Copa Suda: DC get their Goats at home

DC United managed a 2-1 victory in the home leg of their Copa Sudamerica matchup against their south of the border rivals CD Guadajalara on Wednesday, Sept. 26.

Ben Olsen and Clyde Simms scored on either side of halftime, and Chivas managed to grab the all-important away goal. Still, DC will travel to Mexico in a bout a week, holding a single goal advantage.

DC's win was even more impressive considering the fact that talented fullback Marc Burch was sent off just before halftime after receiving his second yellow. Chivas, who were Mexican League champions last season, have been tough to beat in international competitions, especially for United, who lost tot Chivas in the semi-finals of the CCC 3-2 on aggregate. Chivas have also managed to get to the semi-finals in the last two Copa Libertadores tournaments.

Thanks to the double-yellow ejections, United will be without one of their best players as they travel to Mexico, as Burch was nearly the man who set up the go-ahead goal, despite some rather uneven play by United in the early going, sending a beautiful cross into Emilio who missed the target with his header.

But DC would make it onto the scoreboard first, as Olsen gathered a poor clearance and fired from distance beating Chivas keeper Luis Ernesto Michelle with a low, bouncing shot inside the far post. Even after the goal, a DC goal never seemed assured and it became even more tenuous when referee Hector Baldaffi sent Burch to the showers with a second yellow just before halftime.

With the 1-0 lead, United packed it in and relied primarily on set pieces for scoring chances. It was off one of those that Simms would add United's second. Christian Gomez's freekick blasted off the wall fell to Simms at the eighteen and he fired first-time, a low shot past the keeper to make it 2-0 United.

Chivas responded quickly with a concilation goal (and the all-important road goal in home-and-away) six minutes later. Jonny Magallon played a long ball pass to Xavier Baez who angled an endline cross to Sergio Santana. Santana beat Perkins easily from six-yards out.
Complete Match Report

TYH'S MLS BEST 11 (Week 25)

GOALKEEPER

N. Rimando (RSL)

DEFENDERS

M. Canizalez (TOR), L. Vaughn (CHV), F. Hejduk (CLB)

MIDFIELDERS

Landon Donovan (LA), E. Gaven (CLB), S. Kljestan (CHV), C. Blanco (CHI)

FORWARD

T. Twellman (NE), A. Razov (CHV), F. Doe (NY)

MLS Week 25: Ante up!

Chivas USA clinched a playoff spot and Real Salt Lake kept their slim playoff chances on a respirator in week 25 of MLS. A brace from Ante Razov gave him 11 goals on the season, the seventh time Razov has scored 10 or more in a season. Meanwhile, TFC got a goal but didn't get off the snide.

SEPT. 23
DC United 1-1 Chicago
Chicago nearly made Chad Barrett's 18th minute goal hold up, but Jamie Moreno saved a point on the road for DC United with in the 84th minute. Barrett managed to bring down Cuauhtemoc Blanco's lofted ball down the center of the pitch and beat DC keeper Troy Perkins to his right. That goal held up until the 84th minute when Chicago forward Chris Rolfe lost the ball to Moreno inside the area. Moreno settled the ball and then blasted a shot inside the right post.
Full Match Recap.

FC Dallas 1-2 Los Angeles
Chris Klein handed the Galaxy their fifth win of the season, after Dallas and Los Angeles traded goals in the first half. At the 11th-minute mark, Dax McCarty found net for the Hoops. But the luck went the Galaxy's way for a change, as Dallas defensive midfielder Chris Gbandi was ejected with his second yellow and the Galaxy were awarded a PK. Donovan stepped to the spot and equalized for the home side. The winner wouldn't come until the 72nd minute, as Klein only his second goal of the season to give LA the result.
Full Match Recap.

SEPT. 22
New England 2-2 New York
Taylor Twellman scored twice, but a late equalizer from Juan Pablo Angel saved a point for the home side. Steve Ralston was credited with his league-leading 12th assist, sending a free kick beautifully to the head of Twellman in the 22nd minute. Francis Doe, making only his second career start in MLS, equalized when Dane Richards crossed to him in the box and he tapped the ball past a siving Matt Reis eight minutes before halftime. Twellman jumped on a poor clearance by Bulls defender Chris Leitch to give the Revs the lead in the 70th minute. But Angel's 16th goal with just six minutes plus injury time left made certain the Eastern conference clubs would share the spoils.
Full Match Recap

Columbus 2-1 Toronto
Toronto fans rejoiced early, as the *** scoreless streak was broken just two minutes from the most unlikeliest of sources. Reds defender Miguel Canizalez put TFC ahead by cleaning up the garbage in the box. But even though the goal drought is finally over, the point drought continues, as Jason Garey and Jacob Thomas both scored their first goals of the season in the 61st and 83rd minutes, respectively, to give the Crew the win.
Full Match Recap

Colorado 0-1 Real Salt Lake
In a steady rain, RSL forward Kyle Brown scored his second carrer MLS goal to dash Colorado's hopes of leap-frogging Chicago in the standings. The visiting Rapids were without the services of a somewhat resurrgent Conor Casey (2g, 1a in 4 games), as well as defensive players Facundo Erpen and Pablo Mastroeni, both of whom were out due to suspension. The game's only goal came in the 30th minute when Chris Brown's long distance shot on goal was punched out front by Bouna Coundoul and Kyle Brown (no relation) pounced on it. Colorado's Tony Sanneh had a chance to equalize but his lunging effort at the six ricocheted off Nick Rimando and was cleared.
Full Match Recap

