who did what, what it means and what to look for next:
Los Angeles 3, Real Salt Lake 2
Man of the match: The Kyle Martino rebirth continues in Los Angeles. He found his way onto the scoresheet only once, with a pretty assist on Cobi Jones' goal. But Martino was steady throughout, toiling away on offense and defense. It's the kind of lunch-pail performance needed more often around a team with just one win (before Sunday).
Bigger picture: Abel Xavier's debut was uneventful, as he partnered with Kyle Veris centrally along L.A.'s back line. He played conservatively, wedging those long legs into the tackle only when winning the ball was assured. His passing is clearly a cut above the rest in quality. How many center backs hit that 70-yard ball that led to Edson Buddle's goal?
Pressure point: Jason Kreis put his young RSL talent on alert, benching Freddy Adu and moving Mehdi Ballouchy from attacking midfielder to an outside spot. They had one goal and one assist between them (both for Adu) prior to Sunday's loss. The message from Kreis: that's just not good enough.
Toronto FC 4, FC Dallas 0
Man of the match: Central midfielder Carl Robinson helped hold the midfield and calmly helped shield teammates from reaching the boiling point when both teams got feisty in a helter-skelter second half. Finally, the Welsh international put the lid on the match with a very athletic header into the far post (for TFC's third goal).
Bigger picture: The home team's back line -- Marvell Wynne, Andrew Boyens, Jim Brennen and Kevin Goldthwaite -- is looking more settled. Most of FC Dallas' 10 shots were from 20 yards or beyond. Mo Johnston's team allowed three total goals in the three-game homestand. Now the back line will have to stand even taller during six consecutive matches away from the cushion of crazy BMO.
Pressure point: For Dallas, perhaps these Thursday-Sunday sets deserve further contemplation. Earlier this year FC Dallas followed a Thursday road win with a tough cross-country hop to New York for a Sunday match - and promptly got hammered. This time, a road win in Utah preceded a taxing, quick trip to Toronto. Once again Steve Morrow chose to keep most of his lineup intact, making just one change. And just like last time, the team got pummeled.
Chivas USA 2, Colorado 0
Man of the match: Where would Chivas USA be this year without big Brad Guzan, who has routinely made two or three enormous saves each match? His biggies on Saturday came just before halftime, then an impressive pair just before game's end.
Bigger picture: Credit to Chivas for the win at home. But if Preki's club is to climb the next rung, either Sacha Kljestan or Francisco Mendoza must grab a more assertive role on offense. With two reliable holding midfielders behind them (Jesse Marsch and Paulo Nagamura), who know how to provide cover, the young outside midfielders can drift inside, experiment a bit, find the spaces. And Preki encourages them to do so.
Pressure point: Herculez Gomez was occasionally dangerous for Colorado, but without Pablo Mastroeni (international duty) and the suspended Kyle Beckerman, the Rapids' midfield was painfully lacking for transition into the attack and for offensive ideas. In defense, Ugo Ihemelu's recovery speed is amazing, but he's having to use it too often, and made a couple of potentially crippling mistakes with poor passes Saturday.
New York 3, Kansas City 3
Man of the match: One goal as a substitute is good production. Two goals as a sub is a contribution above and beyond. Yura Movsisyan's two strikes after his 55th-minute introduction were enormous as Kansas City found a way to compensate for Eddie Johnson's absence.
Bigger picture: There's nothing wrong with the Red Bulls attack. Claudio Reyna is supplying some juicy passes. Juan Pablo Angel just scored in his team-record sixth consecutive match and Clint Mathis still has some nice moments. But the defense remains an injury-crushed mess as manager Bruce Arena mixes and matches in search of solutions. With two weeks before its next match, the healthy returns of Hunter Freeman and Todd Dunivant could do wonders.
Pressure point: Ronald Waterreus has surely forgotten more about goalkeeping than most of us would ever hope to know. On the other hand, he certainly is being beaten over the top frequently these days -- once last week by Ben Olsen and twice this go-round. Kerry Zavagnin did it before halftime. And moments before Movsisyan's successful chip from 22 yards, Carlos Marinelli nearly beat Waterreus over the top.
