Ekpo, Nigeria win silver in Beijing

BEIJING -- When he stood on the medal platform at the Bird's Nest Saturday afternoon, Emmanuel Ekpo admitted he had mixed emotions. The Columbus Crew midfielder was about to receive a silver medal as Nigeria finished second in the Olympic men's soccer tournament.

"Actually, I would say it was a thing of joy," he said. "On the other hand, I would say I wasn't so happy. I was in it for the gold medal. We should have won the gold medal."

But Ekpo did bring home a precious medal, the lone MLS player to do so. The Nigerians eliminated the United States in the third and final game of the opening round, getting past Ivory Coast in the quarterfinals and Belgium in the semis, before losing 1-0 to Argentina in the gold medal match.

"That's still OK for me," he said of a silver medal.

In fact, the final whistle by referee Viktor Kassai of Hungary turned out to be Ekpo's most memorable moment of the Olympics.

"When I heard the final whistle and I knew it was all gone," he said. "I couldn't get the gold medal anymore. I was thinking we are not getting the gold medal today. I am not going to hang a gold medal."

Like many of his Nigerian teammates, Ekpo realized the gold medal game was a game they let get away. The Argentineans became only the fourth team to win back-to-back men's soccer titles as they ended the Nigerians' quest of becoming the first African country to win two gold medals. Nigeria won it at the Atlanta Summer Games in 1996.

"The game wasn't that bad," he said. "We played well. We had most of the chances. It's just that we couldn't convert our chances. It was unfortunate for us."

The 20-year-old Ekpo came on as a second-half substitute for the sixth consecutive time in the tournament, replacing Isaac Promise in the 70th minute. He played 88 minutes the entire Olympics.

The Nigerians tried to duplicate their miracle comeback against the Argentina in the 1996 gold medal match in Athens, Ga. In that match, Nigeria turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 victory in the final minutes.

But not this time.

"It was evenly contested," Ekpo said of the game. "We had a better chance of winning the game, but we didn't convert our chances. In the second half we outplayed them. We had to apply the pressure. There was nothing to lose. We just couldn't get the goal."

The gold medal match, played in front of 89,103 spectators at the National Stadium, certainly wasn't one of the most memorable soccer finals in recent times. Both teams lost energy, especially in the second half and there could have been more scoring chances.

The midday start in temperatures that soared to 108 degrees on the field obviously had something to do with it.

Because FIFA wanted to play the game at National Stadium, it had to settle on a noon local starting time before the final day of track and field events here (all other matches were played at night). That coincided with field temperatures of 105 degrees. Soccer's world governing body allowed water breaks in the 30th and 70th minutes as a precautionary measure, which is virtually unprecedented at the international level.

"It was quite hot," Ekpo said. "But back in Nigeria it is even hotter than here. ... The humidity was quite high [and] affected us in the second half."

Ekpo claimed the heat did not affect him that much. He said he had much more important matters on his mind.

"I knew I was coming in the second half," he said. "I knew I had a big task ahead because we were a goal down. I wasn't thinking about the weather. I didn't think the weather should affect me at that time. I just wanted to get the equalizer."

Which Nigeria failed to do. Ekpo did not take any shots, playing more of a link midfielder, helping to pass the ball in and around the penalty area.

While the African side could not find away to put the ball past Argentinean goalkeeper Sergio Romero, the South Americans did on the other end of the field as midfielder Angel Di Maria solved goalkeeper Ambruse Vanzekin in the 58th minute off a pass from the great Lionel Messi.

Messi did not have the best of games, especially for his standards and expectations. But he was wise enough to realize there were other ways to contribute.

"We knew coming in that we may never have this experience again, so we are lucky that everything went well and we got what we wanted," Messi said.

"This is a great day for the people of Argentina, and for the development of the game there," coach Sergio Batista said.

Messi almost didn't play in the tournament. His Spanish club team, Barcelona, won a court ruling that would have allowed it to pull back Messi. But when push came to shove, the La Liga side let the man known as "The Flea" to remain in China. It worked out well for Argentina and will allow Messi to return to Spain a contented man with motivation to perform brilliance for his club.

"People said a lot of things that annoyed me before I came to China, everyone knows that," Messi told FIFA.com. "That's what makes this medal so special."

Compared to some of his earlier performances in the tournament, Messi wasn't anywhere close to his brilliant and lethal self as Nigeria did its best to contain him. So, the FC Barcelona superstar went to Plan B -- he passed. His most important one was to Di Maria, who raced in on the left side on goalkeeper Vanzekin, chipping him from 18 yards.

Di Maria admitted that he first thought of firing away, but changed his strategy when he saw the 'keeper come out of the net. "Luckily, it went in," he said.

Lucky for Di Maria and Argentina, unlucky for Ekpo and his teammates.

Because Nigeria bounced around the country, playing its early matches in Tianjin, Shanghai and Beijing, the team wasn't settled enough to see the capital city (even on game days there the team was focused on the game). Since Ekpo is returning to Nigeria with the team on Tuesday, he will spend the next few days playing tourist and not soccer.

He said a Chinese friend was going to take him to some of the usual tourist spots -- The Great Wall, for example -- and some other places.

Then it's back to Nigeria for a few days before Ekpo returns to Columbus on Sept. 1 or 2.

He doesn't know the player will receive a bonus for earning a silver medal.

"I believe there will be something for us," he said.

The key word is believe because many African countries -- Nigeria included -- have a history of promising players bonuses, only to fail to put their money where their mouth is.

Regardless, they can't take Expo's silver medal away.


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Evans showing goal-scoring touch

COLUMBUS -- That there is a goal scorer's mentality lurking inside of Brad Evans is no coincidence.

The second-year Columbus Crew center midfielder has a goal in each of the past two games and four for the season to help his squad into a first-place tie in the Eastern Conference with New England heading into Saturday's match at FC Dallas.

He has scored on the counterattack and with driving headers that would make a forward proud. In fact, that's where he played for the University of California-Irvine, netting 31 career goals.

When Evans gets around the box, he knows what to do.

"I've been there before through college. I scored a few goals," he said.

Crew coach Sigi Schmid drafted him last year but wasn't sure what role Evans would fill.

"I had him with the [U.S.] under-20 team and saw him quite a bit in college," said Schmid, whose son Kyle is senior defender for UC Irvine while another son, Kurt, is now an assistant for the Anteaters. "I felt at that time in the draft when he was still available, he was a good athlete. I didn't know what position he was going to play because he was a forward in college and in the under-20s I played him at center back a little bit and outside back. Eventually I figured he would end up somewhere in the midfield."

Evans recalls playing one game at center back for the U-20s, "I also played right back at the under-20 championships. I think I even played left back at one time. It's good. It puts you on the field but you like to find your niche. Center mid is where I'll be playing."

In many respects, Evans is still finding his way through the pro game after an aborted first year. He appeared in four matches but missed the final 16 games because of a strained left hip flexor.

"I look at this as my rookie year because I was healthy for about two months total," Evans said. "I'm looking at this as a fresh start and blessed to be healthy right now. You're healthy all through college, you get a shot and you're all excited. You come in and things happen. You work hard to get back. I didn't touch a ball until January. I'm super happy to be healthy."

His offensive skills are one reason the Crew is third in league scoring with 34 goals. Finding openings has been important for Evans and the other midfielders, said forward Alejandro Moreno.

"The way we play I'm going to be up high with a lot of mobility, working side-to-side. In order for us to create some spaces there has to be some second runs from either Guillermo (Barros Schelotto) or the midfielders and we've been getting that," Moreno said. "As you see when we get that from Brad or Brian Carroll they're usually open at the top of the box with late runs. If we get good balls into them they've got a good chance to score. They're taking advantage of the opportunities."

Evans notched his first score in the second half at San Jose on May 10 on the end of a counterattack. The goal proved to be decisive in a 3-2 win.

"He always scored goals in college. He's had that capability. He's good in the air. He strikes the ball well," Schmid said. "I'm not surprised by his scoring. He and (Adam) Moffat and Carroll and the outside midfielders have given us goals. That's important to the offense.

"With Guillermo dropping off the front line a little bit and the outside forwards really getting into the attack, the defensive attention is on those four guys and sometimes the fifth guy is coming in. We've talked a lot about not getting in in advance of the play, coming in late. It's a lot harder for the defense to pick you up if you're running toward the box late. If you're there early they can sort it out."

Goal No. 2 for Evans ignited the Crew to rally from a 2-0 deficit at Los Angeles on June 21 into a 3-3 tie. Against FC Dallas on Aug. 16, his header off a Schelotto free kick in the 65th minute earned the Crew three points in a 2-1 victory. Last week he drilled another header for the third goal in a 3-0 win against Real Salt Lake.

He's not guaranteeing a continuation of his goal streak Saturday in Pizza Hut Park but, "If the service is there hopefully I'll be there. You always hope for goals but if they don't come, no problem, there's next week," he said. "I think I've found my niche in the middle. I guess it's a little knack for scoring and for me to get some points."


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Confident Crew lead Eastern Conference

FRISCO, Texas -- Forgive the Columbus Crew if they are feeling a little confident these days. After all, the Black-and-Gold dispatched FC Dallas 2-1 for the second time in two weeks, giving them 40 points on the season, which places them atop the MLS Eastern Conference standings.

On Saturday night, the Crew trailed 1-0 after a 35th minute goal by Jeff Cunningham put FCD ahead. But by the 40th minute, Columbus had drawn ahead 2-1 thanks to scores by Alejandro Moreno and Eddie Gaven.

Following the win, which was the Crew's fourth in their last five matches, head coach Sigi Schmid was clearly pleased with his side's performance.

"I thought we showed a lot of character in the first half going down 1-0 and basically responding right away with two goals," Schmid said. "But that's been the character of our team all season. The second half wasn't the most artistic. It was one of those where we had to hang on. It didn't seem like we got any breaks on the calls but our guys held tough. Sometimes when you're not playing your best, you've got to find different ways to win. Overall, I'm just proud of our team and our character."

The star for Columbus was clearly playmaking midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who assisted on both goals. The Argentine now leads MLS with 16 assists and also holds the single-season franchise record in that category for the Crew.

"[Schelotto] is somebody who can be considered for MVP of the league this year," Schmid said. "The guys know he can make special plays and get the ball into them in the right positions. He's been doing it for us all season. The key thing is to get him into spots where he can make a difference and we've been able to do that on a pretty consistent basis this year."

In the second half, FCD put considerable pressure on the Columbus back line but the Crew's rearguard held tough and didn't give up the game-tying goal to the Hoops.

"[The defense] has played well all year," Schmid said. "I think [Hesmer] is one of the top goalkeepers in this league. Chad Marshall, I think has got to be a candidate for defender of the year. For sure, he is the automatic winner of comeback of the year because he played just 12 games last year with the concussion. Andy Iro stepped in today for Danny O'Rourke and had a solid game. We've never lost a game when Gino [Padula] started for us. Getting him back on the field helps us because he's smart positionally and is solid. Frankie [Hejduk] is always buzzing and continues to give you that."

Schmid also heaped considerable praise on Gaven, who scored his first goal of the year in the 40th minute, a tally that proved to be the game-winner for the Black-and-Gold.

"It was definitely a good game for him," Schmid said. "Last week, he picked up his first assist and today, he comes up with the goal. It was great because we actually moved him to the other side of the field. We thought maybe we could get a little luck with Robbie [Rogers] on the other side and he just made a great run off the ball. He does so many other little things for our team, which don't get seen but are very important to maintain the rhythm."

The Columbus players were clearly enjoying the win, which was their league-leading 12th of the season, after the game but will soon have to turn their focus to next Saturday's match against New England at Crew Stadium.

"We're taking it game-to-game this year," said defender Frankie Hejduk. "We're not looking ahead to any other game. The game that we just played we dwell on for a few hours whether it be good or bad and then it's on to prepare for the next game at hand. I think in the past, we've looked too far ahead and we're not doing that this year."

Crew midfielder Brian Carroll agreed. "We've had good results here in a row, but the next one is the most important," he said. "New England is right behind us and it seems like the East just gets closer and closer with each passing week."


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One touch per minute

Revs drop Champions League opener

Trinidad & Tobago champions Joe Public FC upset Eastern Conference leaders New England Revolution with a 2-1 victory in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League preliminary round tie Tuesday evening at Marvin Lee Stadium in Tunapuna, Trinidad.

It could have been much worse for the Revs as Joe Public wasted several chances before Gregory Richardson scored six minutes after halftime. Substitute Jamal Gay added a second for the Trinidadians. Mauricio Castro scored from the penalty spot to give the Revs a second-leg lifeline after Carlyle Mitchell hauled Shalrie Joseph down in the penalty area.

With the second leg ahead next Tuesday, the Revs are well positioned to advance after netting a precious away goal and dominating the T&T Pro League champions in the final 20 minutes.

Revolution head coach Steve Nicol lost Khano Smith to Bermuda national team duty. Mauricio Castro earned a recall in his place. With Chris Albright unavailable, the Revs opted for a four-man backline with Jeff Larentowicz dropping into central defense alongside Michael Parkhurst. Taylor Twellman led the line with Steve Ralston tucked in behind as the Revs lined up in a 4-4-1-1 formation.

Joe Public went for an attacking 4-4-2 formation designed exploit the team's speed. Gregory Richardson and Roen Nelson were the focal points in attack, while experienced midfielders Dale Saunders and Arnold Dwarika ran the show in midfield. Former Colorado defender Keyeno Thomas started centrally, while former Kansas City striker Gary Glasgow settled for a place on the bench.

The home side started on the front foot, running at the Revolution defense and exploiting its speed advantage. Nelson and Richardson continually turned the corner and got to the byeline against the slow to react Revs defenders.

But the recurring theme for the Trinidadian club was the lack of a finishing touch. Richardson skipped around Chris Tierney and pulled back for Nelson only for the Jamaican to wastefully push his effort wide. Nelson then sent another effort well wide as Joe Public attempted to push the tempo in the early stages.

Gradually, the Revolution entered into the game. Assuming some semblance of possession, New England tried to settled the pace. Those hopes were dealt a blow when Steve Ralston limped off with a back injury after just 25 minutes. Wells Thompson announced his arrival in Ralston's place by picking up a yellow card one minute later.

Chances started to arrive for the visitors in search of a vital away goal. Kerry Baptiste had to hack away a Sainey Nyassi cross before Castro could apply the final touch.

Twellman then drew a free kick on the edge of the penalty area. Joe Public goalkeeper Alejandro Figueroa awkwardly parried over Larentowicz's rising drive.

Perhaps the best chance of the opening stanza fell to the wasteful Nelson four minutes before the break after a sublime diagonal ball from Baptiste sent him through, but Nelson's effort once again went wide.

The goal that should have came in the first half finally arrived six minutes into the second stanza. The buildup was worthy of Richardson's tap-in, starting in midfield with a long, diagonal pass from Dale Saunders. Nelson's knockdown played Baptiste through into the corner, and the cross found Richardson in acres of space to finish a chance even the Trinidadians couldn't conspire to miss.

It should have been two after 65 minutes when Nelson managed to turn another sumptuous Baptiste cross wide from six yards.

That would be Nelson's last chance for profligacy in front of goal and given substitute Gay's immediate impact, it's a wonder Nelson lasted as long as he did. Baptiste again roasted Tierney down the right flank. A carbon copy cross received a carbon copy finish from Gay.

Joe Public was in dreamland with a two-goal lead, but those dreams were shattered four minutes after the goal when Twellman played through Joseph. Joseph surged into the penalty area. Mitchell hacked Joseph down with a crude challenge. Castro stepped up to take the resulting penalty and sent Figueroa the wrong way to give Revs a much-needed goal.

Incredibly, the Revs could have even grabbed an equalizer to cap their strength over the last quarter of the match. Substitute Joe Germanese got in behind the Joe Public defense and dragged back in front of goal, but the cross missed Twellman's run heading to goal.


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Fire fully loaded for Dynamo

In a small-field scrimmage Friday, Brian McBride put his head on a looping ball in front of the goal and sent it past the goalkeeper for the first score of the game.

Apparently, McBride is now fully prepared to help the Fire in their last nine games of the Major League Soccer regular season.

While in the midst of a very crowded scene for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, the Fire play two-time defending champion the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium on Sunday. The Fire (10-6-5, 35 points) stand two points behind New England and Columbus in the Eastern Conference standings.

But they enjoy the league's best road record at 6-2-3, which includes consecutive road wins at Los Angeles and New England. They are 2-0-1 in their last three road games and have lost just once in their last nine games.

In preparation for the Dynamo, the Fire are also at near full strength with the return of Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Gonzalo Segares and Marco Pappa from national team duty.

However, Blanco and Segares are expected to be called back for World Cup qualifiers Sept. 6 and 10. Pappa's status with Guatemala is less clear, though he played well as a reserve against the U.S.

Also, McBride has completed two full weeks of training, including the past week when the weather was near perfect, to prepare for the final two months of the season.

It seems all systems are go for the Fire.

"We have had a good week of training," Fire coach Denis Hamlett said. "We took two days off after the L.A. game, and the reserves played in the (exhibition) game against Veracruz, which was good for those guys, and now we get back at it this week."

While the Fire are hot, the Dynamo are about as strong as a team can be, despite coming off a surprise loss at New York last week. The Dynamo are 8-5-8 (32 points) and stand five points above the crowd in the mostly disappointing Western Conference. Prior to the New York game, the Dynamo had a league-best four-game winning streak.

"It is important from the standpoint that points are important right now," Hamlett said. "We are close to the two teams ahead of us. It is a big game from that standpoint. Every point is precious. This is a great opportunity for us."

The Fire are still getting accustomed to their new look, which is really only new at one position. McBride, the former English Premier League star who has returned home, is certain to hold down the forward spot for the Fire the rest of the season and looked like he was fully adjusted to the switch in practice Friday.

"We knew it was going to take some time for him to get used to our guys, and the other way around," Hamlett said. "He does all the little things we thought he would do."

"I'm enjoying the training, and trying to get to know all the guys," said McBride, who did not look like a 36-year-old as he ran through the two-hour session. "I'm getting a good understanding of the team."

McBride played the second half in his first game back against D.C. United, then played the entire game against Los Angeles last week. Thanks to the Sunday game schedule, he has had a full week to prepare for this conflict.

The Fire are relatively healthy. Defender Daniel Woolard is just now getting back into running after suffering a knee sprain, and forward Patrick Nyarko is also fighting a knee sprain that came almost immediately after he returned from a concussion a few weeks ago.

But other than that, Hamlett had a full squad to work with and a full squad to choose from for this game. "That's why you have a 28-man roster," Hamlett said. "This is a chance for everybody to step up."


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Crew breeding competitive environment

COLUMBUS -- The Columbus Crew had completed an intense training session earlier this week that included a short-field competition among three groups of players.

Midfielder Danny O'Rourke stretched, showered, then prepared for an interview at the team's Obetz training center, but his mind was still on what had transpired about 30 minutes earlier.

"Everybody wanted to win out there. Practice is over, our team ended up losing and I'm still (ticked) off about it," he said. "If we can breed that practice every day, that competitiveness will translate into games and hopefully make us a successful team."

By any measure, the Crew are having a renaissance year as they sit near the top of the Eastern Conference and the overall MLS table. A win Saturday at home against Real Salt Lake would enable the Crew to equal its point total (37) in 30 games last season.

They have already surpassed the 33 points Sigi Schmid had in 2006 in his first season as coach. The 38 points the Crew had the previous year when they started a string of three consecutive non-playoff seasons should be a distant memory soon, too.

Yes, the times are changing - for the better.

"This year has been awesome, obviously, because we've been winning. Our chemistry has always been great in the locker room. We have great guys and everybody gets along. There's no hot heads or egos," said defender Jed Zayner, who was a rookie in 2006. "It took a couple of years to build that. We've put the people in the right position and now we fight for each other and fight to win."

The key, said midfielder Pat Noonan, is to make sure that fighting spirit is a positive trait and not one that will divide the locker room because players have their own agendas. In five seasons with New England he saw the Revolution make the MLS Cup a fall rite of passage.

"It's about having the coach that can get the right players and being in the right atmosphere. It's not easy to do at the professional level and (New England coach) Steve Nicol did a great job getting guys that enjoyed playing together and worked hard," he said.

Although Noonan has been with the team less than two weeks he witnessed another in a string of comebacks this season for the Crew in his first outing, a 2-1 against FC Dallas last Saturday.

"We came back last week against Dallas and got a good victory. These guys look like they work hard on and off the field," he said. "Sigi's got a good group of young guys that work hard and get along on and off the field. It goes a long way because when you got guys that want to play for each other and win for each other it makes things a lot easier."

Schmid has added players with international success such as forward Guillermo Barros Schelotto and MLS Cup winners in forward Alejandro Moreno, defender Ezra Hendrickson and midfielder Brian Carroll.

"There's a good group of guys here who have been involved in some successful teams and when you have that experience mixed in with some good results you build a little bit of confidence and maybe that has helped us play a little better each game," said Carroll, a member of D.C. United's 2004 championship team. "It feels like a good team. We need to continue to improve and work for each other and let the results take care of themselves and not worry about the past."

Schmid said a culture of winning has finally been discovered by Columbus.

"The mentality is much better. You always want to create competitive training sessions. That's the most important thing to create as you try to improve the team," he said. "Very few teams in this league have won 50 percent of their games. I think it's us and New England. From that standpoint I'm very proud of what we've done. As you go through the experience of winning, as you go through the experience of being behind and winning the game, that's something you can do to help your confidence."

Yet, he knows better than anyone that now is not the time to be satisfied. As well as the Crew have played through two-thirds of the season, they have clinched nothing.

"What this team needs to do is win games that are big games or there's something on the line whether that's an Open Cup game or, 'Today's game puts us in first place.' That's the next thing we need to get confidence in but we've made huge strides," he said.

With winning comes more pressure from the fans and within the team to make this a special season for a club that has never played for the MLS Cup.

"Expectations have to be based in reality and we have the reality now that our expectations are reasonable and are expectations are to win every time we step on the field," Schmid said. "Our expectations are to make it to the playoffs and our expectations are to compete for other postseason awards and the MLS title."


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Conrad's equalizer forces KC-FCD tie

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Jimmy Conrad's goal two minutes into stoppage time gave the Kansas City Wizards a last-gasp 1-1 draw against 10-man FC Dallas on Saturday evening at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

FC Dallas took an early lead on Andre Rocha's goal, then nearly held out for the remainder of the game, even playing a man down for the final 27-plus minutes after Pablo Ricchetti was shown a second yellow card.

FC Dallas took the lead after just seven minutes. Rocha received a 25-yard cross from midfielder Dax McCarty, then beat Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman with a stunning long-range blast from all of 30 yards away. Rocha's shot sailed high then dipped and knuckled before sailing into the goal just under the crossbar for his first goal in MLS.

The Wizards narrowly dodged going down 2-0, as FC Dallas combined a long run down the sideline with a cross, for a shot by forward Jeff Cunningham that was smothered by Hartman.

In the 22nd minute, the Wizards nearly hit for the equalizer. From a free kick just outside the right corner of the area, the ball was played square. Wizards defender Jack Jewsbury raced in and hammered a first-time shot from 20 yards that FC Dallas goalkeeper Dario Sala deflected wide.

After the early goal, FC Dallas seemed to sit back, soaking up any pressure on the tight confines at CommunityAmerica Ballpark and taking advantage of their overall team speed to create opportunities.

The Wizards consistently had chances; they simply weren't finishing the opportunities they created. For the night, they outshot FC Dallas 21-9, but both teams each put six shots on target. But the Wizards didn't have a shot on target after the opening half-hour until the final minute of the game.

The game took a big turn in the 62nd minute when Ricchetti was sent off after a tackle on Davy Arnaud. Ricchetti earlier was issued a yellow card for a deliberate handball in the 46th minute.

After a flurry of Wizards shots, Claudio Lopez found himself with the ball and an open shot from about 18 yards out in the 70th minute. But while his shot on the run beat Sala in the FC goal, it was wide of the near post. It was the most dangerous offensive attack for the Wizards to that point in the half.

In the final minute of regulation, Arnaud forced another save out of Sala, and the Wizards kept the pressure on with a flurry of corner kicks.

Then, deep into time added on, Carlos Marinelli flicked the ball to Jack Jewsbury right at the edge of the area. As he was getting knocked to the ground, Jewsbury slid it forward to Josh Wolff in the right side of the area. Wolff sent a low ball into the goalmouth where Conrad came sliding in, and ahead of two FCD defenders he side-footed the ball over Sala into the net for the stunning equalizer.


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Lewis looks to help reeling Galaxy

CARSON, Calif. -- After spending nine years playing in England, U.S. international Eddie Lewis has returned to MLS, signing last week with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Lewis is expected to make his club debut this weekend against New England, and his presence on the field will be a more than welcome addition.

Lewis's debut was postponed a week when he took a vicious hit in the U.S. World Cup qualifier against Guatemala last Wednesday that required stitches above his right eye. All tests have come back OK, and Lewis is ready to begin his LA career.

"It's a bit tender, but it could have been worse," said Lewis. "I got the stitches out Wednesday. I've been scanned and I've trained and all the rest. Like I said, it's still a bit tender, but I should be fine."

Lewis joins the Galaxy at a time when the club is reeling. While his ability to provide service from the left flank will immediately take pressure off of David Beckham on the opposite side of the field, it's the other aspects to Lewis' game that could prove to be more important.

"Adding Eddie is going to help a lot," said Landon Donovan. "His service is good. He's a good professional. He shows up every day and trains hard; he's a good finisher, he works hard. He's everything you want in a player. He's an ideal left-sided player and now we finally have one."

It would almost seem unrealistic to expect Lewis to be able to have an immediate impact. He is still getting to know his new teammates and is trying to settle into the southern California lifestyle. The Galaxy themselves are in a state of transition right now as well, though Lewis already has a familiarity with new head coach Bruce Arena from their days with the U.S. national team.

"In some ways I think I feel like I'm trying to settle in with a lot of the guys and see how they play. At the same time, the team is going through the same process," said Lewis. "Bruce is moving things around and changing not only the way we play but the shape of the team.

"It's probably a little bit tricky, but at the same time, the focus for me is to really try and take on what Bruce is asking and start to get to know some of the movements of the strikers and midfielders and build a relationship with the left back."

Lewis is likely to be the only new signing under Arena this season. He'll certainly be the biggest name to land in Los Angeles before season's end. That can be a lot of pressure, considering the Galaxy are looking for a dramatic turnaround and a return to the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. Still, Arena thinks he has the man that can help get his team into the postseason.

"He's an experienced player. (He's) a player that knows how to play on the left side of the field, which is sometimes a rare commodity. (He's) a player that knows how to play on both sides of the ball," said Arena. "I think he's a real good addition to the team."


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Hoops' strike pair looks for cohesion

FRISCO, Texas -- Some things just take time. That was the thinking when, earlier this month, FC Dallas traded for veteran striker Jeff Cunningham and looked to pair him up top alongside Kenny Cooper.

In their first game together, a 2-1 loss at Columbus on August 16, the FCD duo combined well at times and it was Cunningham who gave the Hoops an early 1-0 lead with the 100th goal of his league tenure in the first half.

However, in the game and a half since (the second half of the Columbus match and last week's Kansas City game), the pairing has often looks out of sync with one another and been largely inconsistent. That's exactly how FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman would characterize their play thus far.

"I think any time you have coordination between two players, it's got to be two players on the same page," Hyndman said. "Sometimes they're on the same page and sometimes they're off the same page. But before Jeff got here, you could say the same thing. So, it's a combination of not just combining but coordinating with each other. One guy checks for the ball and the other runs off. When you get the ball, you look for the other guy to combine. Right now, we're not doing that. There are so many things that I would like to work on but that may be something that we need to backpedal a little bit on and get that coordination a little bit more."

Both players realize that cohesion will come as they play together more.

"Jeff is a great player," Cooper said. "Like I've said before, his statistics speak for themselves. He's scored a lot of goals in this league. I've had a couple of weeks with him and he is a great person. I really enjoy being around him in the locker room and enjoy being on the field with him. I have a lot of confidence because he's a great player and someone I enjoy being out on the field with. I think that the more time we spend together, hopefully, the more dangerous we will become."

Cunningham knows he, too, will get to know Cooper better -- who is currently second in MLS with 13 goals.

"My thing is that as an attacking player, it's very difficult to create," he said. "I'm not necessarily saying defending is easy but I think it's much easier to disrupt plays than it is to create opportunities. That cohesion is going to take time but Kenny is a goal scorer and he knows how to create space and create goals for himself. So, I have no doubt that he will continue to score goals and possibly win the (Golden Boot) this year."

Before they were teammates, both strikers were familiar with each other but Cooper and Cunningham admit they have noticed new things about one another over the last few weeks.

"On the personal side, I have noticed that he's a great guy who works hard in training," Cooper said. "I've only known him before from playing against him. I always considered him a dangerous player. I've gotten to know him more personally and have enjoyed being his teammate."

Said Cunningham: "(I have noticed) his technical ability. He's not a typical big man. He's very good with his feet and his movement is very good. His work rate and the effort he puts in is amazing, especially for a young player to have that kind of professionalism at such a young age is amazing."

Since Cooper is perpetually one of the last players to leave the training field, for Cunningham, that means joining his strike partner for extra finishing work long after many of their teammates have retired to the locker room.

"I'm forced to have to keep up," Cunningham said. "For him to have that work ethic, it's contagious to a veteran like myself looking at him and looking to stay at him to continue to improve. It's only going to affect the entire team in a very positive way and will help our team improve if everyone is pushing to better their play."

During halftime of a reserve game on Wednesday between FCD and Houston, Cooper took his newest teammate over to meet his father, Kenny Sr., who played professionally in England and also in the NASL. The three enjoyed a spirited conversation for some time and it left a strong impression on Cunningham.

"He is very knowledgeable about the game and seems like he is a very strong, disciplined person," Cunningham said. "As a result, I can see where Kenny gets his work ethic and his character from. The apple doesn't fall very far from the tree. He's a good family and good support system. That's what is going to help him the further he advances in his professional career."


Highly motivated Hoops break out
Cunningham scores goal No. 100
Italian leagues set for strike

Resurgent Quakes alive in playoff race

CARSON, Calif. -- While on the surface being shutout on the road might not appear to be an impressive result, Saturday night's scoreless draw between the San Jose Earthquakes and Chivas USA is a major statement about how far the Earthquakes have come as a team this season.

For most of the year the Earthquakes have languished in last place in what was quickly appearing to be a disastrous first season. However, with the recent acquisitions of Darren Huckerby, Arturo Alvarez and Scott Sealy, the Earthquakes have strung together a six-match unbeaten streak, quietly gaining points on the rest of the Western Conference. And while they still sit at the bottom of the conference standings, they are only three points off from a playoff spot.

Saturday's draw showed another side of the Earthquakes, as well. It showed their ability to grind out a match against a difficult road opponent.

"For long spells we were not at our best but what I liked about our unit tonight is that we didn't crumble and we actually came back in the end," said coach Frank Yallop. "You didn't see the best from us tonight but you saw a team that fought and scrapped to the end and a point for us is great to get here. All in all it was a good result and we move on." Goalkeeper Joe Cannon also saw the importance of earning the hard-fought road point. "We've turned a corner as a team," Cannon said.

Cannon was a major reason why the Earthquakes got out of The Home Depot Center with a draw, making a couple of difficult saves that preserved the shutout.

The Earthquakes were forced to make an early adjustment when Ramiro Corrales left the match in the 14th minute with a sprained left knee. With Corrales out, the Earthquakes offense struggled to find much rhythm. However, the Earthquakes put pressure on Chivas USA late in the match and nearly scored a late goal were it not for a superb save by Zach Thornton on a Ronnie O'Brien shot in the 85th minute.

"We gave their players too much freedom," said O'Brien. "We had a couple of chances but not enough."

With the Earthquakes heading into the final stretch of the regular season, they have their sights set on one thing: the MLS Cup Playoffs.

"We're two games off second place and we have six games left at home," said Yallop. "We feel great. What you've got to do is grind results out. It's really in our hand if we can pull ourselves together."

Added O'Brien: "Our goal is the playoffs. The expansion tag doesn't wash with us anymore. Realistically the playoffs are within reach now and it comes down to us."

One thing that the Earthquakes have in their favor is that six of their last nine matches will be played at home, including three in a row beginning next Saturday against Kansas City.

"We have a few home games coming up and hopefully we can get a couple of wins and move up the table," said O'Brien.


Earthquakes flex defensive muscles
Earthquakes shake, rattle Revolution
Hope still alive

Versatile Harrington key to K.C. hopes

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- For the Kansas City Wizards, Michael Harrington could be one of the biggest X-factors by season's end.

The versatility of the second-year player showed with his switch to right midfield from left back, which has allowed Wizards boss Curt Onalfo to reunite the dynamic Davy Arnaud with newly acquired Josh Wolff up front. Harrington's speed and crossing ability provides the Wizards attack with another legitimate threat.

But few expected what unraveled in last Saturday's match with the Colorado Rapids -- it was an event that brought to light another quality of the 22-year-old. After challenging for a head ball in the Wizards penalty area, Harrington fell almost horizontally as his head hit the ground followed quickly by his shoulder, which took the force of his 170-lb. frame.

"Right away, I knew that something wasn't right," said Harrington. "I couldn't really even move it all that well after that. But somehow I ended up scoring a couple minutes later."

Having apparently survived without a broken clavicle, Harrington continued to play, though laboring very visibly. And then he lifted his team who had labored through the first half by scoring the equalizer in the 44th minute when he put in the rebound of a Sasha Victorine shot.

A dose of pain pills and a tight wrapping at halftime enabled Harrington to push aside the intense pain until he was taken out in the 70th minute. But he had pushed through the obstacle to triumph personally in a situation with which he was not familiar.

Fortunately for Harrington, he will be back on the field this Saturday when the Wizards play host FC Dallas in a crucial match at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, the injury just a separated shoulder that held him out of training until Thursday.

"I thought it was going to be something that was going to actually put me out of some games for a while," said Harrington. "I've never really had any serious injuries that kept me out -- knock on wood. I've got to be smart with it and not go into any stupid challenges."

Harrington's reaction was an example to his Onalfo's call for all of his players to win their individual battles, to defeat the opposing player he is matched up with on the field.

"Michael's a warrior," said Onalfo. "Probably his biggest strength is his fitness, so it's just a matter of us helping him technically and tactically. [The incident] is a tribute to how hard of a worker he is."

When the parts of Harrington's makeup are put together, it is clear he is becoming a well-rounded player; the refining of those abilities is what is now needed to truly make Harrington a player that each team looks at as one they need to mark out of a game, another type of X-factor.

By switching Harrington to right midfield, Onalfo has enabled Harrington to add a spark to the Wizards attack.

"We think he can be a threat offensively. Three games in, he's scored one goal. It's proven to work," said Onalfo.

