The Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders will, no doubt, will be familiar with each other this coming July.

There is the Reserve League match on Tuesday, July 5. There is the possibility of both teams meeting in Tukwila's Starfire Sports Complex in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals.

But first, there is the matter of the Independence Day match. And suddenly, both the Galaxy and Sounders are even in terms of games played and are the top two teams in the league.

Los Angeles are 9-2-8 (35 points) while Seattle are 8-4-7 (31 points). Depth will be an issue at goalkeeper for the Galaxy. Donovan Ricketts is out due to a broken forearm and Josh Saunders is serving a suspension for an inexcusable punch to San Jose's Steven Lenhart.

"When I first went in there, I wasn’t nervous at all," forward/midfielder/goalkeeper(!) Mike Magee said. "I only thought I had to make it 10 minutes, and then we’d have a great plan at halftime where I’d be back on the field.

"And then we got back in (to the locker room), and it started hitting me that I was going back in goal, and that was pretty nerve-wracking."

Thus, the question is asked: Will Bruce Arena bring in the untested Brian Perk to man the nets? Or will he decide to give Magee a bigger shot at glory? Or will it be Perk and another player from the pool filling in on the bench?

This is a big decision that must be made on the 235th anniversary of the day when the former United Colonies of America said "¡No Más!" across to King George III and his ilk. Brave souls, they are.

The return of an angry Landon Donovan will no doubt raise the hopes of this side, who had a 1-1-2 record in what has been an average June. The most prolific scorer on the USA Men's National Team leads the club with eight goals and will need to work his magic again, especially with David Beckham still nursing a bad back.

The likes of Chad Barrett (four goals), Juan Pablo Angel (three goals) and Juninho (three goals) were kept at bay thanks to Saunders's ejection, although they did get some looks on goals. With Perk getting a possible shot to earn his stripes, look for the offense to be revitalized with Donovan's return as captain.

Defensively, the back line of Omar Gonzalez, A.J. De La Garza, Sean Franklin, Gregg Berhalter and Todd Dunivant have done the work but will need to be ready for a high-flying Seattle firing squad (more on the Northwest Arsenal in Rave Green later) itching for a piece of history.

Juninho and the midfielder combo of Chris Birchall and Miguel Lopez will need to connect on their sequences to stand any chances of testing the Seattle defense.

As for the Seattle SuperSounders Football Club (see what I did there, NBA enthusiasts?), they have a balanced scoring attack, with 12 players having recorded at least one goal. Brad Evans leads the way with four for the season. Alvaro Fernandez and Fredy Montero each have three goals this year.

Montero is the team's top provider with four assists, although Mauro Rosales has also pitched in with three assists on the year.

Goalkeeper Kasey Keller has a 7-4-7 record with a 0.94 goals against average and 52 saves to his credit

Watch for defenders like the ever-reliable James Riley, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Tyson Wall to hold the Galaxy attack at bay. The speed will be important, as the Sounders love to open up the field when they have the chance. Hey, they're on a three-game winning streak, might as well.

The good news for the Sounders is that they may not have to mind Beckham. The problem is that last year, they got hammered with Beckham not in the lineup. Hint: the 4-0 refund-inducing hammering at the now-renamed CenturyLink Field last season.

R.I.P., Qwest Field.

And last season, the Galaxy routed the Sounders at the Home Depot Center 3-1.

No question, this string of futility for Seattle has left a very bad taste in their mouths. Expect this to be another old-fashioned West Coast showdown with fireworks aplenty.

Prediction

 Two words: goal festival. Who would want to be a goalkeeper? Nobody on a night like Independence Day. Put this on your records, America!

Los Angeles Galaxy 4, Seattle Sounders 2

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET and will televised by ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.

INS AND OUTS

ESPYS and Cowbells for Landon

No surprises about this: Landon Donovan was nominated as a finalist for the Best MLS Player at the 2011 ESPYS, which will take place in LA on Wednesday, July 13.

Galaxy alum and current Ingolstadt forward Edson Buddle is also on the ballot. The Galaxy MVP in 2010, Buddle led the team with 17 goals in the regular season before adding two more in the postseason. An MLS All-Star for the third time in his career, Buddle scored nine of the Galaxy’s first 10 goals of the season en route to the best season of his career.

