Davis: Surprise, surprise

who did what, what it means and what to look for next:

Toronto FC 0, Los Angeles 0

Man of the match: A composed, classy and always well-positioned performance from Galaxy center back Abel Xavier. He gobbled up most the high stuff thrown in the Galaxy penalty area. And his choices in clearing -- when to aggressively knock it out and when to calmly direct it toward a teammate -- worked out great all night.

Bigger picture: The contrasting substitution maneuvers tell the story. Galaxy manager Frank Yallop kept adding offensive personnel, desperately chasing the full three points. Counterpart Mo Johnston, playing with a short bench due to the absence of six starters, held his subs, using the initial replacement in the 81st minute, maintaining the tight defensive structure. Perhaps he is satisfied with draws until healthy reinforcements can arrive.

Pressure point: The ESPN2 national TV audience didn't see a bad match, just one without a lot of difference-making attackers. Toronto got the ball into Joe Cannon's goalmouth far more often, but didn't create enough good shooting opportunities. Los Angeles must find a way to make matches more interesting, or plenty of nationally televised matches could be low-scoring affairs.

D.C. United 3, at New England 0

Man of the match: Luciano Emilio was a handful all afternoon, elevating his game to make up for a short-handed D.C. United offense. He finished clinically on heady passes from Ben Olsen and Guy-Roland Kpene and was checking regularly into the midfield to help with the buildup.

Bigger picture: Tom Soehn got lots of workman-like performances from a patchwork United lineup, with guys not trying to do more than they should. Put fill-in defensive midfielder Clyde Simms and fill-in attacking midfielder Rod Dyachenko and center back Devon McTavish in that list, plus the usual two-way effort from Ben Olsen.

Pressure point: 33-year-old Jaime Moreno is having a hard time staying healthy this year for United. He entered Sunday's match at halftime, getting on the field for United for the first time since June 10. But owing to a back ailment, he was off the field again by the 74th minute.

Real Salt Lake 1, Houston 0

Man of the match: Without much creative influence in the lineup, Real Salt Lake's attacking plan relies heavily right now on getting balls behind the defense for Robbie Findley. It took a bit of a defensive booboo to finally get Findley into a good shooting spot, but the speedy rookie took the chance well, converting low to the far post and supplying Jason Kreis with his second win as a manager.

Bigger picture: Kreis continues to tinker with combinations, especially in midfield. Kyle Beckerman, a longtime central midfielder, has lined up along the right twice now since coming over from Colorado, starting the game there against Houston, though he moved back centrally. Nathan Sturgis, another Kreis acquisition through trade, was given an opportunity in the middle, next to Carey Talley, before he shifted to the left mid-game.

Pressure point: Houston gave up a goal in the final 15 minutes of a match for the first time this year. Dynamo looked a little flat, especially in the first half. Manager Dominic Kinnear, whose team saw its 11-game unbeaten streak snapped, will have to find ways to keep his team on message in these MLS matches while the sexy SuperLiga plays out over the next two weeks.

FC Dallas 1, Colorado 0

Man of the match: Clarence Goodson blocked shots, won headers and kept things together in front of young goalkeeper Ray Burse, who also stood tall in emergency duty. Goodson and fellow central defender Adrian Serioux were particularly busy in the second half as the Dallas midfield obviously grew tired, suffering from the lingering effects of that taxing 6-5, end-to-end shootout earlier in the week against Los Angeles in SuperLiga.

Bigger picture: Fernando Clavijo's Rapids have been shut out in six of their last eight matches and haven't won since May 26. Mehdi Ballouchy was acquired to add a creative influence; but any inventiveness was sorely missed Saturday as the young attacker sat out, suspended. Matches at home against Houston, New England and Los Angeles over the next two weeks may be Colorado's best shot at regaining initiative that's been lost in June, July and beyond.

