RSL and Galaxy Meet Again, Fight to a Draw

RSL's Luke Mulholland in the second half of Saturday's action. (realsaltlake.com)

This afternoon I finally got over being bummed that I couldn't make the match last Saturday and fired up the DVR to take it in.  It was honestly about what I expected from an RSL vs Galaxy match.  A tight, methodical. sometimes physical affair with both teams seemingly afraid to risk to make a big mistake.  Ironically, both of the day's goals came off of mistakes on the part of both sides.

Of course the Galaxy actually made the first mistake of the match not even two minutes after the opening whistle.  Joao Plata caught Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez deep in his own end and swiped the ball, darting toward what looked like might be an easy finish.  Unfortunately, Plata snatched his ball wide of the post.  That goal would have come in handy at the end.

However, you have to like RSL scoring off of a set piece, which they did in the 19th minute.  Plata hit Sabo in the box with a cross, and well, the Galaxy seemed to think that RSL's big man was off lounging in the Costa Rican sun, because he was as unmarked as you can be. It what must have been like training move, Sabo took the ball down, set it, and smacked it into the back of the net making it 1-0 to RSL.

Unfortunately, the home side were not functioning to perfection on the back line either, and it cost RSL the lead and eventually a point..  Chris Wingert lost the ball around the midfield stripe on 35 minutes and Juninho recovered for the Galaxy.  He dropped the ball off to Robbie Keane, who sprinted toward the RSL goal.  Chris Schuler did a pretty decent job trying to stay in front of Keane and force him wide a bit, but in the end he just became the latest defender to get juked out of his shoes by the Ireland captain as Keane discarded him and put the ball past Nick Rimando with a clinical finish to tie the match at 1-1.

So both goals were well taken, and both sides made a mistake that cost them.  It's not really a surprise.  These clubs are just too good to let big mistakes go unpunished.  There were no further goals in the second half but there was some controversy and talking points.

First off, RSL had a pretty decent penalty case for a penalty, when Dan Gargan clearly held Sabo in the box with two hands on a cross.  Supposedly MLS is looking to crack down on some of that, but not this time.  Second, Sabo was shown the yellow card in the 63rd minute for a rather nasty hit on AJ DeLaGarza that featured a raised leg as he sent the LA defender to the floor in frustration.  Now, Bruce Arena is calling it dirty play and said Sabo was deliberately tying to injure DeLaGarza.  I watched it, slow motioned it, and checked out Simon Borg's thoughts on the "Instant Replay" segment.  I don't think Sabo was trying to hurt him, but as much as I just wanted to be able to see it as something clumsy that a forward might do, there was obviously a frustration involved and bringing the leg into it does make it worse.  Arena wants a ban, and he and the Galaxy openly called for it after the match, which I'm not a fan of.  This whole retroactive punishment thing has turned into a situation where players and coaches now OPENLY lobby for bans and fines after the match has ended, and that needs to stop.  It undermines the referee on the pitch and comes across as very whiny, I don't care who is doing it.  In this case, the referee gave Sabo a yellow, which I personally think was the correct call.  However, I wouldn't be surprised to see the league hit Sabo with a one or two game ban.  I don't agree with that kind of thing where the play was already given a card on the pitch because it takes away the referee's discretion.  It should be as hard to get a ban after a play has already been punished as it is to get a red card or ban rescinded, in my opinion, but we'll see what the league does, likely Thursday or Friday.

All in all, I was pretty satisfied with the performance, though I think it was a tremendous lost opportunity to get the Galaxy right after a CCL loss and without their main 'keeper in net.  Last year we ended up regretting dropped points at home to Chicago and Sporting KC.  I wonder if we might regret this one similarly later on down the road.  However, the Galaxy deserve a massive amount of credit for coming in and locking horns with RSL, and taking their first point back home to LA.

So finally, here are my three stars for the match:

FIRST STAR--Alvaro Saborio, RSL.  I really hope Sabo can stay healthy this year.  He was a beast on Saturday and the Galaxy had lots of trouble with him.  He seems to be in a good frame of mind and looks to be really up for it this year.

SECOND STAR--Robbie Keane, LAG.  I hate it when he does what he does to us, but man, his skills are pretty amazing.  The way he just discarded Schuler and scored the goal past Rimando was the work of a master.

THIRD STAR--Chris Schuler, RSL.  Schuler bares no fault for the goal, that's on Wingert.  However, it is so great to see him back on the pitch.  If he can rekindle what we saw from him in the playoffs last year, he's going to be a beast for RSL at the back and who knows, future captain maybe?  I'm always much more comfortable when I see him next to Nat, the bearded one.

Don't forget to join us, yes even me, at the RioT on Saturday against Michael Bradley, Jermaine Defoe, and TFC.  Pop 'round to section 30 and give me a holler.  I'm next to the guy who brings all the cool tifos.

MLS Crashes and Burns in CCL. Again.

Cruz Azul's Mario Pavone scored a hat trick as Azul demolished Sporting KC.

Remember last week when there was a little more than cautious optimism about MLS sides in CONCACAF Champions League play?  Reigning MLS Cup champs Sporting Kansas City took down Cruz Azul at home, and the LA Galaxy managed to hold off the Xolos of Tijuana.  Even San Jose managed to fight back late to earn a home draw against Toluca.  Things looked fairly bright.  If all three MLS clubs could pull a sweep in Mexico, it would guarantee that an MLS club would make the CCL final and have a chance to play for the trophy and a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup.

Then reality set in starting on Tuesday night, really harsh reality.

That night the LA Galaxy took on the Xolos at Estadio Caliente in Tijuana, and things went rotten quite quickly.  The 1-0 lead they had from winning at home evaporated in less than a minute.  The Galaxy couldn't clear their own box and the ball finally managed to fall to Xolo Jaime Ayovi, who easily knocked in the first goal of the match on 57 seconds, equalizing the aggregate.  By halftime, the Galaxy found themselves down 3-1.  Oops.  Still, the Xolos didn't have a road goal, and the Galaxy scored one through Robbie Keane out of halftime to make it 3-2.  One more goal and the Galaxy could take the series on road goals.  However, things fell apart in the last ten minutes Richard Ruiz scored for Tijuana in the 82nd, which put the Galaxy into full kitchen sink mode.  Keane managed his brace in the 85th, but they Galaxy were never able to tally the last needed goal and fell to the Xolos by a 4-3 aggregate.  The Galaxy fought hard, but just could not overcome the dreadful first half.

The first of two ties on Wednesday night involved Toluca hosting the San Jose Earthquakes, who came into the match tied 1-1 after yet another Goonie style comeback at Buck Shaw last week.  As an MLS fan, you have to hand it to the Quakes who were playing at 9,000 ft, much higher than Rio Tinto Stadium or even Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado.   The Quakes actually took the lead in the tie in the 56h minute through Ty Harden, but Toluca equalized 13 minutes later, sending the tie into extra time.  In the 96th minute Alan Gordon appeared to tally his second of the tie, but the goal was ruled out for offside.  It was really close call, but if you freeze fame the replay, he certainly looked even.  At any rate, the match ended up going into penalties, where Toluca picked up the victory 5-4.  The Quakes might feel a bit hard done by, but they certainly represented the league well.

That was certainly not the case for defending MLS Cup Champs Sporting Kansas City.  Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I'm still a little bitter over the MLS Cup final, and Cruz Azul is my favorite Liga MX side, so this probably isn't unbiased, but SKC laid a total egg at Estadio Azul.  Backup 'keeper Erick Kronberg got hammered and Azul blew up the the KC defense who suffered while Aurelien Collin sat on the bench.  They did their best keystone cop impression and Mario Pavone scored a hat trick on the way to a 5-1 victory in the match and 5-2 on aggregate.  It was a clueless performance from the champs, who from what I managed to see, didn't really look all that interested.  That's nice, because the supposed "best team in MLS" got obliterated on Mexican soil.  It was a result that I think sets the league back 2 or 3 years in CCL play.  Thanks Peter Vermes.  Why don't you let somebody who wants to play in next time, say, Seattle or RSL?