"I've done well with [scoring from the midfield]," said Harrington. "I don't necessarily consider myself a goal scorer; I'm more of an assist man. I've found a way to score some goals. Hopefully, I can keep that going."

A year ago, Harrington allied three goals and four assists while playing in both the midfield and in the back. The excitement of being a larger part of the attack is palpable in Harrington's voice.

"I feel like I can flow with the game more, use my speed, and combine with [forwards] like Davy and Josh," said Harrington. "Those are guys who really like to combine and play a good brand of soccer. It's really fun to play with those guys."

But not all has gone the North Carolina product's way in recent days. Instead of being named to the U.S. team that recently competed in the Beijing Olympics, Harrington was named only an alternate.

"I was very disappointed that I wasn't on that team. I felt like I should have been. But that's the coach's decision," he said. "I felt like I played well enough during the season here to warrant at least being on the team, if not starting."

The Olympics gone, Harrington's international focus turns to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, but just being called up for the full national team would be a "lifelong dream." And it seems to be in reach for the well-equipped Harrington, but some might call his ambitions a bit lofty. No worry, he is well aware of the growth needed in his play.

"I can play a multitude of positions -- left back, midfield. I feel like I could go in there and do well. But I'm not quite there yet. I have some improving to do, a lot of work ahead of me. But, here, in the near future, I hope to be there in the World Cup in 2010," said Harrington.

Harrington said getting more experience and learning how to play quicker is a large part of the improvement.

"I'm still making that transition [to the pros]. It's only my second year in the league," he said. "From this year to last year, I can already tell a big difference in how I feel about my game, how confident I am. It's fun going out on the field and saying, 'Hey, I'm one of the best players on the field right now. I'm going to make my influence on the game.'

"A couple of years from now, hopefully, I can continue to get more and more confident, learn, and just get better. If I can do that, I don't think I'm far off from that team."

The bigger the knockdown, the more the bleached-blond Harrington gets up. That's good news for the Wizards who will need their right midfielder to be a difference maker in the last third of the season as they surmount obstacles and push for the playoffs and beyond.


Wizards look to keep battling
HARRINGTON BACKS POULTER

Solo, Lloyd lead U.S. women to gold

BEIJING -- How appropriate that goalkeeper Hope Solo and midfielder Carli Lloyd stood side-by-side together on the medal podium at Beijing Workers' Stadium Thursday night, because in the months leading up to the Olympics they stood beside each other during some tough times.

Both players -- pretty decent friends -- endured the rather forgettable Women's World Cups in China last September.

Of course, Solo made the biggest headlines in the biggest controversy in U.S. women's history. She returned home in disgrace, ostracized by her teammates for controversial remarks she made after her benching in the Women's World Cup semifinal. Solo was even not allowed to fly home with the team.

After a promising buildup in 2007, Lloyd wound up a dud in the Cup and was taken out of the starting lineup for the knockout rounds.

Both players completed rather remarkable personal comebacks Thursday night, playing a vital role for the USA as they captured their third Olympic women's soccer gold medal.

Solo was outstanding, helping to hold off a relentless Brazilian attack that came at the U.S. in waves after Lloyd scored from 19 yards out six minutes into extra time en route to a 1-0 victory.

"We were standing on the podium together," Lloyd said. "We experienced the World Cup together. Even though it wasn't planned, we both went through tough times there. We just looked at each other. ... We're still kind of in shock right now."

Last Sept. 27 an angry Solo vented her frustration about the benching. Then-coach Greg Ryan surprisingly had replaced her with veteran Briana Scurry as the U.S. suffered its worst defeat in history, losing 4-0 to Brazil. "There is no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves," Solo said at the time.

On Thursday night she did. Solo did not think she was vindicated, although half the world probably did.

"I don't even think about that, whatever I said last year," she said. "I am just enjoying this moment right now. I feel great. I just won a gold medal."

While she has been accepted by the team now, it was tough when Solo returned for the post-WWC tour. Lloyd, however, was there for her friend.

"I told her a number of times she was by far the best goalkeeper in the world," she said. "That game today, she played unbelievable. If it wasn't for her, there would be two goals definitely in the back of the net."

Solo admitted that she was waiting to play Brazil when it really counted. The USA defeated the Brazilians in three friendlies this summer by 1-0 scores.

"We thought about that game all the time," she said. "We've seen Brazil three times since that last match, but it wasn't the same. On the world stage is when teams really come to play so it sat with us a little bit."

The USA have won three of the four women's soccer gold medals, including 1996 and 2004, taking the silver in 2000.

When the final whistle sounded, the U.S. team celebrated, hugging each other and dancing around the Workers' Stadium field with U.S. flags. "I was floating out there," Solo said. "I haven't shed a tear. It seems unreal."

An ecstatic Solo walked onto the field wearing a pair of oversized, fake gold medals around her neck, waving to the crowd while on the cellphone to her brother.

"I couldn't even hear him," Solo said. "He was screaming."

Eventually, she would receive the real McCoy from FIFA president Sepp Blatter, which Solo wore when she exited the stadium.

The win climaxed a tournament in which the USA weren't given much of a chance of winning, especially after losing their leading goalscorer, Abby Wambach, to a broken leg last month. They lost their opening match 2-0 to Norway, surrendering two goals in the opening four minutes. The U.S. slowly picked up steam, winning five consecutive matches.

"After the first game, I didn't know that a gold medal would be possible," Lloyd said.

They rebounded to defeat Japan 1-0 and New Zealand 4-0, to win the first-round group and avoid world champion Germany and Brazil until the final. They outlasted archrival Canada 2-1 in extra time in the quarterfinals, and downed Japan in the semifinals Monday night, 4-2.

"We got better with each game," Solo said.

Solo made seven saves, but none was more important than the one she made on two-time FIFA Player of the Year Marta, blocking her six-yard attempt with her right forearm in the 72nd minute.

"I was ready to get up and [celebrate]," Brazil coach Jorge Barcellos said.

"I can't even recall the saves or how it happened, but all I know is that I was playing with a different energy tonight and it just felt so good," Solo said.

The USA looked tentative and nervous, particularly in the early going, playing as though they were trying not to make a mistake. In a word, their passing was horrible. Their passes went to no one, nowhere, to a Brazilian, and on many occasions, out of bounds.

The Brazilians dominated the match, although the USA, who were better fit, did get stronger as the game progressed.

As it turned out, Lloyd did not have a particularly strong game, especially in the first half. Many of her passes were off-target or intercepted. It wasn't until late in the second half she started to make a difference.

"This team had a different feeling," Lloyd said. "You usually have the nerves going, anxiety right up until the whistle blows. something felt different. I was excited. I knew we had nothing to lose. We definitely were medaling. We didn't know what medal. I just knew if I work hard things will happen. Things will fall into place."

But not for everyone. For the second time in this tournament, a Brazilian soccer team fell in the knockout round. The men were eliminated by archrival Argentina in the semis Tuesday night. And then, of course, Thursday night's match. Neither the Brazilian men or women have won an Olympic gold medal.

Amy Rodriguez set up the winning goal. Breaking free of two Brazilians on her back, the Southern California striker waited for a streaking Lloyd before sending her the ball. Lloyd broke in and sent a 19-yard bullet to the right of goalkeeper Barbara before a crowd of 51,612.

"I had to keep it low and strike it hard," Lloyd said. "Never in my wildest dreams did I thought I would score the goal that would give us the Olympic gold."

When the U.S. won in Athens, Greece in 2004, it was the last hurrah for the likes of U.S. soccer legends Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Brandi Chastain. It was an older team.

This team, a much younger one, won an important tournament for the first time without Mia and company.

"I think it was once in a lifetime thing," Lloyd said of the 2004 gold medal. "This is another once in a lifetime thing."


Messi Thanks Barcelona For Olympic Chance
Olympic slate no treat for U.S.A.
Ekpo draws pride from Olympic success

Philly fans get MLS soccer fix in D.C.

WASHINGTON -- In two years, the trip will be much easier.

Even though 2010 will be here relatively soon, it's still much too long for the soccer fanatics in the Philadelphia area to wait before attending Major League Soccer games.

About 250 Philadelphia-area fans traveled to Washington, D.C., to watch D.C. United play the Colorado Rapids at RFK Stadium. It wasn't just the on-field action they were interested in, either. It was also the entire MLS experience.

The more than 4,500 "Founding Members," who already hold MLS Philadelphia seat deposits for the 2010 season at the 18,500-seat stadium to be built along the historic Chester waterfront, received VIP treatment. The fans enjoyed a pregame barbecue and tailgate in the stadium parking lost hosted by the Philadelphia ownership group.

The enthusiastic Philadelphia fans also enjoyed the game from several sections.

Especially the Sons of Ben.

This supporters group, which had about 1,600 members when the expansion team was awarded at the end of February, now features more than 3,200. Over 100 made the trip on Saturday.

Bryan James, the club's co-founder and president, remains in awe of what lies ahead.

"I've said it before and it's still true," James said. "This is a dream come true for me. To know the franchise will be here in two years is a dream."

The Screaming Eagles, D.C. United's fan supporters group, could clearly be heard from the beginning of the game to the very end. But the Sons of Ben did its best to be heard, too.

Even at the tailgate, Sons of Ben chants resonated throughout the parking lot. It continued throughout the game.

"Who are they?" one D.C. United fan asked.

"We'll drown them out," another fan said.

With such a large following, this was a glimpse into what the Sons of Ben will be able to accomplish when the 2010 season gets underway.

Ironically, James was a fan of D.C. United when MLS made its debut in 1996. Not anymore.

"We're all Philly fans now," James said. "We may have fans of D.C. United or the [New York] Red Bulls or other teams but not now. This is our team and it's a dream come true. I think the members of our fan club understand soccer and understand the league. Now, we'll all be rooting for our team. We'll know the great rivalries and what to look for."

The Philadelphia-area fans will be looking to cheer for their very own team. They won't have to take a bus ride down I-95, unless it's for a Philadelphia road game at D.C. United.

This is likely the first of many fan initiatives between now and 2010.

"I hope so," said one fan from south Jersey, who lives in the D.C. area. "I have family in the Philadelphia area and I've heard how much excitement has been generated by the MLS team. I'm definitely going to go the new stadium and cheer for the new team. I love soccer and that's why I go to the games here. To travel and see games at a brand new stadium will be unbelievable."

Believe it. About 250 Philadelphia fans making the trek on a Saturday night toward the end of summer is definitely enough proof.


United Warns Ticketless Fans To Steer Clear Of Moscow
Philly chat sessions planned

Little-used Warren proves worth for Revs

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Not often is the the biggest story about the backup goalkeeper.

But New England Revolution 'keeper Doug Warren hasn't started a game in 90 games and the last time he started, he beat D.C. United 2-1 at home in 2005.

Considering the Revs beat United 2-1 again on Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium and Warren was again between the posts, the Revolution players and coaches were quick to praise Warren's ability to take over for the injured Matt Reis.

"(Warren) looked confident," Revs head coach Steve Nicol said. "He had a couple of things he had to make decisions about and when he had to make decisions, he made the right one, which is half the battle with goalkeepers. It is great they can make fantastic saves, but if they can make good decisions on a regular basis, it makes it look easier than it actually is."

Warren didn't have a whole lot to do and saw Jaime Moreno chip him in the second half, but Revs defender Jay Heaps said Warren's presence helped the defense figure things out to minimize dangerous chances.

"Dougie did a great job of stepping in," Heaps said. "There was a lot of pressure on him and I thought he did great. He was communicating well. He was in a great position."

Warren credited the players in front of him for making it easy for him to step into the lineup.

"It makes it easy when the guys in front of you are doing their jobs, and are doing it well," Warren said. "I don't think I was in many positions to make gutsy decisions because the guys in front of me made it easy. Overall, we won, so that's all that really matters."

The positive momentum started with a Taylor Twellman goal. Steve Ralston sprung Khano Smith down the left, and the cross deflected off Adam Cristman through United's Marc Burch and right to Twellman six yards from goal.

"I was a big Cam Neely fan growing up," Twellman said. "He always tried to get in front of the net. Khano and Adam did a great job getting the ball in front of the net."

Jeff Larentowicz added a second goal shortly after halftime with a swerving drive that eluded Louis Crayton.

Insteda of pushing on and consolidating, the Revs let the game slip after that and Moreno drew one back for United.

"We were in control up until the 60th minute and then we lost our way a little bit and they put us under pressure," Nicol said. "We lost a goal from our own bad play, we should have just stopped the ball up the other end of the field and cleared it and we didn't.

"We tried to be too clever in the wrong area, lost the ball and then Jaime (Moreno) scored a great goal. If that falls to anybody else it is not a goal -- it was a fantastic goal from him. It was difficult after that. All of a sudden, they're one goal in it. You're stuck between going forward too early and back too far and that is what happened after they scored."

Collecting three points tends to calm those misgivings. Revolution captain Steve Ralston said his team did a nice job of holding the ball and keeping their composure after a 4-0 loss in San Jose last weekend.

"We kept possession well," Ralston said. "I thought our forwards kept the ball well. It made it a lot easier for all of us. We were able to get up the field and keep possession. We needed to make the final pass a little bit better. We could have had more opportunities."


Premier League Replay: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
New formation comes easy to Revs
Terry & Essien Delighted After ‘Rollicking’

Real Salt Lake go back to drawing board

COLUMBUS -- It's back to the drawing board for Real Salt Lake after a second consecutive road loss.

The Columbus Crew took a 2-0 lead in the opening 25 minutes and never looked back for a 3-0 win that avenged a 2-0 loss to RSL in Rice-Eccles Stadium on July 12.

"We've got to take a couple of steps back quickly and sort things out defensively," RSL coach Jason Kreis said.

In the first match, the Crew were never able to gather themselves in the midfield because of constant pressure. In the rematch, Columbus had its way, going through the middle of the park and finding gaps behind the defense.

"This is another game where defensively I don't think we were quite there. We didn't have the energy or the commitment level that I've seen out of this group for a long time," Kreis said. "We started off that game like we had already played 45 minutes before the whistle blew. I was really disappointed in our guy's commitment level in the first half and against a team like Columbus, which is a very good team right now, they punished us."

RSL fell to 1-8-1 on the road and where it has been outscored 20-7.

"Every team goes through some tough times so this is it for us," captain Kyle Beckerman said. "We have to somehow get it together and find a result whatever way it comes. Pretty. Ugly. It doesn't matter. We've got to stick together and have to come out of it."

His words are foreboding since RSL plays four of the next six on the road.

"For a while I was saying our team was playing at a higher level on the road but with these last two road games it's hard to feel that way just because of the number of chances were giving away," said Kreis, alluding to the 4-3 loss at Houston on Aug. 16. "It's not even the number of goals were allowing. That game tonight could have been six or seven."

The Crew opened the scoring in the 15th minute when Guillermo Barros Schelotto was fouled to the left of the penalty area by defender Robbie Russell. Schelotto, 25 yards from goal, sent an arcing cross to the far post where defender Chad Marshall headed the ball past Nick Rimando.

Just 10 minutes later, Eddie Gaven got free in the right side of the box, cut back and was taken down by defender Nat Borchers. Schelotto calmly deposited his fourth penalty in as many tries this season.

"They had two set pieces. They really got us on our heels from the start," Beckerman said. "We never really seemed to get going and that set the tone for the game and we couldn't get out of it.

"They came out with good intensity that we didn't match. In the beginning they pushed us in, didn't let us out. It seemed to work to their advantage. They kept us in their half then the two set piece goals. Chad Marshall has been known to score off set pieces. He's very dangerous. He got a sniff tonight and put it away. On the PK, Eddie Gaven is a shifty player. He's a gifted player."

Real Salt Lake had five midfielders and only Kenny Deuchar up top but weren't able to contain the third-highest scoring team in the league. Brad Evans scored the third goal in the 55th minute after Gaven sent a service from the right flank.

"I thought we worked on (the formation) enough during the week but it seemed like some guys didn't know what they were supposed to do so it definitely hurt us because we weren't able to keep possession," Beckerman said. "We weren't able to get behind them. We expected to do better with that. It was more that we didn't keep the ball and we gave it away very cheaply and it hurt us."

He thought going into the match that his team was ready.

"We felt pretty confident coming in. We almost came back on Houston last week. We felt we scored some good goals. We can't really put our finger on it," he said. "Columbus had a good mentality to come at us and get on us right from the beginning and see if they could get an early goal, which they did. We were chasing the game after that."


Champions poor on the road
Di Stefano: Spain Can Do It
Quakes seek to end road woes
Dube, Revs steal share of MLS lead

Chivas USA, Quakes settle for draw

CARSON, Calif. -- Chivas USA and the San Jose Earthquakes split the points in a scoreless draw Saturday at The Home Depot Center that saw the home team create a number of chances that were left unfinished.

Though many players on both sides were changed from the last time the two teams met, the teams played a near mirror image of their earlier clash. Both matches were played without any goals on the scoreboard for most of the game.

In the previous meeting on July 5 at The Home Depot Center, Ante Razov managed to strike in the 88th minute via a stunning free kick goal to give Chivas USA a 1-0 win.

With the Western Conference standings so tight, both Chivas USA and San Jose had a chance to make a playoff push, but the points needed to be gained immediately to pull one team or the other out of the conference cellar.

Both clubs have been heading in opposite directions coming into the match. While the Earthquakes had been unbeaten in their last five matches, Chivas USA had not won a game in their last five tries. Chivas USA's last win came against the Earthquakes on July 5.

With the result the Earthquakes remain in last place in the Western Conference with nine matches remaining. However, only five points separate them from second-place Real Salt Lake. Chivas USA, meanwhile, moved into a tie for fourth place.

In the first half of play, both teams seemed a bit tentative, perhaps unwilling to risk a loss. The best chance for Chivas USA came on a free kick in the 30th minute. Razov took it, looking to repeat his wonder goal of the previous game, but his bending ball missed the near post.

Sacha Kljestan, in his first Chivas appearance since returning from Olympic and national team duty, took a threatening shot on goal in the 45th minute. Joe Cannon was able to make the save, sending the teams into the halftime break scoreless.

Several Chivas USA players had chances to be the hero for the team in the second half.

Razov hit a low shot in the 52nd minute that trickled wide of the goal. Chivas USA were enjoying the majority of the possession and creating chances, but the Quakes were able to close down the final shot to deny a goal. Jason Hernandez was especially active for the Quakes on defense, denying chances for his former Chivas USA teammates.

Chivas USA fans cheered wildly in the 73rd minute, thinking their team had scored, but Alecko Eskandarian was offside when he beat Joe Cannon with a low shot to the far post.

The Chivas USA defense was then pressed into service, as goalkeeper Zach Thornton helped turn back a flurry of Quakes chances.

Perhaps remembering the goal scored in the final moments of their earlier clash, both teams pressed hard as time wound down. They traded opportunities for the game-winner.

Razov picked off a poor backpass in the 89th minute and was into the box immediately, looking to strike. But a defender toe-poked the ball away just in time.

The Quakes then had a chance late in stoppage time. Chivas USA cleared a corner, but a throw-in deep in Chivas USA's half led to a charge in the box by Huckerby. Thornton saved his low shot, keeping the clean sheet for his team.


Good start for Karlsruhe
Dynamo settle for draw with Chivas
Earthquakes flex defensive muscles
Terry & Essien Delighted After ‘Rollicking’

Crew topple Real Salt Lake in style

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Scoring three goals was nice, as was the most emphatic victory in more than two months, but the way the Columbus Crew got their 3-0 win against Real Salt Lake was just as pleasing to winning coach Sigi Schmid.

The Crew were able to penetrate the five-man Colorado midfield to create numerous opportunities to get a penalty kick and two assists from Guillermo Barros Schelotto and goals from defender Chad Marshall and midfielder Brad Evans.

"We're happy we got the shutout. That was important to us. We scored two good goals on set pieces but they were set up because people were getting behind their defense. It's one of those things we really tried to concentrate on this week in practice," Schmid said. "We tried to concentrate on our spacing and getting behind the defense and by getting behind the defense it caused them to foul us and those fouls set up the set pieces."

The Crew took a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute thanks once again to the crossing ability of Schelotto. Schelotto drew a foul from defender Robbie Russell 25 yards to the left of goal. From the free kick, he sent an arcing ball to the far post aimed at the 6-4 Marshall, who got behind Kenny Deuchar and headed it past goalkeeper Nick Rimando.

"We practice this because we know Chad is very good with head balls," Schelotto said.

Marshall has a career-high three goals after scoring four in the previous four seasons.

"I know he's looking for me in the box," Marshall said. "He served a great ball. I saw it was going to the far post so I faked inside and went back. It was perfect ball. It was a pretty easy finish."

Schelotto netted his fifth goal after Eddie Gaven got free in the right side of the box, cut back and was taken down by defender Nat Borchers. From the spot, Schelotto laced a shot from the spot to the lower right corner, giving Rimando no chance to make a save. Schelotto is 4-for-4 penalties this season.

"The secret is to be relaxed when you take the ball," said Schelotto.

The match was in contrast to the 2-0 loss Real Salt Lake administered on the artificial turf of Rice-Eccles Stadium on July 12.

"When we were at Salt Lake they threw everything they had at us from the get-go. I guess it's our turn to throw everything we had at them from the get-go," Evans said. "We turned them around early and had a few chances to finish them. The last time it was different on turf, no excuses. This time we knew what we had to do: Keep the ball, spray it out wide and keep it to zero and finish our chances. We did that."

It was Schelotto again in the 55th minute with a leading pass down the right flank to Gaven. After several dribbles, Gaven sent a cross to the penalty spot for Evans who netted with a crisp header for his fourth goal of the year and second in as many games. The assist was the MLS-best 14th for Schelotto.

"The third goal was as well played a goal as you could get," Schmid said. "It was a ball from Guillermo to Eddie but Eddie made a run to get behind. Eddie's cross was right in the box. That's the way you draw it up on the board."

Goalkeeper Will Hesmer got his fifth shutout and didn't have to make a save until stopping Andy Williams in the 71st minute. Hesmer also made a diving stop to his right by Russell in the 76th.

"After the 3-0 lead, I took Guillermo out because he took a knock on his ankle," Schmid said. "He always wants to play 90 minutes but I felt there was an opportunity for another whack they way they were playing and then we dropped off a little too much. We defended too much, we gave them too much space. We made Hesmer earn the shutout."

The Crew's second consecutive win -- and largest margin since a 3-0 win at Kansas City on June 14 -- moves them into a first-place tie with New England in the East Conference and the overall standings.

"We're playing better. We believe in ourselves," said Schmid. "Our spacing in the first half was really good. We were aggressive. If we continue to play that way, that's good but it was set up because of good defending. They didn't get the opportunity to play a lot of balls over the top and when they did Danny O'Rourke and Chad Marshall were up to the challenge."


Crew looking for consistency in back
Bundesliga: top for goals

Davino injury puts Moor in spotlight

FRISCO, Texas -- In his four seasons in MLS, FC Dallas defender Drew Moor has shown his versatility. The Dallas native has played both as a fullback and a center back, whether in a three-back alignment or in a back four.

With FCD captain Duilio Davino out with a toe fracture and Adrian Serioux continuing at right back, Moor has moved into central defense for the last two games, where he has been paired with Aaron Pitchkolan. In those matches, the Hoops have kept one clean sheet and allowed just two goals. It's a pairing that will continue this weekend as Davino is still out.

"I think he's a solid defender in this league and a great leader," said FCD head Schellas Hyndman. "Losing Duilio, he has really stepped in. All we wanted to do was get Drew (Moor) into a central position. I think he's a better center back than he is a flank back. I think Drew brings more of those leadership qualities. Part of leadership is communication and I think he does a good job of that. He communicates well with everyone and they feel more comfortable back there. I think in many ways, Drew is part of the reason we have found some success back there."

Moor wouldn't call being in the middle more comfortable, but he did characterize that spot as being a more natural one.

"I wouldn't say it's necessarily a comfort thing, I think I feel that's a little bit more my spot," he said. "I think in terms of comfort, I'm pretty comfortable at right back because I have played there for a year and a half now. Center back comes to me a little bit easier because it's easier to keep things in front and it's easier with the ball. I'll step in wherever (Hyndman) feels most comfortable with me."

Moor admits that playing inside with Pitchkolan is something he enjoys, especially considering that they both joined FCD in 2005 and have played together ever since.

"I think he plays a lot like me," Moor said of Pitchkolan. "We communicate a lot. It's all about recognizing when to step, when to stay and when to pass guys on. He and I have a feel for each other. I think a lot of that has to do with us being here for three and half years now and playing together all this time. We've been on the field together a lot. He's very versatile and that helps me and our partnership."

Pitchkolan has also noticed how much Moor has meant to the FCD backline, no matter where he plays.

"Obviously, we've known each other for a while after coming out the same year. It's been 3-1/2 years that we've been playing together. When you've been playing with someone for that long, you know their tendencies and understand each other. I think that helps a lot," he said. "I think he's shown versatility. He played left back in college and has played right back and center back here. I think he's comfortable in all those positions."

FCD holding midfielder Pablo Ricchetti has also taken notice of the solid play behind him.

"I don't know where he prefers to play but I think he can play well at right back as well as at center back," Ricchetti said. "We've done very well in our last few games. I think that's what is important, that we are working well together on defense. It doesn't matter who plays where, we are doing good work. Things are going well and hopefully we can keep it at that level or maybe raise it a little bit to benefit the team."

After starting the year playing on the right side in the 3-5-2, Moor admits he is better suited to play in the 4-4-2 that Hyndman has finally put in place.

"With the personnel that we have on this team right now, I think the 4-4-2 is better," he said. "You get the width with both midfielder and outside back. Defensively, you have an extra guy in the back. I think it's just something that this team responds to a little bit better."

The year has been an eventful one for Moor. Besides the coaching change at FCD and the switch in formations, he has also played for the U.S. national team on three occasions, most recently in a World Cup qualifier at Barbados on June 22.

"It (this year) has definitely been a little bit of a rollercoaster ride but something that I think has helped me grow in confidence," he said. "I've gotten call-ups which have been great. I've gained valuable experience at the international level and want to hopefully continue to be called in. I just want to continue doing well here for FC Dallas.

"I think Schellas (Hyndman) has come in, done a great job and the players have responded to him so well. I think we're starting to bring the best out of each other," Moor continued. "I know I'm definitely excited about the last 10 games of the season and then going into the postseason. I just want to continue to work hard and hopefully get some call-ups as well."


Hyndman finds positives in loss
Season Over For Arteta

Improved Crew eye benchmark

COLUMBUS -- On the list of ways to improve the team and make the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2004, two items were crossed off after the last match and another big one looms for the Columbus Crew on Saturday when they play host to Real Salt Lake.

A 2-1 win against FC Dallas gave the first-place Crew their 10th win of the season and sixth in Crew Stadium, surpassing both totals of last season.

"We want to keep winning at home. We have one more win than we had last year (at home). I don't think that's enough," midfielder Robbie Rogers said of the 6-2-2 record.

With an overall record of 10-6-4, the Crew have 10 games to equal last season's unflattering total of 37 points in 30 games. Don't think for a moment that's not a big deal.

"Of course, we have those (numbers) in the back of our heads," midfielder Brad Evans said. "The most important thing is winning. We'll take it one half at a time, score the goals we need to score and we'll do the job. We're getting closer to our point total with 10 games left so our goal is to eclipse that. The wins will come; we'll ride this wave and see what happens."

Coach Sigi Schmid broached the subject during his postgame press conference on Saturday and judging from comments from the players it was a hot topic in the locker room prior to the match.

"We have 34 points now. If we win the next game it's very important, we have the same points as last season with nine games left," defender Gino Padula.

Schmid said the Crew's place in the Eastern Conference standings is not relevant at the moment. With New England hosting D.C on Wednesday and Chicago at Los Angeles the following night, the Crew could enter their next match in third place.

"I'm not focused on first, second or third. I'm just focused on the points. What we talked about before the game is that by the end of next Saturday (vs. RSL) we want to have 37 points. We want to have the same amount of points in 30 games last year then we can start adding some things on that," Schmid said. "That's our goal. If that puts us in first place, great. That's a great place to be and a reflection of what this team has done and what has worked for us. We want to get more points and more points."

The Crew understand they are getting closer and closer to having enough points to qualify for the postseason.

"I think everybody who breaks 40 should get in," Rogers said. "The East is very strong and everyone's starting to make the final push. If you get 41, 42 you should be all right but I don't want to say that and jinx it."

Said Padula: "If we get to maybe, 43 points in the next in four games we're in the playoffs."

"I want that little asterisk next to the Columbus that says 'clinched a playoff spot,'" Schmid said. "Whether that happens when we're in first place, second place or third place doesn't matter to me as long as that asterisk gets next to our name as soon as possible.

"There are only four teams that have a winning record, maybe five. ... To be one of the few teams to have a winning record, you have to remember, MLS is set up for everybody to go .500. That's the real prognosis of the league. They'd like to see everybody .500. When you're above .500 that means you're doing something right."

Such as rallying again for a good result. In the previous two home matches they fell behind 2-0 but forged draws. FC Dallas went up on the 100th career goal by former Crew striker Jeff Cunningham in the 35th minute before Guillermo Barros Schelotto set up goals by midfielder Brian Carroll and Evans in the 62nd and 65th minutes for the win, despite being outplayed in the opening half.

"The difference between this year and last year is they can have a bad moment like that -- as I said to Robert (assistant coach Warzycha) when we were sitting there, if we get in (at halftime) only down 1-0 that's good," said Schmid. "We didn't get annihilated the first half even though we played poorly and we had the character to come back and get three points.

"Every time you play the game you've got to figure out a way to win. You have to figure out how to win when you're not playing well. You've got to figure out how to win when you're playing well and when you're dominating games. At Houston two weeks ago I thought we were the better team and got nothing. At Colorado we probably got outplayed a bit and got something."


Arminia Bielefeld: home form the key to survival
Champions poor on the road
Stoic Moreno providing Crew big lift

Serioux answering Hyndman's call

FRISCO, Texas -- Before an August 3 match at Toronto FC, FC Dallas defender Adrian Serioux had never before played right back. Not in his formative years growing up in the Toronto area, nor during his two-year stint in England, or while a member of the 2006 MLS Cup champion Houston Dynamo.

But that didn't stop FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman from inserting the Canadian international into that spot. So far, Serioux has delivered results.

"Adrian (Serioux) is one of those lucky/unlucky athletes," Hyndman said. "He's so versatile that he gets moved around a lot. That's the unfortunate thing about Adrian but it's also a fortunate thing because his game has improved throughout his career because he's been moved around and has been forced to use his left foot."

So far this year, Serioux has also played at left back and center back, as well as a defensive midfielder. But he admits playing on the right side feels more natural since he is right-footed.

"I don't think it's really a matter of me being comfortable," he said. "My right foot is my dominant leg and whatever dominant foot you have is the side that you're preferred on. Being on the right side, it's not much different from being on the left. But that still allows me to go forward, the freedom to overlap and get involved in the attack. It's still a comfortable position along the backline and something I will have to deal with."

This season, Serioux has started and played in 16 matches for FCD. He also has contributed two assists but none was bigger than when in a 2-1 loss at Columbus on August 16, he assisted on Jeff Cunningham's 100th goal of his MLS career.

"It was just an opportunity where I felt like I could take on one guy and the space just opened up," Serioux said. "I feel grateful for Jeff to get his 100th goal. I know he's been waiting for it. I'll take it in stride. I'm still waiting for my check but it's a great accomplishment for him and I'm happy for him."

Serioux was joking about the check from Cunningham but admits playing right back is still a very new experience.

"I've never played right back," he said. "So, it's a totally new position. It's all new to me now but I'm one of those guys who have to pretty much adapt to playing multiple positions. Not a lot of guys are thrown into multiple positions and can adapt. So, I feel privileged and it's an advantage for me to be able to do that."

Other than the extensive action he has seen with FCD, Serioux has also been called in to the Canadian national team on a number of occasions this year, something he labels ass very rewarding, especially considering that he missed much of 2007 with a knee injury.

"From last year, with the injuries and stuff like that, it was difficult for me after missing the Gold Cup," he said. "It has been a rollercoaster for everyone but that's part of our job. People come in, people go and there are changes happening every so often and we have to just take it in stride, adapt to it as quickly as possible and not let it affect us when it comes to game time."

His latest action came last Wednesday in a World Cup qualifier against Jamaica that was played in his hometown at BMO Field.

"It was actually great," Serioux said. "Usually, when we play in Canada with the national team, it feels like we're at home but away. In Toronto, we had a great base of Canadian support there and it was a great atmosphere."

Serioux said he and his teammates are more comfortable playing in the 4-4-2 that Hyndman has installed compared to the 3-5-2 that was employed by Steve Morrow earlier in the year.

"It's just an extra man that the offense has to work through," he said. "There's less risk as far as when you make a mistake that could be costly. Playing with four in the back, most guys are comfortable with that because that's how they grew up playing. You don't usually play three in the back there, so it's one of those things that you just adapt to. It's just one of those things that you feel comfortable in and with everyone right now."


Season Over For Arteta
Ricchetti finds role with rolling Hoops

McCarty bringing Olympic experience home

FRISCO, Texas -- The result might not have been as hoped for and the stay shorter than planned, but third-year FC Dallas midfielder Dax McCarty is ready to bring his U.S. Olympic team experience to his club for the homestretch of the Major League Soccer season.

In China, McCarty saw action in one match. His last league appearance came July 19, which was his first start since April 24. But following surgery for a sports hernia which forced him out of action in May and June, McCarty said his time with the U.S. Olympic team has helped him feel sharper on the field.

"I think being able to be over there with the trainers 24/7 and being able to get treatment really did wonders for my back and groin," McCarty said. "I feel really good. I'm definitely hoping that this keeps up and that I can get to 100 percent because I haven't felt that way in a really long time. It feels good to finally train without any little problems here and there."

FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman is glad to have his young midfielder back in the fold.

"We're very glad to have Dax back and glad that he has the experience of going to the Olympics," Hyndman said. "It's a lifetime dream for him but we're also happy to have him back. He looks sharper. He looks healthier and there's a spot for him on this team."

If McCarty is to return to the starting 11, he would do so either at the attacking midfield spot, which is currently held by rookie Eric Avila or wide on the right, where Andre Rocha has played and struggled for the second half of the season.

"I think it's one of those two (spots)," Hyndman said. "Part of this environment is competition and players don't like it. They would rather know that they're starting all the time. All of a sudden, there's a new striker in town in Jeff Cunningham and somebody is going to be off. When we get Dax back and he's healthy, somebody could also be off."

While Hyndman had expressed a preference to play a 4-4-2 system before McCarty had left, the Hoops were still mainly playing a 3-5-2. But since going to China, the 4-4-2 has been settled on, and McCarty is looking to establish his place in the team.

