On the ninth anniversary of one of America's darkest hours, Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy and Robert Warzycha's Columbus Crew clash in one of the most anticipated showdowns this season at the Home Depot Center.

Omar Gonzalez's equalizer against the Chicago Fire on Saturday at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois could be the spark plug the team needs to refuel their chances to win the Supporters' Shield.

“We’ve played with more intensity today, it was a better performance," Arena said on the draw. "Our last two to four weeks the performance wasn’t good. Our performance today was much better than it’s been."

The possibility of David Beckham returning to the field for this match is something the team can't pass up, especially captain Landon Donovan.

“We need to liven things up a little bit,” Donovan said earlier this week. “When David gets back—I think David will help a lot. We need some fresh energy.”

Donovan knows all too well the inevitability of parity playing a key role in the race for the Shield and the postseason.

“It usually happens this time of year in MLS," Donovan said after Saturday's match. "Teams that get out fast have a tendency to get complacent and then everyone else is fighting for playoff spots.

"It’s going to keep getting tighter and tighter, and that’s what happens when everyone else has the same salary to spend. It’s normal, but we expect it every year. This year is no different.”

The Galaxy and Crew are both 13-5-5 (44 points) and are at the top in the Western and Eastern Conference standings. While Real Salt Lake also has 44 points, a 12-4-7 record places them in second place heading into the week's matches.

Edson Buddle's 13 goals and Donovan's 12 assists are still best in the league. But their lack of production, combined with an underperforming backline, has seen Los Angeles's lead in the overall standings evaporate within the course of two months and change.

What will be a key talking point heading into this week's contest is the uncanny ability for its defenders to make costly fouls in their opponents' attacking third. In all honesty, Gonzalez should have paid the price with Chicago earning the victory, but his act of redemption will result in nothing more than a slap on the wrists from the coaching staff.

Still, the Galaxy must avoid giving up fouls near the penalty box and mark their men. Donovan Ricketts has done his part with a 13-5-4 record, 57 saves, a 0.77 goals against average and a 77 percent save percentage. However, he cannot do it alone, and it cannot be stressed any further: this defense must rise to the challenge.

And so should the offense. The Buddlevan Connection is still getting its wires fixed, and time is running out as the rest of the league catches up. Beckham's return could be the spark plug the Galaxy needs to get their season back into form.

For Columbus, the Crew come off a 1-0 win against D.C. United. Guillermo Barros Schelotto will be a target for the Los Angeles back line to solve.

This season, Schelotto leads the team with seven goals and eight assists. He can score, and he can also play the provider to other options in the Crew arsenal like Steven Lenhart (five goals this season) and Emilio Renteria (four goals this season).

On defense, look for Andy Iro, Chad Marshall, Frankie Hejduk and Danny O'Rourke to pack the house tight against the Galaxy forwards and midfielders.

A key factor in the outcome of Saturday's contest is Columbus goalkeeper Will Hesmer. With a 13-5-5 record, a 71.6 percent save percentage, a 0.87 GAA and 63 saves to his name, Hesmer is as competent a keeper as you will see in MLS. Keep an eye out for the Crew's No. 1.


Prediction:

Originality and creativity on offense are what separate decent teams from MLS Cup challengers. For the Galaxy to fall with the ranks of the latter, Bruce Arena has to draw up a variety of looks that are more technical, less direct, and high on creativity and originality.

We have been seeing too much of the predictable from this Los Angeles Galaxy side, and if we were to see this again on 9/11—especially with David Beckham making a possible return to the lineup—LA will lose this important contest.

I'm putting my money on the Galaxy playing with the two intangibles on their side right here.


Los Angeles Galaxy 2, Columbus Crew 1

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT and will be televised on tape delay by Fox Sports West at 9:30 p.m. PT.

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How does an eruption cause destruction?

Ask Seattle Sounders coach Sigi Schmid.  He could supply sad reflection on that point following his team’s 3-1 loss against the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts Saturday night before 13,124 onlookers.

The home team stood in last place while the Sounders due to a recent hot streak had finally clawed their way into playoff standing in the MLS Western Conference.  Additionally, the Sounders had scored their most decisive win of the campaign when the Revolution visited Qwest Field and scored a 3-0 win after gaining all of its goals in an explosive first half.

Saturday’s encounter looked like it might have another smooth and favorable outcome for the Sounders when they got on the scoreboard with Steve Zakuani doing the honors.  The Congo-born and British-bred speedster delivered his goal in the 59th minute.

The goal was generated on a feed from recent Uruguayan acquisition Alvaro Fernandez.  His delivery to James Riley was followed by a pass back to Zakuani, who beat Matt Reis with a low shot to the far left side for his eighth goal of the season.