At any rate, MLS bows out yet again without even getting a team into the semis, let alone into the finals.  Both Houston and Canadian Champions Montreal were eliminated in the group stage.  For us RSL fans, we can continue to hold on to "we're the only ones to make the final," which stings a little as Portland was handed our spot when the qualification rules were changed AFTER the MLS season and playoffs last year, which doesn't seem fair, but whatever.  Next year we'll have the Timbers. the Red Bulls, and Sporting KC in as well as DC United (thanks to RSL's own massive egg laid in the US Open Cup final, and probably Vancouver, TFC, or Montreal provided they win the Canadian Championship.  I don't expect anything from DC United barring a massive improvement, Portland still has issues on the road and has only managed draws in it's first two home matches this season, Thierry Henry will probably come up with a reason not to play, and I really can't see Sporting KC doing any better.  So uh, maybe we hope TFC wins and goes in?  That's the ticket.

Another year, another disappointment for MLS fans.

Rimando, Plata, Boost RSL to 3 Points Over Galaxy

Robbie Keane missed two sitters and a PK for the Galaxy (LAGalaxy.com)

Sorry, I couldn't help but lead my first RSL 2014 entry with this pic of Robbie Keane.  Let's face it. Keane is one of the best, if not THE best striker in MLS, but Saturday night was not his night.  Instead the night belonged to a heroic Nick Rimando and a dangerous Joao Plata as RSL defeated the Galaxy 0-1 at StubHub Center.

Of course, it was hard to tell that it was going to be RSL's night from the action in the opening half.  The Galaxy opened the match looking very dangerous, and finding quite a bit of open space for Keane, Landon Donovan, and new attacker Samuel.  They even got in behind the RSL defense a couple of times.  Aaron Maund got the start next to Nat Borchers at CB instead of Carlos Salcedo, and that made me nervous, even knowing that Keane absolutely abused Salcedo in LA last year.  Maund held his own early and throughout the game though.  At one point in the first half, LA found Keane behind the defense streaking toward Rimando in what appeared to be a 1v1 situation.  However Maund, showing flashes of his good speed, got back and tackled the ball away from Keane to save the day.  It was remarkable that he didn't give up a yellow card or even a foul.  In that moment, Jeff Cassar's confidence in the youngster paid off.

That wasn't the only good chance the Galaxy would have though.  In the 34th minute Rimando botched a clearance and sent it straight to Keane.  It looked to be lights out for the Ireland Captain as he knocked it back toward the goal.  Incredibly the ball smacked off the woodwork, hit the ground, then bounced away from the goal line and the score somehow remained 0-0.  A few minutes later, Keane found Donovan on an angle and Landon smacked toward Rimando's near post.  Rimando hit the deck and made an outstanding save though, keeping the match yet level as the teams headed into the halftime break.

LA continued their assault in the second half, and RSL's defense continued to bend but not break.  Gradually they did start to shut down the space though.  Still, the offense seemed to be sputtering some, so Cassar went to his bench.  The first sub for the Claret and Cobalt was former NASL Best XI player Luke Mulholland, who came in for Luis Gil in the 66th minute.  Gil never really got into the match, but Mulholland had no such issues.  Not long after entering, he found himself putting the ball into the back of the net off of a rebound from a Plata shot, but he was whistled offside, despite having two LA defenders and keeper Penedo between him and the goal at the time.

Still, RSL's had signaled their attacking intent and LA was starting to look nervy at the back.  In the 80th minute Captain Kyle Beckerman played Plata into the box, and Platita slotted past Penedo to make it 0-1 to RSL.  This time there were no flags.

The Galaxy cranked up the pressure over the last ten minutes looking for an equalizer.  New Galaxy man, and rather large attacker, Rob Friend entered the match and caused trouble along RSL's back line, but the boys held into stoppage time, that's when it looked like it was all going to blow away.

In the final minute of the 3, Friend went up in the box over Tony Beltran.  He fell over theatrically, with the ball striking his hand on the way down.  The ref fell for it though, and awarded the Galaxy a penalty kick on the rationale that Beltran had undercut him.  It looked to be the opposite for me, but my opinion doesn't matter.  Keane stepped to the spot and hoped to redeem himself for earlier misses, but his PK was stoned by Nick Rimando and the points were preserved for Real Salt Lake.

The win launches RSL's new season and the Jeff Cassar era on a high note.  They showed real grit and determination despite several things going against them.  The Claret and Cobalt will take on San Jose at Buck Shaw stadium next week.  For the Galaxy, the played well, and were superior to RSL for large swathes of the match, unfortunately for them, they couldn't finish even one of several possible chances.  Still it's hard to argue that LA didn't deserve a point.  They have a bye in league play next weekend, but they host  Tijuana this week in CCL play.  That should be interesting as both Keane and Donovan played 90 minutes in this match.

Now, here are my 3 Stars for the match, the first installment of 2014:

1st STAR: NICK RIMANDO: RSL.--Yes, Nick made a pretty big goof in the first half, but bounced back in epic fashion.  He had nine saves on the night, including the big one on Keane's PK in stoppage time.

2nd STAR: Joao Plata: RSL.--Plata was the most consistent offensive threat for RSL.  He forced Penedo into a save in the first half on a driven shot, earned a rebound that Mulholland put in for the called back goal in the second, and eventually beat the LA shot stopper for the match winner in the 80th minute.

3rd STAR: Aaron Maund: RSL.--Hell yes, I was nervous.  However, Maund did have a good preseason, and really justified Cassar's selection by putting out a solid performance in the back.  He also nearly had a goal in the first half.  I would really like to see our CBs be a more consistent threat on set pieces this season.

Mixed Results for MLS at the End of CCL Group Stage.

The group stage of the 2013-2014 CONCACAF Champions League wrapped up last night, and it was a mixed summer for MLS squads.  This year the LA Galaxy, Houston Dynamo, San Jose Earthquakes, and Sporting Kansas City filled the four US slots in the tournament while fellow MLS side Montreal Impact took the one Canadian slot available.  Three of the five MLS clubs will be moving on, but each one will face a tough Liga Mx side in the quarterfinals.

As RSL found out last year, the new tourney format with 8 groups and only the winner advancing is quite unforgiving.  The Dynamo learned this lesson last night as well as they fell to Arabe Unido 1-0 in Panama, which knocked them out of the tournament.  Of course, they continued to participate in what to me is a disturbing trend, MLS clubs fielding weaker sides in these matches.  Now, it's hard to blame the Dynamo for doing this when they have their regular season finale this weekend with the playoffs on the line, but it still goes to show where most MLS clubs rank this tournament.

Also in action last night were the LA Galaxy who traveled to El Salvador to take on to take on Isidro Metapan.  The Galaxy also fielded a weakened side, but their passage to the next round was already assured.  However, Metapan forward Nicholas Munoz dropped an insane 4 goals on the defending MLS Champs to crush them 4-0.  The Galaxy dropped from the 1 to the 6 seed in the next round with the loss, which as we'll see in a minute, created an interesting matchup.

Wednesday night Sporting Kansas City and the San Jose Earthquakes secured their passage to the knockout rounds as well.  Sporting held Honduran side Olimpia to a 0-0 draw at Sporting Park and the Quakes managed a 1-0 win over Heredia at Buck Shaw, thanks to a goal from Chris Wondolowski.

With all that said, here are the CCL Quarterfinal pairings, with the higher seed listed first:

Toluca vs San Jose Earthquakes
Cruz Azul vs Sporting Kansas City
Club Tijuana vs LA Galaxy
Arabe Unido vs Alajuelense

Honestly, I don't see much hope for MLS sides in this draw.  The Liga MX sides will be into their second half and the MLS sides will be looking at preseason type form.  Toluca should smash the the Quakes.  Sporting could have a shot at Cruz Azul if they can win at home.  The most interesting matchup is Tijuana and Herculez Gomez vs the Galaxy.  The Xolos haven't exactly been setting Liga Mx on fire, currently placed 12th out of 18.  However I still think this is going to be a tough ask for the Galaxy.  Should be a great tie to watch though.  Maybe Fox Sports 1 will actually show it, if not I can watch it on the Mexican broadcast I guess.  I'm sure Fox will have better things to show, like 20 consecutive replays of it's highlights show.