"I'm comfortable anywhere in the midfield and I think Schellas knows that. Everyone knows that I'm a pretty versatile guy. I think my best position is in the middle of the field, where I can get forward and defend," McCarty said.

"A more attacking role is something I would relish and have no problem with. I feel like my qualities going forward are good enough to play that spot. But I'm a two-way midfielder. I like to defend and help out in there. If I'm playing out wide or in the middle, it doesn't really matter to me. I just want to be on the field. It's going to be a fight to get my spot back and I have no problem with that. I just want us to win and hopefully I can be part of it."

But that doesn't mean he wouldn't bring plenty to the right flank.

"I feel like my services are good from out wide," McCarty said. "It's definitely a position that I'm comfortable with and have played before with other coaches. Schellas knows what I can do, how effective I can be out wide and how effective I can be in the middle."

However, McCarty realizes that he can't just start training again and reclaim his starting spot right away. That is something he knows will take time.

"You can never just come in and walk right back into the lineup," he said. "There's a little bit of a time period where you have to prove yourself all over again. I'm just looking to do that and the main thing is that our team is winning. If our team is winning, then I'm happy."

After returning last week, McCarty told Hyndman he could play some at Columbus, but the FCD coach decided to rest him instead.

"I'm starting to get my legs back," McCarty said. "Traveling that far and long definitely takes its toll on you. I told Schellas that if he needed me for Columbus, I would be ready but he gave me a little bit of a rest. I'm obviously looking to come back, contribute and help the team any way that I can. I feel as close to 100 percent as I have in a long time and that's really important for me. I feel like I really got over the hump in China in terms of my injuries. I'm really starting to feel good. It's just a matter of working hard in training and hopefully getting some minutes here and there to contribute and help the team for a playoff spot."

Since McCarty left in late July, FCD has traded Arturo Alvarez, Juan Toja left for Europe while Jeff Cunningham and Victor Sikora both joined the team.

"It's crazy how things happen," he said. "Arturo and Toja both left and I think that was what they wanted. At the same time, it's good for us because we got some new players in here that can get the job done. It's a little bit different team but the mentality is the same and everyone is on the same page. We're obviously looking to make the playoffs and go from there."

After being left off the original U.S. Olympic roster, McCarty learned on July 24 he would be going to the Beijing Games after close friend Nathan Sturgis of Real Salt Lake was unable to play due to injury.

"It was a little bit bittersweet," he admitted. "He (Sturgis) is a good friend and I would never wish injury on anyone. It was an honor to be called in. Even though I would have liked to have been named to the initial roster, it's still a fantastic feeling and something that I took in stride. I just wanted to try my best and give the team whatever they needed by being a role player. I think we did well as a team and I tried to contribute any way that I could."

The only time that he saw with the U.S. was in what proved to be their final match, a 2-1 loss to Nigeria on Aug. 13 that sealed the USA's elimination. McCarty said he was disappointed not to see more time.

"When you get to that level, every player is good and expects to play. I was no different. I definitely wanted to play more but wanted to be a good teammate and not complain or put my head down. If I got my number called, I just wanted to be ready, McCarty said. "Luckily, I stayed positive and got a couple minutes against Nigeria. I definitely wanted us to win that game and it was a tough result going out. I definitely wanted to play more but I was happy with just being there."

Like many who have been there, McCarty called getting to walk in the Opening Ceremonies as one of the most memorable parts of his Olympic experience.

"That was probably the most unforgettable part," he said. "I'll never forget that. It's kind of cool because we didn't really know that we would be going. Then at the last second, it kind of opened up for us and we ended up being able to go. That's an experience that I will keep with me forever and be able to tell everyone about. It's definitely something special."

McCarty's experience also included getting to meet his share of famous people.

"I met President Bush and got a picture with him," he said. "I'm a little biased with Dwight Howard since I'm from Orlando and he plays for the Magic. So, I got to talk to him for a bit and a picture with him. I saw Dirk Nowitzki because Germany was right next to us. So, I talked to him, told him I played for FC Dallas and got a picture with him. I also talked to Kobe Bryant, Carlos Boozer and Dwyane Wade. They were all really nice guys. That was a cool experience."

While the final result might have been a disappointment, it truly was a once-in-a-lifetime happening.

"It was definitely the experience of a lifetime," he said. "Not many people can say they were a part of something that special and that big. It was fantastic. We had a great team and everyone on the team got along. It was a great group of guys and a pleasure to be part of it."


Hyndman still left searching
No Olympics for Kaka

Revs top United, take back East lead

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Revolution returned to the Eastern Conference summit with a 2-1 victory Wednesday against D.C. United at Gillette Stadium.

Taylor Twellman opened the scoring in the 24th minute after a fortuitous bounce presented him with a chance inside of six yards. Jeff Larentowicz doubled the Revolution's lead four minutes after halftime when his swerving drive caught United 'keeper Louis Crayton by surprise. Jaime Moreno drew one back for United in the 69th minute, but United couldn't push on to find the equalizer.

With the win, the Revs returned to first place in the Eastern Conference while United remain tied for fourth place with the New York Red Bulls.

Matt Reis failed to start for the first time in 90 regular season games after picking up an adductor strain in Saturday's 4-0 loss at San Jose. Doug Warren made his first MLS start since Aug. 21, 2005 in Reis' place. Taylor Twellman and Adam Cristman were charged with staking Warren to a much-needed lead.

Without starters Gonzalo Martinez and Gonzalo Peralta, United went with Marc Burch and Devon McTavish in central defense and Mike Zaher on the left hand side of the back four. Marcelo Gallardo remained out with a hernia injury; the more defensive central pairing of Clyde Simms and Joe Vide played instead.

The visitors started the better of the two sides as United attempted to grab an early goal. Despite the early pressure, there wasn't much to show for any of it aside from Vide's long-distance drive past the near post.

From nothing, the Revs claimed the lead on 24 minutes. All it took was a quick outlet pass from Steve Ralston and a surging run from Khano Smith down the left side to unlock United's defense. Smith's low driven cross was driven into the goalmouth, where Cristman slid between Burch's legs as they came across the front of goal. The ball deflected away, but fell to Twellman at the near post, and he didn't miss from inside six yards to give New England the lead.

The Revs pushed onward after the breakthrough. Most of the pressure came down inside United's defensive end, whether through Sainey Nyassi giving Zaher the runaround down the right side or Smith tormenting Namoff on the right.

Cristman went close from his glancing header from a driven Jay Heaps cross that nearly caught Louis Crayton off his line. Then Cristman likely would have liked a better finish to cap a comprehensive move with Ralston again at the hub.

United tried to respond before the break with a long-distance drive from Fred, but the shot ducked just wide around the far post.

Things turned worse for United soon after the second half commenced after New England scored its second. Twellman laid the ball back to Larentowicz for a swerving shot straight down the pipe from 25 yards. Crayton dived right when the ball stayed left and the Revs had their second goal.

United perked up after the second goal with Emilio looking more involved. Fred tried to draw a penalty on the byeline after juking around Heaps, but the referee waved away his arguments as he tumbled to the ground.

Twellman went looking for his second after he pushed through the United back line, but Crayton came out alertly to block at his feet.

The block became even more important minutes later after Moreno chipped Warren to close the deficit. Shalrie Joseph coughed up the ball in his own end and Moreno played Fred through the Revs defense. Heaps slid over to block Fred's shot, but the ball deflected to Moreno. Warren had wandered off his line to cut out Fred's shot and Moreno took advantage and chipped over him.

United continued into the ascendancy through Moreno's persistent prodding. Another diagonal ball opened up space for Quaranta. But the resulting left-footed shot rolled tamely to Warren.

The goal United wanted never arrived, and but for Bryan Namoff's goal line intervention minutes before the end, the scoreline could have been worse.


Fulham held in final friendly
Cristman’s double thwarts Galaxy
Fred, United spoil McBride’s return

United to see different Revs this time

WASHINGTON -- Last Tuesday, D.C. United dispatched a second-string New England Revolution squad 3-1 in a U.S. Open Cup semifinal match at RFK Stadium, but afterwards United's joy was balanced by their recognition of Steve Nicol's pragmatism. With a SuperLiga title already won and CONCACAF Champions League action ahead, the Revs coach clearly prioritized his team's need for rest ahead of its Open Cup ambitions, and D.C. knew it.

"They have bigger fish to fry, I guess," said Devon McTavish. "Kind of a different lineup than we expected to see against them -- and I'm sure we'll see that next week when we play them."

Indeed, McTavish and his mates can expect something much closer to a full-strength Revs side in Wednesday night's crucial league clash at Gillette Stadium, another occasion where three precious points will be ferociously contended by two teams in the midst of the scrum that the Eastern Conference standings have become this season.

But the weekend's results have contributed to a dramatically different outlook for both teams. With a shocking 4-0 road trouncing at the hands of heretofore cellar-dwelling San Jose on Saturday, New England has suddenly lost three consecutive matches in all competitions, allowing Columbus to retake the top spot in the East. Stung by the absence of Kheli Dube, Abdoulie Mansally and Michael Parkhurst plus a suspended Shalrie Joseph, the Revolution endured a horror show at Buck Shaw Stadium that was further aggravated by an adductor injury to veteran goalkeeper Matt Reis.

For his part, United boss Tom Soehn downplays the events of the past eight days. He'd certainly prefer to pile more pressure on New England's psyche with a strong start on Wednesday night, however.

"Different team, different situations," he said on Tuesday afternoon, shortly before D.C. flew north in advance of the Revs match. "You're not going to draw many conclusions from last week. I think the only thing you're going to draw is that they've conceded a lot of goals in their last three games, but having Shalrie back, and whatever their situation is, it's important to get up early there. You tend to bring back memories of their last three."

In contrast to the Revs' West Coast travails, United traveled to Chicago and returned with an important victory that offered a number of positives for Soehn and his men -- namely some stingy defending which, alongside new signing Louis Crayton's MLS debut in goal, resulted in the Black-and-Red's first road shutout of the season.

"I don't think we created a ton of opportunities. I don't think it was our forwards' best day in general," said Soehn. "But we still created enough quality opportunities, and we put one away and we learned how to defend and win a game 1-0 on the road, and I think that's a huge learning experience."

Crayton's learning experiences with his new club are continuing as well, with goalkeeper coach Mark Simpson guiding the Liberian international through detailed film sessions to compress his MLS adjustment period. Last week the duo spent hours looking at the habits of the Fire's attacking mainstays, and more such preparation is now being conducted on Revs weapons like Joseph, Steve Ralston and Taylor Twellman. Crayton looks like a lock to start at Gillette on Wednesday, where he will also have to contend with his first competitive match on artificial turf.

"Obviously all those factors are new to him, the surface and just different guys in the league. But we have pretty good resources [for] match analysis," said Simpson. "I'm going to go and show him people that are dangerous on New England, their touches, their tendencies, so he can start reading those players an opponents when we face them."

Soehn and Simpson took a bit of a gamble in starting Crayton so soon after his arrival in Washington, but feel vindicated by Saturday's performance. Now United are challenging themselves to make life as easy as possible for their new netminder, and knit together more such results with the consistency required for meaningful late-season and playoff success. That task has surely been helped by the memory of the 4-1 mauling they suffered in New York just over a week ago.

"We want ... to play, on the road or at home, the same way," said captain Jaime Moreno. "Unfortunately we haven't been able to do that: after New York, having that performance and then going to Chicago and winning -- that's what we don't want. We don't want these up and downs, we want to maintain the same level and now we've got to continue working the same way. We know what we have to do. If we create less mistakes, then we have less chance to lose the game."

Soehn has reminded his players that for all their struggles this season, they can vault right back into Supporters' Shield contention with a sustained run of success, starting in Chicago and continuing in Foxborough on Wednesday.

"We talked about these two games being the path to get there," he said, "so we've finished the first piece off, but the second piece is as, or if not more, important."


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United break out convincingly against Rapids

WASHINGTON -- Following a difficult loss to New England in midweek, D.C. United got their season back on track with a dominating 3-0 victory against the Colorado Rapids at RFK Stadium. Joe Vide got his first goal of the season shortly before halftime, and insurance goals were added by Santino Quaranta and Quavas Kirk as Louis Crayton kept the Rapids off the scoresheet.

With a side decimated by injuries, D.C. United switched to a 3-5-2 formation, with Devon McTavish as the lone central defender, and Craig Thompson getting a rare start on the right side of midfield. In his first game as interim head coach of the Rapids, following the departure of Fernando Clavijo, Gary Smith kept the same team that recorded a 2-1 win against Kansas City last weekend.

The game got off to a promising start as both teams traded half-chances in the opening minutes. Rapids midfielder Pablo Mastroeni was twice called upon in the third minute, first to clear a Santino Quaranta cross out of play, and then to block Bryan Namoff's shot off the ensuing corner kick. Two minutes later, Conor Casey shot wide right from 25 yards out for Colorado.

United goalkeeper Crayton, making his home debut, prevented the Rapids from getting an early lead. In the 13th minute, he quickly came off his line to claim a through ball by Mehdi Ballouchy. Two minutes later, he stood out amid a sea of light blue jerseys to grab a Terry Cooke free kick.

But for much of the half, neither team looked capable of mounting a successful attack. United had good possession, but with Jaime Moreno frequently dropping back into the midfield, Colorado's central defense partnership of Mike Petke and Cory Gibbs were able to devote their full attention to denying service to Luciano Emilio.

Colorado, for their part, were content to absorb pressure and counterattack, as Terry Cooke's crosses and set pieces kept United honest and Conor Casey's size proved to be more than a handful for central defender Devon McTavish.

As the first half came to a close, United enjoyed a good spell of possession that had the Rapids on their heels, but they were unable to capitalize until Emilio, holding off Jose Burciaga, Jr. and Gibbs in the box, was able to find Vide charging forward unmarked from his central midfield position. The third-year player rifled it past Preston Burpo from 20 yards for his first professional goal.

But Colorado did not go into the locker room quietly. In stoppage time, Crayton was called on again to save United when another fine cross by Cooke was powerfully headed by Peterson. But Crayton pushed it over the bar for a corner. On the ensuing corner, Crayton showed good command of his box to collect the ball to keep United in front as the first half came to a close.

Colorado used up two of its substitutes to start the second half. Colin Clark came in for Peterson, and Greg Dalby replaced Ballouchy, who took a clearance in the face late in the first half.

Vide and Dalby collided for a 50-50 ball. Dalby was unable to continue, ending his day after just ten minutes on the field. Christian Gomez replaced him and received a nice ovation from the crowd for his four seasons as United's playmaker.

United nearly doubled its lead in the 63rd minute, as Vide, with plenty of space in front of him, led the counter and found Emilio streaking to his right. Emilio's shot from 10 yards was met by a charging Burpo. The rebound fell to Quaranta at the top of the box, but the Baltimore native shot wide.

United continued to apply pressure. In the 69th minute, an otherwise harmless ball was handled by Mike Petke 25 yards out. Guerrero's free kick was deflected out for a corner. United played the corner short to Quaranta, whose cross to the far post was headed wide by an open Devon McTavish.

Three minutes later, United fans were reminded of Gomez's talents, as he charged through the center to lead the attack and Bryan Namoff was forced to take him down, earning himself a yellow card.

With 15 minutes remaining, United moved to a 4-4-2 by bringing in Mike Zaher for Craig Thompson. Although the move was meant to preserve the lead, United's offense dominated the rest of the game.

In the 76th minute, Moreno showed his old teammate some playmaking moves of his own, leading the break and finding Emilio, whose shot from the top of the box was almost spilled by Burpo. Three minutes later, Moreno nearly put the game away with a shot from outside the box that went inches wide of the Colorado net.

But Colorado came dangerously close in the 81st minute. Casey split two defenders on the right, and sent in a low, hard cross that Crayton deflected to Gibbs. Although the U.S. international had an open net in front of him, his shot went high.

Almost immediately, United put the game away. Emilio dished the ball off to a wide-open Quaranta, who ran unimpeded into the box and placed a beautiful curling shot inside the far post for his third goal of the season.

Gomez was fouled by Martinez 24 yards out in a central position. Although United fans were dreading the prospect of their former hero placing one of his trademark free kicks into the goal, they were soon relieved to see "Gomito's" shot fly harmlessly over the bar.

United added a third in the 87th minute when Namoff headed a Zaher cross towards the goal. Burpo spilled the ball, and Kirk, who had entered the game only seconds earlier for Clyde Simms, pounced on the rebound and put it under the helpless goalkeeper to close out the game.


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United search for consistency, injury relief

WASHINGTON -- Some things have simply not gone according to plan for D.C. United head coach Tom Soehn this month. The second-year boss can certainly feel pleased to have secured a berth in the U.S. Open Cup final and a quality new goalkeeper in Louis Crayton, who will make his home debut against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night.

But relief from United's injury epidemic remains elusive -- and it's no coincidence that the squad's long-standing search for consistency continues as well.

Star playmaker Marcelo Gallardo's road back from sports hernia surgery has proved much longer than anticipated, while fellow Argentinean Gonzalo Peralta lasted just one game in his return from the same procedure before sustaining a hamstring strain. A designated player intended to be the fulcrum of the D.C. attack, Gallardo's absence has been particularly frustrating for all involved and while he has declined to discuss his situation with the media, his teammates recognize the predicament.

"You know, when you're injured and you don't get better after the surgery, it's very disappointing and I'm sure he is feeling that way," said team captain Jaime Moreno. "He is very disappointed, but you've got to do what you've got to do and for his part, I'm sure he is doing his best to try and recover as quickly as possible."

Striker Francis Doe would offer Soehn a valuable option up front, but his foot infection -- thought to have been tamed a month ago -- refuses to heal. The same goes for utility man Dominic Mediate, who continues to grapple with troubling after-effects from his concussion. The situation recently began to border on absurdity when goalkeeper Zach Wells added a particularly obscure condition to the list of ailments facing team trainer Brian Goodstein: sesmoiditis, an inflammation of small bones at the base of the big toe.

"It's always frustrating when you're missing guys, because you know you're not at top strength," said Soehn. "But unfortunately that's part of sports, so we have to deal with it."

Matters got worse in New England on Wednesday when midfielder Fred, lately showing promising signs of a return to top form, became the latest to fall prey to the hamstring bug. The new responsibilities of fatherhood -- a "change of life," as Soehn called it -- hampered his play earlier this summer. But the Brazilian has lately been one of United's more dynamic attacking forces and the team has been rocked by the latest prognosis on his injury -- he faces up to a month on the sidelines.

So this weekend's tilt with Colorado is likely to bring a return to a more defensive-minded lineup like the one Soehn used to good effect against Kansas City on August 2, with Joe Vide joining Clyde Simms as anchors in the middle of the park while Santino Quaranta and Ivan Guerrero work as two-way players along the flanks. The back line will have to be reconfigured again thanks to Marc Burch's suspension for yellow-card accumulation, though Gonzalo Martinez will return after missing the New England clash for the same reason.

All of this adds up to a pivotal role, and added pressure, for the club's newest face. Crayton might still be acclimating to life in the nation's capital, but he's already jumped straight into a starter's role in his first two matches and he'll need to be in top form as D.C. try to progress in the crowded Eastern Conference despite their shorthandedness. It's the reason United's search for a veteran netminder took months, and the 30-year-old's background in the Swiss league suggests that he's well-equipped for the challenge.

"As a professional you always have to be prepared, that is your job," said Crayton, discussing his immediate insertion in the D.C. first XI. "Being with Basel for three seasons as a backup 'keeper, this was something that I always had to deal with, being prepared mentally and physically, so it was nothing strange for me."

Crayton began his pro career as a teenager with a small Liberian outfit, then moved on to Switzerland's biggest clubs and with a bevy of international caps for his homeland's national team, he's performed in plenty of pressure-packed situations. His work in goal was a key element of Liberia's Cinderella run in 2002 World Cup qualifying, which saw the Lone Stars come agonizingly close to reaching soccer's biggest stage only to fall a point short of regional power Nigeria on the final day of group play.

The leader and financial underwriter of that effort was George Weah, one of the world's greatest players of the past two decades, and Crayton shares many fond memories with his legendary teammate, including a 2001 appearance at Giants Stadium against Colombia.

But despite the fact that he's just been selected for Liberia's latest squad, Crayton says his international career is done for now, and after years as a backup with Basel, he's eager to take a central role in United's playoff push.

"I was fed up with that condition," he said of his role with his previous club," and I felt that there was another step forward in my career, and I was willing to take the opportunity."

He's also well aware that the Black-and-Red have little margin for error in the weeks to come.

"Right now we cannot afford to lose any more games," he said.


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Ever-positive attitude key for Zayner

COLUMBUS -- Keep the faith. That's what Jed Zayner did during the depressing moments when injuries kept him from playing for the Columbus Crew.

After suffering a serious left knee injury in training the week following the 2006 opener as a rookie, Zayner had another setback the following year and managed just two first-team matches totaling 20 minutes in 2007. "This offseason I took time to pray and meditate to just be strengthened internally, spiritually, mentally and physically and come out and be a good pro every day and be tough and be strong and be consistent," he said.

The defender used the power of prayer, a strong support group of family and friends and the Crew's training staff to make a full recovery this season.

The nine minutes he had off the bench last week vs. FC Dallas upped his total to 199 minutes in five appearances, including two starts. He has also started six reserve matches.

"There's ACLs and there's ACLs," coach Sigi Schmid said. "He had a pretty bad ACL and it took him a little longer to recover. He didn't have the best recovery from it so it delayed everything.

"My theory has always been however long you've been out -- and he was out pretty much 12 months -- then it takes six months to recover. It takes half that time to get back in the rhythm. So by the time he got back in the rhythm that season (2007) ended."

"If you watch now, he's back to 100 percent and playing well," said Crew defender Danny O'Rourke, a teammate of Zayner's for two NCAA championships at Indiana. "He's a tough guy. He pushed through. Jed's a talented defender. He's good with his feet. He's a good one-on-one defender."

Zayner made his first MLS start June 7 vs. San Jose and was also in the first XI Aug. 2 at Houston. He also had starts in two U.S. Open Cup qualifiers and friendlies against Independiente and West Ham United.

"He's helpful because he can play a number of different positions," Schmid said. "Actually, his left foot is pretty decent and he's been able to play outside back for us and in the middle. It's a matter of, with all young players, consistency day in and day out."

This season has been rewarding for Zayner because he admits to being apprehensive about staging a comeback.

"There's ton of doubts, tons and tons," he said. "It was tough coming back. Not only did I come back from my knee tear I also tore something else at the beginning of the year (2007) so I was coming back halfway through the season. I struggled into that with the speed of play and mentally trying to be strong."

The breakthrough came prior to this season.

"This past preseason was the defining moment. I felt like I was back to full fitness. I was one of the fittest guys on the team," he said. "It was a good feeling being able to go in strong and tackle guys really hard and be really, really aggressive without thinking about it.

"That was my main goal, to make the coach's job tough and come out and give it my all -- do everything I could and hope and pray for the best."

Zayner adds quickness to the team and is becoming better at distributing the ball under pressure.

"He's taken advantage of the chances he got and he's done well. He provides us with some pace in the back and is a guy willing to work hard," midfielder Brian Carroll said.P If you ask O'Rourke, he'll tell you that's a typical trait of the Indiana players. Of course, he's got the numbers now to back him. With the addition of midfielder Pat Noonan two weeks ago and former Chicago Fire defender Brian Plotkin training with the team, there are four Hoosiers in Columbus to continue the IU-Crew pipeline.

"It's so fun. We always joke around about it in practice with other guys, 'How many rings have you got? How many national championships?' " Zayner said.

Signing Plotkin to a developmental contract would give the Crew 10 former Indiana players in its history, one more than UCLA has provided.

Among the Hoosiers are Mike Clark, Todd Yeagley, Brandon Ward and Brian Maisonneuve from the inaugural Crew season in 1996, as well as Juergen Sommer and Ned Grabavoy.

"It's a nice little feeding system," said Zayner. "There's a huge connection. There were a couple of years when Mais was the only one and then he retired. Then we got Danny, myself and Ned and now Noonan and Plot."

Added O'Rourke, with just a touch of IU arrogance: "We should bring in the whole (Indiana) team, even recruits."


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Tale of two halves for Hoops vs. Crew

FRISCO, Texas -- For at least 45 minutes on Saturday night, it looked like FC Dallas might leave Crew Stadium with a win for the second consecutive year.

The Hoops had taken a 1-0 edge into the break and were carrying the advantage in play. But the game changed in the space of four minutes when Brian Carroll and Brad Evans scored, and the Crew eased to a 2-1 victory.

For FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman, the game could best be characterized by the distinctly different halves.

"I would call our first half excellent," he said. "Probably our mistake was not scoring more. I think if we had scored another goal, then it would have ended the game. In the second half, they were playing a little bit more aggressive.

"Both goals were stoppable but on the good side, I thought our players played all the way to the last second. They were trying to come away with a result and salvage a point. It was disappointing because you score a goal against the No. 1 team in the league and probably could have won the game if we can reproduce the same type of half we had in the first half. I thought we deserved at least one point."

For the second consecutive game, Hyndman pulled right-sided midfielder Andre Rocha midway through the second half. He leads the team with six assists but hasn't had one in seven games.

"I don't know if he's a true flank player," Hyndman said of Rocha. "I think he's doing better and is getting forward. He had two scoring chances. I think he's being more productive as far as getting forward and keeping the ball but he seems to tire out with the demands that I'm asking for him in this position. We've got some good players here. If he's slowing down and is giving 70 percent, then it's time to bring a player on that will give us 100 percent." Rocha came off for rookie Bruno Guarda in the 69th minute, partly because of fatigue. Guarda was making his second professional appearance.

"I think Bruno is going to be a good player for us but you can tell that he's not match fit and adjusting to the speed of the game and the physical play of the game," he said. "Some of his choices have let him down. I think that he needs to get fitter so that he can make more decisions. He definitely has a wonderful work ethic but he's got a ways to go."

Saturday's match marked the FCD debut for newly-acquired striker Jeff Cunningham, who put the Hoops ahead with the 100th goal of his MLS career in the 35th minute, and midfielder Victor Sikora, who made his league debut.

"I thought Victor (Sikora) was outstanding in the first half," Hyndman said. "I thought he was very good, was laying some great balls off and was defending. In the second half, he started disappearing about 10 minutes in with more of a fatigue level."

The FCD coach also liked how well Cunningham combined with FCD leading scorer Kenny Cooper for much of the opening half.

"In the first half, he and Jeff (Cunningham) combined very well and that was very positive," Hyndman said. "Jeff tore them apart with his diagonal runs and ability to beat people not only scoring but laying balls off. I thought he had a really good game.

"One of the things that I don't think Kenny (Cooper), Abe (Thompson) or Dominic (Oduro) ever really did do was combine. They were pretty much straight runners and Jeff brings a different game because he can hold up and lay balls off," Hyndman continued. "I thought the two of them looked good in the first half. I didn't think Kenny had an especially good game but he was always dangerous."

Hyndman admits that he didn't see the same level of play from his central midfield duo of rookie Eric Avila and Pablo Ricchetti that had come in their previous two wins.

"I thought that Pablo and Eric, neither of them had a great game," he said. "That is what affected us in our midfield. In the second half, when we were getting beat, it was in our midfield. That's something that we need to address."

That led Hyndman to take Avila out in the 63rd for Marcelo Saragosa, a move he says was pretty straightforward.

"I thought (Avila) played his best soccer the first 10 minutes of the second half," he said. "But my mind was already looking at that (a change) because he didn't have a good first half. He didn't understand his role and didn't have the work ethic that we needed. When he doesn't do his work, then Pablo can't do his work. I expect more from Eric because he wasn't playing when I got here and now he's playing. He needs to appreciate that and hold onto that as hard as he can."

For Hyndman's third and final sub, he brought on speedy Dominic Oduro for Sikora. Hyndman said the Ghanaian striker, who is second on FCD with five goals but lost his starting spot once Cunningham was acquired, is a little down. After training on Tuesday, Hyndman was seen giving the 23-year-old forward a pep talk.

"Sure (he's frustrated)," Hyndman said of Oduro. "It's all mental. He's frustrated because he thought he was playing well. He thought he had a really good game against LA, which he did. He didn't have a good game against Toronto and he's inconsistent. To be the player that he wants to be, we've got to be able to count on him getting to first touches, making good passes, holding the ball and scoring when he's five yards out, all things that he needs to work on."

The Columbus game was the Hoops' second in a row without starting center back and captain Duilio Davino, who continues to be sidelined with an avulsion fracture in his toe. The Mexican international did not train on Tuesday, making his status for a trip to Kansas City this weekend highly uncertain.

"I don't know (when he could be back)," Hyndman said. "It's a goofy injury but at the same time, it's an injury. Like I tell the players, I'm not going to be a guy who will put you back out here before you're ready. Hopefully, he comes around. We were hoping that he will be able to play this weekend. But if he's not training, then he won't be playing."

Last week, Hyndman said that the club was looking at possibly signing another defender, either a right or left back that could get forward. He admits there is still an outside chance of that happening, but those chances are slim.

"(There's) no progress on that," he said. "Something may still happen but it's more likely that it won't. I think what we're looking at is this team being pretty much intact for the last 10 games. I think we've made some good improvements. All we've got to do now is get players match fit and get the team to play more soccer like we did in the first half against Columbus. We've got to be able to stretch that 45 minutes into 75 minutes and then maybe into 90."


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Dynamo pleased with dominant show

HOUSTON -- The Houston Dynamo were well aware that Chivas USA had a depleted squad coming into Wednesday night's midweek match at Robertson Stadium.

They were also quite ready to quash the memory of allowing a season-high tying three goals, despite a 4-3 win against Real Salt Lake last Saturday at home.

That victory got the Dynamo into first place, but it was harder to enjoy. They scored four goals in the first half, but they had to come back and stave off a desperate Real team that wanted nothing to do with giving up their lead in the Western Conference standings.

So they zeroed in on Chivas USA, a team missing many key players including Ante Razov, who has always been the proverbial thorn in the Dynamo's side when the two teams meet.

And the result was a masterful first-half performance that resulted in four goals in the first 45 minutes for a second consecutive match. That hadn't happened in MLS in 10 years, since the L.A. Galaxy turned that trick in the 1998 season.

Brad Davis, who assisted on Stuart Holden's goal in the 11th minute, said the team was more than happy to take advantage of the Chivas lineup troubles.

After all, Houston was missing three key players of its own to international duty (Brian Ching, USA; Dwayne De Rosario and Pat Onstad, Canada).

"There is no question they are going to hurt when (Razov) and a guy like Maykel Galindo are out of the lineup," Davis said. "Seeing those guys out, there is no question we were happy. You are never going to complain when you not having to play against those guys."

In his post-game comments, Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear praised his team for a dominant first half and preserving the shutout in the second 45 minutes. Kinnear found nothing to complain about, even though his team has failed to score in the second half in two consecutive games.

"I thought the play, the movement in the first half especially, was just fantastic," Kinnear said. "The finishing and the defense were very good too. The attitude to win the ball back as soon as we lost it was impressive, and all around the finishing was there in all forms. There is not much more we could ask for tonight and we kept the shutout."

Kinnear said last weekend's performance wasn't necessarily the reason for keying in on the shutout. His team, he said, is good for a goal a game for the most part and getting a shutout should be good enough for three points.

"Anytime you want to keep it at zeros you give yourself a chance," Kinnear said. "The first thing we mentioned at halftime was that we have done enough to win the game, let's not do anything silly to let them back in it. I thought we were pretty disciplined in that aspect and we did what we needed to do."

Richard Mulrooney, playing for the first time since June 12 against New England said it was still important for the team to recover from the three goals allowed performance against Salt Lake.

"It was just one of those games the other night," said Mulrooney, who played in the team's reserve match last Sunday. "I can't really describe it, but we did make a few mental errors that we haven't made in awhile. But having said that I think we made up for it."

The Dynamo blew the game open with arguably the most dominant 24-minute span in team history.

Holden got things started in the 11th when he chipped the ball past Zach Thornton. Kei Kamara scored the first of his two goals 11 minutes later when he spun around a defender at the top of the area and slotted home after taking a pass from Richard Mulrooney.

Nate Jaqua cleaned up a rebound in the 28th minute and Kamara rounded out the scoring in the 35th minute when he took a perfect cross from Jaqua and headed past a helpless Thornton.

Kamara now has three goals overall since joining the team in a trade from San Jose last month. He also scored in the SuperLiga final at New England on Aug. 5.

"I am really just glad to be here right now," Kamara said. "I am playing with -- every game now -- the best players in the league. This is my third year now and I have been around a lot of good players, but now, being around these guys, they are making me better every time I step on the field."

Kamara nearly upped his Wednesday output to his first career hat trick, but he hit the post in the second half. He didn't need to be reminded after the game, and he actually looked sad when it was brought up.

"It was just meant to be that I was only going to score two goals tonight," he said. "But it was a good game overall by the team. Right now winning is all that matters and we got a really good victory tonight."


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Shorthanded Galaxy lack scoring punch

CARSON, Calif. -- Missing a number of key attacking components, the Los Angeles Galaxy fell 1-0 to the Chicago Fire on Thursday in a match where they rarely looked dangerous.

Landon Donovan, David Beckham and Eddie Lewis were all out of the lineup in Bruce Arena's debut as head coach, and the lack of offensive punch only highlighted the Galaxy's struggles when their two superstars are out of the lineup.

The Fire also labored to put together a coherent attack; like the Galaxy, they were without a major offensive piece of their puzzle, as Cuauhtemoc Blanco was away with the Mexican national team. Still, they were the better side on the night.

"I think we played a very good team, the Chicago Fire. I think they're one of the better teams in the league. I thought they came out and put us under a lot of pressure early," said Arena. "Obviously we were a bit thin tonight with the loss of some players. Not that that's an excuse, because Chicago was missing some pretty good players too."

Without Donovan or Beckham, the Galaxy could not get any real consistency on offense. Chris Klein did well to provide some decent service from the right flank, but Edson Buddle and Alan Gordon both struggled to break down one of the best defenses in MLS. The overall lack of depth available to the Galaxy was evident, and it's something they are going to have to cope with again before the season ends as both Donovan and Beckham, and possibly Lewis and Ante Jazic, could be called up for future World Cup qualifying matches.

"We'll cope with that when the time comes. Those are things I certainly was aware of," said Arena. "Those are the cards that we're dealt, and others are dealt. We're not the only team in the league that's going to be losing some players. There are things that need to be done to make this roster better. There is no question about that, but you need to appreciate that it can't be done overnight."

There were some positives that Arena took away from the match. He was able to take a look at some young players under fire, such as Josh Tudela and Israel Sesay.

"The thing I'm pleased about with the guys is that they hung in there and fought for 90 minutes," said Arena. "They tried to get that goal and at least get a point. Overall I think the effort for 90 minutes was good."

Despite the depleted lineup, the Galaxy still had a chance to share the points. They managed to hold the Fire to a handful of scoring chances, and Steve Cronin made a several good saves to keep LA in the match. But one giveaway in their own end spelled their doom.