D.C. United 3, Chicago 1
Man of the match: Could have been any number of guys, as D.C. dominated front-to-back. But Christian Gomez supplied the cross that led to United's early goal, which meant Chicago couldn't bunker in. And Gomez's perfectly placed, early ball out of midfield left Luciano Emilio with an easy effort.
Bigger picture: This was the exact kind of effort -- completely dominant -- United should expect at home aver a depleted Chicago side, one missing Chris Armas, Justin Mapp, Chris Rolfe and others. United, on a seven-match unbeaten streak, aren't just riding its money men; heady use of their depth is lending a big assist. Replacement center back Devon McTavish and reserve forward Rod Dyachenko had strong matches Saturday.
Pressure point: Chicago has plenty of issues, and certainly doesn't need an out-of-form goalkeeper. Matt Pickens will regret all three United goals. He spilled two balls, which led to easy put-aways. And on Emilio's initial goal, Pickens got off his line too quickly in confronting the forward, who had a bouncing ball and didn't need long to recognize that the volley lob was the way to go.
New England 3, Columbus 3
Man of the match: Critical to the Crew's improbable two-goal rally was Guillermo Barros Schelotto's strike just before halftime. Most players in that spot would have settled the ball, shooting with a second touch. Schelotto had the gumption to hit it first-time, before Matt Reis could get in position. Late in the match, his cross was spot-on as Alejandro Moreno completed the comeback.
Bigger picture: Schelotto found a way to influence the match, but there's still work to be done to consistently maximize his influence. The Argentinean veteran isn't really a winger, although he's positioned nominally as a right-sided forward. He's not really a striker, and not a classic playmaker. And he's yet to form relationships on the field with teammates. Some more interaction with the in-form Ned Grabavoy could do wonders, for instance.
Pressure point: After all that impressive success in a road-heavy April and May, New England has waded meekly into a four-game homestand. Steve Nicol can't be happy with two losses and a tie and seven goals conceded. The only chance for a win in the homestand now: Saturday against Toronto.
FC Dallas 1, Real Salt Lake 0
Man of the match: Dario Sala wasn't quite as busy as RSL's Nick Rimando in terms of shot stopping, but he did make two impressive saves. And the FC Dallas goalkeeper was quick off his line with several big second-half interventions, preserving the team's first clean sheet in 19 regular season matches.
Bigger picture: Dominic Oduro has been a project for FC Dallas, speedy but raw. But he's a perfect example of how the reserve system works. The young Ghanaian spent most of last year with the reserves, but is now jetting around the big boys' field due to the injury crunch up front for Dallas. That speed and big engine earned Dallas three points as Oduro willed his way into position to exploit a defensive error for the stoppage-time strike.
Pressure point: All the will and fight his team can possibly muster, and all the tactical smarts Jason Kreis can conjure won't help if the defense makes critical mistakes. The problem, of course, is that young defenders are prone to such moments. Starters Jean-Martial Kipre, Willis Forko and Jack Stewart are 22, 23 and 24 respectively.
THIS AND THAT FROM WEEK 11
Technician's notebook:
• We've seen it over and over this year: Teams simply cannot afford midfield giveaways against Kansas City, which gets into its offense faster than any team in the league and punishes such mistakes before teams can even think about organizing defensively. Claudio Reyna gave up the ball in a bad spot once, and Clint Mathis turned over possession near the midfield stripe against Curt Onalfo's team -- and those particular slip-ups turned into the Wizards' first two strikes.
• Another week, another defender falls in New York's ongoing series of injuries along the back line. Dema Kovalenko was set for his latest go in the four-man defense Saturday. But he couldn't move well enough on warmups, suffering from an abdominal strain, so Bruce Arena had to improvise yet again in defense. Right to left, the latest reshuffled foursome was Taylor Graham, Jeff Parke, Carlos Mendes and Tim Regan.
