It is safe to say that Landon Donovan and David Beckham of Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy will be rested for Saturday's friendly with Real Madrid CF as they take on the Seattle Sounders in the 2011 U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals.

Last year, the Galaxy lost to the Sounders at the Starfire Sports Complex 2-0 thanks to a Nate Jaqua brace in the 50th and 62nd minutes of play.

A whole 371 days after the first encounter in Tukwila, both teams return to Starfire, with the Galaxy hoping to exact some payback after their dismal exit from the tournament.

Both the Galaxy and Sounders advanced to the quarters after 2-1 victories over their respective opponents.

Seattle's Michael Fucito scored a brace in the 39th and 62nd minutes to pace the Sounders to a 2-1 victory over the Kitsap Pumas. Goals from Omar Gonzalez in the 75th minute and Mike Magee in the 81st minute of play propelled the Galaxy to a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Blues at Titan Stadium on the campus of California State University, Fullerton.

One major strength of the Galaxy side that could start on Wednesday is at goalkeeper. Brian Perk, the current backup goalkeeper to current starter Josh Saunders, was solid in the scoreless draw with Seattle in league play and will hope to reprise his efforts in Tukwila.

The health of players like Mike Magee and Omar Gonzalez will be critical to LA's chances at payback. Magee was unable to start on Saturday against the Chicago Fire due to injury, and Omar Gonzalez played through pain in the Galaxy's 2-1 win.

Paolo Cardozo started against Chicago on Saturday, while Adam Cristman, Michael Stephens and Miguel Lopez came off the bench. All four could be starting on Wednesday.

If this is the case, this Open Cup quarterfinal could be a golden opportunity to watch the chemistry of Cardozo and Lopez at work. Juninho needs to step up his game in the midfield if the Galaxy want to open up the match early in the first half.

With Fucito becoming a legit scoring threat, he will be a focus of the backline which could see Bryan Jordan fall in with Gregg Berhalter, Gonzalez and Todd Dunivant.

As with the third-round match with the LA Blues, Arena's choice of players will be crucial to the outcome. The Sounders are obviously not the Blues, and the reserves are admittingly capable of crushing the Blues first team.

Expect a blend of Galaxy reserves and starters coming out onto the Starfire pitch in what should be a wide-open quarterfinal against Seattle, with plenty of free flowing football and a high tempo.

Prediction

These are the types of matches that can go 1-0 to either team. The Galaxy should be able to come into the Real Madrid friendly with a full head of confidence. They're due for payback.

Los Angeles Galaxy 1, Seattle Sounders 0

Kickoff is scheduled for Wednesday, July 13 at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET. An audio feed will be available on LAGalaxy.com and a video feed will be available on SoundersFC.com.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy owed some fans some offensive fireworks after they were missing in action on the Fourth of July against the Seattle Sounders.

On the flip side, here I was, thinking that David Beckham was going to come off the bench. Turns out, Arena was desperate to find somebody who could deliver the aforementioned pyrotechnics. Even through injury, the man with the set piece slot machine for a leg can still hit the occasional jackpot or two.

In the 58th minute, Beckham delivered a set piece from the southwest end that found Landon Donovan for his ninth of the season. Seven minutes later, after Cristian Nazarit became the Chicken Thief for equalizing in the 62nd minute of play, a bending corner from the Riot Squad end eluded Chicago Fire Sean Johnson in the 65th minute.

The former Man United ace doused the flames and Frank Klopas's Fire single-handedly, 2-1, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

It was a shame that the likes of Mike Magee was AWOL on Saturday. That forced Paolo Cardozo into the flames. A little baptism by fill-in-the-blank. No pun intended. Cardozo didn't impress me tonight. Every ball that came in his direction was easily cut out by a Fire defender, or the young Argentine didn't do a good job holding on to it.

Now, there is the matter of the Wednesday night U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal against the Seattle Sounders at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila. You can bet that Cardozo will play a big, big role in the Galaxy's quest for payback from last year.

If the G's expect to return the favor up north, the young Argentine needs to do a better job holding on to the ball and create some legit chances.

