facing his own goal -- he quickly turned and set off on a 50-yard run through the Chivas defense, ripping a low shot inside Burpo's right-hand post from the edge of the area for his team-leading 10th goal on the campaign.
At Pizza Hut Park, the Texas rivals were meeting for the fifth time on the season, and FC Dallas had yet to get the better of their southern foes, Dynamo winning two games (with one draw) in league play and also their U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal meeting. The clubs were separated by six points at the top of the Western Conference.
The match changed on the half hour, when Dynamo defender Eddie Robinson was booked twice within the space of a minute for fouls of FC Dallas striker Carlos Ruiz as the two tangled, first near the Houston goal after a shot went wide, then seconds later at midfield.
Dynamo seemed to have survived the disadvantage for the final hour until the 86th minute, when Arturo Alvarez ran onto an Abe Thompson pass on the left flank. He cut inside Houston defender Adrian Serioux and ripped a low shot inside the far post to give the Hoops their first victory against Dynamo.
At Toyota Park, the Chicago Fire were looking to keep their four-game league unbeaten streak (and six in all competitions) rolling while regaining second place in the Eastern Conference, while the New York Red Bulls were playing the second game of a three-game road swing, hoping to build on a 2-2 draw in Kansas City.
But the visitors gifted the Men in Red goals in each half through nearly identical circumstances. In the 13th minute, Chris Rolfe picked off a pass between Red Bulls defenders and raced in at goal, firing a low shot from just outside the area past Tony Meola for his fifth goal on the campaign.
Then on the hour mark, it was nearly a mirror image. This time Diego Gutierrez claimed a pass sent back toward the New York goal and raced in alone, powering a low drive home from outside the box to double the lead.
The Red Bulls pulled a goal back in the 78th minute. A cross from the right was met by Dema Kovalenko, but Zach Thornton turned aside his first-time effort at full stretch. But John Wolyniec nipped in to tap home the rebound for his third goal in as many games; still it wasn't enough.
At Crew Stadium, the teams were meeting in the back half of their home-and-home series over two weekends, after the Revolution had taken a 1-0 victory in Foxborough the previous Sunday, their first league win since July 8. The Crew had won just once since June 3 as they tried to maintain touch with the rest of the Eastern Conference.
But it took the home side just three minutes to open the scoring - their earliest goal of the campaign. Ricardo Virtuoso -- making just his second start in MLS -- broke into the penalty area on the left before launching a low shot that Revolution 'keeper Matt Reis could only parry. It came back out to Jason Garey, who gleefully pumped home the rebound for his second league goal.
Then in the 29th minute the Crew doubled their lead through nearly identical circumstances. Virtuoso hit a sharply angled cross from the left, which Reis pushed out just ahead of Garey's slide into the goal area. The rebound bounded out to Eddie Gaven, and he drove home the rebound from the heart of the area.
The Crew finished off the victory eight minutes from full time. A good movement in the Revolution penalty area saw the ball laid back to Ezra Hendrickson outside the area, but his initial shot was blocked by New England's Steve Ralston. But the rebound bounced back out to the lanky defender, and he hammered the ball back inside the right-hand post.
At The Home Depot Center on Saturday, both teams were desperately looking for the three points to ensure they kept pace in their respective conference races. The Galaxy had lost just twice since the start of July, yet still found themselves in last place in the West. The Wizards had won just twice since mid-June, yet still found themselves in the fourth and final playoff spot in the East, though second and fifth were separated by just four points.
A tame first half burst into life right after the break. Landon Donovan sent Cobi Jones free on the right, and he whipped in a rolling cross that Chris Albright just missed getting onto the end of. But Alan Gordon came in behind and stabbed the ball, sliding in just ahead of a Wizards defender (47).
But just five minutes later the Wizards pulled level. Jose Burciaga Jr. served in a corner from the left and Shavar Thomas rose up to nod home a clear header off the underside of the bar and just over the line from the heart of the six-yard box, his first goal in more than two seasons.
Yet the Galaxy pulled ahead just four minutes later, again through Gordon. Donovan swerved in a free kick from the left flank and Gordon got up to head home from the spot, his third goal in as many games, all his first since coming to MLS last season.
The Wizards nearly got another late equalizer when Davy Arnaud hit a stunning full side volley from all of 30 yards, but the ball crashed off the face of the bar and away.
At Rice-Eccles Stadium, the Rocky Mountain Cup was to be decided after the teams had evenly split their first three league meetings, each winning once in Denver while the first meeting in Utah ended in a draw. The Rapids had also dumped Real out of the U.S. Open Cup in the fourth round, and a victory would give the winner the leg up for the time being in the battle for a place in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
The rivalry has grown more heated as the year has gone on, and three minutes into the second half Colorado took the lead. Dan Gargan swung in a cross from the right flank and Nicolas Hernandez rose up to head home just under the crossbar for the game's only goal.
After the victory and presentation of the cup -- awarded by the supporters' clubs of the two teams -- there were wild celebrations by the Rapids players which drew a stiff rebuke from Real investor/operator Dave Checketts, who confronters Colorado's Pablo Mastroeni on the field in the midst of the histrionics.
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