MLS Western Conference at the Halfway Point: Does This Make Sense?

Real Salt Lake celebrate salvaging a point vs the Philadelphia Union. (Deseret News)

So now we're basically at the halfway mark of the 2013 Major League Soccer season.  To me, it really seems like it's flying by.  No matter how you slice it, the 1st half has been full of drama and surprises.  Here is how the Western Conference shakes out, with some of my thoughts on the individual clubs.

1. Real Salt Lake, 34 Points.
Let's cut to the chase here, very few people expected RSL to be on top of the table at this or any point of the MLS season.  I didn't either.  Expectations were tempered with the off season losses of RSL mainstays like Will Johnson, Fabian Espindola, and Jamison Olave.  However, despite the flat out RAGE from some fans, RSL quietly maintained that they were reloading, not rebuilding.  So many guys have stepped up for the Claret and Cobalt this year.  Josh Saunders making a great game saving play against the Union is just the latest in the long line of fine performances in many different positions.  Still, you don't get anything for being first on the 4th of July.  RSL will have to avoid their usual "summer swoon" to stay on top.
RSL Halfway MVP: Javier Morales--Javi has shrugged off the early season injury to come back and play some of his best football in recent memory, setting guys up for goals and scoring a few himself.

2. FC Dallas, 31 Points.
There was a time earlier this season when it looked like Dallas was going to run away with the Western Conference, and maybe even the Supporter's Shield.  They've come back to earth in recent weeks, dropping road results at Portland and LA, and scraping by a little bit at home.  Still, I think Dallas is the real deal and I don't think they're going away.  To me the biggest difference has been in team discipline, which means they've been putting themselves in fewer deep holes in matches.  Blas Perez continues to be a force to be reckoned with and David Ferreira is still one of the best in the league.  The Hoops have also improved on defense and in net.
FCD Halfway MVP--Raul Fernandez. The Peruvian International 'keeper has just earned a spot in the MLS fan XI for the All Star game and has proven to be a great pickup in Frisco.  He's saved a few points for Dallas this year and should continue to do so in the second half.

3. L.A. Galaxy, 30 Points.
There's always a storyline going on with the Galaxy, but hey, it's Hollywood, right?  Earlier this year it was Landon Donovan's "sabbatical." Then it was the fact that they traded Mike Magee for Robbie Rogers while Magee was right there leading the league in goals.  Now it's the fact that Rogers has basically done squat since coming on board.  You know what though?  Despite the unrest and the "wtf" storylines that swirl around this club, they continue to be right there in the thick of it.  You just can't bet against a team with Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane, and Omar Gonzalez.  However the glaring weakness for this team is in goal.  Carlo Cudicini is NOT cutting it, and one wonders if this issue will bite LA in the rear before the season is over.  Matt Pickens anyone?
LAG Halway MVP--Landon Donovan.  Beckham who?  Since returning from his "Holiday in Cambodia" Landon has proven that he is still the beating heart of this club.  Now, he hasn't always been at his best, but he is the force that drives this team and there's no reason why he can't drive them to another MLS Cup right now.  You have been warned.

4. Portland Timbers, 30 Points.
You have to give the Timbers a ton of credit.  I basically gave them no chance in my preseason preview, and they've certainly proven me wrong.  This team has WAY more heart than the previous editions have had, and the Timbers Army seems to finally have a group that cares as much as they do.  Still, while MLS has seemed to want to crown Portland as the new Kings of Cascadia and maybe even the league, I'm not sold yet.  That big unbeaten streak?  Yeah, there were a lot of draws in there, a lot of points left on the table.  Last year they were losing a lot of the matches they've drawn this year.  Now they have to start converting some of those situations into wins if they really want to stay in the Shield hunt going forward.
PDX Halfway MVP--Will Johnson.  RSL's loss was Portland's gain, BIG TIME.  Will finally had the chance to be the man up in Portland, and he's come through big time.  You can really see the team reflecting his Never Say Die, 90+ minute attitude.  He'll need some help going forward though, especially on the back line.

5. Vancouver Whitecaps, 29 Points.
Just when you want to count the Whitecaps out, BANG, they come out and slap Seattle.  This club is a bit of an enigma, on one hand, you look at their roster now as opposed to a year ago and think that they have to be worse off now, but they might not be.  Camilo has been in high gear recently, and Kenny Miller finally looks like he's settling into MLS.  The problem for the 'Caps is going to continue to be on defense, where injuries have hit them hard, including losing Captain Jay DeMerit to an ACL injury in the 7th minute of the season.  I don't see the 'Caps challenging for the top of the table, but if they can get into the playoffs and stay healthy, they could make some noise.
VAN Halfway MVP--Camilo.  There is no question for me here.  He is one of the most dynamic players in the conference, and he's starting to finally form a nice partnership with Kenny Miller.  The Caps' fortunes will follow his own.

6. Colorado Rapids, 27 Points.
The Rapids have been the most Jekyll and Hyde like team for me out west this year.  The last week at home is a case in point.   They beat the NY Red Bulls 2-0 in one of their better performances on the year, then they come out and look totally uninspired against a DC squad that they should beat in their sleep at the Dick, only earning a scoreless draw.  Their main problem seems to be inconsistency, and their spotty defense has had a lot to do with it.  Finishing also seems to come in fits and starts for them, it seems like they're going to either put up 2 or 3 goals, or none at all.  However, they are a fairly young team, and young teams can be prone to these inconsistencies.  I will say this though, if they get into the playoffs, this is the one team I DO NOT want to face in the first round.  They'll be hungry and have the players to do the damage.
COL Halfway MVP--Clint Irwin.  Irwin has come up huge for the Rapids since the early season injury to Matt Pickens.  He has started to show his youth a little bit of late, but a lot of the goals against him have been goal of the week type strikes.  Make no mistake, Irwin keeps Colorado in matches.

7. Seattle Sounders, 24 Points.
The Sounders are easily the biggest disappointment in the conference so far.  The season has been fairly disjointed as much of their early schedule was disrupted due to CCL play.  They've played three less games than most of the conference, so they have time to improve, but improve they must.  Osvaldo Alonso can't be back soon enough, and the defense has been down right atrocious lately.  They seem to just be going through the motions a good portion of the time, and it's not cutting it.  They have the weapons up front, but it seems like they have little else, except a frustrated fanbase.
SEA Halfway MVP--Obafemi Martins.  He's been streaky, but when he's been on, he's provided most of the good moments for the Sounders.

 8. San Jose Earthquakes, 21 Points.
My, my, what a difference a year makes.  All those things that were going right for the Quakes last year?  Yeah those breaks have turned against them.  The suspensions and fines have piled up as their, shall we say provocative, style of play has caught up with them.  Injuries have also been a big issue. Plus Chris Wondolowski has gone from MVP to down right invisible in many matches.  The Quakes have fired their Shield winning coach and sit eight points back of a playoff spot.  They're going to need a huge dose of that "Goonie" crap to turn it around now.
SJE Halfway MVP--Jon Busch.  He drives me nuts sometimes, but he's one of the most underrated netminders in the league.  Without him, the Quakes might be in Chivas USA territory.

Speaking of.....

9. Chivas USA, 14 Points.
What else is there to say about the doormat of the conference and perhaps the worst managed organization in the league?  El Chelis was a joke.  It was a gimmick, and I'm sure even he knew that.  Since the Chelis spotlight has drifted away, the Goats have made just a TINY bit of improvement, picking up 2 road points at Dallas and at Montreal. Still, the Goats have light years to go before they can be looked at as respectable.
CHV Halfway MVP--Dan Kennedy.  He's the only one really worth mentioning.  When I mention him, I like to mention that he should be playing for the OTHER team that calls that stadium home.

