Author Spotlight
Dian Stanchev
MLS Week #3: Recap
Seattle Sounders FC vs. Houston Dynamo- 2:0
Week 3 of the MLS kicked off in Seattle, in front of 38 000 fans at the CenturyLink Field, on Friday with a meeting between two teams yet to experience a loss this season. Both managers opted for the classic 4-4-2 formations, and Dom Kinnear was happy that he could once again rely on Brad Davis, the left midfielder at last back from injury. The first real chance of the game came in the 16th minute and was for the visitors, but the Seattle goalie Michal Gspurning made a great save after a shot from distance by Will Bruin. The Sounders were the team to score a goal first though, after Fernandez curled a corner in the box in the 23rd minute, the ball was cleared by Hainault, but it fell comfortably to the feet of David Estrada who took a shot from the edge of the penalty area, and after a deflection it went in- 1:0 to the Sounders. This was Estrada’s 4th goal in 2 games this season. Two minutes later Geoff Cameron pushed Patrick Ianni in the box and the ref awarded a penalty to the hosts. Brad Evans took the 12 yard kick and with a well-placed shot to the left of Tally Hall made it 2:0. From then on nothing really spectacular happened, although Roger Levesque and Alvaro Fernandez had two good chances to make Seattle’s win even more emphatic, but both their shots couldn’t find the target.
Toronto FC vs. San Jose Earthquakes- 0:3
Over 20 000 fans at the BMO Field expected to witness Toronto’s first win of the season, alas, they were left disappointed by the performance of their team. The Earthquakes struck with only 9 minutes gone, after former Toronto midfielder Sam Cronin provided a cross from the left which found perfectly Chris Wondolowski who scored with a well-placed header. Till the end of the first half both teams had some good opportunities to score but they didn’t manage, so everything was going to be decided in the second 45 minutes of the game. San Jose didn’t waste much time, and after an excellent counter attack in the 56th minute Marvin Chavez played the ball to Robert Salinas who scored the second with a shot from inside the area. The third goal for the Earthquakes looked a lot like the second, only this time it was Rafael Baca who assisted Wondolowski who got his third of the season.
Columbus Crew vs. Montreal Impact- 2:0
This is a game that will mostly be remembered for the horrendous refereeing by Mark Geiger, who is otherwise one of the top refs in the MLS. First of all, Jeb Brovski from the Impact was sent off in the 19th minute after a clumsy tackle, but one that never deserved a red card. Ten minutes later Geiger awarded a very controversial penalty to the hosts, after Emilio Renteria fell in the box after a nudge by Felipe Martins. Mirovan Mirosevic scored, thus giving his team the lead after 30 minutes of play. From then on Columbus were the better team and managed to score another one in the 65th minute after a perfect cross from the left by Shaun Francis found Olman Vargas who got his head to the ball and made it 2:0. To be honest, the Crew dominated the game from start to finish, and had Donovan Rickets not performed so well, they might have won by at least 4-5 goals.
New England Revolution vs. Portland Timbers- 1:0
After two consecutive losses, the Revs were hoping to achieve a win in their first home game of the season. And they managed, after French midfielder Saer Sene scored in the first minute after a cross from the left by Chris Tierney. New England were the better team overall, but the Timbers will be disappointed that their star striker Kris Boyd couldn’t provide, as he had a couple of decent chances to bang in a goal or two.
Chicago Fire vs. Philadelphia Union- 1:0
The Union are a very young team and nobody expects them to create wonders this season. Yet, a third straight defeat must leave some wondering what’s going on with this squad, especially having in mind that their coach is the very famous and experienced Peter Nowak. After defeats to the Timbers and the Colorado Rapids, Philadelphia must have been hoping that they could get away with at least a draw at Toyota Park in Chicago. Well, they didn’t, as Dominic Oduro scored for the Fire in the 29th minute after some great skills by Marco Pappa who provided the assist. By the way, those two played particularly well throughout the whole game and had some more chances on goal but couldn’t convert them. The Union could have equalized in the last ten minutes, after they had two good opportunities from free kicks, but Paolo Tornaghi saved on both occasions.
