MLS Top 5/Bottom5: Week 3.

Where do Will Bruin and the Dynamo sit in my first rankings?

So I really wanted to try my hand at some rankings and trend spotting this year in MLS.  The fact that there is so much parity in the league makes this kind of thing really fun and challenging for me, and gives me something to think about during long lulls at work, and to keep me up at night with my mind turning over and over.  I decided to wait a couple of weeks though, until everybody had at least a couple of games under their belt, though I suspect that rankings like this are always fairly inaccurate this early in the season anyway.   What I'm going to present to you are my top five and bottom five, with comments on each.

TOP 5--   


1. HOUSTON DYNAMO --The Dynamo were quite impressive in their opening matches, and Will Bruin (above) was on fire.  According to the league site, he is one of the most captained fantasy players going into week four as well.  Dom Kinnear's side has also yet to give up a goal.  However, they still might be a paper tiger.  Their first match was against the Revs, who have been absolutely awful so far, and their second was against the almost equally hapless Montreal Impact, sans Marco Di Vaio.  Also, both of those matches have been at home, where they're always good.  This week they travel to Vancouver, who should provide a better test.

2. TORONTO FC--I've been pretty skeptical about TFC in the offseason and through the preseason.  These new additions are great, but at this point, I still have to see it to believe it from them.  However, I just might be starting to see it.  The win at Seattle was definitely a quality win, though a 1-0 victory over DC at home was slightly less impressive.  Defoe and Bradley have been the real deal for sure, and Cesar is big time keeper in net.  However, their job gets a little harder this weekend coming to RSL, especially without speedster Jackson, who has been suspended by the disciplinary committee. 

3. REAL SALT LAKE--RSL's biggest problem in the opening weeks has been a failure to land the knockout punch, or the inverse, letting some rather simple defensive mistakes put teams back on level ground.  Still, undefeated with 5 points from 3 games with LA and San Jose (2 of them on the road) is a pretty solid start.  The other issue is injuries, especially up top, with Big Dev, Joao Plata, and Robbie Findley all injured. 

4. SEATTLE SOUNDERS--It wasn't a pretty performance, but Seattle took down Sporting in the first match at home at beat the Impact on the road last week.  Those two results were sandwiched around that home loss to TFC.  The Sounders played well at Montreal and executed their game plan and counter attack very effectively, despite not having Clint Dempsey.  If Obafemi Martins stays healthy, he's gonna cause MLS defenses some issues this year, without having to compete with the large "Pay Me" ego that he used to partner with.

5. COLUMBUS CREW--The Crew opened the season with an absolute smack down of DC United at RFK, and then beat the Union at home in week three.  They had to hold on a bit in that one, but it was still an impressive performance against a Union squad that I think is gonna be pretty good.  This weekend they travel to Seattle, where the local supporters will be less than welcoming after the fiasco that surrounded the "Seattle is sending capos to Columbus for the USMNT" article that happened last summer.  They have potentially the biggest test of any of my top five this weekend.


BOTTOM 5--

15. PORTLAND TIMBERS--Sorry, I'm still not sold on the Portland Timbers.  Apparently "Porterball" still means draw at home and lose on the road, at least so far this year.  Their defense is still suspect, and while the midfield is a strength, they still lack a true target guy up front.  Urruti doesn't cut it for me, he's just a bull in a china shop.  The Timbers have yet to show me that they can take the next step by converting all those draws from last year into wins and gain points consistently on the road.  It doesn't get any easier for them this weekend as they play at FC Dallas, who just missed out on my top 5.

16. CHIVAS USA--The Goats are definitely an improved side, and looked decent in their first two matches, even though they had to largely resort to packing it in to try to keep the Whitecaps out after going a man down at home.  It didn't work.  This last weekend they were largely pasted by FC Dallas on the road.  They're better, but not good enough, yet.  This weekend they travel to New York, where the Red Bulls will be looking to smack them around and get their season on track.

17.  MONTREAL IMPACT--I'm not rating them lower because they've been without Di Vaio, and hey, that  road swing through Texas isn't going to be easy for anybody.  However, they never really threatened the Sounders at home either.  They were in the match, but I never really thought, "Oh yeah, here they come."  Getting Di Vaio back will help, but as of right now, I really can't see Montreal really making a push for anything.  This weekend they play at Philly, and I'm forecasting a Union victory.

18. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION--I'm so disappointed in the Revs so far.  I really thought they were gonna build on the playoff run from last year, and they still might.  However, it's hard to really find much that they did right in their opening three matches, though they did get their first point this last weekend, albeit without managing to score a goal.  It's too bad that they didn't get to hold on to Juan Agudelo.  This week they travel to play at San Jose, and you'd have to figure in a win for the Quakes, maybe without having to pull the "Goonie" stuff.

19. DC UNITED--DC was another team that ostensibly got better this offseason, at least they threw a bunch of money at players, particularly one Eddie Johnson.  They then paired Mr. "Pay Me" with Mr. "I Dive and Miss Big Shots" in Fabian Espindola, who also is known to be a bit combative.  Both Seattle and RSL fans predicted that this experiment was not going to go well.  For all their spending and revamping, DC have shown nada, zero, zilch.   This week they host the Fire, and Mike Magee will probably look to feast on DC's back line.

MLS Coach of the Year: My Take

Right now you're thinking I'm totally gonna RSL homer this post.  Read on to see if I do.......

As the Major League Soccer regular season comes to a close, there's a lot of banter going on about this year's post season awards.  The award for Coach of the Year has been getting some serious heat on the MLS comment site and social media networks.  Here I'll present my top 4 candidates for the award and give the best reasons that I can think of for and against before presenting my pick for the award.  I'm sure that whoever I pick will be just as thrilled to get my pick as the actual award.