Pressure point: Pablo Ricchetti and Juan Toja are clearly the FC Dallas engine and brains. But both faded badly in the second half Saturday, leaving FC Dallas manager Steve Morrow with a tough decision for this week's U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal at Charleston Battery. The team obviously wants to advance in the Open Cup, but to play Ricchetti and Toja might risk longer-term fatigue and damage the team's chances in this weekend's Lone Star derby against Houston.

Chicago 0, Columbus 0

Man of the match: C.J. Brown's performances have been as inconsistent as Chicago's this year. But he enjoyed a masterful one on a rainy, cool evening in Chicago, where both defenses and lots of conservative play ruled. Brown, playing centrally in a three-man back line, never allowed Alejandro Moreno to be dangerous, making contact and generally preventing Columbus' target man from turning with the ball.

Bigger picture: New Fire boss Juan Carlos Osorio appears to be reshaping the team and rebuilding its confidence from the back up. The Fire seems quite interested in getting lots of players behind the ball, then selectively getting the outside midfielders forward in the 3-5-2 to join Blanco and the two strikers.

Pressure point: Cuauhtemoc Blanco is going to force the league to confront some prickly issues where officiating is concerned. The veteran Mexican attacker is very good at "selling" fouls. He was fouled 12 times by Columbus in this gritty match. But on some of those occasions, Blanco appeared to fall after contact, which is either smart or damaging to the game, depending on how you see it. MLS is a physical league. Will is stay that way, or will skillful, wily players such as Blanco move the pendulum back the other way a bit and require more skill and less contact from defenders and midfielders?

New England 2, Kansas City 0

Man of the match: Avery John was all over Eddie Johnson throughout the night at Gillette Stadium and kept everything else quiet on his side. His positioning was generally good, and when it wasn't he was ready to apply the big tackle.

Bigger picture: New England's Khano Smith had one of his better games this year. It'll go a long way toward holding off emerging rookie Wells Thompson and keeping Smith on the field. Similarly, John's big match might finally give him the permanent starting role ahead of James Riley at left back. Pat Noonan fifth goal should help him keep rookie Adam Cristman, who got the extra time strike, in a substitute's role.

Pressure point: Carlos Marinelli appears to be going through a rough spell, perhaps a little slowed by injury. Then again, the big holding midfield duo of Shalrie Joseph and Jeff Larentowicz, suddenly the league's most formidable duo centrally, had a lot to do with Marinelli's inactive night in New England.

THIS AND THAT FROM ROUND 19
Technician's notebook:

The Galaxy tried to use the same 4-3-3 that worked so well and seemed to catch Dallas off guard early in last week's SuperLiga contest. In that setup, Kelly Gray, Kevin Harmes and Peter Vagenas play in something of a straight line midfield while Landon Donovan lines up left and Chris Klein right up front for the Galaxy. But the setup quickly devolved into a 4-5-1 as Donovan and Klein drifted further back to deal with a motivated Toronto attack, stranding Alan Gordon as the lone Los Angeles attacker.

Given the injuries to starting forwards Danny Dichio and Jeff Cunningham, Toronto FC manager Mo Johnston lined up his side in a 4-1-4-1 look, with defender Todd Dunnivant pulling emergency duty as a left midfielder and forward Collin Samuel handling matters on the right.

Stefani Miglioranzi appears to be Columbus' left back of choice now, with the central triangle apparently set: Danny Szetela and Danny O'Rourke hold behind Ned Grabavoy. Crew manager Sigi Schmid says "never say never," however. "He's so versatile," Schmid says. "As soon as I say he's my left back, something may happen and I may have to put him somewhere else."

For a clinic on how to play as a lone forward, see Andrea Lombardo's night at BMO Field. He held the ball and held off defenders successfully. He changed the pace and the look with smart runs into the corners occasionally and sometimes dribbled around long enough to allow the late runners their opportunity to get into the attack.

Paulo Wanchope made his Chicago debut but couldn't make an impact as the precision on his touch may take some time to regain. Cuauhtemoc Blanco put the Costa Rican international through with a wonderful pass in the 85th minute. But Wanchope couldn't direct his shot toward goal with any power. A minute later, Wanchope got past two defenders just outside Columbus' penalty area but then had a pass or shot -- hard to tell -- squirt harmlessly off his toe.