So there you have it.  Does it make sense?  Maybe not so much, but the second half promises to be just as exciting as the first.  What you can positively say is that at least ONE really good team is probably going to miss the playoffs.

Match Thoughts and Three Stars: RSL vs LA Galaxy

Expect to hear plenty more from RSL's Lucky #13 (Photo: Deseret News)

Last night was another wonderful night for football at the RioT.  The later start times are excellent, that extra 30 minutes makes a ton of difference.  The Galaxy and RSL took the pitch at 7:30 and put on a great show for the fans, with RSL's Olmes Garcia becoming the hero of the day with a late brace to propel the Claret and Cobalt to a 3-1 win over the defending champs.

I'll admit to being a little worried after the Galaxy were crushed 5-0 by the Revs last weekend.  I figured that Bruce Arena would have his troops marshaled for a fine performance against RSL, and for the most part it was true, at least in the first half.  Both teams took turns on possession in the opening half, and it felt like a couple of top class fighters probing for a weakness.  Those weaknesses started to appear in the 26th minute when Khari Stephenson cracked the left post with a free kick.  The ball bounced back across the face of goal but no one was there to turn it home.  The Galaxy hit the woodwork just 3 minutes later, when Jose Villarreal nailed the corner of the crossbar and the far post from outside the box.  The Galaxy nearly took the lead in minute 37 when Villarreal tried the other upper corner on a free kick, but Nick Rimando was as good as ever, jumping to his right to make the save.

However it was the last five minutes of the first half that proved to be the main battleground for both sides.  In the 44th  minute Robbie Findley dropped off to Stephenson just outside the top of the box.  Khari banged it low near post to slot past the Galaxy 'keeper to make it 1-0 to RSL.  The Galaxy then capitalized on a blunder from RSL in the first minute of stoppage time.  A ball in bounced off of Nat Borchers' face and fell perfectly to Landon Donovan, who expertly slotted past a helpless Nick Rimando to equalize at 1-1 going into the half.

Both sides tightened up in the second half, and clear cut scoring chances seemed few and far between.  However, I thought RSL could have utilized better service to break the Galaxy defense sooner than they did.  It seemed like neither fullback was on his game offensively last night, and Tony in particular hit a couple of crosses that were real stinkers.

The Claret and Cobalt came good in the end though, starting in the 83rd minute.  Kyle Beckerman and Javier Morales worked the ball around the LA box, then Javi sent a great ball into Olmes Garcia, who flashed a header to the back post to make it 2-1 to RSL.  Olmes then iced the match in stoppage time as RSL struck on a counter.   Devon Sandoval made a great run up the pitch with the ball before dropping off to Morales, who once again found Olmes streaking toward the goal.  Garcia then put it past the LA 'keeper cool as you like to the far post to make it 3-1 at full time.

After a bit of a rocky first half defensively, it turned out to be a banner night for the Claret and Cobalt.  Olmes Garcia continues to be a revelation, and Morales is really in form.  I'd also like to give a shout out to Devon Sandoval with his continued good work and Kwame Watson-Siriboe, who had another solid game at the back.  Now, the three stars:

3rd Star: Landon Donovan--LA Galaxy

I bet Landon feeds off the negative energy from the crowd.  His goal was from a lucky circumstance, but his finish was first class.  He remains one of the best in MLS.  Also, he was the only Galaxy player to look dangerous for 90 minutes.

2nd Star: Khari Stephenson--Real Salt Lake

Here's what I really like about Khari.  During the post match interviews last night Khari said if he had the space, he was going to to shoot, period.  I LOVE it.  To me, RSL has lacked this in recent years, wanting to do too much cutesy stuff sometimes.  Will Johnson had this type of attitude, but Khari seems to be a little more on target than our favorite Canadian.

1st Star: Olmes Garcia--Real Salt Lake

What else is there to say?  The kid was an absolute game changer last night and the Galaxy defense had no clue what to do with him.  He's almost like the best of Saborio and Findley rolled into one package, and that's quite the deal!

MLS out of CCL again. Is it bad luck, or something more?

Aldo De Nigris celebrates a goal against the LA Galaxy (AP Photo)

So, another year, another collapse.  Major League Soccer is facing another year without a representative in the CCL final.  Lord knows the Seattle Sounders gave it the old college try, and the Galaxy looked fully capable of beating Monterrey for the first 45 minutes in their series, but in the final analysis, the results just didn't come.

Let's look at a couple of facts here.  Number 1, despite the exits of the Sounders and the Galaxy at the hands of Santos Laguna and Monterrey, MLS clubs are doing better in this competition year after year, as MLS Analyst Matthew Doyle points out here.  The record keeps improving.  Now, some of this is against the Caribbean and Central American clubs, whom MLS have generally shown themselves to be superior, most of the time.  However, the league is starting to notch results against Mexican opposition every year as well.  RSL drew Monterrey in the first leg of the finals in Monterrey in 2011.  In 2012 both Seattle and FC Dallas notched wins against Mexican opponents.  This year, the Houston Dynamo beat Santos at home and the Sounders became the first club to eliminate a Mexican team in the knockout stages, beating Tigres.   Tigres is no slouch of a club.  So the evidence is there, it's getting better, just maybe not at the pace that MLS fans want it to.

Number 2: Mexico is still the better league, at least in this competition.  There are probably many factors at work here.  Many have pointed out the salary cap issue over the last couple of days.  While it is true that Mexican sides don't have the spending constraints  that MLS sides do, when you look at what went down in the semis, would a spending spree have helped, especially in light of the fact that MLS tends to spend it's DP money on attackers?

What am I getting at here?  Certainly both the Sounders and the Galaxy had their chances, and failed to finish them.  However, one can imagine that had the Sounders had a fully healthy compliment of Eddie Johnson and Obafemi Martins, and had the Galaxy had a fully fit Landon Donovan playing with Robbie Keane, those chances would have stood a better chance of being finished.  I'm not sure MLS is going to acquire better attackers than these guys in the near future, no matter how much cash you throw around.

What concerns me more is Major League Soccer's inability to put up a clean sheet in these games.  I grew up on the saying "Defense wins championships," and generally it's as true in soccer as it is in American football, unless you're Barcelona and you're just going hold the ball for 90 minutes, but even Barca have had their lack of defense exposed of late.  The fact is, had the Sounders and the Galaxy been able to take care of business and pitch clean sheets in the home legs of their series, they would not have been in that position.  Ditto RSL in the 2011 final.  Giving up road goals in these finals and semifinals are killer.  Defense looks like it might be a concern for Seattle all year, and outside of Omar Gonzalez, the Galaxy might have some issues too.

So in the end, I would like to see MLS sides focus more on the defensive side of things.  That's just me.  After all, I'm a Serie A fan, and I love defensive football, I love making the other side earn it.  The fact is, if you put up a clean sheet, especially in your home leg, you're gonna give yourself a chance to win.

I also tend to agree that the salary cap needs to be raised a little as well, though I'm not one that would advocate for the elimination of the cap or a huge increase, I don't think you want to price the smaller clubs out of MLS competition to try and buy a CCL trophy.  While winning the CCL would bring international recognition to the league, clubs have to remain competitive at home to keep MLS growing and sustainable,

I would like to see a 4th DP added though.  However, it's fair to point out that many teams, if not most, aren't using all three slots available at the moment.  Still that might give a club like Seattle, LA, RSL, or Sporting a chance to go out and spend a little more on another player that might get them over the hump in CCL, though of course RSL and Seattle fans won't have a stake in champion's league this year, sadly.

So there's my take.  We're getting closer.  After all, this league is less than 20 years old, and I generally think MLS and club management are doing a great job.  I don't think it's time to panic, and I don't think it's time to open the flood gates for cash, let's just keep building block by block.  What do you folks think?

