who did what, what it means and what to look for next:
Houston 4, New York 0
Man of the match: Stuart Holden figured into all four Dynamo goals, providing assists on two, getting involved on Brian Ching's goal and capping the night with a blistering shot, albeit against an oddly compliant Red Bulls defense.
Bigger picture: Dominic Kinnear may be on the phone at this very moment, lobbying MLS schedule makers to move every game to Thursday nights. Houston has spent three recent Thursday's playing in the ESPN2 slot with that special silver ball at home. Results: three big "Ws" and a resounding 10-1 goal difference in those matches. The champs are soaring, with a 6-0-1 mark in June and July.
Pressure point: Bruce Arena had his first-choice starting lineup available for the first time since April, and yet his team never produced a shot on goal. Not good. Changes coming? Listen to Arena's words: "We have too many players who played poorly, and that has to be accounted for. You can't ignore some of the performances on the field tonight."
Los Angeles 2, Chicago 0
Man of the match: Kyle Martino could definitely harness his energy more productively at times. On the other hand, if every Galaxy starter were as committed and combative as the resurgent Los Angeles midfielder, the original Home Depot Center outfit wouldn't be in its current worrisome mire. Martino, full of fire and desire -- and maybe even a little gamesmanship -- earned both Galaxy penalty kicks and irritated the Fire all evening.
Bigger picture: New striker Carlos Pavon, just acquired as the international transfer window opened, and Kelly Gray, just picked up in a trade from Houston, got their first minutes for the Galaxy. It wasn't the best night overall from Frank Yallop's side, but any win is a good one for the Galaxy right now.
Pressure point: Even Chicago's best, most experienced players are culpable in the team's recent slide. Fire defender C.J. Brown and former national team regular Chris Armas were involved in the early penalty kick decision. Brown was uncharacteristically meek in allowing Kyle Martino to turn near the penalty area, and Armas wasn't in the best position to challenge as he chased Martino from behind. Armas got tangled up enough to prevent the scoring opportunity, as referee Brian Hall saw enough to point to the spot.
Toronto 2, Real Salt Lake 1
Man of the match: Collin Samuel is proving to be effective wherever he lines up for Mo Johnston's side. Samuel began Wednesday's warm night at Rice-Eccles along the left, where he was tough on defense and bold on the attack. Later he moved to striker, showing strength in holding off defenders. Plus, Samuel sold the game-deciding penalty kick call, then converted the spot kick nicely.
Bigger picture:Toronto collected the club's first win away from home; The Canadians were 0-4-2 away from BMO before Wednesday. Real Salt Lake, meanwhile, got three of a possible six points from its two-game homestand.
Pressure point: With one victory and the season's midway point approaching, the weight is increasing on RSL to utilize recently created salary cap space - and possibly that Designated Player asset that remains so tantalizing. How to employ it? Jason Kreis could improve his side pretty much anywhere on the field.
Colorado 0, Columbus 0
Man of the match: Colorado's Dan Gargan got forward from his right back spot and was often around the action for what few chances generated in this game (with just five shots on goal combined).
Bigger picture: Things are going badly for Colorado when they can't get their traditional "W" on July 4. The Rapids had 10 wins in 11 previous matches on Independence Day, but couldn't sneak one past Chad Marshall and Marcos Gonzalez, perhaps the best central tandem in MLS right now.
Pressure point:Rapids center back Ugo Ihemelu, now partnered with Facundo Erpen following last week's trade, will take his game to the next level when he learns to pick his spots with the physical stuff. The Crew offense was toothless for 25 minutes but got its first good look at goal after Ihemelu fouled Guillermo Barros Schelotto, challenging for the ball instead of neutralizing the Crew attacker with a less aggressive approach 40 yards from goal. Two games back, a red-card challenge in the 94th minute against Dallas resulted in a costly, needless suspension for Ihemelu.
FC Dallas 2, Chivas USA 0
Man of the match: Aaron Pitchkolan has been more than adequate as an emergency fill-in at center back. FC Dallas' reserve midfielder was good in his first start last week but even better Wednesday against Chivas USA, making good choices on when to engage in the tackle and when to hold the flat line.
Bigger picture: In Ante Razov, Maykel Galindo and Laurent Merlin, Chivas USA have plenty of strikers capable of troubling opposition defenses. But if Preki's men are to make any real noise in the season's second half, they'll have to find more ways to provide good delivery to those forwards. The midfielders and outside fullbacks aren't getting down the flanks or creating channels through the middle. Hence, Chivas USA have just four goals in seven road matches.
Pressure point: It's getting downright painful watching Carlos Ruiz search desperately for his third goal of 2007. One of the league's all-time top snipers, Ruiz struck at a rate of about one goal for every 1.6 matches in his first five MLS seasons. (He is even better in the playoffs, with exactly one goal per match over 15 contests.) But that rate has dropped to one goal every six matches this year. He had several good chances Wednesday but just isn't sharp around goal right now.
D.C. United 1, Kansas City 0
Man of the match: In a game that D.C. United didn't really deserve to win, goalkeeper Troy Perkins and his nine saves went far in helping his team steal three big points on the road.
