RSL fall to Deportivo Saprissa

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Drama surrounding Frei
Wizards youngsters stop CF Atlas

Davis: All-Star Game earns high marks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

Carroll, Hesmer reunited in Columbus

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Jose - Lamps is the best pro

United frustrated with pallid display

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Davis: New York's Dutch savior

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TACTICAL CORNER

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Victory at LA will resonate for Bulls
Babel Hopes Against Rafa Olympic Fury

Nicol bringing Ralston to Toronto

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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Every point big for Rapids

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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