CCL: MLS Hopes Take Hit as Seattle, L.A. Drop Home Legs

Humberto Suazo once again helped down an MLS side (Getty Images)

Major League Soccer seems to be falling into a pattern in CONCACAF Champions League since RSL lost to Monterrey in the finals a couple of years ago.  We're seeing greater success in the group stage, despite the reworked format, and we even succeeded in knocking a Mexican team out (Seattle over Tigres) in the later stages this year.  However, our clubs seem to run into problems in the semis against Mexican clubs that are tried and tested in the CCL, namely Santos Laguna and the aforementioned Monterrey.  Both of the remaining MLS clubs (Seattle and defending MLS Cup champs L.A.) hosted their home legs this week, and both dropped tough decisions, giving up away goals to these strong Mexican sides in advance of the road legs south of the border next week.

First up, Seattle hosted Santos Tuesday night at Century Link Field.  The odds were somewhat stacked against the Sounders going in, as both of their top line strikers (USA International Eddie Johnson and Nigerian International Obafemi Martins) were set to miss the match with injuries either picked up or aggravated during Saturday's league loss at Real Salt Lake.  On top of that, coach Sigi Schmidt was so seemingly unimpressed with his side that both Mauro Rosales and Steve Zakuani started the match on the subs bench.

The Sounders would largely be counting on Sammy Ochoa and Honduran Mario Martinez to provide the offense in a side that seemed to be set up to just try and stop Santos Laguna.  This strategy seemed questionable because even if the Sounders obtained a favorable result, they still faced a tough match in Torreon for the second leg, where last year Santos thrashed them 6-1.  In the end it was all moot though, because the offense never came.  Martinez struggled with hitting the target all night long, often settling for shots near the top of or outside the penalty area.  Ochoa was a joke.  His "highlight" came in the second half when his shot, on his best look of the night, went out for a throw in, a total embarrassment.

Still, Seattle's defense looked like it might not break, though it was certainly bending.  Despite increased pressure from the Mexican side, Seattle held the nil-nil draw through the end of the first half, with much thanks going to 'keeper Marcus Hahnemann, who had been in beast mode for the Sounders.  It all came crashing down in the second half though.  In the 53rd minute Santos struck out on a counter attack after a succession of three consecutive Seattle corners failed to produce much of anything.  They totally caught Seattle too far forward, and Carlos Darwin Quintero and Herculez Gomez streaked toward the Seattle goal.  Quintero unleashed a venomous shot, but Hanhnemann made a great stop to his side.  Unfortunately, the rebound went right to Gomez, who bashed the shot into the top of the net to make it 0-1 to Santos and give Seattle yet another reason to retire the "Sounders reject" chant for him.

In the end, it would be all Santos needed.  Seattle brought in Rosales and Zakuani late on, but it was far too little too late.  They didn't really affect the match, and Santos held on for a 0-1 victory on US soil.

With that, the league looked to it's defending champions, the Los Angeles Galaxy.  There was reason for MLS to be hopeful about this.  Unlike Seattle, the Galaxy have been in fine form in the league and Landon Donovan had returned to the team and was ready to go, though he didn't start.  The downside was that they were playing CCL juggernaut Monterrey.  A good result seemed to be required for the Galaxy with the second leg being away to the two time defending CCL Champs.

It didn't turn out to be scintillating affair.  The match featured 21 fouls and four yellow cards, while only producing seven shots on goal.  The Galaxy had the better of it for large parts of the game, though I do disagree with the official MLS recap's assertion that they "were unfortunate not to score several more goals."  The Galaxy got three shots in target, 1 of them went in.  They still looked the better side early on though, and in the 28th minute AJ DeLaGarza gave the Galaxy the 1-0 lead.   He flicked a nice header from Mike Magee (the MLS player of the month for March) into the back of the net, putting Monterrey on their heals.

However, Los Rayados gradually started to control proceedings in the second half.  In the 61st minute Juninho went off injured after rolling his ankle and it was the moment Monterrey needed.  Old RSL foes Humberto Suazo and Aldo De Nigris surfaced once again to draw blood on an MLS side.  Suazo tallied in the 82nd minute after LA 'keeper Cudicini gave up a rebound from a De Nigris shot,  De Nigris himself slipped in the dagger in the first minute of stoppage time, when Guillermo Madrigal set him up with a nice ball inside Omar Gonzalez.  De Nigris easily finished past Cudicini to make it 1-2 and seal the win for Los Rayados.  Monterrey's manager commented after the match that you have to play the full 90 minutes.  This could serve as both a praise for his team's comeback and an indictment of the Galaxy's fading down the stretch.

Both MLS sides now face an uphill battle in Mexico next week.  Both must overcome an away goal advantage.  It might be less of a task for Seattle.  They hope to have Johnson and Martins back in the lineup, plus they only conceded once, so if they could manage a 0-1 win and tie the aggregate they could force extra time.  However, do I see Seattle's defense putting up a clean sheet on Santos in Torreon?  No, of course not.  Seattle will have to push, and it will leave them dangerously exposed to same kind of counter that took them down on Tuesday.

The Galaxy look to be in even bigger trouble.  True, they scored, but they also conceded the two road goals which means even if they could level the aggregate at 2-2, Monterrey still has the advantage.  The Galaxy pretty much have to score twice.  They have the players to do it, but I just can't bring myself to bet against Monterrey and Suazo at this stage.  We'll have to see what happens.

MLS News Roundup: Quakes to Debut Honduran, Rapids Recovery, Galaxy Head to White House

Rapids Captain Pablo Mastroeni hopes to play in LA on Saurday (ColoradoRapids.com)

It's been a somewhat slow news week in MLS, somewhat understandably, as most of the the focus in US Soccer is leading up to the USA clash with Costa Rica this Friday in Colorado.  There were a few interesting tidbits dropped here and there though, mostly in the Western Conference.

First up the defending Supporter's Shield Champion San Jose Earthquakes are looking to strengthen their injury depleted attack vs Seattle.  They've signed Honduran international attacker Walter Martinez.  According to head man Frank Yallop, he may make his debut against the Sounders this weekend, though he probably won't start.  MLSSoccer.com describes Martinez as a quick attacker who likes to take on defenders.  With Steven Lenhart and Alan Gordon still out, The Quakes need to plug some holes.  He joins Victor Bernardez and Marvin Chavez as Hondurans on the Quakes' squad.

The Rapids are looking to ease their injury crisis as well after they lost starting goalkeeper Matt Pickens at RSL last weekend.  According to the club site, former RSL backup Kyle Reynish is training with the club, though I would suspect Clint Irwin to get the start vs the Galaxy.  Meanwhile, Captain Pablo Mastroeni hopes to be on the field in LA after injuring his hamstring in the week two loss against the Union.  Striker Edson Buddle played most of the reserve match against RSL last weekend, but hasn't trained fully this week. He could play against his old team this weekend.  Finally, MLSSoccer.com is reporting that the Rapids might be interested in pursuing Kevin Hartman as a goal keeping solution as well.

Finally. the MLS Cup Champion LA Galaxy will be making a visit to Washington DC on March 26.  They won't be playing United, but instead they will be honored by President Barack Obama for winning their second straight MLS Championship.  They will be joined by Stanley Cup Champion LA Kings for this event honoring LA champions.  The Galaxy will also participate in the First Lady's "Let's Move" Initiative on the South Lawn of the White House.

MLS 2013: Western Conference Predictions and Questions

If the Eastern conference isn't your thing, why not try the Western Conference?  No big intros here, lets just get right to it, my predicted table plus three big questions to answer at the end of it all.  Here we go...


9. Chivas USA--Do I REALLY have to explain this one?  Oh, right, I'm supposed to go gaga over Chelis.  Not buying it, sorry, especially since he basically said he only expects to spend one year at the club.  What's the point?  The Goats dumped most of their players who weren't of Hispanic origin, though gee, I see they didn't dare part ways with Dan Kennedy.  This team is a joke to me, sorry.  They need to get out of LA and down into San Diego where there's not a two time defending MLS Cup champ in town.  The other thing is, if another MLS club tried to build a foundation on a specific ethnic identity, no way it would fly, and it shouldn't fly here either.