Bigger picture: Think finishing is an issue right now with Curt Onalfo's Wizards? They have squeezed off 46 shots in the last two matches with just one goal to show for it. Perkins' heroic night and some timely defensive interventions had something to do with it. Still, the Wizards have just two goals while collecting just a single point off their last four matches. Eddie Johnson can't get back from Venezuela soon enough.
Pressure point: MLS managers may not say so publicly, but they make weird faces and mutter under their breath at the mention of these afternoon start times. Fair enough, they say, for the TV packages; MLS shouldn't say "no" to sponsor dollars and TV exposure. But the coaches don't understand why games are played in the afternoon heat past that. Case in point: conditions at kickoff for K.C.-D.C.: sunny and 85 degrees. It reduces these matches to exercises in survival rather than displays of attractive soccer.
THIS AND THAT FROM ROUND 14
Technician's notebook:
• Colin Clark, playing wide on the left now for Colorado, is giving the Rapids some additional spunk and a few new ideas along that side, especially as he drifts inside and forces central defenders to step into the challenge. Clark's quality of service and shooting needs to improve, but the sophomore midfielder seems to have some potential if he continues to improve.
• Attempting to jostle his team a bit and create some more positive results, Fernando Clavijo tried something different for his Rapids. Instead of moving the ball deliberately through midfield - and without Kyle Beckerman and Pablo Mastroeni to orchestrate the central action - the Rapids pressed the Crew defenders with high pressure and immediately began looking for long balls into Jacob Peterson and Nicolas Hernandez.
The Rapids also seemed far more interested in attacking Rusty Pierce on Columbus' left side, steering away from Frankie Hejduk on the right. It worked for about 25 minutes before Columbus adjusted.
• Sigi Schmid also employed some innovative thinking in his lineup, inserting longtime defender Ezra Hendrickson into a central midfield role, alongside Danny O'Rourke in a 4-2-3-1 setup. Hendrickson once played more as a midfielder than a defender when he was the Los Angeles Galaxy's first-choice right back. But the central role is something new. He didn't have much influence on offense at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, but he did destroy his share of Rapids attacks. And considering the ultimate result - a draw on the road - it's hard to argue about Schmid's choice.
• Substitutions opened up the RSL-Toronto match. TFC's Andy Welsh, who has lost his starting spot to Collin Samuel on the left side, came in for the ailing Jeff Cunningham after halftime. Samuel moved to a forward spot, leaving Welsh to begin causing problems for RSL right back Jean-Martial Kipre. On the other side, Jamie Watson, rarely used under John Ellinger, is seeing more playing time under Jason Kreis. His 73rd-minute introduction, in place of Andy Williams, gave Toronto something different to deal with. Watson was dangerous due to his pace and work rate, whereas Williams' best work comes off the pass. Watson led RSL in shots with three, despite playing just more than 17 minutes.
• Rugged defender Tyrone Marshall got his first match for Toronto on Wednesday against Real Salt Lake. He was acquired three weeks ago from Los Angeles but immediately began serving a three-match suspension. At Rice-Eccles, he partnered with Jim Brennan in central defense.
• Acknowledging the long odds against a big rally on the road, Red Bulls boss Bruce Arena removed important leaders Claudio Reyna and Juan Pablo Angel early in the second half in Thursday's 4-0 loss to Houston. New York looks for its first win in a month Sunday in Colorado.
• So, who takes the bulk of the free kicks and corner kicks now for Houston? That was the domain of Brad Davis for all of last year and much of this year. But two corner kicks and one free kick from Stuart Holden led to Dynamo goals Thursday. That's utterly Beckham-esque.
New in the booth: Former MLS defender Brian Dunseth replaced Robin Fraser in the broadcast booth as analyst to Tom Kirkland's play-by-play on the RSL local production. Dunseth provided good insight in his new role, demonstrated ample research and even turned a few phrases. ("Ronnie O'Brien and his cultured right foot ... ") On the other hand, both announcers missed the fact, and therefore never mentioned, that Jeff Cunningham appeared to be two steps offside as he beat his former team for the game's first goal.
Jason Kreis just moved Fraser, a two-time MLS Defender of the Year, out of the booth and into an assistant coach's role.
God bless America: No one can accuse Colorado midfielder Daniel Wasson of not being patriotic. Wasson, getting minutes in the middle of the park while Kyle Beckerman is with the national team and Pablo Mastroeni remains injured, sported red, white and blue hair for the Rapids' annual July 4 home date.
Hall pass: Good to see Brian Hall back again and more active these days in the MLS referee rotation. Hall, one of the league's most experienced referees, with service in the 2002 World Cup, had offseason knee surgery. That limited him earlier this year while he recovered and regained fitness. Hall worked last weekend's match in Dallas, then pulled duty four nights later in Los Angeles.
Swapped players swap goals: One of the week's intriguing story lines unfolded Wednesday at Rice-Eccles, where two players involved in one particular high-profile trade exchanged goals against their former clubs. Jeff Cunningham remains Real Salt Lake's leading scorer, but is now in uniform for Toronto and got in behind his old club's defense in the 19th minute. Just before intermission, Alecko Eskandarian evened the score on a penalty kick after being dragged down by two TFC defenders.
Quote of the week: Kansas City midfielder Kurt Morsink to the Kansas City Star, discussing his team's sudden inability to convert chances: "It's not easy. That's why people who do it on a regular basis get paid millions of dollars."