Other top players include FC Dallas midfielder David Ferreira and San Jose Earthquakes forward Chris "Wondo" Wondolowski.

Fans can vote at www.espn.com/espy.

More from the Young Americans

Jack McBean and the USA U-17 Men's National Team were struggling to rediscover their touch after falling flat against Uzbekistan.

The Young Americans managed a scoreless draw with New Zealand, but both sides would advance out of Group D and into the knockout rounds.

Up next for the USA is a match with Germany at the Estadio Corregidora in Queretaro, Mexico. Kickoff is scheduled for Thursday, June 30 at 3 p.m. CT/4 p.m. ET. 

Youth Academy Update

The Los Angeles Galaxy Youth Academy Under-18 and Under-16 teams were in action in Frisco, Texas at the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs and Showcase.

The Under-18s lost to the New York Cosmos Academy East 2-1 to open play. However, they bounced back to shut out the Houston Dynamo 3-0. Scorers for the Galaxy Under-18s were unavailable as this article went to press.

As for the Under-16s, they were on a roll.

They began the playoffs with a 2-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City. Grady Howe scored in the eighth minute and Sebastian Velasquez notched home the game-winner in the 56th minute of play.

The Under-16s then proceeded to crush the IMG Soccer Academy 4-1. Scorers for the Galaxy Under-16s were unavailable as this article went to press.

For the Under-18s, they wrap up their Showcase and their season with a match against Texas Rush AJ Auxerre. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT/2 p.m. ET on Field 5 of Pizza Hut Park.

As for the Under-16s, they will look to make it to Finals Week when they take on the Houston Dynamo. Kickoff is scheduled for 9 a.m. CT/10 a.m. ET on Field 17.

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The United States is on the decline as a soccer powerhouse. That's only because Bob Bradley is managing the team.

The news couldn't be any more true after they side checked out in a 4-2 burro-kicking to the steroid-happy Mexican national team on Saturday in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final.

But while the USA earned its undeserving-yet-more-than-worthy reputation as the region's most overrated national side...Major League Soccer is conducting its own business from sea to shining sea.

So, without further Adu (see what I did there, readers? Wink wink?), here are this week's MLS Power Rankings.

One more thing: that goal by the Mexican Ronaldinho known as Giovani dos Santos was so good, it made Tim Howard look like the abomination that he justifiably is.

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Following an absence playing for his national team in the Gold Cup, Alvaro Saborio returned to action for Real Salt Lake and gave them all that they needed to post a 3-1 victory against visiting Toronto FC on Saturday night.

Heading into the match, Real Salt Lake was concerned with which players would be able to start at the forward position. Due to injuries, they had only two real strikers available, Saborio and rookie Artur Aghasyan.

Battling an injury of his own, Saborio was questionable for the match as well.

Even before the match began, Real Salt Lake made a tactical decision that proved to make a big difference. Switching directions on the goal that they normally defend in the first half, Real Salt Lake started the game putting Toronto FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei in the only place where the summer sun beat into the stadium.

Frei struggled to see the ball and players who came from the side caused him to look into the sun.

It was in the first half that Real Salt Lake scored the first two of its three goals.

In the 39th minute, defender Nat Borchers worked his way between the defense and nodded in a header that came from a set piece in the corner. It was his first goal of the season, and a good reward for his consistently strong play along the back line.

Only three minutes later, Saborio added a second goal that came on a fortunate deflection of a ball crossed in from the side and off of the leg of a defender. Saborio was in the right spot and easily knocked the ball past Frei who was still battling the sun.

The second half started the same as the first, with Real Salt Lake maintaining possession. In the 60th minute, Saborio took a long ball over the top and moved past the defender who had tried to play the ball but missed. He easily slotted it home to the bottom right post, past Frei.

Both of Saborio's goals were assisted by Robbie Russell from the outside.

Toronto FC continued to battle, and denied the Real Salt Lake goalkeeper of gaining another clean sheet in this match.

In the 66th minute, Toronto forward Maicon Santos took the ball just past midfield, took several touches and fired a strike from just outside the box. It landed just inside the near post and past Rimando to make the score 3-1.

Maicon's goal was not enough, however, as Toronto FC went home with a road loss and no points.