Caleb Porter--Portland Timbers--The turnaround of the Portland Timbers is certainly one of the major stories in MLS this year, and a large part of it is due to the attitude and system installed by Caleb Porter.  Porter has been considered to be one of the bright young American soccer minds for awhile, but that rep kind of took a hit when he failed to qualify for the 2012 Olympics with the USA U-23 team.  That image has certainly been restored this year.  Portland has been solidly in contention all season long, and here with one game to go they have a legit shot not just at first in the west, but the Supporter's Shield as well.  This certainly bodes well for his chances, and he's seemed to be the odds on media favorite.  A major drawback to me is the number of draws that Portland have settled for.  Yes, you can call it getting results, but the Timbers have also failed to finish off teams a number of times this year, including two high profile matches at home against Real Salt Lake.  This could bite them in the playoffs.

Jason Kreis--Real Salt Lake--Speaking of RSL, how about the job that Jason Kreis has done?  Now, stay with me here.  A lot of folks wrote RSL off this season, picking them barely into the playoffs or perhaps out of the playoffs with the loss of Will Johnson, Jamison Olave, and Fabian Espindola among others.  They called it a "rebuilding year."  Kreis went out and replaced these guys, and managed to up RSL's goal scoring in the process.  In this "rebuilding year," RSL will finish 2nd or 1st in the west, depending on results this weekend.  Kreis and this club also accomplished this while missing their number 1 keeper, their Captain, their top goal scorer, and their best fullback for a month of the season as those players were away on international duty.  To me, that increases the odds.  However, RSL's somewhat lackluster finish to the season and reputation for folding in big matches will hurt his candidacy.

Oscar Pareja--Colorado Rapids--While RSL has gets most of the press in the Rocky Mountain region, Pareja has very quietly reforged the 2010 MLS Cup Champions not only into a playoff team, but in my mind, a genuine contender for MLS Cup.  The Rapids went through a preseason dump as large as, or maybe greater than, that of RSL.  Pareja's draft picks (Deshorn Brown and Dillon Powers) are the odds on favorites for Rookie of the Year, and have both contributed significantly.  The additions of Vincente Sanchez and Gaby Torres (the club's first DP) have made the Rapids all the more dangerous.  Let's not forget the emergence of Clint Irwin in goal or Chris Klute on defense either.  Pareja has brought these young men along in spectacular fashion.  The Rapids thrashing of the Sounders was kind of a coming out party in the the MLS media, but not to me.  I've been preaching Pareja and the Rapids in the Playoffs all year long.  They'll be more dangerous next year too.  Unfortunately for Pareja, the lack of media attention given to the Rapids could very possibly derail his chances.

Mike Petke--New York Red Bulls--Don't look now folks, but the Red Bulls are damn close to actually winning a trophy, though the Fire will try to have a say in that this weekend.  I think Petke has done a phenomenal job in his first year in charge of a club that has long been the pinnacle of  high salaried dysfunction in MLS.  He brought in Robin Fraser to help him out, oh yeah and he is the biggest beneficiary of RSL's preseason salary dump.  Petke has addressed the long standing issues in defense for the club more than adequately, and Luis Robles has finally stabilized the situation in net.  Couple these things with the emergence of Tim Cahill, and the Red Bulls might finally be able to fulfill their aspirations, and I think Petke is a huge part of that.  Now, some people will say that with the caliber of players at Petke's disposal, he ought to be where he is.  There will also be continued skepticism of RBNY's ability to close the deal until they win MLS cup, but I think he's still a solid candidate.

So there you have the case for these four men laid out as best as I can manage. In my mind, all four are totally deserving and I wouldn't mind if any of them win it.  However, in my mind, the award goes to..........

Oscar Pareja of the Colorado Rapids.

Sorry Porter, at least Oscar can beat Jason Kreis, and I'd take the Timbers in the playoffs over the Rapids in the playoffs any day of the week.  Congrats to Pareja and the Rapids on a great season.

RSL Tops Timbers, Punches Open Cup Final Ticket

RSL held off the Portland Timbers in US Open Cup Play (USA Today Sports)

It's happening folks, we're getting another Cup final at Rio Tinto Stadium!  Last night Real Salt Lake outlasted the Portland Timbers to take a 2-1 win in the US Open Cup semifinals.  By virtue of the coin flip held a few days ago, the Claret and Cobalt will host US Open Cup Final on October 1st.  Their opponent will be DC United, who advanced by beating the Chicago Fire in their semifinal.

It wasn't easy for RSL, and it never was going to be against the Portland Timbers, who have made huge strides forward since Caleb Porter took over at the beginning of this season.  However, what we saw last night was largely an experienced Claret and Cobalt side going up against a younger Timbers side that was lacking experience in big time contests, especially on the road.  A draw wasn't going to be enough for the men from Portland this time.

RSL got a much needed game changer in the 7th minute, and it was the returning Gold Cup players to the rescue.  Kyle Beckerman found Alvaro Saborio in the box and Sabo expertly headed the ball inside the back pot to make it 1-0.  It was a huge break for the Claret and Cobalt, but afterward things got a little rocky.

Portland took to their possession game to see what they could do about their new disadvantage.  To some it seemed like RSL was just content to let the Timbers possess in their own half and midfield, but I think there was an element of nervousness to it, and I guess given recent results, you couldn't blame them.  Still, the defense was pretty solid and limited the Timbers to very few clear cut chances.

The best of those in the first half came from former RSL favorite turned Timbers Captain Will Johnson, who unleashed a hellish strike on goal in the 40th minute.  Thankfully for RSL, they had Gold Cup winning 'keeper Nick Rimando in net, who stoned his old teammate to preserve the lead going into the halftime.

The second half proceeded along similar lines, with RSL doing a bit better at keeping some of the possession for themselves.  However the game changed for good when Joao Plata checked in during the 62nd minute.  Our little bundle of speed, touch, and energy helped put Portland on their heels a bit more, and in the 78th minute he slashed a great goal into the back of the net to make it 2-0 off of a great setup from Saborio.