Not long after that the contretemps started and the Sounders were not the same thereafter.  The spark was ignited when Sounders defender Patrick Ianni was blatantly punched in the cheekbone area by Shalrie Joseph.  The blow had a delayed reaction.  Ianni took several steps, then dropped to the ground.

The Sounders reacted with aghast and remonstrated with officials when not so much as even a yellow card was brandished.  Considering the nature of Joseph’s intentional effort a red card and immediate removal would have been the anticipated action.  Seattle players protested excitedly but nothing was done.

When the match resumed following a five or six minute delay beginning with Joseph’s blow to Ianni, a second incident occurred that rendered more glaring and inexplicable the catalyst that went unpunished.  Some quick action resulted in Seattle striker Fredy Montero moving with a New England player toward the sideline and ending just beyond.  

As the players stood just outside the field of play Montero delivered a slight, harm-free nudge.  The result was a yellow card issued against the Colombia Comet.  Montero argued vehemently and was ultimately restrained by several of his teammates.

Montero’s angry disgust was assuredly a response measured alongside what he had seen Joseph do a short time earlier and escape from without so much as a yellow card.  The duality was appalling to Montero, the Joseph blow to Ianni which resulted in the Seattle player falling to the ground and remaining there for several moments in a daze coupled with incidental jostling in his own case resulting in a yellow card.

The match proceeded into the “eruption causing destruction” second phase as the Sounders’ defensive concentration vanished and in a scoring surge between the 70th and 81st minutes the home team slammed home three goals to secure its ultimate 3-1 triumph.

New England generated its 70th minute equalizer after Kevin Alston took a long throw-in that Joseph headed on to the back post for Chris Tierney, who headed it past Kasey Keller.

"I didn't think we defended that throw-in well," Schmid acknowledged after the match. "We had just cleared one off the line right before. Nobody took charge of it and figured out that they were going to do the same thing again."

The Revolution was on a roll and just three minutes later, the 73rd minute, was back again with the score that would have been enough to settle the evening’s encounter in its favor.  

Marko Perovic scored when he took a deflected pass inside the box and rolled it into an open net.  This would be followed by another tally in the 81st minute.  Ilija Stolica found Kheli Dube near the top of the box and finished it into the top corner of the net.

Steve Zakuani commented afterwards on the effect that the Joseph-Ianni brouhaha coupled with the resulting delay had on the match.  

"I think that probably was the turning point," Zakuani said relative to the scrum.  "There was a five or six minute delay. We just scored and after that, as the coach told us, we lost our composure a little bit."

Seattle was outshot on the night by a 16-12 count.  The number that jumps out and reveals the pressure that the visitors were under was the decisive 9-3 Revolution advantage on goal.

Once more veteran goalkeeper Kasey Keller performed with poise and skill when things got hot.  He ended with six saves, including a superb stop on Stolica's shot in the second minute and a fingertip save on Tierney's shot in the 76th minute.

The loss was the first for Seattle in MLS play since a July 4 3-1 road setback against the Los Angeles Galaxy.  Sounders FC now stands at 9-9-5 with 32 points in MLS play.  Seattle is currently fourth in the Western Conference.

New England’s victory halted a three match losing streak.  The Revolution is now tied with Chicago for fifth spot in the Eastern Conference.  It stands at 7-12-3 for 24 points.

The Sounders had played with devastating sparkle in their 3-1 victory over Chivas USA on Wednesday in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cut semifinal before a buoyant home sellout crowd in Tukwila, Washington, earning the right to face Columbus Crew in the final round.

After coming off such an emotional high and then immediately flying 2,500 miles for a Saturday night MLS match in New England the Sounders looked flat, lacking the kind of zest and energy displayed Wednesday.

Such is the fate that MLS teams encounter based on a long regular season schedule augmented by extra competition that is vital to stir interest and enhance prestige, appearances in U.S. Open Cup and CONCACAF matches along with international friendlies.

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We learned a few things from the Los Angeles Galaxy's 1-1 draw with the Chicago Fire. We learned that Bruce Arena's men ended their scoring drought. We learned that Tristan Bowen played one of the poorest games of his career as a member of the G's.

But most importantly, we learned that Omar Gonzalez, like a song from Walt Disney's adaptation of "Hercules," turned from zero to hero in a matter of a few minutes.

In the 87th minute, he was stoppage time away from being labeled the goat for the Galaxy with a rash challenge on the Fire's John Thorrington. That allowed Collins John to convert a free kick near the 18-yard box to give Chicago a 1-0 lead.

