In a Major League Soccer season that has seen a lot, this weekend saw some of it all over again. Lightning threatening to cancel a game? Check. Scoreless draws? Check. Impressive scoreless streaks? Check. One way to look at this past weekend is to just say “been there, done that”.
But that would be taking a simplistic view of some quality games Saturday and Sunday. You can instead focus on Philadelphia scoring two goals for the first time this season! You can talk about Portland, expansion Portland, tied on points for an automatic playoff birth in the impossible Western Conference. You can discuss a draw in Houston that arguably was as good as the LA-NY draw a few weekends ago.
Are you a glass half-full or half-empty person? Regardless, this weekend was for you.
Philadelphia Union 2, Chicago Fire 1: Carlos Ruiz. That man can score goals. His looping shot from about 40 yards out seemed to be going over the net, but instead avoided keeper Jon Conway’s hand, hit the bar, and spiked straight down over the line. And with that the Union exceeded their previous season high of one goal and inched past New York atop the conference standings. Michael Farfan got the first Union goal in the 64th minute but Dominic Oduro quickly equalized eight minutes later.
Houston Dynamo 2, New York Red Bulls 2: Maybe I exaggerated in comparing this one to the Galaxy-Red Bulls game, but it was a good one. Dane Richards broke the game open 39 seconds into the match but star-in-the-making Brad Davis converted a penalty in the 12th minute to tie the game. Both teams settled for fouling throughout most of the rest of the match (though De Rosario almost made things interesting with a near own-goal) until Koke made his mark with an 81st minute header off a corner. It was his first goal with the Dynamo, and seemed to be the match winner until Mehdi Ballouchy headed in a corner past Tally Hall in the 91st minute. Another item to note – 25,000+ showed up to watch this one, a great crowd for Houston.
Los Angeles Galaxy 1, Chivas USA 0: ESPN’s match of the week saw rising Chivas thwarted by their rivals in this City of Angels derby (aka SuperClasico). The loss extends the Goats winless streak against the Galaxy, who they have not beaten since September 2007. It was a Beckham free kick that found Chad Barrett for his third goal (and Beck’s sixth assist) for a lead in the 26th minute. The second half saw the Galaxy play keep away and play stout defense.
Seattle Sounders 1, Sporting Kansas City 0: The agony almost ended for Kansas City, but their long brutal road march continued when scoring force Jeff Parke… wait, Jeff Parke? Yes, Jeff Parke scored in second half stoppage time to give Seattle three points. It was his first goal in seven years and was a repeat of the last match between these two in Seattle, when Mike Fucito scored a late goal to give Seattle a win. Sporting KC has now lost five in a row and is winless in seven. A warm fuzzy to note: Steve Zakuani watched the game from the stands and returned to Qwest Field for the first time since his injury.
San Jose Earthquakes 2, New England Revolution 1: This up-and-down match saw an oddity for both teams: they basically used the same lineups from the previous week, something New England had not done all season and something the ‘Quakes have rarely done. All of the actual scoring was late, but both teams had chances throughout the game. Share in the comments section whether you think Chris Leitch should have been called for a penalty on Chris Teirney. The goals by Ellis McLoughlin and Bobby Convey were their first on the season, and Chris Teirney got one late to pull the Revs close prior to the final whistle.
Portland Timbers 1, Columbus Crew 0: Oh the irony – it was Columbus native Eric Brunner who scored a second-half goal to preserve the Timbers’ unbeaten home record and move the team up in the standings into a third place tie on points. He headed a pass from Kalif Alhassan in the 46th minute to score the match’s only goal. Columbus has now been outscored 8-2 on the road and sports an 0-3-2 away record, which may stop a playoff run even in the weaker Eastern Conference.
FC Dallas 0, Real Salt Lake 0: RSL earned its first points ever at Dallas in a scoreless draw that, for the second time in three weeks, was interrupted by intense lightning. In fact, the match was even paused in the same minute (83rd). FC Dallas extended their unbeaten streak to six matches and also extended their no-goal-allowed streak to 399 minutes. Both teams looked a bit lost without their play makers.