8. Vancouver Whitecaps--Yawn.  Last year they nearly fell out of the playoffs after making some deals that really could have propelled them into the upper echelon of the Western Conference.  The Kenny Miller thing didn't work out, or at least hasn't yet, and I don't see Paulo Jr doing anything up there that he didn't at RSL.  Darren Mattocks could eventually be a golden boot type player, but to me he needs to do some more growing up before he can lead this time past the teams in front of them.

7. Portland Timbers--Let's dispense with this question now.  Is this the year Portland finally capitalizes on their "atmosphere" and pushes into the playoffs?  Nope.  They made some nice pickups, sure, but why anyone would put Caleb Porter in charge of pro club after the U-23 debacle is beyond me.  Sorry, Frederic Piquionne doesn't impress me anymore than Kris Boyd did before last season started.  Will the league continue to shove Portland down our collective throats?  Yes.  Will they make the playoffs?  No.

6. FC Dallas--To me, this team goes as far as David Ferreira takes them. That could be an awfully long way.  If the New York version of Kenny Cooper shows up, that should help a lot.  If the Portland version shows up, well then he'll just play well against RSL.  The defense will be decent but I think dumping Kevin Hartman was a mistake.  That guy kept Dallas in a lot of games over the last couple of years.  We'll make sure to keep an eye on Blas Perez's diving scores as well.

5. Colorado Rapids--The Rapids are going to be better this year.  I'll also tag them to get back to the playoffs.  Last year Oscar Pareja had a system, but not the players for it.  This year, he'll have both.  It might take some time to gel, but I think they'll make it.  If they can play solid, stylish, football at 5280, they'll wear some teams out and there could be some woodshed type beatings.

4. Real Salt Lake--This is probably where I get flamed.  First off, yes, RSL lost some key parts, but  I thought the front office did a great job holding things together.  There's no reason to think that they won't still be a playoff team, especially when you look at the clubs behind them.  However, I'm not sure the preseason was overly comforting.  The loss to a largely reserve Seattle squad in the DDC final mirrored every big loss RSL has had the couple of years, going back to the Champion's League Final vs Monterrey.  If the team can put the ball in the net on a regular basis, they could top the conference.  However, without seeing it, this is as high as I can put them at the moment.  Injuries will be key as well, though there won't be as many matches to contend with this year.

3. San Jose Earthquakes--I'll address these guys a bit more in the questions segment, but I don't think it's going to be as golden a year for the "Goonies" this time around.  That classic flick has already been ruined for me though.  It's gonna be Wondo, Wondo, Wondo.  Keep in mind that the Quakes WILL have CCL matches to contend with this year as well.  We'll see how Wondo fairs in that tourney as the Quakes get a taste of their own flopping, knee-you-in-the-stomach, stop the game at every chance style.

2. L.A. Galaxy--To the relief of their fans, Landon "Holiday in Cambodia" Donovan will be returning, but not just yet.  Also, of course, Beckham is gone, as MLS was so keen to point out at the end of last season.  *Gag* However Robbie Keane stayed home this offseason, not going out on loan.  This should help him shoulder the load until Donovan returns and is up to form.  Also, if you think the Galaxy aren't going to sign another big name DP, you're probably nuts.  It might not be Lampard, but it will be significant.

1. Seattle Sounders--My Seattle friends will love this, but as I try to take an unbiased look, I really think this could be their year.  Michael Gspurning is in my mind the best 'keeper in MLS, which is an even bigger compliment because he doesn't have the best defense in MLS in front of him.  Yes, Montero is gone, but they have some guy who likes to go by the name of Eddie Johnson who should continue his beast mode form.  Did we mention Rosales and Alonso yet?  Tiffert has been pretty much as advertised and Shalrie Joseph is a really nice pickup as well, at the expense of whatever Chivas USA is trying to do.

Three Big Questions--Western Conference

1. Will the Quakes continue the magic form from last season?

My Answer--NO.  First off, the Galaxy managed to dispense with the Quakes quite easily in the playoffs, and they did drop a few points down the stretch, though not often losing.  Plus you can't think that the Quakes are going to get ALL the calls and the breaks going their way like they did last year.  Losing Simon Dawkins will be significant as well.  Also, the Quakes will have more matches to contend with, just like RSL and Seattle did down the stretch last year, and as I mentioned earlier, they're bound to run into their own "frustrating" play style in CCL.  They'll still be a playoff team though.

2. Can Real Salt Lake avoid a big slide after offseason cap trouble?

My Answer--YES. Now, lets remember that "can they" and "will they" are two very different questions.  The new look RSL squad has a TON of potential.  If things work out as Jason and Garth want them to, they could top the league.  However, as we saw displayed so many times last year, things don't always go as planned (think US Open Cup and CCL crash and burn).  They have the players to contend for the Cup and the Shield, and even that wannabe FA Cup thing we try out every year.  Bottom line though, the ball HAS TO GO IN THE BACK OF THE NET.  Especially at home.  We shall see.

3. Can the Galaxy hold on until Donovan gets back and they sign another DP?

My Answer--YES.  Sure they can, they're still a solid club,  However, who cares?  Look what happened last year.  Would you bet against them as long as they scraped into the playoffs?  I sure don't think I would.

So there you have it, my Western Conference thoughts.  Many of my fellow RSL fans will disagree, and I hope they finish higher than I pegged them. Until then, just callin' em like I see em.  Let the matches begin!

MLS Announces 2012 Best XI

MVP Candidate Chris Wondolowski highlights the 2012 MLS Best XI

Today during his State of the League call, MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced the 2012 MLS Best XI.  The votes are cast by players, club leadership, and media members.  Here is the list, by position.

Goalkeeper--
Jimmy Nielsen--Sporting Kansas City (Denmark)

Defenders--
Victor Bernardez--San Jose Earthquakes (Honduras)
Matt Besler--Sporting Kansas City (USA)
Aurelien Collin--Sporting Kansas City (France)

Midfielders--
Osvaldo Alonso--Seattle Sounders (Cuba)*
Landon Donovan--LA Galaxy (USA)
Graham Zusi----Sporting Kansas City (USA)
Chris Pontius--DC United (USA)

Forwards--
Thierry Henry--New York Red Bulls (France)
Robbie Keane--LA Galaxy (Ireland)
Chris Wondolowski--San Jose Earthquakes (USA)

*Osvaldo Alonso became a naturalized US Citizen earlier this year, however his nationality for FIFA purposes is still Cuba at this point.

The Puddle would like to congratulate these men for their excellent seasons in 2012.

MLS Thanksgiving Roundup: Awards, Waiver Draft, and Beckham

David Beckham announced that he is leaving the Galaxy and MLS

News out of MLS has been somewhat slow after the conference championships last weekend, but there were a few noteworthy items, none bigger than the departure of the man pictured above.  LA Galaxy DP David Beckham has announced that this year's MLS Cup will his final game for the Galaxy and MLS.  The former England captain has said he still has another challenge he would like to pursue before his playing career ends.  Thus far he has been coy about where he will end up.

Now as a football fan and fan of MLS as a whole, I certainly appreciate Beckham as an outstanding talent on the pitch.  I got to see him play in person a couple times and that really was something special, but I'll refrain from the rest of the hand wringing that has been coming from the League's social media and in some other blogs and news sites.  The league will be just fine without him, but I definitely wish him the best wherever he ends up.

Also this week MLS had their waiver draft, which was a little odd since the playoffs aren't even over yet.  At any rate, this draft was for players released by the clubs who are not eligible for the reentry draft in a couple of weeks.  There was only one player chosen, as Real Salt Lake drafted former Crew MF Cole Grossman.  He will join the Claret and Cobalt in the preseason.

Finally, the League announced it's Rookie of the Year, the Chicago Fire's Austin Berry.  The former Louisville man started 28 straight games for the Fire in central defense, scoring three goals in the process.  He beat out DC United's Nick DeLeon and Vancouver's Darren Mattocks in the top three.  MLS will announce the rest of the awards in the week leading up to MLS Cup.

