CCL: United thru on PKs

After a 2-2 result in the home leg, DC United managed a 1-1 draw away against Salvadoran squad CD Luis Angel Firpo and then advanced on penalty kicks 5-4 in the preliminary stage of the CONCACAF Champions League. Meanwhile, the USL-1 Puerto Rico Islanders defeated MLS club Toronto FC 1-0 in aggregate.

New York, who managed a 2-2 draw in the away leg, will play at home today against T&T side W Connection FC. MLS clubs Columbus Crew and Houston Dynamo received byes into the group stage.

CCL: Dynamo claim final spot

The Houston Dynamo's season isn't over just yet. Having been ousted in the first round of the MLS Cup by finalist New York, Houston turned its attention to the CONCACAF Champions League match against CD Luis Angel Firpo of El Salvador and won 1-0 at Robertson Stadium to secure the final berth in the CCL's quarterfinal round.

Brian Ching scored for Houston in the 13th minute off a Dwayne DeRosario corner kick and Houston held on to their slim lead, even when they went down a man due to Eddie Robinson's ejection in the 82nd minute after a foul on Firpo's Carlos Monteagudo.

Houston will be the lone Major League Soccer representative in the quarterfinals after DC United finished a miserable CCL campaign winless in six matches. USL Division 1 club Montreal, however, nearly won their group, advancing in the second spot in Group C.

The draw for the CCL quarterfinals will be held on December 10.

MLS Cup: NY West stun Dynos

New York 3-0 Houston (Robertson Stadium)
After narrowly making the playoffs, thanks to a DC loss on the last day of the regular season, the Red Bulls managed one of the biggest upsets in MLS Cup history by knocking out the defending Cup champions 4-1 on aggregate, after trouncing the Dynamo in their home stadium 3-0. With the aggregate locked at 1-1 after the first leg, Dane Richards scored in the 25th minute to get things going for New York. Then, Juan Pablo Angel converted a PK 11 minutes later and the Red Bulls were well on their way. John Wolyniec sprinkled a little salt in the champs wound in the 81st minute with New York's third unanswered goal. Despite being an Eastern Conference club, New York will advance to face Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference by virtue of MLS's crazy playoff structure that awards the final four spots in the playoffs by record and not by place in the conference.

MLS Cup: Favorites save late draws

Chivas USA 0-1 Salt Lake (Rio Tinto Stadium)
After saving RSL from elimination, Yura Movsisyan kept RSL moving in a positive direction, scoring the only goal, a cheeky back-heel, in the opener of Salt Lake's Western Conference semifinal with Chivas USA. His 90th minute goal gives Real the advantage going into the second-leg in Los Angeles next week.

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Houston 1-1 New York (Giants Stadium)
After backing into the playoffs courtesy of a DC United loss, New York managed to lead the home leg of their series with Houston for almost 40 minutes, as Juan Pablo Angel put the Red Bulls up 1-0 in the 48th minute before the Dynamo's Kei Kamara in the 85th minute. By virtue of finishing of finishing fifth in the Easy, New York shifted over to become the fourth seed in the Western Conference semifinals.

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Columbus 1-1 Kansas City (CAB)
Davy Arnaud's 53rd minute strike looked like it would be the game-winner against Eastern COnference top-seed Columbus, when Steven Lenhart scored a crucial equalizer two minutes into injury time. Columbus will now host Kansas City at Crew Stadium, even on goals (there is no road-goal advantage in the MLS Cup).

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MLS Saturday: Colo cry Salty tears (Week 31)

Salt Lake 1-1 Colorado (DSG Park)
With a dramatic 90th minute goal, Yura Movsisyan saved RSL from elimination by equalizing Conor Casey's 11th goal of the season. The draw allows RSL to punch their ticket into the MLS Cup and eliminates Colorado on the final weekend of the regular season.
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Kansas City 3-1 New England (Gillette Stadium)
It was not the way New England wanted to go into the playoffs, as the Revs saw two players sent off in a 3-1 loss to KC. The Wizards Claudion Lopez scored from the spot after Gabriel Badilla was ejected for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity in the 28th minute. Just before halftime, Khano Smith was also sent off for a hard foul on Herculez Gomez (retaliation for Steve Ralston, perhaps?). In the second half, KC added a goal from Davy Arnaud and an own goal scored off the Revs Michael Parkhurst. The Revolution's Jeff Larentowicz managed a consolation goal in the 90th minute.

