhart's late touch earns Crew draw

COLUMBUS -- Rookie forward Steven Lenhart came off the bench to score in the 87th minute as the Columbus Crew rallied from a two-goal deficit to tie the Chicago Fire, 2-2 at Crew Stadium, and extend their unbeaten streak to four games.

While Chicago saw its winless streak reach five games, with two draws now having followed three losses, the Fire did improve to 4-0-3 in Crew Stadium since July 3, 2004 before a season-high crowd in Columbus that included the usual strong showing by the Fire supporters, who took over three sections in the south end.


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Hendrickson credits coach for speedy return

COLUMBUS -- The relationship between an injured athlete and the fitness coach trying to get him back on the field can be one of love and hate.

In the case of Columbus Crew defender Ezra Hendrickson, he knows that Steve Tashjian has his best interests in mind, but still, it's often: "Man, do I have to do another sprint?"

"Ezra and I actually have a pretty good relationship," Tashjian said. "I was with him when I was back in LA so he knows which direction I'm going in right when he's ready to jump back in.

"It's a pretty easy process. He knew what was coming. He knows the work rate I want for particular drills and it's really helped him gain fitness a lot quicker than I thought he would."

Hendrickson suffered a left groin sprain early in the June 7 match against New England when he leaped to get at a corner kick. The original diagnosis was a six-week absence but Hendrickson will likely resume full training next Tuesday.

He credits his quicker than expected recovery to Tashjian, who worked with him while both were with the Galaxy in 2002-03, head athletic trainer Jason Mathews and assistant athletic trainer Skylar Richards.

"They've worked really hard with me to get me back this soon," Hendrickson said.

His nickname is EZ but there's been nothing easy about the regiment Tashjian has put him through.

"Being an older guy, an experienced guy, and having worked with him he listens when I tell him we need to back off today. His training can be very strenuous but it's good training. It's very functional," Hendrickson said. "It's good working with him. Knowing him from the past we listen to each other. I tell him when my body has had enough, like today. We were scheduled to do a lot more than we did but my hamstrings and my groin hurt too much so we backed off. I've been working with Steve a lot at the end of practices to simulate games where we do some sprint stuff. I'm coming back within the next week or so."

That will be good news for the Crew who have yet to find a suitable replacement for Hendrickson at left back. Rookie Ryan Junge started two matches and Danny O'Rourke made his debut there last week.

"Nothing we've thrown at (Hendrickson) him is bothering him so that's good," Tashjian said after Thursday's practice. "Besides the normal soreness for a guy who hasn't been in full training, we're more than happy with the way he feels today."

It has been a busy first half of the season for the training staff with eight to 10 players nursing injuries at a time, not including the season-ending injuries to midfielders Kevin Burns and Adam Moffat.

"My tendency is to go back and look what I've done -- Jason and Skylar are the same way," Tashjian said. "We kind of scratch our heads. We blame it on ourselves first and ask, 'How could we have prevented this?'

"Sometimes we have to take a step back a little bit. As long as we're not being naïve and say sometimes these things happen, circumstances will come and you're not going to avoid injuries. We took a little lick. We came through it and guys are getting back on the field."

Besides Hendrickson, the only players expected not to be medically cleared for Saturday's match against Chicago are defender Gino Padula (hamstring) and midfielder Eddie Gaven (left ankle sprain).

Padula has an exasperating situation because he was almost fully fit after rehabbing a right knee sprain that cost him seven games. His latest injury came in a reserve match June 25.

"A month (more recovery) is a fair estimate give or take a week," Tashjian said. "He's frustrated and I would be, too. The amount of work he did to get back from his MCL sprain and he really was feeling very, very good that first 10 minutes of the reserve game only to have the circumstances where he pulled, he's frustrated."

Gaven was the recipient of a bad tackle during a U.S. Open Cup match June. The goal now more than anything is to have him ready for the upcoming U.S. Olympic team training camp.

"He's doing fine. If he's going to be in the picture for the Olympic team we want to make sure he is strong and stable and can handle the change in direction, the change in speed and let the playing in camp do the fitness for him," said Tashjian. "If I had my best case scenario we're winning and we don't need him and let him recover. That would be my choice. If we need him I'm not saying it's impossible for him to make an appearance down the road."

The news is also encouraging for midfielder Stefani Miglioranzi, who went on the six-week disabled list May 13 because of a left quadriceps strain. He said he is fully healed.

"It's like preseason again when you're coming back and having to deal with maintaining your fitness and at the same time watching the guys playing. It kind of gets you down," he said. "Hopefully in the reserve game this weekend I'll get a little go at it."