Cardozo didn't look too comfortable, and by the time he was subbed, the fatigued naturally got to him. The personal jury inside my head is still out on Miguel Lopez because he played in relief. Lopez and Adam Cristman will need to get involved and dominate, win possession and get involved in the buildup.

Again, if this was a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals audition, I would do my best Simon Cowell and say, "You lot will get hammered by the Sounders because you did not play like the contenders you are capable of becoming."

And don't get me started on Juan Pablo Angel. Listen, you are paid dinero to convert the chances you get and create in open space. You waste the bucks of your fans when you don't finish. Angel should have at least buried one past the end line.

If I could offer a prayer to the football gods, I am hoping that this will be Angel's last season playing soccer for any club.

Enjoy your retirement, help develop the game as a coach. Teach your kids to be like their old man and make it big. But for the love of all things Galaxy blue and gold (and Punjab), do not come back for another year if you cannot score, period. Your fans deserve better.

Wake up, JP, and smell the coffee. And I'm not talking about the type from Kona, either.

The good news here is that Josh Saunders was not in the middle of any sort of scuffle that saw him sent off. In an interesting twist/piece of closure, the backup keeper to Donovan Ricketts could only watch the fisticuffs ensure on the Chicago bench.

The irony here is that a set of boxing matches were taking place next door at the tennis stadium. Sure, Elton John was right when saying that "Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting," but I wonder if he meant it in this fashion.

In any case, this was a literal brain explosion by Josip Mikulic for getting into the fray, throwing a punch, and getting sent off without playing a single minute on Saturday. Josip, this is MLS, not UFC. You're in the wrong sport to try to get your 15 seconds of fame; you know better, son.

If this does not elicit a large fine and a more-than-one-game suspension from Der Kommissar Don Garber and his less-than-FIFA-level-corrupt rulemakers that be at the MLS offices in New York City, it would be a shameful disgrace.

That just added salt to what had been a subpar night and an even more subpar season for the Chicago Fire, who probably are going to find it tough to even have an outside shot at qualifying for the MLS Cup Playoffs.

I'm close to writing this team off, to be honest with all of you wonderful readers. Actually, I'll do it right now. Signed, sealed, delivered. If they somehow get back into contention, the world has ended before my very eyes. Or at least turned on its head, like Japan at the FIFA Women's World Cup hours earlier.

In the meantime, the Los Angeles Galaxy march on with a couple of big ones. You all know that Seattle have had the Galaxy's number last year in Tukwila. Can they do it again? Or is a little payback in order?

Kickoff between the Sounders and Galaxy at Starfire is scheduled for Wednesday, July 13 at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET. A live audio feed can be heard on LAGalaxy.com and a live video feed can be seen on SoundersFC.com.

On Saturday, the Galaxy take on Real Madrid in a friendly. Kickoff at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET. A live blog of that match will be brought to you on Bleacher Report.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

Entering their game against the Toronto FC, the Houston Dynamo had not won a game since June 11 and only two since April 29.

On goals by Danny Cruz and Geoff Cameron, they downed a stubborn Toronto team 2-0 in front of 19,085 fans at Robertson Stadium in Houston.

Both goals occurred in the second half to raise the Dynamo’s record to 4-6-8 (23 points), while Toronto fell to 3-9-9 (18 points).

In the 50th minute, midfielder Danny Cruz got the ball from forward Brian Ching.

Cruz then dribbled the ball into the box and fired a shot past goalkeeper Stefan Frei for the first score of the game.

The goal was the first of the season for Cruz.

The Dynamo increased their margin to two in the 81st minute on an unassisted goal by Geoff Cameron.

He got a loose ball in the box and shot it past Frei for the goal.

The Dynamo had other chances for goals, only to be shut out by wide shots, deflections and blocked shots.

In the fifth minute, Cruz blasted a shot from outside the 18-yard box, only to have it deflected.

The Dynamo continued the attack in the eighth minute when Cruz found midfielder Brad Davis at the edge of the box.

Davis fired a shot after two dribbles, but it sailed high and wide of the goal.