"Give them credit for the goal. We lost the ball in a bad spot on the field and did not react well as a group to step to Thorrington," said Arena. "But give credit to Thorrington, it was a very good finish."

That will provide little comfort to the Galaxy as they try to pull themselves back up in the Western Conference race. Donovan and Beckham will be back in action next weekend when the Galaxy travel to New England, and depending on the severity of the injury picked up by Eddie Lewis in Guatemala, he could be available as well. But as Thursday night showed, the Galaxy will need to get maximum points from the games where they will be at full strength if they are to keep themselves alive for a playoff spot.

"Without Landon and David, it's tough to create scoring opportunities. We're just missing that quality. Attacking in that final third, we're missing that," said defender Ante Jazic. "We're missing that final pass, or Landon's ability to get behind people, so I thought we battled."

Ekpo, Nigeria excited for shot at gold

BEIJING -- For Emannuel Ekpo, it is a matter of whether his Olympics will become a gold rush or just have a silver lining to it.

Regardless for the last MLS player standing -- and running, for that matter -- at the Summer Games -- it will be a pretty decent haul for the Columbus Crew midfielder.

Ekpo's Nigeria team rolled into Saturday's gold medal match with a resounding 4-1 triumph against an overmatched Belgium side in Shanghai Tuesday night.

A second-half substitute, Ekpo did not play a part in any of Nigeria's three goals over the final 45 minutes, although another sub, Victor Anichebe, botched his right-wing feed in the 64th minute. Anichebe found himself alone on the left side, but sent his point-blank shot wide left.

The Nigerians made quick work of the Belgians before 56,312 at Shanghai Stadium. Olubayo Adefemi started it all in the 17th minute. The European side hung close for the rest of the first half before Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi broke open the match with scores in the 59th and 72nd minutes. Chibuzor Okonkwo added an insurance goal in the 78th minute before Laurent Ciman helped Belgium avert a shutout two minutes from time.

Ekpo, who has come on as a second-half sub in all five games (he replaced Ebenezer Ajliore at the start of the second half), could not be reached for comment. But his teammates certainly were in a talkative and celebratory mood.

"It was amazing and I can't believe I scored two goals," Obasi said. "We won because of our togetherness, hardwork and because the music our fans were playing in the stadium gave us power from God."

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Nigeria can win its second soccer gold medal in four tries -- the first one in 1996.

Defender Olubayo Adefemi said the African side was "under great pressure" to win because of the first gold medal. "Seeing what we have done in Atlanta in 1996, everyone was waiting for us to do just the same," he said.

But coach Samson Siasia was not in the mood for any comparisons between the two sides, at least not yet. "I don't want to compare that," he said. "All our players now are very young and have contributed a lot."

This Nigerian team hasn't had to face the same type of obstacles the 1996 version did at the Atlanta Summer Games. There were many internal problems, including staying at decrepit hotels and motels that were not fitting an Olympic team, let alone a gold-medal winner.

It was a long and sometimes bumpy and controversial road to the crown. Nigeria, which would not defend its African Nations Cup title in 1996 because of political differences with host South Africa, overcame several problems. The included a five-week walkout by coach Johannes Bonfrere in the spring because he wasn't paid and the fact the team got together only five days prior to the tournament.

If there are any headaches with this team, the Nigerians haven't let them be known. Actually, they have been the ones creating the problems -- for teams on the other side of the field.

If there is a potential weakness, it is on defense. The African side has been known to go forward in numbers and get caught up field.

So far, the Nigerians have not been burned en route to an undefeated record. They tied the Netherlands in their first encounter, 0-0, then posted 2-1 wins against Japan and the United States in their other Group B matches. They bested Ivory Coast 2-0 in an all-African quarterfinal. And then there was Tuesday's rout.

Now, the Nigerians will take on Argentina, emphatic 3-0 winners over archrival Brazil in the other semifinal Tuesday night, in Saturday's gold-medal match at the National Stadium at noon local time (midnight ET).

Nigeria's task certainly won't be easy, given what the Argentineans have and want to accomplish.

Not only did they bury Brazil's gold-medal quest, they also stole the beautiful game from their archrivals.

Who would have ever thought that the Argentineans would play pretty soccer and the Brazilians would wind up the ugly side? That's what happened as the Argentina recorded an emphatic 3-0 triumph to reach the gold-medal match for the second consecutive time.

"This is one of our best performances during the Olympic tournament," Argentina's coach, Sergio Batista, said. Added 21-year-old phenom and forward Lionel Messi: "I didn't imagine that we would score like this. It was such a big margin. We are ready for gold."

Captain and midfielder Javier Mascherano warned that Argentina still has some unfinished business. "It was the greatest game for everyone," he said. "We haven't achieved anything yet, but beating Brazil with a result like this is wonderful."

The hero of the night for the Argentineans? It wasn't the great Messi, who played well and set up a goal. It was forward Sergio Aguero, who did not have a goal in three previous Olympic appearances, although he was close several times. He struck twice within a six-minute span early in the second half to break open a scoreless tie before 52,968 spectators at Workers Stadium.

"It was like a final for us," Aguero said. "Beating Brazil is the best thing."

Brazil, which has never won a gold medal despite five World Cup championships, will have to settle for a bronze when it plays the Belgians in Shanghai Friday.


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Ekpo draws pride from Olympic success
Txiki: More Signings May Come

Revs make no excuses for rout

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Despite a grueling travel schedule and a rash of injuries, no one in the New England Revolution locker room was making any excuses following their 4-0 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes Saturday night. Playing SuperLiga and U.S. Open Cup games have caused the Revolution schedule to get very congested recently, but New England coach Steve Nicol said that didn't play a role in his team's performance.

"We weren't tired, we just didn't take our chances," Nicol said.

The New England starting 11 was missing several key pieces from the squad that had came into the game with the best record in MLS. Shalrie Joseph was sitting out a red card suspension, Kheli Dube and Abdoulie Mansally were out with injuries, and Michael Parkhurst was given the weekend off after returning from U.S. Olympic team duty in China. Still, Nicol wasn't using injuries or other absences as an excuse, either.

"We started off poorly, and it's always hard to try and pick it up after that," Nicol said. "We had enough ability and strength on the field tonight to have done a better job."

Defender Chris Albright agreed. "You can say we had a lot of games in a short amount of time, and the travel's tough, but we're not making any excuses," he said. "We came out really slow and (Buck Shaw Stadium) is a tough place to play. But we have to be better, we have to start better, myself included."

Goalkeeper Matt Reis, who was forced off the field after suffering an injury in the 55th minute, ending a consecutive-minute streak at 7,795 minutes that began Sept. 3, 2005, was even more blunt. "We weren't at our best tonight, and San Jose thumped us," Reis said.

The Revolution went down a goal in 11th minute on a bit of bad luck, when what looked like a hopeful Ronnie O'Brien volley from the right side found the back of the net.

"The first half we played poor," Nicol said. "It took us the whole half to figure out how to play on the field. We go into halftime down 1-0, which is probably fair enough, but we still had a clear chance (to win)."

In the second half, New England came out much brighter, and almost scored an equalizing goal in the 61st minute when Sainey Nyassi stole a poor San Jose back pass and had an open shot from just inside the box. But Earthquakes goalkeeper Joe Cannon came off his line to stop Nyassi.

The game went San Jose's way from there. Ryan Johnson, Scott Sealy and O'Brien scored in the game's final 20 minutes to finish off the scoreline, which came after the Revolution dominated the Quakes in a 2-0 win at Gillette Stadium earlier this year.

"In the second half, we had a one-on-one with the goalie which could have made it 1-1," Nicol said. "Then, five minutes later, Steve Ralston's going for it and gets brought down -- the referee plays on -- and they go to the other end and score to make it 2-0.

"4-0 doesn't look good on paper, but there were probably two moments in the game (that made the difference), the Nyassi chance, 1-on-1 with Joe Cannon and then the (no foul call)," Nicol continued. "Those were two key things in the game. By the end of the game we're chasing it."

On a night where little went right, the Revolution also got another injury scare when Reis was pulled from the game.

"The first kick of the game, my right groin tightened up," Reis said. "It wasn't too bad, but when I came out in the second half, and the first goal kick didn't have that much behind it -- it was a situation where I wanted to make sure it didn't get worse."

Reis said he should be back in goal for the next match. But while the news on Reis is good, missing so many key players has made life difficult for New England lately.

"It makes us switch a lot of guys around," Chris Albright said. "We had to pull Jeff (Larentowicz) out of midfield and put him at center back. Shalrie (Joseph) has been the best player in the league this year, so (we) miss him, his presence in there, but tonight we never made (San Jose) feel uncomfortable, and that's something we've got to get better at."

With the loss, the Revolution fell out of first place in the Eastern Conference, where they remained even having not played a league game for more than a month. They can move back atop the division Wednesday night when they play D.C. United at home.

"We'll sort that out. We've still won a lot of games," Albright said. "We stay on an even keel, we're not hanging our heads."

Or making any excuses.


Dreary night for Revolution
Jose could return to England

MLS newcomers impress early

There was no larger-than-life figure to highlight the latest MLS international summer transfer window. David Beckham and his brethren in the elite global soccer stratosphere were safely tucked in place as the one-month window for roster fortification through foreign (or returning American, as is increasingly the case) talent came and went.

But that doesn't mean that teams didn't steel themselves for a playoff dash with good additions from beyond. In fact, despite the absence of a headline-gobbling blockbuster, this was probably the most significant midseason transfer period yet.

Recent transfers from outside MLS debuted for no fewer than six teams over the weekend.

Chief among them was Brian McBride, who entered at halftime but couldn't rescue the night in the Fire's 1-0 loss to United at Toyota Park.

Injury-troubled defender Cory Gibbs finally got back into a competitive match after two hard-luck years at Charlton in south London. He debuted successfully over the weekend at Colorado.

Louis Crayton looked rock-solid in his first turn in D.C. United's goal. He kept a clean sheet, matching the number of shutouts that Zach Wells had in 17 starts, which would seem to ensure a permanent change in goal at RFK.

Dutch flanker Victor Sikora gave FC Dallas some push up the left side in his debut (which coincided with Jeff Cunningham's first minutes for Dallas after a trade from Toronto). Pat Noonan recorded his first action in the Columbus Crew yellow. Young striker Johann Smith, just back from a stint with Bolton Wanderers in England, got his initial run-about with Toronto.

Of course, other squads had already undergone an August evolution, thanks to fresh faces from foreign lands.

We've seen a trio of recent debutantes with the New York Red Bulls. And at San Jose, three recent additions have made the Earthquakes -- unbeaten in five games, which is huge stuff for an expansion outfit -- a legitimate playoff threat.

So, who had the best weekend debut?

Gibbs partnered with Mike Petke, who has been on injured reserve most of the year, in the middle of the Rapids' four-man back line. The duo held up well, combining with in-form Facundo Erpen, who was stationed on the right. They generally kept things quiet in front of replacement goalkeeper Preston Burpo, shepherding a team that desperately needed a win to upend a two-game losing streak at home.

McBride did nothing wrong in his first appearance at Toyota Park, just days after returning from Olympic duty in China. But manager Denis Hamlett had only one practice session with the veteran target forward, and better is sure to come. The Fire got a few balls into McBride, but just finding him is only half the necessary action.

They'll have to supply McBride in better spots. And more importantly, they'll have to get better acquainted with the right runs and timing around him. It's that second ball, the one that comes off McBride, that can truly slice open defenses. So Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Justin Mapp and Chris Rolfe will have to adjust their games a bit to maximize all the hard work McBride is willing to do.

It's up to Hamlett and his staff to determine the best mix. McBride was partnered initially with Andy Herron, but the pair spent too much time too close together, occupying the same space and essentially making the same runs. The Fire desperately need to sort it all out. Hamlett's men, with just four goals in five matches, simply must have the offensive boost.

Crayton, as mentioned, did pretty much everything right in blanking the Fire. He stopped shots, controlled the penalty area and the showed initiative in attempting to launch some quick counter-attacks. Goalkeeping has been United's weakest area, and manager Tom Soehn and his staff seem to have sewn up the hole in their shorts with the Liberian 'keeper, who honed his craft in Switzerland.

Noonan went 58 relatively quiet minutes at Crew Stadium. In fact, the Crew got both their goals in a come-from-behind win over Dallas after Robbie Rogers replaced the former New England Revolution attacker along the left side.

Sikora showed something for FCD, as the north Texans controlled Columbus for a half and came close to swamping the Crew with a flurry of dangerous attacks in the first 45. Playing as left-sided attacker, the Dutchman partnered with Pablo Ricchetti and Andre Rocha to dominate the midfield.

But Sikora's recent lack of game action showed, as he seemed to tire after the break. That helped Columbus seize the initiative in an important 2-1 win for Sigi Schmid's bunch. It left the Crew in first place, although second-place New England has a game in hand.

Smith, acquired by John Carver's TFC late last week, replaced Laurent Robert along the left but couldn't do enough against a well-organized 10-man Red Bulls. RBNY's Gabriel Cichero was ejected early in the second half, but the Canadians, still missing suspended playmaker Amado Guevara, could never engineer enough to seriously threaten Jon Conway's goal.

TACTICAL CORNER

• Colorado, still searching for the proper combination, made some bold moves against the Wizards.

On the bench to start the match: 2006 Major League Soccer MVP Christian Gomez and starting goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul. Acting manager Gary Smith (filling in for Fernando Clavijo, who was back in Uruguay attending to family matters) drew up a 4-5-1 and adjudged Pablo Mastroeni, Nick LaBrocca and Mehdi Ballouchy, in a "V" shape with Mastroeni sitting deep, to be the best personnel fit.

Now, with a 2-1 win from that system, will Clavijo and Smith stick with it? It would seem to make sense, although that's a lot of expensive international talent to keep on the bench for long.

• If you study Red Bulls manager Juan Carlos Osorio, you just know that the task of defending a 1-0 lead for en entire half while a man down got his soccer brain all buzzing and excited.

Further complicating the matter was that Osorio had to concoct a defensive formation without two starting defenders. Not only was Gabriel Cichero out for the 46th-minute red card, Jeff Parke had previously left the match, injured.

So, out went the three-man back line. Dave van den Bergh dropped into left back from his midfield spot. Luke Sassano did the same on the right from his midfield spot, while Kevin Goldthwaite and Andrew Boyens manned the central positions.

Something else interesting from Osorio: Instead of inserting more defensive help into the midfield, he retained Mike Magee and even inserted speedy attacking specialist Dane Richards along the right.

It worked to absolute perfection. Red Bull New York ate up lots of clock with smooth, calm possession, thanks in no small part to Magee. Magee scored the first Red Bulls goal, but his second-half contributions were just as important, finding teammates with clever passes and handling possession with aplomb.

Richards gave Toronto something to deal with along the Red Bulls right side. And in injury time, it was Richards' speed that created Juan Pablo Angel's late clincher.

• San Jose newcomers Scott Sealy and Francisco Lima, filling valuable roles upon their recent introduction at cozy little Buck Shaw, have done their parts in the Earthquakes' exciting surge. Playoffs? Could be.

But it's Darren Huckerby's presence along the right that has keyed San Jose's five-game unbeaten burst.

Ronnie O'Brien, patrolling the right, as always, had previously been the Earthquakes' only real offensive threat. Teams that shut down that side had effectively neutered the Bay bunch. Now that's just not the case. There's trouble coming from either direction, and it's got people rightfully excited about where Frank Yallop could take the first-year club.

If nothing else, it sure will make late-August and September more interesting.


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MLS Clubs Turn On Charm For McBride

Shaking off rust, RSL out for top spot

SALT LAKE CITY -- It almost seems like another season since Real Salt Lake last took the field for an MLS game. The RSL side has endured an 18-day layoff since its last game against Toronto FC on July 28.

Coming into Saturday's road match against Houston, with first place in the Western Conference on the line, Real have done everything possible to keep the dust and cobwebs from accumulating at a rapid rate.

RSL held an intrasquad scrimmage last Saturday, at the usual site of the club's reserve matches in Park City, to break up the monotony of one training session after another.

And this week, Real coach Jason Kreis held late morning training sessions on a well-watered practice field to simulate the heat and humidity certain to greet his players in south Texas.

Kreis wants RSL to be ready for the Dynamo -- an opponent he sees as a perfect measuring stick for the club heading into the final stretch of the regular season.

"For us, it's a chance to test ourselves against the best," Kreis said. "I think our guys are ready for it. It comes at an ideal time."

Facing Houston offers the RSL side a chance to look in the mirror as well. No other MLS club has mimicked Real's rise through the standings quite like the Dynamo. The two-time defending MLS champions won or tied 11 of their last 13 league matches after a rough start put them in last place a month into the season.

Now Houston is a single point behind first-place RSL. A Dynamo victory could vault them into the top spot and leave Real scrambling to catch up.

But the opposite result could be just the boost RSL needs to keep its playoff aspirations alive and healthy.

"They're hot right now, so we know it's going to be a tough game," midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. "It will be difficult. It will be a challenge for us. If we can get a result down there, it will give us some really big confidence going into the last 10 games."

The most important key for RSL will be to control possession. Houston is a possession-oriented team and counts on using a combination of constant movement and humid temperatures to wear a team down through 90 minutes.

RSL hopes to keep things tight. If they can contain Houston in a narrower portion of the pitch early, Kreis thinks it will keep them fresh in the match's later stages.

"They play in a very hot atmosphere," Kreis said. "If you spend large portions of the game chasing the ball, you won't have the energy necessary to make plays at the end of the game."

One reason Houston presents such a challenge to RSL at this point is the sheer amount of international seasoning it has experienced this season. The Dynamo participated in the CONCACAF Champions Cup in March and April. They followed that with second-place performance in SuperLiga in July and early August.

It is no coincidence that Houston has picked up steam during this stretch. RSL expects to see a tougher Dynamo team than what it faced in Salt Lake City, in a scoreless draw July 3, because Houston is typically a strong late-season team.

"That's how Houston has been," midfielder Andy Williams said. "They always end the season on a good run. It looks like they're getting into form."

The one advantage for Real is that Houston has had endure nearly as long of a layoff between matches. It has been 10 days since the Dynamo last took the field in a SuperLiga loss to the New England Revolution.


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Cunningham scores goal No. 100

COLUMBUS -- Jeff Cunningham was discarded by Toronto FC, but the fourth-leading scorer in MLS history proved that he still has the scoring touch to brighten an otherwise disappointing match for FC Dallas.

Cunningham scored his 100th career goal in the 35th minute of his Dallas debut, but his former team rallied for a pair of goals after halftime and the Columbus Crew won 2-1 to snap FCD's five-game unbeaten streak.

"I have a lot of mixed emotions tonight. Yeah, the goal was there and the milestone, too, but I feel disappointed for the team," Cunningham said.

The striker was one of two newcomers in the lineup for FCD. Dutch midfielder Victor Sikora was signed last week and started on the left of midfield.

While the new blood helped spark Dallas in the first half, the Crew got goals in the 62nd minute by Brian Carroll and the 65th from Brad Evans to end Dallas' 265-minute shutout streak.

"It was a great game for the spectators. It was two teams that played pretty intense," Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman said. "We had an outstanding first half. I almost thought we were the home team for awhile. Unfortunately, we were unable to score more than one goal.

"We have not lost a game this year when we had the lead so that was a little bit of a difficult time for the players. They're heads are a little bit down but I'm really proud of the boys. We fought all the way to the end. It was a good match for FC Dallas, it just wasn't good enough."

Dallas had ample opportunities in the first 45 minutes with Cunningham and Kenny Cooper looking like longtime teammates instead of having just four practices together. It was all Dallas from the outset due to the play of the pair.

Cooper, second in the league behind Landon Donovan with 13 goals, had four of the team's six shots in the first 22 minutes but it was a service from the left flank that nearly resulted in the initial goal.

Cunningham's header from eight yards was cleared off the line by Crew defender Chad Marshall and the rebound attempt by Andre Rocha was deflected wide. Then in the 23rd minute, Cunningham broke past the defense and had the ball on his foot at the penalty spot but goalkeeper Will Hesmer came out to make a sliding tackle.

"Gosh, he's a proven goal scorer," Cooper said of Cunningham. "His statistics speak for themselves. We're lucky to have him."

Columbus was the only team in MLS that Cunningham had not scored against in his illustrious career, but there was an excuse because he spent seven seasons with the Crew before being traded in 2005. He made amends to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Cunningham got his left foot on the ball as he charged toward the net and redirected a cross from the right side by Adrian Serioux just as Hesmer made a play for the ball two yards off the goal line. "He's only been in training since Tuesday but we decided to go ahead and start him. He's a good player, a professional player," Hyndman said. "He had an outstanding first half getting behind the defense and creating opportunities. He's going to be a good player for us."

For his part, Cunningham was a bundle of nerves prior to the match.

"I almost threw up this morning, I was that nervous," he said. "It was the most nervous I've been since my rookie season. A lot of emotions were involved tonight. Coming to a new team, the expectations are there.

"I had a terrible time with my last club (Toronto) and the expectations our high to come in here and contribute immediately and playing in front of my family in Columbus and I had a difficult time the last few months, everything was weighing on me. I got through the match but unfortunately I wasn't able to help the team win but it's up from here."

Cunningham, whose brother lives in Columbus and was at the game along with more than 20 relatives, is no stranger to Crew fans. Acquired last week in a trade with Toronto, he scored 62 of his goals for the Crew from 1998-2004. He is tied with Brian McBride, now of the Chicago Fire, atop the Crew's all-time goal list.

It was the 35th goal Cunningham scored in Columbus and the 30th in Crew Stadium (the others came in Ohio Stadium in 1998). However, it was his first in Columbus since Oct. 2, 2004, a stretch of five games.

"It was personal for him," Hyndman said.

Cunningham would rather have had a win. "I'm here to help the team win," he said, "so the result tonight was not what we wanted."


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Ekpo draws pride from Olympic success

BEIJING -- When Nigeria became the first African team to capture an Olympic soccer gold medal in 1996, 8-year-old Emmanuel Ekpo was one ecstatic young boy in his home country.

"It was pride for me being a Nigerian," Ekpo said. "It was pride to Africa. Nigeria was the first African nation to win the Olympic gold medal. It was a surprise to me.

"I would say we have the same chance to do the same thing. We need to win three more times."

Today, the lone MLS player still standing in the Olympic soccer tournament -- Ekpo plays midfield for the Columbus Crew -- has his sights set on making some more history for Nigeria by winning its second gold medal.

Before the Nigerians can even think about a final victory lap around Olympic Stadium and listening to their national anthem, they must overcome Ivory Coast in Saturday's quarterfinals in Beijing. The winner will advance to the semifinals and medal round of the tournament and will ensure an African team advancing that far for the third time in four Olympics. Cameroon, which takes on Brazil in another quarterfinal Saturday, did in 2000, en route to its gold medal.

"I would say we can meet the challenge," Ekpo said after Nigeria eliminated the U.S. with a 2-1 victory in Wednesday. "We have a good team. The guys from the bench were all good.

"I wouldn't say we are scared of any team. We are not scared of any team. We take our chances when it comes."

He hasn't figured in any goals, at least not yet, coming off the bench in the Africans' first three games. The 6-2, 165-lb. Ekpo got his feet wet in the Group B scoreless draw with a two-minute cup of coffee vs. the Netherlands Aug. 7, played the final 13 minutes in the 2-1 win against Japan Aug. 10 and came on in the 85th minute as the Africans held off the USA Aug. 13 for a 2-1 victory.

Ekpo admitted he had some mixed emotions about beating the U.S., considering he had a Crew teammate on the American side -- midfielder Robbie Rogers. Both players talked earlier in the tournament when both teams were based in Tianjin.

"It was quite unfortunate that the U.S. side did not qualify," Ekpo said. "I feel for him. The game of football is tough."

Nigeria used Ekpo's knowledge of Rogers and of the 10 MLS players on the U.S. team to get a better feeling for the Americans.

"Actually, my team, they asked me a lot about the U.S. side," he said. "This is my country. Football is not something you just say but actually what happens on the pitch of play. I told them about what I know about the U.S. side, what to expect and about my teammate, Robbie."

Despite playing a man down for virtually the entire match, the U.S. made a game of it, especially in the final six minutes as the Americans tried to overcome a two-goal deficit.

"Actually, it was amazing," he said. "The U.S. side, I would say the last five six minutes they were at the top of the game. They were one goal down and they played us to the fullest. They are actually a very good side."

In 1996, Nigeria staged a pair of memorable comebacks in the medal round, upending favored Brazil and Argentina. The Africans rallied from a 3-1 deficit to stage a remarkable 4-3 extra-time triumph against the Brazilians in the semifinals and overcame a 2-1 disadvantage and connecting for the game-winner with a minute remaining in regulation for a 3-2 victory over Argentina in the gold-medal match.

"Everybody was happy," Ekpo said of the celebrations back home. "After the match everyone was [celebrating]."

And if Nigeria wins this time around?

"They will be more fun and happy this time around because football is getting higher and higher in Africa as the boys keep on growing [as players]," he said.

Of course, if Nigeria does go all the way and wins it, Ekpo probably won't be able to partake in any of the celebrations in Africa. He will have to return to the United States to play for the Crew and meet up with Rogers as an ally and not a foe.

That's one problem Ekpo would love to have.


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Houston holds on to beat RSL

HOUSTON -- Needing a win to take over first place in the Western Conference, the Houston Dynamo didn't get off to the best start.

But, after falling behind after just three minutes, the Dynamo regrouped to score four goals in the first half and held on to defeat Real Salt Lake 4-3 on Saturday at Robertson Stadium, extending their winning streak to three games and unbeaten streak to six games. Real Salt Lake saw their unbeaten streak end at four games.

Facing the two-time defending champions after having moved into the position a month earlier for the first time in club history, RSL came out firing and took the lead after just three minutes. Robbie Findley sent Yura Movsisyan into the penalty area and he split a pair of Dynamo defenders before going in alone on goalkeeper Pat Onstad, and slotting the ball home.

But it didn't take long for the Dynamo to tie the score. Brad Davis sent a long pass from the left flank and Brian Mullan, in behind the RSL defense, controlled the ball before going in alone on RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando. Mullan cut to his left, completely faked out Rimando, then back to his right before firing the ball high into the empty goal.

The RSL defense thought Mullan was offside on the play, but linesman Fabio Tovar didn't see it that way and the score was tied 1-1.

Both teams had good chances to pull ahead. Brian Ching got a pass in the right side of the box from Craig Waibel in the 23rd minute, but Ching had the ball stripped and Rimando came up with it. Movsisyan tried to give RSL the lead back in the 25th minute, but his shot from the left of the area was stopped by Onstad.

But Morales gave RSL the lead in the 25th minute when Bobby Boswell's attempt to clear in the box went off Eddie Robinson's head and back into the box where Morales, ever the opportunist, picked up the loose ball on the right and let loose a bullet that found the upper right corner of the goal.

Yet once again the Dynamo responded. Craig Waibel found Mullan all alone down the right flank, and after dribbling to the corner, he cut the ball back to Ching inside the corner of the area. Ching fired home a left-footed shot inside the far post for his ninth goal of the year.

Two minutes later, Ching tried to give the Orange the lead, but his header off a Wade Barrett cross went wide. Mullan tried in the 34th minute, but his shot from 25 yards out was easily saved by Rimando. Later in the 34th minute, Davis let go with a bullet from outside the area on the left that Rimando knocked away.

Ricardo Clark then put Houston in the lead barely a minute later. From a throw-in, Clark trapped the ball and let loose a rocket that sailed into the upper left-hand corner past Rimando.

The Dynamo nearly extended their lead a minute later, but De Rosario's shot from the left side of the area went off the left post.

Nate Jaqua scored his first league goal in his return to MLS in the 42nd minute, making it 4-2. Davis sent the ball into the left side of the area, and though Ching was headed away from goal, he still knocked the ball back down for Jaqua to run onto, and he drove it home under Rimando.

The four goals scored by Houston were the most goals scored in a half in team history.

RSL tried to cut into the lead to begin the second half, but Findley's diving header from just outside the goal area was saved by Onstad in the 49th minute. Then in the 57th minute, Chris Wingert sent a cross just outside the 6-yard box, but Findley's header went right of the goal.

As RSL continued to push forward to pull back into the game, the Dynamo had their share of chances. Kei Kamara was unmarked in the box in the 78th minute, but his header from the center of the box went wide left.

Kenny Deuchar cut the lead to 4-3 in the 80th minute with a low shot that found the left side-netting. Morales served the ball into Findley, who headed it from the top of the box to the right, where Deuchar let his angled shot go.

Kamara had a couple of good opportunities to extend the Houston lead in the next three minutes. First, his shot from inside the area was saved by Rimando in the 81st minute, and then after going through the RSL defense, his attempt from the right side of the box in the 83rd minute was knocked out of bounds.

From the resulting corner kick, Ching came through the crowd for a header that went left of the goal. Ching then should have finished off the match once and for all. Kamara nearly went in alone, but was forced into a tight angle. He laid the ball back for Ching, but with the goal at his mercy, he put it over the bar.

Corey Ashe then had one final opportunity in the 89th minute, but his rocket from the left side of the area was saved by a diving Rimando and knocked out.


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McBride set to make Fire debut

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Brian McBride, who played all 90 minutes for the United States Wednesday in its 2-1 elimination loss to Nigeria in the Beijing Olympics, is expected to be available to train with the Chicago Fire Friday at Toyota Park.

Soon after the United States found out it was eliminated after the first round of the Olympics, the Fire received word that McBride would be back in the United States on Thursday, following approximately 18 hours of traveling from China. Fire coach Denis Hamlett said he did not know whether McBride would be available to play Saturday against D.C. United, which would be his first game with the Fire since re-signing with Major League Soccer last month.

"I haven't spoken to him, so I don't know how he is going to be physically, what with the flying time and time difference," Hamlett said. "I need to sit down with him and speak to him before I can comment on his availability."

While Hamlett said he had no real expectation of McBride's availability, he did say McBride's actions speak to his commitment to the team.

"He is coming back right away, so that tells you something," Hamlett said.

McBride, 36, is returning to Major League Soccer after playing four years in the English Premier League. McBride played for the Columbus Crew for eight years prior to jumping to the EPL.

McBride will have one more opportunity to play with his new teammates. The club announced Wednesday it will play an exhibition game against Veracruz of the Mexican League on Aug. 24, after playing in Los Angeles against the Galaxy on Aug. 21.


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Five-a-side: What's hot around MLS

MLS Five-a-side:The skinny on five things that matter this week in Major League Soccer:

1. The big decision in L.A.: We can all settle down a bit for now on the speculation about what might shake down regarding the new Galaxy management. AEG president Tim Leiweke was quite candid on Thursday night during an interview with ESPN2 announcers Rob Stone and John Harkes.

Bruce Arena is the primary target. Will it happen? We should know soon. Leiweke said the team deserves a quick resolution, although he didn't offer any timetable. There can be no doubt about Leiweke's top choice, however.

The ESPN duo talked to Leiweke during the first half of Thursday's Galaxy-Chivas USA contest, peppering him with good questions just minutes after he dined with Arena at the stadium. Here's what Leiweke had to say:

"If I could convince Bruce to join AEG and join the Galaxy, he'd be the ideal guy to come in here. There's not a better candidate, there's not a better coach. ... We'd be honored to have him. Whether or not that will happen, time will tell. But we have the utmost respect for him."

Leiweke was a little more cryptic about the role Arena might play. As the entire organizational structure of the club seems in flux (GM Alexi Lalas was let go at the same time the club lost manager Ruud Gullit), Arena or another manager might request the position of director of soccer. He held a similar title at Red Bull New York, which allowed him more sway over personnel decisions.

"I've known Bruce a long time," Leiweke said. "We have a lot of respect for him and obviously he's been a part not only of the national team program, but part of Major League Soccer from early on. So the ability to talk to him about what we're going through here, to get his input and advice is invaluable, and I consider him a friend to the organization.

"We'd be honored and privileged if Bruce was part of the organization, but the conversation tonight was really geared towards his input and his feelings toward on what we've done right and what done wrong with this franchise."

2. What Arena could bring: There can be no doubt about one thing when it comes to Arena and a possible relationship with the Galaxy: he would immediately mend an issue that seems to have hampered the Galaxy cohesion in 2008.

Landon Donovan, for one, has spoken publicly about a perceived lack of respect from Gullit toward the players.

If you speak to players who wore the national team shirt (or the D.C. United shirt, or even the Red Bulls shirt, for that matter) under Arena, almost every one will say the same thing about the dean of U.S. soccer managers: they enjoyed serving under him because he treated the players with respect. He kept them informed through open channels of communication and he always seemed to have their best interests in mind.

Clearly, players have typically enjoyed serving under Arena.

3. Cunningham knows how to "cowboy up": Time will tell if Jeff Cunningham can get along in Dallas after his trade from Toronto, where a relationship clearly deteriorated with manager John Carver.

Cunningham will get a chance to start immediately as FCD manager Schellas Hyndman said he didn't bring in the high-scoring striker (or new Dutch flank attacker Victor Sikora for that matter) to challenge for a spot. He brought them in to make an immediate impact.

Cunningham has already made an impact -- on his teammates. He showed up at D/FW Airport and, soon after, at Pizza Hut Park, wearing a cowboy hat. And think for a second about how hard that must be to find in Toronto. (He had to go to a thrift store to find one, he said.)

"I know the boys here probably heard some things about me," he said, "because I know the coaching staff in Toronto had some uncomplimentary things to say. So, I wanted to do what I could to make things less uncomfortable."

He said everybody had a nice laugh. "And then they told me to retire it," Cunningham said.

This much is certain: Cunningham had his best year as he played under John Ellinger at Real Salt Lake. Ellinger, now an assistant at Dallas, says he never had a problem with Cunningham. He called the veteran striker a hard worker and said Cunningham's reputation as a malcontent is wholly undeserved.

4. Lemonade out of lemons: Sure, most of us had rather the U.S. Olympians still be in Asia at this moment, dealing with the swampy air while prepping for a huge quarterfinal. But they aren't. They're back in the States, dreaming of what might have been.

On the other hand, that means a lot to several MLS teams, who might now be equipped with additional reinforcements. So, who's gonna play this weekend?

Sacha Kljestan made it to The Home Depot Center for Thursday's match, although not in time to suit up for Chivas USA. He said hello to teammates, then watched the thrilling 2-2 draw from beneath a baseball cap.

Chicago Fire officials say Brian McBride probably won't start Saturday's home match against D.C. United. Rather, it looks like the highly respected striker will begin his second MLS tour that evening off the bench. McBride trained with his new club on Friday.

Stuart Holden's team and Robbie Rogers' team play at home, so they could get some minutes. Houston plays host to Real Salt Lake and Columbus entertains Dallas. It's not quite as manageable for Michael Parkhurst, whose Revolution travels across three time zones to face San Jose. So the U.S. defender is being given a few days off and should be available next week to face United.

