Davis: What a week in MLS!

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

Columbus 1, Colorado 1

Man of the match: Conor Casey kept himself (and the Columbus defense) busy, winning balls and doing what he could to inspire the Rapids offense that wandered a bit without the injured Terry Cooke. Casey's diligence paid off when he got on the end of Mehdi Ballouchy's delicate cross for the late equalizer.

Bigger picture: The Rapids have salvaged their season by finding ways to make their personnel productive in the attack. Casey's game-winner was his second goal in two matches. Ballouchy didn't have an assist to his credit when traded from Colorado but has one in each of the last two matches for Colorado.

Pressure point: Stefani Miglioranzi gives the Crew some good things at left back, usually adept at distribution. And he hit a terrific pass to release Eddie Gaven for Columbus' only goal. But his inexperience at defense -- he's really a central midfielder -- sometimes shows at the worst moments.

Real Salt Lake 2, at Los Angeles 1

Man of the match: Things changed dramatically for Real Salt Lake when rookie Robbie Findley replaced Chris Brown in the 58th minute. Los Angeles had trouble containing the energetic striker, who crushed the team that traded him earlier this year with his 67th-minute equalizer.

Bigger picture: A road victory? A come-from-behind win? A win streak? Who are these guys? Jason Kreis' men won for the second time in four nights, propelled once again by its new trio of Argentinians, by Eddie Pope's first goal since 2005 and by Nick Rimando, who has been nothing short of heroic since regaining his spot in the lineup in May.

Pressure point: The Galaxy haven't won a league match since July 4 and now sit four points behind Real Salt Lake in last place in the West. Los Angeles does have a game in hand on RSL in the "race" to avoid the cellar. From the Utah club's side, the next step is improvement at playing with a lead. Clearly, Kreis' club isn't comfortable when the job calls for holding possession and making the other team chase the game.

Houston 1, Kansas City 1

Man of the match: Richard Mulrooney had one of his best matches in years, passing smartly, drifting to the right from his central spot to supply some dangerous crosses, tackling hard when the situation called for it and generally being a major presence. Houston's entire four-man midfield was full of MoM candidates, and Joseph Ngwenya was lively all night as well.

Bigger picture: Houston's goal production has dipped alarmingly, with just three in the last six MLS matches. But the attack wasn't terrible Saturday, with Ngwenya, Brian Mullan and Dwayne De Rosario all coming close before Houston's two front-runners combined to finally squeeze one past Kevin Hartman.

Pressure point: Neither team could be altogether happy with the result. The Wizards finished a three-game road trip with just a single point. Houston has just one win (along with two losses and four ties) in MLS play since July 12.

D.C. United 4, at FC Dallas 0

Man of the match: Ben Olsen loves playing in Frisco, apparently. He recorded United's first two goals, including a 40-yard volley that surprised FC Dallas goalkeeper Dario Sala. It happened in the same park where Olsen cracked a big volley against Guatemala about 18 months ago while wearing the U.S. jersey.

Bigger picture: Olsen and manager Tom Soehn agree that the veteran's midfielder's move back to the flank after a couple of years in a central, holding spot is working nicely. Olsen had 21 career goals in eight seasons coming into 2007. He has a career-high seven goals this year.

Pressure point: Less than 24 hours after Saturday's loss, FC Dallas players boarded a plane bound for Seattle, where the club will face a confidence USL First Division outfit Seattle Sounders in Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup semifinal. A 4-0 loss at home is hardly the confidence boost you're looking for en route to a big cup match.

New York 1, Chicago 0

Man of the match: Juan Pablo Angel's 14th goal of the season provided his team with a massive win, snapping a two-game losing streak and helping to keep those conference leaders within sight. Plus, he stays apace in the race for the Golden Boot and he moves within striking distance of Adolfo Valencia's club record for goals in a season (16 in 2000).

Bigger picture: Chicago played the passing lanes to near-perfection and expended significant effort hoping to contain Angel and rookie midfielder Dane Richards. So, Angel had to be spot-on perfect with the run, the timing of his shot and the placement of the effort, as well. It was a wonderfully classy goal from a guy who's had quite a few of them this year.

Pressure point: Considering how tight the playoff race figures to be, this week's Crew-Fire contest in Columbus is huge. The way things are shaping up, three clubs might well be scrapping it out over the next month and a half for the eighth and final playoff berth. Columbus and Chicago appear to be two of those clubs.

Real Salt Lake 3, Kansas City 1

Man of the match: Not only did defender Matias Mantilla get forward to score the all-important early goal, he held together the back RSL back line against an explosive KC attack. Things remained stable even after Eddie Pope left in the 55th minute, as Kreis exploited the opportunity to get his veteran center back some rest.