The Dynamo had six total shots of goal, with Bruin taking two and Cameron, Cruz, Watson and midfielder Colin Clark each with one.

Four yellow cards were issued in the game with three going to Toronto and one for the Dynamo to Cruz.

Toronto defender Richard Eckersley received one in the 32nd minute for a reckless tackle while forward Alan Gordon was carded for a reckless foul.

Midfielder Mikael Yourassowsky was also carded for a reckless tackle in the 68th minute.

Cruz’s yellow card was a reckless tackle in the 85th minute.

The Dynamo can now breathe a short sigh of relief by putting the game in the win column.

However, it must be a short sigh as they must begin Monday preparing for their July 16 game against Sporting Kansas City.

Sporting KC is currently one place ahead of the Dynamo in the Eastern Conference.

The game is set for at 7:30 p.m. CDT in Houston.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy continue their busy July with an important Major League Soccer showdown against the Chicago Fire on Saturday at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

The Galaxy are currently 9-2-9, and in spite of an unbeaten run, wins have been harder to come by. As for Frank Klopas's Fire, they are 2-4-12 and are in need of a victory to have an outside shot at qualifying for the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Keep it here on Bleacher Report for continuing coverage of the 2011 Major League Soccer season. 

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

Youth Academy Update

The Los Angeles Galaxy Youth Academy Under-16s will up their 2010-11 season with action at U.S. Soccer Development Academy Finals Week in Milwaukee.

On Sunday, July 10, the Young G's will face Real So Cal. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. CT/4:00 p.m. ET at the Time Warner Cable Stadium Field at Uihlean Soccer Park. Tuesday, July 12 will see the Galaxy face the Dallas Texans. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT/6:30 p.m. ET at Quad Park Stadium Field on the campus of Marquette High School.

The Under-16s wrap up their round robin on Thursday, July 14 at Uihlein Soccer Park's Field E5 when they take on the Seattle Sounders at 3:00 p.m. CT/4:00 p.m. ET.

Here are your coaches and players on for the Los Angeles Galaxy Youth Academy Under-16s.


LA Galaxy Academy U-16 Roster for U.S. Soccer Development Academy Finals

GOALKEEPERS (2) – Grayson Cornwall, Josh McNeely
DEFENDERS (8) – Chris Antunez, Steve Copley, Cole Dimond, Sagar Jambusaria, Vincent Reyes, Matt Tilley, Ludwing Vargas, Ivan Vasquez
MIDFIELDERS (7) – Jose Avila, Sean Dhillon, Eric Gonzalez, Grady Howe, Axel Mendez, Drew Murphy, Willie Raygoza
FORWARDS (5) – Justin Dhillon, Kevin Labastida, Francisco Magallon, Jack McBean, Sebastian Velasquez

HEAD COACH – Kenny Arena
ASSISTANT COACH – Alex Yi
ATHLETIC TRAINER – Natasha Darbar
ACADEMY SENIOR DIRECTOR – Chris Klein


Perk nabs Save of the Week

Not bad for a debut.

Brian Perk, the LA Galaxy's third string goalkeeper, earned a Save of the Week for his stop on Fredy Montero on a penalty.

Perk is the fifth Galaxy player to earn a Save of the Week honor. Donovan Ricketts earned Week 6 honors, A.J. DeLaGarza and Landon Donovan split Week 11 and Week 15 went to Mike Magee.

Suddenly, the Galaxy are consistent defensively and are wrapping up the plaudits. It's not bad.


Real Madrid coming to town

Real Madrid CF of La Liga announced their travel roster, which includes the usual suspects in Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo. Take a look.


