who did what, what it means and what to look for next:
Houston Dynamo 3, LA Galaxy 1
Man of the match: Dwayne De Rosario found the midfield spaces and made trouble for the L.A. back line, exploiting that room to operate and run at defenders. He had a assist early and stepped up to hit the game-winner on a penalty kick.
Bigger picture: It must make Galaxy fans just sick to watch their team struggle through so many injuries, then to watch Brian Ching come on for Houston as a reserve. On Sunday, the U.S. international played behind Joseph Ngwenya and Nate Jaqua (both former Galaxy strikers). That's real depth.
Pressure point: Something to think about as the Galaxy begins getting its roster sorted out for next year: Alan Gordon, Gavin Glinton and Edson Buddle were all into the game at forward ahead of Carlos Pavon, who surely wasn't brought to Los Angeles to toil behind players significantly lower on the pay scale. Pavon has two goals and no assists in 10 games for Los Angeles.
Colorado Rapids 1, Chivas USA 1
Man of the match: How far can Colin Clark be from national team consideration? He's been a force along the left side over the last six weeks or so. Sunday, he moved to left back following Facundo Erpen's ejection but still supplied the second-half equalizer for 10-man Colorado.
Bigger picture: Chivas USA hasn't lost since July and the team's seven-game unbeaten streak is already tied as the third best in MLS this year. And don't underestimate the difficulty of Sunday's draw; playing away from home just three days after the emotional Super Clasico triumph was certainly a challenge.
Pressure point: The match was delayed twice by nearby lightning, something that briefly threatened the MLS All-Star game in July. Lest anybody think there is some odd weather pattern in suburban Commerce City, you should know that the Denver Broncos game across town was held up by lighting at one point, too.
Chicago Fire 2, New York Red Bulls 2
Man of the match: Gonzalo Segares influenced the match at both ends. His passing and defense (especially in the air) were strong in front of Chicago's goal. He had one fantastic clearance from about two yards off Matt Pickens' goal line. Then he provided a pinpoint header for the equalizer.
Bigger picture: A huge night for Logan Pause, who wore the captain's armband, moved into the middle from his usual spot on the flank and might have played his best overall match this season. Players like Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Matt Pickens and (silly handballs not withstanding) Wilman Conde will stand out consistently. But if manager Juan Carlos Osorio can coax such outstanding performances from the workadays like Pause, the Fire could do something come October.
Pressure point: More and more players are beginning to complain about Cuauhtemoc Blanco's alleged diving. Dave van den Bergh was outspoken about it after the match, challenging match officials to "stand up" to Blanco.
Kansas City Wizards 3, Columbus Crew 2
Man of the match: Scott Sealy hit Kansas City's first goal on a well-executed free kick, then finished the dramatic nail-biter with a goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Bigger picture: Teams have overcome a stoppage-time deficit only twice before in 12 MLS seasons (though MLS began play with "added time" only in 2000). Wizards manager Curt Onalfo demonstrated once and for all how a single point (with the draw) will never be enough. He saw the Crew heads drop in disappointment after conceding the late penalty kick and urged his men to finish the job and seize all three points, which they did.
Pressure point: Columbus might be the hard luck team of the moment. On the road, minus perhaps their top two players, the Crew controlled long stretches of the match. Ned Grabavoy and Eddie Gaven were especially gutsy, doing their part in playmaker Guillermo Barros Schelotto's absence. In the end, however, the Crew didn't respond well to a controversial penalty kick call, and the emotional letdown and lapse in concentration cost a chance to draw on the road.
New England Revolution 4, FC Dallas 2
Man of the match: Both Revolution outside midfielders had strong afternoons. Khano Smith was causing trouble all night for Dallas right back Drew Moor and the rest of his defensive mates. He had a nice assist to open the scoring and later finished matters -- with his right foot, of all things -- as Dallas pressed for the equalizer at the other end.
Bigger picture: New England's experienced midfield tore up Dallas' makeshift unit; Anthony Wallace was in a holding role in place of the injured Juan Toja. Wallace, the highest draft pick that had yet to play, was busy, but he couldn't find the game the way New England's vets could. All five Revs midfielders had matches to be proud of.
Pressure point: Denilson, the league's fifth Designated Player signing, has been in three league matches for Dallas -- and the club has lost two of those. He's not making enough of an impact yet and sometimes hurts Dallas' shape a bit. The club has shifted to a 4-4-2 look lately, with Denilson playing nominally on the left, but tending to drift into the middle a lot.
Toronto FC 0, Real Salt Lake 0
Man of the match: Toronto's scoreless streak goes on, but it's not Maurice Edu's fault. The league's No. 1 draft pick was all over the field for the home team, chasing on defense, getting forward regularly and covering extra ground for central partner Carl Robinson, who was returning from midweek international duty.