Maurice Edu and Marvell Wynne get an extra day to reset their body clocks as Toronto doesn't play until Sunday (when the Red Bulls visit BMO). Wynne could certainly step in quickly for a Toronto side that's thin in the back.

Edu, of course, could join him, but he might have other reasons for sitting this one out. Published reports have linked the fast-rising midfielder -- or should we call him the fast-rising defender-midfielder, based on a strong showing in the back for Peter Nowak's Olympians? -- to Glasgow Rangers. While the MLS international transfer window closes Friday, players may transfer out of MLS to foreign associations until Sept. 1.

Dax McCarty got back into Dallas on Thursday evening, but he won't be with the team as it travels Friday to Columbus. Pizza Hut Park management chose to rest the young midfielder.

5. Little mileposts along the way: Somewhat forgotten in the hoopla of Olympics and management shifts at the high-profile Galaxy is a little landslide of personal accomplishments.

Landon Donovan, Kenny Cooper and Edson Buddle are all enjoying career-best years in goals scoring with a third of the season still to play. Donovan got another one on Thursday and leads MLS with 14. All three have a chance to reach 20 goals this year. That's happened just once, during the inaugural 1996 campaign.

Cooper, by the way, is already FC Dallas' fourth all-time leading scorer, with a good chance to climb all the way to No. 2 this year, behind only Jason Kreis. Not bad for a fellow who is just 23.

In New York, defender Jeff Parke, enjoying a steady season for Juan Carlos Osorio's team, just passed Tony Meola in games played for the club. Parke now trails only Mike Petke.


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Earthquakes shake, rattle Revolution

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The San Jose Earthquakes attempt to climb out of the Western Division cellar got another step up Saturday night as they beat a depleted New England Revolution 4-0 at Buck Shaw Stadium.

Ronnie O'Brien scored two goals and set up another, with Ryan Johnson and Scott Sealy also scoring as the Quakes scored three goals in 17 minutes late in the game. With the victory, San Jose has won two games in a row for the first time this season, and is now is unbeaten in their last five matches. New England's loss drops them to second place in the Eastern Conference, one point behind Columbus.

The New England starting 11 was missing several key pieces from the squad that had came into the game with the best record in MLS, with Shalrie Joseph sitting out a red card suspension, Kheli Dube and Abdoulie Mansally out with injuries, and Michael Parkhurst resting after making his way home from Olympic team duty in China.

The only change in the San Jose's starting 11 that beat LA 3-2 last Sunday saw James Riley replacing Ryan Cochrane, who was serving a suspension for yellow card accumulation.

The Revolution seemed to miss Joseph the most, as San Jose enjoyed most of the possession, controlling the midfield and stretching the field with O'Brien working the right side and Darren Huckerby on the left.

The Earthquakes opened the scoring in the 11th minute, when Francisco Lima, at the top of the arc, found Ronnie O'Brien coming into the penalty area down the right side. From a tough angle, O'Brien hit what looked like a soft volley to the far post that fell just inside the woodwork for a 1-0 San Jose lead.

San Jose's other chances in the first half both came off corner kicks. In the 29th minute, Lima chested a cross down for an O Brien shot from 20 yards out that Reis saved easily. Just before halftime, another corner kick found Scott Sealy for a header from 12 yards out, but his shot flashed wide of the right post.

New England came closest to scoring in the first 45 minutes off free kicks. In the third minute, Mauricio Castro's effort from 22 yards was tipped over the bar by goalkeeper Joe Cannon. In the 36th, another free kick from Castro, this one from 25 yards forced Cannon to get down to make the save.

Looking for more attack, New England began the second half by bringing in Taylor Twellman, still recovering from a hip injury, to replace Castro, with Khano Smith dropping into midfield. They almost found the equalizing goal a few minutes later when Sainey Nyassi stole a poor San Jose back pass, forcing Cannon to come out to the penalty spot to stop his point-blank shot.

In the 55th minute, New England's injuries woes worsened when Matt Reis, who had played every minute of every MLS match so far this season, suffered a right adductor strain and was pulled for Doug Warren. For Reis, it ended his consecutive minutes streak at 7,795 minutes, a streak with began Sept. 3, 2005.

San Jose then put the game away with goals just a few minutes apart. In the 71st minute, Sealy, at the top of the penalty area, slipped a backheel through to Johnson, who had come on for Arturo Alvarez. Johnson's blast easily beat substitute 'keeper Doug Warren from 10 yards out.

In the 76th minute, it was Sealy's turn, taking a Huckerby pass completely unmarked and beating Warren cleanly from the top of the box to make the score 3-0 San Jose.

The Earthquakes got another goal in the 87th minute, when O'Brien cut in from the right wing and hooked in a left-footed shot from 25 yards out into the upper left corner of the goal.

The four goals was the most scored by San Jose in a MLS match this year, and comes after scoring three in a win against Los Angeles. They now travel to Los Angeles to face Chivas USA. For New England, they hope to get healthy quickly, as they face D.C. United on Wednesday night at home.


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Mathis makes return to Real Salt Lake

SALT LAKE CITY -- Even after he was traded to Colorado following Real Salt Lake's inaugural MLS season, Clint Mathis figured he would find his way back to Utah.

His first stint with the club ended in disappointment. Mathis was expected to be a veteran leader and steadying influence in Salt Lake City. But after 27 games, during which he accounted for three goals and four assists, Mathis was shipped off to the Rapids in exchange for Jeff Cunningham.

The MLS veteran came full circle this week. Mathis was added to the RSL roster Thursday afternoon from from Ergotelis FC of the Greek SuperLeague. RSL also acquired his MLS rights from the Los Angeles Galaxy in exchange for a conditional fourth round pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft.

Mathis spent parts of his 10-year career bouncing around the league. He is thrilled to be back from Europe and donning a Real uniform once again.

"I always tell people this is one of my favorite cities I've ever played in," Mathis said.

One of the things that drew him back to Utah was the chance to play for former teammate and close friend Jason Kreis. The two had discussed the possibility of Mathis returning to the club at some point when Kreis took over as head coach early last season.

With RSL in first place and looking for a talented veteran to shore up depth and bring leadership to its roster, both Mathis and Kreis felt like the right moment had arrived for him to come back into the picture.

"The timing ended up being right," Mathis said. "I just finished my stint in Greece and was out of contract and Jason just called me and asked if I would be interested in coming back. I told him for sure."

As RSL looks to hold onto its first-place status against the two-time defending MLS champion Houston Dynamo on Saturday, Kreis feels like Mathis can bring a lot of helpful qualities to the table for his young club.

He hopes to plug Mathis in at midfield where RSL has already lost two players in Carey Talley and Matias Cordoba this season.

"We've been looking for a midfielder," Kreis said. "We've been looking for somebody who's a versatile guy. We're looking for somebody with experience because we still have quite a young group. Clint fits all those bills."

Things will be different for Mathis the second time around. Instead of a struggling expansion club, he is joining a team that has surprised many with its ascent to the top of the standings.

RSL has come a long way since he joined the team as one of its original players. Real is on the eve of opening their new soccer stadium. And the club is making its first serious push for a playoff spot in club history.

For someone like Mathis, who saw how it all started, it's exciting to see RSL on the upswing after a few tough seasons.

"When I was here -- even though we weren't playing well, the fans always supported us," Mathis said. "It's good to see they have something to continue to cheer for, rather than just (ask) 'when are we ever going to get a win?'"

Mathis will make his debut against the Dynamo on Saturday and will wear jersey number 84 in honor of his son Maximus, who was born on August 4, 2008.

The signing of Mathis also helps fill a roster opening created by the departure of reserve defender Matias Mantilla earlier this week.

Mantilla began the season as a starter, but fell out of the playing rotation with the emergence of players like Jamison Olave and Tony Beltran. He asked for a release and the club granted it earlier this week, allowing him to return to Argentina and explore other professional soccer avenues there.


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Crew rally in second half to beat FCD

COLUMBUS -- The FC Dallas shutout streak had just reached 265 minutes and the Columbus Crew had not scored in 167 but all that changed quickly thanks to the work of Crew forward Guillermo Barros Schelotto.

The Argentinean standout showed why he is the MLS assists leader, notching his 11th and 12th of the season in a three-minute stretch of the second half that helped turn a first-half deficit into a 2-1 Columbus victory before the largest crowd this season at Crew Stadium.

FC Dallas saw their five-game unbeaten streak end and also lost for the first time after scoring first and leading at the half, after Jeff Cunningham put the Hoops into the lead in the 35th minute with the 100th league tally of his career.

Defensive midfielder Brian Carroll had his first goal of the season and just the third in 141 career games to tie the score for the Crew in the 62nd minute and Brad Evans put Columbus ahead three minutes later.

It was a bitter end for Dallas after starting so well. It was all FCD from the opening kickoff due to the play of Kenny Cooper and Cunningham.

Cooper, second in the league behind Landon Donovan with 13 goals, had four of the team's six shots in the first 22 minutes but it was his service from the left flank six minutes earlier that nearly resulted in the initial goal.

Cunningham's header from eight yards was cleared off the line by Crew defender Chad Marshall and the rebound attempt by Andre Rocha was deflected wide.

In the 23rd minute Cunningham broke past the defense and had the ball on his foot at the penalty spot but goalkeeper Will Hesmer made a sliding tackle to snatch the ball before a shot could be taken.

The Crew's first good chance didn't come until the 30th minute when Aaron Pitchkolan fouled Alejandro Moreno inches outside the top left of the penalty area. Schelotto bent the ensuing free kick around the right side of the wall but goalkeeper Dario Sala was in perfect position to block the shot.

Columbus was the only team in MLS that Cunningham had not scored against in his illustrious career but there was an excuse because he spent seven seasons with the Crew before being traded in 2005. The fourth-leading scorer in MLS history made amends in the 35th minute give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

The Hoops, particularly the speedy Cunningham, had exploited Crew left back Gino Padula in his first game back from injury since April 26. After Cunningham was unable to convert his early opportunities, Serioux dribbled past Padula toward the end line then sent a low ball into the goal area. Cunningham got his left foot on the ball as he charged toward the net just as goalkeeper Will Hesmer made a play for the ball two yards off the goal line.

It was the 35th goal Cunningham scored in Columbus and the 30th in Crew Stadium (the others came in Ohio Stadium in 1998). However, it was his first in Columbus since Oct. 2, 2004, a stretch of five games. He scored 62 of his goals for the Crew from 1998-2004, and is tied with Brian McBride, now of the Chicago Fire, atop the Crew's all-time goal list.

The Crew pulled level in the 62nd minute. Moreno made a long cross-field pass from the left to a fading Schelotto, who headed the ball back toward Carroll for a clinical finish.

Carroll's last goal was July 15, 2006, against the Crew while playing for D.C. United but he moved unchallenged in front of the net on a rapidly developed play to score.

Then three minutes later, Schelotto delivered a free kick from the left of goal to the near post where Evans had inside position on Pablo Ricchetti inside the goal area for a wicked glancing header past Sala.

Evans almost made it 3-1 in the 78th when he ran full stride onto a Frankie Hejduk cross at the top of the box only to see the strike hit the right upright.

Still, it was enough for the Crew to escape with the win although Cooper came within inches of tying the match in the third minute of stoppage time only to see his free kick from 25 yards smack the crossbar.

The game could have been billed as the battle of the newcomers as both teams used their bye week to add reinforcement to their attacks.

Dallas welcomed Cunningham and Dutch midfielder Victor Sikora to the lineup while midfielder Pat Noonan made his debut for the Crew after his arrival from a short stint this year in Norway.

Sikora signed with Dallas Aug. 8 following three years with NAC Breda of the Dutch Eredivisie in one of many moves by Schellas Hyndman since he became coach on June 17.

Noonan scored 37 regular-season goals for New England over five seasons before going overseas in February. In order to obtain him, the Crew had to make a deal with New England for his rights.

Each team also regained an Olympian this week when the U.S. was eliminated on Wednesday. While midfielder Dax McCarty did not dress for Dallas, midfielder Robbie Rogers replaced Noonan in the 58th minute. The Crew's Nigerian midfielder, Emmanuel Ekpo, is still his Olympic squad, which reached the semifinals earlier on Saturday.


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Rivals bring out best in Chivas

CARSON, Calif. -- Chivas USA have been on a skid. In their last two league games, the club has lost road games to Chicago and Kansas City. Consequently, the Red-and-White find themselves in fifth place in the Western Conference table.

There is nothing like a SuperClasico, though, to snap Chivas USA out of their funk.

"Whatever bad form you are in, you forget about that in these games," Francisco Mendoza said. "This is a key game in terms of confidence. If we can get a win it will give us some confidence back but also more importantly it will keep us in the playoff race."

Chivas USA will close out their SuperClasico series with the rival Los Angeles Galaxy on Thursday at The Home Depot Center (11 p.m. ET; ESPN2). In two previous meetings, Chivas USA have a draw and a loss but can salvage the series with a victory as the trophy that goes to the winner is still up for grabs.

A year ago, Chivas USA had a pair of 3-0 wins against the Galaxy down the stretch, wins that helped fuel the club down the stretch en route to a Western Conference title.

Despite the glitz and glamour that comes with a SuperClasico, though, Preki said what mattered more to him was the bottom line.

"I'm not really concerned about the SuperClasico. I am more concerned about three points. I would love to get the trophy but I would love three points even more," Preki said. "For us this is about three points. This is about trying to push for the playoffs."

In that push for the playoffs, Chivas USA will need to continue finding contributions from some unexpected sources. Ante Razov (knee) and Sacha Kljestan (Olympics) have not played in each of the last two league games. Without two of their key attacking players -- and the only players who have scored against the Galaxy this season -- Chivas USA have had problems generating offense.

Chivas USA have not scored a goal in the run of play without their dynamic duo. But in Kansas City, Chivas USA scored a pair of goals -- one on a penalty and the other from a corner kick.

"Run of play, set pieces -- they call count the same," Preki said. "Run of play counts as one. Set piece counts as one too. We'll take them any way we can."

Without Kljestan and Razov, Chivas USA will have to find different ways to score. There might be help coming from Maykel Galindo, who trained this week without major setback and is poised to play for the second time in three weeks -- and for the second time in three months. Galindo had not played since April but returned to face the Fire on Aug. 2.

Still, missing Kljestan and Razov will be a challenge even if Galindo regains his health.

"They are two guys that have a presence in the attacking third but sometimes we're going to have to score on set pieces and make it ugly and find different ways to win," Jesse Marsch said. "Even though we're a team that tries to play with a very high football IQ, we pride ourselves in being winners. It doesn't matter who is here. It doesn't matter who is not here. We're coming into this big game and we feel good with what our team is about."


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Film uses soccer to help 'Kick' homelessness

Every four years, the FIFA World Cup draws the passionate attention of some 1 billion soccer fans around the globe as 32 nations battle for the coveted title of world champion.

Substantially less attention is paid to the fact that approximately the same number of people wander the earth's streets homeless at any given time, racked by intense personal battles and often struggling for basic necessities like food, clothing and shelter.

"Kicking It" is a new documentary film which uses the story of another international soccer tournament to call attention to the plight of those oft-forgotten faces, joining six unique personalities from around the world on their journey from the margins of their societies to the 2006 Homeless World Cup in South Africa, working towards lives of stability and structure with the help of the beautiful game.

Guided by the "filmanthropy" concept coined by producer Ted Leonsis, owner of the NHL's Washington Capitals and a former top AOL executive, "Kicking It" was exhaustively shot by director Susan Koch and innovatively promoted with the goal of not only sharing the stories of its protagonists, but spreading awareness about the underlying issues and calling a wider population to action.

"We believe, very importantly and very deeply, that homelessness is a huge worldwide issue, and that sports is a tremendous tool for redemption, really," said Rick Allen, another of the film's producers and chief executive of the newly launched SnagFilms, which is using internet technology to encourage the "viral" spreading of the film and its message.

"The dynamics of the team sport are tremendously helpful for all people, including those who are most severely disadvantaged, to reclaim their own identities in the context of the team -- really begin to get their lives together and to advance their own aspirations through the dynamic of sports," said Allen. "It's something that Ted and I have always believed in, and we thought this was a wonderful representation of it, and that the individuals involved were really incredibly impressive."

In the United States, the homeless soccer movement began in North Carolina, where two brothers who'd played soccer their entire lives turned to their beloved sport as a way to improve the lives of down-and-out youths on the mean streets of Charlotte who were grappling with drug abuse, poverty and traumatic pasts.

"Soccer made sense in this context because we had a lot of guys who were immigrants, maybe hadn't mastered the language but soccer was something they did well. And then for a lot of guys, soccer was like a fresh start: there was no baggage or expectations," said founder Lawrence Cann. "We were really successful in engaging 18- to 24-year-olds -- older people as well, but folks that had kind of aged out of group homes and were on the street, were disconnected, hadn't had really typical childhoods."

Soon Lawrence's younger brother Rob, a teammate of D.C. United midfielder Clyde Simms at East Carolina University, came on board as the idea of assembling a U.S. team to compete in the Homeless World Cup (HWC) -- which debuted in Scotland in 2003 -- took shape.

Like Simms, who had to take an unorthodox path to MLS by gaining exposure as a replacement national team call-up during a 2005 labor dispute, Rob Cann believed he had unfinished business in the sport after his college career ended, and soon found his calling as a coach in homeless soccer. This December, he will lead a U.S. team featuring eight players from seven cities into the next HWC in Melbourne, Australia.

"The feeling that Clyde and I both had was, we didn't feel like our soccer careers were going to come to an end," he said, noting that ECU disbanded its men's soccer program soon after his departure. "It didn't seem right."

One of Cann's most remarkable players, a young Charlotte man named Craig Holley, was one of six HWC participants profiled by Koch in "Kicking It," along with players from Ireland, Kenya, Russia, Afghanistan and Spain. A victim of child abuse, Holley found himself on the streets as a teenager, and though he'd never played the game before joining Cann's squad, soccer soon became a positive influence and an abiding passion.

"It did a great job of really showing the struggles and hardships that Craig has gone through, and how soccer and the community around the soccer team has been a stabilizing thing for him, whereas before he just had no outlets for his anger and his frustrations with life," said Rob Cann. "He's at a community here with our program where he's formed relationships that are based on trust and people he knows really care about him."

Craig and his colleagues were given another boost at the Homeless USA Cup in downtown Washington, D.C. earlier this summer, a national street soccer championship event also bankrolled in large part by Leonsis. D.C. United star Ben Olsen attended the premiere of "Kicking It," as did Simms, and Olsen conducted a two-hour clinic and spent the better part of an afternoon getting to know tournament participants, who also got to watch United take on David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy at RFK Stadium the next day.

Lawrence Cann warmly praised Olsen's "generous spirit" but it was the 10-year MLS veteran who left feeling humbled, even making light of the chronic, painful ankle troubles which have kept him sidelined virtually all season.

"These guys are coming from the streets and drug problems and trying to wean off drugs or deal with anger issues, just some heavy stuff. And for them to come together through this great sport of ours -- it was a great movie," said Olsen. "Selfishly, it puts my situation in perspective. Those guys would love to have the opportunities that we have, playing this sport that we love and they now love."

In bringing their cameras into the lives of complicated, often sensitive individuals like Holley, Koch and her crew had to earn their trust, relying on volumes of patience and understanding along the way as she won over players and advocates alike.

"Sometimes it kind of brought up a lot of their old issues that we had been working on," said Lawrence Cann. "They got angry at times, and you see in the movie, especially in some of the earlier footage Susan shot, not very open and more confrontational. But Susan was really persistent and came back again and again, and really listened to Craig, and in the end, the same thing that Susan offered in her constant friendship, I think that's what the soccer offers."

Koch has described it as "a leap of faith," but her risk-taking drew the attention and backing of Leonsis and resulted in the series of moving portraits that drive "Kicking It."

"When you're making a film about people who pretty much by definition have gone through very difficult times in their lives, and who tend, as a variety of individuals say in the context of the film itself, tend to have low self-esteem and a range of other personal issues, gaining the trust of your film subjects is even more difficult," said Allen. "And I think it's really remarkable that Susan and Neil Barrett, who was the director of cinematography, were so successful in doing so ... that's the mark of a really good filmmaker."

"Kicking It" won plaudits at the illustrious Sundance Film Festival in January, at which time the producers' original promotional arrangement with ESPN was augmented by two more high-profile deals with Liberation Entertainment and Netflix.

"There were 9,000 films submitted to Sundance this year, and 118 of them were accepted to the festival, 38 of which were documentaries," said Allen. "And at the festival, only seven films got any distribution deals at all. We were one of the seven, and we got three deals. So we felt very, very good about what that said about Susan's film, and about the appeal of the topic."

The movie brought much-deserved attention to the Homeless World Cup and its fast-growing feeder network of local street soccer leagues. But Leonsis and his cohorts have also designed a grassroots-oriented promotional system to catch the imagination of soccer fans and homeless fans alike, helping to drum up financial support and spark community involvement.

"We've created the opportunity for folks who see the film and are moved by it, to donate to the Homeless World Cup, and/or to the charities of the six characters who feature in the film. And we took that model and applied in a broad way to SnagFilms," said Allen. "So individuals can treat this as pure entertainment and watch the film, or they can become engaged at any level."

MLSnet.com allows visitors to not only view "Kicking It" but to also embed the trailer and preview in their own pages and blogs. They can support the cause with online donations. It's an approach that Leonsis, Allen and company hope can spread knowledge and awareness far beyond conventional promotion methods.

"We tried to put those groups together and without the film, and without Ted's leadership, it would've been very challenging to pull off what we did," said Lawrence Cann. "So we're just really grateful. ... It's just been amazing, the way we've been treated and the way our guys feel dignified by the film."


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Ricchetti finds role with rolling Hoops

FRISCO, Texas -- While four goals from Kenny Cooper have certainly been the big story of FC Dallas' current two-game winning streak, equally important to the wins were the continuing solid performances from defensive midfielder Pablo Ricchetti.

The 31-year-old Argentinean, in his second MLS season, has played in all but one match for the Hoops this year including 16 starts, and has two assists.

Like many of his teammates, Ricchetti seemed to struggle under the 3-5-2 formation that was employed by former FCD coach Steve Morrow. After Morrow was relieved of his duties in mid-May and his replacement Schellas Hyndman came on in mid-June, there was an acclimation period as Hyndman installed the 4-4-2 as his preferred formation.

It might have taken a while but FCD is clearly more comfortable in the 4-4-2 and that definitely includes Ricchetti, who has really shown top form in the Hoops' last two wins.

"Going into the 4-4-2, he understands his role as the only defending midfielder," Hyndman said. "When we were in the 3-5-2, he was sharing responsibilities with another player and sometimes was out of shape. Now, he can be in the right place at the right time and help that defensive structure. He's the first line of defending before it gets to our defense and has excelled in that position."

Ricchetti agrees that he feels more comfortable now than he did in the 3-5-2.

"I feel better in the 4-4-2," he said. "We just had to be in the right places. We have played really compact and well as team. We knew that the results would start to come. When you're playing well and the team is looking better, it's easier."

In the 3-5-2, Ricchetti often shared the deep midfield role with Marcelo Saragosa, which led to confusion.

"I feel better playing alone in the 4-4-2," Ricchetti said. "I have more responsibility on defense but can take every ball from the back four, which is what I like. To me, it's better when I play alone. I think the team plays better with just one guy there. To me, it's better like that."

In the last two matches, Hyndman has started Ricchetti at the defensive midfield spot while rookie Eric Avila has played the attacking role.

"Eric (Avila) has also helped him (Ricchetti)," Hyndman said. "He is a little bit more energized, mobile and works on both sides of the ball. That helps when you have an attacking midfielder that wants to be part of that."

Ricchetti concurs. "To me, we are feeling really good playing together," he said. "We have had two great games out there together. We have played solid defensively and he has played really well on offense. He's young, has a lot of energy and a lot of mobility. For us, it's good. We know that we can play better and can get better with every game. We know that will be good for us and for the team."

Not only does Ricchetti feed off Avila's energy but the young rookie also wants to do his best every time he hits the field because of the immense amount of respect that he has for his veteran teammate.

"He's a well-respected player and he's older," Avila said. "Me stepping on the field means that I have to work for him. He's earned the respect to keep back and clean up everything. So, it puts me in a spot if I'm playing with him, it makes me work. He organizes me well."

In fact, Avila gives Ricchetti credit for having influenced him most since coming to FCD.

"I think he's the one that puts me in my place," Avila said. "In practice, if I'm not doing something right, then he will yell at me and tell me to do this and that. Especially on the field, he puts me in a comfortable situation where he demands me to go here and there. I totally respect him and will put in the work. It's good to have someone like that and someone I can look up to. He is like an older brother to me."


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Reds overcome omens, Rapids in win

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- Saturday afternoon's contest against the Colorado Rapids was full of bad omens for Toronto FC. Playing on the road (where they have not won since April), against a Western Conference team (an opponent they haven't recorded a win against since June), and forced to start many reserve players, conditions seemed ripe for TFC to run their winless streak to seven games.

Looking at the statistics, one would be forgiven if there was the impression that the game went as poorly for Toronto as the omens forecasted: outshot 21-8, putting only two shots on goal (to Colorado's 11), giving up five corner kicks while only taking one.

But in the only measure that counts -- goals -- Toronto FC prevailed, beating Colorado 1-0 courtesy of a Chad Barrett free kick goal.

"We were up against it before the game; we have not made too much of about it and we've just gone on with the job," said Toronto coach John Carver. "The young guys have stepped in there and I'm proud of them. They've done a great job for Toronto and I hope everyone back in Canada and Toronto in particular are very proud of them, because I am."

Sporting a lineup missing many of its key performers, Toronto was forced to feature several of their reserve and developmental players, who played a solid game in earning the win.

"It means a lot for the guys who have been on the bench and the reserve team to take advantage of our chance to play," said fullback Julius James, making only his fifth start of the season.

Forward Danny Dichio, who saw 10 minutes as a substitute as he recovers from a concussion, agreed that the victory was very important for the team.

"I think it shows a lot of the character we have in the team dressing room," said Dichio. "In the last few weeks we have had a lot of doubters but this has really shown today that we are a good strong bunch of players, team spirit-wise. A lot of people were saying we were going to get beat but we came through and showed a lot of character today."

In all, seven of the 13 players who saw action for Toronto have fewer than 20 career MLS starts to their names.

"We've got two guys in the Olympics, we've got two guys suspended, we have three back home injured, and then we picked up another couple of injuries today so we are down to the bare bones," said Carver. "And we traded Jeff [Cunningham] and we thought we were going to have another player today but that didn't materialize so it was like losing two more players. So we were down to the bare bones and the young guys have come in there stepped up and done a great job."

Barrett's goal, his sixth of the season but first since coming to Toronto in a trade with the Chicago Fire, was enough to hold off a Rapids team that looked consistently dangerous but could break through.

"I thought let's just put something on goal because we hadn't really tested [Rapids 'keeper] Bouna Coundoul," said Barrett. "I saw Bouna standing in the middle of the goal and I thought to go back post. I hit it as well as I could hit it and I still thought Bouna was going to get to it since he has such a long range. But he couldn't and everyone did their jobs after that and produced a great win for the team."

Almost as important as the goal for Barrett was the fact that he did not experience any of the physical issues that have limited his play this season.

"Chad's got an unbelievable ability, but what has pleased me more is that is lasting longer," said Carver. "He has had a problem with picking up cramps and in all of the games he played for Chicago he lasted about 70 minutes. So to get him past the 80-minute mark, that's progress and I'm delighted."

Barrett agreed with his coach's assessment and attributed his progress to the Toronto training staff.

"I didn't ramp up today; I was just tired," said Barrett. "They are doing a great job keeping me healthy and the strength and conditioning coach has me on a great program and I felt great out there today."

Play ended up being physical on both ends of the fields, as each team committed 15 fouls. Toronto earned three yellow cards while Colorado picked up four (and saw an ejection via a second yellow card, when Colin Clark was sent off with 20 minutes to play). "Today's game was physical but that's the way most MLS games, most professional games are and we were up for it today," said James.

Even the substitutes were getting into the physicality as Dichio managed to get into scraps with Rapids defenders Ugo Ihemelu and Facundo Erpen in his 10 minutes of playing time.

"I didn't mean to play so physical," said Dichio. "I was just a bit unfit and I was just trying to get back into the game and maybe I made a few rash challenges but I was trying to inspire the team and get us back on our toes a little bit."

Despite the pleasure from the road victory, there was some pain as well as veteran defender Tyrone Marshall had to leave the game with a leg injury.

"Tyrone has got a slight thigh strain," said Carver. "Funny enough I wasn't watching it because I watching movement in the box and I just saw him lying on the floor. So it was a huge disappointment to us, but it's not too serious, so we're get him patched up and back to Toronto and watch him next week. The fortunate thing is that we don't play again until Sunday next week."

The road victory is Toronto's first since their third game of the season, when they beat Los Angeles 3-2 on April 13. "It's a huge victory," said Carver. "Because the longer you go without the win on the road people start doubting you. The one thing you will find is that I will never give up and this is the biggest challenge I have ever had. And every one of us in that dressing room has stepped up to the plate and done a great job. When your back is to the wall, sometimes the strong come out fighting and that is what we have done today."


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Sweep bitter pill for Revs to swallow

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The feeling is one the New England Revolution haven't experienced since 2001 when D.C. United beat them in all three meetings.

But Chicago's 2-1 victory at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night meant the Revs won't beat the Fire in the regular season after two losses earlier this season.

That swept feeling didn't go down well in the New England locker room, especially because both players and coaches felt referee Kevin Stott contributed to the team's third loss to the Fire this season.

Taylor Twellman made the game comfortable for the Revs with his third-minute goal. Chicago kept plenty of possession in the middle of the park, but struggled to create opportunities inside the penalty area.

"I thought we did well," Revs 'keeper Matt Reis said. "We had the lead. We were doing well. The red card affects us. They threw on more attackers and more attackers. We were just trying to hold on and we just couldn't do it."

It was all going to play until Shalrie Joseph knocked the ball out of Cuauhtemoc Blanco's hands as he went to take a throw-in and drew a second yellow card from Stott, in the 74th minute.

"Going down a man like we did put us in a tough situation," Reis said.

Coming as it did just after the completion of a pitched SuperLiga campaign, going down a man put just too much of a strain on the Revolution still on the field.

"We had nothing left in the tank after Tuesday. It was always going to be a problem but we defended well; we really didn't give them too many clear shots at goal," said Revolution coach Steve Nicol. "(Chicago) had a lot of the ball but, considering what happened on Tuesday, it was always to be expected."

That tough situation turned terrible quickly for the Revs after Gonzalo Segares hit a 30-yard hoper that swerved around Reis and into the net in the 81st minute.

"He hit it on frame," Reis said. "Sometimes, that's all you need to do."

If a point was disappointing, a loss was even worse. Wilman Conde poked home after Reis saved Tomasz Frankowski's initial shot to condemn the Revs to a third consecutive loss against the Fire.

Even with the trouble against Chicago this season, Twellman thinks his team shouldn't be concerned with the Fire closing the gap in the Eastern Conference.

"I'm not too concerned with it," Twellman said. "As long as we do our job and win our games, it doesn't matter what anyone else does."

For Twellman, the result put a damper on his first start of the season. The veteran striker has struggled with injuries this season, but played the full 90 minutes against Chicago.

"It's been a whirlwind, but it was good to warm up just like you were going to play a game," Twellman said. "I've been on the bench a couple of times, but there's nothing like starting. Obviously, I thank Stevie for giving me a shot again. I've been out for a while. It was fun."


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Kamara adjusting to life in Houston

HOUSTON -- At first glance it would appear the biggest adjustment for the Houston Dynamo's recently acquired Kei Kamara would be the new weather conditions he'd have to get used to in southeast Texas.

In northern California, where he played while a member of the San Jose Earthquakes, August can be rather pleasant, relatively speaking. Monday's weather, for example, featured partly cloudy skies and a high temperature somewhere in the mid-70s.

Meanwhile, the weather in Houston was hot, muggy and downright miserable. But Kamara walked off the practice field with his new team just one point out of first place in the Western Conference.

Before his trade to Houston, Kamara spent most of the 2008 season at the bottom of the West standings. Considering where he was versus where he is now, the biggest difference has nothing to do with Mother Nature.

It's all about winning and the attitude that every one of his new teammates brings with them to work.

"It has definitely lifted me and every player looks to play on a good team," Kamara said Monday, after the team's first practice since losing the SuperLiga 2008 final last Tuesday at New England. "I played on a team in Columbus that had been at the bottom most of the team and then I moved over to San Jose where it was more of the same.

"Now I am getting a chance to play for a winning team and playing with a great group of guys that have won two championships. I just need to watch as much as I can and learn what it is like to approach every game with a championship mentality."

Kamara has been used primarily as a late substitute, coming on at forward, since joining the team after playing in 12 games for the Earthquakes. He has played in one league game and his goal gave the Dynamo a 2-1 lead in the 98th minute against the Revolution in the SuperLiga final.

Houston gave up the lead four minutes later, and lost in penalty kicks even though Kamara scored again in the shootout's seventh round.

Getting that first goal, Kamara said, came at a good time even if the final result was bitterly disappointing.

"Getting that goal, that was really nice," Kamara said. "It is always good to get that first one out of the way, especially when you come to a new team and you are expected to do well. Now I just have to keep progressing and just build from that."

Kamara knows the time is coming that he will get his first start with the team. The schedule is going to get tougher in September and the Dynamo will certainly lose more players to international competition. Head coach Dominic Kinnear said Kamara will be relied upon when the league games start to pile up for the two-time defending champions, as well as play in the inaugural CONCACAF Champions League.

"(Change) has been kind of a theme for us this year and now we have some guys that could miss some time with some national games coming up," Kinnear said. "And I'm sure he could get some starts. And we are going to have a real crowded schedule in September and I am sure we will have to use different guys in different games and in completely different situations than they are used to."

Kamara said the transition from San Jose to the Dynamo has been made much easier because he knows the team is focused on one goal, and that goal goes far above just making the playoffs.

He has been welcomed with opened arms, Kinnear said, because he showed up with a hard-working attitude and a desire to fit in with his new mates.

Oh and he does a few other things the team needs.

"He has good pace, he's tall, he's got good movement and he is really strong in the box," Kinnear said with a smile. "He really gives other teams problems and so far I think he has really fit in with the guys."


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U.S. players battle Beijing conditions

TIANJIN, China -- Holding a major athletic competition in cities that rank high in the world's air pollution list is a risky proposition, to say the least.

After all, how can you tell athletes to take in as much air as possible when it is laced with heaven knows what?

At the Beijing Summer Games, there are the Chinese version of the three H's -- heat, humidity and horrible air -- that can make like unbearable for anyone, let alone athletes trying to perform their best at the Olympics.

