and the Houston Dynamo, who won for the third time in five games with a 1-0 victory against the New York Red Bulls after starting the week with another last-gasp draw against FC Dallas. Real Salt Lake rounded out the weekend with a 3-1 home win against the San Jose Earthquakes.
At Gillette Stadium, the Revolution came into MLS Primetime Thursday riding a three-game winning streak, while D.C. United had put an end to a four-game losing streak the weekend before with a home win against Toronto FC.
United looked to have continued their turnaround with a rampant opening 45 minutes, but had only one goal to show for it. Clyde Simms came to drive a short clearance back goalward, facing a good reaction save from Matt Reis, but Luciano Emilio dove to head home the rebound for his second goal in as many games.
Still, United doubled their lead eight minutes after the second-half restart. A blocked shot was corralled by Jaime Moreno, whose shot was then saved by Reis. But Fred popped up outside the left post to thump the rebound back home.
Yet the Revs responded six minutes later to halve the deficit. Mauricio Castro's cross from the left wasn't cleared and the ball deflected to Kheli Dube, who slid a pass into Adam Cristman and watched as the substitute slid the ball past Zach Wells.
And the Revolution pulled level in the 72nd minute. Steve Ralston flighted in a free kick from the right flank, Jeff Larentowicz got up at the back post to nod it back across the face of goal, and Dube swept in to head it home from point-blank range for an unlikely share of the points.
At The Home Depot Center, Chivas USA had put together back-to-back wins after suffering through a five-game winless run (with four losses), while the Crew had seen a draw and a loss follow a five-game winning streak that propelled them to the top of the MLS table.
The entire game changed in a three-minute span. First, in the 20th minute, Carey Talley sent in a deflected cross that fell to Jorge Flores in the left side of the area, and the Sueno MLS 2007 winner stormed in to smash home a volley for his third goal in as many games.
Then barely a minute later, Justin Braun chased down a loose ball on the right flank, cut into the area and laid the ball off for Jesse Marsch, who lashed home a rising shot from the heart of the area for his third goal in as many games.
Then just another minute later, Danny O'Rourke was sent off by referee Fernando Galvan after a studs-up tackle on Atiba Harris in the center circle that left the Chivas USA forward with a gash on his leg that required some attention.
At BMO Field, Toronto FC was returning home after seeing their six-game unbeaten run come to an end the weekend before in a loss at D.C. United. The Galaxy had won back-to-back games for the first time all season while still pouring in the goals, this time knocking off the Kansas City Wizards 3-1 at home.
Both teams were hit by international absences, but it was the Reds who struck first, four minutes into the second half. Julius James, who was making his MLS debut after coming on as a substitute for Olivier Tebily just 15 minutes into the game, rose up to flick home a Rohan Ricketts free kick for the opener.
TFC doubled the lead in the 65th minute. A neat passing sequence outside the Galaxy penalty area saw Jeff Cunningham play a quick one-two with Jarrod Smith, and while the return pass was briefly knocked away, Cunningham was able to regain possession and send a quick, low shot past Steve Cronin inside the right-hand post for his 98th career league goal.
At Dick's Sporting Goods Park, the Rapids had alternated wins and losses for the last five games as a three-game homestand was coming to an end, while FC Dallas had recorded a win and a draw in Marco Ferruzzi's first two games in charge, though the draw felt more like a loss as arch-rival Houston again claimed a last-minute tie.
The Rapids opened the scoring just seven minutes in. Christian Gomez was able to fight off a pair of defenders in the center circle and launch a long ball over the FCD defense. Conor Casey, making his first start of the season, was first to it, cut inside a falling Duilio Davino and calmly curled a low shot inside the right-hand post for his first goal in 2008.
Dominic Oduro continued his hot form a minute before the break in pulling FCD level. A corner kick bounced around the area before Marcelo Saragosa sent the ball goalward. It hit Oduro, but he was quickest to the deflection and hooked a shot inside the left-hand post for his fourth goal in as many games.
But the Rapids hit for the winner 18 minutes from the end. A long, thumping downfield cleared everyone, and Colorado striker Tom McManus was able to out-race a pair of FCD defenders before controlling the ball and beating Hoops goalkeeper Ray Burse -- a late replacement for Dario Sala -- inside the near post for his third goal in four starts.
At Robertson Stadium, the Dynamo had followed their first two victories with a loss and a draw, though the draw saw a second stoppage-time equalizer against FC Dallas on the season. The Red Bulls came into the game off their second defeat in a row, this one an historic, 5-1 defeat by the Chicago Fire at home.
Missing three key starters, including striker Juan Pablo Angel and playmaker Claudio Reyna, the Red Bulls held out for three-quarters of the match.
But the Dynamo -- missing key starters of their own through international duty, injury and suspension -- finally broke through in the 68th minute. A ball was swung out wide to Geoff Cameron, and he curled a rolling, early cross into the goal area were Brian Ching came sliding in to poke home his third goal of the season, all in the last five games.
At Rice-Eccles Stadium, Real Salt Lake were returning home after continuing to struggle on the road, losing both games on a swing away from Utah, while the Earthquakes put an end to a four-game winless streak with their first victory in the Bay Area in more than two years, an emotional 2-1 defeat of the Houston Dynamo.
Joe Cannon kept the scoreline intact for the first half when he saved a Javier Morales penalty kick after just three minutes. But Real finally broke through three minutes after the break. Robbie Findley ran down a long ball on the left touchline, turned and cut back inside a defender before launching a blast from outside the area that slipped inside Cannon at the near post.
On the hour, RSL doubled the lead. Morales took a quality diagonal ball from Findley, split a pair of defenders as he skipped into the area and slotted a low shot that rolled underneath a diving Cannon.
In the 73rd minute, Real made it 3-0, this time converting from the spot after referee Jorge Gonzalez adjudged Nick Garcia to having pulled down Andy Williams in the area. Dema Kovalenko took the resulting penalty, sending Cannon the wrong way.
Six minutes from the end the Quakes pulled back a consolation marker. Garcia intercepted a clearance and sent it back goalward, where Ned Grabavoy's delicate flick found John Cunliffe. He turned and fired a low shot that beat Nick Rimando in the RSL goal.