This is what I don't get about Ricketts. He gave so much space to his left on that free kick that you could literally convert that blind.

It was a freebie waiting to happen. I'm still waiting for him to maintain a shutout after a continuous habit of giving up bad goals left and right. Just unacceptable.

Deep into stoppage time, Gonzalez made up for his costly tackle by scoring on a header from Landon Donovan in the 91st minute. Hello, hello, hello; there's another thing we learned on Saturday: they can still score off of set pieces.

Another things we learned: even with 10 men, Chicago can still lead a match. And shame on you, Landon Donovan. This should have been 2-1. But failing to capitalize on a red card to Gonzalo Segares for the elbow to Leonardo just won't cut it.

Donovan has been struggling to find his scoring form, and he and Edson Buddle will continue to do so as long as they provide unimaginative looks on the attack.

Tristan Bowen...oh dear, what a letdown. How dare you fail to get the fundamentals down pat when connecting on a pass, making a pass.

This young man would have made an impact if the basics had already registered. Bowen was a flat-out embarassment on Saturday.

His replacement, Bryan Jordan, didn't fare any better with his bad touches. As the Offspring song title puts it: "The Kids Aren't Alright."

I do appreciate Dema Kovalenko's toughness and Sean Franklin's grit near the end. We would love to see more of this as the rest of the regular season unfolds.

My man of the match goes to Todd Dunivant: the only consistent player on the pitch donning the white strip of the Galaxy at Toyota Park.

This just makes you wonder: if David Beckham returns to help finish off the rest of the season, can he be the spark plug this reeling Galaxy team needs? I would hope so.

Give him 15-20 minutes to generate some production as a provider, and I would imagine things will change.

And Juninho, please, for the love of all things Bruce Almighty, get your family business finished out. This team misses your presence.

Finally, to Edson Buddle, I say this: snap out of your funk. Now. There is no need for you to quit near the end of the second half. Edson Buddle's intensity has been on the downswing, and it showed on Saturday.

Holy Daughters of El Kabong, that is another team that the Los Angeles Galaxy failed to do well against. At least the losing streak is over; will the winless streak follow suit when the Crew come to Victoria Street?

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As the 2010 season reaches its final stages a Sounders team that has attained ts optimal level of play seeks to achieve post-season playoff status.  The latest effort in that direction occurs Saturday at 4:30 PT as the Sounders tackle the host New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.

After pleasing the home faithful Wednesday night at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Washington with an impressive 3-1 victory over Chivas USA to advance to the finals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship, Seattle Sounders FC switches gears and moves back into MLS competition.

Wednesday night Nate Jaqua scored twice and Steve Zakuani supplied two assists.  

The Rave Green will continue its bid to repeat as Cup champions when it hosts the Columbus Crew in the Open Cup Final on October 5 on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field.

The Sounders have achieved a seasonal MLS mark of 9 wins with 8 losses and 5 draws for 32 points.  Overall after including friendlies and international competition the team stands at 12-10-7 overall.  Seattle is on a current domestic hot steak with only one setback in the team’s last 11 matches.

After coming from behind to beat Freddie Ljungberg and the Chicago Fire 2-1 at home last week, Sounders FC rides a franchise best seven game unbeaten (5-0-2) streak into New England.

The 3-0 home win over the Revolution on June 5 matched the biggest victory margin for the club. The Revs are 6-12-3 with 21 points.  While they have lost three in a row the team has notched a 5-4-2  home mark. New England lost at home to Monarcas Morelia 2-1 in the SuperLiga final on Wednesday.

Seattle's surge to begin the second half of the season has propelled it currently into the second of four wild card slots. Eight teams qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs, the first two teams in each division and those with the next four best point totals.

Seattle returns home September 9 to host reigning MLS Cup champion Real Salt Lake in a nationally televised contest on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field.

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In the New York Red Bulls' first game after the summer transfer window closed, they play a Real Salt Lake team that was very active in player movement.

The movement featured a lot of players going away from Salt Lake, on loan to be specific. The team has temporarily moved a number of younger players to USSF Division-2 Pro League teams in an effort to get them more playing time.

David Horst (24), Collen Warner (22), Chris Schuler (22), and Alex Nimo (20) all had seen limited MLS regular season action and were loaned out to get more game experience.

With no reserve division in place for youngsters to see some action, Real Salt Lake added to their loaned list when they sent highly regarded 16-year-old prospect Luis Gil, who had yet to play in a league game yet has been dubbed a future “No. 10” for the United States National Team, to AC St. Louis.

