MLS Weekend Wrap-Up: “It’s the San Jose Earthquakes Supporter’s Shield To Lose” Edition

Portland vs. Colorado

The Portland Timbers won back-to-back matches for the first time this season and finally escaped the Western Conference basement in a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids. Read more about this match on the GFT Portland Timbers blog.

New England vs. Philadelphia

It was the second 0-0 draw in a row for the Union, who had more opportunities against the Revolution but couldn’t convert. The Union had the two best chances of the match when Amobi Okugo’s header hit the crossbar, and Andre Hoppenot’s breakaway opportunity was parried away by New England’s Matt Reis. With Saer Sene out for the rest of the season, Jay Heaps will have his work cut out for him trying to find someone on the Revolution to score goals.

Columbus Crew vs. Montreal Impact

The Columbus Crew won the battle between two of MLS’ hottest teams thanks to a late goal from Edgar Renteria to defeat the Montreal Impact 2-1. Here’s the recap from our Columbus Crew blogger.

Sporting KC vs. Toronto

It wasn’t the prettiest match, but Sporting KC came through with two second half goals from Paulo Nagamura and Oriol Rossell to defeat Toronto FC 2-1. Here’s more thoughts on this match from our Sporting KC blogger.

Real Salt Lake vs. DC United

There was a lightning start to this match in Sandy, Utah and I mean literally as two lightning strikes in the fourth minute of play led to a weather delay of 1 hour and 24 minutes. Real Salt Lake’s Will Johnson got the lone goal of the match early in the second half when Paulo Jr.’s cross was deflected and Johnson split two defenders and put the ball away past keeper Bill Hamid. Kwame Watson-Siriboe had a goal in the 61st minute but it was waved off when Watson-Siriboe was called for handling. Things got chippy between both sides in the second half and four yellow cards were handed out in the last twenty minutes. The win kept Real Salt Lake in 2nd position in the Western Conference with 46 points. The loss pushed DC United into 6th place in the Eastern Conference with 41 points. They trail the Columbus Crew by 1 point for the 5th and final playoff spot.

Los Angeles vs. Vancouver

Los Angeles got a spectacular goal from Juninho and yet another direct free kick goal from David Beckham to deal the Vancouver Whitecaps its 4th straight defeat. Here’s the full recap from our Los Angeles Galaxy blogger.

Chicago vs. Houston

The Chicago Fire used a first-minute goal from Patrick Nyarko to jumpstart themselves to a 3-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo. The Dynamo were playing their 2nd match in 3 days and it showed. The Fire meanwhile were well rested after coming off a 10 day break. Daniel Paladini and Alex rounded out the scoring for the Fire while Brian Ching got the lone goal for the Dynamo. The victory lifted the Fire into 3rd place (44 points) in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the Dynamo. The Dynamo, on the other hand, are struggling at the wrong time and are now winless in their last six matches.

FC Dallas vs. Seattle

Steve Zakuani made his first MLS start since breaking his leg 500 days ago and got an assist to help the Seattle Sounders remain undefeated at FC Dallas with a 1-1 draw. Zakuani blew past FC Dallas fullback Zach Loyd and sent a cross to the back post which connected with Mauro Rosales for the match’s opening goal. FC Dallas equalized in the 32nd minute when Loyd redeemed himself with a cross in front of goal which Blas Perez controlled and sent to Jackson who knocked it in the back of the net. The draw wasn’t good enough for a FC Dallas club (33 points) trying to gain ground on the struggling Vancouver Whitecaps (37 points) for the 5th Western Conference playoff spot. The draw also kept Seattle in the 3rd playoff spot with 44 points, trailing only Real Salt Lake (46 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (53 points).

San Jose vs. Chivas USA

The San Jose Earthquakes continued their stellar play at Buck Shaw Stadium scoring 3 of their 4 goals on direct free kicks to crush Chivas USA 4-0. Victor Bernardez’s free kick got things started for the Earthquakes and Simon Dawkins added a goal in the run of play to give his team a 2-0 lead going into the half. Chivas USA were in decent attacking form throughout the match but just couldn’t make good when it counted. The Earthquakes Ramiro Corrales capped off his team’s rout with two free kick goals in the 2nd half. The victory puts San Jose in sole possession of first place in the race for the Supporter’s Shield. The loss continued a trend of bad form for Chivas USA, who have given up 18 goals over the last 5 matches.

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