Kansas City 1-2 Chivas USA
Ante Razov scored a brace, including a spectacular injury-time goal. and Chivas USA clinched a spot in the postseason with a 2-1 win over struggling Kansas City. Chivas dominated the first half of the match and nearly scored on three different occasions. In the second half, however, the Wizards woke up with several chances around the 55th minute mark. Neither team could find the go-ahead, until the 69th minute, when Francisco Mendoza, on the left flank, played a low cross to Razov who tucked it in at the far post for his 10th goal of the season. But just three minutes later Eloy Colombano scored his first of the season to equalize. As has been the case for KC, it began with Eddie Johhnson doing all the work. EJ's put one off the crossbar and Colombano cleaned up the garbage. However, the home side would not be denied and Razov found the winner two minutes into extra time, a brilliant bending left-footer from 25-yards.
Full Match Recap

SEPT. 20
Chicago 1-1 Dallas
Chicago diminuative forward Chris Rolfe broke the 0-0 deadlock with a brilliant right-footer from 30-yards out in the 56th minute, and it appeared that the Fire would collect all three points in Frisco. Not so fast, said the 'Little Fish,' as Carlos Ruiz steals an equalizer in the third minute of injury time. Maybe it's the new do.
Full Match Recap.

SEPT. 19
Los Angeles 2-2 Real Salt Lake
It was fitting that MLS's two worst teams would produce an unwatchable 2-2 draw on Wednesday night. After a scoreless first half, the teams exchanged penalty kicks with Carery Talley converting for RSL in the 56th and Landon Donovan leveling the match with his 79th minute PK. Donovan helped put the Galaxy ahead six minutes later with a nice touch through to Gavin Glinton who beat RSL keeper Nick Rimando. That lead would hold up less than a minute, as Javier Morales rifled a free kick past LA keeper Joe Cannon.
Full Match Recap.

USA to face 2010 hosts this Nov.

The United States national team will be traveling to Africa for the first time in eight years when they face 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa in a friendly on November 17th in Johannesburg.

The U.S. have only played three matches in Africa, two out of the three were against Morocco. They lost each time. Most recently they played in Marrakech and lost 2-1 to Marrakech Express. Waldo (Eric Wynalda) scored the Yanks only goal of the contest. In their only match against South Africa, USA whooped Bafana and Bafana 4-0.

“It is a great honor to be invited to participate in the Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup,” said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. “South Africa has always had a talented team, and the match represents an excellent opportunity for our players to travel and play in South Africa.”

The U.S. will return to South Africa again one year prior to the World Cup for the Confederations Cup, having qualified by winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup this year.

The U.S.'s next scheduled match is at Switzerland on October 17, after the match against the not-so "autonomous community" Catalonia was cancelled by the Spanish Football Federation.

DC keeper loses his job

DC United goalkeeper Troy Perkins is out of a job, according to an article on The Washington Post's Soccer Insider blog...only it although it isn't the one between the pipes, it is the one that brings in the benjamins:

Troy Perkins knew what was going on in the mortgage industry, of course. His mom's spent 25 years in the business, and he'd spent two years working part-time in the industry himself, starting off as an entry-level loan officer and moving his way into management as a project specialist. His employer--The First National Bank of Arizona--had already gone through a round of layoffs. And as the industry crumbled, Perkins, who worked from home, no longer had the same volume of correspondence.

Click here for the whole article

Perkins, who has a 1.08 GAA avaerage (third in MLS), was only making about $29K per year for DC United until very recently when United rewarded his play with a fat raise, which he will certainly need now that he's losing job number 2.

But he's a silver-lining kind of guy, apparently.

"Starbucks offered me a job," he joked. "I told them they could pay me in coffee."

How convoluted is this?

For your reading pleasure, MLS playoff structure:

Eight teams will qualify for the playoffs - the top two teams in each conference plus the remaining four teams, regardless of conference, that have the most points in the standings upon the completion of the their 30-game regular season. Playoff berths will be determined by points in the standings upon the completion of the regular season on Oct. 21; all 13 teams will have played 30 games. If two teams are tied on points, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head results, the second tiebreaker is goal differential, and the third is goals scored for the season. (Subsequent tiebreakers are available in the Fact and Record Book). The top two teams in each conference qualify and are seeded 1 & 2 in their respective four-team playoff conference brackets. The four MLS teams with the next most points, regardless of conference, receive “wildcard” berths.
• The four wildcard teams will be seeded according to conference first.
• If more than four teams qualify from one conference, those finishing lower than fourth in their conference will shift over to the other conference bracket.
• A team switching conference brackets will be seeded below all other teams in its new conference playoff bracket.

Huh? C'mon, Garber. Why give the fans an algebra test, when it could be so simple? Top eight teams accoring to regular season finish in a single table format advance to the playoffs, seeded accordingly.