As it turned out, the Claret and Cobalt would need that goal.  In the first minute of stoppage time, Rimando managed a huge reaction save on Portland's Diego Valeri.  Unfortunately the rebound went right back to the Portland playmaker who headed it in with Nick still on the ground to make it 2-1.  Thankfully the defense held and there would be no stoppage time glory for the visitors to Rio Tinto that night.

I really urge everyone to come out on October 1st to support the club in the Open Cup Final.  It's roughly six weeks away, plenty of time to try to get off work, which I am definitely going to try to do.

Now here are the Puddle's Three Stars:

Third Star: Diego Valeri, MF, Portland Timbers--Valeri was the biggest danger man for Portland last night, and scored their lone goal in stoppage time.  However, he also missed the target on a clear header earlier in the half that probably should have been a goal.

Second Star: Alvaro Saborio, F, Real Salt Lake--I'm still amazed that we have folks who don't like Sabo.  What did he do last night?  Oh, he just scored the first goal and set up the winner.  No biggie.

First Star--Nick Rimando, GK, Real Salt Lake--Nick has been on fire this year, and came up with some huge stops again last night.  I'm really hoping he gets the recognition due to him at the end of the year, because no 'keeper in MLS is having as good a season as he is.

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.

Timbers Impress With Quality Win at Sporting

Portland play-maker Diego Valeri in the first half.  Photo: Orlin Wagner

I'll admit it, I've been pretty critical of the Portland Timbers.  I've leveled the "style over substance" argument.  I was also highly critical of the hiring of Caleb Porter after his failed stint with the USA U-23s.  However, I must admit that the Timbers really showed me something last night against Sporting KC, and they should get the credit that is due for their performance.

Of course, the evening started horribly for the Timbers as their defense was exposed early on.  Despite their obvious improvement overall, I still think that defense is going to be a problem for them going forward in the campaign, and KC took advantage of that almost immediately.  With only 40 seconds gone from the clock, Chance Myers slipped through the Timbers and got on the end of long throw in, heading it past Donovan Ricketts to make it 1-0 to the home side.  More than a few folks, myself included, thought it was going to be a long night for the Timbers at that juncture.

Portland responded well though, as they have done on a number of occasions so far this season.  They stuck to their game plan despite conceding the early goal.  What was that game plan?  Well, they decided that they weren't just going to let Sporting have the ball and boss the game and the tempo.  They decided that they were going to have the ball as much as possible and go toe to toe with Sporting's high powered offense.  Sporting was obviously unprepared for that approach and it didn't take long for it to yield dividends for Portland.

The visitors found themselves with a corner kick in the 24th minute after 'keeper Jimmy Nielsen made a nice save on Rodney Wallace.  Diego Valeri sent the corner into the box where Ryan Johnson was waiting for it.  Johnson headed it pretty much right at Benny Feilhaber, who was guarding Nielsen's far post, but the former Revs man could only manage to head the ball into the roof his own net and the score was equalized at 1-1.

Sporting wasn't done with the Chance Myers show though, and he found himself with another opportunity to hurt the Timbers in the 29th minute.  Aurelien Collin found himself up pitch with a ball from Feilhaber, and he dropped it off to Myers, who knocked in his second of the match to make it 2-1 to Sporting Kansas City.  The goals were the first two regular season tallies of Myers' career.

Portland was unimpressed though, and the in the 33rd minute they took heavy advantage of Sporting's desire to have defenders like Myers and Collin up and playing in the attack.  Ryan Johnson took the ball and blazed up the pitch, finding Darlington Nagbe nearly alone in Sporting penalty area for a tap in goal that made it 2-2, which was still the score when the teams hit the locker rooms for halftime.

The Timbers mostly owned the second half, which is a rarity for anyone at Sporting Park other than the hosts.  Thirteen minutes after halftime, the Sporting midfield bumbled the ball away and their defense was somewhat caught out yet again.  Diego Charra hit Rodney Wallace, who had evaded the aformentioned Chance Myers, with a gorgeous through ball playing him in on goal.  Wallace easily slotted into the back of the net to make it 2-3 to Portland.

Sporting looked puzzled for much of the second half, but did manage a couple of quality chances late on.  However, their midfield and attacking corps seemed absent as the best chances fell to defenders.  Myers nearly grabbed a hat-trick in the 82nd minute, but his header went wide.  In stoppage time Collin managed to direct a nice header on target, but Ricketts was up to the task, making the save and preserving the 2-3 win for the Timbers.

Historically the Timbers have not done well on the road in MLS, and this was what made this performance stand out so much.  They have really taken on the never say die attitude of new Captain Will Johnson, something that I think RSL has lacked this year by the way, and they really exposed Sporting quite a bit.  In the end, they went man to man with one of the league favorites and got a big road result in a tough environment.  If they can keep doing that, watch out, MLS.

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!

RSL Begin Parting of Ways

Fabian Espindola (left) is one of the faces departing RSL

Ever since RSL was eliminated from this year's CONCACAF Champions League, the fans (and players) have been waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop.  Without winning MLS Cup or advancing in CCL, the Claret and Cobalt wouldn't be receiving any extra allocation money to put toward keeping the team together, combined with the fact that they were hard up against the salary cap.  The news began to trickle out today, and it was not happy news for the fans.

Ives Galarcep began breaking the story this evening.  When the MLS roster freeze comes off on Monday, RSL is expected to pull the trigger on two deals.  First off, defender Jamison Olave and forward Fabian Espindola are headed to the New York Red Bulls in exchange for allocation money.  These are two of the key men in RSL's Championship run in 2009, as well as the 2010-2011 CCL Final run.  Olave was MLS defender of the year in 2010 and Espindola is 2nd on the team in all time goals.