All the activity is a creative solution to the youth development issues that plague the league. The players may not be ready for the demands of MLS, but there is no longer a reserve division in place in order to get players much-needed game experience.

Still, Real Salt Lake is the only team in the league to use loans as an option. It’s difficult to figure why other teams have not taken the same route.

With that in mind the question is, should the New York Red Bulls loan out the highly touted Juan Agudelo?

The 17-year-old forward is a tantalizing prospect. He represented the United States in the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup, scored the equalizing goal against Brazil in the U-20 Copa Chivas tournament, had a strong performance in the Milk Cup where the United States was crowned champions, and was recently named to the U-20 roster for a tournament in Peru.

For New York, he has appeared in three U.S. Open Cup games and also played in exhibition matches. Scheduled so the reserves could get some time, Agudelo scored twice against Army and once more against Rutgers.

While he has shown to be a dangerous player, he has not played a single league game for the Red Bulls.

He also does not appear to be remotely close to the field as he is buried on the depth chart behind Thierry Henry, Juan Pablo Angel, Macoumba Kandji, Salou Ibrahim, and Connor Chinn.

Currently, it is not a bad thing to be training with the likes of world-class forwards Henry and Angel, watching them, and learning the position and the game from two elite players.

However, there is no substitute for experience gained in live games; something Agudelo is getting none of currently.

With so much depth at the forward position, no reserve league, and the future of a promising young player at stake it might be in the best interest of New York to follow Real Salt Lake’s strategy and loan Agudelo next season.

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The Sounders will face its Coach Sigi Schmid’s last team, Columbus Crew, in the Open Cup final October 5th on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field.  Columbus outlasted D.C. United 2-1 in extra time Wednesday night in the other semifinal match.

Nate Jaqua scored two goals as Seattle Sounders FC forged its way to the finals of Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup competition with a 3-1 victory over Chivas USA in the very friendly confines of Starfire Sports Stadium in Tukwila, Washington before a capacity throng of 4.547.

The victory enabled the Sounders to shut the door on an unenviable statistic they sought to eliminate.  Since the franchise’s inception last season Seattle had been unable to penetrate the Chivas USA goal in four matches.

Sounders FC is bidding to become the first repeat U.S. Open winner since 1982-83.

It is unbeaten at Starfire, which also houses the team’s training facility, in six matches.

Eager to erase the scoreless string against the visitors, the team of forward Jaqua and Steve Zakuani went to work early to produce the first goal of the evening in the 11th minute.  A Fredy Montero pass enabled Zakuani to break free behind the Chivas USA defense on the left flank.

Zakuani responded to the opportunity, cutting to the end line. Zakuani's cross met Jaqua in front of the goal for a one-touch shot that beat keeper Zach Thornton and put the home team on the scoreboard.

Colombia Comet Montero has been red hot recently so it was no surprise when he added another tally to his output, a score in the 58th minute that would turn out to be the decider in the contest.  The second goal was also created by the busy Zakuani, who juked his defender and drove the ball low across the middle. Montero tapped it past Thornton from six yards out.

The ambitious Colombian set his sights early in the season as he predicted 20 goals and 10 assists.  He stands exactly at the 10 pinnacle for assists while this was his 12th goal in all competitions.  After being named MLS Player of the Month for July Montero was named the league’s most recent Player of the Week.

Nate Jaqua has long been a favorite with Sounder fans.  Announcement of his name in the starting lineup at forward evoked a loud cheer from the Seattle faithful.  Jaqua is roughly what Pete Rose was to baseball.  

Rose was nicknamed Charlie Hustle for his determined and aggressive play on the baseball diamond.  The 6-3 Eugene, Oregon native Jaqua could be called the Charlie Hustle of soccer with his free flowing style, which was in evidence Wednesday night when his team needed him.

In stoppage time Jaqua scored his second goal of the night and sealed the victory with the aid of another Sounder who, like the Oregonian, is a veteran and a crowd pleaser.  Roger Levesque entered the match as a substitute in the 82nd minute.  He made his presence immediately felt by delivering a cross from the right flank that Jaqua headed home past helpless Chivas USA goalkeeper Zach Thornton.

Chivas USA pulled even temporarily in the 68th minute, giving Sigi Schmid’s squad its only scare of the night.  Jesus Padilla converted on an assist from Justin Braun.  Padilla had come on as a substitute 14 minutes earlier.

Kasey Keller, Seattle’s veteran goalkeeper and captain, felt that the team had relaxed its defenses temporarily and generated a hole on which Padilla capitalized to knot the contest.  After grabbing the ball to put it back into play Keller shouted out his displeasure to his mates.