Colorado Rapids 0, Toronto FC 0: I mentioned Colorado’s needed home-stand in my article about their injury troubles and how it could help them get on a hot streak, especially once players start returning. No such luck yesterday, as they fought TFC to a 0-0 draw. Conor Casey did not have a shot on goal and was subbed out in the 61st minute.
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Alan
May 24, 2011 at 12:42 am
San Jose is slowly starting to get back into the form they can play in. They fell asleep at the end and allowed a goal. Still, I am glad to see them playing much better. And yes, a penalty probably should have been called on Leitch.
SSReporters
May 23, 2011 at 6:02 pm
The freaking asshat Ruiz does nothing but flop and whine in Toronto and then he does that in Philly.
Are we that undesirable?
Alan
May 24, 2011 at 12:29 am
Don’t leave out Zizzo, maybe America’s best diver.
Charles
May 23, 2011 at 3:02 pm
Great games. Great recap.
Those last minute hero goals early in the season ALWAYS come back to play in September. DC scored on the Sounders last minute to tie them in a June 2009 game, after being down 2 goals late. Seattle lost the Supporters Shield by 2 points.
I think a new trend is the number of games shown on TV. 4 games in Seattle area ( 1 delayed, Portland, 1 in Spanish…nnnnnngoooooooool Jeff Parke ).
Great to see that much soccer.
I was reading that the MLS is seeing a drop in scoring over the last two years.
For the MLS Hater Trolls about to post MLS sucks comments, we don’t care, go play in the streets and please leave us.
Sancho
May 23, 2011 at 4:11 pm
I believe that to be the reason why the refs are emulating their counterparts of England, letting the game flow, allowing more physical play: the league is concern with the number of goals and it is trying to solve that keeping the ball alive.
Alan
May 24, 2011 at 12:37 am
That’s sad, because I don’t think that there needs to have lots of goals to make a match exciting. In a way, I think that the fact that there are less goals is probably a direct result of quality improving. Better defense, more focus on passing and possession, etc. I do see a lot of choking at times when it comes to scoring goals. Instead of being patient by the net and searching for an opening or creating one, they just shoot even when they don’t have a chance in hell in scoring. This is the one area that I want to see MLS teams improve in the most. Other than that, they are on the right path.
Sancho
May 24, 2011 at 10:36 am
I got your point.
I can’t see many MLS games. I watch highlights and goals mostly, and I read a lot about it.
But I’ve TiVoed the Cascadia derby (at my father-in-law’s) and watched the entire first half already. And I understand what you mean. Good game, besides Portland having a lot of trouble in that penultimate (the one that allows the assist) and the ultimate passes. The Timbers owned the Sounders midfield throughout the half, except whenever the ball found Alvaro Fernandes. Boy, this guy is REALLY good.
The Timbers defended using “half-court press”, and the Sounders lacked the speed to get out of this kind of trap.
The game was fun besides the lack of goal attempts.
Alan
May 25, 2011 at 3:29 am
It just seems like a lot of the goal attempts are sloppy in general. There will be 10 guys (exaggerating) in front of the forward and they are nowhere near goal and they just shoot. Instead, I’d like to see a little more thinking and patience with the setup. Pass the ball backwards if possible. Try to create something, almost like a chess game. I don’t mean to say this happens all the time, but I just see it happen way too often. I just think that a lot of guys out there can do better in this area.
Dave C
May 24, 2011 at 1:23 pm
I don’t think that is necessarily a smart approach (if that is indeed what the refs are doing, and to be honest I doubt they are doing anything as premeditated as that).
If you “allow the game to flow”, that usually means being lenient on calling fouls…which makes it easier for the defending team. So it doesn’t lead to more goals – it makes goals easier to prevent.
Strictly enforcing the rules would lead to more goals, since defenders would be more cautious (plus of course there would be more opportunities from free-kicks).
Sancho
May 24, 2011 at 5:41 pm
Perhaps, I overstated. But, it’s not true that more fouls allows more goals. The Brazilian experience, and there are plenty of data on that, shows that more fouls make the game slower, locked in the midfield, and doesn’t increase the numbers of goals.
Anthony
May 23, 2011 at 12:38 pm
Here’s a great video on the matchday experience in Portland. Well worth the look even for non Timbers fans.
http://vimeo.com/24088434