Real Salt Lake vs. Chivas USA- 0:1
Real Salt Lake went into this game with two wins from their first two games, while Chivas had lost both of theirs. The hosts had a goal disallowed in the 10th minute after a somewhat strange decision by the ref, and while both teams could have scored till the end of the first half, the two keepers were on top of their game making some spectacular saves. Thus came the 71st minute, when Jazic crossed from the left, Rimando caught the ball but then dropped it and Casey Townsend had nothing else to do but score.
Vancouver Whitecaps vs. DC United- 0:0
In what turned out to be a relatively boring game at the BC Place Stadium, the Whitecaps dominated the game, but the visitors had the better chances, and had it not been for Joe Cannon United might have easily won the match. Still, the draw leaves Vancouver, surprisingly, at the top of the Western Conference, while DC are still looking for their first win this season.
New York Red Bulls vs. Colorado Rapids- 4:1
The Red Bulls recorded their first win of the season, while the Rapids lost for the first time. Thanks to Thierry Henry and Kenny Cooper the hosts came out with a result they’d be delighted with, while Colorado are likely to be left wondering what happened to their good form from the last couple of games. A good win for New York and their coach Hans Backe, who by the way had named just three American players in his starting 11, something rarely seen in MLS games.
Sporting Kansas City vs. FC Dallas- 2:1
After this game, Kansas are one of the two teams with a 100% winning record so far in the league, the other being the Seattle Sounders. It might have been a different story though, as Dallas got the first goal of the game on 25 minutes after a great free kick by Brazilian Ricardo. Sporting managed to completely turn it around though, after first Aurelien Collin scored in the 4th minute of injury time in the first half, and then Kei Kamara grabbed the second two minutes from full time. Kamara will be relieved that he managed to score this one, as he missed a penalty earlier in the game.
Eastern Conference
| # | Club | PTS | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Home | Away | Last 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sporting Kansas City | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 2-0-0 | 1-0-0 | W-W-W |
| 2 | Houston Dynamo | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0-0-0 | 2-1-0 | W-W-L |
| 3 | Chicago Fire | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1-0-0 | 0-0-1 | T-W |
| 4 | New York Red Bulls | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1-0-0 | 0-2-0 | L-L-W |
| 5 | Columbus Crew | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1-0-0 | 0-1-0 | L-W |
| 6 | New England Revolution | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 1-0-0 | 0-2-0 | L-L-W |
| 7 | D.C. United | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 0-1-0 | 0-1-1 | L-L-T |
| 8 | Montreal Impact | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | -4 | 0-0-1 | 0-2-0 | L-T-L |
| 9 | Philadelphia Union | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | -4 | 0-1-0 | 0-2-0 | L-L-L |
| 10 | Toronto FC | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | -5 | 0-1-0 | 0-1-0 | L-L |
Western Conference
| # | Club | PTS | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Home | Away | Last 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1-0-1 | 1-0-0 | W-W-T |
| 2 | Seattle Sounders FC | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2-0-0 | 0-0-0 | W-W |
| 3 | Real Salt Lake | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1-1-0 | 1-0-0 | W-W-L |
| 4 | San Jose Earthquakes | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1-1-0 | 1-0-0 | W-L-W |
| 5 | Colorado Rapids | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1-0-0 | 1-1-0 | W-W-L |
| 6 | Portland Timbers | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1-0-0 | 0-1-1 | W-T-L |
| 7 | FC Dallas | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1-0-1 | 0-1-0 | W-T-L |
| 8 | LA Galaxy | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1-1-0 | 0-0-0 | L-W |
| 9 | Chivas USA | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0-2-0 | 1-0-0 | L-L-W |