Bigger picture: Toronto did about all it could on the attack without actually scoring, creating numerous chances, outshooting the visitors 24-5 and forcing several big-time saves from Nick Rimando. The pressure was especially intense following Fabian Espindola's ejection for elbowing Marvell Wynne. Still, the record 822-minute goalless streak continues.
Pressure point: Wynne and Todd Dunivant continue to play in wide midfield roles for Mo Johnston's men. Neither could convert on terrific chances early in the match. Dunivant consistently gets into good spots in the attack. But, like Wynne, his crossing and finishing looks like they are coming from, well, a defender.
Chivas USA 3, LA Galaxy 0
Man of the match: There were plenty of good evenings to choose from. Francisco Mendoza made things particularly tough on Galaxy right back Chris Klein and got a well-deserved goal late in the match after setting up several other chances with those darting runs of his.
Bigger picture: Don't underestimate what this win means for the collective club psyche. The team sent out an e-mail blast after the win using the very language that the Los Angeles Galaxy used in its promotional material this year. Chivas USA has bristled at all the attention focused on their Home Depot Center partners.
Pressure point: Center back Abel Xavier has been as good as any Galaxy player since his late-spring arrival. But he's had a couple of shaky moments lately and may be pressing a bit, trying too hard to compensate for some of the inexperience that surrounds him on the back line.
D.C. United 2, Real Salt Lake 1
Man of the match: In all the excitement over Luciano Emilio's bid for league scoring leadership and team records, it's been easy to overlook Christian Gomez. The league's reigning MVP provided Emilio with the early assist, then provided the game-winner for his side on a classy header.
Bigger picture: United manager Tom Soehn continues to rest starters, as promised. Clyde Simms, Fred and Greg Vanney all started on the sidelines, although Simms and Fred did finish the match.
Pressure point: Real Salt Lake was pressing United at the end, but ultimately without success. The final third of the season will effectively be tryout time for the men from Utah. But while manager Jason Kreis determines who will and won't be around in 2008, he also must work on the team's collective ability to manage matches and get results. It's an acquired habit.
THIS AND THAT FROM ROUND 25
Technician's notebook:
Sign of things to come?: The raw numbers suggest the 2007 playoff race will be the tightest yet, and the sellout crowd at Toyota Park certainly seemed to sense it. The Fire-Red Bulls match was entertaining start to finish and, urged along by an enlivened crowd, was absolutely pulsating by the second half.
Onstad on track for history: Obviously, there's more to a goals-against average than just the goalkeeper. Houston's back line is unbelievably stingy with the opportunities. Still, Pat Onstad has a 0.87 goals-against average after 23 matches, which puts him on track to record the best GAA in 12 MLS seasons. Kevin Hartman's 0.91 GAA in 1999 stands now as the all-time low, followed by Tony Meola's 0.92 in 2000. (Of course, Brad Guzan and his 0.90 average this year could still have something to say about it all.)
Merlin makes some magic: Laurent Merlin, the player discovered during open tryouts for the Los Angeles Galaxy, got his fourth start this year for Chivas USA as manager Preki gave Maykel Galindo a break and rested the ailing Ante Razov on Sunday. Merlin made a huge impact right away, stealing a ball off Rapids defender Ugo Ihemelu and turning it into a penalty kick and early Chivas lead -- all completely against the run of early play.
The good and bad of Conde: Wilman Conde will rue the choice to stab at a Red Bulls corner kick in the 65th minute at Toyota Park. He was sitting on a yellow card already as Claudio Reyna's arching corner kick was about to fall to a waiting Juan Pablo Angel. Referee Baldomero Toledo pointed to the spot and showed Conde his second yellow card. That means the recently acquired Colombian won't play this week as Chicago visits Dallas, which is a huge loss for the Fire. Conde has looked world-class so far.
Mile High defensive woes: Just 22 minutes into the match in Colorado, the Rapids' back line was a mess. Facundo Erpen, who started on the left, had been dismissed. Then center back Mike Petke left due to injury. Stephen Keel, who had just 19 minutes this year before Sunday, partnered with Ihemelu in the middle, with Colin Clark dropping back to the back line from his left midfield spot.
Striking first counts: Think Houston Dynamo know how to play with a lead? Dominic Kinnear's men are 11-0-0 this year when scoring first. So Ryan Cochrane's 23rd-minute strike Sunday off a corner kick was obviously significant. The Galaxy did equalize later in the first half but couldn't sustain the pressure. Los Angeles is now 0-11-2 when allowing the first goal.
Steve Davis is a freelance writer who has covered Major League Soccer since its inception. Steve can be reached at BigTexSoccer@yahoo.com. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