The second trade is a little less of a blockbuster, but just as heartbreaking for the fans.  Midfielder Will Johnson is set to be shipped to the Portland Timbers in exchange for yet more allocation money.  The Canadian International has played all but 6 of his 120 career MLS games with Real Salt Lake.  It seems fans have been most shocked about this move when one looks at the response on social media.

Last but not least, MF Jonny Steele is departing the club after 1 season.  While he certainly seemed to lack consistency overall, he was always worked his tail off and provided the fans with great memories with goals both at Portland and the dagger game winner against TFC at home.  He certainly contributed to the team this season.

It's worth saying that as of this writing, late Sunday night, these moves have not been confirmed as the roster freeze is still on.  However, no one representing the clubs involved, the league, or the players has denied it.    This should go down during the next couple of days, and rumor is that RSL may not be done.

I can tell you one thing that this off-season will not be: boring.  The Puddle wishes all of these guys the best as they pursue their careers and they will always be part of the RSL Family.

MLS Inquest 2012: Portland Timbers

Will there be more empty promises in Portland?

2012 MLS Inquest: Portland Timbers

Record: 8-16-10

Points: 34

Final Position: 8th, Western Conference

Player of the Year: Darlington Nagbe

Nagbe represents what is right, or at least can be right, with the Portland Timbers.  He was the only consistent bright spot for the club this year and scored some really great goals.  Unfortunately he has often lacked the tools that need to be around him to really take it up to the next level, and Portland seemed to struggle to get the ball to his feet at times over the course of the season.  He's also very durable, logging a team high 2,777 minutes in league play.  He was second on the team with 6 goals scored.   The upside for Portland is that he's only going to get better.

Flop of the Year: Kris Boyd

This is a no brainer choice for me.  Boyd's signing as a DP was hailed by Portland fans and league watchers alike in the preseason, largely citing his excellent goal scoring record in the Scottish Premier League.  Some people, like myself, rained on this parade.  First off, the SPL is not that great outside of Rangers vs Celtic, well and now just Celtic, and Boyd's production fell off extensively once he left Scotland.  He did end up leading the team with 7 league goals, but never seemed to be favored after John Spencer was sacked mid-season.  Meanwhile, Boyd's most memorable moment in a Timbers' kit to date was missing a penalty kick in the US Open Cup against Cal FC, who would wind up knocking the Timbers out of that competition.  

The Good:

Portland did seem to find a bit of form late in the season, pulling 13 points out of their last 10 games to lift them off the bottom of the Western Conference table.  In the process, they claimed the Cascadia Cup late on, clinching the hardware with a victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on October 21.  Much of this was due to the emergence of Bright Dike, who eclipsed both Boyd and Danny Mwanaga as an attacker in Portland's lineup down the stretch.

The Bad:

Road form, or lack thereof, continued to hamper the Timbers in their second season in Major League Soccer.  Seven of their eight wins came at Jeld-Wen field, where they claimed the scalps of Seattle Sounders, Sporting Kansas City, and the San Jose Earthquakes, to name a few.  The road was a different story though, as they didn't collect all three points on their travels until that October 21 win at Vancouver.  Meanwhile, they only managed 10 goals on the road all year, while conceding 35.

The Ugly:\

To say it was a trying time for the Timbers front office and coaching ranks this year was a bit of an understatement.  Head coach John Spencer was sacked in the middle of the season and replaced by technical director Gavin Wilkinson.  Results did not improve, and resulted in the Timbers Army showing up to home matches with tifo that very pointedly expressed their displeasure:

The Verdict:

The Timbers announced that they had hired Akron boss and former US U-23 coach Caleb Porter to take over the head coaching job next year.  While Porter has been a whiz at the college level, the pro and international games is are a very different beast, as was illustrated by Porter's group failing to even qualify for the 2012 London Olympics, widely regarded as a national humiliation.  Time will tell if he can adapt to the MLS version of the game, but I remain skeptical, especially if he still has this package of personnel.  However, the club has shown willingness to spend some money, see: Kris Boyd.  If they can use their resources wisely, they can improve, but they have a long way to go to catch up with the top 5 or 6 in the Western Conference,  Plus, they have to be able to pick up more points on the road.

MLS: RSL Hold Off Determined Timbers

Nick Rimando makes a save in the 2nd half.  (Getty Images)

There was a lot of good, a little bad, and just a tiny bit of the ugly in Real Salt Lake's 2-1 win over the Portland Timbers last night at Rio Tinto Stadium.  For the most part, it was a rather dominating performance by the Claret and Cobalt, but Portland showed strong and pulled a goal back in the second half to make the final minutes rather anxious for the sell out crowd.

The biggest question of the night was this: how would RSL manage goals without Alvaro Saborio?  The Costa Rican international injured his shoulder in the end of the CCL win at Tauro FC earlier in the week.  Coach Kreis said after the match that Sabo really wanted to play, and in fact wanted to start, but that the risk of further damaging injury was too great.  That's why he's the manager and I'm not.  Thankfully.

From the opening minutes it looked like RSL was going to put on a fine display of attacking football, despite their long trip to Panama earlier in the week.  They stroked the ball around quite a bit and looked very confident in possession.  In the 13th minute it looked like Javier Morales and Fabian Espindola were about to pull apart the Timbers defense, but the Portland men yielded a free kick outside of their own area instead.  RSL set up the kick, and Kyle Beckerman made a dummy run at it, which was probably anticipated by Portland.  Then Morales charged the ball but instead of shooting, he deftly back-heeled it to Espindola, who blasted the shot through the Portland defense and into the goal to make it 1-0 to RSL.  There's just one word for that kick: cheeky.  It was outstanding to see live as well.