On the entire evening, however, it was an occasion to relish for the home team.  It was Seattle that constantly pressed the attack, creating numerous opportunities, along with some near misses, without which the already decisive 3-1 result could have been larger.

The Sounders held a commanding 19-10 advantage in shots with a 9-6 edge on goal.  Seattle was on top 10-7 in the corner department.  Keller recorded five saves on the night while his counterpart Thornton stopped six shots.

After the match Sigi Schmid assumed the frequent posture of a winning coach, that of being pleased but not satisfied, seeking additional improvement from his club.  Schmid would have liked a clean sheet on the night for a team that has one of the proudest defenses in the MLS.  At the same time he recognized the evening’s effort for what it was, an occasion of solid achievement.

"Obviously we weren't happy with the goal we gave up because we always try and be perfectionists and so forth,” Schmid said.  “I thought our ball movement at times was good. [Steve] Zakuani was sharp today. He had the better of [Mariano] Trujillo on the outside. That was important for us. It's a field that lends itself to speed of play, getting faster and I think we took advantage of that."

Congolese and London bred speedster Zakuani had recently returned from a pelvic injury.  His return was swift to the delight of Sounder patrons as he enjoyed one of his greatest games in a Seattle uniform with his hard charging dynamics and brilliant feeds that produced assists accounting for the scoring difference on the night.  

"I think he got a lot of respect early on, once he took them early and set up that first goal," Schmid explained.  “After that, I think [Mariano] Trujillo packed up and for sure in the second half they got people over there to double him. [Rodolfo] Espinoza came back a lot in the first half to help on him and in the second half they tried to double and triple him. If you can make magical moments like that or moments that impact games, that's what makes the difference in games."

Schmid also paid deserved tribute to Jaqua on his inspiring play.

"Well, they all count whether they are six yards away or twenty-five yards away,” Schmid said.  “He has made a couple of good runs. He made some good runs today. We talked about it before the game. I said, 'Hey, you're the leading scorer in the Open Cup. You want to stay there.'  Obviously he tried to stay there, or is there with the two goals tonight. A lot of the work for his goals, great service by Roger [Levesque], great service by Steve [Zakauni]. We were unlucky a couple of times, Steve's header at the back post was one that we could have had as well. I am very happy for Nate and he got a couple of goals again today."

Jaqua has scored five times in U.S. Open Cup competition.

Since Schmid will be facing the Columbus Crew, the team he coached before moving to Seattle, it was only natural for him to comment on the upcoming match for the U.S. Open Cup title from that standpoint.

"It's sort of ironic that it's the team I'm coaching now against the team I used to coach and so obviously I know their whole coaching staff,” Schmid revealed.  “I know a lot of their players there. So it's going to be emotional that way. But we are very happy that we are hosting the game. And we are very excited. We want to sell out Qwest and we want to be able to hoist a trophy in front of all those people."

The next order for business for the Sounders is a trip to Foxborough, Massachusetts.   Saturday they face the New England Revolution in an MLS match at 4:30 p.m. PT. After that the team hosts reigning MLS Cup titlist Real Salt Lake September 9th in a nationally televised contest on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field.

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Why waste your time and money building a soccer specific stadium near Philadelphia? Professional soccer never has and never will survive in an area where the Philadelphia Eagles and Philadelphia Phillies are king.

No, but it can certainly co-exist.

For as long as I have lived here in the Delaware Valley, that has always been the mantra: soccer sucks and no one cares.

News Flash! People do care and there is evidence that professional soccer can not only survive in Philadelphia, but also thrive, thanks in part to the sixteenth member of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the friendly confines of PPL Park.

Last night, the Philadelphia Union not only hosted, but beat one of the top club teams in the world, thanks to a 1-0 result over visiting Chivas de Guadalajara.

The Mexican side not only brought their attacking style of play, but also several hundred of their spirited fans, which only added to the electrifying atmosphere on this balmy summer night.

“Two things I hear when people walk in here [PPL Park],” said Union President Tom Veit. “Oh, what a great building and then oh, what a great atmosphere. You can’t build that, you can’t create that, it’s gotta be organic, its gotta happen when its right, especially in soccer, which is a sport where the passion of the fans help create the atmosphere.”

In addition to last night’s game against Chivas de Guadalajara, the Union has played seven MLS Games at PPL Park so far this season, and emerged a 1-0 winner over Scottish club side Celtic.

Before the MLS announcement that the Union would join the league, there had been one U.S. Men’s National Team game played here in Philadelphia in 30 years.

Since the announcement, the city has hosted several Gold Cup games and the U.S. National team in their last match before departing to South Africa for World Cup 2010.