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Toronto 0-2 San Jose (BS Stadium)
In a game with no MLS Cup implications, San Jose managed the home win, getting goals from Ryan Cochrane and Shea Salinas (from the penalty spot). The win put San Jose a point over Los Angeles, who currently have the worst record in MLS but have a game to play.

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Houston 1-1 Chivas USA (HDC)
Also, no direct playoff implications in the other nightcap, as Houston's Dwayne DeRosario and Chivas USA's Jim Curtin exchanged second-half goals. But Chivas USA will be without their keeper for the first match of the playoffs, after Dan Kennedy, who stopped one PK, was sent off for taking down Nate Jaqua on a breakaway.

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MLS Saturday: Penultimate (Week 30)

Saturday
Chicago 2-3 Toronto (BMO Field)
A brace by 50-cent fav Rohan Ricketts gave Toronto the 3-2 win. Amado Guevara put TFC up in the 12th minute and Ricketts doubled the lead six minutes later, putting back a PK rebound. Chicago's Justin Mapp pulled one back in the 25th minute, but Ricketts scored again in first-half injury time. Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored a 59th minute conciliation goal for the Fire. It was all for naught, however, as Toronto was eliminated from playoff contention due to results around the league.

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Columbus 1-3 New York (Giants Stadium)
Danny Cepero? Wasn't he Ralph Macchio's character in The Karate Kid? Cepero -- who assumed goalkeeping duties for the Red Bulls after starting keep Jon Conway tested positive for andro this week -- became the first goalkeeper to score in Major League Soccer history with a long ball sent in from his own half. The ball took a big bounce on the artificial turf and went over Crew keeper Andy Gruenebaum's head. But this embarrassing goal was only the icing on a 3-1 win, powered by a Juan Pablo Angel brace, that kept New York in contention for one of the last three MLS Cup playoff spots with a match in hand. Steven Lenhart had the Crew's lone goal.

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San Jose 2-2 Kansas City (CAB)
Despite a valiant effort by the Quakes and a sick save by Joe Cannon in the final two minutes, a 3-2 loss saw the re-expansioners eliminated from the MLS Cup playoffs. The two clubs traded shots, with Claudio Lopez scoring first in the 18th minute and then Scott Sealy answering two minutes later. The Wizards regained the lead in the 27th minute but rookie Shea Salinas scored his first goal of his MLS career, a pin-ball putback, to finish the scoring. Then, Herculez Gomez scored the winner in the final minute of extra time off a corner.

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Los Angeles 0-3 Houston (Robertson Stadium)
Another year, another Beckham-less MLS Cup playoffs...just goes to show that you can't trade the whole farm for one prized cow. With ol' Bessy on the sideline due to yellow card accumulation, the terrible Galaxy defense surrendered three first half goals (own goal-14, Dwayne DeRosario-20 and Nate Jaqua-23) and were eliminated from playoff contention by the Dynamo, who clinched the Western Conference crown.

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FC Dallas 1-3 Salt Lake (RES)
From hero to goat, Marcelo Saragosa scored to put Dallas ahead, but then saw two yellow cards inside of 20 minutes and was shown the door. Five minutes later, Yura Movsisyan equalized for the home team. Then, Will Johnson put RSL ahead on the other side of halftime, and finally Robbie Findlay finished the scoring in the 86th minute. The Hoops lost midfielder Pablo Ricchetti on a straight red in the 90th minute. They also lost out on a playoff spot, thanks to results in other matches. SIlly, Dallas. You should have kept him.

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MLS Wednesday & Thursday (Week 30)

Wednesday, October 15
San Jose 1-2 Houston (Robertson Stadium)
San Jose's playoff hopes are on life support, after Houston's Stuart Holden put back two post-rattling rebounds. The win was made all the more impressive due to the fact that Houston's Kei Kamara (ex-Quake) was ejected in just the 11th minute. Scott Seally equalized for the visitors in minute 68, but Holden would find the back of the net with an injury-time thriller.

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Thursday, October 16
New England 1-2 DC United (RFK)
Despite the turds they've been laying since winning the US Open Cup, DC United is still in the hunt for a wild card spot in the MLS Cup playoffs, thanks to a second-half brace by Francis Doe. Doe's dos doozies came following Taylor Twellman's 58th minute goal, his eighth of the season.