Portland had their chances as well though.  They really deserve a lot of credit.  The last time they visited the RioT they just looked incompetent.  Last night they really came to play and gave the RSL defense a couple of fits.  In the 18th minute Rodney Wallace put a header on target following a corner kick, and Nick Rimando got a bit of a palm to it, but only knocked it into limbo near the line.  Will Johnson was the hero of the day though as he confidently cleared the ball away from the RSL goal.  He never looked worried.  It happened about 10 yards from me though, and I sure was worried.

Luckily for RSL, they got an insurance goal late in the half.  Portland again gave up a free kick right outside of their box, and again Morales was there to threaten with it.  There was no trickery this time though as the Argentinian hammered the kick over the defense and into the top of the net to make it 2-0 at halftime.

The second half proceeded along the lines of the first for awhile, but RSL continued to be frustrated in their search for goals from open play.  They did have a couple of good chances though.  In the 54th minute Beckerman slammed a shot that for all the world looked like it was headed in, but ended up wide of the post.  Then in 57th minute Portland's Joe Bendik earned his paycheck by absolutely stoning Espindola from short range.  Finally in the 60th Paulo Jr had a nice look but dragged his shot wide of the far post.

In the 61st minute Portland was able to make RSL pay somewhat for missing those chances.  Sal Zizzo sent a nice ball into the box from thirty plus yards that managed to fight Bright Dike.  The Portland forward then headed the ball into the top of the goal over a leaping Rimando to make it 2-1 with a half hour to go.

The Timbers did quite well looking for an equalizer, but in the end solid defense and excellent game management ruled the day for RSL.  They put in Yordany Alvarez as an extra holding type midfielder, which greatly increased RSL's ability to possess and keep the ball away from Portland.  They really didn't push up much either, limiting the Timbers' ability to counter attack.

The men in green did create two chances to fancy an equalizer though.  In the 82nd minute Frank Songo'o hit a gorgeous free kick on the RSL goal that Rimando just managed to tip over the bar (Pictured above). Then in the 85th minute another Dike header deflected off the bar and bounced away to seal all 3 points for RSL.

I think the biggest plus on the night for RSL was getting Morales and Espindola amongst the goals.  Even though they weren't from the run of play, their confidence should be boosted.  Also special credit MUST be given to Nick Rimando who made a couple of incredible saves, including the late one off the Songo'o free kick.  Also of note, Jamison Olave picked up a yellow card late on, and will miss the next match against Chivas USA due to yellow card accumulation.

MLS: Portland Let Quakes Off the Hook

Chris Wondolowski celebrates his late equalizer (Getty Images)

The San Jose Earthquakes season is starting to feel like one of those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books, except that no matter what path you take, you get pretty much the same ending every time.  If you're a Quakes supporter, this is an excellent proposition.  Last night the Portland Timbers thought they had finally figures matters out, but it wasn't to be.

The first half of the match was pretty pedestrian, and it seemed that people were having more fun with Merritt Paulson's ripping of San Jose tifo via twitter than watching the match.  San Jose typically controlled possession and looked to be licking their chops going up against a 3rd string Timbers 'keeper in Joe Bendik.

While the Quakes did get some shots, it wasn't generally a severe test for Bendik.  Sam Cronin hit a shot right to the center of the goal on 11 minutes that was easily rounded up and got the Timbers shot-stopper into the feel of the match.  Other than that, the Quakes seemed to have a hard time finding the target with Chris Wondolowski starting on the bench.

One of the first real big news items in the match came in the 18th minute.  Portland were forced in to using an early substitution when designated player Kris Boyd sustained an injury.  He was replaced in the lineup by Bright Dike.  The Timbers would end up with the final say in the first half though, as one of the few meaningful Timbers attacks came up with a goal.  Rodney Wallace hit Danny Mwanga in the center of the box with a nice ball, and the former Union man slotted a finish to the lower left corner to make it 0-1 to Portland at halftime.

The Quakes didn't panic in the second half.  Lets face it, they never do.  They set out confidently in search of an equalizer, but sloppy play led to another Timbers chance on a counter attack.  In the 62nd minute Frank Songo'o dashed up the pitch and was able to make a connection with the aforementioned Mwanga on the outside of the 18.  The striker calmly set his sights on goal and blasted his second of the match past Jon Busch to make it 0-2.

At that point San Jose stopped fooling about, and both Chris Wondolowski and Alan Gordon had been inserted into the lineup.  The rally was on for the Quakes.  In the 73rd minute Gordon connected with Steven Lenhart, who promptly dished over to Wondo just inside the 18.  The league's leading scorer easily scored his 20th goal of the season to make it 1-2 with 17 minutes left.

Despite the outpouring of pressure on the Portland goal, it looked like they might survive and hold on for all three points.  Then stoppage time hit.  In the 92nd minute their defense went horribly wrong.  Hanyer Mosquera tried to flick the ball clear of his own area, but it flew right to Wondo, which meant bad news for the men from the Rose City.  He expertly headed inside a wide open back post to make it 2-2.

With three minutes of stoppage time left, San Jose went full throttle for the winner.  After all, this is well trodden territory for them.  It almost cost them this time though, as throwing men forward resulted in yet another Portland chance on the counter.  In the 95th minute Songo'o and Dike broke through to manufacture a chance for Dike at nearly point blank range, but seemingly from out of nowhere Lenhart came dashing in from behind, putting in his foot in on the Portland striker at the last second, helping to send his shot wide of the post and preserve the 2-2 score at full time.

The good news for Portland, if there is any to be had for them at this point, is that the point keeps them above Chivas USA and out of last place in the west.  Any playoff hopes are pretty much done and dusted though, as they travel to Rio Tinto to take on Real Salt Lake on Saturday.  The Quakes got a point, but Sporting Kansas City's win over New York earlier in the evening cut their Supporters Shield lead to just three points.  They travel to Seattle for a massive match Saturday night.