TYH'S MLS BEST 11 (Week 24)

GOALKEEPER

B. Guzan (CHV)

DEFENDERS

S. Thomas (CHV), L. Vaughn (CHV), B. Boswell(DC)

MIDFIELDERS

S. Kljestan (CHV), S. Ralston (NE), C. Gomez (DC),
C. Blanco (CHI)

FORWARD

P. Noonan (NE), S. Sealy (KC), D. DeRosario (HOU)

MLS Week 24: High Noonan

A possible MLS Cup preview between Dallas and New England was all Revs on Saturday, while Kansas City kept playoff hopes alive with an injury-time charge. Los Angeles lost again, and Colorado missed a chance to move up in the standings. MLS bottom feeders split points, while DC kept rolling in early week action.

SEPT. 16
Chivas USA 1-1 Colorado
Sasha Kljestan and Colin Clark traded goals on either side of halftime and Chivas and Colorado split at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Sunday. Although they failed to overtake Chicago in the standings, the Rapids were lucky to draw considering they played a man down for 78 minutes, after Argentinean defender Facundo Erpen was sent off early in the first half for running down Laurent Merlin from behind. Chivas were awarded the PK and Kljestan put the visitors ahead, beating Colorado keeper Bouna Coundoul with a low shot to his left. But Clark managed a shorthanded goal in the 76th minute, taking a Conor Casey pass into the area and finishing from a tight angle at the right post.Match Tracker.

Houston 3-1 Los Angeles
Two second-half goals by the Dynamo sealed the Galaxy's fate at the Home Depot Center, as LA inch closer to mathematical elimination. Houston's Ryan Cochrane scored off a RIchard Mulrooney corner kick that might have (or might have not) been touched on by Dwayne DeRosario (he was awarded an assist in any case) in the 21st minute. LA's Alan Gordon responded with a header off their own corner kick, taken by Landon Donovan five minutes later. Troubling developments for Houston as they lost star forward Joseph Nqwenya to injury before halftime. He left under his own power, but seemed to have injured his right leg. With Goldenballs grimacing at the Galaxy play from the owner's box, LA handed the Dynamo a PK, when Mike Randolph appeared to bring down Brian Mullan in the area. DeRosario converted to put Houston ahead. Houston finally added a third after bombarding the LA goal. A miscommunication in the back between Cannon and his centerbacks left the ball sitting at the six for Ricardo Clark who swooped in to finish in the 73rd minute.Match Tracker.

SEPT.15
Real Salt Lake 0-0 Toronto
Toronto futility continues, despite Jeff Cunningham's goal prediction, as the Reds and RSL play to a scoreless draw. Defender Todd Dunivant did his part to keep Toronto impotent by blasting a gimmie from the six over the bar. A superb match from RSL keeper Nick Rimando did the rest, even after RSL's Fabian Espindola was sent off in the 35th minute
Full Match Recap

FC Dallas 2-4 New England
New England's Steve Ralston and Pat Noonan sliced up a porous Dallas defense, combining for three goals, while Carlos Ruiz pulled back two for the Hoops. Khano Smith capped the win at the death. Noonan's first goal came in the 29th minute, a beautiful, right-footed flick at the left post off a Smith cross. Ruiz equalized in the 35th minute, pulling back a deep cross with his head at the far post. Noonan added a second in the 65th, when Dallas youngster Dax McCarty lost the ball to Ralston who pushed down the right and crossed to an unmarked Noonan for the easy right-footed blast. Ralston got his own in the 78th minute, when Dallas keeper Dario Sala spilled a cross to Taylow Twellman who dished to Ralston. Ralston managed to tuck it away after an initial save by a sprawling Sala. Ruiz pulled another back with a powerful header off a Dominic Oduro cross in the 84th. Smith would ice the cake in the 90th with a low, right-footed shot from distance.Full Match Recap

Columbus 2-3 Kansas City
In a crucial, playoff-position match at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City seemed to be slipping away, but two stoppage time goals saved the three points for the Wizards in a 3-2 win over the Crew. KC needed someone besides Eddie Johnson scoring goals and forward Scott Sealy answered the call, providing a 31st-minute free-kick goal to open the scoring, and the eventual game winner four minutes into stoppage. The Crew looked to be in control in the second half, after getting goals from Alejandro Moreno and Andy Herron in quick succession (65th and 67th, respectively). But an Eddie Johnson PK, awarded in the 93rd after Crew substitute Stefani Migloranzi ran into Kerry Zavagnin in the box. It's nice to play at home.Full Match Recap

New York 2-2 Chicago
The Red Bulls and the Fire traded goals twice in this one, including two penalty kicks, as two teams at the cusp of the playoffs split the points. The scoring began in the 10th minute, when Dave van den Bergh's shot from the edge of the box ricocheted off of two Fire defenders and past Fire keeper Matt Pickens. It really should have been a Diego Gutierrez own goal. Chicago's star Cuauhtemoc Blanco equalized from the spot in the 54th minute, when Chad Barret was pulled down by Chris Leitch. New York gained the advantage both on the scoreboard and on the field after a hand ball in the box was called on Fire newboy Wilman Conde, who was ejected after receiving his second caution. Juan Pablo Angel calmly put the ball past Pickens to put the fire up a goal. But it was not enough for a NY defense that has leaked goals all season, as Gonzalo Segares got his first goal of the season, a header from a Blanco cross in the 70th minute.Full Match Recap

SEPT.13
Los Angeles 0-3 Chivas USA
Chivas USA cruised past the Galaxy, sweeping the SuperClassico, with three goals from three different players. Ante Razov beat Abel Xavier and put the first goal off the post in the 23rd minute. Razov's winner was followed by two late goals. The first came in the 88th minute, when Francisco Mendoza carved up a poor Galaxy defense and beat Cannon with a low left-footer. The third and final goal was Frenchman Laurent Merlin's first in MLS, as the late sub finished off a poor clearance by the Galaxy defense.Full Match Recap.