Real Madrid 2011 Herbalife World Football Challenge Roster

GOALKEEPER (4) – Iker Casillas, Antonio Adán, Jesus Fernandez Collado, Tomas Mejias

DEFENDERS (10) – Raul Albiol, Alvaro Arbeola, Ricardo Carvalho, Jorge Casado, Fabio Coentrão, Jose Nacho Fernández, Marcelo, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane

MIDFIELDER (7) – Xabi Alonso, Jose Maria Callejon, Esteban Granero, Kaka, Sami Khedira, Mesut Özil, Nuri Sahin

FORWARDS (4) – Karim Benzema, Jose Luis Mato San Martin, Jese Rodriguez, Cristiano Ronaldo

HEAD COACH – José Mourinho

A preview of the match will be posted next week on the View from Victoria Street and Bleacher Report. A live blog of the match is scheduled for next Saturday, July 16, live from the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

In its inaugural season, the Portland-Seattle rivalry is already the best in the MLS, by a wide margin.

The animosity between these two teams goes all the way back to their NASL days in the mid-seventies. There's also a natural, well, hatred between the two cities. Seattle is now known as a haven for mis-placed Californians and east coasters looking to cash in on Amazon and Microsoft stock (although Microsoft stock isn't what it once was).

Portland, on the other hand, does everything to stick to its roots and not sell out. The city slogan, "Keep Portland Weird", is a perfect embodiment of that philosophy.

Even the supporters of the two clubs are different. Sounder supporters tend to look like a bunch of geeks who got lost on their way to a Star Trek convention. Portland supporters look like they stumbled out of bar, got a tattoo, and then decided to go to a soccer game.

So, when they meet for the second time this year, it's not just bragging rights on the line, it's a clash of two cultures.

It's new-money materialism versus good, old fashioned bohemianism.

In their first clash in Seattle, Portland, undoubtedly, got the better of the two with a tie on enemy soil. Let's face it, for the Timbers to get a point in their inaugural season was a victory in itself.

Since then, however, the Timbers have gone 1-5-1 while the Sounders going 5-1-3. They are two clubs heading in opposite directions.

The Sounders are, perhaps, the hottest club in the league while the Timbers are in the midst of a losing streak they just can't seem to snap.

Many are already predicting a Seattle victory, even in noisy Portland Stadium. Yes, the crowd will make a difference, but after a 5-0 start that made national headlines, the Timbers have gone 0-3-1 at their stadium. 

So much for the home field advantage.

Yet, in the face of such dire circumstances, there is hope for the Timbers to leave with three points after Sunday's game.

The first thing that must be said is that the Timbers slide isn't nearly as bad as it seems. They flat-out outplayed Colorado and New York and deserved to walk away with six points (rather than one). They gave up a goal within the last ten seconds of each game (something I've never seen at the professional level).

Against Chivas they played very well but were done in by world-class saves from the Chivas keeper. Even against D.C. United, they gave up a weak penalty when Diego Chara slid into the ball and inadvertently committed a hand ball.

They could very easily be 5-2 during this stretch.

If they play like they did against New York, this team can beat anyone in the MLS.

Simple as that.

So, let's start with the changes that I would make. Namely, bench Diego Chara. He's completely ineffective as a central and holding midfielder. Put Captain Jack Jewsbury in his position with Kalif Alhassan at a more attacking midfield position with Sal Zizzo and Darlington Nagbe playing the wings.

Jewsbury will bring some much needed leadership to the defensive end. As far as I'm concerned, the play of the defense is everything that's wrong with the team right now. They just give up way too many bone-headed goals.

Next, play Kenny Cooper facing the goal rather than continually looking to post-up. He's not a post-up player. As I've said before, go back and look at how Dallas played him. He's at his best when he's dropping back to the end of the penalty area and looking for rebounds or passes from penetrating forwards or midfielders. He doesn't have great dribbling skills, but he knows how to find space and make a crack at goal. Let him find that space and serve him the ball.

The midfielders must do one thing, and that's attack, attack, attack! Start making daring runs at the Seattle defenders. This goes for the likes of Futty Dunso as well. Kansas City had some amazing runs from their backfield that continually confused the Portland defense all night. It's time to start blitzing. Alhassan, in particular, has the technical skills to carve up the Seattle defense. If he can penetrate, and look for Cooper, Jewsbury, and Nagbe on the edges of the penalty area, that could be dangerous.

Perlazza is a great counter-attacking player and should have had two goals against Colorado on breakaways. Keep trying to find him on counter-attacks and allow him to beat defenders.