Match Thoughts: Timbers Rise Up at Rapids Expense

Portland's Bright Dike celebrates his match winning goal (Getty Images)

The Portland Timbers and the Colorado Rapids are in the midst of a rare, true home and home set in MLS play.  Last night Portland hosted the Rapids at Jeld-Wen, The Rapids will host Portland in the "return leg" Wednesday night at 5280.  In most leagues in the world, this would also be a relegation battle, with Portland coming in at the foot of the Western Conference table, and the Rapids just one spot ahead of them.  Both teams needed the 3 points to attempt to make something out of the season.

The first half started kind of nervy, and while the teams did exchange some half chances, the threats weren't serious as neither side looked like they wanted to make the big mistake.  It was also very physical with both sides pretty much giving as good as they were getting in the hits department.  However, as we approached the end of the half, it looked it was just going to be a dud.

That turned out not to be the case though as the Timbers lit a fire under the match in the 45th minute.  The men in Rose City Red came up and the ball found its way to the foot of Sal Zizzo, who gave the Rapids trouble all night long.  Zizzo sent a nice cross into the box, and Bright Dike guided the ball past Matt Pickens to make it 1-0 to the Timbers.  Just a minute or so later, Portland nearly doubled the lead as Darlington Nagbe took a gorgeous long pass and got through on goal.  Unfortunately for the Timbers Army, he put his shot wide of the mark to end the half.

The Rapids responded well though, and came out and controlled long stretches of the second half.  Martin Rivero looked pretty good as usual, and new arrival Hendry Thomas showed some nice flashes as well, but the story for the Rapids, as has been so many times this season, was a lack of finishing.

They had two really great chances to equalize late in the match, but were not able to get the ball on frame to test Donovan Ricketts, who had injured his arm earlier in the match.  In the 86th minute Omar Cummings headed a ball wide from the six yard box.  He really should have scored, but the Jamaican's poor run of form continued.  Then in the first minute of stoppage Andre Akpan took a little ball from Jaime Castrillon for a nice look in front of goal, but he pounded his shot wide as well and the match finished 1-0 to the home side.

As mentioned earlier, the teams will take up the issue again Wednesday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.  Last place will again be on the line, as this win put the Timbers one point ahead of the reeling Rapids, who fall to the bottom of the West.

MLS Roundup: Bunbury Out, Toja to Revs, Portland May Have Their Man

Sporting Kansas City Forward Teal Bunbury is out for the season. 

There are three big new items on the minds of MLS watchers early this week.  Unfortunately for Sporting Kansas City, they get the bit of unfortunate news.  Striker and American international Teal Bunbury suffered an ACL tear in the 4th minute of Sporting's draw with NYRB last weekend.  He will undergo surgery on Friday and will miss the remainder of the season and the playoffs. 

The loss is a decent sized blow to Sporting, as Bunbury had been rounding into good form.  He had 5 goals in 22 league matches for SKC, and also had a goal during their run to the US Open Cup Championship.  The Puddle wishes Mr. Bunbury a full and speedy recovery.

In MLS player acquisition news, the New England Revolution have acquired 27 year old former MLS All Star Juan Toja through the allocation process.  Before trying his luck in Europe, the former Colombian youth international had some strong seasons in MLS with FC Dallas, scoring 8 goals in 43 league matches.  Apparently the Revs had been contacted by clubs trying to trade into the spot to get Toja, but they've gone ahead and taken him on.  It will be interesting to see where he fits in with the Revs midfield.

The final news is not yet official, but media outlets in Portland are reporting that the Timbers will announce University of Akron head coach Caleb Porter as their new manager Wednesday morning.  Porter has been at the helm of one of the most successful college programs in recent memory at Akron, but failed to play that success into another level when he failed to guide the US U-23 squad into the London 2012 Olympics.  We'll see how much patience the folks in Portland have, because they were obviously not happy with Gavin Wilkinson:

Photo Credit: Associated Press

Puddle's Goal of the Weekend: Captain Jack Jewsbury

I know I'm late to the party on this one, but there were three goals that I was really thinking about for this, so it took time. In the end I decided to go with this outstanding volley from Portland Captain Jack Jewsbury. If there's any fandom in MLS that needed something to be excited about, it's Portland. Check it out:

Portland Timbers Sack John Spencer

John Spencer at Rio Tinto Stadium Saturday Night (Getty Images)

So it turns out that the Timbers 3-0 loss at Real Salt Lake Saturday night was the last match for embattled head coach John Spencer.  The Scotsman was the first head coach in the Timbers' MLS history.  However, management ran out of patience as the Timbers were hit with 3 goals, 5 yellow cards, and a red card in the last 30 minutes in Salt Lake City.  MLSSoccer.com says the Timbers played even with RSL prior to that, but despite the 0-0 score, it wasn't the case.  The Timbers had zero attacking presence and only some superlative goal keeping from Troy Perkins kept the Timbers from conceding at least one in the first half.

Portland had a decent season for an expansion team last year, going 11-14-9.  They only missed out on a playoff spot by four points.  Unfortunately for Spencer, the team has failed to improve so far this season, going 5-8-4.  Impressive wins over Seattle, San Jose, and Sporting KC were not enough to save him as the team is winless away from Jeld-Wen Field this season.

Timbers GM Gavin Wilkinson will take over for Spencer.  According to MLS, the Timbers will not hire a permanent replacement before the end of the season, instead focusing on a list of quality candidates who could take over next year.  Some banter in the MLS community has focused on Eric Wynalda and former Revs coach Steve Nichol.  However, Wynalda has been hired by Atlanta in the NASL and Nichol, despite his experience, doesn't bring anything different to the table than Spencer did.

Click here to see MLS's list of top 5 men for the job.

Match Thoughts: Real Salt Lake Pounds Portland Timbers

RSL's Javier Morales grew tired of Portland's "Hack-a-Javy" strategy. (Getty Images)

Last night was just what Real Salt Lake needed to build on the clean sheet result vs. Seattle in the midweek.  In the second half, they finally put it all together: defense, midfield, and forwards.  The result was an absolute drubbing of the Portland Timbers, who continue to be one of MLS's most under-achieving teams.