SEPT.12
Real Salt Lake 1-2 DC United
Luciano Emilio continued his torrid goal-scoring pace, adding number ?? in the 16th minute, before Kyle Beckerman's 25-yard wormburner beat DC keeper Troy Perkins in the 32nd minute. RSL keeper Nick Rimando managed to deny his former teammate Christian Gomez from the penalty spot in the 50th minute, after DC's Josh Gros was taken down in the corner of the box. Gomez, however, would not be denied in the 73rd minute, after heading down a Fred cross at the far post. Two minutes later, RSL looked like they would get the equalizer after referee Jorge Gonzalez pointed to the spot and indicated a shirt-tug by Devon McTavish on Carey Talley. But former United forward Alecko Eskandarian's attempt was blocked by Perkins to preserve the win.Full Match Recap.

Is it the hot soccer moms?

High school soccer outdrew MLB's Marlins. Nothing to say here. I just thought this was funny. Although I think it probably speaks to how lousy South Florida's pro sports market is, more than the emergence of soccer:

At a 3A high school soccer game on Monday, about 400 people came out to watch Western Guilford play rival Western Alamance.

It's estimated, meanwhile, that fewer than 400 people attended the Florida Marlins' 5-4 extra-innings victory over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.

After seeing highlights of this game, I'd say that 400 is a generous figure.

Click here for the complete article

No major moves in MLS at deadline

As Friday's roster freeze came and went, most MLS clubs decided to stand pat, rather than make any last minute deals.

The Chicago Fire dealt 22-year-old developmental player Jerson Monteiro (pictured) to DC United in exchange for a conditional 2008 MLS SuperDraft pick and defender Leonard Griffin to Columbus for the Crew's natural fourth-round selection in the 2008 MLS Supplemental Draft.

Real Salt Lake acquired forward Yura Movsisyan and a youth international roster spot from Kansas City for a third round selection in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, a first round pick in the 2009 MLS Supplemental Draft and a portion of a player allocation.

Nothing else to report. No discovery signings appear to have been made, so no last minute starts swooping in to upset the balance heading into the playoffs.

MLS hates kangaroos

While perusing MLS news on google, I saw this item Humane Society Pressures Schwarzenegger with Kangaroo Campaign. According to the article, the Humane Society is lobbying the Governator to maintain the states' ban on products made with kangaroo skins, such as soccer cleats.

California is one of only two states (the other is) with a ban on kangaroo products, but a recent bill to overturn the ban hopped its way through the state legislature and is headed to Arnold for a signature. The kangaroo product ban was signed into law in 1970 by Ronald Reagan.

According to the article, Major League Soccer is one of the organization that supports the repeal of the ban on kangaroo products.

I'm not sure where I stand on the whole kangaroo-skin trade. I mean, are kangaroos just the Austrailian equivalent of cows? Are they overpopulated like deer in the U.S.?

Here's what the president of the human Society Michael Markarian said in a LA Times column about the killing of kangaroos:

About 7 million kangaroos are brutally killed each year in Australia for pet food and leather, and 3 million of their hides are exported to supply the global commercial trade. The killing itself is callous and inhumane. Many kangaroos are spotlighted from trucks and shot at night in the outback, where there is scant scrutiny or regulation. When female kangaroos with joeys are killed, the youngsters are pulled from their mothers' pouches and stomped on, clubbed, decapitated or left for the scavengers.

Sounds like a Michael Vick block party.

One kangaroo who won't take the news lying down:

The real MLS championship

SUPPORTERS' SHIELD

VS.

MLS CUP

DC United became the first club to clinch a spot in the MLS Cup playoffs with their eighth win in nine matches, a 2-1 victory over lowly Real Salt Lake.

They will face Chicago twice, Toronto, Kansas City and Columbus in their final five matches. All winnable games, despite Chicago’s recent resurgence. But MLS’s most decorated club also will begin their Copa Sudamericana campaign in September, playing the home leg versus Chivas Mexico (CD Guadalajara) on the 26th.

While the Copa Sudamericana is a prestigious tournament, second only to the Libertadores in South America, DC United should focus all of their energy on the final five regular season matches of the MLS season. It is in these games that United coach Tom Soehn will earn his paycheck (and where TYH will discover if he likes the taste of crow).

Now, some fans out there (those steeped in other American pro sports, for example) might be expecting Soehn to rest his starters in the final five matches and possibly even in the Copa Sudamericana to avoid injuries in preparation for the MLS Cup. But that would be a HUGE mistake for United, when they are just five winnable matches away from repeating as MLS champions.

I say “repeating” because although the Houston Dynamo won the MLS Cup last season, DC United won the true championship of MLS – the Supporters' Shield.