Real Salt Lake picked up three points that the desperately needed to keep pace with the leaders in the Western Conference.

They will next play out of league in an Open Cup match on Tuesday, and will host the New England Revolution on Independence Day at home.

Chris Johstoneaux is a contributor to Bleacher Report who usually covers the NBA and Major League Soccer. If you liked this article, please take a moment to leave me a comment and follow me on Twitter @JazzRSLExaminer.

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Sure, you have heard of Mike Magee The Forward. or Mike Magee The Midfielder. Or Mike Magee The Once-In-A-Blue-Moon Finisher.

But have you heard of Mike Magee The Goalkeeper?

No? All right, sit back, and let me tell you a little story.

The situation rose when two things happened: Donovan Ricketts injured his forearm on a collision with Khari Stephenson of the San Jose Earthquakes. Then backup goalkeeper Josh Saunders suffers a brain explosion and is sent off for an elbow to the Quakes' Steven Lenhart.

With third-string keeper Brian Perk unavailable, Magee—who is usually doing his work in the midfield or the attacking third for the Los Angeles Galaxy, dons Saunders's shirt and does the work.

The result: both sides settle for a scoreless draw. It wasn't just the goalkeeping, though.

“Our defense has been amazing,” Magee told MLSSoccer.com's Geoff Lepper. “If it wasn’t for our defense, I probably would have let in about six or seven.”

Of course, manager Bruce Arena was very livid at a number of people: referee Juan Guzman (who officiated his very first match in the center circle on Saturday at Buck Shaw Stadium on the campus of Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif.) and San Jose manager Frank Yallop.

Oh, that Bruce Arena, always standing up for his men: win, lose, or in this case, draw. The story ends here. Now for a little opinion.

Boy, that was just a scintillating performance on goal for someone whose role is to score on goal.

This brings up an important question coming into the next few matches; that is, the U.S. Open Cup tie with the Los Angeles Blues and the Fourth of July home match with the Seattle Sounders.

Does Arena start Magee on goal, or does he start the relatively untested Perk? That is a question that must be asked in the coming days ahead.

From my perspective, I would start Perk against the Blues and see how he does. Only then can I make a decision as to who to start in goal against Seattle. Ricketts may be out for several weeks due to that elbow, and Saunders is suspended for the match with the Sounders.

But this game was all about Magee. Forget the fact that Juninho, Juan Pablo Angel and Chris Birchall had attempts on goal against the Earthquakes. This was Magee's first-ever start as a goalkeeper, and it's as if he's done this as many times as Saunders or Ricketts.

A solid example: 89th minute. Lenhart had a legit chance from Anthony Ampaipitakwong, but a kick save from Magee was part of a series of stops that preserved the shutout.

Astounding. I've been hearing news on BigSoccer (my forum stomping grounds; you can meet me there, my handle is Hachiko) that Magee's name is trending on the twitter feeds.

I am also checking the search engines for any news trending towards Mike Magee, and lo and behold: they are also trending towards the magic man, albeit not as much.

With that out of the way, the Galaxy will step aside for some U.S. Open Cup action while the goalkeeper question is sorted out.

Kickoff between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Los Angeles Blues in the third round of the 2011 U.S. Open Cup is scheduled for Tuesday, June 28 at 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET at Titan Stadium on the campus of California State University, Fullerton. A live blog of the match will be posted on Bleacher Report.

The Galaxy return to league action on July 4 when they host the Sounders. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.

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Bruce Arena’s Los Angeles Galaxy take on Frank Yallop’s San Jose Earthquakes in what should be the final game without the services of LA’s Landon Donovan and San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski due to CONCACAF Gold Cup obligations.

The Los Angeles Galaxy are currently 9-2-7 (34 points) and have the best record in Major League Soccer.  As for the Earthquakes, they are 5-5-4 (19 points) and are sixth in the MLS Western Conference.

With David Beckham questionable due to back issues, Los Angeles will need to rely on their depth to win the day, with an emphasis on players like Chad Barrett, Juninho and Juan Pablo Angel.

As for the Quakes, Steven Lenhart has been picking up steam and will be a target for the Galaxy defense, led by Todd Dunivant, Sean Franklin and Omar Gonzalez.