MLS Saturday & Sunday (Week 29)

Saturday
New England 0-1 Kansas City (CAB)
Jimmy Conrad scored his sixth of the year for the Wizards. Flashback to preseason...Conrad tells Extratime tools that if he scores 10, KC wins the MLS Cup. Four more to go, Jimmy. With three playoff spots left, KC kept pace with RSL and New York with the win.

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Toronto 2-2 FC Dallas (PSP)
TFC's Marco Velez and Marvell Wynne scored in between a Kenny Cooper sandwich. But considering the top piece of bread was a PK given in injury time, Toronto FC fans were left with a bad taste in their mouths. The PK was awarded after rookie Julius James tugged Adrian Serioux down by the shirt. No video evidence was offered on mlsnet.

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Chivas USA 1-0 San Jose (BSS)
Justin Braun scored in the seventh minute and than the Goats Americano shut it down with good defense for 83 minutes. The win clinched a post-season berth for Chivas USA, who have won four in a row.

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Sunday
Columbus 2-2 Chicago (Toyota Park)
This just in: Brian McBride plays for the Chicago Fire. I know this because he finally reared his head (pun intended) in their match with his ol' team Columbus. Providing the first and last goal of the game in a 2-2 draw. Eddie Gaven and Guillermo Barros Schelotto scored second-half goals for the Crew. But more importantly, the Crew secured the Supporters Shield and are thus, this year's MLS league champions.

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DC United 0-0 Houston (Robertson Stadium)
A nil-nil draw moves DC closer to the offseason and further away from the playoffs. Hope that Open Cup trophy is big enough for Tom Soehn's tears. DC also loses defender Bryan Namoff for the next match, as he was shown a second caution in the 73rd minute.

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Colorado 2-3 Los Angeles (HDC)
David Beckham is away. Landon Donovan plays just 27 minutes. And the Galaxy ... win. Go figure. Edson Buddle, a Ugo Ihemelu own goal and Brandon McDonald's first of the year gave L.A. the 3-2 victory. Former U.S. national team defender Cory Gibbs and a Tom McManus PK gave Colorado its two.

MLS Saturday & Sunday (Week 28)

Saturday
Chivas USA 3-0 DC United (RFK Stadium)
A tale of two teams headed in opposite directions, as Chivas put three past United at RFK. Ex-United striker Alecko Eskandarian scored in the first half (after a horrendous gaffe by United keeper Louis Crayton) and added an assist in the second. Sasha Victorine and new-Goat Dejair provided the second and third goals.

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Los Angeles 0-1 Columbus (Crew Stadium)
Alejandro Moreno's 43rd-minute goal was all the Crew needed to fend off the LA Beckhams who have won just once in their last 15 matches. Ouch. Can that be right? Yes it can. Highlights
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Salt Lake 2-2 New England (Gillette Stadium)
Javier Morales scored a beauty in the 13th minute and then set-up Andy Williams in the 73rd minute. With the 2-0 lead it looked like RSL would coast. Well, it looked like that for about four minutes, as Steve Ralston scored in the 77th and Taylor Twellman added the equalizer just two minutes later. BTW, Williams received his walking papers in extra time.

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Toronto 3-1 New York (Giants Stadium)
TFC broke an eight-game winless streak in style, thanks two goals by Chad Barrett. Sandwiched in between was a goal by Dane Richards, and then, TFC's added a icing goal in the 86th minute. Check out the extra gear on defender Marvell Wynne:

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Houston 3-1 Colorado (DSG Park)
After three goals in nine minutes, Hawaii 5-0 Brian Ching's two goals had Houston up 2-1. Conor Casey's goal would prove to be a conciliation goal, as Ricardo Clark iced it in the 19th minute. No goals in the second half, despite the 53rd minute double-caution ejection of Casey.

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Sunday
Chicago 1-1 Kansas City (CAB)
Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Michael Harrington traded goals on either side of halftime and the Wiz and Fire split the points.

MLS Saturday & Sunday (Week 27)

Saturday
Houston 1-1 Toronto FC (BMO Field)
How can you score two goals and still draw? A rare goal from defender Marvell Wynne saved a point at home against Houston, as Hunter Freeman knocked an own goal for the visitors.

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Columbus 1-0 New England (Gillette Stadium)
The power in the East may have shifted a bit to the west, as Columbus continues their good form, picking up a road win thanks to Chad Marshall's fourth of the season.