In 1998, a group of industrious fans petitioned the league to start awarding the MLS Supporters' Shield to the team that finished with the most points following the regular season.

But it wasn’t until 2006, that MLS decided to fully acknowledge the unofficial award by granting the Supporters' Shield winner a berth in the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup.

Now, the Supporters' Shield carries with it all same rights and privileges that the MLS Cup does. So why is the Supporters' Shield winner not considered to be the true champion of MLS? This is due to what I call ASR -- American Sports Retardation.

ASR is rampant among the so-called "Big 3" of American pro sports. Teams play an entire regular season (sometimes over a 100 games) and all those wins, losses and (rare) ties amount to little more than seeding in the end-of-the-season tournament. All those injuries, runs scored, steroids taken, scandals avoided amount to little more than whether you’ll be playoff bound as a two seed or whether you’ll be starting your offseason early. It seems silly and it makes the regular season akin to masturbation.

But in every major soccer league around the world, the team that finishes at the top of the table is crowned the league champion. Sure, Euro leagues have their FA Cups and their Coppa Italias, but the true champion is the team that is able to run the gauntlet of the regular season and come out on top.

Now, TYH is no Euro-phile. I love America and I support our league. Just because I believe that the Supporters' Shield winner is the true champion doesn’t mean I want MLS to abandon its Cup format in favor of some Brit invention.

On the contrary, the MLS Cup playoffs provides a perfect tableau depicting the great underdog spirit of America. Any team that manages to get in, whether an eight seed or a one seed, has a chance at the hardware and that kind of egalitarianism is what America is all about.

TYH's Mock Promotion/Relegation Battle

Since MLS and USL do not have the infrastructure (or finances) to have actual relegation/promotion between first and second divisions, we here at TYH thought is might be fun to create a mock promotion/relegation battle, if for nothing else but to make the end of the year a bit more exciting for us. Plus, we're soccer geeks.

The competition is simple. At the end of the regular season, the two MLS clubs with the worst records will be "relegated" and the USL.1 regular season champ and the USL.1 Cup winner will be "promoted." If the same USL.1 club wins both honors, "promotion" will go to the second-place team during the regular season. Since USL.1 is nearing the end of their season, our first promoted club will be announced in a matter of weeks (see standings below). TYH's mock promotion/relegation competition will ignore divisions in both leagues and will tabulate a single table (using MLS tie-breaking procedures). Why? Because that's how it should be done.

TYH will post regular columns covering the mock promotion/relegation battle, along with single-table breakdowns of the current candidates in both categories. Questions? Comments? Feel free to stump for your team or to comment on who you think will be relegated or promoted. TYH might highlight your comments in future posts.

MLS Relegation Candidates (Week 23):

TEAM	GP	W	L	D	Pts.	Diff
TOR	23	5	13	5	20	-19
RSL	22	4	12	6	18	-13
LA	20	4	11	5	17	-9

USL.1 Promotion Candidates (Week 17):

TEAM	GP	W	L	D	Pts.	Diff
Seattle	28	16	6	6	54	14
Portland	28	14	5	9	51	14
Montreal	28	14	6	8	50	9
Atlanta	28	12	9	7	43	10
Rochester	28	12	10	6	42	3
Puerto Rico	28	10	8	10	40	1

TYH'S MLS BEST 11 (Week 23)

GOALKEEPER

M. Pickens (CHI)

DEFENDERS

S. Thomas (CHV), A. Serioux (DAL), W. Conde(CHI)

MIDFIELDERS

P. Vagenas (LA), S. Kljestan (CHV), C. Ashe (HOU),
J. Moreno(DC)

FORWARD

L. Emilio (DC), N. Jacqua (HOU), M.Galindo(CHV)

Brazilians wax USMNT, 4-2

The U.S. managed to hold a one-goal lead over the five-time World Cup Champions for exactly 12 minutes, before U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu handed Brazil an equalizing own goal. Three goals in the second half, including a trademark Ronaldinho free kick, sealed the deal.

With over 43,000 people on hand at Soldier Field in Chicago, Fulham capatain Carlos Bocanegra put the Yanks on top in the 21st minute with a chest ball, off a Landon Donovan corner kick. The equalizer came qucikly after, as Tim Howard's fantastic reaction save one-v-one against Kaka, bounced off the Gooch and past his helpless keeper.

DaMarcus Beasley had his requisite number of wasted chances, before halftime, but it ended 1-1 after the first 45.

Despite a strong showing by the U.S. early in the second half, Brazil would take the lead in the 53rd minute when Lucio headed home a Ronaldinho corner. Howard reportedly dislocated his finger on the play, but stayed in the match.

“It was pretty sore. I just tried to play through it, and hoped that the adrenaline would get me through it. You know to be honest, you know how it is when you travel with injuries—right now it’s swollen like a balloon, and I’m hoping that the flight doesn’t take too much out of it. I’ll see the doctors when I get back,” said Howard, following the match (ussoccer.com).

Some hard work by the U.S. put things even in the 73rd minute, when Steve Cherundolo found Clint Dempsey, who was making a trailing run through the box. Dempsey put it inside the far post to make it 2-2.