I don't know what to say about our defense other than it's a mess. They are continually out of position. What's worse, many of them are caught watching the ball while a midfielder makes a run behind them. How do you teach that at this level? I teach eighth graders that know better than to ball-watch.

I'd say it will help to get to an early lead, and it might, but Portland's problem all season has been maintaining composure until the final whistle. Against New York, they had a 3-1 lead with twenty minutes left and still managed to tie at 3-3. They just don't have any depth on the bench.

The good news is that the defense played a brilliant stretch and had clean sheets against Real Salt Lake, Philadelphia, and Columbus. They need to find that level of focus.

The simple fact is that this is a test. Can Portland show composure and win the biggest game of the season, and really start to turn their season around? If they play like they did against New York, then they absolutely can.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy were unfortunate to have drawn scoreless with the Seattle Sounders on Monday. They will hope for a better result when they host the Chicago Fire on Saturday, July 9 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

“It’s good to get back into training, but playing in a game is different,” team captain Landon Donovan told LAGalaxy.com's Luis Bueno. “I wasn’t very sharp [Monday] either. That doesn’t have to do with the team. That just has to do with me individually.”

Donovan was away on CONCACAF Gold Cup duty and the loss of minutes may have something to do with the whole situation, regarding his lack of form.

“He looked a little bit tired for Landon,” Arena said. “In all honesty, he didn’t play a lot of minutes. He didn’t come back perhaps the way he left because he had limited minutes over his monthly stint there, and I think that takes a little bit away."

“We gave him some time off when he came back so he hasn’t been in the swing of things like he needs to be. He’s certainly going to build with each game,” Arena added.

Midfielder David Beckham is nursing a stress fracture and will hope that it subsides this weekend.

“Did I expect to play in this game? No, not really,” Beckham told reporters. “Not after finding out it was a fracture, I didn’t expect to play in this game. I had an epidural and cortisone shot last week and it seemed to take the pain away. Obviously the fracture is still there but the pain has died down a bit.”

“A lot of my game is the way I kick the ball, the way I pass the ball, the way I cross the ball,” Donovan added. “So there is a little bit of stiffness there, but that’s obviously part of the rehab program I have going on, and getting rid of that should be fine.”

Injuries to defenders A.J. DeLaGarza and Omar Gonzalez have tested the Galaxy's depth.

“It’s a center back curse this year,” Galaxy defender Gregg Berhalter told reporters. “I want to change my position, or I’m not going to call myself a center back.”

“We’re prepared for that,” Arena told LAGalaxy.com's Larry Morgan. “We’re really prepared for that. I think we’re prepared with five players. We have four center backs with Omar, A.J., Gregg and Sean. We’ve done that, starting in preseason out. Bryan Jordan has had some time in that position as well.”

“I think it’s always difficult losing players, especially when it’s defenders,” Beckham said. “I think we adapted in the right way, in the way that we needed to.

“When things are down and when players miss [playing time] through either suspension or injury, it’s how the squad reacts. We’ve reacted well. We reacted really well in San Jose and obviously tonight, losing a couple of players again.”

"Bruce has put a team together where we can throw anyone out there," said defender Sean Franklin. "We knew that the next guy was ready to step up. They did that tonight.”

“It’s definitely unlucky,” Gonzalez said of his injury. “It started in San Jose when things started getting unlucky. Today me and A.J. go down. I think A.J. is a lot worse off than I am; he was kind of dizzy from the get-go. Hopefully he’s all right."

“For me, I have to be really focused on getting my treatment,” Gonzalez added.

“It’s strange, but to look at our position in our league, having that many injuries, we’re fortunate,” Berhalter added. “We’re second in goals-against average in the league…so we’re doing some things right. That’s why you train, that’s why you have depth and you work on things. When you’re working on things, it’s not just for the first group, but for everyone so they can see how it’s done.”

While the Los Angeles Galaxy are sitting in first place in the league with a record of 9-2-9 (36 points), the Chicago Fire are 2-4-12 (18 points) and have been unable to deliver victories on a consistent basis.