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Earthquakes flex defensive muscles

CARSON, Calif. -- The San Jose Earthquakes stayed close to Chivas USA throughout Saturday night's match at The Home Depot Center. But on a late free kick goal from Ante Razov, two minutes from the end, they eventually succumbed 1-0 as their winless streak reached five games.

The San Jose players have learned one irrefutable truth in their difficult return to Major League Soccer -- they can't lose if the other team doesn't score.

Perhaps that was coach Frank Yallop's thinking when building the team from the back with strong defensive players. The effort certainly paid off against Chivas USA in the first half, as the stout defense of the Earthquakes kept the game scoreless in spite of generating very few chances in the entire period.

"I think we should have had more points than what we've got, to be honest. Some of the games we've had, we should have gotten more points out of, but we're the bottom of the league, so the table doesn't lie," Yallop said. "We're doing something wrong by losing games, but I think you saw tonight that our spirit is very good. We don't lay over and die against anybody and that's a great building block for any team."

Defense starts with a strong goalkeeper, and Joe Cannon turned away all four of Chivas USA's efforts on goal in the first half.

The most dangerous threat came in the 17th minute, when Cannon had to stop two dangerous chances as both Jonathan Bornstein and Atiba Harris beat the Quakes defensive line for an attack into the box. Though Cannon gave up a rebound for the second chance, he smothered the shot by Harris.

"I didn't think we came out as aggressive as we usually do, I thought it took us a little while to get into it and find a way to establish ourselves," said San Jose defender Jason Hernandez. "I thought in the second half we were a lot stronger. It's a road game; you try to do your best to attack with purpose and keep a clean sheet, and for the most part we were keeping the zero on the board and we just got a little unlucky at the end."

Yet if Cannon and the Quakes defense in general were stalwart, their attack was downright stagnant. With the midfield finding it difficult to control and possess the ball, forwards Kei Kamara and Ryan Johnson saw little service.

O'Brien attempted to generate chances off shots from distance, but these were handled with relative ease by Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

One long-distance try by Ramiro Corrales caught Guzan off guard, however. Corrales hit the ball first-time from about 40 yards out in the 37th minute, beating Guzan, but not the post.

After the second half began, it was clear that the Earthquakes remembered another truth about soccer -- a team can't win without scoring. They came out aggressively, opening up the match as they created more chances.

"We allowed them to play too much, I think -- we gave them too much respect in the first half. You can't let any team dictate the game like that," said Yallop. "That second half we thought we stepped in a little bit, created some good chances, but didn't take them."

Of course, pressing forward on the attack exposed the Quakes to the Chivas USA counter.

Razov nearly made them pay in the 53rd minute. Cannon rushed out to shut down Harris' run into the box, but Harris passed the ball to Razov for the shot. This time, it was the Earthquakes' turn to get a favor from the post, as Razov's shot hit off the woodwork.

The Quakes actually generated more shots total than Chivas USA in the second half. Yet Guzan managed four saves of his own, while all the other efforts of the Quakes couldn't find their target.

Yallop tried throwing in more attacking players into the mix, hoping one could produce a goal. John Cunliffe was one who knew the Chivas USA team well, having played with them last season, but even this extra knowledge couldn't lead to a game-changing opportunity.

"We've had a few injuries at wrong times, especially up front, and I think that's the thing that's obviously been hurting us -- we can't score in the right times," Yallop said. "It's not just the guys that play up front, but it's important for them to be slipped in, in better positions, but just in general I think we need some help up there."

The defense of the Quakes managed to turn aside a number of corners that Chivas USA earned, but it was a set piece that eventually undid them. It was a controversial sequence that started when Corrales crumpled to the ground with an apparent injury in the 87th minute.

Harris continued the Chivas USA attack, until O'Brien came in hard and late on a tackle, yelling at Harris immediately afterwards, upset that the unwritten code to put the ball out of play when someone is hurt had not been followed. O'Brien got a yellow card for the tackle and Chivas USA set up for a free kick.

Razov placed it perfectly out of the reach of Cannon, into the side netting.

"You always second-guess the balls that go in," Cannon said. "But it was a good strike."

With that goal, the Quakes' hopes to come away with a good road result faded.

"I guess it's been the story of our year: we have a pretty good chance when John [Cunliffe] just misses the target, and then a terrific free kick, to be honest," Yallop said. "But Joe was big tonight, Joe Cannon was excellent, and it took a good goal to beat him, and it was. Just the timing of it, right at the end of the game, was tough for us to get back in the match."


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Houston content with road result

SALT LAKE CITY -- With the chance to move to the top of the Western Conference, the Houston Dynamo needed three points against Real Salt Lake on Thursday night, and ended up with a draw. And although they are still tied for second in the conference with RSL, the Dynamo are all right with the single point on the road.