Bigger picture: The three new Argentinian signings are certainly making a difference, as the team kept possession and looked much more confident in the first half. Possession broke down too often after the break for RSL, and the Wizards looked like they might have an equalizer in them before Andy Williams' game-clincher from 60 yards in the 85th.

Pressure point: The Wizards have allowed a league-high 37 goals. Worse still, they have conceded goals at a rate of nearly two per game on the road (23 in 12 matches).

THIS AND THAT FROM ROUND 23
Technician's notebook:

Lots of fans will see highlights of Ben Olsen's big volley to open the scoring against Dallas. But watch a little closer, and you'll see something that's been vital to United's six-game winning streak. Clyde Simms, who has replaced Brian Carroll at the holding midfielder spot, hurried in front of an FC Dallas player to intercept Dario Sala's clearance at midfield. Instead of just knocking it back aimlessly, he directed it right to Olsen. It was the kind of action that creates this eye-popping stat: United is 17-2-6 when Simms starts.

The Red Bulls traded away Marvell Wynne to get Hunter Freeman and make him their everyday right back. Then the Red Bulls traded away Todd Dunivant to get Kevin Goldthwaite and make him their everyday left back. But in Saturday's match, Goldthwaite and Freeman were left on the bench. It looks like midfielder Dave van den Bergh is getting another audition at left back -- and it didn't go too badly Saturday against Chicago.

Dane Richards had another outstanding match for Bruce Arena's Red Bulls. He's been strong for a few weeks now after slumping in the summer. But the Rookie of the Year candidate will miss this week's trip to Los Angeles to face Chivas USA because he collected a yellow card Saturday to go beyond the limit for accumulation.

Something a little different from Houston, where Dwayne De Rosario moved out of his central midfield spot, playing a little higher instead, just behind target man Joseph Ngwenya as a second forward. Injuries and suspensions necessitated the change, with Nate Jaqua and Brian Ching unavailable. Richard Mulrooney and Ricardo Clark partnered in central midfield.

K.C. manager Curt Onalfo also made changes for the match, but it wasn't necessarily due to injury. Midfielder Carlos Marinelli and defender Jose Burciaga Jr. were healthy, but replaced in the lineup by Kurt Morsink and Sasha Victorine. (Michael Harrington dropped back from his left midfield spot to fill Burciaga's role at left fullback, while Victorine manned the left midfield spot.)

With Michael Harrington playing left back, the Wizards' passing out of the back was smoother and more reliable, but they didn't get quite the same offensive push they do with Burciaga.

Corey Ashe got another start as Houston's ongoing injury troubles kept four starters out of action. The small outside midfielder certainly has the speed, but he gets knocked off the ball pretty easily. He has to learn how to use those fast feet to avoid situations in which he has little hope of prevailing.

With Andy Herron and Robbie Rogers available, Sigi Schmid called Jacob Thomas off the bench. Thomas, returning to full strength after a long injury layoff, bothers teams with his pace. But he's obviously not sharp. Thomas' touch wasn't great in the run of play, and he missed a sitter that would have given the Crew a 2-0 lead and could have finished the match.

Raging Rapids: A productive offense propelled the Rapids recent three game win streak, all of which was at home. On the road Sunday, the Rapids returned to the physical tactics they had used before the recent success. In the Rapids' three most recent road matches, they committed 20, 19 and 23 fouls. Teams average about 14.5 fouls a match around MLS.

Know your role: Here's a quote from Red Bulls rookie Dane Richards, who is speaking to the (New Jersey) Herald News about striker extraordinaire Juan Pablo Angel: "As soon as I can get that guy the ball I give it right to him because I know he has the ability to score." Talk about the right kind of team-first attitude from a young player.

New DP debuts: Denilson, the league's fifth designated player signing, debuted for FC Dallas on Saturday at Pizza Hut Park. But the home team was already down by four goals when the former World Cup winner replaced fellow Brazilian Ricardinho in the 55th minute, so his influence in the match was nominal.

Ruiz still struggling: With Denilson now available for FC Dallas, and with Kenny Cooper running again and getting closer to a full return from a broken leg, you have to wonder how long Carlos Ruiz can keep his spot in the starting lineup? Cooper and Ruiz have the exact same totals in offensive production (four goals, two assists) although Ruiz has over 50 percent more minutes.

PK pain for Galaxy: It's been a bad week for Landon Donovan, who was as close to automatic on penalty kicks as a player can be in league play and internationally until a few days ago. His spot kick in the tiebreaker of Wednesday's SuperLiga final was saved. And then on Saturday against Real Salt Lake, Nick Rimando saved a penalty taken by the Galaxy attacker.

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.