• Some curious stuff on dead balls around the league over the weekend: In Toronto, Carl Robinson took a couple of free kicks from spots where Ronnie O'Brien has already created goals with his pinpoint service. For the Colorado Rapids, either Ugo Ihemelu or Mike Petke typically get forward for set pieces, but not both. Either one can change a game with one big pounce in the penalty area.
• D.C. United has finally found some width lately. While Chicago continued to attack down the center of the park, Fred and Josh Gros provided just enough push up the left side to make the Fire pay attention. So Chicago's back line got stretched a bit at times, which is what happens when teams attack from wide spots. United's back four, meanwhile, could stay nice and compact, since the Fire rarely had any ambitions of getting into the corners.
When inches matter: Game officials noticed something odd in their early check-up Sunday at The Home Depot Center: one goal was about three or four inches too high. It wasn't sitting low enough in its housing - and had apparently been that way the previous night as Colorado visited Chivas USA along Victoria Street in Carson.
So officials fixed the issue to everyone's satisfaction. Good thing, too. For on that very same goal, Edson Buddle's 48th-minute header for Los Angeles banged right off the crossbar. And later, in the 64th minute, an errant clearance by Real Salt Lake veteran Chris Klein clanged off the same crossbar. It's not a stretch to say that one, if not both, of those could have scored but not for the pre-game adjustment.
TV line of the week: This from Rob Stone, who noticed a midfield clash between FC Dallas' Juan Toja and Real Salt Lake's Mehdi Ballouchy. (If you haven't seen 'em, both are ample in the hair department. Toja is very "Journey," circa 1983. Ballouchy is very "Chia Pet.") Said Stone: "It's an all-hair matchup! It looks like American Idol out there."
Galindo's story: There is so much to like where Maykel Galindo's story is concerned. In short, the Cuban defector rose through the U.S. pro soccer ranks and now is prospering in his new life in America. Here's something else to like about the Chivas USA forward:
Saturday against Colorado he broke clear of the defense and pushed the ball past goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul. As Coundoul stretched desperately, Galindo could have dragged his foot, drawn the contact and hedged his bet that referee Brian Hall would adjudge the ball to be in reach. Four out of five forwards probably would do it that way.
Instead, Galindo leaped over Coundoul and made the effort to chase down the ball. (He couldn't reach it, however, as the ball ran over the end line.) It was an honest play from, apparently, an honest player.
Big BMO brouhaha: No match was more feisty over the weekend than the Toronto-FC Dallas contest. Old teammates Ronnie O'Brien and Chris Gbandi went jaw-to-jaw at least once, as did a couple of others. And the match went wide, wide open for the entire second half, as FC Dallas made offensive substitutions and attempted gamely to overturn a 2-0 hafltime deficit. The teams eventually combined for 39 fouls and six yellow cards, both more than a little high by MLS averages.
Big weekend in goals: With 28 goals in seven matches, Major League Soccer's 11th weekend was easily the highest scoring yet. It increased the league scoring average to 2.76 goals per match through 72 fixtures.
Slow from the blocks: This is the D.C. United everyone expected. Fred and Luciano Emilio have energy and ideas that were previously muted, and have apparently cranked the engine to a higher rev. Facundo Erpen continues to come back strong after a very sketchy start and Ben Olsen looks rejuvenated. All of which makes Christian Gomez that much more dangerous.
Changes at RSL: Hoping to spur more offense -- and possibly send a few messages -- Jason Kreis shook up the lineup for Sunday's weekend finale at The Home Depot Center. He made two changes along the back line -- subtracting Jack Stewart and Willis Forko, adding Ritchie Kotschau and Daniel Torres.
The big change, of course, was sitting Freddy Adu, who has made every other start this year. Mehdi Ballouchy moved out wide to Adu's spot along the left - although he often drifted inside, probably owing to his natural inclination to do so.
Andy Williams, who boosted RSL's offense at his introduction in the club's previous two matches, started in central midfield. Finally, Atiba Harris replaced Chris Lancos in the holding role (after the two started together there against FC Dallas three nights earlier).
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.
