The week that was in MLS

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

New England 1, at Kansas City 0

Man of the match: In other sports, they might call it "filling up the box score." That is, Shalrie Joseph did a little bit of everything, and did it well: winning headers, connecting smoothly with his passing, tackling hard and even engaging in some timely tactical fouling. And another of his early balls out of midfield launched the game's only goal.

Bigger picture: A terrific response from New England after a match to forget a few nights earlier in the loss to Colorado. The commitment that Steve Nicol always looks for in his team came up missing in Commerce City, but was rediscovered in the gritty, closely contested match on a rainy night in Kansas City.

Pressure point: The Wizards had not played in 17 days -- and looked like it. The hand brake seemed to be on for about 20-25 minutes before Curt Onalfo's team found some rhythm and pressed the game a bit, although they never created enough dangerous opportunities. Carlos Marinelli didn't have his best match. And now, due to an accumulation of yellow cards, he'll miss the Wizards' next opportunity to make up ground on the Eastern Conference-leading Revolution, Wednesday at home against Chicago.

Houston 1, FC Dallas 0

Man of the match: Dynamo center back Eddie Robinson plays right on the edge, pushing the boundaries of physical play against opposition forwards as much as the rules allow. He was there Sunday, dealing well with Carlos Ruiz, then supplying some critical, late interventions on Dallas substitute Dominic Oduro to help preserve the Dynamo shutout.

Bigger picture: Houston picked up three big points on Dallas, leapfrogging back into the top spot in the West (although the team from north Texas still has a game in hand). These "six-point" matches will be precious over the last nine rounds of regular season play. The final contest this year between the I-45 rivals comes Sept. 30 at Pizza Hut Park, although Dynamo has already locked up the season series with two wins and a tie.

Pressure point: Both of these teams' most high-profile attackers are well behind pace to match last year's numbers. Dwayne De Rosario has four goals and one assist so far, with eight games to play. Last year's numbers: 11 goals and five assists. Carlos Ruiz's 2007 production is similarly flagging. He has four goals and two assists this year following last year's 13 and five.

Chicago 2, at Real Salt Lake 0

Man of the match: Cuauhtemoc Blanco is proving himself a difference maker, indeed. His audacious, world-class strike from 26 yards is surely a front-runner for goal of the week (no matter how many they scored in New York). Then, Blanco supplied the corner kick that Paulo Wanchope turned into his initial MLS goal.

Bigger picture: The Fire is unbeaten (two wins and a tie) with three shutouts since Juan Carlos Osorio took over as manager. And now the team is getting healthier, with Chris Rolfe back on the field and Justin Mapp entering Sunday as a substitute, his first minutes on the field in a league match since July 12. The distribution out of defense still needs polish, but the confidence is there for a run at a playoff spot.

Pressure point: One of RSL's three new Argentinians got on the field as young striker Edgar Espindola took over for Alecko Eskandarian in the 58th minute. Still awaiting their MLS debuts are midfielder Javier Morales and defender Matias Mantilla. They'll have to produce in order to Jason Kreis' team to carry some momentum in the offseason.

New York 5, Los Angeles 4

Man of the match: Juan Pablo Angel had the bookends of nine goals in this memorable match. His first strike was a heady effort that he slipped intentionally beneath the Galaxy wall as it jumped. His game-winner was all hustle and hope, as he came crashing in on a loose ball and willed it powerfully past goalkeeper Joe Cannon from a tough angle.

Bigger picture: There were 66,237 witnesses at Giants Stadium to the instant classic, which was the largest crowd at the venue for a professional soccer league match since 1980, when the Cosmos called the same stadium home. Many were there to see David Beckham, of course. He helped set up three Galaxy goals on set-piece strikes -- two on corner kicks and one on a free kick.

Pressure point: Beckham should obviously be the focal point of L.A.'s offense, but teammates sometimes seem to forget that. Beckham's passing is simply better than most of his teammates, and yet sometimes Galaxy attackers not named Beckham are attempting complicated passes when Beckham is unmarked nearby.

D.C. United 2, at Columbus 0

Man of the match: Brazilian midfielder Fred made the plays that matter, with a fabulous strike to open the scoring and a devilish little pass that put Columbus defender Ezra Hendrickson in trouble and turned into the insurance goal.

Bigger picture: Two important points here: First, United has three consecutive shutout wins, something they never did in any of their Cup-winning years. Second, Tom Soehn is getting some clutch performances from fill-in players as he rests some starters during a busy stretch. Greg Vanney and Devon McTavish worked well together centrally. Clyde Simms did his share and more. And young Marc Burch has been a rampaging revelation at left back.

Pressure point: Things have suddenly gone sideways for Columbus, which was resurgent through the busy months of June and July but has faded in the slower days of August. With one match to go this month, Sigi Schmid's team has taken just one point from a possible nine. Saturday's setback in Ohio was the most damaging; it was only the second loss at home this year for the Crew.

Chivas USA 2, at Toronto FC 0

Man of the match: Not only did Jesse Marsch keep things together and help his team dominate the center of the park, Chivas USA needed his smart, expertly struck early ball for Maykel Galindo to break open the deadlock and lead the way to a road win.

Bigger picture: Watching a young Toronto organization grow up so quickly has been one of the special stories of the MLS 2007 season. And for a while there, the playoffs seemed like a real possibility, which would have made the team's tale that much brighter. But with 20 points on the table, nine matches to play and too many men still nursing injuries, it's going to be a steep hill to climb. Mo Johnston's men probably need to win six of their remaining nine, and need to tie a couple of others just for a shot at a postseason berth.