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

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 Playing their second road game in a four-game swing, the New York Red Bulls' six-game unbeaten streak came to an end as they lost 4-2 to the Seattle Sounders on Thursday night.

Even with the absence of Juan Agudelo, Rafa Marquez, Tim Ream, Luke Rodgers and Thierry Henry, who was serving a game's suspension for earning a red card last week against the Portland Timbers, the Red Bulls were able to rally from a two-goal deficit in the second half.

With 46,065 fans in attendance at the newly renamed CenturyLink Field, the Seattle Sounders stuck quick, as they scored two goals in less than three minutes. Seattle's Erik Friberg and Osvaldo Alonso each scored an unassisted goal 11th and 12th minute, respectively

Despite being down 2-0, the Red Bulls' Dane Richards provided his teammates the opportunity to get back in the game when he scored his third goal of the season in the 31st minute. Despite the outstretched effort of Seattle's GK Kasey Keller to block Dane Richards, it simply wasn't enough. 

In the second half, the Red Bulls were able to catch a break when Seattle's Zach Scott scored an own goal in the 58th minute for the Red Bulls. With the crowd temporarily silenced, it appeared the Red Bulls were in position to at least record for the second consecutive tie against a team with a fanbase that most MLS teams would be envious off.

However, before New York fans had their opportunity to be disgruntled about another tie, Seattle's Roger Levesque came off the bench two score two goals in less than 15 minutes apart.

His first goal came off a corner kick where he headed home a textbook header in the 67th minute in the second half. Following this goal and with a 3-2 lead, Levesque iced the game, as he scored his second goal, this one in the 78th minute.

Levesque made the most of Red Bulls GK Greg Sutton's slight fumble as he stole the ball before and he tapped it home for a 4-2 lead.

Thursday night winners, the Seattle Sounders are now tied for second place in the Western Conference with a 7-4-7 record. Unbeaten in their last five games, the Sounders will next face off against the New England Revolution at home.

Despite Thursday night's rough loss to Seattle, the Red Bulls remain tied for the Eastern Conference lead with a 5-3-8 record. Continuing with their third consecutive road game, the Red Bulls will try to rebound from Thursday nights' loss when they face the Chicago Fire at the Toyota Park on Sunday, June 26th at 2 PM ET.

Cesar Diaz covers Soccer for LatinoSports.com. He also writes for 5 Points Press & 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.

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Few times in sports, fans get what they want. Saturday night at the Rose Bowl, soccer fans are in for a treat.

In the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the United States will play host to "El Tri Colores" the Mexican national team at the Rose Bowl.

Following last year’s World Cup letdown for both countries, the importance of this match is accelerated to another level. This game is more than supremacy between bitter, border rivals. A spot in 2013 Confederation’s Cup in Brazil is on the line.

Looking back on USA’s trip to the Confederation’s Cup in 2009, the experience—and more importantly, the victories—appeared to catapult the Yanks in the final stages of qualifying and invigorated confidence into the side on African soil.

Although that confidence playing in South Africa was short-lived and fizzed out by Ghana, yet again, the Americans brought a country together in hope of reaching uncharted territories.

Winning the Gold Cup wouldn’t be anything new, but beating Mexico to do so would sweeten the pot. Since 2002, Mexico and the United States have been the only winners of the Gold Cup. 

The level of intensity between these two countries has increased over the last decade in direct relation to the U.S. team improving their quality of play tenfold. For years, Mexico was the dominant team in CONCACAF, and a win over their neighbors to the north was expected by Mexicans and fans across the world.

A rivalry on the field between the teams might carry over to the seats in the venue as well. The gamesmanship over the years has been as much of the rivalry as the action on the field. 

This game might be listed as a neutral-site game, but the venue is in Pasadena, California. There is no doubt the Rose Bowl crowd will be filled to the brim with fans from both sides.

Despite the major-market Los Angeles teams, both college and pro, the Gold Cup final match is the hottest ticket in town. After all, the Los Angeles Lakers failed to capture a three-peat victory in the NBA and the United States is looking to accomplish a similar feat in the CONCACAF Gold Cup after securing victories in 2005 and 2007. The US national team is looking to secure Gold Cup victories in three of the last four competitions. 

