who did what, what it means and what to look for next:
Houston 0, Toronto FC 0
Man of the match: Carl Robinson led a gang of hard-working Toronto midfielders in the scoreless match, the final contest before Thursday's All-Star contest. Robinson interrupted passing lanes and kept the team cool and on mission under the significant stress of Houston pressure.
Bigger picture: How ironic that on a night Houston seizes the MLS record for longest shutout streak (now at 695 minutes and counting), it also endures a major bummer of a shutout on offense. The visitors came to defend, then bunkered further after Maurice Edu's red card just before the break. With a lopsided advantage in possession, Houston generated a 16-4 edge in shots but a meager four shots on goal.
Pressure point: Credit to Mo Johnston's men for hanging in there and digging a point out of the match. On the other hand, Houston didn't deal well with Toronto's defensive strategy: compress the field with a high defensive line, but low pressure on the other side. It sufficiently frustrated Houston, which didn't have enough ideas about how to get over the top. Did Johnston just identify a chink in the Dynamo armor, or was Houston just spent from a busy schedule?
D.C. United 3, FC Dallas 3
Man of the match: Juan Toja's boundless energy was starting to cause problems before the break. Then he got two goals after intermission as FC Dallas rallied from 3-0 deficit to grab a point on the road.
Bigger picture: How rare is the three-goal rally that produces a win or draw? It has happened just twice before in Major League Soccer, both times by the MetroStars. The Giants Stadium bunch overcame a 3-0 second-half margin against Tampa Bay in 1996 and won in a shootout. And in 2003 the MetroStars rallied from a 3-0 deficit after the break to manage a draw with New England.
Pressure point: Tom Soehn can't be happy with the way his team kept pressing the tempo on offense with the lead, opting to attack quickly instead of protecting possession a bit, making Dallas use energy to defend and chase. Yes, United nearly clinched the match on a couple of occasions. But when a clear numerical advantage didn't exist on the break, United would have been smarter to ease off the accelerator.
New England 1, at New York 0
Man of the match: Shalrie Joseph's early ball out of midfield was perfectly placed for Andy Dorman. Joseph then commanded the midfield, helping New England smartly keep possession -- and therefore limit the home team's chances to rally. Joseph was better in the middle than Red Bulls captain Claudio Reyna.
Bigger picture: Goal-scorer Andy Dorman is putting together an outstanding season. He has seven goals and two assists in 15 games this year. A year ago Clint Dempsey had eight goals and four assists in 21 matches, which helped him land a $4 million transfer to Fulham.
Pressure point: Even if you can make the case that Juan Pablo Angel's late infraction (an elbow to Shalrie Joseph's head) should have drawn yellow instead of red, the Red Bulls striker was clearly frustrated before that moment. He doesn't seem to be combining particularly well with anyone other than John Wolyniec. And New England, with a lineup full of scrappers and hard tacklers, can certainly help contribute to the frustration factor.
Kansas City 1, Real Salt Lake 0
Man of the match: With Jimmy Conrad so competently orchestrating Kansas City's back line, Real Salt Lake needed almost 40 minutes to take its first shot Saturday. Even speedy Robbie Findley couldn't take advantage of a Wizards back four that generally played in an advanced position. Conrad's reading of the game was as astute as always, and his tackles were always well-timed, snuffing the attacks before they got too dangerous.
Bigger picture: Kansas City won, but the imprecise finishing should still concern manager Curt Onalfo, whose team held a 20-5 advantage in shots. The Wizards' inability to finish the match -- Eddie Johnson and Yura Movsisyan each had breakaway opportunities -- meant RSL remained one good effort away from equalizing. And things did indeed look just a bit dicey toward the end for K.C.
Pressure point: The Wizards like a high-tempo match, with high pressure and a high defensive line in the back. It all works for Curt Onalfo's club, and it makes for a better match to watch. But you have to wonder how it will play as the weather warms even more and the Wizards players put more miles into the season.
Chivas USA 2, Columbus 1
Man of the match: Chivas USA owes a lot to combative newcomer Maykel Galindo, who has scored or assisted on more than half the team's goals this year (seven goals, four assists on 20 overall strikes). His shot led to the home team's first goal (which Ante Razov poked in from close range), and he led Chivas' offense all night.
Bigger picture: Chivas USA is 6-0-1 this year, easily the league's top home mark. D.C. United is next with a 5-1-2 record. Is an undefeated home campaign lurking at The Home Depot Center? San Jose (in 2005) is the only team to do so up to now, with a 9-0-7 mark in its final season before becoming Houston Dynamo.
Pressure point: Columbus actually had a chance to pull a point from this match but for some rather sloppy finishing, which harkened back to April and May. The Crew couldn't take advantage of more sharp passing from Guillermo Barros Schelotto, nor of several fine crosses from Frankie Hejduk, who continues to have a spectacular campaign.
Houston 4, Chicago 0
Man of the match: Not only did Joseph Ngwenya score one of the goals of the year, he took his lumps and never complained as Chicago defenders repeatedly got physical with him. Ngwenya's clever effort, Dynamo's third goal, found itself atop the heap on ESPN's Plays of the Day -- and deservedly so.