Seattle, LA, DC, and Houston Advance to MLS Conference Finals

Tim Cahill and Thierry Henry were unable to push NYRB onward (Getty Images)

To say that the MLS playoffs have been interesting and eventful so far would be an understatement.  We've had games moved and postponed by weather, trophy winners have crashed out, there have been stellar performances in goal, and an era has probably ended at one of MLS's most successful clubs in recent years.

There was another very noticeable trend as well. Every team that had the so called "advantage" of having the second leg of the tie at home lost.  Of those four teams. only Sporting Kansas City went home in trouble, but the visitors were able to move on in every case.

The first series to be decided was Sporting KC versus Houston on Wednesday night.  The Dynamo went to Livestrong Sporting Park up 2-0 on aggregate after beating KC fairly handily at BBVA Compass Stadium.  Sporting pressed Houston all night long, but for the most part came up short trying to find the target.  Seth Sinovic scored for KC on a diving header in the 64th minute, but they couldn't beat Tally Hall again, and the US Open Cup winners crashed out of the MLS Cup Playoffs 1-2 on aggregate. 

The result in Wednesday's second match was perhaps even more surprising.  It looked like business as usual for the San Jose Earthquakes when they scored a stoppage time winner in the first leg of their series at the LA Galaxy, sending them back to Buck Shaw stadium with a 1-0 aggregate lead.   However in the second leg, LA pretty much put the "Goonies" to the sword rather quickly.  Robbie Keane scored twice and Mike Magee added one as the defending MLS Cup Champs pushed out to a 1-3 aggregate lead.  Alan Gordon added a goal late on to make it 2-3, and things seemed like they might be set up for more stoppage time magic for the Quakes, but LA held on to end the season for the Quakes, your 2012 Supporters Shield Winners.

Thursday night the odd series between New York Red Bulls and DC United finished up.  It was supposed to finish Wednesday as well, but the appearance of snow at Hurricane Sandy battered Red Bull Arena forced a 1 day postponement, much to the annoyance of DC United.  In the end, DC would get the last laugh in this wild game.  DC 'keeper Bill Hamid was sent off for bringing down Kenny Cooper in the box in the 69th minute.  Cooper converted the PK, but it was called back after NY's two most expensive players. Tim Cahill and Thierry Henry, were called for encroachment.  DC backup 'keeper Joe Willis saved the second PK attempt to preserve the 1-1 aggregate score from RFK.

Shortly thereafter, Rafa Marquez was sent off for a second yellow card, leaving both sides with 10 men.  DC's Nick DeLeon then found the winning goal late on to make the final aggregate score 1-2.

The final match of the round took place in Sandy between RSL and Seattle Sounders.  The teams had fought to a scoreless, bloody draw in Seattle, and things were largely the same at Rio Tinto Stadium as both Christian Tiffert and Tony Beltran would get bloodied in this hard fought, well played match.  In the end, Seattle capitalized on an RSL mistake, as Jamison Olave turned the ball over and Mario Martinez scored an absolute GOLAZO to notch the only goal of the series as Seattle deservedly took the tie 0-1. 

So now the season has ended for everyone but four teams, and the conference finals are set.  They'll take place over two legs on the next two Sundays, with LA and Houston hosting this weekend and Seattle and DC hosting the second legs next weekend.  Both should be interesting ties.

Galaxy Drop Rapids, Move into Third Place Out West

Colorado's Jeff Larentowicz in dismay after LA's second goal.  (Getty Images)

This has not been a good year for the Colorado Rapids.  Last night was not a good night for the Colorado Rapids.  They came into the Home Depot Center hoping to build off of an impressive home performance against Portland earlier in the week, but could rarely get the right foot forward against the surging LA Galaxy.

According to the Altitude TV commentators, part of Colorado's game plan was to try and withstand the opening 15 minute assault of the Galaxy.  It almost worked.  Mike Magee cranked a shot in the 13th minute that was handled well by Matt Pickens, and things seemed to be going well for the Rapids.  However, in the 15th minute Landon Donovan hit Robbie Keane with a nice through ball and the Irishman easily slotted home the first goal of the match to make it 1-0.

After that opening goal, the defending champs took their foot off the gas some and sat back to see what the Rapids had to offer.  It wasn't much.  In the 18th minute Andre Akpan tried his luck but missed the target.  Then in the 26th Martin Rivero tried to pick out Jaime Castrillon with a ball across the six, but Josh Saunders hit the deck and picked it off.  It was the closest Colorado would get in the first half.

The Galaxy didn't do much to add a spark either.  They just sat back and conserved energy since the Rapids really weren't testing them.  Magee drove another shot at Pickens in the 41st minute, but again the Colorado 'keeper was up to the task and the half ended 1-0 to LA.

The second half didn't feature much excitement either, however the Rapids did try to spark some more shots on goal.  Omar Cummings had entered the game and actually generated some shots.  He forced a save out of Saunders on 49 minutes and had another blocked in the 52nd.  It was honestly as good as he has looked in recent weeks, though many Rapids fans would tell you that that's not saying much.

The Galaxy finally stepped up and iced the match in the 58th minute.  New signing Christian Wilhelmsson worked around a couple of Colorado defenders and sent a rolling strike in at Matt Pickens.  The normally steady Colorado shot stopper hit the ground and got a hand to it, only to have it seemingly roll THROUGH his hand and trickle into the net to make it 2-0 to the Galaxy.

That was pretty much it as far as action goes in a game that wasn't really impressive for either side.  Conor Casey did take an absolute rip at the target from inside the box in the 79th minute, but a sliding LA defender blocked what was the Rapids best look at goal and the match ended 2-0.

The win continued LA's surge up the Western Conference as they move past RSL into 3rd place on 46 points.  RSL also have 46, but the Galaxy have the superior goal difference.  The Rapids hold steady in 7th place on 29 points, one ahead of both Portland and Chivas USA.

Match Thoughts: Vancouver Whitecaps vs LA Galaxy

David Beckham celebrates his goal vs. Vancouver. (Reuters)

For the Vancouver Whitecaps, this is the one that got away, big time.  As LA manager Bruce Arena was quoted as saying "we stole a point," and that's the exact truth.  The Whitecaps pretty much dominated the match for 70 some minutes, but in the end, a combination of bad finishing and lax defense let the Galaxy back in to secure a vital road point.

The Galaxy had the first two shots of the match.  Landon Donovan had an effort blocked in the 8th minute, and David Beckham missed with a free kick in the 11th, but both of these efforts were pretty much against the run of play.  For the most part the Whitecaps were able to control possession and move the ball around quite easily.  It was unquestionably new DP Barry Robson's best game yet in a 'Caps uniform, and Camilo put forth his best effort of the year.

The Whitecaps patient play first paid off for them in the 18th minute.  David Beckham uncharacteristically turned the ball over in his own half, and Camilo took it toward goal.  He managed to find Gershon Koffie in the penalty area, and the midfielder then slammed the ball past Josh Saunders into the bottom corner of the goal to make it 1-0 to Vancouver.

The Caps weren't finished with their first half assault either.   In the 27th minute Y.P. Lee found Robson streaking in toward the top of the area.  He put the ball right on Robson's head, and the Scot easily headed into the net to make it 2-0 Vancouver.  It was Robson's first MLS goal, and it would be the last solid offense before halftime.

The Galaxy didn't really look like they were game to get back into it early in the second half, save one half chance.  In the 58th minute Jay DeMerit got torched by Landon Donovan, and just managed to drag the Galaxy captain down before he got into the area.  DeMerit was issued a yellow card on the play, but LA couldn't make anything out of the tough angle free kick.

Business really picked up for both sides in the final ten minutes of the match.  In the 80th minute Koffie took another crack at goal, but his effort bounded off the crossbar and out of danger, he had Saunders beaten too.  Beckham would make the Whitecaps regret that miss just a minute later, as he had a shot deflect into the goal off of a Whitecaps defender to make it 2-1 on 81 minutes.

