the world´s game, on a community level
Our new blog format is currently in BETA (Testing/Development). Please keep coming back as we plan to bringing on more soccer writers to cover soccer news, culture, products and much more. Congrats to both the Revs and Dynamo. You guys played your tales off and gave us soccer fans a great match. Two teams that are class acts in MLS!
Thnx
Matt Lengkeek
With a PK from Landon Donovan and the game winner from Edson Buddle, the Galaxy pulled out a 2-1 victory against Toronto FC and extended their winning streak to five in a row (and six games unbeaten). Since Chicago tied D.C., the Galaxy is only four points behind both Kansas City and the Chicago Fire.
Toronto FC went down to 10 men when Marco Reda was sent off for pulling down Gavin Glinton in the box. LD did what LD does best and scored off a penalty kick in the 56th minute. Then the Galaxy did what the Galaxy does best and gave away their lead just minutes later as Toronto’s Collin Samuel scoring the equalizer.
Ten minutes later the 2007 Galaxy MVP Chris Klein passed the ball to Edson Buddle, who scored the winner against his former team. The Galaxy now has a few different situations that can get them into the playoffs. Besides getting all six points remaining, the Galaxy still make it with only four points as long as they can tie New York on Thursday as long as they beat Chicago on Sunday.
Other MLS Notes:
D.C. United clinched the Supporter’s Shield with Chivas USA’s loss to the Rapids. Although the Crew won this weekend against New England, they were eliminated from the playoffs due to Chicago’s tie with D.C. on Saturday. Neither Kansas City nor the Fire clinched this weekend, leaving two playoffs spots open for the last weekend of play.
Chivas USA take on FC Dallas today on ESPN’s Primetime Thursday. Chivas should walk away with at least a point in this game, since the last time Chivas lost was sometime in July.
For the first time this season, every remaining game this weekend is important in one way or another. Chicago plays DC at RFK stadium. If Chicago wins, they are one step closer to the playoffs (they’ll need LA to lose to actually clinch this weekend). DC’s playing for the Support’s Shield, and all they need to do is beat Chicago. Look for a good game, but DC will come out on top.
The next stop on soccer Saturday is the Crew at New England. The Crew can kiss their playoff dreams goodbye during this game, because there is no way they are coming out with three points. Kansas City takes on the Red Bulls. If KC wins… they are off to the playoffs. What KC has going for them is that the Red Bulls are coming of two losses from last week—Chivas and Toronto. If KC can play on that, they have a chance to come out with a win. In the final game on Saturday, Toronto meets up with the Galaxy at The Home Depot Center. The Galaxy are red-hot right now as they are making their playoff run. Toronto on the other hand has nothing to play for. If the Galaxy can win three in a row on the road, they can surely win at home.
Lastly, the Rapids take on Chivas USA. The Rapids are playing for their postseason lives. They need to win, but if they tie… they need Chicago to walk away with at least a point for the playoffs to still lie within reach. But honestly speaking, Chivas is a stronger team, and they will walk all over the Rapids.
If all goes as predicted, Kansas City will clinch a playoff spot and the final spot will come to the final game of the season between Chicago and the Galaxy.
What are your thoughts? Who’s going to win this weekend and who’s going to lose?
With three weeks remaining in the MLS season, three teams can grab up playoff births this weekend. Real Salt Lake was eliminated yet again from the playoffs, and Toronto FC's fate lies in this weekend's games.
Here's how everything needs to play out:
FC Dallas can clinch a playoff spot IF they beat Columbus this weekend.
Kansas City can book their playoff tickets if they defeat DC on Friday AND Columbus doesn't walk away with three points against FC Dallas AND Los Angeles snap their winning streak and fails to win on Sunday.
The New York Red Bulls have two scenarios this week to make the playoffs. If they defeat Toronto FC, they're in OR Columbus will need to fail to win against FC Dallas and the Houston will need to walk away with at least a point on Sunday against the Galaxy.