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Colorado 5-4 New York (Giants Stadium)
An old-fashioned NISL-like shootout, with seven goals in the first half. Omar Cummings goal in the third minute was quickly answered by New York's Mike Magee. Conor Casey put the Rapids back on top, only to see a Juan Pablo Angel PK and a Dane Richards strike put New York up 3-2. Then, defender Mike Petke equalized in the 43rd and Casey converted a PK of Colorado's own. New York's Matthew Mbuta equalized again for the home side before Casey completed his hattrick with the winner in the 90th minute. Whew.

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Salt Lake 3-2 San Jose (BS Stadium)
Yura Movsisyan sandwhiched two of his own between a Darren Huckerby brace, leaving the two sides deadlocked till the 59th minute, when RSL's Javier Morales emerged as the hero.

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Kansas City 1-2 Chivas USA (HDC)
Alecko Eskandarian and Sasha Victorine supplied the two goals for Chivas USa, who made the lead hold up despite a 70th minute bicycle kick from Josh Wolff.

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Sunday
DC United 0-3 Dallas FC (PHP)
The three-headed monster of Andre Rocha, Jeff Cunningham and Kenny Cooper kept DC United in the dumps. United are winless since taking the Open Cup title.

MLS Saturday (Week 25)

Columbus 1-1 Toronto FC (BMO Field)
Pat Noonan's first goal since returning to MLS from Europe helped the Crew secure a point in Toronto. Carl Robinson's sixth minute goal put the Reds on top until Noonan's equalizer in the 40th minute. Both goals were rather impressive, but since the Crew's goal was broadcast on a tiny screen so the local station could broadcast a weather report, I'll show you Robinson's one-timer.

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Los Angeles 0-2 Kansas City (Arrowhead Stadium)
Goals by Josh Wolff and Davy Arnaud, just two minutes part (67th and 69th minutes), couldn't make up for the terrible NFL-lined pitch that this game was played on. I couldn't tell if it was a hand ball or a Hail Mary. Yuck. And double yuck for Los Angeles. All those changes and they look like the same ol' terrible Galaxy. The best thing about this game was the box score which features this gem: KC -- Josh Wolff (caution; Shirt Removal) 67.

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FC Dallas 2-2 DC United (RFK Stadium)
Andre Rocha score his second goal of the season and saved a draw for FC Dallas against United, who had jumped out to a 2-1 lead on goals by Jaime Moreno and Santino Quaranta. The assist on Moreno's goal went to new addition, Thabiso Khumalo. Kenny Cooper scored the opening goal of the match in the ninth minute and demonstrated why Bob Bradley must call him up.

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Salt Lake 1-2 New York (Giants Stadium)
Juan Pablo Angel and Dave van den Bergh each scored a goal in the second-half to bring the Red Bulls back from a 1-0 deficit in the first half, courtesy of Yura Movsisyan.

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Houston 1-1 San Jose (BSS)
The point-split theme continued in the nightcap with Houston saving a draw at San Jose. Ronnie O'Brien put the home team up 1-0 in the 50th, and then Brian Ching, fresh from his national team duty, provided the equalizer in the 71st minute. But an 85th-minute ejection of Eddie Robinson for a second caution made things interesting.

MLS Sunday: Dynamo do it (Week 24)

Kansas City 1-3 Houston (Robertson Stadium)
Brad Davis' first half strike plus Nate Jaqua's second-half brace equals a ol' fashioned KC whooping. Davy Arnaud added a conciliation goal that didn't take any of the sting out of the embarrassment.
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MLS Sunday: Dynamo douse McFire (Week 23)

August 31
Chicago 1-2 Houston (Robertson Stadium)
Brian McBride scored his first goal (a weak one) of his second MLS campaign, but the defending Cup champions spoiled it by scoring two goals of their own. Dwayne DeRosario equalized a minute after McBride's goal and then Brian Mullan scored the winner.

MLS Sunday Round-up (Week 22)

August 24
Houston 0-3 New York
(Giants Stadium)
No one seems to be able to clip the Red Bulls' wings lately. Juan Pablo Angel, Dane Richards and Mike Magee combined to give New York an easy 3-0 win over Houston, their third result in a row. The Red Bulls boast a 3-1-1 record since the All-Star break, and more importantly, they have JPA back at full strength.

MLS Wednesday (Week 22)

August 20
DC United 1-2 New England (Gillette Stadium)
Taylor Twellman scored his third goal of the season in the 24th minute and then midfielder Jeff Larentowicz added a blast from distance four minutes into the second half, as New England hung on to beat I-95 rivals DC 2-1. Jaime Moreno scored what turned out to be the concilation goal for the visitors in the 69th minute.