This city seems to have a constant haze hovering above it with gray skies usually the norm. Some citizens wear cloth or plastic gas masks and some bicyclists wear a visor, apparently to keep out some unusual glare and to protect their eyes from some type of pollution.

According to Fareed Zakaria's book, "The Post-American World," only one percent of China's 560 million urban residents "breathe air considered safe by European Union standards."   • Full coverage >

"After a week of acclimation, you get used to it," said former New York Red Bulls striker Jozy Altidore, who recently was transferred to Villarreal (Spain). "But it's not easy. With these conditions, even the team that plays the best soccer doesn't always win."

Toronto FC defender Marvell Wynne has noticed the difference. At night many visitors can see dust in the air when the light refracts off the floating particles.

"It's different from the air quality back in the States," he said. "We have to do a little adjusting. It's not a thing to get used to quickly or take a pill to adapt faster. You have to change our game plan and strategy or we'll be fairly winded."

Add temperatures hovering near the 100-degree mark and high humidity, and it's an awful combination for below-average results at a competition in which records are supposed to be broken.

How bad are the temperatures? The Tianjin Olympic Games weather service put out this forecast for Friday (a rating of one is the best, five the worst):

The heat index was a three, which was called "torrid" by the service with "heat stroke imminent."

The heat wave index also was a third. The service was "great discomfort" and that people should "avoid exertion."

So, just how does a soccer player avoid exertion when he or she is trying to win a game?

"It's hot air you're breathing," Altidore said. "It's not easy."

Wynne agreed. "It's tough," he said. As you notice during the game, any time there is a break, we walk over to get some fluids."

Captain and veteran forward Brian McBride, the oldest men's player (36) at an Olympics since the under-23 rule was instituted, said he was glad the team played at the ING Cup in Hong Kong, where temperatures were in the mid-90s and the heat index was over 100 degrees.

"You've got to be smart about it," he said. "When you've got a chance to move forward, you move forward. You need to keep the ball and a little more time than you need to do."

So, injuries, big or small, for whatever team, can be welcomed by the players to rest and catch their breaths.

No player would want to go through what Dutch midfielder Hedweiges Maduro experienced in his team's scoreless tie with Nigeria Thursday. He was forced to leave the game at halftime because of dehydration.

Wynne has been taking no chances, although he isn't a fish.

"It's as though I'm tired of drinking water, I am drinking so much," he said.

Controlling the doping: When Altidore and Wynne were called in for drug testing after the U.S.'s 1-0 win against Japan Thursday night, they knew what to expect.

They've been there, done that many times before, most recently with the U.S. under-20 team.

But that doesn't mean they have to like it. No player likes to be detained after a match -- win or lose. Thursday's doping control tests took almost an hour. And after a game in which players have lost many fluids in 93-degree temperatures and 50 percent humidity (the latter seemed to be a lot more), it was difficult giving a urine sample.

"It was pretty ...," Altidore said, searching for the right diplomatic words. "It wasn't bad. They were cautious. They want to make sure everything is done right. They want to make sure nobody is cheating."

The two players have performed in enough international competitions and youth World Cups to know the procedure.

"It's a little amazing," said Wynne, who was so dehydrated and needed so many fluids that it took him 35-40 minutes to give officials a urine sample.

In fact, Altidore has been tested when he was living in New Jersey at 4 a.m. ("that's unbelievable," Altidore said), obviously to make sure the athlete won't cheat or use someone else's samples.

Opening the door to someone don't know at four in the morning sounds like risky business. But athletes have no recourse.

"You have to answer it or they put that as a missed test," Altidore said. "You only get three strikes. You have to answer the door."

They love a parade: After a week in this satellite Olympics city, the U.S. men got a taste of what the Summer Games were really about when they participated in the parade of countries and athletes at the opening ceremonies in Beijing Friday.

"I'm very excited," Altidore said prior to the parade. "It will be a lot of fun. That's when the Olympic experience hits you."

Wynne said it was "going to be amazing. It's the epitome of pride for your country, knowing you are out there with the elite of sports. You are honored by being there. ... There are no words to describe it."

Midfielder Michael Bradley said when the team was in Palo Alto, Calif. prior to the trip, several former Olympians said "that if there was any possible way we could swing walking in the opening ceremonies we 100 percent had to do it because it was something that we'd never forget. ... We're excited about it, but I think in the back of everybody's mind we're also thinking about the game on Sunday."

The players wore blue blazers, white pants and colored shirts and an off-white cap.

"We're going to be looking decked out," Altidore said. ""We're going to be looking nice."

Wynne called the ensemble "flashy."

The opening ceremony was expected to fade quickly into memory because the U.S. takes on the Netherlands in a Group B encounter here Saturday night.

The American women did not attend the ceremonies. They were preparing for a must-win situation against Japan less than 24 hours after the parade in Qinhuangdao. Winning and representing your country on the field and not in Beijing are the No. 1 priorities at the moment.

Getting to know each other: Adu and McBride haven't had much time to practice together or perform in games together that much, so their partnership up front Thursday night was a bumpy one.

A lot of times they didn't look on the same page, sometimes they did.

"I think it's coming along," McBride said. "There were plenty of times when we were too far apart from each other. There were plenty of times when we were able to link and occupy their center backs. The one thing we did, they kept pushing people onto us. We had to play smart and take a foul and sometimes we had to play one touch and get things moving."

They're in yellow peril: Three U.S. players received yellow cards in the opening match. The next one they accrue will mean they will have to sit out the next match. So, goalkeeper Brad Guzan, midfielder Michael Bradley and Freddy Adu are on notice against Japan.

In the spotlight: Bradley said that people who he didn't know were soccer fans were tuning in to catch the Americans early in the morning.

"You don't realize how big it is until you get here," he said. "Even with the huge time difference back home, the different text messages and e-mails and calls from all our family and friends back home, even people I didn't know were soccer fans. 'Hey, I was up early this morning to catch the game. Congratulations.' That's when it really hits home how big the Olympics are and how special it is for people in America."

Winning first certainly doesn't hurt: Beyond the satisfaction of winning and building confidence, the U.S. men's victory in their Olympic opener increased their chances of getting out of the first round in one piece.

Consider these trends from Olympic history:

Since group play was instituted for the first round in 1960, countries that win their first match have moved onto the next round 82.5 percent of the time (57-185). Teams that have lost their opening games have gotten out of the first round only 8 percent of the time (5-57). And if a team draws, it has more than a fighting chance -- 50 percent (18 times out of a possible 36 tied teams) of staying alive to play another day.

Only five countries have lost their opener, but managed to advance anyway. The exceptions: Argentina (1960), Egypt (1984), Australia (1992), Ghana (1996) and Brazil (1996).

Interesting note: Brazil is the only team to lose its opening match but went on to win a medal, a bronze, in 1996. Australia reached the medal round in 1992, losing to Ghana in the bronze-medal encounter.

On the flip side, only four countries have won their first game, but did not advance. They include Poland (1960), which defeated Tunisia 6-1; the USA (1984), which beat Costa Rica 3-0; South Korea (1996), which downed Ghana 1-0; Japan (1996), which bested Brazil 1-0.

This works for the women as well, although they don't have as long a history as the men's competition.

Countries that have won their first match have reached the semifinals 75 percent of the time (5-1-2 record). Norway is the only women's side that has bucked this trend. It dropped its opening game to the USA, 2-0, but won its next two encounters to advance. In fact, the Norwegians improved throughout the tournament that they earned a gold medal.

On the flip side, two teams that have won their opening matches have failed to advance -- Germany (1996), which defeated Japan, 3-2, and China (2000), which beat Nigeria, 3-1.

Looking ahead: There is a long way to go in the Olympic soccer competition, of course. Saying that, here are two potential quarterfinal opponents for the U.S. if it finishes first or second.

A second-place finish probably would mean a showdown with gold-medal favorite Argentina in Shanghai Saturday, Aug. 16. Earning the Group B title would mean a date with either Ivory Coast, Australia or Serbia in Qinhuangdao.


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Nicol likely to stick with reserves

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Expecting familiar faces from the New England Revolution for Tuesday night's Open Cup semifinal against D.C. United at RFK Stadium?

Think again.

Revolution head coach Steve Nicol had to balance the upcoming fixture crunch -- the team plays in San Jose this weekend and just finished a grueling month of July in SuperLiga -- with the team's desire to retain the U.S. Open Cup. Nicol said he'll stick with the primarily reserve roster that dispatched Crystal Palace Baltimore and Richmond Kickers in the earlier rounds.

"The guys who got us here deserve to play in this game," Nicol said. "They've played some games in the SuperLiga and they've played some games in the league."

Given the stakes and the upcoming glut of matches, this semifinal amounts to a stern test of who can step into the first team and earn more playing time.

"There are some guys here who haven't had as many minutes as they would like," Nicol said. "They'll be asked a lot of questions tomorrow night."

A couple of familiar faces have made the trip, none more influential than Revs central midfielder Shalrie Joseph. Joseph is suspended for the San Jose game after picking up a red card, but he might have made the trip anyways to give the side some additional sturdiness in the center of the park.

"D.C. is going to be a hard game, but the reserve guys have done great all season," Joseph said. "I'm just here to lend some more experience. I just want to help this team."

The Revs haven't faced much in the way of obstacles in its first two Open Cup matches. With two USL teams facing off on the other side of the draw, the winner of Tuesday night's game will be favored heading into the final.

"It's the Open Cup semifinals," Revs midfielder Khano Smith said. "We're the defending champions. There's a good chance we can win it."

Winning the game will mean extracting good performances out of everyone on the field, Smith thinks.

"We just have to perform at our best," Smith said. "Everyone has to perform to the best of their abilities."

Those abilities may be compromised after playing on Saturday and facing a reserve fixture on Sunday after a non-stop July.

"It's really tough on the body, but we just need to get past it," Smith said.

United also had to cope with fixture congestion after playing on Sunday afternoon and getting stuck on I-95 on its way home on Sunday night.

"They have to be a little bit tired, too," Joseph said.

No matter the fatigue or the lineup, the expectations don't change, Nicol said.

"We're here to win the game," Nicol said.


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Davis: Gullit never meshed with MLS

Ruud Gullit and the Los Angeles Galaxy might have looked like a perfect match in some ways -- an architect of "sexy" soccer, combining with the USA's foremost soccer talent in Landon Donovan and the global game's brightest star in David Beckham, all coming together for a club with sights set on becoming Major League Soccer's glamour club.

But to drill a little deeper, it really was a partnership that faced long odds of survival all along.

Gullit resigned on Monday, announced Galaxy ownership group AEG. He departs along with GM Alexi Lalas, who will leave the club early, with just a few months remaining on his contract.

While Lalas certainly had some say in personnel matters, Gullit was the man tasked with getting the Galaxy back into the MLS Cup Playoffs following a two-year absence. If the playoffs started today, the Galaxy would once again be reduced to spectators.

Generally speaking, U.S. coaches -- or coaches who have been around enough to understand the ways of MLS -- have been proven the safest selections for Major League Soccer. Dominic Kinnear, a former U.S. international who has spent most of his life here, is hording up MLS Cup trophies, the most recent two tucked away securely in the Dynamo case.

Before that, it was Steve Sampson, as American as Starbucks or The Simpsons, claiming league glory for the Galaxy back in 2006. Before that, it was Peter Nowak, who had been in MLS since 1998 as a player or coach.

It's not that Gullit didn't have a good soccer mind. In fact, quite the contrary. Which is why he couldn't always deal with the MLS complexities and culture, a culture that necessarily tilts the balance toward marketing when it comes to matters of scheduling, budgetary concerns, etc. For instance, MLS is keen on installing Thursdays as a "destination night," the better to build a national TV audience. And it seems like a good idea.

It is, that is, unless you're a manager who is accustomed to prepping a team with a consistent, dependable, repeating routine. Here, matches fall all throughout the week. And travel, which can eat up entire days over such a huge country, only complicates the task.

It all added up to consistent inconsistency, which Gullit found troubling. He couldn't put a tactical stamp on matches because he found that matchdays unfolded so unpredictably.

Gullit was asked in May if he sometimes found it difficult to scout MLS matches and to plot solutions for his team accordingly. He raised his arms in the classic, universal "What do you do?" pose. Teams vary wildly in form from week to week, he said. Players fall in and out of form faster than school girls fall in and out of puppy love.

How can he prepare for certain tendencies in opponents when tendencies, at least as he knew in the European game, don't really exist in MLS?

And then there is the classic salary cap conundrum -- an elusive concept for foreign managers, who simply have not dealt previously with such trivialities. Sure, when he managed Feyenoord in the Netherlands he had a general salary budget. But it was essentially a guideline, wholly different than a hard cap. There and previously at managerial stops in England, generally speaking, if a player wasn't working out, Gullit could simply go get another one.

But that's not the way in MLS, where salary caps and other player acquisition mechanisms are set to keep the playing field, if not completely level, then pretty close to it. Major League Soccer will never be an EPL, a Serie A or La Liga, where two, three or four teams bully the competition and perennially dominate the hardware. There will be no Chelsea, Man United, AC Milan, Barcelona or Real Madrid here.

Baseball might work that way in this country (Hello, Yankees. What's up, Red Sox?), but this obviously isn't baseball.

Here, there will be D.C. Uniteds, New Englands or Houstons, teams that get the mix right for a while, steadily, diligently, maximizing the acquisition resources available.

As it was, the Galaxy got caught shorthanded outside their three DP-salaried figures. The remainder of the roster, selected by Gullit, Lalas and technical director Paul Bravo, couldn't provide enough support for Donovan, David Beckham and Carlos Ruiz -- although bargain striker Edson Buddle certainly did his part.

So the Galaxy slumped in July and August, spiraling into a seven-game winless streak. Gullit's team certainly was entertaining, rocking the MLS house with a league-high 38 goals. But that 40 goals allowed -- also a league-high -- was a killer. It was the primary reason behind an underwhelming 6-8-5 record.

So what's the way forward? It starts with the humble acquiescence that you just can't wish it so in MLS. You can't demand that it happen.

You have to work for it. You assign a chain of command, plot a course, and then stick with it doggedly.

It starts with hiring the right people, who hire the right people under them, and so on. And you have to understand that it might not happen right away.

Look at the current standard bearers of MLS consistency, Houston and New England. Who would know now that neither manager, Kinnear at Houston nor Steve Nicol at New England, had a winning record in his first full season in charge.

It's true. Look it up.

But management stuck with their selections -- then watched as it paid off handsomely. And that patience is the key, because Major League Soccer is such a different cat in the big cage of global sports. Any manager deserves a chance to get the players he wants; it just takes a while to get there in MLS.

So that's the first step. As for who is out there, the Galaxy might be best served fishing out the best choices who already know MLS. What about Paul Mariner, the faithful assistant to Nicol at New England? Or John Spencer, ever at Kinnear's right hand? Chicago interviewed Spencer in the winter but couldn't come to terms.

There's the highly respected Robin Fraser, now an assistant at Real Salt Lake. Red Bulls assistant Richie Williams will probably be a head coach in MLS someday -- why not right now in L.A.?

Peter Nowak (remember, he's got one MLS title already) will soon be done with Olympic duty. He just moved to southern California from Florida. His three-year MLS record was 42-27-25, a dandy mark in a parity-draped league.

Colin Clarke (41-39-20) had a winning mark when he left Dallas, and he's had big success with Puerto Rico in the USL as he has continued to grow as a manager.

And, of course, there's one-time D.C. United and U.S. national team manager Bruce Arena, most recently with the New York Red Bulls, who has a 77-51-10 career record in MLS, a couple of MLS Cups, and also the worldliness that comes with coaching in a pair of World Cups.

This misguided notion that Beckham somehow needs a pedigreed manager just doesn't wash. Beckham has been nothing but respectful of teammates and managers. He's given no indication of being a high-maintenance type. Indeed, he's been a terrific captain, and there's every reason to believe he will defer to the tactics and choices of whoever accepts the managerial reins.

The new guy will have a substantial task ahead, climbing up among the top three in the West; as the East looks stronger and has a chance at claiming five playoff spots, the West could be left with just three.

Then again, in a league where teams are quite close in terms of competition, little things can make a big difference.

Chicago certainly turned things around late last summer. It can be done.


DAVIS IN FOUR-WAY TIE FOR LEAD
Galaxy look for rockets’ red glare vs. Revs

United begin key stretch in New York

WASHINGTON -- There aren't likely to be any meaningless matches for D.C. United as the season's stretch run unfolds in the coming weeks, but the hectic span beginning with Sunday afternoon's contest at New York and concluding with Tuesday night's U.S. Open Cup semifinal against the New England Revolution presents a particularly demanding challenge for Tom Soehn and his troops.

Thanks to CONCACAF Champions' Cup participation, D.C. endured its share of schedule congestion early in the campaign, but the more grizzled members of the squad have appreciated a more measured routine lately and this week those veteran legs will once again have to come to grips with a compressed recovery time.

"You know, I was getting used to just having one game per week," joked United defender Bryan Namoff. "But unfortunately we're going to be right into that with Sunday-Tuesday, so it's going to be critical to really have the depth in our team, especially trying to play 48 hours after Sunday's match."

Points are at a premium in this year's competitive Eastern Conference race and neither United nor the Red Bulls can easily afford to drop points to their Atlantic Cup rivals at this stage. But deep runs in knockout tournaments are hard to come by as well, and D.C. is desperate to move closer to the Open Cup final and the hardware it offers, especially when doing so means knocking off New England, Major League Soccer's dominant side this year.

"It's a such a difficult decision -- on which game you place more importance on right now," said Namoff. "It is a conference game and with our Eastern Conference [teams] being so close to one another in the standings, it's crucial we're able to get that victory, especially being on the road. And not only that, just taking a long time to get to an Open Cup semifinal game -- both games are almost equally important."

Those decisions further complicate the balancing act required of Soehn this week: hunting for a positive result at the Meadowlands while keeping his first-choice side fresh for New England's visit. Little surprise, then, that the Black-and-Red are fervently hoping for a strong start in Sunday's clash.

"Yeah, it's going to be tough to handle that," said United defender Devon McTavish. "It's an important game in New York and we need to get a result in that, and keep moving up the table, and the Open Cup game is just as important. So we're trying to get to the final of the Open Cup and hopefully we'll be able to do that. In terms of managing the game, that's going to be up to Tommy, and hopefully we can get an early goal to try to control the game up in New York."

Despite some hard times this summer, a raft of recent foreign signings and the return of Juan Pablo Angel offer New York cause for optimism against their old rivals from the capital city, and will be mindful of United's 4-1 blowout win at RFK in their first meeting on June 14. Joe Vide is one member of the Black-and-Red who's particularly eager to make his mark on Sunday, having begun his career in New York before leaving for San Jose via the expansion draft, eventually making his way to D.C. via waivers last month.

"I can't wait. It'll be a little different -- when I was in New York you're supposed to hate D.C., and now it's vice versa," said Vide, who performed well in his first United start last week, a 2-0 win against the Kansas City Wizards. "But I'm definitely looking forward to going back. The fans up there were always great to me. We're going to go up there and try to get a winning streak going and help ourselves move up the standings."

Marc Burch's red card in the Open Cup quarterfinal against Chicago means he'll be given a full 90 minutes on the Giants Stadium FieldTurf this weekend. But another limitation on Soehn's calculations has just been lifted, as the U.S. Soccer Federation handed United a pleasant surprise with news about Vide and Ivan Guerrero, originally thought to be cup-tied by their involvement in San Jose's unsuccessful play-in match against Real Salt Lake on April 30. But the play-in match has been deemed to be distinct from actual tournament play, so both are in fact eligible to play against New England.

Questions linger about the extent to which important players like Marcelo Gallardo, Gonzalo Peralta and Santino Quaranta will figure into this week's action as they recover from injury. As they heal, Soehn will soon be able to call upon a much longer list of talent, but then the issue of fitness and recovery rises to the surface as he works the returnees back up to full speed.

"There's some easy ones. Marc Burch is going to play a lot of minutes [against New York] because he can't play in the Open Cup game," said Soehn last week. "But we're getting some guys back. I joked around that there was a herd of guys running around the field getting healthy [during training]. But it's nice to see that we're making progress on some of those guys and it will give us a few options. Obviously we'll have to be careful not to rush them back. Their fitness is going to struggle. Some of our young guys now have gained some valuable experience for situations just like this."

Meanwhile, the red-hot Revs have lost just one match in all competitions since May 3 and will enter RFK Stadium full of confidence. Given the typically tight nature of cup semifinals, the team that scores first figures to have a tremendous advantage -- something that has been crucial for United all season, in fact. The Black-and-Red have lost just one match all year in which they grabbed the game's opening goal.

"When the team scores first here, we start to play very strong," acknowledged D.C. striker Luciano Emilio. "It's very important that the team, when we play at home, we need to score first."

So for United, the task is clear: three days, two huge matches, and no room for slow starts or hiccups.


WOODS OPTS FOR OPEN RETURN
Russ doubtful for final stretch
United frustrated with pallid display

New additions give United jolt

WASHINGTON -- D.C. United aimed for the stars in the run-up to the 2008 season, signing a throng of South American talent -- led by designated player Marcelo Gallardo -- with an eye towards domestic dominance and success in international competition.

Four months into the campaign, a jaded-looking D.C. side found themselves beset by injuries, stuck in the middle of the competitive Eastern Conference and 0-for-2 in international tournaments. The club's first moves in response: grab two players from an expansion side -- the San Jose Earthquakes, far and away the league's biggest strugglers this year.

Some might have perceived "bargain-bin shopping," or even desperation, in the acquisitions of Joe Vide and Ivan Guerrero, but on the evidence of last Saturday's 2-0 victory against Kansas City, both acquisitions are paying early dividends. The duo added a timely dose of energy and intensity to the Black-and-Red midfield in what was the first United start for both men, with Guerrero roving the left flank and Vide anchoring the middle alongside Clyde Simms.

Both newcomers were aided by head coach Tom Soehn's straightforward, defensive-minded approach to the match -- and with an emphasis on steel over style, it certainly wasn't textbook United soccer. Vide's attributes were put to good use, however.

"I'm not going to be the guy that's going to beat people dribbling or passing the ball really so much. I turned the ball over a little too much today as it is," Vide said afterwards. "I just try to bring energy to the team, try to get stuck in and throw the opponents off their game and at the same time try to bring a little bite to the midfield."

For an inconsistent team missing key contributors during the most draining period of the season, such practicality might be the best way forward.

"When the team works that hard, it makes it easier on everyone to read plays and play off guys offensively," said goalkeeper Zach Wells. "We worked really hard defensively and stayed compact. I thought Joe Vide and Ivan did a really good job coming in, and made a difference for us. And we still got our two goals, so there's something to be said for that."

Vide's contribution belied an unassuming arrival in D.C. via the waiver wire on July 16, yet Guerrero's performance was even more remarkable given that his trade wasn't finalized until Thursday, giving him barely enough time for introductions before stepping directly into the first XI. The former Chicago Fire mainstay showed signs of a quick rapport with strikers Jaime Moreno and Luciano Emilio, beginning the sequence that led to Emilio's game-winning goal in the 28th minute.

"Ivan, we didn't have much time with, but he's got a great soccer intelligence," said Soehn. "When you make decisions on guys you bring in, you try to see them in your environment and Ivan, for him to step in our environment, it's a perfect situation for him."

Guerrero admitted that his sudden departure from northern California posed a challenge for him, his wife and their two children. But he remained philosophical about the move as he contemplated life with a club whose outlook and ambitions are far different from those of this year's Quakes.

"It's difficult, especially because I'm married and I'm missing my family," he said, "but this is business. You know the league -- today you are here and tomorrow you are not. But I'm happy because I know D.C. United is a big team. That's very important for me."

As for his chemistry with United's Latin American strike force, Guerrero made light of the challenge of meshing with their style despite having only one United training session under his belt.

"We know Jaime and Luciano are good players," said Guerrero. "It was a little difficult for me because I am new on the team, but I know how Luciano and Jaime play. It's simple: play on the ground and overlap."

Guerrero, presently residing in a hotel, is understandably anxious to find a home so his family can join him in the Washington area, while Vide considers his move a homecoming of sorts after stints in New York and San Jose. He's living with a friend in Georgetown and is familiar with the region after a collegiate career at the University of Virginia.

"I'm from the area, more or less -- grew up in North Carolina and went to school in Virginia," he said. "So I know a lot of people around here. I'm really happy to be back on the East Coast, my family's around here so I'm really excited."

If their contributions can revive United's title hopes down the stretch, Vide and Guerrero could have ample opportunity to get comfortable in D.C. for the years ahead.


Midfield growth key for young Quakes
Rijkaard: We Can Win At Old Trafford

Five-a-side: What's hot around MLS

MLS Five-a-side:The skinny on five things that matter this week in Major League Soccer:

1. Something special for New England?: No club has been better over the last 90 days that Steve Nicol's Revolution. The side from suburban Boston is on a serious roll -- and the possibility grows that New England could be on the brink of a truly epochal campaign.

On the other hand, the road ahead is an absolute crusher, a real test of physical stamina, will and emotional capacity.

First, for the potential of a spectacular, unmatched season: Nicol's men have a shot at four championship trophies this year. One is already safely in the trophy case, as the Shalrie Joseph and Matt Reis led the way to SuperLiga glory earlier this week. One down.

New England meets D.C. United on Tuesday in one of two U.S. Open Cup semifinals on the night. So, if the Revs can get past United -- no small task, considering that United has played better lately, at least in MLS matches -- then New England would be one win from collecting the crown named for late soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.

Later this month, the Revs will launch their bid for the newly created CONCACAF Champions League title. Then, of course, all but the most spectacular and implausible of collapses would prevent the Revs from gaining access to the MLS Cup Playoffs. More likely is that New England maintains the pace, or something close to it, and challenges for the Supporters' Shield, presented annually to the team with the best regular season mark.

The way New England is playing -- 11-1-5 in all competitions over the last three months -- would anyone really bet against seeing the Revs in a fourth consecutive MLS Cup Final?

But all is not tea and crumpets, as the old Englanders might say. A bugger of a schedule will make none of this a snap. Consider that Nicol's men must play 10 matches in six cities over the next 34 days, beginning with a league test Saturday against Chicago.

Ten matches in 34 days? That's pretty close to what the Galaxy faced last year, as they failed to deal well with a similarly stacked calendar.

2. Intriguing Open Cup about to be set: No matter what happens Tuesday in the Open Cup semifinals, we already know the 95-year-old tournament will feature an intriguing MLS-USL final. While D.C. United and New England meet at RFK, the Charleston Battery and Seattle Sounders will meet down the coast at Blackbaud Stadium in South Carolina.

Both Open Cup survivors from the USL top flight feature several former MLS players.

While a few USL clubs have advanced to the Open Cup semifinals through the decade, Major League Soccer clubs have dominated the title contests. Not since Rochester appeared in the 1999 final has a USL club appeared in a championship match.

Should it be Seattle, it will provide a brief preview of what's to come in MLS in 2009, when the Sounders merge into Major League Soccer.

While we have a clearer picture of who will appear in next month's final, the when and where remains a bit more complicated. There are four possible scenarios, depending on Tuesday's winners: United would play at Seattle's Qwest Field on Sept. 3; Charleston would play at United Sept. 3; New England would play at Seattle on Sept. 15, or; New England would play at Charleston on Sept. 22.

3. Rounding the corner on Round 20: This weekend sees MLS move into Round 20, which means two-thirds of the season -- can that really be true? -- will have come and gone.

So, clearly, it's time for teams to lean forward, get it together, or live to regret it. Every match is important now.

But perhaps no team is will feel the August heat like the New York Red Bulls, and that's due in some part to the schedule.

Juan Carlos Osorio's men are tied for fifth (or last, depending on how you want to see it) in the East along with Kansas City and Toronto. But neither of those teams have the dandy opportunity that stands before the Red Bulls this month. They have a nice, even schedule with three consecutive Sunday home games.

So there's no time for RBNY to sulk over the 6-2 midweek thumping from Barcelona. D.C. United, Toronto and Houston provide the opposition over the next three weeks, with Tom Soehn's team from the nation's capital up first on Sunday.

After the trio of consecutive home matches, Osorio and his midseason renovation project will spend three of their next four weeks on the road -- and the road is not a place to mount a playoff challenge. Home teams are 63-29-35 this year, a .634 winning percentage.

Meanwhile, other teams will be hitting softer parts of their schedules. Toronto gets three of four at BMO in September. And Kansas City has a favorable slate in early October, with visits from Chicago, New England and San Jose on consecutive Saturdays.

4. They're all interesting ... some just more than others: Goalkeepers, defenders and midfielders all will be equally important during the coming playoff push. But let's face it, we all like to watch the strikers. And interesting stories abound concerning the men who make the dough finding goal. It will be fascinating to see it play out over the season's final third.

Juan Pablo Angel gets more healthy and more fit every week. Assisting the high-scoring Colombian regain his stamina was surely among the reasons Osorio left Angel on the field for the full 90 on Wednesday against the Catalan giants, even if the result was never really in doubt. After not scoring for five consecutive matches, Angel has struck in two of RBNY's last three MLS contests.

Plus, Angel now has Jorge Rojas to feed him passes from the midfield.

Landon Donovan looked to be streaking toward a 20-goal campaign in May. But the pace of production has slowed recently, about the time Galaxy manager Ruud Gullit stationed Donovan out wide on the left instead of tucked in behind Edson Buddle as a second striker. So what happens at The Home Depot Center, starting Thursday in the next SuperClasico, deserves special attention.

Kenny Cooper is currently tied with Donovan in the scoring leadership chase, both on 13 goals. How Cooper partners with newly acquired Jeff Cunningham should be fun to watch, although there's no reason to believe the consecutive MLS Player of the Week winner will slow his torrid pace of late. Cooper has four goals in Dallas' last two games.

And don't forget that Taylor Twellman is healthy again -- or getting there, at least. Limited to just five appearances this year, Twellman was a 58th-minute sub in Tuesday's thrilling SuperLiga final. How he meshes with new, speedier players around him will help determine how many more trophies New England collects in 2008.

And speaking of the Revs: Pat Noonan, back in MLS but not in New England? He has linked up with Columbus following half a year in Norway. He could help push Alejandro Moreno, who struck six times in the Crew's first dozen matches, but has just two in the last seven for Sigi Schmid's team.

Finally, Darren Huckerby is playing wide on the left in San Jose, but he's scoring goals nonetheless at quaint Buck Shaw, with two in his first two matches for Frank Yallop's team. If Huckerby stays hot, the expansion side could mount an exciting playoff challenge. Chicago, in 1998, was the last expansion club to qualify for the postseason.

5. Cunningham reunited with Ellinger: Mercurial striker Jeff Cunningham spent his first six seasons in Columbus, but he's been on the hop ever since. Since 2004, Cunningham, the league's fourth all-time leading scorer with 99 goals, has worn the jersey of Colorado, Real Salt Lake and most recently Toronto.

His spell there ended in a spat with manager John Carver, so Cunningham moved Friday to Dallas, swapped for a third-round pick in the 2009 draft.

At Pizza Hut Park he will be reunited with John Ellinger, now an assistant to Schellas Hyndman. Maybe that can settle Cunningham, who seemed to prosper under Ellinger when they were paired in Utah. Cunningham struck for 16 goals and added 11 assists in 2006, his most productive year yet. The next year, Cunningham hit for three goals in RSL's first seven matches, but was gone soon after Jason Kreis replaced Ellinger at the helm.


RSL won’t take play-in game lightly
Bundesliga: top for goals
Hargreaves: Destiny In Our Hands

Slow start dooms Chivas to loss

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Thirty minutes, a collision that some thought should have resulted in a red card, and a miserable first half put Chivas USA in the loss column Saturday night.

The 30 minutes apply to all three variables of the loss. Chivas came storming back after falling behind 3-0 -- as the Kansas City Wizards scored three goals in just a little more than 30 minutes. They came within two late Kevin Hartman saves of tying the game.

"We showed a lot of character in the second half after getting down 3-0. We never quit," said Chivas coach Preki.

The game nearly turned when Chivas forward Atiba Harris who collided with Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman. The foul resulted in a penalty kick which was nailed into the corner by Chivas midfielder Carey Talley.

"I thought Atiba did a good job to win that penalty," Talley said. "He took a pretty hard foul from Hartman. To be honest, I was surprised there wasn't a red card given."

Referee Ricardo Salazar contended that there were two defensive players behind Hartman, according to Talley. One goal cut the deficit to two. But an ejection of Hartman would have arguably a bigger effect on the match. Hartman preserved the win with two late saves.

"We had a great last 30 minutes," Talley said. "But to be honest, you put that great 30 minutes in the earlier part of the game and you've got a 2-0 lead. And you do not have to come back and score three goals."

Seemingly, the one thing Chivas could agree on was their sluggish beginning. Oddly enough, Chivas had the same amount of shots in each half. Eight shots in each half added up to a 16-11 advantage on the night, but not on the scoreboard where it mattered.

"We came out a little slow," said midfielder Lawson Vaughn.

What Chivas takes home from Kansas City is questions. Questions about the slow start in the first half. How to inject the offensive power of those final 30 minutes into the start of the match? Does this team like to play from behind?

"I think we have to figure it out for ourselves why we haven't come out sharp," Talley said.

If the passion of those 30 minutes could be condensed and dropped throughout Chivas' next matches, this team could be in good shape. As it is, they are currently on the outside looking in at the MLS Cup Playoffs.

"We gave up that third goal, and that was a little too much to come back from," said goalkeeper Zach Thornton. "The guys showed a lot of pride and desire in the second half, and they got rewarded with two goals. That should be enough to get a result on the road but we didn't get that today."


TIGER TURNS IT ROUND AFTER SLOW START
Germany blunder their way to loss
Chivas happy to have Talley

Revs return from SuperLiga, still grand

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Revolution halted MLS play for future SuperLiga glory after a 2-1 victory against the Los Angeles Galaxy on July 4. The Revs led the Eastern Conference by seven points against Columbus.

Five weeks later, the Revolution will take to the field Saturday evening against the Chicago Fire at Gillette Stadium with a two-point lead still intact and two games in hand over the second-place Crew.

"Obviously, the gap has closed quite a bit," Revs captain Steve Ralston said. "We still have a little bit of a lead on Columbus. We were stacked up early in the season. We played quite a few games. We knew that we needed to get some points when we could."

Given that Columbus was two wins behind New England on July 5 after a 2-2 draw with Chicago and had four other MLS games to play before the Revs returned to league play, most observers expected the Crew to overhaul New England.

"We are surprised," Revs head coach Steve Nicol said. "The results have gone our way so far. But it's not something we're relying on. We need to get back into the swing of winning league games. That's our bread and butter. That's the thing that gets you all of the other benefits. We have to do well with [league play]."