As Guillermo Barros Schelotto's influence has grown around Columbus, Ned Grabavoy's has waned. Grabavoy was one of the real bright spots earlier this year, playing dynamically even when the Crew was struggling. He's not doing poorly now, it's just that Schelotto gets the ball so much more.

With Greg Vanney now playing centrally (when he's healthy) for D.C. United, current United left back Mark Burch surely hits the best ball out of the left back spot this side of Kansas City's Jose Burciaga Jr.

Forward Guy-Roland Kpene, making his fourth start this year, was having a big match for United before leaving at halftime in favor of Jamie Moreno, who was returning from injury. Kpene was combining especially well with fellow United forward Luciano Emilio even before the pair hooked up to create United's second goal.

The match featuring Columbus and Chicago played out rather uneventfully in the first half, with both teams getting plenty of players behind the ball. The Crew's "Holding Dannys," defensive midfielders Danny O'Rourke and Danny Szetela, began to range forward with more regularity after the break as the game opened up quite nicely, although ultimately with no goals.

If some foreign scout had been sitting in the Pizza Hut Park stands over the last month or so, Arturo Alvarez might already have been headed to Europe or South America. The FC Dallas attacker seemed to have hit a developmental plateau long ago. But he's been an absolute terror lately, raising his game by scoring and setting up fellow attackers while playing most on the right in the Hoops' 4-3-3. Everybody knows he likes to cut inside to the left, but he does it so well he still gets by people. Facundo Erpen had trouble handling him Saturday.

As RSL started Saturday, Kyle Beckerman was playing wide on the right while apparently given the latitude to drift inside. That in turn led to Jason Kreis encouraging (or perhaps demanding) that his outside backs get forward. Jean-Martial Kipre on the right and Chris Wingert on the left moved up and down the wings liberally against Houston.

SuperLiga hangover: Houston lost for the first time in 11 matches. FC Dallas held on at home against Colorado, but the Pizza Hut Park gang was obviously weary as the Rapids pressed hard over the last 25 minutes. The Galaxy came under immediate siege in Toronto and never really threatened the home side in a scoreless draw. Among the four MLS representative in SuperLiga, only D.C. United looked fresh.

A tight Crew: Columbus is 5-1-3 since June 10. What was the common lineup bond as the team turned the corner two months ago? The big run began as Will Hesmer took over from Andy Gruenebaum in goal. That and Chad Marshall's return to the lineup a game before the current run helped stabilize the back line. In fact, the Crew has gotten even stronger lately, having allowed just two goals in their last four matches.

Ruiz stuck on three goals: A notable lack of movement is one of the primary causes for Carlos Ruiz's fallen productivity. (He's on pace for 5-6 goals this year, which would easily be his lowest yet in MLS.) Ruiz is quite static these days, rarely making the diagonal run into the corners, the kind that forces defenders to make decisions as forwards from the outside interchange and crisscross. It's not all on Ruiz, however, as Dallas doesn't always get the ball to him in places where he's most comfortable; he likes it near the penalty area, but is often drifting 30 and 40 yards from goal to collect it now.

Watching the conference races: FC Dallas picked up three points in its pursuit of Houston, finishing on the better end of a 1-0 result about an hour before Houston lost by the same score. It looks like only Chivas USA could have something to say about the MLS Western Conference crown residing in Texas once again. In the Eastern Conference, D.C. United got back in the race, now just six points behind New England with two games in hand on both the Revolution and the Kansas City Wizards. Five clubs are within seven points at the top.

Odd fact from the weekend: Colorado hasn't won in Dallas in 11 matches going back to 2001, when Dallas made its home at the Cotton Bowl. But that's only in the regular season. Colorado has eliminated Dallas at Pizza Hut Park from the playoffs for two years running now.

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.