Two minutes later, Brazil would get the winner in their usual stunning fashion. After Bocanegra was whistled just outisde the area, Ronaldinho beat Howard with a seeing-eye shot that went through the wall and curled past Howard. Elano added an insurance goal from a PK in second half stoppage time.

The U.S. have scheduled a couple of European-soil friendlies against Catalonia (although the Spanish Soccer Federation might balk) on Oct. 14 and Switzerland on Oct. 17.

MLS Week 23: Fired up!

The Chicago Fire put one by Columbus to gain control of the final playoff spot with seven matches to play, while Houston managed to stay on course, despite a late surge from RSL. DC United remained on top by quelling the Revolution, while Denilson got on the MLS scoring table and LA got off the snide in week 23.

SEPT. 9
New England 2-4 DC United
United scored three goals in the second half and defeated Eastern rivals New England 4-2 at RFK Stadium on Sunday. After Fred scored his sixth goal of the year in the 31st minute, Taylor Twellman equalized right before halftime, chesting down a Khano Smith cross before blasting it past Perkins. Then, defender Jay Heaps managed a rare appearance on the scorer's sheet (its been two years in fact) with a 54th minute "goal" to put the Revs ahead. The quotes denote the strangeness of the play which began on a Steve Ralston corner and had referee Abbey Okulaja conferring with his assistant on whether the ball ever crossed the line. But following that strange score, DC began an avalanche of offense started with Jaime Moreno's 59th minute double-rebounded chip over Matt Reis, followed by a brace by Luciano Emilio, who now leads all scorers in MLS with 18 goals. Emilio's first goal (68th minute) came after a scrum in the box that the Brazilian managed to take advantage of to latch onto a deflection. The second was a header delivering a Brian Carroll cross past the helpless Reis.
Full Match Recap

New York 0-3 Chivas USA
Maykel Galindo is making a strong case for the MLS best newcomer award, as Chivas USA defeated New York 3-0, thanks to a brace by the Cuban forward and an Ante Razov PK. With goals on either side of halftime, Galindo helped Chivas USA leapfrog Dallas in the standings, as we near the home-stretch. Chivas have a single point lead over FC Dallas in the West, with a game in hand. The Red Bulls, on the other hand, are headed the other direction and will have to look over their shoulders for Kansas City or even Chicago.
MLS match tracker

SEPT.8
Chicago 1-0 Columbus
An ugly night for Columbus: both Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Rusty Pierce left early with injuries, lightning stalled the match for 32 minutes and the Crew were unable to convert on numerous chances. A couple of new Fire players, however, combined to grab three points for the Fire. Chicago's Paulo Wanchope converted his second goal of his MLS career in the 65th minute, converting a Wilman Conde through ball. With the win the Fire leapfrog Columbus and now sit in the final playoff spot with seven matches to go.
Full Match Recap

Real Salt Lake 3-4 Houston Dynamo
Houston never trailed, but needed every goal of a Nate Jaqua hat trick to fend off a late run by Real Salt Lake. Jaqua opened the scoring in the 6th minute, finishing a Corey Ashe cross, but RSL's new addition Fabian Espindola equalized just 12 minutes later. The Argentinean took the ball from Richard Mulrooney and fired a tight-angled shot from the left of goal, off the far post and in. Then, the ending Cup champions took over, as Eddie Robinson headed in a Mulrooney free kick before halftime and then Jaqua completed his hat trick in the 48th and 57th minutes. RSL kept battling, however, and Carey Talley scored in the 69th minute, before Kyle Brown added RSL's third goal in the 82nd, making the final eight minutes a bit hectic for Houston. The win keeps the Dynamo on top in the West and two points behind DC in the Supporter's Shield race with five matches to play.
Full Match Recap

Toronto 0-2 FC Dallas
Denilson opened his MLS scoring account, as FC Dallas cruised past struggling Toronto on the back of two penalties kicks. A nudge from behind by Reds defender Tyrone Marshall on Abe Thompson, drew a penalty and Denilson stepped up and but it off the the left stick and in for the 1-0 lead in the 36th minute. Dallas was awared their second PK after Toronto's Joey Melo took down Dominic Oduro in the 8th minute. This time, Thompson stepped up to convert the PK. Juan Toja made his second consecutive start after coming back from injury, but still didn't appear at full strength.
Full Match Recap

Colorado 1-3 Los Angeles
Call it the hot-seat derby (LA's Frank Yallop and Colorado's Fernando Clavijo). This match proved the old adage "even the sun shines on a dog's ass occasionally," as the Galaxy scored three unanswered goals to get their first MLS win since July. Peter Vagenas played a Beckham-like long ball over the top of the Rapids defense to Alan Gordon in the 46th minute. Edson Buddle added a second, chipping back-up keeper Zach Thornton in the 63rd minute. But the injuries continued for LA, as both Gordon and Buddle were forced to leave the match with injuries. LA midfielder Kyle Martino finished a Chris Klein cross to make it 3-0 in the 70th minte. Former RSL-midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy banged home a rebound to give Colorado a concilation goal in the 89th minute.
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SEPT.6
DC United 2-2 Chivas USA
The two hottest teams in MLS met in Carson, Cailf., and it looked like it was going to be all DC United, as Luciano Emilio's brace put United securely in the driver's seat, but a mistake by 'keeper Troy Perkins opened the door for Chivas. Emilio's first goal came just three minutes in (ESPN wasn't even broadcasting the match yet), as the Brazilian hammered home a nicely played through ball from Jaime Moreno. Emilio's second goal, in the 26th minute, was simply clean-up duty, after a deflection from a Moreno shot. But Chivas stormed back after Ante Razov managed to block Perkins' clearance past the United keeper and into the net. The equalizer was courtesy of defender Lawson Vaughn, his first professional goal. Sacha Kljestan crossed from the endline to Vaughn, whose low, hard shot deflected off Clyde Simms and into the net.
Full Match Recap.