The Fire have proven a bogey team for the Revolution so far this season. Two losses by a combined seven goals have made Chicago a team the Revs simply haven't been able to handle.

"It's not something we think about, to be honest with you," Nicol said. "We just try to keep doing what we're doing. We want to keep rolling on the things we're doing. We're not giving much away. We're creating chances. We've been good with the ball and we've been passing it well. That's the only thing we're concentrating on right now. Forget what has happened previously."

Dynamic attacking play has proven the Revs undoing against the Fire this season as the team has struggled to combat the maneuverability of attacking trio of Chris Rolfe, Justin Mapp and Cuauhtemoc Blanco.

"Offensively, that's how they've hurt us," Revs 'keeper Matt Reis said. "Defensively, they are solid. They haven't given us too much."

New England hasn't been in a giving mood lately either. Since July 1, the Revs have allowed five goals in eight games despite chopping and changing at the back because of injuries and suspensions.

The shift to a 4-4-2 formation has covered up most of those changes and allowed Nicol to swap personnel.

"We've really moved into it seamlessly," Reis said. "It's changed our mindset and our attack."

A winger-inspired attack received further fuel with the cover of fullbacks behind Mauricio Castro and Sainey Nyassi, but Shalrie Joseph's aerial prowess might prove more vital to the team's continued offensive success. The Grenadan midfielder finished as the top SuperLiga scorer after netting three headers from three Ralston set pieces.

"We've been working on our set pieces," Ralston said. "He's a big, strong guy. He's going to get his head on things. Early in the season, he'd gotten some good chances, but he was just missing. Guys were saving off the line. He's a great player whether he scores goals for us or not."

Joseph will partner Ralston in the center of the park while Reis will make his 100th consecutive league start in between the sticks for Nicol. The return of Jay Heaps in central defense could consign Amaechi Igwe to the bench after Chris Tierney's assured performance against Houston.

Nicol admitted that any players with knocks could earn the night off with the U.S. Open Cup semifinal against D.C. United slated for Tuesday at RFK Stadium.

"We've got a couple of knocks which will change things anyways," Nicol said. "We're trying to put on the field what we think is the best team that day. If that means we make changes, we'll do it. We're not going out of our way to make changes."


Jose could return to England
Nicol bringing Ralston to Toronto

United post first shutout of season

WASHINGTON -- D.C. United overcame its ongoing injury woes to secure two prized accomplishments at RFK Stadium on Saturday night, seizing a 2-0 win against the Kansas City Wizards that not only ended a four-game losing skid in all competitions but also gave Zach Wells and his defense their first league shutout of the 2008 campaign.

The offensive magic was provided by Jaime Moreno, who hit for the game-clinching goal as well as an assist off Luciano Emilio's cool first-half finish, while United's youngsters in midfield and defense contributed the hard work to close down the Wizards attack in the final third despite no shortage of possession for the visitors. Despite a few shaky moments early on, Wells did his part with a season-high eight saves.

Robbed of Gonzalo Peralta and Gonzalo Martinez due to injury and suspension, D.C. boss Tom Soehn had to field a youthful defense anchored by Devon McTavish and rookie Pat Carroll, with Bryan Namoff and Marc Burch guarding the flanks.

United's first XI also had a bit of San Jose flavor about it, with two former Earthquakes in midfield: Joe Vide and brand-new acquisitions Ivan Guerrero, both midseason arrivals in the nation's capital, manning central and left-sided roles, respectively. Vide was making his first start of the season for D.C. and was essentially employed as a second holding midfielder alongside Clyde Simms, while Luciano Emilio and captain Jaime Moreno led the lineup top.

Kansas City was without a key newcomer of its own, as Josh Wolff was unavailable after suffering a hamstring injury in training. He had made his first start the week before in his return to MLS.

The evening began cagily but heated up in the 13th minute when Emilio's curling left-footer flashed just wide of Kevin Hartman's right-hand post. D.C.'s Brazilian frontrunner intercepted a square pass deep in the visitors' end just seconds later, but his combination with Jaime Moreno and Fred fizzled thanks to Michael Harrington's timely intervention in the box.

Running up to Claudio Lopez's teasing layoff, Kurt Morsink took a flyer with a vicious blast from all of 30 yards out but saw his effort hurtle a few feet wide of United netminder Zach Wells' goal.

Minutes later Wells gave up a cheap corner kick when he could only parry Jack Jewsbury's mis-hit cross over the bar, but got down well to smother the Wizards right back's shot on the ensuing set piece, even after it took a late deflection off Davy Arnaud.

United finally crafted a clear look at goal in the 28th minute and surged into the lead immediately as a result. Guerrero latched on to a long ball and headed down to Moreno at the top left corner of the K.C. penalty box, and the canny Bolivian bought time and space with a cutback onto his right foot before clipping a lateral pass in to Emilio's feet near the penalty spot.

Last season's MVP was closely trailed by one of the league's top defenders in Jimmy Conrad, but he left the Wizards captain flailing with a crisp change of direction before stroking a left-footer past Hartman and into the net for a 1-0 D.C. advantage.

Vide was doing his best to play the part of snapping midfield terrier for United, and his aggression irritated referee Edvin Jurisevic enough to draw a 31st-minute caution for persistent infringement.

Wells' decision-making led to another dodgy moment for the Black-and-Red a few minutes before halftime when he raced out to reach a bouncing ball ahead of Roger Espinoza, only to find himself on the edge of the box with little choice but to clear with his feet. Yet his attempt was blocked by Ryan Pore and Wells had to scramble to his right and block Pore's goalbound shot despite being some 15 yards off his line.

At the other end, United's confidence was clearly blossoming and Moreno looked sure to double his side's advantage in the 44th minute when he exchanged passes with Guerrero before playing a give-and-go with Emilio at the top of the box, leaving the static K.C. back line in his wake. But Hartman sprinted out to throw himself at the Bolivian's feet and Moreno's hurried chip dinked off the base of the post and out of play as the crowd groaned.

Clyde Simms ranged forward to unleash one of his increasingly common long-range heaters in the half's waning moments, but a well-beaten Hartman was relieved to see the ball skip wide of the far post.

For 45 minutes the visitors had worked hard for no visible reward, but they nearly stunned D.C. in the opening seconds of the second half as Arnaud unleashed a lefty rocket towards the upper corner of the net. Wells came up big with an athletic leaping save, however, getting just enough to his right hand on the bid to deflect it wide of the target.

But United, orchestrated by Moreno, soon began to weave together more attractive spells of possession and delighted the crowd with another well-crafted move that sprung Simms loose in the box, only for his cutback to be deflected over the crossbar by a late clearance.

D.C. had been repeatedly victimized by set-piece goals in last week's twin losses to Houston, so Soehn was surely elated to see his side finally cash in on a free kick of their own on the hour mark.

Burch's left foot provided the inswinging delivery from the right flank and Moreno yet again proved that guile goes a long way as he timed his movement perfectly, meeting the cross with a subtly flicked header that flew past Hartman and dropped into the twine just inside the far post.

Now in possession of a 2-0 advantage, D.C. looked to salt away the result as their first league shutout of the year steadily grew into a tantalizing possibility, while Kansas City tried to haul themselves back into the game with the veteran combination of Sasha Victorine and second-half sub Kerry Zavagnin in the center of midfield.

But Wells had to be alert six minutes after Moreno's goal when Harrington lifted a deep cross to the far post, prompting the United 'keeper to slide in and make an unorthodox clearing punch just before Arnaud could get a touch.

Namoff was handed a golden opportunity to notch his second goal of the campaign when Aaron Hohlbein slipped as he moved to cut out Fred's centering header in the 76th minute, but the D.C. right back scuffed his 10-yard shot wide left with only Hartman to beat.

Arnaud's slaloming run down the right side and into the United box looked to have set up Lopez with a glorious look at goal, but the Argentinean legend elected to dummy the ball for Espinoza. The rookie took far too long to release his shot and when he did, got well under it to send the ball soaring harmlessly over the goal.

Lopez tried to test Wells in the game's final moments with a dipping volley from 18 yards out, but the home side held their nerve and took home a priceless victory that moves them out of the four-team jam at the foot of the Eastern Conference standings.


Emilio dominates comeback win
Wizards’ attack unable to find space
Scholes Stunner Clinches It For United

Wizards display offensive rhythm

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Starting a rearranged lineup for the first time, the Kansas City Wizards hit for three goals in a span of 36 minutes -- just enough to come away with a 3-2 win against Chivas USA.

Overall, the Wizards displayed an offensive rhythm and confidence they had not all season. And it made the near-collapse over the final minutes, when Chivas scored two goals in nine minutes and forced two game-saving saves out of Kevin Hartman, easier to put aside.

With Claudio Lopez and Michael Harrington patrolling the wings in midfield and Josh Wolff and Davy Arnaud playing off each other upfront, Kansas City played like a team capable of multiple offensive explosions.

"In practice the other day, we played the game we normally play, and it was a completely different rhythm that we had all season," said Harrington. "I was praying we would bring that into the game. We did that, and it turned into three goals. It was awesome."

Harrington, Arnaud and center midfielder Victorine provided rushes early and often, despite Chivas throwing in some threats of their own. But it was Victorine who put the Wizards in front with Kansas City's first goal in 216 minutes and their 18th goal in their 19th game.

Lopez gathered the ball on the right wing and swung in a left-footed cross where Victorine and Jimmy Conrad combined to win the ball.

"I saw the ball bounce out to Claudio. Whenever he gets the ball and gets his head up, I'm going to be in the box trying to crash on it," Victorine said. "I looked up -- Jimmy and I were in the middle of the goal, and [Chivas center back] Shavar [Thomas] was trying to mark both of us. Jimmy peeled off to the back post, and I went to the near post."

Victorine met the ball about waist-high and pushed it inside the far left post to gain the lead and to open the floodgates for a struggling Wizards attack.

The timing of the second goal was impeccable. Arnaud received a ball from midfielder Kerry Zavagnin on the right flank, raced forward and played into the path of Lopez in the heart of the area. Lopez deposited the ball first-time into the left netting to complete the tour de force just a minute before the halftime whistle.

"We were pleased coming in at halftime 2-0, and what we talked about was getting that third goal and putting the game away," said Wizards head coach Curt Onalfo. "Maybe a couple of weeks ago, we wouldn't have scored three goals."

But the Wizards had rediscovered their offensive mojo and their longtime energizer, Arnaud, was at the head of it again in the 58th minute. He ran onto an Aaron Hohlbein ball over the top, reaching it just before Chivas USA goalkeeper Zach Thornton.

"I knew I was going to get there before him, I just had to lift it up over him," said Arnaud. "The ball bounced so high I almost had to jump backwards for it. It worked out, and it was a great ball from Aaron Hohlbein."

Kansas City was all smiles at their rediscovered scoring touch at that point, but again showed a tendency to shun the easy route, failing to close the game out from there.

Chivas roared back, beginning with a 73rd-minute penalty kick converted by former Wizards defender Carey Talley. They cut the lead to one with eight minutes to go when Justin Braun headed home a corner kick.

But a pair of stellar saves from Kevin Hartman mean the Wizards will not focus on the near-collapse for the moment.

"I think we found something [in the attack]. We've been tinkering with things a lot," Onalfo said. "Davy and Josh are very good up top, and Claudio coming from the left and having Mikey coming from the right.

"The fact that we scored three goals and created an enormous amount of chances is encouraging," Onalfo continued. "But like anything in this game when it's so competitive, you have to learn from those mistakes [of letting a team back in]. It's a lot easier to learn when you have three points."


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Shorthanded Crew prepare for heat

COLUMBUS -- The Columbus Crew goes into their second consecutive road match without their top defender and minus players who have scored more than one-third of the team's goals this season.

And, those might be the least of its problems in Houston. In addition to a revised lineup -- again -- the Crew must combat the ever-present heat and humidity that hovers over the Texas city and makes even the most conditioned athlete uncomfortable.

Just ask Crew leading scorer Alejandro Moreno, who spent the 2006 season and the first month of the following year with the Dynamo before being traded to Columbus.

"Having played in Houston, having trained in Houston, it affects them just as much as it affects us. People say you get used to it. I don't think there's any way to get used to it," said Moreno. "It makes for the weeks to be a little longer. It makes for the days to be longer and makes for the games to be a little bit more of a struggle. Hopefully, we can take advantage of it as opposed to suffering through it. It's going to be pretty hot, pretty steamy, pretty spicy. It's a reality."

The forecast at kickoff calls for 93 degrees, with 45 percent humidity and a heat index of 98 degrees. The Crew trained Friday morning in Columbus when it was 86 degrees and 50 percent humidity.

Of course, to bayou boy Jason Garey, a native of Baton Rouge, La., that's just another pleasant day.

"This is nothing new for me but Houston in August is very hot. It's the hottest month in Louisiana, too. There's not much wind. The heat just stacks in there with the humidity," the Crew forward said. "We know the heat and humidity are different there than most places we play. You take care of your body and drink a lot more fluids all week getting ready for it."

The Crew's road schedule can be categorized in segments. There was the West Coast swing from May 10 to June 21 when the team traveled to California three times. The Crew is currently in the midst of its Elements Tour.

It began with a 2-0 loss July 12 in altitude (and artificial turf) at Real Salt Lake and continued with another thin-air match last Sunday at Colorado, a 2-0 win. After Saturday's expected scorcher in Houston, the Crew's next road game is Aug. 30 in Dallas. Do you think it will be a little warm there?

The final four road games are against Eastern Conference opponents.

A win against the Dynamo would move the Crew into first place by a point idle ahead of New England although the Revolution will have two games in hand after Saturday.

In addition to missing All-Star defender Frankie Hejduk (yellow card accumulation), the Crew will be without Olympians Robbie Rogers and Emmanuel Ekpo on the flanks for the second match in a row and rookie forward Steven Lenhart, who starts a two-game suspension for a flagrant elbow. Rogers (five), Lenhart (three) and Ekpo have 10 of the Crew's 29 goals.

Garey, who scored his first goal in the Colorado match, and midfielder Brad Evans are expected to rejoin the starting lineup. Defender Ezra Hendrickson, out since June 7 (groin), could see significant minutes.

"It's going to be interesting. Some other guys will get some playing time," Garey said. "Everyone is here because they want to play MLS games on the weekend. We'll see what happens."

It will be imperative for the Crew to get everyone involved in the attack because Moreno will certainly be a marked man in his homecoming. He has seven goals although he has only one of the 12 the Crew has scored in the past six matches.

"It's important to have that scoring. There's going to be nights when Guillermo (Barros Schelotto) is going to be pretty crowded, I'm going to be crowded. It's important for them to come in, find the open space and put the ball in the back of the net," Moreno said. "We've been successful because we can score from many different positions. Brad Evans can come late in the box. It's a matter of the guys on the field taking advantage of opportunities. (Garey) has done well with his opportunities. Steve has done well the times he's come in. In order to have a successful season we need different players to come in and score goals at key moments."

Moreno, a member of the Dynamo's MLS Cup winners in 2006, said no matter the starting XI, a positive result is expected.

"The team looks different but that's why we have 18 guys on the roster and 28 guys on the team, because you bring in players you think are good enough to do the job. Now's their opportunity to step on the field and do the things they know how to do," he said. "They should know that we have confidence, the coaching staff has confidence, that they can do the things we expect them to do.

"For us, it's a matter of concentrating or focusing on things that made us successful: Staying compact, defending well, fighting for each other, pushing each other and trying to make the most of the opportunities we get. The most important thing we've done this year is to find a way to get results. That would certainly come in handy this weekend."


Champions poor on the road
Disastrous stretch dooms Crew
Stoic Moreno providing Crew big lift

Home sweet home for Hoops' Watson

FRISCO, Texas -- FC Dallas midfielder Jamie Watson has found that, indeed, you can go home again.

The Coppell, Texas native started the year with Real Salt Lake before being released. Then, he tried to catch on with FCD during preseason but that also didn't work out. Watson then trekked to Toronto FC and looked to land a spot with the Reds.

However, that opportunity also didn't work out. So, Watson made his way back to the Lone Star State to play for the Austin Aztex of the PDL. After a successful stint in the state capital, he was signed to a developmental deal by FCD last Friday and couldn't be happier.

"I don't think the timing was right with (former FCD head coach) Steve (Morrow)," Watson said. "I wanted to play here but the situation wasn't right with the roster. Then, some things opened up and so, when Schellas (Hyndman) and (ex-RSL coach) John (Ellinger) took over, I talked to them. I had already started in with Austin and was doing well.

"I needed to get games in because I hadn't played consistently in a long time. I talked to them and they were glad that I was doing well and scoring. They told me to commit to them for their season and that as soon as I was done, I could come in with them. It ended up working out because I did well there and the team did well also. The guys were great and I enjoyed every second of it down there. That ended and I quickly jumped into things with these guys. It's been fun because I'm back at home and playing with all the guys."

Ellinger, who is Hyndman's top assistant with the Hoops, is happy to have Watson playing for him once again.

"It's positive to have an extra addition to the team with what he brings. One thing I have always liked about him as a player is that he's always had that chip on his shoulder and isn't afraid to work. He feels that he can have a positive impact in any game whether it's an assist or a goal," Ellinger said. "He kind of lost it for a little bit, so I think it was important for him to go down and his experience at Austin was great. I think it was good for him to get the games, some goals, assists, play on a winning team and then he came back."

The FCD assistant feels that Watson brings a number of things to the table that can help the Hoops.

"He kind of gives us what we need right now, a little extra bite on the flanks," Ellinger said. "We know he can play forward but I think down the road, his position will be as a wide player. He's a great server and has really worked hard. I think it was after the first year in Salt Lake that I told him that I didn't know if he would make it as a forward in this league and to start working with his service. He's done a lot with himself and I'm very proud of him for that."

On Wednesday, the RSL reserves took on the FCD reserves and Watson was front and center. The newest member of the Hoops had a pair of goals in a 3-2 loss.

After the year that he has had, Watson is glad to have landed somewhere so close to home.

"I feel like I could write a book on the last eight months of my life," he said. "It's one of those things that I never expected to happen because I thought I had another year left (at Real Salt Lake). Everyone that knew my situation knew that also but somehow, there was a little loophole that was found in there. It was one of those situations where I didn't have as much say so as I thought I should have.

"I put a lot of miles on in the preseason trying to catch on somewhere. But I would go somewhere and it wasn't a good situation for me or the team," he continued. "It made me grow up. It was probably the best thing that could have happened because I was young and feel like I have matured because of it. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that I was in a situation where I wasn't wanted any more. It's tough when you want to be there but you're not wanted. I don't hold any animosity toward the people there. I wish it would have ended differently but had to move on and deal with it."

Ellinger also sees Watson as being a more mature player than the one he coached during his time on the Wasatch Front.

"I think that process has happened to his benefit, that maturity," he said. "He's not that naïve kid coming out as a sophomore at North Carolina and entering the pro ranks. Now, he understands a little bit more about what it takes. He's had a taste, lost it and has had to work hard to get back to it. I think that experience is what has driven him. Now he doesn't take anything for granted."

Over the weekend, Watson got an added bonus when he was on the 18-man game roster for FCD's 2-0 win against Toronto FC at BMO Field, where he got to see many of the same guys he trained with during preseason.

"It was cool because I saw Jimmy Brennan come out first and I went over and gave him a hug because he was one of the guys that I spent a lot of time with in the preseason, him and Danny Dichio," Watson said. "Then, everyone came over and gave me a big hug. I really enjoyed it there."

"That was a situation where it didn't work out but I got along well with everyone because they're a great group of guys. It was good to be back and see everybody but I wanted to win. It ended up working out. It was funny because Marco Velez, who got a red card, we only got to talk briefly before the game but we were going to talk after and then, he got sent off. I roomed with him for a month but couldn't talk to him after because of that."


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Ellinger brings experience to FCD staff
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Luck doesn't bounce Dynamo's way

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- This SuperLiga final wasn't like the two MLS Cup Finals that the Houston Dynamo won against the New England Revolution.

There wasn't much rest. The Dynamo beat Columbus 2-0 on Saturday instead of having a week off to lounge around before the game.

There wasn't a neutral site. The partisan Revolution crowd screamed and chanted for most of the game.

But most importantly, there wasn't the same result. Penalty kicks, so helpful during the 2006 MLS Cup victory against the Revs, didn't favor the Dynamo this time.

Corey Ashe's penalty kick hit the bar in the eighth round of penalty kicks to give the Dynamo a feeling they hadn't experienced when facing the Revs in a final: loss.

"It went eight penalty kicks, so it just shows you that whenever these two teams meet in big games there is definitely not a lot between the two," Houston head coach Dominic Kinnear said. "I don't think we disappointed anybody with the performance tonight -- either team -- and I thought the teams showed their unity, together, before and after the game."

The Dynamo held the upper hand for most of a wide-open and entertaining game. Nate Jaqua's 18th-minute goal might have been aided by Amaechi Igwe's poor clearance, but the goal counted all the same.

"I was able to capitalize on a mistake by them," Jaqua said. "(Amaechi) Igwe was blocking (Matt) Reis, so I just hit it first time and I was able to sneak it in."

Kinnear said that Jaqua's goal pushed the tempo even higher as the two teams sought to press their perceived advantage as soon as possible.

"We got the early goal, sometimes when that happens -- especially in a final -- it can open things up," Kinnear said. "I could put our openness in the first half maybe down to a little bit of fatigue, we had a tough game on Saturday, but then the goals do open it up."

Once the second half hit, things tightened up, according to Kinnear. Extra time renewed the attacking spirit and substitute Kei Kamara put his team ahead again with a header in the 98th minute.

"After the ball was switched to the other side, I knew (Brian) Ching was going to take his time and look for something," Kamara said. "After he made that cut, that's when I decided to make that run, because I knew he was going to serve it. I knew (Matt) Reis was going to come out, but I had to still make my run in between them and go up for the header. It was a good cross, and I was just happy to put it in the back of the net."

The lead didn't stand for more than three minutes after Shalrie Joseph headed home a Steve Ralston free kick to send the match into penalty kicks.

Kamara said the lottery just didn't favor the Dynamo on the evening, despite the team's best efforts.

"(The Revolution) worked really hard," Kamara said. "We worked really hard. That's the game of soccer. When you go to penalty kicks, it's just the lucky team that wins there. They came out lucky today at the end of the game. Their penalty kicks went in the back of the net and ours didn't. That's just how it is."


Houston’s Ashe finds redemption vs. Pachuca
Hargreaves: We Went For The Draw

Wizards' attack unable to find space

WASHINGTON -- After a listless first half and given their lack of consistent goal-scoring, the Kansas City Wizards knew it was going to be a struggle coming back after giving up a goal on the road, even against a struggling and undermanned D.C. United.

But after Luciano Emilio put United ahead in the first half, Jaime Moreno doubled the lead in the second, and the Wizards weren't able to get past the United defense, which recorded its first shutout of the season.

"That's not a new feeling for us. We know we have been hard pressed to score consistently," said defender Jimmy Conrad. "We understand that playing good defense is the key to any good team winning games. That's where it starts. They turned a half-chance into a goal and we were fighting an uphill battle. Tonight, D.C. was just a better team."

With both teams plagued by injuries and suspensions to critical creative players, one of the remaining stars for each time had to step up and be the difference maker. Unfortunately for the Wizards, it was United's Moreno.

"When you come out the way we did in the first 45 minutes against a good team with players like Moreno and Emilio and Fred you set yourself up for a difficult night," said Wizards coach Curt Onalfo. "I think our approach and first-half mentality and the way we played ended up being the reason that we lost."

Moreno had his way with the ball most of the night, tag-teaming the Wizards with strike partner Emilio on their way to snapping Kansas City's six-game unbeaten streak. The win in the critical six-pointer vaulted United ahead of the Wizards and idle New York and Toronto, into fourth place alone in the Eastern Conference standings. All four teams started the night with 22 points as Toronto play host to Dallas on Sunday.

"They are definitely a yin-and-yang kind of couple," said Conrad about the Bolivian Moreno and his Brazilian sidekick. "Emilio is very direct; he's kind of like a bull in a china shop and he does well to create space for himself. Tonight he got half a chance I figured and he put it away. Moreno is just crafty and you got to pay attention to him no matter where is on the field."

Moreno played a lateral ball from the left flank into Emilio inside of the penalty area, who created just enough space for himself to get a left-footed shot off through the surprised Conrad to put United in the lead in the 28th minute.

"I thought I had it blocked. He did well to kind of squib it right either between my legs or right underneath my foot," said Conrad.

The Wizards seemingly could do nothing to prevent Moreno from controlling the ball, spearheading United's attack from anywhere and everywhere on the field.

"I think we did a poor job of dealing with Jaime when he dropped into our midfield," said Onalfo. "Communication between our center backs and holding midfielders was poor. We lacked bite and Jaime did pretty much whatever the hell he wanted the first 45 minutes of the game. In the second I thought we were a little bit tighter on him and we made it a little bit harder on him -- having said that he scores a great goal."

"He's been a professional for (18) years so he's pretty good at finding space," said Conrad. "If we are getting tight to him he will just continue to drop further back and if our midfielders pick him up, he'll just drift wide. He will find pockets and then exploit them. If we turn the ball over in bad spots he is going to pick the ball up in even better spaces closer to goal and that what we don't want."

Moreno slipped inside his mark and knocked home a brilliant glancing header of a Marc Burch free kick in the 60th minute to ice the game for the home side.

"It was a helluva goal by Jaime -- there is no two ways about it," said Onalfo. "I think our defender is in a pretty good position in the way he's defending it. Sometimes you have to take your hat off to a world-class goal."

Despite the goal, the Wizards closed down Moreno sufficiently enough in the second half to slow down United's attack and create several chances themselves.

"I thought we came out with the right attitude and the right mindset in the second half and created a couple of chances," said Wizards forward Davy Arnaud. "We started off pretty bright, looking like we might get that goal and we give up the second one and once you do that, especially here in D.C., it's tough to come back."

"I though D.C. was by far the better team in the first 45 minutes. In the second half I thought we came out very, very strong," Onalfo said. "I don't know what the stats are but for sure we had a helluva lot more shots, especially in the second half."

The Wizards fired off 11 shots in the second half and 17 overall at United's Zach Wells, although many were from distance.

"We created a lot chances especially in the second half but we didn't put them in the back of the net," said Onalfo. "We just came off a six-game unbeaten streak and we got to pick ourselves up, wipe ourselves off and keep plugging away."


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Revs finally get revenge on Dynamo

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Revolution had lost two MLS Cup Finals to Houston. Losing the SuperLiga final at Gillette Stadium just wasn't an option.

Revs midfielder Jeff Larentowicz said that a change in mentality, plus the home support, pushed his team over the top after its penalty kick victory against the Dynamo after the teams battled to a 2-2 draw over 120 minutes.

"I think we had our eye on the prize so to speak," Larentowicz said. "I think that we have been down before and we've been up in finals, and I think this is the first year that we decided that we really wanted to win it."

The Revolution needed all of that desire and hunger on a night where they just couldn't seem to seize the upper hand.

"We shouldn't be surprised," New England head coach Steve Nicol said. "Our boys pride themselves on their commitment and passion to the game and each other and that was really what got it through. They backed each other up tonight and run the extra mile for each other and that what got us the result at the end of the day. I can't say enough about the quality and the character of the players."

A first half that Nicol felt might have been the best all season was marred by multiple Houston chances and one large mistake from defender Amaechi Igwe to give Nate Jaqua the opportunity to fire past Matt Reis to give the Dynamo an early lead.

Steve Ralston replied before halftime with a sublime volley from a Mauricio Castro cross to send the Revs into the break on level terms.

It stayed that way all the way through into extra time. Houston once again gained the upper hand through Kei Kamara's header before yet another Shalrie Joseph header sent the match through to penalty kicks.

Once there, the lottery ensued. Each team missed twice to send the match into sudden death. Once Corey Ashe hit the crossbar, the Revolution bench streamed on to the field in exultation, a means of letting off the steam from what was a fantastic display of what MLS soccer can be.

"I think the whole game was intense; the pace was unbelievable," Larentowicz said. "I've been watching MLS for 10 years, and I think that was one of the best games I have ever seen. Being in the back I can say I watched it because I wasn't in the thick of it. But the pace was good and Houston is a great team and they kept coming at us. It took eight penalty shots to finally settle it, so I think that says a lot about both teams."

In both MLS Cup Finals, the Revolution took a lead, only to be pulled back by the Dynamo on both occasions. To win SuperLiga, they had to come back -- not once, but twice from a goal down, then again during the shootout.

"The penalties were just the usual -- gut-wrenching -- but again we went behind," Nicol said. "We've got behind three times tonight and we managed to drag ourselves back up and eventually win the tie."

Revolution defender Chris Albright hadn't experienced this championship rivalry with these sorts of stakes. He said he felt the pressure before he converted his penalty kick and then remarked how his team just came up lucky to emerge with its first victory against the Dynamo with a championship on the line.

"Tonight can see that both teams played their hearts out and played as hard as we possibly could," Albright said. "Penalties can always go either way and we were the lucky ones."


Nicol hails ‘complete performance’
Revs look for payback vs. Houston
Laudrup Disappointed With Atlético Draw

Philly group hires stadium design team

CHESTER, Pa. -- Before the shovels were ever placed into the ground, Keystone Sports and Entertainment, LLC -- the Major League Soccer Philadelphia 2010 ownership group -- understood there were hurdles to clear first.

A big question was answered Tuesday when the ownership group announced the hiring of design and construction teams for its $115 million, 18,500-seat stadium to be built along the Chester waterfront in time for the 2010 season.

Rossetti Architects, an international design firm with offices in Detroit, Los Angeles, Denver, Newport Beach and Shanghai, and ICON Venue Group, based in Denver, will lead the design and construction of the stadium. Rossetti Architects will be designing the stadium while ICON will provide project management services to ensure that the stadium project is done on schedule and within its budget for the 2010 season.

"We are launching a premier MLS franchise and building a world class stadium so we wanted nothing less than the best owner's representative in the sports industry to oversee the design and construction of our newest local landmark and the best sport architecture firm to design it," Nick Sakiewicz, CEO and operating partner of Keystone Sports and Entertainment said in a statement. "Rossetti's noted innovative and stunning designs coupled with ICON's well-earned reputation as soccer-specific development experts are the perfect combination. They will be a tremendous compliment to our project team."

The stadium will be constructed at the foot of the Commodore Barry Bridge in Chester, just 13 miles from downtown Philadelphia. The multi-purpose stadium will also feature an 11,000-square-foot club, 38 suites ranging in size from eight to 21 seats (plus an owner's suite with 29 seats), a special 2,000-seat zone for the Sons of Ben supporters club and a party deck overlooking the field and river. The facility will have a waterfront park and plaza used not only for stadium entry, but also for city-sponsored events such as festivals.

Rossetti has partnered with ICON on three other MLS projects and one arena in the past including Red Bull Park in Harrison, N.J.; Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill.; Real Salt Lake in Sandy, Utah; and Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif. Rossetti also designed The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

"It is truly a pleasure to partner with Keystone Sports and Entertainment to design the new home of MLS soccer in Pennsylvania," said Gino Rossetti, Chairman of Rossetti. "The team of ICON and Rossetti is a continuation of a longstanding relationship and one that has resulted in numerous successful MLS projects. It is extremely rewarding for us to work with Nick and his partners to realize the dream of a stadium in Chester which will anchor an exciting new development on the riverfront. We are passionate about designing projects that harmonize with the existing fabric of the community while also encouraging new investment and activity, and I believe that the stadium in Chester is a perfect example of this approach."

Rossetti also has designed professional, civic and collegiate sports venues across the country and around the world. Rossetti has professional sports facility experience with arenas and stadiums such as the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. (home of the U.S. Open); Ford Field (Detroit Lions); Scotiabank Place in Ottawa; and the Palace of Auburn Hills, home of the NBA's Detroit Pistons.

"ICON and Rossetti have set the gold standard for MLS stadium design and project management with landmark projects for the Chicago Fire and Real Salt Lake," said Tim Romani, president of ICON Venue Group. "We are delighted to team up again with Gino and Matt and are excited to create another spectacular American soccer venue. Nick Sakiewicz and his partners at Keystone Sports and Entertainment have a grand vision for their new venue and ICON is proud to be on their team."

Romani will serve as principal-in-charge. Marc Farha, ICON senior vice president, will serve as project executive, and Steven Wronski, ICON director, will serve as senior project manager. In addition to the three MLS projects with Rossetti, Romani and his team have also worked on Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. Other noteworthy ICON projects include the Pittsburgh Penguins' new arena, The O2 Arena in London, O2 World Arena in Berlin, Sprint Center in Kansas City, and Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.


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Five-a-side: What's hot around MLS

MLS Five-a-side:The skinny on five things that matter this week in Major League Soccer:

1. It's the one just this side of California: It can sometimes be easy to overlook Major League Soccer's team from Utah. The club gets lost out there because ... well, because it's in Utah.

That might help explain why Real Salt Lake sit in first place in the West, but didn't have a player at the All-Star celebration last week.

Still, don't take that to mean that Jason Kreis' team doesn't have to some All-Star-worthy high performers. And individual recognition is starting to come around now.

Nick Rimando was just named MLS Player of the Month. He certainly had some big moments as RSL clawed its way slowly to the top of the Western Conference stack this summer.

Javier Morales has seven assists, which matches Landon Donovan and David Beckham in second place among the league leaders. So, he's done his part, too.

But the player who has really rounded into form during RSL's recent run of "wow" is Jamison Olave. Olave has been chief engineer on the Stingy Express lately as RSL has been easily the best defense in Major League Soccer over the last two months -- even if people have barely noticed.

Kreis' team has allowed just three goals since May. That covers nine MLS matches.

Three! In nine matches!

That's a ratio that would smash league records over an entire season. Obviously, you can't extrapolate season-long ratios over a short sampling. But nine matches is moving out of the realm of "brief sampling." That's getting close to a third of the season.

Rimando has something to say about that righteous "D." As does Nat Borchers, who continues to perform well in his second MLS go-round.

But it's Olave who has been large and in charge back there. He's commanding in the air and composed when winning balls with his feet. Most importantly, the big Colombian has improved seemingly game-by-game since winning a starting spot from Matias Mantilla in May.

And now he's scoring goals, too, having headed one past Greg Sutton earlier this week against Toronto.

Kreis said Olave has been "spectacular." Now, it's just a matter of spreading the word.

2. Coming and going ... for another two weeks, at least: The international transfer window remains open for another two weeks (until Aug. 15, to be exact.) And several teams seem intent on pushing their final 2008 opportunity to pursue foreign talent (or U.S. talent that has wandered abroad) to the limit.

Toronto continues to nibble around the edges on a potential deal for former Manchester City striker Paul Dickov. Even at 35 Dickov could probably help ease the mounting pressure at BMO, where goals have been hard to come by since Danny Dichio's concussion troubles.