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Chivas USA 0-4 Houston (Robertson Stadium)
Houston's Kei Kamara made the most of Brian Ching's absence due to national team duty by scoring a brace on way to a 4-0 first-half rout of Chivas USA. Olympian Stuart Holden got things started for the home side with a nice chip in the 11th minute before Kamara added his first eleven minutes later. Nate Jaqua added his second of the season six minutes later before Kamara's final goal.

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MLS Saturday Round-up (Week 21)

August 16
FC Dallas 1-2 Columbus (Crew Stadium)
Toronto trade bait Jeff Cunningham scored for his new club in 35th minute, but two second half goals scored three minutes apart sealed the home win for the Crew. Guillermo Barros Schelotto knotched his 11th and 12th assists on the goals by Brian Carroll and Brad Evans, as Columbus keeps pace with New England in the East.

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DC United 1-0 Chicago (Toyota Park)
The return of the native son ended up being a bit anti-climatic, as Brain McBride's Olympic fruitlessness continued in his first match back in MLS. DC, however, got a goal from their winger Fred and a clean sheet from a newcomer of their own, Liberian goalkeeper Louis Crayton. It was the first match since their US Open Cup encounter and Cuauhtemoc Blanco's notorious head-butt, but it was a surprisingly clean match, although DC accounted for seven of the eight yellow cards.

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Real Salt Lake 3-4 Houston (Robertson Stadium)
There were six goals scored in a sloppy first half. Unfortunately for RSL fans, Houston scored four of them. After RSL's Yura Movsisyan and the Dynamo's Brian Mullan traded goals in the first 16 minutes, Salt Lake went ahead in the 25th thanks Javier Morales. Houston, however, would respond with three unanswered goals in 13 minutes from Brian Ching, Ricardo Clark and Nate Jaqua. RSL made the last 10 minutes of the match entertaining after substitute Kenny Deuchar scored his third of the season in the 80th minute. This match saw the return of Clint Mathis, who entered the match at the hour mark for Andy Williams, but like fellow American Brian McBride, he was unable to mark his return with a goal.

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Kansas City 1-2 Colorado (DSG Park)
The Rapids were without head coach Fernando Clavijo, who reportedly left for Uruguay for family emergency this week, leaving assistant Gary Smith in charge and perhaps this was a good thing for Conor Casey who nearly had as much production in this match as he's had all season, scoring two goals and snapping the Rapids two-game losing streak.

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New England 0-4 San Jose (BS Stadium)
Two beautiful goals by Ronnie O-Brien bookended this one-sided contest, as New England continued their SuperLiga championship hangover with a 4-0 loss to cellar-dwellers San Jose. In between O'Brien's goals, Ryan Johnson and Scott Sealy got in the act for the Quakes, who haven't lost since July 5th.

SuperLiga: Revs edge Dynamo in SL final

I guess it isn't always about the Benjamins, as a spirited SuperLiga final ended with the New England Revolution claiming a 6-5 win on penalty kicks at Gillette Stadium on Tuesday night, despite the specter of the past week's bickering over the tournaments $1 million purse.

The Revolution twice fought back from a goal deficit, both in regular time and overtime, to force the match into penalties, where Matt Reis went from almost goat to certain hero. With the PKs knotted at one apiece, Reis sailed his attempt high over the goal, opening the door to a Houston win, but Reis redeemed his miss by stopping Houston's Dwayne DeRosario attempt. Then Reis saved Brian Ching's attempt on Houston's next kick, but Dynamo keeper Pat Onstad equaled him, saving Khano Smith's attempt. In sudden death, with the score 6-5, Ricardo Clark missed his attempt off the crossbar to give the Revs the SuperLiga trophy.

The first half saw each side trade goals, with Nate Jaqua scoring the first of the match in the 18th minute and then Steve Ralston responding just before halftime. The match remained deadlocked despite several chances by each side until overtime, when the clubs again traded goals in the first session of extra time. Kei Kamara out jumped Reis for the go-ahead goal, but midfield general Shalrie Joseph equalized with a header of his own six minutes later.

With controversy regarding the purse for the winning team, including a threat by both squads to split the money and a stern response to the Players' Union by the league's commissioner, many were wondering how it would affect the effort in the game. But apparently, the competitive spirit bested any animosity toward the competition organizers and MLS. It also helped that the Revs have been trying to get the big, orange monkey off their backs for some time, losing to Houston in the 2006 MLS Cup (on penalty kicks) and again in last year's MLS Cup.

