who did what, what it means and what to look for next:
Los Angeles Galaxy 2, FC Dallas 1
Man of the match: Chris Klein drew the foul that led to LA's first-half penalty kick. Then he whacked an absolute bomb from outside the penalty area, which was still rising as it blew into the upper right corner for the game-winner.
Bigger picture: Denilson tries to the hold the ball, draw contact and then win the free kick, a la Cuauhtemoc Blanco. The FC Dallas man is just not as good at selling it to the referee. Match official Michael Kennedy had several opportunities to blow the whistle with Denilson on the ground, but usually chose consistently to play on. FC Dallas' newest signing has yet to find a way to impact matches.
Pressure point: FC Dallas left back Chris Gbandi hurt his team last year with a red card in the return leg of its playoff series against Colorado. Sunday he hurt his side again with two cards in quick succession, including a petulant kick at Kevin Harmse off the ball. Manager Steve Morrow will certainly have a conversation with his veteran defender about it all.
Chicago Fire 1, D.C. United 1
Man of the match: Wilman Conde may be the best defender at the moment in MLS. He was in charge for the Fire all afternoon, intervening regularly in dangerous spots and even clearing one United effort off the line. Conde also got forward to smash a close-range volley at D.C.'s goal, which Troy Perkins turned away.
Bigger picture: The full three points certainly could have assisted United's pursuit of the Supporters' Shield. Then again, getting a point on the road isn't bad while missing Fred, Christian Gomez and Ben Olsen due to yellow card accumulation. The 11-day layoff since a 2-1 win against Real Salt Lake apparently didn't hinder United's momentum; the team is now unbeaten in 10 matches.
Pressure point: Not a good week for Chicago's playoff drive as leads and the potential for all three points disappeared in two matches, on goals in the 84th and 93rd minutes. Sunday, Jaime Moreno's cross (or was it a shot?) somehow eluded Matt Pickens, who had a swell match otherwise.
Chivas USA 2, Kansas City Wizards 1
Man of the match: Credit Francisco Mendoza's well-designed run and clinical pass for Chivas USA's first goal as much Ante Razov's cool finish. But the game-winner in stoppage time was all Razov. Goal No. 109 in his MLS career was surely one of the sweetest, a hooking left-footer that fell into goal from about 26 yards.
Bigger picture: Even without midfield linchpin Jesse Marsch, Chivas USA stamped their playoff ticket with five matches remaining. Paulo Nagamura's emergence lately as an equally dominant holding midfield force means Marsch's absence wasn't crippling. Plus, Sacha Kljestan and Mendoza do a lot of scurrying about in the midfield, which is a big reason why Chivas can still make a late run at the Supporters' Shield.
Pressure point: Razov's pinpoint game-winner certainly is Goal-of-the-Week worthy. But where was the defensive pressure? The Wizards' 41 goals allowed is second worst in the league, and moments like that one are why that's so.
Real Salt Lake 1, Colorado Rapids 0
Man of the match: Kyle Beckerman wore the captain's armband in Eddie Pope's absence and played like a man inspired by the extra responsibility. He led a central triangle that was easily better in the middle than the Rapids' Mehdi Ballouchy and Tony Sanneh.
Bigger picture: The biggest week of 2007 for Real Salt Lake? They got a tie and a win (looking dominant in the midweek draw) and landed an important hire, bringing on Garth Lagerway as general manager. FYI: Jason Kreis' team is 3-2-2 since a close loss at Chivas USA in late August. Saturday's contest wrapped up a busy stretch of eight matches in 28 days.
Pressure point: The one thing that keeps nipping at RSL is the inability to keep possession at important moments. The bunch from Rice-Eccles struggled to hold the ball over the final 10-12 minutes, clinging precariously to the full three points. Kreis must keep drilling his men on that one.
New York Red Bulls 2, New England Revolution 2
Man of the match: Taylor Twellman might be the most opportunistic scorer in league history. He can turn a game with precious few chances -- just as he did in scoring twice Saturday. The difference in a good first half Saturday, for instance, is that Twellman finished his chance on a header from directly in front of goal and Francis Doe didn't on the other side.