Hard to say if Juan Carlos Osorio has finished the ongoing roster dance at Red Bull New York, where he's adding a player a week lately. Newest into the Giants Stadium fold is defender Diego Jimenez from Mexico's Tecos UAG.

FC Dallas will bring Ajax product Victor Sikora back to the States following a recent two-week trial. Manager Schellas Hyndman says he wants to add the Dutch midfielder if the terms make sense for everybody. Meanwhile, Hyndman will also look at two River Plate youngsters en route for a Frisco trial: forward Lucas Gomez, 21, and left back Lucas Malacarne, 19. Dallas recently singed a partnership agreement with the Argentinean giants, which appears to be paying off immediately.

D.C manager Tom Soehn is being coy about whether he plans to bring in more new talent to augment this week's RFK addition, industrious midfielder Ivan Guerrero, who was acquired via trade with San Jose.

Colorado may not have conceded defeat just yet in its exhausting, protracted pursuit of Brazilian striker Reinaldo Elias da Costa, 24, who is available once again after a spell in Korea didn't go as planned.

Kansas City has allocation money thanks to the trade that sent Scott Sealy to San Jose. But the Wizards seem more intent on dealing within MLS for the missing puzzle pieces at Community America Ballpark.

Finally, there is word from Washington Post scribe Steven Goff that former FC Dallas and one-time U.S. international Cory Gibbs may be interested in a second bite off the MLS apple. Gibbs' career was climbing two years ago as he moved from Holland's Feyenoord to Charlton of the English Premiership. That's where things started going sideways.

Charlton was soon relegated into the English Championship (the second tier). Not that it mattered much to Gibbs, who was injured for most of his two years with the south London club.

Los Angeles has the first allocation option, but whether the Galaxy could wedge Gibbs into its salary structure is another matter.

3. We hear Cancun is nice: It's starting to look more and more like Cuauhtemoc Blanco, 35, has gotten a bit tired in his sophomore MLS season.

It may seem that Blanco has been a steady presence in MLS since, after all, he did construct that classy All-Star game goal. But the Mexican playmaker has not scored or assisted in a Chicago Fire shirt since June 7. That covers seven MLS matches and one U.S. Open Cup contest in which Blanco participated.

Chicago's scoring has suffered as a result; Denis Hamlett's team has been shut out in five of those seven MLS contests.

The Fire has a steady and manageable schedule through August, when the club plays essentially once a week. That's bound to help a bit, especially as the Fire comes off a busy and taxing July, one where the club packed two U.S. Open Cup matches and a friendly with Everton into a schedule that already included four MLS matches and a trip to the All-Star festivities in Toronto for Blanco.

Still, you almost wonder if the Fire would be better telling the playmaker to get lost for a week or two. Go to the beach. Relax. Refresh.

Then, he could rejoin the side, hopefully recharged, just as Brian McBride arrives later this month.

4. Playing possum: Look what the sneaky Dynamo are doing. Just when everybody thought the run of championship fun might be over, just when it looked like the Dynamo machine was running short on petrol ... the two-time defending champs began quietly shifting to higher gears.

Dominic Kinnear's team is 5-2-4 in all competitions since May. Lately, the Houston side has been even better, going 5-1-0 since what was essentially a reserve squad was eliminated from Open Cup play on July 1. The only setback in that time was during the SuperLiga opener, as Chivas of Guadalajara held on desperately at the end for a 1-0 win.

And the Dynamo lineup pickings just got stronger. Not only has top-shelf defender Eddie Robinson recently returned from injury, Nate Jaqua has also rejoined the side.

Don't underestimate Jaqua's value to the team. He's versatile enough to play on the outside. Or, when Houston needs another big target alongside Brian Ching, Jaqua fills the bill. And the Dynamo just got that much more dangerous on set-piece opportunities, something that's always been a strong point on this team, anyway.

Another factor in the turnabout: Brad Davis is back to full health, now buzzing around on the wings once again.

Houston might need its entire roster this weekend, as Kinnear has tough decisions to make. He'd surely like to put his best side on the field for Saturday's home date with Columbus.

On the other hand, the Dynamo travel to New England for Tuesday's SuperLiga final -- and that's precious little recovery time. New England doesn't play this weekend, leaving the Revs well-rested for the SuperLiga meeting at the Gillette.

5. MLS in the Olympics: Major League Soccer's stamp was all over the U.S. Olympic side that made its Asian debut earlier this week during a scoreless draw with Ivory Coast in the ING Cup in Hong Kong.

Six of Peter Nowak's starters currently wear an MLS shirt: Marvell Wynne, Michael Parkhurst, Maurice Edu, Sacha Kljestan, Stuart Holden and Brian McBride. Recent MLS departures Brad Guzan and Jozy Altidore also started. Patrick Ianni, Dax McCarty and Robbie Rogers were second-half subs.

Particularly interesting is where Edu lined up, right next to Parkhurst in a four-man back line.

Edu, in the middle of his sophomore MLS season, always lines up in the center of the park for Toronto. He has also played in the central midfield spot for Bob Bradley on the full national team. Still, it's interesting to see him play there and wonder: if the talented young man were ever to test European soccer, where he might land on the field?

Nowak's young men get their next pre-Olympic warmup test against Cameroon in the wee small hours (5 a.m. ET) Saturday in Hong Kong.


Zenit To Sign Arshavin Replacement?
Karlsruher SC: the surprise team
Dynamo turn attention to Toronto FC

High Noonan: Crew acquire forward

COLUMBUS -- While the Green Bay Packers have balked at trading quarterback Brett Favre to a division rival, the New England Revolution had no such qualms in aiding their closest pursuer for first place in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer.

In a trade announced Wednesday, the Revolution re-signed forward Pat Noonan then shipped him to Columbus for the Crew's first selection in the 2009 SuperDraft and allocation money. The teams also traded spots in the 2008 allocation standings with Columbus dropping to 10th and New England moved to third.

New England has a two-point lead over the Crew in both the conference and the MLS overall table with two games in hand.

"We made them a pretty generous offer on the trade so they gain some things," Crew coach Sigi Schmid said. "They have a pretty good team right now so they're feeling confident in what they can do. They just won the SuperLiga and we're happy to add Pat to our team. I'm not going to ask why. I'm just going to be happy about the trade."

Noonan, who turned 28 on Aug. 2, played five seasons with New England and helped it to three MLS Cup Finals before leaving on a free transfer in January to play for Aalesunds FK of the Norwegian Tippeligaen after being unable to come to terms on a new contract with the Revolution.

He appeared in only 11 matches for Aalesunds and let his agent know in June he would be willing to return to MLS.

"To be honest, Columbus was one of the first ones that I heard about going to," Noonan said by phone from Norway. "Then you set your sights on being there and what other clubs are in the mix. Then Columbus died off. For a while I thought it wouldn't happen.

"They're right behind New England as a conference foe and right on their tail. You almost wouldn't expect them to trade me to a team that's doing well and winning games. Then I heard a couple of days ago it was Columbus and I was surprised and excited. I look forward to joining a team that's been successful this year and has a lot of new faces. Sigi is doing a great job with the team. He's an established coach."

Having a good rapport with the coach is important to Noonan after his experience in Norway. The team had a tall forward and played a lot of long balls while Noonan, who can play forward or on the flanks, was left to run after the scraps in the midfield.

"That doesn't suit my style of play all that well. That and not playing -- I didn't play the first month-and-a-half of the season in terms of starting. I came in as a sub most of the games," Noonan said. "I didn't agree with the coaching, obviously. They paid me a lot of money to come over here and help a team that was struggling and I didn't understand why I wasn't playing. I couldn't trust the coach and not much had changed after the month-and-a-half. I had a little injury but coming back from the injury I still wasn't starting. I thought it was best if I joined a team that was looking to have me as a starter and played the ball a little bit more on the ground."

Although the Crew are third in the league in goals with 29, they have been blanked in two of the past three road matches and could be without wide midfielders Robbie Rogers and Emmanuel Ekpo for the duration of August because of the Olympics. Schmid said Noonan could also play for forwards Alejandro Moreno and Guillermo Barros Schelotto.

"At this point he's probably more inclined to play wide midfield for us while Robbie and Ekpo are gone," he said. "He can play Alejandro's position in a pinch. He can play Guillermo's position and he can certainly play both flank positions. He helps us with his versatility and at the end of the day it's going to be competition and who's playing best will be out there."

Noonan is expected to make his Crew debut Aug. 16 vs. FC Dallas. The Crew are idle this weekend.

"The nice thing with Pat in this transfer window is he doesn't need a work permit so we don't have to wait on that," Schmid said. "It's a matter of the federation receiving his international transfer, which is on its way, and then he'll be cleared to play for us."

By the way, the Crew play host to New England on Sept. 6 and go to Gillette Stadium Sept. 27.

Getting fit will be the first task for Noonan after his arrival in Columbus on Sunday.

"I'm in OK shape. That's probably where I need the most work is getting my fitness back. The only way to do that is to play matches," he said. "In the past three weeks I've played one match of 90 minutes and came on as a sub for two for about 30 minutes. Hopefully, within a couple of weeks I can get back to 100 percent."

Crew technical director Brian Bliss said a transfer fee was not paid Aalesunds to bring Noonan back to the United States. Noonan signed a four-year contract with MLS.

"He brings a lot of experience," Bliss said. "He was on good teams in New England and his contribution speaks for itself in terms of goals and assists, All-Star Games and national team call-ups."

Noonan made 119 appearances, including 110 starts, for the Revolution and had 37 goals and 29 assists -- both rank third in team history. To put that in perspective, his goal total would rank fifth all-time for the Crew behind Brian McBride and Jeff Cunningham (62); Stern John (44) and Edson Buddle (42).

"(Noonan) plays a number of different positions and he comes to us at a good age. He still has a lot of good soccer left him," Schmid said.

The Crew had been pursuing another top-notch scorer since McBride left for England after the 2003 season and at one point last year thought it had McBride lined up for a return. He recently signed with the Chicago Fire after a trade with Toronto as the Crew continued discussions with New England.

It can be said that Noonan was "delivered" to Columbus. At 11:50 a.m. Tuesday, Bliss was with his wife, Jacki, in the hospital as she gave birth to their second child (first son), Jack. Eighteen minutes later -- Bliss recalls looking at the clock -- Revolution director of soccer Mike Burns called Bliss to push the deal to fruition.

Thus, Noonan joins a long list of notable Indiana University products to play for Columbus Crew, including Brian Maisonneuve, Mike Clark, Todd Yeagley, Juergen Sommer and current players Danny O'Rourke and Jed Zayner.


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Race for All-Star coach down to wire
Crew look to reassert dominance
Almunia For England?

Revs capture first SuperLiga crown

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Revolution won their first SuperLiga crown in a penalty shootout Tuesday, when the Houston Dynamo's Corey Ashe rang the crossbar in the eighth round of penalty kicks after the teams drew 2-2 after extra time.

With the score level at 1-1 entering extra time, the teams scored four minutes apart. Kei Kamara leapt to head home in the 98th minute, but Shalrie Joseph popped up to head home a free kick in the 102nd.

In the fifth round of penalty kicks, Khano Smith stepped up with a chance to give the Revolution the crown. But Pat Onstad saved the effort. The next six shooters all converted, until Ashe fired off the bar.

Nate Jaqua opened the scoring after 18 minutes after Amaechi Igwe turned the ball over inside his own box. Steve Ralston tied the score four minutes before halftime with a volley from a Mauricio Castro cross.

Eddie Robinson (hamstring) and Richard Mulrooney (knee) didn't travel for the Dynamo. Geoff Cameron continued at center back beside Bobby Boswell in Robinson's absence. Nate Jaqua and Brian Ching partnered up top once again after Jaqua set up Ching for a goal in Saturday's 2-0 win against Columbus.

Selection problems also hampered the home team with Jay Heaps suspended and Michael Parkhurst away on Olympic duty. Amaechi Igwe partnered Jeff Larentowicz in the center of defense. Rookie Chris Tierney started at left back.

The match started at breakneck pace with both teams seeking to attack the perceived weaknesses on defense. The Dynamo's Wade Barrett had to come back quickly to hook a ball over his own end line from a cross through the box.

Dwayne De Rosario hit the post after just four minutes after jinking through the Revolution defense and hooking his effort towards the near post.

Joseph nearly responded on both ends. Joseph's long-distance drive kept rising just over the bar, before he almost knocked the ball over the bar with his thigh.

The cadence for a goal kept building as Mauricio Castro's free kick just missed the upper left corner with Onstad stranded.

But when the goal came, it came from the oddest of circumstances. Cameron lumped a free kick down the center of the field. No Dynamo player challenged and Reis looked likely to come out and collect it. Igwe decided to clear it with his back to the ball and shanked it right to Jaqua. The burly striker made no mistake to give the Dynamo the lead.

It should have been two just a minute later from another Igwe giveaway let Jaqua slide a ball to Ching with space inside the area. Ching didn't make good contact with his strike, but managed to knock it off before the ball trickled away from danger.

Steve Ralston tested Onstad at his near post with a free kick, but the Canadian international reacted smartly to push it around the post for a corner kick. Sainey Nyassi should have tested Onstad minutes latter after a quick buildup from left wing to right wing gave him space at the far post, but Nyassi managed to drive his effort off the side netting.

The Revs were growing in confidence and generated a penalty shout in the 33rd minute. Nyassi jumped to meet a corner kick at the far post only to see Craig Waibel barge him in the back. Referee Howard Webb wasn't impressed, much to the chagrin of the Revolution players.

Houston responded quickly through De Rosario. A thumping shot forced Reis into an acrobatic save at the near post after the Revs couldn't hack it clear.

De Rosario then got in behind the defense moments later with another route one service. After rounding Reis, De Rosario slid a ball towards goal before Larentowicz recovered and cleared the goal-bound effort.

Tierney's turn to clear off the line came quickly afterwards after Reis came for a corner kick and couldn't collect. Jaqua shot towards goal, but Tierney managed to keep it out and get it clear.

Just when Houston looked to score the killer second, New England conjured up the equalizer. Castro's right-footed cross found Ralston at the far post and the Revs captain smashed home his volley to equalize.

Another defensive giveaway nearly put the Revs in front three minutes before the break. Bobby Boswell coughed it up on the edge of his penalty area. Kheli Dube surged into the penalty area and whacked his effort towards goal. Onstad charged out of his goal and diverted the ball out of harm's way. The early stages of the second half didn't produce nearly the amount of chances as in the first half. The frantic pace settled down to merely a frenetic pace, one where both teams still tried to surge forward but didn't connect nearly as well.

Half-chances ruled as Jaqua shanked wide after Ching played him in and substitute Khano Smith cut inside and drove towards Onstad.

Extra time loomed. Igwe ensured it would arrive after tackling Davis as he shaped to shoot in second-half stoppage time.

Kamara headed the Dynamo in front in the 98th minute. Ching drove a curling ball into the box. Reis looked like he should have punched away, but didn't get to the ball in time. Kamara nodded into the vacated net to restore the Dynamo's lead.

That lead lasted just four minutes. Ralston lofted a free kick up towards the far post. Joseph wrestled away from Bobby Boswell and directed his header into the far side netting.

That would be enough to drive the match into penalties and the crossbar emerged as the hero after Ashe rang the crossbar to give the Revs the SuperLiga crown.


De Rosario, Ching power Dynamo
Dynamo earn first victory of 2008
Bundesliga: top for goals

Hoops' Rocha searches for consistency

FRISCO, Texas -- In the first 12 games of his MLS career, FC Dallas midfielder Andre Rocha had six assists. But that pace has slowed considerably as the 23-year-old Brazilian has now gone six matches without an assist. His last one came in a 1-0 win against Chicago on June 15.

In that period, the Hoops have changed coaches and have also gone from playing a 3-5-2 to a 4-4-2. But Rocha is quick to say that the new formation is actually to his benefit.

"I feel better in this system," Rocha said. "In the 3-5-2, my responsibility was to go forward more and then get back (on defense). I would expend more energy and couldn't get the most out of my skills. Now, Schellas (Hyndman) is asking me to go forward but to come back only to the midline because I have a guy behind me. Now I feel like I have more energy and stamina to be able to stay in the attack and stay offensive."

Rocha also feels that he benefits from having a solid defender behind him on the right flank.

"I have a player like Drew (Moor) playing behind me, a player that I have a lot of confidence in," he said. "That gives me that assurance that I can stay on that side with someone behind me defending and also that I can make those passes. The understanding and communication that we have, I feel very comfortable with because we can make overlapping runs and can cover for each other."

Rocha played 64 minutes of Sunday's 2-0 win at Toronto FC before FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman pulled him for rookie midfielder Bruno Guarda, who made his league debut.

"I think he's not having great form right now," Hyndman said of Rocha. "I'm asking him to do certain things, he's trying, but we're not getting the best out of him. We're hoping that in this next 7-8 days of training that we can help him. He is very good with the ball but not really good off the ball, so the game is a little bit faster than he wants it to be.

"He likes to come into the middle third, get touches, his crosses are not consistent and a lot of them get blocked. A lot of his shots get blocked and he takes too long on his release," Hyndman continued. "We need to make some improvements, so this week, I think we'll be able to analyze some of the things on video and maybe a light bulb will come on."

Rocha has played and started in 18 of FCD's first 19 games this season. The only match he missed was on June 1 at Colorado, suspended after being ejected from the previous match with Houston. He is somewhat at a loss when asked to explain why his assist total has been stuck on six for the last six weeks.

"The opportunities are coming but sometimes, it just goes like that," he said. "Right now, what I'm trying to do is get myself a goal in this league. I like the position that I'm in, especially the offensive part. Having that responsibility is something I feel comfortable in even though it's only been a couple of things."

Hyndman would also like to see Rocha develop more consistency on corner and free kicks.

"If you can take those corner and free kicks to his play, you have the same word, inconsistent," he said. "We need to get more out of him and I think he's capable of giving more. Right now, what we're looking for is a little more production from our flank play."

Rocha is well aware of the high expectations that Hyndman has for him.

"I think he's a very smart coach," he said. "I also think highly of him. I respect that he thinks highly of me and that's why for me, every practice and every game is to give maximum effort that I can. I have expectations of myself even higher than what Schellas has."

After training on Monday, Rocha stayed on the training field for at least 30 extra minutes alongside forward Kenny Cooper, who is tied for the league lead in goals with 13, as well as rookies Josh Lambo and Brek Shea, normally among the last to leave practice.

He called his extra time working on his finishing as something that he needs to do in order to become a better player. "Any extra work that I can put in out here or in the gym, that's what I know that I need to be doing," Rocha said.


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Schalke duo back in training
Hoops eye first league win since June

Davis: Defense making difference

Every team is bound to struggle occasionally over a lengthy MLS season. It's a long nine months, and the mean times are out there, lurking. Believe it.

One particular trio of high-profile sides has recently negotiated some tough times -- and it's instructive to see how these three high are coping with matters.

The Los Angeles Galaxy, the Chicago Fire and the two-time league champion Houston Dynamo all entered the hot summer balanced precariously, their campaigns on a teeter, easily able to go either way.

The results are playing out in wildly disparate fashion. Houston has taken off like a Tomahawk missile. Chicago is hanging on -- but just. And the Galaxy are desperate to arrest their spiral before playoff positioning begins to suffer appreciably.

Furthermore, there's no trick in pinpointing the essential difference between these sides: defense.

When things begin going sideways, a club with reasonable back-line stability and proper defensive shields in the midfield give themselves ample opportunity to hang in there, to survive the wilderness, so to speak, until they gain their bearings and find a way out of the thick woods.

This weekend was all that in microcosm for the three spotlight teams:

Houston held off a big road effort from Columbus, as Dominic Kinnear's Dynamo won their fourth consecutive match and improved their mark to 5-1-4 over the last 10 in all competitions.

Chicago hung tough for a 1-0 win at home against Chivas USA. And Ruud Gullit's team from L.A. will search anew for answers that will bring the victories back to Victoria Street in Carson.

How is the bunch from south Texas doing so? With fantastic defense, the kind that set records last year.

Bobby Boswell, who has rallied back to 2006 form, and Wade Barrett, who never seems to fall from form, have been the cornerstones of Houston's recent, more miserly ways. Plus, don't overlook the contributions of Geoff Cameron, whose versatility has been a little-talked about asset around Robertson Stadium.

Cameron, a rookie third-round draft pick, has lined up as a forward and midfielder and, lately, a center back alongside Boswell. Kinnear has needed Cameron there to cope with Eddie Robinson's injury-troubled summer and Patrick Ianni's absence for the Olympics.

The numbers say it all for Houston: Even without Robinson, a 2007 Defender of the Year finalist, the Dynamo have allowed just one goal in its last five MLS matches. Kinnear's defending champions have allowed four to squeeze past in the last 10 matches overall.

As for Chicago: generally speaking, clubs that can turn over just one goal at home shouldn't begin pondering routes for postseason victory parades. It's no real surprise that Denis Hamlett's side can't dent the opposition net any more than that at the moment. Cuauhtemoc Blanco has been struggling, and he wasn't even available Saturday, suspended for the night due to yellow card accumulation.

Chad Barrett took his team-leading five goals across the border to Canada, traded last week to Toronto for the rights to Brian McBride, who won't arrive at Toyota Park for at least two weeks.

And yet, Chicago mapped a path to victory, riding Patrick Nyarko's well-taken first-half strike (the debut goal for Chicago's first-round draft pick). With that, Hamlett's club won for only the second time in eight MLS matches. Again, the Fire are hardly on the fast track to MLS glory at the moment. But the Chicago side is doing just enough to hang around and maintain decent playoff positioning. How?

Bakary Soumare and Wilman Conde are one of the league's two best central defense pairings at the moment (along with Nat Borchers and Jamison Olave at RSL). Gonzalo Segares continues to have an outstanding season at left back and Brandon Prideaux continues to dutifully lock down the right side.

Plus, Jon Busch's back-stopping has been unwavering. Add it all up and it's clear that Hamlett's team has lots of mending ahead in matters of attack, but needs only to maintain the clockwork defensive order. That would be enough to safely ensure at least one postseason contest in Bridgeview.

The one marquee side unable to spin out of the funk at the moment -- and this is no coincidence -- happens to have one of the league's most troubled defenses.

Rudd Gullit's increasingly troubled side has not won a match since June 14, a period that covers seven MLS contests. The Galaxy have allowed 19 goals in that time (2.7 per contest). That's hardly a number that will see the victories come tumbling in.

It's that central pairing along the back line that continues to be a problem spot, along with Chris Klein -- a converted midfielder -- generating some issues with his natural inclination to roam forward.

Goalkeeper Steve Cronin shares some responsibility, too, but Gullit said all along that the first-year starter would require some patience. So, that's puts the onus on the back line and the defensive midfield worker bees ahead it.

But Gullit can't get the mix the way he needs it. And it's not for lack of trying and experimenting.

He wanted to believe that Eduardo Dominguez was the answer, as the experienced Argentinean signed on last week as, essentially, a replacement for Abel Xavier. But Dominguez was back on the bench after one start, the confidence-damaging 4-0 loss to Dallas last week.

This week, it was back to Sean Franklin and Greg Vanney in the middle. Their work was spotty, and the defending through midfield wasn't particularly effective as Landon Donovan and Peter Vagenas lined up centrally, with David Beckham and Ely Allen on the outside.

Bottom line, the Galaxy scored two on the road, which will often be enough to scoop up points. But San Jose put three past Cronin, and the Home Depot Center tenants are left to ponder the same question that has dogged them all year: can Gullit et al cobble together enough defense to support that livewire attack?

We all love the flash, dash and panache of a showy offense. But for riding out the hills and valleys of the long summer, nothing beats a reliable defense.

TACTICAL CORNER

Toronto FC manager John Carver made an interesting choice for Sunday's match at BMO. MLS rules permit teams to name 18 players per match, 11 starters and seven on the bench. But Carver named just five potential subs. "And there's a reason for that," he said after Sunday's 2-0 setback, the team's first loss at Fortress BMO this year. "If people don't deserve to be on the bench, because had a [reserve] game through the week, and there wasn't enough for me to put some of these guys on the bench. So they didn't go on the bench. Why give them false hope? They've got to prove to me that they are good enough to go on the bench, and even to play."

Carver has two players (Maurice Edu and Marvell Wynne) currently at the Olympics, plus injuries that are keeping Todd Dunnivant and Danny Dichio out of consideration for now.

The midfield balance looked just about right at RFK, where D.C. United crafted a 2-0 win without influential, injured playmaker Marcelo Gallardo.

Instead, it was Fred along the right who provided the big attacking push from midfield. Meanwhile, newcomer Joe Vide sat in with Clyde Simms in a side-by-side pairing that has been seldom seen this year at RFK. Both players are most comfortable in holding roles, so Fred had the latitude to get forward liberally. Meanwhile, Ivan Guerrero, another recent United addition, buzzed about on the left side energetically.

Gullit once again lined up two forwards in front of Landon Donovan, who manned an attacking midfield role for at least one more match.

Donovan did score, but the Galaxy aren't creating the same number of chances as in April and May, when L.A. often overwhelmed opponents with offensive initiative. L.A. seems to get more from Donovan in the second forward role.

But this also must be said: David Beckham looks a bit heavy-legged, and you have to wonder if the summer heat and travel are taking a toll? His crossing and ability to get into the right spots seems a bit sluggish.

This month should bring a bit of respite, with two matches at The Home Depot Center and no team-related travel until an Aug. 30 trip to New England.


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LA shows resiliency in comeback
DAVIS IN FOUR-WAY TIE FOR LEAD
Liga Isn’t Over Yet - Schuster

Howard the difference as Rapids fall

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- The Colorado Rapids fell 2-1 to Everton in an international friendly Sunday night, as a Conor Casey goal just after halftime was sandwiched by an early goal from Everton's Mikel Arteta and a goal just before the end of the game by Leon Osman.

Everton scored on their first shot of the game. Arteta received the ball at the top of the center circle and, taking advantage of an open man on the left wing, was able to feint and keep defender Facundo Erpen unsure of his intentions. This gave Arteta enough time and space for a shot from the top of the box that beat a diving Preston Burpo.

The Rapids had a nice chance in the 10th minute. Terry Cooke charged up the right wing and played a pass forward to Omar Cummings, whose cross went long of the goal but ended up falling nicely to Christian Gomez at the far side of the box. Philip Neville, however, recovered quickly to ensure Gomez could not do more than trap the ball before it was cleared out of danger.

But for an amazing save from Everton 'keeper and U.S. international Tim Howard, the Rapids would have pulled even in the 15th minute. Christian Gomez, freed at midfield by a nice give and go with Pablo Mastroeni, found Casey with a little space in the box. With his back to goal, Casey spun and shot, but his effort was blocked by Everton defender Joleon Lescott out to Cooke. Cooke's subsequent cross went right to the head of Casey, and his hard header forced a quick one-handed reaction save from Howard, saving the clean sheet and the lead.

The Rapids were relying more on flank play and long passes through to their forwards, while Everton's offensive strategy was more focused on creating short passes and personnel mismatches which opened up shots and the occasional cross into the box. One such cross came in the 27th minute from Dan Gosling, aiming for the head of Ayegbeni Yakubu, who looked to be consistently fighting a physical battle with the Rapids defenders. His header, however, skied high over the bar.

The Rapids wasted a golden chance in the 28th minute. Colin Clark was able to outrun Neville to the end line and sent a low cross to Casey at the penalty spot. Casey, with his back to the goal, shielded well but his short pass aimed at Gomez was well of the mark. Mastroeni was able to run onto it before anyone else, but his shot from the top of the box went well over the goal.

The Rapids seemed to take more of the initiative as the game neared halftime, but their many offensive forays and quality buildups were not translating into many shots. Gomez had one excellent chance in stoppage time, taking a cross from Ugo Ihemelu and hitting a nice shot from inside the penalty area that Howard had to dive to again make a one-handed save.

The second half began with wholesale changes for the Rapids, with Herculez Gomez, Nick LaBrocca and Bouna Coundoul replacing Cummings, Mehdi Ballouchy and Burpo, respectively. Everton replaced midfielder Jack Rodwell with defender Joseph Yobo and defender Leighton Baines with Nuno Valente.

The Rapids came out on the attack and evened the score in the 49th minute. Cooke sent a long cross from 40 yards out aimed at Casey. Yobo was looked well placed to intercept the cross, but it instead deflected off of him to Casey, who wasted no time in unleashing a hard shot. Howard was able to dive and get a hand to the ball, but it was not enough to prevent it from going into the back of the net.

Everton responded with some attacking flair of their own in the 55th minute. Steven Pienaar went on a nice dribbling run to the end line before pulling the ball back and laying a nice pass to Osman at the penalty spot. Osman's effort, however, was easily saved by a diving Coundoul.

Herculez Gomez took a wicked shot in the 58th minute from 30 yards that looked headed for goal. But Howard was able to get up and punch the ball over the bar.

Everton nearly pulled away again in the 65th minute, as Peinaar intercepted a pass across the back from Jose Burciaga Jr. to Erpen. Yakubu was unable to control Peinaar's pass, however, and Coundoul was able to rush up to make the save.

Erpen nearly scored one of his own in the 73rd minute. A long Burciaga corner kick found him alone on the far side of the penalty box. His powerful header, however, went just outside of the back post.

The end stages of the game saw furious charges from both sides, with few chances to show for it. Each defense stiffened up, punishing severely each small offensive mistake. The Rapids did generate one last excellent chance in the 85th minute, with Cooke again finding Casey's head with a cross. Casey, who was positioned right in front of the goal, met the cross well with his head, but his effort was over the bar.

Everton broke the deadlock in the 87th minute. Second half substitution Jose Baxter went on a surging run forward into the penalty area and toward the end line before playing the ball back to an unmarked Osman. Osman threaded the ball past a diving Coundoul and two Rapids defenders on the endline.

The Rapids nearly pulled it back in the 89th minute. Clark's slaloming run went from the left flank to the top of the box, beating three Everton defenders on the way before playing the ball to Cooke. Cooke unleashed a rocket shot, but Howard once again was able to dive and make one last clutch save.


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Revs look for payback vs. Houston

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Revolution midfielder Shalrie Joseph said that his team isn't weary of facing the Houston Dynamo for a major championship.

But he sure is noticing the scoreboard after the Dynamo defeated the Revs twice in MLS Cup.

"They have two championships," Joseph said. "We're just trying to get one."

That one might not be MLS Cup right now, but SuperLiga is the next best thing. Both teams waded through the group stages and ousted venerable Mexican teams on their way to get here.

Now the only obstacle left for the Revs is a familiar orange one that they haven't really managed to conquer when the chips were on the line.

"They beat us twice in MLS Cup," Joseph said. "You could say they are up 2-0 in terms of titles. We know what we're going to have to do [Tuesday] to beat a good team. It's going to be a tough game. We're up to the challenge. We're at home, hopefully in front of a good crowd. That will energize us. We'll be ready from the starting whistle."

That challenge is complicated by a rivalry that Revs defender Chris Albright said was "good for the league."

Joseph won't dub it a rivalry, but said the stakes could impact how and if a rivalry develops.

"It's going to develop," Joseph said. "We've played together for the last two MLS Cup Finals. To be another final against them shows that both teams have some good quality players."

New England swept the Dynamo during the regular season, winning 3-0 in the opening match of the season at Gillette Stadium on March 29 and shocking the Dynamo 2-0 at Robertson Stadium on July 16.

Yet the injury-riddled Dynamo didn't have their full squad in either of those games, a point Revs captain Steve Ralston noted.

"They are a great team," Ralston said. "We have to realize that they have a lot of quality players. We were fortunate this year that we caught them on a couple of off days. We played them in the first game of the season, and we obviously had an advantage playing in that situation when it's cold. In the second game, they were missing five or six starters. They are a different team now. They have [Brian] Ching and [Dwayne De Rosario] back and they have a different team now."

The Revs have a different, healthier team themselves. The two critical losses for the Revs are due to non-health related absences: Michael Parkhurst is away with the U.S. Olympic team and Jay Heaps is suspended after picking up a red card after the 1-0 semifinal win over Atlante.

Without two of his three starting defenders, Nicol will have to chop and change at the back. Left back Amaechi Igwe will slide into the center of a four-man defense. Rookie Chris Tierney, who started the second group game against Pachuca, will play on the left side of defense.

"It's not ideal, but you have to deal with it," Nicol said. "There is no point in crying and moaning about it. You have to show the confidence in somebody and see how they react and then go from there. If we're groaning to everyone that we don't have any choices and we don't have any replacements, the guy who is going to play there isn't going to think. We're not going to camouflage anything. We're going to see what they are made of."

It's a difficult spot for the two young players, but Nicol believes they'll have what it takes to help the Revs bring home the SuperLiga crown.

"In some respects, it's a big game to be starting off with, but both guys have played there before," Nicol said. "Both guys are aware of what we are looking for. Both guys are capable of doing that. We're confident that they'll go ahead and do a good job."


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McBride takes strange path to Beijing

It's funny how some doors will open for people in the strangest ways.

Just ask U.S. Olympic team forward Brian McBride, who has to give a big assist to West Ham United and U.S. international defender Jonathan Spector for playing at the Beijing Summer Games.

After U.S. Olympic assistant coach Lubos Kubik scouted a game between West Ham and McBride's Fulham team in the English Premiership last winter, Spector was in a playful mood with his good friend McBride.

"Lubos, did you hear Brian wants to play in the Olympics?" Spector jokingly said.

A few other jokes were thrown around. But eventually McBride got serious and said he would consider playing for the U.S. one more time if the opportunity arose.

"I threw it out as just talk at the time, but a few days later, Peter [Nowak, the U.S. coach] called me," McBride said. "I was a little shocked but that's really when it became an interest and a possibility. The idea has come a long way since then but it was pretty crazy at the time."

As it turned out, Spector, who was expected to anchor the defense, injured his right hip and won't be participating at the Summer Games.

McBride, however, is expected to play a vital role for the U.S. in China. As the oldest (36) and most experienced player -- three World Cups and a 14-year professional career, McBride will be a leader on and off the pitch.

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In fact, McBride will be one of the oldest, if not the oldest U.S. men's soccer player to participate at the Olympics, being some 12 years the senior as the next oldest player -- defender Michael Parkhurst, another over-age player on the 18-man roster.

"That's pretty funny," McBride said. "I don't look at myself as being 36 and I certainly don't feel 36. For me it's more about the mentality so I think I have a little more upstairs as far as experience that will help me. When it comes down to it, it really is all about how you play on the field, and being a part of this team, regardless of what age you are."

McBride later added: "They're making me feel much younger than I am."

Since McBride has been around the block and then some for club and country, he some advice for his Olympic teammates who haven't been to many world tournaments.

"For anybody, regardless of where you're playing, it's important that you focus on the things that you can do well and not be concerned about the things that go on when you get into big tournaments like this," he said. "I wouldn't call them distractions, but there are a lot of things that go into how each team plays. You have to try t