Pressure point: Toronto FC will require a quick strike this week against D.C. United, or it will establish a new league mark for consecutive scoreless minutes. The Canadian side has now endured 552 minutes without putting one past an opposing 'keeper. Real Salt Lake holds the dubious mark, going 557 scoreless minutes in 2005.

Colorado 3, New England 0

Man of the match: Colin Clark is suddenly grinding up opposition defenses. He was so much trouble for the Revolution in this one, New England manager Steve Nicol had to add a defender to the usual 3-5-2 setup. Clark was credited with only one assist for the evening but had a big hand in all three Rapids goals, including a surging run into the penalty area that led to a spot kick and Colorado's second goal.

Bigger picture: Herculez Gomez's yellow card suspension and Mehdi Ballouchy's re-introduction into the lineup in the center of the park allowed Jovan Kirovski to play at forward. He looks more comfortable there, as opposed to a central midfield role that has left him struggling to influence matches. Thursday he came oh-so-close to a hat trick, as one second half effort banged off the post.

Pressure point: New stadium, same old story for the Revs when playing in Colorado. Steve Nicol's team didn't fare much better in its first visit to Dick's Sporting Goods Park than it used to in two previous venues the Rapids called home. New England is now 3-11-1 playing at Colorado.

THIS AND THAT FROM ROUND 21
Technician's notebook:

Hard to say if Wizards' playmaker Carlos Marinelli was looking to situate himself a little deeper than usual, but he usually received the ball Sunday against the Revs in spots that weren't too dangerous. Could be that he didn't fancy the thought of getting too close to Shalrie Joseph near the middle of the park?

Houston's offensive struggles have roughly coincided with Stuart Holden's injury. Without the young attacker (or without the injured Brad Davis, whom Holden replaced), Houston gets much less from the left side of its attack. Nate Jaqua played at the left-sided midfield spot Sunday against Dallas. But his game is more about getting inside; he's much less inclined to menace the flanks and look to hit service from out there.

Recognizing how dangerous Houston can be on corner kicks, FC Dallas manager Steve Morrow instructed striker Carlos Ruiz to stand out at the 10-yard marker and give the dead ball taker something extra to deal with. Indeed, Ruiz's presence seemed to bother Richard Mulrooney, who took Dynamo's corner kicks Sunday.

D.C. United's Clyde Simms is playing simple, effective soccer and may be close to becoming the automatic first choice at holding midfielder ahead of Brian Carroll. He was effective going both ways Saturday and seems to bring something more to the game every time out on the field these days.

Ezra Hendrickson and Rusty Pierce were in the middle of the Crew defense in place of Chad Marshall and Marcos Gonzalez. The regulars were injured and being rested, respectively. The change showed at the end, when a Hendrickson error turned quickly into United's second goal.

Lawson Vaughn is nothing if not versatile. He has played right back, center back and now spent a couple of matches in the middle of the midfield for Chivas USA (while Paulo Nagamura gets healthy). Vaughn might not be as much of a difference maker in the middle as, say, Jesse Marsch. But he has filled the void nicely for now.

Toronto attempted to address its epic goal-scoring drought by pushing everybody further up the field, starting with a higher defensive line and adding higher pressure at the other end. It was a risky move against Chivas USA, considering Maykel Galindo's speed and TFC's relative lack of pace in the back. Sure enough, Jesse Marsch's early ball from deep in his own half released Galindo for Chivas' first strike, and the punctuation mark came on a break as well.

Sacha Kljestan drifted inside frequently when Chivas USA had the ball, providing Chivas with an extra man in the middle. With the numerical advantage, Kljestan, Jesse Marsch and Lawson Vaughn were too much for TFC's tandem, Carl Robinson and Maurice Edu, neither of whom will remember this one as their best day. Toronto didn't have much to offer up the left side, so Kljestan was free to range inside with impunity, rarely having to worry too much about defending on that flank. When he did get caught cheating too far to the inside, Vaughn was quick to come over and cover.

Steve Nicol talked before Thursday's match in Colorado about the big field and the altitude and possibly adjusting with a bit of tactical upheaval. He started in the usual 3-5-2, but soon had to bring a midfielder back into the defense to help deal with Rapids' left-sided attacker Colin Clark. Andy Dorman was the man tasked, but he didn't look comfortable defending nor attacking out of that spot. Plus, the Revolution attack suffered, as the two central midfielders just couldn't generate enough of an offensive push to get the Revs back into the match.

Hope for TFC: Yes, that unsightly scoreless streak has reached near-record proportions at BMO Field. But help is arriving quickly now. Strikers Danny Dichio and Jeff Cunningham and defender Marvell Wynne all got back on the field Saturday, each playing at least 20 minutes. Wynne is obviously not where he needs to be fitness-wise; he could be seen huffing and puffing soon after he came on, following a run where he couldn't catch up to Jonathan Bornstein. Later, on a break, he couldn't get away from Sacha Kljestan. At full speed, he probably wins both those races.

The rare chester!: Brian Ching was running hard into the six-yard box when he met Brian Mullan's driven cross against Dallas on Sunday. So the Hawaiian steered his effort into the goal with his chest, something you don't see often.

Big crowds all around: A benchmark weekend, it was, for a Saturday night in MLS attendance. With no attached internationals, the four matches averaged 31,742 fans. That figure was skewed, of course, by the 66,237 at Giants Stadium to see David Beckham and the Galaxy take on New York. But there was also the usual packed house at BMO, officially 20,178. A nice crowd of 21,639 showed up in Columbus as the Crew played D.C. United. And 18,913 were at Rice-Eccles to see Real Salt Lake against Chicago.

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.