Houston head coach Dominic Kinnear is clear that getting draws are not the focus of his team, but in some situations -- like the one against RSL -- he'll take the tie.

"I think we always want to play to win," said Kinnear. "It's an opportunity possibly go atop of the West, and start off the second half of the season on a positive note. It's a positive result. At least Salt Lake is not in front of us, and we're still angling ourselves, hopefully, to the top of the Western Conference. Overall, I think we could play a little bit better. But, I think the attitude of the guys ... was the reason that we came out with a point."

Such high stakes fueled the energy of the match as both the Dynamo and RSL held nothing back when going into tackles and challenging for loose balls. The tough challenges led to a total of seven cards being shown for the rough play, including a red card to Salt Lake defender Chris Wingert for violent conduct in second-half stoppage time.

Kinnear felt the fouling helped wake his team up and get them into the match, and as long as it's controlled, it's good to play with a bit of an aggressive edge.

"Sometimes fouls and disputed calls and controversy get guys revved up," said Kinnear. "I think that's what happened. Sometimes when you get fouled you get angry. A little bit there, our guys got a little more angry than leading up to the last 20 minutes. Sometimes you do [play better when you're angry]. When your anger and your energy is channeled in the right direction you can play better."

All the hard play culminated in an altercation between Wingert and Corey Ashe as the clock ticked over the 90th minute. It appeared that Wingert fouled Ashe and then Dwayne De Rosario confronted Wingert. It didn't take long for a small riot to break out in front of the benches -- and after it was cleared, referee Mark Geiger showed Wingert the red card.

"There was just a foul called, and then a scrum happened -- a couple guys got in each other's faces, which is normal," said Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis. "It's an intense game. Both teams are tied in points, if we win we're at the top, if they win they're at the top. So, it just gets intense. It's expected. I don't think it's right for their player to come in and throw a punch, but it happened and the referee, I think, did the right thing and took care of it. "

In addition to commending the officials, Davis also felt that his teammates handled the situation properly -- especially with some guys close to suspension.

"I think the guys handled their heads well, and tried to get the guys who were on cards out of the situation and get it handled," said Davis. "Let the referees take care of it. I think the guys did a good job to get out of there. "

In addition to the intense battles that can occur, playing on the artificial surface of Rice-Eccles Stadium is a painful experience. However, it was more kind to the Orange than their previous outings. The Dynamo opened the season with a 3-0 loss on the turf of Gillette Stadium in New England, and then saw the same result in CONCACAF Champions' Cup play when they fell on Saprissa's turf by the same score. Taking such history into account, a 0-0 draw on turf is an improvement for the Dynamo.

"Playing on the turf, we're not playing on it every week, is always a tough adjustment," said Davis. "Once again, I think our team works extremely hard to get that point. We didn't stop until the end.

"The first 20 minutes of the game we played well, and then we had a little spell where we fell asleep, and we can't do that, and they put a lot of pressure on us. The same thing, we didn't start the second half very well, and then the last 20 minutes we continued to put pressure on them."

It was that suffocating pressure that Davis feels led to the shoving match, resulting in the Dynamo going up a man.

"In the last 20 minutes I think they were getting frustrated because we were putting pressure on them," said Davis. "I think that scrum happens because they're upset, and something to try and get their team back into the game. We were putting a lot of pressure on."

The surface wasn't only affecting the visitors. Early in the match Kyle Beckerman was alone against Pat Onstad. Just as the RSL midfielder collected the ball it looked to take a bad skid on the carpet, killing the play for Beckerman but saving Onstad's day.

"I was thinking, 'Uh oh, I hope it hits me,'" said Onstad. "I don't know if it had a bit of spin on it, it just handcuffed him. I think he was in two minds, whether to hit it first time or take a touch. And, fortunately for me, it skipped up on him, and he didn't get a good touch on it. We dodged a bit of a bullet there."

As the game grew chippier and the fouls started flowing, the Dynamo looked to climb into control of the match. In the final 20 minutes the Orange began to combine some dangerous passes that opened up more opportunities to score. The end result was half of Houston's 10 shots being fired off in the final 10 minutes of the match.

"We were very, very close there at the end of the game on a couple of occasions," said Kinnear. "[RSL goalkeeper Nick] Rimando made some good saves and Brian [Ching] was inches away from getting the correct touch on Brad [Davis]'s service."

Davis agreed with his coach. He knows that the Dynamo are so close, they will start finding the net on a regular basis again very soon.

"I think it's a matter of time before we get our timing right on crosses and start scoring some goals," said Davis. "I think the play is there. We battled hard, it's a rough game on the turf, it's not always going to be pretty. We got our set piece chances -- it's just a hair off right now."


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