Dominic Oduro and Marco Pappa lead Chicago in goals with five, while Diego Chaves has added four to his credit. Patrick Nyarko leads the team in assists with three, while Oduro, Gaston Puerari and Gonzalo Segares all have two assists each.

Segares, Cory Gibbs, Jalil Anibaba and Yamith Cuesta will all be needed to neutralize the Galaxy attack, which has been rusty due to lack of scoring form and injury.

Chicago goalkeeper Sean Johnson has a 2-2-8 record with a 1.17 goals against average, 32 saves and a 70 percent save percentage. His expected counterpart, Galaxy backup netminder, Josh Saunders, has a 3-1-3 record, a 1.25 GAA, 18 saves and a 69.2 percent save percentage.

Injuries to DeLaGarza and Gonzalez mean that other defenders will need to step up, like Berhalter and Frankie Hejduk. Juninho, Chris Birchall and Mike Magee must be able to distribute the ball to their finishers in Donovan, Juan Pablo Angel and Chad Barrett, all of whom are in need of a return to form.

Donovan leads the team in goals with eight, while Beckham leads the team in assists with seven. However, Beckham is expected to come off the bench on Saturday.

Prediction:
There will be a Chicken Thief on Saturday night for the Fire. Oduro or Pappa. Take your pick. In any case, I expect the Galaxy to return to form and earn their 10th win of the season because victories have become harder to come by for this Chicago side.

Los Angeles Galaxy 2, Chicago Fire 1

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Deportes.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

After a grueling four-game road trip where the New York Red Bulls registered a 0-1-3 record against the Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders, Chicago Fire and San Jose Earthquakes, the Red Bulls made a triumphant return to Red Bull Arena as they throttled Toronto FC 5-0 in front of 15,269 fans.

Winning for only the second time in their past 12 games, the Red Bulls finally lived up to the Southward's expectations. For one night, the Red Bulls didn't have any goalkeeping issues. Nor did they allow any goals off a set piece play. Overall, the Red Bulls played one their best games in recent memory. In doing so, they helped Greg Sutton appear as a "world beater" on Wednesday night.

Granted they faced a second to last place Eastern Conference team in Toronto FC, but when a team such as the Red Bulls are unable to produce wins, any form of victory is relevant. In a game where they had the opportunity to momentarily reclaim the Eastern Conference off the Philadelphia Union, the Red Bulls didn't squander there opportunities to score and maintain leads.

From the very beginning the Red Bulls aggressively attacked the net as they ravenously controlled a 10-4 advantage on shots in the first half. However, it wasn't until the 33rd minute of the game that Thierry Henry accepted Jan Gunnar Soli's pass to give the Red Bulls a 1-0 advantage.

Henry's goal also marked the 15th straight game where the Red Bulls have scored in the first half. Building momentum off Henry's ninth goal of the season, Luke Rogers netted his sixth goal in the 38th minute when he duplicated Henry's acceptance of Soli's pass to give his teammates a 2-0 advantage.

It almost became 3-0 when it appeared Joel Lindpere scored his third goal in two games with a fantastic in-swing kick in extra time. Much to the South Ward's chagrin, the official waived off the goal due to Luke Rogers questionable interference on Toronto's GK Stefan Frei.

After a dominant first half, the Red Bulls continued to attack the net and they where rewarded for their efforts as they produced three second half goals. Joel Linpere scored for the third time in two games in the 52nd minute. Accepting a pass from Dane Richards, Lindpere was able to give his teammates some more breathing room.

After an excellent performance from Luke Rodgers, he was replaced by Juan Agudelo in the 56th minute. Making the most of his opportunity, Juan Agudelo made it 4-0 Red Bulls when he brilliantly scored off a corner kick in the 67th minute of the game. Agudelo added the exclamation point when his goal in the 89th minute gave the Red Bulls a 5-0 over a shell-shocked Toronto FC.

Now in first place of the Eastern Conference, the Red Bulls (6-3-10) will have an opportunity to hold on to their top spot when they rival D.C. United invades Red Bull Arena on Saturday, June 9 at 7:30 p.m.