Unfortunately for Toronto, their fate is not in their own hands. If they lose against New York, they are eliminated from the playoff race, BUT they will also be eliminated if Chicago walks away with any points on Saturday against New England.
The Galaxy seems to be on a winning streak. They've won three games in eight days. And are all of a sudden in the play off race again. They are only six points behind Chicago, who right now hold the last playoff spot, and they still have four games left to play.
Going into Sunday's game against Columbus, the Galaxy was finally ready. It could have been that the team that as so used to losing, had finally garner some confidence. The Old Galaxy would have fallen back and freaked out for a lack of a better word when Crew forward (and former Galaxy player) Alejandro Moreno scored two minutes into the game.
But the Galaxy found a goal by an unlikely player - defender Troy Roberts scored the first Galaxy goal in the 13th minute, and his first professional goal. That goal was quickly followed by Kyle Martino's third goal of the season in the 16th minute.
Oddly enough, the Galaxy had only two shots on goal, and were able to score on both of them. More surprising is that the Galaxy was able to keep the backline organized and not let the Crew score an equalizer.
Most of OBJ's predictions were right for this past weekend's games.
DC had an easy win, as they beat Toronto 4-1. Toronto should take some solace in the fact that at least they scored a goal.
The Revs had a little bit of a harder time against Colorado than they should have, but Khano Smith scored in the 88th minute.
Real Salt Lake is now up to four games that they haven't lost as they tied New York 2-2. In fact, if is wasn't for Juan Pablo Angel and his 80th minute penalty kick - the Red Bulls might have had a loss on their hands.
Well the Chivas USA / Chicago Fire game was as expected. A pro-Blanco crowd...probably the largest crowd Chivas has gotten all season. And Chicago scored off a Blanco free kick, as predicted. Don't fear, Chivas also scored so their non-losing streak hasn't been broken yet.
Houston beat Dallas with a score of 3-0. The Houston defense was able to keep Dallas to one shot on goal. Unfortunately for Dallas, Carlos Ruiz got a red card in the 89th minute of play and will miss their Saturday game against the Crew.
In front of the largest crowd ever to show up in a Wizards game, the Los Angeles Galaxy came up with what seemed to be the impossible - another win. Now, the team is going into their game against Columbus with a two-game winning streak, their longest one for this season.
The Galaxy win didn't come off skill though, as much as the "stars aligned" for them, as Kansas City went down two players when Jimmy Conrad and then Davy Arnaud were shown red cards. Unfortunately for KC keeper Kevin Hartman, he wasn't able to make a save. The next one is number 1,000 for him.
Oddly enough, the Galaxy is still in the playoff race.
With yet another weekend full of MLS matches, here is OBJ's breakdown of the matches for Week 26.
Los Angeles travels to Kansas City today to play their first match of the week. It doesn't need to be said that LA is struggling, but they are coming off a 2-1 win thanks to former Kansas City player Chris Klein. Kansas City has been struggling of late and sit behind New York in the playoff race. This will be a tough one for both teams, look for a draw coming out of Arrowhead Stadium.
Saturday's chalk full of games, as eight teams take the field. The first game of the day is Toronto FC against DC United. Look for an easy with for DC. Toronto FC is just no match for this strong United sign. In fact, Toronto strikers should take note from Emilio when it comes to scoring. Toronto coach Mo Johnston has put the team on notice saying no one is safe when it comes to playing next season and that all of the players "are playing for their jerseys."
Colorado travels to New England on Saturday as well. Another game that New England should easily win, as Colorado is, well they are Colorado, which means they are inconsistent. Taylor Twellman, Pat Noonan and Steve Ralston should all find the back of the net in this game.
It seems that this Saturday's match ups are all about the strong meeting the weak, as New York hosts Real Salt Lake. RSL is on a three game non-losing streak, but Nick Rimando is no match for Juan Pablo Angel. No word yet if Jozy is playing yet or not.