As if the rivalry between Mexico and the USA needed any more, it is only fitting that the most famous outdoor arena in the country hosts the biggest soccer event of the year.

It’s not the World Cup, but for the supporters in the bleachers and the players on the pitch, it is just as important.  

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Harrison, NJ - Despite the New York Red Bulls current road trip, Red Bull Arena was very much alive and available for some of their special fans.

On Tuesday June 21, 2010, Red Bull Arena opened it's doors to the children of Just One Soccer League (JOSL) for a school year-end celebration that they earned. Arranged by the coaches and board of JOSL, the children and their parents arrived to Red Bull Arena in two buses.

Run by Executive Director Oscar Rodriguez, JOSL was established in 1996. It's a program which promotes soccer as a recreational alternative.

By ignoring the competitive aspect of youth soccer, JOSL is a program which through their volunteers is able to educate their young participants of the importance of good sportsmanship and of investing and giving back to their community as their volunteers have exemplified time after time.

Every coach involved has to possess a minimum “F” License through New Jersey Youth Soccer Association. Taking this seriously, each year JOSL hosts an “F” License Certification Course to be attended by interested coaches from North Jersey.

In addition to volunteer involvement, parents are also expected to participate because while the program is a healthy alternative for their children, the parental involvement and encouragement provides a powerful statement on the impact each individual can make in their program and community.

Seeing the enthusiasm and joy in the children's faces who were wearing their JOSL t-shirts was a pleasure to see because for many of them, this was their first time at Red Bull Arena. One thing that not too many people know about the New York Red Bulls is that they're very involved in both the New York and New Jersey communities.

Led by Training Programs Representative Steve Jones, the children of JOSL and their parents were given an exclusive tour of Red Bull Arena. Throughout the tour, Jones engaged with the children as he answered their questions, and vice versa. Not only did the children willingly participate, they also demonstrated they were indeed Red Bulls fans.

The highlight for the tour was when the children were shown the Holding Cells where rowdy fans are placed for their incorrigible behavior. While they laughed at that, they were also awed to hear that the Red Bulls team locker room had a hot tub and possibly an Xbox.

Following the tour, each child in attendance was given a Red Bull t-shirt and a certificate of participation. What I found interesting is that whether the children recognize or not, they are indeed applying the philosophy that is stressed in JOSL.

Not once did a child even ask if there were any players around or if they could have a Red Bull.

They were simply appreciative of the experience and proudly represented their program as they gave Steve Jones the respect he deserved throughout the tour. After the tour concluded, families took their pictures before returning to their buses so they can return to their designated site.

As I watched the bus pull away, I was glad to have met Oscar Rodriguez in December at Red Bull Arena during the World Cup Draw. During our conversation, I agreed to write an article about JOSL when I felt the timing was right.

While the score is important to follow, I'm also interested in the impact this beautiful game has locally and globally in our communities.

One thing I've learned as a sports fan and now a sportswriter is that players come and go but global issues and dreams remains. In addition to following the game, I make it a point to look behind stats and scores. Tuesday's tour served as a reminder why I love this beautiful game.

For more info on how you can be involved, please follow JOSL on their website and Facebook

Cesar Diaz covers Soccer for LatinoSports.com. He also writes for 5 Points Press & 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.

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The Continuing Adventures of the Young Americans

The USA Under-17 Men's National Team suffered their first loss of their FIFA Under-17 World Cup campaign, losing to Uzbekistan, 2-1. Alfred Koroma scored the only goal for the USA, in the 47th minute.

The States must defeat New Zealand on June 25 to stand any chance of advancing to the knockout stages.


Youth Academy Update

The Los Angeles Galaxy Youth Academy announced this week that Mauricio Cienfuegos would be hired as a Technical Director for the Youth Academy sides.

Cienfuegos holds a USSF “A” coaching license and has experience as a head coach at the professional level, coaching Nejapa Futbol Club in El Salvador’s First Division in 2008.

“I’m very happy to be back with the club, and to have the opportunity to work with the young players in the Academy is something that I’m very much looking forward to,” Cienfuegos told reporters. “I’m going to be doing something that brings a lot of joy to me, which is teaching the game to kids. Hopefully, one of those players will go on to play for the first team, that’s everyone’s goal.”