Other MLS Results from Wednesday Night

On Wednesday night, Sporting Kansas City (5-6-6) hosted defending MLS Cup champions the Colorado Rapids (5-5-9) at the Livestrong Sporting Park. Playing in front of 15,209, Sporting K.C. rallied to tie the Rapids in the 62nd minute when Graham Zusi matched Conor Casey's goal.

Meanwhile Jeff Cunningham scored his 133rd career goal in dramatic fashion when he produced a game winner in the 90th minute to give the Columbus Crew (7-5-6) a hard-earned 1-0 road win over the hard-luck Vancouver Whitecaps FC (2-9-8) who lost for the third consecutive game.

Over at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., Chivas USA's (5-7-6) four-game winless drought came to an end when Ben Zemanski and Nick LaBrocca created a victorious monsoon as both players each produced a goal in the second half in a 2-0 victory San Jose Earthquakes (5-6-6) who themselves haven't won in their past four games.

Cesar Diaz covers Soccer for LatinoSports.com. He also writes for 5 Points Press and USSoccerPlayers.com; your source for American soccer news brought to you by members of the U.S. National Team. Easily accessible, you may reach Cesar at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and at Twitter at @CoveringSoccer.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

In the words of Bon Jovi, "Oh, we're halfway there," and for many teams, the midpoint couldn't have come soon enough.

While some teams hit the halfway mark hotter than a burning pop tart, others have started to slowly fade from playoff contention. As the contenders and pretenders start to sort themselves out, I will analyze who deserves some significant recognition from the first half.


Rookie of the First Half: Joao Plata

The third-round pick has single-handedly raised 17 coaches’ eyebrows after a terrific first half of his rookie season. Plata worked his way into the TFC lineup in Week 3 and has never looked back. He is currently third on the roster in stats with two goals and two assists. Some may have an argument for Will Bruin, but the truth is that Plata has been more consistently surprising.


Newcomer of the First Half: Charlie Davies

After such a satisfying resurgence back to goal-scoring greatness, it’s hard not to feel happy about Davies’ debut MLS season. He currently finds himself tied for first in the Golden Boot race with eight goals, even if some of them were a little less then legitimate.

His impact on DC United can clearly be seen as attendance figures and win frequency are way up from last year. DC is just a win away from exceeding their point total from 2010 and a lot of that has to do with CD9 up top.


Goal of the First Half: Eric Hassli's Wonder-Goal

When you reach SportsCenter as a soccer player, you know you did something sweet. And Eric Hassli did something really, really sweet to his sour rival.


Team of the First Half: Columbus Crew

Think about it. Are the Crew even close to being the most talented team of the MLS? Do they even cross your mind as a premier club in a league dominated by big market teams?

Assuming you aren’t from Columbus, the answer to those questions above should be no, and for good reason. The Crew have one of the lowest payrolls in the league, one of the smallest markets and are, unfortunately, not blessed with the media spotlight like NY or LA.

Yet somehow Columbus finds itself third in the East and in a prime playoff spot halfway through the season. Will they do anything with that playoff spot in October? Nobody knows. But if one thing is for sure, it is that Columbus has made the most out of what has been given to them.


MVP of the First Half: Brek Shea

With the weight of FCD nation on his shoulders, Brek Shea has been nothing short of amazing the last couple of months. After an injury to David Ferreira that surely should have put Dallas on the brink of calamity, Shea has stepped up and proven why he is worth big money in Big D.

He has played multiple positions, scored multiple goals, and embraced the superstar role that was unfortunately vacant in the FCD roster. Shea was supposed to be the next big thing, and he may be the first American prodigy to live up to expectation.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

In the aftermath of all the fireworks and Fourth of July barbecues going on in all corners of the United States of America and elsewhere, the 2011 Major League Soccer season marches on, with a full slate of contests over the weekend.

Back at the top are Schellas Hyndman's FC Dallas, but creeping up on them are the red-hot light blues of Sporting Kansas City. Let's take a look at this week's Power Rankings, which set the stage for another exciting weekend of football.

Begin Slideshow

Source: Click Here