The Whitecaps would still got another chance to ice the three points, but again couldn't find the back of the net. In the 84th minute Robson set up for a rather deep free kick, and confidently drilled the shot toward the target.  The Whitecaps didn't get the bounce this time either, as it slammed off the post and away from Josh Saunders.

The Champions then took advantage of their most recent reprieve.  In the 87th minute, Galaxy home-grown product Jose Villarreal got his first taste of MLS glory.  Beckham delivered a spot on ball to Juninho, who laid it off to the youngster.  Villarreal then put a gorgeous left footed strike into the top corner of the Vancouver goal to equalize the match at 2-2.

That score would hold until full time, but Robson got one more good look.  In the fourth and final minute of stoppage time he sent a blazing shot in toward the top of the goal.  However, Josh Saunders was up to the task and tipped it away to preserve the 2-2 draw.

It's obvious that the Galaxy still have many defensive issues.  They gave up two goals and a host of other quality chances to the Caps.  However, it's just as obvious to see that they have the players to keep them in a match.  If Beckham, Donovan, and Keane can stay healthy, (and not move to Europe) the chances of the Galaxy getting a playoff spot are pretty good.  Will they get the defense right before then?  If they don't will it hurt their chances at the cup?  Only time will tell.

Puddle's Goal of the Midweek: Jose Villarreal Equalizes Against Vancouver

If I say "Jose Villareal," you might ask "who?"  Well, if this goal is any indication, we might be hearing a lot more from this young man in the years to come.  Villarreal is an academy product for the Galaxy and this is his first professional goal.  Not bad at all.

Match Thoughts: Chicago Fire vs. L.A. Galaxy

LA's Robbie Keane passes between 2 defenders.  (Getty Images)

The Galaxy came into Sunday's match trying to break a little losing streak after losses at San Jose and at home versus Philadelphia.  David Beckham wasn't around due to suspension, and both Landon Donovan and Mike Magee started the match on the bench for the defending champions.  Chicago has been playing very well since the international break, and had clawed themselves into 4th place in the east.  The bad news for the Fire was that they were missing midfield creative force Sebastián Grazzini, who returned home to Argentina to deal with personal issues

There were goals in the match, but it really played like a boring scoreless draw.  Neither team really established much offensively and there were very few decent chances created.  The Galaxy did have the first good luck of the match on 9 minutes, but Chad Barrett hit his open look high and wide of the upper ninety.  Two minutes later the Fire had a decent look of their own, but Jalil Anibaba shanked a hard hit volley wide on a corner kick to squander the chance.

Things really started to go downhill for Chicago in the 23rd minute with Anibaba again in the middle of the action.  He deflected an LA cross off of his hand right on the edge of the penalty area.  It was close enough to the area for the referee to award a penalty kick, which Robbie Keane promptly hit in off the inside of the post to make it 0-1 to the Galaxy.

The first half ended with little other action, and the second half didn't show much promise from either side either.  Landon Donovan entered the game later in the half as Bruce Arena tried to seal the win.  In the 78th minute Donovan found Keane on a counter attack going into the box.  Keane mishit the shot, but Sean Johnson somehow left his near post uncovered and Keane's weak shot rolled over the line to give the Galaxy a 0-2 lead.  The Fire never threatened the Galaxy goal, and the defending champs held on for the win.

NOTES:  While serving his suspension, Beckham was in England watching the Wimbledon final.  Juninho picked up a yellow card for dissent in the 14th minute and will miss the Galaxy's next match.  The win vaults them over the Colorado Rapids and into the 5th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.  The Fire remain in 4th place in the East, 3 points ahead of the Houston Dynamo.  There's no word yet on if or when Grazzini will return to the squad.

MLS Slaps Beckham on the Hand, Fines Two Coaches

Ah yes, that time every week when the MLS Disciplinary Committee comes out and largely makes a fool of itself by handing down (or not handing down) punishments for the past weekend's offenses.  It's like waiting to hear about a US Supreme Court decision, only much more lame.  You may fault the Supreme Court's logic in the recent health care ruling, but they seem down right logical next to what came out of MLS today.

Rewind to last weekend's California Clasico.  Ok, first off, MLS doesn't have "clasicos."  Lets stop pretending we do.  Rivalry?  Yes.  Derby?  Sure.  Clasico?  Get outta here. 

But I digress.

Last weekend David Beckham showed us all what a complete and utter tool he can be during the Galaxy's loss to the San Jose Earthquakes.  Not only did he stomp all over the pitch throwing temper tantrums like the spoiled brat he actually is, but he got into it with the Earthquakes' MASCOT.  He also kicked a ball square at the referee, who happened to be attending to an "injured" Earthquakes player at the time.  I guess Becky-wecky was a little peeved that he didn't make the Great Britain Olympic team.

News flash dude, you play in MLS.  Your once formidable team is mired midtable.  Nobody cares.

Anyway, MLS really had the chance the drop the hammer on Beckham.  After all, Brek Shea got a three game ban for kicking the ball at a linesman a couple of months ago against the Crew.  MLS handed down Beckham's punishment today.  He got a once match ban.  Double standard much?  Yes, I know Beckham missed the last match against Philly for yellow card accumulation, but that's altogether separate.  MLS had a chance to come out and show they treat players equally in this process.  What they actually showed is that a meal ticket like Beckham is head and shoulders above everybody else, even the league's other bona fide stars like Brek Shea.  So Beckham will miss this weekend's match at Chicago.  I doubt he cares one lick.

In other semi interesting disciplinary news, MLS hit Galaxy coach Bruce Arena and Montreal coach Jesse Marsch with fines of undisclosed amounts for complaining about the officials.  Arena complains all the time.  Marsch felt his team was cheated by some questionable PK calls against Sporting Kansas City.

No word on if or when MLS will actually admit that their officials stink.

Edson Buddle Set to Miss Up to 6 Weeks

Bad news on the injury front for the LA Galaxy.  It seems that the horrible year for the defending MLS Cup champs just keeps getting worse.  They reacquired Edson Buddle before the season after he was released from his German side.  It's been a tough year, as he's only scored 2 goals. 

He missed the Galaxy's US Open Cup loss to the Carloina Railhawks despite making the trip.  Yesterday the Galaxy announced that Buddle will miss the next 3-6 weeks after having knee surgery.  Oops.  They are know without both Buddle and Robbie Keane at least until Ireland is eliminated from Euro 2012.  Plus it honestly doesn't seem like the Ireland Captain is that enamored with MLS in the first place, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him exit in the summer transfer window.

I'm not a Galaxy fan in the slightest, but the Puddle wishes Buddle a speedy recovery.  He is a very good player, and the league is at it's best when the best players are on the pitch.  On a side note, Galaxy midfielder Dan Keat (who?) will also miss up to six weeks with a knee injury.

Galaxy and the Union Feel the Sting of MLS Suspensions

The MLS disciplinary returned from their memorial day vacation today and dropped the hammer on players from the LA Galaxy and Philadelphia Union.  The Houston vs. LA match featured two incidents, and the TFC vs. Philly game featured another.

The biggest news comes out of the LA matchup.  Galaxy midfielder Michael Stephens was suspended 1 game for his challenge of Houston's Adam Moffat in the 46th minute.  This comes under the "endangering the safety of his opponent" heading.  Forward/wannabe 'keeper Mike Magee was also suspended 1 game for something new called "aggravated dissent."  This includes throwing a ball in the general direction of the referee in the 92nd minute.  FC Dallas fans are probably wondering if Magee would have gotten 3 games had he hit the ref.  I'm wondering, since we can suspend guys for "aggravated dissent," can we suspend David Beckham for "aggravating dissent?"  Both players were fined the obligatory undisclosed amount.

There was more bad news for the Union as well.  Not only did they actually lose to TFC, but forward Lionard Pajoy was suspended for 1 game and fined as well.  His suspension arises from the cleaning out of TFC's Joao Plata in the 29th minute.  This is pretty bad for the Union as Pajoy has been one of the only players who really looks capable of scoring goals.