Oh, did I also fail to mention that the Union, in conjunction with the Philadelphia Eagles, helped put 54,000 fans in the stands at Lincoln Financial Field this summer for a 1-0 loss to English Premier League power house Manchester United?

“I don’t think any other MLS team has done this,” expressed Veit. “Within the first 120 days of the building being open we will have hosted two national team games, two friendlies with two of the top club teams in the world, we will have the league leading LA Galaxy coming in, theoretically we could have [David] Beckham, NY Redbull with Thierry Henry and we also have Villanova playing South Florida here.”

So, I guess it’s safe to say that PPL Park has exceeded Veit's expectations?

“If you had asked me what your dream was, this probably would have been it. You go in and hope for the best, plan for the worst and yet it has been all that we could have expected, especially from our fans but we still get up every day saying we still have a lot to do.”

Well, in addition to creating a slice of heaven for soccer fans here in the Delaware Valley, this 18,500 seat venue along the Delaware River has also created about 600 jobs for residents of Chester, Pa. and surrounding areas.

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After a long offseason of changes and the recent Designated Players added during the summer transfer window, the New York Red Bulls have quickly developed into one of Major League Soccer’s elite teams.

They are a strong contender for the MLS Cup and their resurgence makes Saturday’s first-matchup with defending champion Real Salt Lake huge.

However, the game will become an even tougher task for a club trying to prove that they are legitimate contenders—not just headline heroes—as the Red Bulls will be without four starters, making them a very different team.

Midfielders Rafael Marquez and Dane Richards, defender Roy Miller, and goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul will all miss the match because they were called-up to the national teams for the next set of FIFA International dates.

Marquez, Mexico’s captain for the past three World Cups and has earned 95 caps, was selected to play in the September 4th friendly against Ecuador and the September 7th match versus Colombia.

The team’s third designated player, Marquez has been a calming force in the Red Bull’s midfield, and he will be missed. He has provided good possession, good passing and vision, and great service from free kicks, not to mention his crackling goal against Toronto FC in a 4-1 Red Bulls victory.

Richards is a player who has benefited greatly from the acquisitions of Marquez and Thierry Henry. The two attract a lot of attention on the ball and have great field vision, which leads to a lot of open space for the speedy Richards to run into and receiver brilliant passes, which he has capitalized on.

The Jamaican International was at the beginning of the season a target of criticism from fans, but he has turned it on as of late with his latest heroics coming in the form of a goal and assist in New York’s 2-0 victory of San Jose.

The Red Bulls and its team’s fans aren’t the only ones who have noticed his impressive play as of late. Jamaica called him in for the team’s game August 11th when he scored his first international goal, and has recalled him for the matches on September 5th against Costa Rica and September 7th versus Peru.

Miller was signed in the offseason and has been a good contributor to a much-improved defense. He has played in 19 games, mostly at left-back, and his pace out wide and his ability to overlap and get involved in the attack while still being organized enough to get back and defend have been a welcome addition to the squad.

He will play for Costa Rica September 3rd against Panama and September 5th versus Jamaica.

Coundoul, with his agility and acrobatics, has seven shutouts this season and leads MLS in saves with 76. He has his moments of less-than-stellar play but overall he has played very well for the Red Bulls. Senegal will rely on him for their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier September 5th against the Democratic Republic of Congo.

These players are key contributors for New York and they will be sorely missed. However, championship-caliber teams can rely on their depth for instances like this and the Red Bulls bench has been productive this season.

There are a variety of possibilities for how the Red Bulls can respond; they have a versatile group of players who have been featured at multiple positions on the field.

The most obvious replacement will be Greg Sutton for Coundoul. Sutton is the only other keeper on the roster and played in his place August 11th against Toronto when Coundoul had been selected to play for Senegal.

In that game, his only regular season appearance, Sutton shutout Toronto and helped the Red Bulls earn three points.

In place of Marquez, look for Backe to go with Seth Stammler.

One of the longest tenured Red Bulls on the squad, Stammler had started the game before Marquez arrived and in his place August 11th when he was called in for another Mexico exhibition match.

A defensive-minded player, the team might play a little conservative in an effort to gain points on the road with a depleted lineup. Stammler would provide good coverage in the back while still allowing promising rookie Tony Tchani to spring forward and connect with Henry and Juan Pablo Angel.

While Richards was missing, Macoumba Kandji was playing on the wing.

The young and raw, yet inconsistent Kandji lost his starting spot when Henry arrived on the scene.

He has been watching and learning from Henry and Angel, two highly skilled forwards. Kandji is admittedly unfamiliar with the midfield position, but is eager to get on the pitch and the Red Bulls could use his speed and his appearance as another offensive weapon.