Hoops to host Revs in Open Cup final

In what could be a preview of MLS Cup, FC Dallas will host the New England Revolution in the final of the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

New England needed just four minutes of overtime to break the 1-1 deadlock with USL.1 club the Carolina Railhawks, as the Revs rode a Pat Noonan goal in the 94th minute into the final, while FC Dallas disposed of USL.1 upstarts Seattle, 2-1, on goals by Carlos Ruiz and Abe Thompson.

Carolina jumped out to an early lead when Anthony Maher put one past Mat Reis in the sixth minute, and managed to hold onto the lead for 45 minutes, surrendering a first-half injury time equalizer, scored by Jeff Larentowicz. Adam Cristman was credited with assists on both Revolution goals.

The equalizing goal came shortly after the double ejection of Carolina's Connally Edozien and New England's Shalrie Joseph. Carolina went down to nine men in the 80th minute when David Stokes was also sent off. Here's mlsnet.com's account of the dust up:

The match flared to life in the 38th minute after a hard John tackle, which looked fair, caused a fracas in front of the Revolution bench. Players grouped and discussed the situation and it took referee Shane Moody and his crew a few minutes to sort out the resulting melee. Yellow cards were issued to John, for the tackle, and Carolina defender David Stokes, for his role. If Moody thought he quelled the danger, it flared again before the restart in the 42nd minute. Joseph and Edozien came together. No punches were apparently thrown, but both Edozien and Joseph were sent to the showers as the game sputtered out of control.

FC Dallas and Seattle also needed overtime to settle their match, as the first 90 minutes ended without a goal. Ruiz broke the scoreless deadlock a minute into overtime, when Arturo Alvarez found him at the six from the right wing. Thompson added the insurance goal from the spot in the 119th minute, after Dax McCarty was brought down in the area. Finally, Seattle’s Leighton O’Brien managed a conciliation goal right before the whistle.

The Revolution will travel to Dallas for the final on or Oct. 3. It is the Revolutions second trip to the US Open Cup final; they have never won the title. FC Dallas were the 1997 U.S. Open Cup champions.

There 'Arnaud' suprises in U.S. roster

U.S. national team coach Bob Bradley released his 19-man roster for the September 9 friendly versus Brazil in Chicago, that some overzealous USSF marketeer dubbed the "Clash of Champions."

Here it is:

Goalkeepers: Tim Howard (Everton FC), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake)
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)

Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Bobby Convey (Reading FC), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids)

Forwards: Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards), Josh Wolff (1860 Munich)

A pretty strong side, but a bit on the boring side. No real surprises. There were only two names that really gave me pause. The first was Real Salt Lake's young back-up keeper Chris Seitz. If (god forbid) Timmy got hurt, you are setting up poor Seitz for quite a shellacking. Sure, he played well for the U-20s at the recent World Championships, but this is Brazil and they aren't bringing their C team. Hello, Ronaldinho. Why not throw poor Brad Guzan a bone? The guy has a 0.94 GAA for Bradley's ex-club Chivas USA. The other name that stood out was Davy Arnaud. Arnaud has just four goals in 23 matches. He's not exactly lighting it up for Kansas City, who have to rely almost exclusively on Eddie Johnson for goals.

You'll also notice that there are no representatives from any of the top six MLS clubs. No Jozy. No Taylor. No Marc Burch! (Burch is a big reason DC went undefeated in August). Sounds like MLS-USSF collusion to me. But you can't really blame them. DC, New England, Houston, Chivas USA, New York, and Dallas are all still in the hunt for the MLS Supporter's Shield (the true champion of MLS). As a matter of fact, DC United and New England Revolution have an important Eastern Conference match on the same day. Hence, Davy Arnaud. Maybe, he'll celebrate his default call-up by scoring a goal.

YA: Keepin' it real...American style

Sorry about the cheesy headline, but I'm hung over. Plus, it was a good weekend for American keepers, with one obvious exception (sorry Marcus). Berhalter scored again for Munich and Beasley factored into Rangers' easy win.

Americans in England
Fulham 3-3 Tottenham
A Clint Dempsey goal, a header in from Simon Davies' corner, kick-started a comeback, but Fulham needed a 90th-minute goal from Diomansy Kamara to save a draw. Captain Carlos Bocanegra went the distance, but the Fulham defense continued to look shakey. Goalkeeper Kasey Keller was benched in favor of Finnish keeper Antti Niemi.

Bolton 1-2 Everton
Tim Howard's side found a late winner in a match that featured the return of the "Gravedigger" Thomas Gravesen to Goodison Park. Howard was caught helpless by a 55th minute volley from Nicolas Anelka, but Joleon Lescott saved the day after heading in a Gravesen corner

Reading 0-3 West Ham
It was a rough day for American keeper Marcus Hahnemann, as the Hammers put it down, after being embarassed by Reading 6-0 last year. It could have been much worse, as Hahnemann managed a few difficult saves, but got little help from a porous Reading defense.