The Revolution, who appear poised to make a return to this year's MLS CUp, will look to get their second piece of hardware in the US Open Cup, which resumes play next week. The Revs take on DC United at RFK Stadium in the first semi-final on August 12.

SuperLiga: It's like NASCAR, says Garber

Commissioner Garber responded to the threat made by the MLS Players Union that Houston and New England would split the SuperLiga final payout among all the players on each club regardless of the outcome, saying that such an arrangement was a violation of the collective Bargaining agreement.

As reported by Steve Goff, Garber told reporters that the players plan to split the money " is not something [MLS is] going to allow." And if they decide to go ahead with the plan? He offered this ominous warning:

"... We will have to manage it the way we would manage any other violation of the collective bargaining agreement. ... We will pay the prize money as it was originially dictated as determined by MLS ownership. If there is something we determine is a violation of the CBA, we will address it."

Garber acknowledged that the payout to the players would be just $150,000 to the winning side (which he mentioned was equivalent to the MLS Cup payout), and added that the rest of the advertised $1 million will go to the club owner.

"It's no different from a NASCAR tournament where the team owner wins prize money and the team owner has a driver under contract, and whatever his agreement with that driver is is what that driver receives. ... What I have found very frustrating is that this has been positioned as the league misleading the public by saying that the prize would go to the players. We never, ever implied that the players would get the one million dollars. The winner is the team. The club gets that million-dollar prize, and then we have an agreement as to what that share would be to the players."

The problem with Garner's position is that in NASCAR the individual owner can set the amount of the prize money awarded to his driver and it is usually a much bigger percentage than 15%. In MLS, the owners are really just investors and the amount of money to be awarded was set by the league, not the owners of the specific clubs. There were some reports that owner-operators of both Houston and New England were willing to work out a deal, but MLS squashed the deal.

Now Garber expects the two teams to go out there and "be professionals."

"I would expect that our players would be playing for the pride of being the best team of eight teams in this tournament. I don't recall anybody ever talking about what the players' share of prize money is for winning the MLS Cup."

I also don't recall the MLS Cup being hyped as having the "heftiest winner's purse in North American soccer history."

SuperLiga: Final threat not a bluff

The SuperLiga final is in danger of being a boring affair, now that the players of both clubs have agreed to split the prize money between all of them win or lose.

A statement from the MLS Players Union states:

"The players on the Houston Dynamo and New England Revolution have agreed in advance of tomorrow night's SuperLiga final that they will split evenly the bonus money at stake in the game. The players have made this decision to show their solidarity and in protest of the league's violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement with respect to the negotiation of bonuses for this tournament."

The "protest" is in reference to MLS's decision to pay the players on the winning team just $150,000 to split among them, instead of the $1 million payout that the league has advertised as the reward.

Therefore, players on the two clubs will pool the $150,000 and the $100,000 given to the runners-up and split it evenly among the players on both squads. With nothing at stake in terms of money or qualification to additional tournaments, one can assume that the level of play may resemble a pick-up game over a couple of beers in the park. I wouldn't be surprised if the two sides started popping open some cold ones right at midfield.

You can't blame the players. This isn't a question of greed. In a league where some players are paid less than $20,000/year, money is still a great motivator. MLS should act fast to remedy the situation by agreeing to award the winning side the $1 million purse or by negotiating an acceptable payout with the union. Otherwise, they run the risk of turning the final of what has been a terrific tournament so far into a super joke.

MLS Saturday round-up (Week 19)

August 2
Kansas City 0-2 DC United (RFK)
Luciano Emilio's MLS hot streak continued, as he added his 11th goal of the season in DC's 2-0 home win. Take that All-Star team. But Jaime Moreno, 34, is still United's MVP, assisting on the Emilio goal before adding his own off a curling re-start from distance by Marc Burch.

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Chivas USA 0-1 Chicago (Toyota Park)
With Cuauhtemoc Blanco on the bench due to card accumulation, rookie Patrick Nyarko provided the scoring, sneaking one past Zach Thornton, Chivas' midseason replacement for England-bound Brad Guzan.

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Columbus 0-2 Houston (Robertson)
Houston's SuperLiga success has energized them in MLS play, and the defending MLS Cup champions are poised to make a late season surge. Two first half goals, by Brad Davis and Brian Ching, put Columbus down for the count in this one.

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