Miller’s absence is the one that leaves the most possibilities for someone else to step in. Many fans may be calling for the return of favorite Mike Petke to the starting eleven. However, Petke would only be available to play center back and the defense would have to be further broken apart.

In a lineup that will see a lot of shake-ups, finding some consistency—something that was never present in previous head coach Juan Carlos Osorio’s regime—is important.

The central tandem of Carlos Mendes and Tim Ream has been exceptional. They have anchored a defense that has allowed only two goals in five August matches. Those two will stay in the lineup, leaving Petke on the bench again.

Coming in should be midfielder/defender Danleigh Borman. He has appeared in 16 matches, started 11, and is seventh on the team in minutes played.

While there is a lot of movement going on for such a big match, there are two things that should keep the organization and its fans happy.

One is that workhorse midfielder Joel Lindpere has declined any Estonia National Team call-ups for the remainder of the season, stressing the importance of being with the Red Bulls on their quest for the team’s first championship.

The other thing is that Thierry Henry and Juan Pablo Angel are healthy and will both be starting against Real Salt Lake. The best forward tandem in MLS will put the pressure on Salt Lake’s defense, possibly even hiding some of the vulnerabilities of the rest of the makeshift squad.

The Red Bulls would have loved to trot out their complete lineup to strut their stuff against the reigning champions, but that is not the case. It still is an important fixture, and the team is still talented enough however, to compete and earn at least a point.

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As Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy prepare for Saturday's match with the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois, the mindset has been one of the straightforward variety: Score First.

“We’ve given up way too many early goals this year,” Galaxy midfielder Chris Klein said after Saturday’s 2-0 loss to the Kansas City Wizards. “What that does to us is it ends up making us chase the game and allowing teams to sit in and counter against us.”

Los Angeles is 0-5-1 when they allow the first goal this season. All of the six first-half goals allowed this season came in the first 20 minutes of each game.

Galaxy defender Todd Dunivant gave a concise explanation regarding the goals given up early.

“A lot of it’s coming from the midfield, we’re up and they’re breaking on us and it’s some freak play in behind,” Dunivant said. “It’s not like [opponents] are getting in behind and breaking us down so we need to adjust to that. It is the common theme.”

For Klein, Los Angeles's nasty habit of chasing the game is simply unacceptable.

“It’s more indicative of our style of play and when we go down early and we have to chase the game and chase the game and chase the game, it allows teams to sit in and be tight against us,” Klein said on Saturday. “Usually teams have to come out and spread themselves out and that’s when we can catch them.

"When you give up that early goal you’re not able to do that.”

Midfielder Landon Donovan was quick to note that the difficulty for teams to come from behind after getting scored on early was a common theme in Major League Soccer.

“In this league, it’s hard to chase any game because we don’t have enough talented players,” Donovan said. “There aren’t enough talented players around the league to do the things to make plays when the other team has 10 guys behind the ball.

"When you see Chelsea or Man U or Arsenal or Barcelona play, they have enough quality players where they can play against 10 guys behind the ball and still create really good chances. That’s always going to be hard for us. We need to get back to the things we’re good at and if we do that, we’ll win.”

Los Angeles is 13-0-0 when they score first. They will look to make it 14-0-0 when they take on the Fire.

Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. PT and will be televised by Fox Sports Prime Ticket and TeleFutura.

INS & OUTS

Solving the complacency dilemma:

“I wish there was a simple answer,” Donovan said during training this week regarding Los Angeles's complacency issues. “If there was, we’d have figured it out. We’re doing our best to get back to basic things again.”

After a 11-1-3 start, LA's skid has hit a decrepit 2-4-1, with consecutive defeats for the first time in what has been a forgettable couple of months.

“We have to figure out who we are and what we’re all about and if we can do that we’ll have a chance,” Dunivant said. “If not, and we continue getting through these games like this, we’re not going to win the championship—and that’s obviously our goal this year.

“We haven’t responded well enough," he said. "I think that’s something we did very well last year, coming back. Especially in a lot of the early results, we were coming back and getting draws, fighting and scrapping. Our mentality has to change a little bit. We have to be more of a scrappy team. We have to be more of blue-collar team.

“Maybe we’ve listened to too much of the hype about being in first place and gotten a little complacent and thought maybe we could change our style of play or whatever. All that feeds into your mentality and you’re seeing the results and it’s not good.”

Donovan knows this all too well.

“There’s a natural tendency in sports when you get a big lead to take your foot off the gas a bit,” Donovan added. “We’re certainly at fault for that. But now, we’re right in the thick of it.