In the last game of the night, Chicago meets Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center. This game should prove to have the best crowd of the weekend, as Blanco is making the trip with Chicago. This fact should also make Chicago the "home team," but even with the crowd working against them, Chivas USA should come out with a win, as the last game Chivas lost was back at the end of July against Kansas City. The bottom line is that Chicago just isn't strong enough to get past the Chivas backline and Brad Guzan. If Chicago does score, look for it to be off a free kick that Blanco takes.
The match of the weekend might be on Sunday when Houston travels across Texas to meet Dallas. The in-state rivals are both playing strong. Dallas will be missing defender Chris Gbandi. While this game will be played with tons of passion and heart, and a fair share of cards will be given out, Houston will come out on top - they are just the stronger team.
And the last game of the weekend features Columbus and Los Angeles, with LA playing their second game of the week. This game will depend a lot on what happens for LA on Thursday. If by some odd chance, they can walk out of Arrowhead with a win. They will be able to dominate the Crew. If they lose against KC, well, they will be lucky to have a 0-0 draw.
Close on Jaime Moreno's trail, Ante Razov scored is 109th goal... just one away from the leading goal scorer in MLS - that is until Moreno scored number 111 in the first have of the Chicago / DC game. With the end of the season near the race for MLS leading goalscorer is going to heat up.
In the best MLS game of the weekend, the New England Revolution will be visiting the Meadowlands to take on the New York Red Bulls. Having already played twice this season, New England has walked away with victories in both games, as well as the last five meetings between the two clubs. New England has already clinched a playoff spot, but now are playing for the Supporter's Shield.
This game will be everything you can expect from rivals. Look for a few fights, a few goals and New York to come out with a win. With Jozy Altidore back up top with Juan Pablo Angel, the Red Bulls just have a little more to play for than New England.
With their season on the line, Toronto FC has one and only one goal for this game, and it's to score. The team hasn't scored in 822 minutes. The Crew, on the other hand, is hoping to gain three points so they will be one step closer to the final playoff spot that Chicago currently occupies.
This game will be the boring one of the day, as neither team really plays attractive football. Look for this game to end with a 0-0 draw.
The Rocky Mountain Cup is up for grabs in today's Real Salt Lake - Colorado Rapids game. Of course, both teams need a win - RSL a little more than Colorado if they want their playoff hopes to stay alive.
RSL will be missing forward Alecko Eskandarian, who is serving a one game suspension for accumulating too many caution points. Joining Alecko in the stands will be Colorado's Facundo Erpen and Pablo Mastroeni.
This will prove to be a good game as the two rivals have more on the line than just pride. OBJ's prediction - Colorado wins.
With the Brimstone Cup on the line, FC Dallas hosts the Chicago Fire for ESPN's PrimeTime Thursday. More importantly though, there are points to be won if teams want themselves in playoff positions.
The last time Chicago won at Dallas it was a different millennium, when the Fire beat out the Burn 2-1 on the 4th of July, and Dallas has already won the first meeting of the year. The Fire, though, have shown passion as well as good soccer in their past few games, so there is a chance that they will be able to break their unlucky streak at Pizza Hut Park.
This game will prove more passionate and exciting the the 2-2 Real Salt Lake / Galaxy draw last time. Look for Dallas to come out on top.
While yesterday's game had no impact on the playoff race, the rest of the games for this week do.
Two teams this weekend can join DC, New England and Houston in the playoffs. Chivas USA has the destiny in their own hands, again. They just need to come away with a point against Kansas City on Saturday. But, Chivas had their fate in their own hands last week too, and weren't able to come away with the three points and the ticket to the playoffs.
The other team that is in playoff contention is FC Dallas. They have to win today (check out OBJ's game preview). They will also need Real Salt Lake to beat Colorado, and for Toronto to come with at least a point against Columbus.
With an easy 3-1 win over the Galaxy, Houston's become the first Western Conference team to secure a playoff spot. The scoring was started by Ryan Cochrane in the first half. The Galaxy's Alan Gordon some how found the next in the first half as well, but that would be about it for Galaxy highlights.