The first half wasn't too bad from the Claret and Cobalt either, as they held the majority of the possession and got some chances at goal.  In the 19th minute, Will Johnson let loose a sizzling drive that looked sure to put RSL in the lead, but Portland 'keeper Troy Perkins made a great save to tip it over.  Jamison Olave had a great chance as well on 35 minutes with a header from a set piece, but collapsed in frustration as the shot went over the bar.

What about the Timbers?  How did they manage?  Well, they were content to sit back and wait for chances on the counter attack.  They came out with Danny Mwanga as the lone striker up front and left DP Kris Boyd on the bench.   However, even their counter-attack chances were limited.  They had their best chance of the night in the 33rd minute when Olave blocked a counter attack shot from Eric Alexander that preserved the 0-0 tie going into halftime.

RSL finally exploded in the second half, and the Timbers could not keep up with them.  On the hour mark, Captain Kyle Beckerman sent a beautiful ball across the six to the far post, where Alvaro Saborio was stationed.  The Costa Rican international jumped and headed the ball hard at the ground.  It skipped past Troy Perkins to make it 1-0 to RSL.

Sabo wasn't done with his headers either.  In the 62nd minute it was Chris Wingert who provided the service for the big striker as he sent a cross into the six.  Sabo leaped into the air smashed that one into the net as well to make it 2-0 to the home side.

Then things got ugly.  Apparently the Portland Timbers are sore losers.

In the 64h minute, Portland's Diego Chara went in for an absolutely nasty tackle on Javier Morales.  In my view, he made no attempt to play the ball.  Portland had been going after Javy all night long, and this was the last straw.  RSL came rushing to his aid and a scrum ensued, in which former RSL man David Horst absolutely decked Olave.  When things were sorted out, yellow cards were given to RSL's Will Johnson and Chara and Horst for Portland.  The league needs to take action against Chara and Horst.  It was a disgrace.  Portland didn't stop there either, as both Lovell Palmer and Steven Smith were given yellow cards in the next 3 minutes for nasty tackles on Morales.

RSL finally put the Timbers out of their misery in the 74th minute.  They executed a corner kick, which Sabo again headed toward goal.  Diego Chara did his best Luis Suarez impression, and handballed the kick on the goal line.  He received a straight red card and RSL was awarded a PK, which Sabo promptly swatted to make it 3-0 and earn his hat trick.  Portland could barely get a touch on the ball in the last 15, and only a spectacular save from Perkins in stoppage time kept Morales off the board and preserved the 3-0 score at full time.

NOTES:  Portland did not have a single shot on frame the entire match.  They drop to 0-6-2 on the road this year, and they haven't scored a single goal in their last five road matches.  They held only 37% possession.  Ned Grabavoy limped off the pitch in the first half for RSL after a knock to the knee from yet another nasty Portland tackle.  His condition will be evaluated further.

Match Thoughts Portland Timbers vs. San Jose Earthquakes

Portland's Eric Alexander and San Jose's Chris Wondolowski. (AP Photo)

The San Jose Earthquakes have looked to be near invincible at times this year.  They've been the best team in MLS at getting the crucial goal or the crucial stop just when they've needed it.  Their last two victims, RSL and the LA Galaxy, could testify to as much.   On the other hand, Portland was coming off of a 3 goal pounding at the hands of Colorado, and they needed this match in a big way.

Coach Jon Spencer had them playing like they needed it pretty much right out of the gate.  Portland moved the ball with a lot of confidence against the San Jose defense and looked poised to carve out some chances.  The first of them came in minute seven, as Franck Songo'o hit a shot on target that forced a save out of David Bingham in the San Jose net.  

That didn't quite wake the Quakes up enough.  In the 15th minute Eric Alexander found his way through the blue clad defense and hit a shot that rattled off the post and away from danger.  Then in the 22nd minute Darlington Nagbe took a little a drop off pass from Kris Boyd in the area, but banged his shot over the bar.  He probably puts that on frame eight out of ten times.

The Timbers kept up the pressure and finally broke through in the 29th minute.  The Rose City men sprung a nice looking counter up their right side and Songo'o picked out newcomer Danny Mwanga with a pass into the box.  The former Union man perfectly timed a right footed strike into the top of the net to give the Timbers a 1-0 lead over San Jose, and that score held into the break.

The Timbers had a great chance to build on their solid first half right off the bat in the second.  In minute 48, both Nagbe and Alexander had good looks blocked, and the second rebound fell to Lovell Palmer, who smacked a shot on target only to have Bingham make the save. 

However in the 59th they did succeed in doubling their lead.  It's important to note that John Busch, the regular San Jose keeper, was out with an eye injury.  Backup David Bingham dropped the ball after saving a shot from Futty Danso and Timbers Captain Jack Jewsbury was there to escort the ball over the line to make it 2-0 to Portland.

It's never over against the Quakes though.  They subbed Steven Lenhart into the match, and the Sideshow commenced.  He made an immediate impact, smacking a shot just over the bar in minute 64.  Ten minutes after that, Marvin Chavez had his shot blocked, but the ever opportunistic Alan Gordon was right there to bang home the rebound and make it 2-1 with 15 minutes left.

The Quakes put a lot pf pressure on the Portland goal throughout those last 15 minutes.  Unfortunately for them, the breaks just didn't fall their way.  They did get an obscene SIX MINUTES of stoppage time, but only fashioned one chance.  In the 93rd minute Gordon got a header shot toward net off of a free kick, but it sailed wide and the Timbers held on for the 2-1 win.

Puddle's Goal of the Midweek: Danny Mwanga vs. San Jose

Our goal of the midweek comes courtesy of MLS. Check out Danny Mwanga's perfectly timed strike as the Portland Timbers took down the 1st Place San Jose Earthquakes 2-1.