Bigger picture: Looking ahead to a Sunday evening contest, Dynamo manager Dominic Kinnear rested Dwayne De Rosario and Brian Ching. Houston started Nate Jaqua and Richard Mulrooney in their places. That's the kind of depth that can take serious aim at championships.
Pressure point: The Fire have so much ground to make up in restoring their collective confidence. Defenders were making soft, tentative passes right away. And near the opposition goal, Chris Armas and Ivan Guerrero each passed on wonderful shooting opportunities. New manager Juan Carlos Osorio will have to be equal parts soccer coach and psychologist.
THIS AND THAT FROM ROUND 16
Technician's notebook:
• Davy Arnaud isn't the clinical finisher that Eddie Johnson is for Kansas City. He can't pass as well as Carlos Marinelli. He doesn't get by people on the flanks like rookie Michael Harrington. But the Wizards' veteran is putting together a fine season, doing everything more than adequately. He was particularly busy Saturday as the Wizards' second forward, making things happen in his 16th start this year. He has three goals and four assists, and is one of just three Wizards (along with Harrington and Kerry Zavagnin) to start every match in 2007.
• Sometimes Jose Burciaga, Jr., gets sloppy with his short-range passing for the Wizards. But he hits the big diagonal balls as well as anybody in the league. One of them found Eddie Johnson for the only goal in the Wizards win against Real Salt Lake. And minutes before Johnson's strike, Burciaga picked out Arnaud on a similar ball, which led to a prime scoring chance.
• Bobby Rhine took a spot in the three-man FC Dallas midfield, and gave his team something it generally lacks this year: the ability to consistently supply good crosses from mid-range. Some of them caused trouble for a D.C. back line still adjusting, apparently, to Greg Vanney's arrival.
• When he moved from Toronto to Houston in a trade earlier this year, Richard Mulrooney said he wanted to play wherever needed on the field. Well, he's doing just that. Mulrooney first played at right back initially for Houston. Then he expertly helped hold down the central midfield while Ricardo Clark and Dwayne De Rosario were away on international duty. And Sunday night at Robertson, he replaced the injured Brian Mullan at right midfield.
• In what could have been one of the weekend's top individual matchups, Toronto's Ronnie O'Brien and Houston's in-form Stuart Holden more or less neutralized each other for a half. The second half became an offensive siege for Houston, but O'Brien managed to make a few dashes up the right side, especially after Holden moved across the field to the right.
• We don't hear a lot about Kerry Zavagnin this year, as he's been lapped in the U.S. center midfield pecking order by Ricardo Clark, Kyle Beckerman and maybe now even Maurice Edu. But the Wizards' longtime presence in there just quietly gets the job done, as he did again Saturday, distributing crisply and ensuring that Real Salt Lake never got a toehold on the midfield. He's also combining well with Carlos Marinelli, content to do the heavy lifting on defense, then to quickly locate the Argentinean playmaker.
Facts on the Crew: Ever since the FIFA Under-20 World Cup began last month in Canada, it's been fashionable to mention how Columbus was hit especially hard with the loss of Tim Ward, Robbie Rogers and Danny Szetela. Even Crew manager Sigi Schmid mentioned after Saturday's loss to Chivas USA that his young reinforcements were on the way. Fair enough. But let's get the facts on the table. Bottom line: that trio has accounted for a very small percentage of minutes played for the Crew this year. Szetela has logged exactly 34 minutes, appearing in only one match. Tim Ward has played in two. And Rogers has appeared in five matches, starting three.
MLS' own Edgar Davids: New England midfielder Jeff Larentowicz appeared this week for the first time since June 23, and he had a new look. The center midfielder sported protective goggles, a la longtime Dutch central midfielder Edgar Davids. Larentowicz suffered a right eye injury almost a month ago. Davids wears the signature goggles because he suffers from glaucoma.
Attack of the attackers: There was a time when Carlos Ruiz was easily the most combative, physical forward in MLS. But you have to work hard to get into the Top 5 these days. Both Danny Dichio and Collin Samuel will put a bruise on a defender for TFC. Maykel Galindo has his moments with Chivas USA. And D.C. United attacker Fred (he's actually a midfielder in D.C.'s setup) had nine fouls, including some rugged ones, Saturday against Dallas. They must have been cleverly spaced in the referee's eyes; Fred never received a yellow card for persistent infringement.
Aching Bull: Bruce Arena's Red Bulls just can't get healthy -- not that it's an excuse for a 2-5-1 mark since May. Midfielder Dema Kovalenko, defender Carlos Mendes and goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus missed Saturday's loss to New England. Waterreus injured his ankle in pregame warmups and was a late scratch.
On the sidelines again: Jacob Thomas is hurt once again for the Crew. Thomas, an American who spent the bulk of his career in Germany's lower tiers, has pace and energy that bothers opposition defenses. But he has played just 22 of a possible 49 matches in two years with the Crew. Crew manager Sigi Schmid has tried to get Thomas not to extend himself so much physically, to understand that 80-90 percent of his speed is going to be sufficient to get by most defenders.
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.