The second half was full of Galaxy mistakes, and Houston took advantage of each and every one of them. Houston, who looked like they were putting on a clinic for the Galaxy fans, were able to convert a PK ten seconds into the second half. Mike Randolph knocked Brian Mullan down in the box, and of course, De Rosario knocked the ball past Joe Cannon.
Another stupid mistake by the Galaxy lead to goal #3. It seems that Ty Harden forgot that his role on the team is to clear the ball when it's in the box. Ricardo Clark and Brian Ching had a little give-and-go, and Harden, who was in position to clear the ball, just seemed to watch it... he pulled back, Cannon stayed on his line, and although Peter Vagenas was on Clark, Clark was still about to get the ball past Cannon and into the back of the next.
Dynamo has started a pretty good streak for themselves. In the last seven games, they have scored at least three goals against their opponents.
Betcha the Galaxy was wishing they had both Nate Jaqua and Joseph Ngwenya back.
With a 1-1 tie with Colorado, Chivas USA let their playoff spot slip threw their fingers, but don't fear - they have another chance next week.
A foul by Colorado defender Facundo Erpen, which led to his ejection, put Sacha Kljestan at the penalty spot for the first time in his professional career. That goal became his fourth goal ofthe season
Unfortunately, Chivas USA let Colorado back into the game. Colin Clark scored his second goal of the season, keeping Colorado's playoff hopes alive. With this result, New England has now secured their playoff spot.
The two MLS games today will help determine whether or not three teams, New England, Houston and Chivas will reserve their playoff spots. While New England is hoping for at least a point for Colorado, Chivas and Houston hold their fates in their own hands.
With a full MLS schedule this weekend, up to three more playoff spots could be seized after Sunday night's games. The first spot was already clinched by DC United. Now here are the scenerios for the rest of the spots:
Chivas USA can secure a 2007 playoff spot this weekend, if they beat Colorado (which shouldn't be too difficult) AND Kansas City comes out with at least a point against Columbus.
New England will join DC in the playoffs, if they defeat FC Dallas today, Kansas City comes out with a point against Columbus AND Colorado walks away with no points after their Sunday meeting with Chivas.
Lastly, the Houston Dynamo's path to becoming three-peat champions (remember they won two MLS Cups as the Earthquakes) will be a little closer, if they beat the Galaxy (which should prove a very easy task for them, AND both Columbus and Colorado fail to win against their respective teams.
While only three teams might qualify, the good news is that even after this weekend, every team still has a chance to make the playoffs. Although some teams might want to stop focusing on the playoffs, and start looking at how they are going to rebuild their team.
With a full MLS schedule this weekend, up to three more playoff spots could be seized after Sunday night's games. The first spot was already clinched by DC United. Now here are the scenerios for the rest of the spots:
Chivas USA can secure a 2007 playoff spot this weekend, if they beat Colorado (which shouldn't be too difficult) AND Kansas City comes out with at least a point against Columbus.
New England will join DC in the playoffs, if they defeat FC Dallas today, Kansas City comes out with a point against Columbus AND Colorado walks away with no points after their Sunday meeting with Chivas.
Lastly, the Houston Dynamo's path to becoming three-peat champions (remember they won two MLS Cups as the Earthquakes) will be a little closer, if they beat the Galaxy (which should prove a very easy task for them, AND both Columbus and Colorado fail to win against their respective teams.
While only three teams might qualify, the good news is that even after this weekend, every team still has a chance to make the playoffs. Although some teams might want to stop focusing on the playoffs, and start looking at how they are going to rebuild their team.
The playoff race is heating up. With the Fire beating Columbus this weekend, Fire moved into the 8th and final playoff spot, but both Columbus and Colorado are only one point behind Chicago.
OBJ's prediction would be that Chicago will be the final team that makes the playoffs. Between the three teams, Chicago is the only one that seems to care enough about MLS Cup to actually add impact players like Blanco. Although the Rapids have a fairly easier schedule to work with, the Rapids have a tendency to falter at the end of the season.