Match Thoughts: Portland Timbers vs. Chicago Fire

The Rose City again had no pity for the Chicago Fire (Getty Images)

The Portland Timbers needed a win in this one, there is little doubt about that.  They'd been playing better recently, but coming up with draws instead of wins had kept them mired at the foot of the Western Conference table.  Following the Galaxy's defeat to Chivas, the Timbers could escape last place with a win over the Fire.

Portland coach Jon Spencer had been preaching service into the box after Portland's scoreless draw at Houston.  That did improve somewhat for the Timbers, who scored both of their goals from corner kicks.  In the 4th minute they got the ball into Kris Boyd after a throw in but his header was saved at point blank range by Sean Johnson.  It was really the only noteworthy chance for either side until Eric Brunner hook volleyed a ball into the Chicago net off of a corner kick in the 20th minute. 

The kick gave the Timbers the 1-0 lead which they looked keen to hold into halftime.  However, the Fire have come back from 1 goal deficits 3 times on the road this year.  In the 36th minute Pavel Pardo unleashed a wicked strike on the Timbers goal that was well saved by Troy Perkins.  Then in the 39th minute Jalil Anibaba ended up with the ball in the box after a poor clearance from the Timbers and slid a shot in far post to tie the match at 1-1 going to the interval.

The second half proved very frustrating to watch.  The Fire players started going to the floor with every little bit of contact.  Thankfully the referee wasn't buying it.  Then of course the Fire complained to said referee.  It really was embarrassing.

The Timbers had yet another chance off of a set piece in the 47th minute, but this time Brunner's header missed the target.  They did finally get the deserved lead in 52nd, when Chicago's Logan Pause deflected in a Timbers corner for an own goal that put Portland up 2-1. 

The Fire did mount a bit of an attacking presence later in the second half, but the Timbers did a much better job of managing the game, staying with the Fire attackers and not giving up many good looks.  The tension came to a head in the 80th minute when the the Fire's Sebastián Grazzini went down easily in the box trying to earn a penalty.  The referee saw right through it and gave him a yellow card for simulation. 

The last ten minutes plus stoppage time saw little significant attacking action from the Fire, and the Timbers held on for the three points, dropping the LA Galaxy into last place in the west.  It certainly could be a win for Portland to build on, and I think they definitely played better, but their best service still came from set pieces, as the Fire were able to get more balls into the 18 from the run of play.  For the Timbers to truly mount a climb out of the cellar, they need to improve on this some more.  I'm sure Spencer would agree.

MLS Suspends Shea and Danso

The MLS Disciplinary Committee has been at work again this week, handing out two suspensions and fines.  In retrospect, one could see both of them coming and they're both well deserved.

First on the list MLS suspended FC Dallas star Brek Shea 3 games for intentionally kicking the ball at an assistant referee during the Hoops' 2-1 loss to Columbus at Crew Stadium.  After being called for a foul, Shea kicked the ball at the AR and hit him in the stomach.  He didn't kick the ball very hard, and the AR just stood there, but it was bone headed move by Shea.  He has apologized and accepted responsibility for his actions.  For Dallas fans hoping they might pull a fast one on the league, any games Shea misses while away with the US National Team will NOT count toward his suspension.  He was also fined an undisclosed amount.

MLS also suspended Portland's Futty Danso for striking Houston's Calen Carr across the head in Tuesday's game at Houston.  Danso will miss this weekend's match with the Chicago Fire.  Oh, and say it with me now:  "he was also fined an undisclosed amount."

Match Thoughts: Houston Dynamo vs. Portland Timbers

Troy Perkins turned in a man of the match performance for Portland. (Getty Images)

At first glance this match looked like a real albatross on the MLS schedule.  A Tuesday night duel in Houston after the Dynamo had just played an emotional and draining match on Saturday, as well as another midweek match last week.  Meanwhile, Portland didn't play this last weekend, in theory giving them an edge.  It didn't turn out at that way at all.  In the end, the match ended up being one of the most forgettable of the the MLS campaign so far.

Portland came out of the gates looking totally lethargic on offense.  Darlington Nagbe really looked like he was the only one who really came to play.  Kris Boyd grew increasingly frustrated as service into the Dynamo penalty area was non existent.  There was absolutely zero creativity from anyone in a green shirt.

It wasn't quite the same for Houston though.  They certainly outworked Portland despite their obviously tired legs.  The Dynamo ended up taking 17 shots in the match but they ran into a couple of problems.  One, they rarely hit the target.  Two, when they did, Troy Perkins was an absolute brick wall.

Houston captain Brian Ching checked in later in the second half to try and provide the Dynamo offense with the little extra they needed to get over the hump.  One would figure he'd get at least one big chance, and he did.  Late on he got the ball right in front of the Portland goal, but sent his shot flying horribly over the crossbar.  In the 87th minute Calen Carr got 1v1 with Perkins, but the Portland keeper came up huge and smotherd the shot to preserve the 0-0 draw.

Sure, Portland will take the point on the road.  However this team has issues.  First off, they have nothing going on offense.  They invested heavily in Kris Boyd as a DP, but it's not working all that well.  Yes, he has a couple of goals, but he doesn't really create much.  He's a target man and when he doesn't get the service, he doesn't get much going.  Everyone talks about how wonderful Boyd was with Rangers, however taking a look at his stats after leaving Scotland, I'm not sure why anyone is really surprised at the results thus far.  In the end, the Timbers still can't win on the road, and whatever advantage they had at Jeld-Wen Field has seemingly evaporated.  This is not a good recipe for climbing the table in MLS.  They need some help.

For Houston, it was disappointing that they didn't get the win, but they'll chalk it up to being their 3rd match in seven days and take solace in the fact that they really did outplay the struggling Portland side.