Bigger picture: The Claudio Reyna on patrol Saturday is the one Red Bulls fans saw earlier this year -- and the one they'd like to see more often. The N.Y. captain consistently does the little things that make others around him better. But he took greater command against New England, especially early in the match. He always seems to play better when Dema Kovalenko is nearby.
Pressure point: The Red Bulls attack suddenly looks pretty good, with danger spread across midfield. Kovalenko causes some trouble with his late bursts into the penalty area; Dane Richards seems energized again after that summer slump; Reyna is getting forward more and generally being more assertive on offense with Joe Vide protecting areas behind him. Forward Francis Doe provides more depth for any Jozy Altidore absences, although he can use more schooling on bringing others (especially Juan Pablo Angel) into play.
Columbus Crew 2, Toronto FC 1
Man of the match: Eddie Gaven has played perhaps his best two matches this year in Columbus' last two outings, and it will take that kind of effort to drive Columbus into the postseason. At BMO Field, he was dangerous over 90 minutes, hitting early crosses or running at defenders. And his composure in settling Frankie Hejduk's cross was huge in Columbus' first goal.
Bigger picture: With Chicago taking just two of a possible six points from two matches in the week, three points away from Crew Stadium is absolutely huge in the Columbus pursuit of the Fire for the final playoff spot.
Pressure point: The 2004 Colorado Rapids set the MLS record for fewest goals in a season with 29. Mo Johnston's team has 19 with five games to go. The scoreless streak has come to a merciful end, but the Canadian side still has work to do if they want to dodge the season mark.
FC Dallas 1, Chicago Fire 1
Man of the match: Anybody remember how good Chris Rolfe was to begin this season? That version is coming around again -- Thursday's performance at Pizza Hut Park was as good as he has delivered in the injury-dented past four months.
Bigger picture: Carlos Ruiz's late strike robbed Chicago of the full three points, which could be huge once all the playoff dust has settled. Manager Juan Carlos Osorio aligns his team ultra-defensively away from Toyota Park, which worked for wins at Real Salt Lake and Columbus. It hasn't worked as well against teams with winning records, bad news since the Fire still face Chivas USA and D.C. United on the road.
Pressure point: FC Dallas manager Steve Morrow has given Denilson freedom to freelance, popping up pretty much wherever he wants to on the field. But with just one goal (off a penalty kick) and no assists so far, the league's fifth DP signing will have produce more to justify that kind of departure from the usual system.
Real Salt Lake 2, LA Galaxy 2
Man of the match: If Andy Williams could consistently duplicate the diligent, skillful effort he contributed to this match, new GM Garth Lagerway would be happy to build the team around him. Williams was full of sharp passing and turned in a robust overall effort in the middle of RSL's 4-2-3-1 setup.
Bigger picture: The men from RSL found themselves in an odd scenario; having dominated a match, but having fallen behind in five bad minutes against the run of play, they had to scramble for a point at the end. Credit to Jason Kreis' team for doing so, as they scrambled for the tie and came oh-so-close to finding the game-winner.
Pressure point: Real Salt Lake manager Jason Kreis removed a defender in favor of an extra attacker, protecting the back with a three-man line. Landon Donovan immediately exploited the extra space, running at the RSL rearguard and creating the Galaxy's go-ahead goal.
THIS AND THAT FROM ROUND 26
Technician's notebook:
Enjoy it while it lasts: Jaime Moreno's time as the league's all-time league scoring king certainly doesn't seem long for the world. Ante Razov struck for Nos. 108 and 109 on Saturday. He passed Jason Kreis to move into second place on the all-time list and probably isn't finished for scorching-hot Chivas USA. Moreno, of course, still leads all scorers with 111 after his goal on Sunday.
Maybe they aren't as easy as they look: Toronto's Maurice Edu had the miss of the weekend when he absolutely whiffed on a bouncing ball from four yards away against Columbus. There wasn't a defender anywhere nearby. Carlos Pavon's shot over the bar for Los Angeles -- he was unmarked but running hard to get to Cobi Jones' cross in the 67th minute -- was a close runner-up.
Red Bulls record about to fall?: Juan Pablo Angel is making an assault on one of New York's most noteworthy club records. His 16th goal Saturday matched Adolfo Valencia's season record from the 2000 season. Valencia, by the way, scored his 16 over 31 matches. Angel has played in just 20 so far.
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.