"Now, that doesn’t mean we’re not going to be in the playoffs, it doesn’t mean that we’re still not going to have a good year, but if we’re going to be as good as we can be, we need to be a lot better.”

And if it starts with the first match in September, more power to both Donovan and Dunivant. So the story goes.

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So the challenge was simple enough: Pick an MLS starting eleven that which has a total 2010 Guaranteed Compensation under $1,000,000.

The results were simple enough too. A pretty good team, I’d say. (Review it here.)

But as it turns out, the process of choosing the team and some insights about the league that came from it are probably what was the most interesting.

So, let’s look at how the team was picked.

Really—and this is no surprise—a challenge of this nature is mostly an exercise in finding the MLS players you think are the biggest discounts and picking a group of them that fit together to play a certain style, or at least effective, soccer.

Staying my course of hoping and dreaming for attractive, inventive soccer, I aimed for players I hoped could deliver that. I also wanted to focus on balancing the strength of the team across the field, for instance, avoiding deep sacrifices in midfield to pay for a top forward (who would then probably never get good service anyway.)

But, with such a limited budget, goals for attractive soccer and team balance are not easy to achieve.

Goalkeeper

Frankly, this was probably my easiest choice. Being the beautiful-soccer dreamer that I am, I tend to devalue goalies. I know it’s unfair to them, but so be it.

More than that, Kevin Hartman’s relatively low $80K salary (due to his recent status of being in club limbo?) made this a no-brainer. He is proven, experienced and inexpensive.   If I wasn’t going to get him, I would have gone with a cut-rate discount like Brad Knighton, for $40K.

Defenders

I’ll admit, I struggled here. Players who made my immediate short-list included: Omar Gonzalez, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Jonathan Bornstein, Sean Franklin, Gonzalo Segares, Darrius Barnes, AJ DeLaGarza, Tim Ream and Geoff Cameron.

The Gonzalez choice in particular was troubling, since a young player as the anchor in the back-line with a six digit salary is tough to swallow; however,  his future looks bright.   Jhon Kennedy Hurtado would have been a slightly less expensive, but also solid choice for that same role.

I have a much better opinion of Bornstein than many USA fans do, and for $100K figured him a sure thing for my back line. In the end though, I couldn’t pass up the savings that the recently returning Gonzalo Segares offered.

Reliable Geoff Cameron and the speedy Sean Franklin rounded out the back line.

Midfielders

At first, I worried that I’d not find a suitable midfield. It’s clear that the better midfielders are commanding a reasonably high premium in MLS. From a pure value standpoint, the players that jumped out at me were: Brad Evans, Joel Lindpere, Marco Pappa, Osvaldo Alonso, Andy Najar and maybe Andy Williams or Dax McCarty.

Alonso seemed like such a value that in nearly every iteration I tried, he ended up being my holding midfielder. I was very hopeful to add a crafty, creative central midfielder in front of him—with Arturo Alvarez and Javier Morales being high on the list relative to their costs—but I could not justify the sacrifices I’d need to make elsewhere on the field to accommodate them.

Instead, I went with creativity on the wings (Pappa, Najar) and a box-to-box player in Evans to partner in the center of midfield.

Forwards

I really wanted Fredy Montero.  I think for $180K his creativity would have been a terrific value.

(Yes, for many, another few thousand would get Edson Buddle, who most MLS watchers would then consider a shoo-in when looking at price to production. But despite all the obvious reasons I should be swooning for Edson, I don’t.)

One option would have been to pair Montero with a cheaper, but hopefully effective, role-player forward. While it might work as an OK complement, I think that a very solid front line combination that forces defenses to focus on two danger-men is more likely to illicit mistakes from over-matched MLS defenders is than a mismatched superstar/bit-player combination.

There are some good, inexpensive choices out there who could fill the second-fiddle role, with players like Dominic Odouro, Adam Cristman, Justin Braun and Joseph Ngwenya as examples.

Speed demons Maykel Galindo and (the much maligned) Robbie Findley were compelling values as well.

But in the end, I went instead with the strong and skillful Alvaro Saborio and the fast, powerful and crafty Omar Cummings.

So, that’s my lineup and my rationale. The low salary cap in this challenge, and for MLS generally, typically means taking some risks on younger, less expensive talent. It also means that if you are going “big” on one player, that player had better produce in a very significant way, because you quickly risk balance in other areas of the field to compensate for one large salary.

My risks included a near-rookie back line and a hope that Andy Najar has the kind of future that seems so close to his grasp.

In Part Three, I’ll look at what this value-based selection exercise taught me about MLS, and in particular my hometown New England Revolution.

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