Blackburn 1-0 Man City
Brad Friedel preserved a 1-0 shutout for Blackburn, despite playing down a man for 11 minutes when Tugay Kerimoglu was sent off. Manchester City returned the favor in the 65th minute when Richard Dunne was also handed his walking papers. The only goal of the contest, by Benni McCarthy, came in the 13th minute.

Americans in Germany
Hannover 96 3-2 VfL Bochum
Steve Cherundolo's Hannover 96 managed to fend off a furious comeback by visiting Bochum, but Hannover's defense continue to struggle. Cherundolo played the full 90.

1860 Munich 1-1 FC Cologne
1860 Munich captain Gregg Berhalter continued his campaign of shock and awe in Bundesliga.2, as he converted his third goal of the season to help his side split the points with Cologne. Berhalter's goal came from the spot, after Timo Gebhartwas brought down in the area.

American in Scotland
Rangers 4-0 Gretna
Rangers rolled easily over hapless Gretna to stay undefeated in the SPL. DaMarcus Beasley didn't score in the rout, but managed to set up Rangers' second goal by finding Andy Webster with a nicely struck corner.

For a more complete description of all the Americans involved in this weekend’s action, check out Yanks Abroad.

TYH'S PICKS FOR MLS BEST 11 (Week 22)

GOALKEEPER

T. Perkins (DC)

DEFENDERS

M. Mantilla (RSL), M. Burch (DC), Eddie Pope (RSL)

MIDFIELDERS

B. Olsen (DC), S. Miglioranzi (CLB), C. Gomez (DC), A. Williams (RSL)

FORWARD

E. Johnson (KC), J.P. Angel (NY), E. Gaven (CLB)

Week 22: DC sittin' pretty

AUG. 29
Real Salt Lake 3-1 Kansas City
The addition of two Argentineans, Matias Mantilla and Javier Morales, paid instand dividends for RSL, as Kansas City have dropped four out of their laast five. It took a mere 15 seconds for the RSL newboys to combine, as Morales' corner kick found Mantilla's head. Fabian Espindola added a second in the 42nd minute. KC held out hope after a 69th minute goal by one-man-show Eddie Johnson, but Andy Williams dashed their hopes for a draw five minutes from time.
Full Match Recap.

SEPT. 1
Chicago 0-1 New York
In a battle of DPs, Juan Pablo Angel proved my April prediction was correct, as he put one by Matt Pickens in the 75th minute to snap New York's two-game losing streak. Even with Paulo Wanchope and Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Chicago continues to struggle away from home and can't seem to put back-to-back wins together. The loss puts Chicago a point behind the final playoff spot with eight matches to play.
Full Match Recap

DC United 4-0 FC Dallas
FC Dallas' latest signing Denilson never got a chance, as DC United were all over the home side, scoring four goals before the Brazilian even entered the match in the 55th minute. An early mistake in defense, led to an early goal from distance by Ben Olsen in just the fourth minute. Olsen added a second, cleaning up Luciano Emilio's blocked shot for his second just before half. Both goals two and three began with great service from United defender Marc Burch who continues his stellar play. Christian Gomez and Fred rounded out the scoring in the 47th and 50th minute. The win puts DC United top of the table with a 42 points, a +17 goal differential and a game in hand over second-place New England.
Full Match Recap

Kansas City 1-1 Houston
The MLS Cup defending champions managed to salvage a point against Kansas City with a 69th minute equalizer from Joseph Ngwenya after a physical match that nearly errupted several times after pushing and shoving between the clearly frustrated clubs. Both teams had a horrible August, as each managed just one win last month. For KC, it seems like no one but Eddie Johnson can score and he got his 14th goal of the season in first-half injury time. Houston's quick start still has them in good shape in the West, but it appears that Kansas City will end up battling with Colorado, Columbus and Chicago for the final playoff spot.
Full Match Recap

Real Salt Lake 2-1 Los Angeles
RSL won back-to-back matches for the first time all year and the Beckham-less Galaxy solidified their place as MLS's worst team, as the Real Stupid Names beat LA 2-1 on goals from Robbie Findlay and retiring veteran Eddie Pope. Los Angeles had a bright start, as Alan Gordon put them ahead in the sixth minute, but the second half was all RSL. Neither side is realistically playoff bound, but RSL coach Jason Kreis may save his job if RSL conintues to improve down the stretch. As for LA, everyone save Beckham is on the chopping block.
Full Match Recap

SEPT. 2
Colorado 1-1 Columbus
In the battle over the final few spots in the playoffs, Colorado were unable to gain ground but managed to salvage a point with a late strike from the recently resurgent Conor Casey at Crew Stadium on Sunday. It was another American having a difficult year that put the Crew ahead in first half injury time. The much maligned Eddie Gaven was served a fantastic ball by Stefani Miglioranz in behind the Rapids defense and Gaven easily beat Colorado keeper Bouna Coundoul. With the draw, things stay how they are, with Colorado trailing the final playoff spot on goal differential.

Full Match Recap