Cienfuegos helped the Galaxy capture three of the club’s five championships, leading his team to the 2000 CONCACAF Champions Cup, the 2001 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and the 2002 MLS Cup. Additionally, he led the Galaxy to the league semifinals six times (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002) and played in MLS Cup four times (1996, 1999, 2001 and 2002).

Meanwhile, the Galaxy Academy Under-18 and Under-16 teams are in action in Frisco, Texas for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs and Showcase.

The U-16’s, who are in the playoffs for the second time in the last three years, will open their playoff schedule against the No. 25 seed, Sporting Kansas City, on Saturday, June 25. The following day, they will take on the No. 19 seed IMG Soccer Academy before concluding group play against the Houston Dynamo, who are the No. 16 seed.

The winner of the group will then advance to the Development Academy Finals Week, which will be held in Milwaukee, Wisc. from July 9-16.


Landon Donovan has Gold Cup in sight

Landon Donovan came off the bench to assist on a Clint Dempsey goal late in the second half to give the USA a 1-0 victory over Panama in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup Semifinals.

The USA will renew their rivalry with Mexico on Saturday, June 25 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. At stake is a berth in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil.


Galaxy set for the U.S. Open Cup

The Los Angeles Galaxy will take on the Los Angeles Blues on Tuesday, June 28 in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup.

“I think it’s a competition we want to do well in,” Galaxy manager Bruce Arena told LAGalaxy.com's Larry Morgan. “This particular game comes at a good time, so there’s no excuse why we can’t do well.”

The Galaxy have not won the Open Cup since 2005.

“That (Open Cup title) kind of set the tone for us in 2005,” said defender Todd Dunivant, who was a member of the 3005 championship squad. “We won that, and we kind of had that championship mentality. It helped give us confidence.

“When the playoffs started we were in a winning mode and we carried that all the way through.”

“We used to play the A-League (later renamed USL First Division) teams, and they were really difficult games,” Arena added. “I remember going to Hershey (Pa.) a couple of times and winning on penalty kicks. It’s never easy and we don’t expect it to be easy this time around, either.”

Well, not if you don't send out your first team, Bruce. It will be interesting who Bruce brings out on Tuesday. A full preview of this match has been posted on the View from Victoria Street and Bleacher Report.

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All the technical training in the world can’t prepare a club for a goalkeeper who stands in his head, and as a keeper coach nothing pleases me more than to watch a goalie defend his domain.

That was the case tonight (June 22) at PPL Park where visiting netminder Jimmy Neilson helped keep his Sporting Kansas City (SKC) teammates from being blown out by the Philadelphia Union. The Union actually peppered Neilson with 19 shots, seven of which were on frame.

Nielsen came up big in the 27th minute when Philadelphia striker Jack McInerney fired from close-range and again two minutes later when he dove to his right to knock away a well-taken free kick from striker Carlos Ruiz.

The Union kept pressing after the break, nearly breaking the deadlock in the 72nd minute when a cross from Le Toux found Ruiz, who headed it off the crossbar. 

Five minutes later, Justin Mapp fired from point-blank range, but once again Nielsen was up to the task.

Obviously, if you are a Union fan you would expect your club to beat the last place team in the Eastern Conference and not settle for 0-0 draw.

Well, there is something you should know about SKC. At the moment, they are playing some of the best soccer in MLS, extending their unbeaten streak to six games and doing so by outscoring their last six opponents 11-2, including a 5-0 win over the New England Revolution and a 4-1 victory against the league’s second overall best team, FC Dallas.

Oh and did I mention tonight’s result was SKC’s fourth straight shutout?

A 0-0 draw is not all bad, especially when you consider the one point earned by Philly helps to keep the Union tied for first place with New York Red Bulls atop the MLS Eastern Conference standings.

The tie also helped Philadelphia extend their home unbeaten streak to nine matches.

Philadelphia’s play in their defensive third of the field was also pretty impressive, allowing SKC just seven shots, only one of which was on goal. Remember, Sporting Kansas City came into the game having scored 11 goals in their last six games, so the fact that the Union were able to emerge from this game with their fifth shutout of the season and that all valuable one point, is a good thing.

Philadelphia returns to action 8:00pm Saturday at PPL Park against Chivas USA.

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